instance of the application of this principle, is had in the case of one who fails to recall a name. Try as he will the name will not come into the field of consciousness. He then begins to run over the alphabet, slowly, pausing at each letter and considering it before passing on. Very often the thought of the first letter of the name will bring back the impression of the name itself. The initial letter of a name is often remembered more clearly than the balance of the name, and the latter is brought by association when the mind recalls the first letter. If this method fails, try the plan of trying to remember the person himself, how he looked and talked, when and where you first heard his name, etc., or if it be the name of a thing, apply the same rule, and try to recall the circumstances surrounding it, the qualities connected with the thing bearing the name, etc.
PRINCIPLE XII. In endeavoring to recall an impression, think of some definite thing connected with it and revive others received about the same time. This is better than trying to recall it in an indiscriminate way.
When you are unable to succeed by the application of Principle xi, and can recall no impression received at the same time or component part, endeavor to recall the impression of something connected with the thing, in some way, getting as close to the object or subject as possible, and, if possible, the circumstances connected with the obtaining of the impression. Imagine yourself back in the position and under the circumstances that existed when the impression was received, and often you will start into operation a train of thought which will bring the desired thing into the field of consciousness.
PRINCIPLE XIII. When a previous impression is recalled, involuntarily, by the mind, after a previous unsuccessful attempt to recall it voluntarily, it is well to note the associated reviving impression, for future use and experiment.
This involuntary recollection of a thing which the mind has previously refused to recall, is, of course, an effort of the subconscious function of the mind. But, a little careful investigation will show that it came into the field of consciousness following closely another thought, although the connection between the two may not be apparent at first sight. By remembering the reviving impression, that is the impression which came into the field of consciousness just before the elusive impression, you may bring back the troublesome thing at will, no matter how long afterward the time may be when the word is again forgotten. And the noting of the dim connection will often open up quite a field for thought and give the key to a further knowledge of the great subject of memory.
Chapter XI.
The Cumulative System of Memory Culture.
Treating of a rational, practical, easily acquired system of Memory Culture, which in the opinion of the author of this book is the best and only practical method of developing the Memory as a whole—This is a modern presentation of the system used by the ancients, in India, Greece, Iceland, and other countries, to train the minds of students that they might acquire and store away the legends, religious books, philosophies, and laws of the races, and by means of which it was a common thing for these pupils to memorize books exceeding in size our Bible—Full instructions and directions are given for the development of the memory by this great system.
THOSE WHO have made a careful study of the subject of Memory Culture, and who have no pet hobbies to ride or fads to promote, generally agree that the method which we term “The Cumulative System” is the only natural system of developing the power of memory. It depends upon no set of tricks, catchwords, etc., but proceeds on the theory that the development of memory must be gradual, and by easy stages. It seeks to develop the memory, instead of loading it down with “methods.” Its underlying theory is the memory may be developed just as one would develop a muscle or part of the body—gradually, and by easy exercises constantly repeated. It is not a trick method of committing things to memory, but a system of developing and training the memory until it can readily recall things without the necessity of any tricks or artificial methods. It is Nature’s own way of doing things—of developing from the seed to the plant. But at the same time it affords the best possible plan of committing to memory anything of great length.
This “Cumulative System” is not a new system. It is merely the oldest system revived. It is the system used by the Orientals and other ancient people in training the mind to carry without mistake their sacred teaching and philosophies. In other parts of this work we have given numerous examples of the wonderful feats of memory performed by these peoples, and from what we have seen in a number of modern cases there seems to be no reason for thinking that these same feats may not be duplicated by the people of today. There is a very good reason for the apparent discontinuance of the old system. In the old days before printing was discovered, but very few people could write, and the writings themselves were apt to be mislaid, lost or destroyed, and the teachers were afraid to trust their teachings to parchment or whatever material happened to be in use. So they would train the minds of their pupils until they could commit to memory works of the same size as our Bible, or even larger. As you will see by reference to other chapters, the philosophies, religious books, and even the laws of many nations were thus transmitted and perpetuated for many centuries, without being committed to writing at all. Even in our own days, the rituals of secret societies are transmitted in this way, the rules of the orders prohibiting the writing or printing of certain parts of their ritual, or in some cases of any of it.
With the dawn of printing, when it became apparent that when thousands of copies of a book might be printed, and the chance of loss reduced, the necessity for the oral transmission of the teachings passed away, and the old art of memorizing almost entirely passed away. Men found it not worth while to memorize things which they could find in the books on their shelves. They overlooked the fact that in allowing the old system to pass out of use, they not only lost the art of memorizing matters of great length, but they also lost the art of training the memory to remember ordinary things, and the result is seen in our condition today, when a man of good memory is looked upon as a curiosity. Moreover, many have grown to believe that a good memory is almost an abnormal thing and that the natural condition of man is to have a poor memory. They do not realize that every man has the power to develop his memory very far beyond its present condition. Of course, some men naturally remember better than others, but the man with a poor memory may so develop it by proper training that he can remember better than can the man with a good memory without training.
The “Cumulative System” differs from other systems, inasmuch as it does not teach how to remember a thing by its association with another thing which is perhaps more easily remembered, or with some thing already fixed in the memory. Instead of this it endeavors to so develop, strengthen and train the mind that it is enabled to easily commit to memory anything which it desires, and is also able to easily recall the thing memorized, by Will.
One of the beauties of this system is that while you are practicing you are committing to memory valuable information and knowledge, and while you are committing interesting and useful things to memory, you are developing the memory itself. It must be remembered, however, by the student that the great importance of the system lies not in the mere ability to memorize long poems, speeches, etc., but in the developing and strengthening of the memory itself. And not only does it develop in one the power of storing away impressions in the mind, but also trains one in the faculty of recollection—in recalling readily that which has been memorized. The result of an earnest study and application of this system is that (1) the special thing studied will be easily memorized, long remembered and readily recalled; (2) there will be a marked and steady increase in the power of memorizing anything; and (3) a marked increase and growth of the power of recalling anything by an effort of the Will.
The “Cumulative System” is based upon the theory that the power of memorizing and recollection may be enormously increased by a system of progressive exercises and by frequent reviews.
The student should select something to commit to memory that interests him, and the subject of which is pleasant. A favorite poem, if long enough, is good. We think that Scott’s
“Lady of the Lake” is one of the best poems for this purpose,