§ 17. Impersonal Verbs.

(A.) The Impersonal Verbs denoting natural or else external events, as raining, thundering, freezing, etc., have remained the same, with regard to their syntactical use, from Old English down to modern times. We say still: it rains (O. E. hit rînð), it thunders (O. E. hit þunrað), it freezes (O. E. hit freóseð), it*. [This it is a false subject, to throw the true subject after the verb.] happens that, &c.; (O. E. hit gelimpeð), etc.

But those Verbs which express states or actions of the human mind have undergone an important change. As stated above (see p. xi, 'Nominative Case'), many once Impersonal Verbs became personal, and we have now but a few instances of such verbs as 'it*. [This it is a false subject, to throw the true subject after the verb.] seems to me, it*. [This it is a false subject, to throw the true subject after the verb.] pleases me.'

In Caxton we see this tendency at work, but the change from impersonal to personal verbs is far from being complete. Here is an alphabetical list of the impersonal verbs in Caxton and Malory; those used personally, too, are marked with *:—

• *ail, Middle English eilen, impersonal, and so it is in Caxton. 'Ha broder, what yelleth you?' Aymon, 226/26; what eyleth you, fayr cosyns, that ye make so euyll chere? ibid. 322/1.

  Once personal. And when the duchesse sawe him, she began to wepe full sore; and the duke knewe wel what she eylede (Original: yeelde), Aymon, 66/2.

• *be better. 'Me were better' is the rule, but there is an instance of the personal use. 'A, foole, said she, thou were better flee by tymes,' Morte Darthur, 228/33.

• forthynke (cf. rewe, repent), to repent. Middle English only impersonal, see Stratmann, s. v. There are exceptions in the Ayenbite (pp. 5, 29), but there Dan Michel apparently copied too faithfully his French original.

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  Caxton does not use the word, which he replaces by 'rewe' and 'repent'; but there are several instances in Morte Darthur: 'Me forthynketh of your displeasyr,' 97/32; 'that me forthynketh,' 82/2. Cf. 324/17.

• *hap = happen, generally impersonal as in Middle English. Once personal in Morte Darthur: 'And so he happed upon a daye he came to the herd men' . . . 369/20. Einenkel quotes an earlier instance from the Life of saynt Elisabeth, Wülcker's Lesebuch, II., p. 15: 'For who . . . In that holy iurne happe for to deye . . . he goth a siker weye To heuenwarde.'

• *be leuer,generally impersonal (Caxton, however, prefers 'have leuer.' Cf. Aymon, 37/17, 148/12); but there is apparently the beginning of the personal construction in the following mixed expression: 'Ha, false and renyed strompet, I were me leuer ded, than that I sholde byleue nor doo thi cursed counseyll,' Blanchardyn, 185/32. It is composed out of the two constructions struggling one with another in the author's mind. Similar absurdities occur in Chaucer: Him hadde wel leever . . . That she hadde a ship, II. 109; Him lever had himselfe to mordre and dye, V. 323. See Einenkel, p. 112; Zupitza, note to Guy, l. 5077.

• Like is still impersonal. (Caxton prefers please.) 'Sir, like it you (may it like, that is, please you) that we have doon,' Aymon, 568/25; me lyketh better the swerd, sayd Arthur: Malory, Morte Darthur, 74/3; I assente, sayd the kynge, lyke as ye haue deuysed, and at crystmas there to be crowned, and to holde my round table with my knyghtes as me lyketh, ibid. 182/10. Cf. 222/10, 230/8. I don't notice any instance of personal use in Caxton; but there is one as early as 1440: 'Here me, and þou shalt like it for euer,' Gesta Romanorum, p. 281.

• Like is used impersonally (and intransitively) in Elizabethan authors:

  'Therefore 'tis best, if so it like you all,

  To send my thousand horse incontinent.'
  
  Marlowe, Tamburlaine, l. 51.
  'And I'll dispose them as it likes me best.'
  
  ibid. 3839.Cf. Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, p. 159, a.; Greene, James IV., p. 202, a.; George-a-Greene, p. 260, a.

• *list, used both personally and impersonally.

  Impersonal. Whan the kynge hath dyned, who that wyl may goo playe where hym lyste,—Charles the Grete, 118/11; Breuse was so wel horsed, that whan hym lyst to flee, he myght wel flee, and also abyde whan hym lyst,—Morte Darthur, 398/8, 9. Cf. 245/8, 256/4.

  Personal. Ye shall now here and understande from the hensfourthon a terryble and a pyteous songe, yf ye therafter liste to herken, Aymon, 59/7; ye shall understonde, yf ye liste to herken, ibid. 90/21.

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  There are two instances of the personal use in Chaucer. For he to vertu listeth not entende, III. 1; As doon this fooles that hire sorw eche with sorowe . . . and listen nought to seche hem oother cure, IV. 136.

• *ben loth.

  Impersonal. I wold well kepe me, and be loth for to denounce thynge unto you that shulde tourne you to a displeasure, Blanchardyn, 76/17; that is me loth, said the knyght, Morte Darthur, 69/24.

  Personal. I knowe thou arte a good knyghte, and loth I were to slee thee, Morte Darthur, 203/17; therfor ony of hem will be loth to haue adoo with other . . . ibid. 279/2; I am ful loth to haue adoo with that knyght, ibid. 383/22.

  There is an instance of the personal use in Chaucer. 'My soverayn lady . . . Whom I most drede and love, as I best can, and lothest were of all this world displese,' 111/19. But perhaps this use may be traced back to as early as the Cursor Mundi. One line shows the state of transition between the impersonal and personal. 'Of chastite has lichour leth' (loath), l. 31, Cotton MS. The Fairfax MS. reads: 'of chastite ys licchour loþ.' Göttingen and Trinity MSS. read: 'of chastite has lecchour lite.'

  In another line, loth seems to be used quite personally: (these names) þat lath er for to lie in rim, 9240, MSS. C. F. T.

• *myster = need, be in need of; avail.

  Impersonal. lady moder, gramercy of so fayre a yefte as here is, For it mystreth me wel, Aymon, 129/14; borgons, thys worde mystre not to you for to saye, for ye must nedes defende yourselfe, ibid. 141/5; what mystreth hym (to Aeneas) to edifie cartage, and enhabyte emonge his enmies . . . Eneydos, 62/13.

  Personal. Wherefore I mystered gretly of thayde and socours of you and of other, Blanchardyn, 77/33. (Of your helpe I had grete myster, Morte Darthur, 224/34. Cf. 59/5.)

• need seems to be used only impersonally by Caxton and Malory. It needeth not to be doubted that he is come to his extremite of prowes and valyauntnes, Blanchardyn, 72/17; it nedeth not to be asked, yf he was therof gladde, ibid. 101/4; it nede not to you to make eny sorowe, ibid. 278/15. Cf. Aymon, 167/7, 490/6; Morte Darthur, 278/15. Often used so by Spenser:

  Now needeth him no lenger labour spend, His foes have slain themselves.—Faerie Queene, I. i. 26; Him needed not long call, ibid. II. vi. 19; Me little needed from my right way to have strayed, II. vi. 22. Also by Shakspere, 3 Henry VI., I. iv. 125; Venus, 250.

• owe = behove. Alas, said sir Lamorak, ful wel me ought to knowe you, for ye are the man that most haue done for me, Morte Darthur, 337/24. Cf. Chaucer, II. 313: and ther she was honoured as hir oughte; Gesta Romanorum, p. 215: (she) mette him as hir owte to do.

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• please only impersonal. It playse me wel, Aymon, 75/8. Cf. 29/25, 159/28, 226/22, etc.; Morte Darthur, 198/3, etc.

• *repent.

  Impersonal. Yf ye abide here ony lenger, it shall repente you full sore, Aymon, 472/30; Me sore repenteth it, said sir gauayn, Morte Darthur, 107/27; that me repenteth, sayd syr Turquyne, ibid. 185/25.

  Personal. Wherof I me repente sore, Aymon, 38/21; I truste in god myn eure is not suche but some neuer of them may sore repente thys, Morte Darthur, 59/7; I repente me, ibid. 469/23.

• rew, impersonal. That rewyth me, sayd the provost, Blanchardyn, 156/10.

• *seem not only means 'appear,' but also 'think, believe,' as in Old English, when used personally. There are two passages in Blanchardyn which can be interpreted in this way: 'To my seming ye sholde forclose and take awaye out of your herte all inutyle sorowfulnesse,' 53/5; 'I am sure that he hath in his house a rote that, as to my semyng shal gyf me help,' 70/17; Me semeth him a servaunt nothing able, Courtesye, l. 455.

  There are two passages in the E. E. Wills which sanction this interpretation: 'like as mine executours seme best,' 79/21; and still more indisputable: 'as they seme that gode ys,' 111/26.

• shame, only impersonal.

  'Me shamed at that tyme to haue more adoo wyth you,' Morte Darthur, 332/5; 'for me shameth of that I haue done,' 324/6.

  In Middle English it is impersonal and personal; cf. Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon → : 'I knewe myn own pouert, and schamede and dradde,' I., p. 11. Cf. I., p. 9: 'me schamed and dradde to fynde so grete and so gostliche a bone to graunte.'

• thynken = seem, always impersonal. Charles, 55/11; Aymon, 410/30; Morte Darthur, 65/9, etc.

(B.) There is another sort of Impersonal Verbs, which denote neither external events nor actions of the mind. These are the verbs reherce, show, tell, occurring in Malory, as in Middle English, without any subject. The context proves that we have to supply 'the author,' 'the book,' though sometimes we find 'in the booke':—

After they were wedded, as it telleth in the booke, Morte Darthur, 63/18; as it telleth after, 63/35; as it telleth in the book of aventures folowynge, 64/31; as it reherceth after in the book of Balyn le saueage, that foloweth next after, 75/17; as it telleth after in the sangraylle, 91/27; as it reherceth afore, 105/11. I found only one instance in Caxton. The heading of chapter xvii. of Aymon runs as follows:—Here sheweth how reynawde faught agenst rowland, the whiche he conquered by the wyll of God, etc., 389/12.

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This is an old Middle English use:—

Ase hit seið þer = as is said there, i. e. in the salutations, Ancren Riwle, p. 34; hi scule habben þat brad þe seið iþe godspel (which is spoken of in the gospel), O. E. Hom., I. 241; so it her telleð, Bestiary (in O. E. Miscellany), l. 257. Cf. l. 630. (There is another explanation in Grimm, IV. 53.)

(C.) There is often a striking want of inflexion in the Impersonal Verbs, especially in thynk = seem:—

Bote ne þinche ham nawt ȝet þat he is ful pinet (but it seems to them that he is not yet fully tormented).—Þe wohunge of ure Lauerd, O. E. Hom., I. p. 283. In the Cursor Mundi, me thinc is the rule! Cf. 225, 248, 2224, 2941, 3030, 5192, 5863, 6670, etc.; otherwise as hem thenke, E. E. Wills, 124/10; as it please the seid Denys, Bury Wills, p. 46; as them best seme to doon, E. E. Wills, 86/4. In Caxton—Me thynke that ye ought to take that the erle proffereth to you, Aymon, 410/30; It playse me well, sayd the kynge, ibid. 75/8; thys worde mystre not for you to saye, ibid. 141/5. Lyst is nearly always without s. See above.

I suppose that this want of inflection is due to the analogy of the frequent me lyst, which is the regular Old English form. Cf. fæst (inf. fæstan), grét (inf. grétan). Sievers, A. S. Grammar, § 359/3.

§ 18. Intransitive, transitive, and reflexive verbs.

It is an unparalleld freedom of the English language to use the same verb in an intransitive, transitive, or causative, and reflexive sense, e. g. change, mend. Many causes have concurred in bringing about this remarkable and most valuable peculiarity. There is a faint germ of it in Old English, e. g. bídan, to abide (dwell and wait for), intransitive and transitive; féran, go and carry; gesamnian, to gather, reflexive and causative. It grows in Modern English, e. g. drive, used intransitively, O. E. Miscellany, pp. 1, 15; fill(en), Intr. O. E. Hom., II. 37; sink(en), causative, Story of Genesis and Exodus, 1108; leren = to learn, ibid. 354, 1383, 3486; O. E. Miscellany, pp. 4, 11; understand = to teach, ibid. p. 52; kelen = to become cold.—Trevisa, Polychr. I. 177, etc.

It becomes ripe in the Elizabethan time, when nearly every verb is used in all the three senses.

Caxton exhibits several instances, which show that the development towards the Modern use was nearly complete:—

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• Cease,used as a causative. Soo pray I you that ye wyl cesse your grete sorowe, Blanchardyn, 44/2; (I beseche you) that ye wyll ceasse your sorowe, ibid. 53/27.

• Learn = teach. She was not lernyd to receyue suche geestes, Blanchardyn, 67/29. Cf. 141/4.

  Malory, too, has several instances of this use:—

  I shalle be your rescowe, and lerne hym to be ruled as a knyghte, Morte Darthur, 197/10; who dyde lerne thee to dystresse ladyes and gentylwymmen, ibid. 197/17. Cf. 285/33, 333/23. Shakspere, Othello, I. iii. 183: My life and education both do learn me How to respect you.

• Lose, causative = ruin. But through fortune chaungeable, my lande hath he wasted and lost by darius, Blanchardyn, 146/5; Morte Darthur, 82/21.

