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HYPNOTISM   AND    PSYCHOTHERAPY 


HYPNOTISM 


OR 


SUGGESTION  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

H  Stuby  of  tbe  psi^cbologtcal,  lpsi5Cbo==iPb^stologtcal 
anb  XTbetapeuttc  Bspects  ot  Ib^pnottsm 


BY 

DR.  (Med.)  AUGUST  FOREL 

DR.    PHIL.   (h.C.)   ET   JUR.   (H.C),    CHIGNY,    SWITZERLAND 
FORMERLY    PROFESSOR   OF    PSYCHIATRY   AND    DIRECTOR   OF    THE   PROVINCIAL   LUNATIC 

ASYLUM,    ZURICH 


^ranslateD  from  tbe  jfittb  0erman  jeoition 

BY 

H.  W.  ARMIT,  M.R.C.S.,  L.R.C.P. 


V 


LONDON  NEW  YORK 

REBMAN  LIMITED  REBMAN   COMPANY 

129  SHAFTESBURY  AVENUE,  W.C.  II23  BROADWAY 

igo6 


GENEiiAL 


Kmt7-.i 


sioiAje 


Entered  at  Stationers    Hall,   1906 
All  rights  reserved 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  ENGLISH 
EDITION 

In  recommending  a  very  careful  study  of  Professor  Forel's 
book  to  the  English-reading  medical  public,  I  can  con- 
fidently promise  that  both  from  an  academic  and  also 
a  practical  point  of  view  much  benefit  will  thereby  be 
gained.  Professor  Forel  is  a  true  philosopher,  and  treats 
his  subject  consistently  in  a  logical  spirit  ;  Professor 
Forel  is  a  psychologist  and  physiologist  of  no  meagre 
description,  and  his  utterances  for  this  reason  deserve 
careful  consideration. 

The  importance  of  studying  the  functional  aspects  of 

» 

thought  and  of  other  psychical  exercises  has  become  an 
urgency,  more  especially  since  this  is  not  taught  in  our 
medical  schools  ;  and  the  impressions  which  the  practi- 
tioner gains  depend  greatly  on  accident,  and  on  the  par- 
ticular trend  of  his  mental  reasoning. 

While  it  is  obviously  impossible  for  anyone  to  be  in  a 
position  to  criticise  a  subject  like  hypnotism  by  the  mere 
perusal  of  a  volume,  I  feel  sure  that  the  enthusiasm 
which  this  book  is  capable  of  awakening  for  this  subject  is 
of  such  a  nature  that  future  opportunities  of  acquiring 
personal  practical  acquaintance  with  hypnosis  will  be 
grasped  by  all  intelligent  students.  For  myself,  I  would 
say  that  medical  practice  without  suggestion   is  an  im- 


vi    PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  ENGLISH  EDITION 

possibility.     Furthermore,  I  am  convinced  that  this  holds 

good  universally,  although  it  is  not  widely  recognised. 

In   offering   this   translation   to   the   English-speaking 

reader,  I  must  apologize  for  having  introduced  a  few  new 

or  changed  technical  terms  when  these  appeared  to  me  to 

correspond  more  exactly  to  the  original  text  than  already 

existing  terms.     For  the  rest,   I   trust   the  reader  will 

find  the   English  edition  of  Professor  Forel's  work  an 

interesting  book,  and  one  from  which  much  knowledge 

may  be  acquired. 

H.  W.  ARMIT. 

Wembley, 

September,  1906. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION 

The  chief  part  of  the  present  httle  work  appeared  as  an 
article  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Gesammte  Strafrechtswis- 
senschaft,  under  the  title  of  '  Der  Hypnotismus  und 
seine  strafrechtliche  Bedeutung '  (Hypnotism  and  its 
Forensic  Aspects). 

The  wish,  which  has  been  expressed  to  me  from  many 
quarters,  that  I  should  place  this  article,  in  a  short,  com- 
prehensive form,  before  the  whole  medical  profession,  and 
give  the  chief  facts  about  hypnotism  and  the  up-to-date 
theories,  impelled  me  to  publish  the  work  in  book  form, 
with  a  number  of  supplementary  data.  My  days  were 
so  taken  up  with  other  work  that  I  found  it  exceedingly 
difficult  to  find  time  for  this.  Perhaps  the  imperfections 
of  the  present  sketch  may  be  excused  on  these  grounds. 

Those  who  wish  to  take  up  this  subject  ought  to  read 
Bemheim's  classical  work  '  De  la  suggestion  et  de  ses 
appEcation  et  la  therapeutique  '  (Paris  :  O.  Doin). 

Like  everything  else  which  is  brought  freshly  to  the 
notice  of  the  public,  hypnotism  has  also  been  severely 
attacked  by  some,  greeted  with  derision  and  scepticism 
by  others,  judged  with  exaggerated  sanguinism  by  others 
again,  and,  lastly,  decorated  with  all  sorts  of  various 
exaggerations. 

Some  regard  it  as  humbug,  and  call  all  hypnotized 

vii 


viii  PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION 

persons  malingerers.  This  view,  I  may  explain  in 
passing,  has  been  refuted  as  absurd  to  the  mind  of  every 
unbiassed  person  by  the  very  number  of  the  so-called 
malingerers.  Some  believe  that  the  world  is  being  turned 
upside  down  and  the  law  endangered,  and  they  wish  the 
police  to  interfere,  to  drive  hypnotism  away  like  a  plague. 

I  shall  be  glad  if  I  can  help,  by  means  of  this  work,  to 
disperse  the  various  outgrowths  arising  from  this  irrational 
human  mental  excitement,  and  reduce  the  facts  to  their 
actual  measure  and  importance.  I  believe  that  a  fairly 
^\ide  experience,  extending  over  two  years,  will  enable  me 
to  succeed  in  doing  this. 

I  would  say  to  the  scoffers  and  sceptics,  '  Test  be- 
fore you  judge.' 

One  can  only  judge  hypnotism  if  one  has  practised 
hypnotizing  for  a  considerable  time. 

DR.  AUG.  FOREL. 
Zurich,  1889. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION 

The  fourth  edition  appeared  in  1902,  when  this  work  had 
already  increased  considerably  in  size.  Since  this  date 
only  a  few  new  data  and  new  views  have  been  brought 
to  light,  and  therefore  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  make 
only  a  few  additions  and  alterations  in  the  book.  The 
most  important  publications  on  this  subject  have  ap- 
peared in  the  Zeitschrift  filr  Hypnotismus  (now  called 
Journal  filr  Psychologic  und  Neurologie),  edited  by 
Dr.  Oscar  Vogt  (Leipzig  :  Amb.  Barth).  In  recent  years 
practically  nothing  has  been  done  which  has  directly 
furthered  the  development  of  the  doctrine  of  suggestion. 
On  the  other  hand,  Semon's  theory  of  the  '  Mneme  '  is  of 
importance.  Dubois'  views  have  created  a  considerable 
sensation.     I  shall  return  to  this  in  Chapter  VI I. 

Chapter  I.  and  §  16  of  Chapter  IV.  are  of  theoretical 
nature.  They  require  more  effort  and  psychological 
deliberation  than  the  rest.  They  are,  however,  not  abso- 
lutely indispensable.  Still,  those  readers  who  will  expend 
the  energy  in  carefully  reading  and  understanding  it 
will  grasp  hypnotism,  not  only  half  or  superficially, 
but  fully. 

In  the  fifth  edition  a  new  chapter  (No.  X.),  on  '  A 
Case  of  Double  Consciousness,'  has  been  added.     Chap- 

ix 


X  PREFACE  TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION 

ters  IX.,  XII.,  XIII..  XIV..  and  XV.  have  remained  un- 
altered. Numerous  additions  and  alterations  have  had  to 
be  made  in  Chapters  III..  IV.  (§§  2  and  5).  VI..  and  VII., 
while  only  a  few  were  made  in  the  remaining  chapters 
and  in  the  remaining  paragraphs  of  Chapter  W. 

DR.    \Vr,.   KoRFI. 

Chigny,  near  Mokc.ks, 
Ntn'tmlhtr^  1905. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  KAGF 

t*REFACE    TO   THE    FiRST    ENGLISH    EDITION             -  V 

Preface  to  the  First  Edition       -        -        -  vii 
Preface  to  the  Fifth  Edition       -        -        -  ix 
,.  Table  of  Contents           -----  xi 
I.  Consciousness  and  the  Hypothesis  of  Iden- 
tity (Monism) i 

HSThe    Relationship    of    Nerve    Activity    to 
Nerve  Substance  and  to  the  Conditions 

^              OF  Consciousness 36 

tlL  General  Remarks  on  Hypnotism                     -  47 

^IV.  Suggestion        -        -        -----  66 

1.  Hypnotizibility  or  Suggestibility       -         -  66 

2.  Sleep  and  Hypnosis         ...  76 

3.  Degrees  of  Hypnosis         .         -         ^         ..  ^^g 

4.  Training           .         .         -                           -  99 

5.  The  Phenomena  of  Hypnosis   -         -         -  loi 

6.  Resistance  of  the  Hypnotized   Person — 

Autosuggestion    -                 -         -         -  1 15 

7.  Posthypnotic  Phenomena  122 

8.  Amnesia,  or  Loss  of  Memory  127 

9.  Suggestion    as    to    Time    {Suggestion    a 

echeance)      -         •     "            -         -  131 

10.  Waking  Suggestion      ^    -         -         -         -  134 

11.  The   Condition   of  the^Mind  during  the 

carrying  out  of  Posthypnotic  vSngges- 
tions,  Tcrmineingebungen  and  Waking 

Suggestions 136 

12.  Lasting  Results  of  Suggestion                     -  143 

13.  Hallucination    rStroactive,    or    Suggested 

Falsification  of  Memory       -         -         -  146 

14.  Simulation  and  Dissimulation  of  Hypnosis  153 

15.  The  Significance  of  Suggestion  -         -         -  15^ 

16.  The  Nature  of  the  Action  of  Suggestion  165 

xi 


xii  CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER  I'AGE 

V.  Suggestion    and    Disorders    of    the     Mind 

— Hysteria i88 

VI.  Hints   to   the   Practitioner   on   Suggestive 

Treatment  and  Psychotherapeutics  -    206 

Vn.  Hypnotism  and  Psychotherapy      -        -        -     233 
Vni.  Examples  of  Cures  effected  by  Suggestion 
— ^A  Case  of   Spontaneous  Somnambulism 
— The    Cure    of    Constipation,   and   the 

Rationale  of  it 249 

IX.  A  Case  of  Hysterical,  partly  Retrogressive 
Amnesia,  with  Protracted  Somnambulism, 
analyzed  and  cured  by  suggestion         -     2/2 
X.  A  Case  of  Double  Consciousness  -        -        -     298 
XI.  Suggestion  in  its  Relation  to  Medicine  and 

TO  Quackery 304 

XII.  The  Forensic  Aspect  of  Suggestion      -        -     318 

XIII.  Hypnotism  and  the  Medical  Schools    -        -     350 

XIV.  Suggestion    in    Animals  —  The   Winter   and 

Summer  Sleepers 353 

XV.  Appendix — A  Hypnotized  Hypnotist        -        -    360 


.^" 


HYPNOTISM  OR  SUGGESTION 
AND    PSYCHOTHERAPY 

CHAPTER  I 

Consciousness  and  the  Hypothesis  of  Identity 

(Monism). 

It  is  necessary  to  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  meaning  of 
consciousness  in  order  to  understand  hypnotism.  The 
phenomena  of  hypnotism  actually  indicate  a  play  between 
the  '  conceived '  and  the  apparently  '  unconceived '  in 
our  minds.  Nothing  is  more  fitted  to  produce  a  proof 
that  the  expression  '  unconceived '  is  incorrect,  and  does 
not  correspond  to  facts,  than  just  this  play. 

It  is,  therefore,  wise  to  come  to  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  term  '  psychical,'  which  deals  with  the  component 
parts  of  the  field  of  consciousness,  in  order  to  avoid  con- 
fusion of  words,  and  not  to  follow  theology  in  the  sense 
in  which  Goethe's  Mephistopheles  followed  it  in  teaching 
the  student.  Two  definitions  of  the  word  '  psychical ' 
have  been  hopelessly  confused  :  (i)  The  abstract  idea  of 
'introspection,'  or  subjectivism — i.e.,  the  physiological 
observations  which  everyone  realizes,  and  is  able  to 
realize  only  in  and  about  himself.  I  will  reserve  the  word 
'  consciousness '  for  this  definition.  (2)  The  active 
element  of  the  mind — i.e.,  the  physiological  action  of 
the  brain,  which  produces  the  component  parts  of  the 
field   of   consciousness.     One   has    erroneously   included 

I 


2  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

this  latter  in  consciousness  in  its  widest  sense,  and  there- 
by the  confusion  has  arisen  which  admits  consciousness 
as  a  characteristic  of  the  mind. 

I  call  the  molecular  activity  waves  of  the  nerve  elements 
'  neurokymes.' 

One  cannot  speak  of  the  consciousness  of  other  persons 
without  drawing  deductions  of  analogy,  neither  should 
one  speak  of  the  consciousness  of  forgotten  things  when 
dealing  with  one's  self.  The  field  of  our  consciousness 
is,  however,  constantly  changing.  Things  appear  in  it 
and  disappear  out  of  it.  Many  things  can  be  more  or 
less  easily,  albeit  indirectly,  recalled  to  consciousness  by 
association  through  the  intermediation  of  memory. 
These  things  appeared  for  the  moment  not  to  be  within 
the  consciousness  of  the  person.  The  experience  of 
observations  on  one's  self  allows  one  to  recognise  experi- 
mentally that  many  things  which  appeared  to  be  uncon- 
ceived  are  actually  conceived,  or  had  been  conceived. 
More  than  this,  many  sensory  impressions  remain  un- 
realized to  our  usual  consciousness  in  waking  condition, 
or,  as  I  prefer  to  call  it,  to  our  '  superconsciousness,' 
during  the  time  when  they  are  taking  place,  but  they 
can  be  recalled  later.  Whole  chains  of  cerebral  activity 
— e.g.,  dreams,  somnambulism,  or  double  consciousness — 
are  apparently  removed  from  the  superconsciousness,  but 
can  be  associated  with  the  remembered  conditions  either 
by  suggestion  or  other  means  at  a  later  date.  In  these 
cases  the  seemingly  unrecognised  is  thus  proved,  never- 
theless, to  be  recognised.  These  phenomena  have  often 
led  to  mystic  and  dualistic  interpretations.  They  can, 
however,  be  explained  with  the  help  of  a  very  simple 
assumption.  Prcsunung,  as'  we  are  justified  in  doing, 
that  the  fields  of  introspective  cerebral  activity  are 
limited  by  the  processes  of  association  or  dissociation — 
that  is  to  say,  that  we  cannot  connect  all  these  processes 
with  each  other  at  any  one  time,  and  therefore  all  those 
things  which  appear  to  us  to  be  unconceived  in  reality 


THE  THEORY  OF  THE  MNEME  3 

are  conceived,  or  have  a  subjective  reflex — the  following 
may  be  deduced  : 

Our  usual  consciousness  in  waking  condition  or  super- 
consciousness  is  only  the  internal  subjective  reflex  of  the 
activity  of  attention,  the  individual  parts  of  which  are 
intimately  connected  ;  it  is  only  the  reflex  of  upper  limits, 
intensely  concentrated,  of  certain  active  conditions  of  the 
cerebrum  during  waking.  There  are,  besides,  other  forms 
of  consciousness,  which  are  in  part  forgotten,  and  in  part 
only  loosely  or  indirectly  connected  with  the  components 
of  the  superconsciousness,  and  which  one  may  call  hypo- 
consciousness,  in  contradistinction  to  the  superconscious- 
ness. These  correspond  to  other  active  conditions  of  the 
brain  which  are  less  concentrated,  or  associated  in  a 
different  way.  One  must  further  assume  the  existence 
of  still  other  forms  of  hypoconsciousness  associated  with 
the  subcortical  (lower)  brain  centres,  which  are  still  further 
removed  from  superconsciousness,  and  so  on. 


The  Theory  of  the  Mneme. 

Before  we  go  further  we  must  regard  the  phenomena  of 
memory  and  allied  processes  more  closely  in  the  light  of 
a  recent  highly-important  work. 

Starting  from  Ewald  Hering's  ingenious  idea  that 
'  instinct  is,  as  it  were,  a  form  of  memory,'  Richard 
Semon^  produced  the  convincing  proof,  that  this  is  not 
only  an  analogy,  but  a  more  deeply  placed  identity  in 
the  organic  processes.  In  order  to  avoid  psychological 
terminology,  he  introduces  new  terms  for  general  ideas, 
starting  from  a  careful  definition  of  what  we  under- 
stand by  '  stimulus.' 

He  defines  stimulus  as  '  an  energetic  action  on  the 
organism,  of  such  a  nature  that  it  calls  forth  a  number 

1  R.  Semon,  '  Die  Mneme  als  erhaltendes  Prinzip  im  Wechbel  des 
organischen  Geschehens'  (Leipzig  :  Wilh.  Engelmann,  1904). 

I — 2 


4  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

of  complicated  changes  in  the  susceptible  substance  of 
the  living  organism.'  He  calls  this  altered  condition  of 
the  organism,  which  lasts  for  the  same  time  as  does  the 
stimulus,  the  Condition  of  Excitation.  Before  the 
stimulus  has  acted,  the  organism  is  in  a  condition  of 
Primary  Indifference  toward  the  stimulus  ;  afterwards, 
it  is  in  a  condition  of  Secondary  Indifference. 

If,  after  the  stimulus  has  ceased,  the  susceptible  sub- 
stance of  the  living  organism  in  the  condition  of  secondary 
indifference  shows  permanent  changes,  Semon  calls  the 
action  '  engraphic'  The  change  itself  he  calls  '  engram.' 
The  sum  total,  not  only  of  the  inherited,  but  also  of  the 
individually  acquired  engrams  of  a  living  being,  he  calls 
its  '  mneme.'  He  uses  the  term  '  ecphoria '  for  the 
repeated  production  of  the  whole  condition  of  excitation 
of  the  organism,  which  is  synchronous  with  the  passed 
complex  stimulus,  which  is  produced  by  either  a  part  of  the 
same  or  by  the  weakened  full  stimulus.  This  term  corre- 
sponds to  the  processes  of  association,  of  memory,  and 
of  the  physiological  conditions  of  automatism,  ontogenesis, 
and  phylogenesis,  which  are  all  psychologically  recog- 
nised as  introspective  processes.  Engrams  are,  there- 
fore, '  ecphorized.'  The  whole  mnemetic  excitation 
(engram  complex)  concurs  with  the  contemporary  con- 
dition of  excitation  produced  by  the  new  stimulus  in 
every  process  of  this  kind.  Semon  calls  this  concol*d 
'  homophonia.'  When  a  discord  between  the  action  of 
the  new  stimulus  and  the  mnemetic  excitation  occurs,  the 
activity  of  attention  helps  introspectively,  the  regenera- 
tion processes  help  ontogenetically,  and  adaptation  helps 
phylogenetically  to  restore  the  homophonia. 

Semon  shows,  on  the  evidence  of  convincing  facts, 
that  the  actions  of  the  stimulus  are  only  localized  tem- 
porarily and  relatively  to  the  region  of  entrance — primary 
limitation  region  (Eigenhczirk)  —  but  radiate  and  die 
away  in  the  whole  organism,  and  not  only  in  the  nervous 
system  ;  for  these  stimuli  act,  for  example,  in  plants  as 


ENGRAMS  5 

well.  In  this  way  even  an  enormously  weakened  nerve 
engraph  can  attack  embryonic  cells.  Semon  further  shows 
that  very  weak  engraphic  actions  can  attain  a  condition  of 
ecphoria  after  innumerable  repetitions  (phylogenetically 
after  innumerable  generations).  And  thus  the  possibility 
of  an  extremely  slow  inheritance  of  acquired  character- 
istics, produced  by  innumerable  repetitions,  can  be 
explained  on  mnemetic  principles  without  impugning 
the  correctness  of  the  facts  brought  forward  by  Weis- 
mann.  That  this  is  so  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  in- 
fluences of  '  crossings '  (conjunctions)  and  of  the  choice 
of  propagation  naturally  act  infinitely  more  quickly 
and  more  intensely  than  do  the  individually  inherited 
mnemetic  engraphs.  These  engraphs  might  serve  as  an 
explanation  for  De  Vries'  mutations. 

Semon' s  uniform  elucidation  of  these  ideas  in  mor- 
phology, biology,  and  psychology  is  brilliant,  and  the 
new  points  of  view  which  are  opened  out  by  it  are  of 
great  importance.  The  mneme  works,  under  the  influ- 
ences of  the  outer  world,  conservatively  and  in  combining 
by  means  of  engraphy,  while  the  choice  of  propagation  roots 
out  all  that  is  badly  adapted.  The  stimuli  of  the  outer 
world  thus  supply  the  true  building-stones  of  the  organism. 

As  one  can  see,  Semon  interprets  the  term  '  mneme ' 
as  meaning  the  memory,  not  merely  as  an  appearance  of 
pure  psychology — that  is  to  say,  not  only  from  an  intro- 
spective point  of  view,  but  as  a  general  law  of  organic 
life,  which,  however,  in  a  special  introspective  case,  con- 
veys a  very  important  meaning.  The  author,  therefore, 
has  substituted  for  the  terms  usually  employed  in  psycho- 
logy, such  as  '  memory,'  '  impression  of  memory,'  '  asso- 
ciation,' etc.,  '  mneme,'  '  engram,'  '  ecphoria,'  etc.  It  is 
necessary  to  emphasize  that  our  psychological  intro- 
spection possesses  a  constant  tendency  to  form  higher 
syntheses  by  means  of  repetitions  and  custom.  Late 
summarized  or  synthetic  units  arise  out  of  groups  or 
combinations  of  earlier  introspective  units.     For  example, 


6  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

one  takes  the  details  of  the  formation  of  letters  while 
learning  to  read,  but  when  one  has  acquired  skill  in 
reading  one  '  skims  ';  or,  again,  the  gradual  development 
of  a  selection  from  individual  mental  pictures — e.g.,  the 
reception  of  the  term  '  dog '  obtained  by  seeing  several 
(individual)  dogs,  etc.  In  this  way  the  detail  does  not 
disappear  from  the  brain.  During  synthetic  thinking,  it 
is  true,  it  is  no  longer  '  superconceived,'  but  only  '  hypo- 
conceived';  but  it  can,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  become 
again  at  least  recognised  by  the  help  of  the  concentration 
of  attention — e.g.,  the  details  of  the  formation  of  letters. 
***** 

It  is  easy  to  ascertain  that  the  maximum  of  our  psy- 
chical activity  (attention)  wanders  constantly  from  one 
observation  or  thought  to  another.  Such  objects  of 
attention  as  visual  or  auditory  pictures,  impulses  of 
will,  sentiments  or  abstract  ideas,  take  place  without  a 
doubt  in  various  parts  of  the  brain  or  neurone  com- 
plexes. Thus  one  can  compare  attention  to  a  shifting 
functional  macula  lutea  in  the  brain,  or  to  a  varying 
maximum  of  the  extreme  activity  of  the  neurokymes, 
when  responding  to  the  most  intense  stimulation.  But 
it  is  equally  certain  that  other  psychical  phenomena, 
which  are  placed  outside  the  attention,  are  also  recog- 
nised, albeit  more  weakly.  Lastly,  one  usually  includes 
in  the  term  'psychical' — i.e.,  in  the  contents  of  con- 
sciousness— everything  which  has  once  been  conceived, 
notwithstanding  that  that  which  is  more  or  less  forgotten 
is  included.  Theoretically,  this  appears  to  be  sound,  if 
one  regards  it  superficially  ;  but  in  reality  there  are  large 
numbers  of  processes  which  are  only  just  conceived 
during  one  instant,  and  then  disappear  for  ever  from  the 
consciousness.  It  is  here  that  one  must  seek  the  transi- 
tion from  the  conceived  to  the  unconceived,  and  not  in 
the  strong  and  repeatedly  conceived  '  psychomes.'^     In 

^  The  author  apologizes  for  this  term.     He  has  introduced  it  for 
brevity  sake  to  express  each  and  every  psychical  unit. 


ATTENTION  7 

this  case,  however,  the  weakness  of  the  consciousness  is 
also  only  artificial,  since  the  internal  reflexes  of  these 
processes  can  only  be  weakly  echoed  in  the  contents  of 
a  markedly  deflected  attention.     But  this  does  not  prove 
that  such  half-conceived  processes  are  in  themselves  so 
feebly  recognised.     A  momentary  action  of  the  attention 
suffices  to  render  them  clearly  conceived  later  on  ;  but 
as  a  result  of  distraction  they  lose  increasingly  the  con- 
nection with  the  chain  of  the  maxima  of  intensity,  which 
generally  forms  the  remembered  contents  of  our  super- 
consciousness.    The  more  weakly  such  half-conceived  pro- 
cesses are  connected  with  the  superconsciousness,  how- 
ever, the  more  difficult  will  it  be  to  associate  them  afresh 
with  the  chief  chain  by  the  aid  of  memory.     This  applies 
to  all  dreams,  to  all  unimportant  events  of  our  lives,  all 
instincts,  and  all  automatic  habits.     But  if  there  is  a 
half-conceived  cerebration  between  that  which  is  clearly 
recognised   and   that   which   is   unrecognised,    the   con- 
sciousness of  which  only  appears  to  us  so  feeble  because 
of  the  distraction  of  the  usual  chain  of  our  memory,  then 
this  must  be  accepted  as  an  undoubted  indication  that 
in  the  next  stage  the  remainder  of  the  connection  must 
break  off  entirely.     But  we  have  no  right  to  presume  that 
consciousness  itself  has  no  part  in  the  activity  of  the  brain, 
which  activity  disappears  in  the  haze  of  our  supercon- 
sciousness.    For  the  sake  of  simplicity  and  brevity,  these 
so-called  unconceived  brain  processes  will  be  referred  to 
as  possessing  hypoconsciousness. 

If  this  assumption  be  correct — and  everything  tends 
to  show  that  it  is — the  physiologist  and  the  comparative 
psychologist  need  not  trouble  to  take  consciousness 
further  into  consideration.  It  does  not  exist  of  itself, 
but  only  through  the  activity  of  the  brain,  of  which  it 
is  the  intrinsic  reflex.  When  the  activity  of  the  brain 
disappears,  it  disappears  at  the  same  time.^     It  is  com- 

1  There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  inactive  consciousness  without 
contents.  The  only  term  remaining  to  be  applied  to  this  is  'pure 
nothing,'  in  its  abstract  sense. 


8  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

plicated  or  simple  when  the  activity  is  complicated  or 
simple,  and  when  the  latter  is  dissociated  it  also  becomes 
dissociated.  Consciousness  is  only  an  abstract  term, 
which  must  lose  all  meaning  when  the  conscious  activity 
of  the  brain  ceases.  The  activity  of  the  brain,  which 
appears  in  the  mirror  of  the  consciousness,  appears  sub- 
jectively there  in  the  form  of  summary  syntheses,  and, 
indeed,  the  latter  increases  with  the  higher  complications 
and  selections  gained  by  habit  and  practice,  so  that  the 
details  which  were  formerly  conceived,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  become  hypoconceived  later  on,  and  the 
whole  appears  as  a  psychical  unit. 

Psychology,  therefore,  cannot  be  limited  to  the  study 
of  the  phenomena  of  our  superconsciousness  by  means 
of  introspection  alone,  for  it  would  then  be  impossible. 
Every  individual  would  only  have  the  psychology  of  his 
own  subjectivism,  like  the  old  scholastic  spiritualists, 
and  would  have  to  doubt  the  existence  of  the  outer 
world,  including  his  fellow-men.  The  deductions  of 
analogy,  the  natural  scientific  induction,  the  comparison 
of  the  experience  of  our  five  senses,  all  prove  to  us  the 
existence  of  the  outer  world  and  of  our  fellow-creatures, 
and  of  the  psychology  of  the  latter.  At  the  same  time, 
these  factors  prove  to  us  that  there  is  a  psychology  of 
animals — a  comparative  psychology.  Lastly,  our  own 
psychology,  taken  without  reference  to  the  activity  of 
our  brains,  is  an  incomprehensible  fragment,  which  teems 
with  contradictions,  and  which,  above  all,  appears  to 
contradict  the  law  of  the  preservation  of  energy. 

It  is  further  clear  from  this  very  simple  argument  that 
a  psychology  which  ignores  the  activity  of  the  brain 
must  be  an  impossibihty.  The  contents  of  our  super- 
consciousness  is  always  influenced  and  caused  by  hypo- 
conceived  activities  of  the  brain. ^     It  cannot  be  under- 

1  In  his  novel,  'La  femme  de  30  ans '  (edited  by  Caiman  Levy), 
p.  127,  Balzac  writes :  *  11  existe  des  pensdes  auxquelles  nous  obdissons 
sans  les  connaitre  :  elles  sont  en  nous  a  notre  insu.     Quoique  cette 


SPEECH  9 

stood  without  these  activities.  On  the  other  hand,  we  can 
only  understand  the  full  value  and  the  basis  of  the  com- 
plicated organization  of  our  brain,  if  we  regard  it  in  the 
inner  illumination  of  our  consciousness,  and  if  we  amplify 
this  observation  by  comparing  the  contents  of  con- 
sciousness of  our  fellow-men.  The  last  mentioned  is 
rendered  possible  for  us  by  means  of  spoken  and  written 
speech — the  '  coinage  '  of  thinking — which  offer  detailed 
deductions  of  analogy.  The  mind  must,  therefore,  be 
studied  from  without  and  from  within.  Outside  our- 
selves, it  is  true,  the  former  can  only  be  carried  out  by 
deduction  of  analogy  ;  but  as  this  is  the  only  means  at 
our  disposal,  we  must  employ  it. 

Talleyrand  said  that  speech  has  been  given  to  man, 
not  for  the  expression,  but  for  the  concealing  of  his 
thoughts.  Apart  from  this,  some  people  honestly  place 
a  very  different  construction  on  words  than  do  others. 
A  scientist,  an  artist,  a  peasant,  a  woman,  a  child,  an 
uncivilized  Wedda  of  Ceylon,  interpret  the  same  words 
of  the  same  language  quite  differently  ;  but  even  the 
same  person  may  interpret  the  words  differently,  accord- 
ing to  his  mood  and  the  connection  in  which  they  are 
used.  From  this  we  may  infer  that  for  the  psycho- 
logist, and  especially  for  the  physician  for  diseases  of  the 
brain — and  I  speak  as  one — mimicry,  expression,  and 
action  of  a  person  often  reveal  the  true  internal  man 
better  than  what  he  says.  In  the  same  way,  also,  the 
movements  and  actions  of  animals  have  the  importance 
of  a  '  speech '  for  us.  The  psychological  value  of  these 
must  not  be  undervalued.  Besides,  the  anatomy, 
physiology,  and  pathology  of  human  and  animal  brains 
have  brought  forward  the  incontestable  proof  that  the 
characters  of  our  mind  depend  on  the  quality,  quantity. 


reflexion  puisse  paraitre  plus  paradoxale  que  vraie,  chaque  personne 
de  bonne  foi  en  trouvera  mille  preuves  dans  sa  vie.'  Balzac  was  a 
good  psychologist.  He  had  already  recognised  the  value  of  the 
hypoconceived  influences. 


lo         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

and  integrity  of  the  living  brain,  and  are  therefore 
identical  \^dth  it.  A  living  brain  without  a  mind  can  no 
more  exist  than  can  a  mind  without  a  brain,  and  every 
normal  or  pathological  change  of  the  activity  of  the 
mind  corresponds  to  a  normal  or  pathological  change 
of  the  activity  of  the  neurok^^mes  of  the  brain — i.e.,  of 
its  nerve  elements.  What  we  recognise  introspectively 
in  our  consciousness  are  synthesized  activities  of  the 
brain. 

We  can  therefore  accept  the  theory  of  identity  re- 
garding the  relations  of  pure  psychology  (introspection) 
to  the  physiology  of  the  brain  (the  observation  of  the 
activity  of  the  brain  from  without)  as  long  as  the  facts 
are  consistent. 

