Words of the Same Feather
ADVERSITY brings out the worst and the best in man. The one who acts positively when smothered by tragic circumstances and leaves his footprints on the sands of time is a true hero, worthy of our adulation.
The life and accomplishments of Peter Mark Roget is an inspirational illustration. He died in September 1869 but he is gratefully remembered as the author of the first modern thesaurus published way back in 1852.
A thesaurus lists synonyms of words. It helps to eliminate mechanical repetition of words in writing and speeches to make them more appealing. Antonyms or opposites are also listed. It is thus an invaluable reference book for students and writers.
It is no wonder that we even have a Day designated to honour the inventor of this wonderful aid to more powerful communication. This is Thesaurus Day observed annually on 18th January, the birthday of Peter Roger.
The origin of this observance remains unknown. Nevertheless it provides us an opportunity to remember the recollect the life and work of a man of astounding talents.
Though best remembered for the thesaurus, his contributions in science, medicine and medical education are not less valuable. He was one of the founders of the Royal Society of Medicine and played an important role in the establishment of the University of London. He wrote numerous papers on physiology and health, invented the log slide rule and was one of the first to test the effects of laughing gas. He had remarkable ingenuity in inventing and solving chess problems and even designed an inexpensive pocket chessboard!
But thesaurus and Roger have become synonymous terms! The circumstance of its compilation is an inspiring story in itself. He had developed a fascination for word list-making even as an eight-year-old. This was his way of keeping his mind alert and preoccupied to cope with series of tragic events in his life.
His father and his wife died young. His beloved uncle Samuel Romilly committed suicide in his presence. He experienced deep depression. He battled it at least partially by plunging into his work on the thesaurus. It also saved him from succumbing to mental illness that afflicted some of his close relatives. In this process he created the work that became a beacon light in the language.
He is believed to have compiled the work by 1805, but it was published only on April 29, 1852. The original edition comprised 15,000 words, but became larger with each succeeding edition. The original manuscript is preserved to this day at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Washington.
In Roger’s lifetime the work had twenty-eight printings; after his death it was revised and expanded by his son, John Lewis Roget and later his grandson, Samuel Romilly Roget.
Incidentally the word ‘thesaurus" is derived from the Latin thesaurus, which is in turn the Romanization of Greek ‘th sauros’ which literally means "treasure store. It is distinct from a dictionary as it does not explain the meanings of the words.
Today we have many elaborate versions of thesaurus including on line versions.
There are also specialised thesauri (plural of thesaurus) such as The Thinker’s Thesaurus which offers unusual and erudite alternatives to common words, American Heritage Children’s Thesaurus and the Shakespeare Thesaurus with literary and archaic words. The largest thesaurus is the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, with more than 920,000 entries.
As we observe Thesaurus Day tomorrow let us recall the valiant and inspirational life of Peter Roger and derive the maximum benefit from the ultimate language tool he left as a legacy for all of us.
The ill and unfit choice of words wonderfully obstructs understanding.
— Francis Bacon