• Possess, causative. When he had gyuen to me my lande, and possessed me in my contrey, I wold not accept it, Charles, 147/16.

• Succombe, causative = subdue. In their folysshe pryde I shal succombe and brynge a lowe their corage, Blanchardyn, 104/30. The original has: 'Et de la folle entre prinse qu ilz ont faicte pour l'orgueil et oultrage qui les ensuient contre vous vouldroy abaissier leur couraige follastre.'

• Sit. There is a passage in Aymon where sit is used as a causative = set; but there seems to be only one instance of this use, and that makes me suspect a misprint. And he sat al his folk in a bushment within a grete wode, 136/18. I never came across this use of sit in older English, but several passages in Melusine, and the free modern sit, as a reflexive or causal, come very near to it. And she thanne wepynge satte herself by hym, Melusine, 157/2; [they] sate themself at dyner, ibid. 157/20; 'Whatever he did, he was constantly sitting himself down in his chair, and never stopping in it.'—Dickens, Chimes, 66; 'sitting himself down on the very edge of the chair,' Pickwick, II. 356. See Storm, English Philology, Colloquial English.

• Tarry is used as an intransitive, reflexive, and causative verb.
  (a) but not long hit taryed, when tolde and recounted was . . . Blanchardyn, 19/17.
  (b) the knyght there alone taryed himself,—Blanchardyn, 22/20. Cf. 88/3.
  (c) other Infynyte thynges that are wont to tarye the corages of some enterpryses, Blanchardyn, 17/11; here we shal tarye tyl oure penne, ibid. 182/11.

• Walop, causatively. But Blanchardyn wyth a glad chere waloped his courser as bruyauntly as he coude . . . = made to gallop, Blanchardyn, 42/5. Cf. Morte Darthur, 176/5: and anon he was ware of a man armed walkynge his horse easyly by a wodes syde. (Both as in Modern English.)

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There are a few verbs used reflexively, which seem to be mere translations of the French.

The whiche, when he sawe Blanchardyn, anone escryed hymself hyghe . . . Blanchardyn, 32/15; I haue not perceyued me of this that ye telle me, ibid. 17/15 (Original: je ne me suis pas perceu de . . .); I perceyue me well, Aymon, 229/15; after this he toke hym self to syghe full sore = he began, Blanchardyn, 23/16; yet sholde I neuer consent me to noo peas, Aymon, 409/23; I assente me, said Arthur, Morte Darthur, 71/13; I assente me therto, ibid. 340/6.

At last, it is worth noting that a passive construction is sometimes used with the meaning of a reflexive (or intransitive):—

Here we shal leue to speke of her, and shal retourne to speke of Blanchardyn, that in the provostis house was sette atte dyner, Blanchardyn, 82/22; they wysshe their handes, ant were sette at dyner, Aymon, 38/8; now was set Berthelot and the worthi reynawde for to playe at the ches, ibid. 61/21; I pray you that ye wyl telle me in what region and what marche it (i. e. the city) is sette = lies, Blanchardyn, 128/25. Cf. Huon, 117/32. This too seems to be due to the French.

§ 19. Auxiliary Verbs.

(a) The verbs can, may, will are still complete.

• 1. be able to: How shall I conne doo soo moche, that I maye avenge myselfe of Charlemagne, Aymon, 61/9; full fayne [she] wolde haue putte therunto a remedy yf by any meanes she had conde,—Blanchardyn, 97/4.

• 2. with the meaning = to learn: 'Syre monke, in the deuylles name, conne ye well your lesson,' ibid. 282/23.

• 3. The phrase 'I conne you thanke' (French: savoir gré): I conne you grete thanke of the offre that now ye haue doon to me, Aymon, 30/34, and 70/32.

The infinitive of may is may, or the more frequent and correct mowe (Old English, múgan). In Blanchardyn there is only 1 may against 12 mowe.

• I pray you that ye wyl doo the beste that ye shal may toward the kynge, 91/10; As ye shall mowe here hereafter, 14/8; by what manere he sholde mowe passe it over, 32/7, 38/14, 43/14, 46/31, 54/28, 68/5, 73/25, 78/2, 101/34, 151/6, 173/33.

• Mowe occurs twice as a past participle in Blanchardyn. And wherby ye haue mowe knowen by the relacion of your captayne . . .Page  liv 53/13; by all the seruyces and pleasures that I haue mowe doon unto you, 53/23.

  It is to be thought that he shall wyl giue hym one of his doughters in mariage, Blanchardyn, 64/25.

• Will. I am at a loss how to explain wold = be willing,*. [Dr. Furnivall says it is the past participle 'have been willing to,' 'have consented to.'] in the following passage: 'from þe owr that ye shal wold gyue your loue unto kynge Alymodes, the right happy weal of peas shall be publysshed through alle cuntreye,' Blanchardyn, 69/19. Well he had wold*. [Past part. wisht, been willing.] that they myght be met wythall, ibid. 121/17.

Perhaps the past participle has influenced the infinitive, as in the verbs of Latin origin, like 'mitigate, participate,' etc.

(b) Have often means = lead, take, bring. (The ladyes) toke her up anone, and had her to bedde, Blanchardyn, 96/20; (Subyon) toke her by the hande, and had her up fro the grounde, ibid. 177/32, 181/17, 183/2, 189/30; Aymon, 92/14, 525/9, 536/10, etc.; Morte Darthur, 486/17.

(c) May is equivalent to can; they are sometimes used together tautologically. 'The gretest honoure that man can or may do to a knyght.'—Blanchardyn, 66/10.

(d) do is used to give the verb which it precedes a causative meaning. I shal doo passe this same spyere throughe the myddes of thy body, Blanchardyn, 27/17; I shal doo folow hym = I shall cause him to be followed, ibid. 44/10 (Original: 'Ie le ferai Sieuir'), 112/7, 120/25, 126/28, 137/21, 148/3, 157/12, 186/4, 187/23, 190/3, 200/31. So in Malory. Compare 'make' in § 25 below.

(e) do used redundantly, as can or gan in Middle English. I tried in vain to find out a rule in Caxton for using or omitting this troublesome 'auxiliary.' There are 95 instances of this do in Blanchardyn.

(f) Come is once used as an auxiliary, as in French, and probably in obedience to it: 'She called hym nyghe her, and shewed hym the ryght myghty nauye that cam to arryue there' = which had just arrived (venoit d'arriver), Blanchardyn, 153/35.

(g) For owe, see 'Impersonal Verbs.'

(h) For the use of shall and will, in order to mark tense and mood, see 'Tense' and 'Mood.'

§ 20. Voice.

The peculiarity of forming the passive voice from intransitive verbs, which is characteristic of the English language, or rather the Page  lv conversion of what is the object of a verb into the subject (he was given a book), is, so far as I am aware, not to be met with in Caxton, and I found only one instance in Malory. Cf. the following instances:—

As was tolde hym by the knyght, Blanchardyn, 43/1; all that was told hym, ibid. 196/20; and whan it was told the kynges that there were come messagers, Morte Darthur, 48/27; whan hit was told hym that she asked his hede, ibid. 79/25, 327/35;—he departed and came to his lord and told hym how he was answerd of sir Trystram, ibid. 463/5.

This rigid observation of the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs, with regard to the passive voice, is very strange at the end of the 15th century, as there are instances of the modern freedom as early as the beginning of the 13th century.

Koch quotes one instance from Layamon: 'þat we beon iquemed,' 1/40; and another from Robert of Gloucester: 'ycham ytold,' 5514.

But I find the passive construction even with the direct and indirect object:—

• 'Nes among al moncun oni holi dole ifunden þet muhte beon ileten blod,' Ancren Riwle, 112; þet is scarcely the dative; nor is Ure Lauerd in 'Ure Lauerd beo iðonked,' ibid. 8, where MS. C has; 'beo hit þonked,' for another passage, on p. 112, is indisputable: 'þe he was þus ileten blod.'*. [Einenkel was somewhat rash in saying, with regard to this use, that in Chaucer's time this revolution had just began, and that we must look upon these instances as mere irregularities and licences, p. 110.]
• CHAUCER. I may you devyse how that I may be holpe, III. 11; I am commaundid, II. 294; ye schal be payd, III. 17; Thembassatours ben answerde for fynal, IV. 306.

Chaucer offers no example of the passive with a double object, but I find one in Hampole, Prose Treatises, p. 5: 'I fand Jesus bowndene, scourgede, gyffene galle to drynke.'

Perhaps we may see in Caxton's apparent dislike of this construction, a sort of negative influence of the French.

§ 21. Verbal Forms

There are verbal forms which, in Old English, were indifferent with regard to voice. These were the infinitive, the verbal noun (-ung, -ing), and sometimes the participle past, when used adjectively. Page  lvi

In Middle English there is a faint beginning of creating new passive constructions of the infinitive and gerund by means of the auxiliary be; but before the Elizabethan age the modern use of the passive infinitive and gerund is not complete.

In Caxton there is a distinct tendency towards the modern use, but still the active constructions prevail. The Infinitive, Gerund, and Participle will be dealt with in their proper place; here a few instances will suffice:—

He made the toun sawte ofte tymes ful sore = to be assaulted, Blanchardyn, 152/4; after that greuouse sorowe that she hath had of my takynge, ibid. 148/32; (he) was remembred of it always, ibid. 31/7; he was ryght sore merueylled, ibid. 139/16.

§ 22. Tense.

(a) Sometimes the Present Tense occurs instead of the Preterite (Præsens historicum):—

And then he taketh him bytwene his armes, and kisseth hym by grete loue; and whan he had doon thus, he sayd . . . Aymon, 78/12; all they[m] of theyr companye arayed themselfe, and yssued oute of the castell . . . and soo go upon the oost of Charlemagne,ibid. 78/25; but Reynawde the worthy knyght is not abasshed, but he taketh all his folke, and setteth theym afore hym, and sayd to his brother Alarde, ibid. 101/12.

(b) The Present used instead of the Future is very rare:—

'To morwe erly, whan we see houre and tyme goode, and alle redy, we shal do sowne oure trompetter,' Blanchardyn, 157/11.

(c) The Preterite is used in the narrative; but sometimes the Perfect alternates with it, often even in the same sentence:—

Charlemain is come to the frensshe men, and commaunded theym for to wythdrawe theym selfe, Aymon, 84/7, 8; Reynawde and his bredern are goon upon the walles, and loked about theym, and sawe that the bassecourte of the castell brenned there as their wytaylles were, ibid. 98/1, 2; Sir Bleoberis ouerthrewe hym, and sore hath wounded hym, Morte Darthur, 296/32.

This use crops up pretty often in Middle English epic poetry. Cf. Story of Genesis and Exodus:—

1149, 1150;
1855, 1856, 2043, 2101, 2312, 2609, 2622, 3746, 3798, 3956.

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(d) The Preterite instead of the Past Perfect Tense is still very common in Caxton:—

(We) shall shewe the sorowes and the complayntes of the proude pucelle in amours, and the manyere that she kept after the kysse that blanchardyn toke of her, Blanchardyn, 43/8. And (the city) hym semed the most fayre and most riche cyte that euer he sawe, ibid. 45/17. Cf. 47/33, 57/29, 59/26, 66/15, 116/8, 128/34, 129/26, 145/12, 162/6, 185/6. Malory, Morte Darthur, 37/13, 49/2, 99/31, 150/25, 271/19, 313/14, 325/18, 337/7, 348/3.

(e) If what a person thinks, hopes, or tries does not agree with the facts, the verb containing the object of the verbs think, believe, trow, fear, hope, try, etc., appears, as a rule, in a tense anterior to that of those verbs, e. g.:—

The prouost and the other of the towne entred ayen in to the cyte, wenyng to them that Blanchardyn had be wyth them, but he was not, Blanchardyn, 88/8.

1. for they were bothe fal in swone, so that no lyf coude be perceued in theire bodyes, but trowed all they that were present that they had be bothe deed, Blanchardyn, 20/2; as they sholde neuer haue seen eche other, they toke leue one of other, 94/5; for well he wend that he sholde neuyr haue seen ayen her, 95/30; but the prouost . . . trowed that he (Blanchardyn) had ben a sarrasyne as other were, 128/10; they were constreyned to enter into the brode see agayne, lest they sholde haue smytten hemself agrounde, 136/13. (She) was in a grete feer lest he had ben drowned in the grete tempest, 152/14; she was right glad, wenyng to her that it had be Sadoyne, 183/13; and thenne sir launcelot wold haue yeuen hym alle these fortresses and these brydges, Morte Darthur, 352/4. Cf. ibid. 368/35, 369/30, 392/29, etc.

2. The infinitive of the perfect, instead of the present tense, after such verbs is (with a very few exceptions) strictly observed:—

He wende to haue tourned the brydell of his horsse, Blanchardyn, 140/32; the cassydonyers had not syth the powere for to haue dressyd it (the standarde) vp ayen, 141/30; (the prouost) wend neuer to haue come tyme ynoughe there, 158/3; he wende to haue lost his wyttes, 186/33; he trowed certaynly to haue fynysshed hys dayes, 188/3. Cf. 107/11, 108/8, 113/22, 117/25, 136/22, 152/29, 166/8, 182/23, 184/2, 197/25, 203/9, 205/25, 205/31, 206/5; Charles the Grete, 133/1, 142/13, 143/15; Aymon, 60/2, 85/26, 101/28, 175/23, etc.; Morte Darthur, 35/12, 37/15, 83/1, 83/6, etc.