Kopemik's  theory  is  also  a  supposition.  We  can 
accept  with  Kopemik  that  the  earth  and  the  planets 
revolve  around  the  sun,  and  not  the  reverse — i.e.,  the 
sun  and  the  stars  revolving  around  us.  Still,  this  is  not 
actually  proved — at  all  events,  not  deductively.  One 
can,  however,  still  adopt  the  reverse  view  with  Ptolemy. 
But  the  facts  which  were  formerly  know^n,  and  those 
especially  which  have  been  observed  more  recently,  all 
coincide  with  Kopernik's  theory,  and  consistently  support 
it  in  such  a  way  that  we  must  believe  in  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  one  can  only  accept  the  views  of  Ptolemy  by  pre- 
suming the  most  wonderful  and  most  unlikely  erratic 
movements  of  the  stars.  All  facts  speak  more  and  more 
against  this  view.  There  would  be  a  most  confused 
chaos,  and  a  number  of  laws  of  magnetism,  etc.,  which 
are  at  present  universally  confirmed  would  be  over- 
thrown. We  must  therefore  refuse  Ptolemy's  theory, 
more  especially  as,  by  means  of  Kopernik's  views,  and 
of  their  development  in  the  astronomy  of  to-day,  one 
can  prophesy  celestial  events  exactly,  and  even  the 
advent  of  new  satellites.  This  would  be  impossible  with 
Ptolemy's  theory. 

Exactly  the  same  comparison  holds  good  for  the  theory 


DUALISM  AND  MONISM  ii 

of  dualism — the  mind  and  the  brain  regarded  as  two 
separate  things — and  that  of  scientific  monism — identity 
theory — which  regards  both  as  one  and  the  same  reaUty. 
Duahsm  can  be  compared  to  the  theory  of  Ptolemy, 
because  it  leads  to  a  deduction  ad  absurdum,  and  because, 
in  order  to  explain  facts,  it  has  to  make  the  most  unlikely 
mystical  suppositions,  which  do  not  find  support  any- 
where, but  lead  to  the  most  glaring  contradictions.     On 
the  other  hand,  with  the  help  of  the  identity  theory, 
everything  can  be  clearly  explained  without  contradic- 
tions, just  as  the  movements  of  the  stars  are  explained 
by  Kopernik's  theory.     It  is  possible  he're,  also,  often 
to  measure  psychological  reactions  and  to  prognostiqate, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  brain  and  to  the  kind  of 
stimuli  and  disturbances  which  act  on  it.     When  the 
psychology  of  the  superconsciousness  fails,  the  condition 
can  be  explained  by  amnesia — that  is  to  say,  by  the  want 
of  connection  on  the  part  of  the  psychology  of  the  super- 
consciousness  with  that  of  the  hypoconsciousness.     For 
these  very  simple  reasons  one  must  accept  the  identity 
theory  as  correct  as  long  as  it  corresponds  with  facts 
and  with  its  surroundings  ;   this  is  not  the  case  with 
dualism. 

The  word  '  identity,'  or  psychophysiological  monism, 
thus  means  that  every  psychological  phenomenon  creates 
with  the  molecular  or  neurokyme  activity  of  the  cortex, 
causing  the  phenomena,  something  which  is  real  and 
tangible.  This  can  only  be  regarded  in  two  ways.  From 
the  point  of  view  of  dualism  one  only  realizes  the  appear- 
ance, but  from  the  point  of  view  of  monism  it  is  the 
actual  thing  which  one  observes.  If  it  were  not  so, 
there  would  be  an  excess  of  energy  from  the  cOinj  unction 
of  purely  psychical  to  bodily  or  cerebral  factors,  which 
excess  would  contradict  the  lav/  of  the  preservation  of 
energy.  This  has  never  been  demonstrated,  and  would 
set  at  nought  all  the  experiences  of  science.  In  the 
phenomena  of  our  introspective  or  psychological  mental 


12         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

life,  which  has  been  so  exactly  observed  in  the  biology 
of  the  human  race,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
extraordinary,  there  is  absolutely  nothing  which  contra- 
dicts natural  laws,  or  which  would  justify  the  assump- 
tion of  a  mystic,  supernatural,  psychical  complex. 

For  this  reason  I  speak  of  monistic  identity,  and  not 
of  psychophysiological  parallelism.  A  thing  cannot  be 
parallel  with  itself.  Still,  the  modem  psychologists  only 
wish  to  express  a  presumptive  parallelism  of  phenomena, 
and  leave  the  question  of  dualism  or  monism  undecided. 
Since  many  processes  of  the  central  nervous  system  are 
neither  available  for  physiological  nor  for  psychical 
observation,  those  phenomena  which  can  be  approached 
by  both  methods  of  investigation  are  not  parallel ;  they 
are  unevenly  divided  from  one  another  by  intermediate 
processes.  Thus  parallelism  could  only  be  a  theoretical 
supposition.  As  the  dualistic  hypothesis  is  untenable 
scientifically,  it  is  necessary  to  start  from  the  identity 
hypothesis. 

It  is  absolutely  clear  that  the  same  action  of  the  nervous 
system  of  an  animal — let  us  say  of  my  own  nervous 
system — must  appear  totally  different  to  me  if  I  observe 
it  by  means  of  physiological  methods  from  without  to 
what  it  would  if  it  were  reflected  in  my  consciousness. 
It  would  be  wasted  energy  to  try  to  translate  the  physio- 
logical quality  into  psychical  terms,  or  the  reverse.  One 
cannot  even  translate  one  psychical  quality  into  another, 
in  relation  to  the  realit}^  which  is  depicted  sensorily  by 
both.  An  example  of  this  is  found  in  the  vibrations  of 
a  deeply-pitched  tuning-fork  when  acting  on  the  three 
senses  of  sound,  sight,  and  touch.  But  we  can  accept 
inductively  that  the  same  fact,  the  same  vibration,  is 
depicted  sensorily  in  these  three  ways,  which  are  qualita- 
tively absolutely  different,  or,  expressed  in  other  w^ords, 
produces  in  us  these  three  different  impressions,  which 
are  not  translatable  psychically.  These  impressions  take 
place  in  different  parts  of  the  brain,  and  taken  as  impres- 


DUALISM  AND  MONISM  13 

sions,  or  neurokymes  of  the  brain,  are  naturally  actually 
different  from  one  another. 

One  speaks  of  psychophysiological  identity  only  in 
relation  to  the  cortical  neurokymes,  which  directly  cause 
the  known  phenomena  of  consciousness  on  the  one  hand, 
and,  in  relation  to  these,  phenomena  of  consciousness  on 
the  other  hand. 

Dualistically,  a  mind  can  only  be  conceived  to  be 
either  without  or  with  energy.  If  it  be  conceived  as 
being  free  from  energy — i.e.,  independent  of  the  law  of 
energy — we  arrive  at  a  condition  of  faith  in  miracles, 
which  would  interrupt  natural  laws  at  will,  and  throw 
them  over.  If  it  be  conceived  as  containing  energy,  one 
merely  is  changing  one  word  for  another  with  the  same 
meaning,  since  a  mind  which  obeys  the  laws  of  energy 
is  only  a  portion  of  the  brain  activity  which  has  been 
wilfully  taken  from  its  surroundings.  One  accredits  it 
with  mental  life,  but  immediately  after  deprives  it  of 
this.  Energy  can  only  be  qualitatively  transformed,  and 
not  quantitatively.  If  it  obeyed  the  laws  of  energy,  a 
dualistically  conceived  mind  should  be  capable  of  being 
completely  transformed  into  another  form  of  energy  ; 
but  then  it  would  no  longer  be  dualistic  :  it  would  not 
be  materially  different  from  the  activity  of  the  brain. 

From  among  the  disciples  of  Bruno's  and  Spinoza's 
old  metaphysical  monism  I  should  wish  to  mention  the 
name  of  Carl  Friedrich  Burdach,  a  great  brain  anatomist, 
who  has  been  unjustifiably  forgotten.  In  my  '  Sugges- 
tion Doctrine  and  Science,'  which  I  published  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fur  Hypnotismus  in  1892,  I  cited  his  work — 
'  Of  the  Structure  and  Life  of  the  Brain,'  vol.  iii.  (Leipzig, 
1826),  p.  141  et  seq.  The  reader  should  study  this  work. 
Burdach,  appearing  as  an  investigator  of  the  brain,  de- 
monstrated with  scientific  and  philosophical  clearness  the 
unity  of  brain  and  mind.  Meynert's  doctrine  is  based 
on  Burdach's  ideas.  The  results,  however,  of  modern 
normal  and  pathological  anatomy  and  histology  of  the 


14  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

brain,  as  well  as  of  the  most  recent  animal  experiments, 
were  unknown  to  him  ;  but  these  have,  in  the  main,  fully 
confirmed  his  views. 

We  therefore  understand  by  scientific  or  psycho- 
physiological monism,  in  distinction  to  dualism,  the 
hypothesis  of  unity  of  brain  and  mind  from  the  point  of 
view  of  psychophysiological  identity.  If  it  could  be 
proved  that  something  '  mental ' — i.e.,  immaterial,  with- 
out substratum  of  energy — could  exist  duahsm  would  be 
proved. 

We  understand  materialism  as  being  a  conception  of 
this  world,  in  which  '  matter '  appears  as  the  governing 
power  of  the  world,  or  a  sort  of  god  ;  but  we  scarcely 
take  into  consideration  that  we  only  recognise  the  ap- 
pearances of  matter,  and  know  absolutely  nothing  of  its 
existence.  It  must,  in  consequence,  only  be  taken  as 
an  abstract  idea. 

Each  one  of  us  can  only  recognise  his  own  mind.  We 
suppose  the  existence  of  other  human  and  possibly  animal 
minds  by  the  intermediation  of  speech,  mimicry,  etc. — 
i.e.,  by  conclusions  of  analogy — with  a  probability  which 
borders  on  the  limits  of  scientific  certainty.  It  is,  how- 
ever, necessary  to  explain  matters  more  fully,  as  in  recent 
times  a  marked  disposition  to  identify  monism  with 
materialism,  and  thus  to  cause  a  great  confusion,  has 
shown  itself. 

The  question  of  monism  and  dualism  is  not  a  religious 
one,  and  does  not  influence  any  religious  metaphysics  ; 
but  according  to  the  decision  betw^een  these  two,  one 
can,  it  is  true,  take  this  as  a  basis  for  religion.  But  in 
itself  it  is  quite  another  question. 

Religion  and  metaphysics  inquire  into  the  first  be- 
ginning and  ultimate  objects  of  the  universe.  They 
seek  to  know  the  nature  and  intentions  of  the  universal 
power— t.dJ.,  of  God.  They  wish,  further,  to  define  their 
relations,  especially  to  man.  Religion  accepts  a  reve- 
lation   of    God    to    m.an,    while    metaphysics   attempts 


MONISM  15 

vainly  to  fathom  the  unfathomable  by  means  of  logical 
deductions. 

The  material  or  so-called  objective  side  of  phenomena 
and  the  psychical  or  subjective  side  are  facts  which  can 
be  observed  every  day,  and  even  every  second,  of  our 
lives. 

Dualism  teaches  that  there  are  two  things  :  (i)  Bodily 
or  material  things,  which  obey  the  natural  laws  ;  and 
(2)  mental  or  spiritual  things,  which,  it  is  true,  occupy  a 
certain  relationship  toward  matter,  but  nevertheless 
possess  an  existence  which  is  independent  of  matter.  For 
this  reason  dualism  speaks  of  the  influences  of  body  on 
the  mind,  and  of  mind  on  the  body  ;  of  '  immaterial ' 
minds  and  spirits  and  of  '  soulless  '  matter. 

On  the  other  hand,  monism  teaches  :  strictly  speaking, 
we  only  recognise  one  mind — our  own.  We  can  only 
accept  other  minds  by  analogy.  But  mind  and  body 
are  not  two  separate  things  ;  they  are  only  two  aspects, 
recognised  by  us,  two  forms  of  appearances  of  the  same 
thing.  Fechner  has  expressed  this  in  the  following 
terms  :  '  It  is  like  a  circle  regarded  mathematically  ;  it 
is  convex  if  looked  at  from  outside,  it  is  concave  if  looked 
at  from  within,  and  yet  it  is  only  one  and  the  same.' 
'  Monism,'  therefore,  cannot  support  material  nor  yet 
spiritualistic  metaphysics,  for  it  would  contradict  itself. 
The  terms  '  matter '  and  '  mind '  are  valueless,  confusing 
words  for  the  theory  of  monism  if  accepted  as  opposite 
conditions.  These  are  abstract  artificial  terms,  which 
man  has  willingly  and  artificially  manufactured  from  the 
unity  of  the  things  of  the  world,  but  which,  when  taken 
by  themselves,  have  absolutely  no  basis.  Every  pheno- 
menon, no  matter  whether  it  be  physiological  or  psycho- 
logical, possesses  a  psychological  and  a  physiological 
aspect.  A  table,  a  reflex,  a  negative  current  vibration, 
and  the  like,  are  only  realized  by  me,  in  spite  of  all  science, 
by  my  subjective  perception,  and  by  my  mode  of  viewing 
things,  which  depends  on  a  combination  of  the  various 


i6         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

senses.  This  has  led  me  to  accept  the  existence  of  the 
outer  world.  The  same  applies  to  my  thinking,  my 
feeling,  and  my  will,  to  a  pain,  a  resolution,  to  '  love,' 
and  so  on.  The  '  psychological '  is  a  direct  phenomenon 
in  both  cases,  but  the  '  physiological,'  or  '  objective,' 
only  an  indirect  one,  which  is  controlled  by  other  senses 
and  considerations,  and  is,  therefore,  an  opened-out  chain 
of  conceptions.  Since  the  study  of  the  brain  and  of 
psychophysiology  has  brought  forward  the  proof  that 
a  direct  phenomenon  of  consciousness  does  not  exist, 
save  in  connection  with  an  action  of  the  brain,  and  since 
we  can  actually  observe  the  efforts  and  actions  of  our 
brain  in  thinking,  feehng,  and  willing,  it  is  obvious  that 
every  purely  psychological  phenomenon  possesses  its 
physiological  side — the  movement  of  a  material  element 
in  the  brain.  In  one  word,  nothing  is  '  psychical '  with- 
out being  at  the  same  time  '  physical,'  and,  if  we  could 
observe  the  '  non-ego,'  we  should,  in  all  probability,  find 
that  in  the  same  way  nothing  can  be  '  physical '  with- 
out being  '  psychical.'  Metaphysical  monism  teaches 
further  :  as  there  is  no  '  matter '  without  '  energy,'  and 
no  *  energy '  without  '  matter,'  so  there  certainly  can  be 
nothing  soulless^  (Unbeseeltes)  in  the  world. 

The  phenomenon  of  introspection  is  only  an  internal 
reflex  of  that  which  has  taken  place,  the  exterior  of  which 
appears  to  us  as  the  moving  matter  with  its  energy.  No 
one  has  ever  been  able  to  separate  the  interior  from  the 
exterior,  and  no  one  will  ever  be  able  to  do  so.  All 
attempts  resolve  themselves  into  the  employment  of 
empty  words.  Everyone  only  knows  the  interior  in 
relation  to  himself. 

»  As  soon  as  one  employs  the  term  'soul'  for  inanimate  things,  a 
slorm  of  opposition  is  raised  :  '  Fancies  !'  '  Nonsense  !'  '  Talk  of  world- 
souls  !*  and  the  like.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  people  are  kept 
captivated  in  anthropomorphism,  and  cannot  grasp  or  understand,  that 
the  clement  of  the  intro-p^ciive  (psychical)  reflex  must  be  just  as 
simple  in  relation  to  a  h/ran  mind  as  an  atom  is  in  relation  to  a 
living  human  brain. 


HYPOTHESIS  OF  IDENTITY  17 

Pure  scientific  monism  (the  hypothesis  of  identity) 
may,  it  is  true,  not  generaUze  so  widely  as  metaphysical 
monism,  of  which  we  have  just  been  speaking.  It  is 
content  to  accept  the  identity  of  being  of  every  psychical 
phenomenon,  which  is  available  for  direct  psychological 
observation,  with  its  so-called  brain-physiological  cor- 
relative, and  must  leave  the  hypothesis  of  the  '  soul '  to 
metaphysical  speculation,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is 
inclined  towards  it. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  the  dispute  on  the 
questions  detailed  above  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  meta- 
physics of  religion  directly.  The  first  beginning  and  the 
ultimate  aim — free  evolution  or  fatalism — all  remain  just 
as  untouched  as  does  the  question  as  to  the  being  of  a 
God.  It  is  true  that  God,  in  personal  relationship  to 
ourselves  and  to  the  rest  of  Nature,  as  it  appears  to  us, 
is  not  particularly  easy  to  reconcile  with  the  monistic 
interpretation.  But  even  from  other  points  of  view  the 
picturing  of  God  in  human  form  can  scarcely  be  con- 
sistent with  the  conception  of  omnipotence. 

A  number  of  dogmata  of  various  creeds  obstruct  the 
monistic  view,  in  the  same  way  as  they  formerly  obstructed 
Kopernik's  teaching  of  the  solar  system.  These  dogmata 
have  taken  up  scientific  questions,  which  are  accessible 
to  the  capabilities  of  human  knowledge,  and  have  utilized 
them  for  their  religious  creeds.  Their  advocates  cannot 
get  over  the  fact  that  at  the  present  day  it  is  just  these 
dogmata  which  have  been  disputed  from  the  point  of 
view  of  scientific  knowledge.  Herein  lies  the  pith  of  the 
whole  thing. 

However,  there  is  something  which  has  furthered  the 
scientific  aspect  of  the  question  of  '  monism  '  or  '  dualism  ' 
enormously,  and  that  is  simply  the  investigation  of  the 
human  and  animal  central  nervous  system  and  of  its 
normal  and  pathological  functions. 

That  which  the  former  hazy  doctrines  regarded  as 
immaterial  human  souls  (somewhat  as  the  savage  regards 

2 


i8         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

lightning  as  Deus  ex  machind)  is  now  incontestably  proved 
from  first  to  last  to  be  the  interior  of  the  mental  Hfe. 
All  attempts  to  separate  a  part  of  the  '  soul '  as  a  '  soul 
nucleus '  from  the  mental  life,  as  independent  from  the 
living  brain  substance,  become  lamentably  frustrated  by 
the  observations  daily  becoming  more  exact  and  more 
numerous  on  the  absolute  inseparabihty  of  all  normal 
as  well  as  pathological  phenomena  of  the  mind  from  the 
integrity  of  its  organ. 

One  chief  difficulty,  however,  appeared  still  to  remain 
in  the  obscure  field  of  the  so-called  unconscious  mental 
life.  The  law  of  Fechner-Weber  cannot  be  brought  into 
line.  There  are  incompatibilities  between  the  pheno- 
mena of  consciousness  and  the  observed  and  measured 
physiological  results. 

This  is  simply  due  to  the  fact  that  complicated  ap- 
paratus (brain  centres)  lie  between  the  physiologically 
measured  results  and  those  parts   of  the   cerebrum  in 
which    our   supcrconceived    (psychical)    life   is    enacted. 
The  hypoconccived  activity   (which  is  unrecognised  by 
our  superconsciousness)   of   these  apparatus   can   inhibit 
or  facilitate,  disturb  or  further.    It  thereby  necessarily 
introduces  an  error  in  the  results  of  psychophysiological 
measurements,  which  are  based  on  Fechner's  law.     One 
must  especially  avoid  drawing  too  definite  conclusions 
from  these  measurements.     Among  others,  the  following 
reasons  may  be  given  :  (i)  The  more  marked  concentra- 
tion of  cerebral  activity,  which  undoubtedly  corresponds 
to  the  process  of  attention,  is  accompanied  by  the  most 
intense  and  clear  consciousness  ;  (2)  undoubtedly  the  in- 
tensity and  (3)  duration   of    the  brain  activity  assist  in 
producing  that  part  of  our  consciousness  which  is  sub- 
jectively recognised  by  us  or  remembered.     That  this  is 
extremely   likely    is    shown   by    the    fact,   that   known 
psychical  measurements  of  time  have  proved  how  much 
more  rapidly  apparently  unrecognised  reactions  take  place 
than  do  recognised  ones.     (4)  Everything  which  is  un- 


PERCEPTION  19 

usual,  everything  which  finds  the  brain  activity  unpre- 
pared, everything  for  which  the  said  activity  is  not  yet 
adapted  or  not  yet  sufficiently  adapted,  produces  such 
reactions  of  the  brain  activity,  which  are  accompanied 
by  more  marked  superconsciousness.  One  could  almost 
say  that  shock,  quarrels,  antagonism,  plastic  remodelhng 
of  the  dynamics  of  the  brain,  call  forth  the  phenomenon 
of  superconsciousness,  or  render  it  more  acute.  It  would 
thus  appear  that  the  more  unstable  forms  of  nerve 
activity  are  accompanied  by  reflections  of  supercon- 
sciousness. (5)  Every  action  of  the  brain  appears  in  the 
mirror  of  the  consciousness — i.e.,  subjectively — as  a  unit, 
as  that  which  philosophers  called  '  the  condition  of  con- 
sciousness.' But  a  deeper  study  of  psychology,  and 
especially  of  psychophysiology,  teaches  us  that  the 
apparent  units  are  extremely  complicated,  and  are  made 
up  of  components,  which,  albeit  very  widely  apart  as  far 
as  time  and  place  are  concerned,  are  yet  linked  together. 
One  has  only  to  think  of  what  we  call  an  observation — 
e.g.,  that  of  a  watch — no  matter  whether  it  is  caused  by 
a  hallucination  or  by  the  actual  regarding  of  a  real  watch. 
The  example  of  a  visual  observation  is  particularly  con- 
vincing, because  of  that  which  one  has  learned  from 
persons  who  have  been  born  blind,  and  who  have  only 
gained  the  sense  of  sight  later  in  hfe  through  the  help 
of  an  operation  for  cataract.  At  first  these  persons  have 
no  visual  perception,  but  only  a  medley  of  colour  impres- 
sions, and  they  take  a  long  time  before  they  learn  to  see 
—i.e.,  to  perceive.  They  never  learn  this  as  completely 
as  they  do  perception  and  observation  by  means  of  the 
other  organs  of  special  sense,  and  thus  they  continue  to 
find  their  way  about  chiefly  by  feeling  and  sound.  Even 
the  sense,  which  is  the  simplest  for  us,  depends,  without 
doubt,  on  a  large  physiological  complex  (Hoeffding). 
One  knows  that  the  subjective  sensation  of  the  colour 
white,  although  it  seems  to  be  single,  depends  on  a 
mixture  of  the  sensations  of  all  colours.     This  can  be 


20         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

proved  by  means  of  a  wheel,  which  is  suitably  painted  all 
colours.  If  such  a  wheel  is  made  to  revolve  increasingly 
fast,  a  point  is  reached  when  our  retina  can  no  longer 
differentiate  the  single  colours,  and  the  wheel  then 
appears  to  be  white.  In  order  to  study  really  primitive 
simple  sensations,  we  should  have  to  go  back  to  the  new- 
bom  infant  (apart  from  the  case  of  the  congenital  cataract 
mentioned  above),  and,  of  course,  that  we  cannot  do. 

As  a  result  of  what  has  been  said,  we  must  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  our  human  superconsciousness  only  means 
a  summary,  synthetic,  incomplete,  subjective  illumina- 
tion of  the  more  developed  portions  of  our  cerebral 
activity. 

(6)  A  very  important  phenomenon  of  consciousness 
takes  place  by  the  recalling  (ecphoria)  of  passed  activity 
complexes  of  the  brain — i.e.,  by  the  play  of  engrams  or 
imaginations.  One  deals  in  this  case  with  the  linking 
together  (as  far  as  time  and  space  are  concerned)  of  the 
brain  activity — i.e.,  with  the  relative  illumination  of  the 
latter  by  means  of  the  superconsciousness.  It  is  especi- 
ally on  this  point  that  hypnotism  throws  an  important 
light.  The  whole  process  of  memory  is  in  itself  quite 
independent  from  consciousness,  and  shows  some  very 
interesting  laws.^  We  recognise,  however,  the  laws  of 
memory  psychologically  chiefly  in  ourselves.  But  it  is 
incorrect  to  contrast  a  conceived  memory  with  the  organic 
or  '  unconceived '  memory.  There  is  only  one  memory, 
and  that  is  composed  of  (a)  the  reception  of  molecular 
traces  (engrams)  of  every  brain  action,  and,  indeed,  of 

^  In  a  published  lecture  ('The  Memory  and  its  Abnormalities.' 
Zurich  :  Orel  Fuessli,  1885)  I  discussed  these  questions  minutely — 
for  the  most  part,  according  to  Ribot — but  I  made  the  one  mistake  in 
calling  the  consciousness  an  activity.  It  is  true  that  no  consciousness 
can  exist  without  activity  of  the  brain,  but  one  must  not  designate  this 
activity  with  the  word  'consciousness.'  On  the  other  hand,  in  this 
lecture  I  interpreted  Hering's  ideas  on  instinct  and  memory  correctly, 
although  I  had  not  followed  this  out  further,  as  Semon  has  done.  I 
only  dimly  realized  the  importance  of  this. 


CONSCIOUSNESS  21 

every  nerve  action  ;  (b)  the  reviving  (ecphoria)  of  the 
same  ;  and  (c)  sometimes  the  recognition — i.e.,  the  identi- 
fication (homophonia) — of  the  activity  which  has  been 
restimulated  by  the  first  named  (time  locaUzation). 

Whether  consciousness  is  or  is  not  subjectively  demon- 
strable in  one  or  other  of  these  processes  has  actually 
nothing  at  all  to  do  with  the  subject,  even  if  we  are 
inclined  to  be  convinced  subjectively  to  the  contrary. 

The  subjective  reflections  of  consciousness  can  not  only 
be  dismissed  and  reintroduced  into  the  actual  impres- 
sions of  memory  ad  libitum  (suggested  amnesia),  but 
recognition  can  be  counterfeited  by  suggestion — i.e.,  a 
quite  new  mental  process  can  produce,  by  means  of  sug- 
gestion, the  erroneous  consciousness  of  a  remembrance  of 
that  which  has  taken  place  once  (falsification  of  memory). 

For  example,  it  is  absolutely  immaterial  for  the  later 
consciousness  of  an  individual  whether  I  render  by  means 
of  suggestion  a  usually  painful  nerve  irritation — e.g.,  the 
extraction  of  a  tooth — painless  during  the  moment  in 
which  it  is  taking  place,  or  whether,  after  the  pain  has 
really  been  perceived  during  consciousness,  I  banish  the 
memory  of  the  perceived  pain  completely  and  perma- 
nently from  the  memory  by  suggestion.  In  both  cases, 
as  I  have  been  able  to  prove  experimentally,  the  indi- 
vidual retains  the  same  firm  conscious  conviction,  that 
the  tooth  was  extracted  painlessly. 

Ribot  ('  Memory  and  its  Abnormalities ' )  believes  that 
recognition,  taken  as  meaning  the  '  becoming  conceived ' 
by  the  memory,  belongs  only  to  consciousness.  This  is, 
however,  excluded  after  what  we  have  seen,  since  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  the  unrecognised  in  the  activity  of 
the  brain.  One  can  even  prove  recognition  in  insects — 
e.g.,  bees  and  ants — as  well  as  the  fixing  of  engrams,  their 
association  and  their  ecphoria,  with  certainty. 

One  gathers  from  this  what  a  Very  important  part 
amnesia  plays  in  those  processes  which  we  call  conceived 
or  unconceived.    That  which  we  look  on  as  unconceived 


22         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

by  us  has  obviously  only  lost  the  subjective  connection 
with  our  superconceived  brain  activity  through  so-called 
functional  amnesia. 

One  can  therefore  accept  that,  when  a  marked  activity 
of  the  brain  of  recent  date  has  been  forgotten  to  the  con- 
sciousness, either  by  means  of  suggestion  or  spontane- 
ously, this  means  that  an  inhibitory  mechanism  has  come 
into  action,  which  prevents  a  more  marked  revival 
(ecphoria)  of  this  activity.  The  cutting  off  of  the  re- 
flections of  the  superconsciousness  obviously  usually 
indicates  an  inhibition,  while  conversely  those  processes 
which  act  by  increasing  stimulation  of  the  brain  call 
forth  such  reflections,  or  render  them  more  intense. 

In  this  way  we  again  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that 
living  nerve  substance,  nerve  activity,  and  consciousness 
are  three  forms  of  appearances  of  the  same  thing  in 
their  relations  to  ourselves,  which  we  have  abstracted  by 
analysis,  and  are  not  three  separate  things.  In  con- 
sideration of  their  nature,  subjectivism,  energy,  and 
matter  are  identical,  and  are  revealed  to  us  in  their  most 
complicated  and  most  complete  form  as  cerebrum  and 
mind. 

All  that  has  been  said  so  far  only  refers  to  our  usual 
waking  consciousness.  The  subjective  contents  of  this, 
taken  from  a  monistic  point  of  view,  can  only  be  a^syn- 
thetic  symbol  of  the  combination  of  cerebral  activities 
which  momentarily  heightens  the  subjective  reflex  at 
the  time  when  they  take  place.  These  activities  are 
linked  together  by  associations,  and  are  capable  of  being 
more  or  less  completely  recalled  at  any  time  by  the 
memory — i.e.,  are  capable  of  being  ecphorized. 

Still,  we  all  possess  a  second  consciousness — ^the  dream 
or  sleep  consciousness — which  does  differ  considerably, 
qualitatively  speaking,  from  the  waking  consciousness. 
The  study  of  its  contents,  however,  offersMhe  most 
striking  confirmation  of  the  views  expressed  ~above  (see 
Chapter  IV.,  §  i6). 


^  DOUBLE  CONSCIOUSNESS  23 

Our  perception  during  waking  consciousness  gains  a 
partial,  imperfect  insight  into  this  condition  by  means  of 
the  remembrance  of  dreams.  It  will  be  necessary  to 
return  to  this  later,  but  it  must  be  pointed  out  here  that 
the  subjectively  differing  quality  of  the  dream  conscious- 
ness must  correspond  to  an  objectively  differing  quality 
of  the  brain  activity  during  sleep.  If  the  difference  were 
absolute,  in  all  probability  our  waking  consciousness 
would  have  no  knowledge  of  our  dream  consciousness. 
But  this  is  not  so.  There  are  often  gradual  transitions, 
which  cause  the  connection,  and  which  carry  over  certain 
ill-defined  remembrances,  associated  with  the  subjective 
reflection,  from  the  sleep  activity  to  the  waking  activity 
of  the  brain,  and  the  reverse.  h>  a 

In  certain  peculiar  cases  of  somnambulism  two  or  more 
consciousnesses  (the  author  apologizes  for  the  use  of  the 
plural  here)  which  are  sharply  differentiated  from  one 
another  have  been  observed,  and  various  theories  have 
been  built  up  from  this.  These  consciousnesses  cannot 
only  follow  one  another  in  point  of  time  (alternately 
appear),  but  they  can  exist  simultaneously  in  the  same 
brain  (the  double  ego  and  automatic  writing  of  Max 
Dessbir).^  These  extraordinary  occurrences,  when  con- 
sidered in  the  light  of  monism  and  hypnotism,  no  longer 
appear  to  be  so  inexplicable,  if  we  regard  our  waking  con- 
sciousness simply  as  the  introspection  of  an  associated 
chain  of  cerebral  activities — that  is,  of  the  most  important, 
highest,  and  most  concentrated  activities.  There  is 
nothing  which  prevents  the  existence  in  the  same  brain 
of  other  chains  of  activity,  which  also  possess  their  con- 

1  MaxDessoir,  'The  Double  Ego,' i889(Berlin:W.  Karl  Sigismund). 
Dessoir  very  rightly  and  carefully  says  at  the  end  of  this  most  inter- 
esting and  instructive  study  :  '  Human  personality  consists  of  at  least 
two  spheres,  which  can  be  schematically  divided  from  each  other.' 
Dessoir  calls  waking  consciousness  '  superconsciousness,'  and  he  calls 
the  other  consciousness,  which  is  less  well  recognised  by  our  waking 
consciousness  (dream  consciousness,  second  consciousness,  etc.), 
'  hypoconsciousness'  {Unterbewusstseiri). 


24         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

nection  with  introspection,  but  which  are  prevented 
from  becoming  Hnked  to  the  first  by  an  inhibitory 
mechanism.  Connections  which  are  apparently  uncon- 
ceived  as  far  as  the  memory  is  concerned,  and  which 
are  only  interrupted  from  subjective  illumination,  can 
and  must  be  present  in  both  chains,  for  the  influence  of 
one  chain  on  the  other  is  ascertainable. 

