Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

yet, still, far, by far, a great deal &c.: Your hair has grown much grayer (LONGFELLOW). England is greatly larger than Scotland (W. SCOTT). A living death And buried; but O, yet more miserable (MILTON). With arm still lustier (L. BYRON). Of feelings fierier far (ID.). There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far (W. SCOTT) &c. Even the superlative is strengthened adverbially: A self-mastery of the very highest kind (LEWES). Epaminondas was by far the most accomplished of the Thebans (MURRAY) &c.

The formerly widely diffused strengthening of the superlative by composition with alder, aller, which is still met with in Shakspeare in alderliefest (see above p. 176), has been abandoned. The same sense is effected, by annexing the positive with a plural substantive, or even used as a substantive with of, to the superlative, whereby, as by alder, the whole sphere of homogeneous objects is denoted. In poets this is not rare: Loveliest of lovely things are they, On earth, that soonest pass away (BRYANT). The bravest of the brave (L. BYRON). Well doth the Spanish hind the difference know Twixt him and Lusian slave the lowest of the low (ID.). Old-English: Fairest of faire, o lady myn Venus (CHAUCER 2223.). An other strengthening is the combination of the superlative with the positive: My dearest-dear Victorian (LONGFELLOW).

Many adjectives are, from their meaning, incapable of degrees of comparison. Here belong all those, whose intensity is not capable of a more or a less, especially those expressing definite relations of time, space and number, as yearly, square, second, or referring to material, possession or descent as wooden, paternal, French, as well as those, which by themselves express the highest measure of the notion or negative determinations, as infinite, eternal, immense, consummate, omnipotent, boundless &c. Yet here an abstract rule does not suffice. The superlative, especially, of many words of this sort, in spite of the censure of grammarians, is used to strengthen the meaning conveyed by the positive, and even comparatives are not wanting which seem to mock the literal conception. Compare: A purpler beverage (L. BYRON). Once bloody mortals and now bloodier idols (ID.). . . Lest the dead under the sod, In the land of strangers, should be lonely! Ah me! I think I am lonelier here! (LONGFELLOW). My chiefest entertainment (SHERIDAN). The grave shall bear the chiefest prize away (L. BYRON), The perfectest herald of joy (SHAKSPEARE Much Ado &c.). Hail! divinest Melancholy! (MILTON). You divinest powers (OTWAY). I am the falsest, veriest slave (ID.). I'm the veriest fool (LONGFELLOW). When deeds are wrought Which well might shame extremest hell (WHITTIER). I live and die unheard with a most voiceless thought (L. BYRON). No discord in the three But the most perfect harmony (LONGFELLOW); and in a descending scale of comparison: The Roman friend of Rome's least mortal mind (ID.). Nothing is more frequent than the employment of chiefest, extremest, which the narrowmindedness of grammarians rejects,

[ocr errors]

who rather have to comprehend the mode of viewing things, represented by the living language, than to fix limits to it.

The Modern-English adjective cheap, at the comparison of which no one is now offended, is properly a substantive (Anglosaxon ceáp, pecus, pretium, negotium) and was originally compounded with great, good, like bon marché; wherefore no comparison appeared in the preceding adjective. Old-English: Thei ben there grettere cheep (MAUNDEV. p. 49.). Clothes. . ben gretter chep there (p. 233.). He made of hem bettre cheep (p. 83.). Compare also good-cheap in Halliwell S. V. Chief is indeed originally a substantive too, standing, however, in a direct relation with another substantive.

3) The Numeral.

Next in order to the adjective comes the numeral, so far as it gains, as a determination of magnitude, characterizing objects under the point of view of their unity or multiplicity, the nature of a qualifying word, and stands like the latter in formal relation to the substantive.

English has adjective cardinal numerals, ordinal numerals and numerals of multiplication. They are, almost without exception, of Anglosaxon origin.

a) The cardinal number serves to express Unity and the number of units. In their older of succession they present themselves in the following manner:

8.

