I classify, therefore I am
THE MAN WHO MADE LISTS:
Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget’s Thesaurus
By Joshua Kendall
298 pp. Putnam $25.95
Reviewed by Bob Sanchez
“I classify, therefore, I am.” That, writes Joshua Kendall, formed the guiding principle of Peter Mark Roget’s life.
A compulsive list-maker, young Roget saw the world not in terms of the senses but of words and concepts. He had limited powers of description. In his account of his travels to Scotland, everything fell into one of two categories: beautiful or not beautiful. Using his unusual Weltanschauung, Roget struggled to fend off the mental illness that plagued his family tree.
Like so many good stories, The Man Who Made Lists opens with a shattering crisis. Sir Samuel Romilly, an esteemed member of Parliament, slashed his throat and died in the arms of his nephew and personal physician, none other than Peter Mark Roget. Kendall could not have chosen a more dramatic starting point.
Roget’s shocking experience tarnished his reputation as a physician, and he learned in any case that his strengths did not lie in his interpersonal skills. His own internal radar could pick up nuances with words and concepts, but not with people. Nevertheless, in time he earned a reputation as a “first-rate scientist and lecturer” as well as a successful writer of science articles for the masses.
At times, Roget must have felt surrounded by madness. His mother, his daughter, and other relatives suffered in debilitating troughs of depression. His mother clung to him as long as possible into his adulthood, but eventually he managed to free himself and marry an adoring woman who died young.
The original (1805) Thesaurus was organized not by words, but by concepts—Existence, for example—and his idea was to help readers find “le mot juste. ” He never intended the book to be a “crutch,” as one early reviewer called it. Thesaurus was not meant as lists of synonyms, or word substitutes. Readers were expected to actively choose the right word to express themselves. In fact, Roget believed there was no such thing as a synonym, that every word had its own precise meaning.
Roget acknowledged that he created the Thesaurus to make up for his comparative lack of literary talent. He also had a social agenda with his Thesaurus: to improve the public’s ability to communicate and to minimize misunderstanding. “Specious phraseology,” he wrote, could sow “the seeds of prejudice and error.” He saw religious significance in his work as well. By organizing words, ideas, and knowledge, Kendall writes, “Roget believed he was highlighting God’s creative achievements.”
Kendall gives us a glimpse into Roget’s world in this brief and insightful biography. His book is not intended to be scholarly—there are no footnotes or bibliography—but like Roget’s Thesaurus is meant for a wide public. He occasionally recreates conversations or describes Roget’s thoughts, technically impossible but a reasonable literary device. Kendall’s detailed index would likely have made Roget happy.
If Roget didn’t fare well as a physician, he did lead a long and successful professional life. His Thesaurus was an instant hit and went through many editions both during and after his lifetime.
Words sometimes fail me, so I leaned on the 1911 edition of Roget’s Thesaurus for the proper words to assess Kendall’s book. I scrolled through various concept headings: BEING, IN THE ABSTRACT...BEING, IN THE CONCRETE...ABSOLUTE RELATION... Finally, under the heading QUANTITY BY COMPARISON WITH A SIMILAR OBJECT, I found what I needed—or did I? Let’s see: Is this book a Triton among the minnows? Is it primus inter pares or nulli secundus? Does it out-Herod all others? Beat them hollow or kick the beams? Put other authors’ noses out of joint?
Hmm. There are dozens of possibilities, and none quite seems to fit. So I am reduced to writing that this is a fine and readable biography. Anyone who has ever used a Thesaurus, or even refused to use one, will find Kendall’s book fascinating. He has done his subject justice.
Bob Sanchez is an associate editor and the webmaster of The Internet Review of Books. His novel, When Pigs Fly, has received rave reviews.
Bob invites you to check out his blog and his website.
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