I  once  drove  in  a  carriage,  absorbed  in  thought.  As 
the  carriage  passed  a  certain  place,  where  I  was  accus- 
tomed to  alight  from  the  electric  tram  to  take  a  steep 
footpath,  I  felt  or  beheved  that  I  had  got  out  and  was 
beginning  the  steep  climb.  The  consciousness  of  sitting 
in  the  carriage  and  of  being  driven  had  disappeared  for 
the  moment  from  the  chain  of  my  superconsciousness, 
and  had  been  replaced  by  a  kind  of  dream  hallucination, 
although  the  abstract  train  of  m.y  thoughts  had  not  in 
the  least  been  disturbed  thereby.  Suddenly  I  became 
aware  of  my  illusion. 

In  other  words,  it  is  possible  for  differing  activities, 
which  occur  simultaneously  or  which  follow  one  another 
in  the  same  brain,  to  possess  common  elementary  co- 
ordinating connections,  and  nevertheless  to  appear  to  us 
subjectively  to  be  completely,  or  nearly  completely, 
divided  from  one  another,  in  virtue  of  their  waves  of 
higher  intensity  or  synthetized  concentration,  which 
alone  are  illuminated  by  the  conceived  memory.  Example : 
dream  and  waking. 

It  is  a  known  fact  that  one  need  not  turn  to  dream 
consciousness  in  order  to  find  an  interruption  in  the 
linking  of  our  thinking  capabilities.  One  can  understand 
that  during  every  more  marked  concentration  of  thought 
• — e.g.,  in  the  case  of  the  erroneously  termed  '  absent- 
minded  '  savant — a  number  of  accustomed  activities  of 
the  brain  continue  to  take  place,  and  at  the  same  time 
lose  all  subjective  connection  with  the  contents,  which 
is  concentrated  on  abstract  ideas  of  the  chief  con- 
sciousness— i.e.,  the  chief  cerebral  activity.     For  example, 


HYPOCONSCIOUSNESS  25 

I  frequently  have  the  habit  of  continuously  humming 
melodies  softly  to  myself  unconsciously  when  engaged 
in  concentrating  work.  I  attempted  to  catch  myself 
when  doing  this,  and  to  write  down  the  names  of  the 
tunes  (popular  melodies).  In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks 
I  have  caught  myself  in  this  way  at  twenty-four  different 
songs,  some  of  which  are  old  melodies  of  my  childhood, 
of  which  I  never  consciously  think,  and  some  of  which 
are  songs  learned  later  in  life.  One  frequently  calls  this 
activity  '  unconceived.'  Dessoir  attributes  his  '  hypo- 
consciousness  '  to  this.  But  in  reality  there  are  in- 
numerable transitions,  interruptions,  renewals,  etc.  The 
chain  of  consciousness  of  many  people  rapidly  loses  the 
connection,  while  that  of  others  (people  who  are  said  to 
possess  a  '  good  memory,'  as  well  as  observant  people) 
has  very  extensive  and  cohesive  linking  capacity.  The 
characteristics  of  concentration  (attention)  and  imagina- 
tion are  usually  badly  developed  in  the  latter.  The 
reflection  of  consciousness  can  appear  to  us  to  be  clear, 
moderately  clear,  and  hazy.  Its  field  can  reveal  itself 
as  being  wide  or  moderately  wide,  both  with  regard  to 
time  and  space.  An  important  relationship  exists 
between  the  intensity  and  duration  (Grashey's  aphasia) 
of  the  brain  activity  on  the  one  hand,  and  its  conceived 
capability  of  remembering  on  the  other. 

We  cannot  receive  a  direct  subjective  insight  into  the< 
consciousness  other  than  our  superconsciousness,  or  a- 
the  most  than  the  hypoconsciousness  of  our  cerebrum, 
no  matter  whether  these  belong  to  other  nerve  centres 
of  our  own  nervous  system  or  to  other  people  or  animals. 
That  which  we  know  of  other  people  depends  on  the  con- 
clusions of  analogy  obtained  by  speech.  And  even  the 
insight  which  we  obtain  into  the  dream  consciousness,  or 
possibly  into  a  second  or  third  consciousness  (casesd 
quoted  by  MacNish,  Azam,  etc.),  is  mostly  scanty  enough. 
If  the  telepathists  were  right,  this  would  certainly  be 
otherwise. 


26         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Nevertheless,  we  can  assume — and  analogy  almost  forces 
us  to  do  so  theoretically — that  the  activity  of  other 
nerve  centres — e.g.,  cerebellum,  mid-brain,  medulla,  spinal 
cord,  ganglia — too,  possesses'  an  analogous  subjective 
reflection.  But  this  spinal  cord  capability,  to  choose  one 
for  an  example,  remains  absolutely  without  any  subjec- 
tive— i.e.,  consciously  linked — association  with  our  con- 
sciousness of  self — i.e.,  with  our  cerebral  superconscious- 
ness.  The  activity  of  the  subcerebral  centres  only 
becomes  conceived  by  us,  if  it  is  transformed  into  an 
activity  of  the  cerebrum  by  means  of  wavelike  trans- 
mission in  the  latter.  For  example,  after  destruction  of 
our  cervical  spinal  cord  our  superconsciousness  on  the 
brain  side  of  the  rupture  remains  completely  unscathed. 
Innumerable  facts  relating  to  this  in  the  physiology, 
anatomy,  and  pathology  of  the  brain  are  only  explainable 
by  means  of  this  assumption. 

The  most  obscure  chapter  in  the  physiology  of  the 
central  nervous  system  is  that  of  the  function  of  the 
so-called  basal  ganglia  of  the  brain,  the  mid-brain,  and 
the  cerebellum.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  unget-at-able 
position  of  these  organs  is  not  alone  responsible  for  the 
difficulties.  One  has  to  deal  with  the  fact  that  our  sub- 
jective 'ego' — i.e.,  our  cerebral  superconsciousness — 
does  not  stand  in  any  subjective  relationship  with  the 
consciousness  subjected  to  it,  although  its  activity  can 
be  proved  to  work  objectively  in  harmonizing  concord 
with  the  cerebral  activity.  In  short,  we  call  all  these 
obscure  processes  sometimes  unconceived  brain  activity, 
sometimes  brain  reflexes,  sometimes  brain  automatisms, 
and  so  on  ;  but  by  using  the  expression  '  unconceived ' 
one  risks  bringing  these  processes  into  contradistinction 
to  the  contents  of  our  superconsciousness,  and  such  a 
contrast  is  certainly  not  possible. 

The  fact,  that  an  animal  deprived  of  its  cerebrum  cries 
out  when  the  trigeminus  is  stimulated,  seems  to  show  that 
a  production  of  the  sensation  of  pain  takes  place  in  the 


SUBJECTIVE  SENSATIONS  27 

mid-brain  or  cerebellum,  and  therefore  that  this  centre 
also  possesses  its  consciousness  for  sensations  of  pain  ; 
but  the  pain — i.e.,  the  subjective  sensation — appears  in 
the  cerebral  consciousness  of  the  animal  when  the  stimu- 
lation is  transmitted  from  this  centre  to  the  cerebrum. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  same  applies  to  us.  A  poor 
youth,  who  had  a  transverse  lesion  of  the  spinal  cord, 
laughed  in  astonishment  when  he  saw  that  his  foot  was 
drawn  up  in  response  to  the  application  of  the  actual 
cautery  to  the  sole.  He  felt  absolutely  nothing.  '  Still,' 
I  said  to  him,  '  it  hurts  your  spinal  cord,  even  though  you 
• — i.e.,  your  brain — does  not  recognise  it.'  In  the  same 
way  the  physiologist  Golz's  well-known  dog,  whose  cere- 
brum had  been  removed,  showed  a  number  of  simple 
inferior  mental  capabilities  which  corresponded  to  the 
mental  life  of  the  '  lower  order '  brain  centres  of  the 
dog. 

Further  conclusions  arrived  at  by  analogy  show  that 
we  must  accede  various  forms  of  consciousness,  corre- 
sponding to  the  complicatedness  of  their  structure  and 
size,  to  all  the  various  nerve  centres  of  the  animal  world. 
The  chief  consciousness — i.e.,  the  consciousness  of  the 
guiding,  reasoning  chief  activity  or  brain  activity — must 
always  be  associated  with  the  most  complicated,  largest 
centres.  The  experiments  of  Isidor  Steiner^  appear  to 
prove  that  the  chief  activity  in  fishes  takes  place  in  the 
mid-brain.  The  same  author2  believes  that  one  can 
define  the  brain  as  '  the  general  centre  of  movement  in 
connection  with  the  functional  activity  of  one  at  least 
of  the  nerves  of  the  higher  senses.'  This  definition  has 
a  great  deal  in  its  favour,  but  it  is  too  absolute  and  too 
limited.  The  brain  is  merely  the  largest  and  the  most 
complicated  nerve  centre.     It  has,  therefore,  the  most 

1  Isidor  Steiner,  'On  the  Cerebrum  of  Vertebrate  Fishes'  {Reports 
of  the  Berl.  Academy  of  Phys.  Math.  Class,  January,  1886). 

2  Ibid.,  '  The  Function  of  the  Central  Nervous  System  of  Inter- 
vertebrate  Animals  '  (ibid.,  January,  1890). 


28         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

developed  and  the  most  reasoning  activities — i.e.,  pos- 
sesses those  activities  which  are  capable  of  fitting  all 
that  is  most  complicated  in  the  outer  world  and  in  the 
brains  of  other  beings.  In  consequence,  this  activity 
takes  the  general  leading  part  in  the  alternating  action 
of  the  motor  centres. 

Numerous  experiments  and  comparative  biological  and 
anatomical  studies  have  led  me  to  believe,  that  I  am  more 
than  ever  justified  in  placing  the  brain  of  ants  in  the 
corpora  pedunculata  of  the  upper  oesophageal  ganglion.^ 
At  a  later  date  I  expressed  my  opinion  on  the  question 
of  comparative  psychology  more  minutely.2 

The  conception  of  consciousness,  as  we  define  it,  is  an 
elementary  conception  which  cannot  be  further  divided 
up.  It  is  only  the  activity  of  the  brain,  which  is  reflected 
by  it,  which  can  be  divided  up.  It  therefore  appears  that 
we  can  ascribe  generalities  to  the  conception  of  con- 
sciousness, as  well  as  to  the  conception  of  energy,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  on  acccount  of  its  subjective  exist- 
ence it  is  only  possible  to  prove  it  by  indirect  induction 
with  the  required  certainty  outside  the  subject  in  com- 
plicated nerve  centres.-  It  may  appear  to  be  very  easy 
to  disprove  my  view  on  this  subject  by  means  of  syllo- 
gisms, but  they  appeal  forcibly  to  every  investigator  who 
thinks  inductively.  Otherwise  how  could  an  unanalyz- 
able  subjectivism  suddenly  be  produced  which  cannot  be 
compared  with  any  known  natural  phenomenon,  and 
which  cannot  be  derived  from  any  phenomenon  ?  From 
what  should  it  be  produced  ?  Should  it  be  produced 
with  the  first  neuron,  with  the  first  living  cell  ?  Nature 
reveals  itself  to  this  vei-y  subjectivism. 

If  one  wishes  to  avoid  again  and  again  arriving  in  the 
*  vicious  circle,*  in  the  empty  battle  of  words  conducted 
by  a  sterile  scholastic  dualism,  one  has  only  to  study 

1  *  Fourmis  de  la  Suisse,'  1874. 

2  'The  Physical  Capabilities  of  Ants  and  other  Insects,'  with  an 
Appendix  on  the  peculiarities  of  the  sense  of  smell  of  these  insects 
(Miinchen  :  E.  Rheinhardt,  1901}. 


MIND  AND  MATTER  29 

these  arguments  deeply.  One  will  then  see  that  one  can- 
not divide  the  substratum,  which  causes  the  abstract  con- 
ception of  consciousness  as  we  understand  it  from  the 
substratum  of  the  conception  of  energy.  As  soon  as  one 
attempts  such  a  division,  one  is  drifted  in  one  of  two 
directions.  Either  one  accepts  the  '  haunting '  of  all 
spiritism  and  spiritualism,  which  assigns  all  sorts  of 
qualities  and  personal  power  over  '  matter,'  which  is 
individualized  in  the  same  way,  to  the  independent  spirit 
or  independent  spirits  (why  not  attribute  legs  and  arms 
to  these  as  well  ?)  ;  or  one  must  turn  to  uncompromised 
materialism,  which  is  untenable  from  the  point  of  view 
of  philosophy.  This  materialism  seeks  to  construe  or 
change  '  mind '  and  '  consciousness '  into  the  equally 
unknown  abstract  ideas  '  atom  '  and  '  energy.'  Thereby 
one  only  enters  on  a  stupid  play  of  words.  Man  analyzes 
the  phenomena  down  to  the  abstract  ideas  which  appear 
to  him  to  be  the  elementary  conceptions  of  energy,  con- 
sciousness, qualitative  difference,  time  and  space.  The 
last-named  three  he  deals  with  as  ideas  relatively  lying 
between  the  phenomena,  and  not  as  a  phenomenon  itself. 
But  these  things  are  covered  by  monistic  metaphysical 
conceptions,  which  we  can  only  infer  from  the  phenomena 
of  undoubtedly  true  things  of  the  world,  which  must 
include  all  our  apparently  elementary  conceptions.  It 
(the  metaphysical  conception)  appears  as  the  essence  of 
the  universe,  as  a  real  but  unfathomed  conception  of 
God,  which  stands  completely  outside  the  power  of  our 
understanding  (this  must  not  be  understood  to  mean 
'personal'),  or  the  original  conception  of  the  unknown 
in  the  world.  The  fact,  that  we  cannot  investigate  the 
monistic  existence  of  things,  does  not  prevent  us  from 
concluding  inductively  as  to  its  identity  of  existence, 
for  we  realize  that  all  the  phenomena  which  are  available 
for  our  power  of  understanding  concur  with  this.^ 

1  For  further  particulars  I  refer  the  reader  to  my  lecture  on  '  Brain 
and  Mind,'  delivered  at  the  Viennese  '  Naturforscherversammlung,' 
and  published  by  E.  Strauss,  in  Bonn  (6th  edition,  1899). 


30  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Following  up  our  definition  of  consciousness  as  the 
subjective  side  of  concentrated  cerebral  activities,  we 
find  that  it  is  the  latter  which  contains  the  power  of 
reasoning.  But  this  must  not  be  accepted  in  the  sense 
of  Hartmann's  '  clairvoyant  unconceived,'  which  this 
philosopher  believed  that  he  could  detect  in  instinct. 
Instinct  is  a  secondary  automatic  product,  or,  as  Darwin, 
Delboeuf,  and  others  have  expressed  it,  a  crystallized, 
fixed  intelligence.  The  plastic  power  of  modification, 
with  its  concentration  and  its  laborious  combining  work 
of  adaptation  and  revival,  comes  first.  It  is  this  power 
of  modification  which  accommodates  itself  as  a  plastic 
capability  of  reaction  of  the  nervous  system  adequately 
and  with  increasing  complicatedness  (more  reasonably) 
to  the  world  and  the  nervous  functions  of  other  beings. 
Instinct  is  phylogenetically  a  crystallized  product  of  the 
plastic  nerve  work,  which  is  automatically  intimately 
adapted  to  a  given  complex  of  energy  which  is  fixed,  and 
which,  taken  as  a  whole,  cannot  be  further  adapted. 
Habit  is  that  mechanism  of  the  individual  central  nervou^ 
system  by  means  of  which  an  automatizing  and  organizing 
of  the  plastic  activity  of  the  brain  takes  place  with  in- 
creasing loss  of  plasticity.  This  occurs  with  the  help  of 
memory  and  of  repetition  of  similar  reactions  of  the  said 
plastic  activity  of  the  brain.  The  instincts  are  (probably 
by  means  of  the  suitable  natural  selection  of  engrams, 
which  have,  in  the  course  of  generations,  gradually  been 
inherited,  accumulated,  and  later  ecphorized)  further 
developed  automatisms  gradually  fixed  by  the  law  of 
inheritance.  That  a  human  being  at  his  birth  scarcely 
possesses  any  complete  instincts,  but  only  unalterable 
(walking,  speaking)  or  alterable  inherited  dispositions,  is 
cxplainabk'  by  the  fact  that  at  birth  the  brain  is  still 
quite  embryonic,  and  the  nerve  fibres  in  parts  have  not 
yet  got  their  medullary  sheaths.  Those  inherited  dis- 
positions which  are  unavoidably  realized  later  in  every 
normal  individual  should  be  placed  on  the  same  level  as 


INTUITION  31 

the  instincts.  Just  as  a  reasoning  conscious  human 
being  possesses  his  habits  and  instincts,  an  insect  pos- 
sesses, besides  its  extraordinary  fixed  and  compUcated 
instincts,  its  meagre,  weak,  plastic  reasoning  power,  which 
always  shows  itself  in  its  full  poverty  when  one  experi- 
mentally places  unforeseen  obstacles,  such  as  do  not  exist 
elsewhere  in  Nature,  in  the  way  of  the  sequence  of  actions 
of  the  instinct.  I  have  carried  out  a  series  of  such  experi- 
ments.^ Fabre,2  who  was  misled  by  the  great  chasm 
lying  between  the  seeming  intelligence  of  the  instinct 
and  the  boundless  weakness  of  the  plastic  reasoning 
reaction  of  insects,  fell  into  the  error  of  denying  the 
latter,  although  a  careful  reader  can  himself  diagnose 
them  from  the  magnificent  observations  of  this  author 
In  his  last  essays  he  does,  however,  at  last  withdraw  this, 
and  allows  a  discernment  in  insects.  Memory,  percep- 
tion, association  of  remembrances,  and  simple  conclusions 
arising  from  these,  have  been  incontestably  proved  to  exist 
by  me,^  by  Wasmann,  and  by  Buttel  Reepen. 

All  the  logical  conclusions  which  our  brain  activity 
forms  below  the  level  of  the  reflection  of  our  chief  con- 
sciousness are  what  we  call  intuition,  instinctive  reason- 
ing and  the  like.  These  conclusions  are  more  rapid 
and  safer  than  those  which  we  are  conscious  of,  but 
they  can  go  astray  and  err,  especially  when  they  come 
into  contact  with  an  unknown  territory.  We  must 
regard  pure  central  (abstract  ideas,  emotion)  and  co- 
ordinating activities  of  the  brain  as  well  as  those 
activities  which  are  bound  by  centripetal  elements  (per- 
ceptions) or  by  centrifugal  elements  (impulses)  as  con- 
clusions of  this  kind  or  associations  of  an  intuitive  nature. 
For  example,  we  form  mainy  more  abstract  ideas  below 
the  level  of  our  superconsciousness  than  we  imagine.  To 
repeat,  it  is  not  permissible  to  place  unconceived  and 
conceived  activities  in  contradistinction.  One  may  only 
compare  the  actual  plastic  activity  of  reason  or  the  power 

^  Loc.  cit.  2  «  Souvenir  Entomologiques.'  ^  Loc.  cit. 


32         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

of  adaptation,  which  is  usually  superconceived,  with  the 
more  or  less  fixed  automatic,  crystallized  intelligence 
whicli  one  calls  instinct,  and  which  is  for  the  most  part 
hypoconceived  ;  but  even  this  comparison  may  only  be 
relative — i.e.,  gradual. 

A  psychologically  interesting  instance  of  the  pheno- 
menon of  consciousness  is  met  with  in  conceived  and 
unconceived  deception.  Let  us  take  the  case  of  John 
Smith  A.,  who  impersonates  Lord  X.  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  sum  of  money,  and  of  John  Smith  B.,  who 
through  a  delusion  believes  that  he  is  Lord  X.  What 
is  it  that  is  conceived  by  A.  and  unconceived  by  B.  ? 
It  is  simply  the  difference  ratio  between  two  chains  of 
association — firstly,  the  chain  of  association  of  the  really 
experienced  self-personality  ;  and  secondly  that  of  the 
representation  about  Lord  X.  The  sharper  this  differ- 
ence ratio  of  the  two  dynamic  association  chains  is  marked, 
the  sharper  will  be,  as  a  rule,  the  reflection  of  conscious- 
ness, and  the  less  often  will  confusion  between  reality 
and  imagination  be  met  with. 

But  it  is  clear  that  the  attempt  on  the  part  of  John 
Smith  A.  to  falsely  create  in  the  mind  of  others  the 
impression  that  both  representation  chains  are  identical 
must  produce  in  his  own  brain  an  intensely  associated 
work  of  both  representation  chains  which  aspires  toward 
rendering  them  relatively  identical.  If  John  Smith  A. 
possesses  a  strongly-marked  imagination,  this  identifica- 
tion will  prove  easy  for  him,  and  the  working  of  the 
difference  ratio  will  be  weakened,  for  well-marked  im- 
pressions of  the  senses  and  accentuations  of  feelings  will 
increase  the  likeness  and  blot  out  the  differences.  The 
deception  will  become  at  the  same  time  naturally  better 
and  more  unconscious,  but  may  perhaps  fail  through 
carelessness.  If  he  possesses  a  very  critical,  objective, 
speculative  mind,  on  the  contrary,  the  difference  ratio 
of  both  chains  will  be  very  sharply  accentuated,  and 
thereby  the  identification  of  these  rendered  more  difficult. 


'  JOUER  AU  NATUREL '  33 

The  deception  in  this  case  will  be  less  natural,  less 
skilled,  and  more  conscious ;  but  it  may  be  better 
cloaked  by  great  precaution.  But  other  combinations 
could  lead  to  similar  results.  For  example,  imagination 
and  criticism  could  exist  simultaneously,  and  the  latter 
would  correct  the  deception.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
want  of  ethical  conceptions  and  impulses  can  increase 
the  becoming  accustomed  to  the  lie.  This  would  gradually 
weaken  the  referred  to  ratio  of  difference.  Or  an  ex- 
aggerated superficiality  and  want  of  criticism  could  lead 
to  the  same  results  without  the  assistance  of  a  particu- 
larly well-developed  imagination.  There  are  people  in 
whose  brains  only  very  indistinct  and  weak  difference 
ratios  exist  between  that  which  is  imagined  and  that 
which  has  actually  taken  place.  This  might  not  be  due 
to  the  want  or  excess  of  any  one  special  characteristic. 
When  the  difference  ratio  is  apparently  absent — or,  at 
least,  not  recognised — this  may  be  due  to  a  want  of  the 
association  of  both  chains  of  activity  or  of  the  illumina- 
tion of  consciousness  of  the  same.  The  one  is  illuminated 
by  the  superconsciousness,  while  the  other  is  illuminated 
by  the  hypoconsciousness.  We  can  observe  this  especi- 
ally well  in  dreams  and  in  the  hypnotized.  One  can  then 
see  that  the  imaginative  liar  and  the  pathological  swindler 
take  an  intermediate  place  between  the  critically  conscious 
deceiver  and  the  madman  (or  the  dreamer  or  the  com- 
pletely hypnotized  person).  One  can  further  see  why 
they  play  their  parts  much  better  than  the  conscious 
deceiver.  The  French  call  this  jouer  au  naturel  (Tar- 
tarin).  But  when  the  tendency  toward  a  more  or  less 
complete  identification  of  chains  of  imagination  and 
chains  of  reality  frequently  occurs  in  the  form  of  an 
inherited  disposition  for  lying,  deceiving,  or  even  for 
exaggerating,  one  must  not  forget  that  this  disposition 
(which  exists  in  some  degree  even  in  the  best  of  us)  can 
be  increased  by  habit  or  practice,  or  can  be  conquered 
by  the  reverse  practice.     But,  above  all,  I  wish  to  point 

3 


34         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

out  that  the  chief  difference  in  the  degree  of  the  anti- 
thesis— that  is,  of  the  more  or  less  sharp  quahtative  and 
quantitative  differentiation  of  both  chains  of  activity — 
lies  in  the  brain,  and  does  not  depend  on  whether  the 
identification  or  the  non-identiiication  is  subjectively 
more  or  less  conceived  or  unconceived.  The  stronger 
or  weaker  illumination  of  consciousness  of  the  difference 
is  actually  only  a  result  of  the  degree  of  intensity  of  the 
difference  ratio  itself.  I  would  advise  all  who  are  inter- 
ested in  this  very  important  and  absorbing  question  to 
study  Delbrueck's  excellent  work,  'The  Pathological 
Lie  and  the  Psychically  Abnormal  Swindler '  (1891). 

Apperception.  —  Apperception  or  attention  corre- 
sponds, as  we  have  seen,  to  a  kind  of  macula  lutea  of 
the  maximum  of  intensity  of  the  thinking  activity 
wandering  in  the  cerebral  neurons.  The  thinking 
activity  continuously  ecphorizes  the  old  slumbering 
associated  engrams,  strengthens  them  again,  and  re- 
models them  for  new  combinations,  or  discharges  them 
centrifugally  for  actions.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  steadily 
stimulated  by  means  of  the  activity  of  the  senses,  especi- 
ally with  the  help  of  voluntary  movements,  by  the  outer 
world,  and  works  with  the  latter  in  suitable  alternating 
relationship.  The  intensity  and  extent  of  the  attention 
and  of  its  field  changes  constantly  in  this  activity,  which 
corresponds  to  that  of  actual  thinking. 

During  dreaming  and  in  the  hypnotic  state  its  activity 
is  altered,  is  obviously  inhibited  and  slowed,  but  is  not 
on  this  account  necessarily  weakened.  The  phenomenon 
of  dreams  and  suggestions,  being  on  the  one  hand  highly 
dissociated,  and  on  the  other  extremely  delicatety  apper- 
ceived,  is  a  puzzling  but  nevertheless  a  true  one.  Ex- 
tremely delicate  apperceptions  can  actually  follow  one 
another  very  rapidly  in  certain  directions  in  the  hypnotic 
state.     I  will  not  dwell  on  this  point  here  (see  Chapter  IV., 

§16). 

It   is  well  known   that  illumination   of  consciousness 


ILLUMINATION  OF  CONSCIOUSNESS  35 

appears  to  us  subjectively  to  increase  with  the  intensity 
of  perception  ;  but,  as  we  have  seen,  one  makes  a  great 
mistake  if  one  deduces  from  this  that  subjectivism — i.e., 
consciousness,  sensation — are  wanting  in  toto  or  in  part 
from  the  unconcentrated  or  separately  concentrated  cere- 
bral activities  which  lie  outside  the  field  of  perception. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  other  thinking  activities  are  only 
apparently  more  or  less  unconceived  during  very  intense 
concentrated  perception.  Its  combination  with  the  chief 
activity  of  perception,  and  thus  with  the  reflection  of 
superconsciousness,  is  loosened,  and  for  this  reason  it 
appears  in  the  light  of  the  last  named  to  be  dim  or  to 
disappear  entirely.  As  a  rule,  association  and  amnesia 
go  hand  in  hand.  And  functional  amnesia  only  means 
the  entire  or  partial  interruption  of  the  reflection  of 
consciousness  of  various  chains  of  activities. 


3—2 


CHAPTER  II 

The   Relationship   of  Nerve  Activity  to   Nerve   Sub- 
stance and  to  the  Conditions  of  Consciousness 

It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  demonstrate  that  the  nerve 
activity  is  evidenced  by  increased  metabolism  and  raising 
of  the  temperature.  Visible  changes  in  the  nerve  cells 
after  intense  stimulation  of  a  nerve  have  been  demon- 
strated. One  is  scarcely  able  to  decide  whether  the 
chemical  process  which  takes  place  in  nerve  activity,  as 
such  represents  the  nervous  conduction  of  the  stimulus 
(neurokyme),  or  whether  it  produces  more  physical  mole- 
cular wave  movements.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  mys- 
teries of  the  molecular  processes  of  organic  life  the 
chemical  and  the  physical  are  not  always  capable  of 
being  so  sharply  differentiated. 

We  are  justified  in  placing  the  processes  which  we  call 
inhibition  and  its  reverse,  increasing  of  stimulation  and 
opening  up  new  paths  (Bahnung  of  Exner),  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  ganglion  cells  and  in  the  terminal  branchlets 
or  clubs  of  the  neurones — that  is,  in  those  portions  of 
each  bordering  on  the  other. 

Certain  anatomical  facts  appear  to  me  to  be  important. 
The  phenomena  of  memory  appear  to  exclude  the  possi- 
bility of  a  destruction  of  brain  elements,  and  a  substitu- 
tion of  the  same  by  new  elements  in  the  course  of  the 
post-embryonic  life.  This  question  caused  me  to  hax^e 
the  matter  investigated,  and  I  therefore  directed  Dr. 
Schiller  (at  that  time  my  assistant  in  Burghoelzli,  and 

36 


NERVE  ELEMENTS  37 

now  Director  in  Wyl)  to  determine  whether  the  number 
of  the  elements  in  the  central  nervous  system  increased 
after  birth  or  not.  According  to  his  results,  it  appears 
that  the  number  does  not  increase  in  the  oculo-motor 
nerve  of  the  cat,  but  that  the  size  of  the  elements  does 
increase.^  It  is  therefore  extremely  probable  that  the 
same  nerve  elements  persist  during  the  whole  post- 
embryonic  life.  Birge  had  already  shown  that  the 
number  of  ganglion  cells  in  the  motor  nerve  nuclei  of  the 
frog  corresponds  to  the  number  of  fibres.  Pathological 
foci  in  the  brain,  and  also  the  results  of  Gudden's  brain 
operations  on  animals,  prove  that  the  brain  elements, 
once  they  are  destroyed,  cannot  be  formed  afresh.  Only 
the  axis  cylinder  of  peripheral  nerves  can  grow  again 
through  the  nodes  of  Ranvier  as  long  as  the  corresponding 
ganglion  cell  is  intact. 

His  and  I  attempted  to  prove  independently  of  one 
another,  in  1886-1887,  the  indivisibility  of  nerve  elements 
by  means  of  important  facts. 2  Basing  an  opinion  on  the 
embryonic  growth  of  fibres  from  cells  (His),  and  on  the 
dependence  of  the  fibre  on  the  cell  and  the  cell  on  the 
fibre  in  pathology  and  in  experimental  research  (Forel), 
we  denied  the  occurrence  of  anastomosis,  and  claimed 
that  each  fibre  belongs  to  its  own  cell,  existing  in  the  form 
of  a  process.  Our  views  have  been  confirmed  later  by 
Ramon  y  Cajal  and  Koelliker  histologically.  Waldeyer  ! 
gave  the  nerve  element  (cell  with  its  dependent  branching 
fibres)  the  name  of  neuron,  and  the  whole  was  termed 
the  neurone  theory.  This  agrees  quite  well  with  Schiller's 
results. 

Nissl  then  studied  the  structure  of  the  ganglion  cells 
more  closely  by  means  of  staining  methods,  and  Apathy 

1  Coinptes  Rendiis  de  VAcad.  des  Sciences^  September  30,  1889. 
The  size  of  fibres  of  the  adult  cat  is  six  to  eight  tirhes  that  of  fibres 
of  the  new-born  cat. 

2  His,  'The  Human  Spinal  Cord  and  Nerve  Roots';  and  Forel, 
'  Observations  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain  and  their  Results '  {Arch. 

/.  Psychiairie). 


38         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

demonstrated  especially  the  fibrilla  both  in  the  sheathless 
nerve  fibres  of  intervertebrate  animals  and  in  ganglion 
cells  with  the  help  of  excellent  staining.  The  last-named 
undoubtedly  proved  the  existence  of  fibrilla  anastomosis 
in  the  protoplasm  of  the  ganglion  cells  of  the  leech. 
Apathy  therefore  considers  that  the  neurone  theory  can 
be  refused,  since  he  propounds  the  theory  that  ganglion 
cells  are  not  nerve  cells,  but  are  only  traversed  by  fibrilla. 
The  fibrilla  are  supposed  to  be  the  product  of  other  cells, 
which  he  calls  nerve  cells,  and  which  are  distributed 
everywhere,  even  in  the  white  substance.  He  returns 
to  Gerlach's  fibre  network.  In  his  opinion,  the  fibrillum 
is  the  nerve  element,  and  is  anatomically  present  every- 
where in  the  gray  as  well  as  in  the  white  substance.  He 
considers  that  the  cells  of  Schwann's  sheath  and  the 
corresponding  cells  of  the  neuroglia  ('  intermediate  sub- 
stance,' regarded  previously  as  connective  or  epithelial 
tissue,  and  not  as  nervous)  are  derived  from  the  nerve 
fibrilla.  He  therefore  calls  them  fibrillogenous  nerve 
cells.  These  fibrillogenous  nerve  cells  would  thus  con- 
tinuously be  able  to  form  new  fibrilla  and  new^  anasto- 
moses, even  in  the  central  nervous  svstem. 

