1320. (1.) The ablative may be used with a comparative adjective, when
the first of two things compared is in the nominative, or is a
subject-accusative.
Such an ablative is translated by _than_: as, (_a._) #lūce sunt clāriōra
nōbīs tua cōnsilia#, _C._ 1, 6, _your schemes are plainer to us than
day_. #ō mātre pulchrā fīlia pulchrior#, H. 1, 16, 1, _O daughter fairer
than a mother fair_. Particularly in sentences of negative import: as,
#quis Karthāginiēnsium plūris fuit Hannibale?# _Sest._ 142, _of all the
sons of Carthage, who was rated higher than Hannibal?_ #nec mihī̆ est tē
iūcundius quicquam nec cārius#, _Fam._ 2, 10, 1, _and there is nothing
in the world nearer and dearer to me than you_. (_b._) #illud cōgnōscēs
profectō, mihī̆ tē neque cāriōrem neque iūcundiōrem esse quemquam#,
_Fam._ 2, 3, 2, _one thing I am sure you will see, that there is nobody
nearer and dearer to me than you_.
1321. (2.) The ablative of comparison is similarly used when the first
member of comparison is an accusative of the object: as,
#exēgī monumentum aere perennius#, H. 3, 30, 1, _I have builded up a
monument more durable than bronze_. Particularly so in sentences of
negative import: as, #hōc mihī̆ grātius facere nihil potes#, _Fam._ 13,
44, _you can do nothing for me more welcome than this_. Also with
predicate adjectives dependent on a verb of thinking (1167): as,
#Hērodotum cūr vērāciōrem dūcam Enniō?# _Div._ 2, 116, _why should I
count Herodotus any more truthful than Ennius?_ Regularly when the
second member of comparison is a relative: as, #quā pecude nihil genuit
nātūra fēcundius#, _DN._ 2, 160, _nature has created nothing more
prolific than this animal_, i.e. the sow.
1322. (3.) In poetry, the ablative of comparison may be used with the
first member of comparison in any case: as, #Lūcīlī rītū, nostrūm
meliōris utrōque#, H. _S._ 2, 1, 29, _after Lucilius’s way, a better man
than thou or I_.
1323. (4.) In sentences of negative import, the ablative is sometimes
used with #alter# and #alius#, as with a comparative: as, #neque mēst
alter quisquam#, Pl. _As._ 492, _and there’s no other man than I_. #nec
quicquam aliud lībertāte commūnī quaesīsse#, Brut. and Cass. in _Fam._
11, 2, 2, _and to have aimed at nothing else than freedom for all_. But
in prose, #quam# is commonly used.
1324. (1.) The second member of comparison is often introduced by
#quam#, _than_, or in poetry by #atque# or #ac#. This member, whatever
the case of the first member, is sometimes made the subject of a form of
#sum# in a new sentence: as,
#meliōrem quam ego sum suppōnō tibī̆#, Pl. _Cur._ 256, _I give you as a
substitute a better than I am myself_. #verba M. Varrōnis, hominis quam
fuit Claudius doctiōris#, Gell. 10, 1, 4, _the words of Varro, a better
scholar than Claudius ever was_. #ut tibī̆ maiōrī quam Āfricanus fuit,
mē adiūnctum esse patiāre#, _Fam._ 5, 7, 3, _so that you will allow me
to be associated with you, a bigger man than Africanus ever was_.
1325. (2.) When the first member is in the nominative or accusative,
#quam# is commonly a mere coordinating word, with both members in the
same case: as,
(_a._) #plūris est oculātus testis ūnus quam aurītī decem#, Pl. _Tru._
490, _a single witness with an eye rates higher than a dozen with the
ear_. (_b._) #tū velim exīstimēs nēminem cuiquam neque cāriōrem neque
iūcundiōrem umquam fuisse quam tē mihī̆#, _Fam._ 1, 9, 24, _I hope you
will be convinced that nobody was ever nearer and dearer to anybody than
you to me_.
1326. An introductory ablative of a demonstrative or relative pronoun
sometimes precedes the construction with #quam#: as, #quid hōc est
clārius, quam omnīs Segestae mātrōnās et virginēs convēnisse?# _V._ 4,
77, _what fact is there better known than this, to wit, that all the
women in Segesta, married and single, came streaming together?_
1327. The ablative is sometimes used with comparative adverbs also.
So particularly in sentences of negative import: as, #nihil lacrimā
citius ārēscit#, Corn. 2, 50, _nothing dries up quicker than a tear_.
Less frequently in positive sentences in prose: as, #fortūna, quae plūs
cōnsilīs hūmānīs pollet, contrāxit certāmen#, L. 44, 40, 3, _fortune,
who is mightier than the devices of man, precipitated the engagement_.
Very commonly, however, #quam# is used with comparative adverbs.
1328. Designations of number or extent are often qualified by #amplius#,
#longius#, or #plūs#, _over_, or by #minus#, _under_.
The word thus qualified is put in the case which the context would
require without any such qualification: as, #plūs septingentī captī#, L.
41, 12, 8, _over seven hundred were taken prisoners_. #tēcum plūs annum
vīxit#, _Q._ 41, _he lived with you over a year_ (1151). #cum equīs plūs
quīngentīs#, L. 40, 32, 6, _with over five hundred horses_. Less
frequently with #quam#. When these words are felt as real substantives
in the nominative or accusative, the ablative of comparison may be used
(1320): as, #plūs trīduō#, _RA._ 74, _more than three days_.
1329. In expressions of age with #nātus#, the adjectives #maior# and
#minor# are used as well as #amplius# and #minus#, and with the same
construction (1328): as, #annōs nātus maior quadrāgintā#, _RA._ 39,
_over forty years old_. For other constructions, see the dictionary.
Similarly #conlēctus aquae digitum nōn altior ūnum#, Lucr. 4, 414,
_a pool no deeper than a finger’s breadth_ (1130). But commonly with
comparative adjectives of extent, #quam# is used, or the ablative
(1320): as, #palūs nōn lātior pedibus quīnquāgintā#, 7, 19, 1, _a marsh
not wider than fifty feet_.
1330. With a comparative adjective or adverb, the ablatives #opīniōne#,
#exspectātiōne#, and #spē#, and some others, chiefly in poetry, take the
place of a sentence with #quam#: as,
#opīniōne melius#, Pl. _Cas._ 338, _better than you thought_. #minōra
opīniōne#, Caes. _C._ 2, 31, 5, _more insignificant than is thought_.
#lātius opīniōne dissēminātum est hoc malum#, _C._ 4, 6, _this infection
is more sweeping than anybody dreams_. #spē omnium sērius#, L. 2, 3, 1,
_later than was generally expected_.