[33]
This device bears
some resemblance to the mnemonic system which
I mentioned above, but if my experience is worth
anything, is at once more expeditious and more
effective. The question has been raised as to
whether we should learn by heart in silence; it
would be best to do so, save for the fact that under
such circumstances the mind is apt to become indolent, with the result that other thoughts break in.
For this reason the mind should be kept alert by the
sound of the voice, so that the memory may derive
assistance from the double effort of speaking and
listening. But our voice should be subdued, rising
scarcely above a murmur.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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