Class _d._Hi. c Book JL$.2l OopghtN COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. THE Theory and Practice of Human Magnetism. Translated from the French of H. DURVILLE (JOURNAL DU MAGNETISME) PUBLISHED BY THE PSYCHIC RESEARCH COMPANY, Time3-Herai,d Building, £mCAGO, 48815 [Library of Congress Copies Received SEP 18 1900 Copyright tntry SECOND COPY. Oatlver«d te 0*DL« DIVISION, SEP 24 1900 9^ 73 SOi' Copyright, September 1900 by the Psychic Research Company, Times-Herald Building, Chicago. PREFACE : BY THE Publishers of the American Edition. TN these days when Magnetic Healers of positive and negative ability are inflicting their courses of instruction upon the public at prices ranging from $5.00 to $100.00, courses of instruction which are neither more nor less than "rot" from cover to cover, there is a real need for a popu- lar work bearing upon the subject of Magnetic Healing in all its branches from the hand of one who is at least a scholar and a master of his pro- fession. Thank God, here's the book! Price $1.00. INTRODUCTION By the Author. A good practitioner ought to have not only a theory enabling him to explain as nearly as possible the effects which he observes, but he should also know the theories of the Masters who have gone before. In order that future prac- titioners may select a theory already laid down, or what is preferable, that they may, after re- search, experiments, and comparisons, form a personal one of their own, it is indispensable for me to develop my theory. That is what I will do in a very few words. PART I. The Theory of Magnetism. I. General Physics. Theory of emission, dynamic theory. Movement, ether and natural forces; transformation of forces. II. Magnet- ism. Magnetic force, its action, its transmission from one person to another, the action of move- ment. III. The art of magnetising. Divers considerations. How to become a magnetiser. IV. Physical laws of human magnetism. Popu- larity. Remarks. The Theory and Practice OF Human Magnetism CONTENTS. PART I. PAGE. Chapter I. — General Physics — Theory of Emission of Flnid — Dynamic Theory — Movement — Ether — Transformation of Forces 7 Chapter II. — Magnetic Force — Its Action— Trans- mission from One to Another — The Action of Movement 16 Chapter III. — The Art of Magnetism — Divers Con- ditions^ — How to Become a Magnetizer 29 Chapter IV. — Physical L,aws of Human Magnetism — Polarity of the Body — Rules of Magnetic Action — Applying Magnetism in Correct Positions 39 CHAPTER I. General Physics — Theory of Emission of FXuid — Dyn \mic Theory -Movement —Ether—- Trans- formation of Forces. My theory of magnetism reposes exclusively on the data of general physics. It is based on the effects produced by the magnetic force, a force, the existence of which, under divers names, was known in the remotest antiquity to a numerous category of learned observers; not- withstanding which fact, it has never been for- mally accepted by official science. All the writers on the natural sciences con- sidered magnetism as a special force of the hu- man body; and comparing this force with the forces or agents observable in nature, they ex- plained its action by the theories of physics which were in vogue in their day. During the last century and even up to the middle of the present, the action of the natural forces was explained by the emission of special fluids called imponderable fluids, which escaped from the body and radiated at a distance. That was the theory of emission. Then they had a caloric fluid to explain the action of heat, a lu- minous fluid to explain the action of light, two 7 8 The Theory and Practice fluids, a southern and a northern, were separated from each other in the magnet; and the same was the case with electricity, which had its posi- tive and negative fluid. Following this theory, the magnetisers all adopted the existence of a particular fluid special to the human body, namely, a magnetic fluid, which, radiating around us, passed from one in- dividual to another, as heat, light, electricity and magnetism (special to the loadstone) pass from one body to the other in certain of their mani- festations. This principle served as a basis for all the theories of magnetism set forth, from Paracelsus down to Du Potet and Lafontaine; and we readily conceived that it could not be otherwise. The science of the present day no longer ex- plains the action of natural forces by the emis- sion of fluids, however imponderable one might imagine them, because these fluids do not and cannot exist, since heat, light, electricity and magnetism (of the loadstone) are only special forms, transformations of movement, that is, manifestations of energy. The unity of nature's forces is demonstrated most indisputably, and the mechanism of their transformations is ex- plained by means of a new theory; the dynamic or wave theory. In determined conditions, the presence of one of Human Magnetism. 9 of the natural forces, heat, light, electricity, mag- netism (special to the loadstone) produces one or even several others ; in other words, they generate each other, and each one of them can change itself into all the others. A few examples will suffice to bring to the memory these transforma- tions, which we constantly observe, but to which we scarcely pay any attention. If a rod of iron be placed in an ardent furnace, it is soon seen that the heat is communicated from one to the other. The rod is heated more and more, and soon its heat from being dark becomes luminous; it first gets red, then white, and pro- duces light. In the locomotive and various ma- chines heat is transformed into mechanical move- ment. In a circuit suitably arranged heat pro- duces the electric current which, in its turn gives us magnetization, light, mechanical movement and chemical analysis. An analysis of light will produce colors, and in these we observe chemical action, and caloric ac- tion; moreover, heat is inseparable from light in conditions where, in nature, light impresses our retina. You can always have proof of this by using a differential thermometer, or, better still, with a Melloni pile, in the circuit of which electric currents are produced. y Electricity circulating in a conductor deter- mines heat. If the current is intense, or if any io The Theory and Practice resistance whatever should interpose in the con- ductor, that is, a body offering difficulty in being traversed by the current, the point of this resist- ance heated beyond measure, becomes luminous ; the heat which had been obscure, becomes vis- ible in the form of light. That is the principle of electric lighting. The electric current also pro- duces motive force, i. e., mechanical movement and likewise chemical analysis. If we place a bar of iron or steel across an electric current, this bar becomes magnetised and produces the phe- nomena of magnetism which are described in physics. This is the principle on which reposes the construction of the electro-magnets which are used, among other purposes, in our electric bells. Magnetism (proper to the loadstone) placed near a circuit under certain conditions of dis- placement, develops electric currents. It is upon this principle that the construction of the dyna- mos which give us light and motive power re- poses, that is, mechanical movement. On the other hand, mechanical movement and chemical analy- sis produce heat and electricity with which again, we obtain light y magnetism, etc., etc. At first sight it would seem as if these differ- ent agents transform themselves into each other, but more careful attention enables us to observe that there is only one transformation of move- V of Human Magnetism. n ment. Thus, the electric current, for example, is a movement caused and maintained by a force of some kind. If there is production of heat by the electric current, it is that, by the action of electricity, the atoms of the bodies in which this electricity circulates are put in motion, and this molecular motion constitutes heat. From this it will readily be understood that it is not elec- tricity itself, but only the movement of electricity which is transformed into heat. In the same way when an electric current is formed under the action of heat, it is not the formation of electric- ity which takes place, but only the starting in action of the electricity contained in the conduct- ors ; heat is changed into electrical motion. Now, what is movement? Everything which moves, oscillates, vibrates, balances, stirs, changes position, goes or trans- ports itself from one point to another is in move- ment. Movement is everywhere, it is one of the essential elements of the life of the universe. The stars which are eternally gravitating are in mo- tion. All the animals on the surface of the earth, from the microbe and the infusory, to the thinking being arrived at the highest degree of perfection which we can conceive, are in move- ment. The constituent elements of the atmos- phere in which hurricanes rage are always in motion and disturb everything that exists on 12 The Theory and Practice the face of the earth. Our imperfect senses can always directly perceive conspicuous, plain move- ment, the movement or motion of bodies them- selves. But bodies are composed of molecules, and molecules themselves are formed of agglom- erated atoms, separated from each other by rela- tively enormous spaces in which they move. This movement of the atoms of bodies changes con- tinually because it receives and transmits the impulsion which it receives from without by the intermediary of ether. What is ether? Ether is a hypothetical fluid and the only one which contemporary physics has retained. It is the "soul of the world" of the Peripatetics, the "universal fluid" of the magnetisers of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is the representation of matter in the most subtle state it is possible to imagine. Extremely elastic, and having no other property of its own than that of transmitting the changes of movement, it fills the entire universe, in placing the stars in communication with each other by the light which they send one another reciprocally, by attraction, gravitation and prob- ably by certain other forces of which we have no knowledge as yet. It fills the interatomic spaces of bodies, and enables atoms to impart their own special movement, or to transmit that which they receive from without, from one place to another within a certain radius. of Human Magnetism. 13 Returning after this digression to movement, we find that the movement of atoms is a vibra- tory one, and so extremely rapid that, in a given time, it is capable of attaining a number of vibra- tions which appalls the imagination. As an ex- ample, I extract from an address by William Crookes to the Society for Psychical Research of London, in 1897, the following data laid down by that illustrious physicist, who took for his starting point the pendulum beating seconds in air, and kept on doubling these oscillations. Vibrations par seconde 1" degru. r 2 2« - - *-« ■'■ • - ■ *• * ' - , ... . .^.?. 8 4e _ . ... ... 16 5« — f . . | . . < . . 32 1 (5« — ■". . W. . 64 V '-*' *. . . . . . * 128 X. - ' . .."*.*, • . . 256 «J« f — 512 10- -\ . . . . . . \ 1.024 fiOKi H' '-; - " ; 2.048 | 12* f — . . f § 4.096 l I3e — * ". * . . . . 8.192 I4e - .'.%,. . . . 16.384 i:> c - I ....... 32.768 1 20e — . '. . . . . 1.048.576 , 25* " — / ./. . . . 33554.432 | #>' - 1 35" - - -. .'. . .* 1.073.741.824 | fiLEGTBIClTfi^ . \ * . 34.359 738.368 . 40°. ' — ■ - . 1.099.511.627.776 t *. 35.184.372.088.S32 ( 45= >: -', . AGENT INCONKtt 50* , — _ . 55e * — ' m 1. 125.899.906.842.6 >4 J CHALEUR-LUMISRS 36.028.707 018.963.963 » AGLNT-lNCONNU ■58« — ' 288.220.37(5. 151.7 1 1 .744 i 305.763.009.213.693.952 I PROBABLEMENT 61* — 2 LES RAYONS X At the fifth step from unity, continues Crookes, at 32 vibrations per second, we reach the region 14 The Theory and Practice where the atmospheric vibration reveals itself to us in the form of sound. Here we have the lowest musical note. In the next ten steps the vibra- tions per second rise from 32 to 32,768, and here, to the average human ear, the region of sound ends. But certain more highly endowed ani- mals probably hear sounds too acute for our or- gans, that is, sounds which vibrate at a higher rate. We next enter a region in which the vibrations rise rapidly, and the vibrating medium is no longer the gross atmosphere, but a highly atten- uated medium, "a diviner air" called the ether. From the 16th to the 36th step, the vibrations rise from 32,768 to 34,359,738,368 per second, such vibrations appearing to our means of ob- servation as electrical rays. We next reach a region extending from the 35th to the 45th step, including from 34.359738,368 to 35,184,372,- 088,832 vibrations per second. This region may be considered as unknown, because we are as yet ignorant what are the functions of vibrations of the rates just mentioned. But that they have some function it is fair to suppose. Now we ap- proach the region of light, the steps extending from the 45th to between the 50th and 51st and the vibrations extending from 35,184,372,088,832 per second (heat rays) to 1,875,000,000,000,000 per second, the highest recorded rays of the of Human Magnetism. 15 spectrum. The actual sensation of light, and therefore, the vibrations which transmit visible signs, being comprised between the narrow lim- its of about 450,000,000,000,000 (red light) and 750,000,000,000,000 (violet light) less than one step. Leaving the region of visible light, we arrive at what is, for our existing senses and our means of research, another unknown region, the func- tions of which we are beginning to suspect. It is not unlikely that the X rays of Professor Roentgen will be found to lie between the 58th and 6 1st steps having vibrations extending from 288,220,376,151,711,744 to 2,305,763,009,213,- 693,952 per second or even higher. In this series it will be seen there are two great gaps, or unknown regions concerning which we must own our entire ignorance as to the part they play in the economy of creation. Further, whether any vibrations exist having a greater number per second than those classes mentioned, we do not presume to decide." These vibrations are transmitted to the ether by waves in a manner not unlike the motion we see on the surface of calm water into which a stone is thrown. But the motions are not iden- tical, because not only do they vary in speed, but also in form and amplitude, and their waves are longer. As we have just seen in the table estab- 16 The Theory and Practice lished by the learned Englishman, it is these vibrations which produce the natural forces. Thus, certain vibrations of a specific nature pro- duce heat, others more rapid produce light, others varying in speed form and amplitude pro- duce electricity, magnetism (proper to the load- stone) and the magnetism which is the subject of this work. CHAPTER II. Magnetic Force:— Its Action: — Transmission of From One to Another — The Action of Move- ment. Notwithstanding the aridity of the subject, which belongs to the highest problems of general physics, I think I have set before the reader enough fundamental ideas to enable him to un- derstand the mechanism of the wave theory which serves at the present time to explain the action of nature's forces, and more particularly those of heat, light, electricity and magnetism (of the loadstone). Now let us see how this theory is going to help us to explain the effects of the force which I have called physiological mag- netism, for the reason that it acts on the organism without influencing the magnetic ne^cjl?? of Human Magnetism. 