it seems, could not persuade this author into his notion of the derivation and meaning of the, it, to, or do.  But Lindley Murray, and his followers, have been more tractable.  They were ready to be led without looking.  “To,” say they, “comes from Saxon and Gothic words, which signify action, effect, termination, to act, &c.”—­Murray’s Gram., 8vo, p. 183; Fisk’s, 92.  What an admirable explanation is this! and how prettily the great Compiler says on the next leaf:  “Etymology, when it is guided by judgment, and [when] proper limits are set to it, certainly merits great attention!”—­Ib., p. 135.  According to his own express rules for interpreting “a substantive without any article to limit it” and the “relative pronoun with a comma before it,” he must have meant, that “to comes from Saxon and Gothic words” of every sort, and that the words of these two languages “signify action, effect, termination, to act, &c.”  The latter assertion is true enough:  but, concerning the former, a man of sense may demur.  Nor do I see how it is possible not to despise such etymology, be the interpretation of the words what it may.  For, if to means action or to act, then our little infinitive phrase, to be, must mean, action be, or to act be; and what is this, but nonsense?

[404] So, from the following language of three modern authors, one cannot but infer, that they would parse the verb as governed by the preposition; but I do not perceive that they anywhere expressly say so: 

(1.) “The Infinitive is the form of the supplemental verb that always has, or admits, the preposition TO before it; as, to move.  Its general character is to represent the action in prospect, or to do; or in retrospect, as to have done.  As a verb, it signifies to do the action; and as object of the preposition TO, it stands in the place of a noun for the doing of it.  The infinitive verb and its prefix to are used much like a preposition and its noun object.”—­Felch’s Comprehensive Gram., p. 62.

(2.) “The action or other signification of a verb may be expressed in its widest and most general sense, without any limitation by a person or agent, but merely as the end or purpose of some other action, state of being, quality, or thing; it is, from this want of limitation, said to be in the Infinitive mode; and is expressed by the verb with the preposition TO before it, to denote this relation of end or purpose; as, ’He came to see me;’ ‘The man is not fit die;’ ’It was not right for him to do thus.’”—­Dr. S. Webber’s English Gram., p. 35.

(3.) “RULE 3.  A verb in the Infinitive Mode, is the object of the preposition TO, expressed or understood.”—­S.  W. Clark’s Practical Gram., p. 127.