Meantime, a thorough training in this system tends to do‌ away with the injurious effects of false mental habits; to set the Memory and Attention at work in a natural way, and greatly strengthen both; and while learning a large number of dates in a short time, or many figures in one series may still require the use of the System, unless the Numeric Thinking prior to this chapter has been mastered, yet, in the ordinary way of meeting figures in reading, study, or business, there will seldom occur any necessity for resorting to the method taught in this lesson.

WHAT MUST BE DONE FOR AN ACQUIRED ATTENTION.

In the case of those who have not inherited, but who have acquired, a great power of Attention, a decided benefit will ensue, however, if throughout life they occasionally use the System in regard to numbers and in learning prose and poetry by the Analytic-Synthetic and Interrogative Analysis Methods.

  1. Will a pupil always require an aid to remember figures?
  2. What is required of him in order to enable him to do away with any conscious aid?
  3. What does a thorough training in my system accomplish in the meantime?
  4. Will there ever be any necessity of using the figure alphabet?
  5. Will not a decided benefit ensue to those who have acquired a great power of attention?

Where a great power of Attention has been renewed or originally acquired, it requires considerable effort to continue that power. The unnumbered objects of thought which civilization constantly brings before the mind, without giving any opportunity for a mastery of many of them; the fierce rivalries of interest, and the enervating habits of body which are constantly being formed or perpetuated—all alike and together tend to break down an acquired power of Attention. It is said that Alexander Hamilton used to go through the demonstrations of Euclid’s Geometry before the commencement of each Session of the early Congress. For what purpose? In order to be able to make use of geometrical knowledge in debate? Certainly not. He reviewed this study to stiffen the back-bone of his power of Attention. And he possessed this power in an extraordinary degree by nature. I am not suggesting any such severe course of self-discipline. But if the pupil‌ whose attention was formerly weak will never allow a date to come before him without fixing it in mind by my method, and if he will also occasionally learn by heart a passage of prose or poetry by my assimilating methods, he will train his Attention in a pleasanter and more effective way than Hamilton did his by his studies in Euclid—besides making himself conspicuously accurate where most men are notoriously inaccurate.

[It is a most misleading mistake to suppose that the principles of the following or either of the previous chapters are to be consciously and constantly used by the pupil, whether he be a student or a man of business. It is only used at all during the training period—rarely afterwards. But during the training period, I desire the pupil to make as much use of the devices and principles of the system as he possibly can—and the more he uses them the sooner he no longer has occasion to use them.]

  1. Does it require any effort to continue that power?
  2. What tends to break down an acquired power of attention?
  3. What suggestion is here given the pupil in regard to this?
  4. Is this method easier and less severe than Hamilton’s?
  5. Is it not more effectual? [←ToC]

‌THOUGHTIVE UNIFICATIONS.
CONNECTING THE UNCONNECTED.

A Congressman could not remember the name of Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States, but he could always readily recall his nick-name, “Rough and Ready.” In this case there was no revivable connection established in his mind between the name Zachary Taylor and the idea or image of the man known as Zachary Taylor—but there was a revivable connection in his mind between the name “Rough and Ready” and the idea or image of that man. Now the thing to be done to enable this Congressman to readily recall the name Zachary Taylor was to establish or make a revivable connection between the name Zachary Taylor and the image of him, or some characteristic of him, as it was known to that Congressman; or to connect the well-remembered name “Rough and Ready” to the usually forgotten name Zachary Taylor. This would be a device for helping him to revive this hitherto unrecallable name. But another and better way to aid him would be to strengthen his reviving power generally, so that he could readily recall the name Zachary Taylor as well as his other previous experiences; for there is no doubt that he had a record in his mind of the name Zachary Taylor; for whenever he failed to recall it, he recognised it the moment he saw it, or it was mentioned in his presence. This proved that he knew the name but could not revive it.