(27) And then God confounded their Language, that they might yet see that they had only confounded Senses [or Thoughts,] and should turn them to God; that they also might see that they did not understand the Language of the Saints [or holy People,] of the Stock of Shem; and that they must be scattered abroad over the whole World, so that a holy Seed might be preserved, and that all might not perish; but it availed not, they were wicked.

(1) You object, however, “ that he who hears words looks to their signification, so that it is sufficient the conception remains the same, whatever the words may be that are used .” But the thing is not such as you suspect it to be. For if names subsisted through compact it would be of no consequence whether some were used instead of others. But if they are suspended from the nature of things, those names which are more adapted to it will also be more dear to the Gods. From this, therefore, it is evident that the language of sacred nations is very reasonably preferred to that of other men. To which may be added, that names do not entirely preserve the same meaning when translated into another language; but there are certain idioms in each nation which cannot be signified by language to another nation. And, in the next place, though it should be possible to translate them, yet they no longer preserve the same power when translated. Barbarous names, likewise, have much emphasis, great conciseness, and participate of less ambiguity, variety, and multitude.

(97) Therefore it is very hard to know Babel; every one supposes that he is not in it; and yet the Spirit shows me, that Babel incloses the whole Earth; therefore let every one look to his own Ways, and not hunt after Covetousness, for the Driver destroys it, and the Stormer eats it up and consumes it; the Council of the wise Man will not help then; all the Wisdom of this World is Folly; for that oFire is from the Anger of God; your Wisdom will turn to your Hurt and Scorn. Of Christ's Ascension into Heaven.

(2) Languages diverse, horrible dialects, Accents of anger, words of agony, And voices high and hoarse, with sound of hands, Made up a tumult that goes whirling on For ever in that air for ever black, Even as the sand doth, when the whirlwind breathes. And I, who had my head with horror bound, Said: "Master, what is this which now I hear? What folk is this, which seems by pain so vanquished?" And he to me: "This miserable mode Maintain the melancholy souls of those Who lived withouten infamy or praise. Commingled are they with that caitiff choir Of Angels, who have not rebellious been, Nor faithful were to God, but were for self. The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair; Nor them the nethermore abyss receives, For glory none the damned would have from them." And I: "O Master, what so grievous is To these, that maketh them lament so sore?" He answered: "I will tell thee very briefly. These have no longer any hope of death; And this blind life of theirs is so debased, They envious are of every other fate.

(71) For thou art not entered into the Father by the Intercession of Men, but by the precious Incarnation of Jesus Christ; and if thou dost not instantly turn in the last Voice of God's Call (whereas many of you have been much called) and go out from Babel, then Moses stands in Wrath, and says, Gird every one his Sword to his Side, and slay his Brother in Babel, and so thou destroyest thyself. For the Spirit of thy own Mouth will destroy thyself, so that thou shalt be no more called Babel, but Fierceness, Wrath and Sword within thyself, which will consume thee, and not spare; for thou murderest thyself, thou great Wonder of the World.

(18) O thou blind Babel! I must tell thee, how thou becamest thus mad; thou hast suffered thyself to be possessed by the Region of the Stars, and to be led by the abominable Devil, and art become a perjured [or forsworn] Whore to God, and nevertheless, thou hast built thyself a Kingdom upon Earth, as 1 they lead their Region, thou leadest thine; as they generate by the Elements, and consume it again, so dost thou with thy Children also; thou generatest them and killest them again; thou makest War, and art a Murderer for thy Pride and Covetousness Sake, so that thou hast no Room at all upon the Earth.

