WORDS, WORDSWORTH AND WORTH WORDS

The 15^th April has other matters to commemorate than the sinking of the Titanic.

A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London on the 15^th April 1755. Written by Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English Language..

There was dissatisfaction with the dictionaries of the period, so in June 1746 a group of London booksellers contracted Johnson to write a dictionary for the sum of 1,500 guineas (£1,575), equivalent to about £230,000 as of 2012. Johnson took nearly nine years to complete the work, although he had claimed he could finish it in three. Remarkably, he did so single-handedly, with only clerical assistance to copy out the illustrative quotations that he had marked in books. Johnson produced several revised editions during his life.

17 Gough Square

Johnson's dictionary was prepared at 17 Gough Square, London, an eclectic household, between the years of 1746 and 1755. By 1747 Johnson had written his Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language, which spelled out his intentions and proposed methodology for preparing his document. He clearly saw benefit in drawing from previous efforts, and saw the process as a parallel to legal precedent (possibly influenced by Cowell):

I shall therefore, since the rules of stile, like those of law, arise from precedents often repeated, collect the testimonies of both sides, and endeavour to discover and promulgate the decrees of custom, who has so long possessed whether by right or by usurpation, the sovereignty of words.

On the 15^th April 1802, Dorothy Wordsworth noted in her Grasmere Journal:

Dorothy

When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park, we saw a few daffodils close to the water side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seed ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road.

 I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever dancing ever changing.

 This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here and there a little knot and a few stragglers a few yards higher up but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity and unity and life of that one busy highway. We rested again and again. The Bays were stormy, and we heard the waves at different distances and in the middle of the water like the sea.

W. Wordsworth

Dorothy Wordsworth, The Grasmere Journal , Thursday, 15 April 1802

—    

This inspired her brother William to write:

I wandered lonely as a cloud


That floats on high o'er vales and hills,


When all at once I saw a crowd,


A host of golden daffodils…

He forgets that his sister was with him.

Nicholas Roerich

On the 15^th April 1935, a treaty named “International pact for protection of artistic and scientific institutions, historic monuments, missions and collections” (Roerich Pact) was signed by representatives of 21 countries in White House, Washington. A distinctive sign for identification of the protected objects (Banner of Peace) proposed by N. Roerich was approved in the frameworks of the Pact. 

The most important idea of the Roerich Pact is the legal recognition of the fact that the defence of cultural objects is more important than the defence in its traditional meaning, and the protection of culture always has precedence over any military necessity.

The Treaty on Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments

Signing of the Roerich’s Pact (in centre: Franklin Roosevelt)

The High Contracting Parties, animated by the purpose of giving conventional form to the postulates of the Resolution approved on December 16, 1933, by all the States represented at the Seventh International Conference of American States, held at Montevideo, which recommended to "the Governments of America which have not yet done so that they sign the 'Roerich Pact', initiated by the Roerich Museum in the United States, and which has as its object, the universal adoption of a flag, already designed and generally known, in order thereby to preserve in any time of danger all nationally and privately owned immovable monuments which form the cultural treasure of peoples", have resolved to conclude a treaty with that end in view, and to the effect that the treasures of culture be respected and protected in time of war and in peace, have agreed upon the following articles:

ARTICLE I

The historic monuments, museums, scientific, artistic, educational and cultural institutions shall be considered as neutral and as such respected and protected by belligerents. The same respect and protection shall be due to the personnel of the institutions mentioned above. The same respect and protection shall be accorded to the historic monuments, museums, scientific, artistic, educational and cultural institutions in time of peace as well as in war.

ARTICLE II

The neutrality of, and protection and respect due to, the monuments and institutions mentioned in the preceding article, shall be recognized in the entire expanse of territories subject to the sovereignty of each of the signatory and acceding States, without any discrimination as to the State allegiance of said monuments and institutions. The respective Governments agree to adopt the measures of internal legislation necessary to insure said protection and respect.

ARTICLE III

In order to identify the monuments and institutions mentioned in article I, use may be made of a distinctive flag (red circle with a triple red sphere in the circle on a white background) in accordance with the model attached to this treaty.

ARTICLE IV

The signatory Governments and those which accede to this treaty, shall send to the Pan American Union, at the time of signature or accession, or at any time thereafter, a list of the monuments and institutions for which they desire the protection agreed to in this treaty. The Pan American Union, when notifying the Governments of signatures or accessions, shall also send the list of monuments and institutions mentioned in this article, and shall inform the other Governments of any changes in said list.

ARTICLE V

The monuments and institutions mentioned in article I shall cease to enjoy the privileges recognized in the present treaty in case they are made use of for military purposes.

ARTICLE VI

The States which do not sign the present treaty on the date it is opened for signature, may sign or adhere to it at any time.

ARTICLE VII

The instruments of accession, as well as those of ratification and denunciation of the present treaty, shall be deposited with the Pan American Union, which shall communicate notice of the act of deposit to the other signatory or acceding States.

ARTICLE VIII

The present treaty may be denounced at any time by any of the signatory or acceding States, and the denunciation shall go into effect three months after notice of it has been given to the other signatory or acceding States.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Undersigned Plenipotentiaries, after having deposited their full powers found to be in due and proper form, sign this treaty on behalf of their respective governments, and affix thereto their seals, on the dates appearing opposite their signatures.

For the Argentine Republic:
 April 15, 1935 
FELIPE A. ESPIL

For Bolivia:
 April 15, 1935 
ENRIQUE FINOT

For Brazil:
 April 15, 1935 
OSWALDO ARANHA

For Chile: 
April 15, 1935 
M. TRUCCO

For Colombia: 
April 15, 1935
 M. LOPEZ PUMAREJO

For Costa Rica:
 April 15, 1935
 MAN. GONZALEZ

For Cuba:
 April 15, 1935 
GUILLERMO PATTERSON

For the Dominican Republic:
 April 15, 1935
 RAF. BRACHE

For Ecuador: 
April 15, 1935 
C. E. ALFARO

For El Salvador:  
April 15, 1935
 HECTOR DAVID CASTRO

For Guatemala:
 April 15, 1935 
ADRIAN RECINOS

For Haiti:
 April 15, 1935
 A. BLANCHET

For Honduras:
 April 15, 1935
 M. PAZ BARAONA

For Mexico:
 April 15, 1935 
F. CASTILLO NAJERA

For Nicaragua:
 April 15, 1935
 HENRI DE BAYLE

For Panama:
 April 15, 1935
 R. J. ALFARO

For Paraguay:
 April 15, 1935 
ENRIQUE BORDENAVE

For Peru:
 April 15, 1935
 M. DE FREYRE Y S.

For the United States of America:
 April 15, 1935 
HENRY A. WALLACE

For Uruguay:
 April 15, 1935 
J. RICHLING

For Venezuela:
 April 15, 1935
 PEDRO M. ARCAYA

AND WHEREAS the said Treaty has been duly ratified by the United States of America, whose instrument of ratification was deposited with the Pan American Union on July 13, 1935;

AND WHEREAS the said Treaty has been duly ratified also by the Republic of Cuba, whose instrument of ratification was deposited with the Pan American Union on August 26, 1935;

NOW, THEREFORE be it known that I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, have caused the said Treaty to be made public to the end that the same and every article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States of America and the citizens thereof.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have caused the Seal of the United States of America to be hereunto affixed.

DONE at the city of Washington this twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixtieth.

By the President:  FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

CORDELL HULL 
Secretary of State.