Hypnotism and Mesmerism: By: Annie Besant

Adyar Pamphlets Hypnotism and Mesmerism No.
202
Hypnotism and Mesmerism
by: Annie Besant
Contributed to Lucifer for October, !!", edited by H.P.#.
Published in "$%
&heosophical Publishin' House, Adyar, Chennai (Madras) *ndia
&he &heosophist Office, Adyar, Madras. *ndia
NOTE
M+,M+-*,M and hypnotism differ completely in their method. *n hypnotism the ner.e/ends of a sense
or'an are first fati'ued, and then by continuance of the fati'ue are temporarily paralysed0 and the
paralysis spreads in1ards to the sense/centre in the brain, and a state of trance results. &he fati'ue is
brou'ht about by the use of some mechanical means, such as a re.ol.in' mirror, a disc, an electric li'ht,
etc.. A fre2uent repetition of this fati'ue predisposes the patient to fall readily into a state of trance, and
permanently 1ea3ens the sense/or'ans and the brain. 4hen the +'o has left his d1ellin', and the brain
is thus rendered passi.e, it is easy for another person to impress ideas of action upon it, and the ideas
1ill then be carried out by the patient, after comin' out of trance, as thou'h they 1ere his o1n. *n all such
cases he is the mere passi.e a'ent of the hypnoti5er.
&he method of true mesmerism is entirely different. &he mesmeri5er thro1s out his o1n Auric 6luid.....
throu'h the etheric double, on his patient0 he may thus, in the case of sic3ness, re'ulari5e the irre'ular
.ibrations of the sufferer [Page iii] or share 1ith him his o1n life/force, thereby increasin' his .itality. 6or
ner.e/atrophy there is no a'ent so curati.e as this, and the shri.ellin' cell may clair.oyantly be seen to
s1ell up under the flo1 of the life/current. &he pr7nic current flo1s most readily from the tips of the
fin'ers, and throu'h the eyes0 passes should be made alon' the ner.es from the centre to
circumference, 1ith a sharp sha3e of the fin'ers a1ay from the patient and the operator, at the end of the
pass. &he hands should be 1ashed before and after the operation and it should ne.er be underta3en
unless the mind is 2uiet and health is stron'. &he loss of .itality should be made 'ood by standin' in the
sun, 1ith as little clothin' on as possible, breathin' deeply and slo1ly, and retainin' breath bet1een
inspiration and e8halation as lon' as is con.enient, i.e., not lon' enou'h to cause any stru''le or
'aspin'. 6i.e minutes of this should restore the pr7nic balance.
9H.P.#.:
6or many years the scientific 1orld in ;ermany and 6rance has been stirred to its depths by the
e8periments in hypnotism made by some of the leadin' physicians of each country. #oth from the
philosophical and the practical sides it has been reali5ed that the stran'e po1er 1hich formed the sub<ect
of in.esti'ation 1as one of supreme importance as its bearin' on the constitution and conduct of man.
Many of the records of alle'ed feats by 1itches and 1i5ards of the middle a'es = re'arded by the
nineteenth century as the mere dri.el of superstitious i'norance = paled their ineffectual fires before the
1onders of the ne1 e8perimenters, 1hile .isions of the saints recei.ed startlin' pendants from the
,alp>tri?re. *n ;ermany, the ,tate, 1ith [Page 2] characteristic promptitude, appears to ha.e armed itself
a'ainst the practical dan'ers 1hich threaten to assail society, 1ith a la1 that forbids un2ualified persons
to practise hypnotism. On the other hand, the Materialists, reco'ni5in' by a true intuition the fatal
Pa'e
Adyar Pamphlets Hypnotism and Mesmerism No. 202
character of the ne1 departure for the Materialist philosophy, assailed the e8perimenters 1ith 2uite
theolo'ical .irulence, scoffin' at their e8periments and decryin' their moti.es. &he famous @r. Lud1i'
#Achner = 1hose ser.ices ali3e to medicine and biolo'y ha.e been 'reat = has .ehemently attac3ed
those of his compatriots 1ho ha.e entered the ne1 path. *n the last edition of his 9Braft und stoff: he
spea3s 9of the le'erdemain and claptrap of ma'netisers, clair.oyants, thaumatur'ists, spiritualists,
hypnotists, and other <u''lers.: [Force and Matter, +n'lish translation, p. $$! ] Cet e.en he alludes to the
hypnotic as a 9hi'hly interestin' condition: [ Ibid., p. $DE] and su''ests that 9it is probable that hypnotism
accounts for much that occurs at e8hibitions of animal ma'netism:. He remar3s, indeed that 9the 1hole
effect is [Page 3] brou'ht about by strictly natural causes:, a statement 1ith 1hich &heosophists, at least,
1ill not 2uarrel.
Hypnotism = deri.ed from FGHIJ, sleep = obtained its name from its resemblance to somnambulism0 in
most respects the hypnotic resembles the mesmeric or ma'netic trance, but differs from it in this, that
su''estions made to a person under hypnotism are carried out 1hen the hypnotic state has apparently
passed a1ay, and not durin' the trance as in ordinary mesmerism. +.eryone 1ho has seen the
mesmeri5ed person obey the mesmeri5er, accept his fictions as facts, and perform at his biddin' acts of
the most startlin' absurdity. #ut 1hen the patient reco.ers his senses, the spell is bro3en. Not so 1ith
hypnotism. &he patient opens his eyes, 1al3s about, 'oes a1ay, performs the ordinary duties of life, but
obeys 1ith unde.iatin' re'ularity the impulse communicated by the hypnoti5er, ima'inin' all the time that
he is actin' as a free a'ent 1hile he is the bond/sla.e of anotherKs 1ill. &here can be little doubt,
ho1e.er, that all these phenomena are but phases of the same condition. Hypnotism is a ne1 name, not
a [Page 4] ne1 thin', its differentia bein' but e8tensions of the old 9mesmerism:.
6rom the time of Mesmer on1ards attention has from time to time been directed to the curious
phenomena obtained by mesmeric passes, fi8ity of 'a5e, etc., but M.M. #inet and 6LrL, in their 1or3 on
Le Magnetisme Animal, [&he references in the te8t are to the +n'lish translation issued under the title
9Animal Ma'netism.:] 'i.e to @r. Mames braid, a Manchester sur'eon, the credit of bein' 9the initiator of
the scientific study of animal ma'netism: ( p. EN). 9Ma'netism and hypnotism:, say these authors, 9are
fundamentally synonymous terms, but the first connotes a certain number of comple8 and e8traordinary
phenomena, 1hich ha.e al1ays compromised the cause of these fruitful studies. &he term hypnotism is
e8clusi.ely applied to a definite ner.ous state, obser.able under certain conditions, sub<ect to 'eneral
rules, produced by human and in no sense mysterious processes, and based on modifications of the
functions of the patientKs ner.ous system. &hus it appears that hypnotism has arisen from animal
ma'netism, <ust as the physico/medical sciences arose [Page 5] from the occult sciences of the 9Middle
A'es:. #raid found that many persons could hypnoti5e themsel.es by 'a5in' fi8edly at an ob<ect a little
abo.e the head in such a position that they eyes, 1hen fi8ed on it s2uinted = or, to put the matter in a
more di'nified fashion, in such a position as induced con.er'ent and superior strabismus. the fi8ation of
the attention 1as also necessary, and #raid considers that the insensibility of idiots to hypnotism arises
from their incapacity for fi8ed attention ( pp. E", N0). At the ,alp>tri?re, @r. Charcot and his pupils, dealin'
1ith hysterical patients, [tudes cliniques sur la grande Hystrie, par le @octeur Paul -icher] found that
catalepsy could be produced by sudden sounds or .i.id li'ht, and that the patient could be made to pass
from the cataleptic to the somnambulic or lucid hypnotic condition by friction on the scalp, pressure on
the eyeballs, and other methods. ,pea3in' 'enerally, @r, -icher states that stimulants 91hich produce a
sudden shoc3 to the ner.ous system and cause sleep by mar3ed hysterical symptoms, [Page ] such as
t1itchin' of the limbs, mo.ements of s1allo1in', a little foam on the lips, pharyn'eal murmur, etc., 'i.e
rise to the ner.ous condition termed lethar'y0 1hile those 1hich 'ently impress the ner.ous system and
cause none of the hysterical symptoms to 1hich * ha.e alluded, produce a sleep 1hich comes on
Pa'e 2
pro'ressi.ely and 1ithout shoc3, the characteristics of 1hich, differin' from those of lethar'y, belon' to
the special ner.ous state 3no1n under the name of somnambulic: ( p. %"), or hypnotic. &he tic3in' of a
1atch, the steady 'a5e of the @octor, ma'netic passes, a .erbal command, etc., 1ill thro1 many sub<ects
into a hypnotic trance.
&he condition of a hypnoti5ed person may .ary from insensibility to accute sensiti.eness. &he body may
be rendered insensiti.e to pain, so that critical operations may be performed 1ithout the use of a material
anaesthetic, and a number of such cases are on record. On the other hand hypnoti5ation often produces
e8treme hyperaesthesia. #inet and 6LrL sayO 9*n somnambulism PhypnotismQ the senses are not merely
a1a3e, but 2uic3ened to an e8traordinary de'ree. ,ub<ects feel the [Page !] cold produced by breathin'
from the mouth at a distance of se.eral yards P#raidQ. 4eberKs compasses applied to the s3in, produce a
t1o/fold sensation 1ith a de.iation of $R in re'ions 1here, durin' the 1a3in' state, it 1ould be necessary
to 'i.e the instrument a de.iation of !R P#er'erQ. &he acti.ity of the sense of si'ht is sometimes so 'reat
that the ran'e of si'ht may be doubled, as 1ell as sharpness of .ision. &he sense of smell may be
de.eloped so that the sub<ect is able to disco.er by its aid the fra'ments of a .isitin' card 1hich had
been 'i.en him to smell before it 1as torn up P&a'uetQ. &he hearin' is so accute that a con.ersation
carried on, on the floor belo1 may be o.erheard PA5amQ. &hese are interestin' facts. 4e are still 1ithout
any collecti.e 1or3 on the sub<ect, of 1hich it 1ould be easy to ma3e re'ular study, 1ith the methods of
in.esti'ation 1e ha.e at our disposal. More careful obser.ations of the state of the memory ha.e been
made, but this state has only been studied as it has been found durin' the same hyper/e8citability as the
[Page "] other or'ans of the senses P#inet and 6LrL, pp. $D,$%Q.
Memory may, indeed, be rendered e8traordinary .i.id under hypnotism. A poem read to a hypnoti5ed
person 1as repeated by her correctly0 a1a3e she had for'otten it, but on a'ain bein' hypnoti5ed she
repeated it. A patient recalled the e8act menu of her dinner a 1ee3 a'o, thou'h a1a3e she could only
remember those of a day or t1o a'o. Another 'a.e correctly and 1ithout hesitation the name of a doctor
1hom she had seen in childhood, althou'h in her 1a3in' condition she, after some doubt, only recalled
the fact that he had been a physician in a childrenKs hospital.
Many of the purely physical results are interestin' in themsel.es, but to the &heosophist, less su''esti.e
than those 1hich pass into the psychical realm. Contractures can be caused, and be transferred from
one side to another, by a ma'net. A limb can be rendered ri'id, or can be paralysed, and so on. An
e8tremely curious e8periment is the tracin' of some 1ords on the arm of a hypnoti5ed sub<ect 1ith a
blunt probe0 the doctor then [Page #] issued the follo1in' orderO 9&his afternoon, at four oKcloc3, you 1ill
'o to sleep, and blood 1ill then issue from your arm, on the lines 1hich * ha.e no1 traced:. &he sub<ect
fell asleep at the hour named, the letters then appeared on his left arm, and mar3ed in relief, and of a
bri'ht red colour, 1hich contrasted 1ith the 'eneral paleness of the s3in, and there 1ere e.en minute
drops of blood in se.eral places. &here 1as absolutely nothin' to be seen on the ri'ht and paralysed side
Pthe patient 1as affected 1ith hemipla'ia and hemianaesthesiaQ. Mabille subse2uently heard the same
patient, in a spontaneous attac3 of hysteria, command his arm to bleed, and soon after1ards a
cutaneous haemorrha'e <ust described 1as displayed. &hese stran'e phenomena recall, and also
e8plain, the bleedin' sti'mata 1hich ha.e been repeatedly obser.ed in the sub<ects of reli'ious ecstasy,
1ho ha.e pictured to themsel.es the passion of Christ. Charcot and his pupils at the ,alp>tri?re ha.e
often produced the effect of burns on the s3in of hypnoti5ed sub<ects by means of su''estion. &he idea
of the burn does not ta3e effect immediately, but after the lapse of some hours [Page $%] P#inet and 6LrL,
pp. "!/""Q. &he bearin' of these e8periments on the supposed miraculous impressions of the sacred
Pa'e $
sti'mata is ob.ious, and offers one more of the many illustrations 1hich sho1 that the best 1ay to
eradicate superstition is not to deny the phenomena on 1hich it rests, many of 1hich are real, but to
e8plain to them, and to pro.e that they can be produced by natural means.
