The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-08-06
Cul,isatlng tho memory.


There Is no occupation that ] would
more strongly advise my young readers
10 pursue than that Of learning by heart,
and depositing upon "theeilent shore OF
memory images and precious thoughts
that shall not die, and can not be de-
stroyed."
It tis said that In our schools this exer-
else is not as regularly kept up as ii
used to be, and, when we consider the
deterioration of memory in the present
day, IL is much to DO feared that this is
the case.
We read of men thirty years ago who
found no difficulty In learning books OF
paradise Lost" and Of Dante's "Infer-
no" by heart, and we 60 to recitations
now OF only couple Of hours duration.
and hear the audience coming away, ex-
claiming; "What prodigious memory
that man has!'
Yet that prodigious memory is, l be-
lieve, within reach of every child who
reads these pages, if they will but take
the trouble to acquire it, and a little
thought on the subject will show them
that learning by heart is one Of the most
elevating and useful studies they can
pursue, besides being one Of the most
easily cultivated.
It does not require any SPECIAL taste
fer its pursuit, like most other studies,
>for the faculty is born in each one OF
us. All knowledge is either learned or
discovered, and it is principally ac-
quired in the former way. We can
trace It in every stage Of hfe. from the
baby child. learning to lisp the words
papa" and "mamma," to the student,
in the prime of life and intellect, eager
" stretching his brains to grasp knowl
edge, 'the appetite for which grows by
what it feeds on" and then on to the
wrinkled old man, failing slightly in in
tellect, but still poring over his daily
paper, from which he learns the history
and politics of the day.
And what is it that during those years
makes mans mind capable of holding
glorious knowledge and truth? Simply
learning by heart, and exercising the
memory with the understanding.
But although this fNulty is born in
all of us, our respective special tastes
may be brought into use in exercising
n, by choosing those works to commit
to memory which we like best, anc
which. in consequence, can be Learned
with least effort and most prott; anC
surely among all the great works tina
have been written there must be author
capable of awakening in each Of us thu
electric chord of sympathy.
Again, it is study adapted to SPAR
moments, as 1t does not require any
preparation, and the tools for workin!
at it are always Within our reach Il dc
not contemplate the possibility of m!
readers living in an atmosphere of sucl
mental barrenness as not to have stand
ard authors perpetually about them)
and having learned even n line or tw,
by heart is n sure test that those pre-
c'ous spare moments, snatched as the,
are unexpectedly from the duties an
hustle of the day, have not been wasted
We have something to show for them
We have made successful mental eS
ertion.
Then. again, II we wish TO make 9th
ers feel and admire passages from al
thors that we feel and admire ourselves
how much more impressively we ca
quote or recite them than we can rea
theml In reading them there must b
a certain amount of mechanical wor
with the eyes. In repeating them b
heart we can throw the whole min
and soul into them; we can pour ther
forth as II they were our own word.
and for the time being we have mad
them our own words. They come fror
the depths OF our own hearts, and t
quote contemporary author: "Wha
comes from the heart goes to the hear
II there be heart present for it "
to."-GoLden Days.