One  does  not  dispute,  and  has  never  disputed,  that  a 
new  formation  of  peripheral  nerve  elements  and  of  nerve 
elements  of  lower  animals  takes  place.  Without  this 
assumption  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  amputated 
tail  of  a  lizard  to  regenerate.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
Apathy's  theory  does  not  agree  with  a  number  of  im- 
portant facts,  and  the  physiological  experiments  carried 
out  by  Bethc,  on  which  Apathy  bases  his  opinions,  do  not 
deserve  any  consideration,  since  Bethe  has  revealed  his 
suspicious  unreliability  in  dealing  with  other  subjects. 
Still,  Apathy's  results  and  views  were  warmly  welcomed, 
for  they  led  to'a  profounder  investigation  of  the  question. 
The  later  works  of  Ramon  y  Cajal,  Wolff,  Harrison,  and 
others,  have  disproved  Apathy's  views.  Harrison  has 
shown  that  peripheral  motor  nerves  grow  solely  from  the 


NEURONE  THEORY  39 

cells  of  the  anterior  horns  after  destruction  of  the  em- 
bryonic site  of  the  sheath  of  Schwann. 

Matthias  Duval,  on  the  other  hand,  has  exaggerated 
the  neurone  theory  by  presuming  that  the  terminal  tree- 
lets  of  the  branchings  of  the  fibres  of  a  neuron  are  pos- 
sessed with  amoeboid  movement.  He  attempts  thereby 
to  explain  not  only  sleep  (through  the  retraction  of  the 
pseudopodia  and  breaking  off  of  contact),  but  also  of 
inhibition  and  conduction  of  stimuli.  Wiedersheim  is 
supposed  to  have  observed  something  of  a  similar  nature 
in  transparent  animals.  But,  for  all  that,  it  appears  to 
me  that  the  whole  subject  encroaches  on  the  territory 
of  hypothetical  speculation. 

As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  the  most  important  proof 
in  favour  of  the  neurone  theory  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
histological  appearances,  which  are  often  very  difficult 
to  realize,  but  in  the  facts  of  embryology  of  the  nervous 
system  and  in  the  phenomena  of  secondary  degenerations, 
which  are  always  limited  to  the  area  of  the  neuron,  no 
matter  whether  one  attacks  the  cell  or  the  dependent 
fibre.  If  the  ganglion  cells  are  not  nervous  structures, 
what  are  they  there  for  ?  They  are  extremely  unsuitably 
placed  if  they  serve  for  the  nutrition  of  the  fibrilla.  And 
why  should  fibrilla  not  be  nourished  by  the  directly 
neighbouring  blood  and  lymph  vessels,  like  all  other 
body  elements  ?  But  if  the  ganglion  cell  plays  a  leading 
part  in  the  central  nerve  activity  (as  Hodge  and  others 
have  shown  by  the  appearance  of  its  exhaustion  follow- 
ing this  activity),  one  can  easily  understand  why  the  sur- 
rounding tissue  (gray  substance)  is  so  vascular,  while  the 
fibres,  which  have  only  to  conduct,  are  poorer  in  vessels. 

The  neurone  theory  thus  presumes  that  the  central 
nervous  system  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  larger  cell- 
fibre  systems,  inside  which  each  cell-fibre  element  is, 
relatively  speaking,  equal  to  its  neighbour.  The  cell- 
fibre  element  stands  in  contiguous  connection  (not  in 
continuity)  with  its  *neighbour  through  side  branches  of 


40         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  axis  cylinder  processes.  They  connect  distant  por- 
tions of  the  gray  substance  by  means  of  fibrilla  bundles 
of  nerve  processes,  which  are  relatively  isolated  from  one 
another,  and  which  we  call  medullary  fibres,  in  such  a 
way  that  the  end  of  the  medullary  fibre  terminates  in  a 
treelike  branching  on  the  surface  of  the  nerve  cell. 
Besides,  there  are  nerve  cells  of  a  second  category  (of 
Golgi),  which  have  nerve  processes,  which  spend  them- 
selves in  branching  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
the  cell  (and  in  the  same  gray  substance  as  the  cell  itself) 
without  forming  one  or  more  medullary  fibres.  And, 
lastly,  there  are  muscle  neurons  the  terminal  branchings 
of  which  are  distributed  in  the  muscles.  The  neurone 
theory,  therefore,  presumes  that  the  ganglion  cells  are 
fibrillogenous,  and  not  the  neuroglia  cells.  According  to 
this  theory,  the  fibrillum  is  a  differentiation  of  protoplasm 
of  the  ganglion  cell,  having  a  specific  nerve  function. 

According  to  the  neurone  theory,  the  activity  of  the 
nervous  system  consists  of  the  following  :  Certain  stimuli 
of  a  group  of  nerve  elements  are  conducted  along  the  long 
polypoid  processes  of  the  ganglion  cells  to  other  groups 
of  like  elements  by  means  of  simple  contiguity^  of  the 
molecular  waves  of  stimulation,  the  neurokymes.  We 
know  that  powerful  increasing  of  stimuli  (dynamogenesis), 
and  just  as  powerful  inhibiting  of  stimuli,  take  place 
within  the  central  nervous  system  ;  but  we  do  not  know 
for  certain  which  elements  or  portions  of  elements  act 
inhibitorily,  and  which  increase  stimulation.  Under  cer- 
tain circumstances  it  need  not  be  separate  elements  or 
portions  of  elements,  but  it  may  depend  on  whether  the 
stimulus  waves  accumulate  or  whether  they  neutralize 
each  other  by  acting  in  opposing  directions. 

One  can  thus  understand  how  the  relatively  equal 
valued  groups  of  elements  of  the  various  areas  of  the 
cerebral   cortex,   together  with   their  numberless  polyp 

1  The  contiguity  might  be  transformed  into  continuity  under  certain 
circumstances,  as  the  result  of  secondary  adhesions. 


NERVE  ACTIVITY  41 

threads  of  the  white  substance,  form  a  group  complex 
of  fibres — that  is,  of  axis  cyhnders  or  fibrilla  bundles — 
superordinated  to  the  other  centres.  The  concentrated 
activities  of  this  group  complex  brings  about  the  actual 
reflection  of  our  superconsciousness.  The  stimuli  of  the 
special  senses  are  projected  in  the  cerebral  cortex  through 
the  intermediation  of  the  lower  centres,  and  movement 
impulses  co-ordinated  by  the  system  of  the  pyramidal 
cell  fibres^  are  conducted  from  this  cortex,  as  are  the 
inhibitions  of  reflex  of  the  reflex  centres  in  the  medulla 
oblongata,  in  the  spinal  cord,  etc.  The  most  complicated 
combinations  of  increase  of  stimulation,  of  conduction, 
and  of  inhibition  within  the  whole  central  nervous  system 
and  between  the  centres  and  periphery — both  centri- 
fugally  (motor)  and  centripetally — come  into  play  in 
every  mental  activity,  and  in  all  alternating  actions  of 
perception  and  of  our  dealings^'  In  this  the  conduction 
is  carried  out  by  the  fibrilla  bundles  encompassed  by 
medullary  sheaths,  which  we  call  axis  cylinders  or  nerve 
fibres,  and  which  are  isolated  for  long  stretches.  A 
further  isolation  takes  place  within  the  same  through 
the  fibrilla,  which  can  conduct,  being  completely  isolated 
in  themselves  after  their  branching  or  '  unbinding ' 
(somewhat  like  the  individual  wires  of  a  transatlantic 
telegraph  cable). 

But  we  must  remember  that  many  element  systems  of 
co-ordinated  and  superordinated  centres  are  always 
simultaneously  active,  and  carry  over  to  one  another 
their  waves  of  stimulation. 

We  must,  further,  not  forget  that  all  our  subjective 
sensations,  that  is,  those  of  which  we  are  conscious — 
there  are  no  objective  sensations  :  this  would  be  a  con- 
tradictio  in  adjecto — take  place  in  the  cerebrum  ;  and  the 

^  By  this  I  mean  large  crossed  bundles  of  fibres  which  belong  to 
the  neurons  of  the  largest  ganglion  cells  of  the  cortex  (the  so-called 
central  convolutions),  and  which  connect  these  cells  directly  with  the 
large  motor  ganglion  cells  of  the  anterior  horns  of  the  spinal  cord,  etc. 
The  last  named  form  the  muscle  neurons. 


42         HYPXOTISxM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

same  applies  to  all  the  complex  collections  of  sensations 
which  we  call  perceptions,  no  matter  by  what  sort  of 
stimulation  or  combination  of  stimuli  they  are  effected. 
All  activities  of  the  nervous  system  leave  a  trace  behind 
them  after  they  have  taken  place,  or  show  a  changed 
molecular  arrangement  of  the  whole  co-ordinated  com- 
jplex,  which  one  can  call  engram  or  impression  of  memory. 
Many  parts  of  such  engrams  undoubtedly  oscillate  (or  lie) 
in  every  nerve  element.  These  traces  possess,  as  is  well 
known,  the  peculiarity  that  they  can  be  ecphorized  after 
a  long  time  by  means  of  an  associated  stimulus — i.e.,  that 
they  can  be  transformed  into  an  activity  which  is  almost 
identical  with  the  first  stimulus,  even  if  it  is  mostly  less 
Ipowerful.  We  call  the  subjective  reflection  (in  the  con- 
Isciousness)  conception. 

Hallucination  proves  that,  under  certain  circumstances, 
the  impressions  of  memory,  and  even  whole  complexes 
of  the  same,  can  be  ecphorized  again  in  such  a  manner, 
by  pure  internal  stimuli  of  the  brain,  that  they  are  in 
all  respects  equivalent  subjectively  to  a  perception — i.e., 
to  the  mentally  produced  picture  of  consciousness  of  a 
complex  of  the  stimulation  of  the  special  senses,  actually 
projected  from  the  periphery.  It  remains  an  open  ques- 
tion whether  the  difference  between  perception  and  in- 
ternal conception — e.g.,  in  a  dog — depends  only  on  the 
difference  of  the  intensity  of  the  corresponding  cerebral 
activity,  or  whether  it  is  explainable  by  assuming  that 
in  hallucination  the  centripetal  cell-fibre  columns  from 
the  secondary  centre  to  the  corresponding  area  of  the 
cortex — e.g.,  the  corpus  geniculatum  externum,  the  visual 
conduction  column  to  the  cuneus  for  the  sense  of  sight, 
etc. — are  drawn  into  sympathetic  excitement.  The  last 
explanation  appeals  to  me  as  the  most  likely.  It  is 
certain  that  a  bhnd  man,  with  total  destruction  of  both 
eyes  and  total  atrophy  of  both  optic  nerves  and  of  the 
optic  track,  can  hallucinate  still  after  many  years.  But 
Von  Monakow  has  showTi  that  the  cells  of  his  corpora 


NERVE  ENERGY  43 

geniculata  externa  must  be  preserved,  since  these  cells 
do  not  atrophy  after  the  enucleation  of  the  eye. 
.  However  this  may  be,  the  above-mentioned  facts  prove 
[that  not  only  hallucination  or  deceptive  perception,  but 
•also  the  perception  caused  by  real  stimulation  of  the 
special  senses,  are  in  themselves  cerebral  processes.  It 
is  further  known  that  a  child  at  first  only  receives  a 
medley  of  impressions  through  its  senses,  and  must  learn 
to  observe,  so  that  the  perception  depends  on  co-ordinat- 
ing modelling  of  impressions  in  the  cerebrum. 

I  considered  it  necessary  to  give  all  these  psychological 
and  anatomical  explanations,  because  I  have  noticed  that 
the  want  of  a  correct  psychological  and  anatomical  under- 
standing causes  the  phenomena  of  hypnotism  to  appear 
in  the  light  of  a  marvel  not  only  to  the  laity,  but  also 
to  medical  men.  The  marvel,  if  there  is  one,  exists  in 
the  problemi  of  the  genesis  of  the  mind — i.e.,  of  the 
genesis  of  the  brain — but  not  in  hypnotism,  if  one  accepts 
the  monistic  view. 

Presuming  that  an  activity  produced  in  the  brain  of  a 
human  being  through  spoken  words  takes  the  form  of  a 
complex  of  energy,^  such  activity  manifesting  itself  in 
the  mirror  of  consciousness  as  a  complex  of  imagination, 
one  must  accept  that  associated  hypoconceived  activities 
co-operate  with  it.  It  is  comparatively  immaterial  whether 
the  given  conception  is  ascertainably  accompanied  by  the 
reflection  of  the  superconsciousness  or  not.  If  the 
speaker  succeeds  in  mastering  the  course  of  the  con- 
ception in  others  by  means  of  intentional,  rapid,  and 
concentrated  action,  accomplished  by  tone,  words,  looks, 
etc.,  he  becomes  increasingly  capable  of  associating  or 
dissociating.     The  brain  activity  of  the  influenced  person 

^  Such  complexes  of  energy  consist  of  two  groups  of  factors  :  the 
inherited  (inherited  mneme)  and  the  acquired  (acquired  engrams  of 
the  brain  of  the  individual).  Both  groups  of  factors  combine  in  a 
manifold  manner  in  each  individual  case  (single  observation).  I  refer 
the  reader  to  Semon's  book  on  the  Mneme  {loc.  cit.),  and  to  my 
'Sexual  Question'  (MUnchen  :  E.  Rheinhardt,  4th  edition,  1906). 


44         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

will  thus  become  more  plastic  and  more  adaptable  towards 
him. 

He  succeeds  thus  in  producing  inhibitions  and  con- 
ductions, which  can  lead  to  hallucination,  to  the  cutting 
off  of  the  various  linkings  of  the  consciousness  from  one 
another  (and  thus  to  regular  amnesia),  to  the  stimulation 
and  inhibition  of  the  voluntary  movements,  to  the  stimu- 
lation and  inhibition  of  the  vasomotor  functions  (influ- 
ence on  menstrual  and  other  bleeding),  and  even  to  the 
influencing  of  secretory  and  trophic  nerve  functions 
(sweating,  vesication),  according  to  the  degree  of  the 
attained  influence.  All  this  is  explainable  by  the  peculi- 
arity of  the  nerve  activity,  and  especially  of  the  cerebral 
activity.  Miracles,  superstition,  bewitching,  the  belief  in 
the  mysterious,  and  the  belief  in  spirits  are  robbed  to 
a  great  extent  of  their  halo  by  this,  on  the  whole, 
comparatively  simple  elucidation,  and  are  explained 
naturally. 

I  will  illustrate  the  insufficiency  of  our  pure  psychology 
by  one  example.  What  a  confusion  is  caused  by  the 
words  '  seeing  '  and  '  willing  ' !  Does  the  pigeon  whose 
brain  has  been  removed  see  or  not  ?  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  are  several  degrees  of  '  seeing.' 

1.  The  elementary  amoeboid  'sight'  of  the  retinal 
elements,  which  is  closely  related  to  the  photodermic 
sensations  flight  appreciation  of  the  skin)  of  the  lower 
animals.  This  sight  cannot  be  considered  as  optic,  since 
an  element  cannot  perceive  an  optical  image. 

2.  The  sight  of  the  anterior  pair  of  the  corpora  quadri- 
gemina  and  of  the  external  geniculate  body  (the  secondary 
optic  centres),  which  receive  a  collected  co-ordinated 
transmission  of  the  collected  retinal  impression  through 
the  optic  nerve.  This  is  the  sight  of  the  brainless  pigeon. 
This  lower  form  of  sight  is  never  conceived  by  us  human 
beings.  It  may  be  regarded  as  being  optical,  but  is 
practically  analogous  to  the  sight  of  the  insects  which 
do  not  possess  a  cerebrum — e.g.,  ants — and  is  scarcely 


SEEING  45 

capable  of  using  optic  impressions  of  memory  in  associa- 
tion.^ 

3.  The  sight  of  the  so-called  visual  sphere  of  the 
cortex  (cuneus),  which,  in  spite  of  the  physiologist  Golz, 
does  exist,  since  the  fibre  system  from  the  subcortical 
centres  ends  in  this  place  (Monakow).  This  corresponds 
to  our  usual  super-  and  hypo-conscious  human  sight.  The 
visual  sphere  receives  the  retinal  impression  second-hand, 
if  one  may  use  this  term,  and  combined  with  many  com- 
plicated associations. 

4.  There  is  still  one  other  sight,  a  mental  vision — viz., 
the  repercussion  of  these  optical  stimuli  of  the  visual 
sphere  in  other  associated  areas  of  the  cortex  of  the 
cerebrum.  There  are  people  who  are  able  to  see  sounds 
coloured  (Nussbaumer,  Bleuler,  and  Lehmann),  inasmuch 
as  they  always  associate  certain  colours  (mostly  the  same) 
with  certain  sounds  or  vowels. 

The  same  applies  to  the  centrifugal  or  voluntary 
activity,  from  the  conceived  wish,  through  resolve  and 
action,  to  impulse  and  reflex  twitching.  This  is  nothing 
else  than  the  completed  result  of  feelings  and  of  the 
intellect  elements  associated  with  them,  however  much 
movement  may  act  furtheringly  on  impressions  and  feel- 
ings. The  study  of  the  disturbances  of  speech  demon- 
strates plainly  that  there  is  no  boundary  between  '  somati- 
cally '  and  '  psychically '  produced  motor  complexes  of 
innervation  and  disturbances  of  the  same. 

If  we  consider  all  these  facts  with  that  which  has  been 
stated  in  the  early  pages,  we  shall  no  longer  be  astonished 
so  very  much  by  the  seeming  contradictions  and  mysteries 
of  hypnotism.  We  shall  be  able  more  readily  to  under- 
stand that  a  hypnotized  person  sees,  and  yet  does  not  see  ; 
believes,  and  yet  frequently  apparently  simulates  with  a 
certain  complaisance.  His  consciousness  can  believe,  and, 
for  example,  in  reply  to  a  negative  hallucination,  not  see 

1  Forel,  'The  Psychical  Capabilities  of  Ants'  (Miinchen:  E.  Rhein- 
hardt,  1901). 


46         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

and  not  hear;  while  outside  the  reflection  of  consciousness, 
which  has  been  dimly  blotted  out  like  a  breath  of  air,  the 
rest  of  his  brain  activity  (his  hypoconsciousness,  as  we 
have  already  called  it)  sees  clearly,  hears  clearly,  and  gets 
out  of  the  way  of  the  obstruction.  But  in  another  case  a 
concentrated  powerful  suggestion  action  may  grasp  much 
more  profoundly  into  the  hypoconceived  brain  activity, 
and  may  even,  having  been  conducted  strongly  along  the 
peripheral  nerves,  react  on  these,  as  we  can  see  in  the 
inhibition  and  production  of  menstruation,  for  example, 
or  in  the  production  of  diarrhoea  and  blisters  on  the 
epidermis. 


CHAPTER  III 

General  Remarks  on  Hypnotism 

Facts. — The  chief  fact  of  hypnotism  consists  in  the 
altered  mental  condition  (or  condition  of  the  brain 
activity,  considered  from  the  physiological  point  of 
view)  of  a  human  being.  One  can  call  it  '  hypnosis,' 
01  the  condition  of  suggestibility,  to  distinguish  this 
condition  from  ordinary  sleep,  with  which  it  has  a  marked 
relationship. 

A  second  series  of  facts  consists  of  the  manner  in  which 
this  condition  is  produced  and  removed.  But  in  this 
respect  erroneous  interpretations  have  given  rise  to  the 
most  incorrect  conceptions.  Hypnosis  can  apparently 
be  produced  in  three  different  ways  :  (i)  Through  the 
psychical  influence  of  one  person  on  another  by  means 
of  placing  ideas  before  the  latter,  which  the  former  in- 
duces the  latter  to  accept.  This  kind  of  hypnotizing  has 
been  termed  '  suggestion  '  (dictation — the  Nancy  school). 
(2)  Through  the  direct  action  of  living  or  lifeless  objects 
or  of  a  mysterious  agent  on  the  nervous  system.  In  this 
case,  tiring  of  one  sense,  which  is  concentrated  for  a  long 
time  on  one  point,  is  said  to  play  an  important  part.  In 
this  class  one  speaks  of  the  specific  action  of  the  magnet, 
of  the  human  hand,  of  medicaments  enclosed  in  bottles, 
and  the  like.  (3)  Through  the  reaction  of  the  mind  on 
itself  (autohypnotism).  I  think  that  I  am  justified  in 
stating,  in  complete  agreement  with  Bernheim,  that,  in 
the  essence  of  things,  there  is  only  one  scientifically 
assured  method  of  inducing  hypnosis — viz.,  the  induction 

47 


48         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

of  this  condition  by  suggestion,  be  it  by  means  of  the 
dictation  of  others  or  by  autosuggestion.^  The  possi- 
bihty  of  unconscious  suggestion  or  autosuggestion  is  not 
excluded  with  scientific  certainty  in  the  presumptive  or 
apparently  different  forms  of  production  of  hypnosis, 
and  seems  even  to  be  almost  certainly  present  on  closer 
investigation. 

A  third  series  of  facts  is  that  of  the  capabilities  of  the 
hypnotized.  It  is  certain  that  in  the  condition  of  hypno- 
tism induced  by  suggestion  the  most  extensive  reactions 
on  nearly  all  the  functions  of  the  nervous  system  (a  few 
spinal  reflexes  and  functions  of  ganglia  excluded)  are 
possible.  These  include  such  bodily  exercises  as  diges- 
tion, defsecation,  menstruation,  pulsation,  reddening  of 
the  skin,  etc.,  the  independence  of  the  cerebrum  of  which 
is  generally  forgotten  or  undervalued. 

That  the  mental  activity  of  the  hypnotized  is  more  or 
less  dependent  on  the  influencing  of  the  hypnotist,  ac- 
cording to  the  higher  degrees  of  the  influence,  is  also  un- 
doubted. Lastly,  and  of  paramount  importance,  there 
is  the  indisputable  fact  that  the  influence  exercised  in 
hypnosis  may  extend  itself  posthypnotically  into  the 
normal  condition  of  the  mind,  in  all  regions  of  the  nervous 
system  and  of  the  mind ;  it  may  include  the  influence  of 
the  hypnotist  over  the  hypnotized,  and  can  even  be 
continued  for  a  long  time. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  alleged  immaterial  facts,  such 
as  second  sight  or  telepathy,  the  so-called  direct  thought- 
reading,  and  the  like,  are  doubtful,  and,  at  all  events,  are 
scientifically  neither  sufficiently  corroborated  nor  ex- 
plained.    It   appears  that  a  strictly   scientific  control, 

1  The  terms  '  autosuggestion '  and  '  posthypnotic '  have  been  at- 
tacked as  being  barbaric,  since  they  are  derived  half  from  Latin  and 
half  from  Greek  roots.  This  view  is  justified  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  purist.  Still,  we  should  be  thankful  that  our  terminology  is  not 
encumbered  by  words  like  *  authypoboly '  or  '  ipsisuggestion '  and 
'  ephypnotic,'  for  euphonism  and  general  comprehensibility  must  also 
be  taken  into  account. 


THEORIES  49 

which  excludes  all  possible  unconscious  suggestion,  wa^ 
mostly  absent  in  experiments  of  this  kind,  with  those 
extremely  rare  cases  of  somnambulism  which  are  supposed 
to  have  been  successful.  Where  such  a  control  was 
present,  the  experiment  appears  to  have  ended  in  a 
perfect  fiasco  as  a  rule.  Nevertheless,  unprejudiced 
science  requires  that  this  question  should  be  carefully 
investigated,  since  a  number  of  trustworthy  persons,  who 
are  wanting  in  discernment,  affirm  especially  that  certain 
cases  of  presentiments  have  come  true. 

Theories  and  Definitions. — The  definitions  which 
one  applies  to  hypnotism  depend  on  those  theoretical 
views  held  on  this  subject.  If  we  throw  overboard  as 
far  as  possible  the  ballast  of  undigested  or  superstitious 
nonsense  which  is  claimed  for  the  phenomena  belonging 
to  this  question,  and  which  is  scattered  broadcast  in  the 
widespread  trashy  literature  on  the  so-called  occultism, 
only  three  theories  or  explanations,  differing  in  principle, 
of  the  facts  briefly  recited  above  remain. 

I.  An  external  invisible  agent  penetrates  into  the  body, 
and  especially  into  the  nervous  system,  influences  the 
organism,  and  introduces  into  the  latter  something  which 
is  foreign  to  it  ;  it  may  even  be  the  knowledge  of  lifeless 
nature  or  of  other  living  beings.^  One  formerly  regarded 
this  agent  as  a  fluid,  and  the  laity  still  speak  of  it  as  such  ; 
spiritualists  call  it  an  immaterial  spirit,  and  in  the 
language  of  modern  times  it  would  be  termed  a  still  un- 
known physical  force.  Or  the  thoughts  and  mental  pro- 
cesses of  one  person  reach  by  means  of  such  an  agent 
the  knowledge  of  the  mind  of  another  person,  without  the 

1  It  is  not  absolutely  uninteresting  to  compare  these  views  with 
those  of  the  physiologist  Albrecht  Bethe,  who  assumes  the  inter- 
vention of  'unknown  powers'  in  the  method  in  which  insects  find 
their  way  about,  instead  of  employing  the  conclusion  of  analogy, 
which  requires  less  seeking,  and  accepting  that  insects  use  their 
organs  of  sense,  as  well  as  their  memory  and  the  association  of  their 
engrams,  simply  as  we  do  (Forel,  'The  Psychical  Capabilities  of 
Ants,'  loc.  cit.), 

4 


50         nVPXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY     . 

intermediation  of  the  speech  of  sound,  of  writing,  or  of 
signs  of  the  first  person,  or  by  means  of  the  organs  of 
sense  of  the  second.  This  is  Mesmer's  theory.  Mesmer 
called  the  supposed  agent  magnetism,  and  especially 
*  animal  magnetism,'  when  it  appeared  to  be  derived 
from  the  human  or  animal  organism  (the  more  so  when 
it  seemed  to  be  derived  from  the  magnetizer).  This 
theory  is  supported  still  in  certain  circles  by  enthusiastic 
and  even  fanatic  adherents,  and  is  based  on  those 
phenomena  referred  to  under  (2),  and  those  quoted  as 
doubtful,  alleged  immaterial  facts.  If  it  were  true,  it 
would  without  doubt  seriously  influence  our  scientific 
knowledge,  for  the  consistent  ignoring  on  the  part  of 
science  up  to  the  present  time  of  this  unkno\\T>  some- 
thing, of  this  unknowTi  force,  would  necessarily  have 
caused  an  error  in  our  results  hitherto,  in  the  same  way  as 
an  important  factor,  if  forgotten,  would  have  done.  The 
law  of  energy  could  not  hold  good,  for  such  influences 
would  of  necessity  always  lead  to  error.  But  as  Science, 
as  a  result  of  her  extensive  practical  results,  offers  daily 
increasing  proof  of  her  intrinsic  truth,  one  has  reason  to 
distrust  Mesmer's  theor3%  and  to  require  of  it  unam- 
biguous, unimpeachable  proofs.  Let  us  consider  briefly 
how  matters  lie. 

Mesmer  and  his  school  have  been  so  completely  con- 
tradicted by  Braid  and  Liebeault  as  far  as  the  facts  re- 
ferred to  above  as  indisputable  are  concerned  (see  later) 
that  it  were  vain  to  waste  more  time  on  this  subject. 
The  fluid  theory  takes  umbrage  behind  the  supposed  facts 
even  at  the  present  time,  which  are  guarded  by  the 
spiritualists,  and  which,  according  to  the  circles  in  which 
they  are  produced,  are  so  intimately  intermingled  with 
blind  fanaticism,  with  mental  disturbances  (hallucina- 
tions), with  misconceived  suggestions,  with  trickery  and 
with  superstition,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  subject 
them  to  a  scientific  investigation  at  present.  The  spirits 
and  the  fourth  dimension  of  the  spiritualists  are  the  con- 


MESMER'S  THEORY  51 

ceptions  which  would  correspond  to  the  unknown  agent. 
The  so-called  '  materialization  of  spirits,'  which  probably 
depends  partly  on  hallucinations  of  feeling  and  partly  on 
deceit,  indicates  the  consummation  of  the  nonsense  of 
dualistic  conceptions.  In  order  to  demonstrate  the  reality 
of  an  immaterial,  energyless  spirit,  one  wishes  to  render 
it  material  and  containing  energy. 

As  far  as  the  '  photographs  '  of  '  spirits '  are  concerned, 
there  is  a  very  simple  photographic  method  of  producing 
such  pictures.  I  have  seen  an  excellent  spirit  photo- 
graph which  was  taken  by  an  honest  photographer 
without  a  '  spirit '  !  The  sort  of  trick  which  is  similar 
to  those  employed  by  conjurers  plays  a  part  here  which 
must  not  be  undervalued. 

A  series  of  apparently  supernatural  phenomena  which 
are  supposed  to  speak  in  favour  of  Mesmer's  or  allied 
theories  are,  as  has  already  been  stated,  constantly  being 
brought  forward  by  upright,  trustworthy  people.  I  can 
mention  the  so-called  thought-reading,  improperly  called 
'  mental  suggestion '  ;  clairvoyance  ;  seeing  or  guessing 
of  what  is  taking  place  at  a  distance  ;  the  so-called  pre- 
sentiments and  '  fortune-telling,'  inter  alia.  These  sup- 
posed phenomena  are  collectively  styled  '  telepathy.' 

'  Phantasms  of  the  Living  '^  is  an  extraordinary  book 
from  the  above-mentioned  point  of  view.  In  it  no  less 
than  600  observations  on  visions,  dreams,  presentiments, 
and  the  like,  which  were  fulfilled,  are  recorded.  Exact 
inquiries  are  said  to  have  been  made  into  the  reliability  of 
the  sources  of  the  accounts,  and  only  clear  accounts  of 
trustworthy- persons  were  supposed  to  have  been  accepted. 
A  review  of  this  book  was  published  in  the  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes  of  May  i,  1888.  Everyone  can  meet  with  several 
similar  observations  among  his  own  friends,  and,  without 
doubt,  among  trustworthy  persons. 2     One  must  further 

1  '  Phantasms  of  the  Living,'  by  Gurney  (Myers  and  Podmore,  two 
vols,  in  8vo. ;  Triibner,  London,  1877). 

2  See  also  Liebeault,  '  Le  Sommeil  Provoqu^/  1889,  p.  295. 

4—2 


52         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

not  fail  to  mention  in  this  place  that  in  the  history  of  the 
world  a  considerable  amount  of  telepathy  is  recorded. 
One  meets  with  the  belief  in  the  so-called  sympathetic 
influences  and  in  the  fulfilment  of  presentiments  up  to 
the  present  time  and  in  spite  of  all  enlightenment,  even 
in  professed  atheists. 

The  experiments  of  Ch.  Richet  are  also  interesting. 
He  attempts  to  prove  the  influence  of  the  thinking  of  one 
individual  on  the  thinking  of  another  in  a  certain  direc- 
tion without  external  appearances  which  could  be  sen- 
sorily  perceived.  It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  the 
proofs  are  extremely  imperfect,  and  the  probability 
calculation  employed  very  unconvincing.  The  later 
investigations  of  Yon  Schrenk-Notzing,  Floumoy,  and 
others,  have  also  failed  to  arrive  at  definite  conclusions. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  in  all  these  experiments, 
apart  from  accident  and  trickery,  to  exclude  with  cer- 
tainty self-deception  on  the  part  of  the  Iwpnotized — 
that  is,  of  the  subject — and  even  on  the  part  of  the  hypno- 
tizer,  especially  of  every  unconscious  suggestion  and 
autosuggestion.  It  is  therefore  necessary  that  great 
caution  should  be  exercised  in  accepting  these  forms  of 
results. 