Page  lviii

Exceptions:—

(Alymodes) wythdrewe hym self in to his pauyllyon, commaundyng his folke that euery man shold loke to lodge hym self, trowyng to be in a sewrete that his enmyes as for that same day sholde not comen nomore out of their cyte (but they yssued out), Blanchardyn, 59/20; she shal neuer haue no parfytte Ioye at her herte, for loue of a knyght of whom she is enamored, whiche she weneth to be peryshed (but he was not), 155/3. Cf. 167/25, 185/14, 186/22, 186/27, 190/33; Aymon, 196/26, 231/11; Morte Darthur, 227/13, 248/3.

This use was continued in the 16th century:—

He fell to the erthe, wenyng he had been slayne, BERNERS, Huon, 29/25; (Huon) drew out his sword to defende hym selfe, thynkyng the beest wold haue assayled hym, 111/11; cf. 200/31, 291/2; with the infinitive, 11/17, 26/30, 27/3, 31/13, 40/9, 44/20, 62/15, 69/6, 90/5, 100/4, 108/4, 108/30, etc.; he was about in such familiar sort to have spoken to her, SIDNEY, Arcadia, p. 27; I was about to have told you my reason thereof, SPENSER, Ireland, p. 613; I hope to have kept, ibid. p. 620.

SPENSER, Faërie Queene, I. i. 25.

ibid. I. i. 50³. Cf. I. ii. 36²; I. ii. 39; I. iii. 5; I. iii. 24; I. iii. 41; I. v. 13; I. vi. 3; I. vi. 40; I. vii. 14, etc.

(f) With regard to the agreement between the tenses in principal sentences and clauses, the strictness of our modern rules, adopted from the Latin grammar, is still unknown, and, in particular, the Preterite in the principal sentence is often followed by the Present in the clause. This is due to a sort of anacoluthon. There is, as it were, a sudden transition from indirect to direct speech, which is indeed very common in Middle English, as well as in Caxton and Malory:—

(Blanchardyn) prayed hym that he vousshesauff to helpe hym that he were doubed knyght, Blanchardyn, 24/2 (Original: 'quil le aidast a adouber de ses armes'); and whan she myght speke vnto her maystres that he that this Iniurye had doon to her what so euer he be, Yf he may come in her handes or in her power, noon shalPage  lix mowe saue hym, but he shal lese his hed for the same, 43/13; and sayde of a goode herte and a free wylle that he shal furnysshe Rubyon of his requeste, 83/3; Blanchardyn made grete sorowe and lamentacyon, wyshyng full often that he may yet see ones his lady, 97/17, 65/11, 69/19, 138/20, 185/7; (Charlemayne) sware god that he sholde neuer retorne in to fraunce but that Ryynawde were take; and that yf he maye haue hym, all the worlde shall not saue hym, Aymon, 73/16; (the kyng) badde hym be redy and stuffe hym and garnysshe hym, for within xl dayes he wold fetche hym oute of the byggest castell that he hath, Morte Darthur, 35/33; and there Dynadan told Palomydes all the tydynges that he herd and sawe of syre Tristram, and how he was gone with kynge Marke, and with hym he hath alle his wyll and desyre, ibid. 455/12.

§ 23. Mood.

Caxton's use of the Subjunctive is nearly modern; in the sentences, however, which express a wish, the synthetic use is remarkable. Instead of the modern 'may god help me' there is 'so helpe me God'; instead of 'might it please God,' 'pleased God,' etc. This, however, is very common, and is continued in the poetry of even modern times. But there is another point worth noting. There are several instances of the Indicative instead of the Subjunctive Mood, which seem to suggest that the modern tendency of supplanting the Subjunctive may be traced back to Caxton's time, or still earlier.

1. Sentences expressing wish:—

• I beseke and praye þe, in the worship of the goddes, that at tyme of nede, for the defense of my royalme, thou wylt uttir and shewe that which I see appiere with in þe, Blanchardyn, 104/22.
• There are several instances of this use in Huon:—for I wyll thou knowyst she is the fairest mayde that is now lyuynge, 50/14; I wyll thou layest unto me good hostages, 51/9; I wyll thou knowest that ye shall all lose, 87/28; I doubte me lest he hath slayne my sone Lohyer, Aymon, 30/17.

Please occurs in Elizabethan authors in the Indicative, when used in principal sentences expressing wish:—

Pleaseth it you therefore to sit down to supper,—Lyly, Euphues, p. 28; pleaseth you walk with me down to this house—Shakspere, Errors, IV. i. 12; pleaseth you ponder your Supplicant's plaint—Spenser, Sheph. Cal., February.

There seems to be one instance as early as 1360, Sir GawaynePage  lx and the Green Knight, 2439: 'bot on I wolde yow pray, displeses yow neuer.'

2. Negative clauses:—

He began to ryde faste by the forest, in whiche he was bothe the daye and the nyght . . . wythout adventure to fynde that doeth to be recounted, Blanchardyn, 31/19 (original: qui a raconter face); wythout fyndyng of eny aduenture that is to be recounted, ibid. 127/7; it nedeth not to be doubted that he is comme to his extremite of prowes, wythout that amours hath ben the cause in the person of some hyghe a pryncesse, 72/19.

3. Conditional sentences:—

(a) The clause (introduced by if) appears sometimes in the Indicative:—

And yf thou wylt not doo it . . . Aymon, 25/6; always yf he hath trespassed ayenst you in ony manere, I am ryghte sory for hit, ibid. 30/28; now shall it be seen yf it is true or not, ibid. 325/3.

The Subjunctive appears in Aymon, 25/33, 26/1, etc.

(b) Sometimes the principal sentence following a conditional clause appears in the Indicative, though the latter expresses irreality:—

For a ryght gode knyght he was, yf he had been a crysten man, Blanchardyn, 86/13; for I was dysherited and undoon for euer, yf they had not been, Aymon, 159/6.

§ 24. Imperative Mood.

1. The Imperative is very often followed by the personal pronoun. Instances abound. Cf. p. xiii.

2. Here and there the imperative seems to be represented by the Indicative, as the arrangement of words suggests:—

But wel ye knowe that he was not hadde sore ferre from the kynge his fadre, Blanchardyn, 13/1 (original: sachiez); A, fayr damoysels, said Amand, ye recommaunde unto la Beale Isoude, Morte Darthur, 436/16.

This occurs very often in the Story of Genesis and Exodus, as in the Cursor Mundi (frequent):—

—Story, 31.

ibid. 397. Cf. 737, 1492, 2072.

The Oriel Text of the Book of Curtesye has one instance:—

120.

Page  lxi

Hill and Caxton have: 'so do ye algate.'

§ 25. The Infinitive. Active and Passive.

While, as mentioned above, the Infinitive in Old English—as well as in the other Teutonic languages—was indifferent with regard to voice, the later periods of Middle English develope the passive on the same principle as Latin, and are probably modelled on that. Whenever there is an action without a subject to do it, we find the passive construction in Latin—infinitivus passivi and participium passivi (or rather gerundium), e. g. militem occidi iussit; credendum est. So far as I am aware both these constructions are translated in Old English, as well as in Middle English of the first centuries, by the simple infinitive. Instances abound:—

Þa hi þæt ne geþafodan, þa het he hi beheafdian,—Sweet, Oldest English Texts, p. 177 (Martyrology); þa heht se casere gesponnan fiower wildo hors to scride, ibid.; Eac is to geðencanne, Cura pastoralis, 53; denum eallum wæs . . . to geþolianne . . . oncyð, Beowulf, 1418; ne bið swylc cwénlic pew, idese to efnanne . . . þætte freoðu—webbe, ibid. 1941; we nu gehyrað þis halige godspel beforan us rædan, Blickling Hom. 15/28. Cf. 55/25, 107/26; hit is lang to areccene, Wulfstan, 7/12; seo menniscness is wundorlic ymbe to smeagenne, ibid. 15/14, 25/6, 27/1, 158/16, etc., etc.

Middle English:—

Nu ne þerf na mon his sunne mid wite abuggen but toward crist ane mid scrifte swa him his preost lered al swa his festen, þe swiðe oner Rimet þes flesces wlongnesse and chuc (chirc?) ȝong and god to donne þeruore monie and feole oðre godere werke þe nu were long eou to telle,—O. E. Hom. I. 9; heo wes wurse to þolien þenne efreni of alle þa oþre pine, ibid. I. 43; hwet is us to donne?—ibid. I. 91; þan alden his to warniene wið uuele iþohtas, ibid. I. 109; II. 117, 139; þatt (sc. flocc) tœleþþ þatt to lofenn iss, Ormulum, 77; þeos (þinges) beoð alle ine freo wille to donne or to leten, Ancren Riwle, 8; leteð writen on one scrowe hwat se ȝe ne kunneð nout, ibid. 42.

• 'Ghe knew it for hire owen sune;

  And quane it sulde sundred ben,

  Ghe bar it teremuth for to sen.'
  
  Story of Genesis and Exodus, 2628;

• 'ðe bi-leuen brennen he bead.'
  
  ibid. 3154.

• 'O spuse-brek womman

  þat þe Iuus dempt to stan.'
  
  Cursor Mundi, 186;

Page  lxii

• 'worþie for to neuen.'
  
  ibid. 4056, 4420, 5634, 5678, 6364, 6718.

• 'And syn he best to love is and most meke.'
  
  Chancer, V. 77;

• 'ſoul artow to embrace.'
  
  ibid. III. 93.

• 'But ay thay wondren what sche mighte be,

  That in so pover array was for to se.'
  
  ibid. II. 310.

• 'His brest was hole withouten for to sene.'
  
  ibid. III. 13;
  'it (sc. þe oost) is to dispyse (orig. spernendum est).'
  
  Boethius, p. 12.

Þis emperour is to undirstand our Lord ihesu crist, Gesta Romanorum, p. 22 (= by this emperour is understood, etc.); I wolle haue this childe, that thi wife has brought forthe this nyght, to norisshe in my palys, ibid. p. 208; sone the emperoure made letters to send to the empresse, ibid. p. 213; thenne she brought him out of þe prison, and gerte bathe him, ibid. p. 312.

The passive construction is rarely to be met with in the earliest Middle English texts. There are, however, numerous instances in the 14th century:—

Cursor Mundi (Cotton, Göttingen, and Trinity MSS.), 4856:

Cf. 5004, 5080, 9098; worthy to be . . . i-preysed (= praeconiis attollendi), Trevisa, ← Polychronicon, I. 3; suche serueþ and is good to be knowe of Cristen men, ibid. I. 17; that made hem gentil men y-callid be,—Chaucer, I. 240.

ibid. II. 314.(Petrarch's Original, p. 170: et saepe nos multis ac gravibus flagellis exerceri sinit.)

In Caxton the old use is still very frequent, if it is not the prevailing one; and, to conclude ſrom several instances, the passive construction was not quite familiar to him. The proportion between the instances of active and passive construction is in Blanchardyn 11 to 8.

(a) Governed by adjectives and answering to the Latin Supine.

• Active. The sore of loue is ryght anguyssous and heuy forto bere,—Blanchardyn, 68/23; lete vs not departe from hens for this is a goode place for to deffende, Aymon, 108/10; but the foure sones of Aymon were good to knowe by thother for they had on grete mauntelles of scarlet furred with ermynes, ibid. 224/8.

Page  lxiii

• Passive. (Subyon) tolde them . . . that he wold wedde the proude pucelle in amours, for many causes and raysons that were to long to be reherced,—Blanchardyn, 179/18; here shall you here of the hande hewyng, and of a thynge heny to be recounted,—Aymon, 53/12; Reynawde and his bredern are suche knyghtes that they ben not for to be lightly ouerthrowen, ibid. 104/2; ye are gretly to be blamed, ibid. 234/6.

(b) Governed by verbs, especially by do and make, answering to the Latin Infinitivus Passivi. Caxton very often uses a redundant do, so that we find such awkward expressions as, 'he did do make.'

• Active. I shal doo folow hym (original: Ie le feray sieuir), Blanchardyn, 44/10; he made to drawe vp ancres, ibid. 111/13; they made to take vp the ancres and to hale vp their saylles, ibid. 127/2; he made the toun sawte ofte tymes, ibid. 152/4; Subyon domaged theym ryght sore, and their place, wyth their bombardes and other engynes of warre, that he had do brynge there, ibid. 200/31; but what so euer goode sporte and pleysure that blanchardyn sawe ther make for his sake nothyng coude playse hym, ibid. 110/11; very striking is ibid. 12/22: Blanchardyn was taken in to the handes of a right noble lady of the lande for to norysshe and bryngen vp (original: pour le nourir et esleuer). Cf. Gesta Romanorum, p. 208 (quoted above, p. lxii).

  There is also both the active and passive construction governed by the same verb:—

  Kyng Alymodes commaunded expressely to the mareshall of his ooste, that he shold doo make and to be sette vp a galhouse, Blanchardyn, 187/23; Aymon, 70/5, 73/30, 74/22, 78/14, 90/24, 96/21, 96/28, 129/4, 145/23, 147/21, etc.

• Passive. for he made to be brought vnto hym by his folke al suche armures and harneys as to hym behoued to haue, Blanchardyn, 47/19; (Blanchardyn) made hym to be armed,—ibid, 47/22; he made his trompetto to be sowned, ibid. 119/23; Aymon, 65/8, 66/14, 69/34, 73/23, 73/26, 74/13, 80/1, 80/21, 84/31, 87/1, 96/24, 101/22, 167/32, etc.; Morte Darthur, 37/1, 367/38, etc.

