been invented or supposed by the author, for the purpose eitaer of affording pleasure, or inculcating some important lesson.

532. SPEECHES AND ORATIONS are those addresses which are made either at the Bar or in Public Assemblies, for the purpose of persuading the hearers of the truth of certain opinions, or lead ing to the adoption of certain modes of action.

II. DIFFERENT KINDS OF POETRY.

533. The different kinds into which poetry may be divided, are the Epigram, the Epitaph, the Sonnet; Pastoral, Didactic, Satiric, Descriptive, Elegiac, Lyric, Dramatic, and Epic, or Heroic poetry.

534. An EPIGRAM is a short, witty poem, the point or humour of which is brought out in the concluding lines.

535. An EPITAPH is an inscription on a tombstone, in commemoration of some departed person.

536. The SONNET, which is of Italian origin, means a little song, and consists generally of fourteen lines, constructed in a peculiar manner.

537. PASTORAL POETRY is that which relates to rural life; though it sometimes assumes the form of a simple song or ballad.

538. DIDACTIC POETRY is that by which some art or duty is inculcated; and, though forming a distinct class of itself, yet its characteristics are so general as to extend to almost every description of poetry.

539. SATIRES are poems intended to ridicule vices and follies, and hold them up to contempt. They have been divided into two classes; the jocose or ludicrous, and the serious or declamatory.

540. DESCRIPTIVE POETRY may be classed under two divisions; that, by which is offered to our view a delineation of nature, or of natural scenery, and that, by which are described the manners, sentiments, and passions of men.

541. ELEGY was first employed in lamentation for the decease of great persons, or of those who were particularly dear to the writer; but it was afterwards extended in its application, and employed to express the misery of disappointed love, and even at times made the vehicle of moral sentiment.

542. LYRIC POETRY is such as may be sung or set to music, which both the term ode, and the epithet lyric, from lyre, a mu sical instrument, imply. There is the serious and sublime ode, and the familiar and comic which, in modern language, is denominated the song.

543. BY DRAMATIC POETRY is generally meant a poem in blank verse or rhyme, called a play, and fitted for representation on the stage. It is of two kinds, Tragic and Comic.

544. An EPIC POEM, is a historical representation or description of some great and important action, involving the interests of the whole, or of a large portion, of mankind.

§ 92. FIGURES.

545. A FIGURE in grammar, is some deviation from the ordinary form, or construction, or application of words, in a sentence, for the purpose of greater precision, variety, or elegance of expression.

546. There are three kinds of Figures; viz. of Etymology, of Syntax, and of Rhetoric. The first and the second refer to the form of words, or to their construction, the last to their application.

FIGURES OF ETYMOLOGY.

547. A Figure of Etymology is a departure from the usual or simple form of words, merely.

548. Of these the most important are eight, viz.. A-phar-e-sis, Pros-the-sis, Syn-co-pe, A-poc-o-pe, Par-ago-ge, Di-ar-e-sis, Syn-ær-e-sis, and Tme-sis.

1. Apheresis is the elision of a syllable from the beginning of a word; as, 'gainst, 'gan, 'bove, 'neath, for against, began. above, beneath.

2. Prosthesis is the prefixing of a syllable to a word; as, adown, agoing, etc., for down, going, etc.

3. Syncope is the elision of a letter or syllable, usually a short one, from the middle of a word; as, med'cine, sp'rit, e'en, for medicine, spirit, even.

4. Apocope is the elision of a letter or syllable from the end of a word; as, tho' for though, th' for the.

5. Paragoge is the annexing of a syllable to the end of a word as, deary, for dear.

6. Diaresis is the division of two concurrent vowels into different syllables, usually marked thus (...) on the second vowel, as, cooperate, aërial.

7. Synæresis is the joining of two syllables into one, in either orthography or pronunciation; as, dost, seest, for doest, seëst; or, loved, learned, pronounced in one syllable instead of two, lov-ed, learn-ed.

8. Tmesis is separating the parts of a compound word by an intervening term; as, "What time soever;" "On which side soever;" "To us ward."

FIGURES OF SYNTAX.

549. A Figure of Syntax is a deviation from the usual construction of words in a sentence, used for the sake of greater beauty or force.

