CHAPTER X.
THE COMPARATIVE DEGREE.
[§ 310]. The proper preliminary to the study of the comparative and quasi-comparative forms in English is the history of the inflection or inflections by which they are expressed. There is no part of our grammar where it is more necessary to extend our view beyond the common limit of the Gothic stock of languages, than here.
In the Sanskrit language the signs of the comparative degree are two:—1. -tara, as punya=pure; punya-tara=purer; 2. -îyas, as kśipra=swift; kśêpîyas=swifter. Of these the first is the most in use.
The same forms occur in the Zend; as husko=dry; huskô-tara=drier; -îyas, however, is changed into -is.
In the classical languages we have the same forms. 1. in uter, neuter, alter, πότερος, λεπτότερος. 2. In the adverb magis, Lat. In Bohemian and Polish, -ssj and -szy correspond with the Sanskrit forms -îyas.
Thus we collect, that, expressive of the comparative degree, there are two parallel forms; viz., the form in tr, and the form in s; of which one is the most in use in one language, and the other in another.
[§ 311]. Before we consider the Gothic forms of the comparative, it may be advisable to note two changes to which it is liable. 1. The change of s into r; the Latin word meliorem being supposed to have been originally meliosem, and the s in nigrius, firmius, &c., being considered not so much the sign of the neuter gender as the old comparative s in its oldest form. 2. The ejection of t, as in the Latin words inferus, superus, compared with the Greek λεπτότερος (leptoteros).
[§ 312]. Now, of the two parallel forms, the Gothic one was the form s; the words other and whether only preserving the form tr. And here comes the application of the remarks that have just gone before. The vast majority of our comparatives end in r, and so seem to come from tr rather than from s. This, however, is not the case. The r in words like sweeter is derived, not from tar—t, but from s, changed into r. In Mœso-Gothic the comparative ended in s (z); in Old High German the s has become r: Mœso-Gothic aldiza, batiza, sutiza; Old High German, altiro, betsiro, suatsiro; English, older, better, sweeter.
The importance of a knowledge of the form in s is appreciated when we learn that, even in the present English, there are vestiges of it.
[§ 313]. Comparison of adverbs.—The sun shines bright.—Herein the word bright means brightly; and although the use of the latter word would have been the more elegant, the expression is not ungrammatical; the word bright being looked upon as an adjectival adverb.
The sun shines to-day brighter than it did yesterday, and to-morrow it will shine brightest.—Here also the sense is adverbial; from whence we get the fact, that adverbs take degrees of comparison.
Now let the root mag-, as in magnus, μέγας, and mikil (Norse), give the idea of greatness. In the Latin language we have from it two comparative forms: 1. the adjectival comparative major=greater; 2. the adverbial comparative magis=more (plus). The same takes place in Mœso-Gothic: maiza means greater, and is adjectival; mais means more, and is adverbial. The Anglo-Saxon forms are more instructive still; e.g., þäs þe mâ=all the more, þäs þe bet=all the better, have a comparative sense, but not a comparative form, the sign r being absent. Now, compared with major, and subject to the remarks that have gone before, the Latin magis is the older form. With mâ and bet, compared with more and better, this may or may not be the case. Mâ and bet may each be one of two forms; 1. a positive used in a comparative sense; 2. a true comparative, which has lost
its termination. The present section has been written not for the sake of exhausting the subject, but to show that in the comparative degree there were often two forms; of which one, the adverbial, was either more antiquated, or more imperfect than the other: a fact bearing upon some of the forthcoming trains of etymological reasoning.
[§ 314]. Change of vowel.—By reference to Rask's Grammar, § 128, it may be seen that in the Anglo-Saxon there were, for the comparative and superlative degrees, two forms; viz. -or and -re, and -ost and -este, respectively.
By reference to p. [159] of the present volume, it may be seen that the fulness or smallness of a vowel in a given syllable may work a change in the nature of the vowel in a syllable adjoining. In the Anglo-Saxon the following words exhibit a change of vowel.
| Positive. | Comparative. | Superlative. | |
| Lang, | Lengre, | Lengest. | Long. |
| Strang, | Strengre, | Strengest. | Strong. |
| Geong, | Gyngre, | Gyngest. | Young. |
| Sceort, | Scyrtre, | Scyrtest. | Short. |
| Heáh, | Hyrre, | Hyhst. | High. |
| Eald, | Yldre, | Yldest. | Old. |
Of this change, the word last quoted is a still-existing specimen, as old, elder and older, eldest and oldest. Between the two forms there is a difference in meaning, elder being used as a substantive, and having a plural form, elders.
