The Litchfield County post. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1826-1829, 1828-02-21

Joseph Scaliger couI repeat, what he
only took tweMy-one days 10 learn. the
whole OF Homer IIliad and Odyssey
The Itlads alone have 81 go verses.
That OF Cu;ntus Hortentius, tbn plea-
der, and contemporary with Cicero was
remarkable: Upon challenge that was
made TO him, he staid whole day at a
public sale, and repeated in order the sew
eral things which had been sold. to whom.
and at what time. His recital being COM
pared with the account taken by the clerk.
Ii appeared that his memory had not made
him mistaken in one particular.
AleXius de Alexis, an italian Physician
OF the l('ll century, was endowed with
prodigions memory; of this he gave re-
markable instance in the convent Of cann-
chlns, when he was physician to them.
father OF that ordeE had preached thar wear
at Rome, and was frequented by muItitudes
OF people OF every age and rank, who
were charmed with his ridiculous manner
OF speaking, and his gestures, which were
copied from the theatre. Alex;us had
been present at one of the m emarka-
Ole OF his sermons, which he on after
| repeated to the fathers of the convent for
the sake of diversion: and this he did to
that perfection, that he not only presery-
cd the order, method, and even words of
his discourse, but kewlse represented the
very voice, and look, and action of the
| preacher.~--What a memory must Ma.
| thews the conlmedian have, not merely as
10 ms part but the tone, gesture, manner.
every thing, Of those whom he initiated!
Dr. Fuller, another of "the voorhees,
mad such memory, that he once UNDER
took, In passing to and fro from TEMPLE
| Bar to the tartherest conduit in Chean-
s'de' to tell at his return, every sign as it
stood In order on both sides of the wav.
repeated them either backwards or for
wards as he should be desired: which he
exactly did, not missing or misplacinp one.
to the establishment of those who heard
HIM. But that which was more strange
still, was his manner of writing, which,
something like that of the Chinese, was
from the top of the page the bottom.
The manner was thus; He would write near
the margin the first words of evt ~ line to
the foot OF the paper; then, by beginn ne at
the head again, fill up every one of these
lines, which, without any interineation, or
space, but with the full and equal length.
would so adjust the sense and matter, that
ne could not do it better as he sometimes
SAID, II he had written it all out in con-
tinued series.
Charles Berhepu, one of the ministers
OF the WaIloon church in Thread
street, had SO good memo rat he new
er forgot any thing of what he saw, read
or heard. lie understood ecclesiastical
history so well, that he might always be
consulted on it with safety; for he would
al any time name the persons, and even
the most minute circumstances of time e.
place relating to the evens upon which he
was consulted. He died Dec. Is, 1889.
Beza could repeat by heart all the
psalms in Hebrew, and all the chapters of
St. Paul, in Greek. He dscoursed upon
ancient history with such perspcuity, that
one would have thought, (says Cassubon,)
he had just been reading Plutarch, and au-
thors of that class.
The invention of local memory, is as
cr'bed to SImonides. 1t is proper to mem
ton the occasioe upon which he invented
1t. When Scopas and his guests we're
killed by the falling of the room, they ". ere
so dlshgured that they could not be distn-
cuished one from another. However, it
vas Of importance to distinguish them for
those who wanted to bury them, were de-
sirous of doing this Office each to his rela-
) ton. Smonides extriCa,ed them out of
this difficulty; he recollected the place
where each of the guests had sat, g. by that
means was capable of informing the rela-
tons which was the person each of them
was to bury. Rejecting afterwards upon
the importance Of order, to preserve easily
the ideas of objects, be invented the meth
cd OF annexing them to certain places.
f Cicero dc Orat. lib. 2. calls him the Inyen-
tor of Local Memory. ,.
f After all a man of strong memory makes
himself some enemies, for he becomes a
leading man, or rather tyrant in CONVEX
sation; in due time unless he restraints, he
:. become dictator. The rest of the COM
pany are as dwarts; they cannot prevent
f his engrossng all he attention, and dare
not attack him. Just like proud beauty,
who darkehs and ecipses all the rest in
company, and is consequently an object of
hatred among the ladies', so is the learned
man, or the man of everlasting quotation.
There are such, but hey lessen their own
| can,f,rt ,,,hn,, ,L g, .af,sa t, l.%t 49,, 800