"hewed to"

Yet another English *usage* thread, but I found this curious:

Mr. Wolfowitz's career has hewed to those same unshrinking precepts, and in
nominating him for the presidency . . .

This was from my on-line New York Times by Todd S. Purdum. It seems to me the
writer meant "cleaved," a word I've always found curious, because it means both
"split apart" and "stick to." It contains its own antonym. Now, it seems, "hew"
has acquired an antonym as well. At least for Purdum.

Hew: to cut down, to split or cut in half. 

But "hewed to"? Anybody else seen the development of "hew" along the lines of "cleave"?

Sally

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