Tightrope walking inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that the wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire. The word "funambulism" or the phrase ""walking a tightrope"" is also used in a metaphorical setting not referring to any actual acrobatic acts. For instance, politicians are said to "walk a tightrope" when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise. The term can also be used in
A Letter to Lord Ellenborough of the New Testament was "an exceedingly virtuous, good man, but nothing supernatural or divine." Despite the paucity of evidence, on 15 May 1812, the Ellenborough-led jury found Eaton guilty. His sentence was severe, including eighteen months in Newgate Prison and a monthly pillorying for the entire term of his sentence. The letter was republished as "Shelley on Blasphemy: Being His Letter to Lord Ellenborough, Occasioned by the Sentence which He Passed on Mr. D. I. Eaton" in 1883 in London by the Progressive Publishing Company. The letter was republished in "A letter to Lord Ellenborough: Occasioned by the Sentence