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 THE USE OF VENIRE AND ANDARE 
 
 AS AUXILIARY VERBS IN EARLY 
 
 FLORENTINE PROSE 
 
 PART I 
 The Use with Past Participles 
 
 A. Venire 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 DISSERTATION 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF 
 
 THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY IN CONFORMITY 
 
 WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE 
 
 OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 I goo 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES EUSTACE SHAW 
 
 N. f /, 
 
 BALTIMORE: 
 
 JOHN MURPHY COMPANY 
 
 1903 
 
THE USE OF VENIRE AND ANDARE 
 
 AS AUXILIARY VERBS IN EARLY 
 
 FLORENTINE PROSE 
 
 PART 1 
 
 The Use with Past Participles 
 
 A. Venire 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 DISSERTATION 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF 
 
 THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY IN CONFORMITY 
 
 WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE 
 
 OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 1900 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES EUSTACE SHAW 
 
 BALTIMORE: 
 
 JOHN MURPHY COMPANY 
 
 1903 
 
AsSs 
 
 CONTENTS.' rAP\^f^ 
 
 PAOE. 
 
 Texts Examined in this Monograph 7 
 
 Introduction 9 
 
 I. Preliminary Remarks 9 
 
 II. The Independent Use of Venire and Andare 13 
 
 A. Venire 13 
 
 1. Ill a material sense 13 
 
 2. In a metaphorical sense 15 
 
 a. Expressing the idea ot motion forcibly 15 
 
 b. Expressing the idea of motion less forcibly 16 
 
 c. Expressing the idea ^o come <o 6f 18 
 
 B. Andare. 
 
 1. In a material sense, meaning to go. 
 
 2. In a metapiiorical sense. 
 
 a. Expressing the idea of motion less forcibly than in its 
 
 original use. 
 
 b. Expressing the idea of motion still less forcibly. 
 
 III. The Use with Adjectives, of Venire and Andare. 20 
 
 A. Venire 20 
 
 a. Expressing the idea of motion clearly 21 
 
 b. Expressing the idea ^0 6ecom^ 22 
 
 c. Expressing an idea approaching that of to be. 24 
 
 B. Andare. 
 
 a. Expressing the idea of motion less forcibly than in its 
 
 original use. 
 
 b. Expressing the idea of motion still less forcibly. 
 
 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs. 26 
 
 Part I. The Use with Past Participles 26 
 
 A. Venire 26 
 
 a, venire niQQ,mi\g to happen : expressing the Pas- 
 
 ' Portions not contained in the present pnblicalion are indicated by.small print. 
 
 3 
 
 22830G 
 
4 Contents. 
 
 sive : the idea of motion weaker than in the 
 original use 29 
 
 b. Approaching the meaning to be: expressing 
 
 the Passive : the idea of motion still weaker. 32 
 
 c. Meaning to be : expressing the Pure Latin 
 
 Passive: almost no idea of motion 34 
 
 Remarks: 38 
 
 1. Parallelism between the use with Past Parti- 
 
 ciples, and that with Adjectives 38 
 
 2. The possible influence of the two above uses 
 
 the one upon the other 39 
 
 3. Venire versus Essere as an auxiliary for the 
 
 Passive 40 
 
 4. Frequence of the appearance of the uses dis- 
 
 cussed 42 
 
 B. Andare. 
 
 a. Expressing continuity. 
 
 b. Meaning to become. 
 
 Eemark : 
 
 1. Frequence of the appearance of the uses discussed. 
 
 2. Some examples of similar usage in Latin. 
 
 Part II. The use with Present Participles. 
 
 A. Venire. 
 
 a. Expressing an idea of continuity. 
 
 1. With verbs of progression. 
 
 2. With verbs not of progression. 
 
 b. Meaning to bec/in. 
 
 1. Meaning to begin and expressing continuity. 
 
 2. Meaning to begin, and expressing continuity only incidentally. 
 
 Remark : 
 
 The frequence of the appearance of the uses discussed. 
 
 B. Andare, 
 
 a. In a material sense. 
 
 1. With verbs of motion, ad<ling emphasis. 
 
 2. With verbs not of motion, expressing continuity. 
 
 b. Jn a metaphorioiil sense. 
 
 1. With verbs of motion, expressing continuity. 
 
 2. With verbs not of motion, expressing continuity. 
 
 Kemare : 
 
 The frequence of tlie appearance of the uses discussed. 
 
f'onlenia. 6 
 
 Part III. Thk use with the Pkeposition « and the Infinitive. 
 
 A . Venire. • 
 
 a. Expressing molioTi toward an object. 
 
 b. Expres.siiiti/H<nri<i/. 
 
 c. Expreseiuj; purpose. 
 
 d. Used pleoniusticully. 
 
 1. Exampli'S indicating derivation of use d from use c. 
 
 2. Examples not indicating derivation. 
 
 B. Andare. 
 
 a. Expre.ssing motion toward an object. 
 
 1. In a material sense. 
 
 2. In a metapiioricai sense. 
 
 b. Expressing purpose. 
 
 c. Used pleonastically. 
 
 1. Examples indicating derivation of use c from use b. 
 
 2. Examples not indicating derivation. 
 
 Vita 43 
 
TEXTS EXAMINED FOR THIS MONOGRAPH. 
 
 Ban. Fior : — Framnionti di un Libro di Banchieri Fiorentini. 
 
 Ernesto Monaci, Crcstomazia r, 19. Citta di Castello, 
 
 1889. 
 Bone Bene: — Testamento di Bone Benoivcnni Fiorentino, del 
 
 1273. Monaci, op. cU. u, 354. 
 Brun. Rett : — Bninetto Latini, Rettorica. Roma, 1546, 
 Cic. Inv : — Cicero, De Inventioue. Paris, 1537. 
 Brun. Rett. Comm : — Brunetto Latini, Rettorica (Commento). 
 
 Roma, 1546. 
 Vita Nuova : — Dante, Vita Nuova. Witte, Leipsig, 1896. 
 Scrit. Fior : — Scritta Fiorentina del 1293. Monaci, op. cit. ii, 425. 
 Giamb. Oros : — Bono Giamboni, Delle Storie di Paolo Orosio Con- 
 
 tro i Pacjani. Tassi, Firenze, 1849. 
 Oros: — Pauli Orosii Historia Contra Paganos. Koln, 1574. 
 Giamb. Veg : — Bono Giamboni, Arte della Giierra di Vegezio 
 
 Flavio. Fontani, Firenze, 1815. 
 Veg: — Vegetins Flavins, De Re Militari, 1523. 
 Novell: — II Xovellino. Carlwne, Firenze, 1889. 
 Villani : — Giovanni Villani, Crouaca. Firenze, Giunti, 1545. 
 
 (For Book xii, Muratori, Rer. Italic. Script, xiii.) 
 Cron. Fior: — Cronaca Fiorentina Attribuita a Brunetto Latini. 
 
 Villari, I Primi Due Secoli della Storia di Firenze, ii, 
 
 185-269. Firenze, 1894. 
 Paolino Fieri : — Paolino Fieri, Cronaca delle Cose d'ltalia. Tartini 
 
 in Muratori, op. cit. ii. 
 Convito : — Dante, II Convito. Fraticelli, Firenze, 1861. 
 Neri Strin : — Cronaca di Neri degli Strinati. Biscioni, Firenze, 
 
 1753. 
 Alb. Piag: — Alberto della Piagentina, La Consolazione della 
 
 Filosofia di Boezio. Manni, Firenze, 1735, 
 Boeth : — Boethius, De Consolatione Philosophiae. Firenze, 1521. 
 Pa*s. (Pen. Sup. Sc. Um. Sogni. Van.): — Jacopo Passavanti, Lo 
 
 Si)ecchio della Vera Penitenza. Polidori, Firenze, 1856. 
 
 7 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 I. Preliminary Remarks. 
 
 If there be any value in the following monograph, it will he 
 found to consist chiefly in the account of the signification of the 
 uses to which venire and andare are put as auxiliary verbs, in early 
 Florentine prose. These uses fall naturally into three chief classes : 
 I, those arising from the construction of venire and andare with 
 Past Participles ; II, those arising from the construction of these 
 verbs with Present Participles, and III, those arising from the 
 construction with the Preposition a and the Infinitive of other 
 verbs. These uses and their meanings have been pointed out and 
 illustrated hitherto only partially, as far as my knowledge goes. 
 For example the use of venire and andare as auxiliary verbs with 
 Present Participles, and that with the preposition a and the Infini- 
 tive, are mentioned by Blanc ; ^ that with Past Participles, as well 
 as the other two by Diez," and by Meyer-Liibke,^ the discussion 
 being, in each case, though valuable, of the general kind which the 
 character of the works required. 
 
 However, the consideration of the state of things regarding the 
 uses referred to has led me also to consider the question of what 
 are the processes by which these various uses have been produced, 
 and to the framing of certain hypotheses. These hypotheses, I 
 wish to say clearly, are beyond the possibility of demonstration, 
 and I therefore make no attempt to prove them. Nevertheless 
 considering that the value of an hypothesis does not depend entirely 
 on the possibility of proving it, I have made bold to present these 
 of mine, and to explain the reasons which have led me to them. 
 These reasons are the result of the nature and meaning which I 
 attribute to the uses discussed, which to lay bare by means of 
 examples is the chief purpose of this monograph. 
 
 ^Grammalik d. Ital. Spr., Halle, 184-1, 513-14. 
 ^Grammalik, III, 205-6; '2U1-2; 238. 
 ^Grammaire, in, U 308, 309, 312, 315,316, 331. 
 
