80 On Figurative Language, 
must be posterior to those words from which 
they are derived. 
But though nouns compose the primary and 
most necessary part of language, men would 
soon discover, that it is absolutely impossible 
to denote every individual object by a distinct 
name. This indeed is a task of such extent 
and difficulty, that the life and faculties ‘of 
man are not equal toit. Necessity, therefore, 
drove men to devise some means to accomplish 
the end of mutual communication, without 
attempting a hopeless labour. . 
One of these contrivances, and one of very 
extensive application, is transferring the name 
of an object already known in language to an 
unnamed object ; in doing which, men were 
guided by analogies more or less obvious, 
more or less remote. Upon this principle, 
death would be called sleep ; a governor, head; 
ignorance, darkness ; knowledge, light, &c. 
Remote as we are from the original formation 
of languages, there are but a few mstances 
comparatively in which we can trace the 
names of objects to their primary source, be- 
cause the analogy followed has no certain or 
determinate laws or restrictions, and because 
the disuse of most words in their primary sig- 
nification has been of so long continuance, that 
scarcely any trace or vestige is left to form a 