17 To begin with, physiological magnetism, like all the forces which are usually called nature's agents, is a form of movement, a manifestation of energy : and this special force observed in the human body and whose action ancient magne- tisers explained by the communication of an im- ponderable fluid, which they called magnetic fluid, is (as already claimed by Puysegur and Deleuze) only the action, or virtue, or elasticity of the movement proper to all the functions of our organism. This action, virtue or elasticity of movement without doubt consists of certain vibrations of the atoms forming the human body, vibrations, the nature, form, speed and mode of communication of which are entirely unknown to us. It is this movement, transmitted in waves through the ether, from one individual to an- other, which constitutes what I call the magnetic agent. It is therefore a purely physical agent, a legitimate brother of heat, light, electricity and all of nature's forces. That which gives me the most absolute cer- tainty that this agent is really a physical agent is that we everywhere observe, not only in the human body, but also in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, in inanimate bodies, in heat, in light, in static and dynamic forms of electricity, in the magnet, in terrestrial magnetism, in magnetism proper to the loadstone, in mechanical movement, is The Theory and Practice in sound, in chemical analysis, even in odors, that it is everywhere subject to the same laws. The form of the movement which produces physiological magnetism is therefore in every- thing and everywhere. It is undoubtedly the most universal force of nature that we can con- ceive and direct, as well at the bottom of the sea, the center of the earth or the highest strata of the atmosphere. Although official science has never acknowledged this scientific truth, it is notwith- standing the most apparent manifestation of atomic life, and although we possess no sense to perceive it directly, nothing is easier for whoever would, to account for its presence by the effects it determines on the organism. What is the quickness of the vibrations which produce physiological magnetism? What is the length of the waves? Nobody knows, because the attention of the learned has not yet been di- rected to the subject. The task, although diffi- cult, is not impossible of accomplishment, and cer- tainly physicists of the future will be enabled to add to classical physics a complete chapter in which physiological magnetism will be demon- strated in the most rigorously scientific manner. Meanwhile everything tends to make me accept the theory that the movement which produces this force is found in Crookes table, in one of the two gaps, the functions of whose vibrations are of Human Magnetism. 19 not yet known, and more especially in the last, that is, in the region extending from the 50th to 55th steps, there where the frequency of the vi- brations attains 36,028,707,018,963,968 per sec- ond. I will not pursue further the comparisons to be established between physiological magnetism and the other natural forces, thinking it sufficient to have demonstrated the analogy which exists between them, showing their relationship and connection; and of my readers for whom these considerations may be too advanced, I subjoin the following account of human magnetism which Mesmer and his followers called Animal Magnetism. The atoms constituting the various parts of the human body are continually exe- cuting vibratory movements, the nature of which is not known to us, in other words and to use an expression easy of comprehension, the human body vibrates in a certain manner, and this vi- bratory motion constitutes human magnetism. This essentially physical movement is con- veyed from one person to another, the same as the movement of terrestrial magnetism is con- veyed to the magnetic needle, or from one mag- net to another magnet, or better still, like the movement of a warm body to a body or to a medium less warm. An example will make this so The Theory and Practice clear. A warm body, let us say a lighted stove, is placed in a cold room. The atoms from the stove vibrate in a certain manner, and this vi- bratory movement produces heat. This heat, which is one of the forms of movement, is then conveyed by waves from point to point in the aerial medium, in a space of time as short as the energy constituting the source of heat is propor- tionately great. Then the room gets warm, and all bodies or persons in it participate in this warmth, which becomes general, all the sooner because they are good conductors of heat. An equilibrium of temperature sets in, and exists to a considerable extent between the warm body, that is, the lighted stove which produces this heat, and the ethereal medium, that is, the room and the bodies or individuals in it, and the movement constituting the heat becomes general by spread- ing everywhere. Human magnetism is conveyed in a similar manner, with this difference only, that, in a great many cases, as in the effects of transmission of thought, sympathy or antipathy which we feel toward a person whom we approach for the first time, the transmission is much more rapid. In any case, whatever the rapidity with which this transmission is produced we may frequently notice it in the ordinary conditions of everyday life. Here are a few examples : of Human Magnetism. 21 Certain needs which we satisfy excite among those around us similar needs. You no sooner laugh or yawn than several others feel the need of laughing or yawning. If you are gloomy and' depressed, and you go among people who all are happy and contented, you soon become cheerful. And likewise, the reverse takes place under oppo- site conditions. A man having a profound con- viction (whether justified by reason, or based on an illusion of his mind, makes no difference pro- vided it be genuine) acts upon those around him, and makes fanatics of them like himself. Almost all zealous adherents of political and religious sects have no other means of subjecting men, per- verting their intelligence and submitting them to their despotism. In the theater, an actor thor- oughly imbued with his part, imagining himself to be the real hero he is representing, wakes fear, terror or admiration in the spectators, who be- come impressed, laugh or cry as the case may be, although they are well aware the scene before them is only a creation of the intelligence. We all know that example is contagious ; joy and sor- row, virtue and vice, health and sickness are all transmitted. Popular belief justifies this truth in the proverb, "Tell me the company you keep, and I will tell you who you are." This communica- tion of movement, this transmission which oper- ates like the heat of the lighted stove does in the 22 The Theory and Practice aerial medium, is certainly the cause of disturb- ances by mobs, uprisings of the populace, and many other acts which we may notice in a con- course or assembly of people. Proof of this com- munication may be seen in the propagation of certain contagious diseases and affections, and in those where the nervous system, as in hysteria for example, is more particularly affected. The physiologist, not usually understanding the mechanism of this communication, attributes it to imitation, not realizing that here imitation is but the effect of a cause which he overlooks. Here are a few more examples not less con- clusive. Thought, which is elaborated in the depths of the cerebral mass, can be transmitted from one person to another, and is a form of mental suggestion. I have more than once sat opposite a person I know, and an idea occurring to me has been reflected in that person, and if I have told him the subject of my thought I have often obtained an answer like this : "I was think- ing of what you tell me, and was just going to speak to you about it." The explanation of this phenomenon is very simple : When the soul thinks, is pleased or suffers, a vibratory movement of the brain is produced, which is identical in all brains for the same thought, the same desire, the same requirement; in fine, for the same manner of being of the indi- of Human Magnetism. 23 viduals. This movement, which is conveyed to the nervous system, is not extinguished at the ends of the nerves, but is transmitted by waves to the aerial medium. These waves strike the nervous system of persons placed in the sphere of their action, and traveling along the length of the nerves without change, the vibratory movement reaches the brain, where the same thought, the same desire, the same want, or the same manner of being, is reproduced automatically. This transmission is all the easier and more complete when the receiving subject is more impression- able, more sensitive. A feeble, sickly person bor- rows energy from the strong and robust persons around him. It is for this reason that the child is so happy in its mother's arms, and that the sick and convalescent, exhausted by long spells of suffering, experience feelings of alleviation, re- lief and comfort when in the presence of a sym- pathetic friend. The results caused by transmis- sion of this nature are innumerable. It is suffi- cient to watch ourselves and others, to study the nature of the sensations which we feel in the various circumstances of everyday life to be soon convinced that the greatest number of phenom- ena which we improperly attribute to hazard are due to one cause, namely, the converse in- fluence which individuals involuntarily exercise upon each other. This influence is felt in pur- 24 The Theory and Practice suance of the communication of the action of the movement of the different persons, which action of movement, variable at first, tends to become unified and similar in all the persons of a group or assembly. This is a form of human magnetism which may be termed involuntary magnetism. If we observe what takes place among animals we see results similar to those produced among human beings. Naturalists tell us that certain animals feel the approach of their enemies from considerable dis- tances ; that the wolf exerts a certain power upon the dog at a distance of many miles and causes him to howl, and we all know that the serpent from the foot of a tree fascinates the bird re- posing on its top and attracts it to him and de- vours it, and that the hawk from a great height often deprives the timid lark of all power of mo- tion. And all these actions have no other cause than that which permits men, consciously or un- consciously, to act upon each other. It is a com- munication of movement imposed by the strong upon the weak ; and the weaker intimidated, fas- cinated and mastered by the successive waves of the force which takes hold of him, engrosses, clasps him and places his life in danger, finally feels all the horror of his situation. This is a form of magnetism of animals. If we direct our attention to the vegetable of Human Magnetism. & j kingdom we notice the same resemblance. The attraction which members of the male sex exer- cise upon those of the female sex is very great both in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and this attraction is particularly noticeable in plants at the time they are adorned with all the at- tributes of beauty, youth and strength, when they array themselves to accomplish the act of genera- tion indispensable to the perpetuation of the spe- cies. In unisexual flowers, that is, in those where the pistil and the stamens are on different flowers, such as the willow, corn, melon, and all the cucurbitaceae, you can almost always see the stamen flowers incline toward the pistils in order to deposit there the fecundating pollen, and the pistils, not less amiable and complaisant, likewise bend down to the former so as to receive the vital principle offered them. This attraction is still more remarkable in certain species where the stamen flowers (males) and the pistil flowers (females) are on different stalks, such as hemp, etc. This reciprocity of action is constituted by a communication of movement established from a flower or stalk of one sex to a flow T er or stalk of another sex ; and this communication is a form of vegetable magnetism. Striking analogous cases are also observed in the mineral kingdom. All metals are susceptible of acting upon us, and, in some manner, of 26 The Theory and Practice modifying our conduct and mode of exist- ence, that is, by increasing or diminishing our organic activity. This action is determined by a particular vibratory movement of the atoms of each metal, a motion which by means of succes- sive waves is communicated to our movement and eventually modifies it. This action of metals which has been successfully employed under the name of metallotherapy by Drs. Burg and Moni- court, in the treatment of certain nervous affec- tions, constitutes in the plainest and most indis- putable manner, mineral magnetism. On the other hand, chemists are aware that atoms of metals are attracted, united and ag- glomerated in the middle of the earth in order to form molecules, which in their turn form ores, nuggets, gold dust, etc. Two musical strings placed near each other in tension, will vibrate in unison when only one is put in movement. Two pendulums of equal length suspended near each other on the same plane of oscillation and started in motion to- gether, continue to oscillate, when the oscillating movement is only kept up in one of them. This phenomenon occurs even where the two pendu- lums are separated by a wall. In the most com- prehensive, apparent, visible fashion, this phe- nomenon is nothing but a communication, a trans- mission of the movement of one pendulum to of Human Magnetism. 27 the other. This is the magnetism of mechanical movement, which can even be transmitted through a medium which is solid, but which is impenetrable by light and electricity and only slightly penetrable by heat. Like electric currents, electrified bodies are attracted or repulsed at a distance, and the action of electricity employed in therapeutics in a cer- tain way constitutes the magnetism of electricity. At first it would appear as if the magnet of- fered phenomena analogous to those of electric- ity. At a distance, two magnets oppose each other when they are brought together by their same poles, they are attracted to each other when they are brought together by their opposite poles. At a distance the properties of the magnet are communicated to certain metals, such as iron and steel, nickel, cobalt, chrome, and these are trans- formed into veritable magnets. A magnet hav- ing an elongated form like the needle of a com- pass, and suspended or poised on a pivot, points in the direction of the meridian, obeying that form of movement which I have designated by the name of terrestrial magnetism. These com- bined properties of magnets, the philosophers designated by the general name of magnetism, but I am obliged to call it magnetism peculiar to the magnet in order to distinguish it from the magnetism which we see everywhere in nature 28 The Theory and Practice and which is the subject of these comparisons. Permit me to say, that in the magnet we observe two forces, two different agents which we can dissociate from each other and study separately, namely, physical force, known to the philoso- phers, and physiological force, which was en- tirely unknown to them. The latter is similar and almost identical with the magnetic force we observe in the human body, in animals, in plants, and in all bodies or natural forces; it is subject to the same physical laws. It is this force, this agent, and the various forms of its movement, which constitute what we call today the magnetic force. Briefly, we see that everything obeys a myste- rious force the nature of w r hich is unknown to us, and to which we might give the name of uni- versal movement. The heavenly bodies which gravitate in space are attracted tow r ard each other in direct ratio of their magnitude, and in inverse ratio of the square of their distance. The influence of the sun and the moon is felt in the movement of the sea, and produces the flux and reflux of the tide. This influence is equally felt on the health of mankind, on the growth of plants and on everything that lives on the sur- face of the earth. The odors of plants may cause us joy, sorrow, sickness or even death. Finally, we see that everything in nature is linked of Human Magnetism. 29 together by laws which subordinate causes to effects, and that everything proves that there exists between the various bodies or agents of nature, a continuous exchange of movement, or, if you prefer it, I will say of atoms, effluvia or "fluids" which renders the one tributary to the other. General movement, which we may here style universal magnetism, modified by the move- ment special to each body or natural force con- stitutes a particular magnetism, just as the move- ment of the human body which is the subject of our present inquiry constitutes, human or physio- logical magnetism, in abbreviation — Magnetism. CHAPTER III. The Art of Magnetizing — Divers Conditions — How to Become a Magnetizer. The principal basis of the physical theory of human magnetism being established, we will now say a few words concerning a higher and more transcendental magnetism, viz., psychic mag- netism, which certainly holds, as well as the first, a place of considerable importance. Admitting within us the presence of a psychic element, let us say, the soul, we are bound to admit that this element exercises an external action from soul to soul, and probably from a soul to a strange 30 The Theory and Practice body. The soul must vibrate, and its movement of vibration which is very rapid must (like the vibrations of bodies composed of matter which is apparent to our senses) be communicated by waves in the ethereal medium, in the ether, or in a still more subtle fluid. Notwithstanding the analogies which we seem to foresee, we can only hazard hypotheses, because absolutely noth- ing is known about the laws which regulate the action of psychical magnetism. But it is clear that certain individuals do exercise a power at a distance, and that thought, desire and will power appear to be the principal motors of this action. Possibly waves of a particular nature originat- ing in the ps^aJajcbody are impelled with velocity in a given directioiTTarbeyond the limits which the waves proceeding from the action of our physical movement could attain. Some practitioners, in the front ranks of whom I place the healing mediums, often obtain excel- lent results without observing any of the rules of physiological magnetism. They limit them- selves to meditation, to proceeding along the lines of thought, prayer, calling to their assistance strange beings — spirits — who, they say, furnish them with the "fluids'' which they need. I am perfectly convinced that healers of this kind are highly gifted magnetizers "having a good deal of fluid" as they used to say 50 years ago, and while of Human Magnetism. 