“Who fails, through deeds howe’er diverse, RE-TRACK
My purpose still, my task?”
Sordello, p. 168.
“failed Adelaide SEE then
Who was the natural chief, the man of men?”
Sordello, p. 175.
“but when
‘Twas time expostulate, attempt withdraw
Taurello from his child,” . . .
Sordello, p. 180.
Here are two infinitives, with the prepositive omitted, “expostulate” and “attempt”, both dependent on the noun “time”, and another, “withdraw”, without the prepositive, dependent on “attempt”: “but when ‘twas time {to} expostulate, {to} attempt {to} withdraw”, etc.
“For thus he ventured, to the verge,
Push a vain mummery.” . . .
Sordello, p. 190.
i.e., for thus he ventured {to} push to the verge a vain mummery.
“as yet
He had inconsciously contrived FORGET
I’ the whole, to dwell o’ the points”. . .
Sordello, p. 190.
“Grown bestial, dreaming how BECOME divine.”
Sordello, p. 191.
“And the whole music it was framed AFFORD,”—
Sordello, p. 203.
“Was such a lighting-up of faith, in life,
Only allowed initiate, set man’s step
In the true way by help of the great glow?”
R. and B. X. The Pope, v. 1815.
i.e. only allowed {to} initiate, {to} set man’s step, etc.
“If I might read instead of print my speech,—
Ay, and enliven speech with many a flower
Refuses obstinately blow in print.”
R. and B. IX. Johannes-Baptista Bottinius, v. 4.
Here the subject relative of “refuses” is omitted, and the verb followed by an infinitive without the prepositive: “many a flower {that} refuses obstinately {to} blow in print.”
3. Instead of the modern analytic form, the simple form of the past subjunctive derived from the Anglo-Saxon inflectional form, and identical with that of the past indicative, is frequently employed, the context only showing that it is the subjunctive. (See Abbott’s ‘Shakespearian Grammar’, 361 et seq.)
“Would we some prize might hold
To match those manifold
Possessions of the brute,—gain most, as we did best!”
Rabbi Ben Ezra, St. xi.