Muscular contractions of the limbs produce correspondin' chan'es in the face, normally e8pressi.e of
the feelin's su''ested by the artificially produced attitude. -icher states 9A tra'ic attitude impresses
sternness on the face, and the bro1s contract. On the other hand, if the t1o open hands are carried to
the mouth, as in the act of blo1in' a 3iss, a smile immediately appears on the lips. *n this case the
reaction of 'esture on physio'nomy is .ery remar3able and is produced 1ith 'reat e8actitude....One can
thus infinitely .ary the attitudes. +cstasy, prayer, humility, sadness, an'er, fear, can be represented. *t is,
indeed, startlin' to see ho1 in.ariably a simple chan'e in the position of the hands reacts on the
features. *f the open [Page $$] hand is stretched out1ards, the facial e8pression is calm and bene.olent,
and chan'es to a smile if the arm is raised and the tips of the fin'ers brou'ht to the mouth. #ut 1ithout
alterin' the attitude of the arms, it suffices to close the sub<ectKs hands to see the bene.olence 'i.e place
to se.erity, 1hich soon becomes an'er if the clenchin' of the fist is increased. &his phenomena may be
unilateral. *f the fist is clenched on one side and carried for1ard as in menace, the correspondin' bro1
only is contracted. ,o if only one open hand is brou'ht to the mouth, the smile 1ill appear only on one
side of the face. &he t1o different attitudes may be simultaneously impressed on the t1o sides of the
body, and each half of the face 1ill reflect the correspondin' e8pression:. Pp. EE"Q.
*t is possible that these muscular contractions may 'i.e rise to no correspondin' emotions, althou'h it
seems prima facie probable that 1here the emotions constantly find e8pression in 'estures, the 'estures
should, in their turn, arouse the emotions. Cet it may be that the lin3 is merely bet1een muscle and
muscle, and that the continual [Page $2] co/ordination results in a purely automatic action. 4e 1ill,
therefore, pass to phenomena in 1hich the psyche is in.ol.ed, and see 1hat stran'e tric3s can be played
1ith it by the e8perimenter in hypnotism.
&he lo1er senses of touch and taste and smell can be played 1ith at 1ill. A hypnoti5ed patient, told that a
bird had placed itself on her 3nee, stro3ed and caressed it P-ichter, p. ED%Q. 9*f a hallucinatory ob<ect,
such as a lamp shade, is put into the sub<ectKs hands, and he is told to press it, he e8periences a
sensation of resistance and is unable to brin' his hands to'ether:. P #inet and 6LrL pa'e 2$Q. Colocynth
placed on the ton'ue is not tasted, odours are not smelt P-ichter, p. EE0Q. *n the automatic state contact
1ith familiar ob<ects brin's up the action constantly associated 1ith them0 'i.en soap and 1ater a patient
1ill steadfastly 1ash her hands0 'i.en a match she 1ill stri3e it, but is unconscious of pain if the flame
touches her0 'i.en a probin' pin, she 1ill plun'e into her hand0 'i.en a boo3, she 1ill be'in to read it
fluently and, 1hen the boo3 is turned upside do1n, continue to read [Page $3] it aloud in the re.ersed
position P-ichter, pp. E"$, E"EQ. &his automatic sta'e can be made to pass into the somnambulic, 1here
the 1ill is dominated, but 1here intelli'ence sur.i.es.
#ut it is 1hen 1e come to the more intellectual sense of .ision that 1e meet the most surprisin'
phenomena. On a piece of 1hite paper a 1hite card 1as placed, and an ima'inary line 1as dra1n round
this card, 1ith a blunt pointer, 1ithout touchin' the paper, the patient bein' told that the line 1as bein'
dra1n. 4hen she a1o3e she 1as 'i.en the blan3 piece of paper, and she sa1 on it the rectan'le 1hich
had not been traced0 as3ed to fold the paper alon' the line she sa1, she folded it e8actly so that it 1as
<ust co.ered by the card 1hen the latter 1as placed on it P-ichter, p. N2$Q. A patient 1as told that she sa1
a blac3 circle0 on 1a3in' she loo3ed about, rubbed her eyes, and on bein' 2uestioned complained that
Pa'e D
she sa1 a blac3 circle in 1hiche.er direction she turned her eyes, and that it 1as e8tremely annoyin'
Pibid.Q. A portrait 1as said to e8ist on a piece of blan3 cardboard0 1hen the card 1as [Page $4] re.ersed,
the portrait 1as re.ersed 1ith it, and it disappeared 1hen the other side of the cardboard 1as sho1n,
althou'h the chan'es of position 1ere made out of si'ht of the patient P#inet and 6LrL, p. 22DQ. ,uch a
portrait is .isible to the patient throu'h an opera 'lass, and is ma'nified or diminished li3e a real ob<ect.
A'ain, a patient, #ar = , 1as told that @r. Charcot 1as present, and althou'h he 1as not there she
addressed him, told to listen to the music, she heard an ima'inary concert0 told that a number of children
1ere present, she made 'estures of ta3in' them in her arms and 3issin' them, described the colour of
their hair and eyes0 1hile another patient complained that their play irritated her, and that the noise they
made 1as intolerable.
More comple8 .isions can be made to pass before the eyes0 su''est to a patient that Paradise lies open
before her, and she 1ill see an'els, and saints, the Sir'in, and so on, the details of the .ision .aryin' 1ith
the richness of ima'ination of the patient. ,ometimes it is the de.il 1hose presence is su''ested, and
the most .i.id fear and an'er [Page $5] are e8pressed. ,urely 1e ha.e here the 3ey to the .isions of
ecstatic nuns0 the fi8ed 'a5e at the crucifi8 1ith up1ard turned eyes is the .ery position for self/
hypnoti5ation0 the matter of the .isions is su''ested by the pressure of the dominant idea0 1hile the
certitude of the patients as to the reality of the .isions 1ould be complete.
Cet more curious are the phenomena connected 1ith the renderin' of an ob<ect or a person in.isible by
su''estion. &en similar cards 1ere sho1n to a hypnoti5ed sub<ect, and she 1as told that she could not
see one of them. 4hen she 1as a1a3ened that card remained in.isible0 and similar results 1ere
obtained 1ith 3eys, thermometers, and other ob<ects. P-ichter, p. N2"Q. &o another 1as said 9Cou 1ill not
see M. T.:, and on 1a3in' M. T. 1as in.isible to her. 94e once su''ested to a hypnotic sub<ect that she
1ould cease to see 6 = , but 1ould continue to hear his .oice. On a1a3enin' the sub<ect heard the
.oice of an in.isible person, and loo3ed about the room to disco.er the cause of this sin'ular
phenomenon, as3in' us about it 1ith some uneasiness. 4e said, <estin'ly, [Page $] U6 = is dead, and it
is his 'host 1hich spea3s to youK. &he sub<ect is intelli'ent, and in her normal state she 1ould probably
ha.e ta3en the <est at its true .alues0 but she 1as dominated by the su''estion of anaesthesia, and
readily adopted the e8planation. 4hen 6 = spo3e a'ain he said that he had died the ni'ht before, and
that his body had been ta3en to the post/mortem room. &he sub<ect clasped her hands 1ith a sad
e8pression, and as3ed 1hen he 1as to be buried, and she 1ished to be present at the reli'ious ser.ice.
UPoor youn' manVK she said0 Uhe 1as not a bad man.K 6=, 1ishin' to see ho1 farther credulity 1ould 'o,
uttered 'roans and complained of the autopsy of his body 1hich 1as 'oin' on. &he scene then became
tra'ic, for the emotion of the sub<ect caused her to fall bac31ards in an incipient attac3 of hysteria, 1hich
1e promptly arrested.: P#inet and 6LrL, p. $2,$$Q. &he most su''esti.e e8periment 1as one in 1hich 6
= 1as rendered in.isible0 the sub<ect 1as then a1a3ened, an on en2uirin' for 6 = 1as told that he had
left the [Page $!] room. ,he 1as then told that she mi'ht retire, and 1ent to1ards the door a'ainst 1hich
6 = had placed himself. Wnable to see him she came in contact 1ith him, and on a second e8periment to
reach the door, became alarmed at the incomprehensible resistance and refused to a'ain 'o near it. A
hat 1as placed on his head, and 91ords cannot e8press: the sub<ects surprise, since it appeared to her
that the hat 1as suspended in the air. Her surprise 1as at its hei'ht 1hen 6 = too3 off the hat and
saluted her 1ith it se.eral times0 she sa1 the hat 1ithout any support, describin' cur.es in the air. 6 =
then put on a cloa3, and she sa1 the cloa3 mo.in' and assumin' the form of a person. 9*t is:, she said,
9li3e a hollo1 puppet:. A number of other e8periments 1ere tried 1ith her, lea.in' no doubt that she 1as
completely unconscious of 6 = Us presence P#inet and 6LrL, pp. $0E/$0!Q.
Pa'e %
*n another class of e8periments the sub<ectKs personality 1as chan'ed. 9On one occasion 1e told T =
that she had become M.6. =, and after some resistance she accepted the su''estion. On a1a3in' she
1as unable to see [Page $"] M. 6 =, 1ho 1as present0 she imitated his manner, and made the 'esture of
puttin' both her hands in her poc3ets of an ima'inary hospital apron. 6rom time to time she 1ould put
her hand to her lip as if to smooth her moustache, and loo3ed about her 1ith assurance. #ut she said
nothin'. 4e as3ed her 1hether she 1as ac2uainted 1ith T = . ,he hesitated for a moment, and then
replied, 1ith a contemptuous shru' of the shouldersO 9Oh yes, a hysterical patient. 4hat do you thin3 of
herX ,he is not too 1ise.K: Pibid., p. 2%, 2EQ Another patient personated in succession a peasant
1oman, an actress, a 'eneral, an archbishop, a nun, spea3in' appropriately in each character P-ichter,
pp. N2",N$0Q.
&here is another class of phenomena 1hich opens up serious dan'ers of a practical nature. A su''estion
made to a hypnoti5ed sub<ect may be carried out 1hen the sub<ect is a1a3e, either immediately, or days
or months after1ards, and this obedience is blind to conse2uences and to e.ery consideration of ri'ht or
1ron'. 4e ha.e a personality 1hich is the puppet of anotherKs 1ill. @r. -ichter remar3sO 9*n [Page $#] the
latter state PcatalepticQ the sub<ect is an automaton, 1ithout conscience or spontaneity, only mo.in'
under the impulse of sensorial stimuli comin' from 1ithout. &he stimulus alone matters, and not the
person 1ho supplies it. &he personality of the operator is indifferent. All the responses are of the nature
of refle8 actions, 1ithout any participation of the intellectual acti.ity other than such as may be necessary
for their production. &he somnambulist, on the other hand is no lon'er a simple machine. He is the sla.e
of the 1ill of another, the .eritable subject of the operator. His automatism consists in ser.itude and
obedience. #ut certain consciousness e8ists other than that of the 1a3in' state. A ne1 personality is
created, 1hich may 'i.e rise to those stran'e phenomena described under the name of duplication of
consciousness or of personality. &here is really a somnambulic +'o 1hile there is no cataleptic +'o9 Pp
N!"Q.
