"Johann Reuchlin was one of the greatest scholastic precursors to the Reformation. He was a linguist who wrote the first Latin dictionary to be published in Germany and a standard Greek grammar. But Hebrew was his dearest love. He ferreted out the rules of Israel's ancient language by study of Hebrew texts and conversed with every rabbi who appeared within his range. His authority became widely recognized.

"Alas, his reputation was nearly the cause of his ruin. A converted Jew and a Dominican Inquisitor obtained from Emperor Maximilian an order to burn all Hebrew works except the Old Testament, charging they were full of error and blasphemies. Before the edict could be carried out, the emperor had second thoughts and consulted the greatest Hebraist of the age: Reuchlin.

"Reuchlin urged preservation of the Jewish books as aids to study, and as examples of errors against which champions of faith joust. To destroy the books would give ammunition to church enemies. The emperor revoked the order.

"The Dominicans were furious. Selecting passages from Reuchlin's writings, they tried to prove him a heretic. The Inquisition summoned him and ordered his writings burnt. Sympathetic scholars appealed to Leo X. The pope referred the matter to the Bishop of Spires, whose tribunal heard the issue. One this day in 1514, the tribunal declared Reuchlin not guilty."