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First, let us cite a few cases of what may be called neuropathic deceit a kind of insanity which shows itself in deceiving. The newspapers record similar cases from time to time. The first two of the following are quoted by Dr. Courmelles from the French courts, etc. The Comtesse de W accused her maid of having attempted to poison her.
Against this we may place the statement of Dr. Foveau de Courmelles, who speaks authoritatively for the whole modern French school. He says: "Every magnetizer is aware that certain individuals never can induce sleep even in the most easily hypnotizable subjects.
Courmelles, from his own observation: "The emotions in this stage are made at command, in the true acceptation of the word, for they are produced, not by orders verbally expressed, but by expressive movements. If the hands are opened and drawn close to the mouth, as when a kiss is wafted, the mouth smiles.
Moreover, the patient was stiff, his eyes were dull and glassy." Nevertheless, Lafontaine was able to recall this man to life. Dr. Courmelles says: "Paralysis of one or more members, or of the tongue, may follow the awakening. These are the effects of the contractions of the internal muscles, due often to almost imperceptible touches.
The contraction disappears only by the repetition of that identical means that called it into action. Dr. Courmelles gives the following illustration: "If the forearm is rubbed a little above the palm of the hand, this latter yields and bends at an acute angle.
Indeed he invented the name of hypnotism, formed from the Greek word meaning 'sleep', and designating 'artificially produced sleep'. His name is James Braid, and so important were the results of his study that hypnotism has sometimes been called "Braidism". Doctor Courmelles gives the following interesting summary of Braid's experiences: "November, 1841, he witnessed a public experiment made by Monsieur Lafontaine, a Swiss magnetizer.
Condemnation of Public Performances. A. Common Sense View. Evidence Furnished by Lafontaine. By Dr. Courmelles. By. Dr. Hart. By Dr. Cocke. No Danger in Hypnotism if Rightly Used by Physicians or Scientists. Having considered the dangers to society through criminal hypnotic suggestion, let us now consider what dangers there may be to the individual who is hypnotized.
Courmelles is of interest: "I have heard a subject say," he states, "'If I were ordered to throw myself out of the window I should do it, so certain am I either that there would be somebody under the window to catch me or that I should be stopped in time. The experimentalist's own interests and the consequences of such an act are a sure guarantee." Dangers in Being Hypnotized.
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