*t is in this somnambulic sta'e that occur the phenomena no1 to be considered. A hypnoti5ed sub<ect is
re2uired to steal some ob<ect0 sometimes she resists, but insistance [Page 2%] 'enerally o.ercomes this
resistance0 only in a fe1 cases has it been found impossible to con2uer it. On a1a3in', the patient
1atches her opportunity and performs the theft and here comes in the curious fact, that the sub<ect
sho1s cunnin' and intelli'ence in carryin' out the su''estion. One patient, told to steal the hand3erchief
of a certain person, presently fei'ned di55iness, and sta''erin' a'ainst the person stole the
hand3erchief. *n another case, the sub<ect suddenly as3ed the o1ner of the hand3erchief 1hat he had in
his hand, and stole it as he, in surprise, loo3ed at his hand. Another, told, to poison T = 1ith a 'lass of
1ater, offered it 1ith the remar3 that it 1as a hot day. Y*f Z = is armed 1ith a paper/3nife and ordered to
3ill T = she says, U4hy should * do it X He has done me no arm[. #ut if the e8perimenter insists this sli'ht
scruple may be o.ercome, and she soon saysO [ *f it must be done, * 1ill do itK. On a1a3in' she re'ards T
= 1ith a perfidious smile, loo3s about her, and suddenly stri3es him 1ith the supposed da''er:. &he
patient 1ill find reasons to e8cuse her acts0 one 1ho had struc3 a man 1ith a paste/board [Page 2$] 3nife
under su''estion 1as as3ed 1hy she 3illed him. 9,he loo3ed at him fi8edly for a moment, and then
replied 1ith an e8pression of ferocity, UHe 1as an old .illain, and 1ished to insult meK 9P#inet and 6LrL,
pp. 2!E/2"Q.
4ithout further accumulatin' these phenomena let us consider 1hether any, and if any, 1hat e8planation
of them is possible.
Pa'e E
And first from the standpoint of Materialism. *t is possible to e8plain on a materialistic hypothesis the
muscular contractions and co/ordinations, and the automatic actions succeedin' contact 1ith familiar
articles. #ut e.en in the automatic sta'e, e8planation is lac3in' of the fluent readin' of a re.ersed boo3
by an uneducated person. *t is, ho1e.er, in the phenomena of memory, of .ision of the non/e8istent, of
inhibited .ision, that materialistic e8planation seems to me to be impossible.
Memory is the faculty 1hich recei.es the impress of our e8periences, and preser.es them0 many of these
impressions fade, and 1e say 1e ha.e for'otten. Cet it is clear that these impressions may be re.i.ed.
&hey are, therefore, not destroyed, but they are so [Page 22] faint that they sin3 belo1 the threshold of
consciousness, and so no lon'er form a part of its normal content. *f thou'ht be but a 9mode of motion:,
memory must be similarly re'arded0 but it is not possible to concei.e that each impression of our past
life, recorded in consciousness, is still .ibratin' in some 'roup of brain cells, only so feebly that it does
not rise abo.e the threshold. 6or these same cells are continually bein' thro1n into ne1 'roupin's for
ne1 .ibrations, and these cannot all co/e8ist, and the fainter ones be capable of recei.in' fresh impulse
1hich may so intensify their motion as to a'ain raise them into consciousness. No1 if these .ibrations \
memory, if 1e ha.e only matter in motion, 1e 3no1 the la1 of dynamics sufficiently 1ell to say that if a
body be set .ibratin', and ne1 forces successi.ely brou'ht to act upon it and set up ne1 .ibrations,
there 1ill not be in that body the co/e8istence of each separate set of .ibrations successi.ely impressed
upon it, but it 1ill .ibrate in a 1ay differin' from each sin'le set, and compounded of all. ,o that memory,
as a mode of motion, 1ould not [Page 23] 'i.e us a record of the past, but 1ould present us 1ith a ne1
story, the resultant of all those past .ibrations, and this 1ould be e.er chan'in', as fresh impressions,
causin' ne1 .ibrations, came in to modify the resultant of the old. On the other hand, let us suppose a
conscious +'o, retainin' 3no1led'e of all its past e8periences, but only able to impress such of them on
the or'an of consciousness as the la1s of the material or'anism permit, the threshold of consciousness
di.idin' 1hat it can thus impress from 1hat it cannot0 that threshold 1ould .ary 1ith the material
conditions of the moment, risin' and fallin' 1ith the state of the or'anism, and 1hat 1e call memory
1ould be the content of the material consciousness, bounded by the threshold at any 'i.en instant. No1,
under hypnoti5ation an e8traordinary re.i.al of the past occurs, and impressions lon' since faded come
out clear/cut on the tablet of memory. *s it not a possible hypothesis that the process of hypnoti5ation
causes a shiftin' of the threshold of consciousness, and so brin's into si'ht 1hat is al1ays there but is
normally [Page 24] concealedX &he e8istence of the +'o is posited by &heosophy, and it seems to me that
the phenomena of hypnoti5ation re2uire it.
Ho1 can the Materialist e8plain the .ision of non/e8istent thin'sX 4e 3no1 1hat are the mechanical
conditions of .ision in the animal body0 the rays reflected from the ob<ect, the blo1s of the ethereal 1a.es
on the retina, the .ibratin' ner.e/cells, the optic centre = the perception belon's to the 1orld of mind.
#ut in seein' the in.isible 1e ha.e the perception, but 1ith none of the steps that normally lead up to it0
the su''estion of the hypnoti5er a1a3ens the perception, and the mind creates its o1n ob<ect of sense to
respond to it. A'ain, it must be the percepti.e po1er, not the sense channel, 1hich is paralysed 1hen
ob<ects and persons become in.isible. &a3e the case of 6 = and his cloa30 certain rays from the body of
6 = struc3 the retina of the patient, but no perception follo1ed0 for the cloa3 to be seen normally, the
rays from it must tra.erse e8actly the same line as those from his body, impin'e on the same retinal
cells, thro1 into .ibration the same ner.ous cord, and so be [Page 25] percei.ed. *f the inhibition 1ere of
the ner.e elements, the rays from the cloa3 1ould be stopped li3e those from the body round 1hich it
1as 1rapped. &he inhibition 1as not of ner.e, but of mind0 the operator had entered the sub<ect 1orld of
the patient and had laid his hand on the faculty, not on the instrument. *f perception be only the result of
the .ibratin' cells, ho1 comes it then that cells may .ibrate and the result be absentX &hat in t1o cases
Pa'e N
the .ibration may be e2ually set up, the same cells be in motion, and yet that perception follo1s the one
.ibration and not the otherX A still further complication arises 1hen the cloa3 is seen, thou'h the body is
interposed bet1een it and the or'an of .ision. *f perception result from cell/.ibration, ho1 can perception
arise 1hen no cell/.ibration is set upX
#ut it seems that it is not only acti.e percepti.e faculty that the operator may brin' under his controlO he
may lay hold of the 1ill and compel the patient to acts, and so become the master of his personality. A
terrible po1er, yet one can no lon'er be re'arded as doubtful, and 1hich recalls [Page 2] old/1orld
stories of YpossessionY, thro1in' on them a ne1 and lurid li'ht. Ho1 many of the tales of ma'ic po1ers,
1hich chan'ed people[s characters and dro.e them in obedience to the 1ill of the Yma'icianY, are no1
e8plicable as hypnotic effects X Ho1 often may the Ye.il eyeY ha.e caused in<ury by deliberate
su''estion, as Charcot thus caused a burn X * ha.e often thou'ht that there must ha.e been a basis of
fact underlyin' the 1idespread belief in 1itchcraft0 and the possession of hypnoti5in' po1er, aided by the
e8a''erations of fear and credulity, 1ould amply suffice to account for it. &he 'eneral belief in e.il spirits
1ould lead to the ascription of the results to their a'ency, and the .ery i'norance of the nature of their
o1n po1er by the Yma'iciansY 1ould foster the notion of supernatural interference.
&he study of hypnotism dri.es us, if 1e 1ould remain 1ithin the realm of natural la1, of causation, into
the belief that the mind is not the mere outcome of physical motion, ho1e.er closely the t1o may be here
normally related. &hat 1hile the brain is Ythe or'an of mind: on this plane, it is literally the or'an and not
[Page 2!] the mind0 and that it is possible, so to spea3, to 'et behind the or'an and sei5e upon the mind
itself, dethronin' the indi.iduality assumin' usurped control. On this hypothesis results of the
e8periments become intelli'ible, and 1e can dimly trace the modus operandi.
&heosophists may 1ell utili5e this ne1 departure in science to 'ain a hearin' for their o1n luminous
philosophy, for the 4estern 4orld cannot turn a deaf ear to the testimony of its o1n e8perts, and the
e8periments of those .ery e8perts force on the thou'ht the impossibility of the mind and the 1ill bein' the
mere result of molecular .ibration. Once carry a thou'htful Materialist so far, and he 1ill be bound to 'o
farther, and thus the .ery triumph of Materialistic science shall lead to the do1nfall of its philosophy. [Page
2"]
PA&T 2
Contributed to &he Wni.ersal -e.ie1, for 6ebruary, !"0.
' ( THE H')TO&*
&H+ attention of the scientific 1orld in 6rance and in ;ermany has lon' been directed to the curious
phenomena 1hich are classed as YhypnoticY, and for years past e8periments of the most searchin'
character ha.e been carried on by e8perts, notably at the ,alp>tri?re and in Nancy. *n ;ermany,
Heidenhain, one of the most eminent of ;erman physiolo'ists, has, since !!0, been in.esti'atin' these
phenomena, attracted thereto by the e8periments of Carl Hansen, a @ane, the 'entleman 1ho in October
last founded a Hypnotic ,ociety in London, for the systematic study and use of Hypnotism. &he
phenomena are interestin', not only as bein' curious in themsel.es, and as promisin' to place in the
hands of the physician a useful therapeutic [Page 2#] a'ent , but also the li'ht they thro1 on the psychical
constitution of man, and on those subtle problems of life and mind 1hich occupy the attention of the
accutest thin3ers of our time.
Pa'e !
&here can be no doubt, in the li'ht of our present 3no1led'e, that many of the Ymiraculous: cures
credited to prophet and saint 1ere the results of ma'netic po1er0 that the ecstasy of the saint is
reproduced in the hypnotic trance0 that 1itches and 1i5ards may be ri.alled by the mesmeri5er. Much
that 1as obscure is no1 illuminated, and the ,alp>tri?re patient e8plains the sybil and the seeress. 4e
see prophecies, .isions, possessions, the e.il eye, ma'ic control, all reproduced under conditions 1hich
render possible careful scrutiny and deliberate in.esti'ation.
&he scope of hypnotism 1ill, ho1e.er, be poorly understood if 1e confine oursel.es to the ri'id
e8perimentation of the 6rench doctors. Saluable as is their 1or3, placin' hypnotism amon' the
e8perimental sciences on a basis that none can challen'e, 1e shall only understand its bearin' by
studyin' it from a standpoint that renders .isible a 1ider hori5on, [Page 3%] and enables us to see it in
relation to its historical e.olution, as 1ell as in its most modern presentment.
&he soothin' and curati.e po1er that lies in the human touch 1as 3no1n lon' ere the resemblance of
some of its properties to those of the ma'net 'a.e rise to the name of Animal Ma'netism. ,olon P#.C.
E$N/%%!Q spea3s of the fury of disease bein' soothed by the 'entle stro3in' of the hand, [ Apud
,tobaeum. &ranslated in ,tanley[s History of !ilosop!y, EEE] and in China the ori'in of the practice of
curin' diseases by the layin' on of hands is lost in anti2uity. Celsus records the fact that Asclepiades, the
;ree3 9father of physicY, 9practised li'ht friction, as a means of inducin' sleep in phrensy and insanity0
and, 1hat is more remar3able, he says that by too much friction there 1as a dan'er of inducin' lethar'yY.
["omnolism and syc!ism, #y M. 4. Haddoc3, M.@., !%, p. N]+ &he Chaldean priests, the Pars]s, the
Hindus, and other ci.ili5ed people of anti2uity, also practised cure by touch. &here can be little doubt that
this custom is alluded to in 2 Bin's ., , 1here Naaman is represented as sayin' that he [Page 3$]
thou'ht the Me1ish prophet 1ould Ystri3e his hand o.er the place and reco.er the leper:. &he +'yptian
sculptures sho1 fi'ures in ma'netic positions, and the habit of ta3in' to the sic3 cloths impre'nated 1ith
a holy person is often met 1ith in anti2uity, and is spo3en of in Acts 8i8, 2. &he cures 1rou'ht by
Sespasian at Ale8andria, as recorded by ,uetonius and &acitus, 1ere ob.iously ma'netic, and the idea
of the curati.e properties of the 9Bin'Ks touch: 1as but an inheritance from the time 1hen the priestly
functions attached to the royal office carried 1ith them this healin' po1er.
