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Memorize poetry.

Later in this work, in the Recitation section, you will come across a similar suggestion, at least in title. But the purpose of this suggestion is different. Memorize some other people's poems that you happen to like. Work to memorize several. The author's elder brother used to memorize famous speeches, such as the Gettysburg Address or Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty." By memorizing poetry or other famous works, it gives you a little better feel for the piece. Were you to memorize a poem per month for the rest of your life, you'd have no room for Alzheimer's.

The poems don't have to be complex or long, although you can memorize those types. The author has been known to assay such works as "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Hiawatha". Imagine having those echoing in your brain for the rest of your life. Make sure you actually like the poems you memorize. They will be with you always. The author claims youthful folly and innocence for some of his choices. Of course, his mother taught him the words to the Latin version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" when he was a child, which is still knocking around in his head:

Mica, mica, parva stella,
Miror quaenam sis tam bella.
Splendens eminus in illo
Alba velut gemma caelo.
Mica, mica, parva stella,
Miror quaenam sis tam bella.

What sane person would warp a pre-schooler's mind with a children's song in a long-dead tongue? If you have any questions regarding the sanity of the author throughout any of the rest of the book, just blame it on his mother.

 
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