THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. II 



this discerning power is of immense advantage, not only in the acqui- 

 sition of knowledge, but in the formation of correct opinions. 



It is admitted that in so far as a man of narrow sympathies is 

 concerned, a fair amount of the so-called common sense principle 

 may be all that is absolutely necessary for his pecuniary advance- 

 ment, but if we desire to obtain the higher and more intellectual 

 development of a well regulated mind, the power of detecting the 

 most subtile distinctions between one thing and another, and a 

 thorough comprehension of our social position, we must look to the 

 cultivation of our mental processes. The absence of a retentive 

 memory is by no means indicative of original stupidity, want of in- 

 dustry, or lack of talent, yet those who would become masters of this 

 valuable product of mental discipline can only do so by pursuing 

 some subject, the study of which would involve a methodized and 

 continuous process of abstract reasoning. Confusion and oblivious- 

 ness are after all the result of indiscriminate observation, and the 

 highest degree of cerebral activity will fail to recall facts once familiarly 

 known unless the storehouse of the mind has been filled in a 

 gradual and tentative manner. Those of you who have at times 

 bewailed the lack of a retentive memory, in proof of the above state- 

 ment, may in some degree recall the circumstances or conditions 

 under which the knowledge of a subject was obtained, and now is, as 

 it were, shrouded in mental darkness despite your anxious and "im- 

 patient attempts to recall the desired fact, rule, or name of subject 

 under consideration. 



This is an age of rapid progress in which time does not seem 

 long enough to enable many of us to say with eminent satisfaction 

 that we have completed this day's work, and the avenues through 

 which we derive knowledge of the world, its business and social 

 relations, preferring at all times brevity in the treatment of subjects, 

 hurrying over many items at one time which is productive of con- 

 fusion of facts and has a tendency to induce the habit of indiscrim- 

 inate observation. The brain cannot and will not store up knowledge 

 under such circumstances and be ever ready at the call of the 

 indifferent student. There must also be a lively and active interest 

 bestowed upon the subject, and where possible, so as to fix indelibly 

 the impressions about to be made, use appropriate illustrations which 

 appeal to the sense of sight. When the eye has become familiar 

 with the form and color, and with all the minutse of detail, it will 



