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A15481
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The art of memory so far forth as it dependeth vpon places and idea's[sic] Written first in Latine, by Iohn Willis Bachelour in Diuinitie: and now published in English by the said author, with such alternations thereof as seemed needful.; Mnemonica, sive reminiscendi ars. Book 3. English
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Willis, John, d. 1625.
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1621
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STC 25749; ESTC S105364
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24,465
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115
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THE ART OF MEMORY So far forth as it dependeth vpon Places and Idea's Written first in Latine by Iohn Willis Bachelour in Diuinitie and now published in English by the said Author with such alterations thereof as seemed needful Vt vnaquaeque ars nobilissima ac Diuinissima fuit ita ad mortalium cognitionem tardissime pervenit Cardanus LONDON Printed by W. Iones and are to be sold by Henry Seely in Pauls churchyard at the Tygres head 1621. To the Reader WHereas about some two or three yeares since I published a Tractate in Latine called Mnemonia concerning the Art of Memorie diuided into three bookes according to the threefold kindes of Artificiall remembring that are therein prescribed and haue beene since importuned by diuers â—o publish it in English I haue answered their request so farre as I iudged it fit by publishing the third booke thereof which is plaine and easie for any mans vnderstanding whereas the two first bookes are for Schollers onely that are skilfull in Logicke and Poetrie Yet haue I not tyed my selfe to such strict lawes as a Translator should but haue altered where I thought good the precepts examples and methodâ— thereof with all libertie to make it the more easie for the vnderstanding of the common sort Writings I confesse are simply the most happie keepers of any thing in memorie and doth for speed and certaintie go beyonâ— any art of Memorie but a maâ— cannot alwayes write that which commeth into his minde as when he is riding vpon a iourney or lyeth awake in his bed or is among companie at dinner or in a throng of people or is otherwise hindered by any the like occasion therefore it will be necessarie for him then to helpe his memorie some other way at least till he can set downe that in writing which he would remember And to this purpose serueth this Art which if you shall aduisedly reade through and marke with diligence the precepts and examples that you may well vnderstand euery Chapter as you go along without hastening to the end before you come to it by due order like a man that would leape ouer a stile before he comes at it I doubt not but you shall finde it very plaine and easie and exceeding profitable for remembrance both of businesses and obseruations and no way hurtfull to the facultie of the naturall memorie but rather very vsefull for the corroboration and strengthening thereof For the memorie being daily accustomed to the recalling of sentences forgotten and that by one or two words thereof as this booke directeth is thereby much quickned in her dutie and the wit the more sharpened For nothing requireth continuall exercise more then the memorie neither is there any facultie that waxeth sooner dull for want of exercise then the memorie This one thing I desire to be fauourably censured that if in the examples which I giue for the illustration of the practise of this Art in the fourteenth Chapter there appeare ought to be phantasticall it may be excused by this reason that in this Art I go about to instruct the phantasie which is the seruant of memorie In which respect it fitteth well that I deliuer some conceits which are phantasticall And thus haue I ventured to put these my labours vpon common construction hoping they shall finde no lesse fauourable acceptance among the iudicious then the Art of Stenographie which long since I published hath found I. W. THE ART OF MEMORIE CHAP. I. Of the Repositorie THe Art of Memorie so farre foorth as it dependeth vpon Places Idea's consisteth of two parts Reposition and Deposition Reposition is that part whereby things to be remembred are layd vp in minde by their Idea's bestowed in the places of Repositories But before I come to the maner of bestowing or laying vp Idea's in the places of Repositories necessary it is that I should seuerally intreate first concerning Repositories secondly the places therein determined and thirdly touching Idea's in those places