I 
THE INDEBTEDNESS OF THE GERMAN LAN- 
GUAGE TO THE LATIN. 
BY SYLVESTER PRIMER. # 
The debt which modern civilization owes to the two elder civiliza- 
tions of Greece and Rome will best be repaid by a frank acknowledg- 
ment of their beneficial influence upon the formative period of the 
language and life of modern times. For all modern nations show 
this influence in the very origin and growth of their language and 
political government. It would be an interesting and pleasant task 
to trace out this influence and show its bearing on all modern thought 
and life. But that would exced the scope of this article; hence we 
shall confine ourselves here to a fev/ points bearing directly upon 
the German language. 
The Gothic is the noblest of all the German dialects and deserves 
especial mention. As early as the third century of the Christian era 
the Goths accepted Christianity and in the fourth century Bishop 
Ulfila undertook the translation of the bible into his native tongue. 
The Goths already possessed a spoken and written language of their 
own,' as seen in their heroic ballads, preserved oral tradition (see 
Jordanis), and written laws, or better, proverbs of ethic and political 
content. The translator was also well prepared for his work, for he 
spoke and wrote both Greek and Latin, had been educated at the 
Greek court, and had been at the Roman ( ? ) court on an embassy. 
It would be a difficult task to show positive proof of the influence of 
the classics upon this translation as the translator has used native 
words and constructions as far as possible and the grammar is purely 
Germanic, or but slightly influenced by the Greek and Latin. The 
few fragments we possess from other sources are insufficient to’ form 
any comparison of the earlier language with that of Ulfila. Yet the 
careful observer will realize that the highly cultivated languages of 
Greece and Rome backed by an old and well-developed civilization, 
must have exerted that subtle influence, not only upon the language of 
the Goths, but also upon their civilization itself, which culture always 
exerts upon the uncultured. The indebtedness of the Gothic to 
Greece and Rome will therefore be one of refinement. For the in- 
tellectual development of the Germans in these early times was under 
foreign influence which has left its trace in all their writings. The 
language itself, especially the Gothic and Old High German dialects, 
^Professor Germanic Languages, University of Texas. 
