Here you will learn How to develop, train and use your memory
Page 5 of
22.
CHAPTER III.
CELEBRATED CASES OF MEMORY.
In order that the student may appreciate the marvelous extent of development
possible to the memory, we have thought it advisable to mention a number of
celebrated cases, past and present. In so doing we have no desire to hold up
these cases as worthy of imitation, for they are exceptional and not necessary
in every-day life. We mention them merely to show to what wonderful extent
development along these lines is possible.
In India, in the past, the sacred books were committed to memory, and handed
down from teacher to student, for ages. And even to-day it is no uncommon thing
for the student to be able to repeat, word for word, some voluminous religious
work equal in extent to the New Testament. Max Muller states that the entire
text and glossary of Panini's Sanscrit grammar, equal in extent to the entire
Bible, were handed down orally for several centuries before being committed to
writing. There are Brahmins to-day who have committed to memory, and who can
repeat at will, the entire collection of religious poems known as the
Mahabarata, consisting of over 300,000 slokas or verses. Leland states that, "
the Slavonian minstrels of the present day have by heart with remarkable
accuracy immensely long, epic poems. I have found the same among Algonquin
Indians whose sagas or mythic legends are interminable, and yet are committed
word by word accurately. I have heard in England of a lady ninety years of age
whose memory was miraculous, and of which extraordinary instances are narrated
by her friends. She attributed it to the fact that when young she had been made
to learn a verse from the Bible every day, and then constantly review it. As her
memory improved, she learned more, the result being that in the end she could
repeat from memory any verse or chapter called for in the whole Scripture."
It is related that Mithridates, the ancient warrior-king, knew the name of every
soldier in his great army, and conversed fluently in twenty-two dialects. Pliny
relates that Char-mides could repeat the contents of every book in his large
library. Hortensius, the Roman orator, had a remarkable memory which enabled him
to retain and recollect the exact words of his opponent's argument, without
making a single notation. On a wager, he attended a great auction sale which
lasted over an entire day, and then called off in their proper order every
object sold, the name of its purchaser, and the price thereof. Seneca is said to
have acquired the ability to memorize several thousand proper names, and to
repeat them in the order in which they had been given him, and also to reverse
the order and call off the list backward. He also accomplished the feat of
listening to several hundred persons, each of whom gave him a verse; memorizing
the same as they proceeded; and then repeating them word for word in the exact
order of their delivery and then reversing the process, with complete success.
Eusebius stated that only the memory of Esdras saved the Hebrew Scriptures to
the world, for when the Chaldeans destroyed the manuscripts Esdras was able to
repeat them, word by word to the scribes, who then reproduced them. The
Mohammedan scholars are able to repeat the entire text of the Koran, letter
perfect. Sealiger committed the entire text of the Iliad and the Odyssey, in
three weeks. Ben Jonson is said to have been able to repeat all of his own works
from memory, with the greatest ease. Bulwer could repeat the Odes of Horace
from memory. Pascal could repeat the entire Bible, from beginning to end, as
well as being able to recall any given paragraph, verse, line, or chapter.
Landor is said to have read a book but once, when he would dispose of it, having
impressed it upon his memory, to be recalled years after, if necessary. Byron
could recite all of his own poems. Buffon could repeat his works from beginning
to end. Bryant possessed the same ability to repeat his own works. Bishop
Saunderson could repeat the greater part of Juvenal and Per-seus, all of Tully,
and all of Horace. Fedo-sova, a Russian peasant, could repeat over 25,000 poems,
folk-songs, legends, fairy-tales, war stories, etc., when she was over seventy
years of age. The celebrated "Blind Alick," an aged Scottish beggar, could
repeat any verse in the Bible called for, as well as the entire text of all the
chapters and books. The newspapers, a few years ago, contained the accounts of a
man named Clark who lived in New York City. He is said to have been able to
give the exact presidential vote in each State of the Union since the first
election. He could give the population in every town of any size in the world
either present or in the past providing there was a record of the same. He could
quote from Shakespeare for hours at a time beginning at any given point in any
play. He could recite the entire text of the Iliad in the original Greek.
The historical case of the unnamed Dutchman is known to all students of memory.
