Abridgment in Memory and Ontogeny 327 



gradually to be entirely absorbed by the principal 

 mnemonic elements of the same series and by the new 

 elements which later supervene as a consequence of later 

 sensations also stored up in memory. 



Let us note that this abridgment of every memory, 

 interpreted as above, becomes then completely capable 

 of explaining also the similar abridgment which phy- 

 logeny undergoes during ontogeny. In fact, of the 

 ancient mnemonic elements constituting the germinal 

 substance, the most pronounced, that is those which are 

 represented by the largest quantity of substance, will 

 alone persist. The less pronounced ancient mnemonic 

 elements, the total quantity of nourishment for all 

 mnemonic elements remaining the same or varying only 

 within definite limits, will have all their portion of 

 nourishment taken away by the more pronounced ancient 

 mnemonic elements, and by the new mnemonic elements 

 whose number will continually increase with each phy- 

 logenetic advancement. Not being able consequently to 

 regain their substance completely in each ontogeny they 

 will gradually disappear. 



If we have always supposed so far, as the first degree 

 of approximation necessary to the comprehension of the 

 fundamental nature of the phenomenon, that ontogeny 

 reproduces phylogeny entirely, these abridgments of 

 memory permit us then to penetrate still farther into 

 the inner nature of this phenomenon and to recognize 

 that ontogeny instead of being an entire reproduction 

 of phylogeny can be only a succinct recapitulation. 



In recalling a given memory the mnemonic cells do 

 not lose the "impression" as we call it which they 

 preserve of that memory; on the contrary the more a 

 memory is recalled the more the respective "impression" 



