INTELLFXTUAL EDUCATION. 



tte ideas of olhers, without any real acqnifitions of thought, 

 and even without that new-modelling and an-anging of them, 

 which would give a decree of appropriation to the polfefiion. 

 We have known an indiWdual arrived alraoft at the age of 

 manhood, who iour.d it fo much ealier to learn Euclid's Ele- 

 mentsby rote, than to underftand them, that he aftually 

 went through feveral of the early propofitions without any 

 fufpicion being excited that he had not fully mailered them ; till 

 on an accidental change in the lettering of the figure, or in tlie 

 conftruftion itfelf, it was difcovered that memory, not under- 

 ftanding, had been eseicifed throughout. Where, however, 

 facility in retention is not pofTefied, though it is by no means 

 the moft important feature of the memory, yet it fhould be 

 cultivated, directly by adual exercife, but ftill more by 

 well ftoring the mind withthofe really valuable ideas which 

 will ferve as connefting bonds for new ones. That kind or 

 degree of retention which arifes from aflbciation, not from 

 original organization, is of the greateft value ; and this may 

 be improved to almoil any valuable extent, where there is 

 good fenfe to work upon. 



Where the purfuits are direfted to the acquifition of hte- 

 rature and fcience, there is no danger of a want of objefts on 

 which to exercife the memory in all its ufual quahtics. In- 

 deed the danger principally is, of doing too much ; and ftill 

 more, of cultivating the mem.ory almoft exclufively. The 

 apprehenfion of this has led many ingenious perfons who 

 have been concerned in education, to do too little. Tliey 

 confider it is unneeeffary to exercife the memory more than 

 they think will be probably ufeful in life, or to burden it 

 with things which, if they (hould be ufeful, may be eafily 

 acquired when they are wanting. They fee the memory 

 often made almoft the only objeft of education, fafts ftored 

 up without any judicious link of connedion, and words, in 

 thcmfelves conliderej almoft unintelligible, and which at any 

 rate convey no ideas to the mind of the learner, committed 

 to memory without explanation ; and they go into the oppo- 

 fite extreme, and fuppofe that tlie cultivation of the judg- 

 ment is all which they need attend to. Truth, as in many 

 other inftances, hes between the extremes. The cultivation 

 of the memory ought, moil afl'nredly, never to fnperlcde 

 that of ' the judgment ; but, on the contrary, flionld be kept 

 in fubordination to it, and be regulated by it : but when it 

 is confidercd how many of the purpofes of life require ac- 

 curacy and facility of recolleftion, liow neceffary the memory 

 is to the purfuits of fcience and literature, and even to the 

 tultivation and exercife of the moral fenfe, can we doubt 

 that as a fubfervient faculty, and, with a view to its fubfer- 

 viency, we can fcarcely cultivate it too much. 



Without a doubt, the recolleftion of ideas is the objeft 

 of tiie greateft confequence ; but as we have already ftated, 

 the memory ihouid often be exercifed on words, both as an 

 aid to the remembrance of ideaj, and on account of the great 

 importance of an accurate recolledlion of words in the ufual, 

 as well as in the more peculiar concerns of life. We fluill 

 never forget, that, in all probability, the reputed murderers 

 of Sleek- loft their hves by the definite article being intro- 

 duced, we doubt not unintentionally, by the reporter of their 

 words; if they faid, " We muft liave had gin there," (not as 

 we believe was ftated in evidence, " We muft have had the 

 gin there,") their words, fo far from being a ftrong, indeed 

 preponderatingargument againll them, were plainly confiftent, 

 and indeed moft conliftent, with their reiterated aflertions : 

 they were difcufiing t!ie teftimony of the king's evidence; 

 and what they probably faid, was defigsed to account to 

 one another for his reprefentations. We arc often led to re- 

 peat the ftatenicnts of olhers ; and it very frequently hap- 

 pens that it is not fuJIicient to give wliat we think their ideas. 



