Re: OT: babel and english
From: | John Cowan <jcowan@...> |
Date: | Monday, August 20, 2001, 18:54 |
Thomas R. Wier wrote:
> I disagree somewhat. Historians cannot simply discount such
> mythical stories because all too often a grain of truth is
> contained in them. Also, methodologically speaking, if one *starts
> out* by discounting the story simply because one doesn't want to
> believe it, you are prima facie throwing away possible evidence.
Quite so. But any kernel underlying this particular story (except for
the existence of ziggurats) is IMHO irretrievable. As you say,
it is too short and too vague.
--
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