Erasmus on Grammar

"Nor do I assume that theology, the very queen of all disciplines, will think it beneath her dignity if her handmaiden, grammar, offers her help and the required service. For even if grammar is somewhat lower in dignity than other disciples, there is no other more necessary. She busies herself with the very small questions, without which no one progresses to the large. She argues about trifles which lead to serious matters. If they answer that theology is too important to be limited by grammatical rules and that this whole affair of exegeting depends on the Holy Spirit, then this is indeed a new honor for the theologian that he alone is allowed to speak like a barbarian. Shall we now attribute our errors to the Holy Spirit?"

Erasmus, Preface to Valla's Annotations on the New Testament