LECT. XIII. Or, -Namque ipfa decoram Cæfariem nato genetrix, lumenque juventæ ÆÆN. I. Devenêre locos lætos & amæna vireta, ÆN. VI. Brisk and lively fenfations exact quicker and more animated numbers. -Juvenum manus emicat ardens Littus in Hefperium. EN. VII. Melancholy and gloomy fubjects naturally In thofe deep folitudes and awful cells, I HAVE NOW given fufficient openings into this subject: a moderate acquaintance with the good poets, either antient or modern, will fuggeft many inftances of the fame kind, And with this, I finish the difcuffion of the Structure of Sentences; having fully con fidered them under all the heads I mentioned; of Perfpicuity, Unity, Strength, and Musical Arrangement. LECTURE XIV. ORIGIN AND NATURE OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. HA XIV. AVING now finished what related to LECT. the conftruction of Sentences, I proceed to other rules concerning Style. My general divifion of the qualities of Style, was into Perfpicuity and Ornament. Perfpicuity, both in fingle words and in fentences, I have confidered. Ornament, as far as it arifes from a graceful, ftrong, or melodious conftruction of words, has also been treated of. Another, and a great branch of the ornament of Style, is, Figurative Language; which is now to bę the subject of our confideration, and will require a full discussion. OUR first enquiry must be, What is meant by Figures of Speech * ? IN On the fubject of Figures of Speech, all the writers who treat of rhetoric or compofition, have infifted largely. In general, they always imply fome departure from fimplicity of expreffion; the idea which we intend to convey, not only enunciated to others, but enunciated in a particular manner, and with fome circumftance added, which is defigned to render the impresfion more strong and vivid. When I say, for inftance, "That a good man enjoys comfort "in the midst of adverfity;" I just exprefs my thought in the fimpleft manner poffible. But when I fay," To the upright there ariseth "light in darkness;" the fame fentiment is expreffed in a figurative Style; a new circumftance is introduced; light is put in the place of comfort, and darkness is used to suggest the idea of adverfity. In the fame manner, to fay, "It is impoffible, by any fearch we can "make, to explore the divine nature fully," is to make a fimple propofition. But when we fay, "Canft thou, by fearching, find out "God? Canft thou find out the Almighty to "perfection? It is high as Heaven, what "canft thou do? deeper than Hell, what To make references, therefore, on this fubject, were endlefs. On the foundations of Figurative Language, in ge neral, one of the most fenfible and inftructive writers appears to me to be M. Marfais, in his Traité des Tropes pour fervir d' Introduction à la Rhetorique, & à la Logique. For obfervations on particular Figures, the Elements of Criticifm may be confulted, where the fubject is fully handled, and illuftrated by a great variety of examples. " canft XIV. "canft thou know?" This introduces a Figure LECT. into Style; the propofition being not only expreffed, but admiration and astonishment being expreffed together with it. BUT, though Figures imply a deviation from what may be reckoned the most fimple form of Speech, we are not thence to conclude, that they imply any thing uncommon, or unnatural. This is fo far from being the case, that, on very many occafions, they are both the most natural, and the most common method of uttering our fentiments. It is impoffible to compofe any difcourfe without ufing them often; nay, there are few Sentences of any length, in which fome expreffion or other, that may be termed a Figure, does not occur. From what caufes this happens, shall be afterwards explained. The fact, in the mean time, fhows, that they are to be accounted part of that Language which nature dictates to men. They are not the invention of the schools, nor the mere product of study: on the contrary, the most illiterate speak in Figures, as often as the moft learned. Whenever the imaginations of the vulgar are much awakened, or their paffions inflamed against one another, they will pour forth a torrent of Figurative Language, as forcible as could be employed by the most artificial declaimer. LECT. XIV. WHAT then is it, which has drawn the attention of critics and rhetoricians fo much to thefe forms of Speech? It is this: They remarked, that in them confifts much of the beauty and the force of Language; and found them always to bear fome characters, or diftinguishing marks, by the help of which they could reduce them under feparate claffes and heads. To this, perhaps, they owe their name of Figures. As the figure, or shape of one body, diftinguishes it from another, fo thefe forms of Speech have, each of them, a cast or turn peculiar to itself, which both diftinguishes it from the reft, and distinguishes it from Simple Expreffion. Simple Expreffion juft makes our idea known to others; but Figurative Language, over and above, bestows a particular drefs upon that idea; a drefs, which both makes it be remarked, and adorns it. Hence, this fort of Language became early a capital object of attention to those who studied the powers of Speech. FIGURES, in general, may be described to be that Language, which is prompted either by the imagination, or by the paffions. The juftnefs of this defcription will appear, from the more particular account I am afterwards to give of them. Rhetoricians commonly divide them into two great claffes; Figures of Words, 4 |