Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-07-01

The following essay by John Hunt
fngton, OF Covlitz. a graduate Of tn
Commercial class Of 1888, vas delivefes
June 18th. in the PRESBYTERIAN church
Sea tie, on tbs occ4sion of the com
mencement exercises of the Universit.
Of Washington:
That faculty upon which 50 much o.
the happiness of mankind Is bssed, Il
which all knowledge of the externa
world 10 20 strongly indebted for its ex.
inence and Development, and without
which man would Be far inferior beins
BY lacking that power 70 preserve his
own life and recall facts which are moi
Only necessary to the production Of new
discoveries in science but without which
the intellect, itself, would not be sns-
oeptib.e Of cultivation. This faculty
which 10 worthy of the highest degree Of
cultivation by every one who holds o
noble aim In life, is memory, that powe.
BY which our past experiences are again
presented to our minds.
The theory of this faculty Is one which
has held its place among the prlncip,l
topics of investigation and discussion
both in ancient and modern times.
Diverse opinions have been given on the
subject by men OF learning, some being
very remote, especially in the earlier
times, from those given by the mos:
prominent writer's of the present period,
and az the world develops in civilization
the true theory Is being more clearly
presented to light. OF all the different
faculties which go to make up the hu-
man mind this is one of the highest
importance and may be considered as
the foundation of many Of the other
powers.
Memory operates in two ways: First,
mental reproduction, or that power of
the mind by which some object or event
of our past experience is presented to
our minds, without recalling any cir
cumstances under which such object or
event was perceived, or anything con-
nected With it 10 any way, or any occa-
sion on which We took coguizance of it;
simply tho event itself. Secondly,
memory proper, the power by which
such objects or events are reproduced
in the mind, and at the same time the
different things with which they were
the circumstances under
which We perceived them, and the time.
place and cause of their perception.
For illustration: suppose that | see
Mount Rainier rearing its rugged head
above the distant horizon, illuminated
by the mellow rays Of the receding sun;
and suppose at some future time this
mountain is recalled to my mind with
out any thought as to the different OBJ
iects BY which it is surrounded, or the
time when. or the place WI ere it was
presented to my view, simply the noun
tain itself; this is mental reproduction,
but if | recall along with it the sur
rounding hills, illuminated as it was,
and the place and time of my percep-
ton, this is memory proper.
This power greatly contributes to hu-
man happiness, by enabling person to
recall and picture to his mind the
events of his past life, and the
numerous enjoymnts which he new
er expects to witness again. II
he had not this power the friends
who are 80 dear to him, but
have passed to some foreign shore, or
left this world entirely and entered into
the bright realms Of eternity, could not
be recalled, and large part if not all
Of his happiness would be destroyed.
Imagine an old man whose frail form
and quivering limbs exclude him from
of the pleasures of this life,
had he no power of recalling to mind
the scenes of his childhood and the nu-
enjoyments Of his younger days,
with which his thoughts are constantly
and wherein his whole hap
piness lies. he would see no pleasure in
this world during his old age, and life
would be not only burden to him, but
also to those to whom he looks for sup
port. BY the exercise of this power he
can make happy those with whom he is
by relating hi, experiences,
and impsrting his knowledge to those
who are just starting out on their jour
ney, and thus prevent many of the mis-
that might otherwise befall
them. Hence life becomes blessing to
him, and he can DO Of much use to his
when otherwise it would be
q burden. 1t is true that this power
may sometimes cause an unpleasant
feeling by bringing to mind some sad
experience, or something which We
regret, but is this not only to
point out our errors and guard against
these unpleasant sources?
To this faculty all education is strong
ly indebted for its retention and devel-
opment. BY it the facts which
have been brought forth and demon
strated in all ages of the world are re-
tanned, and bv the continuous multiple
city of these new discoveries the world
is rapidly developing in civilization and
the field 1T science Is becoming enlarged,
Z ~ g., 10 q,
these facts which are every
day being discovered would Immediate
~ be forgotten and the years Of toll and
labor which have been expended In their
discovery would be entirely thrown
away and the discoverer would be desti-
tute Of any reward for his services.
Hence far less effort would be made
toward their discovery, and the field of
science would be without the means Of
why does the disoov-
srer 30 readily forfeit his work il not
that his thoughts may DO retained and
he be honored for his labor? or Why
does the warrior % readily sacrifice his
life il not that he may live and be hon.
ored in the minds of his posterity
Without this faculty the Development
of the scientific world would be utterly
impossible, for the principles which are
necessary to the demonstration of these
new truths which go 70 enlarge its bor-
ders could not be recalled, and their
proof would be beyond the reach of
human power, for without the means
of bringing TO mind the laws
governing the relation of the ele-
ments one to another which 60
to make mp this universe could any Of
the sexpegiments in Christianity even
have bee( performed? or without the
principles Of arithmetic and geometry
could Newton over have accomplished
what he did In mechanics and astro-
nomy?
This faculty gees far 10 make man
what he Ia and 70 raise him to a
higher degree in the animal kingdom:
BY II his intellectual capacity is devel-
oped, enabling him to investigate more
thoroughly into subjects Of controversy
and the means Of self protection are
furnished by enabling him to guard
against tho dangers which he meets,
having witnessed Of their defects and
calling them to mind; whereas, without
this faculty, he would have no concep-
ton Of the dangers about 20 come upon
him and Ie would be wholly passive to
whatever comes in his way. Man
would avian n u1thout tina r,wor In