4$807.] 
that.” Idem cum and idem ac, are, I be- 
heve, both good Latin. When I say, 
“What I have here said, warrants the 
conclusion, that than is properly placed 
after other;” do I speak as good Envlish 
as if I should say, “what I have here 
said warrants me im concluding that 
than, &c.” Your’s, &c. 
Edgeware-road. AccuRATUS. 
= 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, 
SIR, 
V ITHOUT pretending to a perfect 
/ . S : 
knowledge of the English lan- 
guage, which I have however made my 
favourite study, I think the doubts of 
your correspondent, “ Scrututor,” im 
Number 161 of the Monthly Magazine, 
respecting the grammatical propriety of 
placing than after other, and otherwise, 
must have arisen ‘from his, considering 
the word other, merely as a pronoun. 
But when joined to a substantive, it is 
often a real adjective comparative. The 
father who requests his son to beware of 
the other bottle, means to caution him 
not to drink mere than one. When 
Blair says: “No other merriment, dull 
tree, is thine!” ‘his meaning is, that not 
one more merriment belongs to the 
yew. 
Every one of the examples quoted by 
Se rutator, confirms this observation. 
‘Without fee or reward, other than 
sae nee that is, without one more fee or 
reward than—<« They have often no other 
task than to lay two books-before them ;’ 
that is, not one task more. 
“ Felt no other desire than to be free;” 
that is, not one more desire. 
“ Produced no other trait than the 
testimony;” that is, not one fruit more 
than the testimony. 
The two sentences which Scrutator 
thinks correct, appear to me the reverse. 
Instead of ‘ has no other claim to notice 
but that,” Johnson might have written, 
“no other claim than,’ and White’s 
no olher kingdom but that of righte- 
ousness,” would have been better ex- 
pressed by “ no other kingdom than.” 
Both authors seem to have heen betrayed 
into what I consider as an anomaly, by 
wishing to steer clear of the cacophony, 
than that; but to avoid this disagreeable 
alliteration, the word other might have 
been altogether omitted in either sen- 
tence, and then the conjunction but 
would have been perfectly proper. 
Most of the old writers, quoted as au- 
thorities in Johnson’s Dictionary, have 
than after other and otherwise; as 
On the Word than after other. 
333 
—‘‘ Menseldom consider God any of her- 
wise than in iclation to themselves.” 
Rogers.—* I can expect no other (thing) 
from those that judge by single sights 
thun to be thought.” Glanville.—* No 
Jeases shall ever be made other than 
leases for four years.” Swoft. | 
And modern authors adhere to the 
same rule. ‘* Other than me no God 
shalt thou contess.” Harodiad, part 2. 
—¢ The power which the Duke of Marl- 
borough enjoyed, seemed to be no other- 
wise gratifying than as it ministered to 
his rapacity.” Noble’s Continuation of 
the Bwgraphical History of England, 
Indeed in the most familiar uses of the 
word other, there is always a comparison 
understood ; for instance, “ take another 
glass,” that j is, one glass more than what 
you havegot. “ Has he no other friends ?” 
that 1s, no other friends than him to whom 
he has applied. And this is not peculiar 
to the English. In German we also says: 
Ich habe keinen anderen Rock. f have 
no other coat; that is, Ich habe keinen 
anderen Rock als den ich trage. 1 have 
no other coat than that which I wear. 
The word ander, being a real adjective 
comparative, requires after it the same 
conjunction as any other comparative, 
and so does the French autre. [n an 
amorous ditty to his mistress, alluding to 
hisheart and hev’s, the Frenchraan sings: . 
‘¢ D’autres que moi pourrent avoir le votre 5 
D’autres que vous n’auront jamais le mien.” 
When Charles V. said, that as many 
languages as a man could speak, $0 
many times might he be afirmed ta be a 
man; he meant, ne doubt, that intimate 
knowledve of different languages by which 
a man is rendered capable of acting his 
part on the theatre of the world alter 
nately in ‘different countries. But even 
without speaking foreign idioms, the mere 
study of them enables the student to as- 
certain with more precision the mnport 
of several turns of expression and shades 
of meaning In his native language, which 
else would elude his apnea, and 
forces him to attach ideas to words which 
he was wont to repeat from habit. ; 
This consideration has induced me te 
announce, besides my Enghsh lectures 
on statistics, a course of lectures on the 
comparative idioms of the English, 
French, and German languages, calcu- 
lated tor those who have made some 
proficiency in either French or Geiman, 
or in both. Your’s, Ye, 
Sept, 10, 1807. D. Bor.eaw, 
Pimlico, 6, Upper Eaton-street. * 
8 