31 retaining their belief which is perhaps of use to them, in putting themselves into a state of ex- citation, that is, to determine in them the move- ment special to their action, they would obtain far more considerable results if, in applying their principles they were to observe the physical law r s which I have set forth. But I will not stop at these considerations which cannot convince the healers, because they remain and will doubt- less remain a long time yet in their blind faith and unlimited confidence in the complaisance of the "good spirits" which often haunt their imagi- nation. While recognizing a psychic mesmerism which no one can deny, there yet remains the purely physical theory of physiological magnetism which explains to us in a clear manner the action of matter upon matter, and that of the human body upon another individual. A few physical and physiological considerations are still neces- sary. Atoms, or to speak in terms clear to every- body, the various parts of the human organism vibrating continually — "the form of this move- ment which constitutes the magnetic force, is continually escaping from us, and in successive waves, is communicated to the ethereal medium, to ether, and from there to the individuals placed in its sphere of action. But it is good to bear in mind that the action most individuals exercise 32 The Theory and Practice upon each other is not very intense. We do meet occasionally individuals of powerful ath- letic build whose waves are so strong that, in spite of themselves, they impress all those around them, but cases of this kind are exceptional. Properly speaking, magnetic force exists in all persons without exception, but beside the ath- letes of magnetism, there are the feeble, lan- guishing or sickly, whose waves can scarcely be transmitted, and they need a tone of movement from external sources ; they are, on account of their nature, almost incapable of communicating their own movement. Strong persons are rich in movement and they can give, whereas feeble in- dividuals being poor in movement, in their own interest ought only to receive it. In addition to those who are strong and exercise a beneficial effect around them, there exist some strong per- sons who exert an injurious influence. I will only cite one example. An individual having the appearance of excellent physical and moral health marries. At the end of about 18 months or 2 years his partner falls sick, weakens and dies of an affection insufficiently characterized. The widower, not liking solitude, remarries, and at the end of a similar period of time he is again a widower, and will continue to be as often as he remarries. The individual unconsciously author of these cases of homicide is gifted with a per- of Human Magnetism. 33 nicious action of movement which doubtless would exert upon himself a fatal effect if he did not exert it outside himself on innocent victims. Such cases are unusual, but a sufficient number are met with, as everybody is aware of their exist- ence. This transmission from the strong to the weak, from the man endowed with an energetic action of movement to the man deficient in it, is pro- duced so simply and naturally that in most in- stances we hardly perceive its accomplishment but by the effects it determines in us, and for that it is necessary for us to think of the suc- cessive changes which our manner of living is subject to. Unknown to us, the movement which constitutes our magnetic personality is trans- mitted from one to another and tends to become equalized in the ethereal medium, like the level of a liquid in communicating vases. This man- ner of being, this movement which is communi- cated from one to another, is certainly magnet- ism, but an unconscious, involuntary magnetism which is considerably less powerful than artificial magnetism. There exists, therefore, a magnetic art which, with Lafontaine, we may call the art of magnetizing. In the exercise of this art, the adroitness of the operator is acquired after long practice and the study of scientific knowledge, but I will not speak of that here, remaining con- 34 The Theory and Practice tent with presenting a few observations not suffi- ciently emphasized already. I think we understand that the intensity of the magnetic force must depend upon the number of vibrations that the atoms (constituent parts of the organism) execute in a second, that is, upon their precipitate or regular movement. And as a matter of fact there are times when we feel faint-hearted, dejected, without energy; then we do not vibrate enough to magnetize beneficially. On the other hand when we are renovated and overexcited, we vibrate energetically and we are conscious of this increase of activity by a well- defined internal agitation ; then we can obtain in certain cases, much more important results than we can in a relatively calm state. Therefore, in order to increase his usual strength and to be in a condition to act perceptibly better than in the ordinary circumstances of life, the magnetiser ought to place himself in a special moral and physical disposition^ a disposition similar to that he desires to obtain in his patient. He must espe- cially place himself in a state of activity, to give, while his patient remains in a state of passivity, to receive. How can he throw himself into that state? It is very simple to do, but somewhat difficult to explain. First of all, place yourself en rap- port morally with your patient. This rapport is of Human Magnetism* 35 obtained by a fairly complex inward power by a sort of sympathy and compassion you have for your patient, by the intention and desire you have to heal, or at least relieve him. Then you concentrate his attention in a sort of isolation or meditation, as if to gather all his strength and power of action. If the patient needs excitation, as in the case of paralysis, or where there is only general debility, loss or diminution of muscular or vital energy, you throw yourself into a state of excitation or exaggeration of movement. You then feel yourself strong in order to increase in your patient the energy of his movement, and to raise it to the degree of elasticity it should have normally. If, on the other hand, the patient is laboring under great excitement, if he suffers violent pains, or from fever, the usual symptom of acute affections, his vibratory movement is too great, and you must reduce it, that is, calm it so as to get it back to its normal action; for this, you work yourself into a condition of repose, so as to transmit it to your patient. Magnetic force of itself does not possess any therapeutic principle; its action on the human body is only that of an equilibriant. The healer must never try to do anything else than to equili- brate the patient's movement to his own. For this purpose, he must be able, at will, to increase or diminish the activity of his own movement, 36 The Theory and Practice and give it the proper tone. The highly gifted operator easily gets accustomed, even at the start of his practice, to promptly bring himself of his own volition, into those special vibratory condi- tions which he wants to communicate. It will readily be seen that if will p ower serves any use in magnetizing, it does not, as was generally be- lieved in former times, act upon the patient, but upon the magnetizer in enabling him to place himself in a special physical and moral state which induces him to act. This is, moreover, the opinion of Lafontaine, whose authority in prac- tice cannot be contested. I will cite a personal example demonstrating beyond question that magnetization does really consist in a communication of the mag- netizer's own movement to the magnetized sub- ject, and that will power is not present in this communication. It^-hftsr" happened to me that while I was in an excited state brought on by anger, a patient in an enfeebled condition has come to me for treatment. I felt strong, vibrat- ing, capable of acting with great energy, and consequently of augmenting the organic func- tions of my patient. And during the seance, the patient, as a matter of fact, experienced much stronger effects than usual, but the next day he told me he would have been benefited by the treatment had he not felt all day angry and irri- of Human Magnetism 37 table, conditions unusual with him. My state of mind, which could not have been detected by any outward sign, had therefore been com- municated against my own will, for it is clear I tried to hide it as much as possible. A magnetizer, whether amateur or profes- sional, must be strong, robust, complete master of himself, and as well balanced as possible from a physical and moral point of view ; because an operator who is weak would not only weaken himself more by magnetizing but, as we can read- ily understand, he would have a tendency to com- municate to the subject the disease which is the cause of his weakness or ill-health, for he could not transmit anything else than the action of his own sickly movement. But it should be well understood, especially in home circles, that in all instances where health is normal (which is the case with three-fourths of the human race) acute diseases can be avoided by taking measures in time. And even when a malady does break out, it can almost always be rendered mild where it might have been mortal. This is equivalent to saying that, with sufficient vigilance, w T e can cure all sicknesses. But as this vigilance is often lack- ing, an acute malady may end fatally, or pass on to a chronic state to become incurable. In this latter case it is again necessary to know that, to a very great extent, we may always, no matter how 38 The Theory and Practice grave the case may be, relieve the patient and pro- long his days, in making his existence bearable. Magnetism can thus cure or relieve all sickness. When this truth is known and understood, we shall no longer see one-half of humanity drag out a languishing life without the possibility of its burden being lightened. In the bosom of the family the father will be doctor to his wife, and she will be doctor to her husband and chil- dren. In obstinate or complicated cases recourse will be had to the physician or professional mag- netizer, who will know how to bring about a cure, or at least, the wished-for betterment. I wish to say a few words more about the mag- netizer. According to what has already been stated, we conceive that there exist individuals, highly gifted by nature, who soon become oper- ators of exceptional ability, tact and dexterity, able to heal rapidly almost all cases; whereas many others less highly gifted, possessed of a more scientific, theoretical and practical training than the first category of persons just referred to, will not be able to obtain the same number of cures with the same ease. Therefore, among pro- fessionals there will always be strong and weak, good operators and mediocre operators. It will be the duty of such patients as are not magnetized at home in their family to be able to distinguish the one from the other. of Human Magnetism. 39 CHAPTER IV. Physical Laws of Human Magnetism— Polarity of the body—rules of magnetic action — ap- PLYING Magnetism in Correct Positions. I have said that the magnetic agent is subject to laws which can be reduced to exact formula. I will not give here the scientific demonstration of this assertion. It will suffice if I present a few indications indispensable to those who will only read this work, and if I set forth the general laws of human magnetism. The magnetic agent offers many points of analogy with the other natural forces, heat, light, electricity and more particularly with the mag- netism proper to the lodestone. And the laws which regulate the action of the magnetism of the lodestone are those which regulate the force of physiological magnetism, whatever may be its origin. Moreover, in the time of Paracelsus, when the hermetic philosophers established the theory of the universal fluid, they recognized (and so have all those who have succeeded them) that the human body possesses properties similar to those of the magnet, and that is the reason they gave the name of magnetism to the force of this property. Mesmer, who, almost at the end of the 18th century, claims to be the inventor of magnetism, tells us, "there are mani- / "t 40 The Theory and Practice fested, particularly in the human body, properties analogous to those of the magnet. We can there equally distinguish poles divers and opposite which can be communicated, charged, destroyed or re-enforced; even the phenomenon of devia- tion is observed there. The property of the animal body manifested by its analogy with the magnet has led me to call it animal magnetism." FaNTQME MAGj»|T l(BV8»j As has been recognized by Paracelsus, and after him Van Helmont, Robert Fludd, de Reichenbach, de Rochas and many others, the human body is polarized like a magnet, or rather, like an assemblage of magnets. It therefore has its neutral lines and its opposite poles. The poles are the axes around which circulate cur- rents similar to those of the pile. They consti- tute likewise the principal starting points of the of Human Magnetism. 41 waves which transmit to the ether the vibratory movement of the various parts constituting the organism, which we may call, as I have said, the action of our movement. With this difference, that the human body does not attract fire in the ether, these waves, leaving each pole considered ^ as principal center of expansion, behave in a man- ner which bears some resemblance to that shown by the magnetic phantom for the action of the magnet. The accompanying figure makes us understand very clearly how human magnetism is transmitted through space. I will only say here, without further explanation, that the prin- cipal axe divides the human body laterally from right to left ; that the right side is positive, and the left negative. The poles are at the hands and feet, while the neutral line is at the top of the head. This is the lateral axe. \ Another axe of less importance separates the front from the back of the body, the front is positive, like the right side, the back (spine, nape of the neck) is nega- tive like the left side. The poles are at the fore- head and at the top of the neck, the neutral point is at the perineum. These two axes, which con- stitute the entire polarity, are represented by the cut, in which we see two interlocked horseshoe magnets. A secondary polarity exists, but as a knowledge of it is not essential for magnetizing, therefore to avoid lengthening out this descrip- 42 The Theory and Practice tion, I will not speak of it here. By using the arithmetical signs X and — , employed in elec- trical science to designate the poles of the pile, the entire polarity of the human body is thus shown. To this distribution of the polarity of the human body there are some exceptions: for instance, in left-handed persons it is reversed. In these persons the right side is always negative, and the left side positive. In ambidextrous per- POLtUTftD'tNSBMSLS LO COEPS BUMAIIf. of Human Magnetism. 