Amongthescienceswhichhaveservedasenteringwedgesintotheheavymassofecclesiasticalorthodoxy——tocleaveit，disintegrateit，andletthelightofChristianityintoit——noneperhapshasdoneamorestrikingworkthanComparativePhilology。
Inoneveryimportantrespectthehistoryofthissciencediffersfromthatofanyother；foritistheonlyonewhoseconclusionstheologianshaveatlastfullyadoptedastheresultoftheirownstudies。Thisadoptionteachesagreatlesson，since，whileithasdestroyedtheologicalviewscherishedduringmanycenturies，andobligedtheChurchtoaccepttheoriesdirectlycontrarytotheplainletterofoursacredbooks，theresultisclearlyseentohavehelpedChristianityratherthantohavehurtit。Ithascertainlydonemuchtoclearourreligiousfoundationsofthedogmaticrustwhichwaseatingintotheirstructure。
Howthisresultwasreached，andwhytheChurchhassofullyacceptedit，Ishallendeavourtoshowinthepresentchapter。
Ataveryearlyperiodintheevolutionofcivilizationmenbegantoaskquestionsregardinglanguage；andtheanswerstothesequestionswerenaturallyembodiedinthemyths，legends，andchroniclesoftheirsacredbooks。
Amongtheforemostofthesequestionswerethree：“Whencecamelanguage？”“Whichwasthefirstlanguage？”“Howcamethediversityoflanguage？”
Theanswertothefirstofthesewasverysimple：eachpeoplenaturallyheldthatlanguagewasgivenitdirectlyorindirectlybysomespecialornationaldeityofitsown；thus，totheChaldeansbyOannes，totheEgyptiansbyThoth，totheHebrewsbyJahveh。
TheHebrewanswerisembodiedinthegreatpoemwhichopensoursacredbooks。JahvehtalkswithAdamandisperfectlyunderstood；theserpenttalkswithEveandisperfectlyunderstood；JahvehbringstheanimalsbeforeAdam，whobestowsoneachitsname。Language，then，wasGod-givenandcomplete。Ofthefactthateverylanguageistheresultofagrowthprocesstherewasevidently，amongthecompilersofoursacredbooks，nosuspicion。
Theanswertothesecondofthesequestionswasnolesssimple。
As，verygenerally，eachnationbelieveditsownchiefdivinitytobe“agodaboveallgods。”——aseachbelieveditself“achosenpeople。”——aseachbelieveditsownsacredcitytheactualcentreoftheearth，soeachbelieveditsownlanguagetobethefirst——theoriginalofall。Thisanswerwasfromthefirsttakenforgrantedbyeach“chosenpeople。”andespeciallybytheHebrews：throughouttheirwholehistory，whethertheAlmightytalkswithAdamintheGardenorwritesthecommandmentsonMountSinai，heusesthesamelanguage——theHebrew。
Theanswertothethirdofthesequestions，thatregardingthediversityoflanguages，wasmuchmoredifficult。Naturally，explanationsofthisdiversityfrequentlygaverisetolegendssomewhatcomplicated。
The“lawofwillsandcauses。”formulatedbyComte，wasexemplifiedhereasinsomanyothercases。Thatlawis，that，whenmendonotknowthenaturalcausesofthings，theysimplyattributethemtowillsliketheirown；thustheyobtainatheorywhichprovisionallytakestheplaceofscience，andthistheoryformsabasisfortheology。
Examplesofthisrecurtoanythinkingreaderofhistory。
Beforethesimplerlawsofastronomywereknown，thesunwassupposedtobetrundledoutintotheheavenseverydayandthestarshungupinthefirmamenteverynightbytherighthandoftheAlmighty。Beforethelawsofcometswereknown，theywerethoughttobemissileshurledbyanangryGodatawickedworld。
Beforetherealcauseoflightningwasknown，itwassupposedtobetheworkofagoodGodinhiswrath，orofevilspiritsintheirmalice。Beforethelawsofmeteorologywereknown，itwasthoughtthatrainswerecausedbytheAlmightyorhisangelsopening“thewindowsofheaven“toletdownupontheearth“thewatersthatbeabovethefirmament。”Beforethelawsgoverningphysicalhealthwereknown，diseasesweresupposedtoresultfromthedirectinterpositionoftheAlmightyorofSatan。Beforethelawsgoverningmentalhealthwereknown，insanitywasgenerallythoughttobediabolicpossession。Alltheseearlyconceptionswerenaturallyembodiedinthesacredbooksoftheworld，andespeciallyinourown。[412]
