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How to remember books, plays,
tales, et cetera. In the preceding

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chapters we have given you suggestions for
the development of the principal forms of memory.

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But there are still other phases or
forms of memory, which, while

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coming under the general classification, may
be still considered as worthy of special consideration.

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For instance, there may be suggestions
given regarding the memorization of the contents

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of the books you read, the
stories you hear, et cetera. And

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so we have thought it advisable to
devote one chapter to a consideration of these

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various phases of memory that have been
left out of the other chapters. Many

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of us fail to remember the important
things in the books we read, and

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are often mortified by our ignorance regarding
the contents of the works of leading authors,

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or of popular novels, which,
although we have read, we have

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failed to impress upon the records of
our memory. Of course, we must

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begin by reminding you of the ever
present necessity of interest and attention. We

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cannot escape from these principles of the
memory. The trouble with the majority of

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people is that they read books to
kill time as a sort of mental narcotic

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or anesthetic, instead of for the
purpose of obtaining something of interest from them.

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By this course, we not only
lose all that may be of importance

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or value in the book, but
also acquire the habit of careless reading and

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inattention. The prevalence of the habit
of reading many newspapers and trashy novels is

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responsible for the apparent inability of many
persons to intelligently absorb and remember the contents

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of a book worthwhile when they do
happen to take up such a one.

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But still even the most careless reader
may prove himself and cure the habit of

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inattention and careless reading. Noah Porter
says, we have not read an author

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till we have seen his object,
whatever it may be, as he saw

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it. Also read with attention.
This is the rule that takes precedence of

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all others. It stands instead of
a score of minor directions. Indeed,

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it comprehends them all, and is
the golden rule. The page should be

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read as if it were never to
be seen a second time. The mental

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eye should be fixed, as if
there were no other object to think of.

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The memory should grasp the facts like
a vice. The impressions should be

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distinctly and sharply received. It is
not necessary, nor is it advisable,

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to attempt to memorize the text of
a book, excepting perhaps a few passage

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is that may seem worthy to be
treasured up word for word. The principal

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thing to be remembered about a book
is its meaning. What it is about,

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then may follow the general outline and
the details of the story, essay,

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treatise, or whatever it may be. The question that should be asked

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oneself after the book is completed,
or after the completion of some particular part

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of the book is what was the
writer's idea? What did he wish to

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say? Get the idea of the
writer. By taking this mental attitude,

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you practically place yourself in the place
of the writer, and thus take part

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in the idea of the book.
You thus view it from the inside rather

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than from the outside. You place
yourself at the center of the thing instead

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of upon its circumference. If the
book be a history, biography, fee

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autobiography, narrative, or story of
fact or fiction, you will find it

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of value to visualize its occurrences as
the story unfolds. That is, endeavor

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to form at least a faint mental
picture of the events related, so that

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you can see them in your mind's
eye or imagination. Use your imagination in

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connection with the mechanical reading. In
this way you build up a series of

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mental pictures which will be impressed upon
your mind and which will be remembered,

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just as are the scenes of a
play that you have witnessed or an actual

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event that you have seen, only
less distinct. Of course, particularly you

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should endeavor to form a clear mental
picture of each character, until each one

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is endowed with at least a semblance
of reality to you. By doing this,

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you will impart a naturalness to the
events of the story, and you

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will obtain a new pleasure from your
reading. Of course, this plan will

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make you read more slowly, and
many trashy tales will cease to interest you,

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for they do not contain the real
elements of interest. But this is

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no loss, but as a decided
gain for you. At the end of

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each reading, take the time to
mentally review the progress of the story.

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Let the characters and scenes pass before
your mental vision as in a moving picture,

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and when the book is finally completed, review it as a whole.

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By following this course, you will
not only acquire the habit of easily remembering

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the tales and books that you have
read, but will also obtain much pleasure

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by re reading favorite stories in your
imagination. Years after. You will find

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that your favorite characters will take on
a new reality for you, and will

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become as old friends in whose company
you may enjoy yourself at any time,

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and whom you may dismiss when they
tire you without offense. In the case

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of scientific treatises, essays, etc. You may follow a similar plan by

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dividing the work into small sections and
mentally reviewing the thought, not the words,

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of each section until you make it
your own, And then by adding

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new sections to your review, you
may gradually absorb and master the entire work.

