Note 42 — Chapter II

The oft-repeated expression, Latinis, Graecis et Hebraicis litteris instructus, found in the Vita Sancti Isidori, deserves no attention. There is no historical basis for the assertion that Isidore knew Greek or Hebrew. In view of the time, it would be more reasonable to demand proof that he did know them rather than that he did not. As to his knowledge of Greek, see Dressel, De Isidori Originum Fontibus in Rivista di Filologia, vol. iii (1874–75), p. 216. The legend of Isidore’s wide linguistic learning persists, however, even in the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. See Art. “Encyclopedia.”