(c) Governed by the verb 'to be,' answering to the Latin Gerundium or Futurum Passivi:—

• Active. And where vpon is to by-leue that blanchardyn was neuere in hys lyff half so glad, Blanchardyn, 80/11; syr Emperour, this paynymPage  lxiv nameth hym self fyerabras, whiche is moche to redoubte and hath done moche harme to crysten men, Charles the Grete, 42/26; and yf thou mayst come vnto the hye secrets whyche ben strongly for to doubte and drede in the doubtous courteynes of the most hye prynces. Thenne shalt thou be most messhaunt, The Curial, 5/12; ye be to blame (still kept), Aymon, 83/7, 99/13.

• Passive. He began to ryde faste by the forest wythout aduenture to fynde that doeth to be recounted (original: qui a raconter face), Blanchardyn, 31/19; wythout fyndyng of eny aduenture that is to be recounted, ibid. 127/7; yf Blanchardyn was ryght glad of this adventure, it is not to be axed, 42/1, 12; it is not to be told but Blanchardyn mayntened hymself, 50/29.

Instead of the infinitive there occur two instances of the past participle:—

Thise ben the folke of themperour Charlemayn, that goeth to Ardeyn for to besege a castell that the foure sones of Aymon haue do made there, Aymon, 70/29; how the kyng Charlemayn wold have doon hanged Mawgys incontynent after that oliver had deliverde hym to hym, ibid. 365/5. Cf. Alle the werk . . . which I haue do maad,—Bury Wills, p. 39.

There are striking instances of group (b) in Berners's Huon:—

(Huon) toke the horne of Iuorey from his necke and toke it to his host to kepe, sayenge, 'host, I take you this to kepe,' 85/15. Cf. ibid. 233/16 (kepe, however, may be the substantive; Middle English, kep. See Stratmann s. v.); thyder his doughter was brought to hym to se, ibid. 313/31; how the duches Esclaramond deliueryd her doughter Clariet to Barnarde to bere to the abbot of Cluny, ibid. 401/26.

For the Tense of the Infinitive, see above, p. lvii.

§ 26. The Simple Infinitive.

The Simple Infinitive is far from being so much restricted as in Modern English. Caxton's use of it is nearly as free as Chaucer's. A few instances will do:—

How after many dysputacyons Olyuer ayded arme fyerabras, Charles the Grete, 57/4; But the valiaunt erle of rames pursued hym so nygh that he suffred hym not goo at his wylle, Aymon, 517/9. Cf. Man schal not suffre his wyf go roule aboute, Chaucer, II. 226; That wol not suffre us duellen here, ibid. II. 279.

The Infinitive governed by 'do' is nearly always simple: for instances see the preceding paragraph.

Page  lxv

After 'make' the simple Infinitive in a passive sense is very rare.

He made the toun sawte ofte tymes ful sore, Blanchardyn, 152/4; The good lady made bryng lynnen, Aymon, 129/7. Cf. Chaucer, Boece, p. 55, l. 1460: he lete brenne þe citee of Rome and made slen þe senatours.*. [Dr. Furnivall suggests that this construction may explain Shakspere's puzzle in All's Well, III. iv.: 'I see that men make rope's (make us to be ensnared) in such a scarre (fright) that we'll forsake ourselves.']

§ 27. To and for to preceding the Gerundial Infinitive.

As a rule, Caxton uses for to,

(a) In order to denote aim and purpose; (b) after substantives.

The first translates the French pour, the latter de. There are, however, exceptions. On the first sixty pages of Blanchardyn, to occurs eighty-six times, and of these only two are governed by nouns, viz., 16/6, 41/20. On the other hand, out of the eighty-six passages containing for to, there are but three governed by verbs, viz., 18/18, 29/25, 37/13. Here and there both to and for to occur in the same sentence:—

They alle sholde mounte on horsbacke for tenquyre and seke after his most dere and welbeloued sone, and to brynge hym ayen vnto hym, Blanchardyn, 20/21; ye myght well kepe your selfe that ye com not so often to see vs and for to doo vs harme, Aymon, 83/9.

§ 28. Functions of the Infinitive.

(a) Caxton sometimes uses the Infinitive—as in Old and Middle English—where we use the Gerund, especially after prepositions:—

Wythout aduenture to fynde, Blanchardyn, 31/18; Wythout to make ony noyse, Aymon, 78/24; yf I goo there wythoute myn armes, nor wythout to be as it apperteyneth, ibid. 219/31; wythout to be dyshonoured, ibid. 470/25. Infinitive with the Gerund, Blanchardyn, 37/15, 16; he salued hym prayng that for to paye well and largely content him, he wold vouchsauf to take hym for his hoste, Blanchardyn, 46/9; ye knowe well the offence that your broder halde doon to me, for to haue slayn soo cruelly Lohier, Aymon, 60/2; but none myght compare wyth Reynawde for to do well, Aymon, 82/3; yet ye be there and wel ferre for to be oute, Charles, 93/3; ye are gretely to blame for to displease kyng Arthur, Morte Darthur, 80/12.

Remnants of this use occur still in Spenser (? as conscious archaisms):—

Page  lxvi

• 'Or who shall let me know

  On this vile body for to wreak my wrong.'
  
  Faërie Queene, II. viii. 28/4.

• 'feare nought, then saide the Palmer well aviz'd, for these same Monsters are not these in deed,

  But are into these fearefull shapes disguiz'd

  By that same wicked witch, to worke in dreed,

  And draw from on this journey to proceed.'
  
  Ibid. II. xii. 26/5.

(b) The Infinitive used instead of a whole clause (as a manyworded adverb):—

They kylled and slue and hurte sore many one, Deffendynge hem selfe soo strongely ayenste their enmyes, to theyr grete losse and damage, and to wythdrawe them self ayen = so that they withdrew themselves (original: 'maint en naurerent et occirent en eul deffendant, tellement que leurs ennemis, a leur grant perte et dommage, sen retournerent arrieve sans gaires prouffiter, car moult en yolt de mors et de naures'), Blanchardyn, 187/10; he lefte not for to be forthwith quartered . . . but that he toke that same sarasyn by the heyre, etc., Charles the Grete, 132/18; for to renne xxx leghes he wold not be wery, ibid. 150/13; Here is to hard a mocke for me, and ye wynne not moche by, for to gabbe me of this facyon, Aymon, 338/29 (conditional clause); and soo he lete conduyte the harper out of the countrey but to say that kyng Mark was wonderly wrothe he was (conditional clause), Morte Darthur, 465/12.

There are several instances of this use in Berners's Huon, and here and there in Elizabethan writers:—

Syr, quod they, to dye in the quarell we shall ayde and socoure you (edition of 1601: were we sure to dye, etc.), Huon, 22/2; I thanke the of thy grace to haue gyuen me the puyssaunce to sle such a creature (ed. of 1601: that thou hast gyuen me, etc.), ibid. 109/21; as long as I lyue I shal neuer forgete Huon, and shal alwayes, to dye in the payne, kepe me for the bodely company of ony man lyuinge (ed. of 1601: and shal alwayes be redy to dye in the payne and kepe me fro, etc.), ibid. 195/14; yf he had knowen it to haue dyed in the quarel he wolde neuer haue consented to that treason, ibid. 284/6; Comforte your men, who hathe great desyre to defende this citye for the sauegarde of their owne bodyes and lyues, thus to make sorow ye can wyn nothynge therby, ibid. 387/30.

§ 29. The Infinitive Absolute.

There is a peculiar use of the Infinitive which turns up first in the second half of the 14th century:—

Page  lxvii

• 'I say this, be ye redy with good herte

  To al my lust, and that I frely may

  As me best liste do yow laughe or smerte,

  And never ye to gruch it.'
  
  —Chaucer, II. 289 (Grisilda).

• 'Let hym fynde a sarasyn

  And y to fynde a knyght of myn.'
  
  —Guy of Warwick, 3531/2.

I have tried in vain to find any trace of this use in earlier days, and can only account for it in the following way. There is an outspoken tendency in the English of the 14th century to supplant adverbial clauses of time, and express a condition by absolute constructions:—

þe same Plato lyvyng, hys maistre socrates deservede victorie of unriȝtful deeþ in my presence, Chaucer's Boece, 184 (original: 'eodemque superstite praeceptor ejus Socrates injustae victoriam mortis me adstante promeruit'); but I withstod þat ordinaunce and overcom it, knowyng al þis þe kyng hym self,—ibid. 308; The service doon, they soupen al by day, Chaucer, II. 364; This wordes seyde, she on hire armes two fil gruf, ibid. IV. 337; The cause iknowe, and of his harm the roote, Anon he yaf the syke man his boote, ibid. II. 14.

As appears by the preceding examples, both participles serve to represent clauses in the present and past tenses. But how about the future? Why should there be no absolute construction for a clause with a future tense? The want of a proper participle did not prevent the language from completing the use of absolute constructions. It resorted to the Infinitive. Wycliffe tried to introduce a future participle. 'He was to dyinge,'—Lucas, I. 2 (erat moriturus); 'to doynge,' ibid. 22, 23 (facturus). But this innovation was not accepted. There is, however, a similar formation in Caxton: 'Guy, hir loue and tocoming husband,' Charles the Grete, 134/27, i. e. that was to be; 'Our tocomyng souerayne lorde,' Blades, 139/140; it occurs also in Piers Plowman. Cf. Skeat, Notes, p. 371, and Trevisa, Polychr. I. 267. This probably gave birth to that peculiar use which, in the course of its development, became more and more free, so that in the 15th century the Infinitive Absolute often serves to alternate with any principal sentence and clause:—

• 'I dar the better ask of you a space

  Of audience, to schewen oure request

  And ye, my lord, to doon right as yow lest.'
  
  —Chaucer, II. 281.

Page  lxviii

• 'Ne (he) in his desire none other fantasye bredde,

  But argumentes to this conclusioun,

  That sche of him wolde han compassioun

  And he to ben hire man whil he may dure.'
  
  —Chaucer, IV. 127.

• '(I mene that ye wolde) agreen that I may ben he

  In trowth alway to don yow my servyse,

  As to my lady right, and chief resorte

  With al my wit and al my diligence,

  And I to han right as yow list conforte ....

  And that ye deigne me so muchel honoure

  Me to comaunden aught in any houre,

  And I to ben youre veray humble trewe.'
  
  —Chaucer, IV. 230.

• 'Men schold him brenne in a fuyr so reed

  If he were founde, or if men myght him spye,

  And we also to bere him companye.'
  
  —Chaucer, III. 38.

Item, I geue and quethe to Willm Husher III s. IV d. and he to haue his indentour of his prentished. Bury Wills, p. 16 (A.D. ); Item, I wyll that Maist. Thomas Harlowe sey the sermon at my interment, if he vouchsafT, and he to haue VI s. and VIII d. to prey for me, ibid. p. 17; ibid. p. 18. A striking instance occurs on p. 21: I will that the seid preest ne his successours shal not lete to ferme the seid place to no man nor woman, but he and his successours to logge; Also y will þat Iohn Edmund (haue) al þe led . . . he to pay þer for as it ys worthy, Earliest English Wills, 2/13 (A.D. 1387); I yeue hem halli unto Maude my wyf, scho for to doo with them hir owne fre wylle, ibid. 95/16 (A.D. 1433); ibid. 123/18 ff (A.D. 1439); If all thre sonnes die withoute heires of their bodies, theire moder than lyuyng, then she for to haue all the same maners, ibid. 124/25, 127/14, 15 (A.D. 1439):—

Arthur, ed. Furnivall, l. 76.

Caxton seems to have disliked this use; the following passages are the only instances I have found of an Infinitive Absolute occurring in his works:—

And with the remenaunte he shold make men ryche, and to sette them in good poynte, Charles the Grete, 126/3; yf I retorne wythoute to auenge my barons, I shall do pourely, sythe they haue susteyned and borne up the crowne Imperial and my wylle, and I now to retorne wythoute to auenge them. He that gaf me suche counceyll, loueth me but lytel, I se wel, ibid. 16/14.

Page  lxix

But Malory's Morte Darthur makes a very large use of it; instances abound; and it is probably due to the influence of this great favourite of the 16th century that the absolute infinitive is very frequent in Berners, and occurs even in Elizabethan times:—

This is my counceill . . . that we lete puruey X knyghtes, men of good fame and they to kepe this swerd, Morte Darthur, 40/37; for hym thought no worship to haue a knyght at suche auaille he to be on horsbak and he on foot, ibid. 71/23; hit was neuer the custome of no place of worship that euer I came in whan a knyghte and a lady asked herborugh and they to receyue hem and after to destroye them, ibid. 310/23; and soo they rode vnto the keepers of beestes and alle to bete them, ibid. 367/38; The custom was suche amonge them, that none of the kynges wold helpe other, but alle the felauship of euery standard to helpe other, ibid. 533/18. Cf. 461/27, 590/35.

