CHAPTER VI

ANIMAL MAGNETISM, HYPNOTISM, AND LAYING ON OF HANDS

The Immediate Cause of Natural, Hypnotic, and Mesmeric Sleep the Same. The Process and Theory of Mesmerism. - Braid's Experiments. - The Process of Hypnotism. The Confusion in Terms and Methods. — Liébault's Formulation of the Law of Suggestion. Suggestion regarded as a Universal Solvent of the Mysteries of Hypnotism and Mesmerism.— The Effects of Hypnotism and Mesmerism due to Different Proximate Causes. — Physical Contact the Essential Feature which distinguishes Mesmeric from Hypnotic Practice. The Psycho-Histological Theory. Historical Sketch of "Healing by Touch.". The Effects of this Process not accounted for by Suggestion in the Ordinary Sense of that Term.

A

LL that has been said in reference to the cause of sleep, whether natural or induced by the processes of hypnotism, applies with equal pertinency to that induced by the processes of mesmerism or so-called animal magnetism. The obvious reason is that the immediate or efficient cause of sleep is the same in all cases, whatever may have been the visible means of inducing the histological conditions that cause or constitute sleep.

The parallel between hypnotism proper and animal magnetism, so called, practically ends here. Owing, however, to a defective terminology that has grown out of conflicting theories of causation, the distinc

tion between mesmerism and hypnotism has been lost sight of by many writers.

The practice growing out of this confusion of terms has also served to obliterate distinctions, so that many who call themselves hypnotists in reality employ mesmeric methods in whole or in part, and vice versa.

It will first be necessary, therefore, to give the reader a clear understanding of what I regard as the true line of distinction, to the end that I may not be misunderstood when I undertake to make a practical application of the facts we have learned in previous chapters to the subject before us.

"Mesmerism" and "animal magnetism" are terms that are frequently used interchangeably, because they represent the same theory of causation. Hypnotism represents another, and a radically different, theory of causation; but both stand for methods of inducing sleep for experimental or therapeutical purposes. The differences, of course, are in the theories and in the practice under them.

The mesmerists, or animal magnetists, induce sleep by processes varying in detail, but consisting essentially of coming into personal contact with the subject, and concentrating the mind upon the work in hand. Contact is made, sometimes by the operator pressing the balls of his thumbs against those of the patient; sometimes by making passes over him, with or without contact with his person; but generally by gently touching him at various points, particularly on the head and face; and often by merely laying one hand upon the forehead of the subject and the other at the base of his brain. For the

relief of local pain the hand is pressed upon the part affected, or gentle contact-passes are made over the same. But whatever the details may be, in the process of manipulation, the essentials are personal contact and concentration of mind.

The theory of Mesmer and his followers is that a health-giving fluid emanates from the operator and impinges upon the patient at whatever point the contact is made. This hypothetical fluid is the “animal magnetism" of which we hear so much and know so little. It is supposed, however, to be charged, not only with health and vitality in a concrete form, but to invest its possessor with dominion over his fellows in love, war, politics, religion, and commerce. At least so say the current advertisements of those who have it for sale in the form of "lessons" at so much per lesson.

To do the early mesmerists entire justice, they did not claim for the hypothetical fluid the wide range of power and usefulness that is now claimed by the charlatans into whose hands it has fallen. But their ideas were sufficiently extravagant to make it the vulnerable point in mesmerism; at least it was the point which science, as represented by the medical profession of the day, attacked with hysterical insistence, not to say, insensate virulence. It was the weak point in the armor of mesmerism, because it could not be demonstrated, that is to say, the fluid could not be segregated, bottled, and analyzed. The therapeutic efficacy of the practice, however, could be demonstrated; but that fact apparently served but to increase the virulence of the attacks upon the fluidic theory. This view of the matter, however,

can only be sustained by the presupposition that the average physician is violently prejudiced against any theory or system of practice that threatens to heal the sick without the use of drugs. Be this as it may, the fact remains that the medical profession waged incessant warfare against mesmerism, ostensibly because the fluidic theory was held, a priori, to be unsound and unscientific.

In the meantime the mesmerists fell naturally into the common fallacy of supposing that their success in practice was demonstrative of the soundness of their theory. Thus believing, they found no difficulty in identifying themselves with that numerous and highly respectable class known as martyrs to the cause of Truth; and, consequently hysteria entered as a factor in the controversy on the side of the mesmerists as well as on that of their opponents.

And thus the controversy went on for many years. The mesmerists constantly gained ground, because they could heal the sick; and their opponents as constantly lost ground because they were powerless to disprove the facts of mesmerism or its theory of causation.

In the meantime Braid, a Manchester physician of high standing and repute, became convinced of the genuineness of the mesmeric sleep and of its therapeutic value, but remained unconvinced of the scientific validity of the mesmeric theory of causation. In other words, he did not deem it incumbent upon him to deny the facts because he deemed the theory untenable; but, like a true scientist, he proceeded to institute a series of experiments to prove the one and to disprove the other. In this he partially succeeded.

He confirmed the sleep together with its therapeutic potency; and he demonstrated the fact that the sleep could be induced without physical contact with the subject, by simply causing the latter to gaze steadily upon a bright object held slightly above the level of his eyes. This process of inducing sleep was designated by its discoverer as "hypnotism," from the Greek radix hypnos, signifying sleep. Properly

speaking, therefore, the word should be restricted accordingly; for it was coined, not to rechristen mesmerism, but to distinguish the Braidian process from that of mesmerism or animal magnetism. This distinction, however, was soon lost sight of by the successors of Braid, who held that his discovery had solved the whole problem of induced sleep and disproved the fluidic theory. Braid himself did not make so broad a claim, although he was as anxious as were his professional brethren to demonstrate the invalidity of that theory. He simply claimed to have discovered one method by which sleep can be induced without personal contact, and, consequently, independently of the hypothetical magnetic fluid. He expressly declared that his method was not identical with that of mesmerism, but he considered "the condition of the nervous system induced by both modes to be analogous," - both of which propositions are self-evident. He admitted that the higher phenomena of mesmerism could not be produced by his processes, for example, thought-transference, etc.; whereas by the mesmeric methods the phenomenon of thought-reading -or telepathy, as it is now generally termed was very easily produced.

It will thus be seen that there is a very clear line