no rank, that none may be disputed to him. The forward he can repel, the supercilious he can subdue; pretensions of wealth and ancestry are of no avail with him; there is a fire in that dark eye under which the 'insolence of condescension" cannot thrive. In his abasement, in his extreme need, he forgets not for a moment the majesty of poetry and manhood."CARLYLE. $97. COMPARISON AS AN ORNAMENT. All figures tend, in the first place, to embellishment; and also contribute to enliven style, either by making it more vivacious, or by throwing additional light upon the subject with which they are connected. It will give a clearer view of the true nature of comparison if we consider its effects; first, in the way of ornament; and, secondly, in the way of explanation or illustration. 1. When comparison is used as an ornament. This is very apparent in poetry, and also in belles-lettres. Even here, however, the ornament is associated with illustration, and seldom or never exists by itself alone. The ornamental character of the figure may be perhaps more prominent, and the mind may be so taken up with the beauty of the imagery that it does not perceive its force. This is illustrated by Shelley's ode to the Skylark: "Like a poet hidden In the light of thought, To sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not: Like a high-born maiden In a palace tower, Soul in secret hour With music sweet as love, which overflows her bower: Like a glow-worm golden In a dell of dew, Scattering unbeholden Its aerial hue Among the flowers and grass which screen it from the view: Like a rose embowered In its own green leaves, Till the scent it gives Makes faint with too much sweet these heavy-winged thieves. Sounds of vernal showers On the twinkling grass, All that ever was Joyous and clear and fresh, thy music doth surpass." Here the poet, in his high enthusiasm, seems to exhaust himself in search of fitting subjects of comparison. Each one as it comes is made use of, but each one is hurriedly dismissed, in order to present another; and the rich and varied imagery never fails to respond to the sustained elevation of this perfect song. § 98. COMPARISON USED FOR EXPLANATION AND ILLUSTRATION. 2. Where comparison is used for purposes of explanation and illustration. This is apparent in poetry and belles-lettres when it is used for embellishment; but it is more clearly conspicuous in writings which do not admit of much ornament, such as those which are devoted to purposes of instruction. The use of comparison in scientific and didactic composition gives to this figure a practical character which is possessed by no other to an equal degree. In the following example there will be perceived a clear explanation, by comparison, of the author's view, which could not be so well given in any other way: ces; "Women are less capable than men of perceiving qualifying circumstanof admitting the existence of elements of good in systems to which they are opposed; of distinguishing the personal character of an opponent from the opinions he maintains. Men lean most to justice, and women to mercy. Men are most addicted to intemperance and brutality; women to frivolity and jealousy. Men excel in energy, self-reliance, perseverance, and magnanimity; women in humility, gentleness, modesty, and endurance. The realizing imagination which causes us to pity and to love is more sensitive in women than in men; and it is especially more capable of dwelling on the unseen. Their religious or devotional realizations are incontestably more vivid; and it is probable that, while a father is most moved by the death of a child in his presence, a mother generally feels most the death of a child in some distant land. But, though more intense, the sympathies of women are commonly less wide than those of men.”—W. E. H. LECKY. $99. FAULTS IN THE USE OF COMPARISON. A figure like comparison, which is so universally employed, is liable to many abuses, the chief of which it may be well to note. 1. Where the comparison is made between things which have a resemblance that is too familiar to the mind. A large number of similitudes are familiar to all; for instance, the resemblance of a brave man to a lion; a cunning man to a fox; a cruel man to a tiger or a hyena; time to a river; eternity to an ocean; life to day, and death to night; of man to strength, and woman to beauty. All these comparisons have been used over and over again since the origin of literature, and from frequent repetition have become so worn out that they cease to be either ornamental or useful. 2. Where the resemblance is not easily apparent or difficult to discover. In such a case the comparison seems far-fetched, and offends the taste as too artificial, while it conveys no adequate idea to the mind. 3. Where the comparison refers to something which is unknown or unfamiliar. Here it has no effect, for it is unintelligible. To an ordinary mind some of Milton's comparisons might seem faulty in this respect, and the only answer to this objection is that his works were written for those who have sufficient learning to appreciate them. Yet, on account of the learning which is necessary to a full comprehension of some of his best passages, Milton's works will never be popular in the sense in which those of Shakespeare are popular, or Burns, or even Pope, Addison, and Cowper. 4. Where the comparison is made with anything that is lower than the subject. By this the subject is degraded, and the effect is spoiled. Of course, where there is a deliberate intention to depreciate, the case is different; and this can only refer to serious composition where there is no such purpose. § 100. METAPHOR. A metaphor is an implied comparison. In comparison the resemblance between two things is formally expressed, as, for example, "He is as brave as a lion." In metaphor the sign of comparison is dropped, the two are identified, and the one is asserted to be the other, as, "He is a lion." Hence metaphor is attended with a higher degree of animation, and involves a bolder effort of the imagination. Metaphors have had various classifications, but the bestknown is that of Quintilian, which is as follows: 1. Where one living thing is put for another. 2. Where one inanimate thing is put for another. 3. Where inanimate things are put for things having life. 4. Where inanimate things are represented as endowed with life. SIOI. WHERE ONE LIVING THING IS PUT FOR ANOTHER. 1. Where one living thing is put for another : "His rustic friend, his nut-brown maiden, are no longer mean and homely, but a hero and a queen, whom he prizes as the paragons of earth."CARLYLE. "Nor second he that rode sublime, Upon the seraph wings of ecstasy, He passed the flaming bounds of place and time; Where angels tremble while they gaze, He saw; but, blasted with excess of light, Closed his eyes in endless night.”—GRAY. In this passage Milton is represented as riding upon "seraph wings;" that is as if in emulation of Deity, for this passage contains an allusion to Milton's words "He on the wings of seraph rode sublime, On the crystalline sky." It is as though in his enthusiasm the poet has represented Milton as a god. § 102. WHERE ONE INANIMATE THING IS PUT FOR ANOTHER. 2. Where one inanimate thing is put for another : "An Englishman's house is his castle." Sundays the pillars are On which heaven's palace arched lies. In God's rich garden; that is bare Which parts their ranks and orders."-GEO. HERBERT. Sundays are here called "pillars," and afterwards "beds and borders," while the other days of the week are spoken of as "vanities" and "bare spaces." § 103. WHERE INANIMATE THINGS ARE PUT FOR THINGS HAV ING LIFE. 3. Where inanimate things are put for things having life : Kaled, the "Sword of God." "Stonewall" Jackson. "A true poet soul, for it needs but to be struck, and the sound it yields will be music."-CARLYLE. In this passage the soul of Burns is represented as a musical instrument. § 104. WHERE INANIMATE THINGS ARE REPRESENTED AS EN DOWED WITH LIFE. 5. Where inanimate things are represented as endowed with life. This is identical with personification in its lower grades (see Personification). A hard heart. The thirsty ground. "Now upon Syria's land of roses, Whose head in wintry grandeur towers, While summer, in a vale of flowers, Is sleeping rosy at his feet."-T. MOORE. The light of eve is here represented as endowed with life, and reposing, while summer also is sleeping. $105. METAPHOR USED AS AN ORNAMENT. Metaphor, like comparison, has widely varied effects; and it is from the observation of these that it may best be appreciated. There are three chief applications of this figure, which will present sufficient matter for consideration. These are, first, when it is applied to ornament; secondly, to illustration; and, thirdly, to emphasis. 1. Ornament. Such is the great beauty of metaphor, and so large is its application to purposes of embellishment, that to the ordinary observer it seems to belong altogether to ornament. We shall |