Nor 1as this use of human ma'netism for the cure of diseases the only 3ind of ma'netic phenomenon
3no1n to the ancients. Hippocrates, Aristotle, ;alen, and other classical authors mention somnambulism,
a state 1hich may super.ene naturally or be artificially induced, and is, in either case, a phenomenon
no1 included under Yhypnotism:. Nor can there be much doubt as to the nature of the utterances of the
sacred .ir'ins in pa'an temples. Of these @r. Haddoc3 saysO [Page 32]
Y6rom 1hat is 3no1n of the practices, the lon' .i'ils and fastin's, and the peculiar attitudes and manners
of the sybils, there can be little doubt that by .arious means, 3ept secret from the multitude, a condition
similar if not identical 1ith the hi'her mesmeric, or psyc!ic state, as it is proposed to call it, 1as induced0
and that the sybils and utterers of oracles 1ere, at times, really clair.oyant and in a state of trance. ,aint
Mustin said Uthat the sybils spo3e many 'reat thin's 1ith <ustice and 1ith truth, and t!at #!en t!e instinct
#!ic! animated t!em ceased to e$ist, t!ey lost t!e recollection of all t!ey !ad declared[. *t 1ill be seen in
the se2uel that this is so stri3in'ly in accordance 1ith the mesmeric sleep or trance as to lea.e scarcely a
doubt of its identity 1ith itY. [ ibid. pp. E. N]
Pa'e "
*t is not definitely 3no1n 1hen the properties of ma'neti5ed iron and steel 1ere first disco.ered, the
Chinese claimin' to be the first to use the compass, but it is certain that the use of the ma'net for
curati.e purposes can point to a respectable anti2uity. Paracelsus PA.@. D"$/%DQ seems to ha.e been
[Page 33] the first, amon' 4esterns at least, to ascribe ma'netism to the human body, and to su''est the
use of this human ma'netism for the cure of disease0 in his time ma'nets must ha.e been used for this
purpose, as 1e can <ud'e not only from his e8pression of Yhuman ma'netismY. but also from a 1or3 by
Cardan, dated %!D, in 1hich Ythere is an account of an e8periment in anaesthesia, produced by the
ma'netY, and it is stated that Yit 1as then customary to ma'netise rin's, 1hich 1ere 1orn round the nec3
or the arm, in order to cure ner.ous diseases. [ Animal Magnetism, by #inet and 6LrL. +n'lish
&ranslation, !!!, p. 2]
Pomponatius PA. @. DE2/%2%Q had already pointed to the fact, 1hich he spea3s of as 'enerally
ac3no1led'ed, that some persons Y'ifted 1ith the faculty of curin' certain diseases, in .irtue of an
emanation from themsel.es 1hich by the po1er of the 1ill and ima'ination they are able to direct to the
sic3Y, [ Human Magnetism, by 4. Ne1nham, !D%, pp. D", %0] Y4hen those 1ho are endo1ed 1ith
this facultyY, says Pomponatius, Yoperate by employin' the force of the ima'ination and [Page 34] the 1ill,
this force affects their blood and their spirits, 1hich produce the intended effects, by means of an
e.aporation thro1n out1ardsY. [ûoted in lsis %e&elata, by M. C. Col2uhoun, !$E, .ol i. p. %2] He
considers that health may be communicated to a sic3 person, as disease may be communicated to a
healthy one0 and he alle'es that matter, the elements themsel.es can be made sub<ect to man by this
ma'netic force. *n E2 the celebrated San Helmont PA. @. %NN/EDDQ published in Paris a remar3able
1or3 on '!e Magnetic (ure of )ounds, in 1hich he defended ma'netism as a curati.e a'ent, as a'ainst
a Mesuit, 6ather -obert, 1ho had maintained that certain cures 1ere the 1or3 of the de.il. YMa'netismY,
he 1rites, Yis a uni.ersal a'ent0 there is nothin' ne1 in it but the name0 and it is a parado8 only to those
1ho are disposed to ridicule e.erythin', and 1ho ascribe to the influence of ,atan all those phenomena
1hich they cannot e8plainY. He defines ma'netism as Ythat occult influence 1hich bodies e8ert o.er each
other at a distance, 1hether by attraction or by [Page 35] repulsionY, and considers that it acts throu'h a
fluid, the Magnale Magnum, an ethereal spirit 1hich penetrates all bodies, and in the human frame is
found in the blood, and is directed by the 1ill. Man can so use it as to affect ob<ects at a distance, and the
stren'th of his impulsion depends on the ener'y and concentration of his .olition. 9&his ma'ical po1er
lies dormant in man:. ,o thorou'hly con.inced 1as San Helmont of the reality of the ma'netic force, that
1hen the pla'ue 1as ra'in' at #russels, he 1ent thither to tend the sic3. [,ee *sis -e.elata, .ol i, pp.
%D/E] Many other authors 1rote on the same lines durin' the se.enteenth century, as ,ir Benelm
@i'by, in EE0, 4illiam Ma81ell, EN", and -obert 6ludd. A remar3able 2uotation from a 1or3 published
in EN$ by ,ebastian 4irdi', is 'i.en by Mr. Col2uhounO Y'otus mundus constat et positus est in
magnetismo* omnes sublunarium &icissitudines fiunt per magnetismum* &ita conser&atur magnetismo*
interitus omnium rerurrm fiunt per magnetismumY. [ ibid., p. %0].
*n !!", @r. #uc3 1rites, in 1ords that are [Page 3] 1ellni'h an echo of the se.enteenth century
philosopherO Y4e thus discern an underlyin' substance e.ery1here diffused, of 'reat tenuity, permeatin'
all thin's as the common basis of matter and force. &his substance, 1ith its characteristic polari5in'
tendency, and its uni.ersal diffusibility , out1ardly displayed in atoms of the elements and in all ob<ecti.e
phenomenal nature, is ma'netismY. [ A "tudy of Man, by M. @. #uc3. M.@., !!", p. $]
One of the most remar3able of the practical ma'neti5ers of the se.enteenth century 1as an *rish
'entleman, named Salentine ;reatra3es, 1ho published an autobio'raphical s3etch in EEE. Amon' his
Pa'e 0
patients 1ere the philosopher Cud1orth and the astronomer 6lamsteed, 1hile -obert #oyle, President of
the -oyal ,ociety, bears 1itness to the reality of his cures. @r. ;eor'e -ust, #ishop of @erry, 1rites as
follo1s on 1hat he himself sa1, and his testimony is confirmed by members of the -oyal ,ociety,
physicians, and others, 1ho carefully e8amined into the alle'ed factsO
Y* 1as three 1ee3s to'ether 1ith him at my Lord Con1ay[s, and sa1 him * thin3, lay his [Page 3!] hands
upon a thousand persons0 and really there is somethin' in it more than ordinary0 but * am con.inced it is
not miraculous. * ha.e seen pains stran'ely fly before his hands, till he hath chased them out of the body
= dimness cleared and deafness cured by his touch0 t1enty persons, at se.eral times, in fits of the
fallin' sic3ness, 1ere in t1o or three minutes brou'ht to themsel.es, so as to tell 1here their pain 1as0
and then he hath pursued it till he hath dra1n it out at some e8treme part0 runnin' sores of the 3in'[s e.il
dried up, and 3ernels brou'ht to a suppuration by his hand0 'rie.ous sores of many monthsK date in a fe1
days healed0 obstructions and stoppin's remo.ed0 cancerous 3nots in the breast dissol.ed, etc..Y
&he #ishop says further that the cures often too3 some time, and that patients often relapsed, 1hile 1ith
others he could do nothin'. His method 1as placin' his hand on the affected part and stro3in' li'htly
from abo.e do1n1ards. &he -oyal ,ociety considered that there 1as 9a sanati.e influence in Mr.
;reatra3esKs bodyY, and in a boo3 1hich contains an article on the cures by -obert [Page 3"] #oyle, is a
remar3able cure of leprosy by Y stroa3in' Y by ;reatra3es. [ lsis %e&elata, Sol. , pp. 20$ to 20N. ,ee
also Ne1nhamKs Human Magnetism, pp. %0, %, and "omnolism and syc!ism, pp. !, "]
*n the ei'hteenth century Mohn Moseph ;assner Pborn N2NQ performed a number of cures, chiefly amon'
patients sufferin' from epilepsy and other ner.ous complaints0 a full account may be read in the ;erman
Arc!i& f+r den '!iersc!en Magnetismus, published at Leip5i'.
6rom this rou'h s3etch it 1ill be seen 1hen the man 1as born 1ho 1as destined to 'i.e his name to this
little/understood natural force, its e8istence had lon' been 3no1n, and it had been lar'ely utili5ed.
Anthony Mesmer PN$D/!%Q 1as born, some say at 4eiler ;ermany, some, at Mersbur', in
,1it5erland, and 1hile still youn' 1ent to Sienna to study medicine. He did not ta3e his doctor[s de'ree
until NEE, 1hen he chose for his sub<ect Y'!e influence of t!e lanets on t!e Human ,odyY, follo1in'
Paracelsus in the theory that the planets influenced the human body throu'h a subtle ma'netic fluid. A
Mesuit professor of Astronomy at Sienna, named [Page 3#] Hehl, dre1 his attention to the loadstone as a
curati.e a'ent, and Mesmer and Hehl to'ether performed a number of e8periments 1ith ma'neti5ed
steel plates. ,ome <ealousy arose bet1een them, apparently from Mesmer ha.in' disco.ered that
Yma'netic passesY, mo.ements of the hand from abo.e do1n1ards, much increased the .alue of the
steel plates0 1hat is certain is that Mesmer and Hehl fell out, and that Mesmer[s proceedin's so roused
a'ainst him the Medical 6aculty of Sienna that he 1as obli'ed to lea.e that city. He .isited .arious to1ns,
performin' many cures in the hospitals and else1here, and after a .aried e8perience came to the
conclusion that the human body could produce effects similar to those produced by the ma'net, and that
:animal ma'netismY 1as a po1erful curati.e a'ent. About this time a man named Per3ins, in +n'land,
patented for the cure of disease some 9metallic tractors:, 1hich appear to ha.e resembled the steel
plates of Mesmer and Hehl0 Per3ins, ho1e.er, did not 'rasp the luminous idea of Mesmer, that the
curati.e po1er lay in the human body, and his disco.ery 1as discredited 1hen [Page 4%] @rs. Hay'arth
and 6alconer produced 1ith 1ooden tractors results similar to those produced by his metallic ones, [
"omnolism and syc!ism, pp. ", 0] Mesmer, 1ho had hold of the ri'ht principle, proceeded 1ith his
cures, and in NN! arri.ed in Paris, 1hither his fame had proceeded him. He published in NN" a
Pa'e
pamphlet, in 1hich he laid do1n his theory of animal ma'netism, claimin' that his Ysystem 1ould furnish
fresh 3no1led'e of the nature of fire and li'ht, as 1ell as of the theory of attraction, of flu8 and reflu8
ma'net and electricity:. Y&his principle can cure ner.ous diseases directly and others indirectly. #y its aid
the physician is enli'htened as to the use of dru's0 he perfects their action, pro.o3es and directs at his
1ill salutary crises, so as to completely master themY. He summari5ed his t1enty/se.en propositions,
many of 1hich are reco'ni5ed as true today, ho1e.er startlin' they may ha.e appeared to be to the
science of the ei'hteenth century. &he human body, he alle'ed, sho1ed polarity = a fruitful idea,
destined to ha.e 'reat results = and animal ma'netism could be communicated to [Page 4$] li.in' and
non/li.in' a'ents, and operate from afar. Mesmer[s first con.ert 1as @r. @K+slon, but doctors for the most
part 1ere bitterly hostile, and the Medical 6aculty of Paris suspended @r. @ +slon and denounced
Mesmer and all his 1or3s, finally, in N!D, prohibitin' the practice of animal ma'netism by doctors under
penalty of e8pulsion.