550. Of these, the most important are Ellipsis, Pleonasm, Syllepsis, Enallage, and Hyperbaton.

1. Ellipsis is the omission of words necessary to the full con struction of a sentence, but not necessary to convey the idea intended. Such words are said to be understood; as; "The men, women, and children," for "The men, the women, and the children."

2. Pleonasm is the using of more words than are necessary to the full construction of a sentence, to give greater force or em phasis to the expression; as, "The boy, oh! where was he?"

3. Syllepsis is an inferior species of personification, by which we conceive the sense of words otherwise than the words import, and construe them according to the sense conceived. Thus, of the sun, we say, "He shines;" of a ship, "She sails" (§ 7. Obs. 2).

4. Enallage is the use of one part of speech for another, or of one modification of a word for another; as an adjective for an ad verb, thus: "They fall successive, and successive rise," for successively; the use of we and you in the plural, to denote an individual, etc. (§ 15. Obs. 3-4).

5. Hyperbaton is the transposition of words and clauses in a sentence, to give variety, force, and vivacity, to the composition; as, Now come we to the last." "A man he was to all the country dear." "He wanders earth around."

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FIGURES OF RHETORIC.

551. A Figure of Rhetoric is a deviation from the ordinary application of words in speech, to give anima

tion, strength, and beauty, to the composition. These figures are sometimes called tropes.

552. Of these, the most important are the following,

1. Personification, or prosopopæia, is that figure of speech by which we attribute life and action to inanimate objects; as, “ The sea saw it, and fled."

2. A simile expresses the resemblance that one object bears to another; as, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” 3. A metaphor is a simile without the sign [like, or as, etc.] of comparison; as, "He shall be a tree planted by," etc.

4. An allegory is a continuation of several metaphors, so con nected in sense as to form a kind of parable or fable. Thus, the people of Israel are represented under the image of a vine: "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt," etc. Ps. lxxx. 8-16. Of this style are Æsop's Fables, Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress,” etc.

5. Vision, or imagery, is a figure by which the speaker represents past events, or the objects of his imagination, as actually present to his senses; as, "Cæsar leaves Gaul, crosses the Rubicon, and enters Italy;" "The combat thickens: on, ye brave!"

6. An hyperbole is a figure that represents things as greater or less, better or worse, than they really are. Thus, David says of Saul and Jonathan, แ They were swifter than eagles, they were

stronger than lions,"

7. Irony is a figure by which we mean quite the contrary of what we say; as, when Elijah said to the worshippers of Baal, Cry aloud, for he is a god," etc.

8. A metonymy is a figure by which we put the cause for the effect or the effect for the cause; as, when we say, แ He reads Milton;" we mean Milton's works. "Gray hairs should be re

spected;" that is, old age.

9. Synecdoche is the putting of a part for the whole, or the whole for a part, a definite number for an indefinite, etc.; as, the

waves for the sea, the head for the person, and ten thousand for any great number. This figure is nearly allied to metonymy

10. Antithesis, or contrast, is a figure by which different or contrary objects are contrasted, to make them show one another to advantage. Thus, Solomon contrasts the timidity of the wicked with the courage of the righteous, when he says, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion." 11. Climax, or amplification, is the heightening of all the circumstances of an object or action which we wish to place in a strong light; as, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay," etc. See also Rom. viii. 38, 39.

12. Exclamation is a figure that is used to express some strong emotion of the mind; as, "Oh! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!"

13. Interrogation is a figure by which we express the emotion of our mind, and enliven our discourse, by proposing questions, thus, "Hath the Lord said it? and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken it? and shall he not make it good?"

14. Paralepsis, or omission, is a figure by which the speaker pretends to conceal what he is really declaring and strongly enforcing; as, "Horatius was once a very promising young gen. tleman, but in process of time he became so addicted to gaming, not to mention his drunkenness and debauchery, that he soon exhausted his estate, and ruined his constitution.

15. Apostrophe is a turning off from the subject, to address some other person or thing; as, "Death is swallowed up in victory ; O Death, where is thy sting?"

POETIC LICENSE.

553. Besides the deviations from the usual form and construction of words, noted under the figures of Etymology and Syntax, there are still others, which can not be classed under proper heads, and which, from being used mostly in poetic composition, are commonly called poetic licenses. These are such as the following

554. 1. In poetry, words, idioms, and phrases, are often used, which would be inadmissible in prose; as, "A man he was to all the country dear,

And passing rich with forty pounds a year."