§293 inthe fifth Edition & §288 in the sixth edition& [both]
I find it necessaryto allude here to animal magnetism, as it is termed, or rathermesmerism (as it should be called, out of gratitude to Mesmer,its first founder), which differs so much in its nature from allother therapeutic agents. This curative power, often so stupidlydenied,
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or reviled for an entire century, being a wonderful inestimable gift of God granted to humanity, by means of which the Life Energy of the healthy mesmerist gifted with this power dynamically streams into another human being by touch and even without the same, indeed even at some distance, through the powerful will of a well intentioned individual (like one of the poles of a powerful magnet into a rod of raw steel) works in a different way, in that this therapeutic power partly replaces the Life Energy lacking here and there in the patient's organism, partly drains off, decreases and more equally distributes the Life Energy accumulated all too much in other places, which arouses and sustains unnameable nervous sufferings and generally extinguishes the morbid mistunement of the Life Principle, replacing it with the normal 'tuning' of the mesmerist impinging powerfully upon the patient,
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which streams upon a patient by the contact of a well-intentioned person powerfully exerting his will, either acts homeopathically, by the production of symptoms similar to those of the diseased state to be cured; and for this purpose a single pass made, without much exertion of the will, with the palms of the hands not too slowly from the top of the head downwards over the body to the tips of the toes,[1] is serviceable in, for instance, uterine hemorrhages, even in the last stage when death seems approaching; or it is useful by distributing the vital force uniformly throughout the organism, when it is in abnormal excess in one part and deficient in other parts, for example, in rush of blood to the head and sleepless, anxious restlessness of weakly persons, &c, by means of a similar, subtle, but somewhat stronger pass: or for the immediate communication and restoration of the vital force to some one weakened part or to the whole organism, a purpose which through no other agent other than mesmerism can be attained so certainly and so entirely without disturbance of the rest of the medicinal treatment. If it is wished to supply a particular part with the vital force, this is effected by concentrating a very powerful and well-intentioned will for the purpose, and placing the hands or tips of the fingers on the chronically weakened parts, whither an internal chronic dyscrasia has transferred its important local symptom,
as, for example, inthe case of old ulcers, amaurosis, paralysis of certain limbs,&c [2] manyrapid apparent cures performed in all ages, belongs to the animalmagnetizers gifted with great nature-power. However, the actionof communicated human power upon the whole organism by means ofthe most powerful genial will of a man in the full bloom of LifeEnergy [3] was most brilliantly shown in the revival ofsome persons who had remained in apparent death for a long time,a kind of resurrection of the dead of which history exhibits severalundeniable examples.
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[1]The smallest homeopathicdose, which, however, often effects wonders when used on properoccasions. Imperfect homeopathists, who think themselves monstrouslyclever not infrequently deluge their patients in difficult diseaseswith doses of different medicines, given rapidly one after theother, which, although they may have been homeopathically selectedand given in high potentiated attenuation, bring the patientsinto such an over excited state that life and death are strugglingfor mastery, and the least additional quantity of medicine wouldinfallibly kill them. In such cases a mere gentle mesmeric passand the frequent application, for a short time, of the hand ofa well-intentioned person to the part that is particularly affected,produce the harmonious uniform distribution of the vital forcethroughout the organism, and therewith rest, sleep and recovery.
[2] Although by this completing supplementation(making whole, replenishment) of the life energy, which oughtto be repeated from time to time, no permanent cure can be effectedin cases where, as has been taught above, a general internal dyscrasialies at the root of the local affection, as it always does, yetthis positive empowerment and immediate saturation with life energy(which no more belongs to the category of palliatives than doeseating and drinking when hunger and thirst are present) is nomean auxiliary to the actual treatment of the whole disease byhomeopathic medicines.
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[3] Especially of such, regarding whom thereare but few in humanity, who, with great good nature and full-blownpower, possesses very little or even no sexual drive, in whomtherefore all the subtle Life Spirits used in all humanity forthe preparation of offspring are available in quantity and readyto be communicated through touch by dint of will to other persons.Some mesmerists of such therapeutic power, whom I got to know,possessed all of these particular attributes.