HOW TO SEE AND REMEMBER 



and then forget them as soon as possible. The child 

 does not realise what he is doing; later in life he usually 

 comes to see, and bitterly to regret, his folly. 



Similarly the average adult fails to realise what he is 

 doing when he allows himself to develop a blurred vi- 

 sion and a slurred habit of memorising. The average 

 reader has habits of mind that are slovenly. Every 

 man and woman of your acquaintance read full ac- 

 counts of the Russo-Japanese war a few months ago; 

 but ask even the most intelligent of your acquaintances 

 to give you in precise, condensed phrases, an epitome 

 of these events, mentioning the names of the leading 

 officers on either side and the location of the chief battles, 

 and see how painfully defective the narrative will be. 

 Yet the chief value of any knowledge depends upon 

 its precision. 



Challenge your memory, then, regarding such slovenly 

 habits. Cultivate an interest in the things of life that 

 are worth while. Resolve to see accurately and to re- 

 member precisely. By so doing you will infinitely widen 

 your horizons. You will add to your efficiency as 'a 

 rational, thinking being. You will take a long step 

 toward the acquisition of what your friends will call 

 ability, a long forward move on the road to success, 

 where stands the goal of happiness. 



[99] 



