MATTHEW PRIOR'S POEMS. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—I
fail to see why Mr. Dobson should speak of Prior's couplet,- " For thou art a girl so much brighter than her, As he was a poet sublimer than me,"
as containing a " grammatical lapse which calls for correc-
tion." I maintain that the use of " than " as a preposition governing the oblique case is perfectly legitimate and correct. Surely Prior himself is some authority, and if he and Swift, with his " Yon are a much greater loser than me," are not classical enough, will not Milton suffice?—
"Which when Beelzebub perceived, than whom, Satan except, none higher sat."
I have not Dean Alford's " The Queen's English " at hand to refer to, but my recollection is that he distinctly admits the use of "than " as a preposition. It is also analogous to the use of the ablative case after a comparative in Latin, when quant is omittted.—I am, Sir, &c., GEORGE E. DERING. United University Club, Pall Mall East, S.W., April 27th.
Previous page
