From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordBabel evokes the biblical association of human building with confusion.
- In TraherneThe image resolves an apparent contradiction in devotional language.
- In this editionThis is a figurative occurrence, not a description of an archaeological site or a geographical journey.
- A place to beginThe world made by people is distinguished from divine creation as a Babel of confusions.
Meaning
Babel evokes the biblical association of human building with confusion. In Traherne's opening distinction it names the humanly fabricated world of vanity and competitive wealth.
Use in the book
The image resolves an apparent contradiction in devotional language. One must both contemn the world and enjoy it because “world” names two different orders. God's creation is Adam's joy and the temple of his glory; the Babel made by human beings consists of invented riches, pomps, and vanities introduced by sin. Abandoning Babel is therefore not withdrawal from earth, air, or human fellowship. It is a rejection of valuations that obscure them. Confusion is the governing feature: people pursue the wrong goods under the name of happiness.
Places to read
- I.7The world made by people is distinguished from divine creation as a Babel of confusions.
In this edition
This is a figurative occurrence, not a description of an archaeological site or a geographical journey. The plural “Confusions” reinforces disorder in value.
Source note
Primary text: I.7. I.7 is the explicit Babel occurrence and supplies the controlling two-world distinction.