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FIRST LAW OF MEMORY.

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Building. Dwelling. } In. by G. & S.

If we examine the meaning of these two words—Building and Dwelling, we find that both indicate structures made by man. This idea is common to both. Now when we find that two words express the same thought, either completely or partially, we say that it is a case of Inclusion, because the pair of words contains or includes the same idea. Inclusion is the first law of memory.

There are several kinds of Inclusion. What variety have we here? Let us see. Building applies to many kinds of structures; house, stable, church, depot, store, etc. It is applicable to all of these in a general way, but it designates none of them. But dwelling means a special kind of structure—a building occupied by man—a place to live in. This pair of words therefore illustrates Inclusion by Genus and Species, indicated by the abridgement, In. G. & S. or simply by In. Other examples: “Planet, Mars;” “Mountain, Vesuvius;” “River, Mississippi;” “Building Material, Potsdam Sandstone;” “Fruit, Peaches.”

We may for convenience include in this class, cases of the Genus and the Individual as “Man and George Washington;” “Judge, Hon. John Gibson;” “New Yorker, Hon. W. W. Astor;” and cases of Species and the Individual, as, “Frenchman and Guizot;” “American, Abraham Lincoln.” And also Co-equal Species under a common Genus, as under “Receiver” we may include “Can”‌ and “Bin”—under carnivorous birds we may include the Eagle and the Hawk. “Head-Covering, Hat, Cap;” “Hand-covering, Gloves, Mittens;” “Foot-covering, Boot, Shoe.”

Dwelling. House. } Synonymous In.

Inhabitability by man is the thought common to both of these words. Being nearly alike in meaning, we call them a case of Synonymous Inclusion, indicated by “Syn. In.” Other cases: “Near, Close to;” “Likeness, Resemblance;” “Lift, Raise;” “Meaning, Signification;” “John, Jack;” “James, Jim;” “Elizabeth, Bessy;” “Margaret, Maggy;” “Gertrude, Gertie;” “Ellen, Nellie.”

House. Parlor. } In. by Whole & Part.

Another case of Inclusion. House is the whole containing as it does the parlor, dining-room, kitchen, bedroom, etc. Parlor is a part of the whole house. Hence this pair of words illustrates Inclusion by Whole & Part designated by In. W. & P., or merely by In. We may include in this class for convenience the material and the product as “Bureau, Oak;” “Tower, Brick;” “Harness, Leather.” Other cases: “Wagon, Wheel;” “Razor, Blade;” “Table, Legs;” “United States of North America, New York;” “State, County;” “City, Street;” “Bird, Feathers;” “Year, Month;” “Week, Sunday;” “Engine, Boiler;” “100, 50;” “10, 5,” &c.

PARlor. PARtridge. } In. by S. & s.

Here we see that there is nothing in common in the meaning of the words, but there is the syllable “Par” belonging to both alike. It is the same in spelling in both words, and virtually the same in pronunciation, the same by Sight and by sound, represented by In. by capital S for In. by sight, and In. by small s for In. by sound, or merely by In. Examples: “Nice, Gneiss;” “Pole, Polarity;” “Popular, Popgun;” “Jefferson, Madison.”

Partridge. Feathers. } In. by W. & P.

Partridge is the name of the bird and feathers constitute part of the Partridge. Other cases: “Coat, Buttons;” “Elephant,‌ Trunk;” “Bottle, Neck;” “Pen, Nib;” “South Africa, Cape Colony.”

Feathers. Light. } In. by A. & C.

Feathers are things perceived by touch and sight. They imply the quality of lightness, but say nothing about that quality. Light has several meanings. Here taken in connection with feathers, it means nearly destitute of weight, or the quality of lightness. It is an abstract term that describes an attribute, but feathers are things and therefore concrete. Hence the pair of words illustrate Inclusion by Abstract and Concrete, and is indicated by In. by A. and C., or merely by In. Other examples: “Sour, Vinegar;” “Sweet, Sugar;” “Coward, Fear;” “Swiftness, Express train,” &c.

LIGHT. LIGHTerman. } In. by S. & s.

As before remarked, “Light” has several meanings. Here it means that which enables us to see. “Lighterman” is the man who works upon a boat called a “Lighter.” There is nothing in common in the meaning of this pair of words, but the word or syllable “Light” belongs to both alike. It is In. by Sight and sound. Other cases: “Dark, Darkness;” “Starch, March;” “Rage, Forage;” “Barber, Barbarism,” &c.

LighterMAN. Lord MANsfield. } In. by S.

Here the word or syllable “man” appears in both cases. In the former it signifies the man that manages a Lighter, and in the latter it was primitively connected with Field, as “A Man’s Field.” After a time it became Mansfield. It is a perfect case of In. by S. and s. Other cases: “Tempest, Temperature;” “Antepenult, Antediluvians.”

Lord MansFIELD. FIELDhand. } In. by S. & s.

As “Field” belongs to both words, it is a case of perfect In. by S. and s. Other cases: “Regiment, Compliment;” “Sell, Selfish;” “Miniature, Mint,” &c.

Now let the pupil read over very thoughtfully the ten words just examined, and recall the relation which we found to exist between every pair of them.

 ‌Building.

 Dwelling.

 House.

 Parlor.

 Partridge.

 Feathers.

 Light.

 Lighterman.

 Lord Mansfield.

 Fieldhand.

Having finished the reading, let the pupil close the lesson, or put it out of sight and endeavour to recall the ten words from Building to Fieldhand from memory. He will find no difficulty in doing so. He learned the series by heart without any suspicion that he was committing it to memory.

Now let him realise how he did this. It was because he made use of the cementing Laws of the Memory. He sought out and found the relations between the words. By thinking of those relations, he exercised his intellect on those words in a double way—the meaning and the sound of the words were considered and then the similarities of meaning and of sound were noticed. A vivid First Impression was thus received from the words themselves and from the relations between them and an easy and certain recall thereby assured.

Now recall the series in an inverse order, beginning with “Fieldhand,” and going back to “Building.” You do it easily, because each word was cemented to its predecessor and its successor, and hence it makes no difference whether you go forward or backward. When, however, you learn by rote you know the task as you learned it, and not in the reverse way. Before proceeding, repeat the ten words from memory, from “Building” to “Fieldhand,” and the reverse way, at least five times; each time, if possible, more rapidly than before. These repetitions are not to learn the series; for this has been done already, but it is to consolidate the effect of learning it in the right way.

Assimilative Memory; or, How to Attend and Never Forget

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