with its original purpose. Application could and must come later, but first, the exegete had to determine, via careful historical and grammatical study, the original intent of God through the inspired text. To the literalist, allegory undermined divine inspiration and unlawfully allowed each preacher (or reader) to make the verse or passage say what he wanted it to say. The epicentre of this literal hermeneutic was Antioch, and the Antiochene school of interpretation held sway in several strategic