On the true scientific spirit in which the claims of phrenology and mesmerism ought to be examined / [William Gregory].

  • Gregory, William, 1803-1858
Date:
1847
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the true scientific spirit in which the claims of phrenology and mesmerism ought to be examined / [William Gregory]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    mony, both of the dead and of the living, on this point. We doubt not that there may have been exaggeration; that the phenomena may frequently have been ill observed ; and that many fallacious theories may have been founded on them : but making all possible allowances, there remains an amount of absolutely unimpeachable testimony, more than sufficient, if fairly weighed, to prove that, in the higher stages of the mesmeric sleep, the patient frequently acquires powers which, in his waking state, he does not possess. Whether these powers be acquired merely through an exaltation of the deli¬ cacy and acuteness of the ordinary senses; or whether, as some suppose, a new sense or senses be developed; or what, finally, may be the explanation or the true theory of these facts, we cannot say; but the evidence of the facts we hold to be irresistible, and to be such as, in any question where prejudice was not excited, would never for an instant be doubted. It is not within the limits of possibility, practi¬ cally, that so many observers, during the last sixty or seventy years, in so many different places, and under such various circumstances, should, in regard to clairvoyance, agree on all essential points, unless the facts were facts ; and besides, the very idea of deceit on the part of all these observers is at once felt to be preposterous. The testimony of modern observers on this subject, is greatly strengthened by the existence of numerous recorded cases of spontaneous somnambulism, exhibiting powers far beyond the ordinary reach of the senses ; of double or alter¬ nate consciousness; and even of insensibility to pain. And although there be little recorded exactly corresponding to mesmeric clairvoyance, yet the agreement of the descriptions of the recorded cases with those of mesmeric somnambulism in all the recorded phenomena, is such as to give us great confidence in the accuracy of the modern reports. There are, however, some facts recorded, which would seem to indicate that some of the higher mesmeric phenomena had been ob¬ served as spontaneously occurring, generally in cases of dis¬ ease of the nervous system, such as hysteria and catalepsy; and usually ascribed to supernatural influence. This leads us to notice the very common objection urged by those who are not so ready as some are to charge others with falsehood ; namely, that the mesmeric phenomena, being observed only in “ hysterical females.” are, on that account, unworthy of attention. We profess our inability to perceive the cogency of this argument. It cannot be meant that a fact is less a fact be¬ cause it occurs as a symptom of hysteria. It is probably in-