43 sons, i. e., those who use both hands equally well for the same object, polarity is inconstant. We know that in two bodies charged w-ith the same electricity there is repulsion, whereas they attract each other when charged with opposite electricity. Two magnets repulse each other by their same poles, and are attracted to each other by their opposite poles. It is the same with the human body. Not only two individuals placed near each other, act one upon the other as I have stated before, but we see that standing, they are attracted toward each other or repulsed, accord- ing as they present their same or opposite poles to each other. An example will make this clear. The right hand (positive) presented to the fore- head (positive) of subject repulses him, whereas the same hand (positive) attracts him at the nape of the neck (negative). Inversely, the left hand attracts at the forehead, and repulses at the nape of the neck. This phenomenon, which is quite perceptible in most individuals, is manifested with great intensity in sensitive persons, and soon causes an increase or decrease of organic activ- ity which nearly always leads to contracture or paralysis. Bearing in mind the phenomenon of increase or decrease of organic activity under the action of the same or opposite poles or sides, we can readily understand that according to the manner of applying magnetism, we can calm or excite. Y 44 The Theory and Practice to Taking this principle as a basis, I have re- duced to three the number of general rules which regulate the action of human magnetism, and which I formulate as follows : First law. — The human body is polarized; the right side is positive, the left, negative. Second law. — Polarity is reversed in left- handed persons. Third law. — The same poles excite, the oppo- site poles calm. In the organism, the magnetic force may be considered as anjequilibrating principle; but the equilibrium of the whole series of the organic functions, the reducing or restoring of this en- semble of functions to the normal pitch of the motion it ought to attain and not sensibly exceed if a good state of health is to be maintained, is all the more readily established in that we act more in conformity with the laws regulating its action. If the magnetizers of old ( who only knew of Human Magnetism. 45 of one thing, viz., the fluid, transmitted haphaz- ard, without method) were able to relieve the patients they magnetized, it is clear they would have been able to relieve them better and more rapidly if they had transmitted this so-called fluid, i. e., that form of our movement, in con- forming to the laws governing its transmission. Referring the reader to the next chapter for the description of the practice of magnetism, I will only add here that the chief instrument of the magnetizer being his hands, in using them con- formably to the laws of polarity, he can, at will, in a certain measure, calm or excite the ensem- ble of the organic functions ; that is, he can bring them back to the normal action of their move- ment. In the first case, standing in front of the patient, it suffices to act with both hands in such a way that his right hand is directed toward the left side, and his left hand toward the right side, as shown by Figure I in the group herewith. 46 The Theory and Practice This is called the heteronomic action, from the Greek prefix hetero, meaning different. In the second case, standing in front of the patient, as before, you cross your hands, or better still, us- ing one at a time, you apply your right hand to the right side, and your left hand to the left side, as indicated by figure II. This is the isonomic action, from the Greek prefix iso, sig- nifying equal, same. Let me add a few more re- marks for those who know the former theories or intend to study them. Since the revival of magnetism, which took place at the beginning of the 16th century, al- most all practitioners have attached very great importance to the part that will-power pla ys in the production of magnetic effects. Raving shown that the action of the will is almost noth- ing (except for aiding the magnetizer to put him- self into a special vibratory condition, an active state as distinguished from the passive state which the patient is in) I will not return to the subject again. Under the action of magnetism practiced by an experienced operator, an immediate lowering of the patient's temperature and fever is visible, and the delirium of acute affections ceases as if - by magic. The anaemic rapidly regains his strength, he who is wasted by a long series of suffering experiences, in a single seance, consid- of Human Magnetism. & erable comfort, enabling him to recover his sleep, appetite and lost strength. Th&-4ying are resur-. rected in a few hours, and, snatched from the brink of the grave, are spared, to give their full measure of the work to be accomplished here below. In a word, it appears that we transmit strength, health and life, or at least a part of the strength, health and life which we possess. And it is precisely the observation of these vital phe- nomena under magnetic action which, from Max- well to Lafontaine, has compelled most mag- netizers to suppose the magnetic fluid to be noth- ing else than our vital principle which is com- municated to the patient. Notwithstanding ap- pearances, such is not the case. To begin with, we cannot retain the vital principle any longer because the wave theory suppresses all the fluids except the ether, in order to allow only trans- formation of movement to subsist. Further- more, if there existed within us a vital principle which we could consider as a natural force, the simplest reasoning would suffice to show that it would be entirely different from the magnetic force. For, if we find the magnetic force in the human body and in living organisms, we also find it present in these same bodies after life has j abandoned them. Experiments I have made ' with the human skeleton and with organs and members of dead animals, at varying periods 48 The Theory and Practice after death, clearly prove that the magnetic force is still there where the vital principle has disappeared. Magnetic force must not be con- sidered otherwise than as a special property of matter which is manifested by a particular move- ment of the atoms of which it is composed. If any doubt of this should still remain, it will disappear when you consider that, as I have pointed out, magnetic force is present not only in organic bodies living and dead, but is also seen in inorganic bodies, as likewise in all the forces or agents of nature. Here is another observation which also has an important theoretical bearing. Some operators, and particularly certain medical magnetizers, supposed the magnetic fluid to be identical with what the physiologists of the period called the nervous fluid, and as far as their knowledge went, the two words were synonymous. This identity is comprehensible because they thought that magnetism acted specially on the nerves, that it was more efficacious in nervous than in organic affections, and that, while curing nervous dis- orders, such as hysteria and epilepsy, it could, in some cases, determine mesmeric sleep similar to symptomatic crises. Acting on the nerves, it was supposed to follow their length throughout the different parts of the body. Now, in order to rectify this erroneous idea, I will only submit one argument. That there of Human Magnetism. 49 does exist in us a nervous force transmitting sensitive impressions from without to the brain, and motor impressions from the brain without, there is not any doubt, but this force, which is no longer a fluid but a special form of movement, is by no means the same as the magnetic force. I will prove it in a few words. The nerves cross each other in the depths of the cerebral mass in the corpus callosum in such a manner that those originating in the left hemisphere are distributed over the right side of the body; and inversely, those which originate in the right hemisphere go over to animate the left side. Now, it is evi- dent that the road followed by the motor and sensory impressions, is that of the nerves them- selves, just as telegraphic or telephonic trans- mission follows the length of the wires which connect one station with another. If the mag- netic force were the nervous force it would fol- low, as does the nervous force, the length of the nerves, and the hemispheres of the brain would be of opposite polarity to their corresponding sides. But we know that such is not the case, and that all the right side from the sole of the foot to near the top of the head is positive, while the same parts on the opposite side are negative. After this outline of theory, which states and explains the purposes of human mag- netism, I will proceed to describe the methods to be employed in magnetizing. PART II. The Practice of Magnetism. I. Passes. II. Imposition. III. Application. IV. Stroking. V. Rubbing. VI. Breathing. VII. Concentration of Gaze. VIII. Interme- diate Magnetism. IX. Calm and Excitation. 51 CONTENTS. PART II. PAGE. Chapter I. — The Magnetic Pass — longitudinal Pass — First, Second and Third Positions — Trans- versal Pass — Correct Position 60 Chapter II. — Imposition — Laying on of Hands- Historical Facts — Palmar Imposition — Rotary Im- position — Digital Imposition — Perforating Impo- sition — How to Practice the Movements 68 Chapter III.— Application of Magnetism in Heal- ing — Examples — Curing Congested Head 77 Chapter IV. — Stroking — Points of Difference from Massage — How to Perform Stroking 82 Chapter V. — Rubbing — Dry and Moist — How to Practice Rubbing — Slow Rubbing — Rotary Rub- bing 85 Chapter VI.— Breathing— Breath of Life — Hot In- sufflation — How to Practice It — Restoring the Dead to Life — Cold Insufflation — How Performed — Its Value 93 Chapter VII. — Fixity of Gaze— Fascination— The Evil Eye — Harsh Measures of Influencing Others, 97 Chapter VIII. — Intermediate Magnetism — Magne- tizing Objects — Secret of Magnetism is Vibration — Magnetizing Water — Its Extraordinary Effect — How to Magnetize Fluids 99 Chapter IX.— The Purpose of Magnetism — To Calm and to Stimulate — Importance of Knowing the How and the Why — Directions for Use 108 INTRODUCTION TO PART II. As already pointed out in the preceding chap- ter, the action of our movement is communicated around us by successive waves, and the extent of these waves constitutes the field of our physical action. This field of action may be compared to the magnetic field of a magnet and to the hertian waves which serve as a basis for the demonstra- tion of wireless telegraphy. While of much greater extent than the magnetic field, it is con- siderably smaller than the field of electrical waves. When a debilitated patient is placed in the field of action of a healthy, cheerful, strong and ro- bust individual, a communication, a vitalizing current is established between the strong man and his weak patient, and the equilibrium which constitutes health tends to set in in both, without their will power having any share in this action. It is for this reason that, in the ordinary relations of life, the weak seek out the protection of the strong, the child is so happy in its mother's arms, and that the patient worn out by long suffering, feels relief, calm and comfort in the presence of a sympathetic and strong friend. It is an uncon- scious, involuntary magnetism, the reality and 53 54 The Theory and Practice importance of which must be patent to every- body. Intention, desire, will power, especially in the case of one dear to us, give greater impul- sion to our magnetic radius, and an intenser cur- rent is directed toward the patient. The love of a mother for the child which she presses to her breast drives away many of its pains, relieves others, and spares it from more than one grave malady which might not always yield to even the best prepared medicaments. This is instinctive magnetism, possessing undoubted advantages over involuntary magnetism. I will not go into the theory of this more deeply, but to make its true value apparent, I cite the two following ex- amples which are recorded respectively by the Marquis de Puysegur, in his Researches Physiol- ogiques Sur V Homme, p. 67 ; and by Dr. Foissac, in his Rapports et Discussions de I'Academie Royale de Medecine Sur le Magnetisme Animal, p. 2J2. First example. "The Princess de Ligne, nee Pozzodi Borgo, who certainly had never heard of Mesmer or his doctrine, had one of her children in the cradle sick with small pox, and whose side she had not quitted since the outbreak of the malady. Being obliged to go out on important business, she started at a time her child went to sleep. Imagine her surprise and fright on re- turning home to find all her servants in tears. They told her the doctor whom they had sum- of Human Magnetism. 55 moned had not arrived. She questioned them further and they told her the child she had left sleeping peacefully woke up almost immediately, and after crying and complaining for some min- utes, the pimples became so faint and flat that they could not hide from the mother the danger in which her child was. Without answering a sin- gle word, without uttering a cry, and paying atten- tion only to the maternal instinct burning within her, Mme. de Ligne w T ent to the cradle, took out her child, and in the transport of despair she put him on the ground, his body covered by hers and her clothing, and she remained over him for half an hour in a sort of trance and as if pros- trated or in the depths of the darkest meditation. During that time, listening to and hearing noth- ing around her, no human force would have been capable of taking her away from the place where the attraction of her feelings held her magnetic- ally fixed, till finally the child's cries reminding her of its existence, brought her out of her stupor. She got up and uncovered him, he breathed freely and his eyes opened again. From that moment the sickness followed its course, and the child soon recovered its health. This feeling, resulting from maternal love, which no resolution or reflec- tion had prepared beforehand, is undoubtedly a phenomenon of instinctive animal magnetism." Second example "Among the cures operated 56 The Theory and Practice by M. Desprez, there is one which it is impor- tant to remember, viz., that of his wife. She experienced, after a confinement, very serious accidents against which all help for the time be- ing was unsuccessful. The patient lost her strength, and, feeling her end approaching, ad- dressed a last good-bye to her husband, and fell back apparently quite dead. His confreres (Mr. Desprez was a doctor) and his friends, thinking her dead, wanted to force Mr. Desprez from the room, but, riveted there by hope against hope, he refused to leave, and begged to be left alone with her. After all had left the room, he hastily closed the door, undressed himself, went to bed next to his wife, took her in his arms, tried to warm her and bring her back to life. At the end of twenty minutes she heaved a deep sigh, opened her eyes, recognized him, and recovered her speech! A few days later she was restored to health." If our life, our strength and our energy can be communicated from the strong to the weak without the will-power of either taking part con- sciously in this communication, it is evident that under the influence of a design thoroughly deter- mined upon, of an ardent desire, of a powerful will, much more satisfactory results will be ob- tained by proceeding according to the rules of the art, for then we can regulate our action and of Human Magnetism. 57 bring it to bear upon any desired organ, either to soothe or to excite. The magnetic force escapes from all parts of the body and radiates around us in modifying (were I a believer in the fluid theory, I would say in saturating) every- thing which environs us. But certain parts of the body give out more than others. The three principal sources are : The extremities, that is, the hands, especially the palm and fingers; the eyes — the gaze, and the l ungs — breath. There are two kinds of magnetization which can be practiced independently of each other, or, what is preferable, they may be combined : direct mag- netization and indirect or intermediate magneti- zation. The first kind is operated directly upon the patient ; and the second by means of liquids, food or objects magnetized beforehand, and which are to be absorbed or worn by the patient. I will describe first the ordinary methods of direct mag- netization. In the ordinary relations of life, the hands are for man the organ of prehension par excellence. In magnetism they become the poles; that is to say, the principal centers whence start out the waves which carry without us the action of our movement. They also serve largely to direct the magnetic agent, i. e., the waves constituted by the action of our movement, towards the organ 58 The Theory and Practice or portion of the body that thought has indicated in advance. Healers of all ages, from the greatest miracle- workers to the commonest quacks, have used the hand as the principal vehicle of their action. That is why Homer says in the Iliad that certain men have a medical hand, meaning by that a hand which seemed to possess of itself the prop- erty or virtue of healing diseases. This virtue was often limited to distinct maladies, or rather, what appears tome most probable, the operator restricted in this manner, without being aware of it, the extent of his power. Thus Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, cured the disorders of the liver, in touching the region of the organ, not with his hand, but with his foot; another arrested burns, while sores, fever, scrofula, etc., were cured by as many others ; and all, or nearly all, pretended to have this power as a gift from heaven. J. B. Thiers relates that certain families had the privilege of curing ganglion by touching; others, excrescences, etc. Only a member of the family of Saint Catherine, and born in March or April, could have the gift of these cures. (Des Superstitions i, 6 p. 518.) This manner of healing diseases by using the hand was generally called the touch or touching. With some doctors or clever non - mystical healers the touching consisted of a series of fairly of Human Magnetism. 