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[*] 763. Any adjective may take an infinitive to limit its meaning to a particular action; as αἰσχρὸν ὁρᾶν, disgraceful to look upon. The infinitive is here regularly active or middle, even when the passive would seem more natural. The omitted subject of the infinitive (except when it is passive) is distinct from that of the adjective. E.g. Αἰσχρὸν γὰρ τόδε γ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ ἐσσομένοισι πυθέσθαι, “for this is disgraceful even for future men to hear.” Il. ii. 119.So Il. i. 107 and 589. Τοὺς γὰρ ὑπὲρ τούτων λόγους ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀναγκαιοτάτους προειπεῖν ἡγοῦμαι, ὑμῖν δὲ χρησιμωτάτους ἀκοῦσαι, i.e. most necessary for me to speak, and most useful for you to hear. DEM. xxi. 24. Φοβερὸν προσπολεμῆσαι, “a terrible man to fight against.” Id. ii. 22. (Οἰκία) ἡδίστη ἐνδιαιτᾶσθαι, “a house most pleasant to live in.” XEN. Mem. iii. 8, 8. Χαλεπώτατα εὑρεῖν, hardest to find: ῥᾷστα ἐντυγχάνειν, “easiest to obtain.” Ib. i. 6, Ib. 9. (Πολιτεία) χαλεπὴ συζῆν, a form of government hard to live under: ἄνομος δὲ (μοναρχία) χαλεπὴ καὶ βαρυτάτη ξυνοικῆσαι. PLAT. Polit. 302B and E. Λόγος δυνατὸς κατανοῆσαι, a speech capable of being understood (which it is possible to understand). Plat. Phaed. 90D. Ὁ χρόνος βραχὺς ἀξίως διηγήσασθαι, “the time is too short for narrating it properly.” Menex. 239B. Ἡ ὁδὸς ἐπιτηδεία πορευομένοις καὶ λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν, “convenient both for speaking and for hearing.” Symp. 173B. Πότερον δὲ λούσασθαι ψυχρότερον; which of the two (waters) is colder for bathing? XEN. Mem. iii. 13, 3. (Passive.) (Κύνες) αἰσχραὶ ὁρᾶσθαι (instead of ὁρᾶν). Cyn. iii. 3. Ἔστι δ᾽ ὁ λόγος φιλαπεχθήμων μὲν, ῥηθῆναι δ᾽ οὐκ ἀσύμφορος. ISOC. xv. 115. The infinitive with adjectives (here and in 758) shows distinct traces of its origin as a dative, though this origin was already forgotten. See 742 (end) and 767.
Macmillan. London, Melbourne, Toronto. 1889. reprint edition:. St. Martin's Press. New York. 1965.
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