REPORT

Of a Committee of the Royal Society of Medicine, appointed to examine a Work, entitled, Enquiries and Doubts respecting the Animal Magnetism, by M. Thouret, Regent Physician of the Faculty of Paris, and Member of the Society. To which are subjoined, by the Translator, Notes, chiefly extracted from M. Thouret’s Performance.

THE underwritten were charged by the royal society of medicine, with the examination of a work of M. Thouret, member of the society, entitled, Enquiries and Doubts respecting the Animal Magnetism.

In the attentive perusal of this work, it is obvious to remark, that it has two very distinct objects; one of them, which is in a manner historical, is to explain the coincidences of the animal magnetism, as it was known to the ancients, with that which is admitted by the moderns: the other contains critical reflections and doubts in regard to the evidences upon which the doctrine is founded, the uncertainty of which M. Thouret undertakes to display. We will endeavour to lay before the society an idea of his performance.

The animal magnetism held a principal rank among the systems, which were embraced in that period of literary history, when suppositions were admitted to hold the place of facts; and this hypothesis vanished, together with many others, when experimental philosophy began to dissipate the impostures of the imagination, and to afford an accurate measure of the value of arts and sciences.

The object of this system was a fluid extremely subtle, upon which were bestowed the magnificent titles of soul of the world, spirit of the universe, and universal magnetic fluid; and which was pretended to be diffused through the whole space occupied by the material creation, to animate the system of nature, to penetrate all substances, and to be the vehicle to animated bodies in general, and their several regions in particular, of certain forces of attraction and repulsion, by means of which they explained the phenomena of nature.

Nor were they contented to admit, or rather to imagine, the fluid we have described; they flattered themselves that they were able, in certain methods, to render themselves masters of this fluid, and to direct its operations. Even this did not terminate their chimerical pretensions: they affirmed that this fluid, in which they admitted a species of flux and reflux, exerted an important degree of action upon the nerves, and had a grand analogy with the vital principle; that its effects, under the guidance of skill and illumination, extended to very great distances, without the intervention of any foreign substances; that it was possible to impregnate with it, either certain powders, in the manner of sir Kenelm Digby, who asserted that he had done this, or fluids, or different parts of the bodies of animals; that this agent was like light reflected by mirrors, and that sound and music augmented its intensity.

The partisans of the animal magnetism, who wrote in the seventeenth century, did not yet confine their hopes within these limits: the art of directing the fluid, which they had brought down from heaven, and which, according to them, acted in so distinguished a manner upon the human body, might be expected to have a considerable share in the medical science, or rather to supersede that science, as it had hitherto existed; they did not fail to assert, that in causing it to circulate in a proper manner, the restoration of diseased organs was infallible, as well the preservation of the health of those who were yet unattacked with any disease⁠[1].

Such was the origin of an external and universal medicine, of a species entirely new, and which boasted of having the advantage of curing diseases, without obliging any drugs to be swallowed by the diseased. Soon after poles were discovered in the human body, that is, points, towards which it appeared that the action of this imaginary fluid ought to be directed, cures and evacuations were operated without the assistance of pharmacy, sensations of various kinds were excited in the patients; and notwithstanding the distinguished effects ascribed to this agent, it was asserted, that persons the most feeble and delicate might submit to its process without danger. The process had yet another use, that of discovering the seat of the distemper; a thing frequently so difficult to be ascertained, but which was pointed out by the fluid by a sort of instinctive intelligence, and with absolute demonstration. It perfected the concoction of the humours; nervous distempers in particular, rarely resisted its influence; it was favourable to transpiration. In fine, and this last remark is of particular importance, it had a powerful action upon the moral principles of our frame. A propensity, that could scarcely be resisted, was the basis of the attachment and gratitude, which were vowed by the patients to those who had employed upon them this method of cure. Several, and in this number was Maxwel, even gave us to understand, that it was possible, in certain circumstances of human life, to make an improper use of this vehicle of influence⁠[2].

This picture of the animal magnetism, as it was invented and applauded by the ancients, is faithfully extracted from the performance of M. Thouret. The principal authors, to which he has recourse in the progress of his enquiry, are Paracelsus, Van Helmont, Goclenius, Burgravius, Libavius, Wirdig, Maxwel, Santanelli, Tentzel, Kircher and Borel⁠[3]. The entire passages are extracted, and M. Thouret has displayed in this performance, as he had already done in so many others, an erudition, the most various, the most precise, and the most extensive.

It is easy to see, how analogous is the system we have described to that of M. Mesmer. To demonstrate this analogy, M. Thouret has considered separately each of the propositions published and avowed by the latter. They amount to twenty-seven, and the result of this examination is, that they are all positively announced in some of the authors whose names have been recited.

Every part of Mesmer’s system, even down to the experiments of the ring and the sword, have been found by M. Thouret in the works of these writers⁠[4]. It is therefore certain, that the assertions of M. Mesmer, which are represented by him as principles of his own, do not belong to him; and that this theory, in the room of being an attractive novelty, is an ancient system, abandoned by the learned near a century ago.

In ascending indeed to the original systems which were formed upon the subject, we are unable to discover any thing but suppositions destitute of proof, and for that reason devoted to oblivion. The parts of this hypothesis were not connected together by any other tie, than that of the imagination. The steps that were proposed in order to its establishment, were the very same that had been employed in favour of the art of cure, now by enchantments, and now by exorcisms. It has been always by sensations that they have pretended to prove the existence of these different agents; and if this kind of proof were sufficient, there is not one of them which would not have been demonstrated. Sound philosophy has therefore refused credit, as well to this species of proof, as to the magnetism, such as it was proposed by Maxwel, Goclenius and Santanelli, and such as we have described it in the opening of this report.