59 accurate but complicated manipulations, such as stroking, feeling or handling, pressing, rubbing, etc., but the mystics only touched while making in- vocations. Jesus, Apollonius of Thyane, Simon the magician, the emperors Vespasian and Adrian have all operated cures, some of them instanta- neous, by a simple touching of the hand, or in making movements similar to those of the meth- ods we employ at this day. The Kings of France, from Clovis to Louis XV, touched the sick after the coronation ceremony, and healed great num- bers. Art has bequeathed to us numerous works in which we can clearly see the thought of the artist has been to consider the hand as the instru- ment of healing. The word touching was so fre- quently employed to designate the various opera- tions practiced by the hand, that Mesmer and Puysegur constantly use it synonymously for to magnetize. At the present day magnetization by the hands comprises a series of rational and methodical manipulations, the efficacy of which is proved by the experience of three centuries. The number of these manipulations may be reduced to five principal groups. They are : Passes, Imposition, Application, Stroking, Rubbing. 60 The Theory and Practice CHAPTER I. The Magnetic Pass— Longitudinal Pass— Fir^ Second, and Third Positions — Transversa^ Pass— Correct Position. The magnetic process which we employ today under the name of passes does not appear to have been used under this name by the celebrated healers of antiquity. They practiced what was then called the laying on of the hands, which seems to comprise the action of the hand immo- bile presented at a distance (our imposition of today) and the action of the hand likewise pre- sented at a distance but in movement (pass). Such at least is what we are able to gather from the examination of art records which succeed- ing generations have left us. I here reproduce three figures in which it will be clearly seen, and especially in the third, that the hand, or the hands execute movements at a distance, and in a downward direction, that is, passes as we execute them today. Passes ex- ecuted either with one or both hands, are longi- tudinal or transversal. Longitudinal Passes. — Practice. Longitudinal passes are executed either only on the part af- fected, on one side of the body or on both sides at the same time ; from the top of the head to the lower part of the trunk, and even from the head of Human Magnetism. 61 to the extremity of the feet, and always in a downward, never in an upward, direction. A longitudinal pass, taking as an example a pass executed from the head to the lower part of the trunk, is generally practiced in the fol- lowing manner: You begin on the top of the head and go down the length of the trunk. Do not use any mus- cular strength. Expose, but do not tender your hand, keep it stretched out, the fingers slightly, but not widely separated from each other. Your hand must be in a flat position, the palm under- most, and as if held up in the air; then you let it go down, as if you were going to draw with your fingers five perpendicular lines on the sur- face of the body, or better still, as if you were going to distribute in a downward direction— a something, no matter what, let us say the mag- 62 The Theory and Practice netic force — which you are supposed to have poured on the head and chest. The moment your hands reach the limit of their downward course, you close them as if to hold for a second the mag- / netic force which continues to escape. You then bring your hands above the head, being careful to lift them up, not opposite the body, as that might trouble the movement imparted by the preceding pass, but sideways. When your closed hands have reached the top of the head you open them in extending the fingers slightly as if to pour or spread about your handful of something (in order to materialize the thought let us say a handful of bran) and then you bring them slowly down again, as I have just said. That was the manner in which most of the old magnetizers practised longitudinal passes. Starting from the principle that on an organ you often execute passes with a single hand, and that it is awkward to lift it up sideways, in de- scribing an ellipsis, instead of lifting up my hands on the right and left of the patient, I pre- fer to draw the upper part of my body back, so as to separate myself from the patient, and to raise my hands a little above the level of the top of the head, in passing them with fists closed in front of my chest. These two groups of figures show the various movements of a pass, which I divide into two grades : in the first grade I exe- of Human Magnetism. 63 cute a pass; in the second grade, I prepare to execute another. In the first grade represented by the figures of the first group, I act as if I were pouring out the magnetic force on the pa- tient at the height of his or her forehead (Fig. i ) ; then I bring my hands down the sides or the front of the body (Fig. 2) ; and, continuing their course my hands reach the lower part of the trunk (Fig. 3). At that stage, the first grade is executed, and properly speaking, the first pass is done. But I have to prepare myself to exe- cute another. For that, as the figures of the second group show, I close my hands in drawing them toward myself (Fig. 4) ; then, drawing back my body so as to separate myself from the patient, and bringing my elbows near my body, I raise my closed hands, their outside facing the patient (Fig. 5) ; and lift them about 3 or 4 inches above my head (Fig. 6). Then, being ready to execute a second pass, I have only to turn my hands the palm toward the patient, and to pour out the magnetic force (or, as the old magnetizers called it, the fluid) on the frontal region (Fig. 7), and continue in the same way. Practiced very slowly, at a distance of 2 to 4 ijiches, longitudinal passes charge, saturate~the~ body of the subject, and their action usually re- sults in a feeling of calm and comfort. A longi- tudinal pass executed very slowly takes at least 64 The Theory and Practice 30 seconds. Executed a little faster, at a distance *of"6 tu vJ inches, they become stimulating and their action is almost always perceptible in the form of a mild current which, in the interior of the body, follows and even precedes the motion made by the hand of the magnetizer. Practiced rapidly, in a downward direction at & distance of from 12 to 16 inches, they take the name of long passes. Their action, which is likewise stimu- | lating, clears the head and chest, warms the lextremities, carries off the humors and regulates \the circulation. Under the action of passes prac- tised very slowly, first from the head to the stomach, and then on the head only, sensitive sub- jects fall into the magnetic sleep. It sometimes happens that ^sensitive subjects, and likewise nervous patients who are magnetized for the first time, experience a feeling of oppres- of Human Magnetism. 65 sion which might even lead to suffocation. This little feeling of discomfort is avoided by making long passes from the head to the feet, or, better still, by making transversal passes on the head and chest. Transversal Passes. How to practice them. Transversal passes have the opposite effect of ^ longitudinal passes practiced very slowly. I might almost say that if the action of the latter is magnetizing, the action of the former is de- magnetizing. For they clear and lighten the heavy and congested head, arrest all sensation of op- pression, wake up the somnambule put to sleep magnetically, and always leave a feeling of calm and comfort accompanied by an agreeable glow. The transversal, like the longitudinal, pass is executed in two grades ; in the first grade you execute the pass, in the second grade, you pre- pare yourself to execute another. In the first grade, represented by the four figures of our illustration, you see the position of the arms, forearms and hands. In Fig. i the forearms are crossed at about the middle of the chest, the hands are quite wide open, their palms facing the patient, the thumbs down, and the fingers slightly apart without being stretched out. Fig. 2. — The arms are spread out somewhat, and the hands with the forearms commence to exe- cute a movement of rotation which will turn the 66 The Theory and Practice hand in such a manner that, the arms being open, the palms remain directed toward the patient, with the thumbs up. Fig. 3. — The arms are stretched out, the hands and forearms turn, and iii IV the movement which has been started, is con- tinued. Fig. 4. — The arms are stretched out wide and form a horizontal line, the palm of the A of Human Magnetism. 67 hands faces the patient, and the fingers are still slightly separated from each other without being stretched out. Second grade. The arms being in the posi- tion indicated by Fig. 4, the forearms have only to be brought in front of each other by turning the hands, in order to return to the position of Fig. 1 and to continue rapidly, in successively spreading out and crossing the arms, as if to fan the patient and agitate the air around him. Transversal passes are mostly practiced above the head, and on the face and chest, but they can also be practiced on the sides, the spine and the legs. Their action is calmative, influencing all the parts of the body. The magnetizers of former times employed transversal passes a great deal to loosen the sick, or at least, the parts affected. With the theory of emission, the use of this method was justi- fied, because it was believed that a fluid of bad quality enveloped the patient or the parts affected, and that it was imperative to get rid of it. Mag- netizers of the present day do not loosen their patients so much, and they are right. As a mat- ter of fact, this loosening does not seem to me to be very useful, except when the patient is dull, or when his head is heavy, hot or congested. 68 The Theory and Practice CHAPTER II. Imposition — Laying on of Hands— Historical Facts — Palmar Imposition—Rotary Imposition — Dig- ital Imposition — Perforating Imposition — How to Practice the Movements. The imposition of the hands on the patient is one of the most powerful processes of contem- porary magnetism. With the ancients, it con- stituted the basis of what we might call today occult or divine magnetism. It is especially by the laying on of the hands that the priests and persons initiated in the mysteries of religion in Egypt, worked those wonderful cures of which history has handed down to us the account. The historic wood cut, by an unknown artist, represents a seated figure, evidently possessed of great moral authority, pointing his left hand, armed with a wand, toward a subject who appears to have fallen into a fit, appeals to me as the most complete demonstration of the practice of magnetism by the Egyptians, by the process which we call today the laying on of the hands, or, im- position. Another, and no less curious figure, can be seen at the Bibliotheque Nationale. It is a scene from the zodiac of Deuderah representing the great Egyptian goddess magnetizing her son Orus, whom she holds standing up in her left hand, by imposing her right hand toward him. of Human Magnetism. 69 I say "magnetizing her son," because that is the interpretation given by Deleuze, and to my knowl- edge no other satisfactory explanation has been given either before or since. With the Hebrews, the laying on of the hands was employed on many occasions, not only by the prophets and the various healers for healing the sick, but also for the purpose of transmitting any power from one person to another. On the death- bed, the blessing which was to attract to the head of him who received it the favor of the Eternal was given by the imposition of the hands. The gift of prophecy was often communicated in the same way, not only by men, but by the Eternal, "God laid His hands upon him and he prophe- sied." If God employed the laying on of hands tow r ard man, it follows that men must have employed it among themselves. And we find very numerous proofs in all the books of the Old Testament that they did employ it. I will go even further than this and say that they always employed it. When Moses designated Joshua to conduct the people of Israel to the promised land, he laid his hands upon him. "And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom ; for Moses had laid his hands on him ; and the children of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses." (Deut. 34.) In the war which Moses 70 The Theory and Practice made with the Amalekites, it was seen that when, facing the enemy, he lifted up his hands to heaven, his army was victorious, but when he was tired, and he let his arms fall, the enemy, taking fresh courage, had the advantage. There is extant a rare engraving by Golthius which represents the lawgiver of the Hebrews in the act of laying on his hands in a manner similar to that which we use today for transmitting to our patients the action of our movement. Pious souls instinctively raise their hands to heaven (a form of imposition) when they are in need of help and consolation. On such occa- sions, they do not give, but receive, for they are in a passive state, their souls are humbled. According to the theory I have expounded in the preceding chapter, we can understand that, of themselves, and without any supernatural in- tervention, an equilibrium tends to set in between them and the aerial medium, and that a decided improvement must be the result. Jesus, whom we see at the age of twelve years disputing among the doctors, disappeared from the scene of the world, to reappear toward his thirtieth year, which is the epoch when his mis- sion became clearly defined. What did he do during this absence? Nobody knows, but it is exceedingly probable that, according to the custom of the sages of that remote period, he went to of Human Magnetism. 71 seek initiation in the temples of India, Greece or Egypt. In any case, he stored up knowledge, and then was revealedas the greatest worker of miracles known in history. How did he heal the sick who flocked to him? Often by touching, but oftener by the imposition of the hands. The text of the Gospels alone (leaving aside other historical works) proves this abundantly. "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him ; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them." (S. Luke iv., 40) "And he touched her hand and the fever left her." "And he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick." (S. Matth. viii., 15,16.) Jesus declares that the power of working miracles will belong to all those who have faith in him. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." The miracles which accompany those who shall believe are that "they shall cast out devils in my name, they shall lay hands on the sick, and the sick shall recover." (5. Mark xvi., 16 to 18.) The apostles continue to heal the sick by lay- ing on the hands, and to work wonders. The early Christians held their belongings in com- mon. Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, selling their possessions, kept back for themselves part of the proceeds of the sale, and brought the other 72 The Theory and Practice part to Peter. Knowing what had occurred, Peter, holding out his hand toward Ananias, re- proached him with what he had done, and An- anias fell down as if thunderstruck (Acts v.). The foregoing argument shows us the mechan- ism of this action, and enables us to un- derstand how Peter's displeasure, transmitted by the imposition of his hand, was sufficient to convulse the subject by producing such a shock as to result in death. Saint Paul was perhaps the apostle Jesus em- ployed most in laying on of the hands for heal- ing the sick. Being at Malta, where he stayed at the house of a man whose name was Melitus, and finding the father of this man lay sick of fever and dysentery, "Paul went to see him, prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him." (Acts xviii.) After the times of the apostles the early church, and later, the exorcists, long employed the impo- sition of the hands for healing, and at the epoch when peoples' bodies were possessed of demons, for expelling these foul fiends and unclean spir- its. Our churches and museums contain a great number of works of art in which the laying on of the hands occupies considerable space. In imposition practiced by former magnetizers, the pictures showing this process, represent graphically the "magnetic fluid" issuing from of Human Magnetism. 