[lit-ideas] Re: Anonymity and revelation...
- From: Robert Paul <robert.paul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:45:19 -0800
Clue me in. What's wrong with comparing to?
If you compare Bush to Pericles, you're saying he's like Pericles (a
gifted orator and statesman, etc.). If you compare him with Pericles,
you may notice significant differences.
One might compare the human body to a machine; someone else might say
that it's wrong to compare the human body to a machine, and mean by that
that they're unalike. If one compares the human body with a machine,
it's hard to see how anybody could object on grammatical grounds alone.
'It's wrong to compare the body with a machine' suggests that one
believes it's unseemly or irreverent to examine the body closely.
In metaphor and simile, something is compared to, not with, something
else. Usually. For the most part.
Robert Paul
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