[§ 315]. The previous section has stated that in Anglo-Saxon there were two forms for the comparative and superlative degrees, one in -re and -este, the other in -or and -ost, respectively. Now the first of these was the form taken by adjectives; as se scearpre sweord=the sharper sword, and se scearpeste sweord=the sharpest sword. The second, on the other hand, was the form taken by adverbs; as, se sweord scyrð scearpor=the sword cuts sharper, and se sweord scyrð scearpost=the sword cuts sharpest.
The adjectival form has, as seen above, a tendency to make the vowel of the preceding syllable small: old, elder.
The adverbial form has a tendency to make the vowel of the preceding syllable full.
Of this effect on the part of the adverbial form the adverbial comparative rather is a specimen. We pronounce the a as in father, or full. Nevertheless, the positive form is small, the a being pronounced as the a in fate.
The word rather means quick, easy=the classical root ῥαδ- in ῥάδιος. What we do quickly and willingly we do preferably. Now if the word rather were an adjective, the vowel of the comparative would be sounded as the a in fate. As it is, however, it is adverbial, and as such is properly sounded as the a in father.
The difference between the action of the small vowel in -re, and of the full in -or, effects this difference.
[§ 316]. Excess of expression.—Of this two samples have already been given: 1. in words like songstress; 2. in words like children. This may be called excess of expression; the feminine gender, in words like songstress, and the plural number, in words like children, being expressed twice over. In the vulgarism betterer for better, and in the antiquated forms worser for worse, and lesser for less, we have, in the case of the comparatives, as elsewhere, an excess of expression. In the Old High German we have the forms betsërôro, mêrôro, êrërëra=better, more, ere.
[§ 317]. Better.—Although in the superlative form best there is a slight variation from the strict form of that degree, the word better is perfectly regular. So far, then, from truth are the current statements that the comparison of the words good, better, and best is irregular. The inflection is not irregular, but defective. As the statement that applies to good, better, and best applies to many words besides, it will be well in this place, once for all, to exhibit it in full.
[§ 318]. Difference between a sequence in logic and a sequence in etymology.—The ideas or notions of thou, thy, thee, are ideas between which there is a metaphysical or logical connexion. The train of such ideas may be said to form a sequence and such a sequence may be called a logical one.
The forms (or words) thou, thy, thee, are forms or words
between which there is a formal or an etymological connexion. A train of such words may be called a sequence, and such a sequence may be called an etymological one.
In the case of thou, thy, thee, the etymological sequence tallies with the logical one.
The ideas of I, my, and me are also in a logical sequence: but the forms I, my, and me are not altogether in an etymological one.
In the case of I, my, me, the etymological sequence does not tally (or tallies imperfectly) with the logical one.
This is only another way of saying that between the words I and me there is no connexion in etymology.
It is also only another way of saying, that, in the oblique cases, I, and, in the nominative case, me, are defective.
Now the same is the case with good, better, bad, worse, &c. Good and bad are defective in the comparative and superlative degrees; better and worse are defective in the positive; whilst between good and better, bad and worse, there is a sequence in logic, but no sequence in etymology.
To return, however, to the word better; no absolute positive degree is found in any of the allied languages, and in none of the allied languages is there found any comparative form of good. Its root occurs in the following adverbial forms: Mœso-Gothic, bats; Old High German, pats; Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon, bet; Middle High German, baz; Middle Dutch, bat, bet.—Grimm, D. G. iii. 604.
[§ 319]. Worse.—Mœso-Gothic, vairsiza; Old High German, wirsiro; Middle High German, wirser; Old Saxon, wirso; Anglo-Saxon, vyrsa; Old Norse, vërri; Danish, værre; and Swedish, värre. Such are the adjectival forms. The adverbial forms are Mœso-Gothic, vairs; Old High German, virs; Middle High German, wirs; Anglo-Saxon, vyrs: Old Norse, vërr; Danish, værre; Swedish, värre.—Grimm, D. G. iii. 606. Whether the present form in English be originally adjectival or adverbial is indifferent; since, as soon as the final a of vyrsa was omitted, the two words would be the same. The forms, however, vairsiza, wirser, worse, and vërri, make the word one of the most perplexing in the language.
If the form worse be taken without respect to the rest, the view of the matter is simply that in the termination s we have a remnant of the Mœso-Gothic forms, like sutiza, &c., in other words, the old comparative in s.
Wirser and vairsiza traverse this view. They indicate the likelihood of the s being no sign of the degree, but a part of the original word. Otherwise the r in wirser, and the z in vairsiza, denote an excess of expression.
The analogies of songstress, children, and betsërôro show that excess of expression frequently occurs.
The analogy of mâ and bet show that worse may possibly be a positive form.
The word vërri indicates the belief that the s is no part of the root.
