Volume 2

Hypnotism and the doctors / [Richard Harte].

  • Harte, Richard.
Date:
1902-1903
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Hypnotism and the doctors / [Richard Harte]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    3-—That in the mesmeric trance the most severe and pro- tracted surgical operations can be performed without the patients being sensible of pain. 4. —That spasms and nervous pains disappear before the mesmeric trance. 5. —That it gives us complete command of the muscular system, and is, therefore, of great service in restoring contracted limbs. 6. —That the chronic administration of mesmerism often acts as a useful stimulant in functional debility of the nerves. 7. —That as sleep and the absence of all pain is the best condition of the system for subduing inflammation, the mesmeric trance will probably be found to be a powerful remedy in local nflammations. 8. —That the imagination has nothing to do with the first physical impressions made in the system by mesmerism, as practised by me. g.—That it is not necessary for the eyes to be open; I always shut them as a source of distraction ; and blind men are as readily mesmerised as others. 10. —That water can be charged with the mesmeric fluid, and has a powerful effect on the system when it has been previously affected. 11. —That the mesmeric influence can be transmitted through the air to considerable distances, and even pass through dense materials.” I do not think that the great importance of Esdaile’s mesmeric experiences has ever been fully perceived. In one respect those experiences were unique, for he conquered his enemies, and brought mesmerism into the forefront of surgical, if not of medical practice. He occupied the extraordinary, almost unnatural, position of a mesmeriser who was treated not only with respect, but with honour by his fellow citizens and by the Government. It was only a section of his professional brethren that continued to oppose him, and that opposition appeared far more important than it was, because those who promoted it controlled some of the Indian medical periodicals