“Ait Moyses: Obsecro, Domine, non sum eloquens ab heri et nudiustertius: et ex quo locutus es ad servum tuum, impeditioris et tardioris linguæ sum.” -V
“Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before: and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.” -DR
Hello, I was hoping one of you might be able to tell me what type of comparative construction this is. Thank you.
Allen and Greenough /Latin Grammar 291.a does not provide a name. I seem to recall that they called it “comparativo assoluto”, when I was in high school a few years ago 
Slower than he was before the lord spoke to him, presumably. Isn’t that what the ex quo clause implies?
(Isn’t nudiustertius a wonderful word?)
So following bedwere, these comparatives “denote the degree of a quality.” Eg. rather hindered and rather slow.
I presume that linguae is a simple genitive of possession.
The ex quo clause (“Since you spoke to your slave”) suggests that the comparatives are truly comparative (“more X”), rather than just “rather X.”
And linguae is not a possessive genitive but what’s sometimes called a genitive of quality, as in “a bear of little brain.”
Yes, genitive of quality. “a man of few words”, “a coat of many colors”.
But I’m still waiting to see if bedwere agrees concerning the ex quo conjecture.
It could be, but I’m not a philologist. The Nova Vulgata has
Ait Moyses: “ Obsecro, Domine, non sum eloquens ab heri et nudiustertius et ex quo locutus es ad servum tuum, nam impeditioris et tardioris linguae sum ”.
The Septuagint has ἰσχνόφωνος καὶ βραδύγλωσσος, which are not comparative. I don’t know Hebrew, regrettably.
mwh, in the event that your opinion be unchanged, are you able to classify this type of ex quo comparative or find it in a grammar?
It’s not a matter of an "ex quo comparative” (whatever that might be), it’s a matter of a temporal ex quo clause followed by a main clause containing a comparative—in other words, a structure such as “Since I started fasting I’ve been hungrier” (or “rather hungry” or “too hungry”: take your pick).
In the event that you be yet unsatisfied, are you able to classify the reason?
In the Hebrew, it is fairly clear that there are two parts to the verse and that it is divided where the Nova Vulgata does so with the comma and the word “nam.”
In referring to the three time periods mentioned, the Latin uses two different prepositions, “ab” and “ex,” probably following the Septuagint, where the Hebrew uses the same preposition, מנ, to refer to all three. I think the Latin and Greek use different prepositions because the Hebrew word represents two different meanings—“at the time of” and “since”—which require different prepositions in Latin and Greek.
The use of Hebrew מנ often signals that a previous adjective has a comparative meaning, but the Hebrew expression equivalent to eloquens (איש דברים) has no adjective and is equivalent to homō verbōrum. I don’t know if such structures preclude a comparative reading, but I can’t get one to work in this context that could have triggered the Latin translation.
In Hebrew, Moses describes himself as “heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue” (כְבַד־פֶּ֛ה וּכְבַ֥ד לָשֹׁ֖ון). I guess the Greek equivalent (ἰσχνόφωνος καὶ βραδύγλωσσος) is a nonce coinage that works fine because it is a compound. However, Latin cannot make such compounds so freely and so much use a different construction that might limit the word choices in a close translation. If the Vulgate described Moses as “impedītus et tardus linguae” it make make him sound has if he had a speech defect or physical disability, as if he were “hindered and sluggish of tongue.” Perhaps using the comparative softens the description and makes it more clearly a reference to skill than a physical trait.
Thank you Altair, that is enlightening. I’ve nothing to add.
Dear mwh, sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I think I now understand the verse sufficiently. Thank you for contributing.