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The generous purpose in the glowing breast.
Oh, speak the joy! yé, whom the sudden teár
Surprises óften, while you look around,

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And nothing strikes your eye but sights of bliss,
All various Nature pressing on the heart;
An elegant sufficiency, contènt,

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Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books,
Eáse and alternate làbor, useful life,
Progréssive vírtue, and appròving Heaven.
Thése are the matchless joys of virtuous lòve,
And thus their moments fly. The seasons thús,
As ceaseless round a jarring world they róll,
Still find them happy, and consénting spring |
Sheds her own rosy gárland on their heads:
Till évening comes at last, serene and mild :
Whén, after the long vernal day of life,
Enamored more | as more remembrance swélls '
With many a proof of recollected love,

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Together down they sink in social sleep;
Together fréed, their gentle spirits fly |

To scenes where love and blíss immortal reign.

LESSON XVIII.

EXAMINATION ON FIGURES OF SPEECH AND POETIC LICENSE.

Teacher.-What is a figure of speech?

A.-A mode of speaking, in which a word or sentence is to be understood in a sense different from its most literal meaning.

T-Explain the figure called Personification.

B. It is a figure by which we ascribe personality and intelligence to unintelligent beings or abstract qualities; as, "The sea saw it, and fled." "The Worm,

aware of his intent, harangued him thus right eloquent." T-What is a Simile?

C-A figure by which we express the resemblance of one thing to another, and generally introduce it by like, as, or so; e. g.:

"Man, like the generous vine, supported lives; The strength he gains is from the embrace he gives." "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters." T-What is a Metaphor ?

D.-It is a Simile without the sign of likeness or comparison; as, "He shall be a tree planted by the rivers of water."-"His eye was morning's brightest ray."

T-What is an Allegory?

E-A continuation of several Metaphors, so connected in sense as to form a kind of parable; as in the 80th Psalm: "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:" meaning the Israelites. Most of the similitudes in the Scriptures called parables, and the better sort of fables, may be considered Allegories.

T-What is a Hyperbole ?

F-An extravagant exaggeration; or a figure that

represents things as greater or less, better or worse than they really are as when David says of Saul and Jonathan, "They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions,"

T-What is Irony?

G. That figure by which the speaker says one thing and means another directly contrary; or in which he sneeringly utters the direct reverse of what he intends shall be understood: e. g., 1 Kings, xviii. 27.—“ And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, 'Cry aloud; for he is a god either he is tálking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked !'”—

T—What is Metonymy?

H-A change of names; in which the cause is named for the effect, the effect for the cause; the subject for the adjunct, the place for the inhabitant, the container for the thing contained, and the sign for the thing signified; as, "He reads Milton;" that is, his works." God is our salvation;" that is, Saviour." He was the sigh of her secret soul;" that is, the youth she loved. "My son, give me thy heart;" that is, affection."The sceptre shall not depart from Judah ;" that is, kingly power." Gray hairs shall be respected;" that is, old age."Swifter than a whirlwind, flies the leaden death."

T-What is Synecdoche ?

I. It is the naming of a part for the whole, a definite number for an indefinite; as, the head for the person, ten thousand for any great number; "This roof protects you;" that is, this house protects you.—

Blossoms, and fruits, and flowers together rise,
And the whole year in gay confusion lies.

Here, in describing Italy, the poet uses "whole year" for the productions of the year.

T-What is Antithesis?

J.-Antithesis, or contrast, is a figure in which different or contrary objects are contrasted to make them show one another to advantage; as, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion." T-What is a Climax, and an Anti-Climax ?

K.—A Climax is a figure in which we rise by regular steps to what is more important and interesting, so as to heighten all the circumstances of an object or action, which we wish to place in a strong light; e. g., "And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity." An Anti-climax is a figure in which we descend to what is more and more minute. T-What is Apostrophe ?

L.—It is a turning off from the subject to address some other person or thing; as, "Death is swallowed up in victory: 0 Death! where is thy sting? O Grave! where is thy victory?"

T-What is the figure Interrogation ?

A.-Interrogation, when it is a figure, is a form of interrogative which the speaker adopts, not to express a doubt, but confidently to assert the reverse of what is asked; as, Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou

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thunder with a voice like him?"-"He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?"

T-What is the figure Exclamation ?

B.—Exclamation, when a figure, is an outburst of some deep and violent emotion; as, "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!" -"O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!"

T-What is Vision, or Imagery?

C.-It is a figure by which the speaker represents the objects of his imagination as actually before his eyes; as, in Cicero's fourth oration against Catiline: "For I behold this city, the light of the universe, and the citadel of all nations, suddenly involved in flames. I figure to myself my country in ruins, and the miserable bodies of slaughtered citizens, lying in heaps without burial. The image of Cethégus furiously revelling in your blood, is now before my eyes."

T-Can any one tell what other general name is given to some of these figures?

G. When words are used to signify something different from their original meaning, they are called Tropes. In that case, if the word be changed, the figure is destroyed e. g., "light ariseth to the upright in darkness." Here the Trope consists in "light and darkness" not being taken literally, but substituted for comfort in adversity; to which conditions of life they are supposed to bear some resemblance. Without a figure it would be, "comfort ariseth to the upright in adversity.”

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