Since  the  third  edition  of  this  book  there  has  been 
nothing  new  of  importance  relative  to  the  subject  of  tele- 
pathy to  report.  At  all  events,  telepathy  has  not  been  able 
to  bring  forward  a  new  elucidation,  while  the  doctrine  of 
suggestion  has  been  freely  confirmed  during  the  same  period 
of  time.  All  the  stories  of  spiritualists  and  of  superficial 
individuals  have  not  been  able  to  alter  anything  belonging 
to  these  facts.  Still,  I  would  wish  to  add  the  following  : 
Piofessor  Th.  Floumoy  (Geneva)  recounted,  in  some 
lectures  which  he  delivered  in  Lausanne  in  igoo  that 
Pouchet  once  offered  i,ooo  francs  to  any  person  who 
could  read  a  sentence  which  he  had  placed  in  a  double 
envelope,  to  which  a  seal  had  been  attached.  Professor 
Flournoy  did  not  fully  approve  of  the  method  of  carrying 


TELEPATHIC  READING  53 

out  this  experiment  of  Pouchet's,  but  still  admitted  the 
possibility  that  telepathic  reading  might  succeed. 

My  cousin,  Professor  F.  A.  Forel,  of  Morges,  then  sug- 
gested that  similar  conditions  should  be  imposed,  and 
that  the  following  might  be  found  satisfactory  : 

He  gave  Professor  Floumoy  a  carefully  closed  and  sealed 
casket,  and  promised  the  sum  of  1,000  francs  to  any 
person  who  could,  during  the  course  of  one  year,  read  a 
motto  which  was  enclosed  in  the  box. 

Replies  came  in  so  quickly  that  Professor  Flournoy^ 
became  alarmed  at  the  prospects  if  he  continued  to  take 
charge  of  the  box,  ended  the  experiment  after  a  fortnight, 
and  sent  the  casket  back  to  Professor  Forel. 

Not  a  single  reply  sent  in  bore  the  slightest  resemblance 
to  the  enclosed  sentence.  The  latter  ran  as  follows  :  Et 
il  r  enduisit  de  bitume,  en  dedans  et  en  dehors. 

It  is  a  pity  that  my  cousin's  conditions  were  not  allowed 
a  further  chance.  It  would  have  been  worth  while  to 
have  awaited  the  results  of  the  whole  year.  On  a  previous 
occasion  the  French  Academy  of  Mesmerism  offered 
similar  conditions.  The  failure  of  the  telepaths  was  a 
complete  one.  In  future  it  may  be  necessary  to  guard 
against  the  use  of  Roentgen  rays  and  radium,  etc.,  when 
carrying  out  this  form  of  experiment. 

2.  The  theory  first  formulated  by  Braid  ('  Ncaurhyp- 

1  Professor  Flournoy's  reaction,  which  appeared  in  the  newspapers, 
had  a  very  curious  character.  He  promised  to  give  i,ooo  francs  to 
charity  if  the  Vinet  School  in  Lausanne  were  struck  by  a  ball  of  fire 
(literally,  'a  ball-shaped  lightning')  during  the  course  of  the  year. 
The  comparison  of  the  Professor  of  Philosophy  falls  suspiciously  flat. 
Even  allowing  that  a  ball  of  fire  be  just  as  rare  as  the  presumed  tele- 
pathic reading,  although  it  can  be  scientifically  proved  to  occur,  one 
was  not  dealing  with  an  experiment  for  which  one  could  invite  all 
telepathists  of  the  world  publically  to  compete,  and  for  which  one 
could  allow  one  year's  time  !  No  invitation  was  directed  to  the  ball 
of  fire  to  let  itself  loose  on  the  Ecole  Vinet  in  Lausanne  !  For  this 
reason  the  definite  negative  result  of  the  condition  stipulated  by 
Professor  F.  A.  Forel  would  have  carried  with  it  quite  a  different 
significance  scientifically  to  the  fact  that  the  Vinet  School  was  not 
struck  by  a  ball  of  fire. 


54         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

nology/  1843),  and  first  worked  out  in  its  full  importance 
and  practical  application  by  Liebeault  of  Nancy  ('  Du 
Somneil  et  des  Etats  Analogues,'  1866),  is  diametrically 
opposed  to  the  first-mentioned  theory.  This  is  the  con- 
ception of  suggestion  (dictation).  It  can  be  formulated 
somewhat  in  the  following  manner  : 

The  production  of  the  various  phenomena  of  hypnosis 
by  means  of  the  calling  forth  of  suitable  impressions,  and 
especially  of  impressions  of  the  fancy.  It  may  be  men- 
tioned in  this  place  that  the  object  is  most  easily  and  mxost 
certainly  gained  when  the  hypnotist  declares  definitely 
by  means  of  speech  that  the  condition  which  he  wishes  to 
induce  will  appear  at  the  time  while  he  is  speaking,  or  at 
a  given  time,  earlier  or  later  (verbal  suggestion  or  per- 
suasion). When  a  person  persuades  himself  of  something, 
one  speaks  of  autosuggestion  (Bemheim).  Braid  did  not 
realize  the  importance  of  suggestion,  but  attached  instead 
an  importance  which  does  not  belong  to  it  to  the  con- 
tinuous stimulation  of  the  senses  (fixation, etc.).  He  placed 
Mesmer's  animal  magnetism  side  by  side  with  hypnotism, 
believed  in  the  direct  action  on  the  peripheral  nervous 
system,  and  stood  the  same  ground  as  the  so-called  somatic 
^school  (Charcot,  etc.).  One  is  accustomed  to  produce  a 
partial  or  complete  dissociation  by  means  of  suggestion, 
and  as  the  dissociation  condition  of  the  brain  considerably 
increases  the  suggestibilit}^  of  the  brain  {i.e.,  the  suscepti- 
jbility  toward  influencing  by  means  of  suggestion),  one 
.gains  the  desired  power  at  once.  In  the  same  way  sleep 
is  a  dissociation  condition  of  the  brain,  and  actually  a 
'general  one.  For  the  purposes  of  obtaining  rest  of  the 
neurons,  suggestive  dissociation  is,  as  it  were,  a  more  or 
less  divided  up  or  localized  sleep.  But  suggestion  is  not 
only  produced  by  means  of  speech  and  by  persuasion  : 
it  can  be  induced  by  everything  which  can  call  forth  im- 
pressions, and,  above  all,  which  can  cause  strong  pictures 
in  the  imagination.     Liebeault  is  right  when  he  writes  •} 

1  Loc.  cit.,  p.  347. 


SUGGESTION  55 

'  La  disposition  a  tomber  dans  ces  etats  est  propor- 
tionnelle  a  la  f aculte  de  representation  mentale  de  chacun . 
L'on  pent  etre  sur  que  rhomme  qui,  en  reportant  son 
attention  sur  une  idee  image,  celle  d'une  perception 
tactile,  par  example,  ne  tarde  pas  a  la  percevoir  comme 
si  elle  etait  reelle,  que  cet  homme  est  capable  de  dormir 
profondement '  {i.e.,  is  able  to  be  deeply  hypnotized). 

But  this  is  not  all.  A  su^ggestion  can  take  place  un- 
consciously— that  is,  hypocdnsciously — or  the  corre- 
sponding conception  may  appear  so  feebly  or  for  so  short 
a  time  in  the  mirror  of  the  superconsciousness  that  it 
disappears  immediately  and  for  ever  from  the  latter,  so 
that  the  memory  cannot  recall  it  again  ;  and  yet  this 
suggestion  may  act  powerfully.  As  the  result  of  the 
complete  amnesia,  one  cannot  even  show  that  the  con- 
ception in  question  was  ever  recognised  in  such  cases. 
But  it  was  nevertheless  certainly  present ;  closer  inspec- 
tion proves  this.  The  point  on  which  the  whole  question 
of  the  understanding  of  a  great  number  of  self-deceptions 
and  alleged  Mesmer's  actions  turn  lies  here.  For  example, 
one  hypnotizes  a  peasant  girl  who  has  not  the  faintest 
idea  of  physics  and  of  prisms  for  the  first  time,  and  places 
a  prism  in  front  of  her  eyes,  after  having  suggested  to  her 
that  she  is  to  look  at  an  imaginary  candle,  suspended  in 
space.  On  asking  her  what  she  sees,  she  will  reply,  '  Two 
candles.'  This  depends  on  an  unconceived  suggestion, 
as  Bernheim  has  been  able  to  prove.  The  girl  saw  the 
real  objects  present  in  the  room  through  the  prism  double, 
and,  having  been  unconsciously  influenced,  doubled  the 
suggested  candle.  If  the  experiment  is  carried  out  in  a 
completely  darkened  room  on  a  person  who  has  never 
before  been  hypnotized,  and  who  has  no  theoretical  know- 
ledge of  these  things,  the  suggested  picture  will  never  be 
doubled  by  a  prism  (Bernheim).  One  can  hardly  assume 
that  the  girl  became  conscious  of  the  conditions  during 
the  hypnosis,  and,  because  she  recognised  all  other  objects 
as  double,  believed  that  she  saw  the  candle  double  also. 


56         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

The  '  doubling '  took  place  instinctively,  automatically, 
below  the  level  of  the  superconsciousness.  She  did  not 
fix  the  other  objects,  but  only  the  fictitious  candle. 
Nevertheless,  this  doubling  was  recognised  by  her  (prob- 
ably'hypoconsciously)  and  made  \ise  of.  However,  the 
mechanism  of  suggestion  always  remains  un conceived  to 
the  superconsciousness  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  manner,  in 
which  the  heard  and  understood  words  of  the  hypnotist 
or  in  which  the  perception  and  further  association  of  these 
create  the  actual  result,  remains  unconceived. 

Liebeault's  suggestion  theory  of  hypnosis  has  presented 
such  striking  proofs  of  its  correctness,  that  it  must  be 
accepted  as  having  established  itself  completely  by  now. 
This  has  been  achieved  not  only  by  the  practical  results, 
chiefly  in  medical  therapy,  but  also  in  education  and  in 
many  other  branches.  The  methods  corresponding  to 
other  theories  have  been  able  to  produce  a  part  of  the 
appearances  of  hypnosis  only  in  hysterical  or  nervous 
persons,  but  very  exceptionally  also  in  healthy  persons, 
with  more  or  less  difficulty.  These  theories  were  forced  to 
resort  to  most  wonderful  nebulous  explanations,  because 
they  were  always  face  to  face  with  puzzles  and  contradic- 
tions. Against  this,  suggestion  succeeds  easily  with 
almost  every  healthy  person,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
facts  referred  to  above  as  being  doubtful,  it  explains 
everything  naturally  from  a  single  point  of  view.  Besides, 
suggestion  is  in  complete  concord  with  a  scientific  psycho- 
physiology,  and  throws  a  powerful  light  on  the  functions 
of  our  brains. 

The  number  of  mentally  healthy  persons  hypnotized 
in  Nancy  b}  Liebeault^  and  Bernheim  has  reached  many 
thousands.  Only  97  out  of  3,148  persons  subjected  by 
Dr.  \\'etterstrand,  of  Stockholm,  to  the  influence  of  sugges- 
tion during  the  period  1887-1890  remained  uninfluenced. 

1  Liebeault  ('Therapeutique  Suggestive,'  1891)  gives  the  number  of 
the  various  people  hypnotized  by  him  as  over  7,500.  Liebeault  died, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years,  on  February  17,  1904. 


NANCY  SCHOOL  OF  HYPNOTISM  57 

Dr.  van  Renterghem  and  Dr.  van  Eeden,  of  Amsterdam, 
had  up  to  1895  successfully  hypnotized  1,031  out  of  1,089 
persons  by  suggestion.  Dr.  Velander,  in  Joenkoeping, 
had  only  20  refractory  persons  among  1,000  hypnotized 
subjects.  Dr.  von  Schrenck  only  had  29  failures  with 
240  successes,  and  Dr.  Tuckey  had  30  failures  with  220 
successes,  and  so  on.  (The  statistical  accounts  are  de- 
rived from  Dr.  von  Schrenck-Notzing,  Miinchen,  1893.) 
In  recent  years  I  myself  have  been  able  to  influence,  more 
or  less,  about  96  per  cent,  of  all  cases.  I  used  to  give 
an  out-patient  course  on  suggestive  therapy  (one  and  a 
half  hours  every  week)  during  each  summer  session  in 
Ziirich.  During  these  courses  about  50  to  70  patients 
were  hypnotized  therapeutically  in  the  presence  of  the 
students  each  time,  and  I  can  truthfully  say  that  within 
the  last  few  years  scarcely  as  many  as  from  i  to  3  of 
these  cases  remained  quite  uninfluenced  at  any  one  sitting. 
Dr.  Ringier,  who  learned  the  suggestion  method  under  me 
in  1887,  found  that  among  210  patients  treated  by  him 
by  suggestion  there  were  only  12  who  were  not  influ- 
enced.^ Oscar  Vogt,  who  exceeded  all  others  in  the  more 
minute  psychical  analysis,  succeeded  in  nearly  cent,  per 
cent,  of  his  attempts  to  influence  his  patients  by  sugges- 
tion, and  was  especially  successful  in  producing  a  large 
number  of  somnambulists.  Among  all  these  hypnotized 
persons,  there  were  a  large  number  of  complete  somnam- 
bulists with  posthypnotic  phenomena,  etc. 2 

1  Ringier,  '  Results  of  Therapeutic  Hypnotism  in  Country  Practice,' 
1891. 

2  Many  medical  men  practising  hypnotism  have  not  collected  their 
cases  statistically.  Still,  we  dare  say  that  everyone  who  has  grasped 
the  Nancy  method  (Liebeault,  Bernheim,  Beaunis,  Liegeois),  and  has 
to  some  extent  practised  it,  is  capable  of  influencing  more  or  less 
strongly  between  90  and  96  per  cent,  of  the  persons  whom  he  tries  to 
hypnotize,  the  insane  excepted.  The  number  of  practitioners  who  have 
busied  themselves  with  the  suggestion  treatment,  or  with  the  scientific 
investigation  of  the  question  according  to  the  Nancy  method,  has 
greatly  increased  since  the  first  edition  of  this  book  appeared,  and  I 
know  that  all  of  these  gentlemen  will  bear  me  out  in  what  I  have  stated. 


58         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

What  a  curious  figure  the  handful  of  hysterics  of  the 
Salpetriere  in  Paris  cut  in  comparison  with  the  numbers 
quoted  above  !  They  were  not  more  than  a  dozen  all 
told.  For  many  3^ears  always  the  same  persons  were 
used  to  demonstrate  '  hypnotism '  on  the  basis  of  Char- 
cot's theory,  and  they  had  obviously  drifted  into  a  con- 
dition of  complete  automatism  of  unrecognised  sugges- 
tion or  of  hysterical  autosuggestion. 

If  one  considers  what  has  been  said,  one  is  inclined  to 
accept  that  the  earlier  hazy  conception  of  hypnotism 
must  become  identified  in  the  conception  of  suggestion. 
The  explanation  of  the  greatest  portion,  if  not  of  the 
whole,  of  the  phenomena  under  consideration  is  to  be 
found  herein. 

3.  The  so-called  '  somatic '  theories  of  hypnotism  can 
be  collectively  considered  as  those  theories  which  lie,  as 
it  were,  midway  between  the  other  two  already  dealt 
with.  It  is  true  that  no  '  fluid,'  no  '  spirits,'  are  con- 
jured forth  ;  but  an  attempt  was  made  to  trace  some, 
if  not  all,  of  the  phenomena  of  hypnosis  to  known  ele- 
mentary forces,  without  the  intermediation  of  psychical 
activity.  The  influence  of  peripheral  stimuli  from  with- 
out on  the  nerve  endings  is  accredited  with  a  principal 
part,  and  thus  again  the  necessity  of  an  outer  agent 
partly  appears  in  the  foreground. 

It  was  the  Charcot  scliool  or  that  of  the  Salpetriere  in 
Paris  before  all  others  which  believed  in  a  direct  hypno- 
genous  influence  of  the  metals  and  of  the  magnet  on  the 
nervous  system  (without  the  intermediation  of  concep- 
tions), which  believed  in  a  conveyance  (carrying  over  of  a 
paralysis,  catalepsy,  or  of  hemianaesthesia,  etc.,  from  one 
side  of  the  body  to  the  other  by  means  of  the  magnetic 
influence),  in  a  direct  stimulation  of  the  locahzed  motor 
cortical  centres  by  stroking  the  scalp,  etc.  This  school 
believed  that  typical  different  stages  and  kinds  of  hypnosis 
can  be  produced  by  means  of  different  peripheral  mechani- 
cal   stimulations.      These   stimulations   include  (i)  fixa- 


SOMATIC  THEORY  59 

tion  of  the  vision,  (2)  raising  of  the  Uds,  and  (3)  stroking 
of  the  forehead.  The  forms  of  hypnosis  corresponding 
to  these  would  be  lethargy,  catalepsy,  and  somnambulism, 
and  these  would  be  associated  with  specific  intrinsic  re- 
actions of  the  muscles  and  of  sensation — e.g.,  the  so-called 
hyperexcitahilite  neuromusculaire.  It  is  important  to 
emphasize  that  the  Charcot  school  believed  that  the 
hypnotized  in  the  condition  of  lethargy  were  completely 
unconscious,  and  that  they  could  not  be  influenced  by 
suggestions,  which  one  imparts  to  them  through  the 
organs  of  sense  by  means  of  representations.  This 
school  further  believed  that  the  hysterical  alone  were 
capable  of  being  hypnotized,  and  included  hypnosis 
among  the  neuroses. 

It  was  Bemheim  who  demonstrated  most  strikingly 
what  a  confusion  of  ideas  had  arisen  from  this  theory. 
All  facts  which  have  been  demonstrated  year  after  year 
on  the  few  prepared  hysterics  in  the  Salpetriere  can  be 
easily  explained  by  long  practised  suggestions,  which  had 
become  in  part  unconceived  and  automatic,  since,  for 
example,  the  alleged  lethargist  hears  and  employs  psychi- 
cally to  a  great  extent  all  that  which  is  said  and  done  in 
his  presence.  Braid's  fixing  of  a  shining  object,  to  which 
so  much  importance  has  been  attached  in  Paris  and  in 
Germany  does  not  produce  hypnosis  by  itself.  When 
anyone  is  hypnotized  by  this  inefficient  method,  the 
result  is  achieved  by  the  conception  that  this  procedure 
must  send  him  to  sleep,  and  not  by  the  procedure  itself. 
The  latter  generally  only  produced  a  nervous  excitement, 
and  occasionally  also  hysterical  attacks  in  the  hysterical. 
At  most,  in  a  few  cases,  tiring  and  the  falling  of  the  lids 
might  act  unconceivedly  as  a  suggestion,  just  as  in  very 
susceptible  persons  any  means  of  producing  hypnosis 
leads  to  the  desired  result. 

It  was  formerly  a  common  practice  to  awaken  the 
hypnotized  by  blowing  in  the  face.  I  have  not  em- 
ployed this  method  for  a  long  time,  and,  on  the  con- 


6o         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

trary,  have  combined  blowing  with  the  suggestion  that 
headache  should  disappear  and  the  like.  In  this  way, 
I  can  blow  in  the  faces  of  my  hypnotized  patients  a,s 
much  as  I  please,  but  not  one  will  be  awakened  thereby. 
This  is  an  argument  against  the  alleged  action  of  such 
mechanical  stimuli  put  forward  by  the  '  somatic '  school, 
which  regards  blowing  as  the  specific  awakening  stimulus. 

Liebeault  himself  reported  on  forty-five  cases  in  which 
he  claims  to  have  obtained  extraordinarily  good  results 
by  la3dng  both  his  hands  on  the  affected  part  in  young 
children.^  Thirty-two  of  the  patients  were  children  under 
three  years  of  age,  and  Liebeault  considered  that  he  could 
exclude  suggestion  at  this  age.  How^ever,  Liebeault  has 
lately  been  forced  to  admit  that  he  misinterpreted  the 
facts  at  the  time. 2  Following  the  advice  of  Bernheim, 
he  substituted  for  the  hands  first  '  magnetized '  water, 
and  later  not  magnetized  w^ater,  telling  the  parents  and 
nurses  of  the  children  that  the  water  was  magnetized, 
and  promising  a  cure  definitely.  He  achieved  equally 
good  results  in  this  way.  The  results  can  only  be  ex- 
plained by  accepting  that  the  persons  around  the  children 
were  unconsciously  influenced  by  Liebeault's  suggestion, 
and  the  children  in  their  turn  received  the  suggestion  from 
those  remaining  with  them. 

Lastly,  one  must  mention  the  presumed  action  of 
medicaments  a  distance,  or  of  applying  hermetically- 
scaled  vessels  containing  medicaments  to  the  neck,  etc. 
(Luys  and  others).  But  the  magnificent  results  reported 
by  Luys  to  the  Commission  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
matter  proved  a  miserable  failure  when  all  unconceived 
suggestion  was  removed.  They  showed  that  a  great  lack 
of  criticism  had  been  exercised,  and,  above  all,  that 
nothing  was  done  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  suggestion, 
which  could  explain  the  whole  situation. 

Following  the  desire  of  my  friend,  Professor  Seguin,  of 

1  Lidbeault,  'Etude  sur  le  Zoomagnetisme'  (Paris:  Massun,  1883). 
*  /du/.,  '  Thtfrapeutique  Suggestive'  (Paris:  Doin,  1891). 


THE  HYSTERICAL  6i 

New  York,  I  imitated  with  his  assistance  Luys'  experi- 
ments with  the  closed  medicine-bottles  on  four  of  my 
best  somnambulists.  Professor  Seguin  had  himself  wit- 
nessed Luys'  experiments.  The  result  was  absolutely 
negative,  as  I  had  confidently  expected.  The  following, 
however,  is  interesting  :  I  asked  a  hypnotized  lady,  who 
had  the  alcohol  bottle  applied  to  her  neck,  and  who  had 
up  till  then  declared  that  she  felt  nothing,  if  her  head 
did  not  ache.  She  answered,  '  Yes.'  Then  I  asked  if 
she  did  not  feel  giddy,  as  if  she  were  drunk,  and  imme- 
diately she  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  began  to 
show  signs  of  drunkenness.  One  can  thus  see  how  a 
single  insinuating  question  may  act  suggestively.  I  need 
scarcely  mention  that  I  have  produced  all  the  symptoms 
of  certain  drugs,  even  vomiting,  immediately  by  sugges- 
tion with  spurious  or  empty  glasses  (as  a  control  experi- 
ment). 

If  we  consider  the  third  group  of  theories  collectively, 
which  theories  aim  at  being  somatic  and  rational,  we 
find  that  they  are  the  most  unfortunate  of  all ;  that  they 
have  created  the  worst  confusion,  and  all  the  facts  on 
which  they  lean  are  explainable  by  suggestion.  The 
chief  error  of  these  theories  lies  in  the  fact  that  their 
results  are  mostly  based  on  observations  on  hysterical 
persons.  Now%  the  hysterical  are,  firstly,  the  most  un- 
reliable persons  in  existence,  and  are  the  most  delicate 
(because  they  are  the  most  unconscious)  malingerers  and 
comedians.  Nextly,  the  hysterical  are  persons  who 
apperceive  sensually  most  delicately,  but  at  the  same 
time  possess,  as  a  rule,  extremely  plastic  imaginations, 
which  make  them,  it  is  true,  very  suggestible,  but 
actually  much  more  '  autosuggestible.'  Lastly,  the 
hysterical  are  inclined  to  catalepsy, '  to  lethargy,  and  to 
fits.  Charcot's  cases  were  only  prepared  hypnoses  in  the 
hysterical. 

One  must  call  special  attention  in  this  place,  in  refer- 
ence to  what  has  been  said  in  the  first  two  chapters,  to 


62  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  blunder  which  Charcot's  school  made  in  opposing 
the  terms  '  somatic '  and  '  psychical '  to  one  another, 
and  in  emphatically  claiming  scientific  argument  for 
itself  alone,  because  it  fancied  that  it  had  found  somatic 
landmarks.  The  contradiction  which  lies  in  despisingly 
refusing  to  take  psychical  activities — i.e.,  perceptions — 
into  consideration,  although  one  refers  everything  that 
is  psychical  to  brain  activity,  does  not  speak  well  for  the 
'  somatic '  theorist.  They  always  forget  that  all  that  is 
psychical — i.e.,  that  every  contents  of  consciousness — is 
at  the  same  time  '  somatic' 

DumontpaUier,  the  special  supporter  of  Burq's  metallo- 
therapy  in  Paris,  adopted  for  the  most  part  the  views  of 
the  somatic  school,  as  did  also  the  Berlin  physiologist 
Preyer,  who,  according  to  his  book  on  hypnotism  (1890), 
accepted  Braid's  views  on  the  main  questions,  but  dealt 
with  suggestion  as  a  chapter  in  hypnotism,  as  a  sort  of 
subsection  of  the  latter,  just  as  Charcot's  school  regarded 
it,  and  only  lightly  touched  on  the  merits  and  investiga- 
tions of  Liebeault  and  Bernheim  ;  w^hile  Danilewsky 
demonstrated  brilliantly  that  the  hypnosis  of  animals 
is  absolutely  homologous  to  that  of  human  beings,  and 
is  based,  as  Liebeault  had  also  stated,  on  suggestion — of 
course,  meaning  on  a  suggestion  which  is  adapted  to  the 
psychical  capabilities  of  the  animals. 1  Preyer  persisted 
in  his  theory  of  cataplexy — i.e.,  rigidity  from  fright. 
He  further  persisted  in  his  lactic  acid  theory  of  sleep,  and 
believed  that  those  cases  in  which  hypnosis  is  produced 
with  lightning  rapidity — as,  for  example,  is  always  the 
case  with  my  hypnotized — are  cataplexy  and  hypnosis  ; 
but  forgets  completely  to  explain  the  cases  of  somnolency 
and  prolonged  sleeplessness.  Preyer  goes  as  far  as  to 
call  hypnosis  a  neurosis,  just  as  Charcot  did.  In  another 
place  he  admitted  the  most  intimate  relationship  of 
hypnosis    and   normal    sleep  ;    but  we  will    not   deduce 

^  '  Compte  rendu  du  congres  international  de  psychologic  physi- 
ologique,  Paris,  1890,'  pp.  79-92. 


DEFINITIONS  63 

from  this  that  Preyer  considered  that  normal  sleep  is  a 
neurosis. 

However,  one  has  not  heard  anything  of  Charcot's 
theory  since  his  (Charcot's)  death,  and  one  may  regard 
it  by  this  time  as  having  been  finally  buried.  I  have  only 
discussed  it  for  historical  reasons. 

There  is,  therefore,  only  one  theory  which  stands  in 
accord  with  the  scientifically  assured  facts  of  hypnotism, 
and  which  explains  the  same  satisfactorily,  and  this  is  the 
suggestion  theory  of  the  Nancy  school.  All  the  others 
are  built  up  on  misconceptions. 

We  need,  therefore,  only  deal  with  the  idea  of  sugges- 
tion and  of  suggestive  sleep,  which  means  the  same  as 
the  idea  of  hypnotism. 

Terminology. — The  terms  '  animal  magnetism '  and 
*  mesmerism  '  must  be  handed  over  to  the  fluid  theory. 

One  can  term  that  science,  which  embraces  all  the 
phenomena  connected  with  conceived  and  unconceived 
suggestion  Hypnotism  (Braid).  Hypnosis  is  best  defined 
as  the  altered  condition  of  the  mind  of  a  hypnotized 
person,  and  especially  during  the  suggestive  sleep.  Bern- 
heim^  defined  hypnosis  as  '  a  particular  psychical  con- 
dition, which  one  can  produce,  and  in  which  the  suggesti- 
bility is  increased.'  The  Hypnotist  is  the  person  who 
produces  the  condition  of  hypnosis  in  another.  One  can 
also  call  him  '  Dictator.'  /^By  suggestion  (dictation)  one 
means  the  production  of  a  dynamic  change  in  the 
nervous  system  of  a  person,  or  of  such  functions  which 
depend  on  his  nervous  system,  by  another  person  by 
means  of  the  calling  forth  of  representations  (be  they 
conceived  or  unconceived)  that  such  a  change  is  taking 
place,  has  taken  place,  or  will  take  place.  This  is  in 
accordance  with  the  teaching  of  the  Nancy  school. 
Verbal  suggestion,  or  '  persuasion,'  may  be  taken  to 
express  suggestion  produced  by  spoken  words.  Sug- 
gestibility is  the  individual  susceptibility  toward  sug- 

1  Bernheim,  Congres  de  physiologic  psychologique. 


64         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

gestions.  Many  persons  are  extremely  suggestible  even 
in  the  waking  condition  (suggestive  condition  during 
wakefulness).  The  conception  of  hypnosis  in  this  respect 
can  scarcely  be  limited,  since  the  normal  condition  of 
these  people  during  waking  passes  by  imperceptible 
degrees  into  the  condition  of  hypnosis.  Everyone  is, 
however,  to  a  certain  extent  suggestible  during  the  period 
of  waking.  Autosuggestion  is  the  suggestion  which  a 
person  produces  consciously  or,  as  is  more  common, 
unconsciously  in  himself  (Bernheim). 

The  conceptions  '  suggestion,'  and  especially  *  auto- 
suggestion,' can  easily  merge  by  means  of  a  too  great 
expansion  into  the  conceptions  impulse,  intuition,  belief, 
automatism,  and  the  like.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
differentiation  becomes  difficult.  The  conception  of  sug- 
gestion can  be  more  sharply  limited  by  including  the 
actively  moving,  suggesting  hypnotist  (the  linking  of  one 
person  to  another,  or  the  rapport).  Still,  if  the  hypno- 
tist acts  unconsciously — as  when  someone  else  is  sug- 
gested by  my  yawning — or  if  the  suggestion  is  produced 
by  some  object — object-suggestion  of  Schmidkunz — the 
conception  of  this  condition  merges  already  into  that  of 
autosuggestion.  The  latter,  therefore,  runs  the  risk  of 
being  expanded  in  such  a  way  as  would  lead  to  misunder- 
standings and  false  interpretation  of  former  truisms  and 
investigations. 

It  is  almost  as  difficult  to  differentiate  the  conception  of 
suggestion  from  that  of  the  influencing  of  people  by  other 
persons,  by  logic,  argument,  thoughts,  reading,  etc.,  for 
a  sharp  line  of  demarcation  does  not  exist.  One  could 
narrow  down  suggestion  to  the  limits  of  intuitive  influ- 
encing, in  contradistinction  to  the  influencing  through 
reasoning  ;  but  that  which  appears  to  us  to  be  influencing 
on  logical  grounds  generally  depends  much  more  on  feel- 
ings of  sympathy  and  antipathy,  on  personal  trust,  on 
the  tone  or  the  convincing  manner  of  speaking,  than  on 
the  real  intrinsic  value  of  the  reasons,  so  that  even  here 


SUGGESTION  AND  HYPNOSIS  65 

the  suggestive  element  has  crept  in  unnoticed.  The 
higher  plasticity  of  reason,  which  adapts  itself  to  the 
other  powers  in  an  extremely  delicate  way,  often  forms 
a  resistance  against  suggestion.  The  brain  automatisms 
themselves,  which  we  scarcety  recognise,  or  do  not  recog- 
nise at  all,  are  the  factors  which,  dissociated  (as  in  a 
dream),  loosened,  and  again  having  become  plastic,  obey 
more  or  less  blindly  the  insinuating  strange  command  in 
suggestion.  And  thus  the  conception  of  suggestion 
merges  into  the  conception  of  intuition,  in  which,  as  is 
well  known,  feelings  and  pictures  of  imagination  play  a 
leading  part. 

Suggestion  and  hypnosis,  taken  as  phenomena  and 
energies,  are  as  old  as  the  human  race,  and  phylogeneti- 
cally  much  older,  since  they  occur  also  in  the  animal 
kingdom.  But  only  two  acquired  factors  are  new : 
(i)  The  advent  of  the  recognition  of  the  phenomena,  of 
their  causes,  the  condition  on  which  they  rest,  their  im- 
portance in  the  consciousness  of  human  beings,  and 
especially  of  the  scientific  man.  This  is  no  longer,  as  it 
was  formerly,  a  dubious  mystery,  but  is  now  a  scientific 
truth.  (2)  The  astonishing  ease  with  which  hypnosis  can 
be  produced  in  nearly  every  person  by  means  of  Liebeault's 
method. 

