COMPARISON BY ADVERBS.

The two degrees of superiority may also be expressed with precisely the same import as above, by prefixing to the adjective the adverbs more and most:  as, wise, more wise, most wise; famous, more famous, most famous; amiable, more amiable, most amiable.

The degrees of inferiority are expressed, in like manner, by the adverbs less and least:  as, wise, less wise, least wise; famous, less famous, least famous; amiable, less amiable, least amiable.  The regular method of comparison has, properly speaking, no degrees of this kind.

Nearly all adjectives that admit of different degrees, may be compared by means of the adverbs; but, for short words, the regular method is generally preferable:  as, quick, quicker, quickest; rather than, quick, more quick, most quick.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—­The genius of our language is particularly averse to the lengthening of long words by additional syllables; and, in the comparison of adjectives, er and est always add a syllable to the word, except it end in le after a mute.  Thus, free, freer, freest, increases syllabically; but ample, ampler, amplest, does not.  Whether any particular adjective admits of comparison or not, is a matter of reasoning from the sense of the term; by which method it shall be compared, is in some degree a matter of taste; though custom has decided that long words shall not be inflected, and for the shorter, there is generally an obvious bias in favour of one form rather than the other.  Dr. Johnson says, “The comparison of adjectives is very uncertain; and being much regulated by commodiousness of utterance, or agreeableness of sound, is not easily reduced to rules.  Monosyllables are commonly compared.  Polysyllables, or words of more than two syllables, are seldom compared otherwise than by more and most.  Dissyllables are seldom compared if they terminate in full, less, ing, ous, ed, id, at, ent, ain, or ive.”—­Gram. of the English Tongue, p. 6.  “When the positive contains but one syllable, the degrees are usually formed by adding er or est.  When the positive contains two syllables, it is matter of taste which method you shall use in forming the degrees.  The ear is, in this case, the best guide.  But, when the positive contains more than two syllables, the degrees must be formed by the use of more and most.  We may say, tenderer and tenderest, pleasanter and pleasantest, prettier and prettiest; but who could endure delicater and delicatest?”—­Cobbett’s E. Gram., p. 81. Quiet, bitter, clever, sober, and perhaps some others like them, are still regularly compared; but such words as secretest, famousest,