American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-16

body, and trampled on by some ten or
twelve persons over her limbs and body,
and still bore 1t all without any sign OF
pain whatever.
The cure of any illness which
does not consist in any disoreanization of
the tissues can often be accomplished
when the person thinks that it can be done.
If we physicians, who treat patients every
day, had the power to make them believe
that they are to be cured, we certainly
would obtain less fees than we do, and L
must say that the best of us would rejoice
at 1t. There is no doubt at all that if
we could give to patients the idea
that they are to be cured they would often
be cured, especially if we could name a
time for it, which is great element in
success. | have succeeded i'll this way
sometimes, and | may say that l succeed
more now than formerly, because | have
myself the faith that ! can in giving faith
obtain cure. l WISH indeed, that physi-
clans who are younger men than myself,
and who will have more time to study
this question than | have, would take it
up, especially in those cases in which
there is functional nervous affection
only to deal with, as it is particularly,
though not only, in those cases that a cure
can be obtained. Indeed, cure may thus
be obtained in certain organic affections
even in dropsy it may lead to a cure. You
know that ii will stop pain; that going to
a dentist is often quite enough to make a
toothache disappear. have seen patients
come to me with a terrible neuralgia,
who dreaded the operation l was about
to perform, and, just at the time was to
undertake it, ceased to suffer.
l think have shown that the power OF
nerve force is exceedingly various; that
nerve force can be transformed into chem
ical force, into motion, into electricity,
into heat, into light, and so on. But what
are the limits of the action of nerve force!
l may say that the limits of the action OF
nerve force, except after it has been trans
formed into other forces, are our own
body. Those persons who think that by
an Imagination, or by an act of will, or by
the action of meZmeriZer, we can send
in any part of our body an influence that
| can modify it-those persons make great
mistake if they think that this can take
place by forces distinct from nerve force
in the subject in which the action takes
place. If we divide nerve going to a
part, never mind how much we may
imagine that we can move the
shall not have the least action in
the muscles to which that nerve went.
That nerve is absolutely outside of our
control. Nerve force cannot be propa
gated to parts that are not IN connection
with the nervous centers. This fact is a
deathblow to the view that there are 9th.
er forces acting in us than mere nerve
force To continue the illustration of this
fact: If the spinal cord, which establishes
communication between the brain and the
various parts of the body, is divided, the
parts of the body that are below that sec
ton are separated absolutely from any
act of will, any act of Imagination. any
| act coming from emotion-in fact, from
anything that comes from the brain
There is, repeat, no force in our system
other than mere nerve force for the trans
missions that may come from the brain, as
the seat of the Imagination, the seat Of
emotion and the seat of the will.