102 THE PREDICATIVE INFINITIVE WITH “BEON” (“WESAN”)- 
2. The Infinitive Active in Sense. 
I. THE INFINITIVE UNINFLECTED. 
Twice we have an uninflected active infinitive denoting obligation or 
necessity, with an objective case: Mlf. Horn. I. 400 b : Is nu forbi munuchades 
mannum mid micelre gecnyrdnysse to forbugenne bas yfelan gebysnunga, and 
geefenlcecan (sic!) bam apostolum, bset hi, mid him and mid Gode, baet ece lif 
habbanmoton; /Elf. L. S. 376.183: Us is to secenne . . . ba bote set gode, na 
set bam gramlicum wiccum, and mid ealra heortan urne hselend gladian (sic!). 
As with the infinitive passive in sense, so here, when active in sense, the unin¬ 
flected infinitive is second in a series. 
II. THE INFINITIVE INFLECTED. 
In my judgment we have only a few examples of the inflected infinitive 
witli beon (wesan) in which the sense is active, not passive, and in which the 
infinitive governs as an accusative 1 of the direct object what, in the passival 
use, would be the subject nominative. A few instances of the active use are 
found in Alfred and in Waerferth, but the majority are found in JElfric. Dr. 
Farrar , 2 let me add, considers as active in sense a large number of inflected 
infinitives that to me seem passive in sense, as in the following: Bede 50.10 a * b : 
raeddon hwaet him to donne wcere, hwaer him wcere fultum to secanne = 30.16, 17: 
est consilium, quid agendum , ubi quaerendum esset praesidium; — ib. 66.4 a> b : 
be heora ondlifne is to dencenne 7 to foreseonne bset heo godum beawum lif gen 
- 49. 8 a - b : cogitandum atque prouidendum est. 
I give a complete list of what seem to me the clearer cases, arranged alpha¬ 
betically: — 
biddan, pray: 
JElf. Horn. II. 494 b3 : Us is to biddenne Drihtnes mildheortnysse, baet he 
bisum mannum miltsige. 
brucan, enjoy: 
Mart. 72.25: Da dagas sindon rihtlice to faestenne, ond bara metta to bru - 
cenne be men brucab on bset . . . faesten. 
claensi(g)an, cleanse: 
Pr. Gu. V. 58: ac on seofon nihta fyrstes faeste ne bid to clcensienne bone 
man (Vercelli MS.: ac on seofon nihta fyrstes faesten bid to clcensigeanne se man) 
= sed septenarum dierum valida castigatio jejunium est. 
cyban, make known: 
Greg. 187.15: Daem oferblibum is to cydanne ba unrotnessa be baerafter 
cumab, 7 bam unblibum sint to cybanne ba gefean be him gehatene sindon 
= 140.10: Laetis . . . inferenda sunt tristitia . . .; tristibus vero inferenda sunt 
laeta. [The second to cydanne is probably passive in sense.] 
ehtan, punish, persecute: 
Bede 72.9: Forbon, swa swa bi bam monnum is hwaethwugu to araefnenne, 
ba burh unwisnesse synne fremmab, swa bonne is stronglice to ehtenne , ba be 
him ne ondrsedab weotende syngian = 52.1: culpa . . . toleranda est, ita in 
his fortiter insequenda, qui non metuunt sciendo peccare. 
1 Occasionally a genitive or a dative. 
1 L. c., p. 15. 