(2) And, moreover, though it should be unknown to us, yet this very circumstance is that which is most venerable in it, for it is too excellent to be divided into knowledge. But in those names which we can, scientifically analyze, we possess a knowledge of the whole divine essence, power, and order, comprehended in the name. And farther still, we preserve in the soul collectively the mystic and arcane image of the Gods, and through this we elevate the soul to the Gods, and when elevated conjoin it as much as possible with them. But you ask, “ Why, of significant names, we prefer such as are Barbaric to our own? ” Of this, also, there is a mystic reason. For because the Gods have shown that the whole dialect of sacred nations such as those of the Egyptians and Assyrians, is adapted to sacred concerns; on this account we ought to think it necessary that our conference with the Gods should be in a language allied to them. Because, likewise, such a mode of speech is the first and most ancient. And especially because those who first learned the names of the Gods, having mingled them with their own proper tongue, delivered them to us, that we might always preserve immoveable the sacred law of tradition, in a language peculiar and adapted to them. For if any other thing pertains to the Gods, it is evident that the eternal and immutable must be allied to them.

(4) We have clearly described, how God out of his Love and Mercifulness of Grace has turned his beloved Heart to us again, and how he has opened the Gate to the Kingdom of Heaven for our Souls, therefore now we are further to consider of the Body of Christ. For Reason says continually, The Body of Christ is gone up into Heaven, he is far from us, we must erect a P Kingdom, that we may serve him in his Absence, as Jeroboam did with the Calves; and so that Kingdom is rightly called Babel.

(3) But now that the Wrath devours all, and wholly darkens the Mysteria, [Mysteries or hidden Secrets,] and makes the Source [or Quality] of the eternal Birth [to be] a Darkness, only that it may exalt its Wrath, and sees nothing in the Birth of Eternity, but brings all Things that are therein to nothing; that is a very great Babel, for it not only devours itself, but makes itself stark blind in Nature; and it makes of Man's Image mere evil wolfish Beasts, which think that they are gone out from Babel, and yet are begotten in Babel, and are in the Body of the evil devouring Beast, and so devour the House of their Mother, and manifest it to be a vile stinking Lake; and yet themselves will not go out from it, and it is altogether a Kingdom, which continually generates itself, in its own Voluptuousness and Pride, and also continually manifests its own Shame, and devours itself in the Wrath of its own Sins, and is rightly called Babel.

(64) In such a Form [or Condition] also is the confused Babel (in the Kingdom of Christ upon Earth) in the blind Earnestness of Man's own Reason, where Men seek Christ in the Kingdom of this World; whereby they could not find him, as Israel [could not find] Moses, while he was on the Mount. And thereupon Or Authority. they have made other Gods to [go before] them, and [have instituted and set up] the divine Service [or Worship] of God, with the richest [and most costly Ornaments] and holy Show; and they continually say [in their Mind,] we know not what is become of this Jesus, for he is gone from us; we will erect a divine Service for him in our Country, and we will make merry at it, and that shall be done according to our own Will and Pleasure, that we may be rich and fat with it, and refresh ourselves fully with this Jesus.

(16) Chapter IX. We have a magic writing, copied from that divine alphabet with which God writes His will upon the face of celestial and terrestrial Nature. With this new language we read God's will for all His creatures, and just as astronomers predict eclipses so we prognosticate the obscurations of the church and how long they shall last. Our language is like unto that of Adam and Enoch before the Fall, and though we understand and can explain our mysteries in this our sacred language, we cannot do so in Latin, a tongue contaminated by the confusion of Babylon.

(79) O ye blind Wolves of Babel, what have we to do with you? We are not generated from your Kingdom. Why will you rend and tear our dear Immanuel out of our Hearts and Eyes, and so would make us blind? Is it a Sin for us to enquire after God our Salvation, and after our true native Country? Surely it is much more Sin to hearken after your Prating and Blasphemy, whereby you make our Women and Children Scoffers, so that they learn nothing but scornful and reproachful Speeches, and so persecute and vex one another therewith in Babel. Can the Kingdom of Christ be found in such Things? Or rather do you not build the scornful and reproachful Church of Babel? Where is your apostolical Heart, [consisting] in Love? Is your Scorn and Derision of others Christ's Meekness, who said, Love one another, be ye Followers of me, and so it shall be known that ye are my Disciples? To you it is said; the Anger burns in Babel; when the Flame thereof rises up, then will the Elements shake and tremble, and Babel shall be burnt in the Fire.