10 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 The hypotheses regarding the syntactical development of the 
 use of venire and andare, are as follows : 
 
 The use of venire and andare in metaphorical senses, entailed a 
 gradual weakening of the idea of motion originally expressed by 
 the verbs, and this gradual weakening of the idea of motion 
 resulted, by minor processes, as follows : 
 
 First : — As regards the use with Past Participles : 
 venire, from being used independently to express the idea to 
 come, came to be used as an auxiliary to express the idea to happen ; 
 and from being used with the meaning to happen, came to be used 
 as an auxiliary for the Passive Mood to express tlie Latin Passive 
 which we translate by the English to be with Past Participles. 
 
 andare, from being used independently to express the idea 
 to go, came to be used as an auxiliary to express the idea of 
 duration of time ; and from being used to express duration of time, 
 came to be used as an auxiliary to express the idea to become. 
 
 Secondly : — As regards the use with Present Participles : 
 Venire, from being used independently to express the idea 
 to come, came to be used as an auxiliary to express the idea of 
 duration of time; and from being used with the meaning of dura- 
 tion of time, came to be used as an auxiliary to express the idea 
 to begin. 
 
 Andare, from being used independently to express the idea 
 to go, came to be used as an auxiliary to express the idea of 
 duration of time. 
 
 Thirdly : — As regards the use with the Preposition a and the 
 Infinitive of other verbs : 
 
 Venire (a). From being used in sentences where a with the 
 Infinitive expressed motion toward an object, venire came to be used 
 as an auxiliary to express an idea of futurity. 
 
 (b). From being used in sentences where a with the Infinitive 
 expressed the idea of purpose, venire came to be used ploonastically 
 as in the English : I asked him to come and dine with mo. 
 
 Andare, from being used in sentences where a with the Infini- 
 tive expressed the idea of purpose, came to be used pleonastically 
 as in the English : Now you've gone and done it. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 11 
 
 I have said that these hypotheses are incapable of demonstration. 
 That is true because, tor practical purposes, we have no Italian 
 literature to exaiuine, which is earlier than the thirteenth century. 
 Consequently we find a considerable number of the uses of the two 
 verbs in question, existing side by side with other uses from which 
 we may suppose them to be derived, in the earliest literature we 
 have. Proof beyond doubt that one use of a verb is derival from 
 another, requires that one be able to point to a time in the literature 
 when tlie derived use began ; as well as to shew the causal con- 
 nexion between the original and the derived uses. The first kind 
 of evidence is denied us in nearly all cases ; an exception apparently 
 being the use of venire as an auxiliary expressing the pure Latin 
 Passive, which does not occur in the earliest Florentine prose; 
 and we are obliged to concentrate our attention upon the second 
 kind. 
 
 To forestall an objection : it does not seem tenable that any 
 considerable number of the Italian auxiliary uses of venire and 
 andare have had their development in Latin times, and have been 
 handed down to us ready made from the Latin, For wherever 
 similar uses appear in Latin literature, they are, for the most part, 
 rare, and their meaning is not beyond doubt. 
 
 To say that the auxiliary uses were all made ready for us in the 
 pre-literary Italian period, and that it is therefore impossible to 
 follow their development in the literature, is no objection to one's 
 endeavouring to induce conclusions, even from an ungrowing state 
 of these uses, concerning that development, but the possibility seems 
 unlikely. A construction may be used with several significations 
 of which some are derived from the others, and the fact that the 
 various significations exist side by side is no evidence that the 
 process of derivation of some from the others is no longer active. 
 When a construction is first used in a derived sense, the process of 
 derivation is only begun, and it is not ended until the derived 
 meaning is generally understood without vagueness. For example : 
 1-imanere and restare are used, especially popularly, with past parti- 
 ciples, as auxiliaries for the Passive as, ^ rimasto fucilato senza 
 misencordia ; but since in many of these cases there is doubt as to 
 whether rimanere and restare do not retain some of their indepen- 
 dent meaning, the process of derivation of the use as an auxiliary 
 
12 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 for the Passive, from the independent use, cannot be said to be as 
 yet complete, and perhaps it may never be completed. 
 
 Since such objections as the above do not seem fatal, it does 
 not seem unreasonable to attempt to build a plausible connexion 
 among the various uses of the verbs in question, even without the 
 help of chronological evidence. For since all these uses represent 
 mere modifications of the independent use of venire and andare 
 with their elementary and material meanings (venire meaning 
 motion toward the speaker, and andare motion in any direction 
 except toward the speaker), it is reasonable to believe that the uses 
 with the more complex significations are derived from those with 
 the elementary meanings, and that some causal connexion exists 
 among the more complex uses themselves. And if a belief in such 
 a process of development be admitted to be reasonable, it is alsa 
 natural to expect that the uses with the most complex significations 
 are derived from the less complex. One has, then, at the begin- 
 ning of the process of development, the words used with their 
 elementary or material meanings, and, at the end of the develop- 
 ment, the words used with significations farthest removed from the 
 former (for example, on the one hand venire meaning to come 
 materially, and, on the other hand venire used as an auxiliary 
 expressing the pure Latin Passive) : and if one can shew that the 
 significations of the other uses can be placed in order so as to lead 
 the thought gradually from the presumably original meanings to 
 the presumably last derived significations, and if" what little one is 
 able to conjecture reasonably from the order of the appearance of 
 the uses in the earliest texts, does not conflict with the arrangement 
 in the order referred to, then one has framed perhaps not a theory^ 
 but at any rate an hypothesis, which may or may not be plausible. 
 
 However, as has already been said, such hypotheses are of 
 secondary importance : it is the chief purpose of this monograph 
 to give an account of the significations of the chief uses of venire 
 and andare as auxiliary verbs, in the earliest Florentine prose. 
 No use has been made of texts ot poetry, as information derive<l 
 from such texts may l)e misleading. I am indebtetl to Professor 
 Pio Rajna of the Istituto di Studi Superiori of Florence, for 
 advising me to use only texts of prose, and take j^loasnre in 
 acknowledging here the kind indulgence of Professor Kajna, 
 
In Early Florentine Prone. 13 
 
 kindness to experience which I am by no means the first stiulont 
 from this country. The prose texts I have used are Florentine 
 only. I have attempted to give conijilete lists of examples of the 
 auxiliary uses in question, but not of the uses of venire and andare 
 independently or with adjectives, which are mentioned in the 
 Introduction. 
 
 I wish to express my gratitude to Professor Kirby F. Smith of 
 the Johns Hojikins University for his kindness in heljiing me with 
 information regarding analogous auxiliary uses in Latin. 
 
 II. The Independent Use of Venire and Andare. 
 
 A. Venire. 
 
 1. In a Material Sense. 
 
 In Italian, just as in Latin, beside having the ordinary meaning 
 to come, that is, to move tov)ard the speaker, venire was used to 
 express the idea of arriving at, reaching, and this use seems to be 
 as frequent in the modern as in the ancient language. The most 
 satisfactory examples are those where we are able to com})are the 
 Italian with a Latin original. In the translation by Bono Giam- 
 boni of the history of Orosius, we find venire used continually as 
 a translation of the Latin pervenire ; for example, 
 
 Caio Gracco, grande pczza per lui combattendo gli amici, e per- 
 dendo, a grande fatica venne al ponte chiamato Sublicio ; . . . . 
 
 Giamb. Oros. v, xi, 298. 
 
 Gracchus diu pro se amicis pugnantibus ac pereuntibus, aegre ad 
 pontem Sublicium peruenit. 
 
 Oros. V, XI, 297. 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Giamb. Oros. vi, xv, 396 ; vi, xiv, 394 ; vr, 1, 353-4 ; in, xix, 
 174 ; and the corresponding passages in the original : Oros. vi, xvi, 
 407; VI, XV, 405; vi, ii, 361-2; in, xix, 162. 
 
 Naturally enough, we also find venire as a translation of the 
 Latin venire used to express the same idea of arriving ; for example, 
 
14 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Vej'bs 
 
 .... movendo di Ponto n'and6 in Parzia, e alia cittade d'Ecbatana, 
 ch' e capo del regno de' Parti, in cinquantji di venne. 
 
 Gianib. Oros. vi, in, 357. 
 
 . . . ., promouens e Ponto in Parthiam, ad Ecbatanam urbem caput 
 Parthici regni quinquagesimo die venit. 
 
 Oros. VI, IV, 365. 
 
 Compare also Gianib. Oros. vii, xxv, 473 ; and Oros. vii> 
 XXII, 492. 
 
 Further still, venire was used with its simplest meaning, to come, 
 in numbers of instances where the Latins would use some other 
 verb of motion. This is especially the case in accounts of events, 
 where a story is being told, the purpose being to represent the 
 event more graphically ; for where andare, or some other verb of 
 motion, would have served the purpose of the narrative, venire 
 insists on both narrator and reader being, in imagination at least, 
 actually on the spot where the event is happening ; for example, 
 
 Nel detto anno del mese di Maggio, e di Giugno, i Turchi armaro 
 280 tra barche grosse, e legni con pi^ di quarantamila Turchi e 
 vennero per mare sopra Gostantinopoli, .... 
 
 Villani x, cciv, 653-4. 
 
 Again Giamboni, in his translation of Orosius, tells us that after 
 Himilco the Carthaginian had lost his whole army in Sicily by 
 pestilence, he returned home, 
 
 . . . ., E con la detta gente vegnendo per la cittii piagnendo e lut- 
 tando, entro uel palagio, .... 
 
 Giamb. Oros. iv, vii, 210. 
 
 . . . . : ad postremum vociferans per urbem, tandem ingressus 
 domum, .... 
 
