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THE WITNESS OF PHILOLOGY, ETC. 



The Chairman : — As to the antiquity of the Hebrew language, I 

 am surprised that neither in the paper nor in the discussion has any 

 notice been taken of the oldest language of the Babylonian nation 

 known as Sumerian ; but how we can regard a Semitic language as 

 existing before the Deluge and before the existence of Shem I do not 

 know. That has always been a puzzle to me. But if the antedilu- 

 vian language was Sumerian, or some other unknown tongue, then 

 in the Hebrew we have translations of the language spoken in Eden 

 and at other antediluvian times. 



The meeting adjourned at 5.45. 



