In compositions of a serious or elevated kind, comparisons must never be taken from low or mean objects. In a discourse delivered from the pulpit, therefore, the following comparison is unsuitable :-"Curses, like chickens, always come home to roost." Here, though there are an unexpected resemblance and illustration of the subject, yet, in an elevated train of thought, which should ever characterize a religious discourse, such a comparison ought not to be admitted. In burlesque writings, Indeed, and in those of a light and trifling nature, such comparisons are frequently introduced purposely to diminish or degrade an object, by assimilating it with something low or despicable.

2. A Metaphor expresses a resemblance between two objects, without the sign of comparison, like or as; thus, "Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path."

A metaphor implies a comparison, and differs from a simile only in form, the signs of comparison being omitted. Thus, when I say, A hero is like a lion,' I use a simile; but, when I say, A hero is a lion,' I employ a metaphor. A poet, then, by figuring his hero to be a lion, must proceed to describe the lion in appearance but in reality the hero, by expressing the virtues and qualities of the hero in terms which properly belong not to him, but to the lion.

Rules for the Application of Metaphors.

RULE 1.-Metaphors should be suited to the nature of the subject of which we treat, and never be drawn from any object which is mean or disagreeable.

VIOLATIONS.-In a serious discourse, to speak of "thrusting religion down our throats," degrades the subject by the meanness of the metaphor.-This Rule is also frequently violated by combining objects which have no correspondence. Thus, Shakspeare says, "He cannot buckle his distempered cause Within the belt of rule." It is evident that there can be no resemblance between a distempered cause, and any body that can be confined within a belt.

2. Metaphors must not be forced or far-fetched, but natural.

This Rule is violated by Armstrong, when, for the word cheese, he uses the expression, "tenacious paste of solid milk."-Metaphors must not be taken from the abstruse branches of the arts or sciences, but from the common objects of art or nature, or the general transactions and customs of mankind.

3. a. Different or mixed metaphors ought never to be joined together in the same sentence.

VIOLATIONS.-Addison, speaking of the frailty of our nature, says, "There is not a single view of human nature, which is not sufficient to extinguish the seeds of pride." A view may enable us to discover the beauty of an object, but can never be said to extinguish it."I bridle in my struggling muse with pain, That longs to launch into a bolder strain." The muse, if figured as a horse, may, indeed, be bridled; but when we speak of launching, we make it a ship; and by no force of the imagination, can it be supposed both a horse and a ship at one moment; bridled to prevent it launching!

b. When we are in doubt, whether the metaphors introduced are, or are not of the mixed kind, we should try to form a picture upon them, and consider how the parts would agree, and what sort of a figure the whole would present, when delineated with a pencil.

By this means, we become sensible, whether, as in the faulty instances just given, inconsistent circumstances are mixed, and a monstrous image thereby produced; or whether the object is presented throughout in one natural and consistent point of

view.

c. We should avoid, not only mixing metaphors, but also, crowding them together on the same object.

VIOLATION." There is a time, when factions, by the vehemence of their fermentation, stun and disable one another." In this sentence, factions are represented first, as discordant fluids, the mixture of which produces violent fermentation, and afterwards, operations and effects are imputed to them which belong only to solid bodies in motion. It would be proper to say, "There is a time, when factions maim and dismember one another by forcible collision."

4. Metaphorical and literal language must never be so intermixed, that part of the sentence must be understood figuratively and part literally.

VIOLATION." A stubborn and unconquerable flame creeps in his veins, and drinks the streams of life." The writer has been comparing a fever to a flame, and ought not to have employed any words that were not applicable to the metaphor. A flame may be supposed to creep in a man's veins, but can never be said to drink a stream.

5. a. Metaphors should not be pursued too far. When we dwell too long upon the resemblance on which the figure is founded, and carry it into all its minute circumstances, we fatigue the reader by this play of fancy, and render our discourse obscure. This is called straining a metaphor.

VIOLATION." The religious," says Hervey, "seem to lie in the bosom of the earth, as a wary pilot in some well-sheltered bark. There they enjoy safe anchorage, are in no danger of foundering among the seas of prevailing iniquity, or of being shipwrecked on the rocks of temptation. But, ere long, we shall behold them hoisting their flag of hope," &c. Such inflated language as this, serves not to instruct, but to distract.

b. Metaphors, expressed by single words, may be introduced on every occasion, from the most careless effusions of conversation, to the most passionate expressions of tragedy; and, on all these occasions, they are, perhaps, the most beautiful and significant language that can be employed. The following is an instance:

"Man!