73 the tips of the fingers, by dotted lines, giving an exact idea of its mode of communication. Impo- sition is divided into palmar imposition and digital imposition. Palmar imposition. How to Practice it. Palm- ar imposition is practiced by presenting the palm of the hand at a distance of about 2 to 4 or even 8 inches from the part we wish to act upon, and in holding it in that position for a time vary- ing from 1 to 5 minutes. This imposition is usually done with one hand only, as shown in the figure herewith, but it can be done with both hands at the same time. It exerts a slightly stimulating effect when practiced in a heteronom- ous position, i. e., when the left hand is directed toward the right side, and the right toward the left side. 74 The Theory and Practice Digital imposition. How to practice it. Dig- ital imposition is usually executed with the right hand, the fingers extended, firm, slightly sep- arated from each other and directed during the same time at a distance of from 4 to 6 inches toward the parts you wish to act upon, as the figure herewith shows. 'Rotary imposition. How to practice it. If a more powerful effect than the preceding be needed, the hand and the fingers being in the same position, you gently describe a concentric circle on or around the organ or the part it is desired to act upon, taking care that the motion of the hand is guided from left to right, i. e., in the same direction as the hands of 3 watch move. In this manner, the action of the movement works in agreement with the human magnetism, trans- V of Human Magnetism. 75 mitted by the hand, and the action of the latter is considerably augmented. This process is termed rotary imposition. Perforating imposition. How to practice it. If the fingers, being in the same position, and still slightly apart, but instead of executing ro- tary motions are turned and twisted around as if to perforate or bore a hole, the action becomes still more exciting. This process, which I call perforating imposition, is somewhat difficult to practice, and still more difficult for a teacher to explain if he does not combine practice with theory. Under the action of rotary and particularly of perforation imposition, the patient soon perceives within him a motion similar to that executed near him by the hand of the operator. This movement, almost always accompanied by warmth, consid- erably augments the circulation and the secre- tions, separates and draws out stagnant humors and dissolves congestions in determining at first a phenomenon almost similar to that produced in an impure liquid when agitated with a stick. The right hand imposed on the forehead of a sensitive subject, standing up, renders his head heavy, pro- duces warmth and brings on a sort of discomfort accompanied by aversion. The left hand imposed on the same part produces contrary effects. Whether the imposition is palmar or digital in 76 The Theory and Practice leaving your hand in place without moving it, the first suffices to induce sleep in a very sensitive subject, the second to wake him up. Imposition is generally employed on a patient to stimulate the functions and in such a case it is good to practice it in the isonomous position. Digital imposition exerts a more energetic in- fluence than palmar imposition, rotary imposi- tion is still more powerful, and the maximum of action is obtained by the use of perforating im- position combined with hot insufflation; this last process furnishes the magnetizer with the great- est amount of power he could wish for. There- fore the first method must be employed in all cases where it is required to slightly stimulate or regulate one or more functions of the body, and the second where it is necessary to excite them. Rotary and perforating imposition must be reserved for the treatment of obstinate con- stipation, congestion, obstruction, tumors and for certain cases of extreme debility. The aug- mented arterial action resulting from the use of this last method being considerable, it is neces- sary to point out, that it must not be used on starting treatment of a patient unless he is only slightly nervous and impressionable, because, par- ticularly with hysterical persons, convulsions might ensue, and these are unnecessary and con- fusing for a practitioner at his first attempts. of Human Magnetism. 77 CHAPTER III. Application of Magnetism in Healing— Examples —Curing Congested Head. In his work Medicina Aegyptiorum, Prosper Alpini states that certain Egyptian women healed dysentery by placing their hand flat on the pa- tient's navel. A papyrus recently discovered by Ebers in the ruins of Thebes contains this form- ula : "Place thy hands on him to soothe his pain, and say : let the pain disappear/' confirms the use of the application of the hands by the Egyptians, in the treatment of disease. In the Histoire dit Ceil, Vol. I, Pluehe publishes a very curious figure (plate XI) which he calls the awakening of Orus. On a bed, represented by the body of a lion, a child, Orus, is seen all swathed up, ap- parently asleep. Near him, Anubis applies his left hand to the child's chest, raising the right hand toward Isis standing at the head of the bed, as if to implore his aid. This figure plainly shows us an application of the hand which we might call today a magnetic application. From a bas-relief also we learn that the appli- cation of the hands was employed by the healers of Greece. Standing up, a young man is seen, with his head inclined and bearing the expression of sad discomfort ; a seated figure is laying her right hand on the patient's left temple, while her 78 The Theory and Practice left hand is applied to the abdomen, clearly for the object of relieving him. Pliny, in book 7 of his Natural History, expresses himself as follows concerning the application of the hands prac- ticed by certain persons: "Crates of Pergamus has written that there was in the Hellespont, not far from Parion, a particular class of men called ophiogenes, who possessed the gift of healing by touch the bite of serpents, and of extracting all the venom from the body by only applying their hands to it." Throughout all periods of history we find examples of the action of the hands ap- plied to the sick. Here is one all the more curious because neither the one who relates it, nor the operator, could have known anything about mag- netism, and because in any case, the apparent object was not to heal. "Being extremely ill," says Mme. Guyon in her Memoires, "they sent for Father Lacombe to confess me. As soon as he entered the house my pains subsided, and after he had blessed me, in my room, by laying his hands on my head, I was absolutely well enough to go to mass. The doctors were so astonished at it that they did not know to what to attribute my recovery, be- cause, being protestants, they were not inclined to think it a miracle." (Charpignon, Physiologie med et metaph du Mag. 1848, p. 153.) In the 17th century an Irish knight of the name of of Human Magnetism. 79 Valentine Greatrakes acquired considerable fame in healing sicknesses by touch (as it was then called). The annexed illustration, copied from a book of the period, shows us that touching is practiced in the form of the application of the hands. The patient appears to be suffering from violent toothache, and, to calm it, the healer is applying his hands in a heteronomous position to the sides of the face. The figure, doubtless drawn from nature, may serve as a model for all those cases where application of the hands has to be made on the face with the object of calming. In Turkey, where the practice of medicine is free to all without a license, the application of the hands in healing sicknesses is very general everywhere. so The Theory and Practice From Therapeutique Magnetique, another of Du Potet's works, we copy the figure showing the application of the fingers in an isonomous posi- tion practiced on the external orifice of the ears with the object of curing deafness. How to practice the application of the hands: As you will have been able to judge from what has been said, the art of making applications con- sists in placing or applying the hands flat on the parts to be worked upon and to maintain them there for a greater or shorter length of time. I say the hands, because they are used oftenest, but when it is necessary to work the region of the back and the lower part of the spinal cord, there is advantage in using the knees and also the sole of the feet. » Seated in front of the patient, apply- ing your hands to his chest, you set the knees against his knees and the feet against his feet. You also place one or more fingers on the nerve centers of the brain and spinal cord, on the eyes, ears and on whichever part of the body you wish to concentrate your action. For headache brought on by a congestive state, the operator, placed at the left of his patient, had best apply the palm of his hands to the forehead and back of the neck, the fingers slightly apart, and pointed to the air instead of being flat on the top of the head. In this case it would appear that the surcharge of the head escapes at the tips of Human Magnetism. 81 of the fingers, just as static electricity does by the ends. And indeed the operator clearly per- ceives a sensation of glow which, in the form of a current, escapes from the extremity of each finger, and the patient's head is gradually re- lieved. As a calmative the applications are made as much as possible in a heteronymous position, ' whereas for exciting, it is preferable to practice them in the isonomo us p osition. Their action is s gentle and sound and they generally bring on after a few moments, a sensation of warmth all the more pleasant that the hands are cooler, par- ticularly when the malady is of an inflammatory nature. In such instances it is advisable to plunge your hands into cold water frequently, so as to remove any unpleasant warmth communicated by the patient. The practice of applications is suitable for all cases. Employed by itself it removes neuralgia and _calmjsun^ arly every acute pain . Beginners especially should use them for a few seconds at the start of a sitting so as to establish (as Deleuze and Lafontaine have both pointed out) without any sudden transition, the rapport started be- tween the magnetizer and the magnetized. The action of application being very mild, you avoid, in sensitive subjects, the attacks of convulsions which are always disagreeable, and often as dis- 82 The Theory and Practice couraging for operators who are beginners as for the patients. CHAPTER IV. Stroking — Points ok Difference From Massage — How To Perform Stroking. Stroking consists of a slight touching repeated several times on the part it is desired to bring into action. It is in a measure a series of appli- cations in motion or longitudinal passes practiced with contact. Stroking is borrowed from the usual methods of everyday massage, but with this difference that the magnetizer does not stroke in the same manner as the masseur. To begin with, the masseur operates directly on the patient's nude body, whereas the magnetizer strokes upon the clothes. The masseur with his strong manipu- lations, has for his particular object the acting mechanically on the circulation which drives the blood back to the heart. In order to do this he must exert a certain amount of pressure, starting at the extremities to arrive at the head, con- sidered as the center. The action of the mag- netizer, at a distance or by slight contact, has direct influence not on the circulation, but on the nervous system, which governs all the functions of the body, and his experience shows him that of Human Magnetism. 83 its action is specially felt on the motor nerves which lead from the brain, considered as the center, to the extremities. On account of the indisputable principles, for, the masseur as well as for the magnetizer, the latter's stroking should always be downward, and the masseur's strok- ing is always upward. And here I would offer a few words of import- ant advice to young operators. They should, as much in the interest of their patients, as in order to establish their own personal theory, not only attentively study the effects of the various proc- esses comparatively with each other, but vary the execution of each one of them. Now, for stroking which, practiced sometimes in an up- ward, sometimes in a downward, direction, the young operator will find that his patients will be unanimous in declaring that the first mode of execution is rather disagreeable to them, while the second is always agreeable. And inasmuch as an unpleasant sensation felt by a patient under the action of any manipulation is never of any use to him from a curative point of view, only such methods as are agreeable, and leave him after the seance, in a good physical and moral impression, should be employed. Stroking, especially when practiced toward the end of the seance, regulates the magnetic action, clears the head, eases difficulty in breathing, and tends to warm cold hands and feet. 84 The Theory and Practice How to practice stroking. It is practiced on the greatest number of surfaces by applying the hands flat, the fingers slightly apart, and in bringing them down again from the upper to the lower part of the body, without any appreciable pressure. If you w r ant to stroke the entire body, you do it in two movements, first from the head to the waist, then from the chest to the extremi- ties. Standing up, and your patient sitting, you can work on him with both hands, and the proc- ess may be divided into two grades. First grade. Apply both your hands to the temples, and thumbs directed vertically toward the middle of the forehead, being about an inch or an inch and a half apart, while the fingers, slightly apart, rest upon the auricles as shown in the figure. Second grade. In taking care to curve in your hands to enable them to pass over the pavilions of the ears and yet stroking the sides of the throat, shoulders and forearms as far as the tips of the fingers. Replacing your hands in their position of the first grade, you go down the neck in following the direction of the sterno-cleido- mastoid muscle, then on the front of the chest as far as the waist. After repeating this operation five or six times, you sit down in front of your patient, and applying your hands to his chest you bring them down to the extremities, omitting the stomach, intestine, the thighs and legs. In order of Human Magnetism. 85 to practice stroking everywhere or over almost all parts, you again apply your hands to the lateral parts of the chest and bring them down to the extremities in passing (on the right) over the region of the liver, and (on the left) over that of the spleen, over the back, the hypochondrium, the external sides of the thighs and the legs. When the patient is in bed the stroking is practiced in a similar manner. CHAPTER V. Rubbing— Dry and Moist — How to Practice Rub- bing — Si,ow Rubbing — Rotary Rubbing. Rubbing is a strong or weak friction exercised upon a part of or the entire body, either with the hand alone or with a brush, glove or cotton cloth. It is also the action of passing the hands on the body, parts of the body, or in exercising a deli- cate pressure, a sort of gentle massage. Rubbing is said to be dry when it is practiced with the hand only, or with instruments only; it is said to be moist when there is added any liquid or semi-liquid substance, (grease, oil, alcohol, vine- gar, etc.) either pure or medicated. Magnetic rubbing is always dry and practiced with the hand only ; in massage it is sometimes moist, and is likewise practiced with the hand alone. 