gave lectures on this subject, in Germany, exacted a promise from his pupils not to commit to writing any part of his plan. M. Feinaigle next practised the art, with great success, at Paris, and has lately been delivering a course of lectures on this branch of science in London, Liverpool, &c. and at Dublin. The ingenious and entertaining work just alluded to, affords the following information respecting the origin and principles of the science of mnemonics.

But

The

6. The recollection which ordinary memories possess, appears to be resolvable into two principal sources, the vivacity of the impression and association. ***** the principal expedient for assisting the memory is derived from association. For instance, when I see a house, I naturally recollect the inhabitants, their manner of life, and the intercourse I have had with them sight of a book prompts the memory of its contents, and the pleasure, or profit, I have received from the perusal of it. A view of the sea may suggest the idea of a storm, and the painful recollection of the loss of property, or of the life of a friend, by shipwreck.* The act, then, of aiding recollection by association, is to connect thoughts remote, or abstract, with others more obvious and familiar, that the recurrence of the latter may bring along with it the memory of the former. Thus the sight of my ring, which I cannot miss to observe, reminds me of the action,

*" Places and things (says Mr. Foster, in his Essays) which have an association with any of the events or feelings of past life, will greatly assist the recollection of them. A man of strong associations finds memoirs of himself already written on the places where he has conversed with happiness or misery. If an old man wished to anima e, for a moment, the languid and faded ideas which he retains of his youth, he might walk with his crutch across the green where he once played with companions, who are now, probably, laid to repose, in another spot not far off. An aged saint may meet again some of the effects of his early piety in the place where he first thought it happy to pray. A walk in the meadow, the sight of a bank of flowers, perhaps even of some one flower, a landscape with the tints of autumn, the descent into a valley, the brow of a mountain, the house where a friend has been met, or has resided, or has died, have often produced a much more lively recollection of our past feelings, and of the objects and events which caused them, than the most perfect description could have done."

to suggest the remembrance of which, I moved it from one finger to another. The ringing of the bell, or the sounding of the clock, prompts the recollection of the business I had resolved to perform at these times. A glimpse of the first words of a paragraph, or a page, introduces the recollection of the whole. In a word, we must connect the things we wish to remember, with the immediate objects of our senses, that offer themselves daily to our attention, but particularly with the objects of our sight, the most vigorous and lively of all our senses, and of which the objects are, perhaps, more numerous than those of all our other senses put together.'

7. This theory is the foundation of all contrivances which have been, or, perhaps, can be, employed to help recollection. It is the ground-work of the famous artificial memory of SIMONIDES, a lyric poet, of the island of Ceos, one of the Cyclades, who flourished in the sixty-first olympiad, about five hundred and thirty-five years before the birth of Christ, and [who] is celebrated by CICERO and QUINCTILIAN. Both these authors relate the following mythological incident, on the occasion which suggested the invention. Simonides was employed by Scopas, a rich Thessalian, to compose a panegyric on him for a certain sum of money; was invited to a festival, given by Scopas to his friends, in order to rehearse it, but was sordidly refused more than half the stipulated compensation, because puzzled, perhaps, with the sterility of the principal subject, he had introduced a long episode, amounting to half the poem, in praise of Castor and Pollux. Simonides soon found an avenger of the insult. He was immediately summoned from the company by two young men on horseback, supposed to be Castor and Pollux in disguise, who appeared to protect their favourite poet; and who, as soon as they had saved Simonides, made the roof fall on Scopas and his company, bruising them so to death that not a lineament of them could be known. Simonides, by recollecting the manner in which they sat at table, was enabled to distinguish them, and to deliver them to their friends for burial. The aid which the recollection of the poet received, on this occasion, is said to have suggested the idea of an artificial memory.