 Oros. IV, VI, 200-1. 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Giamb. Oros. in, xxii, 178-9 ; v, xv, 310-11 ; vii, xlvi, 531 ; 
 V, XI, 298 ; V, IV, 282-3 ; Oros. iii, xxii, 169 ; v, xiv, 309 ; V, 
 V, 281 ; V, XII, 297 ; vii, XLii, 561. 
 
In Early Florentine Frosc. 15 
 
 2. In a Metaphorical Sense. 
 
 Venire is used metaphorically to express the metaphorical ideas 
 corresponding to the material ideas represented by its material use 
 which has just been illustrated. These metaphorical ideas are: 
 
 Firaty The simple idea of motion toward a state of mind or being. 
 
 Secondly, The idea of (H'riving at a state of mind or being. 
 
 It seems to be the use of venire in the latter sense, that gave rise 
 to the development which, in the end, caused the verb to be used 
 directly with adjectives, in the sense of to become. 
 
 The process by which this development proceeded seems to con- 
 sist in the gradual weakening of the idea of motion which attaches 
 to venire. To explain this more fully, I will say that there is a 
 connexion, in the process of development, between the idea of (for 
 example), arriving at a state of pride, and that of becoming proud. 
 The difference between the two ideas lies in the fact that in the 
 latter expression, the idea of motion has become almost lost, 
 whereas in the former it is still felt. 
 
 In all Florentine texts, down to the middle of the fourteenth 
 century, examples are to be found shewing all the stages of this 
 development. This does not mean that the use of venire with 
 adjectives, to express the idea become, was not an accomplished fact 
 long before the middle of the fourteenth century (for it had become 
 80 even in Latin), but that the uses of venire which represent the 
 intermediate stages in the development, did not die out as soon as 
 they had served the purpose of forwarding the development. In 
 fact they persisted long afterward. 
 
 The following examples will illustrate the process of gradual 
 weakening of the idea of motion in the metaphorical use of venire. 
 
 a. Expressing the idea of motion forcibly. 
 
 . In questo anno i principi della Mangna concordevolmente 
 elessero re della Mangna Adolfo conte di Nasso, ma no venne a la 
 benedizione imperiale. 
 
 Cron. Fior. 66, 1, 12. 
 
 . Cosi cominciando ad errare la mia fantasia, venni a quel/o, che 
 non sapea dove io fossi ; 
 
 Vita Nuova. xxiii, 20. 
 
16 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Vei'bs 
 
 . E Seneca dice : Imper5 malagevolmente vegnamo alia salute 
 della sauita, perch^ non conosciaino essere infermi. 
 
 Pass. Sup. VII, 225. 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Giamb. Oros. vi, IV, 259, and Oros. vi, V, 367 ; Novell, i, 4 ; 
 Villani vii, x, 193; Piag. Boez. iii, 64-5, and Boeth. in, 27 b. 
 
 The above examples shew venire, used in a metaphorical sense, 
 expressing the idea of motion almost as forcibly as when it is used 
 in a material sense. The following examples will illustrate the 
 use of venire still in a metaphorical sense, but with the idea of 
 motion somewhat weakened. However, it must be borne in mind 
 that in all cases where venire is used independently, that is where 
 it is not an auxiliary verb, there must be a considerable idea of 
 motion, so that it will need some degree of attention to see that in 
 the cases cited, the idea of motion is indeed somewhat weakened. 
 
 b. Expressing the idea of motion less forcibly. 
 
 . . . ., Messer Jacopo, e Messer Piero figliuoli di Messer Gianni 
 della Colonna con tutti gli altri Colonnesi vennero alia miseri- 
 cordia, .... 
 
 Paolino Pieri. 53, 12. 
 
 Al costui tempo tornaro li Fiorentini ad oste a Siena, e puosersi 
 a campo a monte Reggione, a stando ivi, li Sanesi vennero alle 
 Gommandamenta loro, .... 
 
 Paolino Pieri. 23, 28-29. 
 
 In these two examples, venire alia misericordia and venire alle 
 commandamenta are two phrases corresponding pretty closely to 
 the English phrase : come to terms, and which represent an idea 
 containing little of an idea of motion. To substitute the expression 
 agree to terms, for come to terms, would not be strctoiiing the mean- 
 ing very far. In the second example, this lack of the idea of 
 motion is emphasized by the phrase: e stando ivi; that '\s, tvhile 
 they were there, the Sanesi came to unconditional terms. 
 
 . Ma i Fiorentini ordinarono clio i Sanesi niandassoro i loro 
 cavalieri alia guardia de' Guelfi di Pisa, .... onde molto furou 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 17 
 
 ripreai da' Genouesi, e Lucchesi per lo rompere chc fecero di loro 
 proniessa, e saramonto per iscaiupare Pisa, ma hebhoii da' Pisani il 
 
 merito, e il guiderone che a cid si venia 
 
 Villani vii. xcvii, 267. 
 
 il merito, e il yidderdone che a cid si venia means : the credit and 
 reward which was due for this ; that is, which icould righifidly come. 
 This reminds one of the American expression : the money that is 
 coming to me, that is, tohich is due to me. Evidently the idea of 
 motion expressed by venire, is much weakened in this sentence. 
 
 For other examples compare : " 
 
 Brun. Rett. Comra. 82; 54; Giamb. Oros. in, i, 130; in, i, 
 132 ; Oros. ni, i, 120 ; in, i, 122 ; Villani vii, xxvir, 208 ; vn, 
 xcvin, 257; Pass. Pen. in, iv, 60; Pass. Sup. in, 193. 
 
 The above examples shew venire used in a metaphorical sense, 
 the idea of motion not being so necessary to the sense as it 
 was originally ; that is, here the idea of motion is weaker than 
 it was. 
 
 The examples I am now about to give will also shew venire 
 used metaphorically, with a somewhat weak idea of motion, but in 
 addition they will illustrate the approach of the idea expressed by 
 venire used independently, to the idea conveyed by venire when 
 used directly with adjectives in the sense of to come to be or to 
 become. 
 
 Although the idea expressed in these examples does, I believe, 
 approach very close to that expressed by venire with adjectives, the 
 syntactical form necessarily could shew no such gradual change. 
 From venire in tanta grandezza to venire tanto grande, is a great 
 stride, as regards the construction, and it is necessarily so, for there 
 is no imaginable way by which the form could be so altered as to 
 correspond to the gradually developing idea. While the idea 
 expressed by venire in tanta grandezza, had, in reality, come to be 
 very similar to that expressed by venire tanto grande, (owing to the 
 metaphorical use of venire, and to its many uses where it had lost 
 much of its idea of motion) the syntactical form had undergone no 
 change, and remained the same as in those cases where venire had 
 undergone no such development in meaning. 
 
18 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 By the following examples, I am attempting to shew that venire 
 came to have a meaning very similar to that of to come to be, while 
 still used quite independently of other parts of speech ; that is, 
 while it preserved the old syntactical construction proper to a v^erb 
 of motion. Later on I shall discuss the use of venire with adjec- 
 tives, in the sense of to come to be and to become, that is, the use of 
 venire with a similar meaning to that I am about to illustrate, 
 expressed by another construction. 
 
 c. Expressing the idea to come to be. 
 
 . . . . ; e venuto in povertd, non potendo comparire cogli altri 
 cavalieri, com' era usato, divenne a tanta tristizia e malinconia, che 
 si volea disperare. 
 
 Pass. Pen. in, iv, 67-8. 
 
 venuto in povertd = come to be poor. To translate literally : 
 come to poverty, would indicate too strong an idea of motion, since 
 the prevailing thought is the being poor, not the arriving at the 
 state of poverty, as is shewn by the context. 
 
 . . . ., e a Tissaferne, re di quelli di Media, n'ando. Al quale, 
 per lo suo senno e bella favella in grazia venuto, diede per con- 
 siglio, .... 
 
 Giamb. Oros. ii, xv, 108. 
 
 The Latin here is : ....,<& ad Tissaphernem in Mediam conces- 
 sit : cui statim adcommodato ingenio & apto eloquii gratia familior 
 
 factus, persuadet, ne, etc 
 
 Oros. II, XV, 100. 
 
 The Latin original, which uses the adjectival phrase : famiUor 
 /actus, shews how weak the idea of motion is for venire, and also 
 how similar the idea of the Italian translation is to that which 
 would be expressed by venire with an adjective ; as, venuto gra- 
 devole. 
 
 . Serses, per la battaglia in Grecia mal fatta venuto in dispregio 
 de' suoi, fue in Grecia per Artabauo ingannato e morto. 
 
 Giamb. Oros. ii, xi, 96. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 19 
 
 The Latin here is : . Xerxes hollo in Grecia infeliciter gesto, 
 
 contemptihilis sms /actus, per Artahaniiin praefectum smim in rcgia 
 
 circoniientus occiditur. 
 
 Oros. II, XI, 89. 
 
 The translation of contemptibilis fadus by venuto in dispregio, 
 shews how close the idea of the Italian is to that which wonld be 
 expressed by venire with an adjective. The idea of motion con- 
 veyed by venire is evidently almost lost. 
 
 . Igli altri per questo pericolo ispaventati, levate le vele, e 
 vogliendo fuggire la ove il vento li menasse, non abbiendo vento 
 a qnella stagione, non sappiendo che si fare vennero in ischernie 
 de' Romani. 
 
 Giamb. Oros. vi, vii, 369. 
 
 The Latin is : . Alii hoc periculo territi, expansis velis qua 
 ventus intenderent fugire conati, cessante mox ventu destituti, 
 
 ludibrio fuere Roraanis. 
 
 Oros. VI, viii, 376. 
 
 In this example, as in the last one, the idea of motion expressed 
 by venire seems relatively insignificant. The meaning of the 
 Italian is : came to he despised by the Romans. 
 
