10. Thought is thought, howe’er it speak or spell itself.—Carlyle.
11. She would not marry a coward or a braggart even if he were the owner of ten thousand acres.—Lord.
12. Father Salvierderra always said that it was a duty to look happy, no matter how much we might be suffering.—H. H.
CHAPTER XVII
THE ADVERBIAL CLAUSE OF DEGREE OR COMPARISON
Function.—In Chapter XI. we showed that the manner in which an action is performed is often denoted by an adverbial clause. Now, it may sometimes be denoted by an adverb, as in the sentence,—He accumulated his learning quietly. But, in order to give force and point to this adverb, it is frequently accompanied by a clause of degree bringing in a comparison; thus, “He accumulated his learning as quietly as a stout lady accumulates her fat, by the daily satisfaction of his appetite.”—Hamerton. By comparing the quietness with which he accumulated learning to the quietness with which a stout lady accumulates fat, we provide a standard or illustration for the first thought, and so make it clear and impressive.
We often wish to tell in what degree a certain attribute is possessed. This may be done by a clause of result, as was seen in Chapter XIV., but we may also do it by comparison; for example, “Thou shalt be happy as heart can wish.” Here the degree of happiness thou shalt have is fixed by saying that it is equal to what thy heart wishes.
Number and amount often cannot be told absolutely but may be told relatively by means of a comparison; thus, “Mrs. Patten had more respect for her neighbor Mr. Hackit than for most people.”—George Eliot. It would hardly be possible or worth while to tell exactly the amount of respect that Mrs. Patten had for Mr. Hackit, but it is worth telling how this respect compared with the respect she had for other people.
Classification of Clauses of Degree.—1. A sentence may assert that two attributes are equal in degree; as, “They were as timid and cowardly as they were rebellious.”—Lord. Here the degree of their timidity and cowardice is shown by comparing these qualities with their rebelliousness, and the two sets of attributes are found to be equal. The clause in such a sentence is usually introduced by the subordinating conjunction as, and a correlative of this word usually precedes the word in the principal proposition denoting the idea to be compared. The first as is an adverb, being an adjunct of either an adjective or an adverb. It may be omitted, as was shown in the sentence,—Thou shalt be happy as heart can wish.
A clause denoting equality of degree is sometimes introduced by as if, which may be considered a compound conjunction unless we choose to supply the ellipsis. In the following sentence from Henry James, “I found as great a fascination in watching the odd lights and shades of his character as if he had been a creature from another planet,”—we may supply between as and if the words I would have found, thus obtaining a clause of degree having within it a clause of condition.