In the following instances the Infinitive Absolute is used without a subject:—

I wylle that ye gyue vnto your broder alle the hole manoir with the appertenaunce, vnder thys forme, that sir Ontzelake hold the manoir of yow, and yerely to gyue yow a palfrey, Morte Darthur, 134/18; I wyl foryeue the the dethe of my broder, and for euer to become thy man, ibid. 224/19; thou shalt neuer escape this castel, but euer here to be prys mer, ibid. 244/14; I will do to yow homage and feaute, with an C knyghtes with me, and alle the dayes of my lyf to doo you seruyse, ibid. 266/31; he shold fyghte body for body, or els to fynde another knyght for hym, ibid. 303/14; there is non other waye but thou must yelde the to me, outher els to dye, ibid. 314/3. Cf. 324/14, 408/8, 496/9, 527/25, 633/14, 646/32.

Berners goes a step beyond Malory in his free use of the Infinitive Absolute:—

Yf it fortunyd that the vanquisser sle his enemye in the feld, or he confesse the treason for the deth of his sonne, that than the vanquyssher to lese all his londys, Huon, 40/26; it shall be sayde that you who hath lyuyd in so grete tryumphe all the dayes of your lyfe, and now in your latter dayes to become a chylde, ibid. 47/6; whan thou seest hym sytte at the table, than thou to be armyde wyth thy sworde, ibid. 50/7; And also thou to brynge me thy handfull of the hereof hys herde, ibid. 50/20. Cf. 107/5, 116/32, 169/14, 169/20, 185/11, 256/21, 287/20, 303/26, 304/15, etc.

In all these instances the Infinitive Absolute is more or less governed by, or at least in connection with, the finite verb of thePage  lxx principal sentence; but there are some instances where the Infinitive is used entirely apart from the preceding sentence:—

By God, quod he, I hope alway byhynde! And she to laugh, Chaucer, IV. 198. Cf. IV. 185, V. 295.

—Spenser, Faërie Queene, I. vi. 47/8.

Mr. Kitchin, in his Clarendon Press edition, explains this expression by 'and they go to fight'; but I am rather inclined to see in it a remnant of the Infinitive Absolute, if not an imitation of the older French use. See Littré, Dictionnaire, s. v. de, 20^o.

§ 30. The Infinitive with the Accusative Case.

The Infinitive in connection with the Accusative (or Nominative) case, where we now put for or for . . to.*. [John Fisher has the modern construction: 'It is better for a synner to suffre trybulacyon.'—English Works of John Fisher, ed. Mayor (E. E. T. S.), p. 41, l. 9. ] As in Chaucer, the Infinitive with the Accusative occurs governed by substantives, adjectives, and impersonal verbs:—

No wondur is a lewid man to ruste,—Chaucer, II. 16; now were it tyme a lady to gette henne, ibid. IV. 250; but it is good a man be at his large, ibid. II. 71; (his folke) putte hem self vpon their enmyes, so that it was force the polonyens to recule abak, Blanchardyn, 107/18; it is better a man wysely to be stille than folyssly to speke, Charles the Grete, 93/5; for it is gods wyll youre body to be punysshed for your fowle dedes, Morte Darthur, 67/10; for it semeth not yow to spede there as other haue failled, ibid. 77/34.

In Malory, and even in Shakspere, we sometimes find the Infinitive in connection with the nominative case instead of the expected accusative, after substantives, adjectives, and impersonal verbs:—

Thow to lye by our moder is to muche shame for vs to suffre, Morte Darthur, 453/4; hit was neuer the custome of no place of worship that euer I came in, whan a knyghte and a lady asked herberough, and they to receyue hem, and after to destroye them, ibid. 310/23; a heauier task could not haue been imposed than I to speak my griefs unspeakable,—Shakspere, Err. I. i. 33; what he is indeed, more suits you to conceive than I to speak of,—As You Like It, I. ii. 279; thou this to hazard needs must intimate skill infinite or monstrous desperate,—All's Well, II. i. 186; I to bear this . . . is some burden,—Timon, IV. iii. 266.

Page  lxxi

§ 31. The Infinitive Omitted.

Sometimes the Infinitive is omitted, and its function is included in the preceding auxiliary verb. This is especially the case where we now use verbs like 'go,' 'move,' etc.

This omission is rather frequent in Old English:—

Swa swa oferdruncan man wat þæt he sceolde to his huse and his reste, Boethius, 132; ðat hie forgieten hwider hie scylen, Cura Pastoralis, 387/14; for oft ðonne hy witodlice geseoþ þæt hy sceolon to reste, Beda, 283; þæt he nyste, hwær ut sceolde, Orosius, 286/20; le him æfter sceal, Beowulf, 2817; þonne he forð scile, ibid. 3178; þonne ðu forð scyle metod-sceaſt seon! ibid. 1179; Ac hie to helle sculon on þone sweartan sið, Genesis, 732; Min sceal of lice sawul on sið ſæt, Iuliana, 699; Heo wæs on ofste, wolde ut þanon feore beorgan, þa heo onfunden wæs, Beowulf, 1293; ær he in wille, ibid. 1371; Ic to sæ wille, ibid. 318; nu wille ic eft þam lige near, Genesis, 760; ða he him from wolde ða gefeng he hine, Cura Pastoralis, 35/19; þa mid þæm þæ hi hie getrymed hæfdon and togædere woldon, þa wearð eorþbeofung, Orosius, 160/28; ac þa hie togædere woldon þa com swa ungemetlic ren, ibid. 194/17.

Middle English:—

Sir Gawayne, 2132.

Langland, Piers Plowman (B), 16/174.

I could not find this use in Caxton, but there are instances in Malory:—

But the brachet wold not from hym, Morte Darthur, 37/24; I wylle to morowe to the courte of kyng Arthur, ibid. 446/1; whether wylt thow? ibid. 560/32; that wold the none harme, ibid. 390/4.

§ 32. The Present Participle.

The Present Participle ending in -yng, -ynge (scarcely in -ing), has the same functions as in Modern English; for tocoming, see above, § 29, p. lxvii.

With regard to voice, there are but few exceptions to its active meaning. Desplesaunt = displeasing occurs in Blanchardyn, 27/19; 'thy lyffe is to me so gretly displeasaunte.' But several times it has the passive sense = displeased:—

Byfore whiche cyte was yet Kyng Alymodes at siege wyth his oost, wherof the fayr the proude pucell in amours was sore displaysaunt, Blanchardyn, 127/11; but on thys day . . . so desplaysaunt ne sory was he neuer as I shal make hym for the, Charles the Grete, 62/3; the noble flory pes was moche dysplaysaunte for thePage  lxxii necessyte of the frensshe men, ibid. 124/26; wher fore thadmyral was so dysplaysaunt and angry that he wende to haue dyed, ibid. 143/14. The verb displease occurs also several times in the phrase: dysplayse you not, ibid. 113/20, 146/34; and in the past participle dysplaysed, Aymon, 464/19, 510/8.

Malory has beholdyng = beholden:—

Ye are the man in the world that I am most beholdyng to, Morte Darthur, 42/24; I am moche beholdyng vnto hym, ibid. 86/22; me semeth ye ar moche beholdynge to this mayden, ibid. 476/32; therfor ye are the more beholdyng vnto god than any other man to loue hym and drede hym, ibid. 640/11; beholden occurs, ibid. 86/11, 89/5. Cf. Skeat, Notes to Langland, p. 161. Instead of holden [B, A], we find in [C] the form holdinge.

This represents a common corruption, which appears also in beholding, as used for beholden by Shakspere and others, see Richard III., II. i. 129; Julius Cœsar, III. ii. 70; and Abbott, Shakspere Grammar, 3rd ed., sect. 372.

§ 33. The Past Participle.

The Past Participle exhibits far more irregularities with regard to voice. Past Participles of transitive verbs used in an active sense, or at least indifferent as to voice, turn up in all the periods of the language.

Old English. Ond ic bebiode on godes naman, þæt nán mon þone æstel from þáere béc ne dó, ne pá bóc from þæm mynstre: uncúþ hú longe þær swá gelærede biscepas síen, Cura Pastoralis, Preface.

Uncúþ may very likely be an absolute participle = 'it being unknown,' but I am rather inclined to take it in an active sense = 'not knowing,' referring to ic. The Middle English use of the word seems to justify this interpretation:—

His muð is get wel uncuð with pater noster and crede, O. E. Miscellany, p. 4, 112; of his swike he arn uncuð, ibid. p. 16, 512;

O. E. Miscellany, p. 19, 594.

Eftsone we þe beð uncuðe þe heuenliche kinge, for þat ure li flode him swiðe mislikeð, alse he wile noht cnowe bute þat þe him beð queme (we that do not know the heavenly king . . . he also will not acknowledge us), O. E. Homilies, II. p. 45. Cf. unwiste.

There is a parallel to this use in Old Norse. Kunnr = Old English cúð, is used in an active sense:—

Page  lxxiii

(Attila sent once to Gunther, a knowing, i. e. clever man), Edda, Atlakviða, 1/3; Geðrówod under ðám pontiscan Pilate,—Ælfric, Homilies, II. 596/14; hwæt getácnode sé gebrædda fisc, búton ðone geðrówodan crist? ibid. II. 292/13; and his bróðer sunu Irtacus, yfele geworht man, féng tó his ríce, ibid. II. 476/17; ond hie þa wurdan hraþe gelyfde Crist him sealde gesihþe, Blickling Homilies, p. 155/5; gelyfed = believing, also Ælfric, Homilies, II. 26/32; Lives of Saints, II. 302; and æt nyhstan þæt folc ða weard swa wið god forworht, þæt he let faran hæþenne here and forhergjan eall þæt land, Wulfstan, 14/2. Cf. ibid. 155/11; niniuéte wæron forsyngode swyðe, ac hy dydan, swa heam þearf wæs, ibid. 170/11.

Middle English. The Old English Homilies exhibit the same participles as those quoted above:—

And þa welle bi-wisten XII. meister deoflen swilc ha weren kinges to pinen þer wiðinnen þa earming saulen þe for-gult weren, O. E. Homilies, p. 41; nu leofe breðre ȝe habbeð iherð hwa erest biwon reste þam forgulte saule, ibid. p. 45; he demað stiðne dom þam forsunegede on his efter to-come þet is on domes deie, ibid. 95; on hwan mei þe mon modegian þen he beo wel iþoȝen and iþungen, for he mei findan fele þe beoð bet iþoȝen and istoȝen þene he, ibid. 107; heo setten heore honden ofer ilefde men, and heo underfengen þene halian gast, ibid. p. 91. Cf. unbilefde men, ibid. II. p. 81, 171, 195; he scal beon swa iweorht þet him mon mote wið speken and his neode menan, ibid. II. 111.

There are very numerous instances of participles of compound verbs, the first part of which is for:—

All folle wass forrgillt,—Ormulum, 25, 26; ȝiff þatt tu forrlanged arrt, Tu cumen upp till Criste, ibid. 1280; hwet sculen horlinges do, þe swikere, þe forsworene,—Poema Morale, 103. Cf. Alle he weeron forsworen and here treothes forloren,—Chronicle, ab anno 1137. O. E. Homilies, I. 143.

(And the righteous separated from the wicked.) Story of Genesis and Exodus, 266; forswonken,—Cursor Mundi, 2017; forliuen (Cotton, Göttingen, Trinity), forliued (Fairfax), ibid. 5315; forwalked = tired out with walking,—Skeat, Notes to Langland, p. 312; forwandred = tired out with wandering, ibid.

Page  lxxiv

Chaucer, too, has several instances of this use:—

• Now hadde Calkas left, in this mischaunce, Alle unwiste of this fals and wikked dede, His doughter, IV. 111, 112. (Unwiste = not knowing, ignorant;) þou and god . . . ben known wiþ me þat no þing brouȝt me to maistrie or dignite; but þe comune studie of al goodenes, ibid.; Boece, Consolation, 14 (original: 'tu mihi et . . . deus conscii nullum me ad magistratum nisi commune bonnorum omnium studium detulisse').
• 'O olde, unholsom, and myslyved man!' ibid. IV. 313 = man of ill living. Cf. Modern English, long-lived, though that is probably an adj. in -ed from the compound noun long-life: its i is long.

Caxton's use of the past participle is pretty regular; there are, however, several instances at variance with modern use. In his reprint of Chaucer's Boece or Consolation, Caxton alters the 'known' of the passage quoted above, into knowing:—

(Blanchardyn) was remembred of it allewayes, Blanchardyn, 31/6; and the prouost aseed hym yf he was counseylled for to fulfylle the construction of that texte, ibid. 47/12, 178/2; the lady . . . is well trusted wyth me, ibid. 79/1; wherof he was right sore merueylled,— ibid. 139/16, 162/7. Cf. I was wondyrde (Harleian MS., I wondered), Hampole, Prose Treatises, p. 6; ha false and renyed strompet = renegate, Blanchardyn, 185/31; I meruaylle me moche how thou, that art prudent and wyse of goodes art so ouerseen and fro thy self, for to dar expose thy self to so many perillis = mistaken (Furnivall, Glossary), Curial, 3/13; whan charlemagne sawe hym seased of mawgys, he called rowlande, Aymon, 365/26. Cf. Huon, 94/8; whan Huon sawe that he was sessyd of his horne (ed. of 1601: possessed).

Malory is, in this respect as in many others, nearer the Middle English use:—

They are wery and forfoughten,—Morte Darthur, 87/25, 105/35; I pray you in no wyse be ye aknowen where I am, ibid. 254/21; thenne he told the kyng alle that batail, And how sir Palomydes was more weyker and more hurte and more lost of his blood, ibid. 447/13.

