th each other, a
resemblance in the language and construction should be observed_.

* * * * *

FIGURES OF SPEECH.

Figures of Speech may be described as that language which is prompted
either by the imagination, or by the passions. They generally imply some
departure from simplicity of expression; and exhibit ideas in a manner
more vivid and impressive, than could be done by plain language. Figures
have been commonly divided into two great classes; Figures of _Words_,
and Figures of _Thought_.

Figures of Words are called _Tropes_, and consist in a word's being
employed to signify something that is different from its original
meaning; so that by altering the word, we destroy the figure.

When we say of a person, that he has a fine _taste_ in wines, the word
taste is used in its common, literal sense; but when we say, he has a
fine _taste_ for painting, poetry, or music, we use the word
figuratively. "A good man enjoys comfort in the midst of adversity," is
simple language; but when it is said, "To the upright there ariseth
_light_ in _darkness_," the same sentiment is expressed in a figurative
style, _light_ is put in the place of _comfort_, and _darkness_ is used
to suggest the idea of _adversity_.

The following are the most important figures:

1. A METAPHOR is founded on the resemblance which one object bears to
another; or, it is a comparison in an abridged form.

When I say of some great minister, "That he upholds the state like a
_pillar_ which supports the weight of a whole edifice," I fairly make a
comparison; but when I say of such a minister, "That he is the _pillar_
of the state," the word pillar becomes a metaphor. In the latter
construction, the comparison between the minister and a pillar, is made
in the mind; but it is expressed without any of the words that denote
comparison.

Metaphors abound in all writings. In the scriptures they may be found in
vast variety. Thus, our blessed Lord is called a vine, a lamb, a lion,
&c.; and men, according to their different dispositions, are styled
wolves, sheep, dogs, serpents, vipers, &c.

Washington Irving, in speaking of the degraded state of the American
Aborigines who linger on the borders of the "white settlements," employs
the following beautiful metaphor: "The proud _pillar_ of their
independence has been shaken down, and the whole moral _fabric_ lies in
ruins."

2. AN ALLEGORY may be regarded as a metaphor continu