Till, left quite naked of their happiness, In the chill blasts of winter they expire: YOUNG. Expiring in the chill blasts of winter, from want of protection to the body, is here put for dying under storms of mental sorrow, from want of intellectual or spiritual supports. "Examine well His milk-white hand. The palm is hardly clean; Foh! 't was a bribe that left it. He has touched CowPER. A stain of the hand, by the touch of a polluting object, is put for the defilement of the mind by a guilty action. "Self-flattered, unexperienced, high in hope, When young, with sanguine cheer, and streamers gay, We cut our cable, launch into the world, And fondly dream each wind and star our friend." YOUNG. Cutting a cable, and launching into the world with streamers gay, acts that are peculiar to mari ners, are put for entering on the active pursuits of life in a bold and sanguine expectation of success. The figure is very frequently employed in narratives, letters, and conversation; and our language owes to it many of its most pointed and emphatic expressions. Thus one who falsely assumes that others, who have an interest in the measures he is pursuing, will give him their sanction and support, is said to reckon without his host. A person who gives an exorbitant price for a trifle, or labors hard to gain an object that yields him little benefit, is said to pay dear for his whistle. A person who, having engaged in an undertaking that proves to be more difficult than he had expected, and likely to issue in disaster, regrets that he had attempted it, is said to count the cost too late. Persons who take precautions against a misfortune after it has befallen them, are said to lock the stable after the horse has been stolen. When one's affairs are disastrous, it is said to be ebb tide with him; when he is successful, he is said to have a flood tide. A man who meets great difficulties and dangers in the conduct of an undertaking, especially from rivals and antagonists, is said to have a head wind, and a tempestuous time; and one who encounters no obstacles, but is favored by events in the management of his business, is said to have a clear coast, a favoring tide, and a fair wind. Those who are sanguine of success, and elated with the prospect of happiness, are said to see fair weather ahead; while those who are habitually distrustful, and anticipate evil, are said always to have a storm brewing, or the future is always dark to them. When it is necessary for a person to make a skilful and strenuous effort to accomplish an object, it is said he must put his best foot foremost. When a person has nearly reached the end of life, it is said of him: he has nearly got through his journey; he is nearing his port; he is to meet but one tempest more. A person who is engaged in an undertaking of great difficulty and responsibility, is said to have a great load to carry; one whose pursuits involve little risk, and require only slight exertion, is said to have but a light burden. A person who adopts the principles and theories of another, and makes them the rule of his conduct, is said to sail by that man's chart; to take his latitude and longitude from him; and to follow his reckoning. Thus a late chief magistrate of the United States, in announcing that he should adhere to the financial policy of the president who preceded him, said he "should walk in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor." In all these examples, an act of one kind is used. in the place of another, and the resemblance that subsists between them is not one of nature, but only of condition; such as, ease or difficulty, prosperity or adversity; or of the effects they occasion, such as, relief or perplexity, elation or depression, advantage or disadvantage. What is a hypocatastasis? How does it differ from a comparison? How from a metaphor? To which class of figures does it belong; or what is it that is used by the figure-words or things? Which part of the proposition is it in which it is used? Give an example. How is the nominative of the figure, or name of the agent that exerts the act it expresses, employed? Are the acts and conditions which it ascribes to its agent such as are proper to him or not? Give an example. How does it differ in that respect from the metaphor? Give an example. What is the peculiarity of the resemblance which it expresses? Is the figure recognised by writers on rhetoric? Does it occur more frequently in the sacred than in other writings? Which is the most impressive and grand of the examples quoted in this chapter from the Scriptures! LESSONS. In Isaiah x. 17–19, quoted above, in which the figure is used, there are three nouns and two verbs used metaphorically. Which are they? In Isaiah xxxvii. 21-24, quoted above, there is a hypocatastasis besides that in the language ascribed to the king of Assyria. There is also a metaphor in the interrogatory addressed to him. Point them out. There are two verbs used metaphorically (Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8), quoted above, in which the figure is employed. Which are they? There are two metaphors in the interrogatory (Is. xl. 14). Point them out. How many comparisons are there in verses 15-18 that follow? The figure is used Psalm i. 1. How many times, and in what expressions? How often is it used in Psalm ii. ? Is the figure used in the following passage (Joel iii. 12, 13), which relates to the destruction of God's enemies? If so, how many times? Is there any other figure in it? If so, what? "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; Come, get you down, for the vats overflow; For their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." There are in the following passage six hypocatastases, six nouns used metaphorically, and one comparison. Which are they? "How should one chase a thousand, For their rock is not as our Rock; Even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah; |