LESSON II
ATTENTION
ATTENTION, as here used, is a strong, voluntary, focused application of the mental powers to some special word, figure, object, or thought. The longer a mind is capable of being concentrated on an object, the stronger will be that mind. The monkey is incapable of intelligent action for the reason that it cannot direct its attention to any particular thing for any length of time; it no sooner starts to do one thing, than it stops, turns to something else and fails to remember what it originally intended to do. Many human beings, for lack of attention, are not much better than monkeys. How irresolute, changeful, and forgetful are many persons. Some will start to tell of an occurrence, stop to mention some other matter, forget what they started to say, and then remark, "What was it I wanted to tell you?" The difference between the mind of a Plato and that of an ordinary being is simply this: a Plato possesses the power of continuous mental attention, he is capable of focusing his thought; while the ordinary person cannot control his mentality so as to concentrate its powers for any length of time on any specific object. Now then, the first step toward training the memory is to learn to pay attention.
Consider the lines from As You Like It, quoted in the first lesson:
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.
A moment's attention given to this passage will stamp it upon the mind so that it will never be forgotten. An inattentive person would notice nothing peculiar about this quotation; he would most likely see that it spoke of trees, brooks, and stones, but he would fail to notice the bearing that the words tongues, books, and sermons had on them. The attentive person would instantly grasp the fact that the initial letter of tongues is the same as that of trees, that of books the same as brooks, and that of sermons the same as stones, and he thereby immediately has transferred the thought of the poet to his own mind by means of attention, and the details are so thoroughly seen and understood as to make a deep impression on his mind and render him capable of reproducing the lines at any time.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day. How many Americans know the date of the death of these two famous men? By a simple process of reasoning, taking up but a moment's time, the fact can be placed on the tablet of the mind so that it can never be erased. They died on July 4, 1826, the semi-centennial of American independence. It is a simple matter to remember that they died on the anniversary of the birth of their country, thus fixing the day and month, and by calling the attention of the mind to the fact that the year of their death was the semicentennial of their country's birth, the year 1826 will become closely associated with the death of Adams and Jefferson. This, of course, requires some thought at the moment you desire to place the fact in the charge of memory, but after you have given it the necessary attention in order to impress it upon the mind, you need give it no further attention, nor be concerned when you have occasion to use it. The fact will be so well known that you will have no trouble in knowing it again whenever you desire to produce it from its repository. Another interesting fact of a similar nature is that James Monroe, fifth president of the United States, also died on the anniversary of his country's birth. His death occurred five years after the death of his predecessors, and he was the fifth president of the United States. These facts will make it easy to remember that he departed this life in 1881. While these facts are so distinctive as to render them easy to memorize, all facts worth remembering possess some attribute that will enable an attentive person to lay hold of the distinguishing trait and recall the fact at will, provided it has been sufficiently studied to make it known.
At this period of our work let us understand that the first requisite to a good memory is attention. Without this quality it is impossible for the mind to retain and reproduce what it has seen by the eye, ear, or any other sense. If one desires to remember matter that he reads, he should read intently, studying all the incidents and arranging them consecutively, looking more to the thought that is conveyed by the words than to the words themselves. For instance, Horace Mann, in his address on education, expresses himself thus:
Now, how is one, after reading this passage, to be able to gather the thoughts so as to retain them sufficiently to enable him to repeat the substance of the paragraph? Simply by giving attention to it while reading it. Note that from a certain period it has been the policy of a special country to do two particular things, in a specific manner. That if that country is to continue her illustrious career, she must continue to make use of the means which have produced her present prosperity. In doing so, she will perform two important duties. After gathering these facts from an attentive perusal of the matter, they should be carefully arranged in a sequence so that their orderly arrangement will assist the mind in reproducing them. (1) From her earliest history, (2) the policy of this country (3) has been to develop the minds of all her people, (4) and to imbue them with the principles of duty. (5) To do this work effectually, she has begun with the young. (6) If she would continue to mount higher and higher toward the summit of prosperity, she must continue the means by which her present elevation has been gained. (7) In doing this, she will not only exercise the noblest prerogative of government, (8) but will coöperate with the Almighty in one of His sublimest works. Again, (1) earliest history, (2) policy of country, (3) develop her people, (4) principles of duty, (5) begun with the young, (6) continue the means, (7) exercise prerogative of government, (8) coöperate with the Almighty. After the passage has been examined in this particular manner it will be thoroughly known and cannot be forgotten.
A face can be remembered by making use of the same means as given for remembering language. When you desire to retain a knowledge of a face, examine it minutely, look for distinguishing marks, such as small or large ears, protruding or retreating chin, color of eyes and hair, style of nose, open or closed mouth, or any peculiarity or mannerism of any of the features. After having noted the characteristics of General John A. Logan's face, it would be impossible for a healthy mind to forget it. The long, straight hair, high cheek bones, Grecian nose, and piercing eye, were of so distinguishing a nature as to stamp the General's features upon an attentive mind in such a manner as to make his face known as long as the person retained his faculties. Recall to mind the face of Washington, of Lincoln, and of Grant, and think what special feature is most prominent or characteristic, and it will then be perceived why these faces are easily remembered. Think of the face of a friend, and ask yourself if it is not his curly hair, squinting eye, or pleasant smile that presents itself first to your mind when you recall his face. By these means it will be found that a face, if seen only for a moment, may be remembered for years.
In like manner one may remember his pathway through a strange country so as to find his way back to his starting point. Instead of noting peculiarities of the features of the face, he must note those of the country through which he passes. He must note particularly any circumstance at a cross road or fork in the trail that will enable him to turn in the correct direction. Sometimes a bush, a stone, a tuft of grass will suffice to direct the traveler on his way in sections where there is not a fence or house to mark the direction he should take. The author recalls an instance when he was journeying on horseback through a sparsely settled section in southern Florida that his being able to locate a cactus plant, not a foot in height, was the only thing that saved him from taking the wrong direction where two trails crossed, and going many miles out of his way. What fastened the remembrance of the cactus on his mind was the fact that he paused to examine it, because it was the first one he had seen in Florida, and he was surprised to see it growing in that section, so he dismounted in order to find out if it resembled the cacti of Arizona. As he gazed at the little plant, he noticed that it was growing close to the east side of the trail (he was then traveling toward the southwest), and that only a short distance south from where the cactus was growing was another trail bearing to the northwest. On his return journey he was uncertain as to whether he should take the trail bearing to the northwest or the one to the northeast, but as soon as he saw the cactus over on the east side of the trail leading to the north-east, he knew that was the road for him to take. This proved a valuable lesson to him regarding the advisability of paying attention.
The rule of Attention far excels in serviceableness any other rules that have ever been put forward by any other system of memory training, because they apply only in special cases, while it applies in all cases.
The author wishes it to be understood clearly that he desires the student to pay particular attention to the thought, this being the most important part of memory training, and that placing the attention on the position of figures, letters, words, etc., is only to be done as a means to an end, the end being a recalling of the object or thought. Lay Hold of the Thought.