Geology as a means of culture — A. Winchell. 47 
sions. Self-evidently, the verbal memory is an important means 
in the acquisition and communication of all knowledge, and the 
attainment of all ends to which knowledge contributes. To 
add alertness, effectiveness and readiness to the verbal memory 
is one important factor in intellectual culture. 
Verbal memory, however, appears to be psychologically an- 
alogous to the memory or reproduction of sounds and sights in 
general ; and thus, for our purpose, the general power of repro- 
ducing percepts may be designated the sense-memory. This 
power in its further exercise, is that by which we recall the feat- 
ures of individuals, and attain an extensive acquaintance. It pre- 
serves what we have seen in the forms of matter in general — 
forms of animals, plants, scenery, architecture. Readiness of 
recognition is conferred by it, and therefore, power of detail in 
descriptions. It is the chief faculty of story-telling — so far as 
simple utterance is concerned. Facility in sense-reproductions 
confers many advantages; and it is of ten the means of attaining 
successes which a superior grade of reflective intelligence fails 
to win. Aside from the store of facts which it sometimes holds 
at the service of the other powers, it is the most available in- 
strument for what we call popularity. Though the vice of the 
excessive exercise of sense-memory may be garrulousness, re- 
cital of meaningless details, the substitution of anecdote for 
thought, and general shallowness, yet it is quite manifest that 
the fullest exercise of the sense-memory can only be produc- 
tive of advantages, if the judgment and other intellectual 
powers are brought into symmetrical and restraining develop- 
ment. The whole field of the sense-memory deserves careful 
exercise and strengthening, and this work must be one of the 
useful and legitimate elements of broad culture. 
Embraced in the order of culture first referred to is the exer- 
cise of the power of com-parison and judgment. Without af- 
firming that these are one faculty, their constant association in 
activity leads me to speak of them as one process. In detec- 
tion of likenesses and unlikenesses, we discover grounds for 
judgments. Every judgment pronounced is an assertion of 
congruity or incongruity. As every act is the explicit or im- 
plicit expression of a judgment, a ready facility in the appre- 
hension of the grounds of judgments is a cultural acquisition of 
prime importance. 
