There are lots of ways to refer to a well-known phrase — a cliché is an overused term that should be avoided, a proverb is a succinct statement that gives some sort of advice, an idiom is a phrase that has a meaning other than the meaning of its individual words, and an axiom is a widely established principle. “Axiom” came into English from the Latin “axiōma,” meaning “fundamental proposition.” The Declaration of Independence establishes “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These self-evident truths are valued axioms in the United States.