
This unique & brilliant book is a history of human knowledge Before the invention of printing a trained memory was of vital importance Based on a technique of impressing 'places' & 'images' on the mind the ancient Greeks created an elaborate memory system which in turn was inherited by the Romans & passed into the European tradition to be revived in occult form during the Renaissance Frances Yates sheds light on Dante's Divine Comedy the form of the Shakespearian theatre & the history of ancient architecture; The Art of Memory is an invaluable contribution to aesthetics & psychology & to the history of philosophy of science & of literature