 The following two examples will illustrate my meaning, in a 
 new way. The first one has been used already for another purpose :* 
 
 . . . . ; e venuto in poverta, non potendo comparire cogli altri 
 cavalieri, com' era usato divenne a tanta tristizia e malinconia, che 
 si volea disperare. 
 
 Pass. Pen. iii, iv, 67-8. 
 
 Here we have divenire, a verb which later came to mean nothing 
 but to become, and which always carries this idea in one way or in 
 another, used in the same sense as that in which venire is used in 
 the examples just given. The sense of the example would not be 
 altered at all, if we had instead of divenne, " venne a tanta tristizia 
 e malinconia." 
 
 ^Cf. p. 18. 
 
20 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Vei'bs 
 
 Another such example is : 
 
 Et nota die distrutti sono colore, che soliano essere in alto 
 «tato, & in riccheza, & poi divengono in tanta miseria che vanno 
 
 mendicando. 
 
 Brun. Rett. Comm. r, 16. 
 
 Here divengono in tanta miseria, is exactly the same as : vengono 
 in tanta miseria, venire having come, in uses such as these, to have 
 the same meaning as divenire, that is, to come to be, the two were 
 sometimes confused. 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Cron. Fior. 77, 16 ; 12, 16 ; Giamb. Oros. iv, x, 223 ; i, xxi, 
 62 ; VII, XLiv, 526 ; iv, xvii, 243 ; and Oros. iv, ix, 213 ; i, xxi, 
 €0 ; vii, XL, 555 ; iv, xvi, 234 ; Villani iv, xiii, 80 ; V, ix, 107 ; 
 VI, LI, 156 ; X, CLXXXiii, 643 ; vi, xcii, 182 ; xi, xxxix, 709 ; 
 Pass. Sup. VII, 230-1. 
 
 III. The Use with Adjectives of Venire and Andare. 
 
 A. Venire. 
 
 I have attempted to shew that the Italian verb venire being used 
 in the sense of to arrive at, to reach, when used metaphorically, and 
 gradually losing the force of the idea of motion which it expressed, 
 came to have the meaning of to come to be. 
 
 It seems that venire could not have been used with adjectives at 
 first except in this sense, for it is impossible to suppose the verb 
 to have been used in close construction with adjectives while retain- 
 ing its simplest signification of motion toward the speaker. To 
 come rich, strictly speaking, has no meaning, unless the verb is 
 understood to be independent of the adjective. Now starting with 
 the use of venire as independent of the adjective, for examjile, to 
 come, rich, meaning to come and to be rich at the same time, it is 
 easy to see that with the new meaning acquired by venire in the 
 manner lately illustrated, that of to come to be, a close construction 
 of the verb with the adjective is j)ossible. Now this use we find 
 to be common in our texts, and to appear even in Latin. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 21 
 
 When, however, this change in meaning had come to pass, and 
 venire was used in close construction with adjectives, the idea of 
 motion originally conveyed by the verb, was not entirely done 
 away with. The meaning was to come to be. The metaphorical 
 idea of motion was still there. The tendency to become weaker, 
 however, still existed, and, as in the independent uses of venire^ so 
 in its construction with adjectives, we see the idea of motion 
 gradually becoming fainter and fainter, until in a few cases, it 
 seems to disappear almost altogether; at this stage it apparently 
 means no more than simply to become in a sense not far removed 
 from to be. 
 
 To put this briefly : from the time venire begins to be used in 
 the sense of to arrive at, to reach, and is used metaphorically, there 
 is a gradual weakening of the force of the idea of motion attaching 
 to the verb, and we see the culmination of the tendency, in the last 
 development of the use with adjectives. 
 
 We have something of a parallel to the final weakening of the 
 idea of motion expressed by venire wnth adjectives, in the case of 
 the English verb : to become. The original meaning of to become 
 seems to be to come to be. In modern use, however, there is a 
 difference between the meaning of the two expressions, the former 
 having less of an idea of motion than the latter, so that we 
 hear sentences as, he became imprisoned, in the sense of he was 
 imprisoned. 
 
 To illustrate the weakening of the idea of motion, expressed by 
 venire with adjectives, I will give a few examples shewing the idea 
 of motion as distinct as it is ever found in this construction, then 
 two or three other examples where this idea seems to be still 
 further weakened, and, lastly, a few where the idea of motion 
 seems to be almost lost : — 
 
 a. Expressing the idea of motion clearly. 
 
 . . . ., e per fermo mostrava di dover venire il migliore uomo di 
 sua casa. 
 
 Paolino Fieri, 60, 22. 
 
 Translation : He gave sure promise that he would come to be the 
 best man of his house. 
 
22 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 . . . ., peroche' Fiorentini erano venuti moUo superbi, per le vit- 
 torie hauute sopra' loro vicini, e tra loro molto ingrati a Dio, .... 
 
 Villani, v, viii, 106. 
 
 Translation : . . . ., for the Florentines had come to be very proud^ 
 because of their victories over their neighbors, and among them- 
 selves, ungrateful towards God, .... 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Paolino Fieri 49, 40; Villani vi, i, 124; v, xxr, 112. 
 
 The Italian expression : venire meiio, which originally meant 
 simply to become less ; that is, to begin to fail, has a development 
 parallel to that of venire with adjectives. At first, venire in venir 
 meno conveyed a clear idea of motion ; in other cases, presumably 
 later, the idea of motion almost disappeared. 
 
 The word meno seems to have been affected by its use in this 
 phrase, so that it is used as meaning lacking, loanting} The follow- 
 ing are a few examples where the idea of motion is still expressed : 
 
 . . . ., lo mio signore Amore, la sua merce, ha posta tutta la mia 
 beatitudine in quello, che non mi puote venir meno. 
 
 Vita Nuova xviii, 1, 25. 
 
 venir meno = come to be lacking ; that is, come to fail, 
 
 . . . . ; come interviene a molte persone che o per vergogna o per 
 temenza (....) perdonsi e vengon ^ meno, che smemorano e dimen- 
 ticano i peccati che in prima aveano pensati di dire, .... 
 
 Pass. Pen. v, 1, 95. 
 
 Vengon si meno = come to be so lacking (in strength). 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Villani xi, i, 674 ; Giamb. Oros. vi, xviii, 408, and Oros. vi, 
 XIX, 437. 
 
 b. Expressing the idea to become. 
 
 . Piero tavoliere fu grande uomo d'avere, e venne ianto vmeri- 
 cordioao, che prima tutto I'avere dispese a'povori per Dio. E poi 
 
 ^Cf. Tobler, Verm. Beitr. 1899. in, 102. — '' ilal. venir main, aiiflioren, aus- 
 gehn, auch ohnmachtig werden." 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 23 
 
 quando tiitto ebbe dato, ed clU si fece vendere, ed il prezzo diede a' 
 poveri tutto. 
 
 Novell. XIV, 19. 
 
 Here, as is shewn by the context, the whole emphasis of the 
 sentence is laid on the fact of the man's being so merciful that he 
 did all the things which follow ; there is no emphasis on the coming 
 to be merciful. The idea of motion, then, plays here a very 
 inconspicuous part, and is hardly expressed. The meaning of 
 venire seems to be to become. 
 
 . . . .; e gia cominciauano a venire possenti i Frescobaldi, e Bardi, 
 e Mozi, ma di picciolo comiuciamento. 
 
 Villani v, xxxix, 121. 
 
 It may be urged that in this example the translation ought to 
 be : And already the Frescobaldi, etc., .... were beginning to 
 come to be powerful, etc., but it seems to me that the emphasis is 
 not on the process by which they became powerful, but on their 
 being powerful ; the fact that the beginnings of their power are 
 mentioned, has nothing to do with the idea of motion, which is 
 hardly expressed. I should be inclined to translate : were 
 beginning to become powerful. 
 
 The following examples of the expression venir meno shew a less 
 evident idea of motion than those given above. 
 
 . Uno della Marca and6 a studiare a Bologna. Vennerli meno 
 le spese. 
 
 Novell. XLVii, 54. 
 
 Vennerli meno le spese = his spending-money became lacking. 
 There is no apparent idea here of coming to be wanting or to fail. 
 
 . . . ., e quasi sbigottito della bella difesa che mi era venuta 
 meno, .... 
 
 Vita nuova vii, 1, 4. 
 
 Translation : and as if dismayed on account of the good defence 
 which had become lacking to me. 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
24 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 Giamb. Oros. rv, vii, 215 ; Oros. iv, VI, 204 ; Villani vi, xciii, 
 183 ; IV, X, 78 ; iv, x, 78 ; Pass. Pen. iv, IV, 89 ; Giamb. Veg. 
 I, 2, 8, and Veg. i, ii, 4. 
 
 c. Expressing an idea approaching that of to be. 
 
 . . . .? certo chi hauea forza, & potere sopra altri molti non 
 haueria patito di uenire pari di coloro, cui potea signorigiare, se 
 non I'hauesse mosso sennata & soave parlatura, .... 
 
 Brun. Lat. Rett. 10. 
 
 The Latin is : . Profecto, nemo nisi graui ac soaui commotus 
 
 oratione, cum viribus plurimum posset, ad ius voluisset sine vi 
 
 descendere, ut inter quos posset excellere, cum iis se pateretur 
 
 aequari, .... 
 
 Cic. De luv. I, Op. Rhet. 42B. 
 
 Here the translation of aequari by venire pari, shews little of 
 any idea of motion in venire. 
 
 . . . . : I malleoli siccome saette sono, ed ove s'appiccano, peroche 
 
 arzenti vengono, ogni cosa ardono. 
 
 Giamb. Veg. iv, 18, 163. 
 
 The Latin is : Malleoli velut sagittae sunt, et ubi adhaeserint 
 [quia ardentes sunt) universa conflagrant. 
 
