Babel's Confusion was Not a Curse

Assorted retorts from yahoo boards and elsewhere: Babel's Confusion was Not a Curse · Creation vs. Evolution: Three Questions on Quora

The Curse of the Charismatic 'Gift of Tongues,' the Tower of Babel and the New Mass
Mere Tradition with Kennedy Hall | 7 Aug 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7vg8ddWhiE

I checked St. Augustine.

Or started to. He did not state that the confusion of languages was a curse on mankind. Here are the words in Book 16, chapter 4, basically final sentence of the chapter:

But what was the nature of the punishment? As the tongue is the instrument of domination, in it pride was punished; so that man, who would not understand God when He issued His commands, should be misunderstood when he himself gave orders. Thus was that conspiracy disbanded, for each man retired from those he could not understand, and associated with those whose speech was intelligible; and the nations were divided according to their languages, and scattered over the earth as seemed good to God, who accomplished this in ways hidden from and incomprehensible to us.

So, a punishment on the bosses, the ringleaders, the commanders. But not a curse on each and all. I would say, it was a blessing for most.

[tried to add]

In chapter 6, book 16 finishes the discussion.

St. Augustine has so far not said, the confusion of languages was a curse.

[the comment had disappeared, I reposted and added in the repost]

In all of book 16, the syllable "curse" with or without an added -d occurs 12 times, and it's uniformly either about the curse of Canaan, which he considers a curse against Ham, or the curse against those who curse Abraham (and Christ).

[I then tried to add]

Book 18 has no mention even of Babel or Nimrod.

I checked Josephus too:

When God saw that they acted so madly, he did not resolve to destroy them utterly, since they were not grown wiser by the destruction of the former sinners; but he caused a tumult among them, by producing in them divers languages, and causing that, through the multitude of those languages, they should not be able to understand one another.

CHAPTER 4. Concerning The Tower Of Babylon, And The Confusion Of Tongues.
BOOK I. Containing The Interval Of Three Thousand Eight Hundred And Thirty-Three Years. — From The Creation To The Death Of Isaac.
Antiquities
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0004

And, I did not just check with St. Augustine and Josephus but also with St. Thomas (or at least one Dominican close enough to him to have his work mistaken, but I think Postilla in Libros Geneseos is genuine), here we go:

