A NEW 3. System of Mnemonics; OR, THE ART OF ASSISTING THE MEMORY; SHEWING THE APPLICATION OF THIS USEFUL SCIENCE ΤΟ History, Chronology, Geography, Astronomy, Statistics, Botany, Chemistry, Specific Gravity, Mineralogy, Logic, Rhetoric, Logarithms, Prose and Verse, Foreign Grammar, &c. THE LATIN VERBS ARE ALSO ARRANGED IN SUCH A MANNER THAT FOUR MAY THE MULTIPLICATION TABLE IS SO MADE OUT THAT IT MAY BE LEARNED BY A CHILD IN TWO HOURS. By S. SAMS, Bath; thor of the Universal System of Stenography, or Short-Hand, for Writing English, Latin, and French, on a plan entirely new. DUBLIN: PRINTED BY W. H. TYRRELL, 17, COLLEGE-GREEN; 1814. INTRODUCTION, MY intention in composing these pages will be guided by a wish to convey as much information and instruction as possible to the Student, and not to display an ostentatious parade of my own reading or abilities, by introducing matter which does not concern it; and therefore shall not take up the reader's time by entering into speculative arguments, or useless investigation, nor give a long detail respecting the origin of Mnemonics. I shall merely observe, that it is a folly in any man of the present day to arrogate to himself (as has been done) its origin; for according to Quintillian and Cicero, the Grecian poet Simonides, who lived 538 years before Christ, invented, and practised it with success; and since his time many of the ancient worthies of Greece and Rome, and men of more modern times and various countries have applied it in a variety of forms. However this may be, all the systems which I have seen have either not been properly defined, or otherwise so complicated that most who have read them have been prevented from putting the Science into practise: at any rate, not one of them has been written to suit the capacity of a child. I have ardently endeavoured in this small treatise, to remove every obstacle that may be likely to retard the Student in the prosecution of this most useful Art; and have so simplified it, that children are capable of receiving it at a very early period, as I have frequently proved by teaching a child the diameters of the Planets, and their distances from the Sun, in less than an hour;-and other things equally difficult, in a time proportionate. My arrangements will be found to differ widely from my predecessors; and also my method of numbering, for this part is so contrived, that any number from one, to nine hundred millions can be expressed by one short word. In the prosecution of all kinds of studies, permit me to advise you to call your imagination to your assistance, and not put the whole burden on your memory; for depend on it, if the fancy was suffered to act more, the memory would be much less harassed in the greatest part of our researches, If imagery will bring to our recollection any thing that we wish not to escape us, why not use it? Surely nothing can be less difficult, than to bring before the eye of the mind any objects that we are acquainted with. The celebrated Dr. Watts, in his supplement to the Art of Logic, when speaking of the memory and the imagination, says "Sounds which address the ear, are lost and die The same author continues thus-" For the assistance of weak memories, the first letters or words of every period, in every page, may be written in distinct colours; as yellow, green, red, &c. and if you observe the same order of colours, at the beginning of each sentence, it will be still better. This will make a great impression, and may much aid the memory." As directions will be given more particularly how to use the imagination for learning poetry, &c. &c. I shall not dwell on it here; and will only make one observation. Suppose the word clock, would remind you of the date of Henry II. King of England, who is the |