Thou pendulum betwixt a smile and tear."

Here, the writer, under a deep impression of the varieties in the life of man, in a sudden, striking manner, calls him a pendulum, leaving it to the excited imagination of the reader to trace out the resemblance.

Extended metaphors are more circumscribed than short metaphors. They are seldom introduced with success into tragedy, and are altogether inconsistent with violent passion. They are too refined to occur in conversation, or any occasion that allows not time for recollection, and for tracing similitudes which are, at least, so remote and unexpected as to surprise and captivate. They may be properly introduced in pulpit-oratory, political writings, works of criticism, and essays. But their peculiar province is descriptive poetry and the dispassionate parts of epic.

3. An Allegory is a continuation of metaphors, and represents one subject by another which is analogous to it. The subject thus represented is not formally mentioned, but will be easily discovered by reflection.

1. EXAMPLE. The following, from the 80th Psalm, is a correct allegory, in which the Jewish nation is represented under the symbol of a vine. "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they who pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it."

2. The principal requisite in the conduct of an allegory is, that the figurative and the literal meaning be not inconsistently mixed together. Thus, if in the example just given, instead of describing the vine as wasted by the boar out of the wood and devoured by wild beasts, the Psalmist had said, that it was afflicted by heathens, or overcome by enemies, this would have destroyed the allegory, and produced the same confusion that has been remarked in those metaphors in which the figurative and the literal sense are confounded together. Indeed, the Rules which have been given with respect to metaphors may be applied to allegories. The only difference between them is, that whilst a metaphor always explains itself by the words with which it is connected, the interpretation of an allegory is not so directly pointed out, but left to our own discovery.

Allegories are the same as fables or parables, which, in ancient times, formed a favourite method of imparting instruction, and what is called the moral, is the simple meaning of the allegory.

3. An enigma or riddle is also a figure of this kind. One thing is imaged by another purposely rendered obscure by being involved in a complication of circumstanWhen a riddle is not intended, it is a fault in allegory to be too dark. The meaning should be easily seen through the figure employed to shadow it.

ces.

4. An Antithesis is the contrast or opposition between two objects, that they may be made to appear in a stronger light; as, "Temperance leads to happiness, intemperance to misery."

1. When objects are compared or contrasted, the resemblance or the opposition must be denoted, not only by the words, but by their construction. The following is a violation of this Rule; "A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy inflames his crimes." Here, the actors and objects, and not the actions, are intended to be contrasted; there should, therefore, be no variation of the word expressive of the action. The sentence should be rendered thus, "A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy his crimes."

2. In employing this figure, the form of the sentence must rise from the thought itself and not appear the result of art.-A continued succession of antitheses must also be avoided, otherwise our expressions will appear too studied and laboured, and convey an impression that greater attention has been paid to the manner of saying a thing, than to the thing itself.

5. An Allusion is a figure by which some word or phrase in a sentence recalls to our mind, either some well-known fact in history, or fable in mythology, or the sentiments of some distinguished writer.

EXAMPLE.-Burke, in his speech on the Carnatic war, makes the following allusion to the well-known fable of Cadmus's sowing dragon's teeth ;-" Every day you are fatigued and disgusted with this cant, the Carnatic is a country that will soon recover, and become instantly as prosperous as ever. They think they are talking to innocents, who believe that by the sowing of dragon's teeth, men may come up ready grown and ready made."

In all allusions it must be observed, that the subject alluded to should be readily perceived, and that its introduction will recompense us by its beauty or its utility.

6. An Hypérbole is a figure that represents things as greater or less, better or worse, than they are in reality; thus, David, speaking of Saul and Jonathan, says, "They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions."

1. Hyperbolical language is frequently the effect of passion; for, the passions, whether love, terror, amazement, indignation, anger, or grief, throw the mind into confusion, and exaggerate their objects. Hence, hyperboles generally appear in tragedy, during the tempests of passion, or in the higher kinds of poetry and oratory.

2. An hyperbole should never be used in prose in the description of any thing ordinary or familiar; and when used, it should be expressed as briefly as possible. In cases, however, of humour and drollery, hyperboles are frequently introduced purposely to magnify or degrade the subject. In poetry, also, a greater latitude may be allowed than in prose, but even here, we should be on our guard lest the figure introduced become mere bombast, as in the following ridiculous sentence from Dryden ;

"That star which at your birth shone out so bright,

It stained the duller sun's meridian light."

