Note 3 — Capitolo I

«How carefully the Moeso-Gothic language was considered and prepared for the expression of Scripture, becomes manifest to the philological student, when he examines those precious relics of the fourth century which bear the name of Ulphilas. Here we often meet the very words with which we are so familiar in our English Bible, but linked together by a flexional structure that finds no parallel short of Sanscrit. This is the oldest book we can go back to, as written in a language like our own. It has therefore a national interest for us; but apart from this it has a nobility and grandeur all its own, as it is one of the finest specimens of ancient language.» John Earle, The philology of the English tongue. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1873. Oltre la traduzione di Ulfila avanzano alcuni altri frammenti in lingua gotica dopo la quale vien l'anglosassone per antichità di reliquie scritte, che però non risalgono di là dal secolo settimo.