@espite this official e8communication, Mesmer had the bad taste to continue performin' cures, and
Paris, palpitatin' 1ith ne1 ideas, into8icated 1ith ne1 liberty, 1ent 1ellni'h mad o.er him. 6ashionable
society thron'ed his consultin' room and fou'ht for admission at his doors. Wnfortunately Mesmer 1as
not stron' enou'h to master his o1n popularity, and lent himself to follies 1hich brou'ht discredit on his
really 'reat po1ers. Clad in purple sil3, he 1andered throu'h the cro1d of patients, amid soft music, in
carefully subdued li'ht, touchin' one 1ith a metallic rod, another 1ith the hand, pro.o3in' and controllin'
passionate e8citement. &he patients 1ere seated round a baquet, or trou'h, the contents of 1hich set up
a ma'netic current0 they 1ere [Page 42] mostly dilettante, hysterical, credulous men and 1omen of the
court, in search ne1 e8citement. 4hat 1onder that such a cro1d, dominated by the handsome presence
and undoubtedly stron' ma'netic po1ers of the mar.ellous doctor, 1ith the e8pectation of the 1onderful
ensurin' its o1n reali5ation, 1ith the hysterical conta'ion to 1hich a cro1d is al1ays liable, 1hat 1onder
that con.ulsi.e crises 1ere pro.o3ed, and scandalous scenes enacted X
Outside Paris, numerous YHarmonic ,ocietiesY 1ere established, the members of 1hich ma'neti5ed the
sic3 poor 'ratuitously, and communicated to each other the note1orthy facts 1hich occurred 1ithin their
e8perience. [,ee Isis %e&elata, Sol. i, pp. 2$!, 2$". *n this learned 1or3 is 'i.en a .ery full account of
Mesmer, and the reader 1ho desires to in.esti'ate the 1hole 2uestion of Animal Ma'netism can find no
more useful treatise, as it is cro1ded 1ith references to the literature of the sub<ect in ancient and
modern times] At last it 1as felt that it 1as necessary to institute a careful in2uiry into the 1hole sub<ect,
and Louis TS*, in N!D issued a mandate to the Medical 6aculty of Paris, desirin' them to appoint
commissioners and dra1 up a report. &1o Commissions [Page 43] 1ere appointed, one of members of the
Academy of ,ciences, includin' such men as 6ran3lin, #ailly, La.oisier, and ;uillotin0 the other of
members of the ,ociety of Physicians, amon' 1hom @e Mussieu 1as the most famous. &hese
Commissions reported a'ainst Mesmer, considerin' that his cures 1ere due to the ima'ination of the
patients, and that his system 1as in<urious to morality. Attention 1as dra1n in a special report to the
details of the system. Y&he ma'netiser 'enerally 3eeps the patient[s 3nees enclosed in his o1nY, Ythe
hand is laid on the hypochondriac re'ionY and other sensiti.e parts of the body, and thus crises 1ere
pro.o3ed of a hysterical nature, detrimental to moral di'nity and self/control. Y*ma'ination, imitation,
touches, such are the real causes of the effects attributed to animal ma'netism. &he methods of
ma'netism bein' dan'erous, it follo1s that all public treatment in 1hich ma'netic practices are used
must, in the lon' run, ha.e the most lamentable resultsY. #ut amon' these eminent men one of the most
eminent dissented from the report presented by his Commission, and, 1hile combatin' [Page 44] the
theory of ma'netism, refused to refer to ima'ination all the stran'e phenomena he 1atched 1ith the
trained obser.ation of a naturalist. Of this dissident, @e Mussieu, @r. Paul -icher saysO
Pa'e 2
YA faithful and accurate obser.er, he noted facts that had escaped the attention of the commissioners, or
that they had .oluntarily ne'lected. &hese facts are not beyond criticism, and moreo.er they are
insufficient as the foundation of a theory, be it 1hat it may. #ut it is not the less true that @e Mussieu is the
one sa.ant 1ho suspected that amon' all the phenomena, more or less stran'e and incoherent, then put
to the debit and credit of animal ma'netism, there 1ere some in 1hich the un3no1n 1as lyin' hidden,
1orthy of profound e8amination, and meritin' somethin' better than disdain or a simple non/
acceptanceY. [ La -ou&elle %e&ue, Au'ust, !!2. Y Magntisme Animal et HypnotismeY. par Paul -icher]
&he insi'ht of @e Mussieu 1as to be <ustified by the future. *t may be noted that Cu.ier PNE" to !$2Q,
1ho 1as in !00 appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy in [Page 45] the (oll.ge de France, later
endorsed @e Mussieu rather than his collea'ues. *n the second .olume of his Anatomie (ompare he
1ritesO
9* must confess that it is .ery difficult to distin'uish the effect of the ima'ination of the patient from the
physical effect produced by the operator. &he effects, ho1e.er, 1hich produced upon persons already
insensible before the commencement of the operation, those 1hich ta3e place in others after the
operation has depri.ed them of sensibility, and those 1hich are manifested by animals, do not permit us
to doubt that the pro8imity of t1o animated bodies, in certain positions and 1ith certain motions, has a
real effect, independently of all participation of the ima'ination of one of them. *t seems sufficiently
e.ident, too, that these effects are o1in' to some sort of communication 1hich is established bet1een
their ner.ous systems:. [ûoted in lsis %e&elata, Sol. , p. ND]
&he belief in Animal Ma'netism, 1hich 1as no1 spo3en of as Mesmerism, 1as not, ho1e.er, to be
crushed out by the unfa.ourable [Page 4] reports of the Commissions. As Mr. Col2uhoun 1ell says, the
facts Yalmost daily disclosed 1ere much too numerous, too unambi'uous, and too firmly established, to
be o.erthro1n e.en by the united force of learnin', pre<udice, in'enuity, ridicule, in.ecti.e, and
persecutionY. *n ;ermany, La.ater, in N!N, dre1 to it the attention of the medical 1orld, and it has since
steadily flourished there, and has 'i.en birth to a 1idespread scientific literature. *n 6rance, despite the
-e.olution its study proceeded, althou'h Mesmer left the country, [ Mesmer died in !%, at Mersbur',
on the La3e of Constance deeply belo.ed of the poor, to 1hose treatment he consecrated his po1ers in
his later years] and three distinct schools of ma'netism 1ere establishedO that of Mesmer, proceedin' by
touches, friction, and pressure, use of the baquet, of ma'neti5ed 1ater and plates applied to the
stomach0 a treatment pro.ocati.e of .iolent con.ulsions and crises0 that of #arbarin, 1hich disre'arded
physical means and relied on the 1ill of the operator and the most celebrated of all, that of Mar2uis
Chastenet de Puyse'ur, a pupil of Mesmer, 1ho too3 for his motto YCroye5 et .euille5:, and used
ma'netic passes 1ithout [Page 4!] contact. @e Puyse'ur practised chiefly on peasants of his .icinity, and
1or3ed a lar'e number of cures, full accounts of 1hich may be read in his published 1or3s. [ *n the third
edition, !20, of his :Mmoires pour ser&ir / l0!istoire et a l1tablissement du Magntisme Animal: * find
no less than ei'ht 1or3s ad.ertised as from his pen. &he 9MLmoires: has for stamp a heartsease,
surrounded by rays and rin'ed 1ith the 1ords, 9&hou'ht mo.es matter.. ] *t is to @e Puyse'ur that 1e
o1e the first description of the ma'netic trance, or lucid somnambulism, a disco.ery since so fruitful in
results. A youn' peasant, named Sictor, 1as sufferin' an affection of the chest, and 1as ma'netised by
@e Puyse'ur, 1ho thus describes the caseO
94hat 1as my surprise to see, in se.en minutes, this man fall into a tran2uil sleep in my arms, 1ithout
con.ulsions or painsV * hastened the crisis, a proceedin' that caused some 'iddiness0 he spo3e aloud on
Pa'e $
matters of business. 4hen it seemed to me that his thou'hts must affect him unpleasantly, * stopped
them, and sou'ht to inspire merrier ones0 this did not re2uire much effort, and he became 2uite content,
fancyin' that he 1as dra1in' for a pri5e, dancin' at a f>te, etc...... [Page 4"] * encoura'ed these ideas in
him, and thus obli'ed him to mo.e acti.ely in his chair, as thou'h dancin' to a tune 1hich, by sin'in' it
mentally, * made him repeat out loudY. [MLmoires, pp. 2, 22]
@e Puyse'ur tells us of a peasant 9the most stupid man in the countryside:, 1ho tau'ht him methods of
ma'neti5in' 1hen in the 9clair.oyantY state, and relates ho1 his patient, in the ma'netic state, 91as no
lon'er stupid, scarce able to stumble throu'h a sentence, but becomes a bein' * can hardly describe, to
1hom * need not spea3, for he understands and ans1ers me if * merely thin3 in his presenceY. [ ibid., pp.
2N/2". &he student 1ill find a lar'e number of instructi.e cases in this 1or3 ] &his lucid somnambulic
state, as it has since been termed, attracted 'eneral attention, and the popularity of @e Puyse'ur ri.alled
that of Mesmer.
;radually doctor after doctor in 6rance e8perimented in Animal Ma'netism, or Mesmerism, 1ith .aryin'
results. *n !20, in conse2uence of the in.esti'ations of a youn' medical man, @r. A. #ertrand, the
hospitals 1ere opened for e8periments, and the student [Page 4#] may read #aron @u Potet[s lar'e
collection of e8periences. He relates some remar3able cures 1rou'ht by himself0 but the 9unreliabilityY of
the little/understood natural a'ent in different hands, and the pre<udice of the medical profession, barred
the 1ay to its 'eneral adoption. [Manuel de l0tudiant Magntiseur, par #aron @u Potet, ûatri?me
+dition Paris, !E!] +8periments successfully performed by one person on one day, failed at the hands
of another person on the ne8t day, and, the conditions of success not yet bein' understood, the failure
seemed ine8plicable and discoura'ement super.ened. *t 1as for'otten that, in the in.esti'ation of e.ery
ne1ly/disco.ered natural force, similar successes and failures occurred0 and it 1as as rash to denounce
Animal Ma'netism as unreliable because be'inners blundered, as to deny that electricity could be
produced by friction because a machine 1or3in' in a moisture/laden atmosphere thre1 off no spar3s.
*n !2%, ho1e.er, Animal Magnetism had pro'ressed so much that it a'ain applied in Paris for scientific
imprimatur, and after [Page 5%] fi.e years of patient in.esti'ation a Commission, named by the Academy
of Medicine, reported stron'ly in its fa.our, and declared that Ythe Academy should encoura'e research
into Animal Ma'netism, as a .ery curious branch of psycholo'y and natural history. [-ou&elle %e&ue, loc.
cit., p. %"$] #ut the readin' of this report, presented by M. Husson, raised a storm0 one doctor declared
that the Academy 1as bein' entertained 1ith miracles, and another, that if the alle'ed facts 1ere true
they 1ould destroy half our physiolo'ical 3no1led'e0 so that, finally, the report 1as shel.ed. *n !$N,
another Commission, composed almost entirely of the opponents of ma'netism, 1as appointed, and
another report issued, this time, as 1as e8pected, in hostility0 this report 1as adopted by the Academy,
and 1as clinched by the offer of a pri5e of $,000 francs by M. #urdin, to anyone 1ho could read 1ithout
usin' the eyes and in dar3ness. M. Pi'eaire, a doctor of Montpelier, submitted his dau'hter, 1ho 1as
able to read 1ith her eyes banda'ed, 1hen in the ma'netic trance0 a commission 1as thereupon
appointed to e8amine this child, 1ho had her eyes [Page 5$] co.ered 1ith cotton/1ool, and then carefully
banda'ed0 the <ud'es appear to ha.e been harsh, and to ha.e distressed the sensiti.e, 1ho 1as
accustomed to use the tips of her fin'ers for readin', as do many somnambulists, and after much
discussion the pri5e remained una1arded. M. Pi'eaire then offered a pri5e of $0,000 francs to anyone,
not in the ma'netic trance, 1ho could read, 1earin' his dau'hterKs banda'e, and this pri5e also
remained un1on. *t may be remar3ed that the tips of the fin'ers, the pit of the stomach, and the centre of
the cro1n of the head, are used by somnambulists for readin'0 a boo3 placed in contact 1ith one of
Pa'e D
these parts of the body is fluently read.
