A signal event had occurred when he was a mere boy: he had seen a photograph someone had made of his younger brother. French recounts that he was astonished by this image, which seemed to contain not only his brother’s appearance but also the entire context of sights, sounds, and emotions out of which the image was drawn

— Teju Cole, Known and Strange Things, Faber & Faber, Ch. Disappearing Shanghai, 2016

Why do we say ‘mere’ or ‘just’ when talking about children. Where does this implicit lessness come from.

I highlight Cole’s use of it because I have found Cole to be so exquisitely precise and so respectful, so impeccable with his word, that I would sooner assume I have fallen short as reader than he as writer.