CHAPTER VI.
ANIMAL MAGNETISM.
And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went away to make
war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God
and maintain the testimony of Jesus. — Apocalypse.
| He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; |
| He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat; |
| Oh be swift my Soul to answer Him, be jubilant my feet. |
| Julia Ward Howe. |
| If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. |
| Jesus |
ANIMAL magnetism was first brought into notice in Germany in 1775, by Mesmer. According to the American Cyclopedia he regarded this force, which he said could be exerted by one living organism over another, as a means of alleviating disease.
His propositions are as follows: —
There exists a mutual influence between the celestial bodies, the earth and animated things. Animal bodies are susceptible to the influence of this agent, disseminating itself through the substance of the nerves.
In 1784 the French government ordered the medical faculty of Paris to investigate Mesmer's theory, and report upon it. Under this order a commission was appointed, and Benjamin Franklin was one of the
