690
infernal centre hurl'd, As from that centre to th' ethereal world." --_Pope's Iliad_, B. viii, l. 19.
REGULAR COMPARISON.
Adjectives are regularly compared, when the comparative degree is expressed by adding er, and the superlative, by adding est to them: as, Pos., great, Comp., greater, Superl., _greatest_; Pos., mild, Comp., milder, Superl., mildest.
In the variation of adjectives, final consonants are doubled, final e is omitted, and final y is changed to i, agreeably to the rules for spelling: as, _hot, hotter, hottest; wide, wider, widest; happy, happier, happiest_.
The regular method of comparison belongs almost exclusively to monosyllables, with dissyllables ending in w or y, and such others as receive it and still have but one syllable after the accent: as, _fierce, fiercer, fiercest; narrow, narrower, narrowest; gloomy, gloomier, gloomiest; serene, serener, serenest; noble, nobler, noblest; gentle, gentler, gentlest_.
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