Mesmerism in India, and its practical application in surgery and medicine / by James Esdaile.

  • Esdaile, James, 1808-1859.
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mesmerism in India, and its practical application in surgery and medicine / by James Esdaile. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    every one of satisfying himself by his own deeds, and the evidence of his own senses. No hocus pocus, no pretensions to exclusive powers, no attempts at concealment, are resorted to by many Mesmerisers, whose word has never been doubted, and who are well known to be neither fools nor knaves. They say to us, Do thus, and you will probably become as wise as ourselves ; or if you cannot, or will not, be at the necessary trouble,—come and see. But people in general prefer to dictate laws to na- ture from their easy chairs, and amuse themselves at the expense of her followers, chasing the shapes of their own imaginations, as they are pleased to say. To those who really desire to know the truth, what- ever favourite ideas it may upset, I would venture to recommend that they should examine the evidence in support of Mesmerism, just as they would any other matter worth inquiring about; and I can confi- dently promise that they will be richly rewarded. To encourage them, I would remind them in the words of Bacon, that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-making or wooing of it; the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it; and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it; is the sovereign good of human nature ; and that this highest gratifi- cation of humanity can only be attained by carefully training and exercising our intellect, to which the senses are only handmaids. The public are too apt to consider the subject of Mesmerism as a professional one, and not to take the necessary means to become acquainted with it till the