to offend=to be offended?

[Mher]

Hi. The absence of an object gives the underlined verbs an ambiguous meaning (passive or active)? Could you, please, bring more clarity to the issue?
"These the mere romanticist must eschew, if he do not wish to offend, or to disgust." (http://poestories.com/read/premature)

 

[Tdol]

It means to cause offence, not to take offence IMO. I don't see the ambiguity here.

 

[Pamela S]

Hi Mher!
to offend = is an active verb as the subject is doing the offense (or action)
to be offended = is passive since the subject is the receiver of the offense (or action)
Hope this helps!


not a teacher

 

[Mher]

Hi Mher!
to offend = is an active verb as the subject is doing the offense (or action)
to be offended = is passive since the subject is the receiver of the offense (or action)
Hope this helps!


not a teacher

I know about all that staff. Sometimes Poe is very obscure, so one needs to guess what he really means (maybe this not the case).

 

[Tdol]

A lot of Poe's writing is obscure and dense- it helps build the atmosphere and impact.

 

[BobK]

:up: It also uses grammatical forms that we don't use now. Extra marks if you spotted the subjunctive in 'if he do not wish to offend...'

b