Meaning of "little by way of"

[All Potted Out]

Dear Teachers,

In this sentence:

"Vincente felt little by way of awe. The whole room seemed miracle."

What does it mean by "felt little by way of" awe?

[Alan]

Hi apo,

This expression means not very much.

[All Potted Out]

Hi, Alan,

Thanks for your reply. I would like to offer a bit more context here:

"Vincente felt little by way of awe. Whether the artifact was an object of theological implication or not didn't matter. The whole room seemed miracle enough. Gesus Christ Himself couldn't have made Vicente feel more staggered, joyous, alive."

Since it says "the room seemed miracle" and "Gesus Christ Himself couldn't have made Vicente feel more staggered, joyous, alive", it seems he was extremely awed. Why would the first sentence says he was not? I find it pretty confusing...

[Alan]

Hi apo,

I can only imagine that our friend Vincente was not a religious person because awe in its original sense has the meaning of deep respect in the presence of God or a god. Although the word has lost most of its original flavour, the adjective awful referred to a vision or feeling where the person was almost frightened with a sense of deep respect.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
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[All Potted Out]

Hi, Alan,

Just want to clarify one idea. When it says "Gesus Christ Himself couldn't have made Vicente feel more staggered, joyous, alive.", does it mean Gesus Christ can or can't make him staggered, joyous, alive?

[Alan]

Hi apo,

No, I think it means that V wouldn't have felt the way he did any more strongly, even if Jesus Christ had been present. As I said before, there is apparently in V no feeling of awe. In other words, yes he was staggered ,joyous etc but there was none of the feeling of 'devout respect'.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Passive Voice