''Tertium comparationis'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "the third artof the comparison") is the quality that two things which are being compared have in common. It is the point of comparison which prompted the author of the comparison in question to liken someone or something to someone or something else in the first place. If a comparison visualizes an action, state, quality, object, or a person by means of a parallel which is drawn to a different entity, the two things which are being compared do not necessarily have to be identical. However, they must possess at least one quality in common. This common quality has traditionally been referred to as ''tertium comparationis''. The most common devices used to achieve this are

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

s and

simile A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...

s, especially, but by no means exclusively, in poetic language. In many cases one aspect of the comparison is implied rather than made explicit. The New Testament scholar, Adolf Jülicher, applied the concept of tertium comparationis to the

parables of Jesus The parables of Jesus are found in the Synoptic Gospels and some of the non-canonical gospels. They form approximately one third of his recorded teachings. Christians place great emphasis on these parables, which they generally regard as the word ...

. Adolf Jülicher, ''Die Gleichnisreden Jesu'', 2nd ed. (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1910) According to Jülicher, a parable or similitude (extended simile or metaphor) has three parts: a picture part (''Bildhälfte''), a reality part (''Sachhälfte''), and the point of comparison (''tertium comparationis'') between the picture part and the reality part. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44). In this parable, the picture part is the hidden treasure, the reality part is God's kingdom, and the ''tertium comparationis'' is the inestimable value of the kingdom.

Examples

*Necessity is the mother of invention. (English

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

) :Objects of comparison: relationship between mother and child, relationship between necessity and invention :''Tertium comparationis'': source, where something derives from *Woman is the

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

of the world. (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

) :Objects of comparison: treatment of Black people in US culture, treatment of women in global culture :''Tertium comparationis'': inhumane treatment, subjugation,

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

*Goodbye, England's rose. (

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

on the death of Princess Diana) :Objects of comparison: Diana; roses :''Tertium comparationis'': beauty *If they ur two soulsbe two, they are two so :''As'' stiff twin compasses are two; :Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show :To move, but doth, if th'other do. ::(

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

: "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning") (Read th
whole poem
) :Objects of comparison: two souls; twin compasses :''Tertium comparationis'': a non-physical link between separate objects that causes action in one to result in action to the other.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tertium Comparationis Rhetoric Semantics