If the business of an argument is to be unanswerable, the place of honour certainly belongs to the religious argument. Any one who really believes that an international language is an impious attempt to reverse the judgment of Babel will continue firm in his faith, though one speak with the tongues of men and of angels.
Here, then, are the objections, classified according to content.
Objections to an International Language
I. Religious.
It is doomed to confusion, because it reverses the judgment of Babel.
II. Aesthetic and sentimental.
(1) It is a cheap commercial scheme, unworthy of the attention of scholars.
(2) It vulgarizes the world and tends to dull uniformity.
(3) It weakens patriotism by diluting national spirit with cosmopolitanism.