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Now the same sentiment may be expressed by the comparative; but then the Athenians and Socrates, though belonging to one species, are conceived as mutually opposed, and referred to different places, whereas the superlative refers them to one common aggregate. Thus, if we employ the comparative, we say, “Socrates was wiser than any other Athenian.”

Agreeably to the observation now made, we cannot say, “Cicero was more eloquent than the Romans,” or “than any Roman;” because Cicero was himself a Roman, one of the class with which he is compared, and could not therefore be more eloquent than himself. As the objects compared belong, therefore, to one class, and are not two individuals, nor two aggregates, the comparative cannot be employed, unless by placing them in opposition, or referring them to different places, as, “Cicero was more eloquent than any other Roman.” Here the word other denotes that opposition, that diversity of place or species, which, in all cases but the one already mentioned, is essentially implied in the use of the comparative.