8. The principle of the scheme of Simonides, is to transfer

a train of ideas, the archetypes of which are not the objects of sense, and are, therefore, of difficult recollection, to another train which we cannot miss to recollect, because the archetypes are not only objects of sense, but objects of sight, with which archetypes we are perfectly familiar; or which may be placed actually before our eyes. Suppose then Simonides were to commit to memory a discourse, consisting of speculations concerning government, finances, naval affairs, or wisdom, none of the archetypes of which could be made objects of sense, at least, at the time of delivery; and, to assist his recollection, he were to connect the series of ideas, in that discourse, with a series of objects, which he could either place in sight, or with which he was so familiar, that he could not fail to recollect them; he would proceed in the following manner. He would take a house, for instance, either the one in which he might deliver the discourse, or another; with every part of which he was perfectly acquainted. He would begin at some fixed point of that house, suppose the right side of the door, and he would proceed round it, in a circular line, till he arrived at the point from which he set out. He would divide the circumference of the house into as many parts as there were different topics, or paragraphs, in the discourse. He would distinguish each paragraph by some symbol of the subject it contained; that on government, by the symbol of a crown, or a sceptre; that on finances, by the symbol of some current coin; that on naval affairs, by the figure of a ship; that on wisdom, by the figure of the goddess who presided over it. He would either actually transfer, or suppose transferred, these symbols to the different compartments of the house, and then all he had to do, in order to recollect the subject of any paragraph, was, either to cast his eye on the symbol during delivery, or to remember upon what division the symbol was placed. The memory, by this contrivance, easily recalled the discourse. The orator either saw, or could not fail to remember the compartments, because he was perfectly familiar with them. Neither could he forget the symbols of each paragraph, because they were no more than hieroglyphical paintings of the sense.

9. In the place of a house, we may assume, according to Quinctilian, a public building, the walls of a city, a well

known road, or a picture, to divisions of which we may refer our symbols. Metrodorus assumed the circle of the zodiac, which he divided into 360 compartments, equal to the number of degrees of which it consists, making a compartment of each degree.

10. Some people carried this art so far as to comprehend the words of a discourse, by constructing symbols for each of them, and referring, in like manner, these symbols to compartments. This seems to have constituted nearly what we call short-hand writing, except that our shorthand writers oblige themselves to commit to memory the meaning of their symbols, and pretend not to refer these to any more familiar objects. Quinctilian accordingly observes, that this pretended improvement terminated in confusion, and embarrassed, much more than it assisted, recollection. However much, therefore, he might prize the scheme of Simonides, he rejected this supplement as nugatory, or detrimental.

11. This system of Mnemonics was a favourite pursuit with the Greeks; and was cultivated with success by the Romans, among whom Crassus, Julius Cæsar, and Seneca, are said to have particularly excelled in this art. Such were the origin and principles of the celebrated topical memory of the ancients:* from which source are derived all the various modern systems of local and symbolical memory, that have been promulgated, from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century.

12. The system of M. Feinaigle is founded upon these principles, and is applied by him to facilitate the acquisition of chronology, history, geography, languages, systematie tables, poetry and prose, arithmetic, and algebra. Other lecturers have appeared, in different parts of the kingdom, and much ⚫uriosity has been excited on this subject." The power of association, (the principal key-stone in the mnemonic arch) may be easily tried by making use of a succession of rooms, staircases, closets, and other remarkable divisions of a house, with which the person is familiar; If he applies any word or idea to the several parts of the

In allusion to the different divisions of a house, &c. we still call the parts of a discourse, places or topics, and say in the first place, the second place, &c. &c.

house, in successive order, it will be almost impossible, in recalling the same order in the parts of the house, not to associate the idea or word, which had been previously annexed to each part. The succession of the kings of England may be learned, in a short time, by annexing the name of each succeeding monarch, to the successive room, closet, or part of the house; beginning either at the top or bottom. A single room, divided into many imaginary compartments— -a succession of streets-or any other permanent and familiar set of objects is equally applicable to this purpose.

Select Books on Mnemonics.

Locke on the Human Understanding, 2 vols. 8vo. or the abridgment, 1 vol. 12mo. Watts on the Mind, 12mo. Grey's Memoria Technica, 12mo. The New Art of Memory founded upon the principles taught by M. Feinaigle (second edition), 12mo. Stewart on the Mind, 8vo. ; to all which books this chapter is indebted. Gurney's System of Short Hand, 12mo.

CHAP. IV.-MATHEMATICS.

1. MATHEMATICS denotes that science which teaches or contemplates whatever is capable of being numbered or measured, and, accordingly, includes arithmetic and geometry. Without a knowledge of mathematics, architecture and the principles of optics and perspective can never be understood. All our reasonings on the magnitudes, motions, and distances of the heavenly bodies, and of our own globe; in other words, our knowledge of geography and astronomy are founded on this interesting science. The same may be said of pneumatics, hydrostatics, and music.

Mathematics are commonly divided into pure and specu lative, which consider quantity abstractedly; and mixed, which treat of magnitude, as subsisting in material bodies.

2. The mathematics (observes Dr. Barrow) effectually exercise, not vainly delude, nor vexatiously torment, studious minds with obscure subtilties; but plainly demonstrate every thing within their reach, draw certain conclusions, instruct by profitable rules, and unfold pleasant questions. These disciplines likewise enure, and corroborate the mind to a constant diligence in study; they wholly deliver us