The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-09
BY A. HERMANN.

I have been very much interested in
the recent discussions of mesmerism in
The press of this country and greatly
amused by the clever manner in which
many impositions have been detected
and exposed. The discovery of a liar
here and there does not prove that all
men are liars. Mesmerism is as old as
the world, Nov adays philosophers, ply
sicians, scholars and scientists acknowl-
edge THAI it is one Of the sciences. II
Is the least undeTslo God, the least deveI-
oped. but we know now that ii is IN
reality q science, and perhaps being
the field OF discovery reserved Tor the
las an5 best efforts of mental eXplor-
ers, it viii prove to be the richest OF
all. The history Of the discovery and
development of the principle Of animal
magnetism is stormy, astonishing and
profoundly fascinating study.
In 1854 IL was common among physl-
clans to magnetic rings around the
neck and arms in order 10 work the
cura of nervous diseases. Then IL 0c-
CURED to these physicians that the hu-
man body possessed magnetic proper
ties. Paraceisus believed the body was
endowed with a double magnetism,
drawing bo-h from the planets and
from the clements From the first came
wisdom and the senses; from the latter
came flesh and blood. After him came
Glocenius, Burgrove, Helinocius, Rob
ert Fludd, Kircher and Maxwell
through the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. These sought to prove the
absolute omnlpotence Of the magnetic
principle.
Ten came Mesmer. Mesmer the
clever. Mesmer the profund, the polish
ed ana adroit Mesmer. His predecessors
had operated with talismans. 1t was he
VINO discoN cred the power Of direct con-
Il and the efficacy of passes.
Re was born in Germany in 1874. In
1766 ne became prominent as an eX-
FOUNDER OF the theory that the heavenly
bodies act upon the animal creations OF
this earth by means OF subtle fluid
which he called animal magnetism.
In 17I4 ne met a Jesuit father by the
name OF Hell. in Vienna, who cured the
sick by the use Of the magnet. AIesmer
tried this method for a time, but even
rually returned 10 The use of passes and
personal contact entirely. In 1lI9 he
published a paper in which he claimed
that magnetism was the paracea for all
diseases, concluding with twenty-seVen
startling propositions defining his sys-
TEN of philosophy.
Fa met with a sudden and most re-
markahie success. Deslon, one of the
most famous physicians of his time, be-
came d convert and all the world flock
ed to Mesmer TO be meSmerized. The
marve. Of The people became so great
and their conduct so wild and eXtrava-
giant as TO fix the attention OF kings and
Savants. The academy Of science and
the royal society Of medicine, alarmed
at the popularity of his unorthodoN
theory. abused and condemned him and
finally threatened to remove his name
from among those Of licensed physlc-
ians. He left France. bur was called
back again by his disciples and follow
ers.
In 1874 the government was induced
TO take =. hand in the controversy.
Our own Benjamin Franklin at that
time in France. was made the president
of the commission appointed to lnVes-
1iyate Here the first great error of
the advocates of mesmerism was made
and in the persistence in this error the
expounda1-s OF this theory have worked
a continual injury 10 true discovery
Nermer and his first disciple, Desion,
themselves unconscious OF animal mag
nerisrn. still chung to their theory OF
the fluid of the stars, and sought rather
10 esta blish the existence OF THIS nuld
than the fact that mesmerism was a
reality. although the source from which
the power of the mesmerlst was de-
rived. might be unknown. Deslon pro-
posed to prove the existence OF the
fluid by the cures which he effected;
but the commissioners would not agree
to accept any effects which might be