American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-16
The Power of the Imagination.
Extracts from a Lecture on the Nervous System
by Dr. Brown-Sequard.l


Extracts from Lecture on the Nervous System,
by DR.. Brown-Sequard.l
THE power of the mind over the body
through nervous force is much greater
than most of you imagine. Indeed, l do
not think that any one among you, how
ever exalted may be his or her idea of the
strength and variety of their power, has
an adequate conception of its magnitude
within the bounds which l will mention.
You all know what mesmeriZers have
tried to establish. You all know what
persons believing in animal magnetism
profess and declare. You have heard of
what is called the God force" and you
have heard of peculiar process which
originated in New England and which
we know under the name of Perkins
Tractors. All these views that I have
mentioned have a ground in nature, and l
may say there is hardly any folly in man.
kind of any importance that has not some
ground, some degree of truth.
But though there may be some ground
for it, there may not be enough to estab-
fish the truth of certain view. The
ground here is simply that the power of
Imagination on the body is immense, and
that what is done by persons in a state of
what is called mesmerism, or in any of
the instances l have mentioned, which is
apparently due to those odd forces-this
time it has two "ds''-is due to the i'm
agination of the person under these in
fluences. John Hunter long ago having
to deal with mesmeriZer showed very
clearly what occurs in these cases. He
said that he had observed of himself that
by thinking of any part of the body he
could very soon produce a sensation
there, and if he thought of GER
fai of hot l.,
of sensation was produced. Having
been urged strongly to go to a mesmer-
izer's, he tells us that he was very re-
luctant to do so because he was troubled
with that serious affection known as an
gina DectOris and feared for his health.
Finally he made up his mind to go, and
determined to call some sensation from a
part remote from that on which the mes
meriZer was trying to fix his mind; so
that when the mesmeriZer was trying to
act on his hand, saying, "Don't you feel
this or that sensation when this instru.
ment is put in your hands?" Hunter al
that time was trying to give himself the
govt in the big toe. Hunter unfortunately
knew what the govt was, for he was care.
less of his health, and had that complaint
in other and worse parts than the big toe
But this time he thought he would divert
it to that member, and succeeded in doing
it so well that all the attempts of the mes
merizer to produce sensation in the fin,
gers failed. Hunter had the true view
about this when he attributed it to the
imagination. Another man of immense
genius, although at times, according to
my notion, he was carried away by hallu-
cinations and illusions from disorder in
his mind-that man, Swedenborg had also
a very clear view of what John Hunter
has expressed He lived before Hunter
and therefore preceded him in this
view, and he expressed it in his
usual way, somewhat mystically but very
forcibly. for he said that the brain had
the power of conveying various sensations
in it of other things to any part of the
nervous system. And this is what mag
ination may do. But the real discoverer
of this influence, the man who has estab-
lished on most solid grounds the agency
Ofthe imagination in this matter, is Thos.
Braid, of Manchester, the real intrOducer
of hypnotism, although some three or
four Americans had had a good deal OF
his thought mixed up with notions more
or less incorrect. The influence of the
mind on sensations especially is exceed
ingly great. Prof. Bennett, of Edin
burgh, relates the case of butcher who
| on a hook. He found suddenly that he
| had suspended himself to the hook in
stead of the meat. HIS agony of pair
when he discovered it was terrible, but ar
| examination showed that the hook haC
| only passed through his sleeve and hao
hardly touched his skin. The exaltatioI
| of the senses that we see, especially il
mesmeriZed persons, may go to a mos
wonderful extent. Indeed, the power o.
the sense of hearing especially is sucl
that il would be dangerous, if you wanted
| TO- a.1, frrrt !, OBJ ION tf
, ak in a room adjoining the one in which
was the mesmeriZed person about tina
which the mesmeriZed person was to find
The mesmeriZed person would have {
good chance of hearing what you say. AL
he senses, indeed, are exceedingly deli
| late then.
Still there is another thing than an in
crease of the senses. Prof. LaycOck, o
Edinburgh, has insisted on point o
great Importance. If you put a watch OF
the back part of the head of a mesmer
lied person. have not seen it but i
seems well attested-that person viii
know what time it is exactly to the min
ute, although some hours may hav,
elapsed since the person had the opportu
nifty TO consult the time. In that cas'
Prof Laycock suggests that we all know
that during sleep we have power of judg
ing of time. What that power is in u
| IL is not my province 10 say. 1here is NJ
doubt that there is such a power of know
ing the time, so much so that some PEG
pie can wake themselves up within
minute of fixed time. So it is quit
easy to admit that the mesmerized person
knew the time by that power, whatever
is Therefore, the power of knowing tn
time did not come from the fact that tn
watch was there; or that the hands of tn
watch were seen by the hair, or the skin
or the bones; it was that there was
knowledge within of the real time, TIL
way to ascertain if the person sees wOul,
be to put there a watch which gives tin
wrong time.
| could give good many facts to SHOW
that even in health, in persons of imagi
nation, great deal of pain can be pro
duced when there is no organic cause 70
it. | could show also that lack of sensa
ton may be produced TO such an exten
by the imagination that pain may scarcel.
be felt, as in the case OF the CONFUSION
aires of st. Medard. These men an,
women were trampled under foot in tn
most violent manner, and never showe
the least sensibiiity under pain. They ha
come to imagine that they could bear "a
most anything, and did do it, There is
story of Que Of these poor Sisters of Chal
ity who was struck and beaten all over Tia