1. one, Anglosaxon ân, Old-English one, oone, on, o, ane, a &c. 2. two, Anglosaxon tvêgen, tvâ, Old-English twey, tway, tweie, twèine, two. 3. three, Anglosaxon prî, preó, Old-English pre. 4. four, Anglosaxon feóver, Old-English foure. 5. five, Anglosaxon fif, Old-English five. 6. six, Anglosaxon six, Old-English sixe, syxe. 7. seven, Anglosaxon seofon, Old-English seven. eight, Anglosaxon eahta, Old-English eizte, azt, aughte. 9. nine, Anglosaxon nigon, Old-English nyne, nine. 10. ten, Anglosaxon tên, tîn, tŷn tëhon, Old-English tene. 11. eleve, Anglosaxon endlif, dative endlifum, endleofon, endlefen, Old-English endleue, ellene, endleuene. 12. twelve, Anglosaxon tvelf, Old-English tuelue, twolf, twelf. 13. thirteen, Anglosaxon preótŷne, Old-English prottene, thretene. 14. fourteen, Anglosaxon feóvertŷne, Old-English fowrtene, also fourte (WEBER). 15. fifteen, Anglosaxon fiftŷne, Old-English fiftene. 16. sixteen, Anglosaxon sixtŷne, Old-English sixtene. 17. seventeen, Anglosaxon seofontŷne, Old English seventene. 18. eighteen, Anglosaxon eahtatŷne, Old-English eiztetene, ayttene. 19. nineteen, Anglosaxon nigontŷne, Old-English nyentene. 20. twenty. Anglosaxon tvêntig, Old-English tuenty, tuenti. 21. &c. twenty-one, two, three &c. 30. thirty, Anglosaxon prîtig, prittig, Old-English pritty. 40. forty, Anglosaxon feóvertig, OldEnglish fowertie, fourty. 50. fifty, Anglosaxon fiftig, Old-English fifty. 60. sixty, Anglosaxon sixtig, Old-English sixty. 70. seventy, Anglosaxon seofontig, Old-English seventy. 80. eighty, Anglosaxon eahtatig, Old-English eiztety. 90. ninety, Anglosaxon nigontig, Old-English ninty. 100. (a, one) hundred, Anglosaxon hundred,

=

hundrid centuria, is a substantive. The cardinal number was teóntig and hund, Old-English hondred, hondrith. 1000. (a, one) thousand, Anglosaxon pûsend, Old-Engl. pousand, pousant, thousend. The higher numbers million, Old-English the same, billion, trillion &c. are borrowed from the French.

Compound numbers stand either in the additive relation, as twenty-two, or in the multiplicative relation, as ten thousand. In the additive relation the smaller number commonly stands after the greater, whereas in the multiplicative the multiplier stands before the multiplicand: twelve thousand twelve hundred and twelve. The tens standiug after thousands or hundreds with their units or even units alone are connected by and: three hundred and sixty-five; eight thousand and fourty &c. The tens with the following units are commonly connected by a hyphen: sixty-five, yet this is also omitted.

In the additive relation the units may also come before the tens, in which case and is put betwixt both; here too hyphens either stand or are absent: They have each of them received one-andtwenty shillings (G. FARQUHAR). But six-and-fifty pounds (J. VANBRUGH) Four and forty men of war.. were assembled in the harbour (MACAULAY). If a greater number precedes the then, this is not permitted. That manner is also commonly limited to the numbers up to fifty inclusive. In Anglosaxon it was usual with all tens, also after a preceding greater number: tvâ and hundseofontig (=72) (Lrc. 10, 1. 17.); nigon and hundnigontig (=99). Ceorles vergild is cc and VI and LX prymsa (= 266 Threepennypiece).

The Anglosaxon numbers teónting, ên lufontig, tvelftig are like hund (centum), which was also superfluously united with the numbers from seofontig-twelftig, have been abandoned; yet the hundreds have not merely been numbered up to 900: twelve thousand twelve hundred and twelve, especially in the numbers of years. In Old-English even twenty hundred, and the like are found. Compare: Of fifteen hondrith.. Went away but fifti and thre; Of twenty hondrith. . But even five and fifti (PERCY Rel. p. 4. I.).

In the calculation of percentage cent stands for 100: five per cent five in the hundred.

0 is expressed by cipher, cypher, zero, also by nought. The numeration by scores (score, Anglosaxon scor, incisura, numerus vicenarius), which was familiar to the Celts, and is still in use in a limited measure in French (compare quatre-vingts, six-vingts &c.), as well as in Danish (compare tresindstyve abbreviated from tres 3 x 20 &c.) is still in usual, has established itself since early times alongside of the common method of numeration, although now in narrower bounds. Old-English: Four hundred &c. four score (ROB. of Gloucester I. 139.). Syxe score paces (PERCY Rel. p. 46.). Twenty score paces (IB.). The sheriffe with seven score men Fast after him is gone (p. 22). The zere of oure lord a thousand thre hundred foure score and five (TREVISA). Modern-English: They reign'd the monarchs of a score of

miles (H. WALPOLE). Ninescore and seventeen pounds (SHAKSPEARE Meas. for M.). Sixty of my fourscore years (L. BYRON). An old man of threescore (LONGFELLOW). Score was to the old archers the expression for twenty yards; it now signifies in western dialects twenty pounds else, generally the stairs. In Old-English we even find twenty multiplied: In the date of oure Drighte.. A thousand and thre hundred Twies twenty and ten (PIERS PLOUGHм. p. 262.).

