The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-02-20

The PROPER NODE OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE
This is an exctabe community. Our city is al
ways in fever of some kind We have ust esca-
ped from the fiwor Of the vibration of the fiddle
string mania. The mnemonical mania is now upon
US. The journals Of the city inform us that the
lecture rooms of professor Gouraud is crowded to
excess Ladies and gentlemen press into his apart
ments eager TO obtain knowledge Of his wonder
full system of memory. In the meantime the pro-
lessor keeps his system a secret, and does not
degn to inform the public what it is. He brings
before the audiences number Of his pupils, and
by their proficiency in the art OF memory. he hopes
to persuade the public that he has neic system.
Very learned men IN different ages have given
great attention to this subject, and have invented
various systems for the improvement of the memo
~. Those founded upon the well known laws Of
association, mot Fourier association) and making
physical objects stand for and represent IDEAS have
prevailed. Some of their systems may possibly
have been Of some little advantage in facilitating
however, all dead They died before their lnven-
tors The truth is, there can be useful practical
system except the one adopted by the wise and
learned men Of this and other ages OF the world
There is no loyal way in the acquisition OF know
ledge-no short road to the end OF our journey in
the arts and sciences. To eat an apple and be
god is no more. We must travel on our prede-
cessors have done, and by labor and ex triton must
In order to understand the subject, and ascertain
the truth OF what has been said, let us look for
few moments into the mind, and ascertain the laws
oa eapsn
the laws Of its action First, we have the percep-
tive powers; secondly, we have the retentive pow
ers, or in other words, we have the faculty Of
membering those ideas we have acquired by
the perceptive powers /; and thirdly, we have the
powers of judgment, which consists in combining,
comparing and Analysing. our ideas in the mind,
and judging of the result of the process. And
which enable us to form and create various images in
our mind at our pleasure. We can create world
in our mind, and people it. Indeed, we can hardly
set limits to this power.
Now, in proper course Of education, all Of
these powers Of The mind must be improved. The
perception must be keen and discriminating. We
should perceive clearly and truly. If we have a
confused perception OF things, we shall be unable
will be weak So, also, we must pay attention to
the powers of memory: those powers should be
cultivated, improved and invigorated, that we may
be able to retain the knowledge we have gained
So, also, the Judgment, the most important power
Of them all, should not be neglected. The judy
meut may be termed the balance-wheel of the
mind, for without judgment man is a poor miser-
able creature-inferior even to the beasts of the
field And, lastly, we have the powers Of the i'm
agnaton, which should be cultivated and improved,
and regulated and controlled by the Judgment.
These powers OF the mind must all be cultivated
and improved. There can be no such thing as i'm:
proving one at the expense Of the others: it would
umlinge and unbalawoe the mind, and do positive
injury instead of benefit. To fill the mind, as
Professor Gourand proposes to do, with dates, and
figures, and isolated facts in the history OF the
world, wonld be doing the greatest possible injury
to the numerous persons who constitute his classes
A PERSONS mind merely stored with facts is gener-
ally the most weak and feeble being among us.
learned Pedant is sure to be the laughing-stock
Of the world We see the truth Of this assertion
ing is depression. The educated man has i'm
proved his memory, and SO he has the other facul-
ties and powers OF his mind. He has strengthened
his memory by classifying and arranging in method
and order his various knowledge, And this Is the
only way it can be improved. 1t 10 method, order,
system and arrangement the great men OF this and
other ages have adopted to acquire and retain know
ledge And it will be found, even by the advo-
Gates OF artificial systems OF memory, to be the
0nly method by arranging and classifying our va
rous knowledge. We improve the memory and the
other faculties and powers II is the process nature
teaches u.s. We commence it in the cradle, and
continue it to the grave. The vast particulars OF
knowledge that we obtain through life we arrange
and put in class, order and system, and by that
means are enabled to retain in the mind great
amount of knowledge, the particulars of which
would, otherwise, confuse and bewilder us. And
the same process we adopt IN obtaining know
ledge Of the arts and sciences. We class the phe-
nOmena into order and system, that the amazing
number of particulars shall not confuse us, and can
by that means grasp the most complicated and ex-
tended subject. This is the mode OF acquiring and
retaining knowledge, and it is the only mode