COMPARISON 



1520 



COMPASS 



Adjectives and Adverbs without Compari- 

 son. There are many adjectives and adverbs 

 whose meaning is such that it is clearly impos- 

 sible to compare them without violating the 

 laws of logic; among these are words like 

 perpendicular, square, eternal, unique, abso- 

 lutely, for instance. If a pole is perpendicular 

 we could not make it more perpendicular. 

 However, with two poles set up, neither of 

 which is truly perpendicular, we may speak of 

 one as more perpendicular than the other, in 

 the sense that it is more nearly perpendicular. 



Among the adjectives that, strictly speaking, 

 have no shades of meaning and therefore do 

 not admit of comparison through the use of 

 more, most, so, too, very, and similar adverbs, 

 may be mentioned the following: 



absolute 



annual, dally 



cloudless 



conclusive 



continual 



dead, living 



empty, void, full 



eternal 



perfect 



fundamental 



human 



immaculate, spotless 



impossible 



inaudible 



incurable 



Infallible 



infinite 



lawful 



omnipotent 



perpetual 



right, correct, true 



solid 



square, circular, round 



triangular 



unanimous 



unique 



universal 



wrong 



Uses of the Superlative. The superlative 

 degree has a wider application than the com- 

 parative. It is often employed in the sense 

 of very, without implying comparison at all; 

 "His success was most brilliant"; "She wore 

 the queerest clothes." 



In every-day speech it is common to hear the 

 superlative adjective or adverb used where 

 only two things are compared; as, "Helen is 

 the prettiest of the twins." This is incorrect, 

 the proper expression being, "Helen is the 

 prettier of the twins." 



"Other" and "Else." Before we can use an 

 adjective in the comparative degree, we must 

 have two distinct objects or groups. To com- 

 pare Robert's height with that of the other 

 boys in his class, we must stand Robert by 

 himself and set the other boys off in a group, 

 to avoid comparing Robert with himself. Then, 

 m expressing the result of such comparison, 

 we must bring out this idea of separation by 

 using some separating word like other or else; 

 as "Robert is taller than any other boy in his 

 class," not "Robert is taller than any boy in 

 his class"; or "Robert is taller than anybody 

 else in his class," not, "Robert is taller than 

 anybody in his class." If the sentence fails to 



set Robert apart from the others, it fails to 

 give the two distinct elements that are de- 

 manded by the comparative degree. 



On a first visit to a great city a boy or girl 

 should not write, "This city is larger than any 

 I have ever seen," but "This city is larger than 

 any other I have ever seen." 



Common Errors. Many of the errors that 

 appear in the comparison of adjectives and 

 adverbs have been referred to in the sentences 

 that have been given to illustrate the various 

 rules. The following list reemphasizes some of 

 these pitfalls and calls attention to one or two 

 new points: 



Brazil produces more coffee than any country 

 in the world, for Brazil produces more coffee 

 than any other country in the world. Since 

 Brazil is included in the phrase "any country 

 in the world," the separating word other Is 

 needed to make comparison possible. 



Of all other people, I like him the least, for 

 Of all people I like him the least. The superla- 

 tive includes the object of the comparison ; there- 

 fore an excluding word like other is out of place. 



No metal is so valuable in science as radium, 

 for No other metal is so valuable in science as 

 radium. Since radium is one of the metals, it 

 must be excluded from the other term of the 

 comparison. 



A more happier couple you never saw, for A 

 happier (or more happy) couple you never saw. 

 Double comparatives are as grievous an error In 

 grammar as double negatives. 



Which is more preferable in your opinion T for 

 Which is preferable in your opinion f Prefer- 

 able being In itself a comparative, the prefixing 

 of the adverb more produces a double compara- 

 tive. 



This was the most unkindest cut of all, for 

 This was the unkindest (or most unkind) cut of 

 all. This line from Julius Caesar involved no 

 error In Shakespeare's time, but the grammar 

 of the present day classes a double superlative 

 as an Impropriety. L.M.B. 



COMPASS, an instrument which in its 

 simplest form consists of a magnetic needle 

 mounted on a pivot, always pointing in the 

 direction of the magnetic north and south 

 poles. Such compasses, very small in size, are 

 often worn as ornaments on watch chains or 

 carried in the pocket by travelers. 



On board ship the most important instru- 

 ment in use is the manner's compass, a more 

 complicated and accurate instrument; without 

 it ocean navigation would be in the highest 

 degree dangerous, if not impossible. It con- 

 sists of a series of magnetic needles supporting 

 a card, known as the compass card, which is 

 mounted on a pivot of steel. The cardinal 

 points, north, south, east and west are plainly 

 indicated on the card, which is further divided 

 into the intercardinal points, northeast, north- 