Both  these  factors  lend  a  new  therapeutic  and  forensic 
importance  to  hypnotism. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Suggestion 

I.  Hypnotizibility  or  Suggestibility.  —  Bernheim 
wrote  in  1888  '}  '  Tout  medecin  d'hopital  qui  dans  son 
service  clinique,  n' arrive  pas  a  hypnotiser  80  pour  100 
de  ses  malades,  doit  se  dire  qu'il  n'a  pas  encore  1' experi- 
ence suffisante  en  la  matiere  et  s'abstenir  de  jugement 
precipite  sur  la  question.'  I  can  fully  endorse  this  sen- 
tence. The  statistical  records  detailed  above  agree 
entirely  \\dth  it.  Still,  one  could  justly  substitute 
go  per  cent,  for  80  per  cent.  ;  but  one  must  except  the 
insane  from  this  percentage. 

Everyone  is  naturally  more  or  less  suggestible,  and 
thus  hypnotizible.  It  is  true  that  some  people  boast 
that  they  only  believe  that  which  their  reason  proves 
to  them  to  be  clear  and  consciously  logical,  or  at  least 
which  it  has  rendered  very  plausible.  Such  persons, 
however,  only  show  herein  that  they  lack  the  most 
elementary  self-criticism.  Unconsciously  and  hypocon- 
sciously,  we  constantly  believe  in  things  which  do  not 
exist,  or  only  exist  in  part.  For  example,  we  believe 
without  question  in  the  reality  of  the  perceptions  of  our 
senses,  which,  however,  primarily  depend  on  an  edifice 
of  conclusions,  with  the  help  of  which  the  sensations  are 
formed.  Hence,  we  are  deceived  almost  regularly  by 
false  perceptions  (hallucinations).  Everyone  experiences 
disappointments,  places  his  trust  in  other  persons,  in 
maxims  or  systems  which  do  not  justify  his  confidence, 

*  Bernheim,  Revue  de  Vhyfmotisjiie,  May  i,  1 

66 


SUGGESTIBILITY  67 

etc.  These  are  proofs  that  we  are  intuitively  credulous, 
for  otherwise  our  thinking  would  not  be  possible.  We 
would  never  think  or  do  anything,  from  sheer  hesitation, 
if  we  would  wait  until  each  reason  for  our  thoughts  or 
deeds  were  mathematically  or  even  only  sufficiently 
inductively  proved  before  we  could  accept  them.  We, 
liowever,  neither  think  nor  act  without  having  a  certain 
feeling  that  our  thoughts  and  deeds  are  right,  without 
being  able  actually  to  believe  in  them.  The  dynamisms 
(arranged  energy  complexes)  which  cause  belief  and 
intuition  are  complexes  of  brain  activities,  which  to  a 
great  extent — at  least,  momentarily — take  place  below 
the  level  of  the  mirror  of  our  superconsciousness.  And 
it  is  here  that  we  find  the  explanation  of  suggestibility. 

When  we  long  for  something  very  much  which  we  do 
not  possess,  a  contrast  impression  of  the  unattainability 
of  our  wish  not  infrequently  presents  itself  all  the  more 
intensely.  This  psychological  condition  becomes  especi- 
.ally  marked  in  the  longing  for  subjective  feelings.  If 
we  wish  to  force  them  to  appear,  they  disappear.  If  we 
attempt  to  force  sleep  consciously,  we  remain  sleepless. 
If  we  attempt  a  coitus  in  the  same  way,  we  become  for 
the  time  impotent.  In  a  similar  manner,  if  we  attempt 
to  force  ourselves  to  be  pleased,  we  only  become  annoyed, 
and  so  on.  And  the  more  force  the  superconscious  will 
attempts  to  exercise,  the  greater  will  often  be  the  defeat, 
while  the  same  longed-for  feelings  appear  quite  by  them- 
selves as  soon  as  one  can  give  in  to  belief  without  con- 
centration, especially  when  one  has  recourse  to  the 
assistance  of  corresponding  conceptions  of  the  imagina- 
tion. 

The  person  who  wishes  by  all  means  to  be  hypnotized, 
who  longs  for  hypnosis,  who  has  a  clear  idea  of  its  nature, 
and  wishes  for  the  results  of  suggestion,  cannot  divert 
his  attention  from  the  psychological  processes,  and  is 
difficult  to  hypnotize  or  is  unhypnotizible.  This  holds 
good,  at  all  events,  as  long  as  he  cannot  be  distracted  or 

5 — 2 

I 


68         HYPNOTISM  AXD  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

rendered  psychically  passive.  The  more  frequently  and 
the  more  energetically  a  person  endeavours  to  become 
passive,  the  more  certainly  \vill  he  fail  ;  but  it  is  more 
especially  intense  mental  excitement,  fear,  all  alterations 
of  temper  in  general,  mental  disturbances,  and  a  definite 
resolve  to,  resist  the  hypnotist,  which  render,  as  a  rule, 
hypnosis  impossible.  \Mien  the  first  hypnosis  fails,  I 
seek  for  hidden  disturbances,  which  I  usually  find  ;  then 
I  soothe  the  patient,  and  the  hypnosis  succeeds.  Every 
mentally  healthy  person  is  more  or  less  hypnotizible, 
only  there  are  certain  temporary  conditions  of  the  mind 
— i.e.,  of  the  cerebral  activity — which  can  prevent  the 
hypnosis. 

It  used  to  be  said  that  those  people  who  do  not  want 
to  be  hypnotized  cannot  be  hypnotized — at  all  events, 
at  the  first  attempt.  In  my  opinion,  one  should  not  rely 
on  this  statement  too  much,  for  it  is  based  more  or  less 
on  the  psychologically  erroneous  assumption  that  the 
freedom  of  the  human  will  is  essential.  A  person  must 
be  able  not  to  will  in  order  that  he  may  actually  and 
wilhngly  not  will.  But  suggestion  acts  most  quickly  and 
with  greatest  certainty  by  surprising  the  imagination, 
by  taking  it  unawares.  We  have  just  seen  how  it  is 
disturbed  by  a  protracted  premeditation.  An  easily 
suggestible  person,  who  has  never  been  hypnotized 
before,  can  be  converted  into  the  relatively  '  ^^'ill-less ' 
puppet  of  another  person  in  a  few  seconds.  I  have  often 
noticed  that  in  response  to  a  sort  of  contrast  action  such 
persons  who  make  fun  of  and  laugh  at  hypnotism,  and 
openly  assert  '  that  no  one  can  send  them  to  sleep,'  are 
just  the  ones  who  are  most  rapidly  hypnotized  if  they 
do  not  offer  direct  resistance,  and  at  times  even  in  spite 
of  the  offered  resistance.  It  seems  as  if  the  challenge 
given  to  hj^pnotism  creates  in  them,  in  opposition,  an 
uneasy  idea  of  their  owti  uncertainty,  which  exposes 
them  all  the  more  surely  to  hypnotism.  This  is  just 
the  reverse  of   the  failure  of   hypnosis  in    persons  who 


HYPNOTIZIBILITY  69 

long  for  it,  and  are  afraid  that  it  will  not  succeed  with 
them. 

On  the  other  hand,  unprejudiced,  uneducated  persons 
are,  as  a  rule,  particularly  easy  to  hypnotize  by  sugges- 
tion, without  that  which  one  intends  to  do  always  being 
noticed  by  them.  They  act  and  believe  all  that  is  sug- 
gested to  them,  and  go  to  sleep  in  one  or  two  minutes 
before  they  know  what  is  happening,  and  often  even  after 
they  have  been  of  opinion  that  others  who  have  been 
hypnotized  a  moment  before  are  malingerers  and  the 
doctor  a  dupe.  The  majority  of  the  insane  are  un- 
doubtedly the  most  dilhcult  to  hypnotize,  because  the 
pathological  permanent  condition  of  irritation  of  their 
brain  supports  a  constant  relative  tension  of  the  atten- 
tion on  the  impressions  of  the  patient,  which  robs  the  sug- 
gestion of  nearly  all  the  paths  of  entrance  and  of  all  power. 

Another  important  fact  is  that  one  can  not  infrequently 
influence  by  suggestion  a  normally  sleeping  person  and 
transport  him  into  hypnosis  without  awakening  him.  It 
is  still  easier,  in  the  reverse  direction,  to  transform  hyp- 
nosis into  ordinary  sleep  by  suggestion. 

Lastly,  there  are  some  extremely  suggestible  persons  who, 
on  being  taken  unawares  when  wide  awake,  show  all  the 
phenomena  of  hypnosis  without  first  going  to  sleep,  or  can 
completely  fall  a  prey  to  the  suggestion  of  a  skilled  hyp- 
notist. The  want  of  will  does  not  come  into  consideration 
in  this  case.  One  may  at  times  even  succeed  in  this  way 
with  a  person  who  has  never  before  been  hypnotized. 

As  a  rule,  the  sleep  produced  by  suggestion  represents  the 
principal  factor  in  the  induction  of  the  full  action  of  sug- 
gestion. It  acts  Hke  an  avalanche  does  at  the  first  contact 
which  causes  it.  The  more  it  grows,  the  more  powerful 
do  the  contacts  become  which  the  avalanche  causes. 
Sleep  or  slumbering  is  produced  by  suggestion.  But  as 
soon  as  this  is  present,  the  suggestibihty  is  increased  by 
sleep,  as  long  as  the  latter  does  not  become  lethargic. 

As   I   mentioned   before,   every   person   is   in   himself 


70         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

suggestible.  \\^hen  one  fails  to  hypnotize  a  person,  the 
reason  must  be  sought  chiefly  (and  one  can  be  certain  of 
this)  in  the  fact  that  he  either  consciously  or  unconsciously 
calls  forth  the  autosuggestion  that  he  cannot  be  hypno- 
tized. Still,  the  formation  of  this  autosuggestion  depends 
on  the  individualit3'of  the  person.  It  occurs  often  in  hyper- 
critics  and  sceptics,  and  thus  one  might  say  that  there 
are  very  suggestible  and  also  slighth^  suggestible  natures. 

Professor  Bemheim  communicated  to  me  the  following 
case  from  his  clinic  privately,  and  permitted  me  to  publish 
it  here  : 

'  A  few  days  ago  a  peasant  woman  was  admitted  into 
my  wards  complaining  of  gastric  and  abdominal  pains, 
which  I  regarded  as  being  of  hysterical  nature.  I  was 
unable  to  hypnotize  her.  She  told  me,  too,  that  Dr. 
Liebeault  had  attempted  to  hypnotize  her  in  childhood, 
but  without  success.  After  two  unsuccessful  attempts, 
I  said  to  her  :  "  It  is  immaterial  whether  you  go  to  sleep 
or  not.  I  am  going  to  magnetize  your  abdomen,  chest, 
and  stomach,  and  in  this  way  drive  away  the  pains."  I 
closed  her  eyes,  and  in  this  way  continued  for  about  ten 
minutes  to  suggest.  The  pains  disappeared  without  sleep, 
but  returned  again  after  supper.  I  repeated  the  same 
procedure  on  the  next  day,  with  the  same  result.  The 
pains  returned  mildly  in  the  evening.  To-day  I  did  the 
same  thing  over  again,  and  obtained,  at  the  same  time  as 
the  pains  disappeared,  a  deep  hypnotic  sleep  with  amnesia.' 

Since  then  I  have  repeatedly  employed  similar  tricks, 
and  have  obtained  similar  results.  It  is  the  simplest  way 
of  influencing  apparently  refractory  patients. 

Bernheim  further  adds  :  '  Everything  depends  on  the 
right  inspiration  ;  one  has  only  to  discover  the  right  key 
(il  faut  trouver  le  joint)  in  order  to  set  every  individual 
suggestibihty  into  action — that  is,  to  awaken  the  sugges- 
tibility.' 

I  can  only  endorse  this  sentiment.  Bemheim  once 
failed  to  hypnotize  a  person,  and  it  was  afterwards  dis- 


THE  HYPNOTIST  71 

covered  that  this  person  had  been  hypnotized  by  Beaunis, 
who  had  suggested  to  him  that  he  alone  could  do  so.  I 
myself  induced  a  deep  sleep  with  post-hypnotic  sugges- 
tions in  a  certain  lady,  but  Bernheim  was  only  able  to 
produce  sleepiness  in  the  same  lady.  This  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  she  formed  the  autosuggestion  that  I  alone  could 
influence  and  cure  her. 

It  is  beyond  question  that  the  best  hypnotist  is  he  who 
best  knows  how  to  convince  those  persons  whom  he  intends 
to  hypnotize  of  his  capability  of  carrying  this  out,  and 
who  is  more  or  less  able  to  induce  an  enthusiasm  for  the 
subject.  Thus,  enthusiasm  is  an  important  factor  for 
the  hypnotized  as  well  as  for  the  hypnotist  ;  for  one  must 
either  be  convinced  one's  self,  or,  failing  this,  possess 
dramatic  talent,  in  order  to  convince  others  satisfactorily. 
But  it  is  the  achieved  result,  the  truth  of  the  fact,  which 
induces  the  greatest  enthusiasm  both  in  the  passive  and 
in  the  active  party  to  the  contract.  The  hypnotic 
epidemics,  which  have  been  so  much  talked  of  and  so 
misinterpreted,  the  mass  suggestions,  the  '  infection '  of 
hypnotism,  depend  on  this  psychological  process.  Every- 
thing which  fills  us  with  enthusiasm  gains  power  over  our 
brain  activity,  easily  conquers  all  the  contrary  impres- 
sions, and  suggests  to  us  by  means  of  the  stimulation  of 
corresponding  plastic  pictures  of  the  imagination.  Thus, 
the  hypnotizibility  or  suggestibility  of  a  person  increases 
with  his  enthusiasm  and  with  his  confidence,  as  well  as 
with  the  enthusiasm  and  the  successes  of  the  hypnotist. 
And,  in  the  corresponding  manner,  it  sinks  with  the  abate- 
ment of  the  enthusiasm,  with  mistrust,  and  with  failures. 
Still,  many  other  individual  factors  also  assist,  and  especi- 
ally individual  plasticity  and  intensity  of  the  impression- 
ability, exhaustion,  sleep  capability,  etc. 

Wetterstrand  and  Oscar  Vogt  have  especially  advanced 
the  development  of  the  methods  of  therapeutic  suggestion. 

Wetterstrand  laid  great  stress  on  the  depth  of  the  sleep, 
as  did  Liebeault,  and  practised  the  method  of  protracted 


72         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

sleep  (continued  for  days)  in  obstinate  cases  with  great 
success.  He  further  developed  this  method.  He  hypno- 
tized his  patients  together  in  one  half-darkened  room,  and 
whispered  the  suggestions  into  the  ear  of  each,  so  that 
mutual  disturbance  could  be  avoided.  The  whole  picture 
acted  in  a  manner  powerfully  suggestive  on  all  present. 

Oscar  Yogi  rendered  psychological  analysis  consider- 
ably more  sound.  He,  in  common  with  Liebeault, 
Wetterstrand,  and  myself,  adopted  Delboeuf's  views, 
that  the  depth  of  the  sleep  increases  the  suggestibility, 
as  long  as  the  connection  is  maintained.  Only  once  did 
he  experience  the  loss  of  the  connection,  by  means  of 
lethargy  in  a  mildly  hysterical  female.  This  has  occurred 
to  me  four  times  in  each  sex. 

\"ogt's  method  is  roughly  the  same  as  that  which  I 
shall  describe  presently.  Only  he  avoids  all  excitement 
of  catalepsy  and  automatic  movements.  He  simply 
suggests  the  component  parts  of  sleep  (see  below).  He 
carries  out  hypnosis  for  the  first  time  quite  shortly,  and 
gets  the  patients  to  relate  what  they  felt. 

He  distinguishes  hypotaxis  with  amnesia  from  som- 
nambulism, and  defines  this  as  those  cases  in  which  the 
hypnotized  still  knows  that  one  is  speaking  to  him,  but 
does  not  know  what  one  says. 

Vogt  obtained  somnambulism  ninety-nine  times, 
hypotaxis  with  amnesia  twelve  times,  hypotaxis  without 
amnesia  six  times,  and  somnolence  twice,  out  of  119  cases 
(including  68  women  and  51  men).  Not  a  single  case 
showed  itself  as  being  refractory.  Among  them  there 
were  even  some  insane  patients.  Somnambulism  was 
produced  in  all  the  mentally  healthy  persons.     He  says  : 

'  I  can  assert,  on  the  basis  of  my  experience,  that  som- 
nambulism can  be  produced  in  every  mentally  healthy 
person  ;  temporary  impeding  elements  can  always  be 
overcome  with  patience.  In  order  to  investigate  the 
suggestibility  of  those  whom  I  rendered  somnambulant  at 
the  first  sitting,  I  used  the  production  of  anaesthesia  by 


O.  VOGT'S  RESULTS  73 

waking  suggestion.  At  first  I  gave  the  sleep  suggestion 
previously,  that  I  should  succeed  in  the  waking  sugges- 
tion. I  succeeded  in  this  way  in  obtaining  anaesthesia  in 
the  waking  condition  thirteen  times  out  of  fourteen.  I 
omitted  the  sleep  suggestion,  and  later  obtained  anaesthesia 
seventeen  times,  analgesia  twice,  and  in  three  cases  there 
was  no  result. 

*  I  wish  to  point  out  in  this  place  that  the  suggestive 
anaesthetic  skin  shows  just  as  little  tendency  to  bleed  as 
does  the  hysterical  anaesthetic  skin. 

'  I  have  succeeded  in  producing  a  motion  of  the  bowels 
at  once  in  twenty-one  out  of  twenty-six  attempts.  At 
times  this  was  only  achieved  after  several  attempts,  but 
it  often  occurred  at  the  first  trial. 

'  In  seven  attempts  to  stop  menstruation  immediately, 
I  was  successful  in  all,  but  in  four  cases  the  result  only 
lasted  for  some  hours. 

'  Among  four  attempts  to  bring  on  the  period,  I  was  un- 
successful twice,  while  in  the  other  two  cases  the  menses 
appeared  two  days  later.  I  do  not,  however,  claim  that 
this  was  a  result  of  the  hypnosis. 

'  The  relationship  between  suggestibility  and  the  results 
of  therapeutic  suggestion  is  a  very  meagre  one.  This 
cannot  be  emphasized  sufficiently  in  opposition  to  the 
view  generally  held.  The  retention  of  temporarily  suc- 
cessful suggestions  is  quite  another  psychical  character- 
istic than  suggestibility. 

'  Let  me  place  two  extreme  cases  side  by  side  : 

'  A  patient  has  been  suffering  for  a  long  time  from  a 
hypochondriacal  delusion,  which  is  connected  with 
symptoms  of  sexual  irritation.  The  patient  remains  still 
hypot actio  after  a  number  of  sittings.  Automatic  move- 
ments scarcely  succeed,  and  amnesia  fails  entirely.  In 
spite  of  this,  I  am  able  to  remove  his  delusion  permanently 
in  a  single  sitting. 

'  Another  patient  presents  himself  with  the  sensations 
of  traumatic  hysteria,  the  somatic  appearances  of  which 


74         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

had  already  disappeared.  This  patient  was  one  of  the 
most  suggestible  persons  whom  I  have  ever  hypnotized. 
All  the  complaints  disappeared  after  the  first  hypnosis. 
At  the  same  time,  hallucinations  for  all  the  senses  by 
waking  suggestion  succeeded.  The  patient  did  not  have 
any  further  symptoms  during  the  remaining  fortnight  of 
his  stay  here.  For  proph34actic  reasons,  he  was  hypnotized 
three  times  more  during  this  period,  and  then  discharged. 
He  had  a  complete  recurrence  only  three  days  later. 
The  patient  was  so  suggestible  that  he  reacted  to  every 
influence  at  once.  He  had  associated  the  symptoms  of 
his  illness  so  intimately  with  the  conception  of  his  home 
during  the  months  of  lying  in  bed  that  his  return  home 
recalled  the  sensually  active  remembrance  of  the  symp- 
toms. This  last-mentioned  is  the  psychological  definition 
of  the  recurrence. 

'  There  is  a  large  number  of  such  cases.  I  am  treating 
a  neurasthenic  and  two  hysterics.  The  sight  of  me  is 
sufficient  to  make  them  well  for  days,  but  no  form  of 
suggestion  has  a  lasting  result. 

'  The  old  proverb  "  Slow  but  sure  "  holds  good  even  in 
psychotherapy. 

'  I  succeeded  in  removing  constipation  in  persons  who 
were  little  suggestible,  and  in  obtaining  a  daily  stool  at 
a  fixed  hour.  The  suggestion  of  an  immediate  motion 
remained  in  these  cases  without  result.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  am  able  to  achieve  at  any  time  an  immediate  motion  in 
an  easily  suggestible  patient  who  is  not  an  h3^steric  ; 
but  a  regulation  of  the  bowels  for  the  next  days  or  for  a 
longer  period  never  succeeds.  The  results  of  other  sugges- 
tions in  the  same  patients  tally  well  with  these  results. 

*  Certain  autosuggestions  of  the  hysterical  are  deserving 
of  a  special  mxchtion.  Ringier  was  the  first  to  call  atten- 
tion to  them.  There  is  one  class  of  severe  hysteria  in 
which  therapeutic  suggestions  only  make  the  symptoms 
worse.  Two  hysterical  patients  of  this  class  were  accus- 
tomed  to   have   a   daily   stool   at   irregular   times.     An 


AUTOSUGGESTION  75 

immediate  evacuation  was  producible  in  the  one  by 
waking  suggestion,  and  in  the  second  by  sleep  suggestion. 
I  wished  to  insure  the  motion  for  a  definite  time  of  the  day, 
for  the  purposes  of  a  certain  series  of  experiments.  I 
induced  in  both  a  very  obstinate  constipation. 

'  This  phenomenon  depends  on  the  fact  that  part- 
impressions  of  the  complex  of  impressions  called  into 
existence  by  suggestion  activize  brain  dynamisms, 
which  are  already  in  a  condition  of  tension,  as  a  result  of 
irritability,  before  the  remaining  components  of  the  sug- 
gestion can  exercise  their  inhibiting  influence. 

'  I  append  two  suitable  cases  in  illustration  of  this  : 

'  xAlU  hysteric  suffered  from  attacks  during  the  past  fort- 
night. Hypnotic  treatment  only  increased  the  number 
of  the  attacks,  inasmuch  as  during  or  after  each  sitting  an 
attack  took  place.  Later,  the  patient  herself  gave  me  the 
explanation.  Her  lover  had  taken  advantage  of  her 
during  anaesthesia.  Three  days  later  the  lover  poisoned 
himself.  On  receiving  the  news  of  his  death,  the  first 
hysterical  attack  took  place.  "  Hypnotic  putting  to  sleep 
always  reminded  me  of  the  previous  narcosis,"  she  said ; 
"  it  all  came  back  to  me,  and  I  became  afraid,  and  so  a 
fit  took  place." 

'  Another  hysteric  suffered  from  periodical  conditions 
of  clouded  intelligence.  These  conditions  were  preceded 
by  lively  variations  of  m.ood.  I  hypnotized  this  patient 
in  this  condition,  and  made  the  suggestion  that  she  would 
have  no  more  attacks.  But  lo  and  behold  !  an  attack  took 
place.  The  word  "  attack  "  produced  it.  In  spite  of  this, 
the  other  components  of  my  suggestion  made  themselves 
apparent.  The  attacks  had  a  much  less  severe  character 
than  all  those  which  had  been  formerly  observed. 

'  The  same  sort  of  influence  of  suggestion,  which  is 
rendered  partly  favourable  and  partly  unfavourable 
through  different  forms  of  associative  connection,  could 
be  still  better  observed  in  the  same  patient  during  the 
course  of  the  earlier  attacks.     I  had  given  the  patient 


76         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

an  injection  of  hyoscine  at  the  beginning  of  the  condi- 
tion of  mental  clouding.  This  quieted  the  patient  suffi- 
ciently, so  that  I  could  hypnotize  her  and  free  her  from  the 
condition  rapidly.  The  dryness  of  the  throat  produced 
by  the  hyoscine  had  led  in  the  meantime  to  the  auto- 
suggestion of  an  anaesthesia  of  the  oral  cavity,  with  a 
paralysis  of  the  tongue  in  consequence,  an  ageusia,  and 
a  motor  aphasia.  Within  three  days  all  the  symptoms 
had  been  removed  by  suggestive  therapy  ;  only  an 
aphonia  still  remained.  The  last-named  resisted  all  sug- 
gestion for  four  days.  At  length  I  attempted  the  removal 
of  the  symptom  by  a  suggestive  amnesia  for  the  whole 
speech  disturbance.  On  awakening,  the  patient  had  a 
complete  recurrence.  She  was  again  aphasic,  and  per- 
formed smacking  movements  with  her  tongue,  as  she  had 
done  all  along.  She  pointed  with  her  fingers  to  her 
throat,  and  then  suddenly  called  with  a  loud  voice  for 
"  water."  She  drank  a  whole  tumblerful  at  one  draught. 
In  a  few  moments  the  speech  disturbance  was  gone.  My 
suggestion  had,  therefore,  at  first  called  forth  the  some- 
what vivid  recollection  of  the  illness  from  which  she  had 
just  recovered,  and  even  included  the  dryness  in  the 
throat  ;  then  the  remembrance  of  the  healthy  period  was 
also  awakened.  This,  which  represented  a  much  more 
powerful  impression  complex,  gradually  gained  the  upper 
hand.  In  this  way  the  favourable  action  of  hypnosis 
conquered  the  unfavourable  action. 

'  The  relation  between  the  suggestibility  and  the  reten- 
tion of  suggestions,  as  well  as  between  these  phenomena 
and  the  remaining  aspects  of  the  mind,  must  be  the  object 
of  further  study.' 

2.  Sleep  and  Hypnosis. — I  attempted  to  illustrate 
the  relationship  between  the  hypoconscious  and  the  con- 
scious brain  activity,  and  thus  to  explain  the  action  of 
suggestion,  by  means  of  the  following  examples  in  my 
book  on  the  sexual  question.^ 

^  Forel,  'The  Sexual  Question'  (Miinchen  :  Ernst  Rheinhardt,  1905). 


HYPOCONSCIOUS  THOUGHT  77 

I  am  thinking  of  my  wife.     This  thought  calls  forth 
another  of  a  journey  which  I  am  about  to  make  with 
her  in  a  week's  time,  and  the  idea  of  the  journey  again 
leads  to  a  third  thought  at  once — of  the  box  which  has 
been   chosen   for   the   purpose.     With   almost   lightning 
rapidity  three  ideas  follow  one  another  in  consequence  : 
(i)  My  wife  ;  (2)  the  journey  ;  and  (3)  the  box  chosen  for 
the  journey.     Apparently,  and  also  according  to  scholastic 
teaching,  the  idea  of  the  journey  is  awakened  by  the  idea 
of  my  wife,  who  is  to  go  with  me,  and  the  idea  of  the 
box  is  awakened  by  the  idea  of  the  journey,  and  is  so 
produced.     But    it    soon    becomes    apparent    that    the 
sequence  of  our  conscious  ideas  cannot  be  explained  in 
such  a  simple  manner,  since  a  number  of  ideas  crop  up 
which  do  not  stand  in  any  logical  connection  with  those 
mentioned,  or  which  cannot  possibly  be  caused  by  them 
nor  by  any  external  perceptions  of  the  senses.     One  has 
accepted,  from  the  want  of  knowledge  of  our  brain  and 
of  its  activity,  that  we  possess  a  mind  which  can  soar 
freely,  and  also  a  free  will,  both  of  which  are  supposed 
to  follow  an  existence  of  their  own,  and  to  govern  our 
mental  lives  independently  of  the  law  of  causation.     This 
assumption,  however,   depends  on  want  of  knowledge. 
But  let  us  return  to  our  example. 

Why  does  the  idea  of  my  wife  recall  just  that  of  the 
journey  ?  It  might  just  as  well  have  awakened  (ecpho- 
rized)  another  thought.  In  reality,  a  large  number  of  other 
hypoconceived  ideas  —  i.e.,  of  hypoconceived  activities 
of  my  cerebrum — act  on  the  production  of  the  idea 
'  journey.'  I  had  intended  to  go  on  this  journey  previous 
to  this  time  of  thinking  about  it,  and  this  intention  had 
left  behind  it  hypoconceived  slumbering  impressions  in 
my  brain  (engrams),  such  as  the  date  of  starting,  the 
length  of  the  journey,  the  object  and  the  destination  of 
the  journey,  the  arrangements  for  the  household  while 
we  are  both  away,  the  things  which  we  are  taking  with 
us,  the  cost  of  the  journey,  and  so  on.     During  the  ex- 


7-8         HYPXOTIS.M  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

tremely  short  space  of  time,  in  which  the  idea  '  journey  ' 
appears  between  the  ideas  '  wife '  and  '  box '  in  my 
brain,  all  these  things  cannot  enter  into  my  conscious- 
ness. They  stand,  nevertheless,  in  so-called  associative 
connection  with  these  ideas — that  is,  are  linked  by  a 
thousand  threads  of  a  latent  hypoconceived  brain  dynamic 
in  the  brain  cells  and  fibres  to  the  idea  '  journey.'  For 
this  reason,  they  call  the  idea  before  the  conceived  field 
of  the  attention,  but  at  the  same  time  muffle  the  in- 
tensity of  the  pure  conception  of  the  journey  by  its 
various  kinds  of  interlacing,  and  thus  prevent  all  the 
possible,  more  direct  impressions  and  ideas  in  connection 
with  the  journey  from  being  recognised  more  powerfully 
in  themselves.  That  which  appeared  so  rapidly  in  my 
consciousness  is  the  hazy  general  conception  of  my 
journey  pictured  by  the  word  'journey.'  By  means  of 
speech,  with  its  words,  I  am  able  to  condense  the  com- 
plicated general  ideas  in  such  an  abbreviated  definite 
form.  This  flash  of  the  brain  'journey'  which  followed 
the  idea  of  my  wife  was  not  actually  caused  by  this  idea 
alone.  It  was  brought  into  the  light  of  the  supercon- 
sciousness  chiefly  by  numerous  hypoconceived  threads, 
and  at  the  same  time  its  quality  was  definitely  settled. 
These  hypoconceived  threads  determine  at  the  same  time 
the  particular  kind  of  the  following  ideas  of  the  chosen 
box,  which  are  apparently  alone  produced  b}^  the  idea 
'journey,'  although  I  know  nothmg  of  it.  The  idea 
'journey'  miglit  just  as  well  have  called  forth  other 
thoughts,  such  as  the  acquaintances  whom  I  may  meet, 
the  town  to  which  I  am  going,  etc.  But  why  should  it 
be  the  box  ?  Because  the  choice  of  the  things  to  be 
taken,  with  the  space  which  they  will  occupy,  etc.,  exer- 
cised my  mind  very  intensely,  and  suppressed  for  the 
moment  all  the  other  associations 

We  can  see  by  this  simple  httle  example  that  the  three 
conceptions,  'wife,'  'journey,'  and  'box,'  are  scarcely 
able  to  govern  each  other  causally,  although  they  follow 


ASSOCIATION  79 

each  other  in  point  of  time  in  my  consciousness  ;  but  all 
three  are  produced  under  the  influence  of  hypoconceived 
feelings,  conceptions,  and  former  resolutions,  which  in 
their  turn  were  caused  by  very  complicated  preceding 
manifold  activities  of  my  brain. 

