Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-23
THE ART OF MEMORY

THE ART OF MEMORY
THE SUBJECT OF AN INSTRUCTIVE cHAU-
TAUQUA LECTURE.
Explanation of Prof. Whites Method of As.
sIsting Siudent. to RecoIiect Facts
Morality and ReIizion-Mrs. wooIson
Says Unpleasant Things About Germany.
| ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,
AXE CHAUTAUoUA, July 22.-Not content
alone with DR.. Harper and his instructive
method by means of which Hebrew Greek and
Latin can be forced into the minds OF the
students with speed that would appal the
teachers of our fathers, the Assembly has
brought man here to tell the people how to
strengthen the memory and retain the large
ar1ount OF knowledge and wisdom which is
| oHered here as free as water. If the Chautau-
qua scholars do not propose to spend unneces-
| sary energy and time in the aquirement of the
| principles of language study neither do they
| intend to lose what they have learned. This
memory method is also an inductive one. to be
learned quickly, and with the lighrning-like
rapld1ty, which only suits the sprouting Chau-
tauqua idea. They are bound to have the
lnductive method in everything, which, in
short, means shooting things suddenly. skill
fully, meteorically into the mind of the student
without any OF the cant and drudgery OF the
old time instruction.
At 5 o'clock this afternoon Prof. W. W.
White, the gentleman who is to teach the peo-
pie of Chautauqua the art of memory training.
gave bright interesting lecture on the SUD-
ject which most interests him. These were his
pointed and suggestive remarks: Some one has
truly said that lectures on projectiles never
made marksman. Lectures on memory never
improved the memory. We take certain
amount of material and we endeavor to get re-
classify MnmOry
fined as the revival of a past mental impression
This is recollection. but not memory. The I'M
preston must be strong.
=
Good md Bad Memories.
THERE are two kinds of memory. First, the
good impression ability but poor retentive
power, which. like marks on the sands, the in
coming tide washes away. Second, the poor i'm
preston ability and good retentive power, which
are like chiseling on the finty rock, though
there are good many chisels drilled in the
operation. The retention of anything does not
depend upon repetition Of the impression. 1
will venture that there are those who cannot
write properly the figures of the clock upon
the blackboard. and yet they have seen the
clock more times than anv other object on
earth. These are the methods of memory
training; that of resemblance between differ
ent objects; memorlZing a number of Words
and that based upon the natural laws of the
mind. If the cause of anything is presented
the effect comes to the mind; if the effect, the
cause comes to the mind.
The speaker drilled the audience upon a
series OF words having resemblance of sun,
heat, steam, vapor, light. lightning clouds,
rain, Noah ark, lark, canary, bird. finch, etc..
each following in sort of a natural order. Then
he asked them to repeat the alphabet backward
and they could not do it. This fact he brought
to prove that the memory followed natural
laws. If think of the lake, L think of the
ship upon the lake. The association of the con-
tainer brings the thing contained. The easy
way in which we memorize rhyming poetry is
due to the resemblance in sound. There are
contrasts in sound, meaning and appearance.
If we go to friend to describe new sound, to
illustrate 1t we Immediately contrast tt with
another sound. Children learn to talk by sound.
You child can speak English. but he cannot
older, use sound more?
Considerina Related Objects.
F VERIFYING to be remembered and recalled
at will should be introduced into the mind
in an organized relation to something else. You
SHOULD never introduce ANYTHING in an irrela-
tive way to the mind. If you find two things
together in space and they have any relation
you naturally place them together. Anything
that takes things out of their natural setting is
impracticable and injurious to the mind. 1
think that we try to get too many things into
our minds and have too little at our fingers
ends. II you put any little fact down in your
little note book the memory is jealous of it. ana
by and by when you want to keep anything in
your mind your memory will say, "Put it down
in your little note book" The fact is that if we
knew enough we would find everything related.
When we have a lesson we should not go right
straight through it, but look at it in general
and gain the easiest way.
The speaker wrote the names of the SONS of
Jacob on the board. ~ notice that Dan ends |
with the same letter that Naphali begins with, |
which ends with the same letter as Issachai." |
and in that and other ways he taught easy |
way to commit these names. Mr.. While claims |
for his memory system that 1t is perfectly nat |
ural and adapts it to logical arrangement of |
things in ones mind. He remains at Chautau- |
qua for several weeks to teach and explain his |
ideas to classes which are to be formed Cor this |
study.
How Morality and Religion Differ.
THE first of these lectures on the subject of |
biblical study was given 1t o'clock by
Prof. Weidner. These talks alternate with |
those of Prof. Bernham, and will continue to |
the end of the week. There are GO in all of the |
sciences connected with biblical study 1t |!
takes men 15 or 20 years TO become experts on |
these subjects. We have to do with one of |
four divisions which we call systematic the |
ology. There is a worldly morality, in which |
man is his own law giver, and the religious |
morality, in which man recognizes God as his |
leader. The fundamental conception of hu-
manity Is the consideration of God. morality |
and nature. The first relation of man to God |
is religion, in which God works in the human
soul to prepare it for Himself as dwelling.
the same thing, they very closely united.
You can have morality without religion. but
not religion without morality. In Catholicism
the only duty of its followers is TO the church.
There Is wide difference between Catholic
and Protestant ethics. Protestants teach the
doctrines of the universal priesthood of be-
LEVERS The Reformation distinguished be-
tween the word of God and the word of man.
In the life of the present day there are three
tendencies: First, an abiding faith in the re-
ligion of Jesus Christ; second, a belief in no
Christ; third, Roman Catholicism. Along these
lines are to be fought out the religious prob
lens of the future. Where there is perfect
good there is perfect knowledge and perfect
power as to its attributes. When we speak of
nature in God it is not the same thing as
speaking of material substance in God. God
must live in Himself. a life of perfectly salts
fed love.
Mans Destiny Foreshndnwed.
AS GOD created man in his own image, he is
not merely a part of nature, but is per-