Such, then, has ever been the usual construction of the _English_
infinitive mood; and a wilder interpretation than that which supposes _to_
an _article_, and says, "_to write_ signifies _the writing_," cannot
possibly be put upon it. On this supposition, "I am going _to write_ a
letter," is a pure Grecism; meaning, "I am going _the writing_ a letter,"
which is utter nonsense. And further, the infinitive in Greek and Latin, as
well as in Saxon and English, is always in fact governed as a _mood_,
rather than as a _case_, notwithstanding that the Greek article in any of
its four different cases may, in some instances, be put before it; for even
with an article before it, the Greek infinitive usually retains its regimen
as a verb, and is therefore not "a _substantive_," or noun. I am well aware
that some learned critics, conceiving that the essence of the verb consists
in predication, have plainly denied that the infinitive is a verb; and,
because it may be made the subject of a finite verb, or may be governed by
a verb or a preposition, have chosen to call it "a mere noun substantive."
Among these is the erudite Richard Johnson, who, with so much ability and
lost labour, exposed, in his Commentaries, the errors and defects of Lily's
Grammar and others. This author adduces several reasons for his opinion;
one of which is the following: "Thirdly, it is found to have a Preposition
set before it, an other _sure sign of a Substantive_; as, '_Ille nihil
praeter loqui, et ipsum maledice et maligne, didicit_.' Liv. l. 45, p. 888.
[That is, "He learned nothing _but to speak_, and that slanderously and
maliciously."] '_At si quis sibi beneficium dat, nihil interest inter dare
et accipere_.' Seneca, de Ben. l. 5, c. 10." [That is, "If any one bestows
a benefit on himself, there is no difference _between give and
take_;" [407]--or, "_between bestowing_ and _receiving_."]--See _Johnson's
Gram. Com._, p. 342. But I deny that a preposition is a "sure sign of a
substantive." (See Obs. 2d on the Prepositions, and also Obs. 1st on the
List of Prepositions, in the tenth chapter of Etymology.) And if we appeal
to philological authorities, to determine whether infinitives are nouns or
verbs, there will certainly be found more for the latter name, than the
former; that is, more in number, if not in weight; though it must be
confessed, that many of the old Latin grammarians did, as Priscian tells
us, consider the infinitive a noun, calling it _Nome