Assimilative Memory Part 4

apply to words merely as well as to the ideas which are, of course, suggested by the words. Let me ill.u.s.trate: Ulysses S. Grant was succeeded by Rutherford B. Hayes. The initial syllables of Ulysses and of Rutherford make an inclusion by sound. The "U" of Ulysses is p.r.o.nounced as if spelled "You." We then have in effect "You" and "Ru,"

or "You" and "Ruth"--when we are supposed to p.r.o.nounce the "u" in Ruth as a long "u;" but if it be considered to be a short sound of "u," it is only a weak case of In. by s. But if the pupil shuts his eyes, such inclusions will not be observed. It is true that such application is not so high or grand as when they govern ideas, but it is equally _genuine_.

It is only a lower stratum, but still it is a part of _terra firma_, and on no account is it to be ignored.

_Ideas are never words_ nor are _words ever ideas_, but words become so _a.s.sociated_ with ideas by habit, or by the Law of Concurrence, that they _arouse certain ideas_ whenever they are used. They are used as _signs_ of ideas--as the means of communicating them. There is rarely, if ever, any _necessary_ connection that we can discover between a particular idea and the word used to stand for it. Not only do different nations use different _words_ or _sounds_ to arouse the _same_ thought, but different words in the same language are sometimes used to portray practically _the same idea_, as in the case of Mariner, Sailor, Seaman, Jack Tar, Navigator, Skipper, &c., &c. Nor is this all--the _same sound_ may awaken different ideas, as "I" and "Eye." In the first case "I"

stands for the person using it, and in the last case it means the organ of sight. To the eyesight they are obviously unlike. It may be well to remark that in imposing a name in the first place, _a reason_ may exist why that name is given, as Albus (white) was given to the mountains, now more euphoniously called Alps, because they were white or snow-crowned; but Alps does not _mean_ white to the moderns. The word now merely indicates or points out the mountains so called. A word may survive and take a new meaning after its original meaning is no longer ascertainable.

The _context_ helps us to know which meaning of the word was intended when the word is spoken, and the context and spelling tell the same thing when writing or print is used. Take the words "Hounds, Bark." Here Bark means the cry or yelp of the dogs. But in "Tree, Bark," the Bark of the tree is suggested. Yet the word Bark is spelled precisely the same in both cases. The word spelled "Bark" is really used to express two different things and the context generally tells which is meant in any particular case.

Individual _letters_ become so strongly a.s.sociated with a particular meaning that although the vocal value is exactly the same, yet the one spelling goes to one man and the other to a different man. "Spenser"

would never suggest to a learned man the author of the "Philosophy of Evolution," nor would "Spencer" ever suggest the author of the "Fairie Queen." "Mr. Mil" would never mean "John Stuart Mill," although the words "Mil" and "Mill" are p.r.o.nounced exactly alike. We sometimes cannot recall a Proper Name, yet we feel sure that it begins or ends with S or K or L, or that a certain other letter is in the middle of the word. We usually find that we were right. In these cases _our clue to the entire word was found in only one letter of it_.

Noticing that the _same letter is in common to two words_, although _all the other letters may be different_, is one case of Inclusion by spelling. Take an example: President John Tyler was followed by President James K. Polk. a.n.a.lyse the two names--Tyler and Polk. The letter "l" alone is common to the two names. Here is one _letter_ found in totally unlike contexts. If this fact is _noticed_, it cannot but help hold those two names together. The exercise of learning the names of the twenty-four Presidents is a good one for this purpose. It has a _training_ value entirely apart from its practical value in that case.

And I give it for its _training_ value alone.

It is infinitely better for him to learn by a.n.a.lysis the _order_ of the Presidents than to learn that order by the only other method the pupil has heretofore known, viz., _endless repet.i.tion_. When the pupil thinks a relation may be weak, let him consider that a weak relation _thought about_ is a hundred-fold stronger than _mere_ repet.i.tion _without any thinking at all_. It is either _thoughtless_ repet.i.tion, or _thoughtful a.n.a.lysis_ that he must use.