66 The Theory and Practice Rubbing produces a stimulating effect on the peripheric innervation. The circulation is accel- erated, the blood flowing quickly through the veins gives increased color and warmth; and finally nutriment is assimilated in normal condi- tion. This excitation, limited at first to the functions of the skin, is transmitted to the sub- cutaneous tissues, then to the veins, muscles, nerves, and to the deepest organs. We instinct- ively apply it to ourselves to combat the feeling of cold on the uncovered parls of the body, and especially on the hands, to lessen the painful sen- sation produced by a blow, or a fall, etc. This shows its use dates from the remotest antiquity. Prosper Alpini tells us in De Medicinae Egypt- iorum that medical and mysterious rubbings were the secret remedies used by the Egyptian priests for healing incurable diseases. Hippoc- rates wrote a treatise on frictions which has not come down to us, but he refers to it in his "Treatise on Articulations" in the following words : "A doctor ought to know many things ; he should not be unacquainted with the benefits to be derived from rubbing. With its applica- tion quite contrary effects may be produced; it loosens stiff joints and gives tone and strength to those which are relaxed." Celsus, one of the great physicians at the beginning of the Christian era, was an ardent partisan of the practice. In of Human Magnetism. 87 his works published in French under the title of Traduction des ouvrages de Aurelius Cornelius Celse, sur la medicine, he gives a detailed account of massage and enumerates the chief diseases which can be cured or relieved by this method. After criticising Asclepiades' book, in which the author declares himself in favor of frictions, Cel- sus tells us that its use had been long known, and that what Asclepiades writes about it had all been written before by previous physicians. Thus, Hippocrates is said to have written, that violent friction hardens and delicate friction softens the tissues ; that long continued friction emaciates, and when of short duration it produces corpu- lence. "Then," Celsus continues, "if we wish to consider all these kinds of rubbing, w T hich, however, do not at all come within the province of medicine, we shall see that they all proceed from the same cause, which consists of suppres- sion. For you do not bind up a thing but in re- moving that which rendered it lax, you only sof- ten another in carrying off that which caused the hardness; we get stout, not by rubbing, but by the nourishment penetrating to the skin, which has been previously loosened by friction. The cause of these different effects depends, there- fore, only on the manner of operating the rub- bing ; it is necessary to use emollients and to rub the body gently in acute diseases, even in their 88 The Theory and Practice incipience, provided there is diminution in inten- sity of the fever, and before meals ; on the other hand, there is danger in using strong rubbing in grave maladies where the patient gets worse (un- less in cases of pleurisy) when you wish to pro- cure sleep for patients. Therefore, rubbing should only be employed in maladies of long standing and which begin to decrease. It is as dangerous to use rubbing in the paroxysm of fever as it is useful to use it where the malady begins to diminish. We should even wait as long as possible, till the fever has disappeared, or at least, till it has lost its intensity. Rubbing is op- erated sometimes over all parts of the body, as when we wish to induce embonpoint in a slim person; sometimes only locally, when the weak- ness of that part requires it. Rubbing calms headaches of long standing, provided, however, the manipulation is not done during violent pain. It sometimes happens, also, that rubbing restores a paralyzed member. It is usual, however, to practice the rubbing on the parts that are not infirm. Friction on the lower parts, for instance, after relieving the middle or upper part of the body. Some manipulators are desirous of fixing the number of rubbings to be made on a person. But they are wrong, because this depends en- tirely upon the strength of the subject needing them. Fifty rubbings on a weak subject are of Human Magnetism. 89 A -z? enough, whereas a strong man couid stand two hundred, in proportion to the strength of opera- tor and subject. Thus, we give few T er to a wom- an than to a man, fewer to a child or an old man than to a young man ; finally, if you rub only cer- tain parts, the rubbing should be hard and last some time, since it is impossible to enfeeble the body quickly by only rubbing one portion of it, and that it is necessary to drive away much mat- ter, whether you want to clear the thin part you are rubbing or any other part; but if the weak- ness of the entire body requires that the rubbing be used equally all over it, it ought to last less time and be more gentle, so that it suffices to soften only the surface of the skin in order for it to be in a condition to receive the new matter which will be furnished to it by food to be taken immediately after the rubbings. We have al- ready mentioned that the patient was in great danger when he was thirsty and burning inside, while the outside of his body remained cold. The only help in such a case is rubbing; if it brings warmth to the body externally the patient can recover." In Rome at the time of Celsus ( ist century) all classes of society employed frictions; those who were in good health went to be rubbed to main- tain their health, and those who were ill were rubbed to recover it. The athletes were rubbed 90 The Theory and Practice all over their body, so as to be more agile, and old people in order to get strength. From Rome the use of rubbing (to which were added emolli- ents and some of the manipulations of massage as we have it today) soon spread all over the Ori- ent, where it has been preserved to the present day. Alexander of Tralles, a celebrated Greek physician of the sixth century, and one of the last of those initiated into the mysteries of the pious ancients, often employed rubbing. Following the example of Celsus, he teaches that, practiced on the lower members, rubbing throws off morbid matters, calms the nervous system and facilitates perspiration. It calms convulsions, and acts powerfully against dropsy, because it opens the pores, lessens and divides the humors. In crises of epilepsy he executed moderate friction longi- tudinally on the members ; then he felt and gently touched the eyes. He makes mention of the effi- cacy of the secret frictions of the Egyptian priests, and specially points out two charac- teristics that most magnetizers of today still con- sider indispensable in producing magnetic power, namely, great confidence on the part of the sub- ject, and strong will power on the part of the physician. He affirms that it was to these secret rubbings Hippocrates alluded when he said that such things ought to be shown to sacred persons and not to the profane. If we are to believe Pe- of Human Magnetism. 91 ter Borel, a learned historian who was physician to Louis XIII., rubbing was even used to cure fever. "A man named Degoust," he says, "clerk of the court at Nismes, healed and does heal every day a multitude of persons sick with the fever only by rubbing their arms, and he found out he possessed this gift by observing that all the persons whose arms he rubbed got better when he attached amulets around their wrists, and when he discontinued attaching amulets the people continued to heal just the same, by the rubbing only." In northern countries, when freezing threatens the parts of the body exposed to the air, especially the nose and ears, dry rub- bing is applied to quicken the circulation of the blood, and if frozen, the part is rubbed with snow or iced water. In syncope, after having taken off the clothes covering the chest, some physicians recommend the use of rubbing on the praecordia, and the method has a certain amount of efficacy. In reviving the bodies of new born children in a state of apparent death, dry or moist rubbings are used (moist with wine, vinegar, alcohol, etc.) on the chest, back, the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands. In the treatment of the ap- parently drowned, in most cases of paralysis, di- minished circulation, general debility, violent pains, acute rheumatism, etc., rubbing with emol- lients is effective. Rubbing has, therefore, con- 92 The Theory and Practice siderable importance even apart from massage and magnetism, and on this account it is indis- pensable to know the practice according to the rules of the magnetic art, which is most simple and can be understood by everybody. Hozv to practice rubbing. In magnetism there are two kinds of rubbing, the slow and rotatory. Slozv Rubbing. Slow rubbi-ng is practiced gently by following, in a downward direction, the lines of the nerves and muscles. The hand must be flat out, the fingers separated and slightly turned in, so that the entire hand to the tips of the fingers drags or presses on the part you are working. In drawing along your hand you must agitate all the joints in exercising a series of slight pressings, as if, from place to place, you wanted to detach and then carry along something adhering to the skin or subcutaneous parts. Slow rubbing is stimulating. Practiced on the inter- ested muscles and from the spine to the sternum, it is very efficacious against atonic affections of the chest, and especially against oppression es- soufflement, and the very painful attacks of asth- ma. Practiced on the sides of the body and on the legs, right down to the feet, it exerts an effect like that of the long passes. Rotatory Rubbing. Is performed in describ- ing concentric circles with the palm of the hand, just stroking on the clothes the part you wish to of Human Magnetism. 93 activate. The effect of rotatory rubbing is ex- citing, especially when practiced from left to right, i. e., in the direction in which the hands of a watch move. It is practiced over all parts of the body, but preferably on the plexus and the vertebral column, for combating atony of the nervous system, on the head, liver, stomach, in- testine, and the back, whenever these organs lack activity; against gout, humors, obstructions and engorgements of all kinds. The masseur always practices frictions on the naked skin, whereas the magnetizer does so over the clothes. I would observe that the rubbing which does the most good is that which is practiced gently, almost without muscular force, and only by handling and stroking. CHAPTER VI. Breathing — Breath of Life— Hot Insufflation — How to Practice It— Restoring the Dead to Life— Cold Insufflation— How Performed— Its Value. Breath is the most apparent sign of material life. After having formed man from the dust of the earth, the Creator animated it, Moses tells us, in breathing into it the breath of life. When the soul abandons to the earth the perishable 94 The Theory and Practice body it has nourished, our usual expression is that we have rendered our last breath. It is by the breath that the Cevennes prophets communi- cated the prophetic inspiration to those who, up till then, had escaped the influence of that relig- ious enthusiasm, and by which some exorcists healed the possessed. When we breathe freely we offer all the ap- pearance of health, while shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing often show general weakness and almost always a want of equilib- rium in the vital functions. The lungs, which are the organs of respiration, are therefore in a robust and healthy man an important source of vital energy which he can utilize for the good of his fellow man, weakened or enfeebled by sick- ness. The annals of history relate many cases where unexpected cures have been brought about by breathing. Arnobe tells us that, from time immemorial, there were among the Egyptians men who, by means of touching and breathing, triumphed over diseases which medicine had been unable to relieve. Mercklin tells us that a young child was brought back to life by the breath of an old woman (Tractatus medico- physic, p. 116). In the work already mentioned Peter Borel says that in his time (1628-1689) there still ex- isted in India a sect of doctors who cured sick- of Human Magnetism. 95 nesses by insufflation. The same author relates that a domestic, returning from a voyage and finding his master dead, tenderly and repeatedly embraced the inanimate body. Thinking he still discovered some signs of life, he breathed his breath with persistence into it in order to reani- mate it, and at the end of some time the master returned to life. "Is it astonishing," he adds, "that the breath of man should produce such re- sults when we read that God breathed into the body of Adam to give him life? It is a fraction of this divine breath which even today can bring back health to the sick." Delancre, the celebrated demonomaniac, says : "There are also certain persons in Spain called insalmadores, who heal by the saliva and by the breath." The action of breathing has always held a high place in therapeutics, and even today the physi- cian employs, concurrently with repeated draw- ing of the tongue, insufflation from mouth to mouth against asphyxia and especially against apparent death of new-born infants. Therefore, there is in this action a considerable source of energy which may be attributed to two chief causes; 1, a mechanical cause; 2, a magnetic cause, which concur reciprocally to produce the effects observed. Magnetizers, who have always employed the action of breathing with success, 96 The Theory and Practice give this process the name of insufflation, and they practice, as the case may be, hot insufflation and cold insufflation. Hot Insufflation. This is the most powerful of all magnetic processes. From the point of view of modality its action is positive, but on ac- count of its force, it is exciting, or at least stim- ulating, on all parts of the body. How to practice hot insufflation. This insuf- flation is practiced in two different ways — by con- tact and at a distance. In the first case, the lips slightly apart, leaving the mouth half open, are placed upon the skin, or better still, upon some light piece of clothing covered with a clean tow- el or handkerchief ; and in pressing, so that the breath does not escape, and as if it could pene- trate the skin and the subcutaneous tissues, you force it energetically by a prolonged expiration. In the second case you breathe at a distance of half an inch or an inch, just as you do in winter to warm your hands. This insufflation can also be practiced with a tube, one end of which you apply to the part you wish to act upon, but bet- ter results are always obtained by the first method. After three or four hot insufflations practiced in this way on the part of the body or diseased organ, the patient experiences an internal warmth which powerfully increases the organic activity. of Human Magnetism. 97 We at once understand the importance of this process for cases of atony of the viscera, paraly- sis, humors, obstruction and stagnation. Op- erated on the heart, syncope ceases immediately in almost every instance. But when its action is too exciting there is danger in some cases, and for this reason it must never be employed where there are deep w r ounds nor against aneurism of the heart and the aorta, nor for pulmonary phthisis in the third degree of its development. How to practice cold insufflation. This is al- ways practiced at a distance, in blowing as if to put out a candle. Being negative, its action is the opposite to that of hot insufflation. Instead of exciting, it is calming, especially on the front of the body. Practiced on the forehead, it quick- ly awakens the magnetic sleeper and clears a heavy and congested head. CHAPTER VII. Fixity of Gaze — Fascination — The Evii, Bye — Harsh Measures of Influencing Others. The eye exercises a powerful magnetic influ- ence, and we all know that there are some persons with a slow and fascinating eye whose concen- trated gaze we find it difficult to support. It is by the power of the eye that the dog arrests the 98 The Theory and Practice partridge, and the serpent fascinates the bird and attracts it to him. With the tamer the eye con- stitutes the weapon which has the strongest hold on the wild animals of a menagerie. As sickness can, in a measure, be communicated by waves from one person to another, just the same as health, it has been supposed, not without rea- son, that the gaze of some persons produces a disagreeable effect, and the name of evil eye has been applied to those who exercise or are capable of exercising this power over their fellow man. Exaggerating this property of the eye considered in its worst aspect, we may easily understand that at the time sorcery flourished, there were per- sons who believed in the power of the jettatores, i. e., certain sorcerers who were supposed to throw lots by the evil action of the eye. If we admit that the eye of certain persons can influ- ence others in an unpleasant or obnoxious way, it is clear that the kind and benevolent gaze of a sympathetic friend in robust health can have a salutary effect. The gaze allowed to fall softly on a patient facing you at a distance of two or three yards exercises a deep calmative effect, and may be employed with success in acute affections and also when there is enervation, irritability and excitation of the nervous system. Fixity of gaze may be used by itself, but it is generally advisable to employ it in conjunction with other of Human Magnetism. 