§ 34. The Verbal Noun.

The verbal noun in Caxton, with its functions of noun and verb, may be traced back to two different sources.

(A.) When used as a noun, it derives from the Old English [gap: possibly two wordsreason: omitted in printing] noun in -ung, -ing. Instances of it are very common [gap: possibly two-three wordsreason: text omitted in printing of edition] Page  lxxv in modern times. It is only worth noting when it forms part of a compound:—

Muste I nedes deye thus shamefully, wythoute deffence makynge? Blanchardyn, 188/31; the barons and knyghtes thenne of a right gode wyll, wythout answer nor replye makyng, in grete haste . . . went and armed hem self, ibid. 189/32; in thes wordes talkyng*. [? pres. part. absolute 'they talking.'—F. J. F.] togyder, dyd arryue there foure of their men, ibid. 192/25: Reynawde toke therof vengeaunce vpon Berthelot by good rayson and that more is, it was his body deffendynge,—Aymon, 207/29, 566/26; and for that honour doyng to Sir Tristram he was at that tyme more preysed, Morte Darthur, 394/19.

These compounds are common in Old and Middle English:—

Sige forgeaf Constantino cyning ælmihtig, dómweorðunga,—Elene, 144; sincweorðung, ibid. 1218; dægweorðung, ibid. 1233; dustsceawung, Blickling Hom., 113/29; unriht gitsung, ibid. 53/21; bi his cloðes wrixlunge, O. E. Hom., I. 207; by his side openunge, ibid.; in his blod swetunge, ibid.; þere is . . . fallyng in blode shedynge, Piers Plowman (Text C), 12/282; in housing, in haterynge and in to hiegh clergye shewynge, ibid. 15/76; late usage be ȝowre solace of seyntes lyues redynge, ibid. 7/87; þorugh 'ibeatus virres' techynge, ibid. 10/321; þorw bedes byddynge, ibid. 19/373; with herte or syȝte shewynge, ibid. 13/279; without any money payenge, E. E. Wills, 107/20 (A.D. 1436).

The more modern phrase 'the house is building'*. [It is a pity that 'is being built,' &c.;, tend to displace this construction.] is not met with in Caxton; he has still a (or in) preceding the verbal noun:—

(He) herde the feste and the noyse that was adoynge in the prouostis house, Blanchardyn, 67/5; she wyst not what she sholde saye or thynke therof, whether she was a wakyng or a slepe, ibid. 152/34; and as the feste was a doynge, there came a messager . . . Aymon, 163/7; he founde the chirche of saynte peter a makynge, ibid. 576/8; atte the same oure that this Ioye and feste was in making (original: 'se faisoit'), Blanchardyn, 67/1; Morte Darthur, 84/12, 389/7.

(B.) The verbal noun is used as a verb: then it derives from the present participle.

1. Governed by the preposition in.

We now use in in connection with the verbal noun, where, in Old English, the simple participle was preferred, e. g. 'ealo drincende oðer sædon' = others said in drinking ale, Beowulf, 1946. I Page  lxxvi suppose that in, imitated from the French, was grafted upon the old participle, so that it kept its verbal function. Therefore it was not followed by of, even in the earliest periods of its use:—

And thei seye, that we synne dedly, in schavynge oure Berdes,— Maundeville, p. 19; he was a dedly Creature, suche as God hadde formed, and duelled in the Desertes, in purchasynge his Sustynance, ibid. p. 47; and in bryngynge hire Servyse, thei syngen a Song, ibid. p. 310.

Caxton very often drops in, as in Blanchardyn, 14/20, 16/8, 18/8, 33/12, etc. But even when it precedes the verbal noun, it is not followed by of:—

I am come to serue her in kepyng my worship,—Blanchardyn, 76/11; and in tornynge hemself ayen, [they] layde hande on their swerdes, ibid. 84/27; euery man cam forth to doo his deuoyre, eche of hem in his rowme in defendynge the place,—ibid. 113/4, 123/17; Charles the Grete, 26/34, 52/11, 66/34, 85/23, 163/19, etc.

2. There are a few passages in Caxton, which, in my opinion, throw a most interesting light on the use of the verbal noun, both in Middle English and in modern times. 'Most humblie beseekynge my . . . lord to pardon me so presumyng,' Blades, 140; 'take no displaysir on me so presuming,' ibid. 148. Cf. 165. I see in this construction a mode of expression which was the only one used in old times, and which still remains in vulgar English: 'don't mind me sitting down.'

In Old English, as well as in Latin, Greek, and the old Teutonic languages, it is not the action or state as an abstract, but the person or thing acting, which is the subject of perception, feeling, or thought. 'hac literae recitatae magnum luctum fecerunt' = the reading of this letter, Livius, 27, 29; 'poena violatae religionis iustam recusationem non habet' = for the violation of religion,—Cicero, De Leg., 2, 15.

To this principle are due many of the so-called absolute constructions in the Old Teutonic dialects. See Grimm, IV. 873, ff.

It appears also in the noun-clauses in Old and Middle English. Instead of the modern abstract sentence, e. g. 'you see that he's going away,' the old construction is, 'you see him that he goes away.' So Old English Hom., I. 17; 'ȝif þu hine iseȝe þet he wulle assottie toPage  lxxvii þes deofles.' See below, 'Noun Clauses.' The same principle appears also in the following instances illustrating the older use:—

Be þe lifigendum (during thy life time), Beówulf, 2666; be þæm lifigendum, Beda, 2, 5; To-janes þo sunne risindde = at the time of sunrise, Old English Miscellany, 26.

• 'Alle waters als þai sall rynne

  And þat sal last fra þe son rysyng

  Til þe tyme of þe son doungangyng.'
  
  Pricke of Conscience, 4777 f.

• 'After the sunne goyng down.'
  
  —Genesis, 28, 11.

In later times this use began to decay, as indeed in every respect abstraction supplanted intuition, and the verbal noun took the place of the old present participle. Thus Purvey alters the instance quoted above to 'aftir the goyng down of the sunne.' Cf. Exod. xxii. 26, Deuteronomy xi. 30. Perhaps we may see the state of transition in the following passages of the Ayenbite. The old participle is kept in its outward form, but the new use, i. e. the verbal noun, throws its shade on the construction. Thus we have: 'ȝef he zuereþ fals be his wytinde,' p. 6. 'Be him wytinde' would answer to the Old English 'lifigendum'; 'be his wytinge' would be quite modern (as it really occurs, see below); the connection of both gives 'be his wytinde.' Cf. pp. 8, 28, 37, 40, 47, 94, etc. The French has: 'à son (leur) escient.'

Both the mixed and the modern construction occur on p. 73, Ayenb.: 'guo into helle ine þine libbinde: þet þou ne guo ine þine steruinge' (original: 'en ton vivant, en ton morant').

The extremely free use of the verbal noun as an adjective to substantives, which is characteristic of Elizabethan English ('undeserving praise,' 'unrecalling crime' in Shakspere) is not met with in Caxton. Perhaps these are worth noting: 'fallyng sekeness,' Charles the Grete, 37/28; 'weepyng teerys,' Morte Darthur, 338/9. Cf. Huon, 219/25; Lucrece, 1375; Complaint, 304.

§ 35. The Adverb.

I. Derived from Nouns.

(a) In the Genitive Case.

• Aƚonge= of longe = fully, at length. As alonge by the grace of god it shall be shewed in thistorye of this present book, Blanchardyn,Page  lxxviii 2/6; (Blanchardyn) entred in to a chambre, hanged wyth right fayre and riche tapysserye of the destruction of Troye, well and alonge fygured, ibid. 15/2; his mayster . . . . well and alonge dide aduertyse the chylde, ibid. 15/22; he dyde reherce unto blanchardyn al alonge, how the royalme of tourmaday was come to a doughter full fayre, ibid. 128/29.

• Of lighte = lightly. A man that is well garnysshed is not of lighte overthrowe, Aymon, 106/6.

• Of a freshe (a apparently mistaken for the article) = anew. After . . . began the batayll of a freshe, sore harde and fell, Aymon, 110/23.

(b) Old Instrumental, now the Accusative case.

• Other while (Old English hwilum) = sometimes. It is as requesyte other whyle to rede in Auncyent hystoryes, Blanchardyn, 1/13.

• Wonder grete (Old English wundrum). Syr Sadok . . . gaf hym a wonder grete falle, Morte Darthur, 532/19; soo they hurtled togyders wonder sore,—Morte Darthur, 433/15; he merueylled wonder gretely, ibid. 459/35.

  Caxton has wonderfull. Wherof the good lady Margerye was wounderfull wroth and sory, Aymon, 36/23. Cf. þat feht was wunder strong,—Layamon, 1744; it fresethe wonder faste,—Maundeville, 11; singe wondir swetly,—Gesta Romanorum, 334; wondyr hevy,—ibid.

The old instrumental case is contained also in the following adverbial phrases:—

She rydeth the lytyl paas (orig.: a petit pas), Blanchardyn, 38/22 (Blanchardyn bygan to ryde on a good paas,—ibid. 40/10); accordyng to my promyse, I haue holpen you the beste that I coude, ibid. 149/25; but the beste that to hym was possyble he dyde recomforte her, ibid. 172/21; whiche came rennynge all his myght towarde Subyon, ibid. 201/20.

Perhaps the following phrases are formed after the same principle, if not in analogy to the cognate accusative:—

Dynadas was ouerthrowen hors and man a grete falle,—Morte Darthur, 401/22; there was Kyng Arthur wounded in the lyfte syde a grete wounde and a peryllous, ibid. 412/25; the spere wente in to his syde a grete wounde and a peryllous, ibid. 442/20.

II. Derived from Adjectives.

Though the final e was scarcely more than a mere 'monumentum scriptionis,' yet there are very numerous instances of adjectives used as adverbs by means of (or without) the old -e.Page  lxxix

1. Before adjectives.

• Clene. Ye cam lyke a madde man clene oute of your wytte, Morte Darthur, 599/16.

• Close. He lyght ful quykly the shylde alonge the breast and the helmet wel clos laced, Blanchardyn, 24/16.

• Exceeding. Whan the admirall saw her so exceeding fayre he was taken in loue, Huon, 162/8.

• Hard. Sire Lamorak was hard byge for hym, Morte Darthur, 358/2.

• Marvellous. Thys is a man meruayllous ryche, Charles the Grete, 42/15.

• New. Now be the thre brethern newe horsed, Aymon, 63/29; there was a chylde newe dede, Charles the Grete, 37/18; but they knewe hym not for he was newe desguysed, Morthe Darthur, 636/24; when he sawe that he was new horsed agayne he was ioyfull, Huon, 291/24.

• Wonderful. The dukes Beues had slayne Lohier, the sone of the kynge Charlemayn, wherof the goode lady Margerye was wounderfull wroth and sory, Aymon, 36/23.

• Wood wrothe. Whan he sawe a knyght with his lady he was wood wrothe,— Morte Arthur, 407/12; thenne was kynge Marke wode wrothe oute of mesure, ibid. 470/15, 487/7, 488/19, 610/13, 647/26; (Launcelot) ranne wylde wod from place to place, ibid. 593/4.

2. Attached to verbs.

• Clene. They made hym to be wasshed clene,—Blanchardyn, 148/18; all the estates were set and Iuges armed clene,—Morte Darthur, 491/33; thenne was sir Palamydes clene forgeten, ibid. 553/25; I counceyle yow said the kynge to be confessid clene,—ibid. 577/28, 601/8, 611/10, 638/35, 647/9, 672/11; he saw within the shyppe but one man clene aruyd, Huon, 447/3.

• Clere. (An hand) helde within the fyst a grete candel whiche brenned ryght clere,—Morte Darthur, 666/24.

Page  lxxx

• Dear. Neuer deth was so sore solde ne so dere boughte as this shall be, Aymon, 38/26.

• Fayre. Nature had fayre appareylled the gardyne, Blanchardyne, 122/28; (Reynawd) wente fayr vpon the folke of charlemagne, Aymon, 449/12; soo they did saufly and fayre,—Morte Darthur, 370/17; he salewed hym not fayre,—ibid. 659/18, 666/35. Cf. Gesta Romanorum, p. 3, and passim; and fayre endyd his lyfe.

• Foul. Gerarde of Roussyllon weneth for to fare fowll wyth vs, Aymon, 42/2; thou hast borne the foule this day ageynst me, Charles the Grete, 69/31; my fader is kyng Bagdemagus that was foule rebuked at the last turnement, Morte Darthur, 188/8; foule haue ye mocked me, ibid. 511/31; haue done foule to yow, ibid. 599/35.

• Incontynent. She called to her them that were in her chambre to whiche incontynent she commaunded that they sholde goo, Blanchardyn, 56/16; he shold late hym haue it in-contynuent,—ibid. 60/4; the maystres dyd perceyue incontynent by her wordes . . . . ibid. 64/30, 187/1, 194/7, etc.; than duke Naymes departyd, and incontenent he incounteryd Charlot, Huon, 32/14; but Huon releuyd hym incontynent,—ibid. 56/24, etc. Cf. Marlowe, Tamburlain, 52; Spenser, Faërie Queene, I. vi. 8/5; ibid. II. ix. 1/7; Peele, Alphonsus, 229 a.

