The logic of "highly" and "very"

Futilitarians is the word used by G. Bergmann to discuss Austin and his postdecessor (R. B. Jones calls Austin, Grice's predecessor -- as leader of the play group that is).

They were meeting on Saturday mornings, in term times, too, to discuss.

highly true
very true

"This was an example made popular by our enemies", Grice comments, "to the effect that our concerns were trivial".

Grice tries to justify his-self. "But they were not. We were trying to provide a countexample to Hampshire." Hampshire had argued that there is no litmus test or algorithm to say, "This is philosohical, this isn't". But the members of the play group thought they could surely find a topic which, while subjectable to the method of linguistic botanising, is not of philosophical import.

Then they came across 'very' vs. 'high'. To illuminate the usage of these two particles may be _fun_ but it's Not Philosophical.

Of course they were wrong. "Highly" in a way is like Jones's "too" -- as in "You're too kind, JL". We don't say LOWLY. We say HIGHLY. There must be a metaphorical side in this.

Grice was somewhat confused with metaphorical sides. This was before Lakoff, Metaphors we live by (vide my "Metaphors we should live without", in FLN). Consider the standard thesis that prepositions get their literal meaning in SPATIAL collocations. But Grice considers

Jones is between Smith and Williams.

Surely, Grice adds, "it would be otiose that 'between' is ambiguous: meaning one thing in the spatial case, and another in, say, order of merit".

So 'between' is NOT ambiguous. And neither is 'highly'. Highly rich, lowly poor?

"Very" on the other hand is French, 'verilee'. I.e. truly. Vrai, true. People forget this and take 'very' as an emphatic thing. But it's 'truly' truly.

He is the true model of a general (G&S)
He is the very model.

The cake is very good.
The book is very intriguing.

How do we formalise it. Is it a mere non-logical goat, to use Toulmin's parlance in "Uses of Argument". To which does 'very' apply.

In "This is very good", supposing, 'good' carries an implicature, "I commend", it seems 'very' strengthens the 'commending' illocutionary force indicating device.

In this respect, it differs from "9 is a very odd number".

Etc.