HOW TO LEARN PROPER NAMES IN A CERTAIN ORDER OF SUCCESSION.

The true way to learn such lists as those of the Popes of Rome, the Kings of England and of the American Presidents is to learn them in their places in History, as parts of the Historical order of events to which they belong, as facts in the chain of causes and effects.

Their Terms, Administrations, or Reigns are, however, used by historians as landmarks, and to follow the historians to the best advantage, it may be desirable to know the series as such, as a useful preparation for the study of the Times and age. But whatever the advantages of knowing the order of the American Presidents, I deal with it here _solely_ for the _training_ effect in a.n.a.lysis and as an example of a method of dealing with any list of _mere_ names.

The mode of dealing with this Presidential series will show how all similar Series may be handled during the period of the pupil's training.

I divide the series or list of the twenty-four American Presidents into three Groups: the first Group containing _seven_ names, the second having _eight_ names, and the third having _nine_ names. The number of names in each Group is easily remembered: 7, 8 and 9.

The first Group contains the names of

GEORGE WAs.h.i.+NGTON, JOHN ADAMS, THOMAS JEFFERSON, JAMES MADISON, JAMES MONROE, JOHN Q. ADAMS, ANDREW JACKSON.

If the student has mastered the previous exercises, he ought to be able to a.n.a.lyse this Group of names with the greatest ease. Let him try, and if he fail, then let him study my a.n.a.lysis as given below. Points of a.n.a.lysis that appear weak to me may be strong for him, or _vice versa_.

At all events, let him if possible learn each of the three Groups by his own a.n.a.lysis, looking at my work afterwards.

FIRST GROUP.

_Period of Organisation and Consolidation._

=George Was.h.i.+ngTON.= } In.

=JOHN Adams.= }

"Ton" and "John" make a fairly good In. by sound.

=JOHN Adams.= } In.

=THOMas Jefferson.= }

"John" and "Thom" (the "h" is silent in both names) make an In. by sound, imperfect but adequate if _noticed_.

=Thomas JefferSON.= } In.

=James MadiSON.= }

Both names terminating with the same syllable, "son", makes a clear case of In. by sound and spelling.

=JAMES Madison.= } In.

=JAMES Monroe.= }

This pair of names furnishes an example of perfect In. by sound and spelling in the Christian names.

=James MONroe.= } In.

=JOHN Q. Adams.= }

"Mon" and "John" give us a good In. by sound.

=JOHN Q. Adams.= } In.

=Andrew JACKson.= }

"Jack" is a nickname for John--a case of Synonymous In.

Now let the pupil repeat from memory the series from George Was.h.i.+ngton to Andrew Jackson at least five times, each time recalling and realizing how each pair of names was linked together. After this let the list be recalled several times forward and backward, and more rapidly each time, without recalling the a.n.a.lysis.

REMARKS.

1. This group may well be termed the "Long-Term Group," since all of the seven Presidents except John Adams and his son, John Q. Adams, served two terms.

2. Three of the members of this group died after the close of their terms of office, on the _natal day_ of the Republic, viz., John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, on the _4th of July_, 1826, and James Monroe on the _4th of July_, 1831.

3. This group also might be called the "J" group, since the initial letter of the Christian name or surname of every member of it begins with "J" or its phonetic equivalent, soft G, as _G_eorge Was.h.i.+ngton, _J_ohn Adams, Thomas _J_efferson, _J_ames Madison, _J_ames Monroe, _J_ohn Q. Adams, and Andrew _J_ackson.

SECOND GROUP.

_Period of Territorial Expansion and the Growth of Internal Dissension._

=ANDREW Jackson.= } In.

=Martin VAN BUren.= }

Two examples of In.: "An" and "Van", and "rew" and "Bu."

=Martin Van BuREN.= } In.

=William HENry Harrison.= }

A good Inclusion occurs in the case of "ren" and "Hen." The name William belonged to no other of the twenty-four Presidents.

=William HenRY Harrison.= } In.

=John TYler.= }