• Late. Now haste you thi rewarde, for my lorde Lohyers deeth that thou late slew, Aymon, 56/18; he was but late made knyghte, Morte Darthur, 471/15; cf. Blades, p. 172. Cf. That likewise late had lost her dearest love,—Spenser, Faërie Queene, IV. viii. 3/4; ibid. I. ii. 11/2.

• Loude. He smote his hors wyth the spore . . . . escryeng as loude as he myght, Blanchardyn, 170/13.

• Nere. I am myself nere goon, Aymon, 565/23; the knyghtes name was called Accolor that after had nere slayne kyng arthur, Morte Darthur, 89/15.

• New. Thou newe made knyght thow hast shamed thy knyghthode, Morte Darthur, 108/7; there was a fayre medowe that semed newe mowen, ibid. 228/17; A. M. horses let to be new shode, Huon, 113/10; let her be bayngned and wesshyde and new arayed, ibid. 536/25.Page  lxxxi Cf. And streems of purple blood new die the verdant fields,—Spenser, Faërie Queene, I. ii. 17.

• Nyghe. How nyghe was I lost, Morte Darthur, 654/27.

• Passyng. Sir Palamydes dyd passynge wel and myghtely, Morte Darthur, 557/21 (there is also passyngly,—ibid. 543/13, 544/33). Cf. And all the wyles of wemens wits (she) knew passing well,—Spenser, Faërie Queene, III. viii. 8/9.
  Kyd, Spanish Tragedy, 107.

• Playne. I ware yow playne,—Morte Darthur, 621/34. Cf. By which he saw the ugly Monster playne, Spenser, Faërie Queene, I. i. 14/6.

• Scarce. For they be not vytaylled scars for foure dayes, Charles the Grete, 122/3. Cf. Scarce them bad arise,—Spenser, Faërie Queene, I. iv. 14/14, 22/8.

• Softe. He salued hym full softe,—Aymon, 33/27.

• Stronge. Soo stronge he spored his horse, that he wente ayenste Reynawde, Aymon, 86/23.

The common adverb of negation is not used as in Modern English.

• Ne = not (preceding the verb) occurs but quite exceptionally: in Blanchardyn only nys = ne is:—

  There nys no tonge humayn that coude to yow recounte ne saye the grete sorow, Blanchardyn, 19/22; ther nys so grete sorowe, but that it may be forgoten at the laste, ibid. 133/4; ther nys no tonge of no creature mortall, that vnto you coude telle . . . the grete Ioye, ibid. 148/2; there nys noo man so oolde but he sholde soone gete hete there, Aymon, 452/12.

  Here and there ne turns up also before other verbs:—

  Charlemagn ne shall see the beste torne of the worlde, Aymon, 168/18; I ne entende but onely to reduce thauncyent ryme in to prose. Charles the Grete, 39/6; he ne preysett kyng ne crle, ibid. 42/17; ne doubte ye not for I shal rendre you anone al hole, ibid. 95/11.

Page  lxxxii

• Ne = nor. I holde nother castelle ne fortresse of hym, Aymon, 25/22.

• Double negatives are very common: —

  He neuere had borne noon armes, nor herde speke therof, Blanchardyn, 13/24; nor also had not seen the manere and thusage of Ioustynge, ibid. 14/1; (Blanchardyn) neuere had taken theratte noo hede, ibid. 15/2, etc. etc. There is an instance of four negatives in one and the same sentence. For neuer daye nor owre the childe Blanchardyn toke noo fode of none others brestis, ibid. 13/3.

§ 36. Prepositions.

• A = in or on.

  (He) herde the feste and the noyse that was adoynge in the prouostis house, Blanchardyn, 67/5. For other instances of this kind, see Gerund. The prouoste descended a lande (= on land), Blanchardyn, 198/30, 199/25; Aymon, 145/30, 525/7, 529/4. They lepte a horsbak (= on horsbak), ibid. 180/27, 183/16; Aymon, 26/28; the kynge ascryed hym self a hyghe (= on high), ibid. 20/12; he descended from his hors a foote, Aymon, 35/10, 186/5, 232/29, 490/20; they wende that the cyte had be sette a fyre (= on fire), ibid. 511/30, 583/9; he thus founde hymselfe a grounde (on grounde), ibid. 45/1, 232/10, 564/14.

• A is often = of.

  (He) cut his helmet and the coyffe of stele in suche manere awyse (= of wyse) that the goode swerde entred in to the brayne, Blanchardyn, 28/20. Cf. above, Genitive.

• Against = upon, towards.

  Hym happend ageynst a nyghte to come to a fayr courtelage, Morte Darthur, 200/3; (Launcelot) ageynst nygyt rode vnto that castel, ibid. 574/6.

• At = to.

  He myght not brynge his entrepryse at an ende, Blanchardyn, 41/14; the bloode ran vp at her face, ibid. 64/16, 84/36, 176/26, 177/7, 177/21, 188/1. (He) wente wyth all hys oost at Mountlyon, Aymon, 69/14, 66/27, 79/21, 349/5, 408/1, 430/9, 496/8.

• At = on.

  Reynawde toke the kynge and drewe hym a lityll atte oo side, Aymon, 146/7, 453/7.

• By = from, out of.

  (He) laughe at them by grete love, Aymon, 230/25, 298/3, 303/30.

Page  lxxxiii

• By = in.

  (He) smote a knyghte by suche a wyse, that he putte his spere thorughe the body of hym, Aymon, 42/15, 61/24, 304/5, 453/1.

• By = on.

  They dyd soo moche by their iourneys that they cam to saynt Iames, Aymon, 156/19, 235/20, 239/32.

• By = with.

  (He) smote a knyghte by suche a strengthe that he ouerthrewe hym, Aymon, 43/12.

• By is used alternately with of and with in passive constructions; but of prevails. Cf. Blanchardyn, 1/15, 2/12, 11/11, 18/10, 19/3, 42/13, 66/8, 97/35, 98/27, 101/27, 109/32, 113/34; by, 1/26, 124/16, 169/21; with, 91/19, 124/14; Aymon, 52/34, 53/1.

• For = in spite of, is rare in Caxton, but occurs several times in Malory:—

  This child wylle not laboure for me for ony thyng that my wyf or I may do, Morte Darthur, 102/22; I wyll accomplysshe my message for al your ferdful wordes, ibid. 167/31, etc. This use is very common in Elizabethan writers. Marlowe, Massacre, 2114; Spenser, Faërie Queene, 1, 3, 24/5; Peele, Old Wives' Tale, 453, b; Kyd, Spanish Tragedy, 17; Shakspere; see Schmidt, s. v.

• For = from.

  After she asked whi they were departed for*. [Misprint for fro.] the kynges courte, Aymon, 36/19.

• In = into, is still very frequent.

  Yf he may come in her handes or in her power, noon shal mowe saue hym, Blanchardyn, 43/14; the prouost came ayen in the sayd place, ibid. 81/16, 96/29, 105/5, 109/14, 109/24, 116/24, etc.; Aymon, 63/1, 159/20, 210/20; Morte Darthur, 252/13.

  Here and there also in the 16th century:—

  By rise of virtue, vice shall grow in hate, Gorboduc, 180; how canst thow in this condition; Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 35.

• In = on, is rare.

  That … in the crosse suffred deth and rassyon, Aymon, 24/20; ye ascended in to heuen and lefte for your liyeutenant saynt Peter thappostle in erthe, Charles the Grete, 71/27; Marlowe, Tamburlaine, 760.
  

  'I think the pleasure they enjoy in heaven

  Cannot compare with kingly joys in earth.'
  Page  lxxxivCf. Lord's Prayer: Thy will be done in earth. And in the honour of a kyng he sweares,—Marlowe, Edward II., 1216. He is in England's ground, ibid. 1705; Shakspere, Venus, 118; Midsummer Night's Dream, II. i. 185; Troilus, V. ii. 169.

• Maugre = in spite of.

  (They) ledde the lady by force to castel forde, maulgre Subyon, Blanchardyn, 8/25, 9/1, 179/24, 180/29, 180/34, 189/9; Aymon, 86/14, 229/1; very often in Malory, and still in Shakspere.

  Maugre occurs also as a substantive:—

  They myghte no lenger endure the grete magre that Reynawde bare to theym (original: 'dommaige'), Aymon, 86/16; I haue herd moche of your maugre ageynst me, Morte Darthur, 405/28. So twice in Spenser:—

  'Ne deeme thy force by fortunes doome unjust,

  That hath (maugre*. [? by the ill will of.—F.] her spight) thus low me laid in dust.'
  
  Faërie Queene, II. v. 12/9; III. iv. 39/8.(= a curse upon? Morris, Glossary to Spenser's Works, Globe edition).

• Of differs in its functions from the modern use in several essential points.

  • 1. It denotes reference, as to:—

    Pardoune me of the rude and comyn englyshe, Blanchardyn, 2/9; the childe grewe and amended sore of the grete beaulte, ibid. 13/6; of the tables and ches playinge and of gracyous and honeste talkynge, he passed them that were his elder in age, ibid. 13/19, 20; demaundynge of the bataylles of Troye (= about), ibid. 14/13; the same, 15/8; wel shapen of alle membres, ibid. 37/21; sore troubled of wyttis, ibid. 45/8, 48/31, 65/21, 97/10, 99/14, 145/30, etc.; Aymon, 54/25, 64/5, 290/32, etc.

  • 2. It denotes cause, in consequence of:—

    (They) iudged hem self right happy of a successoure legytyme, Blanchardyne, 12/17; sory of, ibid. 21/4; euyl apayde of (original: maltalentif), ibid. 28/13; of a custume (= in consequence, according), ibid. 112/32, 130/8; he ought of rayson to be well rewarded, ibid. 126/6, 133/10.

  • 3. Of = by in passive constructions. See by.

  • 4. It seems to be mistaken for on, upon:—

    (Kyng Charles) beyng in his dormytorye, trustyng of the syde of our lord in grete deuocyon began to say the psaulter, Charles the Grete, 33/32.

    Page  lxxxv

    This mistake, probably brought about by a being equivalent to of and on, is common in the 16th century:—

    They began to slee alle suche as wolde not beleue of Ihesu Cryst (ed. of 1601 on), Huon, 152/24; the same, ibid. 417/30, 462/12, 464/28; I wyll send thee of my errand, Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes, 494 a; my master riding behind my mistress; both of one horse, Taming Shrew, IV. i. 71; as when thou shouldst be prancing of thy steed, Greene, Alphonsus, 235 b.

• On mistaken for of:—

  On hym is no care, Aymon, 62/27; she began to thynke on that poure man, Charles the Grete, 13/33. Probably also the phrase: on lyue = alyue, Aymon, 64/18. See Genitive: he seith not ryght on me, Morte Darthur, 138/25—16th century:—

  'I tell you true, my heart is swoln with wrath

  On this same thievish villain Tamburlaine.'
  
  Marlowe, Tamburlaine, 520.
  'And tyme may yield us an occasion

  Which on the sudden cannot serve the turn.'
  
  Marlowe, Jew of Malta, 473, 1078, 2338, 4690.

  The middle on's face, Lear, IV. v. 20; my profit on't, Tempest, I. ii. 365, 456; I'm glad on 't, Jul. Cœs., I. iii. 137.

• Ouer = of:—
  Kynge alymodes knyghtes had grete enuye ouer hym, Blanchardyn, 65/22; right enamored they were ouer hym, ibid. 66/25; to thende he myght be auenged ouer hym, ibid. 86/30; Blanchardyn, that grete slawghter dyde make ouer his men, ibid. 107/27.

• To = up to, equal to:—
  Suche a worship apparteyneth not to be doon to me, for I am not to the value therof, Blanchardyn, 109/20.

• Tofore = before:—(He) presented hym selfe to-fore the kynge, Aymon, 186/24.

It is a remarkable custom in Caxton and other writers of the 15th century to use, for variety's sake, two different prepositions for the same purpose:—

O thou free knyght, replenysshed wyth prowesse and of grete wordynesse, Blanchardyn, 49/15; she cam and brought wyth her a fayre whyte coueryng of damaske clothe, wherof she made the hors of blanchardyn to be couered wyth,—ibid. 61/7, 8; loue serued her wyth a messe sharp and sowre ynoughe tyl her tast that is to wyte of a louely care, ibid. 67/17, 18; (Blanchardyn) cam ridyng through the toun accompaned wyth the prouoste and of many other knyghtes,Page  lxxxviibid. 83/23; the knyght of whom my sayde lady is so sore enamoured vpon, hath to his name blanchardyn, ibid. 130/17; Sadoyne sawe their shyppes redy and well stored wyth vytaylles and of other thynges, ibid. 150/28; they all were eten wyth bores and of lions, Aymon, 52/34, 53/1; Charlemayne apoynted not wyth the foure sones of Aymon, nor to Mawgys, ibid. 58/24, 25; I shall shew you whether I can do any thyng wyth the spere and of the swerde, ibid. 83/28; I am not a chyld wherof men oughte to mocke wyth, ibid. 360/12. (He) toke it and robbed wythall the nose, the mouth, and the eyen of rowlande, and in like wyse to all thother xii peres of fraunce, ibid. 371/21, 22; wysdom desyreth you to be hys wyf, and for to be quene, Charles the Grete, 14/8,9; it is the same of whyche your god was enbawmed wyth,—ibid. 56/29, 30; O fayre Quene of Orkeney, Kynge Lot's wyf and moder of sir Gawayne and to sire Gaheris, and modir to many other, for thy loue I am in grete paynes, Morte Darthur, 425/12; and the begynnynge of the kynges letters spak wonderly short vnto Kynge Arthur, and badde hym entermate with hym self and with his wyf and of his knyghtes, ibid. 456/32, 33; thenne by his aduys and of sire Sadoks he lete stuffe alle the townes and castels, ibid. 495/19.

