but all horses aint virtuous, no more than all men kind

Question

"Never you mind how it is"--with a sneer; "but all horses aint virtuous, no more than all men kind; and come close to, and much dealt with, some things are catching. When you find me a virtuous jockey, I will find you a benevolent wise man."

http://www.online-literature.com/melville/confidence-man/3/

I don't understand the construction: "but all horses aint virtuous, no more than all men kind" I think it means "all horses aren't virtuous, neither are all men.", but it is as if he was saying "all horses aren't virtuous as much as aren't all men" which I never came across before; although it kinda makes sense, but I am not sure whether my impression of it is right. Can you rephrase it or something?

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

Yep, I think it means "Not all horses are virtuous, in just the same way as not all men are kind".

"All X aren't Y" is a phrase I've always had problems with. To me, it logically means "No X is Y", but often it's understood to mean "Not all X are Y" (in other words, "Some X aren't Y"), which I think is what's intended here.

Wholegrain · Answer

I forgot the most important... More importantly what does "and come close to, and much dealt with, some things are catching." mean?

Avangi · Answer

eg. speaking of someone else's case of the flu, if you come close to it and deal with it a lot, you may find it to be catching. I'm not sure if the implication is that the horse catches dishonesty from the jockey or vice versa. I'd guess the former. (It's incongruous for a good jockey to be honest, as it is for a wise man to be benevolent.)

BTW, I agree with your point about "all X aren't Y" technically meaning that NO X is Y, but I disagree with your statement about "often understood." I'd say, "always understood." (If you have a counter example, please share.)

Best wishes, - A.

Woops! I just realized that was Wordy's! (You guys both look the same in the picture!)

Mr Wordy · Answer

AvangiBTW, I agree with your point about "all X aren't Y" technically meaning that NO X is Y, but I disagree with your statement about "often understood." I'd say, "always understood." (If you have a counter example, please share.)

Well, it somewhat depends on context, but the following would (IMO) usually be understood to mean "No X is Y":

All of those things aren't true.

All allegations are not proven.

All other factors are not considered significant.

And so forth.

Avangi · Answer

Many thanks, Mr. Wordy.

but all horses aint virtuous, no more than all men kind

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