Star Trek The Next Generation
Object

Metaphorical Sword of Tempering

An invoked, non‑material image of a sword used as a rhetorical tool: sharp-edged language that imagines steel tempered in fire. The image carries bite without a handle — characters parry and press with words rather than metal, the metaphor tightening the room’s debate over how to shape Wesley. It registers as an emotional instrument rather than a tactile object, summoned by a speaker to demand hardening through trial.
2 appearances

Purpose

To function as a rhetorical device in argument: to represent the idea of forging, testing, and hardening an officer through difficult trials and responsibilities.

Significance

Serves as the debate’s pivot, crystallizing the split between protection and provocation in mentorship. The sword-image precipitates the tacit compromise that sets Wesley’s crucible in motion and thematically foreshadows forthcoming moral tests.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments
S2E15 · Pen Pals
Trial by Fire: Wesley's Command

The 'Metaphorical Sword of Tempering' is invoked rhetorically (Picard's tempering metaphor and Pulaski's 'He's a boy, not a sword' rejoinder) to embody the philosophical divide between forging leadership through hardship and protecting the young.

Before: Latent metaphorical possibility — no rhetorical framing yet.
After: Activated as the central metaphor for the debate, shaping how participants frame risks and duties toward Wesley.
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S2E15 · Pen Pals
Tempering Wesley: Forge or Cradle

The Metaphorical Sword of Tempering is invoked by Picard (and echoed by Pulaski's retort) as a rhetorical object symbolizing the debate: tempering through heat versus the risk of breaking a young person. It shapes the moral logic and stakes of the conversation.

Before: Unspoken rhetorical possibility; no use prior to Picard's intervention.
After: The metaphor anchors the group's reasoning—persisting as the conceptual lens through which they justify a middle path of challenge tempered by care.
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