three Israelites being thrown into the burning furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. How much greater is the force and meaning that is given to the sentences in which these expressions are used when in addition to knowing the accepted meaning of the phrases, one is also familiar with the origin of them.

When we hear of some man acting the part of the "good Samaritan" to another who is sick or in want, the story told by our Saviour of the good Samaritan who cared for a poor man whom he found wounded by the wayside comes instantly to our minds; and we know without being told that this other "good Samaritan" cared for or supplied the wants of an unfortunate man in the same spirit of disinterested kindness. The picture thus presented is clearer and more full of meaning because of the allusion to the well-known Bible story. If we hear a murderer called a

Cain," there is at once presented to our minds the picture of the two brothers offering their sacrifices; and as we recall the unnatural crime which was committed by the elder brother Cain, we shudder with horror at one brother's slaying another whom he should not only love but protect from harm. As we learn more of the Biblical personages and events to which we find references in literature, we find that clearness and force are added by reference to them, as in the two examples just given.

Exercises

I. In your reading for the next week or two make a note of all the allusions to persons and events mentioned in the Bible; and if you do not understand them, read in the Bible about the person or event to which reference is made.

II. Give such information about the following persons

and events as you must have in order to make intelligent allusions to them in your conversation and in writing.

Moses, Aaron, Job, Absalom, Esther, Haman, Samson, David and Jonathan, The plagues of Egypt, The sojourn in the Wilderness, Jacob's dream, The handwriting on the wall, Daniel in the lion's den, The slaying of Goliath.

Make sentences containing allusions to the above.

III. Explain the allusions to Biblical personages and events in the following, and consider how an understanding of these references adds to your appreciation and enjoyment of these quotations.

1. Error as old as Sodom is error still.

2. A babel of voices was heard above the storm.

3. Without a word of farewell this aged Nimrod shouldered his rifle and strode into the forest.

4. There is no darkness but ignorance; in which thou art more puzzled than the Egyptians in their fog.

5.

"How like a prodigal doth nature seem,

When thou, with all thy gold, so common art.” 6. "The angel of death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed."

7. Thy foul crime, like Cain's, stands darkly out.

8. Oh, exiles! I call forth in testimony the hemlock the Socrates have drunk, the Golgothas the Christs have climbed, the Jerichoes the Joshuas have caused to crumble.

-VICTOR HUGO.

9. These old gentlemen, seated like Matthew at the receipt of customs, but not very likely to be summoned hence like him for apostolic errands, were the custom-house officers.

10. Only in dreams is a ladder thrown

- HAWTHORNE.

From the weary earth to the sapphire walls;
But the dream departs and the vision falls,
And the sleeper wakes on his pillow of stone.

11. The blood of tyrants is not human; they, Like to incarnate Molochs, feed on ours,

HOLLAND.

Until 'tis time to give them to the tombs
Which they have made so populous.

-BYRON.

12. A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel: —0 wise young judge, how I do honor thee!-SHAKESPEARE.

13. Your accent, like St. Peter's, would betray you.

Another source from which we may take valuable material for the expression of thought in figurative language is mythology. Not only are many direct references to mythological stories found in literature, but many words and phrases that have passed into common use had their origin in ancient myth and legend. We so commonly use such expressions as, the "aurora," a "herculean task," a "mercurial temper," as almost to lose sight of their origin. Literature contains so many allusions to mythology that a general knowledge of the most important myths is necessary for a perfect understanding and enjoyment of what we read. If you have never read the myth of the ancient Greeks in which Apollo is said to mount his golden chariot every morning to guide the fiery steeds of the sun across the sky, or have not seen the beautiful picture, called

'Aurora," in which this myth is represented, the following lines will be meaningless. If you are familiar with the myth, they will suggest to you, not only the sight of the sun rising in all his strength and magnificence; but also the image of the glorious sun god, seated in all the pomp and splendor of ancient imagination, and holding in his hands the reins of the restless steeds that prance and rear in their impatience to dash off across the blue vault of the heavens.

See! led by Morn, with dewy feet,
Apollo mounts his golden seat,
Replete with sevenfold fire.

- THOMAS TAYLOR.

Value of Mythological Allusions. — Mythological allusions add richness of meaning to the imaginative language of those who use them intelligently, and a careful study of these references, which you find in your reading, will abundantly repay you by adding to your pleasure in what you read. The language of Shakespeare, Milton, and many other great poets abounds in figures based on mythology, and also in other references, not figurative, to mythological characters and incidents; and you must know to what these refer before you can understand a writer's use of them. Through an increased knowledge of mythological characters and stories, and an understanding of how our best writers make use of them, you will be able to use them yourself and thus enrich your own language.

Exercises

I. Explain the place which each of the following occupied in ancient mythology, and state, if you can, the characteristic or incident to which reference is usually made in alluding to each.

Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Venus, Aurora, Mars, Mercury, Bacchus, Cupid, Nymphs, Muses, Satyrs, Centaurs.

II. Find as many allusions as you can to each of the following, and explain each.

Apollo or Phoebus, Diana, Neptune, Thor, Hercules, Cupid, Venus, Pluto, Jason, Charon, Ceres.

III. Write the sentences containing references to other mythological characters and events which you find while looking for the above, and bring into class.

IV. Select the references to mythological characters and events in the following and explain each. Consider whether these references make the language more effective than if plain statements had been used.

1.

2.

3.

Soon as Aurora drives away the night,

And edges eastern clouds with rosy light,

The healthy huntsman, with the cheerful horn,
Summons the dogs and greets the dappled morn.

With that I saw two swans of goodly hue
Come softly swimming down along the lee;
Two fairer birds I yet did never see;
The snow that doth the top of Pindus strow
Did never whiter show,

Nor Jove himself, when he a swan would be
For love of Leda, whiter did appear;

Yet Leda was (they say) as white as he,

Yet not as white as these, nor nothing near;

So purely white they were

That even the gentle stream, the which them bare,
Seem'd foul to them, and bade his billows spare
To wet their silken feathers, lest they might
Soil their fair plumes with water not so fair.

-SPENSER.

The man who hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved by concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;