Et dixit: ecce unus est populus et cetera. Hoc intellectualiter dixit Deus intra se et etiam ad Angelos suos. Notatur autem in his verbis caussa rationabilis et condigna perturbandi conatus et intentiones istorum. Erant enim sic affectuosi et irrevocabiliter intenti ad perficiendum opus incoeptum, et ad obtinendum id quod ex ipso opere finaliter intendebant, quod per fortes manus obstaculum a praedictis revocari non possent. Et quia ex unitate linguae et ex concordia voluntatum ad malum, robur vehemens assumebant, idcirco dixit Deus: ecce unus est populus et cetera. Et ex his subinfert poenam confusionis linguarum esse optimam ad turbandum eorum intentum et conatum. Et ad Angelos loquens subdit, venite igitur. Confusio enim linguarum potuit saltem quo ad aliquid fieri ministerio angelico. Vult autem Scriptura per hos vel consimiles modos loquendi ostendere quod Deus facit per Angelos ea quae per ipsos fieri possunt. Dicitur autem Deus hic descendere per efficaciam aut effectum potentiae suae in illa in quae agit. Loquitur autem sic ut sensibilius et terribilius hominibus ingerat Dei praesentiam et justitiam punitivam. Ut non audiat unusquisque, idest ut non intelligat, nec audiendo discernat. Vocem proximi sui, quicquid intendit significare per eam. Et idcirco vocatum est nomen ejus Babel, quia ibi confusum est et cetera. Babel enim interpretatur confusio. Divisio autem linguarum confusio linguarum dicitur, quia ex hoc lingua unius fiebat alteri confusa et inintelligibilis. Nota circa hoc, quod judicium est unum de universalibus judiciis Dei super genus humanum; et est tertium illorum universalium quae in super genus humanum; et est tertium illorum universalium quae in Scriptura sacra leguntur. Nam primum est inflictio mortalitatis. Secundum est diluvii exterminium. Nota, inquam, primo rectam correspondentiam ejus ad culpam pro qua est datum. Erat enim in illis perversa pax et unitas Deo valde contumeliosa, ipsisque damnosa, et electis onerosa et periculosa. Sicut enim nihil melius quam omnes insimul fortissime uniri in Deo et in omni bono: sic nihil pejus quam omnes fortissima conspiratione uniri ad malum. Sicut etiam Deo nihil magis honorificum quam quod omnia sibi soli ut summo capiti cohaereant et subjiciantur, nihilque aliud defendere aut magnificare appetant, nisi Dei imperium ac principatum. Et e contra nihil Deo contumeliosius ac intolerabilius, quam quod omnes Deo et ejus regno neglecto, aliquod caput et regnum sibi statuant toto posse. Erat ne [eratne!] ergo tolerandum quod homines paulo post tantum diluvium de novo propagati, unum vilem tyrannum, scilicet Nemroth, quasi unum caput omnium statuerent, et intra unam urbem, pro uno totius mundani regni capite conarentur quasi in aeternum fundare? Sicut autem superbis ad omnem machinationem semper intentis, magnitudo potestatis aderat valde nociva: sic quam plurimum expedit eis quod talis potestas aut omnino tollatur eisdem, aut saltem confringatur, et dividatur et impediatur. Scimus autem quod humanae dominationis potestas ex unica et concordi hominum multitudine consurgit et corroboratur; et ideo, quando superbe et pertinaciter conspirant ad malum, multum eis expedit quod dividantur. Sicut etiam electis plurimum prodest habere multos inductores et quasi compulsores ad bonum, sic eis est periculosissimum et multum onerosum, cum verbo et facto, doctrina et exemplo ab omnibus instigantur et compelluntur ad malum. Et sicut jucundum est electis potentiam et gloriam reproborum videre humiliatam et annullatam: sic valde est onerosum quando contrarium vident; et praecipue si in aeternum aut in tempus nimis longum semper excresceret aut perduraret. Quid autem aptius et pulchrius ad praedictorum impiam unitatem et potestatem dissecandam et confringendam, quam linguarum divisio et confusio? Per hanc enim fit ut ampliorem societatem homo habeat cum sua carne, quam cum hominibus, quorum linguae sunt sibi mutuo barbarae et ignotae. Per hanc etiam factum est ut his qui Deo non obediebant, et subditi non solum eis non obedirent, imo nec eorum monita vel praecepta intelligere possent. Praedicta autem non solum pro illo tempore docuerunt et profuerunt: sed etiam pro toto tempore quo superbia mundi regnat. Secundo nota ejus poenalitatem tam quoad malos, quam quoad bonos. Bonis enim est valde poenale quod non possunt communicare cum sanctis vel doctis universi orbis, saltem per literas et per scripta, nec docere se mutuo possunt, nec ad invicem consolari, nisi communicent in una aliqua lingua. Unde et ultra hoc est eis valde poenale, quod doctrinam salutarem fidei non possunt in omnes nationes cito disseminare, nec jam disseminatam, prout expedit, irrigare. Communiter autem quantum ad malos et bonos est valde poenosa res; quia ex diversitate linguarum oritur facilitas discordiarum atque bellorum, et difficultas stabilis nexus diversarum nationum in unum. Si autem quaeritur, quomodo a principio unus intellexit alium sine notitia linguae? Unde enim scivit quod per eamdem vocem intenderet significare illud quod ipse? Potest dici quod hoc, sicut et alia, factum est miraculose et forte etiam per quamdam rationalem conspirationem, per quam ex conformitate locutionis aliorum ejusque linguae ad suam, advertebat quod idipsum significare volebant. Si autem ultra quaeratur, an per hoc miraculum sit solum facta variatio in vi motiva linguae, aut etiam ultra hoc in imaginatione et intellectu? Dicendum quod in omnibus simul; quia ex habitibus illarum trium partium integratur una perfecta habituatio ad loquendum hanc vel illam linguam. Oportet enim quod sciat significata propria vocum illius linguae formandae et seriose connectendae. Tertio nota pro mysteriis, quod divisio linguarum moraliter designat divisionem et contrarietatem vitiorum et vitiosorum, qui quantumcumque videantur uniti, impossibile est quin concordialiter discordent, quia pravus alios non diligit nisi solum propter seipsum. Allegorice autem signant divisionem schismatum et haeresum, et culturam diversorum idolorum: in quibus unitas fidei in varias linguas errorum fuit multipliciter scissa. Sicut autem urbs et turris Babylonica significat omnes sedes superbiae, sic Nemroth omnia capita ejus: et secundum hoc potest multiplicare mysteria tam moralia quam allegorica juxta numerum et processum principalium sedium et capitum superborum.

Not once in this passage do I find any "maledictio" or "maledixit" or whatever.

