Elements of the philosophy of the human mind. By Dugald Stewart. Rev. and abridged, with critical and explanatory notes, for the use of colleges and schools. By Francis Bowen ...

294 lMEMORY.
vigorous they might happen to be. By a proper distribution
of these documents, and a judicious reference of them to a few
general titles, a very ordinary Memory is enabled to accomplish
more, than the most retentive unassisted by method. We
know, with certainty, where to find any article we may have
occasion for, if it be in our possession; and the search is confined within reasonable limits, instead of being allowed to
wander at random amidst a chaos of particulars.
Or, to take an instance still more immediately applicable to
our purpose; suppose that a man- of letters were to record, in a
commonplace-book, without any method, all the various ideas
and facts which occurred to him in the course of his studies;
what difficulties would he perpetually experience in applying
his acquisitions to use? and how completely and easily might
these difficulties be obviated by referring the particulars of his
Information to certain general heads? It is obvious, too, that,
by doing so, he would not only have his knowledge much more
completely under his command, but as the particulars classed
together would all have some connection, more or less, with each
other, he would be enabled to trace, with advantage, those
mutual relations among his ideas, which it is the object of
philosophy to ascertain.
A commonplace-book, conducted without any method, is an
exact picture of the M3emory of a man whose inquiries are not
directed by philosophy. And the advantages of order in treasuring up our ideas in the mind, are perfectly analogous to its
effects when they are recorded in writing.
Nor is this all. In order to retain our knowledge distinctly
and permanently, it is necessary that we should frequently recall it to our recollection. But how can this be done without
the aid of arrangement? Or supposing that it were possible,
how much time and labor would be necessary for bringing under
our review the various particulars of which uTr information is
composed? In proportion as it is properly systematized, this
time and labor are abridlged. The mind dcweds habitually, not
on detached facts, but on a comparatively small number of general principles; and, by means of these, it can summon up, as