Two definite or already known objects are comprehended by both; Anglosaxon m. begen, f. and n. bâ (bû in compounds), Old-norse m. baðir, f. bâdar, n. bædi, compare Gothic bajôps; Old-English bey, beye along with bothe (ROB. OF GLOUCESTER), also boo, bo; compare, from section the 15th: Into the dyche they falleth bo, in two Mss. in Halliwell p. XXVI.; also beie and bethen (IB. S. vv.): Old-English still used the genitive (Anglosaxon bega, begea, begra): poru her beyre red (ROB. OF GLOUCESTER I. 262.); which there after adopted the form botheres: Hir botheres myghte (PIERS PLOUGHM. p. 340.). Hir botheres right (p. 371.), along with bother (HALLIWELL s. v.). The Anglosaxon compound bûtvû, bûtû both two, often appears in Old-English as bothe two: We han the deth deserved bothe tuo (CHAUCER 1718). Sche saugh hem bothe two (4298.). With bothe myn yen tuo (10259). So too in Shakspeare: Neither of either; I remit both twain (LoVE'S L. L. 5, 2.).

[ocr errors]

In Anglosaxon the numbers 1 -4, 10-12, as well as the round tens tvêntig &c. in part, and the substantives hundrid, pûsend were capable of inflection.

In English one as an indefinite pronoun is capable of the genitive inflection one's and of the plural formation ones. (See the Pronoun).

Alongside of two we still find of old forms twain (Anglosaxon tvegen nom. and acc.): We tweyne (SKELTON I. 42.). Did he not send you twain (SHAKSPEARE Love's L. L. 5, 2.). You seek it of the twain of least respect and interest in Venice (L. BYRON). Let there be No farther strife nor enmity Between us twain (LONGFELLOW); and so often in twain alongside of in two, OldEnglish a two entzwei: What hinders me from cleaving you in twain? (L. BYRON). It is king Herod's only son That ye have cleft in twain (LONGF.); on the other hand: Bruce cleft his head in two with his sword (W. SCOTT). He may not hew his love a two (CHAUCER Rom. of the R. p. 251.). Thus too Old-English used a tre, a seuene &c. with divisions (into two &c. parts). Compare Rob. of Gloucester I. 23. 213.

=

The remaining numerals, considered as proper adjectives, are capable of inflection only when used as substantives. This may happen if they are considered as names of figures, or abstractedly as the expression of quantities. Of figures are used: the two, the six, a two, three eights &c. As terms for definite quantities in an abstract manner, as, unit, five, ten &c., when the image of the figure may sometimes lie at the root, compare: I always took three threes for nine SHAKSPEARE Love's L. L. 5, 2.).

The first place is for the units, the second for the tens, the third for hundreds (CROSSLEY). The number, used substantively, may also be referred to objects or persons, as in to go on all fours; fives: a play with a ball, in which three fives, or fifteen, are counted to a game (WEBSTER). A thirty dozen moons with borrowed sheen About the world have times twelve thirties been (SHAKSPEARE Hamlet); also distributively: The ascent had been long and toilsome; for even the foot had to climb by twos and threes (MACAULAY).

The numerals used as substantive hundred, thousand, million, billion &c. have in the singular one or the a (=one) weakened down to an article, before them; the former, if the singular is to be made prominent and emphatic, perhaps also in an implied or express antithesis, which moreover happens in the numbers of years at present, even without this reason (not so in Old-English, see above p. 276); the latter, if this is not the case. Millions &c. however, seldom come under the former case. Compare: The statutes continued to be published in the same language, for above one hundred and twenty years (TYRWHIT ed. Chaucer p. XXII.). The number was not less than one hundred thousand men (W. SCOTT). They sent, therefore, one thousand men-at-arms (ID.); on the other hand: About a hundred years after (MACAULAY). I have a thousand things to do (TH. HOLCROFT). At about a hundred and sixty yards distance (FIELDING). The singulars: hundred, thousand &c., stand without a preceding determination of this sort, if the definite article or possessive and demonstrative pronouns precede: Where is the thousand marks, I gave thee, villain? (SHAKSPEARE Com. of Err.). You saw me.. Apparent sovereign of our hundred islands (L. BYRON). Only one of all his hundred descendants (LONGFELLOW). These hundred years (GOLDSMITH). Yet the article is also sometimes wanting: When thousand worlds are round (POPE).

If more than a hundred or a thousand is involved, hundred and thousand do not assume the plural termination, but have from the oldest times passed as indeclinable, where standing adjectively, with or without a succeding number in a direct relation to determinate objects, which is the case wherever the cardinal stands in the place of the ordinal number, as in the numbers of years: Three hundred years. An extent of three thousand miles. An army of sixty thousand men (MACAULAY). By many thousand men (W. SCOTT). Yet in this life Lie hid more thousand deaths (SHAKSP. Meas. for Meas.). So even in Old-English: pre hondred men (ROB. OF GLOUCESTER II. 476.). With fifteen hondrith archares bold (PERCY Rel. p. 2. I.). In eizte thousend zer (WRIGHT Popul. Treat. p. 134). Ten hundrid thousand stories tellen I can (CHAUCER 10114.). They may, however, when used substantively, assume the ́s of the plural, in which case they are either followed by no substantive, or by one standing to it in the relation of the periphratic genitive with of: What is the amount of a thousand thousands? Tausender (CROSSLEY). These poor ignorant wretches, some hundreds in number (MACAULAY). The poor, blind slave..

[ocr errors]
« ZurückWeiter »