r in his career, enforced the
explanation that the words "God said" had nothing to do with the
articulation of human language. Still, he evidently yielded to the
general view. In the Roman Church at the same period we have a typical
example of the theologic method applied to philology, as we have seen it
applied to other sciences, in the statement by Luther's great opponent,
Cajetan, that the three languages of the inscription on the cross of
Calvary "were the representatives of all languages, because the number
three denotes perfection."

In 1538 Postillus made a very important endeavour at a comparative study
of languages, but with the orthodox assumption that all were derived
from one source, namely, the Hebrew. Naturally, Comparative Philology
blundered and stumbled along this path into endless absurdities. The
most amazing efforts were made to trace back everything to the sacred
language. English and Latin dictionaries appeared, in which every word
was traced back to a Hebrew root. No supposition was too absurd in
this attempt to square Science with Scripture. It was declared that, as
Hebrew is written from right to left, it might be read either way, in
order to produce a satisfactory etymology. The whole effort in all this
sacred scholarship was, not to find what the truth is--not to see how
the various languages are to be classified, or from what source they
are really derived--but to demonstrate what was supposed necessary to
maintain what was then held to be the truth of Scripture; namely, that
all languages are derived from the Hebrew.

This stumbling and blundering, under the sway of orthodox necessity, was
seen among the foremost scholars throughout Europe. About the middle of
the sixteenth century the great Swiss scholar, Conrad Gesner, beginning
his Mithridates, says, "While of all languages Hebrew is the first and
oldest, of all is alone pure and unmixed, all the rest are much mixed,
for there is none which has not some words derived and corrupted from
Hebrew."

Typical, as we approach the end of the sixteenth century, are the
utterances of two of the most noted English divines. First of these
may be mentioned Dr. William Fulke, Master of Pembroke Hall, in the
University of Cambridge. In his Discovery of the Dangerous Rock of the
Romish Church, published in 1580, he speaks of "the Hebrew tongue,... the
first tongue of the world, and for the excellency thereof called 'the
holy tongue.'"

Yet more emph