99 modes of magnetization, i. e., with application, imposition or rubbing, and you should allow your gaze to descend gently to the parts you are operating on, so as to obtain increased results. I n longitudinal and long passes your gaze must follow the movement of your ha nds. The gaze must fall softly on the patient or on the parts to be calmed, because if you look with a harsh gaze, indicating your determination to act en- ergetically, instead of being calmative, the effect would be stimulating and the desired result would not be obtained. As to staring into the patient's \ eyes for the purpose of fascinating, it is a harsh process, the magnetiser abandons it to the hvg- notiser for sending his patients to sleep. CHAPTER VIII. Intermediate Magnetism — Magnetizing Objects — Secret of Magnetism is Vibration — Magnet- izing Water— Its Extraordinary Effect — How to Magnetize Fluids, In all times and with nearly all peoples a pre- servative and curative virtue has attached to cer- tain objects, such as phylacteries, amulets, talis- mans, coins, and objects blessed or consecrated, which had received an influence they were sup- posed to transmit to those wearing them. Philters LrfC. ioo The Theory and Practice and certain noxious objects could transmit the evil influence they had received and could carry with them the principle, the cause of sinister pas- sions, sickness and misfortune. Making allow- ance for exaggeration, there is, in traditions, cus- toms and superstitions that antiquity has handed down to us, a considerable portion of truth which official science has not recognized. In any case, it is demonstrated that, to use an expres- sion of the old magnetizers, almost all the bod- ies of nature are charged, saturated more or less, with the magnetic agent, that they retain this saturation for a certain period, and that, while it lasts, an action of some kind may be observed. This property of the magnetic force of settling in various bodies has been made use of for indi- rect or intermediate magnetization, i. e., practiced by the aid of certain bodies magnetized before- hand. With the wave theory, it would be more rational to say that the vibratory movement of the atoms of the magnetizing body is transmit- ted to the atoms of the body magnetized ; that a certain equilibrium tends to set in, and that the two bodies try to vibrate in unison. It is then that the magnetic property of the one is commu- nicated to the other. As words do not alter things, I will continue to use the expressions formerly employed, because they explain in a better manner the results obtained. of Human Magnetism. 101 All bodies are not charged with magnetism to the same extent ; we might say that all have not the same magnetic capacity. Liquids are, of all bodies, those which absorb it in the greatest de- gree and retain it the longest. Cotton and wool- en stuffs, glass and metals also possess great magnetic capacity. Metals, which have their own polarity, are even valuable auxiliaries, for some become saturated with only positive fluid, w r hile others only take negative fluids. Thus with them we can bring to bear on a determined point of the surface of the body an exclusively calming or exciting action. Silk can only be charged with much difficulty, and may therefore be considered as an insulator. It can be used to advantage for covering magnetized objects to preserve them against contact with the air, which gradually discharges them. Magnetizers attach great importance to magnetized water for patients to drink, either pure or mixed with wine, at meals. It is also advantageously employed for injections, irrigation of the stomach, for lo- tions and compresses. We can, nay, we should, in the course of a treatment, magnetize most of the food. Terrestrial magnetism, light, heat, chemical action, sound, and movement may be employed in magnetizing the various substances and divers objects which serve as intermediaries between the magnetizer and the patient, but the 102 The Theory and Practice most powerful and practical mediums are, first, human magnetism, and then the magnet. Human Magnetism, In order to magnetize a piece of stuff, a sheet of glass or metal or any ob- ject, it is held in one or other of the hands ac- cording as you wish to magnetize positively or negatively, or else alternately in both hands, if mixed magnetism is desired. Then you execute passes or digital imposition, and after that, in- sufflation. At the end of five or six minutes the saturation is complete; the object is magnetized. To magnetize liquids you place them in a vase, basin, cup or glass, and execute passes and dig- ital imposition with either or both hands. If the liquid is destined for external use, you can put your hands in it and practice hot insufflation on it. According to the quantity of liquid to be mag- netized, complete saturation requires from four to ten minutes. Magnetism of the Magnet. A horseshoe, or any other magnet, can be employed, but the mag- netic bar I use is preferable on account of its ac- cessories, as shown in the adjoining figure. To magnetize a piece of cloth, a sheet of glass or metal or any object, you place it in contact with one of the poles of the magnet, or with both suc- cessively. You can dispense with placing the ob- ject to be magnetized in direct contact; all that is necessary is to place it in the field of its action. of Human Magnetism. 103 To magnetize a liquid you can likewise place the vase containing it in the field of action of the magnet, but it is preferable to plunge into the liquid the silver needles at the end of the conduct- ing wires of the bar. Saturation is completed in from ten to twenty minutes, according to the quantity of liquid tonSeTriagnetized. I would here state to users of this bar that in order to ob- tain from it the maximum of magnetic action, it is necessary to use it horizontally in the direction from east to west, the X pole towards the first, the — pole towards the second, and that when not in use it should, if it is to retain its force, be suspended horizontally, or placed on a bureau or tall piece of furniture in the direction of the me- ridian, the X pole toward the north. An im : portant remark may be made here. A liquid or any object charged with human magnetism re- tains its property for a long time, but charged with the magnet or any other mode of magnet- ism it loses very rapidly, so that after eight or ten days there remains no perceptible effect. The action of fire scarcely weakens human magnet- ism, but it destroys almost entirely that of the 104 The Theory and Practice magnet and the other bodies or forces of nature. Consequently you must not heat to the boiling point any water but that magnetized by human magnetism. To give an idea of the therapeutic value of magnetized water, even by the aid of a magnet, I think it instructive to reproduce here a personal observation. A few years ago, at the clinic of the Ecole pratique de Magnetisme et de Massage, attended Thursdays and Sundays by twenty to thirty-five patients each seance, I proposed to them to give them water magnetized by the action of the magnet, so as to hasten their cure. I did not praise the properties of this wa- ter, remaining satisfied with saying that I had often observed its good effects on patients. They almost all accepted my generous offer, and in exchange for their promise to render me an ac- count of the effects they might observe, I handed a bottle of it to each one. The water, placed in a great tub in my laboratory, was subjected for a whole night to the action of a horseshoe magnet set at 240 pounds. I had the patients' bottles filled during— tfTe~~seance, and then returned to them, so that they could employ the contents at home. Those affected with sores, weak eyes, or skin diseases used it in lotions and compresses ; those suffering from organic complaints took it internally, pure or mixed with table wine, while 9thers utilized it for gargling, injections, etc. of Human Magnetism. 105 *?r Right from the start the most salutory effects were noticed by nearly all the patients. In inter- nal complaints digestion was better, appetites more regular, discomfort ceased, pains dimin- ished; and in those suffering from constipation, laxative effects were observed without any ap- parent exterior cause. In internal maladies the sores healed better, the weak eyes were sensibly stronger, and all the patients claimed to have in the water one of the most valuable remedies they had ever used; so that, at each sitting, not one missed bringing his bottle, some even coming for a supply between the seances. A good many were so satisfied with the water that they sent for it and discontinued coming to the clinic to be magnetized. This first part of the experiment lasted two months. I listened attentively to the observa- tions of each one without sharing their enthusi- asm, because I thou ght their imagination p layed, if not the principal part, at least considerably helped the real effects naturally resulting from the action of the magnetized liquid. But I had no difficulty in deciding between imagination and genuine effect, and the following account of what I did will form the second part of the experi- ment. One fine morning, without saying any- thing, I handed the same water to each patient, but without its having been magnetized. If im- / 106 The Theory and Practice agination played any part in the production of the phenomena observed these should have con- tinued to occur almost in the same way, because, not knowing that I was experimenting, their confidence in me was the same. But it was not so. At the following seance, and without my asking them anything to avoid any suspicion, at least two-thirds of the patients told me they had not found in the water that particular flavor it us- ually had, and that its effect had been nil or in- significant. In a few, whose imagination might have helped the effect of the remedy, say in a fourth of the patients, there were some good re- sults; but all were quite sure that if the water of the last seance was magnetized, it was less so than that of previous seances. I told them it ought to be to the same extent, and that if the effects appeared less considerable, it could only be owing to some fault of their own when using it. Admitting this reason, they again willingly took away another bottle (which was no more magnetized than the one before). Whatever remained of imagination disappeared completely, for all the patients were absolutely unanimous in saying the water had produced no effect at all. I advised them to continue with it, in giving the most suggestive arguments, but only a few con- sented to keep on with the trial, which, it must not be forgotten, had been producing excellent of Human Magnetism. 10? *fcj \ results for two months. At the fifth sitting, be- ing satisfied with the result, I intended to con- tinue the experiment, giving the patients fresh arguments to try to get them to take some wa- ter which, this time, was more magnetized than ever, for I had left it under the action of the magnet for twenty-four hours. All my argu- ments were in vain ; not one of them would take it; they all told me it had no longer any effect on them. I was disappointed, for I was very desirous of continuing the experiment so well begun, but al- though fairly conclusive, it remained unfinished. It is necessary to note here that (without its chemical condition being modified) most patients find a particular flavor in magnetized water, en- abling them to distinguish it from the same wa- ter not magnetized. Magnetized with the righA hand or with the positive pole (X) of the mag- j) net, it takes an acidulated taste which renders it cool and pleasant; while magnetized with the left hand or with the negative ( — ) pole of the magnet, it has an alkaline flavor, rendering it tasteless and unpleasant. The first excites the functions of the stomach; the second diminishes them. Magnetized with both hands, or with both poles of the magnet, it possessed mixed prop- erties which suit most palates. 108 The Theory and Practice CHAPTER IX. The Purpose of Magnetism — To Cai,m and to Stimulate — Importance of Knowing the How and the Why — Directions For Use. We know experimentally that the human body is polarized like a magnet, and that me^actiorToT one on the other of their opposite poles dimin- ishes organic activity, that is, calms, whereas that of their same poles augments this activity, that is, excites. But as the action of all the methods I have just indicated is not entirely explained by polarity, it is advisable to give here a few in- structions as to the manner of employing them, classing them according to their energy. To calm. In a severe disease, with the patient agitated, delirious, in intense fever, or suffering considerably, you must calm as much as possible. In order to do so, place yourself, at first, at the foot of the bed ; let your gaze fall gently on the chest or on the region of the stomach, and, if possible, apply your hands to his feet or on the lower part of the legs. This is the most calma- tive method the magnetizer can use. At the end of ten or thirt^minutes, as the case may be, the fever and the heat~~trf the body sensibly dimin- ish, agitation ceases, the delirium disappears, the pain is lessened and the patient enjoys a rest he may not have felt for a long time. This first re- of Human Magnetism. 109 suit obtained, you may wait awhile, or continue the action in using methods calmative in a les- ser degree. In the latter case, standing at the pa- tient's side, you make heteronomous applications on the various parts of the body, and especially on the seat of the disease; then you terminate the seance with longitudinal passes practiced very slowly from the head to the epigastrium, and then from the chest to the extremities. If you have to deal with one of those numer- ous cases characterised by an augmentation of the organic activity, by pain, fever or any excitation in a patient who is not in bed, you must calm, but in a lesser degree than in the preceding case. In order to do so, and either standing or sitting in front of your patient, you begin by making applications on the hands, on the thighs, then on the different parts of the body, and especially on the seat of the pain. You then follow with lon- gitudinal passes practiced very slowly at first, from the head to the epigastrium, then from the chest as far as the extremities; after that, longi- tudinal passes practiced faster, from the head to the extremities. You terminate the seance with long passes from head to foot, so as to regularize the action. Neuralgic pains are calmed particu- larly by application of the hands, to the exclusion of all other methods. A hot, heavy and congested head is soon cleared no The Theory and Practice under the action of cold insufflation on the fore- head, by transversal passes practiced on the head and all around the upper part of the body, by the application of the hands on the knees and on the thighs, as far as the extremities, by long passes ; and especially, standing at your patient's left, by the application of your left hand to his forehead, the fingers extended, while your right hand exe- cutes slow rubbing on the vertebral column, from the base of the neck to the lower part of the back. To flycitp. It is a good plan always to begin your action without any roughness. Being seated in front of your patient, you first apply your hands on his in a heteronomous position, your knees against his knees and your feet against his feet, in order to establish what for- mer magnetizers used to call the rapport; then with your hands you make isonomous applica- tions on the various parts of the body, and more especially on the seat of the pain. Then longi- tudinal passes practiced in front of the patient, as if to calm, followed by palmar imposition, dig- ital imposition, and if you need considerable exci- tation, rotary, or even perforating, imposition. You finish up with slow and rotatory rubbings, and, if necessary, hot insufflation. In a great number of cases where it is neces- sary to stimulate one or all of the functions, it of Human Magnetism. m is advisable to excite at first, so as to calm after- ward. I need not enter into fuller details on this subject, for with a little common sense the reader will sufficiently understand which are the methods he can best combine in order to obtain the greatest amount of beneficial action he can hope for. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 PreservatlonTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 521 859 5