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Clauses of comparison (as clauses) measure an act or state qualitatively or quantitatively with reference to an act or state in the leading clause.

a. Comparative clauses with ἤ than are used in disjunctive coördinated sentences. See under Particles ( ^cross2863).

Comparative clauses of quality or manner are introduced by ὡς as, ὥσπερ, καθάπερ just as, ὅπως, ᾗ, ὅπῃ, ᾗπερ as. The principal clause may contain a demonstrative adverb (οὕτως, ὧδε so). ὥσπερ may be correlated with ὁ αὐτός.

ὡς, etc., are here properly conjunctive relative adverbs of manner, some uses of which fall under conditional relative clauses.

a. Other comparative conjunctive adverbs are ὥστε as (poetic and Ionic), ἠΰτε, εὖτε as, like as (Epic). Demonstrative adverbs in Epic are ὥς, τώς, τοίως, αὔτως, ὡσαύτως.

b. On other uses of ὡς, etc., see under Particles ( ^cross2990 ff.). On ὡς, ὥσπερ with a participle, see ^cross2086, ^cross2087.

The verb of the comparative clause is commonly omitted if it is the same as the verb of the leading clause. Thus, ἐὰ_ν σοὶ ξυνδοκῇ ὥσπερ ἐμοί if it seems good also to you as (it seems) to me P. Ph. 100c.

The subject of a comparative clause with ὡς or ὥσπερ, the verb of which is omitted, is often attracted into the case (usually the accusative) of the other member of the comparison. Thus, οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ ἔστιν Ἀγόρατον Ἀθηναῖον εἶναι ὥσπερ Θρασύβουλον it is in no wise possible for Agoratus to be an Athenian as Thrasybulus is ( = Θρασύβουλος Ἀθηναῖός ἐστι) L. 13.72. Attraction into the dative is less common: Κύ_ρῳ ἥδετο . . . ὥσπερ σκύλακι γενναίῳ ἀνακλάζοντι he was delighted with Cyrus, who set up a cry like a young and noble dog ( = σκύλαξ γενναῖος ἀνακλάζει) X. C. 1.4.15.

a. Usually, however, we have the nominative with the verb omitted: πέπεισμαί σε μᾶλλον ἀποθανεῖν ἂν ἑλέσθαι ἢ ζῆν ὥσπερ ἐγώ I am persuaded that you would prefer to die rather than live as I live X. M. 1.6.4.

Comparative clauses of quality are often fused with the leading clause by the omission of the preposition in the correlated member of the comparison, but only when ὡς precedes. Cp. ^cross1673.

The antecedent clause may contain a wish: οὕτω (ὥς) . . . ὡς (which may be omitted); as οὕτω νι_κήσαιμί τ' ἐγὼ καὶ νομιζοίμην σοφός, ὡς ὑ_μᾶς ἡγούμενος εἶναι θεα_τὰ_ς δεξιοὺς . . . πρώτους ἠξίωσ' ἀναγεῦσ' ὑ_μᾶς as surely as I thought it proper to let you first taste this comedy because I thought you were clever spectators, so surely may I win and be accounted a master Ar. Nub. 520. Cp. N 825, Ar. Thesm. 469.

Comparative clauses of quantity or degree are introduced by ὅσῳ, ὅσον in proportion as. The principal clause usually contains the corresponding demonstratives τοσούτῳ, τοσοῦτον (τόσῳ, τόσον are usually poetic).

a. Greek, like Latin, uses the adjective relative pronoun ὅσος (quantus) in the subordinate clause in correlation to τοσοῦτος agreeing with a substantive. Here English uses the conjunctive adverb as. So with τοιοῦτος . . . οἷος.— τοσούτῳ, τοσοῦτον may be followed by ὡς, ὥστε.

τοσοῦτον . . . ὅσον or ὅσον . . . τοσοῦτον denotes that the action of the main clause takes place in the same degree as the action of the subordinate clause. ὅσῳ . . . τοσούτῳ with a comparative or superlative adjective or adverb is equivalent to the more . . . the more, the less . . . the less.

The demonstrative antecedent may be omitted, especially when its clause precedes: καὶ χαλεπώτεροι ἔσονται ὅσῳ νεώτεροί εἰσιν and they will be the more severe the younger they are P. A. 39d.

One member may contain a comparative, the other a superlative; as ὅσῳ γὰρ ἑτοιμότατ' αὐτῷ (τῷ λόγῳ) δοκοῦμεν χρῆσθαι, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἀπιστοῦσι πάντες αὐτῷ for the more we are thought to excel all others in ability to speak, so much the more do all distrust it D. 2.12.

ὅσῳ (ὅσον) may be used without a comparative or superlative when the correlative clause has a comparative or superlative with or without τοσούτῳ (τοσοῦτον). Thus, ὥσπερ ἐν ἵπποις, οὕτω καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώποις τισὶν ἐγγίγνεται, ὅσῳ ἂν ἔκπλεα τὰ δέοντα ἔχωσι, τοσούτῳ ὑβριστέροις εἶναι as it is in the nature of horses, so it is in the case of certain men: in so far as they have their wants satisfied, the more they are wanton X. Hi. 10.2. ὅσῳ may stand for the logical ὅτι in τοσούτῳ Σύρων κακί_ων ἐγένετο, ὅσῳ Σύροι ἔφυγον he proved himself a greater coward than the Syrians all the more because they fled X. C. 6.2.19.

The correlated clauses may be fused when both ὅσῳ (ὅσον) and τοσούτῳ (τοσοῦτον) are omitted and the predicate of the subordinate clause is a comparative or superlative with a form of εἶναι. Thus, ἐνδεεστέροις γὰρ οὖσι ταπεινοτέροις αὐτοῖς οἴονται χρῆσθαι for the more indigent they are so much the more submissive do they expect to find them X. Hi. 5.4 ( = ὅσῳ ἐνδεέστεροί εἰσι, τοσούτῳ ταπεινοτέροις).