Did lose its lustre: I did hear him groan, Aye, and that tongue of his, that bade the Romans Example 6. The resentment of Hamlet against the ignominious marriage of his mother, makes him lessen the time she had remained a widow: A little month, or ere those shoes were old, With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Example 7. Fame exaggerates the person, as well as the qualities, of a hero. "The Scythians, impressed with the fame of Alexander, were astonished when they found him a little man." Kames. 323. In the speeches of ancient generals to their armies, many beautiful instances are to be found of both kinds of this figure; exaggerations, on the one hand, of the number, force, courage, and hopes, of their own troops; and, on the other, diminutions of those of their enemies, in order to inspire that confidence of success which in these times was one of the surest means of victory. Example. Longinus mentions a diminutive concerning a piece of ground, the property of some poor man: and Quinctilian another of Varro on the same subject. The former represents the property as "not larger than a Lacedæmonian letter," which consisted sometimes of two or three words. Varro figures it to be as small as a sling-stone; nay, he supposes it may even fall through the hole in the bottom of the sling. Both these examples seem to belong to ridicule. * 324. The errors frequent in the use of hyperbole, arise either from overstraining or introducing it on unsuitable occasions. Example 1. Dryden, in his poem on the restoration of king Charles the Second, compliments that monarch at the expense of the sun himself. "That star that at your birth shone out so bright, Example 2. Prior supposes the fire of a lady's eyes to outshine the flames of Rome, when lighted up by Nero; and the music of her lute, to surpass the fabulous miracles of Amphion, in building the city of Thebes. She would have rebuilt Rome faster than it could have been destroyed by the fires of Nero: "To burning Rome, when frantic Nero played, The raging flames, but, struck with strange surprise, But had he heard thy lute, he soon had found "Fundum Varro vocat, quem possum mittere funda ni tamen exciderit, quæ cava funda patet." His rage eluded, and his crime atoned; Thine, like Amphion's hand, had waked the stone, Nor could he burn so fast as thou couldst build." Example 3. Shakspeare, in magnifying the warlike character of his heroes, sometimes exaggerates beyond all bounds of probability. The description of the river Severn hastening to the reeds, to hide his head from the sight of combatants so furious as Mortimer and Glendower, can scarcely be read with gravity. "In single opposition, hand to hand, He did confound the best part of an hour, In changing hardiment with great Glendower. Three times they breath'd, and three times did they drink, Who, then affrighted with their bloody looks, Ran fearfully among the trembling reeds, Example 4. Guarini, who perhaps excels all poets in studied extravagance, makes a shepherd thus address his mistress: "If all the sticks in the world were made into pens, the heavens into paper, and the sea into ink, they would not furnish materials sufficient to describe the least part of your perfections." Example 5. Again, the same poet says, "If I had as many tongues, and as many words, as there are stars in the heavens, and grains of sand on the shore, my tongues would be tired, and my words would be exhausted, before I could do justice to your immense merit." Example 6. An English poet converted the circumstances of the former of these extravagant compliments into a satire no less exaggerated: "Could we with ink the ocean fill, Were every single stick a quill, To write the tricks of half the sex, Gallants, beware, look sharp, take care; 325. Hyperboles should never be introduced till the mind of the reader is prepared to relish them. The introduction of such bold figures abruptly, puts the reader on his guard, and excites his reflection, which commonly dissipates the delusion, and defeats the purpose of the writer. Example. No passion ever spoke the language which grief is made to assume in the following unnatural exaggeration. The figure and the tone of sentiment are totally discordant. King Richard II., deeply distressed on account of the calamities of the nation, thus addresses his cousin Aumerle, who was under much affliction from the same cause: "Why weepest thou, my tender-hearted cousin? We'll make foul weather with despised tears; "Si tante lingue havesse, et tante voce, Quant' ochil il cielo, e quante arene il mare. Perderian tutte il suono, e la favella, Nel dir a pien le vostre lodi immense." Pastor Fido, Act V. Scene 2. Our sighs, and they shall lodge the corn, And make a dearth in this revolting land." 326. HYPERBOLES are improper, when they may be turned against the argument of the author who uses them. Illus. Isocrates, it is said, had employed many years in composing a panegyric on the Athenians, to assert their pretensions to precedency in the management of the affairs of Greece. It was delivered at the Olympic games, attended by citizens from all the states of that country; and in the beginning of it he introduced the subsequent exaggerated compliment to eloquence. Example. "Eloquence can reverse in appearance the nature of things. It can impart to illustrious deeds the air of lowliness and insignificance, and exhibit inconsiderable, and even trifling actions, with the dignity of magnificence and heroism. It can bestow on antiquity the garb of novelty, and attire novelty with the respect and veneration due to antiquity." Analysis. Longinus pertinently remarks, the author did not observe, that by this unseasonable encomium he was dispersing among his hearers an antidote against the operation of all the arguments he had to advance in behalf of his countrymen, the Athenians. Would the other Greek states be persuaded to do what they disliked by an orator who had told them that his eloquence could reverse in appearance the nature of things? Might they not, in doing what he advised, pe form the very opposite of what was right? CHAPTER VIII. CLIMAX, OR AMPLIFICATION. 