The mesmerist's manual of phenomena and practice : with directions for applying mesmerism to the cure of diseases, and the methods of producing mesmeric phenomena. Intended for domestic use and the instruction of beginners / by George H. Barth.

  • Barth, George H.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The mesmerist's manual of phenomena and practice : with directions for applying mesmerism to the cure of diseases, and the methods of producing mesmeric phenomena. Intended for domestic use and the instruction of beginners / by George H. Barth. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    PREFACE. In presenting this little Manual to the public, I seek to offer something which may be useful to those who desire a knowledge of the subject. I do not, for a moment, presume to say that I can teach that which is not already known. I claim nothing as a discoverer,—I am merely a retailer of other men’s dis- coveries. That which a man learns from others and then reduces to practical experiment, verifying and understanding by personal observation, he makes his own,—and may again teach or set it forth without being charged as a mere plagiarist. Mesmerism was well understood and practised, even in this country, before I was bom; all relating to it which I now know and can tell has been already ascertained; it is therefore not personally a fault—that I cannot teach anything not previously known. The information which I try to give in the following pages I know to be truth; the reader will judge if it be given plainly or obscurely; I can only hope for a favourable verdict if found worthy of it. I make no pretension to elegance of composition, seek not to produce a literary work, but am content if it be- found plain and practical, and consequently useful. If I am charged with twice telling or repeating the same thing too often—be it so; I would rather tell too well than be obscure, or not tell plainly enough that which it is important the learner should clearly apprehend. I hope I have not omitted quotation marks where I have quoted from others. I have too active an organ of Self-esteem to be a mere copyist; when giving the result of others’ thoughts