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Can “quam†be used as a mere intensifier to a superlative?
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In a question about Augustine, this quotation is given:
Frustra itaque nonnulli, immo quam plurimi, aeternam damnatorum poenam et cruciatus sine intermissione perpetuos humano miserantur affectu, atque ita futurum esse non credunt
— Augustine, Enchiridion, §112,
It is quite in vain, then, that some—indeed very many—yield to merely human feelings and deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery. They do not believe that such things will be. (translation source)
This use of quam as a mere intensifier ("very") of a superlative surprised me. Perhaps I have seen it before, but I do not recall doing so. Is this normal in (classical) Latin?
To be clear, I am not inquiring about quam + superlative as used in e.g. "as many as possible" or "as many as I could find", both of which are common enough, nor about using it as an intensifier with a positive (which is possible though probably uncommon).
I could not find a description of this use in Lewis & Short.
syntax adiectivum conjunction superlatives
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
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In a question about Augustine, this quotation is given:
Frustra itaque nonnulli, immo quam plurimi, aeternam damnatorum poenam et cruciatus sine intermissione perpetuos humano miserantur affectu, atque ita futurum esse non credunt
— Augustine, Enchiridion, §112,
It is quite in vain, then, that some—indeed very many—yield to merely human feelings and deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery. They do not believe that such things will be. (translation source)
This use of quam as a mere intensifier ("very") of a superlative surprised me. Perhaps I have seen it before, but I do not recall doing so. Is this normal in (classical) Latin?
To be clear, I am not inquiring about quam + superlative as used in e.g. "as many as possible" or "as many as I could find", both of which are common enough, nor about using it as an intensifier with a positive (which is possible though probably uncommon).
I could not find a description of this use in Lewis & Short.
syntax adiectivum conjunction superlatives
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
Ahah, the answer you seek appears to be at the very bottom of your link.
– Anonym
4 hours ago
@Anonym: Well, that isn't with superlatives?
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
In a question about Augustine, this quotation is given:
Frustra itaque nonnulli, immo quam plurimi, aeternam damnatorum poenam et cruciatus sine intermissione perpetuos humano miserantur affectu, atque ita futurum esse non credunt
— Augustine, Enchiridion, §112,
It is quite in vain, then, that some—indeed very many—yield to merely human feelings and deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery. They do not believe that such things will be. (translation source)
This use of quam as a mere intensifier ("very") of a superlative surprised me. Perhaps I have seen it before, but I do not recall doing so. Is this normal in (classical) Latin?
To be clear, I am not inquiring about quam + superlative as used in e.g. "as many as possible" or "as many as I could find", both of which are common enough, nor about using it as an intensifier with a positive (which is possible though probably uncommon).
I could not find a description of this use in Lewis & Short.
syntax adiectivum conjunction superlatives
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
In a question about Augustine, this quotation is given:
Frustra itaque nonnulli, immo quam plurimi, aeternam damnatorum poenam et cruciatus sine intermissione perpetuos humano miserantur affectu, atque ita futurum esse non credunt
— Augustine, Enchiridion, §112,
It is quite in vain, then, that some—indeed very many—yield to merely human feelings and deplore the notion of the eternal punishment of the damned and their interminable and perpetual misery. They do not believe that such things will be. (translation source)
This use of quam as a mere intensifier ("very") of a superlative surprised me. Perhaps I have seen it before, but I do not recall doing so. Is this normal in (classical) Latin?
To be clear, I am not inquiring about quam + superlative as used in e.g. "as many as possible" or "as many as I could find", both of which are common enough, nor about using it as an intensifier with a positive (which is possible though probably uncommon).
I could not find a description of this use in Lewis & Short.
syntax adiectivum conjunction superlatives
syntax adiectivum conjunction superlatives
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
asked 5 hours ago
Cerberus♦
11k23275
11k23275
Ahah, the answer you seek appears to be at the very bottom of your link.
– Anonym
4 hours ago
@Anonym: Well, that isn't with superlatives?
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
Ahah, the answer you seek appears to be at the very bottom of your link.
– Anonym
4 hours ago
@Anonym: Well, that isn't with superlatives?
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
Ahah, the answer you seek appears to be at the very bottom of your link.
– Anonym
4 hours ago
Ahah, the answer you seek appears to be at the very bottom of your link.
– Anonym
4 hours ago
@Anonym: Well, that isn't with superlatives?
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
@Anonym: Well, that isn't with superlatives?
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
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I think I have three examples, one modern and two medieval: they were found with o quam + the specific superlatives in the search box.
