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Treating of the thirteen general principles governing the subject of impressions— These thirteen principles practically sum up the entire subject of impressions, their acquirement, their retention, their recalling; and the knowledge of the same will enable the student to have the entire subject in a nutshell—Each principle is clearly stated, and is accompanied with explanations and illustrations—This chapter alone, if carefully studied, will give the student a liberal education in the theory and practice of Memory Culture, and might readily be expanded to fill a book.

The following principles will give a general idea of the laws governing the receiving, recording and revival of impressions received by the memory. The student will most likely find them interesting, and they may aid in fastening in his mind the laws governing the mental operations known to us as memory. Much that is said in this chapter is stated in other words in other parts of this book, but we have thought it advisable to bring these things together in one chapter, that the student might more readily associate one principle with another akin to it.

PRINCIPLE I. Employ concentration so as to receive an impression sufficiently intense as to render easy a subsequent revival of the impression.

As we have explained in previous chapters, it is necessary for the mind to be strongly directed toward the object or subject the impression of which we are desirous of recording in the mind in such a way as to be able to recall it with the least amount of exertion. Speaking generally, it may be said that the strength of the impression is in exact proportion to the amount of interest and attention bestowed upon the object or subject. Consequently it is of the utmost importance that we cultivate attention and interest, by practice, so as to be able to register a distinct impression. By doing this we have taken many steps toward the acquiring of a strong memory.

PRINCIPLE II. Record definitely and decidedly the primary impression.

Very much depends upon the sharpness of the primary impression. The primary impression is the foundation upon which subsequent impressions must be built, and if it be not distinct, it is very difficult to remedy the carelessness afterward, as in that case there has to be a tearing away of the primary impression, and a substitution of a new primary record, as otherwise there will be a confusion of memory. Therefore, in obtaining the first impression of an object or subject, direct upon it as much attention and interest as possible.

PRINCIPLE III. At the beginning, avoid including too many details in the impression.

This principle, if applied, will save the student much unnecessary work and waste of energy. The best plan is to master the main points of a subject at the beginning, then gradually build around these other important points. Then on to the less important, finishing up with the comparatively unimportant details. By forming a general idea of the subject to be studied, certain features will stand out more prominently. Study these first, getting a clear impression by omitting the lesser details, then stop and look over the subject again. You will then see other points standing out clearly. Take these up, and so on, until the subject is mastered. In this way you will be able to store away a complete record of the subject “from the ground up,” and you will find it easy to recall to mind any part of it and at the same time be aware of the relation of that part to any other part. This is the only rational plan of study. It will help you in following this method, to think of the subject to be mastered as being a tree. Commence at the ground and thoroughly understand the trunk, then take up the larger limbs, then the branches, then the twigs. In commencing the study of a new subject, it is better to read first the most elementary work on the subject to be found, and after mastering this take up a work rather more advanced, and so on. Many make the mistake of reading at first the most complete work on the subject to be had, and the consequence usually is that they master no point completely, and have merely a vague idea of the entire subject. Some teachers advise the careful study of the subject as stated in some standard encyclopædia before even taking up the elementary text book. The rule of Nature is that we shall “crawl before we walk,” and study and memorizing is no exception to the rule.

PRINCIPLE IV. By reviving an impression frequently, you increase its intensity.

The whole subject of Memory Training depends so much upon this one principle, that if we were compelled to take away this principle the whole structure would fall. Remember now, we are speaking of the conscious revival of the original impression, and not of the receiving of a subsequent impression. By this method, not only is the impression intensified, but the Will is trained to assist, and in a short time the recalling of the impression becomes almost automatic. By constant review, a subject becomes almost indelibly impressed upon the mind, and is recalled with the least possible effort. If you have observed the first three rules, you will have received impressions with a considerable degree of clearness, and by regular practice and reviewing you will be able to obtain a wonderfully deep and permanent impression of the subject under consideration. A leading writer on this subject, illustrates this principle by the case of a man meeting a stranger and spending a whole evening in his company, but yet being unable to recognize him when he sees him a few days later. The writer points out that if the stranger had been seen for only five minutes a day for a fortnight, he would have been easily recognized, the constant repetition of the impression recording it strongly in his mind.

PRINCIPLE V. When reviving an impression, do it so far as possible without referring to the object itself, thus obtaining the greatest permanent intensity.

We have touched upon this principle in the chapter on Eye Perception. The idea is that the impression should be revived mentally so far as is possible. Of course, it will be found that details have not been noticed, and it will be necessary to go back to the object to supply the things omitted, but first endeavor to recall plainly that which has been noticed, and thus intensify the impression. The details subsequently acquired are to be treated in the same way, each revival of impression including more details and being more complete. If you were to simply go and look at an object in a general way every day for a month you would not know half as much about it as would be the case if you had studied it carefully the first time, and then tried to mentally reproduce it either in the imagination or on paper by aid of a pencil, and then repeated the process every day for a week, acquiring fresh details each day. In the latter case the second day’s inspection would only include the points that had not been intensely impressed by the first day’s view, and the new points closely observed would be added to the first day’s impressions when both were reviewed or revived. “An unheard lesson is soon forgotten.”

