What's another word for thesaurus?

Does it matter?

Consider what would happen to Scripture if a thesaurus had been around:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Those who mourn are going to be happy, too, because they will be comforted.
The inheritance of the earth will belong to the meek, and that will be most fortunate for them.
People who hunger for righteousness will experience a favorable state of affairs . . .

So repetition is ok, Anthony Esolen writes. Who would argue with the Bible? And, he argues, very few words are really synonymous with one another anyway. Look at a few “synonyms” for big: large, vast, massive, enormous, great, gargantuan. Put them in sentences:

• Elsie is a big woman on the committee.
• The distance between Earth and its moon is vast.
• The elephant’s shoulders are massive, weighing hundreds of pounds.
• Mr. Calhoun wears large pants.
• The football player put away a gargantuan supper.
• It’s a great deal.

Now change them around.

• Elsie is a large woman on the committee.
• The distance between Earth and its moon is massive.
• The elephant’s shoulders are vast, weighing hundreds of pounds.
• Mr. Calhoun wears gargantuan pants.
• The football player put away a great supper.
• It’s a big deal.

Hmmm ...