The (&thlig_;ē), v. i. See Thee. [Obs.] Chaucer. Milton.
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The, adv. [AS. ðē, ð&ymacr_;, instrumental case of sē, seó, ðæt, the definite article. See 2d The.] By that; by how much; by so much; on that account; -- used before comparatives; as, the longer we continue in sin, the more difficult it is to reform. “Yet not the more cease I.” Milton.
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So much the rather thou, Celestial Light,
Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate. Milton.
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