1465. When more than two things are compared, the superlative is used to
represent a quality as belonging in the highest degree to an individual
or to a number of a class: as,
#proximī sunt Germānīs#, 1, 1, 3, _they live the nearest to the
Germans_. #hōrum omnium fortissimī#, 1, 1, 3, _the bravest of these
all_.
1466. The superlative may be strengthened by the addition of such words
as #ūnus#, _preeminently_, usually with a genitive, #maximē#, #quam#,
with or without a form of #possum#, _as possible_, &c., &c. (1892). In
old Latin by #multō#; from Cicero on, by #longē#, _far_, and #vel#,
_perhaps_, _even_: as,
#cōnfirmāverim rem ūnam esse omnium difficillimam#, _Br._ 25, _I am not
afraid to avouch it is the one hardest thing in the world_. #longē
nōbilissimus#, 1, 2, 1, _the man of highest birth by far_. #quam maximīs
potest itineribus in Galliam contendit#, 1, 7, 1, _he pushes into Gaul
by the quickest marches he can_. #quam mātūrrimē#, 1, 33, 4, _as early
as possible_.
1467. The superlative is also used to denote a very high degree of the
quality.
This superlative, called the _Absolute Superlative_, or the _Superlative
of Eminence_, may be translated by the positive with some such word as
_most_, _very_: as, #homo turpissimus#, _V._ 4, 16, _an utterly
unprincipled man_. Often best by the positive alone: as, #vir
fortissimus, Pīsō Aquītānus#, 4, 12, 4, _the heroic Piso of Aquitain_
(1044).
1468. In exaggerated style, the superlative of eminence may be capped by
a comparative: as, #stultior stultissumō#, Pl. _Am._ 907, _a greater
than the greatest fool_. #ego miserior sum quam tū, quae es miserrima#,
_Fam._ 14, 3, 1, _I am myself more unhappy than you, who are a most
unhappy woman_.
(B.) USE OF THE VERB.