98 THE PREDICATIVE INFINITIVE WITH “bEON” (“WESAN”). 
applies primarily to the infinitive that is passive in sense, for, when active in 
sense, the infinitive usually precedes the finite verb, as may be seen by an in¬ 
spection of the examples given later in this chapter. 
1. The Infinitive Passive in Sense. 
I. THE INFINITIVE UNINFLECTED. 
In the two following examples, one from Alfred and one from iElfric, we 
have an uninflected infinitive denoting necessity or obligation and passive in 
sense: — 
Bede 78.26: Ond hwaet elles is to secenne wib baem hungre nemne ondlifen, 
wib burst drync, wib haeto celnis, wib cyle hraegl, wib werignesse reste, wib 
untrymnesse lacedom secan ? = 56.3: Et quid est aliud contra famem alimenta, 
contra sitim potum, contra aestum auras, contra frigus uestem, contra lassitudi- 
nem requiem quaerere, nisi medicamentum quidem contra egritudines explorare ? 
[Secan may be considered active here. See p. 78 above.] 
Mlf. L. S. 336.223: bas feower ana syndon to underfonne on geleaffulre 
gelabunge and forleetan (sic!) ba obre be lease gesetnysse gesetton. 
II. THE INFINITIVE INFLECTED. 
Of the inflected infinitive denoting necessity or obligation and passive in 
sense, about 894 examples have been found; of which only ten examples occur 
in the poetry. As is evident from the instances quoted below, sometimes 
(about 654 times) the subject of the principal verb is personal, sometimes 
(about 240 times) the subject is impersonal. 
The ten examples in the poems are as follows: — 
S. & S. 54: Ac hulic is se organ ingemyndum to begonganne bam be his gast 
wile meltan wib morbre, mergan of sorge, asceadan of scyldum? 
Seizure and Death of Alfred 13: Nu is to gelyfenne to ban leofan gode, baet 
hi blission blibe mid Criste. 
Rid. 42.8: Baet is to geSencanne beoda gehwylcum, wisfaestum werum, hwaet 
seo wiht sy! 
Rid. 29.12: Micel is to hycganne wisfaestum menn hwaet seo wiht sy. 
Rid. 32.23: Micel is to hycgenne wisum wobboran hwaet [sio] wiht sie. 
Met. 21.42: bonne wile he secgan, baet baere sunnan sie beorhtnes biostro 
beorna gehwylcum to metanne wib baet micle leoht godes aelmihtiges (or 
absolute?). 
Gu. 502: micel is to secgan (sic!) eall aefter orde, baet he on elne adreag. 
Gu. 510: is baes gen fela to secgenne, baes be he sylfa adreag. 
And. 1481: Mycel is to secganne, langsum leornung, baet he in life adreag, 
eall aefter orde! 
Ps. 77.10: nis to wenanne, baette wolde god hiora gasta mid him gyman 
awiht = 77.8: non est creditus cum Deo spiritus ejus. 
As to the prose, the construction is very common in Early West Saxon: 
Alfred has about 473 examples, though, as we shall see later (in Chapter XIV), 
only when suggested by the Latin directly (usualty) or indirectly. It is rare 
in the Chronicle, in the Laics, in the Gospels, and in Wulfstan; and, as compared 
with Alfred, is rare in iElfric, who has about 115 examples to Alfred’s 474. 