[412]AnyonewhowishestorealizethemediaevalviewofthedirectpersonalattentionoftheAlmightytotheuniverse，canperhapsdosomosteasilybylookingovertheengravingsinthewell-knownNurembergChronicle，representinghimintheworkofeachofthesixdays，andrestingafterward。
So，inthiscase，toaccountforthediversityoftongues，thedirectinterventionoftheDivineWillwasbroughtin。Asthisdiversitywasfelttobeaninconvenience，itwasattributedtothewillofaDivineBeinginanger。Toexplainthisanger，itwasheldthatitmusthavebeenprovokedbyhumansin。
Outofthisconceptionexplanatorymythsandlegendsgrewasthicklyandnaturallyaselmsalongwater-courses；ofthesetheearliestformknowntousisfoundintheChaldeanaccounts，andnowheremoreclearlythaninthelegendoftheTowerofBabel。
TheinscriptionsrecentlyfoundamongtheruinsofAssyriahavethrownabrightlightintothisandotherscripturalmythsandlegends：thedecipheringofthecharactersintheseinscriptionsbyGrotefend，andthereadingofthetextsbyGeorgeSmith，Oppert，Sayce，andothers，havegivenusthesetraditionsmorenearlyintheiroriginalformthantheyappearinourownScriptures。
TheHebrewstoryofBabel，likesomanyotherlegendsinthesacredbooksoftheworld，combinedvariouselements。Byaplayuponwords，suchasthehistoryofmythsandlegendsfrequentlyshows，itwroughtintoonefabrictheearlierexplanationsofthediversitiesofhumanspeechandofthegreatruinedtoweratBabylon。ThenameBabelbab-elmeans“GateofGod“or“GateoftheGods。”Allmodernscholarsofnoteagreethatthiswastherealsignificanceofthename；buttheHebrewverbwhichsignifiesTOCONFOUNDresemblessomewhatthewordBabel，sothatoutofthisresemblance，byoneofthemostcommonprocessesinmythformation，cametotheHebrewmindanindisputableproofthatthetowerwasconnectedwiththeconfusionoftongues，andthisbecamepartofourtheologicalheritage。
Inoursacredbookstheaccountrunsasfollows：
“Andthewholeearthwasofonelanguage，andofonespeech。
“Anditcametopass，astheyjourneyedfromtheeast，thattheyfoundaplaininthelandofShinar；andtheydweltthere。
“Andtheysaidonetoanother，Goto，letusmakebrick，andburnthemthoroughly。Andtheyhadbrickforstone，andslimehadtheyformortar。
“Andtheysaid，Goto，letusbuildusacity，andatower，whosetopmayreachuntoheaven；andletusmakeusaname，lestwebescatteredabroaduponthefaceofthewholeearth。
“AndtheLordcamedowntoseethecityandthetower，whichthechildrenofmenbuilded。
“AndtheLordsaid，Behold，thepeopleisone，andtheyhaveallonelanguage；andthistheybegintodo：andnownothingwillberestrainedfromthem，whichtheyhaveimaginedtodo。
“Goto，letusgodown，andthereconfoundtheirlanguage，thattheymaynotunderstandoneanother’sspeech。
“SotheLordscatteredthemabroadfromthenceuponthefaceofalltheearth：andtheyleftofftobuildthecity。
“ThereforeisthenameofitcalledBabel；becausetheLorddidthereconfoundthelanguageofalltheearth：andfromthencedidtheLordscatterthemabroaduponthefaceofalltheearth。”
Genesisxi，1-9。
ThusfarthelegendhadbeenbutslightlychangedfromtheearlierChaldeanforminwhichithasbeenfoundintheAssyrianinscriptions。Itscharacterisverysimple：tousethewordsofProf。Sayce，“Ittakesusbacktotheagewhenthegodswerebelievedtodwellinthevisiblesky，andwhenman，therefore，didhisbesttorearhisaltarsasnearthemaspossible。”AndthiseminentdivinemighthaveaddedthatittakesusbackalsotoatimewhenitwasthoughtthatJehovah，inordertoseethetowerfully，wasobligedtocomedownfromhisseatabovethefirmament。