[Adding a translation]

And he said: Behold, it is one people, and so on. This God said intellectually within Himself and also to His Angels. So, in these words the reasonable and worthy cause is noted for perturbing their attempts and their intentions. For they were so affectuous and irrevocably intent on fulfilling the begun work, and to obtain that which from the work itself they intended, that they could not have been revoked from foresaid things by strong hands (or by) an obstacle. And since they took their vehement strength from the unity of language and concord of wills into evil, for that God said: behold, it is one people and so on. And from these things He infers that the punishment of language confusion is the best to perturb their intent and attempt. And speaking to the Angels, he added Come ye, therefore. For the confusion of tongues could at least in respect to something be done by angelic ministry. So, the Scripture wants by these or similar modes of speech show that God does by Angels that which can be done by them. But God is here said to descend by the efficacy or effect of His power in that in which it acts. And it speaks this way in order to more sensually and more terribly for men insert God's presence and punitive justice. That each may not understand [Latin, literally may not hear], that is, that they may not understand or discern while hearing. one another's speech [Latin, literally voice], whatever he intend to signify by it. And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there was confounded and so on. Since Babel is translated as confusion. And the division of languages is called the confusion of languages, because from it the language of the one became confused and unintelligible for the other. Note about this, that the judgement is one of the universal judgements of God over mankind; and is the third of those universals which is over mankind; and is third of those universals which are read in sacred Scripture. Because the first is the infliction of mortality. The second is the extermination of the Flood. Note, I say, first the right correspondence of it to the guilt for which it was given. For there was in those a perverse peace and a unity very insulting to God, and damning on themselves, and burdening and dangerous on the elect. For as nothing is better than that all together be most strongly united in God and in all good: so nothing is worse than that all be united by a most strong conspiracy to evil. As also nothing is more honouring to God than that everything be subjected to Him only and cohere as with its supreme head, and want to defend or magnify nothing other than God's Empire and Principality. And on the other hand, nothing is more insulting and intolerable to God, than that all, neglecting God and His Kingdom, they statuate a head and the kingdom of it to be all powerful. Was it, then, to be tolerated that men, re-propagated shortly after such a great Flood should statuate one vile tyrant, namely Nimrod, as the sole head of all and within one city should try to found, for the head of a single world reign like into eternity? But as the magnitude of power, very harmful, was there for the haughty who were always intent to every machination, so, it is very much usefulf for them that such power either be taken totally from them, or at least broken, divided and impeded. So, we know that the power to dominate men both surges forth and is strengthened uniquely from a concordant multitude of people, and therefore, when they are haughtily and stubbornly conspiring to evil, it is very useful for them to be divided. Also, as for the elect it is highly useful to have many people induce and kind of force them to good, so it is for them very dangerous and highly burdensome when in word and deed, doctrine and example, by all they are instigated and forced to evil. And like it is delightful for the elect to see the power and glory of the reprobates humiliated and annulled, so it is very burdensome when they see the contrary; and especially if eternally or in too long time it always were to grow and perdure. But what is more apt or beautiful to cut asunder and break down the impious unity and power of the forementioned, than the division and confusion of tongues? For by this it happens that man have a more ample society with his flesh, than with men, whose languages are mutually uncouth and unknown. Also is thereby done so that those who were not obeying God, on the one hand their subjects not only were not obeying them, but also weren't able to even understand their admonitions or orders. These things were not only teaching and being useful for that time: but also for all or any time when the pride of the world be ruling. Second, note its punishment nature (penality) both as to the evil as to the good. For it is for the good highly a punishment that they cannot communicate with holy and learned of all the world, at least by letters and by writings, nor are they able to teach each other, nor to console each other, unless they communicate in some same language. Wherefore this is furthermore very penal for them, that they cannot quickly disseminate the salvific doctrine into all nations, nor once it has been sown, water as it is useful. But in common between bad and good it is a very penal thing; since from the diversity of languages there arises an ease of discords and of wars and difficulty for a stable tying of diverse nations into one. But if you ask, how from the beginning one was comprehending the other without language knowledge? For whence did he know that by the same word the other wanted to signify the same as he himself? It can be said that this, like other things, happened miraculously and perhaps also by some rational conspiracy, by which from the conformity of speech of the others and his own language to his, was hinting what that thing was intended to signify. But if you further ask, whether by this miracle there was only made a variation in the articulation, or also beyond this in imagination and intellect (as to language competence)? It must be said, in all of these at once; since from the habits of these three parts the perfect mastery of speeking this or that language is integrated. For one should know the signifieds proper of that language to be formed and seriously connected. Third, note for the mysteries, that the division of languages morally designates the division and contrariety of vices and of the vicious, who, howeversomuch they may be seen as united, it's impossible that they be not concordially discordant, since the wicked does not love other otherwise then for his own sake alone. But allegorically it signifies the division of schismas and heresies, and the worship of diverse idols: in which the unity of faith was in multiple ways torn into various languages of errors. So, as the city and the tower of Babylon signify all seats of pride, so also Nimrod all its heads; and, according to this, can multiply the mysteries both moral and allegorical according to the numbers and processes of the principal seats and heads of the haughty.