Dryden, when composing these lines might, perhaps, have in his mind Horace's well-known welcome to Augustus. Odes, Lib. 4. Car. 5.

"Lucem redde tuæ, Dux bone patriæ:

Instar Veris enim vultus ubi tuus

Affulsit, populo gratior it dies,
Et soles melius nitent."

7. Irony is a figure by which we express ourselves in a manner contrary to our thoughts, not with a view to deceive, but to add force to our observations. Thus, when we style a thief, "A mighty honest fellow indeed," we speak ironically.

1. This figure is generally employed in satirizing the vices and follies of mankind; for, those individuals on whose minds the soundest arguments would have no effect, are not proof against the poignancy of wit and raillery. We therefore find, that the most serious persons have, on proper occasions, had recourse to the use of this figure. Thus, the prophet Elijah, in challenging the priests of Baal to prove the truth of their deity, ironically says, "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked."

2. Sarcasm, a kind of irony, is a keen satirical expression, intended to insult and mortify a person; thus, the Jews, when they derided Christ, insultingly said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save."

8. Paralepsis or omission is a figure by which we pretend to omit what we are really desirous of enforcing; as, "Your idleness, not to mention your impertinence and dishonesty, disqualifies you for the situation."

9. A Métonymy is a figure by which we put the cause for the effect, or the effect for the cause, the container for the thing contained, the sign for the thing signified.

Thus, 1. The cause for the effect, or, the author for his works; as, "I am reading Virgil," that is, his works.-2. The effect for the cause; as, "Grey hairs should be respected;" that is, old age.-3. The container for the thing contained; as, "The

kettle boils," meaning the water; "A flourishing city," meaning the inhabitants.— 4. The sign for the thing signified; as, "He assumes the sceptre;" that is, "He assumes the sovereignty."

10. A Synecdoche or comprehension is when the whole is put for a part, or a part for the whole, a definite for an indefinite number, &c.; as, "Man returns to the dust," meaning only his body; "He earns his bread," meaning all the

necessaries of life.

In applying a synecdoche, care must be taken, that if a part is once used to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part, the same mode must be preserved throughout, in order to avoid a confusion of terms and ideas.

"The

11. Personification or Prosopopeia is that figure by which we attribute life and action to inanimate objects; as, thirsty ground;" "The angry ocean;" "The mountains saw Thee, O Lord, and they trembled."

1. In the higher species of poetry, there are two Rules necessary to be observed in the management of personification. The first Rule is, that personification should never be attempted, except when prompted by strong passion, and never continued when the passion begins to flag.-The second Rule is, that no object must be personified which has not some dignity in itself, and can make a proper figure in the elevation to which we raise it. The observance of this Rule is required, even in the lower degrees of personification; but still more so, when an address is made to the personified object. To address the corpse of a deceased friend is natural, but to address the clothes which he wore, introduces mean and degrading ideas. So, also, addressing the several parts of one's body, as if they were animated, is not congruous with the dignity of passion.

2. In prose compositions, this figure requires to be used with still greater moderation and delicacy, as the same assistance cannot be obtained for raising passion to its proper height by the force of numbers and the glow of style. Addresses to inanimate objects are not, however, excluded from prose; though they must be confined to the higher species of oratory. A public speaker may, on some occasions, very properly address religion or virtue, or his native city, or some city or province which may have suffered great calamities, or have been the scene of some memorable action. But, we must remember, that as such addresses are among the highest efforts of eloquence, they require great skill in using them with propriety. Bishop Sherlock's personification of natural religion is a fine exemplification of this figure."

"It

12. An Apostrophe is a turning off from the subject of discourse, to address some other person or thing; as, advances, and with menacing aspect slides into the heart of the city. O my country! ah! Ilium, the habitation of the gods!"

Persmification and apostrophe so nearly coincide, that they are frequently confounded. The former, however, consists in giving life to inanimate objects, and the latter in abruptly addressing objects thus animated, or persons that are dead or absent.

13. An Interrogation is used literally to ask a question; but, figuratively, it is employed, when the passions are greatly moved, to affirm or deny more strongly. Thus, "The Lord is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"