al officers; a pen, for literature. "The pen is mightier than the sword." (2.) The Container for the Thing contained.-"The country is jealous of the city." "The army yielded, but the navy resisted." "The mountains may fail, but the prairies will pour out their wealth." (3.) A Cause may be put for an Effect, and an Effect for a Cause." The savage desolation of war." The cause of the desolation is a savage spirit: here it is transferred to the effect. In an opposite transference, we may speak of pale death, joyful health, a proud testimony. This is sometimes called the transferred epithet. (4.) A Man may be named for his Works.—Thus we speak of "Shakspeare," meaning his writings, " Blackstone," meaning his work on law. This is akin to personification, to be described hereafter. Notice the tropes italicized in the following sen tences: "Ye grand inventions of ancient bards! ye gay creations of modern fancy! ye bright visions! ye fervid and impassioned thoughts! serve ye all for no better purpose than the pastime of a single hour? Ah! not so; not so. It is yours to stir to the bottom the dull and stagnant soul. Ye can carry man out of himself, and make him feel his kindred with his whole race. Ye can teach him to look beyond external nature for enjoyment. Ye rouse him from the deep lethargy of sense, raise him above the worthless thing we are, and reveal to him his capacity for purer purposes, and a nobler state of being." Comparisons and Metaphors are nearly akin to Tropes, and, after their examination, further directions upon the use of them all will be given. COMPARISONS. 87 CHAPTER II. COMPARISONS. 13. The Foundation of Comparisons.—THE first result of careful thought is the classification of objects according to their common nature, and learning the meaning of those words called common nouns. The child arrives at this knowledge gradually, and for a time is inclined to call all men "father," and if he happens to have become acquainted first with a horse, to call all quadrupeds "horse." As knowledge increases, classification becomes more minute. Thus man is divided into Caucasian, Malayan, African. By an exercise of the same kind, the mind takes notice of the differences of individuals that can not be classified together, and of the similarities of individuals in some respects, that are yet so different in other respects that they can not be classified together. When the attention is called to two objects that are both alike in some particular, and unlike in others, and the likeness is pointed out, a comparison is made. 14. Definition.-Comparison is the likening of one object to another, from which it also differs in so many other qualities to which the attention is not directed, that it can not properly be said to belong to the same class. 15. Comparisons used to convey Information.—The first object of comparisons is to convey information. Thus: "Aluminum is a metal with a lustre like that of silver and platinum." This describes the appearance of aluminum to one who knows the appearance of silver and platinum. "The soldiers stood like statues, unmoved by the cannons' roar." This simply describes the steady, unmoved position of the soldiers. Nearly all speakers whose object is to impart information make frequent use of comparisons. This figure of speech, as it is sometimes called, though in reality it is not a figure, but a simple statement of a similarity, is the most common of all modes of illustration, and every writer and speaker should study its nature and power. We give a few specimens of illustrative comparisons, to show the beauty and impressiveness of this kind of illustration. How sublime the thought in Derzhavin's address to the Deity: "Yes, in my spirit doth thy Spirit shine, As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew." It will be observed that comparisons are often made without the use of such terms as like, so, as, or any other terms to call attention to them as comparisons. It is easy, however, to see that a comparison of two or more objects is made. "Before the curing of a strong disease, Even in the instance of repair and health, The fit is strongest; *** Evils that take leave, On their departure most of all show evil." "As seeds lie dormant in the earth for hundreds of years, and then when brought to the influence of air and light, exhibit their vitality, USE OF COMPARISONS. 89 so the germ of the soul may lie concealed and undeveloped during the whole term of human life." "The secret which the murderer possesses soon comes to possess him; and like the evil spirits of which we read, it overcomes him, and leads him whithersoever it will." Sometimes it is necessary to explain to some extent the nature of the object with which the comparison is made. The following from Rev. Dr. Caird is impressive, but expressed in too many words: "Just as in winter the cold may become so intense as to freeze the thermometer, and thereby to leave you without the means of marking the subsequent increases of cold, so there is a point in the lowered temperature of the inward consciousness where the growing coldness, hardness, selfishness of a man's nature can no longer be noted-the mechanism by which moral variations are indicated becoming itself insensible and motionless." The following from Macaulay, in a plea for thorough study, is a comparison which required to be preceded by an explanation, the interest of which justifies it's length: "Rumford, it is said, proposed to the Elector of Bavaria a scheme for feeding his soldiers at a much cheaper rate than formerly. His plan was simply to compel them to masticate their food thoroughly. A small quantity thus eaten would, according to that famous projector, afford more sustenance than a large meal hastily devoured. I do not know how Rumford's proposition was received; but to the mind, I believe, it will be found more nutritious to digest a page than to devour a volume." Comparisons between objects entirely different in their nature often please the mind and aid the memory, as in the instance: "There is something grateful in any positive opinion, though in many points wrong, as even weeds are useful that grow on a bank of sand.” 16. Elevating Comparisons, and the Opposite.-Com parisons are also used to elevate our estimation of an object, or to degrade it. Byron, describing Henry Kirke White as losing his life by excessive study, uses a comparison that gives an exalted conception of his character: "Oh, what a noble heart was here undone, Comparisons used to degrade are a very efficient weapon with which to attack error and folly. "X- would be a powerful preacher if he did not drown his thought in a Dead Sea of words. You don't want a drove of oxen to drag a cart-load of potatoes on a smooth road." "Skepticism in an honest and thoughtful young man is like the chicken-pox-very apt to come, but not dangerous, and soon over, leaving both complexion and constitution as good as ever.' "To consort with such company is like playing with pitch; defilement is sure to follow." Pope, wishing to undervalue man's power to understand God or his works, wrote: "Superior beings, when of late they saw 17. Comparisons Designed simply to Interest.—Comparisons are used simply to interest and please. |