The foregoing exercises show that there are no facts of Science, &c., or in Daily Life, with which the System cannot cope—thus proving the greatest saver of Labour and Time if the pupil makes an application of it to his studies or business when once he has mastered the system. [←ToC]
BOOKS LEARNED IN ONE READING.
For the past ten years I have printed in my large prospectus a general view of my meaning. I will reproduce most of those views here, premising that I have never suggested that books are to be learned by heart, but only the important, useful portions of them—such as are new to the reader and which he may desire to retain.
I do not mean such books as Bradshaw’s Guide, the London Post-Office Directory, or any other mere collection of names, addresses, statistics, &c., which one may have occasion to consult, but which it would be the mere bravado of Memory to learn by heart—though even this is possible enough to the master of my System. What is one’s object in reading a book? Simply to retain the IDEAS in it that are NEW and USEFUL to him, as well as the NEW USES that are therein set forth of old and familiar ideas. If the reader is already partly acquainted with a book, there will be fewer new ideas in it than in one with which he is unacquainted. Now, what do I mean by Learning either of these books in one reading? I mean exactly what I say. All that you desire to remember shall be retained—all the leading or subordinate ideas, propositions, illustrations, facts, &c., &c.
There are only two ways of learning a book in this thorough manner:
(1) The first is the traditional method of learning by rote or endless repetition. A celebrated Coach in Anatomy says that no one can learn Anatomy until he has learned and forgotten it from three to seven times! In learning any book in this way, each sentence would be repeated over and over again, and then reviewed and relearnt and forgotten and learned again! And then at last the Pupil if he possesses a first-rate cramming memory might answer questions on it. In learning a book by rote, the number of times that each sentence and section is repeated, if actually written out and printed, would doubtless cover 5,000 to 50,000 or more pages!—and even then the Pupil passes his examination, if he really does “pass,” partly by luck and partly by merit; all his life he is constantly referring to it, and repeating it, and studying it, over and over again—showing really that he possesses little more than a Reference Memory in regard to it! But let us be candid and confess the truth; tens of thousands every year and during successive years try the various professions—law, medicine, divinity, or sciences, history, &c., &c., and utterly fail to “pass,” even respectably, because they lack the extraordinary sensuous MEMORY necessary to acquire knowledge by rote.
It is only the exceptionally powerful natural memories that win at exacting examinations by rote—even then their learning is soon forgotten, unless it is perpetually renewed.
(2) The other mode of learning any book in the thorough manner I have indicated, whether it be a book in which the reader finds but few novel ideas or where they are all new, as in a scientific or technical work, is by my Method. In fact, I believe no one can learn any book so thoroughly by rote, even if he possesses a marvellous Natural Memory and if he peruse it ever so many times, as my Pupils can by my method in a single perusal. Let the reader note that my System has two important aspects—(1) It is a Device or Method of memorising or learning any facts whatever—prose, poetry, dates, data, formulæ and facts and principles of the sciences, &c., &c., &c., or anything whatsoever to be remembered. (2) There is another equally, if not more important aspect of it, namely, as a Trainer or Strengthener of the Natural Memory to any extent the pupil wishes to carry it. And the Natural Memory is so strengthened by the use of the System, that as a Device, the System is no longer required. You then remember from your new Memory-power without taking any pains to remember, and I am happy to add that the diligent student can derive the full benefit of the System as a Memory Trainer by learning the lessons in the way I point out.
Now, those who have thus derived the full benefit of the System, both as a Device for memorising and also as a Memory Trainer, are the persons who can learn a book in one reading. “Reading” is used by Coaches in a technical sense; that is, synonymous with “thorough study.” By a “single” or “one reading,” I mean a single careful perusal in conformity to the requirements of my System. I do not mean that they can do this and doze during the process.