488 
CONFUSIO'NT OF TONGUES. 
which was providentially brought about, to facilitate the dispersion of 
mankind and the population of the earth. Until this period there 
had been one common language, which formed a bond of union that 
prevented the separation of mankind into distinct nations, and some 
have supposed that the tower of Babel was erected as a kind of 
fortress, by which the people intended to defend themselves against 
the separation which Noah had projected. There has been a consi- 
derable difference of opinion as to the nature of this confusion, and 
the manner in which it was effected. 
Some learned men, prepossessed with the notion that all the dif- 
ferent idioms now in the world, did at first arise from one original 
language to which they may be reduced, and that the variety among 
them is no more than must naturally have happened, in a long 
course of time, by the mere separation of the builders of Babel, have 
maintained, that there were no new languages formed at the confu- 
sion, but that this event w'as accomplished by creating a misunder- 
standing and variance among the builders, without any iriimediate 
influence on their language. But this opinion, advanced by Le Clerc, 
&c. seems to be directly contrary to the obvious meaning of the word 
skapha, lip, used by the sacred historian. 
Others have imagined that this w^as brought about by a temporary 
confusion of their speech, or rather of their apprehensions, causijig 
them, whilst they continued together and spoke the same language, 
to understand the words differently. Scaliger is of this opinion. 
Others, again, account for this event by the privation of all language, 
and by supposing that mankind was under a necessity of associating 
together, and of imposing new names on things by common consent. 
Another opinion ascribes the confusion to such an indistinct remem- 
brance of the original language which they spoke before, as made 
them speak it very differently, so that by the various inflections, ter- 
minations, and pronunciations of divers dialects, they could no more 
understand one another, than they who understand Latin can under- 
stand those who speak French, Italian, or Spanish, though all these 
languages have arisen out of it. This opinion is adopted by Casaubon, 
and by bishop Patrick in his Commentary in loco, and is certainly 
much more probable than either of the former. And Mr. Shuckford 
maintains, that the confusion arose from small beginnings, by the 
invention of new words in each of the three families of Shem, Harn, 
and Japheth, which might contribute to separate them from one another, 
and that in each family new differences of speech might gradirally 
arise, so that each of those families went on to divide and subdivide 
among themselves. 
Mr. Joseph Mede, Dr. Wotton &c. not satisfied with any of the fore- 
going methods of accounting for the diversity of languages among 
mankind, have recourse to an extraordinary interposition of divine 
power, by which new languages were framed, and communicated to 
different families by a supernatural infusion or inspiration ; which 
languages have been the roots and originals from which the several 
dialects, that are or have been spoken, have arisen, and to which 
they may with ease be reduced. 
As to the number of languages thus introduced, many opinions 
