| 词组 | superlative of two |
| 释义 | superlative of two The notion, so beloved of modern commentators, that the superlative degree should not be used of only two seems to have had its origin in the 18th century. Priestley 1761 appears to have been the first to express it (Leonard 1929 cites a 1769 edition), but he only gave one example of the superlative of two and concluded, "This is a very pardonable oversight." Campbell 1776 was the next to take it up. He did so speculatively, allowing both "the weaker of the two" and "the weakest of the two," but preferring the comparative to the superlative on "the most general principles of analogy," which principles he did not explain. Lindley Murray 1795 took his discussion of the superlative straight from Campbell, but in boiling it down he eliminated any element of doubt. "The weaker of the two" became "the regular mode of expression, because there are only two things compared." Campbell's speculation had become a rule. Evidently Murray's formulation of the question was picked up by a great many grammarians in the 19th century. Goold Brown 1851 provided a long list of them, side by side with examples of the superlative of two drawn from their own works. The rule did not impress Goold Brown: • The common assertion of the grammarians, that the superlative degree is not applicable to two objects, is not only unsupported by any reason in the nature of things, but is contradicted in practice by almost every man who affirms it. But Goold Brown's opinion seems to have had no influence on the school books, and both grammarians and rhetoricians clung steadfastly for a time to Murray's rule. Around the turn of the century, according to Hall 1917, the attitude of some grammarians at higher levels of speculation began to soften—one Scottish grammarian even advocated abolishing the comparative of two as a useless impediment. But the rhetoricians of the time were holding fast. The same division of opinion exists today. The grammarians are more latitudinarian: even school grammars allow the superlative of two in everyday or informal circumstances. The hard-line commentators of today, however, continue to insist that the superlative of two is an out-and-out error. Two things should be noted about the rule. First, as Lamberts 1972 points out, it makes no difference from the standpoint of communication whether you use the comparative or the superlative of two. No one will misunderstand you if you say "She is the older of the two" or if you say "She is the oldest of the two." The rule serves no useful purpose at all. It is therefore a perfect shibboleth, serving no practical function except to separate those who observe the rule from those who do not. The second thing is that the rule clearly has never reflected actual usage. From the examples collected by Otto Jespersen and other historical investigators, it is plain that many of our best writers have used either the comparative or superlative of two, as suited their fancy at the time. Among the writers who found the superlative appropriate for two are—from the compilations of Hall and Jespersen—Shakespeare, Milton, Defoe, Addison, Goldsmith, Dr. Johnson, Chesterfield, Austen, Byron, Scott, Irving, Hawthorne, Thackeray, Disraeli, Ruskin, Emerson, and Stevenson; Curme 1931 and Lamberts add Thoreau and James Russell Lowell to the list. There is clearly a strong literary tradition for the practice. Here are some examples from our collection: • Here am I brought to a very pretty dilemma; I must commit murder or commit matrimony! Which is best, now? —George Farquhar, The Constant Couple, 1699 • However, I was condemned to be beheaded, or burnt, as the king pleased; and he was graciously pleased, from the great remains of his love, to choose the mildest sentence —Henry Fielding, A Journey from This World to the Next, 1743 • We cannot agree as to which is the eldest of the two Miss Plumbtrees —Jane Austen, letter, 31 May 1811 • She and her sister had had pretty good situations as ladies' maids Many a time I have seen the eldest of them —Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford, 1853 • dinghy, dingey. The first is best —Fowler 1926 • Crane wrote two fine stories. The Open Boat and The Blue Hotel. The last one is the best —Ernest Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa, 1935 • ... there was once a contest between Athena and the god Poseidon for the possession of the Acropolis. Athena came off best —H. D. F. Kitto, The Greeks, rev. ed., 1957 It is not rare to find the comparative and superlative cheek by jowl: • ... or, if one be alive and the other dead, it is usually the latter that is the handsomest —Thomas Gray, letter, 22 Feb. 1747 • Warburton has the most general, most scholastic learning; Lowth is the more correct scholar. I do not know which of them calls names best —Samuel Johnson, quoted in James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791 • ... got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best — Will Rogers, The Illiterate Digest, 1924 • ... it usually turns out that not the better man but the least tired man wins —Aristides, American Scholar, Autumn 1981 It seems clear from our experience in gathering examples of the superlative of two for this book that they are plentiful and can be readily found by anyone who is interested enough to look for them. We conclude that the superlative of two is alive and well in current English. The construction goes back at least to the time of Shakespeare and has a considerable history of literary use. The rule requiring the comparative has a dubious basis in theory and no basis in practice, and it serves no useful communicative purpose whatsoever. Because it does have a fair number of devoted adherents, however, you may well want to follow it in your most dignified or elevated writing. In speech, we recommend that you simply follow your instincts—the native speaker is not likely to go wrong. There are more traps for the learner, however. If you are a learner you must look out for the fixed phrases: it is always lower lip and best foot forward. It is always the comparative in a construction with than following: "I am taller than Jim." The superlative seems to be most likely when the judgment, measurement, or characteristic denoted by the adjective or adverb is the primary point being considered. Thus Fowler's "the first is best." He is not interested in comparing the two spellings as such; he is recommending that you use the first one. |
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