,o for as 6rance 1as concerned, Animal Ma'netism no1 remained under a cloud, but in +n'land it made
'reat pro'ress. @r. Abercrombie, @r. Haddoc3, @r. +lliott, and many others, in.esti'ated it, and in most
cases practised it, and 1ith remar3able success. #ut the founder of the modern school of 9hypnotismY
1as @r. #raid, a Manchester sur'eon, 1ho seein' some e8periments performed by Lafontaine, a ,1iss
mesmerist, in [Page 52] !D, and belie.in' him to be fraudulent set himself to 1or3 to disco.er the
supposed imposition. He, ho1e.er, came to the conclusion that the incapacity of the mesmerised patient
to open his eyes 1as a real incapacity, and he be'an to e8periment upon his friends, 1ith the .ie1 of
producin' a similar phenomenon. He found that this closin' of the eyes could be brou'ht about by a fi8ed
'a5e at an ob<ect placed sli'htly abo.e the eyes, so that a con.er'ent strabismus 1as induced. 4hen
the hypnotic state 1as thus obtained, he found that the patient could be readily influenced, and that, by
placin' him in 'i.en attitudes, the emotions normally e8pressed by these attitudes could be produced in
him at 1ill. He further disco.ered that the senses often become abnormally acute under hypnotism, and
that hallucinations could be imposed on the sub<ect by Ysu''estion:, i.e., that a direction to see
somethin' on a1a3in' 1as follo1ed by a hallucination 1hen the sub<ect came out of the trance condition.
,ince the time of #raid, the 1hole 2uestion has been studied in the most strictly scientific spirit,
e8periments ha.e been performed under [Page 53] ri'id test conditions, and hypnotism is no lon'er an
alien in the scientific 1orld, but an accepted deni5en, 1ell 1orthy of careful attention. &he 1orld/famous
e8periments of Charcot and his collea'ues at the ,alp>tri?re, and those of LiLbault at Nancy, ha.e for
e.er rendered impossible the recurrence of the follies of N!D and !$N. &he re.i.al of the study in
6rance 1as due to the e8periments of A5am, a #ordeau8 sur'eon, in !%0, and .arious 1or3s on it
appeared up to the year !EE, 1hen LiLbault published the results of his in.esti'ations. *n !N!, the
,alp>tri?re school first attracted public notice, and from that time for1ard scepticism has been replaced
by study in the scientific 1orld.
*n the ,alp>tri?re e.ery source of modern science has been utili5ed to shut out the possibility of fraud,
and those 1ho doubt the results, startled by their ama5in' character, 1ill do 1ell to study @r. Paul
-icher[s monumental 1or3, tudes (liniques sur la 2rande Hystrie, ou Hystero3pilepsie. *t has been
found by numerous e8periments that the tracin's obtained by attachin' a [Page 54] tambour to the arm
and a pneumato'raph to the chest of a sub<ect thro1n into cataleptic state are 1holly different from those
obtained from a sub<ect in the normal condition0 for instance, 1hile a stron' man may simulate some
forced position, and the eye of the obser.er may be unable to distin'uish any difference bet1een his
attitude and that of a cataleptic patient placed in a similar attitude, yet the strain in his case 1ill be made
e.ident by the tracin's obtained from him, 1hich are 1holly different from those obtained from the other.
&hus the tracin' of the respiration of a person in hypnotic catalepsy sho1ed smoothly/rounded cur.es,
1hile the tambour on the limb 'a.e an absolutely strai'ht line0 on the other hand, the respiratory tracin'
from a man 1ho imitated the attitude sho1ed sudden di.es <er3s, becomin' sharper and sharper as the
moments passed, and the tracin' from e8tended limb, at first fairly strai'ht, sho1ed muscular tremors
increasin' in .iolence as the strain 1as prolon'ed. #y these ri'id tests 1as fraud e8cluded, and the
certainty of the abnormal state established. [Page 55]
&here are many 1ays in 1hich the ob<ect can be thro1n into the ma'netic trance, such as holdin' the
hands and 'a5in' fi8edly into the eyes, ma3in' do1n1ard passes o.er the face and trun3, placin' the
thumb on the forehead 1hile the fin'ers rest li'htly on the cro1n of the head, etc.. At the ,alp>tri?re, the
operators, dealin' 1ith hysterical patients, ha.e 'enerally thro1n the sub<ect into the ri'id cataleptic state
Pa'e %
first, by a sudden noise, as a blo1 on a 'on', the flash of the electric li'ht, or other sudden sense/
stimulus0 a slo1er 1ay is a continued sli'ht stimulus, as loo3in' up1ards at a dar3 or bri'ht ob<ect = as
in #raid[s e8periments. &he sub<ect may be made to pass from this cataleptic into the lethar'ic state by
further stimulus, and from this into the YhypnoticY, or lucid somnambulic, by li'ht friction of the scalp. &he
true hypnotic lethar'y is distin'uished from catalepsy once more by respiratory tracin's, those obtained
from a sub<ect passin' from lethar'y into catalepsy sho1in' the chan'e in the most unmista3able 1ay,
1hile a further chec3 has been secured by ma3in' tracin's [Page 5] of the circulatory chan'es Pby the of
the plethysmo'raph and air/sphymo'raphQ, 1hich are as mar3ed as those of the respiration. [ ,ee on
these tracin's #inet and 6LrL[s 1or3 2uoted before pp. 20, $D, 1here a number of these tracin's are
'i.en0 and, for 'reater detail. P. -icher[s _tudes, pp $$N/$%% and N%N/NE!]
( '' ( THE ,A-T)
As lon' a'o as E$E @aniel ,ch1enter hypnoti5ed a coc3 by tyin' its le's to'ether, and placin' its bea3
at the end of a chal3 line dra1n alon' the 'round, an e8periment still fre2uently repeated 1ith success0
the tyin' of the le's is 2uite unnecessary, as the animal remains motionless if the bea3 be held on the
line for a fe1 moments. +8periments on animals are satisfactory in so far as the possibility of fraud is
here e8cluded, but of course only physical phenomena can be obtained from them. One 1ord of 1arnin'
is ad.isable, ho1e.er, to any 1ho embar3 on this line of in.esti'ation, especially if they practise on the
domestic cat or any of the canine race. &here is a moment, <ust before [Page 5!] success, 1hen the
animal is roused to ra'e = probably by terror = and 1ill sprin' at the operator. Any start or blenchin'
then means failure, and an u'ly bite or scratch may be the result.
&he facts of Animal Ma'netism, for purposes of study, may be con.eniently classed under three headsO
. *ts use as a therapeutic a'ent. 2. &he e8altation under it of the physical senses and mental capacities.
$. &he control of the sub<ect by the operator.
. Its use as a t!erapeutic agent. = &he cures 1or3ed by ;reatra3es, Mesmer, @u Potet and other
mesmeri5ers ha.e already been alluded to, and durin' the present century a .ast number of cures ha.e
been affected. @r. Haddoc3 records a case of blindness cured by him. A little 'irl of se.en be'an to
e8hibit symptoms of cerebral affection, 1ith partial paralysis, and e.entually became totally blind0 the
child 1as brou'ht to him, and by him submitted to a clair.oyante, 1ho attributed the blindness to the
state of the roots of the optic ner.e and the disordered condition of the ner.ous system. &he child 1as
mesmeri5ed e.eryday, and at the end of three 1ee3s [Page 5"] be'an to percei.e li'ht, impro.in'
'radually until she 1as able to read lar'e print. &his occurred at the close of the summer of !D" and at
the end of !%0 the child had re'ained her si'ht, but 1as some1hat short/si'hted. ["omnolism and
syc!ism, pp. %", E0] A famous case is that of Harriet Martineau, 1ho has left a record of her o1n
e8perience0 she describes herself as reduced to the last state of 1ea3ness, 9a life passed bet1een bed
and the sofaY. All that medical s3ill could do 1as done, and she 1as continually dependent on opiates.
,he then put herself under mesmeric treatment, and 9at the end of four months * 1as, as far as my o1n
feelin's could be any 1arrant, 2uite 1ell:. ,he describes her steady con.alescence, 9impro.ed
composure of ner.e and spirits:, and the help she found mesmerism to be in brea3in' off the use of
opiatesY. [ûoted in Ne1nham[s Human Magnetism, pp. D2/D2N] @r. *n'lis of Halifa8, cured a 'irl,
ele.en years old, of epileptic fits, by daily inducin' mesmeric sleep, [ibid., pp. $", D0] a form of sleep
that is accompanied 1ith mar3ed recuperation of the bodily [Page 5#] ener'ies. Perhaps the most
remar3able use of ma'netism, under this head, is its employment as an anaesthetic. One of the most
Pa'e E
famous operations performed on a mesmeri5ed patient is the remo.al of the breast of an elderly 6rench
lady, Madame Plantin, for cancer, in !2". Madame Plantin[s physician, @r. Chapelain, 1as in the habit of
mesmeri5in' her, and he found that she 1ould placidly discuss the ad.isability of the proposed
amputation 1hen she 1as in the mesmeric trance, but shran3 from it, 1hen a1a3e, 1ith 9the most
intense an'uish and apprehensionY. M. Mules Clo2uet, an eminent sur'eon of Paris, 1as chosen as
operator, and found his patient in the mesmeric trance on his arri.al. Y,he spo3e calmly of the intended
operation0 remo.ed her o1n dress to e8pose her bosom to the sur'eon[s 3nife0 and durin' the operation,
1hich lasted about a 2uarter of an hour, she con.ersed freely 1ith the sur'eon, and the physician, 1ho
1as seated by her, supportin' the arm on the diseased side, 1ithout e8hibitin' the sli'htest pain or
consciousness of 1hat 1as 'oin' onY. ,he 1as 3ept under mesmerism for t1o days, and [Page %] the
1ound be'an to heal in a healthy manner but the patient died fourteen days later from another disease.
["omnolism and Hypnotism, pp. D%, DE] *n !% #roca and 6o*lin mesmeri5ed a 1oman to ma3e an
incision in an abscess, and ;uerineau, of Poitiers, amputated the thi'h of a hypnoti5ed patient. [Animal
Magnetism, by #inet and 6LrL, p. NN] *t is ob.ious that this use of hypnotism mi'ht pro.e most
ser.iceable in cases in 1hich chloroform cannot be employed 1ithout dan'er to life.
Carl Hansen has used mesmerism for the cure of ner.ous diseases of all sorts, for destroyin' by
su''estion rooted ideas amountin' to mania, for calmin' the insane in fits fury, etc., etc.. *n *ndia, 1here
climatic influences are most fa.ourable to the production of mesmeric phenomena, and amon' the
sensiti.e Hindus, Colonel Olcott has cured diseases literally by the hundred, paralysis, blindness,
deafness, dumbness, rheumatism and so on. &he use of clair.oyance in the dia'nosis and cure of
disease 1ill be mentioned further on.
2. '!e e$altation of t!e p!ysical senses and mental capacities. = &his class of cases is full [Page $] of
instruction for the psycholo'ist, for here, if any1here, he can study mental phenomena apart from normal
conditions, thou'h if he insists on in.ariably connectin' states of consciousness 1ith cell/.ibrations, he
1ill find himself in parlous difficulties.