 Veg. Ill, XVIII, 128. 
 
 Here again, ardentes sunt being translated by arzenti vengono , 
 seems to shew an absence of the idea of motion. 
 
 For other examples compare : 
 
 Giamb. Oros. iv, x, 223; and Oros. iv, ix, 213; Villani x, 
 ccxxii, 665. 
 
 The following examples of the expression : venir meno seem to 
 shew an equal loss of the idea of motion expressed by venire : 
 
 . . . ., e delli antichi nomati di sopra sono calali, e tali venuti 
 
 meno, .... 
 
 Villani iv, xiii, 80. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 26 
 
 This example differs from others such as oiu; from Villaiii, 
 referred to above, which says :...." venue meno il detto lignaj^gio." 
 The distinction is that here it is not a race of people, which is 
 spoken of as dying out, but single individuals who have died. 
 Hence there seems to be almost no idea of motion in this example. 
 
 . Questa e orazione, per la quale i Fiorentini veglievoli con ani- 
 mata divozione a' j)rogonitori tnoi, ogualmente e a te, la tna celsitu- 
 dine amantissimameute destano, acci5 die quella desta, tntte le nebbie 
 passino via, e al tutto vengano meno. 
 
 Villani xii, cviii, 987. 
 
 " Acci5 che etc." = , so that, when that is aroused, all the mists 
 may pass away, and entirely be gone. 
 
 For other examples, compare : 
 
 Villani xii, viii, 883; xii, xcv, 973; xii, civ, 982; Pass. 
 Sup. VII, 230. 
 
 To sum up briefly : venire having, by processes described above, 
 acquired the meaning : to come to he, was used with adjectives in 
 this sense. The weakening of the idea of motion expressed by 
 venire, however, which had already begun, continued in the use 
 with adjectives, so that at last it seems to be lost, and in some cases 
 venire seems to be almost equivalent to to he. 
 
THE USE OF VENIRE AND ANDARE AS 
 AUXILIARY VERBS. 
 
 Part I. With Past Participles. 
 A. Venire. 
 
 I have traced the hypothetical process of development by which 
 venire came to be used with adjectives, with the meaning to become, 
 and almost even to be, the idea of motion being almost lost in the 
 latter case. There is room for doubt as to whether the idea of 
 motion is ever actually lost or not, but at any rate, it becomes so 
 weak, in the use with adjectives, as to be all but lost, so that venire 
 degno, for example, in some cases seems to mean little more than to 
 he worthy. I now come to my proper subject : The use of venire 
 with Past Participles. 
 
 With past participles, venire comes to be used as an auxiliary 
 verb expressing the Passive voice, supplanting eventually, to a 
 great extent, the common auxiliary for the Passive, essere. The 
 question I am about to discuss is : by what process of develop- 
 ment, ve7iire came to be used in this way. 
 
 At first sight, it may seem to others, as it once seemed to me, 
 that the use of venire with Past Participles, to express the Passive, 
 is an outgrowth of the use of this verb with adjectives, as discussed 
 above. In other words, venire, having come to mean become (and 
 approaching to be) with adjectives, was then used with past parti- 
 ciples, with the same meaning. After more thought, however, I 
 have abandoned this idea. My reasons are as follows : 
 
 First. The use of venire with adjectives, in the sense of to become, 
 rather than more frequent with the passing of time, became more 
 and more rare, and has at last been almost entirely supplanted by 
 divenire and diventare. 
 
 Secondly. Although examples of the use of venire with Past 
 
 Participles, with a meaning other than its elementary meaning, to 
 
 come, are rare in early texts, yet examples are to be found in the 
 
 earliest texts we have, and have become more and more frequent 
 
 26 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 27 
 
 until at present vei\ire rivals essere in freqnency of nse with Past 
 Participles, as an auxiliary expressing the pure Latin Passive. 
 
 Besides this, I may say that tliere are indications which lead us 
 to believe that the use of venire to express the Passive, developed 
 along a line peculiar to itself, although, as I shall try to shew later, 
 the develepnient seems to be identical with that of the use with 
 adjectives, up to a certain point. 
 
 When we come to consider the use of venire with Past Part ici- 
 cles, expressing the Passive, with the purpose before us of dis- 
 covering the process by which an ordinary verb of motion, such as 
 venire, came to be used in so singular a way, it is obvious that the 
 first thing to which we must give our attention is the force which 
 the verb has in this use. There can be no doubt that, in modern 
 Italian, venire as a Passive auxiliary verb expresses the Latin 
 Passive. Venire ucciso means to be killed in the sense of the Ger- 
 man wo'den getbdtei, of the Latin occidi. In the latest texts, 
 however, which my investigation includes, that is, those of the 
 latter half of the fourteenth century, venire, as an auxiliary ex- 
 pressing the Passive, far more frequently thfn not, seems to retain 
 more of an idea of motion than is expressed by the Latin Passive. 
 For example, 
 
 .... E se alcuna volta gli venisse predetta alcuna di quelle 
 (cose casual i), non sarebbe pero che n'avesse scienza, . . . ., 
 
 Pass. Sc. 300. 
 
 venisse predetta seems to mean : should happen to be foretold, and 
 has not yet cast off as much of the idea of motion, as has the 
 auxiliary for the pure Passive. 
 
 The prima facie conclusion from this fact is that the loss of the 
 idea of motion is in some way connected with the modification of 
 the meaning of venire, which modification fitted it to be used to 
 express the Passive. And, indeed, this is a conclusion which is 
 obvious without any knowledge of texts, for it is evident that 
 venire in its passage from the meaning to come, to the meaning to 
 he, even in the sense of the Latin Passive, must have lost the 
 greater part of its idea of motion. Nevertheless, however closely 
 the loss of the idea of motion may be connected with the change of 
 
28 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 meaning of the verb, it is plain that without some other cause the 
 transition from to come to to be would never have taken place. 
 For a gradual loss of the idea of motion, by itself, would only 
 result in the final disappearance of the verb venire. 
 
 We have, therefore, to discover what may be supposed to be the 
 additional causes which, together with the gradual loss of the idea 
 of motion, brought about the use of venire as an auxiliary express- 
 ing the Passive, with the meaning to be, and, also we have to see 
 in what manner all these forces affected the verb, so as to bring 
 about that result. The only apparent method by which our object 
 may be reached, is that of examining the various uses of venircy 
 from the elementary, independent use meaning to come, to the use 
 expressing the Passive, which we are treating. 
 
 We have already in the preceding pages seen how 
 
 First, venire was used independently and materially in the 
 sense to arrive at, to reach ; 
 
 Secondly, venire was used independently and metaphorically, 
 both in the elementary sense of to come, and in the other sense of 
 to arrive at, to reach ; 
 
 Thirdly. In this metaphorical use, venire seems to have begun 
 to lose the idea of motion originally attaching to it, so that in 
 expressions such as : venire in disgrazia — to come to he disfavoured ;^ 
 venire in grazia — to come to be favoured ; venire in orrore — to come 
 to be hated, etc., the idea of motion is already somewhat weakened, 
 since the most important thought expressed is the state in which 
 the subjects are (after their having come into this given condition) 
 and not the process by which they arrived at that state. 
 
 In the construction with Past Participles, venire meant, originally, 
 nothing more than to come: venire ferito meant merely, to come and 
 to he wounded at the same time, both verbs keeping their respective 
 independent meaning, and each its full force. When venire came 
 to be used in the sense of to arrive at, to reach, this did not affect 
 the meaning of that simplest of constructions : venire ferito meant 
 then to arrive and to be ivounded at the same time. When, how- 
 ever, venire began to be used in a metaphorical sense, then appar- 
 ently, the meaning of the construction began to change. With the 
 new idea conveyed by the verb, expressions such as venire ucciso, 
 became possible, where the idea expressed could not possibly be : 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 29 
 
 to come and to be killed at the same time. Metaphorical expressions 
 too, such as venire predetto, venire JidlHo, etc., wouM necessarily 
 indicate a closer logical relation between the two verbs, as they 
 stood side by side, and a united meanini^ which was entirely differ 
 ent from any idea formerly expressed by the construction. 
 
 Now, considering that venire had come to be used metaphorically, 
 and with the meaning, to annve at, to reach, an apj)ropriate ques- 
 tion is : What should we expect the idea, as conveyed by the old 
 construction of ue?iiVe with the Past Participle, to he, venire having 
 been thus transforme<l in meaning? What is the logical result of 
 a construction such as ; for example, vennefatto — came done? 
 
 The two ideas represented are : 
 
 First. A certain thing was done. 
 
 Secondly. It arrived done. 
 
 When I consider what the force of to arrive, is, when used in 
 a metaphorical sense, the only idea which I can think of, is that 
 represented by the French arriver, meaning to happen. Now 
 putting this meaning for venire, and adding the meaning of fatto, 
 I should answer the question asked in the preceding paragraph, by 
 saying that, under the given conditions, venne fatto would have a 
 meaning very much akin to that of: happened done, or (in idiomatic 
 English) — came to pass. Now, this is exactly the idea which seems 
 to be conveyed by vennefatto in the examples we have, where venire 
 has not yet come to be used as a pw'e Passive auxiliary verb. The 
 following examples of venire in the earliest stage of the develop- 
 ment of its use as an auxiliary expressing the Passive, will illus- 
 trate my meaning : 
 
 a. Venire meaning to happen ; expressing the Passive ; the idea 
 of motion weaker than in the original use. 
 
 . Ma non sempre agli uccellatori gV ingegni vengono loro fatti, e 
 agli indovini compositori di bugie quello, che a ventura dieono, 
 viene loro fatto. 
 