(96) Therefore let every one enter into himself, and not speak of another, and hold his Way to be false; but look that he turn himself, and have a Care, that he be not found in the Anger of the Devourer; else if he should hoop, and halloo, and laughing say, Look how Babel burns, then he must be burnt and consumed also, for he is Fuel for that Fire; and whosoever feels a Thought in himself, that does but wish for the Anger [to devour,] 1 that proceeds from Babel.

(1) Of language put into other people's mouths, nine tenths will succeed. Of language based upon weighty authority, seven tenths. But language which flows constantly over, as from a full goblet, is in accord with God. When language is put into other people's mouths, outside support is sought. Just as a father does not negotiate his son's marriage; for any praise he could bestow would not have the same value as praise by an outsider. Thus, the fault is not mine, but that of others. To that which agrees with our own opinions we assent; from that which does not we dissent. We regard that which agrees with our own opinion as right. We regard that which differs from our opinion as wrong. Language based on weighty authority is used to bar further argument. The authorities are our superiors, our elders in years. But if they lack the requisite knowledge and experience, being our superiors only in the sense of age, then they are not our superiors. And if men are not the superiors of their fellows, no one troubles about them. And those about whom no one troubles are merely stale. Language which flows constantly over, as from a full goblet, is in accord with God. Because it spreads out on all sides, it endures for all time. Without language, contraries are identical. The identity is not identical with its expression: the expression is not identical with its identity. Therefore it has been said, Language not expressed in language is not language. Constantly spoken, it is as though not spoken. Constantly unspoken, it is not as though not spoken.

(45) But thou earthly Babel, what shall I write much of thee for? Indeed I must show thee the Ground, that thy Hypocrisy may be brought to Light, and that the Devil may not continue (in such a Manner) to stand in an angelical Form, and in the voluptuous Kingdom of this World (in Man) be a God, which is his highest Endeavour.

(3) The temples of the ancient Mysteries evolved their own sacred languages, known only to their initiates and never spoken save in the sanctuary. The illumined priests considered it sacrilege to discuss the sacred truths of the higher worlds or the divine verities of eternal Nature in the same tongue as that used by the vulgar for wrangling and dissension. A sacred science must needs be couched in a sacred language. Secret alphabets also were invented, and whenever the secrets of the wise were committed to writing, characters meaningless to the uninformed were employed. Such forms of writing were called sacred or Hermetic alphabets. Some--such as the famous angelic writing--are still retained in the higher degrees of Masonry.

(6) And him I saw return to all the lights Of his highway nine hundred times and thirty, Whilst I upon the earth was tarrying. The language that I spake was quite extinct Before that in the work interminable The people under Nimrod were employed; For nevermore result of reasoning (Because of human pleasure that doth change, Obedient to the heavens) was durable. A natural action is it that man speaks; But whether thus or thus, doth nature leave To your own art, as seemeth best to you. Ere I descended to the infernal anguish, 'El' was on earth the name of the Chief Good, From whom comes all the joy that wraps me round 'Eli' he then was called, and that is proper, Because the use of men is like a leaf On bough, which goeth and another cometh. Upon the mount that highest o'er the wave Rises was I, in life or pure or sinful, From the first hour to that which is the second, As the sun changes quadrant, to the sixth."

(50) O Babel, we have a great Deal to say to thee, but not here; thou shalt once be talked with in the Anger, at which the Elements shall shake and tremble; go forth (it is high Time) that the Anger may be allayed.

(126) For understand but thy mother tongue aright; thou hast as deep a ground therein as is in the Hebrew or Latin: Though the learned elevate themselves in these, like a proud arrogant bride; it is no great matter, their art is now on the lees [Turba], or bowed down to the dust.

(2) Then Tohil spoke; only by a miracle he gave counsel to the priests and sacrificers. And they [the gods] spoke and said: "Truly here shall be our mountains and our valleys. We are yours; great shall be our lory and numerous our descendents, through the work of all men. Yours are all the tribes and we, your companions. Care for your town, and we shall give you your learning.