Lord have mercy, you-all: this was a great* article, and y'all have completely ignorified it!

*For ex.: all its chosen words under a thousand headings marked off in six main classes (abstract relations, space, organic matter, intellect, volition, and sentient and moral powers), with a long alphabetical index at the back. What an odd (to me) way to organize something!

And, about Roget: In plain terms, he was an amateur. He was a doctor who liked making lists, and his longest list was of words. His purposes were not scholarly; they were practical. Words were tools. He did think there was one high purpose the Thesaurus might serve: since its plan could be applied to any language, the work might ease the growth of a universal language. But his main aim was simply to help people compose the written or the spoken word well.

The word welkin sent me on a Search--what fun this thread was, and is to read again. Guess what? Flatlander beat us ALL to "bling-bling"!
http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=16695