The historie of the vvorld: commonly called, The naturall historie of C. Plinius Secundus. Translated into English by Philemon Holland Doctor of Physicke. The first [-second] tome
Pliny, the Elder., Holland, Philemon, 1552-1637.

CHAP. XXIIII.

¶ Examples of Memorie. [ F]

AS touching memorie, the greatest gift of Nature, and most necessary of all others for this life; hard it is to iudge and say who of all others deserued the chiefe honor therein: consi∣dering how many men haue excelled, and woon much glory in that behalfe. King CyrusPage  168 was able to call euery souldier that he had through his whole army by his owne name. L. Scipio [ G] could do the like by all the citizens of Rome. Semblably, Cineas, Embassador of king Pyrrhus, the very next day that he came to Rome, both knew and also saluted by name all the Senate, & the whole degrees of Gentlemen and Cauallerie in the citie. Mithridates the king, reigned ouer two and twentie nations of diuers languages, and in so many tongues gaue lawes and ministred ju∣stice vnto them, without truchman: and when he was to make speech vnto them in publicke as∣sembly respectiuely to euery nation, he did performe it in their own tongue without interpre∣tor. One Charmidas or Charmadas, a Grecian, was of so singular a memory, that h•… was able to de∣liuer * by heart the contents word for word of all the books that a man would call for out of any librarie, as if he read the same presently within book. At length the practise hereof was reduced into an art of Memory: deuised and inuented first by Simonides Melicus, and afterwards brought to perfection and consummate by Metrodorus Sepsius; by which a man might learne to rehearse [ H] againe the same words of any discourse whatsoeuer after once hearing: and yet there is not a thing in man so fraile and brittle againe as it, whether it be occasioned by disease, by casual in∣iuries or occurrents, or by feare, through which it faileth somtime in part, and otherwhiles de∣caieth generally, and is clean lost. One with the stroke of a stone, fell presently to forget his let∣ters onely, and could reade no more; otherwise his memorie serued him well enough. Another with a fall from the roofe of a very high house, lost the remembrance of his owne mother, his next kinsfolks, friends, and neighbors. Another in a sicknesse of his, forgot his own seruants a∣bout him: and Messala Corvinus the great Orator, vpon the like occasion, forgot his own proper name. So fickle and slipperie is mans memorie: that oftentimes it assaieth and goeth about to leese it selfe, euen whiles a mans body is otherwise quiet and in health. But let sleep creepe at [ I] any time vpon vs, it seemeth to be vanquished, so as our poore spirit wandreth vp and downe to seeke where it is, and to recouer it againe.