none ever did, or ever can, shoot better, or beyond it. His own reason he holds to be the certain measure of truth; and his own knowledge, of what is possible in nature." Here every thing is at once easy to the breath, grateful to the ear, and intelligible to the understanding. See another example of the same kind, in the 17th and 18th verses of the 3d chapter of the prophet Habakkuk. We may remark here, that our present version of the Holy Scriptures, especially of the Psalms, abounds with instances of an harmonious arrangement of the words and members of sentences.

In the following quotation from Tillotson, we shall become sensible of an effect very different from that of the preceding sentences. "This discourse, concerning the easiness of the Divine commands, does all along suppose and acknowledge the difficulties of the first entrance upon a religious course; except only in those persons who have had the happiness to be trained up to religion, by the easy and insensible degrees of a pious and virtuous education." Here there is some degree of harshness and unpleasantness, owing principally to this, that there is properly no more than one pause or rest in the sentence, falling betwixt the two members into which it is divided; each of which is so long as to occasion a considerable stretch of the breath in pronouncing it.

With respect to the cadence or close of a sentence, care should be taken, that it be not abrupt, or unpleasant. The following instances may be sufficient to show the propriety of some attention to this part of the rule. “Virtue, dili

gence, and industry, joined with good temper and prudence, are prosperous in general." It would be better thus; "Virtue, diligence, and industry, joined with good temper and prudence, have ever been found the surest road to prosperity." An author, speaking of the Trinity, expresses himself thus: "It is a mystery which we firmly believe the truth of, and humbly adore the depth of." How much better would it have been by this transposition: "It is a mystery, the truth of which we firmly believe, and the depth of which we humbly adore."

In order to give a sentence this proper close, the longest member of it, and the fullest words should be reserved to the conclusion. But in the distribution of the members, and in the cadence of the period, as well as in the sentences themselves, variety must be observed; for the mind soon tires with a frequent repetition of the same tone.

Though attention to the words and members, and the close of sentences, must not be neglected, yet it must also be kept within proper bounds. Sense has its own harmony; and in no instance should perspicuity, precision, or strength of sentiment, be sacrificed to sound. All unmeaning words, introduced merely to round the period, or fill up the me lody, are great blemishes in writing. They are childish and puerile ornaments, by which a sentence always loses more in point of weight, than it can gain by such additions to its sound.

CHAPTER IV.

OF FIGURES OF SPEECH.

THE FOURTH requisite of a perfect sentence, is a judicious use of the Figures of Speech.

As figurative language is to be met with in almost every sentence; and when properly employed confers beauty and strength on composition; some knowledge of it appears to be indispensable to the scholars, who are learning to form their sentences with perspicuity, accuracy, and force. We shall, therefore, enumerate the principle figures, and give them some explanation.

In general, Figures of Speech imply some departure from simplicity of expression; the idea which we mean to convey is expressed in a particular manner, and with some circumstance added, which is designed to render the impression more strong and vivid. When I say, for instance, "That a good man enjoys comfort in the midst of adver sity;" I just express my thoughts in the simplest manner possible: but when I say, " To the upright there ariseth light in darkness;" the same sentiment is expressed in a figurative style; a new circumstance is introduced; "light," is put in the place of "comfort," and "darkness" is used to suggest the idea of "adversity.' In the same manner, to say, "It is impossible, by any search we can make, to explore the Divine Nature fully," is to make a simple proposition: but when we say, "Canst thou, by searching, find out the Lord? Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? It is high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know?" this introduces a figure into style; the proposition being not only express sed, but with it admiration and astonishment.

But, though figures imply a deviation from what may be reckoned the most simple form of speech, we are not thence to conclude, that they imply any thing uncommon, or unnatural. On many occasions, they are both the most natural, and the most common method of uttering our sentiments. It would be very difficult to compose any discourse without using them often; nay, there are few sentences of considerable length, in which there does not occur some expression that may be termed a figure. This being the case, we may see the necessity of some attention, in order to understand their nature and use.

