Thereasonwhyweteachsomuchthatisnotpracticalandinitselfuseful，isbecausewefindthattheeasiestwayofteachingwhatispracticalanduseful。Ifwecouldinanywayeliminateallthatwouldhelpamantodealsuccessfullywithdisease，andteachitbyitselfsothatitshouldbeastenaciouslyrootedinthememory，aseasilysummonedwhenwanted，asfertileinsuggestionofrelatedfacts，assatisfactorytotheperemptorydemandsoftheintelligenceasiftaughtinitsscientificconnections，Ithinkitwouldbeourdutysototeachthemomentoustruthsofmedicine，andtoregardalluselessadditionsasanintrusiononthetimewhichshouldbeotherwiseoccupied。
Butwecannotsuccessfullyeliminateandteachbyitselfthatwhichispurelypractical。Theeasiestandsurestwhyofacquiringfactsistolearnthemingroups，insystems，andsystematizedknowledgeisscience。Youcanveryoftencarrytwofactsfastenedtogethermoreeasilythanonebyitself，asahousemaidcancarrytwopailsofwaterwithahoopmoreeasilythanonewithoutit。Youcanrememberaman’sface，madeupofmanyfeatures，betterthanyoucanhisnoseorhismouthorhiseye-brow。Scoresofproverbsshowyouthatyoucanremembertwolinesthatrhymebetterthanonewithoutthejingle。
Theancients，whoknewthelawsofmemory，groupedthesevencitiesthatcontendedforthehonorofbeingHomer’sbirthplaceinalinethusgivenbyAulusGellius：
Smurna，Rodos，Colophon，Salamin，Ios，Argos，Athenai。
Iremember，intheearlierpoliticaldaysofMartinVanBuren，thatColonelStone，ofthe“NewYorkCommercial，“oroneofhiscorrespondents，saidthatsixtownsofNewYorkwouldclaiminthesamewaytohavebeenthebirth-placeofthe“LittleMagician，“ashewasthencalled；andthushegavetheirnames，anyoneofwhichI