Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.
Maxim
A maxim is like the seed of a plant, which the soul it is thrown into must expand into leaves and flowers and fruit.
—Madame de Sartory
Maxims … have the same use with the burning-glass; to collect the diffused rays of wit and learning in authors, and make them point with warmth and quickness upon the reader’s imagination.
—Jonathan Swift