| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Babel. | | |
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A perfect Babel. A thorough confusion. “A Babel of sounds.” A confused uproar, in which nothing can be heard but hubbub. The allusion is to the confusion of tongues at Babel. (Genesis xi.) | 1 |
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| “God … comes down to see their city, |
| … … and in derision sets |
| Upon their tongues a various spirit, to raze |
| Quite out their native language, and instead |
| To sow a jangling noise of words unknown. |
| Forthwith a hideous gabble rises loud |
| Among the builders; each to other calls |
| Not understood… . Thus was the building left |
| Ridiculous, and the work Confusion named.” | |
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Milton: Paradise Lost, xii. 48–62. |
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