260 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



Si. 3)et fcfionere, 



. <De3 fcfioneren, 



>. em fcfioneren, 



21. >en fcfioneren, 



tie fdjonere, 

 bcr fcfyoneren, 

 ber fcfioneren, 

 kie fcfionere, 



baS fcfionere, the finer. 

 beS fc&imcren, of the finer. 

 kern fdjoneren, to the finer. 

 baS fcfionere, the finer. 



Plural for all genders. 



JR. 3>te fcfioneren, the finer. 5. >en fcfioneren, to the finer. 



. $er fcfioneren, of the finer. 21. 5He fcfioneren, the finer. 



2. Superlatives of the Old Declension are used only fin ad- 

 dress, as: Stebfter SSrubet, dearest brother. STfieuerfte SDJutter, 

 dearest mother. Stebfie Sreunfce, dearest friends, etc. ( 37. 2.) 



55. 



DECLENSION. 



Masculine. 

 3)er fcfionfie, 

 S)c8 fcfionfien, 

 >em fcfionften, 

 3)en fcfionfien, 



kie fcfi onfte, 

 bcr fcfionften, 

 ker fcfionjien, 

 kie fcfionjie, 



Neuter. 



ba fcfjonfie, the finest. 

 fceS fcfionfien, of the finest, 

 bent fcfionjien, to the finest. 

 fcaS fcfionfte, the finest. 



Plural for all genders. 



ft. 3>te jcfionften, the finest. 25. 2>en fcfienften, to the finest. 



@. >er fcfionfien, of the finest. 21. S)ie fcfionften, the finest. 



3. The Old form of the superlative is rarely used ; the article 

 (as in English) always preceding it, as : 2Mn ut ift ber f cfi o n fi c, 

 any hat is the finest. Instead of the regular form, the dative of 

 the New Declension, preceded by the particle am, contracted 

 from an bcm, is often used, as : 2J2ein'ut ifi am fcfionflcn. (See 

 38. 1, etc.) 



The adverb mefir, like its English equivalent (more), is likewise 

 employed in the comparison of adjectives, as : te ifi mcfir 

 liebenSiBUtktg, ali fcfion, she is more amiable than beautiful. (See 

 42. 1, etc.) 



4. Adjectives of all degrees of comparison may in the simple 

 and absolute form be employed as adverbs ; but when the super- 

 lative is so used, the form produced by the union of am with 

 the dative is adopted, as : Sr fcfiretbt ftyon, he writes beautifully. 

 @fr Iteft fcfyncUer, at id), he reads more rapidly than I. <Ste lieft am 

 fityneflflen, she reads the most rapidly. ( 106.) 



5. Participles, when used as adjectives, are compared in the 

 like manner, as : elefyrt (learned), gelefyrtcr (more learned), 

 gdefyrtefl (most learned) ; rii^renb (affecting), rutyrenber (more affect- 

 ing),, vutyrenbfi (most affecting). 



6. 3eieorj[ebefiD, in phrases like the following, is answered 

 in English by " the-the ; " thus, 3e meljr, jc muntctcr, the more the 

 merrier. 3e mc^r, fccfto beffcr, the more, the better. 3e is some- 

 times preceded by tcflo,as: in SBerf tp beflo nu^tic^er, je wUfom 

 mener c$ tfl, the more perfect a work is, the more useful it is. 



7. 3)efio is likewise used without j c, as : @r lief barauf fcejlo 

 fctyneller, thereupon he ran the faster. Sr ^crtc nun befto aufmerf* 

 famet ju, he listened now the more attentively. 



8. The following adjectives are irregular in comparison (see 

 39) :- 



ut, good ; fceffer, better ; 



ocfy, high ; ^i^er, higher ; 



Slaty, near. Mtytr, nearer. 



SStet, much ; mejjr, more ; 



SBentg, little tuentger, mtnber, less 

 or few; or fewer; 



fceft or am beftcn, best. 

 $cc$ft or am ^ocfjficn, highest, 

 nacfjft, or am nftc()ften ; nearest, 

 metfl or am metflen, most. 

 tomtgfi or minbeft, least or 

 fewest. 



RESUME OF EXAMPLES. 



Sa SBcttcr ifi ^eute falter, al 



gefiern. 

 2)er e'betfle 3)}enfd() ifi m'^jt tmmer 



ker glucC'lic^flc, unb bet mctyfie 



nic^t tmmer fcer toet'fefh. 

 S)er J?tugfte iji gen>o^n'(idf) am fce 



fcfiei'benjien, kec SDummfle am 



ju'bringltcfyfien. 

 Gin guter Selblerr muf me^r fltig, 



ate tapfcr fein. 



5)iefc8 Xucij) til fceffev, t iene8. 



