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Wholegrain Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Am I right?

Does

"Nay, even Venus herself, notwithstanding whatever Lucretius has said, would not deny but that all her virtue were lame and fruitless without the help of my deity."

mean

"Nay, even Venus herself, notwithstanding whatever Lucretius has said, would not deny that all her virtue were lame and fruitless without the help of my deity and nothing else or more"?

But = only = merely = and nothing else or more???
  

Top answer

Does anyone have a clue? I think it means merely.

— Wholegrain

  • Does anyone have a clue?
  • I think it means merely.
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24 Answers
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Does anyone have a clue?

I think it means merely.
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"Nay, even Venus herself, notwithstanding whatever Lucretius has said, would not deny that without the help of my deity all her virtue were lame and fruitless."
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wholegrainBut = only = merely = and nothing else or more???
No. but = [no meaning]
That is, but can be left out. In fact, in modern English it is left out, and the verb is in the indicative. In older English it is associated with the subjunctive mood (Note were lame.).
Older English: ... would not deny but that the
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Thank you.

I really had a lot of difficulty understanding this sentence.
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Can you guys tell me from what source you got this?

Thank you.
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wholegrainCan you guys tell me from what source you got this?

Thank you.

http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Praise-of-Folly1.html
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No, what I wanted to ask is from what reference book you learned that "but" has no meaning in the given context if there is any.
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CalifJim
wholegrainBut = only = merely = and nothing else or more???
No. but = [no meaning]
That is, but can be left out. In fact, in modern English it is left out, and the verb is in the indicative. In older English it is associated with the subjunctive mood (Note were lame.).
Older English:
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They are wrong to believe that but doesn't have a meaning. In fact, it does, it means only.
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