We pass over a number of lesser figures of speech involving change among separate

words (such as Hyperbaton), and change in sentences and phrases (such as Antithesis)

and come to the series of figures which affect the application of words. These constitutes

a very important section of our subject.

The figures of change that affect the application rather than the position of words, are

divided into a number of sub-sections:--

The figures in brackets at the end of each line denote the number of varieties in each

section noted in Dr. Bullinger's Figures of Speech. The three figures of chief importance

in this classes are Simile, Metaphor, and Hypocatastasis, and as these three figures are

related as "good", "better" and "best" are related, we shall consider them together, even

though we shall be obliged to occupy a little more space than usual.

Simile differs from Comparison, for Comparison admits of dissimilitudes. It also

differs from Metaphor. While Simile says "All flesh is as grass", Metaphor more boldly

says "All flesh is grass". Simile also differs from Hypocatastasis, for while the latter

implies resemblance, Simile actually states it. Metaphor is the language of feeling. It

does not merely say that one thing is like another; it says that one thing is another. When

we point to a picture and say, "This is my mother", or when we say, "We are the sheep of

His pasture" we are using the figure Metaphor. The reader will realize that to refer to any

figure of speech as "metaphorical language" is, therefore, rather misleading.

Hypocatastasis is derived from the Greek word meaning "substitution". The word is a

compound of hupo "underneath", kata "down", and stasis "a stationing".  Hence a

"putting down underneath". The idea is that one of the names is given, but the other is

only implied; it is "put down underneath" and left to the imagination.