"Religion is the dream of the human mind."
Feuerbach uses a metaphor to describe religion as being the "dream of the human mind." With this metaphor, he suggests that religion does not have an external reality beyond the human mind, and is instead a product of the human imagination.
Thought and Will
Feuerbach uses a number of metaphors in the following passage:
“The power of thought is the light of knowledge, the power of will is the energy of character, the power of the heart is love. Reason, love, and power of will are perfections of man.”
He compares the power of thought to light and the power of will to energy. By using these comparisons, he illustrates his arguments and makes them clearer.
Machine simile
A simile is used by Feuerbach to explain that the world pursues its course "like a machine," which suggests it is automated and mechanical:
"God created the world: this is all that is here retained of God. The past tense is necessary; for since that epoch the world pursues its course like a machine."
Here, Feuerbach is questioning the lack of divergent thoughts about religion and God throughout history.
Miracle metaphor
When describing miracles, Feuerbach states that “Miracle presents … the sorcery of the imagination, which satisfies … all the wishes of the heart.” This is a metaphor comparing the idea of a miracle to sorcery, emphasizing its seemingly mysterious qualities.
"The law holds man in bondage"
When writing about the influence of societal institutions such as the legal system, Feuerbach uses a metaphor:
“The law holds man in bondage; love makes him free.”
Here, Feuerbach uses a metaphor to compare the legal restraints on a person to being in "bondage," or being imprisoned.