327. CLIMAX, OR AMPLIFICATION, is nearly related to hyperbole, and differs from it chiefly in degree. The purpose of HYPERBOLE is to exalt our conceptions beyond the truth; of CLIMAX, to elevate our ideas of the truth itself, by a series of circumstances, ascending one above another in respect of importance, and all pointing toward the same object. Illus. This figure, when properly introduced and displayed, affords a very sensible pleasure. It accords with our disposition to enlarge our conceptions of any object we contemplate; it affords a gratification similar to what we receive on ascending an eminence situated in the centre of a rich and varied landscape, where every step we proceed presents a grander and more extensive prospect. Example. Shakspeare exhibits specimens of almost every poetical beauty, and is not deficient in instances of climax. "The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all that it inhabits, shall dissolve, And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, His rage eluded, and his crime atoned; Thine, like Amphion's hand, had waked the stone, Nor could he burn so fast as thou couldst build." Example 3. Shakspeare, in magnifying the warlike character of his heroes, sometimes exaggerates beyond all bounds of probability. The description of the river Severn hastening to the reeds, to hide his head from the sight of combatants so furious as Mortimer and Glendower, can scarcely be read with gravity. "In single opposition, hand to hand, He did confound the best part of an hour, In changing hardiment with great Glendower. Three times they breath'd, and three times did they drink, Who, then affrighted with their bloody looks, Ran fearfully among the trembling reeds, And hid his crisp'd head in the hollow bank, Example 4. Guarini, who perhaps excels all poets in studied extravagance, makes a shepherd thus address his mistress: "If all the sticks in the world were made into pens, the heavens into paper, and the sea into ink, they would not furnish materials sufficient to describe the least part of your perfections." "* Example 5. Again, the same poet says, "If I had as many tongues, and as many words, as there are stars in the heavens, and grains of sand on the shore, my tongues would be tired, and my words would be exhausted, before I could do justice to your immense merit." Example 6. An English poet converted the circumstances of the former of these extravagant compliments into a satire no less exaggerated: "Could we with ink the ocean fill, Were every single stick a quill, To write the tricks of half the sex, Gallants, beware, look sharp, take care; 325. Hyperboles should never be introduced till the mind of the reader is prepared to relish them. The introduction of such bold figures abruptly, puts the reader on his guard, and excites his reflection, which commonly dissipates the delusion, and defeats the purpose of the writer. Example. No passion ever spoke the language which grief is made to assume in the following unnatural exaggeration. The figure and the tone of sentiment are totally discordant. King Richard II., deeply distressed on account of the calamities of the nation, thus addresses his cousin Aumerle, who was under much affliction from the same cause: "Why weepest thou, my tender-hearted cousin? We'll make foul weather with despised tears; "Si tante lingue havesse, et tante voce, Quant' ochil il cielo, e quante arene il mare. Perderian tutte il suono, e la favella, Nel dir a pien le vostre lodi immense." Pastor Fido, Act V. Scene 2. Our sighs, and they shall lodge the corn, And make a dearth in this revolting land." 326. HYPERBOLES are improper, when they may be turned against the argument of the author who uses them. Illus. Isocrates, it is said, had employed many years in composing a panegyric on the Athenians, to assert their pretensions to precedency in the management of the affairs of Greece. It was delivered at the Olympic games, attended by citizens from all the states of that country; and in the beginning of it he introduced the subsequent exaggerated compliment to eloquence. Example. "Eloquence can reverse in appearance the nature of things. It can impart to illustrious deeds the air of lowliness and insignificance, and exhibit inconsiderable, and even trifling actions, with the dignity of magnificence and heroism. It can bestow on antiquity the garb of novelty, and attire novelty with the respect and veneration due to antiquity." Analysis. Longinus pertinently remarks, the author did not observe, that by this unseasonable encomium he was dispersing among his hearers an antidote against the operation of all the arguments he had to advance in behalf of his countrymen, the Athenians. Would the other Greek states be persuaded to do what they disliked by an orator who had told them that his eloquence could reverse in appearance the nature of things? Might they not, in doing what he advised, pe form the very opposite of what was right? CHAPTER VIII. CLIMAX, OR AMPLIFICATION. 327. CLIMAX, OR AMPLIFICATION, is nearly related to hyperbole, and differs from it chiefly in degree. The purpose of HYPERBOLE is to exalt our conceptions beyond the truth; of CLIMAX, to elevate our ideas of the truth itself, by a series of circumstances, ascending one above another in respect of importance, and all pointing toward the same object. Illus. This figure, when properly introduced and displayed, affords a very sensible pleasure. It accords with our disposition to enlarge our conceptions of any object we contemplate; it affords a gratification similar to what we receive on ascending an eminence situated in the centre of a rich and varied landscape, where every step we proceed presents a grander and more extensive prospect. Example. Shakspeare exhibits specimens of almost every poetical beauty, and is not deficient in instances of climax. "The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all that it inhabits, shall dissolve, And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, |