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14 HYPNOTISM.
understand that the promulgation of the former necessarily brought fresh friends
to the latter.
Although magnetism gradually lost nearly all its adherents in the scientific
world, among the people the belief in the mysterious force continued prevalent.
In Germany, however, as well as Austro-Hungary, where Counts Szi pary and Mailath
were well known in this connection, but more particularly in France, a whole
series of laymen continued to use animal magnetism for healing purposes. The
more science drew back, the louder became the clamour of the quacks. But the
more intentional fraud and cheating increased, the less inclined were seriously-minded
persons to interest themselves in these questions.
In England, in spite of the efforts of many physicians, particularly Elliotson
and Ashburner, the theory of animal magnetism could get no footing in the scientific
world, as it had done on the Continent. A succession of experimenters and writers,
however, actively pursued the matter; for example, Townsend, Scoresby, and Edwin
Lee. When the French 1magnetizer, Lafontaine—a grandson of the poet, according
to 'Ochorowicz—exhibited magnetic experiments in Manchester in 184r, Braid,
a doctor of that place, interested himself in the question. He showed, like
Faria, that the phenomena exhibited by the person experimented on were of subjective
nature, and were not induced by any magnetic fluid. By carefully fixing the
eyes on any object a state of sleep was induced, which Braid called "hypnotism."
1 Braid did not straightway consider the hypnotic state to be identical with
mesmerism, but for a time, at least, left the latter in an independent position
by the side of hypnotism.
In the foregoing I have followed the phenomena of animal magnetism down to the
middle of the last century. The historical development, as I have traced it,
begins with the popular opinion that, in the first place, there are human beings
who can exercise a personal influence over others, and that, in the second place,
peculiar psychical conditions can be called forth by means of certain manipulations.
The scientific development of hypnotism now begins. In this we see the relationship
of modern hypnotism to animal magnetism, in
The name was not, however, altogether new, as already Henin de Cuvillers had
talked of "hypnoscope" and "hypnobat," with reference to
magnetic states (Max Dessoir).
HISTORY OF HYPNOTISM. 15
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