In 1920-1924 Jacob Wackernagel (1853-1938), Professor of Comparative Philology at the University of Basel, published two volumes of lectures on Greek, Latin and German syntax based on his 1918-1919 courses for beginning undergraduates (who would already have studied all three languages at school). Wackernagel introduces the principles of grammatical functions and cross-linguistic work, and provides a foundation for the understanding of comparative syntax. The book remained in print for many decades thanks to its lively style and well-chosen examples from classical texts. The Sanskritist Louis Renou (1896-1966), writing on Wackernagel in 1938, asserted that 'no linguist could possibly afford to ignore this book', and it remains of interest to historical linguists and scholars of classical languages today.