William Atkinson - The Essential Works of William Walker Atkinson - 50+ Books in One Edition

The same custom maintains in India, where, although they have manuscripts two thousand years old, they have scholars who have stored away in their minds the great philosophies which have been handed down from a time when writing was unknown to their race. Sanscrit is a dead language, but it has been passed down in the transmitting of these religious and philosophical teachings—not only the mere words, but the accent, inflection and pronunciation as well. It is said that many Hindu scholars can to­day repeat the Vedas, containing nearly one million words. It takes years to accomplish the task of committing this to memory, a few lines being learned every day, much rehearsing and reviewing being done. The lesson is taught entirely by word of mouth, no reference to manuscript being permitted.

The Kabala, or Secret Teaching, of the Jews was thus transmitted, and the religious teachings of the Druids are believed to have likewise been transmitted and preserved. The ancient Greeks and Romans were adepts in this form of memory, and instances are cited where citizens could repeat word for word every important speech they had heard.

According to Max Muller, the entire text and glossary of Panini’s Sanscrit grammar were handed down orally for 350 years, before being committed to writing. This work alone is almost equal in size to the Bible. There are Hindu priests now living who can repeat accurately the entire poems of the Mahabarata, of 300,000 slokas or lines. The Slavonian minstrels of the present day have by heart immensely long epic poems. And the Algonquin Indians committed to memory and repeated accurately their sagas or mystic legends of almost interminable length. The ancient laws of Iceland were not written or printed, but were carried in the minds of the judges and lawyers of that land. And their sagas relate that the lawyers of that day were able to carry in their minds not only the laws themselves but also the innumerable number of precedents which had grown around the law.

Of course, there is no necessity for these feats of memory at the present time, but we do not doubt that if the necessity arose, modern men could soon duplicate the feats of the ancients.

Reading aloud will prove a great help in committing to memory that which is being read, and also in impressing upon the mind the meaning of the words. Longeve says: “Reading aloud gives a power of analysis which silent reading can never know. The eye runs over the page, skips tedious bits, glides over dangerous spots. But the ear hears everything. The ear makes no cuts. The ear is delicate, sensitive and clairvoyant to a degree inconceivable by the eye. A word which glanced at, passed unnoticed, assumes vast proportions when read aloud.”

Table of Content

Treating of the development of ear perception and memory, following the preceding chapter, and giving numerous exercises designed to develop and cultivate the faculty of intelligent hearing—Instances of greatly developed ear perception show us that the majority of people have the sense of hearing but imperfectly developed, and place but little attention upon what they hear, and this faculty may be greatly developed and improved by intelligent practice—Good authorities have stated that “one­half of the deafness that exists is the result of inattention,” and one­half of the poor memories are traceable to the same cause—The exercises are designed to remedy this defect—This chapter includes a valuable system for memorizing things heard, following the lines laid down by the ancient Hindu teachers when transmitting their sacred teachings.

IT IS rather more difficult to formulate a list of exercises for the development of ear perception than to give a similar list of exercises for the eye. The development of ear perception along the lines we have laid down for eye perception would lead us into a field of little practical benefit. We would be accused of teaching our pupils the art of mimicry or ventriloquism, in stead of memory training. The ventriloquist, as you are, of course, aware, will so correctly reproduce the sounds of the human voice as heard from a distance, that our senses are completely deceived. His art is not merely the clever producing of sounds, but the cultivation of such a fine degree of ear perception that he can distinguish the faintest differences in the tones reaching him, and is thus enabled to reproduce them. Many children have this gift, and so accurately perceive and register the sound impressions reaching them, that they are able to reproduce same with a considerable degree of skill.

Great differences are noticeable among individuals regarding the development of the sense of hearing. Some have a very keen ear for sounds in general, or sounds appertaining to certain lines of occupation, etc., but have but a very moderate, or even poor, degree of perception of musical tones, while on the other hand many musicians are notorious for their dullness of perception of outside sounds. Then again, some are able to distinguish certain kinds of sounds very readily, and scarcely notice others.

Our statement, in a previous chapter, that attention and interest is necessary before the mind will register a clear impression which can be readily reproduced, is particularly true in the case of impressions received through the sense of hearing. Good authorities have stated that “one­half of the deafness that exists, is the result of inattention.” This being the case it will readily be seen that the best way to cultivate improved ear perception is to cultivate attention and interest . This, perhaps, will be more easily understood when we remember that in many cases we are almost perfectly oblivious to the sounds around us, being intently occupied with some other subject, in which case the sounds enter our ears freely, but the mind being otherwise occupied fails to take cognizance of the impressions received. In many instances, however, we will be able to remember things which were said which at the time we failed to hear. This is the effect of the subconscious function of the mind, of which we have spoken in another chapter.

It is a pity that in our modern life the training of the sense of hearing has been so much neglected. It is capable of affording us great pleasure and enjoyment as well as rendering us great service if educated and trained that we may receive from it the advantages which it is capable of affording. The sense of hearing may be more highly trained and developed than perhaps any of the other senses. It may be developed by exercise and culture and deteriorates by neglect and inattention. The Indian has such a wonderful sense of hearing, or rather has so trained his hearing, that he is enabled to hear the sound of the foot­steps of his approaching enemy by placing his ear to the ground. The mere rustling of a leaf or the cracking of a twig is distinctly heard by him. The leader of an orchestra will detect the faintest inharmony or departure from time or tune in his orchestra, and will be able to detect the faulty performer without hesitation. The blind being thrown back on their other senses, have developed these to a wonderful degree. They have so sharpened their sense of hearing, or rather the sense of attention and interest in sounds, that they can tell when they are passing a stationery object, by the sound of their own footsteps, and can discriminate between a lamp­post and a man standing still, by the same means.

We give below several exercises intended to develop the sense of hearing by practice. These exercises are intended principally as suggestions to the student, that he may be able to take advantage of the opportunities around him in his daily occupation calculated to develop this sense.

EXERCISE 1.

When passing along the street, endeavor to catch up and retain for a few moments the scraps of conversation of the passers­by overheard by you. You will be surprised at the number and variety of disconnected sentences you will be able to hear and retain in the course of a walk of a few blocks. It is all a matter of attention and interest. This exercise is, of course, valuable only in the way of practice, as the remarks overheard will probably be of no importance, unless you are a student of human nature.