If we can give their words, ever/ one may judge for himf ' 

 as to the import of them : if we give merely our own id^:. 

 of their import, we preclude all correiSion of miftake, if frov. 

 our peculiar prepofTefQons, or any other circumftances, w 

 have erred. We have ourfelves known inftances, andprob:.- 

 bly our readers can at once recollect others for themfelvt-; 

 where very ferious confequences have followed from perff 

 detailing their own apprehenfions of the meaning of cthc 

 infteadof what they adually faid : and from a regard 

 truth, and from the confideratiun of fuch painful occv 

 rences, we feel perfuadcd that the habit oi the correft ret 

 leftion of words flipuld be early made an objeft, and ftic\.:.' 

 not be loft fight of in any part of education. 



But befides the direftly mental effett of the correft reco?- 

 leftion of words, and tlte importance of it in the concerns o.-^ 

 life, we do not perceive how the neceflity of it can be doubted 

 in the various employments of a literary and fcientific edu- 

 cation. We have no wiflt that the memory ftiould be bur- 

 dened with a number of rules and fafts which are of no 

 direct fubferviency to the objttls of rational inftrufticBi ; 

 nor that it Ihoidd be called upon to acquire the principles pf 

 grammar, and ftill lefs of philofophy, without the continual 

 exercife of the underftanding : but though the judgment 

 will afford material aid to the memory, even in the rudiment* 

 of the languages, and is of indifpenfable utility to its exer- 

 cife in every department of fcience, yet the ready and accu- 

 rate recolleftion c.f fundamental rules, of the flexions of 

 words, of elementary principles, definitions, &c. is of fuch 

 fignal, and almoft effential, advantage, in the progrefs of 

 education, that we cannot but fuppole, either that thofe who 

 objeft fo much to the frequent exercife of the meniorj- on 

 words, would not wifli to be underftood to the full extent 

 of their own reprefentations, or othcrwife, that they labour 

 under a moft material error, arifing from ignorance as to 

 what exercife of memory even a rational education requires, 

 or from forgetfulnefs of thofe proceftes by which they have 

 themfelves made acqnifitions wliich could not have been made 

 without them. 



The exertions of the memory may be clafled in three di- 

 vifions, (as refpecis our prcfcnt confiderations,) thofe in which 

 it merely fupplies materials for the judgment ; thofe in which 

 it furniihes the refults of previous exercifes of the under- 

 ftanding, (or at leaft what have before been the objects of 

 the underftanding,) and in which the underftanding fhould 

 ftiil be concerned ; and thofe in which the prftccfies of the 

 memory arc become habitual from conftant employment, and 

 go on "without our flopping to think." The laft clafs is 

 probably much more extenfivc than is generally fuppok-d ; 

 facility in arithmetic, and in the fubordinate exercifes in the 

 languages, continually require fuch an exertion of the me- 

 mory, and where the memory has not been trained to it, the 

 difficuhics in thefe elementary acquifitions are conilantly felt. 

 All the power which we wifti the judgment to exercife in 

 fuch cafe, is a controlling power ; to fuggeft errors and 

 omiffioRS, but not to diretl what is right ; and if the readi- 

 nefs and accuracy of memory have not been early cultivated, 

 fay before the age of twelve or thirteen, 3t will' often prove 

 up-hiU work to acquire facility in thofe branches of know- 

 ledge which, from being of praftical value, are of very fre- 

 quent occurrence. One cafe has occurred to our own ob- 

 fervation, in which the exceftive fear of making the memory 

 paramount inftead of fubordinate, led to fuch a degree of 

 flownefs in every operation in whicli the judgment is not prin- 

 cipally concerntd, that the individual found ten-fold difhcul- 

 tic.«, where the memory of much younger companions (with- 

 out blindfolding the judgment) futrgeltedat oi.ce every thing 

 that tl>e circumftances might require, and will doubllcls ena- 



