I thought the same thing, but Wikipedia reports that although in Old English some verbs were formed with "to" (I didn't even know that) splitting them was never done.

It is different. You are talking about an observation made about a prior iteration of English (descriptive). I am talking about arbitrary rules created long after the development of the current iteration of English (prescriptive or, more accurately, proscriptive).

I want to blindly accept that argument but I can't. Those who choose to casually break the rules of the language need swiftly to firmly be reprimanded.

+1, sir!