“A good aphorism is the wisdom of a whole book in a single sentence” (Theodor Fontane). Even as a relatively young writer, Hans Urs von Balthasar had mastered this uncommon art of compression, which is on full display in the present collection from the year 1944. The thematic arrangement Balthasar gives to his aphorisms reflects the theology governing his careful composition of the book: GOD, who is the source of MAN’S being, purifies our existence through PARTING, that is, renunciation of all attachments, so that we may cling to CHRIST alone, in whose LOVE alone is our LIFE.