But again no one can deny that it is an important principle of our religious system that the virtuous and the pious should be put to the trial and that afflictions and crosses are sent by the Omnipotent to test the sta bility of their faith and practice As Job a man that "feared God and eschewed evil" was tried by visitations from on high so have the good of all ages been obliged to submit to similar probation Viewed in this light it would seem that trial is peculiarly in this world the lot of virtue the necessary preparation to be made in time by those who would enjoy a blissful eternity But those who with the poet believe that point us to the pleasures of a quiet conscience and the peace which a knowledge of the performance of duty brings with it It is admitted that these are great blessings and that without them happiness cannot exist but are they alone sufficient to make a man happy Can the quietest conscience in the universe remove the pangs of hunger alleviate the sufferings of the sick or comfort the mourner The experience of the world will answer no There are many Jobs there are many good but unhappy men To go a step further to say what is necessary to insure happiness to point to religion the hope of that which is to come as an anchor to which the soul may cling "amid a sea of trouble" would be foreign to the question In view of the arguments we have advanced in view of the striking argument furnished by our own experienco we think we may fairly conclude that "Virtue alone is" not "happiness below." LESSON LXXXII. FIGURES.SIMILE. [The pupil is now familiar with the principal kinds of composition. All that remains to complete the course, is one or two lessons on the principal figures.] WHEN We say, "Saladdin was a fox in the council, a lion in the field," do we mean that he actually became at one time a fox, and at another a lion? No; we mean that he was cunning in laying plans, and bold in executing them. When language is used in this way to represent not the ideas which the words really express, but some thought that is analogous or has some resemblance to them, how is it said to be used? Figuratively. What are the principal figures? Simile, Metaphor, and Personification. What is simile? Simile is a figure by which we liken one thing to another. Give an example. “Good nature, like the sun, sheds a light on all around." In making similes, what must we observe? That the objects compared have a resemblance. What words are used to introduce similes? Like and as. For what two purposes are similes used? I. For illustrating or explaining the meaning, such similes are called explaining similes. II. For embellishing the style; they are then called embellishing similes. What rules are to be observed in using similes ? I. Objects that are little known should be compared to things that are better known. II. Objects should be likened to other objects which possess the quality in which they' resemble each other in a higher degree than themselves; thus, in the sentence, "The moon is like a jewel in the sky," the simile is bad, because the moon sheds more light than a jewel, and should not be compared to it. EXERCISE. Complete the following sentences by introducing a simile wherever a dash occurs. Remember that similes are introduced by the words like and as. EXAMPLE. Temptations, beset him on every side. Completed. Temptations, like so many snares, beset him or every side. 1. He who is a traitor to his country is which turns to bite the bosom that warms it. 2. Richelieu upheld the state the weight of a whole edifice. which supports 7. A virtuous man slandered by his enemies, is 8. She was as unsuspicious hand just raised to shed its blood." 9. She mourns which has lost its mate. 10. Sorrow shades the soul, as a cloud 11. He is as firm above the billows. 12. Man is which rears its head unmoved which to day springeth up and bloom eth, and to-morrow withereth away. 13. Shakspeare tells us that Desdemona's skin was as Metaphor is a comparison in which the words denoting the similitude are omitted; as, "Good nature is a sun which sheds light on all around." How may a simile be converted into a metaphor ? By omitting the word like or as, and slightly altering the construction of the sentence, as may be required by this omission. Give an example. "Vice like a Siren, sings her songs in the ears of youth," here we have a simile. By omitting like, and slightly altering the sentence, we convert the simile into a metaphor; thus, "Vice is a Siren that sings her songs in the ears of youth." What is essential to the effect of a metaphor ? That the resemblance between the objects compared should be evident. Is it well to crowd a number of metaphors together into a small compass? It is not; they lose their effect, when used in too great abundance. What is the most important rule relating to the use of metaphors ? Always carry out the figure; that is after having introduced a metaphor, do not in the same sentence return to the use of plain language. Give an example in which this rule is violated. Pope, in his translation of Homer's Odyssey, makes Penelope, when speaking of her son, say, "Now from my fond embrace by tempests torn, Our other column of the state is borne, Nor took a kind adieu, nor sought consent." In the second line she calls her son a "column of the state,” and in the third speaks of his taking a kind adieu, and seeking consent. Now as columns are not in the habit of taking kind adieus, or seeking consent, there is an inconsistency, and the metaphor is faulty. The poet should either not have likened him to a column, or else should have assigned to him no action that a column cannot perform. How may such metaphors be corrected? By assigning to the leading object an action not incompatible with the object to which it is compared. Give an example. "A torrent of superstition consumed the land," here |