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For the divine Deliverer

Will on his march in majesty appear,

1

And needs the aid of no confed'rate pow'r *.

"There is yet one evil more, fays the Specta"tor, which I must take notice of, and that is "the running of Metaphors into tedious Allé«gories. This becomes abominable when the luftre of one word leads a Writer out of his

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road, and makes him wander from his subject "for a page together +." Excellent is the direction of CICERO, "that in all things we should "consider how far we may go; for although there "is a measure to every thing, yet excefs offends "more than defect ." The moment we begin to sport with a Metaphor, and needlessly extend it, nature's grand and striking energy and beauties vanish, and art appears weak and enervate art, and rather produces difguft than entertain

ment.

How much better had it been for that Preacher to have kept himself to the idea of a fun of righteoufnefs, to which the Saviour of the world is compared, Mal. iv. 2. and fhewn in what respects the natural fun might afford a resemblance of him, than to have lanched out into that learned, trifling, and impertinent superfluity of Metaphor, which is afcribed to him when he is represented as faying, "that CHRIST was a mercy truly zo

Vol. vi. p. 192, 193.

+ Specator, Vol. viii. No 595.

«diacal;

In omnibus rebus videndum eft quatenus. Etfi enim faus cuique modus eft, tamen magis offendit nimium quam parum.

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ne divine Deliverer

on his march in majefty appear,

needs the aid of no confed'rate pow'r *. There is yet one evil more, fays the Specta, which I must take notice of, and that is e running of Metaphors into tedious Alléries. This becomes abominable when the tre of one word leads a Writer out of his ad, and makes him wander from his fubject or a page together +." Excellent is the diion of CICERO, "that in all things we should consider how far we may go; for although there is a measure to every thing, yet excess offends more than defect 1." The moment we begin fport with a Metaphor, and needlessly extend nature's grand and striking energy and beaus vanish, and art appears weak and enervate , and rather produces difguft than entertain

ent.

How much better had it been for that Preacher have kept himself to the idea of a fun of righufness, to which the Saviour of the world is mpared, Mal. iv. 2. and fhewn in what refpects e natural fun might afford a resemblance of im, than to have lanched out into that learned, ifling, and impertinent fuperfluity of Metaphor, hich is afcribed to him when he is represented 3 faying, "that CHRIST was a mercy truly zo

* Vol. vi. p. 192, 193.

+ Spellator, Vol. viii. N° 595.

"diacal;

In omnibus rebus videndum eft quatenus. Etfi enim fuus que modus eft, tamen magis offendit nimium quam parum.

66

"diacal; for CHRIST always keeps within the tropics: He goes not out of the pale of the "Church, but yet he is not always at the fame "diftance from a true Christian; fometimes he "withdraws himself into the apogeum of doubt, "forrow and defpair, but then he comes again "into the perigeum of joy, content, and assur"ance; but as for Heathens and Unbelievers, "they are all artic and antartic reprobates?"

$15. It may be a very proper caution that we should not interpret Metaphors in such a manner, as if all the affections and properties of the things expressed by them might be afcribed to thofe things to which they are applied; or, in other words, we should not strain a Comparison, which has usually but one particular view, in order to make it agree in other refpects, where it is evident there is not a similitude of ideas. CICERO calls MARK ANTONY the torch of the ftate *. The resemblance intended by CICERO between ANTONY and a torch lay in this; that as a torch burns and destroys every thing within its reach, fo ANTONY spread devaftation and ruin through the Roman commonwealth. Was any perfon from hence to infer, that because a torch enlightens as well as burns, that therefore CICERO designed this Metaphor as a compliment to ANTONY, he could not more grofsly abuse and wrest the Orator's meaning. It is said, Ifaiah

xl.

Sed quæ provincia eft, ex qua illa fax excitare non poffet

. incendium. Phil. 7. §.

xl. 6. that "all flesh is grafs; that is, all mankind are liable to wither and decay, and will wither and decay like the grafs: but this Metaphor would be tortured to a meaning, which, as it is foolish and abfurd, we may be fure was never intended by the infpired Writer, if we were to fay, that mankind were like the grafs, or were grafs in colour or fhape. What wild, and indeed wicked abufe, would be made of the Scripture expressions concerning our LORD *, "that he will come as a thief," if we were not to confine the fense to the fuddenness and surprisal of the thief, but should extend it to the temper and designs of the villain that breaks open houses in the night?

t

A Minister, fpeaking on the one side of the unfuitableness of sinners to the holy enjoyments of Heaven, could it be supposed that they were admitted there, and, on the other hand, of the fitness of the truly pious for the fruitions of the celestial state, compared the minds of sinners and the celestial happiness to water and fire which could not be united, while he refembled the temper of the pious to wood and fire which easily mingle together, and at length fo intirely, that the first is totally penetrated and possessed by the laft. After the Minister had ended his discourse, one of his audience objected against the comparifon as not juft, because wood was confumed by fire; whereas the fole intention of the Minifter was to avail himself of the agreement in nature between wood and fire, and there was no design EV

* Rev. xvi. 15.

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