Etherology, Or, the Philosophy of Mesmerism

TUFTS COLLEGE Tufts College Library « PHRENOLOG1.0AL BUST. See Page 164. • E THEE 0 LOG Y; OR, THE PHILOSOPHY OF MESMERISM . AND PHRENOLOGY: INCLUDING A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SLEEP AND OF CONSCIOUSNESS, WITH A REVIEW OF THE PRETENSIONS OF NEUROLOGY AND PHRENO-MAGNETISM BY J. STANLEY GRIMES, COUNSELLOR AT LAW, FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF THE WESTERN PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETY, PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE IN THE CASTLETON MEDICAL COLLEGE AND AUTHOR OF 4 A NEW SYSTEM OF PHRENOLOGY.' All the known phenomena of the universe may he referred to three general principles, viz.: Matter, Motion, and Consciousness.—p. 17. NEW YORK: SAXTON AND MILES, NO. 205 BROADWAY PHILADELPHIA :-J AMES M. CAMPBELL. BOSTON I SAXTON, PEIRCE & CO. 1845. year by Entered according to Act of Congress, in the 1845, J. STANLEY GRIMES, the Southern District In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of of New York. 1 i m CONTENTS. SECTION I. page. SYNOFSIS OF ETHEROLOGY . 17 SECTION II. HISTORY OF ETHERIUM ..... 39 Ignorance of the Ancients concerning the causes of Ethe- rean Phenomena — Witchcraft — Divination — Magic — Discoveries which led to a Scientific Knowledge of Ethe- ropathy—Van Helmot—Mesmer—His Career—D'Eslon —Adverse Report of the French Commissioners—Foissac and the Academy of Medicine—Their favorable report —Gall—La Place. SECTION III. NATURE OF ETHERIUM ..... 75 Theory of Light—Of Heat—Of Electricity—Of Magnetism— Of Gravitation—Newton's Conjecture—Rev. Mr. Town- shend on the Mesmeric Medium—Sunderland's Notions —Animal Electricity—Experiments of Crosse—Electric Fishes. SECTION IV. OXYGEN ........ 127 SECTION V. PHILOSOPHY OF SLEEP 130 Liebig's Error. — VI CONTENTS. SECTION VI. ORGAN OF CONSCIOUSNESS . 136 Infusoria—Immortality—Rationalism. SECTION VII. INTER-PHRENO SENSES . .149 External Senses—Internal Corporeal Senses—Cousin's Cri- ticism upon Locke. SECTION VIII. MOTION ........ 155 All motion communicated—Nothing originates motion but God—Sympathy is same motion. SECTION IX. TRIUNE SYSTEM OF PHRENOLOGY .... 164 Temperaments—Engraving and bust to show the location of the Organs—Summary of the Principles of Phrenology. ' SECTION X. ETHEROPATHY 181 Credencive Induction—Imitativeness—Credenciveness. SECTION XI. ETHEROPATHY, CONTINUED ..... 210 Clairvoyance. SECTION XII. ETHEROPATHY, CONTINUED ..... 219 Abnormal Sleep—Manifestations of Uncommon Strength Conferring Power on Medicine, Water, &c.—Reading Cha- racter—Discoveries in Phrenology and Physiology by Fowler, Buchanan and Sunderland. CONTENTS. Vii SECTION XIII. NEUROLOGY ..... , 248 Buchanan —Caldwell's Letter— Buchanan's Discoveries — His " Catalogue of Organs." SECTION XIV. PHRENO-MAGNETISM, PATHETISM AND HYPNOTISM . 271 Polarity of Organs— Sunderland's Experiments and Dis- coveries—London Phrenological Society Meeting—Elliot- son's Address—Gardiner's Experiments—The Doctrines Denied — Reasons — Elliotson's Experiments — Lang— Braid. SECTION XV. COMMUNION WITH SPIRITS .... 304 SECTION XVI. ABUSES OF ETHEROPATHY ..... 309 Immoral Induction—Local Induction. SECTION XVII. RULES FOR EXPERIMENTS . Jft , 3 314 Credencive Experiments—Experiments during Somnambu- lism—Upon Diseased Persons. SECTION XVIII. INDUCTION OF BRUTE ANIMALS .... 322 The "Charm" of Serpents — Dr. Wilson's Experiments upon Animals. APPENDIX. EXPRESSIONS OF OPINION . 33J Resolutions passed at Union College—Horsford's Report adopted by the Albany Phrenological Society—Lectures at Albany— Resolutions adopted, &c—Lectures in Hud- son—Resolutions adopted. ERRATA. Page 5, Contents, Section II., for Van Helmot read VanHelmon Page 6, Contents, Section VI., for Rationalism read Materialist, In page 1 of Preface, 10th line from bottom, for credulity rea incredulity. Page 40, 15th line from top, for sensation read veneration. Page 40, 19th line from top, for 'principals read priestesses. I 1 have sometimes used the word etherium when meant motion of etherium. PREFACE. While hundreds, and perhaps thousands, are engaged in repeating old experiments, and trying new ones in Mesmerism and Clairvoyance, no successful attempt has hitherto been made to explain the phenomena upon scientific principles, and to show their con- sistency with previously known truth. In philosophy facts are useful only as far as they lead to a true theory, and a theory is only a method of showing the true relation which exists among the facts. When a theory is, or seems to be, well established, any fact which appears to militate against it is apt to be disputed, or received with caution and credulity. For this reason mankind have been disposed to oppose new discoveries and innovations which render a change necessary in their theories, creeds, opinions or habits. It is not because they are unfriendly to improvement, but because they doubt the reality of the discovery, or the real practical importance and utility of the proposed change. It rather demonstrates their love of truth, for they, like St. Paul, verily believe