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You
frequently use analogies. Whereas according to logic, an
analogy does not offer certainty, and the issues which
require conviction to be believed in need to be based on
logical proofs. Analogy is used by the scholars of
jurisprudence for the propositions for the solution of which
a fairly certain presumption is enough. Furthermore, you set
forth the analogies and comparisons in the form of parables.
Whereas parables are imaginary-not real.
Although
according to logic analogies do not offer certainty, among the
sorts of analogies there is one that it is stronger than logical
proofs and gives greater certainty than deductions. It is as
follows.
Through a
particular analogy you point to the tip of a universal truth and
base your conclusion on that truth. In order to teach that
mighty truth and deal with particular incidents and realities in
accordance with it, you show the general or universal law on
which the truth is based in a certain, particular object.
For
example, through the analogy that even though the sun is a
single body, it is, by virtue of being a light-emitting body,
present in all shining objects at the same time, we are showing
the law of a truth that there are no restrictions to light and
things of light. Whether long or short, distances are the same
for them; whether small or great, amounts make no difference for
them, and they cannot be contained in space.
Again,
for example, the leaves and fruits of a tree are formed easily
and perfectly at the same time in the same center through a law
of Divine Command. This shows the tip of a mighty truth and a
universal law and proves that truth and law decisively. Like a
tree, this vast universe is also the result of that law and the
manifestation of oneness.
All the
analogies and comparisons in The Words are of this kind. They
offer greater conviction and certainty than logical proofs.
As for
the second part of the question, as you know, according to the
science of eloquence, if a word or phrase is used to suggest or
express a meaning other than its original one, it is called a
metaphor. In such statements, not the original, but the
metaphorical meaning is considered. If the metaphorical meaning
conforms to the reality, you are saying the truth; otherwise
not.
For
example, in order to express that somebody is tall, people say:
‘The sheath of so-and-so’s sword is long’. If that man is
tall, this statement is true, even if he does not have a sword.
If the man is not tall, you are telling a lie even if he has a
sword with a long sheath, because the saying is only figurative
in meaning.
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