 Giamb. Oros. v, lY, 279. 
 
 The Latin here is : Sed non semper aucupatoribus eventum & 
 iustructoribus fallaciarum haruspicibus, opportuni casus suffragant. 
 
 Oros. V, IV, 279. 
 
30 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 The Italian is a free translation of the Latin, but the meaning 
 is clear enough : But not always do the tricks of bird-trappers 
 succeed, nor does that which lying sooth-sayers say at hazard 
 (always), come to pass. The Latin : opportuni casus suffragant 
 emphasizes the meaning of the translation : viene loro fatto. 
 
 . II cavallo era nudrito. II fante non potendolo tenere, si si 
 drizzo verso il padiglione del Soldano a sua forza. II Soldano 
 aspettava il re Ricciardo, ma non li venne fatto. 
 
 Novell. LXiii, 73-4. 
 
 Translation : The horse had been trained. The servant not 
 being able to hold him, he made for the Sultan's tent, with all his 
 might. The Sultan was expecting King Richard (not the servant), 
 but it did not so come to pass. 
 
 . Come il Re di Francia ordino di fare eleggere M. Carlo di 
 Valos Imperadore, e venneli fallito. 
 
 Villani viii, ci, 372. 
 
 An example which illustrates my meaning very well indeed : 
 venneli fallito = it came failed to him ; that is, it turned out a failure. 
 
 . E se alcuna volta gli venisse predetla alcuna di quelle (cose 
 casuali), non sarebbe pero che n'avesse scienzia, .... 
 
 Pass. Sc. 300. 
 
 Passavanti is here speaking of the prophetic powers of the devil. 
 He says the devil cannot foretell future events, but that (to trans- 
 late the above example), if, now and then, he should happen to 
 foretell one of those casual events, it would not be because he had 
 actual knowledge of it. The gli is in the dative case because venire 
 still preserves some of its idea of motion. The literal meaning is ; 
 should come foretold to him; that is, it shoidd happen to him to fore- 
 tell. The translation which the phrase might have, if it were modern 
 Italian : should be foretold to him, would damage the sense, and is 
 impossible. 
 
 For other examples of. : 
 
 Giamb. Oros. v, xxiv, 344, and Oros. v, xxiv, 345 ; Villani 
 X, cxi.vi, 621 ; X, cxxxviii, 616 ; ix, xi, 385; l, xxx, 21 ; 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 31 
 
 VII, LVii, 228 ; VI, LX, 160 ; ix, l, 401-2 ; ix, cccv, 507 ; ix, ix, 
 384 ; x, cix, 598 ; xii, xliv, 924 ; xii, lxxii, 955 ; Pas8. Pen. 
 V, IV, 141. 
 
 In the above examples, then, venire used with past participles, 
 seems to have come to have the meaning of the French annver, 
 that is, to happen, to come to pass. 
 
 I wish to emphasize the appearance, which I have already tried 
 to illustrate, that this meaning is the natural result of the use of 
 venire (which was already used metaphorically, and in the sense of 
 to arrive) with Past Participles. 
 
 Now, if we compare this idea of to happen, to come to pass, with 
 the idea which venire expresses in modern Italian, when used as 
 an auxiliary for the Passive ; that is, the idea to be in the sense 
 of the Latin Passive, it is plain that the only difference between 
 the two consists in the idea of motion which is found in the former, 
 and which is nearly absent in the latter. This being the case, if 
 venii'e with Past Participles, and meaning to happen, to come to 
 pass, were to lose its idea of motion, it would naturally come to 
 mean to be, and would express the pure Passive. That the tend- 
 ency toward losing the idea of motion, already illustrated, was not 
 arrested at the point at which we have arrived, appears from 
 further examples. 
 
 It is evident that there is much less of an idea of motion in to 
 happen, than there is in to come. This being the case, the weaken- 
 ing of the idea of motion in venire with Past Participles, would be 
 merely a continuation of the same process which seems to have 
 begun as soon as venire was used in a metaphorical sense ; that is, 
 as far back as we have any knowletlge of the verb, even in Latin. 
 
 Also, it is worth remembering that, in the case of the use of 
 venire with adjectives, with the meaning become, the same process 
 seems to have continued until the idea of motion is almost lost, 
 and venire degno came to mean almost simply : to be loorthy. The 
 weakening of the idea of motion, then, in the case of the use with 
 Past Participles, seems to be merely a parallel development to that 
 in the case of the use with adjectives. 
 
 Every fact, therefore, which I have elicited in examination of 
 the usQS oi venire, tends to confirm me in my belief that I am right 
 
32 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 in thus tracing the development which ended in the use of venire 
 to express the pure Passive. 
 
 I will now give a few examples of venire used with Past Parti- 
 ciples, in which there seems to be less of an idea of motion expressed, 
 than in those just given above. 
 
 b. Approaching the meaning to he • expressing the Passive ; the 
 idea of motion still weaker. 
 
 . Ben dico ch' alcuna volta il mandante non scrive la salutatione, 
 o per eel are le persone se la lettera venisse data altrui, o per alcuna 
 cagione, .... 
 
 Brun. Rett. Comm. 76. 
 
 Here venisse data may be translated by : should happen to be 
 given, in which case this example would fall among those given 
 above. But it may also be just as well translated by should be 
 given. It is impossible to tell which of the two translations is the 
 more correct, and this example shews very well how easy it was 
 for venire, in this use, to lose its idea of motion, and to pass from 
 the meaning to happen to the meaning to be. From the fact that 
 venire can here be translated as a pure Passive auxiliary, I suppose 
 that the idea of motion is somewhat weaker than in the examples 
 given above, or, at any rate, that the idea of motion is wavering. 
 It will be remembered that in the examples of venire = to happen, 
 it is impossible to translate the verb as a pure Passive auxiliary, 
 without evidently iujuring the sense of the sentence. 
 
 . . . . : Ora maggiormente ci dee venir fatto, dappoi che vaca lo 
 'mperio, e massimamente per la promessa, e saramento fatto per 
 Papa Chimento, quando il iece far Papa. 
 
 Villani viii, cr, 273. 
 
 The translation may be : Now it is all the more probable that 
 it will be done to us, since, etc., etc. (that is, it is all the more prob- 
 able that our candidate will be made emperor). Nevertheless, it is 
 impossible to tell whether venire expresses any idea of happening, 
 or not. It is probable that, in these two exam|)les just given, and 
 in those to follow, the author had no clear idea of what the exact 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 33 
 
 force of venire was ; that is, the idea expressed by venire was 
 wavering between the meaning (o happen and the meaning to be. 
 In other words, whatever idea of motion there is conveyed by 
 venire, is faint. 
 
 . Per laqual cosa riraescohita la diuisione della legione tra 
 collcgi, quasi per gara non credendo che venisse fatto, raissono a 
 squittino quello di loro collegio, ch' era tenuto il pin menorao de' 
 Cardinali ; . . . . 
 
 Villani xi, xxi, 697. 
 
 " non credendo che venisse fatto " may mean : not believing that 
 it would be done, 
 
 or else : not believing that it would come to pass, .... 
 
 . . . ., che li dovea essere data I'entrata della terra ; e per sua 
 sventura nolli venne fatto ; .... 
 
 Villani xii, i, 872. 
 
 Translation :...., for the entrance into the town was to be 
 given to him, but, unfortunately for him, it teas not done for 
 him ; . . . . 
 
 or else : . . . ., it did not come to pass (to him). 
 
 . Ma chi qui la volesse toccare, non gli verrebbe fatto, .... 
 
 Pass. Sc. 283. 
 
 Translation : But if anyone should attempt to touch it (the 
 glory of God) here, (that is, in this life) it would not be done to 
 him (that is, he would not be rewarded); 
 
 or else : .... it would not happen to him. 
 
 . Tuttavia, se in qucsto caso, o in qualunche altro, venisse 
 nominata altrui nella confessione la persona con cui avesse peccato, 
 o venisse detto I'altrui peccato, .... non sarebbe peccato, anzi mercede. 
 
 Pass. Pen. v, iv, 138. 
 
 Translation : . Nevertheless, if ... . the person with whom he 
 had sinned should be named (or should happen to be named), or the 
 sin of another person should be told (or should happen to be told), .... 
 
34 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 In the above examples, then, the exact force of venire^ is uncer- 
 tain, and seems to be wavering between the idea : to happen and 
 the idea : to be ; that is, the idea of motion expressed is exceedingly- 
 weak. There is no doubt in my mind that venire, in these exam- 
 ples is an auxiliary verb expressing the Passive voice, but whether 
 it expresses the pure Latin Passive, or conveys some idea oi happen- 
 ing is a doubtful question. These examples may then be taken to 
 represent the intermediate stage between venire meaning to happen, 
 and venire expressing the pure Passive. 
 
 The following examples illustrate the use of venire with Past 
 Participles in its fullest development up to the last half of the 
 fourteenth century; they are all from Yillani (1300-1348) except 
 one from Alberto della Piagentina (1332). They represent the 
 nearest approach to the use of venire as an auxiliary expressing the 
 pure Latin Passive, up to that time : the idea of motion seems to 
 i have almost disappeared.^ 
 
 c. Meaning to be ; expressing the pure Latin Passive ; almost 
 no idea of motion. 
 
 Di quello medesimo maraviglioso ordine, per quattro parti del 
 mondo, quattro regni principali con ordinati gradi soprastanti, 
 fuoro ; come ecc. . . . De' quali, tra il primaio e quello da sezzo, 
 cio6 tra quello di Bambillouia e Romano, quasi tra padre vecchio 
 e figliuolo piccolo, I'Africano e quello di Macedonia piccoli in 
 mezzo, quasi tutori e curatori vennero ricevuti per podesta di tempo, 
 non per ragione di reditade. 
 
