Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Written by an unknown author in the 80s B.C, Rhetorica ad Herennium is the first known book on the art of memorization.

Those who tested the method described in this unique ancient text say the book does improve your memory. The best part is that anyone can try and determine if the method works. It’s straightforward!

Rhetorica ad Herennium was formerly attributed to Cicero (Marcus Tullius, 106–43 BCE), a Roman lawyer, orator, politician, and philosopher, but of unknown authorship, sometimes ascribed to an unnamed doctor. The book was the most popular book on rhetoric during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The book is still used today as a textbook on the structure and uses of rhetoric and persuasion.

Rhetorica ad Herennium. Image credit: Library Open Repository

Rhetorica ad Herennium focuses on teaching the “method of loci,” also known as the “memory palace.”

The method is based on the ᴀssumption that you can best remember places you are familiar with, so if you can link something you need to remember with a place you know very well, the location will serve as a clue that will help you remember.

The method involves ᴀssociating each item you’re trying to remember with a specific image and place.

For example, say you’re trying to remember that you need to buy milk, eggs, and bread at the grocery store. You might picture taking a shower in milk, stepping out onto the bathroom floor covered in eggshells, and drying yourself off with slices of bread.

It does sound strange, but that’s how it works — you want to make the items stand out in your mind.

Before books were standard, loci helped lawyers and others retain and recall information necessary for their jobs.

Some people can remember every day of their lives, but most of us don’t have such a fantastic memory.

Credit: Adobe Stock – Artofinnovation

There are several ways to improve memory, though. Researchers have, for example, discovered that musical training improves various skills, including memory and spatial learning.

Ancient Greeks and later Romans could memorize and give speeches lasting for hours. The method of loci must have worked.

Modern scientists have conducted several experiments, and plenty of scientific data is based on numerous studies extending back decades. Researchers can say with certainty that the loci method improves memory.

If you want to test the loci method, the New York Times created a short puzzle to test your memory. You can try it and see if it works for you.

Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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