I  shall  attempt  to  make  the  matter  more  concrete  and 
more  comprehensible  by  means  of  a  comparison.  Sup- 
pose a  person  is  standing  in  a  moving,  dense  crowd.  He 
calls  out  something  very  loudly  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  mass  to  himself.  His  voice  is  heard  in  his  imme- 
diate neighbourhood,  but  dies  away  without  producing 
any  further  effect  farther  afield  in  the  excited  crowd. 
This  person  is  carried  by  the  throng  against  his  will  in 
the  direction  toward  which  the  chief  faction  of  the  mass 
is  moving.  He  resists  in  vain.  But  if  the  crowd  were 
to  stand  still  and  be  quiet,  the  same  individual  might 
be  able  to  gain  a  hearing,  might  perhaps  be  able  to  wend 
his  way  through  the  mass,  and  might  possibly  be  able 
partly  or  wholly  to  carry  the  people  with  him  by  the 
influence  of  his  words  and  voice.  The  same  may  be 
applied  to  the  influence  of  an  individual  conception,  ac- 
cording to  whether  it  is  produced  in  a  markedly  asso- 
ciated brain  in  the  condition  of  active  wakefulness,  or 
in  a  brain  in  a  resting,  dosing  condition.  The  markedly 
associated,  actively  awake  brain  is  likened  to  the  excited 
crowd,  which  carries  everything  with  it  in  its  rush.  The 
individual  conceptions,  compared  with  the  individual 
person,  can  shout  to  their  heart's  content — that  is,  may 
come  forward  ever  so  intensely.  If  they  have  not  pre- 
viously gained  a  powerful  hold  over  the  mass  (the  brain), 
which  can  be  reawakened  by  memory,  and  in  this  way 
strengthened  in  their  action,  they  will  be  carried  along 
with  it — that  is,  their  own  individual  action  will  be 
suffocated.  The  resting  or  even  dosing  brain — i.e.,  the 
weakly  associated  or  inactive  brain — may  be  compared 
to  the  quiet  crowd.  A  conception  in  this  case,  even  if 
it  is  new,  and  does  not  yet  possess  any  roots  in  the 


So         HVPXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

memory,  may  influence  more  deeply,  may  forge  a  new 
path  for  itself,  and  may  give  rise  to  particular  movements 
in  this  direction.  But  if  it  has  previously  repeatedly 
carried  the  crowd  with  it — that  is,  the  collected,  associated 
brain  activities — and  if  the  crowd  has  got  accustomed  to 
follow  it,  it  may  possibly  be  able  to  gain  a  hearing  in  the 
midst  of  the  excitement. 

The  relationship  of  hypnosis  to  normal  sleep  is  unmis- 
takable, and  I  agree  with  Liebeault  when  he  says  that 
the  former  is  only  distinguishable  in  its  essence  from  the 
latter  by  the  fact  of  the  connection  between  the  sleeper 
and  the  hypnotist.  But  one  must  not  confuse  the  term 
'  sleep  '  with  the  term  '  exhaustion.'  Besides,  two  different 
ideas  are  unfortunately  mixed  up  unclearly  in  the  term 
'tiring':  the  subjective  feeling  of  the  tiring  and  the 
objective  exhaustion.  Both  these  do  not  by  any  means 
always  fall  together.  Sleepiness  and  the  subjective  feel- 
ing of  tiring  are  also  by  no  means  identical,  although 
they  are  often  associated.  I  may  perhaps  be  permitted 
to  state  some  important  facts  here. 

Physiology  is  wont  to  say  that  sleep  is  produced  by 
tiring,  but  this  is  incorrect.  Even  if  true  exhaustion 
of  the  brain  usually  calls  forth  a  subjective  feeling  of 
tiring,  and  the  latter  is  usually  associated  with  sleepiness 
for  its  own  sake,  we  must  maintain  in  opposition  to  this  : 
(i)  that  extreme  exhaustion  often  creates  sleeplessness  ; 

(2)  that  one  often  becomes  more  sleepy  from  sleeping  ; 

(3)  that  feelings  of  tiring,  sleepiness,  and  real  exhaustion 
often  appear  entirely  independent  from  one  another  ; 
and  (4)  that  sleepiness  usually  appears  at  definite,  habitual 
(autosuggested)  hours,  and  disappears  in  spite  of  increasing 
exhaustion,  when  one  has  overcome  it. 

The  facts  are  quite  unexplainable  by  the  very  unsatis- 
factory chemical  theories  of  the  physiologists  (the  lactic 
acid  theory  of  Preyer,  etc.).  For  my  part,  I  have  never 
been  able  to  determine  the  soporific  action  of  lactic  acid, 
and  regard   the  alleged  confirmation  of  this  action   as 


SLEEP  8i 

suggestive.     I  have  achieved  incomparably  better  results 
with  spring  water,  together  with  suitable  suggestion. 

The  physiologists  (Kohlschuetter)  have  attempted  to 
measure  the  intensity  of  the  sleep  by  the  measure  of  the 
sound  required  to  awaken.  How  little  one  proves  by 
this  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  an  accustomed  noise  soon 
fails  to  awaken,  even  if  it  is  very  loud — -e.g.,  an  alarum — 
while  soft  unaccustomed  noises  awaken  at  once.  Many 
an  anxious  mother  is  awakened  by  the  faintest  noise  on 
the  part  of  her  child,  while  she  is  not  disturbed  by  the 
snoring  of  her  husband  or  by  some  such  accustomed 
noise. 

Silent  processes,  as  well  as  tedious,  monotonous  pro- 
cesses, which  do  not  require  a  change  of  conceptions, 
make  us  sleepy  ;  and  comfortable  positions  of  the  body 
and  darkness  do  the  same.  Associated  phenomena,  such 
as  yawning,  nodding,  stretching  the  limbs,  which  increase 
the  subjective  feeling  of  sleepiness,  and  which,  as  is  well 
known,  are  very  infectious,  also  play  a  part. 

I  stated  that  the  habit  of  going  to  sleep  at  a  particular 
time  calls  forth  a  powerful  sleepiness  daily  at  that  time  ; 
but  certain  places,  the  voice  of  a  certain  person,  lying 
back  in  an  easy-chair  in  which  one  is  accustomed  to  go 
to  sleep,  listening  to  a  sermon,  lying  in  a  certain  posi- 
tion, a  horse-hair  mattress  for  one  person  and  a  feather 
bed  for  another,  etc.,  and,  above  all,  the  closing  of  the 
eyelids,  are  all  very  common  sleep-bringing  means. 
Why  is  this  ?  One  has  hitherto  called  it  habit,  '  asso- 
ciated accustoming ' ;  but  we  must  recognise  that  these 
facts  are  absolutely  analogous  to  an  unconceived  auto- 
suggestion. My  small  two-year-old  son  has  accustomed 
himself  to  go  to  sleep  with  a  handkerchief  in  his  right 
hand  held  up  to  his  face.  He  could  not  sleep  for  a  long 
time  when  we  took  it  away  from  him.  Some  people  can 
only  sleep  after  certain  things  have  taken  place  (after 
reading,  winding  up  a  watch,  etc.). 

But  the  most  powerful  of  all  these  associations  is  the 

6 


82         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

closing  reflex  of  the  orbicularis.     For  this  reason  this  is 
the  best  suggestion  for  sleep. ^ 

1  Von  Schrenck-Notzing— 'The  Significance  of  Narcotic  Drugs  in 
Hypnotism'  {Schriftcri  der  Gcsellschaft fiir  psychologischc  Forschung\ 
Leipzig  :  Abel,  1 89 1  j— considers  that  one  should  accept  that  our  natural 
sleep  and  hypnotic  sleep  are  different,  because  the  oxidation  products 
(tiring  products  !)  are  accumulated.     He  gives  as  a  proof  for  this, 
among  others,  the  impossibility  of  resisting  sleep  after  great  exertion. 
I)Ut  we  do  not  deny  the  influence  of  the  oxidation  products,  which 
are  produced  by  a  prolonged  waking  activity  of  the  brain,  and  we, 
too,  emphasize  that  the  dissociated  or  relative  condition  of  rest  of  the 
brain  in  sleep  is  suitably  fitted  for  the  production  of  the  necessary 
chemical   syntheses— 7>.,   for   the    reintegration    of    the   brain.     We 
realize  that  exhaustion  of  the  brain  normally  can  form  the  strongest 
associative  cause  of  the  suggestion  of  sleep,  and  when  this  has  reached 
a  considerable  pitch   can  act    irresistibly.      When  we   say  that    the 
suggestive   actions   are   produced   by  conceptions,  we  are   perfectly 
aware  that  the  conceptions  in  their  turn  are  always  dependent  on  the 
physical  and  chemico-physiological  (and  also  pathological)  conditions 
of  the  brain  elements.     The  form  of  the  brain  changes  in  the  melan- 
cholic calls  forth,  for  example,  by  the  means  of  association,  his  ideas  of 
self-accusation.     The  facts  mentioned  above  prove  very  clearly  that 
normal  sleep  usually  takes  place  rapidly  and  as  a  result  of  suggestion. 
One  is  therefore  compelled  not  to  identify  it  with  suggestion,  although 
one  recognises  the  adaptation  of  sleep  to  exhaustion  of  the  brain  and 
the  usual  association  of  sleep  with  the  same.     The  suggestive  action 
is  therefore  just  as  physical  as  are  the  changes  in  the  brain  produced 
by  the  products  of  exhaustion,  and  one  must  not  deny  that  the  latter 
furthers  the  mechanism  of  sleep  as  a  rule.     That  normal  sleep  without 
the  hypnotist  and  without  exhaustion  can  set  in  in  precisely  the  same 
way  as  it  does  in  hypnosis  is  certain,  and  proves  that  this  condition  ot 
activity  of  the  brain  is  a  thing  in  itself,  and  that  exhaustion  is  quite 
another  thing.     There  is  no  doubt  that  the  accumulation  of  carbonic 
acid  in  the  blood   produces  more  extensive  respiration,  and  that  in 
consequence  we  cannot  hold  the  breath  for  any  length  of  time.     But 
this  does  not  prove  that  the  respiratory  movements  are  alone  dependent 
on  the  carbonic  acid  in  the  blood,  and  still  less  that  the  accumulation 
of  the  carbonic  acid  in  ihe  blood  and    respiratory   movements    are 
identical  processes.   We  know  that  the  latter  are  produced  by  muscles 
and   motor   nerve   centres,  and   that  even  our  will  (our   brain)   can 
accelerate  and  stop  them.     The  acceleration  of  the  respiratory  move- 
ments from   accumulation  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  blood  is  a  much 
more  direct,  more  powerful,  and  more  intimate  association  than  the 
production  of  sleep  by  exhaustion  of  the  brain.     But,  nevertheless,  it 
would  never  occur  to  us  to  regard  the  voluntarily  produced  (unneces- 


SLEEP  CONSCIOUSNESS  83 

When  we  observe  a  person  sleeping,  we  notice  that  he 
moves,  that  he  reacts  to  sensory  stimuli,  that  he  covers 
himself  up  again  if  one  takes  the  bed-clothes  away,  that 
he  not  infrequently  speaks,  groans,  or  leaves  off  snoring 
when  told  to  do  so,  and  even  that  he  answers  when  spoken 
to,  and  may  get  up  and  do  things  occasionally.  Certain 
people  sleep  very  lightly  and  very  quietly,  and  awaken 
at  the  faintest  sound.  These  people  show  more  connec- 
tion with  the  outer  world. 

We  only  know  our  sleep  subjectively — that  is,  know 
the  linking  of  the  reflection  of  our  waking  consciousness 
— by  the  remembrance  of  our  dreams.  We  feel  that  our 
dream  consciousness  is  different  from  our  waking  con- 
sciousness, but  that  it  approaches  the  latter  more  nearly 
the  lighter  our  sleep  is.  The  sleep  consciousness  can  be 
differentiated,  above  all,  from  the  waking  consciousness 
by  the  following  facts,  as  far  as  our  dream  consciousness 
permits  the  latter  to  gain  an  insight  into  it  : 

(i)  Sleep  consciousness  does  not  show  a  sharp  division 
between  inner  conceptions  and  perceptions.  All  concep- 
tions are  more  or  less  hallucinated — i.e.,  they  have  the 
subjective  characters  of  perceptions'^  and  simulate  real 
occurrences. 

(2)  The  sharpness  and  precision  of  the  waking  percep- 
tions, which  are  produced  by  outer  processes,  are  usually 
absent  during  these  sleep  or  dream  hallucinations.  The 
latter  appear,  however,  with  very  intense  accentuations 
of  feelings,  and  may  exercise  powerful  reactions  on  the 
central  nervous  system.  A  dream  can  produce  sweating, 
convulsive  muscle  contractions,  extreme  terror,  etc. 
Erotic   dreams   produce   pollutions   without   mechanical 

sary)  movements  of  respiration  as  belonging  to  a  species  different 
from  that  of  those  movements  which  are  produced  in  asphyxia. 
7he  suggested  sleep  (hypnosis)  and  the  natural  sleep  are  not  more 
essentially  different  from  one  another.  The  brain  mechanism  of  both 
is  the  same,  even  if  it  can  be  set  into  action  in  different  ways.  (See 
also  §  10.) 

6—2 


84  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

stimulation  of  the  penis,  while  erotic  perceptions  during 
waking  rarely  can  do  this. 

(3)  The  dream  hallucinations  are  very  faultily  associated, 
in  contradistinction  to  thinking  and  perceiving  when 
awake.  As  a  rule,  only  loosely  connected  outer  associa- 
tions link  one  with  the  other.  The  organized  unconscious 
logic  of  thinking  during  waking,  which  becomes  instinc- 
tive, and  which  is  gradually  automatized  by  the  psychical 
dynamisms  during  the  course  of  life,  is  not  applicable  to 
thinking  in  sleep.  The  brain  obviously  is  in  a  condition 
of  relative  inactivity  or  inhibition  during  sleep.  The 
most  abject,  consummate  nonsense  is  therefore  dreamed, 
is  associated  and  perceived  quite  falsely  as  far  as  time 
and  place  is  concerned  in  dreams,  and  is  even  believed  in. 
As  a  rule,  it  is  only  during  light  sleep,  and  rarely  during 
deep  sleep,  that  a  higher  or  lower  degree  of  logical  control 
is  produced.  At  times  this  logical  control  exists  side  by 
side  with  the  dreamed  nonsense.  It  is  as  if  two  conscious- 
nesses were  present  simultaneous!}- — the  one  that  oi  the 
dream  chain,  which  believes  in  the  nonsense  ;  and  the 
other  that  of  the  waking  logical  associations,  which  says  : 
*  No,  this  is  all  dream  nonsense  ;  I  am  lying  half  asleep 
in  bed.' 

The  three  typical  characteristics  of  the  dream  existence 
are,  at  the  same  time,  the  criteria  of  hypnotic  conscious- 
ness. They  are  :  hallucinations  of  perception,  exagge- 
rated feelinc  and  reflex  actions  of  the  same,  and  dissocia- 
tion of  the  organic  logical  associations  of  the  engram 
complexes.  They  are  the  best  foundations  for  a  marked 
suggestibility. 

Awakening,  the  reverse  of  going  to  sleep,  shows  the 
same  suggestive  phenomena  as  the  going  to  sleep.  One 
usually  awakes  at  a  certain  accustomed  time  by  means 
of  associations.  A  light  sleep  frequently  forms  a  gradual 
transition  from  the  sleep  to  the  awakening,  and  the 
remembrances  of  dreams  are  left  behind.  Dreams  not 
infrequently  awaken  the  subject.     The  capability  pos- 


DEGREES  OF  SLEEP  85 

sessed  by  many  people  to  awaken  at  a  definite  chosen 
time  is  curious.  Here  time  is  exactly  measured  during 
sleep.     We  meet  with  the  same  thing  in  hypnosis. 

Liebeault  distinguishes  in  normal  sleep,  as  in  hypnosis, 
the  light  sleep,  with  recollections  of  dreams,  from  the 
deep  sleep,  which  usually  is  not  accompanied  by  such 
recollections.  The  characteristic  of  the  latter  is  the  total 
amnesia  on  awakening.  But  we  find,  nevertheless,  that 
people  who  sleep  deeply  are  just  those  who  exhibit  the 
phenomena  of  somnambulism  and  '  sleep  drunkenness,' 
during  both  of  which  they  can  walk,  do  things — some- 
times even  ordered  and  complicated  things — speak,  and 
even  exert  violence.  These  are  phenomena  which  have 
been  recognised  in  jurisprudence  as  a  ground  for  irre- 
sponsibility. This  shows  that  the  amnesia  after  deep 
sleep  is  only  amnesia,  and  proves  that  the  consciousness 
is  by  no  means  blotted  out  during  deep  sleep,  but  is  only 
cut  off  from  the  waking  consciousness.  Still,  the  lethargic 
sleep  evidences  itself  in  a  different  way  than  in  somnam- 
bulism, with  its  narrowed  consciousness  ;  but  one  is  not 
justified  in  deducing  the  existence  of  complete  immova- 
bility of  the  cortex  from  the  immovability  of  the  motor 
area.  Friedrich  Heerwagen  published  under  Kraepelin's 
direction  in  Wundt's  '  Philosophical  Studies  '  his  '  Statis- 
tical Investigations  of  Dreams  and  Sleep,'  which  is  based 
on  the  personal  statements  of  many  people.  The  state- 
ment of  those  persons  that  they  dream  a  lot,  dream  little, 
or  do  not  dream  at  all,  is,  according  to  Heerwagen,  to  be 
accepted,  and  this  forms  the  foundation  of  his  statistics. 
But  since  the  study  of  hypnotism  and  many  experiences 
of  normal  sleep  prove  that  one  must  not  rely  on  these 
subjective  recollections  of  dreams,  or  on  the  non-recollec- 
tion of  them,  I  cannot  ascribe  any  value  to  these  statistics, 
but  believe  all  the  more  that  everybody  dreams  con- 
tinuously during  sleep.  Many  people  forget  all  their 
dreams,  and  the  majority  forget  the  greater  part  of  their 
dreams    (autosuggestion    of    amnesia).       I    cannot    be 


86         HYPXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

awakened  so  unexpectedly  at  any  time  of  the  night 
that  I  do  not  catch  on  at  all  events  the  last  portion  of  a 
dream  chain  ;  but  I  forget  this  immediately  unless  I 
write  it  down  at  once,  or  energetically  reperceive  it 
during  the  waking  condition.  That  which  remains,  then, 
in  my  memory  is  the  picture  of  the  perception  renewed 
in  the  condition  of  waking,  and  not  the  direct  recollection 
of  the  dream,  for  the  latter  is  almost  always  obliterated 
very  soon  after  awakening. 

A  further  peculiarity  of  the  dream  life  is  that  the 
stimuli  of  the  senses,  which  affect  the  sleeper,  scarcely 
ever  call  forth  the  normal  proper  perception  in  the  sleep 
consciousness.  They  are  allegorized — that  is,  they  are 
inadequately  associated.  This  allegory  becomes,  in  con- 
sequence, the  dream  picture,  the  dream  illusion.  The 
hypnotized  person  is  in  part  only  distinguishable  from 
the  spontaneous  dreamer  in  that  he  is  adequately  con- 
scious of  the  influences  of  the  hypnotist.  He  allegorizes, 
it  is  true,  just  like  the  dreamer,  as  soon  as  the  hypnotist 
leaves  him,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hypnotist  actually 
uses  these  allegory  qualities  of  the  sleeper  in  order  to 
deceive  him  in  a  hundred  ways — e.g.,  in  causing  him  to 
eat  a  potato  in  the  belief  that  it  is  an  orange.  In  the 
same  way,  the  normal  dreamer  imagines  that  he  performs 
movements  which  he  really  does  not  perform,  while  he 
is  usually  not  able  to  translate  his  impulses  into  move- 
ments. 

A  further  peculiarity  of  the  dream  life  is  the  ethical 
and  a.'Sthctic  defect,  or  the  weakness  which  is  met  with 
in  this  sphere.  The  dreamer  is  frequently  a  coward, 
and  behaves  badly.  In  a  dream  the  best  person  can 
commit  murder,  steal,  be  unfaithful,  and  lie,  and  remain 
thereby  quite  calm,  or  at  most  feel  more  fear  than  re- 
morse. Tliis  is  undoubtedly  due  again  to  the  dissocia- 
tion of  the  opposing  perceptions. 

The  mutual  reactions  of  the  dream  life  on  the  waking 
condition,  and  of  the  waking  condition  on  the  dream  life, 


DREAM  LIFE  87 

are  extremely  interesting  and  important.  It  is  clear  to 
all,  and  is  well  known,  that  the  contents  of  the  dreams 
are  influenced  by  what  we  have  experienced,  read,  etc., 
during  the  condition  of  waking  ;  but  it  is  not  so  clear  to 
us  to  explain  how  deeply  and  strongly  the  dream  activity 
reacts  on  our  life  in  waking  condition,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  much  that  is  true  has  been  written  on  this 
subject.  But,  as  a  rule,  we  are  not  conscious  of  it,  on 
account  of  the  amnesia.  Post -hypnotic  phenomena  are 
an  experimental  homologue  of  the  corresponding  facts  of 
spontaneous  life.  Vivid  dreams  can  often  influence  our 
thoughts  and  dealings  for  days,  just  as  stupid  actions 
can,  much  more  than  the  finest  logic.  It  is  amusing  to 
make  such  observations  on  persons  who  make  a  boast 
of  their  sobriety  and  unsentimental  reasoning.  We  only 
know  of  the  actions  of  those  dreams  which  we  can 
remember,  but  suggestion  proves  to  us  that  the  for- 
gotten ones  also  can  act  on  us.  This  demonstrates  most 
clearly  that  the  brain  activities  which  appear  in  the  sub- 
jectively separated  introspections  (consciousnesses)  stand 
in  intimate  connection  with  one  another,  and  influence 
one  another  mutually. 

My  friend  Professor  Otto  Stoll  calmly  stated  to  a  man 
who  smiled  at  hypnotism  that  he  would  dream  certain 
things  about  the  devil  at  midnight  of  the  following  day. 
The  man  obviously  did  not  feel  quite  safe,  for  he  attempted 
to  remain  awake  in  order  to  escape  from  the  prediction. 
But  what  happened  ?  Shortly  before  twelve  o'clock  he 
fell  asleep  in  his  chair,  and  at  the  stroke  of  midnight  he 
awoke  just  as  that  episode  of  the  suggested  dream  was 
taking  place  at  which  he  had  been  told  to  awaken.  The 
dream  had  presented  itself  exactly  as  had  been  foretold. 

A  few  examples  of  spontaneous  dreams  which  had  been 
written  down  immediately  on  awakening  may  help  to 
illustrate  what  has  been  said  : 

I.  Dissociation. — Someone  dreamed  that  '  the  chief  at- 
tendant, X.,  of  the  Zurich  Lunatic  Asylum,  was  delivering 


88         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

a    lecture    on    "  Suggestion    exercised    on    Horses "    in 
Norway.' 

2.    Dissociation,    etc.  ;    Long   Dream    Chain. — Miss   Y. 
dreamed  :  '  I  was  at  home  with  my  mother.     An  uncle 
came  in,  had  dinner  with  us,  and  complained  of  cold  feet, 
whereupon  I  placed  a  hot-water  bottle  under  his  feet. 
The   hot-water   bottle   was  there  without  my   knowing 
how  it  got  there,  but  this  did  not  occur  to  me  as  being 
strange.     Then  several  people  (relatives)  came  in  ;  it  was 
a  party.   The  table  was  spread  ;  my  uncle  had  disappeared. 
I  helped  to  entertain  the  people,  and  had  just  begun  to 
relate  something  when  my  mother  interrupted  me,  and 
in  a  severe  tone  told  me  to  hold  my  tongue — "  You  need 
not  always  interrupt."     Being  very  angry  and  offended 
(for  I  am  no  longer  a  child),  I  kept  silent,  with  the  firm 
resolve  not  to  speak  another  word,  but  to  let  my  mother 
entertain  her  people  herself.     The  party  was  suddenly 
gone  ;  other  visitors  had  come,  and  I  was  talking  to  a 
cousin,  but  crying  at  times,  for  my  sulkiness  about  the 
order  to  keep  silence  still  continued  '   (continuation  of 
effect).     '  My  mother  told  a  story,  which  had  really  been 
written  to  me  a  short  time  previously.     Suddenly  I  found 
myself  in  a  strange  part  of  the  town,  and  was  seeking  a 
lady  who  lived  in  a  certain  house.     I  made  up  my  mind 
to  search  each  room  one  after  the  other  in  this  house, 
because  I  had  not  found  her  the  last  time.     I  did  this, 
and  went  into  each  room,  in  which  strange  people  lived, 
who  were  lying  in  bed,  or  just  getting  up,  or  hiding  them- 
selves.    At  last  I  found  her  ;  but  it  was  another  lady, 
Mrs.  C,  who  was  just  then  speaking  French  to  a  boy, 
and  at  once  invited  me  to  join  in  the  conversation.     I 
made  a  mistake  in  speaking,  and  was  very  angry  with 
myself  for  it.     Then  suddenly  Mrs.  C.  changed  into  my 
friend,  who  took  me  out  with  her,  as  she  wanted  to  show 
me  a  lovely  view.     We  came  to  a  bridge  over  a  broad 
river.     At  the  one  bank  we  saw  several  covered  baskets, 
half  kept  under  water  by  planks,  and  I  said  to  my  friend 


DISSOCIATION  89 

that  they  were  for  keeping  fishes  in,  I  supposed ;  to 
which  she  answered  :  "  Yes ;  there  the  untamable  fishes 
are  kept."  (I  was  not  astonished  at  this  nonsense.)  It 
was  still  broad  daylight.  We  then  turned  back,  and 
came  to  a  large  house,  with  many  illuminated  windows 
on  the  ground  floor.  Without  having  been  conscious  of 
it,  it  had  suddenly  become  night.'  (This  is  the  same 
mechanism  as  that  by  means  of  which  a  suggestion  is 
amplified  by  autosuggestion — the  perception  of  the  lights 
called  forth  that  of  night  unconsciously  through  associa- 
tion.) '  A  lurid  smoke  issued  from  a  chimney  of  the 
house,  and  I  said  to  my  friend  that  the  house  must  be 
on  fire.  We  looked  in  at  the  windows,  and  saw  that  a 
number  of  men  (workmen)  were  preparing  to  escape,  and 
were  only  waiting  to  find  out  if  there  was  any  danger 
before  they  escaped.  But  all  at  once  it  was  all  quite 
dark  ;  the  fire  had  been  suddenly  put  out.  We  had  not 
noticed  this,  but  we  knew  that  it  was  so,  and  it  all  ap- 
peared quite  natural  to  us.  I  could  not  see  my  way  any 
longer,  and  asked  my  friend  to  lead  me.  She  then  lit  a 
candle  with  a  match,  and  we  were  in  a  room.  A  strange 
old  lady  came  into  the  room  and  asked  us  something, 
when  I  woke  up.' 

This  dream  shows  very  clearly  that  the  reflection  of 
the  consciousness  in  the  cerebral  activity  during  sleep 
can  be  composed  of  a  very  variegated  mixture  of  asso- 
ciated and  dissociated  imaginary  perceptions  of  all  the 
senses — of  imaginary  perceptions  of  actions,  of  feelings, 
of  abstract  ideas,  etc.  A  continuous  deception  of  the 
place  and  time  consciousness  arises  also  from  it. 

3.  On  October  25,  1891,  I  dreamed  the  following 
dream :  '  An  unknown  young  man,  who  up  to  this  time 
was  Regierungsrath  (a  title  given  in  appreciation  of  their 
services  by  the  Government  to  their  oflicials),  is  suddenly, 
without  any  reason,  elected  Director  of  the  Burghoelzli 
Lunatic  Asylum,  without  my  knowledge,  but  he  has  not 
been  made  Professor  of  Psychiatry.     In  reality,  I  have 


go         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

been  the  Director  of  the  Asylum  since  1879.  I  see  this 
young  man  ;  they  tell  me  about  it  in  the  asylum.  The 
absolute  impossibility  of  this  fact  does  not  strike  me  at 
all,  and  its  consequences  only  appeal  to  me  by  degrees. 
The  thought  that  I  remain  here  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  new  Director  is  living  next  door  to  me  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  inconceivable.  It  only  gradually 
occurs  to  me  that  perhaps  I  ought  to  retire,  and  this 
idea  is  then  discussed.  All  at  once  it  dawns  upon  me 
that  somewhere  it  says  that  the  Director  shall  at  the 
same  time  be  Professor.  However,  I  argue  to  myself 
that  the  Regierungsrath  can  repeal  a  regulation  which 
he  has  previously  made  at  any  time  by  a  later  resolution. 
The  matter  is  really  controlled  by  statute,  and  cannot 
be  altered  by  regulations,  and  in  the  waking  condition 
I  am  fully  aware  of  this.  So  there  is  no  help.  Then  I 
triumph,  after  all.  The  matter  is  dealt  with  by  statute, 
and  I  become  suddenly  aware  of  it .  Thereupon  I  consult 
a  lawyer,  and  prosecute  the  Regierungsrath  for  breaking 
the  law  !' 

This  dream  is  interesting  on  account  of  the  kind  of  dis- 
sociation. The  logic  of  the  last  reasoning,  which  in  itself 
is  correct,  is  exactly  the  logic  of  a  general  paralytic,  who 
reasons  correctly  on  one  point,  but  overlooks  the  main 
consideration — that  is,  the  absurdity,  the  impossibility,  of 
the  whole  situation.  The  intrinsic  effect  of  the  thought  is 
enormous.  I  did  not  harbour  the  thought  for  a  moment 
that  it  could  have  been  a  dream.  The  meanness  and 
injustice  of  the  behaviour  towards  me  roused  my  indigna- 
tion, and  I  yearned  for  satisfaction.  '  The  Board  Meeting 
is  to  take  place  on  the  following  day  (in  my  dream).  It 
suddenly  occurs  to  me  that  the  new  Director,  and  not  I, 
will  take  part  in  it,  and  I  feel  humiliation  at  this  intensely. 
I  see  the  Regierungsrath  coolly  passing  by  without  taking 
any  notice  of  me,  but  I  do  not  for  a  momenjt  think  of 
the  absurdity  of  having  been  dismissed  without  any  proper 
notice  having  been  given  me,  or  of  the  further  absurdity 


INFLUENCE  OF  DREAMS  91 

that  this  new  Director  is  already  in  the  asylum  without 
my  having  learned  anything  about  it,  or  of  the  ridiculous 
idea  that  I  could  be  dismissed  from  the  post  of  Director, 
and  not  from  the  asylum.  I  even  think,  quite  innocently, 
that  I  shall  have  to  obey  the  regulations  of  this  new 
young  Director,  like  an  assistant  ;  but  it  only  gradually 
dawns  upon  me  that  I  have  absolutely  nothing  to  do 
save  to  pack  up  and  go  ;  that  the  Regierungsrath  obvi- 
ously wishes  to  get  rid  of  me  ;  and  that  the  most  that  I 
can  do  is  to  prosecute  him  later  for  my  own  satisfaction.' 

At  this  point  I  awoke,  and  the  whole  absurdity  became 
clear  to  me  at  once. 

The  analogy  between  the  kind  of  dissociated  thought 
in  the  dream  and  that  of  general  paralysis  of  the  insane 
is  really  striking. 

4.  Old  Recollections. — One  dreams  not  un frequently 
of  quite  old  perceptions.  I  still  dream  of  my  grand- 
parents, who  have  been  dead  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
Their  voices  and  their  appearance  are  a  little  dim,  but 
are  still  quite  natural. 

5.  The  Influence  of  Dreams  on  the  Waking  Condition. 
— I  dreamed  '  I  was  engaged  to  Miss  X.  During  the 
marriage  ceremony  I  suddenly  remember  my  children, 
and  then  the  fact  that  I  am  already  married  makes 
itself  felt;  and  creates  a  tormenting  consternation.  I 
feel  that  I  am  guilty  of  bigamy.  Great  fear  and  ex- 
citement. I  awake.'  During  the  whole  of  the  following 
day  I  felt  depressed,  which  mood  could  only  be  due  to 
this  idiotic  dream. 

6.  Mrs.  X.  dreams  that  her  brother  is  dead.  She  is 
quite  inconsolable.  She  feels  very  depressed  in  her  mind 
during  the  whole  day,  and  has  an  indistinct  feeling  as  if 
something  sad  had  taken  place.  Every  time  she  thinks 
of  this  she  again  remembers  the  cause,  the  dream.^ 

1  Miss  St.  dreamed  that  her  father  was  dead,  and  had  been  burled. 
She  was  sad  during  the  whole  morning,  but  only  in  the  afternoon  did 
she  remember  her  dream.     She  became  uneasy.     She  felt  homesick, 


92  HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

7.  Falsification  of  Memory. — Mrs.  Z.  sets  her  alarum 
each  night  for  a  certain  hour,  so  that  she  may  give  her 
baby  the  chamber.  She  hears  the  alarum  go  off  in  her 
sleep,  and  dreams  '  you  have  sat  the  child  on  the 
chamber,'  so  turns  round  and  continues  to  sleep.  Next 
morning  the  baby  is  wet.  Mrs.  Z.  then  remembers  her 
dream  reasoning,  and  recalls  that  it  was  false. 

