New-York daily tribune., 1844-04-03
From rhe Courier and Eranir.r

all his classes united, embracing orer tpo thou
sand PERSONS the last lecture of his first course.
IN exposition OF the system of Artificial Memo
" which he has invented. and thus far most sue
cessiully taught. 1t was generally received as
the most beautiful and interesting OF the series
the immediate subject being the application OF
the art to the recollection of all the facts and
figures connected with the Planetary System,
making vast amount of complicated numbers,
which no possible effort of the natural memory
could ever recollect, but which, by this syssesL
are learned as easily as any other facts to which
it has been applied.
We have attended the lectures throughout, and
made ourselves familiar with the principles, ap-
plications and merits of the system; and, as the
subject will doubtless continue to excite public
attention for long time to come, we shall, m
fuifilment of promise we made our readers at
the beginning of the course, and in justice, not
less to the public than Prof. Gouraud himself
present as fair and full statement Of the impor-
tance of the system our familiarity with it en-
ables US to make. We cannot, of course, explain
the SYSTEM as it would be impossible to do 1t
satisfactorily within our limits; and as every
page OF it, moreover, IS very properly protected
by Copyright.
Every one must be aware that natural memo
ry depends entley upon some association Of ideas:
every person, in striving to commit TO memory
any facts whatever, seeks to do it by assoclating
them in the mind with certain other things, which
will be less readily forgotten; and the more per-
feet this linking of the two is made, the more te-
nacious of that particular fact does the memory
become. In this process, which is universal, and
followed more or less consciously by every person
in all efforts of memory, the association is entire
ly arbitrary: every individual has method Pc
c,ii:ar to himself; Or if he has uniform system
he invents mode suited to each emergency
whether conscious of it or not.
Now the aim of Prof Gouraad has been, to
avail himself of this universal and perfectly ma
tural tendency of the mind-and to base uponit
a uniform and philosophical system of associa-
ton, one which shall be applicable TO all possible
cases, and so simple as TO be easily understood
and applied by every individual; one in which
there shall be nothing arbitrary, but where every
part shall be governed by certain established and
perfectly philosophical rules. Almost every one
have heretofore been repeatedly made. and with
Their very Indifferent success. We do not hesi-
tate, from careful, unpreludced and thorough
study of his method, to say, that Prof Gouraud
has not only far surpassed all former experiments
perfect and complete system that rcM erer be DIS
couered The nature Of the case, in our uiew,
admits of no important improvement upon has
scheme. We can conceive OF nothing more to
be expected or desired, in the way OF artificial
assistance to the powers of memory.
In remembering any thing,-for example the
duie of an erent, it is clear that if the very men
ton of the erent carried with it an inevitable
association with the date, the system would be
perfect and this is precisely what is done by the
system of Prof. GouRArp. To give as clear
notion of its fundamental character AS we can
with propricty, we may say that 1t has two lead
ing principles; the first Of them is, that as there
are ten figures, which, by combination, represent
all possible numbers, SO there are ten,-and Oniy
authorizations, On distinction from sounds or
vowels) in all possible language, which, by COM
bination, and slight modification form all posi-
bic ,rOrdS. OF course it follows, that any number
uhaterer. can be represented by regular tcOrd,
not an arbitrary and unmeanlng ceocatlon OF
letters, but by some word ur words In common
use. Here is one important step, far in advance
of any thing before accomplished. All that re-
mains is, to connect the eUenf by some p0nertut
association! roith the ,eOrd cords which sig
nify the numbers or whatever else is to be re.
membered. This is precisely phat is done by
the SECOND principle, 10 which ne hace alluded:
and it is done in :; manner which, though occa-
sonally fantastic, is, nevertheless, simple, highly
ingenious, and (Which is the only point OF imPor-
,ance) al,cays efectiue. Every art must be
judged by Its results.
Prof Gouraud habitually acknowledges his in
debtedness to the German Fcinagle, for the fun
damental hint which gave rise to his system. We
admire greatly his candor and the sense OF honu
which prompts him to do So though we can see
no great obligation which he has incurred. The
only principle which he has borrowed from Feina
gle is this, that letters may represent figures; but
this has been known and practiced from time I'M
memorial. The real difficulties of the proposed
system all occurred atter this step had been gain
ed and those are precisely the ones which Prof
Gouraud has most successfully overcome. Still,
to leave no rooin for cavil, he has repeatedly IN
sisted that Feinagle gave the original idea oil the
SYSTEM The improvement he has made upon
it would warrant him, in the eyes of every one,
in calling it his own.
But this system must not be judged by the bret
and very imperfect statement OF ITS principles
we have given. They give merely the germ of
the system; and the manner III which that mas
been developed, the skill, patience and ingenuity
with which every part OF The system, even 10 us
minuteSt details, has been elaborated, are no less
admirable in themselves than credltabe to the
talents of the Professor and conclusive as to the
extraordinary merits OF his system. The method
is applicable TO every thing in which memory IS
concerned, though our attention has been most
lorcibly arrested by its great Importance with re-
ference to those things which heretofore have been
thought most difficult to remember, namely,
fioures in all the infinite variety of their applca
lion, extended nomenclatures in which the order
of succession is OF great importance, Sc &c. So
far as they are concerned, it seems to US almost
impossible to eraggerate the utility Of The system;
It has been adapted with wonderful skill and
perseverance, 10 every branch Of every science: TO
almost every part of Astronomy, Geography