that they are doing their duty by resisting the introduction of error. But if the new truth can be made to harmonise with the old opinions, it is then cordially received into the x PREFACE. family of admitted facts, which go to constitute our favorite theories. The facts of a science may be com- skeleton, pared to the scattered and broken bones of a be put while a theory is the method by which they can together and proved to belong all of them to one animal. collection of The facts in mesmerism call to mind a strange bones once found in England, which appar- ently belonged to animals of a different kind from any that had ever been known to exist on earth. Some very learned and sagacious men at first denied the they were dragged existence of the bones ; but when that they could to light, and protruded before them so no longer avoid acknowledging their existence, they declared that such enormous limbs must have a supernatural origin, and that they were undoubtedly the further examination by bones of fallen angels ! Upon bones of scientific men, it was found that they were whales, and other marine animals, that had been ages and ago " in the deep bosom of the ocean buried," to eminence, that the place had been afterwards raised ambitious like classic Delos, upon the shoulders of an and aspiring volcano. numerous, The facts in mesmerism are exceedingly monstrous and some of them of a most wonderful and and again, character. They have been denied again them and when even by those who have witnessed ; accounted for admitted to be true they have also been origin but the by referring them to a supernatural ; PREFACE. Xi time has come when these facts should, like the facts in Geology, Chemistry and Astronomy, be wrested from the hands of superstition, mystery and quackery, and moulded into symmetrical forms of scientific beauty. This is a most difficult and laborious task, and any one who undertakes it may fairly claim some in- dulgence for the imperfections of his performance. I am desirous to do for mesmerism what my friends claim that I have done for phrenology—to reduce it to a scientific system. In the year 1834 I commenced lecturing upon Phrenology, but did not otherwise publish my pecu- liar views of this science until 1839, when my " New System of Phrenology" was laid before the public. That work contained a new classification and arrange- ment of the Phreno-organs, a new system of Phreno- Physiognomy, a new doctrine of hereditary resem- blance, and several newly discovered Phreno-Organs. That these things were not essentially new no one has attempted to show, but their truth was denied by every author who had previously committed himself by advocating different doctrines upon these subjects. Mr. George Combe had just arrived in this country at the time when the work was issued. It was gene- rally understood that the mantle of the illustrious Spurzheim had fallen in an especial manner upon him and ; I was therefore desirous to receive his sanc- tion of the new doctrines which I had advanced. But before I had an opportunity to make his acquaintance; Xii PREFACE. I learned that he considered the New System as dan- gerous to his own personal ambition, and that on this ground he opposed it, not by fact or argument, but by his influence with his friends. He avoided mention- ing it in his lectures and writings, and when the subject was urged upon his attention by some one who thought my doctrines correct, he seemed to be exceedingly annoyed and irritated . Under these circum- stances I declined his acquaintance, and determined to appeal to the scientific public. I was then engaged in lecturing in Pittsburg, Penn.; and being informed by a correspondent that Mr. Combe was to lecture in Albany, I immediately proceeded to that city and gave a course of lectures, in which I stated to the highly respectable audience that attended, the grounds of the difference between the two systems. At the conclusion of my course I was gratified to find my system had made a favorable impression, the evidence of which may be found in the proceedings and resolutions recorded in the appendix to this work. I then proceeded to the city of New-York, where I delivered a very successful course of lectures. In the meantime Mr. Combe gave his lectures in Albany, and at their conclusion a Phrenological Society was formed, and Mr. Combe's collection of plaster casts of heads purchased for illustrations. The relative merits of the two systems became the subject of much discussion, and I was invited to return to Albany and repeat my lectures. I consented, and finding that the influence of Combe, Caldwell and Fowler was all united to create a state of public opinion unfavorable to what I deemed the cause of truth, I Was desirous to provoke a discussion which would give me an opportunity to vindicate myself. I therefore addressed a letter to the President of the Phrenological Society, requesting the appointment of a committee composed of their most competent members, to investigate and determine the relative merits of the two systems.

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