&he 2uic3enin' of the senses and of the mental capacities belon's to the lucid somnambulic condition,
not to that of lethar'y. #inet and 6LrL sayO
Y&he state of the senses in hypnotic sub<ects ran'es from anaesthesia to hyperaesthesia. @urin' lethar'y
all the senses are suspended, 1ith the occasional e8ception of the sense of hearin', 1hich is sometimes
retained, as it is in natural sleep. @urin' catalepsy, the special senses are partially a1a3e0 the muscular
sense, in particular, retains all its acti.ity. 6inally, in somnambulism the senses are not merely a1a3e, but
2uic3ened to an all e8traordinary de'ree. ,ub<ects feel the cold produced by breathin' from the mouth at
a distance of se.eral yards P#raidQ. 4eber[s compasses, applied to the s3in, produce a t1o/fold
sensation, 1ith a de.iation of $ de'rees, in re'ions 1here, durin' the 1a3in' state, it [Page 2] 1ould be
necessary to 'i.e the instruments de.iation of ! de'rees P#er'erQ. &he acti.ity of the senses of si'ht is
sometimes so 'reat that the ran'e of si'ht may be doubled, as 1ell as the sharpness of .ision. &he
sense of smell may be de.eloped so that the sub<ect is able to disco.er by its aid the fra'ments of a
.isitin' card 1hich had been 'i.en to him to smell before it 1as torn up P&a'uetQ. &he hearin' is so acute
that con.ersation carried on the floor belo1, o.erheardY. [Animal Magnetism, pp. $D.$%]
Many of the e8traordinary phenomena of clair.oyance appear to be directly related to this abnormal
Pa'e N
sensibility, the bounds of time and space bein' ultimately completely cast aside. A 'irl of se.enteen,
named Mane -ider, 1as .ery carefully obser.ed by her medical attendant, @r. #elden0 he found = amid
many other curious facts = that she could read and 1rite 1ith t1o 1ads of cotton/1ool o.er her eyes,
comin' do1n to the middle of the chee3, in close contact 1ith the nose, and closely bound 1ith a lar'e
blac3 hand3erchief0 thus blinded, she on one occasion 1rote the [Page 3] 1ords "tiff ,illy, and then
correctly dotted the i in each 1ord0 1rote "pringfield under them, lea.in' out the *, and 1ent bac3 and put
the missin' letter in the ri'ht place. [ *sis -e.elata, .ol. i, p. $NN] ,chellin', the ;erman philosopher,
relates a case he obser.ed, in 1hich a clair.oyante be'an to cry, and said that the death of a member of
the family had ta3en place at a distance of %0 lea'ues. ,he added that the letter announcin' the death
1as on its 1ay. On a1a3in', she remembered nothin' and 1as 2uite bri'ht and cheerful, but 1hen a'ain
hypnoti5ed she a'ain 1ept o.er the death. A 1ee3 later, ,chellin' found her cryin', 1ith a letter beside
her on the table, announcin' the death, and on as3in' 1hether she had pre.iously heard of his illness,
she ans1ered that she had heard no such ne1s of him, and that the intelli'ence 1as 2uite une8pected. [
ibid., .ol. i, pp. !", "2] ,imilar stories, .ouched by names of the hi'hest character, may be found by the
do5en in boo3s dealin' 1ith these phenomena, so there is nothin' un<ustifiable in the statement of
,chopenhauerO Y 4ho at this day doubts the [Page 4] facts of animal ma'netism and its clair.oyance, is
not to be called sceptical, but i'norantY. [4ersuc!t uber 2eistersc!en]
A use of clair.oyance that has been too much ne'lected is its employment for the dia'nosis of obscure
forms of disease. &he Madame Plantin alluded to abo.e had a dau'hter, Madame La'andrL, 1ho 1as a
clair.oyante, and 1ho .isited her mother shortly before her death0 she described the state of the ri'ht
lun' and heart, the stomach and li.er, describin' the ri'ht lun' as bein' shri.elled up, compressed, and
no lon'er breathin', and sayin' that there 1as 1ater in the ca.ity of the heart. A post/mortem
e8amination 1as conducted on Madame Plantin[s body in the presence of @r. @rousart, M. Moreau =
secretary to the sur'ical section of the -oyal Academy of Medicine, Paris = and @r. Chapelain, by MM.
Clo2uet and Paillou8. &he state of the or'ans 1as found to e8actly bear out the somnambule[s
description. [,ee lsis %e&elata, .ol. ii. pp. !N/!"0 and '!e !ilosop!y of Mysticism by @u Prel, .ol. , p.
2$E. A full account is 'i.en by @r. Haddoc3 in "omnolism and syc!ism, pp. %D/%E] @r. Haddoc3Ks
somnambule, +mma, constantly dia'nosed diseases for him, and indicated appropriate [Page 5]
remedies, 1hich 1ere applied 1ith 'reat success. ["omnolism and syc!ism, Chap. N] Here, a'ain, a
mass of e.idence is a.ailable for all 1ho desire to further study the sub<ect. @r. ,pren'el, @r. #randis, @r.
;eor'et, and other physicians e2ually eminent, ha.e ad.ocated the employment of somnambulists for
the dia'nosis of disease.
Passin' from the senses to the more intellectual faculties, 1e find that the memory becomes, to an
e8traordinary de'ree, retenti.e under hypnotismO a poem 1as read o.er to a hypnoti5ed sub<ect and she
1as a1a3ened0 she could not remember it, but on bein' a'ain hypnoti5ed she repeated it correctly. At
the ,alp>tri?re a hypnoti5ed sub<ect 'a.e the menu of dinners she had eaten a 1ee3 pre.iously. A
hypnoti5ed 'irl, in Charcot[s room, 1as as3ed the name of a man 1ho entered the room, and at once
ans1ered, YM. ParrotY. ,he 1as a1a3ened and a'ain 2uestioned, but said she did not 3no1 him0 at last,
after loo3in' at him for a lon' time, she said that she thou'ht he 1as a physician at the 5nfants assists
Pas 1as the [Page ] factQ. *t appeared that she had been a the -efu'e 1hen she 1as t1o years old, but
had naturally for'otten the physicianO hypnoti5ed, her memory promptly recalled e.en his name. [#inet
and 6LrL, pp. $E.$N] ,imilarly, the 'eneral mental capacity 2uic3ened. &he 'irl before mentioned, Mane
-ider, blindfolded carefully, 1as as3ed to learn bac3'ammon0 she consented, 3no1in' nothin' of the
'ame, learned it rapidly, and 1on the si8th 'ame from an e8perienced player0 a1a3ened, she 1as as3ed
to play, but said she had ne.er seen the 'ame, and she could not e.en set the men. [ lsis %e&elata, .ol.
Pa'e !
i. pp.$!, $!2] @r. Abercrombie 'i.es a lon' account of a 'irl, 1hom he describes as Y1hen a1a3e, a
dull, a131ard 'irl, .ery slo1 in recei.in' any 3ind of instruction, thou'h much care 1as besto1ed upon
her:0 but, 1hen in the somnambulic condition, 9she often descanted 1ith the utmost fluency and
correctness on a .ariety of topics, both political and reli'ious, the ne1s of the day, the historical parts of
,cripture, public characters, particularly the characters of members of the family and their .isitors. *n
these discussions [Page !] she sho1ed the most 1onderful discrimination, often combined 1ith sarcasm,
and astonishin' po1ers of mimicry. Her lan'ua'e throu'h the 1hole 1as fluent and correct, and her
illustrations often forcible and e.en elo2uent. ,he 1as fond of illustratin' her sub<ects by 1hat she called
a fable, and in these her ima'ery 1as both appropriate and ele'ant:+ [ 6n t!e Intellectual o#ers, pp.
2"E et se2. ûoted in Isis %e&elata]
,uch facts as these, 1hich mi'ht be multiplied a hundredfold, should surely 'i.e pause to the materialist,
1ho 1ill ha.e thou'ht to be nothin' more than the result of the .ibration of brain/cells0 and if it be
ob<ected that, numerous as they are, these cases are yet e8ceptional and abnormal, 1e may fitly reply
1ith HerschellO 9&he perfect obser.er 1ill ha.e his eyes, as it 1ere, opened that they may be struc3 at
once 1ith any occurrence 1hich, accordin' to recei.ed theories, ou'ht not to happen, for these are the
facts 1hich ser.e as clues to ne1 disco.eries:+ [reliminary 7iscourse on t!e "tudy of -atural
!ilosop!y, ,ec. 2N]
$. '!e control of t!e subject by t!e operator. = Here 1e come to the .ery heart of our [Page "] 2uestionO
to the most mar.ellous facts, the most serious dan'ers, and the phenomena most luminous for
psycholo'ical disco.ery. &his control of the hypnoti5ed person by the hypnoti5er is absolute, complete0 as
@r. -icher says, Y &he somnambulist ........ is no lon'er a simple machine. He is the sla.e of the 1ill of
another, the .eritable subject of the operator. His automatism consists in ser.itude and obedienceY. [
tudes (liniques, p. N!"]
&a3e first the senses. &hese can be so decei.ed as to sensate 1hen there is no ob<ect of sensation, to
remain passi.e 1hen stimuli are applied. &he patient is plun'ed in the hypnotic trance0 he is told that he
1ill see or not see, feel or not feel, a certain thin'0 he is then a1a3ened, but the Ysu''estion: continues to
dominate his intelli'ence, and, apparently actin' freely, he blindly obeys. A hypnoti5ed patient 1as told
that a bird 1as on her 3nee, and on a1a3in' she stro3ed and caressed it0 [ ibid., p. ED%] another 1as told
that he had a lamp/shade placed bet1een his hands, and on a1a3in' he pressed his hands a'ainst the
[Page #] ima'inary ob<ect, and could not brin' them to'ether0 [#inet and 6LrL, p. 2$] a card 1as placed
on a sheet of 1hite paper, and an ima'inary line dra1n round the card on the paper 1ith a blunt pointer,
the pointer not 2uite touchin' the paper0 1hen the sub<ect a1o3e, the blan3 paper 1as 'i.en to her, and
she sa1 the rectan'le 1hich had not been traced on it, and, on re2uest, she folded the paper alon' the
lines she sa1, foldin' it to the e8act si5e of the card. [tudes (liniques, p. N2$]
&he reality of the hallucination is stri3in'ly sho1n by an e8periment in 1hich the sub<ect 1as told that
there 1as a portrait on a piece of blan3 cardboard0 1hen she a1o3e she sa1 the portrait, 1hen the
cardboard 1as turned round the portrait 1as re.ersed, and 1hen the other side of the cardboard 1as
sho1n nothin' 1as seen, althou'h these chan'es of position 1ere made out of si'ht of the patient.
[#inet and 6LrL, p. 22D] +.en more stran'e is it that such an ima'inary portrait is seen ma'nified or
diminished if loo3ed at by the sub<ect throu'h an opera/'lass. A patient 1as told that @r. Charcot 1as
[Page !%] present 1hen he 1as absent, and on a1a3in' she addressed him0 1hile another, told that she
could not see @r. 6., 1as unable to see him thou'h in the room0 she 1as 'i.en permission to lea.e the
Pa'e "
room, and @r. 6., placed himself in front of the door0 she came in contact 1ith him 1ithout seein' him,
and after ma3in' a second attempt to reach the door became alarmed at a resistance in the air she could
not understand, and refused to ma3e any further effort0 a hat placed on his head 1as seen by her as
suspended in the air, and a cloa3 he put on mo.ed about Yli3e a hollo1 puppetY. [ ibid., pp. $0E/$0!] *
ha.e myself been rendered in.isible in this 1ay, 1ith the 2uaintest of results.
Another class of e8periments is the formation of hallucinatory comple8 .isions. A patient 1as told that
Paradise 1as before her, and she described the Sir'in Mary, the saints and an'els, it bein' noticed that
the details of the .ision in such cases .aried 1ith the belief and fancy of the sub<ect. [ tudes (liniques,
pp. EE" and N"0] Another 1as made to see the de.il0 Yshe dre1 herself up, an'er in her face, in a superb
pose of 1rath and [Page !$] defiance. At the end of a fe1 moments she uttered a piercin' cry, and fled to
the other end of the roomY. [ ibid., p. E"", note] Another, described as a 9.ery respectable 1oman, the
mother of a family and .ery piousY, 1as made to assume in turns the characters of a peasant, an actress
= a .ery free/spo3en one = a 'eneral, and a priest. 4e ha.e here the e8planation of many of the
.isions of nuns and others in a hi'hly e8cited ner.ous condition0 the up1ard/turned and fi8ed 'a5e is the
.ery one used by #raid for self/hypnoti5ation, and the dominant idea 1ould ta3e the place of the
su''estion.
Absolute physical lesion can be caused by su''estion. Charcot and his assistants ha.e produced the
physical effects of a burn by su''estin' to a hypnoti5ed patient that she has burned herself0 a doctor
traced some 1ords 1ith a blunt probe on the arm of a hypnoti5ed sub<ect, and told him that at four o[cloc3
blood 1ould come out on the lines traced0 at the time named the 1ords appeared in red, 1ith minute
spots of blood. ,urely 1e ha.e here the e8planation of the appearance of the [Page !2] Ysacred sti'mataY
on ecstatic men and 1omen meditatin' lon' on the passion of Christ.
Must as the body can be affected and the sense decei.ed, so can the inner sanctuary of the mind be
in.aded, and the 1ill of the operator ta3e the place of the paralysed .olition of the sub<ect. &hen comes
the possibility of su''estin' action, action that may be either criminal or salutary. At the ,alp>tri?re and
else1here su''estion of crime has been made and carried out after the sub<ect has a1a3ed0 thus, told to
poison one of the doctors 1ith a 'lass containin' 1ater, the sub<ect, after a1a3in', too3 the 'lass to him
and offered him the 1ater, 1ith the remar3 that it 1as a hot day. Others ha.e been made to stab one of
the doctors present, to steal, etc.. [#inet and 6LrL, pp. 2!E/2"] Considerable cunnin' is e.inced in the
1ay in 1hich the su''estion is carried out so that the person under control becomes criminal of an
especially dan'erous type0 the more so that the hypnoti5er can at 1ill destroy all memory ali3e of the
su''estion and of the act. ,o serious to society has this ne1 peril been considered, that both in -ussia
and [Page !3] ;ermany a la1 has been passed forbiddin' the practice of hypnotism by any but duly,
authori5ed persons = a la1 1hich it is absolutely impossible to enforce.