Hunger ifi ber fcefle JJodj) . 



S)te S!anne ifi ker ^odjftc 93aum. 



aSciS(;ett iji met;r 311 icf)d^en, aT8 

 9ictcfytl)um aber am meiftcn 

 Sugenb unb SrDmmigfctt. 



The weather is colder to-day 



tLan yesterday. 

 The noblest man is not always 



the most fortunate, and the 



richest not always the wisest. 

 The wisest (man) is generally 



the most modest, the most 



stupid the most obtrusive. 

 A good commander - in - chief 



must be more prudent than 



valiant. 



This cloth is better than that. 

 (The) hunger is the best cook. 

 The pine is the highest tree. 

 Wisdom is more to be prized 



than riches, but virtue and 



devoutness the most. 



EXERCISE 52. 



1. >tefet Sager fiat cinen fdjonen -unb, meiner tfl fdjcner, unb fcer 

 iji ber ftyonfic on aflen. 2. te (Srbe iji Heincr, atS bie @cnne; 

 unk bie terne ftnb mtfernter, al ber 9Honb. 3. a>trgtt ifi etn angcnelj 

 merer @djriftftet(er, al Ootb. 4. 25 te @tabt 6anton ( 123. 6) ifi gvoper, 

 ati $aris. 5. Slteranber ber rojjc tyatte trcmgcr Jllugl;ctt, at8 aJJutfi. 

 6. SDJan ftnbet iel me^t .Suffer at @tlber, unb mefir @ifen aI8 3inn. 7. 

 S)iefc attdbcijen plaubert mefir, al fte ( 134. 2) arbettct. 8. 5>te Suft 

 in ben tabten tji unrciner, at bie Sanfctilft. 9. granfreity ifi ntcijt fo 

 frucf)tt>ar, n?ic 2)eutfd;lanb. 10. Dtefcr Sungling ^at nic^t fo iel SScrftanb, 

 tcie fcin Sruber, aier er I;at aucf) nicfjt fo tct ttelfeit. 11. te 9lofe tji 

 etne ber fc^onfien JBlumen in bcr SfBelt. 12. Siejenigen ftnb geuwtynlicl) am 

 hjcntgfien fiolj, beren @eifi am gebilbetfien ifi. 13. 5)ie itten bcrjcingen, 

 mit njeldjcn roiv umgefien, I;aben geftofinlid; Stnflujj auf un. 14. 

 tc 28ob,ttf;aten, beren niir murbtg ftnb, ftnb unS angenefimer, afe bie, keren 

 roir uniDiirbtg ftnb. 15. 3>ericntge tft ter retd;fic, fcefjcn linker tugenbl;aft 

 ftnb. 16. 2)cr err fiat feincn efa((cn ait benjenigcn 3Jienfd;en, bie fetiie 

 Stebe ju tfiren JBrubern fiaben. 17. S)er Slvfetbaum fiat etnen btrfen 

 tarnm, bie J8ud;e fiat etncn btcfern tamm, unb bie @td;e fiat ben btcfftcn 

 tantm. 18. 3e mefir er fiat befio mcfir wU( ec. 19. glorenj ifi fcfioncr, 



EXERCISE 53. 



1. The more frequent our intercourse is with nations, the 

 more our commerce will be extended. 2. Are the palaces of 

 the kings of England as beautiful as those of the German 

 kings ? 3. England is not so fertile as Spain or Italy. 4. It 

 is as easy to do good as to do evil. 5. Virtue is the greatest 

 ornament of man. 6. A sage said (used to say), that the more 

 he reflected on the immortality of the soul, the more important 

 it appeared to him. 7. The Rhine presents the most beautiful 

 view. 8. The country air was more beneficial in the recovery 

 of this youth than the treatment of the most efficient doctor. 

 9. Ovid is a less agreeable writer than Virgil. 10. The spring 

 is more variable than the autumn. 11. This view is beautiful, 

 but the view from that hill is more beautiful. 12. Augustus 

 was not, perhaps, a greater man than Antony, but he was more 

 fortunate than he. 13. Of all flowers the rose is the most beau- 

 tiful, if the violet is not still more beautiful. 14. The society of 

 that youth is less agreeable than that of his brother. 15. Mont 

 Blanc is a high mountain, but Chimborazo is higher, and Mount 

 Everest the highest. 16. Virtue is more to be prized than riches. 

 17. The soldiers are going to Vienna. 18. The woodcutter 

 cuts down the highest beech in the forest. 19. Florence is tho 

 capital of Italy. 20. The stars in the heaven shine brightly. 

 21. She is more beautiful than amiable. 22. The louder the 

 man called, the faster the boy ran. 23. The boatman rowed 

 rapidly across the river. 



