New-York tribune., 1903-03-09

p-,pceton. March s (speciaD.-The present
religious controversy that arose from the views
O. Professor Friedrich Deitzsch the eminent
grchsoIoSist of Berlin University, es presehteo
in his widely known lecture on Baoel uhu
B,hel I" delivered before the German Emperor,
and which q few days ago was apparently
brought 10 a climax by the Enperor's criticism
~ The lecture has received careful considera-
tfon hv some of the Old Testament scholars IN
the Princeton Theological Seminary Professor
Robert Dick Wilson, Phi. D., D. D., the Sue
Cessor OF the late Or. William Henry Gree"
in the chair Of Semitic philoloGy and olo les
lament crtticisIsI, in the theological SenlinatS'
has been engaged the past year In preparing
a treatise which deals with the more Important
Babylonan and Hebrew Ideas which are ols-
,ussed by Professor Delitzsch. The title OF this
work. which presents the results OF orlginN
research IN the four great Semitic languages,
tbe Rs bylonien Hebrew Aramaic and Arabic,
is Babylon and Israel Z Comparison or Their
Leading Ideas Based upon Their Nocabularies
IL will appear in full in the April number OF
The Princeton Theological Review" a quar-
terly magazine edited by the professors of the
seminary.
DR. Wilson states in his introduction that in
preparing this article he made complete COM
parison OF the vocabularies Of the Hebrew and
Babylonian. and compared them in all i'm
the syriac and Arabic languages. The results
Of the investigation he presents under four
heads: I'D Man and His Natural Surroundings;
- Laws and Institutions; () Literature and
Traditions: a. Religious Ideas
He introduces the discussion by stating that
there are four great groups Of Semitic IAN
guages which may be classified according to
the time OF their literary development as
Babylonian. Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic Bas-
!ng his judgment upon the list Of vocabies used
to express the same ideas in different Semitic
dialects DR. Wilson finds that the Hebrew and
Arar,aic are much more similar in meaning than
either is like the Babyionian. And it is his
present conviction that the Arabic also is more
closely connected with the Hebrew and Aramaic
man with the B&byionan. This judgment is
Coz r71ed By complete induction Of the roots
beginning with RA and extending TO Rk; for
in these II is found that the agreements between
the Hebrew and Aramaic are Sc per cent, as
against 29 per cent between Hebrew and
Babylonian.
His next premise is that the nations or races
which predominate over the thought and per-
sons of others influence the ideas and language
cf the subject peoples in such marked way as
TO leave no doubt Of their influence in the mind
~ the student Of language. If Babylonian in
fuenced the Hebrew in the degree which some
claim we should expect to find that the specific
BabyIonisn ideas, and these ideas embodied
in recognizable forms OF words, have been
adopted by the Hebrews.
This is illustrated at length from history OF
the Syriac language and its variations under
the influence OF Greek, Latin. Persian, Arabic
and Turkish What is true Of Syriac," says DR..
Wilson, lin so great measure is true OF other
languages in greater or less degree. According
to the late DR.. Samuel Kellogg, nine-tenths OF
the vocal bulary of modern Persian words Of
Arabic origin Engeimann has glossary Of
Spanish and Portuguese derived from the
Arabic. Sanders has a German Fremdworter-
buch in two large volumes. The English IAN
guage. while predominantly Anglo-Saxon, Latin
and French. has traces OF Celtic. Arabic, Span
fish, Dutch, Greek, German, Hebrew and Ameri-
Cuage Of the earth with whose people the Eng
1sh have been brought in contact.
The Hebrew no less than other languages
subject 20 the influx of new vocables under the
influence of new ideas In the language OF the
Hebrew Bible. the influence of Egyptian, As
syrian and Aramaic be clearly traced. and in
post-Biblical Hebrew the succession Of nations
that have from time to time ruled over the Jew
ish people is marked by the influx Of voca ables-
Greek, Latin German-Which have successfully
been received into the treasury OF her speech"
Advancing to the body Of his discourse DR.
Wilson proceeds to examine in the first place
the vocabulary OF the four great languages as il
affects man and his surroundings. Here are ex-
snined the words for the body and its parts for