ir definitions are _true_.

OBS. 12.--The common assertion of the grammarians, that the superlative
degree is not applicable to two _objects_,[177] is not only unsupported by
any reason in the nature of things, but it is contradicted in practice by
almost every man who affirms it. Thus Maunder: "When only two persons or
things are spoken of comparatively, to use the superlative is improper: as,
'Deborah, my dear, give those two boys a lump of sugar each; and let Dick's
be the largest, because he spoke first.' This," says the critic, "should
have been 'larger.'"--_Maunder's Gram._, p. 4. It is true, the comparative
_might_ here have been used; but the superlative is clearer, and more
agreeable to custom. And how can "_largest_" be wrong, if "_first_" is
right? "Let Dick's be the _larger_, because he spoke _sooner_," borders too
much upon a different idea, that of _proportion_; as when we say, "_The
sooner the better_,"--"_The more the merrier_." So Blair: "When only two
things are compared, the comparative degree should be used, and not the
superlative."--_Practical Gram._, p. 81. "A Trochee has the _first_
syllable accented, and the _last_ unaccented."--_Ib._, p. 118. "An Iambus
has the first syllable unaccented, and the _last_ accented."--_Ibid._ These
two examples are found also in _Jamieson's Rhetoric_, p. 305; _Murray's
Gram._, p. 253; _Kirkham's_, 219; _Bullions's_, 169; _Guy's_, 120;
_Merchant's_, 166. So Hiley: "When _two_ persons or things are compared,
the _comparative_ degree must be employed. When _three or more_ persons or
things are compared, the _superlative_ must be used."--_Treatise on English
Gram._, p. 78. Contradiction in practice: "Thomas is _wiser_ than his
brothers."--_Ib._, p. 79. Are not "_three or more persons_" here compared
by "the comparative" _wiser_? "In an _Iambus_ the _first_ syllable is
unaccented."--_Ib._, p. 123. An iambus has but _two_ syllables; and this
author expressly teaches that "_first_" is "superlative."--_Ib._, p. 21. So
Sanborn: "The _positive_ degree denotes the _simple_ form of an adjective
_without_ any variation of meaning. The _comparative_ degree increases or
lessens the meaning _of the positive_, and denotes a comparison _between
two_ persons or things. The _superlative_ degree increases or lessens the
positive _to the greatest extent_, and denotes a comparison _between more
than two_ persons or things."--_Analytical Gram._, p. 30 and p. 86. These
pretended definitions