bestowed A Repositorie is an imaginary house or building the forme and fashion whereof is as followeth Let there be supposed a building of the best Cane stone to stand before vs the inside whereof is in length twelue yards in bredth sixe yards in height seuen yards and the roofe thereof flat leaded aboue and pargetted vnderneath hauing no wall at all vpon the hither side which is towards vs but the whole house lying wide open to our view Let there be also supposed within the sayd building a marble stage smoothe and euen one yard high aboue the leuell of the ground whereon we stand extending it selfe the full length and bredth of the said building And that all the three walls of the house that is to say the opposite wall and the two side walls are wholy lined on the inside with choice cypresse boords plaine and smoothe and so close ioyned that it beareth no mention thereof to be seene vnto a man standing vpon this side of the stage Furthermore let there be imagined a grooue or gutter to be cut in the iust middle of the marble stage three inches deepe and three inches broade drawne from the opposite wall to the hither side of the stage whereby it is exactly diuided into two equall parts And that vpon the further end of the said gutter there is erected a Corinthian or round pillar one foote and an halfe thicke arising vp to the roofe of the building which almost toucheth the opposite wall and deuideth it exactly into two equall parts as the grooue diuideth the stage So that by the grooue the pillar the whole Repositorie is parted in twaine and consisteth of two roomes siding each other and being each of them six yards long and six yards broad and six yards high But that you may the better perceiue this description behold here the type and fashion of the Repositorie limited by the letters contained therein whose signification followeth after the Figure a b sheweth the length of 〈◊〉 Repositorie a c and b d the height thereâ—â— a e and b f the height of the â—ge e g h f the length bredth 〈◊〉 the stage c l m d the length bredth 〈◊〉 the roofe g i k h the length height 〈◊〉 the opposite wall e c i g the side wall vpon â—r lâ—ft hand h k d f the side wall vpon â—ur right hand g i n o the wall belonging to â—â—e first roome c g o p the stage of the first â—â—ome r q k h the wall of the second â—â—ome s r h f the stage of the second roome n o the pillar diuiding tâ—â— opposite wall o p the grooue wrought in the stage And such a fashioned Repâ—sitorie are we to prefixe befoâ—â— the eyes of our mind as oftâ—â— as we intend to commit thinâ— to memory supposing oâ— selues to be right against tâ—â— midst thereof and in the dâ—stance of two yards therâ— from Now although euery Repâ—sitorie which we feigne to bâ— before vs must be
old man winged hauing long haire in the forepart of his head and being bald behind for Time And the like Si◠〈◊〉 â—en a sentence is expressed 〈◊〉 a familiar example whereby the truth of that sentence is manifested as if this sentence Venter mero aestuans despumat in libidinem that is The belly ouer-heated with wine doth froath forth into lust should be expressed by the example of Lot sporting with his daughters in whose faâ—l this example was plainly verified Finally when any thing may fitly be resembled by its correlatiue it must be so resembled And so much for Relatiue Idea's CHAP. IX Of Subdititiall Idea's A Subdititiall Idea is whereby a proper name is comâ—itted to memory by someâ—â—ing placed in stead there of wherewith it is supposed to 〈◊〉 haue some agreement This 〈◊〉 done two wayes First when a mans name â—gnifieth something visible it â—ay be layd vp in memory by â—hat visible thing it signifieth As if a mans name be Smith his name may be remeÌ„bred by â—hinking vpon a Smith at work â—n one of the roomes of the Repositorie hauing forge and â—nvile in it as if it were a Smiths shop if his name be Carpenter by a Carpenter 〈◊〉 worke if Turner by a Turneâ— if his name be Stone by 〈◊〉 stone if Luâ—onne by a Lute anâ— a Tunne Secondly a mans name mâ— be remembred by the likâ— name giuen to another maâ— As if a mans name be Peteâ— we may remember it by another man called Peter or bâ— the picture of Saint Peter hunâ— vpon the opposite wall if hâ— name be Iohnsonne by anotheâ— man of the same name if a wâ—mans name be Lucrese it maâ— be kept in mind by the picturâ— of Lucrese if Katharine by thâ— picture of Saint Katharine Anâ— this may suffice for Subditiaâ— Idea's CHAP. X. Of Scriptile Idea's A Scriptile Idea is whereby the thing to be rememâ—red is supposed to be written â—n a plaine white table hanged â—p in the midst of the opposite wall belonging to the roome wherein it is placed the frame â—r border