Mesmerism and Christian Science : a Short History of Mental Healing

MESMERISM AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE [g]= Mesmerism and Christian Science A SHORT HISTORY OF MENTAL HEALING By FRANK PODMORE Author of " Modern Spiritualism ^"^ 9f THE UNIVERSITY OF PHILADELPHIA GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY PUBLISHERS m -P6 GENERAL \ PREFACE THE nth of August should be observed as a day of humiliation by every learned Society in the civilised world, for on that date in 1784 a Commission, con- sisting of the most distinguished representatives of Science in the most enlightened capital in Europe, pronounced the rejection of a pregnant scientific discovery—a discovery possibly rivalling in permanent significance all the contributions to the physical Sciences made by the two most famous members of the Commission—Lavoisier and Benjamin Franklin. Not that the report on Animal Magnetism presented by Bailly and his colleagues did serious injustice to Mesmer himself, or to his vaunted science. The magnetic fluid was a chimaera, and Mesmer, it may be admitted, was perhaps three parts a charlatan. He had no pretensions to be a thinker : he stole philosophy ready-made from a few belated alchemists his ; and his entire system of healing was based on a delusion. His extraordinary success was due to the lucky accident of the times. Mesmer's first claim to our remembrance lies in this—that he wrested the privilege of healing from the Churches, and gave it to mankind as a universal possession. In rejecting the gift for themselves and their successors to the third and fourth generation Bailly and his colleagues rejected more than they knew. Now, more than a hundred years later, physicians and laymen alike are coming to realise the benefits of healing by Suggestion. That those benefits 190848 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE viii MESMERISM AND prejudice. through carelessness and h-'J^^" should, "° .gru for so '°"B - withheld from us. ,nortaUl,us the fact the real s.gn.ficance of doubt, a serious loss. But cr,s,s. the lies deeper. The brought to light by Mesmer themselves, are only as nuggeU n,:gnetic thriUs. the cures has yet to b< surface: the mother-lode tha? lie on the describe th, work is "riefly to ^Thfaim of the present initiated by Mesmer, an. phases of the movement various who cam attempts made by those trace the successive to reahtj the surface to the underlymg after him to get below of the famous Propos.fon The unTversal indifferent fluid by Ba.lly of the scientific wor d was discredited in the eyes hfet.me .t w followers, even in his eport By Mesmer's would not explam t eThed and found wanting. It the.r explo as the pioneers pushed lets For gradually, thrown open to them "Ifurther into the new territory of terrestr.a geograpl Viennese doctor, the landmarks he themse ve They found, or seemed to began to fail them. belonged le with which they had to deal find that the facts use that term w, tho the soul o.p.ycke-^o to the body than to th,s .scov conventional meaning. When pr udice.'n its mat . Magnetisrn became the ert, e once made. Animal Ls of latter d the shadowy brood from which sprang all the New Thoug mysticisms-Spiritualism. Theosophy. Bal Science of Mrs. Mary rulmnatin. in the Christian wheel has at .ast tur.d :.hich we find that the E r in agam beco practice of healing has once full c rcle, and the of rehg.on^ with the pracfce . nseparably connected look upon taught his followers to art which Mesmer flu, s question ^i^P'y of -d.nt Iholly materia.-a explamed by the Chr.s "coction" of humours-is the wh.ch ma^ spiritual process, in Sdentists as a wholly nothing. rounts for less than the doubtful honour of b. ThI Spiritualists may claim PREFACE ix the first in the field : the Church of Christ, Scientist, repre- sents the last word of mysticism. But these are not the only- explorers of the wide province. Modern psychology is being forced more and more to take into account the manifestations of the subconscious life; the Society for Psychical Research is exhaustively mapping out one corner of the field ; and the student of religious phenomena finds here data essential to the solution of his special problems. To all these the present work will, it is hoped, be found useful as offering a brief account of the first steps taken in an exploration which will, it may be anticipated, ultimately furnish the answer to some momentous questions. I have to thank Mr. A. G. Tolputt, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., for his kindness in reading the earlier chapters of the book in the typescript, and in giving me the advantage of his medical knowledge. March, 1909. F. P. CONTENTS PREFACE .... CHAPTER I.—HEALING BY FLUID . i Early life of Mesmer—He comes to Paris at the psychological moment: his acquaintance with Deslon : his immediate success—Description of the Baquet and the Magnetic treatment generally—Accounts of typical cures extracted from a contemporary work, the Supplement aux Deux Rapports— Discussion of the observed symptoms, and of the nature and significance of the cures CHAPTER II.