§ 37. Conjunctions.

• And used redundantly (compared with the Old English and the present use), turns up pretty often in Caxton, as in other writers of the 15th century, and is not unfrequent in Elizabethan times:—

  And the thyrd tyme with a full grete herte she revyled hym, and sayyng to hym that he was lyke an hounde, Trivet, p. 233; yf thow wolt telle me, and I shalle gete the on fallyng to thin estate, Gesta Romanorum, p. 173; the vertu of the broche is this, that who so euere ber hit vpon his brest late him thinke what he wolle, and he shalle mete þerwith at his likinge, ibid. p. 181; forsothe, sir, quod he, and I shall tell you, ibid. 202; sir, quoþ he, and I shall tell you not, ibid. 322; whiche boke I late receyued in frenshe . . . for to reduce and translate it in to our maternal and englysh tonge, Blanchardyn, 1/9; by my feyth, sayd Reynawde, and we shall-deffende ourselfe also to our power, Aymon, 235/11; O, brother Reynawd, and what doo you here, ibid. 244/26; cosin Reynawd, sayd Ogyer, and we shall kepe vs fro you, ibid. 263/11; alas, and that I dyde grete harme, ibid. 283/4; for the more that ye praye him, and the worse shall he doo, ibid. 330/27; syre, sayd Richarde, and ye shall see me anone, ibid. 343/22; sir, sayd mawgis, and I yelde me to you, ibid. 357/5; I praye you lete hym come here and that he awake myn vncle Charlemagne oute of his slepe, ibid. 405/12; whan he herde the duke naymes speke so, and it moved his blade full sore, ibid. 419/6; I neuer put man to the erthe and thys hors present, Charles the Grete,Page  lxxxvii 70/10; I requyre the that it may playse the to take the payne for to rescowe and socoure my loue guye, and ellis I am a loste woman, ibid. 135/3; alle the barons cam thyder and to assay to take the swerd, Morte Darthur, 42/35: syre knyght, sayd the other, whoos name was Hontzlake of wentland, and this lady I gat by my prowesse of armes this day, ibid. 114/23; wylle ye, sayd syre Gawayne, promyse me to doo alle that ye maye . . . to gete me the loue of my lady. Ye syre, sayd she, and that I promyse you, ibid. 150/11; whanne Elyzabeth, Kyng Melyodas, myst her lord, and she was nyghe out of her wytte, ibid. 273/27; a mercy my lord, sayd she, and I shalle telle you alle, ibid. 275/33; wel, said the Kyng Melyodas, and therfor shal ye haue the lawe, ibid. 275/35; but their horses he wold not suffre his squyers to medle with, and by cause they were knyghtes erraunt, ibid. 442/29; telle me, said palomydes, and in what manere was youre lord slayne, ibid. 518/31; and therfore ye may be sory, said sire Tristram, of your vnkyndely dedes to so noble a kynge. And a thynge that is done may not be vndone, sayd Palomydes, ibid. 542/29; sir knyghte, said she, and ye wille ensure me by the feyth that ye owe vnto knyghthode that ye shalle doo my wylle . . . and I shalle brynge yow vnto that knyght, ibid. 652/12; syr and I wille doo hit, sayd sir launcelot, ibid. 658/9; thenne had the kynge grete joye, and dressyng hym to sytte up, and toke the swerde by the pomel, Melusine, 153/16; and þenne gaf hym the swerd ayen, and thus makyng his wounde opend, and out of it ranne blood, ibid. 153/22; by my feyth, said thenne Anthony, and I accorde therunto, ibid. 217/10; sens he was aduertesyd, that with kepyng his tonge fro spekynge he myght abrege hys iorney, and he sayde that surely he wolde that way, Huon, 64/24 (ed. of 1601 omits and); syr, quod themperour, and he shal derely abye it, ibid. 305/27.

  • Gorboduc. 'Loe, this is all; now tell me your aduise.

    Arostus. And this is much, and asketh great aduise.'
    
    Gorboduc, 146;

  • 'Warre would he haue? and he shall haue it so.'
    
    ibid. 680;

  • Barabas. 'Haply (the Turks) come for neither, but to pass along

    Towards Venice by the Adriatic sea;

    With whom they have attempted many times,

    But never could effect their stratagem.

    Jew. And very wisely said. It may be so.'
    
    Marlowe, Jew of Malta, 205;

  • 'Is she so fair?

    And matchless beautiful.'
    
    ibid. 617.

  • 'O earth-mettled villains, and no Hebrews born!

    And will you basely thus submit yourselves

    To leave your goods to their arbitrament?'
    
    ibid. 310;

  • 'Well, yet the old proverbe to disprove I purpose to begin,

    Which always saith that cowardly hearts fair ladies never win:

    Shall I not Julia win, and who hath a cowardlier heart?'
    
    Sir Clyamon and Sir Clamydes, 507, a;

  Page  lxxxviii

  • Kendal. 'Thou, how art thou a gentleman?

    Jenkin. And such is my master.'
    
    Greene, George-a-Greene, 259, a;

  • Hamlet. 'Will the king hear this piece of work?

    Pol. And the queen too.'
    
    Hamlet, III. ii. 53;

  • Cass. 'This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit.

    Brut. And so it is.'
    
    Julius Cœsar, I. ii. 307.

• Also = as:—

  Also nighe as I can, Blades, 132.

• As = as if, is very common:—

  Lepyng alwaye here and there, as hors and man had fowgthen in thayer, Blanchardyn, 42/7; her gowne that she had on was therof changed as grete shoure of rayne had come doune from the heuens, ibid. 43/17; after thys fortune I haue ben syn, as force compellyd me therto, seruaunt vnto a kynge sarasyn, as I had ben one of theym, ibid. 133/31; he smote vpon his enmyes as it had be the thonder, ibid. 169/2; he hewe the sarasins as they had ben wythoute harneys, Aymon, 137/20; (he) kept hymself styll like as he had ben deed, ibid. 179/11.

  Still frequent in Elizabethan authors:—

  • 'And lickt her lilly hands with fawning tong,

    As he her wronged innocence did weet.'
    
    Spenser, Faërie Queene, I. iii. 6/3. Cf. ibid. I. v. 20/9; III. i. 6/5;

  • 'I hope our credit in the custom house

    Will serve as well, as I were present there.'
    
    Marlowe, Jew of Malta, 94. For Shakspere, see Schmidt, s. v.

  As is used redundantly before other conjunctions and adverbs in Malory:—

  I wist it were soth that ye say I shold do suche peryllous dede as that I wold slee my self to make the a lyar, Morte Darthur, 84/38; awaite vpon me as to morn secretely, ibid. 287/22; I wille be-redy as to morne, ibid. 311/4; for as that same day this lady of the lake knewe wel that kynge arthur shold be slayne, ibid. 361/25; he charged the lady of the lake not to discouer his name as at that tyme, ibid. 362/22; nay, said sire Palomydes, as att this tyme I wille not Iuste with that knyght, ibid. 382/23; for as to morne the grete turnement shalle be, ibid. 383/23; that shalle ye not wete as at this tyme, ibid. 408/22; ye shalle not wete as at this time, ibid. 412/10.

• Both (postponed) = as well, also occurs in Morte Darthur, not only in order to connect two, but more persons and things:—

  I am sore hurte and he bothe,—ibid. 134/10; he smote syr galahantyne on the helme that his nose braste out on blood, andPage  lxxxix cerys and mouthe bothe,—ibid. 192/5; for my hors and I ben fresshe bothe,—ibid. 323/20; now I wil say vnto you and to hym both,— ibid. 349/3; fals treason hast thou wrouȝt and he both,—ibid. 403/31.

• Eke (Old English eác) = also:—

  eke harneys, Blanchardyn, 60/21; I shall delyuere you hors, and wherof his son and eke Blanchardyn came, ibid. 126/13.

• Ne = nor, see 'Adverbs,' p. lxxvii.

• Nor—also = nor—either:—

  For not a peny he wolde take of it, nor his brethern also,— Aymon, 145/7.

• So = if:—

  Yf nedes I shal dey, I were of it all well content, soo that it were in the absence of her, Blanchardyn, 188/23; I shall now quyte you and relesse vnto you all the servyse that ye owe me, to you and to your eyres for evermore, soo that ye will take Richard, the sone of Aymon, and see that he be hanged, Aymon, 324/7; I will not take your yeldyng vnto me, But so that ye wylle yelde you vnto syr Kay the Seneschal, Morte Darthur, 200/32; I wille ryde with you so that ye wille not rebuke this knyght, ibid. 348/32.

  This use is also frequent in Elizabethan authors:—

  'So now the mighty emperor hears of you,

  Your highness needs not doubt but in short time

  He will . . . redeem you from this deadly servitude.'
  
  Marlowe, Tamburlaine, 1011; ibid. 3839; Faustus, 1364; Jew of Malta, 189; ibid. 190.

• Than = then = when (Old English ðonne):—

  Thenne Brastias saw his felawe ferd so with al, he smote the duke with a spere that hors and man fell doune, Morte Darthur, 54/2, than Syre Tor was redy he mounted vpon his horsbak and rode after the knyght, ibid. 109/20; thenne the duke sawe he myghte not escape the deth, he cryed to his sones and charged them to yelde them, ibid. 155/4; and thenne Beaumayns sawe hym soo well horsed and armed, thenne he alyghte doune and armed hym, ibid. 222/26.

• Than = than that, than if:—

  For I had leuer that ye were confused and dysmembred than I shold take armes or hors for to Iuste lyke as ye say, Charles the Grete, 43/17; and yf thou haue broughte Arthurs wyf, damd Gweneuer, he shall be gladder than thow haddest guyen to him half fraunce, Morte Darthur, 167/24; now am I better pleasyd, sayePage  xc Pryamus, than thou haddest gyuen to me all the prouynce and parys the ryche, ibid. 178/2; I had leuer to haue ben torn with wylde horses than ony varlet had wonne such loos, ibid. 178/4.

• That, like the Greek, is often used to introduce a direct speech (oratio recta), so that it is equal in value to the modern colon:—

  He sayd full angerly to the styward, that 'to an euyll owre hath your lady ben so madde as to mary her self to a ladde, a straunger,' Blanchardyn, 184/9; (Merlyn) late wryte balyns name on the tombe with letters of gold, that here lyeth balyn le Saueage, Morte Darthur, 98/35; [how in the same function occurs, ibid. 84/7; (the kynge) wrote the names of them bothe on the tombe, How here lyeth launceor the kynges sone of Irlond, that at his owne requeste was slayne by the handes of balyn.]

  That often replaces other conjunctions in compound clauses, especially when; this is a literal translation of the French 'que' in the same function:—

  When they of the cyte had seen the manere and the rewle of their enmyes, and that all wyth leyser they had seen their puyssance and their manere of doynge, The Captayne and the prouoste of the towne dyde ordeyne a stronge and a bygge worde, Blanchardyn, 58/17; when he knewe and that he was aduertysed by his sone . . . he was al ynough content, ibid. 126/10; and whan she sawe that by no manere of meanes she myght not tourne ne chaunge the corage of her cruel fader, And that she herde hym saye blame of her god . . . she by grete wrath sayd, ibid. 186/9; and whan the nyght was passed, and that reynawd was vp he went here and there, Aymon, 434/23; and whan the tables were take vp and that everi man had eten at his ease, they wente to their warde, ibid. 463/27; and whan the morowe came and that mawgys had his newe sloppe and his hode he toke his palster, ibid. 467/9.—And after that the worke was ended, and that all their enmyes were taken or slayn, they brought hym and entred wythin the cyte, Blanchardyn, 195/26; after that Sadoyne was crowned to be kynge, and that he had archyeued and made all his ordonnaunces . . . Blanchardyn, his felawe, dysposed him self for to retourne ayen toward Tormaday, ibid. 196/22.—So began he to be ful of thoughte and all annoyed of hym self by cause he was not armed tyl his plesure, and that he myght not yssue out, ibid. 59/30; they sholde make theim gode chere of suche goodes as god had lent hem: by cause they semed to be knyghtes, and that it was sore late to ryde eny ferther, and that noo housyng nor no retrayt was nyghe, ibid. 204/27, 28; thother laborers had so grete enoy by cause he dide better his devour than thei, and that he was better loved than thei, Aymon, 575/16.

  Page  xci

  That is used tautologically:—

  None can telle it you, bycause that it (the beaulte) was so grete, that god and nature had nothyng forgoten there, Blanchardyn, 13/7; it is bycause that he is a straunger, ibid. 91/20; I shall now quyte you and relesse vnto you all the servyse that ye owe me . . . for evermore, soo that ye wyll take Richard . . . and see that he be hanged, Aymon, 324/7; ye knowe how longe that he hath dammaged vs, ibid. 402/14; me thynketh that we oughte to avenge vs vpon hym, sith that we have hym, ibid. 402/16; ye wote well that I left him by cause that peas shold be made, ibid. 407/26; I am wel admeruaylled fro whens that cometh to the suche presumpcion Charles the Grete, 53/13; for it is longe sythe that they haue ony thynge holpen vs, ibid. 140/30.