MEMORIZING
1201
MEMPHIS
the aid of Troy, slew Antilochus in single combat and was himself slain by Achilles. Two famous statues were discovered by the Greeks at Thebes, and one of them was supposed to be that of Memnon, though more probably that of an Egyptian king. It is one of the "seven wonders of the world," is about 60 feet high, and about sunrise gave out a sound like the snapping of a chord. The Greeks called it "the voice of Memnon hailing his mother, Aurora" (the dawn). It was visited by many travelers until the time of Emperor Severus (A. D. 146-211), when it became silent, and it is inscribed with the names of many celebrated visitors. The origin of the sound is a matter of conjecture, though it has had several explanations. See Edinburgh Review, July, 1886.
Memorizing. Early systems of education, for example that of the Chinese, appeal to the memory in a comparatively mechanical way, and with them the importance of memorizing is plain and unquestioned. Educational advance in modern times (see EDUCATION, MODERN) has, on the other hand, thrown the importance of this process somewhat into the background. The difference, however, is not so great as might at first appear. Learning by rote is not so much a schoolroom method as formerly, but committing to memory remains to-day as of yore the main business of education. The change has been one of method rather than of ultimate aim. For to remember, in the most general sense of the term, means to store up experience in such a way that the result affects the activities of the individual. All learning, therefore, in point of fact is memorizing. Modern education, when it lays emphasis especially upon cultivating ability to observe, reason, judge and act, is simply calling attention to the various ways in which memory preserves and employs its material. To observe well we must have noticed and remembered the objects or qualities to be observed. The botanist notices the forms of plants because he has fixed this sort of thing in memory. The tailor notices the nicer peculiarities of clothing, which the botanist may well fail to see. So, too, in reasoning, a memory for the laws, principles or concepts on which reasoning is based is indispensable.
The investigations of Galton and others, with the results of researches into the functions of the cortex of the brain, have brought to light the fact that people may differ in respect not to the degree only but to the kind of memory and imagination. Some have a good imagination for visual images but little for sounds, and the reverse also may be true. Some remember words especially well, and there is a distinct memory for abstract relationship, which doubtless is the basis of ability to
reason in the fields concerned. In teaching, therefore, it frequently is important to take account of the pupil's special powers of memory. A child, for example, may fail to respond to oral instruction because he is "eye-minded" rather than "ear-minded." If the work can be put in such a form as to appeal to the eye, it may be taken in readily.
The success with which everything is committed to memory depends upon the strength of the impression made by it upon the mind and the number and strength of the associations established between it and other things. No matter how firmly a thing may be impressed on the mind, its recall depends upon whether the experiences of life suggest it. This liability to be suggested depends upon the number of associations with experiences that are. likely to come up. Hence, methods of memorizing are either mechanical, aiming to strengthen the impression or its associations, or associative, aiming to increase the number and variety of associations likely to prove valuable. Under mechanical methods may be included intensification of the stimulus, concentration of the attention and repetition. All of these are of great importance, attentive ness at all stages in learning, and repetition especially for drill. Learning by rote depends upon these mechanical forces. Its defect lies in the fact that the material thus memorized may not be so associated with current experience as to be recalled when wanted. Associative methods aim to remedy this lack. The objects that are associated may be logically connected, or the associations may be arbitrary or forceful. The latter sort give rise to mnemonic devices, as, for example, the familiar trick of tying a string around one's finger to insure the recall of a certain errand or the use of rhymes to remember the number of days in the various months etc. Most mnemonic sys-terns, like that of Loisette, are based on such devices. These methods have been used from time immemorial, but have never proved of more than occasional value. On the other hand, logical associations are the backbone of effective memory. All good teaching aims at treating its subject in a rational or logical way; that is, in making it habitual to associate such data as bear real and important relationships to each other. Thus we are made most likely to call up what we want when we want it. See ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS and EDUCATION, MODERN. Consult Principles of Psychology by James and Memory by Kay.
Mem'phis (mem'fis), the well-known city of Egypt, was the ancient capital. It is on the Nile, ten miles south of Cairo. The city was founded by the first Egyptian king, who changed the bed of the Nile and built an embankment to protect the city, the
