The
wise
guy
that
nicknamed
the
dictionary
as
"the
father
of
mules"
committed
a
grave
injustice
to
humanity,
or
at
least
to
the
humanity
of
the
Portuguese
language.
But
really,
kidding
or
not,
just
how
many
people
keep
away
from
the
lexicon
and
avoid
consulting
it
to
appear
cult
and
self-sufficient?
It's
a
shame
because
a
good
or
even
a
poor
dictionary
never
did
any
harm
to
anyone,
but
could
do
the
contrary,
perhaps
helping
out
a
lot.
A
dictionary
is
a
God-sent
auxiliary
for
anyone,
at
the
moment
of
clearing
up
doubts.
With
it,
we
can
quickly
and
easily
clear
up
doubts
and
affirm
certainties
about
orthography
and
word
meanings,
always
coming
to
the
rescue,
like
a
ray
of
sunshine
on
a
rainy
day.
A
dictionary,
if
human,
would
certainly
be
considered
to
be
the
most
intelligent
of
all
teachers.
There
are
dictionaries
for
all
uses
and
users
in
the
world
today,
the
most
popular
being
that
of
synonyms,
even
the
analogical
ones,
which
give
all
associated
ideas,
too.
There
are
dictionaries
for
all
needs:
grammar,
antonyms
and
synonyms,
etymological,
proper
name
dictionaries,
of
verb
conjugation,
of
pronunciation,
of
slang,
of
technical
terms,
historical,
geographical,
philosophical,
biblical,
everything.
It
looks
crazy,
but
there
is
even
one
for
cuss
words,
edited
a
couple
of
years
ago,
with
all
the
shameless
exaggeration
that
could
be
possibly
expounded
in
the
everyday
Portuguese
language.
I
have
a
dictionary
about
women
of
the
Bible,
another
of
mythology
and
still
another
dealing
with
difficult
points
of
the
Portuguese
language.
When
someone
is
very
rich,
or
thinks
so,
isn't
lucky
enough,
or
doesn't
know
how
to
escape
from
the
hypnotic
sales
pitch
of
booksellers,
he
will
buy
beautiful
dictionaries
and
encyclopedias,
of
many
volumes,
luxurious,
appropriate
for
decorating
bookshelves,
in
the
living
room,
if
possible.
They
are
gorgeous
outside,
golden,
brilliant,
truly
exquisite
jewels,
marvelous
to
be
seen
and
touched.
On
the
majority
of
times,
these
treasures
are
kept
on
the
shelf,
unused,
because
the
quantity
of
wisdom
contained
in
these
volumes
is
sometimes
so
great
that
the
advantages
they
offer
are
minimally
explored,
only
to
be
awakened
if
they
are
finally
discovered
by
some
school
children,
who
are
always
ready
to
copy
down
anything
they
find,
to
rack
up
a
few
extra
points
at
the
end
of
the
semester.
How
good
it
would
be
if
people
would
use
them,
as
they
should
be.
constantly!
And
how
happy
they
would
be
if
they
started
taking
advantage
of
the
immense
wealth
contained
inside.
Of
course,
it
is
clear
that
Schools
should
promote
more
research,
research
to
be
executed
with
these
precious
tools
of
wisdom.
This
would
immediately
lead
to
great
gains
at
the
social
level
of
common
knowledge
of
the
Portuguese
language,
as
much
in
orthography
as
well
as
in
the
proper
meaning
of
words.
When
someone
comes
to
the
point
of
valorizing
their
language,
and
shows
interest
in
it,
realizing
that
in
every
word
is
contained
a
universe
of
life
and
power,
the
road
to
culture
is
already
half
walked.
The
dictionary
is
a
vehicle
of
individual
and
collective
use,
silent,
always
ready
to
transport
its
users
to
a
wonderland
of
reality
and
enchantment.
Don't
be
afraid
of
using
them,
during
the
day
or
at
night.
The
dictionary
is
our
most
generous
friend,
patiently
waiting
for
us,
our
Friend
and
comrade!