 Giamb. Oros. ii, 1, 66. 
 
 The Latin is : .... : eademque ineffabiliore ordiuatione per 
 quatuor mundi cardines, quatuor regnorum principatus fiiere dis- 
 
 tinctis gradibus eminentis : ut, etc quorum inter primura & 
 
 novissiraura, id est inter Babylonicum et Romanum, quasi inter 
 patrem senem ac filium paruum, Africanum & Macedonicum breuia 
 
 ^ The Latin Passive, like the German werden with the Past Participle, expresses 
 an entrance into a condition, so that venire (no matter how well it niav seem to be 
 translated l)y the English to be) needs not to loie entirely its idea of motion in 
 order to express the Latin Passive, lo vengo ucciso corresponds to ich werde 
 getiidlet, rather than to 1 am killed. Cf. Meyer-LUbke : op. cit. ill, ^ 304. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 35 
 
 et media (iiinsi tutor curatorque venerunt, potestate, temporis, non 
 
 iure hereilitatis, admissa. 
 
 Oros. II, 1, 63-4. 
 
 The Latin : venerunt .... admissa is extraordinary, and seems 
 to have the meaning : came to be admitted. In the Italian : vennero 
 ricevuti, however, vennero is undoubtedly as much of an auxiliary 
 representing the pure Passive as it would be in the same phrase in 
 modern Italian. 
 
 . . . . ; e come fu trattato, venue fatto. 
 
 Villani viii, LXiii, 337. 
 
 Translation :....; and as it was agreed, so it ivas done. It 
 may be said that venue fatto here too means : so it happened, or 
 turned out, and this translation is possible. Nevertheless the 
 absence of an indirect object such as loro makes such a translation 
 less likely than it would be otherwise, and there seems to be no 
 objection to the translation of venue by was. 
 
 . II qual trattato scoperto con danuo di loro non veune loro fornito. 
 
 Villani ix, ccxii, 469. 
 
 Translation : Which agreement, being discovered to their dam- 
 age, was not performed to them. As far as can be seen, there is no 
 idea of happening expressed here. 
 
 . . . ., e gia haueua da loro la 'mpromessa, laquale poi li 
 
 venue fornita. 
 
 Villani viii, v, 292. 
 
 Translation :...., and already he had from them the promise 
 which loas aftervfa.rd fulfilled to him, 
 
 . Onde il Re si tenne forte grauato, ma non potendo bene a cio 
 contraddire, . . . ., acconsentl, credendosi si adoperare al concilio 
 di Vienna, che gli verrebbe fatto sua intendimento. 
 
 Villani viii, xci, 367. 
 
 Here again some doubt may be raised as to the meaning of ver- 
 rebbe fatto, but the context seems to mean that the king expected 
 
36 TJiQ Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 so to act, at the council of Vienna, that his intention woxdd he per- 
 formed to him; that is, would be granted him (by the council). 
 
 . La qual cosa fu rivelata a Messer Mastino per uno suo antico 
 conestabole, ch' era di quella giura, per laqual cosa il tradimento 
 non vennefatto, .... 
 
 Villani xi, viii, 691. 
 
 . . . ., per laqnal cosa il tradimento non venne fatto, for which 
 reason, the betrayal was not accomplished .... 
 
 . Nelli anni di Cristo 1328. addi 12. di Maggio, il di della 
 
 Assensione . . . ., Lodouico il Bauero, che si facea chiamare 
 
 Iniperadore venne incoronato, e parato con 1' abito Imperiale in 
 
 sul pergamo, .... 
 
 Villani x, lxxxiii, 574. 
 
 Translation : " In the year of our Lord, 1328, on the twelfth of 
 May, on Ascension day . . . ., Lewis the Bavarian, who used to 
 cause himself to be called " Emperor," loas crowned and arrayed 
 with the imperial dress, upon the platform, . . . . " 
 
 . Or non sapevi tu i nostri costumi ? ne che Creso Re de' Lidi 
 poco dinanzi a Cirro spaurevole, incontanente poi miserabile alle 
 fiamme dell fuoco sommesso, dalla piova dal ciel mandata venisse 
 difeso ? 
 
 Alb. Piag. II, 33. 
 
 The Latin is : An tu mores ignorabas meos ? Nesciebas Croesum 
 regera Lidorum Cyro paulo ante formidabilem, mox deinde miseran- 
 dum regi ; flammis traditum misso coelitus imbre defensum f 
 
 Boeth. Ill, 13b. 
 
 In questo apparecchio i sopradetti maestri del trattato, ch'erano 
 in Siena, acciochfe pienamente venisselor ornito, mandarono a Firenze 
 altri a trattare tradimento con certi grandi, e popolani Ghibellini, 
 ch' erano rimasi in Firenze, .... 
 
 Villani vi, Lxxx, 172. 
 
 Translation : During these preparations the above-mentioned 
 managers of the agreement, . . . ., so that it should be fully per- 
 formed to them, etc. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 37 
 
 . Con tutto che per molti cittadini si fece questione se potesee 
 
 essei' venuto fornito il detto traditnento, non essendo, nella citta 
 
 possenti luiomini c'hauessero risposto al tradimeuto clie non si 
 
 trou6 di vero, .... 
 
 Villani x, cxviii, G04. 
 
 Translation : Altiiough it was questioned by many of the citizens, 
 whether the said treason could have been performed .... 
 
 . . . ., e conoscendo il nial sito done i Fiorentini erano accampati, 
 
 con sagace inganno, fece tenere in falsi trattati M. Ramondo, e' 1 
 
 suo consiglio con piii di quelle castella di val di Nievole per farli 
 
 indugiare che non si partissero, e leuassero il campo, . . . . ; e tra 
 
 che fn tempo piouoso, e I'inganno de' trattati, li venne fatto suo 
 
 intendimento. 
 
 Villani ix, ccv, 507. 
 
 Considering that intendimento is here the subject of venne fatto, 
 and that the context preceding explains how his intention was to 
 be carried out, we may suppose the translation to be : his inten- 
 tion was carried out. 
 
 . I Fiorentini per lo socorso del detto Castello di Lucchio trattato 
 
 feciono d'hauere il Castello, e'l ponte di Cappiano in su la Gui- 
 
 sciana. E?sendo Castruccio ad oste in Carlagnana, vi caualcarono 
 
 le cauallate, e soldati di Firenze infino a Empoli, e non vegnendo 
 
 fornito il tradimento si tornarono in Firenze con gran riprensione 
 
 dell' una impresa, e dell' altra. 
 
 Villani ix, cxcii, 462. 
 
 Translation : . . . . since the betrayal loas not carried out .... 
 (. . . . the betrayal not being carried out . . . .) 
 
 . Intra li altri notabili, e orrevoli cittadini, e antichi Guelfi, e 
 
 fattisi Bianchi vi fu preso M. Donato Alberti giudice, e Nanni de' 
 
 Russoli della parte del vescouo. Nanni vegnendo preso fu morto 
 
 da uno de' Tosinghi, .... 
 
 Villani viii, LX, 334. 
 
 Translation : Nanni on being captured was killed 
 
38 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Vei'bs 
 
 . e venia fomito il trattato, se non che uno che 'I menaua cadde 
 
 d'uno sporto, e veggendosi alia morte in confessione il manifestd a 
 
 un frate, .... 
 
 Villain VII, cxxxvii, 251. 
 
 Translation : And the agreement would have been carried out, . . . } 
 
 Another example in which it seems doubtful whether venire is 
 used as au auxiliary or not is : Villani vii, cxxiii, 271. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 1 . Parallelism between the use of venire with Past Participles, 
 and that with Adjectives. 
 
 I wish here to point out the parallelism between the supposed 
 development of the use of venire with Past Participles, and that of 
 venire with adjectives : 
 
 Venire was used originally, both with adjectives and with Past 
 Participles, with its independent meaning of to come. However, 
 the verb came to be used, in Latin times, with the meaning (o 
 arrive, and was also employed in metaphorical senses. Used in 
 metaphorical senses, venire appears to continue the loss of the idea 
 of motion, the beginning of which loss is indicated by the passage 
 to the meaning arrive. It is here that the supposed development 
 of venire as used with Past Participles, and that of venire as used 
 with adjectives, separate. Used with expressions containing an 
 adjectival idea, such as in grazia, in povertd,, etc., it seems to 
 acquire the meaning to come to be, which conveys less of an idea of 
 motion than to arrive, since the emphasis is on the being rather 
 than on the coming. And when the verb with the meaning to 
 come to be is used in close construction with adjectives, it seems to 
 
 ^ I believe the translations given for this and the preceding example*, to be 
 correct as far as the English is concerned. However, it must be borne in mind 
 that the English method of expressing the Passive by lo be with Past Participles 
 Ib, to a certain extent, ambiguous. These translations are to be understood in 
 the sense of the Latin Passive which includes the idea of an enlrnnee. into a condi- 
 tion, that is, venire here is not absolutely deprived of a lingering idea of motion. 
 Cf. note to p. 34. 
 
In Early Florentine Prose. 39 
 
 acquire the meaning to become^ conveying still less of an idea 
 of motion. 
 
 On the other hand venire with the meaning to arrive, when used 
 with Past Participles seems to acquire the meaning to happen, to 
 come to pass, with the loss of the idea of motion, which might be 
 expected. Lastly, venire meaning to happen, continuing to lose 
 the idea of motion, seems to acquire the meaning to be (English) 
 which fits it to be used as an auxiliary expressing the pure 
 Latin Passive. 
 
 The same cause, the gradual loss of the idea of motion, seems to 
 have operated in the case of each of the two uses (with adjectives 
 and with Past Participles), but the different nature of the two parts 
 of speech produced a different result in each case. 
 
