No Metaphor Mechanics

“The other use, direction, or bent, Pascal called the esprit de finesse—we might call it ‘intuitive understanding.’ . . . It does not analyze, does not break things down into parts, but seizes upon the character of the whole altogether, by inspection. Since in this kind of survey they are no definable parts, there is nothing to count and there are no fixed principles to apply. The understanding derived from the experience is direct, and because it lacks definitions, principles, and numbers, this understanding is not readily conveyed to somebody else; it can only be suggested in words that offer analogies—by imagery. Hence no universal agreement is possible on these objects and their significance. Now, the things that make up culture are understood and remembered and enjoyed by mental finesse; they are for inspection as wholes, not for analysis and measurement; they lack definable, unchangeable parts” (Jacques Barzun, The Culture We Deserve, pp. 11-12).