以近譬远与罕譬而喻——论魏晋论说文中的譬喻

Analogies in the argumentations in Wei and Jin dynasties

魏晋论说文常用喻词有譬、譬如、譬犹、何异等,不同喻词蕴含不同的语气和色彩,更多譬喻则无需喻词,本体和喻体之间仅靠句式的巧妙衔接。魏晋论说文中大量使用金、木、水、火、土为喻体,反映了譬喻由近及远、以小譬大的特点。譬喻能使论说文的语言更为洗练,在魏晋论说文中的反复运用使许多蕴涵丰富的成语固定下来。喻证的功能是有限的,存在着使用不当的风险,稍有不慎便可能被论敌抓住把柄,因此譬喻不能取代逻辑推理,而在使用譬喻时尤须注重严密性,"罕譬而喻"理应成为论说文作家的追求目标。

Analogies are frequently employed in the argumentations of Wei and Jin dynasties, while pragmatic coherence is realized only with syntactic structures. Metal＇s water, fire and earth-related phrases are used for exaggeration and magnification, and lots of them become set phrases. Yet, this paper discus- ses the limitations of the analogies, in particular, the risks of their abuses.