This man is said to have been able to take up a fresh newspaper; to read it all
through, including the advertisements; and then to repeat its contents, word for
word, from beginning to end. On one occasion he is said to have heaped wonder
upon wonder, by repeating the contents of the paper backward, beginning with the
last word and ending with the first. Lyon, the English actor, is said to have
duplicated this feat, using a large London paper and including the market
quotations, reports of the debates in Parliament, the railroad time-tables and
the advertisements. A London waiter is said to have performed a similar feat, on
a wager, he memorizing and correctly repeating the contents of an eight-page
paper. One of the most remarkable instances of extraordinary memory known to
history is that of the child Christian Meinecken. When less than four years of
age he could repeat the entire Bible; two hundred hymns; five thousand Latin
words; and much ecclesiastical history, theory, dogmas, arguments; and an
encyclopedic quantity of theological literature. He ia said to have practically
retained every word that was read to him. His case was abnormal, and he died at
an early age.
John Stuart Mill is said to have acquired a fair knowledge of Greek, at the age
of three years, and to have memorized Hume, Gibbon, and other historians, at the
age of eight, shortly after he mastered and memorized Herodotus, Xenophon, some
of Socrates, and six of Plato's "Dialogues." Richard Porson is said to have
memorized the entire text of Homer, Horace, Cicero, Virgil, Livy, Shakespeare,
Milton, and Gibbon. He is said to have been able to memorize any ordinary novel
at one careful reading; and to have several times performed the feat of
memorizing the entire contents of some English monthly review. De Rossi was able
to perform the feat of repeating a hundred lines from any of the four great
Italian poets, provided he was given a line at random from their workshis
hundred lines following immediately after the given line. Of course this feat
required the memorizing of the entire works of those poets, and the ability to
take up the repetition from any given point, the latter feature being as
remarkable as the former. There have been cases of printers being able to
repeat, word for word, books of which they had set the type. Professor Lawson
was able to teach his classes on the Scriptures without referring to the book.
He claimed that if the entire stock of Bibles were to be destroyed, he could
restore the book entire, from his memory.
Rev. Thomas Fuller is said to have been able to walk down a long London street,
reading the names of the signs on both sides; then recalling them in the order
in which they had been seen, and then by reversing the order. There are many
cases on record of persons who memorized the words of every known tongue of
civilization, as well as a great number of dialects, languages, and tongues of
savage races. Bossuet had memorized the entire Bible, and Homer, Horace and
Virgil beside. Niebuhr, the historian, was once employed in a government office,
the records of which were destroyed. He, thereupon, restored the entire
contents of the book of records which he had writtenall from his memory. Asa
Gray knew the names of ten thousand plants. Milton had a vocabulary of twenty
thousand words, and Shakespeare one of twenty-five thousand. Cuvier and Agassiz
are said to have memorized lists of several thousand species and varieties of
animals. Magliabechi, the librarian of Florence, is said to have known the
location of every volume in the large library of which he was in charge; and the
complete list of works along certain lines in all the other great libraries. He
once claimed that he was able to repeat titles of over a half-million of books
in many languages, and upon many subjects. In nearly every walk of life are to
be found persons with memories wonderfully developed along the lines of their
particular occupation. Librarians possess this faculty to an unusual degree.
Skilled workers in the finer lines of manufacture also manifest a wonderful
memory for the tiny parts of the manufactured article, etc. Bank officers have a
wonderful memory for names and faces. Some lawyers are able to recall cases
quoted in the authorities, years after they have read them. Perhaps the most
common, and yet the most remarkable, instances of memorizing in one's daily work
is to be found in the cases of the theatrical profession. In some cases members
of stock companies must not only be able to repeat the lines of the play they
are engaged in acting at the time, but also the one that they are rehearsing for
the following week, and possibly the one for the second week. And in repertoire
companies the actors are required to be "letter-perfect" in a dozen or more
playssurely a wonderful feat, and yet one so common that no notice is given to
it.
In some of the celebrated cases, the degree of recollection manifested is
undoubtedly abnormal, but in the majority of the cases it may be seen that the
result has been obtained only by the use of natural methods and persistent
exercise. That wonderful memory may be acquired by anyone who will devote to the
task patience, time and work, is a fact generally acknowledged by all students
of the subject. It is not a gift, but something to be won by effort and work
along scientific lines.
Our
featured links related to How to develop, train and use your memory
