“than” in Latin

after comparatives, and verbs of comparison, (e.g., malo, praestat) quam; if the object of comparison be expressed in the nominative, where we may ask the question, who? or whom? “than” may be expressed in Latin by the simple ablative; e.g., virtue is better than gold, virtus est praestantior quam aurum or praestantior auro. After the comparatives amplius and plus (more), minus (less), minor (younger), major (older), with reference to number, quam is frequently omitted, and the number is in the case which would be required without quam; e.g., there are more than six months, amplius sunt sex menses: he missed more than two hundred soldiers, plus ducentos milites desideravit: less than three hundred perished, minus trecenti perierunt: he is more than twenty years old, major viginti annorum est (☞ Grotef. § 219, obs. 3; Zumpt, § 485). Than that, quam ut or quam qui (quae, quod, etc.), followed by a subjunctive: the town was stronger than he could capture, urbs munitior fuit, quam ut quae primo impetu capi potuisset (☞ Grotef: § 263, 3; Zumpt, § 560): “than in proportion to,” after a comparative, is expressed by Livy and later writers simply by quam pro (which, however, does not occur in Cic. and Caes.; e.g., the battle was harder than in proportion to the number of combatants, proelium atrocius erat quam pro pugnantium numero; Vid: Zumpt, § 484, extr.). After “no other” (or interrogatively, “what other?”) “than” may be expressed by nisi or quam, but with this distinction, thai nisi requires the exclusion of all other ideas; quam is used only comparatively; e.g., the history was no other than a compilation of annals, erat historia nihil aliud nisi annalium confectio (i. e., it was this, and this only; Cic., De Or., 2, 12, 52): virtue is no other (or nothing else) than perfect nature carried to the highest degree of excellence, virtus nihil aliud est, quam in se perfecta et ad summum perducta natura (i. e., it is as much as, is equivalent to; Cic., Legg., 1, 8, 25; ☞ Grotef., § 269, (a) obs. 3; Döleke, p. 289 and 291).