Has the animal magnetism of M. Mesmer any better claim to our confidence? M. Thouret, without replying to this question in a positive manner, has permitted to himself, in the second part of his work, certain reflections respecting it, which he has proposed simply as doubts, and which relate entirely to what M. Mesmer has published, or authentically advanced. It may be objected to him, says M. Thouret,

1. That the touch frequently employed in his method for a considerable time, and on regions extremely sensible, such as those of the stomach, is of itself capable of producing effects, by communicating a vivid impulse to the nerves of the plexuses which are there situated, and which have an intimate connection with the whole nervous system; that authentic records present us with a great number of facts of this kind, and that in consequence, the sensations, which originate in the application of the touch, do not prove the existence of a separate fluid or agent.

2. That the heat produced by the hand, and the motion communicated to the air, may occasion very strong impressions upon a person extremely sensible, and whose fibres are in a state of convulsion, without these impressions being calculated to prove a new agent.

3. That in subduing the imagination by solemn preparations, by extraordinary proceedings, by the confidence and enthusiasm inspired by magnificent promises, it is possible to exalt the tone of sensible and nervous fibres, and afterwards to direct, by the application of the hands, their impulse towards certain organs, and to excite in them evacuations or excretions, without there resulting any addition to the sciences, either of philosophy or medicine.

4. That the partisans of the animal magnetism do not produce what they call crises, that is, a state of convulsions, but in subjects extremely irritable, extremely nervous, and above all, in women, whose sensibility has been already excited by the means we have described.

5. That among these disposing causes, particular stress is to be laid upon the presence of a person already in a state of convulsion, or ready to fall into that state; that just as an organ attacked with spasmodic affections, easily propagates these affections to the other organs, in like manner are they transmitted from one man to another; that we have therefore no reason to be surprised, if in the halls, where the pretended magnetical operations are performed, spasms, and even convulsions are diffused with extreme alacrity; and that history furnishes a great number of facts, of convulsions propagated through whole villages or towns, in a manner still more astonishing than that of which the animal magnetism presents us with an example.

6. That history has also transmitted to us a great number of cures operated by fear, by joy, or the commotion of any violent passion; which proves beyond controversy, the power of nervous influences over diseases.

7. That in different ages, two famous empirics, Valentine Greatrakes of the kingdom of Ireland, and Gassner of Ratisbon, produced upon different persons effects which appeared surprising, and have had their admirers; that they employed only the instrumentality of the touch, either upon the nape of the neck, or the limb affected; and that it has been universally acknowledged, that they acted only upon the imagination⁠[5].

8. That in many instances, the partisans of the magnetism seem to bestow a greater attention to excite surprise in the spectators, than salutary effects in their patients; the spasms and convulsions which they produce being the source of undoubted evil, were it only by the habitude of that state which they are calculated to induce, while the advantages of this method are not equally demonstrated.

9. That certain local diseases not being of the number of those upon which the animal magnetism acts, and certain persons, by the confession of M. Mesmer, not being susceptible of its action, it may be suspected, that the partisans of this system have contrived for themselves this resource, in order to account for their failure of success in certain cases.

10. That to pretend to the discovery of a means which shall extend to every kind of disease, that is, to an universal medicine, is an illusion which cannot be excused in an enlightened age.

11. That the known effects of sensibility are sufficient to explain, without any new agent, the phenomena which M. Mesmer produces by a method which he has not yet imparted to the public.

12. That M. Mesmer, in supposing a particular agent, has adopted a rout contrary to the interests of his discovery, in following the example of those who have exerted their efforts to give credit to a system, worthy upon every account of the oblivion into which it has fallen.

The society may judge of the performance from this extract: it is proper here to call to mind, that the royal society, acquainted with the zeal of M. Thouret, and his indefatigable enquiries into every thing that concerned the magnetism, charged him in their session of the twelfth of March 1784, with the collection from the authors, as well ancient as modern, of all that had been written respecting the animal magnetism. This collection, which is sufficiently complete to satisfy every reasonable desire, and of which M. Thouret communicated the plan to the society, composes the first part of his work, and is to be considered as his report to the society upon that subject. We are of opinion, that the society is extremely indebted to him in that respect. The second part contains judicious reflections and sagacious doubts. We think both of them worthy of being printed with the approbation and privilege of the society.

The society, charged by the king with the examination of all new inventions and secret methods of healing diseases, has not beheld without inquietude, the species of vogue acquired by the animal magnetism; whose procedures, whatever be their merit, have been and are administered to the diseased, and paid for by the public, without having previously, in obedience to the express provisions of the laws of the kingdom, undergone the examination of the physical profession; an abuse, against which the society, as in duty bound, has exclaimed ever since its introduction. They have a right to take much pride to themselves, that one of their members is publishing so learned enquiries upon a subject, which has not been hitherto treated but in anonymous compositions, which are, for the greater part, destined more for the amusement than the instruction of their readers. The work of M. Thouret, full of depth and sagacity, will enlighten those who are impartial in their enquiries, and will greatly tend to the solution of a question, upon which the public interest requires that sentence should be pronounced as soon as possible.

Louvre, July the 9th, 1784.

(Signed)Geoffroy,

Desperrieres,

Jeanroi,

Defourcroy,

Chambon,

Vicq D’Azyr.