AstotherealreasonsforthebuildingofthetowerswhichformedsostrikingafeatureinChaldeanarchitecture——anyoneofwhichmayeasilyhavegivenrisetotheexplanatorymythwhichfounditswayintooursacredbooks——thereseemsasubstantialagreementamongleadingscholarsthattheywereerectedprimarilyaspartsoftemples，butlargelyforthepurposeofastronomicalobservations，towhichtheChaldeansweresodevoted，andtowhichtheircountry，withitslevelsurfaceandclearatmosphere，wassowelladapted。Astotherealcauseoftheruinofsuchstructures，oneoftheinscribedcylindersdiscoveredinrecenttimes，speakingofatowerwhichmostofthearchaeologistsidentifywiththeTowerofBabel，readsasfollows：
“ThebuildingnamedtheStagesoftheSevenSpheres，whichwastheTowerofBorsippa，hadbeenbuiltbyaformerking。Hehadcompletedforty-twocubits，buthedidnotfinishitshead。
Duringthelapseoftime，ithadbecomeruined；theyhadnottakencareoftheexitofthewaters，sothatrainandwethadpenetratedintothebrickwork；thecasingofburnedbrickhadswollenout，andtheterracesofcrudebrickarescatteredinheaps。”
Wecanwellunderstandhoweasily“thegods，assistedbythewinds。”asstatedintheChaldeanlegend，couldoverthrowatowerthusbuilt。
ItmaybeinstructivetocomparewiththeexplanatorymythdevelopedfirstbytheChaldeans，andinaslightlydifferentformbytheHebrews，variousotherlegendstoexplainthesamediversityoftongues。TheHindulegendoftheconfusionoftonguesisasfollows：
“Theregrewinthecentreoftheearththewonderful`worldtree，’or`knowledgetree。’Itwassotallthatitreachedalmosttoheaven。Itsaidinitsheart，`Ishallholdmyheadinheavenandspreadmybranchesoveralltheearth，andgatherallmentogetherundermyshadow，andprotectthem，andpreventthemfromseparating。’ButBrahma，topunishtheprideofthetree，cutoffitsbranchesandcastthemdownontheearth，whentheysprangupaswatatrees，andmadedifferencesofbeliefandspeechandcustomstoprevailontheearth，todispersemenuponitssurface。”
StillmorestrikingisaMexicanlegend：accordingtothis，thegiantXelhuabuiltthegreatPyramidofCholula，inordertoreachheaven，untilthegods，angryathisaudacity，threwfireuponthebuildingandbrokeitdown，whereuponeveryseparatefamilyreceivedalanguageofitsown。
Suchexplanatorymythsgreworspreadwidelyovertheearth。A
well-knownformofthelegend，moreliketheChaldeanthantheHebrewlaterform，appearedamongtheGreeks。Accordingtothis，theAloidaepiledMountOssauponOlympusandPelionuponOssa，intheireffortstoreachheavenanddethroneJupiter。
StillanotherformofitenteredthethoughtsofPlato。Heheldthatinthegoldenagemenandbeastsallspokethesamelanguage，butthatZeusconfoundedtheirspeechbecausemenwereproudanddemandedeternalyouthandimmortality。[413]
[413]FortheidentificationoftheTowerofBabelwiththe“BirsNimrad“amidtheruinsofthecityofBorsippa，seeRawlinson；
alsoSchrader，TheCuneiformInscriptionsandtheOldTestament，London，1885，pp。106-112andfollowing；andespeciallyGeorgeSmith，AssyrianDiscoveries，p。59。ForsomeoftheseinscriptionsdiscoveredandreadbyGeorgeSmith，seehisChaldeanAccountofGenesis，newYork，1876，pp。160-162。ForthestatementregardingtheoriginofthewordBabel，seeErschandGruber，articleBabylon；alsotheRev。Prof。A。H。SayceinthelatesteditionoftheEncyclopaediaBritannica；alsoColenso，PentateuchExamined，partiv，p。302；alsoJohnFiske，MythsandMyth-makers，p。72；alsoLenormont，HistoireAnciennedel’Orient，Paris，1881，vol。i，pp。115etseq。AstothecharacterandpurposeofthegreattowerofthetempleofBelus，seeSmith’sBibleDictionary，articleBabel，quotingDiodorus；
alsoRawlinson，especiallyinJournaloftheAsiaticSocietyfor1861；alsoSayce，ReligionoftheAncientBabyloniansHibbertLecturesfor1887，London，1887，chap。iiandelsewhere，especiallypages96，397，407；alsoMaxDuncker，HistoryofAntiquity，Abbott’stranslation，vol。ii，chaps。ii，andiii。
Forsimilarlegendsinotherpartsoftheworld，seeDelitzsch；
alsoHumboldt，AmericanResearches；alsoBrinton，MythsoftheNewWorld；alsoColenso，asabove。TheTowerofCholulaiswellknown，havingbeendescribedbyHumboldtandLordKingsborough。