PRINCIPLE VI. When practicing, revive the previous impression of the subject or object, rather than attempt to receive a new impression.

This principle closely resembles the preceding one, and teaches that we should rely upon our memory as much as possible, instead of flying back to the subject or object as a whole, as soon as we find that we cannot easily recall any detail. Use the memory and thus strengthen it, instead of using it only when made necessary by the absence of the object itself. To do otherwise would be like keeping a copy of the multiplication tables handy to refer to whenever we had to multiply two figures, because that would be easier than taking the trouble to exercise our memory. If we depend upon the receiving of a new impression instead of the revival of the old one, we will never really learn anything, and will be constantly compelled to go back to learn our lesson over again.

PRINCIPLE VII. When a subject or an object is being studied for the first time, and therefore no previous impression has been recorded, it is well to think of a similar impression so as to establish a mental association.

This principle renders somewhat easier the receiving of impressions of a new object, as by connecting the new thing with something already learned, you gain the advantage of the association and the benefit of attaching the new impression to one that is already well fixed in the mind. It is akin to the observing of a new detail of an object and the including of that new detail in the next review, thus gaining the advantage of the previous strong impression and having a peg upon which to hang the new impression. If you meet a man named Thompson, and find it hard to recall the name, you will find it a material help to think of that man as having the same name as another friend of yours whose name is also Thompson, and whose name you never forget. The two men and their names are thus linked together in your memory, and you will find it very easy to remember the new acquaintance’s name after forming the association. And in the study of a new subject, endeavor to connect it with the subject nearest associated to it, which you already know. If you can connect a thing with something similar to it, the mind will make the new thing a part of the old, and will not treat it as a newcomer. The mind seems to be somewhat conservative, and to get along better with a new acquaintance if it thinks it is related to an old friend.

PRINCIPLE VIII. It is well to establish a series of mental associations, so that one impression may revive the next of the series and so on.

When one part of a thing is remembered, the mind very readily recalls other parts of the same thing, and so when we join a number of things together, thus forming a chain, each link being a part of the whole, we will find it comparatively easy to start at any link and run backward or forward over the entire length of the chain. It is well to form the different parts of a subject into sort of a series, arranging the parts in logical order so far as is possible. A new part may afterwards be inserted in its proper place, and recalled just as well as the old portions. The effect of association in recalling objects or subjects is wonderful. It is very much easier for a child to remember the letter H because he knows G, and associates H with it. And we will find that our memory of many subjects is strikingly like that of the child’s memory of the alphabet or multiplication table, so far as association is concerned. If you cannot remember a thing just when you desire to do so, the next best thing is to have a loose end which you can unwind until you get the desired thing. It would bother the average man to call off at random the names of the cross streets in the center of his city, but if he will start at the first one he will be able to run them off in proper order without much trouble. In the same way it is easy for the school­boy to name the Presidents of the United States, or the Kings of England, commencing with Washington or William the Conqueror, as the case may be. But ask him to “mix them up” and give you the entire list and he will find it a very difficult task. We will find that the things we remember best are connected in our mind with something that came before or just after, or which in some other way bear some orderly relation to the remembered thing. In forming the mental series, follow the rule of the alphabet, or list of Presidents, and fasten the first one in your mind firmly, then add on the next, etc.

PRINCIPLE IX. In the study or investigation of a subject or an object, use as many faculties as possible.

The value of this principle is perceived when we remember that each faculty registers upon the mind a separate impression, and when we use more than one faculty in the study of a thing, we receive as many sets of impressions as we have used faculties. If we are trying to commit a name or a date to memory, it will aid us materially if, in addition to repeating the name or date, we will write it down and study it with the eye, thus receiving the abstract impression of the thing, its sound, and the visual impression. In recalling it we may be helped either by the general remembrance of it, by its sound, or by our recollection of how it looked when written on paper. Many persons giving public recitations say that the position of certain words and paragraphs appear before their mind’s eye, just as they were on the page of the book from which the lines were read. Preachers who prepare their sermons in manuscript and study them over at home, going to the pulpit with only general notes or with no notes at all, tell us that they will see the position of each paragraph, and the first word of same, just before they reach it, looking just at it did in their manuscript. Public speakers experience the same thing.

Many persons find themselves unable to remember a name unless they repeat it aloud once or twice. Many instances of the application of this principle will occur to you as you progress in your work of training the memory.

PRINCIPLE X. You may greatly improve weak faculties by exercises adapted to each.

When you find it difficult to recall impressions previously received from any particular faculty, it is well to begin training and developing that faculty to the end that it may register sharper impressions. Other chapters of this book will suggest many methods and ways of doing this. By developing a number of faculties, you will receive a greater number of intense impressions, and will, consequently, find it much easier to recall the thing wanted, as a greater number of impressions have been made sharply, and can be more easily found when wanted.

PRINCIPLE XI. Difficulty in recalling an impression may be overcome by endeavoring to revive an impression received at the same time, or by trying to recall some associated component.

An 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.