At the first rise of language, men would begin with giving names to the different objects which they discerned, or thought of. The stock of words would, then, be very small. As men's ideas multiplied, and their acquaintance with objects increased, their store of names and words would also increase. But to the vast variety of objects and ideas, no language is adequate. No language is so copious, as to have a separate word for every separate idea. Men naturally sought to abridge this labour of multiplying words without end; and, in order to lay less burden on their me mories, made one word, which they had already appropriatéd to a certain idea or object, stand also for some other idea or object, between which, and the primary one, they found, or fancied, some relation. The names of sensible objects, were the words most early introduced; and were, by degrees, extended to those mental objects, of which men had more obscure conceptions, and to which they found it more difficult to assign distinct names. They borrowed, therefore, the name of some sensible idea, where their imagination found some affinity. Thus, we speak of a piercing judgment, and a clear head; a soft or a hard heart; a rough or a smooth behaviour. We say, inflamed by anger, warmed by love, swelled with pride, melted into grief; and these are almost the only significant words which we have for such ideas. The principal advantages of figures of speech, are the two following.

ous.

First, They enrich language, and render it more copiBy their means, words and phrases are multiplied for expressing all sorts of ideas; for describing even the minutest differences; the nicest shades and colours of thought; which no language could possibly do by proper words alone, without assistance from Tropes.

Secondly, They frequently give us a much clearer and

more striking view of the principal object, than we could have if it were expressed in simple terms, and divested of its accessory idea. By a well chosen figure, even conviction is assisted, and the impression of a truth upon the mind, made more lively and forcible than it would otherwise be. We perceive this in the following illustration of Young: "When we dip too deep in pleasure, we always stir a sedi-. ment that renders it impure and noxious :" and in this instance: "A heart boiling with violent passions, will always send up infatuating fumes to the head." An image that presents so much congruity between a moral and a sensible idea, serves, like an argument from analogy, to enforce what the author asserts, and to induce belief.

Having considered the general nature of figures we proceed next to particularize such of them as are of the most importance; viz. Metaphor, Allegory, Comparison, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Personification, Apostrophe, Antithesis, Interrogation, Exclamation, and Amplification or Climax.

A Metaphor is a figure founded entirely on the resemblance which one object bears to another. Hence, it is much allied to simile or comparison, and is indeed no other than a comparison, expressed 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," it now becomes a metaphor. In the latter case, 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.

The following are examples of metaphor taken from Scripture: "I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.' "Thou art my rock and my fortress.' "Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path."

Rules to be observed in the use of metaphors.

1. Metaphors, as well as other figures, should, on no occasion, be stuck on profusely; and should always be such as accord with the strain of our sentiment. The latter part of the following passage from a late historian, is, in this respect, very exceptionable. He is giving an account of the fa mous act of parliament against irregular marriages in England. "The bill," says he, "underwent a great number of alterations and amendments, which were not effected

without violent contest. At length, however, it was floated through both houses on the tide of a great majority, and steered into the safe harbour of royal approbation."

2. Care should be taken that the resemblance which is the foundation of the metaphor, be clear and perspicuous, not far-fetched, nor difficult to discover. The transgression of this rule makes what are called harsh or forced metaphors; which are displeasing, because they puzzle the reader, and instead of illustrating the thought, render it perplexed and intricate.

3. In the third place, we should be careful, in the conduct of metaphors, never to jumble metaphorical and plain language together. An author, addressing himself to the king,

says,

To thee the world its present homage pays;

The barvest early, but mature the praise.

It is plain, that, had not the rhyme misled him to the choice of an improper phrase, he would have said,

The harvest early, but mature the crop;

and so would have continued the figure which he had begun. Whereas, by dropping it unfinished, and by employing the literal word "praise," when we were expecting something that related to the harvest, the figure is broken, and the two members of the sentence have no suitable correspondence to each other.

4. We should avoid making two inconsistent metaphors meet on one object. This is what is called mixed metaphor, and is indeed one of the greatest misapplications of this fi gure. One may be "sheltered under the patronage of a great man :" but it would be wrong to say, sheltered under the mask of dissimulation;" as a mask conceals, but does not shelter. Addison, in his letter from Italy, says,

I bridle in my struggling muse with pain,
That longs to launch into a bolder strain.

66

The muse, figured as a horse may be bridled; but when we speak of launching, we make it a ship; and, by no force of imagination, can it be supposed both a horse and a ship at one moment; bridled, to hinder it from launching.

The same author, elsewhere, says, "There is not a single view of human nature, which is not sufficient to extinguish the seeds of pride. 39 Observe the incoherence of the things here joined together; making a view extinguish, and extinguish seeds.