MEMORY 105 



other hand, appears to be an impelling force 

 throughout the animal kingdom, and may have 

 contributed to the spread of physical changes 

 from the individual to the species. 



MEMORY. It may very well be that we forget 

 nothing, that we store up a recollection of every- 

 thing that has affected us. The great mass 

 of our impressions is collected subconsciously, 

 and will only recur to us when we are in a sub- 

 conscious condition, as, for instance, when we 

 are dreaming. The strange materials which enter 

 into our dreams are derived from impressions 

 which we have registered, but have not marked 

 in consciousness. There is a well-known case of 

 a Dutch maidservant who, when delirious in 

 hospital, declaimed passages from the Talmud. 

 It was ascertained that she had been in the service 

 of a Rabbi who was in the habit of reading the 

 Talmud aloud as he paced up and down the pas- 

 sage which led to the kitchen. His recitations had 

 subconsciously been registered in the girl's mem- 

 ory, and emerged from it when she was in a state 

 of subconsciousness. In conscious life she could 

 not remember a word. 



A stream of recollections is flowing unceasingly 

 through our brains. It may perhaps be inter- 

 rupted during very deep sleep, or when we are 

 unconscious, as during a fainting fit. When 

 awaking from deep sleep we may experience a 

 strange feeling of not knowing where we are. 

 This may be due to an interruption of memory, 

 which has the same effect as the stoppage of the 

 heart during a fit of unconsciousness. Should 

 the stream of memory become blocked, our life, 

 our character, our personality is changed. Such 

 is the inference we may draw from the experience 



