wish

Infinitive in Wishes.—The infinitive with a subject accusative may be used in the sense of the optative of wish, usually with the same ellipsis as in 2013 c.

θεοὶ πολῖται, μή με δουλείᾱς τυχεῖν ye gods of my country, may bondage not be my lot! A. Sept. 253, ὦ Ζεῦ, ἐκγενέσθαι μοι Ἀθηναίους τείσασθαι oh Zeus, that it be granted to me to punish the Athenians! Hdt. 5.105 (cp. ὦ Ζεῦ, δός με τείσασθαι μόρον πατρός oh Zeus, grant that I may avenge my father's murder! A. Ch. 18). This construction is very rare in Attic prose: τὸν κυνηγέτην ἔχοντα ἐξιέναι . . . ἐλαφρᾱ̀ν ἐσθῆτα the hunter should go forth in a light dress X. Ven. 6.11. Here no definite verb can be supplied.

a. The nominative with the infinitive (instead of the optative) after αἰ γάρ occurs in Homer (η 311, ω 376).