How to parse. ...

322 INFINITIVE, GERUND. [Par. 586, 587.

NOUN GERUND, OR ACTIVE VERBAL
AD. INFINITIVE. INFINIPATICIPLE. NOU.
PURPOSE.
-1100 -an (to), anne (-enne) -ende -ung
-1250 -en, -e (to), -ene, -en, -e -inde -yng
-1350 (to), -e (to), -en, -e -inde -yng, -ing
rarely -inge
-1500 (to), -e sometimes omitted usually -ing(e) -yng, -ing
-1600 (to) -ing

586 The law of these changes is not difficult to perceive. (1) The Noun Infinitive has become confused with the Gerundial Infinitive; (2) the Active
Participle with the Verbal Noun. In both cases
there has been a compromise: (1) the Noun Infinitive has dragged down the Verbal to its own
Inflectionless state, but it has also accepted the
" to " from the Gerund; (2) the Active Participle
has accepted the termination of the Verbal Noun,
but has communicated to the Verbal Noun, as will
be seen below, some of its own syntactical peculiarities.
587 While these processes of assimilation were going
on, various experimental confusions were introduced
and rejected: -