 2. The possible influence of the two above uses the one upon 
 the other. 
 
 These two developments being so much alike, it is possible that 
 each may have influenced the other, and encouraged the progress 
 of the other to some extent. 
 
 As to what influence the use of venire as an auxiliary for the 
 Passive, may have had upon the use of venire with adjectives, it is 
 impossible to say. Examples of venire with adjectives, in which 
 the verb approaches very closely the meaning to be, are so few that 
 it is probable that the influence amounted to very little. 
 
 On the other hand, it is more likely that the use of venire with 
 adjectives, meaning to become, had a considerable effect in further- 
 ing the change by which venire with Past Participles, passed from 
 the meaning to happen to the meaning to be. 
 
 In all languages past participles can be used as adjectives ; one 
 has merely to remember how we say, in English, that the meat has 
 been cooked ; and again, that we prefer cooked meat to raw meat. 
 That the same occurs in Italian is hardly worth pointing out : 
 " amor che a nullo amato amar perdona." The past participle 
 faito is used as an adjective with exceptional frequence, and occurs 
 thus in the old language as well as in the modern ; for example, 
 
 .... Or, a guisa di morditore (ed avea nome Paolino), fece a 
 
 Marco una cosi fatta quistione, .... 
 
 Novell. XLVi, 54. 
 
40 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs 
 
 This word is especially interesting to us because it occurs in 
 many of the examples of the auxiliary use of venire with Past 
 Participles ; and it seems reasonable to suppose that when a verb 
 is commonly used in a given way with such a word, when the 
 latter is considered an adjective, it is likely to be used in the same 
 way with the same word, when the latter is really a past participle. 
 
 But beside this, in Italian, numbers of past participles of the 
 first conjugation, and some of other conjugations, have correspond- 
 ing shorter forms which are adjectives. Such, for example, are 
 aGconcio-acconciato, desto-deslato, erto-eretto, etc., etc.^ Now although 
 these adjectives are not derived from the corresponding participles, 
 and have always been used as adjectives, as has been pointed out 
 by Quintescu,^ nevertheless, as that writer says himself, the respec- 
 tive meanings of adjective and participle are frequently almost 
 identical, and it is easily conceivable that venire, once used with 
 such adjectives, with a certain meaning, might be used with the 
 same meaning, with the corresponding Past Participles. 
 
 Such considerations as these, lead me to believe it quite possible 
 that when venire had come to be used with Past Participles, with 
 the meaning to happen, the example of the very similar use of 
 venire with adjectives, with the meaning to become tending toward 
 the meaning to be, may have contributed to the change from to 
 happen to to be. Also it is possible that the difficulty of dis- 
 tinguishing some of the past participles, with which venire was 
 used, from adjectives, may have emphasized the similarity between 
 the two uses, and so have encouraged the same change. 
 
 3. Venire versus Essere as an auxiliary for the Passive. 
 
 Supposing venire to have passed from the meaning to happen to 
 one approaching that of to be, it would seem that the mere fact 
 that it expressed an idea similar to that expressed by the regular 
 auxiliary for the Passive, essere, would cause it to be used likewise 
 as an auxiliary for the Passive. This may be true, but at the 
 same time there is another cause for the use of venire in this way. 
 
 iCf. Blanc, op. r;;<., 329-341. 
 
 ' " Ueher eine verinuthlich aiis dem Particip abgeleitete Adjectivalform im 
 Italieniscben " A. n. S. XXXVII, 197. 
 
Jn Early Florentine Prose. 41 
 
 Diez makes a distinction between "Perfective" verbs (verbs 
 expressing momentary activity) and " Imperfect ive" verbs (those 
 expressing an enduring activity), saying that with Past Participles 
 of the former kind of verbs, when nsed in the Present tense, exsere 
 fails to express the Present Passive, and instead corresponds to the 
 Latin Perfect tense composed in the same way, with esse and 
 Past Participles. For example, " il nemico e batlnlo " means the 
 same as '' hosils victiis est,^^ thus expressing an event which is past 
 at the time of speaking. On the other hand " egll ^ amato da 
 tiUti " corresponds to " amatur ab omnibii^^." ^ 
 
 Meyer-Liibke objects to this distinction, and holds that, in tenses 
 such as the Present and Imperfect, essere fails to express the corre- 
 sponding Passive tense in Latin as well with " Imperfective" 
 verbs as with " Perfective." ^ 
 
 However that may be, it is true that venire fulfills the function 
 of the Latin Passive where essere fails. For example, in cases 
 such as the following : 
 
 . I Fiorentini per lo soccorso del detto Castello di Lucchio trattato 
 feciono d'hauere il Castello, e'l ponte di Cappiano in su la Guisciaua. 
 Essendo Castruccio ad oste in Carfagnana, vi caualcarono le caual- 
 late, e soldati di Firenze infino a Empoli, e non vegnendo fornito il 
 tradimento si tornarono in Firenze con gran riprensione delF una 
 impresa, e dell' altra. 
 
 Villani, ix, cxcii, 462. 
 
 Here if we were to substitute essendo fornito for vegnendo fornito, 
 it is clear that the sense would be altered, and we should no longer 
 have the Present Passive. 
 
 Venire, then, being so well fitted to supply the failings of the 
 regular auxiliary verb essere, it would be exceedingly strange if it 
 had not been pressed into the service. That the shortcomings of 
 essere were keenly felt is shewn by the use of periphrases, imper- 
 sonal expressions such as, " button il nemico," ^ and the reflexive 
 forms, as in si uccide il malfattore. Diez mentions these methods 
 
 * Diez : op. ciL, ill, 202-4. » Mejer-Lubke : ap. cit., iii, g 304. 
 
 'See Diez ib. 
 
42 The Use of Venire and Andare as Auxiliary Verbs. 
 
 of providing for the failings of essere, and adds also that venire is 
 used in this way instead.' 
 
 4. Frequence of the Appearance of the Uses Discussed. 
 
 The examples of the use of venire with Past Participles, as an 
 auxiliary for the Passive, which I have found, are as follows : 
 
 a. venire meaning to happen : 
 
 Giamb. Oros. v, iv, 279 ; v, xxiv, 344. Oros. v, iv, 279 ; v, 
 XXIV, 345. Novell, lxiii, 73-4. Villani i, xxx, 21 ; vi, lx, 
 160; viT, LVir, 228; viii, ci, 372; ix, ix, 384; ix, xr, 385; 
 
 IX, L, 401-2; ix,^ccv, 507; x, cix, 598; x, cxxxviii, 616; 
 
 X, cxLVi, 621 ; XII, XLiv, 924 ; xii, lxxii, 955 ; Pass. Pen. 
 V, IV, 141. Pass. Sc. 300. 
 
 b. Approaching the meaning to be. 
 
 Brun. Rett. Gomm. 76. Villani viii, ci, 273 ; xi, xxi, 697 ; 
 XII, I, 872. Pass. Pen. v, iv, 138. Pass. Sc. 283. 
 
 c. Meaning to be. 
 
 Giamb. Oros. ii, I, 66. Oros. ii, i, 63-4. Villani, vi, Lxxx, 
 172 ; VII, cxxiii, 271 ; vii, cxxviil^ 251 ; viii, v, 292 ; viii, lx, 
 334 ; viii, LXiii, 337 ; viii, xci, 367 ; ix, cxcii, 462 ; ix, ccv, 
 507 ; IX, ccxii, 469 ; x, lxxxiii, 574 ; x, oxviii, 604 ; xi, viii, 
 691. Alb. Piag. ii, 33. Boeth. iii, 13b. 
 
 'While speaking of "perfective" and " Imperfi'ctive" verbs, so-called by 
 Diez, I may say tliat the great grammarian, continuina;, points out the fact that 
 the past participles of " Perfective" verbs, when used with the Present tense of 
 essere, become adjectives, so that, illavoro ifinilo, comes to mean: the work is com- 
 plete; il fancuiUo deslato comes to mean: the child is awake, and so on. In this 
 way we have a large class of participles which have become adjectives, and 
 which, together with the parallel fornjs mentioned .ibove (see Remark 2), 
 would add to the indueiice which the use of venire with adjectives would have on 
 the use with Past Participles. 
 
VITA. 
 
 I, James Eustace Shaw, was l)orn at Dewsbury, Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, on July 17th, 1876, and lived at Rome, Italy, from 1878 to 
 1889. From 1889 to 1892 I was at King Henry Vlllth's School, 
 Coventry, England. In September, 1893, I came to Baltimore and 
 entered the college of Johns Hopkins University. Having obtained 
 the degree of Bachelor of Arts, I entered the department of Romance 
 Languages of the postgraduate division of the university, and spent 
 four years in studying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 
 During the seven years thus passed at the Johns Hoj^kins Univer- 
 sity, I spent five summers in Euro})e, all but one in Italy. It has 
 been my good fortune to hold a university scholarship during the 
 year 1899, and a fellowship during the year 1900. 
 
 I wish to express ray thanks first to Professor Menger of Bryn 
 Mawr College, who introduced me to the undergraduate work 
 here, whose advice has been at my disposal ever since, and who 
 suggested to me the subject of this dissertation. I am also exceed- 
 ingly indebted to Professors Harden, Armstrong and Ogden, and 
 to Dr. Keidel, of the Johns Hopkins University for instruction 
 and continual kindness. Professor Armstrong especially has been 
 an ever ready source of help to me during the last three years. 
 Above all am I indebted to Professor Elliott of this University, 
 not only for constant help and generous advice during my last 
 four years of work, but also for his kindly interest in me during 
 my undergraduate years. 
 
 James Eustace Shaw, 
 
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