Memoria Technica (1888)

My “Memoria Technica” is a modification of Gray’s; but, whereas he used both consonants and vowels to represent digits, and had to content himself with a syllable of gibberish to represent the date or whatever other number was required, I use only consonants, and fill in with vowels “ad libitum”, and thus can always manage to make a real word of whatever has to be represented.

The principles on which the necessary 20 consonants have been chosen are as follows:—

[1] “b” and “c”, the first two consonants in the Alphabet.
[2] “d” from “duo”; “w” from “two”.
[3] “t” from “tres”; the other may wait awhile.
[4] “f” from “four”; “q” from “quatuor”.
[5] “l” and “v”, because “L” and “V” are the Roman symbols for “fifty” and “five”.
[6] “s” and “x”, from “six”.
[7] “p” and “m”, from “septem”.
[8] “h” from “huit”; & “k” from the Greek “okto”.
[9] “n” from “nine”; & “g”, because it is so like a “9”.
[0] “z” and “r”, from “zero”.

There is now one consonant still waiting for its digit, viz. “j”; and one digit waiting for its consonant, viz. “3”: the conclusion is obvious.

The result may be tabulated thus

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
b	d	t	f	l	s	p	h	n	z
c	w	j	q	v	x	m	k	g	r

When a word has been found, whose last consonants represent the number required, the best plan is to put it as the last word of a rhymed couplet, so that, whatever other words in it are forgotten, the rhyme will secure the only really important word.

Now suppose you wish to remember the date of the discovery of America, which is “1492”: the “1” may be left out as obvious; all we need is “492”.

Write it thus:—

4	9	2
f	n	d
q	g	w

and try to find a word that contains “f” or “q”, “n” or “g”, “d” or “w”. A word soon suggests itself—“found”.

The poetical faculty must now be brought into play, and the following couplet will soon be evolved:—

“Columbus sailed the world around,
Until America was FOUND”.

If possible, invent the couplets for yourself: you will remember them better than any made by others.

June, 1888.