Finally the euphonic processes of the Scandinavian languages tell us that, even had there been an s, it would, in all probability, have been ejected. These difficulties verify the statement that the word worse is one of the most perplexing in the language.
[§ 320]. Much, more.—Here, although the words be unlike each other, there is a true etymological relation. Mœso-Gothic, mikils; Old High German, mihhil; Old Saxon, mikil; Anglo-Saxon, mycel; Old Norse, mickill; Scotch, muckle and mickle (all ending in l): Danish, megen, m.; meget, n.; Swedish, mycken, m.; myckett, n. (where no l is found). Such is the adjectival form of the positive, rarely found in the Modern Gothic languages, being replaced in German by gross, in English by great, in Danish by stor. The adverbial forms are miök and miög, Norse; much, English. It is remarkable that this last form is not found in Anglo-Saxon, being replaced by sâre, Germ, sehr.—Grimm, D. G. iii. 608.
The adverbial and the Norse forms indicate that the l is no part of the original word. Comparison with other Indo-European languages gives us the same circumstance: Sanskrit, maha; Latin, mag-nus; Greek, μέγας (megas).
There is in Mœso-Gothic the comparative form máiza, and there is no objection to presuming a longer form, magiza; since in the Greek form μείζων, compared with μέγας, there
is a similar disappearance of the g. In the Old High German we find mêro, corresponding with máiza, Mœso-Gothic, and with more, English.
Mickle (replaced by great) expresses size; much, quantity; many, number. The words more and most apply equally to number and quantity. I am not prepared either to assert or to deny that many, in Anglo-Saxon mænig, is from the same root with much. Of the word mâ notice has already been taken. Its later form, moe, occurs as late as Queen Elizabeth, with an adjectival as well as an adverbial sense.
[§ 321]. Little, less.—Like much and more, these words are in an etymological relation to each other. Mœso-Gothic, leitils; Old High German, luzil; Old Saxon, luttil; Anglo-Saxon, lytel; Middle High German, lützel; Old Norse, lîtill. In these forms we have the letter l. Old High German Provincial, luzíc; Old Frisian, litich; Middle Dutch, luttik; Swedish, liten; Danish, liden.—Deutsche Grammatik, iii. 611. From these we find that the l is either no part of the original word, or one that is easily got rid of. In Swedish and Danish there are the forms lille and liden; whilst in the neuter form, lidt, the d is unpronounced. Even the word liden the Danes have a tendency to pronounce leen. My own notion is that these changes leave it possible for less to be derived from the root of little. According to Grimm, the Anglo-Saxon lässa is the Gothic lasivôza, the comparative of lasivs=weak.—Deutsche Grammatik, iii. 611. In Anglo-Saxon there was the adjectival form læssa, and the adverbial form læs. In either case we have the form s.
[§ 322]. Near, nearer.—Anglo-Saxon, neah; comparative, nearre, near, nyr; superlative, nyhst, nehst. Observe, in the Anglo-Saxon positive and superlative, the absence of the r. This shows that the English positive near is the Anglo-Saxon comparative nearre, and that in the secondary comparative nearer, we have an excess of expression. It may be, however, that the r in near is a mere point of orthography, and that it is not pronounced. The fact that in the English language the words father and farther are, for the most part, pronounced alike, is the key to the forms near and nearer.
[§ 323]. Farther.—Anglo-Saxon feor, fyrre, fyrrest. The th seems euphonic, inserted by the same process that gives the δ in ἄνδρος.
Further.—Confounded with farther, although in reality from a different word, fore. Old High German, furdir; New High German, der vordere; Anglo-Saxon, fyrðre.
[§ 324]. Former.—A comparative formed from the superlative; forma being such. Consequently, an instance of excess of expression, combined with irregularity.
Languages have a comparative without a superlative degree; no language has a superlative degree without having also a comparative one.
[§ 325]. In Mœso-Gothic spêdists means last, and spêdiza=later. Of the word spêdists two views may be taken. According to one it is the positive degree with the addition of st; according to the other, it is the comparative degree with the addition only of t. Now, Grimm and others lay down as a rule, that the superlative is formed, not directly from the positive, but indirectly through the comparative.
With the exception of worse and less, all the English comparatives end in r: yet no superlative ends in rt, the form being, not wise, wiser, wisert, but wise, wiser, wisest. This fact, without invalidating the notion just laid down, gives additional importance to the comparative forms in s; since it is from these, before they have changed to r, that we must suppose the superlatives to have been derived. The theory being admitted, we can, by approximation, determine the comparative antiquity of the superlative degree. It was introduced into the Indo-European tongues after the establishment of the comparative, and before the change of -s into -r. I give no opinion as to the truth of this theory.