whereof is of oake very broad and chamfered In euery Scriptile Idea 3 things are generally required First that the Table be not much bigger then will containe that which shall be written in it Secondly that the frame or border of the Table be of the colour of the Repository wherin it standeth As if it stand in the first Repositorie that it be of the colour oâ— gold if in the second Repositorie that it be of the colour of siluer if in the third that it be black if in the fourth blue c. Thirdly that the letters contained in the Scriptile Idea be all of such bignessâ— as that they may plainly be read by him that standeth on this side of the Repositorie like vnto the writings which we see in Churches And thus much foâ— that which is generally required in all Scriptile Idea's Let vs now see what is further to be required in the seuerall kinds of them There are foure kindes of Scriptile Idea's A single word a Quotation a Phrase and 〈◊〉 Sentence A single word and quotaâ—ion must be written in a taâ—let one foote and an halfe â—road and a foote high and â—heir first letter must be a great Romane capitall letter of exâ—raordinary bignesse aboue the â—est and the transcendencies of â—he small letters also if there be any must be drawne much â—igher or lower then is vsuall â—n common writing For by â—his meanes they are the more easily attracted by the visuall facultie and transferred to the memory By the transcendencies of the smal letters I meane the vpper and lower parts of those letters which exceed the parallell lines betweene which we write For whensoeuer we write we write as it were between two lines vnderstood though not expressed And of the small letters some are written wholy between the lines as these a c e m n o r s u v w which for distinction sake may be called Interlineals because they are written between the lines All other small letters are extended further then the lines whereof they are called Transcendents And of these some are extended aboue the vpper line as these b d h i k l t some beneath the lower line as these g p q x y z. Some both aboue the vpper line and beneath the neather line as these f j s As to giue examples in single words the word Canaan hath no transcendents in it Naboth hath three which extend aboue the vpper line b t and h. Spagyrus three which are â—rawne beneath the neather â—ne p g and y. Iosaphat hath â—hree transcendeÌ„ces aboue the â—pper line in the letters s h and 〈◊〉 and two beneath the lower â—ne in the letters s and p. When therefore we haue â—ancied a single word to be â—ritten in a tablet hanging â—pon the opposite wall we must apply our mind thereunâ—o impensiuely to consider it â—nd especially the length of it â—he first letter and the transcenâ—encies of the small letters if â—here be any till by these conâ—ideratioÌ„s the word make some â—mpression of it selfe in our â—inds That whereas a word â—arely written is but feeble of 〈◊〉 selfe to stir vp memory yet â—y these considerations and stay made in bestowing it 〈◊〉 may worke some deeper impression in our memories A Quotation must be written after the common maner thus 2. Chron. 9.6 Math. 5.8 And besides the consideratioâ— of the first letter and the traâ—scendences of the small letters if there be any in it we musâ— obserue also the numbers oâ— the Chapter and verse but specially of the Chapter whicâ— will be very easie to commiâ— to mind in regard of theiâ— quantitie For things of quantity next things visible are beâ— remembred A phrase and a short sentence of one line in length must be supposed to be written in a table three foot broaâ— and one foote high and thâ— â—hiefe word therein which is 〈◊〉 be accounted that which â—ost expresseth the subiect â—ereof whether it stand in â—â—e beginning middle or end 〈◊〉 to be written after the manâ—er of words written alone â—hat is the first letter to be a â—â—eat Romane capitall letter â—nd the transcendencies of the â—â—all letters therein very large â—nd when we haue once fanâ—ed a phrase or short sentence 〈◊〉 be written in the table we â—ust apply our selues to conâ—der the length of this whole â—criptile Idea specially the â—hiefe word therein and what â—ace it hath in the writing 〈◊〉 whether in the beginning â—iddle or end for by these â—onsiderations vsed in the Reâ—osition of Scriptile Idea's they are the better remembred If a Scriptile Idea be a lonâ— sentence which cannot be coâ—tained in a line then let thâ— table be imagined to be broâ—der or deeper as the length 〈◊〉 the Idea doth require Anâ— let the forme of writing whicâ— euery long Idea hath be sucâ— as may most plainly set footâ— what kind of sentence it doâ— expresse Therefore Distribâ—tions must be