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Inquiries concerning the intellectual powers
Inquiries concerning the intellectual powers Author:John Abercrombie Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: prehension of the subject which is required for the distinct remembrance of it. " It is familiar to every one that there are great differences in memory, both... more » in respect to the facility of acquirement and the power of retention. In the former, there appear to be original differences, but a great deal also depends upon habit. In the power of retention much depends, as we shall afterwards see, upon the habit of correct association; but, besides this, there are facts which seem to show a singular connection with the manner in which the acquisition was made. The following fact was communicated to me by an able and intelligent friend, who heard it from the individual to whom it relates. A distinguished theatrical performer, in consequence of the sudden illness of another actor, had occasion to prepare himself, on very short notice, for a part which was entirely new to him ; and the part was long and rather difficult. He acquired it in a very short time, and went through it with perfect accuracy, but immediately after the performance forgot every word of it." The titles or topics in the margin, attached to this passage, are the following: Attention—Means of securing it—Differences in memory—Illustration. Now in hearing a recitation from it, the teacher will ordinarily be guided by, but not confined to them, as you will see exemplified in the following dialogue. The pupil, too, will use his own language, which will vary very considerably from that of the author, as will be perceived by a comparison. Teacher. The first topic is attention. First Pupil. The author says that it consists in keeping the object distinctly before the mind, for a certain time, so that it may make a strong impression. It assists very much in enabling us to remember it afterwards. Teacher. The best m...« less