ACTIVE INFINITIVES W1TH PASSIVE MEANING

Faire, laisser, and a very few verbs of physical perception, such as voir, entendre, sentir, are idiomatically used before an active infinitive which assumes a passive meaning. E.g., J'ai fait faire un habit, " I hâve had a coat made."

Thèse constructions are due to the dropping of the obvious subject of the infinitive (" I made [the tailor] make a coat") which must be supplied in order to account for the form.

E.g., Esth. L9: . . . je te fais chercher = que je fais [mes esclaves] te chercher.

1. 146: Quand verrai je relever tes remparts = quand verrai je [tes fis] relever tes remparts.

1. 3S6 : Sa voix s'est fait entendre = sa voix a fait [nous] entendre ellemême.

1. 731 : laissant de ses eaux partager le secours = laissant [cette main] partager le secours de ses eaux.

For other instances of this construction, see 11. 110, 181, 394, 407,

This construction is possible in English : . . . u for whose sake Artemis let slay the boar " (Swinburne, Argument of "Atalanta in Calydon.")

Note. It should be borne in mind that, should the subject of the infinitive be expressed, whenever the infinitive is transitive, that subject may (and if the first verb is faire, must) be put in the dative case, or in the oblique case with par. Thus in 1. 52,

II me fit d'un empire accepter l'espérance, me is dative and not accusative. Similarly in 1. 1280, 77 nous fait remporter une illustre victoire, nous is dative.