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All this requires time, work,
and patience, but you will be

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repaid for your expenditure. You will
find that this plan will soon render you

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impatient at books of little consequence,
and will drive you to the best books

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on any given subject. You will
begin to begrudge your time and attention and

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hesitate about bestowing them upon any but
the very best books. But in this

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you gain. In order to fully
acquaint yourself with a book before reading it,

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you should familiarize yourself with its general
character. To do this, you

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should pay attention to the full title
and the subtitle, if there be any,

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the name of the author, and
the list of other books that he

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has written, if they are noted
on the title page or the one preceding

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it. According to the usual custom, you should read the preface and study

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carefully the table of contents that you
may know the field or general subject covered

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by the book. In other words, endeavor to get the general outline of

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the book into which you may afterwards
fill in the details. In reading a

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book of serious import you should make
it a point to fully grasp the meaning

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of each paragraph before passing on to
the next one. Let nothing pass ask

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you that you do not understand,
at least in a general way. Consult

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the dictionary for words not familiar to
you, so that you may grasp the

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full idea intended to be expressed.
At the end of each chapter, section,

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and part. You should review that
which you have read until you are

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able to form a mental picture of
the general ideas contained therein. To those

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who wish to remember the dramatic productions
that they have attended, we would say

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that the principles above mentioned may be
applied to this form of memory as well

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as to the memory of books.
By taking an interest in each character as

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it appears, by studying carefully each
action and scene, and then reviewing each

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act in the intervals between the acts, and by finally reviewing the entire play

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after your return home, you will
fasten the whole play as a complete mental

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picture on the records of your memory. If you have acquainted yourself with what

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we have just said regarding the recollection
of the contents of books, you will

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be able to modify and adapt them
to the purpose of recollecting plays and dramatic

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productions. You will find that the
oftener you review a play, the more

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clearly you will remember it. Many
little details overlooked at first will come into

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the field of consciousness and fit into
their proper places. Sermons, lectures,

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and other discourses may be remembered by
bestowing interest and attention upon them, and

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by attempting to grasp each general idea
advanced, and by noting the passage from

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one general idea to another. If
you will practice this a few times,

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you will find that when you come
to review the discourse, and this you

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should always do. It is the
natural way of developing memory, the little

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details will come up and fit into
their proper places. In this form of

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memory. The important thing is to
train the memory by exercise and review.

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You will find that at each review
of a discourse you will have made progress.

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By practice and exercise, the subconscious
mentality will do better work and will

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show that it is rising to its
new responsibilities. You have allowed it to

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sleep during the many discourses to which
you have listened, and it must be

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taught new habits. Let it know
that it is expected to retain that which

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it hears, and then exercise it
frequently by reviews of discourses, and you

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will be surprised at the degree of
the work it will perform for you.

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Not only will you remember better,
but you will hear better and more intelligently.

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The subconsciousness, knowing that it will
be called upon later on to recollect

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what is being said, will urge
you to bestow the attention necessary to supply

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it with the proper material. To
those who have had trouble in remembering discourses,

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we urge that they should begin to
attend lectures and other forms of discourse

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with the distinct purpose of developing that
form of memory. Give to the subconscious

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mentality the positive command that it shall
attend to what is being said and shall

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record the same in such a way
that when you review the discourse afterward,

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you will be presented with a good
synopsis or syllabus of it. You should

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avoid any attempt to memorize the words
of the discourse, your purpose being to

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absorb and record the ideas and general
thoughts expressed, interest, attention, practice,

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review. These are the important points
in memory to remember stories, anecdotes,

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fables, etc. The principles given
above are to be employed. The

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main thing in memorizing an anecdote is
to be able to catch the fundamental idea

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underlining it and the epigrammatic sentence or
central phrase which forms the point of the

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story. Be sure that you catch
these perfectly, and then commit the point

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to memory. If necessary, make
a memorandum of the point until you have

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opportunity to review the story in your
mind, then carefully review it mentally,

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letting the mental image of the idea
pass before you in review, and then

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repeating it to yourself in your own
words. By rehearsing and reviewing the story,

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you make it your own and will
be able to relate it afterward.

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Just as you would something that you
had actually experienced. So true is this

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principle, that, when carried too
far, it endows the story with a

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false sense of actuality. Who has
not known men who told a story so

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often that they came actually to believe
it themselves. Do not carry the principle

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to this extreme, but use it
in moderation. The trouble with many men

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is that they attempt to repeat a
tale long after they have heard it,

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without reviewing or rehearsing in the meantime. Consequently, they omit many important points

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because they have failed to impress the
story as a whole upon the memory.

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In order to know an anecdote properly, one should be able to see its

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characters and incidents, just as he
does when he sees an illustrated joke in

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a comic paper. If you can
make a mental picture of an anecdote,

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you will be apt to remember it
with ease. The noted story tellers review

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and rehearse their jokes, and have
been known to try them on their unsuspecting

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friends in order to get the benefit
of practice before relating them in public.

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This practice has been called by flippant
people trying it on the dog, but

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it has its good points and advantages. It at least saves one the mortification

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of being compelled to finish up a
long drawn out tale by er Well.

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Ah, I'm afraid I've forgotten just
how that story ended, but it was

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a good one.