-THE MAGNETIC SYSTEM . .26 The Faith-healers—Mesmer's debt to Gassner—Sympathetic or Magnetic medicine—Sir Kenelm Digby's Weapon Salve, and his explanation of its virtues— Paracelsus on Mummy and the Magnes Microcosmi — Yan Helmont's account of the Sympathetic system: further developed by Fludd and Maxwell—Mesmer's propositions : his doctrine wholly de- rived from his predecessors, but with a difference CHAPTER III.—THE FIRST FRENCH COMMISSION . 41 Mesmer's relations with the Academy of Sciences, and with the Royal Society of Medicine—Three doctors of the Faculty inquire into Mesmer's treatment—Deslon's application to the Faculty on Mesmer's behalf—De Vauzesmes' speech—The case of M. Busson—Rejection of Mesmer's proposals, and ultimate expulsion of Deslon from the Faculty—Mesmer refuses a substantial pension from the Government— His pupils form a Society of Harmony— Berthollet's letter-Two Commissions of Inquiry appointed by Government—Their Reports—What they saw and what they did not see—Report of De Jussieu — xii MESMERISM AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PAGE CHAPTER IV.—THE DISCOVERY OF SOMNAMBULISM . 63 Shortcomings of Bailly's Report—A thing which does not exist may yet be useful—Replies : Doiites dun Provincial— The case of Court de Gebelin— Reports from provincial doctors — The Marquis du Puysegur — His discovery of Somnambulism—Somnambulic diagnosis and "predictions" —The theory of a vital fluid —The tree at Busancy—Mesmcr's real secret—Believe and Will— Observations of Tardy de Montravel, Petetin, Deleuze— Influence of the magnetic fluid in stimulating the intellectual functions CHAPTER v.—HEALING BY SUGGESTION . .87 Progress of Animal Magnetism after the Restoration in France —Demonstrations of anaesthesia and clairvoyance—Views of Bertrand : he attributes many of the phenomena to suggestion — His description of the trance and its characteristics— His explanation of "prediction"—He is disposed to believe in clairvoyance and thought-transference CHAPTER VI.—LATER FRENCH COMMISSIONS. 103 Discussion at the Academy of Medicine in 1825—A committee of investigation appointed—Their subjects : Celine, Mdlle. Samson, Paul Villagrdiid—Their Report endorses prevision and clairvoyance—Anaesthesia in trance—The case of Madame Pkintin, and of Oudet's patient : reception by the Academy of reports on these two cases—The Academy in 1837 appoints another Commission to investigate the subject—Their Report ' unfavourable— Burdin's prize for clairvoyance —Experiments with Mdlle. Pigeaire, Teste's subject, Mdlle. Prudence, and others—The prize not awarded ' CHAPTER VI I—MESMERISM IN ENGLAND . 122 Professor Bell, de Mainauduc, and others Demonstrations — ^ by Chenevix in 1829 : Chenevix a believer in suggestion Elliotson's demonstrations in 1838 at University College on the Okey girls—Suspicions of fraud—The case of Anne Ross and others—Waklcy's counter-experiments with the Okeys EUiotson resigns from University College—Induced anaesthesia and the incredulity of the medical profession : the case of Wombell and the Medico-Chirurgical Society : Esdaile's painless surgery in India: Lord Ducie and the Medical Gazette— Braid's view : his hypothesis of suggestion, and his counter-experiments — Discovery of chloroform, growth of modern Spiritualism and concurrent decay of interest in Mesmerism — CONTENTS xiii PACK CHAPTER VIII.—THE FLUIDIC THEORY. .151 Fluid or fraud : no room found for the intermediate views of Bertrand and Braid—Alleged proofs of Magnetic fluid Reichenbach's experiments : his unscientific temper : his subjects probably unconsciously " educated"— Braid's counter- experiments— His demonstrations completely ignored by Reichenbach and the Mesmerists — Braid's own demonstrations in Phreno-mesmerism possibly due to thought- transference — Thought-transference a possible explanation of induction of trance or sleep at a distance : experim.ents by Townshend and later experiments by Janet and Gibert CHAPTER IX.—CLAIRVOYANC 168 Community of sensation and clairvoyance partly explicable by thought-transference—Clairvoyance at close quarters largely fraudulent— But probably in some cases due to hyperaesthesia of vision—The case of Alexis Didier— His card-playing and reading in closed books — Houdin's testimony — Alexis probably an automatist— His description of sealed packets and of distant scenes possibly indicative of supernormal power—Other examples of probably telepathic clairvoyance given by Lee, Haddock, Gregory—Many Mesmerists see in these demonstrations proof of the action of the soul apart from the body CHAPTER X.—SPIRITUALISM IN FRANCE . .192 The physical theories of Animal Magnetism gradually found to be inadequate : clairvoyance, prevision, and other faculties interpreted as pointing to a world transcending sense—Views of Tardy, Puysegur, Deleuze—The Exegetical Society of Stockholm in 1788 held converse with spirits through the mouths of entranced mediums—Their views adopted by some French Magnetists— Alphonse Cahagnet (1847) and his somnambules : their celestial visions : their interviews with deceased persons : the effect on Modern Spiritualism CHAPTER XL—SPIRITUALISM IN GERMANY .

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