The Tower of Babel

A New Suggestion as to How the Well Known Confusion of Tongues Came About

HEYWOOD BROUN

IN the eleventh chapter of the Book of Genesis it is written: "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said behold the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language; that they may not understand one another's speech."

This is the story of the Tower of Babel and the confusion which fell upon the enterprise. The Bible is silent, however, upon the details of the disaster. There is no explanation of the exact manner in which language was confounded so that the workers could not understand one another's speech. It has generally been supposed that the various tongues of the world came into being at the time of Babel, but clearly this is only a surmise. The Bible does not say so explicitly. Many other explanations are possible. We know, for instance, that within the same language there are enormous possibilities for puzzlement. Babe Ruth and Walter Pater could have conversed together only with the greatest difficulty though they both spoke English of a sort.

In accord with the spirit of higher criticism some such rationalizing theory is worth consideration, at least, in studying the story of Babel and its tower. First of all, it may be well to speculate as to just what function in the life of Babel the tower was designed to fill. The testimony of the Bible is vague on this point. Genesis merely records, "And they said, Go to, let us build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make a name, lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth."

The Purpose of the Tower

FROM this we may surmise that the tower was intended in some way to advertise and stabilize the fame of Babel. It is easy to leap to the hypothesis that the building was to have been a theatre in which plays should be presented celebrating the manners and the achievements of Babel and its citizens. Once you accept this theory the story of the confusion of tongues becomes simple. Some little time before the tower had been raised high enough to reach unto heaven a meeting was called of all the workers to discuss and decide upon the first production to be given in the playhouse. This is as far as scientific reasoning can be carried in the matter. The rest is purely speculative and we make no claim that the following transcript of the proceedings is anything but imaginary:

First Worker—To my mind the most universal form of expression is colour. Words are but an indifferent medium for the expression of thought. I have designed a colour symphony. By means of an ingenious device it will be possible for me to throw upon a screen a succession of colours arranged rhythmically. I call my little symphony, if you will permit me to use the term, The Fall of Adam.

Second Worker—I don't get you.

Third Worker—Don't let's have any costume plays.

Fourth Worker — Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen if you will permit me for a moment. My notion is that our first performance should not be restricted to the exploitation of any one art. Rather it should be a synthesis of all the arts. In it there will be music, and interpretative dancing, the best elements of sculpture, architecture, painting and drama. Indeed I have called my little piece The Wedding of the Arts. If I may ask the indulgence of the audience for possibly an hour, certainly not more, I can give you some idea of the scope of the entertainment which I propose.

Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Workers— Throw him out!

Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Workers— Louder!

Twelfth Worker—What does he have to go and marry all the arts for? Why can't they just live together?

Thirteenth to Five Hundred and Tenth Worker (inclusive)—Shame!

Worker No. 511—If art has no purpose except to entertain, then I say that for my part I would be willing to tear down the tower brick by brick. Aestheticism is a cul-de-sac-

Worker No. 512 (interrupting rudely)— Get the mush out of your mouth and talk stuff a fellow can understand.

Worker No. 511—As I was saying, after we are gone they will call us Puritans, but I tell you that art is nothing in itself unless it is designed to improve and strengthen the moral fibre of man. I have with me the scenario of a nine-act tragedy called The Sorrows of Sod- om. (There is an impatient rustling in the audience but the speaker hurries on.) The play opens writh Lot discovered alone in the centre of the stage. He is meditating and he says, "Gomorrah and Gomorrah!"

Entire Audience of Workers—Sit down!

Small boy worker in the top gallery imitating a goat—Ma-Ma!

Worker No. 512—What I always say is why have sad plays? As I was saying to the wife only yesterday, there's so much sorrow in the world already what's the use of going to the theatre to get more of it.

Loud murmurs of approval from portions of the audience and suppressed snickering in other quarters.

Worker No. 513—I don't know much about this Sodom or Gomorrah that he's talking about (The destruction of these two cities occurred some few hundred years after the building of the Tower of Babel—-Ed. note) but if half the things they say about 'em are so, we don't want to have any truck with them in our theatre. Where there's so much smoke there must be some fire.

This sally is greeted with laughter and there is a mumbling sound in the audience as various persons attempt to commit the adage to memory.

The Hittite Menace

ORKER No. 514 (leaping up suddenly and sitting down again)—Well, all I've got to say is that the play ought to be red blooded and one hundred per cent Hebrew.

Worker No. 515—No man can accuse me of being a Hittite baiter. Some of my best friends are Hittites, but I must say that one of the reasons for the present decadence of the drama of today is that ninety per cent of the theatrical managers are Moabites and Hittites. They are all crassly commercial. Their only object is to make money. The more lascivious the play the better they like it because they know it will pay. The costumes of today are positively shocking. We want to get back to the modesty of the old fashioned stage, back to the days of Adam and Eve.

Worker No. 516—I quite agree. The first question we should ask about any play ought to be is it clean.

Worker No. 517—How about making a play out of Noah and the flood.

Worker No. 518—Perhaps, that's meant to be funny, but I'm all for it. We've got to do something with the tank.

The audience has begun to grow restive. Several speakers arise at once and the following lines are spoken simultaneously.

Worker No. 519—Art for art's sake.

Worker No. 520—Hold the mirror up to nature.

Worker No. 521—At the State Theatre in Prague' in the spring of 2459 B. C.-

Worker No. 528—Give 'em something they can whistle as they go out.

Worker No. 529—Down with romanticism.

Worker No. 530—We want a play with a punch.

Second Worker—I don't get 'em.

There is great confusion.