De Maximiliani Romanorum. Imperatoris ... laudibus ... epistola; By Paul von Oberstein (quire Giij; no page numbers)
o quam pulcherrima laus, quam ingens gloria Bohoemici nominis
O, how very beautiful the praise, how vast the glory of the Bohemian Name.
a medieval/early modern devotional work:
Ex his adverte o anima devota, quam pulcherrima, quam gloriosissima sit Maria mater domini Jesu.
From these notice, o devoted soul, how very beautiful, how very glorious is Mary mother of the Lord Jesus
Notizia Fioretina (1720); forms of address 1002 -1014.
'Quam gloriosissimus Avunculus noster Otho Major,
How most glorious a Patron our Otto Major,
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
1
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
2
down vote
I think I have three examples, one modern and two medieval: they were found with o quam + the specific superlatives in the search box.
De Maximiliani Romanorum. Imperatoris ... laudibus ... epistola; By Paul von Oberstein (quire Giij; no page numbers)
o quam pulcherrima laus, quam ingens gloria Bohoemici nominis
O, how very beautiful the praise, how vast the glory of the Bohemian Name.
a medieval/early modern devotional work:
Ex his adverte o anima devota, quam pulcherrima, quam gloriosissima sit Maria mater domini Jesu.
From these notice, o devoted soul, how very beautiful, how very glorious is Mary mother of the Lord Jesus
Notizia Fioretina (1720); forms of address 1002 -1014.
'Quam gloriosissimus Avunculus noster Otho Major,
How most glorious a Patron our Otto Major,
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
1
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I think I have three examples, one modern and two medieval: they were found with o quam + the specific superlatives in the search box.
De Maximiliani Romanorum. Imperatoris ... laudibus ... epistola; By Paul von Oberstein (quire Giij; no page numbers)
o quam pulcherrima laus, quam ingens gloria Bohoemici nominis
O, how very beautiful the praise, how vast the glory of the Bohemian Name.
a medieval/early modern devotional work:
Ex his adverte o anima devota, quam pulcherrima, quam gloriosissima sit Maria mater domini Jesu.
From these notice, o devoted soul, how very beautiful, how very glorious is Mary mother of the Lord Jesus
Notizia Fioretina (1720); forms of address 1002 -1014.
'Quam gloriosissimus Avunculus noster Otho Major,
How most glorious a Patron our Otto Major,
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
1
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
I think I have three examples, one modern and two medieval: they were found with o quam + the specific superlatives in the search box.
De Maximiliani Romanorum. Imperatoris ... laudibus ... epistola; By Paul von Oberstein (quire Giij; no page numbers)
o quam pulcherrima laus, quam ingens gloria Bohoemici nominis
O, how very beautiful the praise, how vast the glory of the Bohemian Name.
a medieval/early modern devotional work:
Ex his adverte o anima devota, quam pulcherrima, quam gloriosissima sit Maria mater domini Jesu.
From these notice, o devoted soul, how very beautiful, how very glorious is Mary mother of the Lord Jesus
Notizia Fioretina (1720); forms of address 1002 -1014.
'Quam gloriosissimus Avunculus noster Otho Major,
How most glorious a Patron our Otto Major,
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
I think I have three examples, one modern and two medieval: they were found with o quam + the specific superlatives in the search box.
De Maximiliani Romanorum. Imperatoris ... laudibus ... epistola; By Paul von Oberstein (quire Giij; no page numbers)
o quam pulcherrima laus, quam ingens gloria Bohoemici nominis
O, how very beautiful the praise, how vast the glory of the Bohemian Name.
a medieval/early modern devotional work:
Ex his adverte o anima devota, quam pulcherrima, quam gloriosissima sit Maria mater domini Jesu.
From these notice, o devoted soul, how very beautiful, how very glorious is Mary mother of the Lord Jesus
Notizia Fioretina (1720); forms of address 1002 -1014.
'Quam gloriosissimus Avunculus noster Otho Major,
How most glorious a Patron our Otto Major,
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
edited 1 hour ago
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
answered 1 hour ago
Hugh
4,1932616
4,1932616
1
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
1
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
1
1
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
Ah! Your answer has quotations where quam is translated as "how", which I would call an interrogative. The "very" in those translations comes from the superlatives themselves. Even so, I think you've put us on the right track: I think quam in 'my' Augustinian quotation is indeed the same quam, to be translated as "indeed, how very many". That makes sense; I wonder why I didn't see it. Perhaps it was the slightly liberal translation "indeed very many" that somehow led me astray.
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
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Ahah, the answer you seek appears to be at the very bottom of your link.
– Anonym
4 hours ago
@Anonym: Well, that isn't with superlatives?
– Cerberus♦
1 hour ago