On the other hand, su''estion may be used for the most beneficial purposes. At Nancy, @r. LiLbault and
his collea'ues ha.e used it to promote moral action and to chec3 criminal propensities0 and, lately, the
-e.. Mr. &ooth, of Croydon, has cured by su''estion confirmed dipsomaniacs. He su''ests to them,
1hile in the hypnotic trance, that drin3 is unpleasant to them, that it is nauseous and 1ill ma3e them sic30
and in the 1a3in' state it has this effect upon them, so that they shrin3 from it 1ith loathin'. &ruly there is
here a mi'hty po1er for 1eal 1oe, accordin' as it is used by pure or corrupt hands
Pa'e 20
( ''' ( THE E.P/ANAT'ON
&o the 'reat ma<ority of people the abo.e facts are ine8plicable, and it is note1orthy that the 6rench
e8perimenters offer no e8planation of the facts they record. &he e8planation [Page !4] 1hich * su''est, as
a &heosophist, 1ill be only a possible hypothesis for most of my readers, and 1ill be promptly re<ected by
such of these as are Materialists.
4e must no1 distin'uish bet1een Ma'netism and Hypnotism, 1hich, thou'h closely allied by the
phenomena they produce, are yet distinct in the a'ency employed. Animal Ma'netism is, in its nature,
nearly related to Mineral Ma'netism, and is .isible to the sensiti.e as li'ht, as is the latter. #aron
-eichenbach[s famous researches pro.ed that persons in a hyperaesthetic state could, 1hen placed in a
perfectly dar3 room, see a ma'net by the luminosity surroundin' it, a luminosity specially mar3ed at the
poles. [ 9!ysico3!ysiological %esearc!es in t!e 7ynamic of Magnetism, etc., in t!eir %elations to 4ital
ForceY. &ranslated from the ;erman by Mohn Ashburner, M.@., +d.. !%$] He found also that a similar
luminosity is .isible from the human hands, YbrushesY bein' perceptible comin' from the points of the
fin'ers. &his obser.ation has been fre2uently repeated 1ith clair.oyants, and the name of odyle, or odic
force, has been 'i.en this human ma'netism. &he reality of this current from the body 1as curiously
sho1n [Page !5] by the beha.iour of a cat 1ith +mma, @r. Haddoc3[s sensiti.e0 the cat <umped on
+mma[s lap 1hen she had been mesmeri5ed, and she be'an to stro3e its head 1ith her ri'ht hand. 9&he
cat instantly be'an to e.ince si'ns of fear or pain, and. to cry in a peculiar half/ piteous, half/sa.a'e
toneY. &he e8periment 1as repeated 1ith other cats and 3ittens, but some difficulty 1as e8perienced, Yas
the animals al1ays became sa.a'e, and endea.oured to biteY. 4hen +mma 1as Ya1ayY, i.e., in the lucid
somnambulic state, the left hand similarly affected the cat, sho1in' that the currents in the body 1ere
re.ersed. ["omnolism and syc!ism, pp. 0" / ]
No si'n of any such current, or of the physical action of one human or'anism on another, has been
obser.ed in connection 1ith hypnotism0 a certain stimulus applied to the ner.es seems to set up a bodily
condition 1hich is peculiarly sensiti.e to either internal or e8ternal stimuli0 in the latter case the 1ill of the
operator comes in as the acti.e a'ent.
&here is little doubt that the 'an'lionic, or sympathetic, ner.ous system plays a 'reat part in
somnambulic phenomena, appearin' [Page !] indeed to act as the brain of the ,leep/Consciousness. *n
an account 'i.en in the Lancet [ Sol. 88iii, pp. EE$ et seq. ] of an *talian 1oman 1ho suffered from
catalepsy, it is stated that the patient heard nothin' by the ear, but Ythe lo1est 1hisper directed on the
hollo1 of the hand, or sole of the foot, on the pit of the stomach, or alon' the tra<ect of 9the sympathetic
ner.eY, 1as perfectly heard. Mr. Col2uhoun remar3s 9in many cases of catalepsy and somnambulism the
usual or'ans of the senses ha.e been found to be entirely dormant, and the seat of 'eneral sensibility
transferred from the brain to the re'ion of this 'an'lion, or cerebrum abdominaleY. [ Isis %e&elata, Sol. ii,
p. %$] @u Prel remar3sO
YNo1, as 1a3in' consciousness proceeds parallel 1ith correspondin' chan'es of the senses and brain,
so the transcendental psycholo'ical functions seem to be parallel 1ith correspondin' chan'es in the
'an'lionic system, 1hose central seat, the solar ple8us, 1as already called by the ancients the seat of
the belly. 4ith a somnambule of the physician Petitin, the pit of the stomach protruded [Page !!] li3e a
ball. #ertrand[s somnambule said, pointin' to her stomach, she had somethin' there 1hich spo3e, and of
Pa'e 2
1hich she could en2uire....... A somnambule 1ith 4erner more particularly described the dualism of brain
and solar ple8us, as it re.eals itself on the transition to somnambulism. #efore her senses 1ere
suppressed, but 1hile she 1as already 'ra.itatin' to1ards somnambulism, she saidO [4here am * X[ * am
not at home in the head. &here is a stran'e stru''le bet1een the pit of the stomach and the head0 both
1ould pre.ail, both see and feel. &hat cannot beO it is a tearin' asunder. *t is as if * must send do1n the
head into the stomach if * 1ould see anythin'. &he pit of the stomach pains me if * thin3 abo.e0 and yet
do1n there it is not clear enou'h. * must 1onder, and that 1ith the head, o.er the ne1 disposition of the
stomachY. [!ilosop!y of Mysticism, .ol. i, pp. N0.N]
*t is held by many, and * thin3 ri'htly, that the cerebrum is one pole of the human ma'net, and the ple8us
solaris the other, althou'h -eichenbach = from insufficient, data, as it seems to me = contended that
this a8is is only [Page !"] secondary, and that the primary a8is trans.erse.
*f 1e no1 e8amine the human consciousness, 1e shall find it broadly di.ided into t1o, the ,leepin' and
the 4a3in'0 all mesmeric, clair.oyant, hypnotic phenomena belon' to the former, and the more complete
the 2uiescence imposed on the bodily functions, the more .i.id and intense are the acti.ities of the
Y,leep/ConsciousnessY. One other point of 'ra.e si'nificance should be notedO the hypnoti5ed person on
a1a3in' 3no1s nothin', sa.e rarely, of 1hat happened in the hypnotic trance0 but Y1hen he is asleep his
memory embraces all the facts of his sleep, of his 1a3in' state, and of pre.ious hypnotic sleeps. [#inet
and 6LrL, p. $%] &his ,leep / Consciousness, as seen at 1or3 in the somnambulic state, has a memory
to 1hich the 1a3in' memory is for'etfulness, can see in defiance of space and material obstruction, is
3eenly intellectual 1here the 1a3in' brain is dull, is to the 4a3in' / Consciousness as a 'iant beside a
d1arf. 4hat is it, this luminous +idolon 1hich shines out the more bri'htly as the bodily frame is [Page !#]
unconscious X * ans1erO it is the *nner ,elf, the true *ndi.iduality, the hi'her +'o, 1hich d1ells in the body
as the flame in the lamp, sendin' into the outer 1orld such shafts of its radiance as can pierce its
co.erin'.
&his Consciousness of man is able to impress his physical brain and so become the 4a3in'/
Consciousness, <ust so far as physical conditions admit0 1hat the ;ermans call the psycho/physical
threshold di.ides, as it 1ere, this Consciousness into t1o, not really di.idin' the Consciousness, but
di.idin' off the amount it can impress on the physical or'anism from that 1hich the physical or'anism is
incapable of recei.in'. Of all that is belo1 this threshold, the physical or'anism remains unconscious.
&he contents of the 4a3in' / Consciousness are, then, only part of the contents of the &otal
Consciousness, and, indeed, a comparati.ely small part thereof. No1 this threshold is .ariable, and
.aries 1ith the physical condition0 and the more sensiti.e the ner.ous system, the more out1ard stimuli
are remo.ed or the senses dulled to their reception, the more does this threshold sin3, un.eilin' the
contents of [Page "%] the &otal, the -eal Consciousness. ,o far the second class of phenomena is
concerned, the e8altation of the senses and of the mental capacities, this hypothesis, 1or3ed out, 1ill be
found to be, thorou'hly e8planatory. Once reali5e that the physical or'ans of sense are, as has been 1ell
said, barriers bet1een the inner senses, the percepti.e faculties of the *nner ,elf, and the ob<ecti.e
1orld, that they are organs, not faculties, and it 1ill be seen ho1 their paralysis may ma3e 1ay for the
inner senses to function.
&he third class of phenomena, the control of the indi.idual by the operator, turns once more, as to the
hallucinations, on this mo.ability of the threshold of sensation. Let us concei.e of e8istence as one .ast
line, 1hich has spirit or force for one end and 'rossest matter for the other end, all phenomena,
Pa'e 22
YmaterialY and Yimmaterial:, ran'in' bet1een these not differin' in essence, but in de'ree of
condensation = so that condensed force 1ould present itself as matter, rarefied matter as force. Let us
consider, ne8t, that the uni.erse, to us, e8ists as concei.ed, our conception [Page "$] dependin' on the
impression made by it on us throu'h our senses. *t 1ill at once be seen that a thin' 1ill present itself to
us as matter or as force accordin' as it can or cannot affect our senses0 that 1hich affects the senses
directly 1ill be reco'ni5ed as matter0 that 1hich is only apprehended by the mind throu'h its effects 1ill
be reco'ni5ed as force. 4hether the mental presentment of a thin' is material or immaterial 1ill depend,
then, on our sensibility and not on the thin' itself, and the .ariation of our threshold of sensibility 1ill
transfer a thin' from the matter/1orld to the force/1orld, and .ice .ersa. [,ee the admirable ar'ument on
this sub<ect in @u Prel[s !ilosop!y of Mysticism. Sol. ii, pp. $0.$%] &hus to our normal senses the
attraction bet1een the ma'net and all iron 1ithin the ma'netic field is in.isible and 1e spea3 of the force
of attractionO to the sensiti.e, or the somnambulist this force is .isible as li'ht. '!e senses condition t!e
nature of t!e perception. &hen, to abnormally sharpened senses, a thou'ht may become a material
ob<ect, force/.ibrations becomin' .isible, i.e., appearin' as matter. #ut if this be so, the [Page "2]
YhallucinationY of the somnambulist, 1ho sees a bird or a lamp/shade at the su''estion the hypnoti5er,
results from her threshold of sensibility bein' so shifted that the normally immaterial thou'ht becomes to
her material.
&his hypothesis does not e8plain the paralysis of .ision as to ob<ects, or parts of ob<ects, 1hich is one of
the most startlin' hypnotic phenomena. 6or elucidation of this * am some1hat at a loss. Patan<ali spea3s
of the possibility of disconnectin' Ythat property of ,at1a 1hich e8hibits itself as luminousnessY from the
or'an of si'ht of the spectator0 [8oga Ap!orisms, +d. !!", p. $] and the ancient Hindus held that there
1as this connection, so to spea3, bet1een the seer and the ob<ect seen. &hat an ob<ect can be made to
disappear, * 3no1, ha.in' seen it done and ha.in' been made myself to disappear0 for the e8planation, *
am still 'ropin'. [4ide p. 2D, ante0 and In&isible Helpers, pp. 2%, 2E.. +d.]
&he control of acts is easier to understand, for here one can see that the +'o of the hypnoti5ed person
may, as it 1ere, be thrust aside and the +'o of the hypnoti5er ta3e its place, usin' the brain and limbs of
the sub<ect [Page "3] as its tool. #e this as it may, the reco'nition of this true +'o, this *nner ,elf, actin' in
and throu'h the body, but its master, not its product, offers, at least, a hopeful path to the solution of the
abstruse problems that face us. &hat psycholo'y should become in the 4est, as it is in the +ast, an
e8perimental science, must be the 1ish of e.ery patient searcher after &ruth.
Pa'e 2$

Hypnotism and Mesmerism: By: Annie Besant

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Descrição original:

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Hypnotism and Mesmerism: By: Annie Besant

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

Adyar Pamphlets Hypnotism and Mesmerism No.

Você também pode gostar