Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-09-10
MARveLs OF MEMORY.
Examples of Feats Performed in Ancient
Times.

MARv6IS OF MEMORY.
Examples of Feats Performed in Ancient
Times.
History furnishes us with large
number of examples of wonderful MEM
DRY. Scaliger, an Italian, in twenty
one days committed to memory the
uiad, which comprises 1920 verses,
and the Odyssey. which also comprises
q large number: Lipeius. a professor at
the university Of Leyden. offered to re-
cite Tacticus' history in its entirety in
the presence of q person armed with .
psignard, who should stab him with it
1t the first error; Louis XIII, after .
years time could draw, from memory,
the plan of a country, with all its de-
tails, and the actor Lassaussiclere, af-
ter reading advertising sheets for an
hour, could repeat them textaally, and
this, it may be said, by way Of paren-
thesis, must have been pretty weari-
some. 1t is stated also that an En-
glishman who had an extraordinary
memory was intrudoced to Frederic at
Potsdam, and ON the same day Voltaire,
having brought some verses to the king,
the latter had the Englishman con-
cealed and req uested Voltaire to read
his work. "But these verses are not
yours" said the king. ''They were re-
cited to me this morning" He then
produced the Englishman, who. to the
great establishment of Voltaire, recited
them without error.
It is especially in the legendary stories
of antiquity that we find numerous ex-
amples of extraordinary memory. Let
us recall the fact that to Adrian, the
successor of Trajan, to Mithridates. to
Themistocles, to Scipio. to Cyrus and to
many others. is attributed the faculty
of remembering the names of all their
soldiers; that it is claimed that Hor-
tensius. the orator. attended a public
sale lasting whole day, and recalled
in order, all the objects sold and the
names of the purchasers; and that the
ambassador Chineas, having been re-
ceived in the senate. saluted by name.
on the following day. all the senators
whom he had seen but once. These nu-
merous examples from antiquity are
easily explained In fact, before the
! dissemination of the art of writing, the
development of the memory was indis-
pensable- In our day this faculty is
less cultivated, at least for ordinary re-
quirements, since, by means of notes,
we can almost dispense with it. Yet
there is a memory that every one pos
sesses, and that many persons are igno-
rant of, and that is the memory of the
eye. the memory of things seen. that of
the artist and draughtsman-the faculty
that permits the latter to reproduce an
| ornament, for example, that they have
seen but once. This memory is pos
sessed by everyone in greater or less
development, for everyone sees, and to
a greater or less extent Classics in his
| brain the things seen, and that, too
without being conscious of it 1t is
this memory of the eye that forms an
excellent memotechnical method. The
following are few examples:
Many soldiers, in order to recall
theory, endeavor to figure to them
selves the page recto verso and then the
place on the page where the article
| which they wish to recall is found.
Certain prestidigitators employ the same
| method for indicating in a book the
page aud line containing citation that
| is made to them. Others, after having
had repeated to them any forty COM
mon names, at once repeat them in
| order, either by commencing at the be-
ginning or the end, or at random. in
assigning to each of them the numb Der
of the order in which it has been given.
| An author of the sixteenth century
| named Muret, tells that he once saw a
| Corscian to whom he dictated two thou
| sand Latin, Greek, and barbarous words
having no affinity with each other, and
who repeated them to him in order. This
appears to us doubtful, for it is pretty
difficult to memorize and repeat forty
words only, and requires well-drilled
memory. Yet with the memory of the
Il Il.
suit, not with forty but with twenty
names, for the difficulty increases in
proportion to the number of words
added. 1t is necessary to proceed as
follows: Let us suppose that the first
word given is mousse" do not attempt
to recall the word, but consider your
memory as a sensitised Photographic
plate-in a word, make a negative of
the object, see before your eyes the
animal itself walking slowly and carry
ing placard marked No. 1. Let us
take chat" for the second name. Imag-
inc hat with the number fixed above,
as upon the hat of a conscript For No.
8 let us suppose chair" Imagine q
chair provided with a number showing
its price as marked by the dealer. etc.
You will then easily recall the success
sion of the objects and the number of
their order, and will be able to name
them in every way possible. Proceed
in this manner up TO ten and then the
next day up to twelve, and SO on. grad
ually increasing the number. After q
few repetitions of this exercise you will
be astonished at the ease with which you
will succeed in retaining twenty or
more words, absolutely classified in
your mind as if ON drawing paper, SO
that when you are asked the number
the name will come to your mind, and
reciprocally. This is pleasing diver
sion for family reunions on long winter
evenings. Saturday Evening
Herald.
THE GENERAL Markets.