[treetalker]

Whenever I read this parable, I take memory to mean internalization or thorough learning. It doesn't fit the text word for word, but I think it's closer to the main point than the idea of memorizing something verbatim.

[IAmBroom]

I take it literally, as the bards of old would learn to recite Beowulf or Gilgamesh. That is almost a completely lost art.