Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/116

 104 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE Conrad Summenhart and Paul Scriptoris, and at Frei- burg by Gregory Beisch. Among the pupils of the latter was Johann Eck, who devoted himself for six years to the study of Hebrew. Arnold von Tungern also — later on the opponent of Eeuchlin — may also be mentioned among the students of Hebrew. But to Eeuchlin belongs the lasting credit of having established the study of Hebrew on a scientific basis in Germany. His Hebrew grammar and dictionary were the first complete contributions to this work. Eeuchlin's labours were animated by the same deep religious feeling as those of all the men whom we have been considering. To him also learning and science were only of value inasmuch as they supported and strengthened faith. As a true son of his mother, the Church, he submitted all his writings and teaching to her sole authority, and was ever ready to withdraw whatever, in her judgment, was erroneous. His aim in his Hebrew researches and in his exami- nation of the original text of the Old Testament was to furnish a wholesome antidote against the one-sided study of the classics. Hence it was of the highest importance, in his opinion, to impress on students the necessity of the study of Hebrew. ' The Hebrew language is con- sidered barbarous,' he writes. ' Well, yes, fine periods and elegantly turned sentences are not to be found in it ; but beauties of this sort are more for the dilettante than for the learned. The Hebrew language is un- adulterated, pure, concise, and brief. It is the language in which God spoke to man, and in which man con- versed with the angels face to face. It is not necessary to possess the Castalian fountain, or the tree of Dodona. In age it is surpassed by no other ; outside the Hebrew