Question

Excerpt from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech to Congress: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and aerial forces by the Empire of Japan."

The words "a date which will live in infamy," may be considered a(n) ________ or original thought spoken in concise form that is very memorable.
simile aphorism metaphor epigraph allusion

Answer 1

The use of the phrasing "a date which will live in infamy" is an example of an application of an aphorism in speechwriting. An aphorism is a short saying which encapsulates a meaning or idea so fully that it can continue to live on in its own right beyond the context of its initial application. FDR's statement falls squarely into this category, having been used in continual application for many decades since its initial use.