> I would like to read those sections of Homer and the Rgveda where the
> "perfect" >occurs. Is it certain they indicate states that have not been
> arrived at by the >completion of an action?
One point of Reference is Monro's "Homeric Grammar". It's an old book, but
still in print, because it's still useful. Section 28 reads:
"The perfect denotes a lasting condition or attitude ...we shall usually
find that the perfect denotes a permanent state ... the so-called perfecta
praesentia are merely the commonest instances of the rule ... Note the large
number of Homeric perfects denoting attitude, temper, &c. ..Verbs expressing
sustained sounds, esp. cries of animals, are usually in the perfect ..."
He gives bunches of examples. I have read somewhere (I was expecting to
find it in Monro, but it must be elsewhere) that over 60% of all Homeric
perfects are expressions of attitude or condition, rather than the result of
previous action.
Examples:
dedorke is gazing
dedakrusai you are crying
dedekso are waiting
pepote:atai are flying
kekme:ka I am weary
eolpa I hope
teTe:pa I am amazed
deideKatai he welcomes
gego:ne shouts
bebruKe roars
and so on
Peter