8.  Actions  as  the  Result  of  Dreams.  — •  A  mother 
dreams  that  her  little  child,  who  has  just  learned  to 
walk,  might  fall.  She  stretches  out  with  both  hands  to 
save  it,  and,  waking  up,  finds  that  she  is  holding  the  bed- 
clothes clutched  tightly  in  her  hands.  Another  time  she 
seizes  hold  of  her  husband's  hand  during  a  similar  dream. 

9.  Allegorizing  of  Impressions.  —  An  open  window, 
moved  by  the  wind,  rattles  backwards  and  forwards.  A 
person  sleeping  near  it  dreams  that  a  laundress  is  vigor- 
ously beating  the  washing.  Another  dreamer,  who  is 
suffering  from  the  toothache  (an  abscess),  dreams  inces- 
santly that  his  teeth  are  falling  out  of  their  sockets,  and 
that  he  is  spitting  them  out. 

Under  any  circumstances,  the  dissociation  in  dream 
life  is  the  most  prominent  feature.  Just  as  sensations 
of  smell  or  visceral  sensations  follow  one  another  in  point 
of  time  in  the  mirror  of  our  consciousness  during  waking, 
almost  without  being  associated,  and  replace  one  another, 
so  we  see  that  nearly  all  dream  impressions,  and  also 
visual  impressions,  relieve  each  other  either  directly  or 
only  partly,  and  without  meaning.  In  her  dreams  my 
sister  can  change  into  a  man,  or  into  a  table  and  such-like 
things. 

A  transition  between  sleep  and  the  condition  of  waking 


although  she  had  never  before  felt  like  it.  Added  to  this,  her  head 
began  to  ache.  The  patient,  after  receiving  a  suggestion  that  she 
should  l>e  amnesic  and  in  good  spirits,  declared  that  she  was  happv,  and 
that  she  had  been  sad  and  anxious  during  the  afternoon  on  account  of 
a  dream,  wh.ch  she  had,  however,  completely  forgotten.  The  second 
suggestion  produced  complete  amnesia  (O.  Vogt). 


LIGHT  SLEEP  93 

is  formed  by  the  so-called  light  sleep  (Liebeault),  in  which 
the  brain  activity  is  much  more  like  that  of  the  waking 
condition,  and  during  which  one  is  only  partly  amnesic 
or  not  at  all  amnesic.  The  time  appears  to  our  conscious- 
ness to  be  shortened.  Many  light  sleepers  declare  that 
they  have  not  slept,  but  only  dozed.  They  are  more  or 
less  aware  when  they  awake  of  all  that  has  taken  place 
around  them.  Still,  they  are  able  to  dream,  and  may 
even  dream  vividly.  Moreover,  among  these  persons 
there  are  many  individual  variations.  Some  of  them  can 
awaken  out  of  the  light  sleep  at  will,  and  move  about  ; 
others  do  not  gain  the  mastery  over  their  movements. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  light  spontaneous  sleep  corre- 
sponds more  or  less  to  the  lighter  degree  of  hypnosis 
(hypotaxis),  in  which  the  hypnotized  person  has  the 
subjective  feeling  that  he  has  not  slept,  but  has  never- 
theless been  influenced  (Liebeault). 

As  has  already  been  said,  it  is  well  known  that  many 
persons  can  measure  time  during  normal  sleep,  and 
awaken  at  any  given  time  which  they  have  determined 
on  on  the  preceding  evening.  This  determination  is 
productive  of  a  light,  uneasy  sleep  in  some  persons  ; 
other  persons,  however,  sleep  as  usual,  and  still  awaken 
at  the  given  time.  We  can  produce  the  same  phenomenon 
by  means  of  suggestion,  not  only  in  hypnosis,  but  also  in 
normal  sleep,  when  this  capability  is  wanting.  I  can  give 
the  suggestion  to  an  easily  suggestible  person  that  he  shall 
awaken  at  such  and  such  an  hour  in  the  night,  and  this 
will  take  place  punctually. 

I  have  also  been  able  to  fix  by  means  of  suggestion 
those  associations  which  would  awaken  a  normal  sleeper, 
and,  conversely,  those  which  a  normal  sleeper  does  not 
hear.  Thus,  the  suggested  person,  for  example,  sleeps 
quietly  through  a  loud  noise,  while  the  faintest  noise  of 
another  character  awakens  him.  (See  the  spontaneous 
analogies  without  suggestion  mentioned  above.)  This 
has  proved  very  useful  to  me  with  the  attendants  in  the 


'M 


IIVPXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 


asylum  who  had  the  care  of  noisy  and  even  dangerous 
patients.  For  example,  I  hypnotized  one  attendant,  and 
told  him  that  he  would  not  hear  the  loudest  noise,  and 
would  not  be  awakened  by  it.  I  clapped  my  hands  close 
to  his  ears,  whistled  loudly  into  them,  but  he  did  not 
awaken.  Then  I  told  him  that  he  would  awaken  at  once 
when  I  made  a  soft  noise  with  my  nails  three  times.  This 
was  done  so  softly  that  not  one  of  those  present  heard  it. 
He  awoke,  remembered  the  scratching  noise,  but  had  not 
heard  anything  of  the  clapping  and  w^histling.  Then  I 
told  him  that  he  would  hear  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
greatest  noise  and  knocking  of  the  maniacal  patients,  but 
would  sleep  on  quietly  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  would 
awaken  at  once  if  any  patient  did  anything  unusual  or 
dangerous. 

I  have  carried  this  out  for  ten  years  consistently  wdth 
all  the  attendants  of  the  noisy  wards  who  agreed  to  it 
(this  was  a  large  majority  of  them),  and  since  this  time 
nervous  exhaustion,  sleeplessness,  and  the  like,  have,  so 
to  say,  disappeared  from  the  attendants,  while  the  super- 
vision of  the  patients  has  gained  in  safet3^ 

In  the  same  way,  I  have  allowed  a  nurse  to  sleep  in 
bed  next  to  a  suicidal  melancholic.  I  had  previously 
tested  the  safety  of  the  nurse's  suggestive  reaction  during 
sleep,  and  then  gave  her  the  suggestion  to  sleep  well, 
not  to  hear  the  groaning  and  noises,  but  to  awaken  at  once 
if  the  patient  made  the  least  attempt  to  get  out  of  bed 
or  to  do  anything  to  himself.  As  soon  as  the  patient 
had  been  brought  back  to  bed,  the  nurse  was  to  go  to 
sleep  again  at  once.  This  occurred  so  regularly  that 
several  patients  who  had  been  looked  after  in  this  way 
regarded  their  nurses  as  being  bewitched.  Nurses  who 
had  carried  out  this  duty  for  periods  up  to  six  months, 
and  who  had  worked  hard  during  the  daytime,  remained 
lively  and  bright,  looked  well,  and  did  not  show  a 
trace  of  tiredness.  It  is  true  that  only  very  suggestible 
people  arc  suited  for  this  ;  stilL  I  always  had  several 


A  SOMNAMBULIC  NURSE  95 

nurses  and  male  attendants  who  were  adapted  for  such 
duties. 

My  successor,  Professor  Bleuler,  and  Professor  Mahaim, 
of  Cery-Lausanne,  have  been  able  to  confirm  this  experi- 
ence. 

The  following  case  illustrates  the  safety  of  this  method 
of  supervision  very  strikingly  : 

Mrs.  M.  S.  was  admitted  into  the  Burghoelzli  Asylum 
on  August  25,.  1892,  suffering  from  extreme,  completely 
demented  mania.  She  had  brought  fourteen  children 
into  the  world,  and  eleven  of  these  were  still  living.  The 
births  were  always  very  easy  and  rapid,  none  having  lasted 
more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  mania  became 
chronic,  and  Mrs.  S.  became  so  brutal  and  violent  that 
she  could  only  sleep  at  night-time  in  the  padded  room. 
She  remained  completely  demented,  and  did  not  recognise 
anyone.  It  was  only  in  January,  1893,  that  one  noticed 
that  she  was  pregnant.  I  was  very  anxious  about  this 
pregnancy.  On  the  one  hand,  her  violence  excluded  the 
possibility  of  a  nurse  helping  her  during  the  night-time, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  I  feared  that  an  unnoticed  partus 
during  the  night  would  be  accompanied  by  the  death  of 
the  child.  The  date  of  the  partus  was  naturally  quite 
uncertain.  On  March  13  I  resolved  on  the  following 
plan  :  I  placed  the  patient  in  bed  alone  in  a  room  with 
protected  windows.  The  best  somnambulist  among  the 
nurses  was  put  in  a  bed  in  the  corridor  near  the  door  of 
the  patient's  room.  She  was  given  the  suggestion  that 
she  would  sleep  exceedingly  well  each  night,  and  not  hear 
the  usual  noises  which  Mrs.  S.  made.  However,  as  soon 
as  the  birth  should  begin  at  night-time,  she  would  notice 
it  through  the  door,  and  awaken  at  once.  I  do  not  know 
how  she  was  to  notice  this  ;  perhaps  the  patient  would 
become  somewhat  quieter  (but  this  takes  place  from  time 
to  time),  or  she  might  whine  a  little — in  short,  I  do  not 
know,  but  she  (the  nurse)  was  to  notice  it.  She  was  to 
get  up  at  once,  look  in  at  the  patient,  go  for  the  sister^ 


96  IIVPXOTISM  AXD  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

and  then  have  the  doctor  sent  for.  I  only  gave  this 
suggestion  once  or  twice  definitely,  and  from  that  time 
onward  the  nurse  slept  in  the  corridor  outside  Mrs.  S.'s 
door.  The  latter  remained  extremely  excited,  dirty,  and 
demented,  destroyed  and  tore  everything  up. 

My  assistant,  Dr.  Mercier,  shook  his  head  at  my  pre- 
caution ;  the  nurse  slept  very  well,  and  did  not  awaken 
during  any  night.  My  assistant  examined  the  patient  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  May  6,  found  no  signs  of 
the  beginning  of  the  partus,  and  said  to  the  nurse  that 
she  might  go  for  some  time  longer.  Everyone  was  in 
bed  at  9  p.m.  at  the  latest,  and  all  slept  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  noisy  Mrs.  S.  Suddenly,  at  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  night,  the  nurse  awakened  (she  had  never  awakened 
during  the  night  in  all  the  past  days  and  weeks,  and  had 
never  disturbed  the  sister).  She  went  into  the  room, 
and,  it  is  true,  did  not  notice  much  the  matter  with  the 
patient,  but  ran  off  to  fetch  the  sister.  She  said,  '  I 
am  sure  that  it  is  coming  on,'  and  then  both  returned  to 
the  patient.  The  sister  did  not  quite  believe  that  the 
labour  was  beginning,  as  she  did  not  see  anything  un- 
usual, and  as  the  patient  was  still  going  about.  The 
*  waters,'  which  liad  broken,  were  mistaken  for  urine  (the 
patient  being  dirty)  ;  still,  the  doctor  was  sent  for  at  once, 
and  arrived  just  in  time  to  receive  the  head  of  the  foetus. 
When  I  arrived,  I  was  able  to  remove  the  after-birth, 
and  was  then  greeted  by  the  patient  with  curses,  blows, 
and  kicks.  It  required  four  or  five  persons  to  keep  her 
in  bod.  The  nurse  acknowledged  that  she  did  not  know 
why  she  awoke.  Mrs.  S.  may  have  been  a  little  quieter 
than  usual,  but  complained,  as  she  ofte;i  did.  Both  she 
and  the  sister  agreed  that  they  could  scarcely  distinguish 
her  cursing,  crying,  screaming,  and  complaining  from  her 
usual  noises.  Still,  some  unusual  sound  perception  or  other 
must  have  awakened  the  somnambulist  and  reminded 
her  of  the  suggestion.  The  child  was  healthy.  Mrs.  S. 
remained    maniacal   and    demented   until  the   summer, 


SOMNAMBULISM  97 

1894,  when  she  gradually  became  quieter  and  clearer, 
and  later  she  recovered.  Two  years  had  disappeared 
from  her  memory.  She  had  not  the  faintest  idea  of  the 
conception,  pregnancy,  labour,  and  child,  and  at  first  she 
believed  that  we  were  telling  her  a  fairy  tale  when  we 
spoke  of  what  had  taken  place,  especially  as  the  child  had 
died  of  pertussis  in  the  meantime. 

This  case,  which  is  of  interest  from  many  points  of  view, 
proves  that  good  somnambulists  react  with  certainty  to 
suggestion,  even  during  sleep  and  after  the  lapse  of  a 
long  time.  And  one  must  allow  that  I  would  not  have 
risked  such  an  experiment  without  having  been  sure  of 
my  grounds.  There  are  enough  witnesses  to  confirm 
the  circumstances.  Dr.  Walther  Inhelder  collected  my 
experiences  in  this  direction  in  the  Burghoelzli  Asylum 
for  his  article  on  the  importance  of  hypnosis  for  the 
night  supervision  by  attendants.^ 

I  thought  that  these  cases  would  demonstrate  the 
hypoconceived  associative  connections  and  mutual  influ- 
encing of  the  dream  activity  and  the  waking  activity  of 
the  brain  better  than  anything  else. 

I  refer  the  reader  to  O.  Vogt's  views,  given  later  (§  16), 
and  especially  to  his  article,  '  Spontaneous  Somnambu- 
lism in  Hypnosis.'^  He  shows,  in  opposition  to  Loewen- 
feld,  by  very  excellent  examples,  that  spontaneous 
somnambulism  produced  in  sleep  can  be  transformed  into 
quiet  hypnosis,  and  this  in  its  turn  can  be  terminated  in 
normal  awakening  or  normal  sleep.  He  proves  quite 
conclusively  that  the  mechanism  of  normal  sleep  and  that 
of  hypnosis  are  the  same.  I  have  always  shared  these 
views  with  Liebeault,  but  it  was  O.  Vogt  who  proved  them 
most  conclusively.  Normal  sleep,  like  hypnosis,  is  a 
condition  of  heightened  suggestibility — i.e.,  a  dissociated 
condition — only,  as  a  rule,  the  condition  of  exhaustion  of 
the  brain  is  added,  and  the  connection  with  the  hypno- 
tist is  wanting. 

^  Zeitschriftfur  HypnoHsmus^  1893,  p.  201.  2  Ji,id,^  1897. 

7 


98         HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Thus  we  come  to  the  discussion  of  amnesia,  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  important,  and  in  forensic  medicine 
perhaps  the  most  important,  practical  phenomenon  of 
sleep  and  of  hypnosis.  As  a  rule,  the  normally  deep 
sleeper  is  also  a  deep  sleeper  in  the  hypnotic  condition. 
In  this  the  deep  sleeper  is  mostly  more  strongly  subjected 
to  the  inlluence  of  the  hypnotist.  One  can  produce 
memory  or  amnesia  in  him  for  any  period  of  his  hfe,  or 
at  least  for  his  sleep,  at  will.  Bemheim  produced  deep 
sleep  in  more  than  half  of  the  patients  in  his  hospital 
practice.  In  order  to  show  the  very  wide  distribution 
of  deep  hypnotizibility  among  normal  people,  I  may 
mention  that  at  one  time  I  attempted  to  produce 
hypnosis  in  23  out  of  26  nurses  in  the  Burghoelzli 
Asylum,  and  succeeded  in  every  case.  Among  these, 
only  I  was  put  merely  into  a  condition  of  somnolence,  3 
showed  light  sleep  not  associated  with  amnesia,  and  the 
remaining  19  showed  deep  sleep  with  amnesia,  post- 
hypnotic phenomena,'  and  the  suggestive  condition  when 
awake.  Catalepsy  and  anaesthesia  were  attained  in  two 
cases,  immediately  on  the  first  attempt  in  the  waking 
condition,  by  means  of  affirmation.  Neither  of  these 
nurses  had  ever  been  hypnotized  before.  Dr.  O.  Vogt 
has,  however,  surpassed  all  that  has  hitherto  been 
achieved  in  this  respect  (see  p.  72). 

3.  Degrees  of  Hypnosis. — Charcot's  well-known 
phases,  lethargy,  catalepsy,  and  somnambulism,  depend 
on  prepared  hypnosis  of  hysterical  persons.  Bernheim 
attempted  to  introduce  a  classification  in  several  degrees. 
However,  there  is  no  possibiUty  of  a  precise  limita.tion. 
I  consider  that  it  suffices  to  accept  three  degrees  of 
suggestibihty,  which,  however,  can  have  transitions : 
(i)  Somnolence.  The  lightly-influenced  person  can  resist 
the  suggestion  by  tlic  exercise  of  his  energy,  and  can  open 
his  eyes.  (2)  Light  sleep,  otherwise  called  hypotaxis  or 
*  charme.'  Here  the  influenced  person  can  no  longer  open 
his  eyes,  and  is  obliged  to  obey  a  part  of  the  suggestions 


DEGEEES  OF  HYPNOSIS  99 

or  all  of  them,  with  the  exception  of  amnesia.  He  does 
not  become  amnesic.  (3)  Deep  sleep  or  somnambulism. 
This  is  characterized  by  amnesia  after  awakening.  The 
term  '  somnambulism '  is,  in  my  opinion,  not  a  happily 
chosen  one,  since  it  gives  rise  to  confusion  with  spon- 
taneous somnambulism.  The  latter  is  a  mild  but  never- 
theless true  pathological  condition,  which  appears  to  be 
frequently  connected  with  hysteria,  and  is  not  simple 
hypnotism.  Posthypnotic  phenomena  may  occur,  not 
infrequently  in  my  experience,  even  after  light  sleep. 
Suggestibility  may,  under  certain  circumstances,  be  very 
slight,  or  even  almost  absent,  in  very  deep  sleep  (very 
rare  cases).  However,  one  can  produce  sleep  with  open 
eyes,  the  result  of  suggestion  in  waking  condition,  as 
well  as  amnesia,  and,  conversely,  memory  by  means 
of  suggestion,  so  that  the  three  degrees  are  very  ill- 
defined.  The  sleep,  the  amnesia,  and  the  capability 
of  resistance  are  herein  only  used  as  tests  of  the  suggesti- 
bility. It  depends  chiefly  on  what  one  has  suggested  at 
first. 

One  can  further  transform  somnolence  into  hypotaxis 
by   means    of    suggestion    with    practice    and    training, 
and    hypotaxis    into    somnambulism   by  means  of  sug- 
gestion   of    amnesia,    although    this    does    not    always      x^ 
succeed.  ' 

"^4.  Training. — One  has  heard  a  great  deal  of  the  train- 
ing of  the  hypnotized.  That  one  increases  the  suggesti- 
bility of  a  person  by  repeated  hypnotizing  is  an  assured 
fact.  One  can,  above  all,  cause  him  to  do  everything 
which  one  has  made  him  do  in  the  first  hypnosis,  without 
verbal  order,  again,  in  an  apparently  instinctive  way. 
The  somnambulist  concentrates  (as  Bernheim  very  truly 
puts  it)  in  his  narrowed  brain  activity  his  whole  attention 
to  guess  the  wishes  of  the  hypnotist.  However,  one  has 
largely  overrated  the  part  played  by  training,  especially 
in  Germany,  and  has  overlooked  the  high  degree  of 
the  individual  suggestibility  of  the  majority  of  normal 

7—2 


100 


HVPXOTISM  A\D  PSYCHOTHERAPY 


neoplo.  Where  does  the  training  come  in,  for  example, 
in  this  case  ?  I  hypnotized  a  perfectly  normal,  capable 
nurse  for  the  first  time.  1  looked  at  her  for  a  few  seconds, 
suggesting  sleep,  then  required  her  to  look  at  two  fingers 
of  my  left  hand  (Bernheim's  method)  ;  after  thirty  seconds 
her  lids  closed.  I  suggested  amnesia  to  her,  then  cata- 
lepsy of  the  arms,  caused  the  arms  to  be  twisted  and 
suggested  anaesthesia.  All  this  succeeded  at  once.  I 
pricked  her  deeply  with  a  needle.  She  did  not  feel  any- 
thing. I  gave  her  water  from  the  fountain,  saying  that 
it  was  a  bitter  mixture,  and  it  tasted  bitter  to  her.  I 
suggested  to  her  that  her  appetite  was  good  (with  satis- 
factory result),  and  told  her  that  when  she  awoke  she 
would  of  her  own  accord  place  the  paper-basket,  standing 
under  the  table,  on  a  certain  person's  lap,  and,  lastly, 
that  she  would  come  to  me  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
without  receiving  any  further  message.  I  awakened 
her  up  by  making  her  count  up  to  four.  She  did  not 
know  anytliing  of  what  had  taken  place,  and  looked 
constantly  at  the  paper-basket,  which  she  placed  on  the 
lap  of  the  person,  blushing  and  feeling  awkward  the 
while.  She  was  very  angry  about  this  behaviour,  which 
she  felt  herself  driven  to  carry  out,  although  she  did 
not  know  why.  At  six  o'clock  she  was  alone  in  the 
ward,  and  could  not  leave  on  this  account  ;  but,  having 
a  strong  impulse  that  she  should  come  to  me,  got  very 
excited  and  anxious,  as  she  dared  not  follow  this  impulse. 
Who  could  speak  of  training  in  this  case  ?  The  young 
peasant  girl  had  only  recently  come  here  as  a  nurse,  and 
was  hypnotized  for  the  first  time,  and  she,  nevertheless, 
behaved  just  like  a  repeatedly  hypnotized  somnam- 
bulist,   only   much    more  directly,   and    therefore  more 


convincingly. 


Tlie  fact  that  the  kind  of  hypnotic  reaction  of  a  person 
is  chielly  guided  by  the  kind  of  suggestion  to  which  he 
was  first  subjected  to  appears  to  me  to  be  of  paramount 
importance.     If  one  chooses  sleep  principally,  the  person 


TRAINING  101 

will  become  a  sleeper.  If  one  chooses  to  produce  post- 
hypnotic phenomena,  he  will  show  such  phenomena 
chiefly,  and  will  react  during  the  waking  condition  easily 
to  hallucinations,  etc.  In  the  same  way,  ansesthesia, 
amnesia,  etc.,  can  take  the  most  prominent  place,  accord- 
ing to  the  efforts  of  the  hypnotist.  If  a  certain  person 
is  accustomed  to  react  in  a  definite  way,  it  is  much  more 
difficult  to  suggest  other  symptoms  later  on  with  a  good 
result. 

Naturally,  when  anyone  is  repeatedly  hypnotized  for 
a  long  time,  and  especially  when  the  same  experiment  is 
always  carried  out  again  and  again  with  him,  the  pheno- 
mena of  accustoming  appear,  as  they  would  with  any 
other  nerve  activity.  The  most  idiotic  suggestions  appeal 
to  him  to  be  plausible.  It  all  becomes  more  mechanical 
and  automatic,  as  accustomed  achievements,  impressions, 
etc.,  do  with  us.  That  is  a  general  law  of  psychology — 
i.e.,  of  the  work  of  the  brain. 

After  ripe  experience,  I  maintain  that  the  direct  influ- 
ence of  the  hypnotist  eventually  diminishes  after  long- 
continued,  increasing  training.  The  hypnotized  gets  to 
know  his  hypnotist  and  his  weaknesses  well,  the  fascina- 
tion of  the  beginning  is  gradually  lost,  and  autosugges- 
tion and  contrary  suggestion  increase.  While  the  sug- 
gested portion  of  the  brain  activity  becomes  more  auto- 
matic and  more  mechanically  adapted,  the  remaining 
parts  collect  themselves  together  to  form  an  increasingly 
conscious  reaction,  to  form  a  not  suggested  second  '  ego.' 
In  this  way  the  belief  in  general  in  suggestion  and  its 
influences  will  rather  tend  to  become  less.  For  this 
reason  one  retains  more  power  if  one  hypnotizes  less  fre- 
quently, and  if  the  suggestion  is  not  given  mechanically, 
and  not  always  in  the  same  way.  The  experiments  on 
persons  hypnotized  for  the  first  time  are  therefore  the 
clearest  and  prove  to  be  the  best. 

5.  The  Phenomena  of  Hypnosis. — One  can  say  that 
one  can  produce,  influence,  and  prevent  (inhibit,  modify, 


102       irVPXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

paralyze,  or  stimulate)  all  the  kno\\Ti  subjective  pheno- 
mena of  the  human  mind  by  means  of  suggestion  in  hyp- 
nosis, and  a  large  proportion  of  the  known  objective 
functions  of  the  nervous  system.  The  pure  gangUonic 
functions  and  the  spinal  reflexes,  as  well  as  the  corre- 
sponding reflexes  of  the  base  of  the  brain,  are  either  not 
intlucnccable  at  all  by  suggestion,  or  are  only  very  rarely 
influenced,  and  then  but  slightly.  But  more  than  this, 
suggestion  is  able  to  control  certain  so-called  somatic 
functions,  such  as  menstruation,  pollutions,  sweat  secre- 
tion, digestion,  and  even  the  formation  of  epidermic 
vesicles,  in  such  a  way  that  the  dependence  of  these 
functions  on  the  dynamism  of  the  cerebrum  is  clearly 
proved.  Still,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  these  results 
are  obtainable  with  every  hypnotized  person.  However, 
with  patience,  one  can  obtain  the  greater  part  of  them 
during  deep  sleep. 

These  phenomena  are  obtained  by  simple  affirmation 
or  stating  that  they  are  present.  This  is  best  done  in 
connection  with  the  touching  of  that  part  of  the  body 
in  which  the  sensations  are  subjectively  felt,  and  at  the 
same  time  explaining  the  processes  of  their  production 
with  a  loud,  convincing  voice.  One  begins  by  asking 
the  person  to  be  hypnotized  to  sit  in  a  comfortable  easy- 
chair,  then  one  looks  at  him,  and  assures  him  that  his 
eyelids  will  become  as  heavy  as  lead,  that  they  will  close, 
etc. — in  short,  by  suggesting  to  him  the  phenomena  of 
Roing  to  sleep.  Every  specialist,  however,  has  his  own 
tricks  and  methods,  by  means  of  which  he  finds  it 
easiest  to  produce  hypnosis.  It  really  does  not  matter 
how  one  sets  about  it.  The  following  examples  illustrate 
this  : 

Motor  PhnwDiena.—l  say  that  the  arm  is  stiff,  and 
cannot  be  moved  ;  at  the  same  time  I  raise  the  arm. 
The  arm  remains  in  a  condition  of  cataleptic  rigidity 
(suggestive  catalepsy).  The  same  may  be  apphed  to 
every  possible  muscle  position  of  any  part  of  the  body. 


MOTOR  AND  SENSORY  PHENOMENA      103 

I  say  that  the  arm  is  paralyzed,  and  will  fall  like  a  leaden 
weight.  This  takes  place  at  once,  and  the  hypnotized 
person  cannot  move  it  any  more.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  may  declare  that  both  hands  are  to  be  turned 
round  one  another  automatically,  and  that  all  efforts 
on  the  part  of  the  hypnotized  person  to  keep  them 
still  will  only  have  the  effect  of  making  them  turn 
the  faster.  The  hands  twist  round  one  another  in- 
creasingly fast,  and  all  attempts  to  check  them  fail. 
I  tell  the  hypnotized  that  he  can  speak,  and  can  answer 
me.  In  the  same  way  he  can  walk,  act,  command, 
have  convulsions,  stammer,  and  so  on.  I  tell  him  that 
he  is  drunk,  and  staggers  ;  he  walks  like  a  drunken 
man  at  once. 

Sensory  Phenomena. — I  say,  '  There  is  a  flea  on  your 
right  cheek ;  it  itches  abominably.'  The  hypnotized 
person  makes  a  grimace  at  once,  and  scratches  his  right 
cheek.  '  You  feel  that  your  legs  and  arms  are  comfort- 
ably warm.'  To  this  he  answers  that  it  is  so.  '  Don't 
you  see  a  savage  dog  in  front  of  you,  barking  at  you  ?' 
The  hypnotized  at  once  starts  back,  and  then  chases  the 
supposititious  dog,  which  he  sees  and  hears.  I  pretend  to 
hand  him  something,  and  tell  him  that  it  is  a  sweet- 
smelling  bouquet  of  violets.  He  sniffs  in  the  imagined 
perfume  with  delight.  I  can  make  the  hypnotized  drink 
bitter  quinine,  salt  water,  raspberry- juice,  and  chocolate 
within  a  few  seconds  in  successive  sips  from  one  and  the 
same  glass  of  water  ;  but  one  does  not  even  require  the 
glass  or  the  water.  The  statement  that  he  has  a  glass 
containing  the  named  drink  in  his  hand  suffices.  Pain 
can  easily  be  suggested,  and  it  is  still  easier  to  drive 
away  a  pain  which  was  present  before  by  suggestion. 
For  example,  one  usually  has  no  difliculty  in  curing 
a  headache  in  a  few  seconds  or  at  most  in  a  few 
minutes. 

Besides  this,  anaesthesia,  anosmia,  blindness,  colour- 
blindness, double  vision,  deafness,  loss  of  the  sense  of 


104       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

taste,  and  ageusia,  can  be  readily  suggested.  I  have  had 
teeth  drawn  from  my  patient's  mouth  during  hypnosis, 
abscesses  opened,  corns  removed,  and  have  made  deep 
incisions  without  the  least  pain  having  been  produced. 
It  is  sufficient  to  assure  him  that  the  region  is  dead  and 
insensible.  Surgical  operations  and  parturition  are  pos- 
sible with  hypnosis,  although  this  is  rarer,  and  in  this 
case  it  can  replace  chloroform  anaesthesia  with  advantage, 
and  without  the  dangers  of  the  latter.  Drs.  Von  Schrenck 
and  Delbceuf  have  described  labours  which  have  been 
conducted  under  hypnosis  without  any  pain.  If  one 
succeeds  in  producing  anaesthesia  properly,  painless  sur- 
gical operations,  provided  that  they  do  not  last  too  long, 
are  always  possible  with  hypnosis.  But  the  fear  of  the 
operation  generally  disturbs  the  suggestibihty,  especially 
when  the  patient  witnesses  elaborate  preparations.  The 
greatest  practical  difficulty  is  met  with  here.^ 

Bernhcim  wisely  calls  the  extraordinary  deceptive  per- 
ception of  the  disappearance  of  an  object  present  wathin 
the  area  of  the  senses  Negative  Hallucination.  I  may  tell 
a  hypnotized  who  sleeps  with  open  eyes  that  I  have  dis- 
appeared, and  that  he  no  longer  sees  me,  hears  me,  or 
feels  me.  I  can  let  him  hear  and  feel  me  without  seeing 
me  by  suggesting  this,  and  so  on. 

Negative  hallucination  is  a  very  instructive  process. 
It  helps  to  explain  the  nature  of  hypnotism,  and  also 
the  nature  of  liallucinations.  We  owe  our  thanks  to 
Bernhcim  for  the  best  studies  on  this  subject.  At  first 
it  is  somewhat  striking  how  the  hypnotized  acquires  the 
appearance  of  a  swindler  as  he  goes  round  and  avoids 
that  which  is  supposed  to  have  vanished,  etc.  One  can 
observe  here  the  phenomenon  of  double  consciousness  if 
one  studies  the   position   veiy   closely.     The   supercon- 

»  O.  V'ogt  gave  a  very  suggestible  patient  the  suggestion  during 
waking  that  his  severe  toothache  would  cease  at  once,  that  he  would 
go  to  llic  dentist  in  the  afternoon  and  have  the  offending  molar  drawn  ; 
he  would  not  feci  anything  of  this.  The  waking  suggestion  was  com- 
pletely realized. 


NEGATIVE  HALLUCINATIONS  105 

sciousness  does  not  see  ;  the  hypoconsciousness  sees  and 
avoids. 1  In  certain  cases  there  is  an  association  between 
both  chains  of  consciousness,  as  mentioned  in  the  dream 
recited  on  p.  91.  This  is  also  shown  in  a  case  in  which 
Delboeuf  gave  the  suggestion  to  a  young  girl  that  she  was 
a  good-looking  young  man,  and  the  girl  then  acknowledged 
that  she  had  seen  the  young  man,  but  that  the  old  gray 
head  had  always  loomed  through.  Delboeuf  had  fallen 
into  the  error  of  generalizing  this  observation,  an  error 
against  which,  I  would  point  out  here,  one  cannot  warn 
sufficiently  in  hypnotic  phenomena.  There  are  converse 
cases,  either  evidenced  by  heightened  individual  suggesti- 
bility, and  especially  in  hysterical  persons,  or  as  the 
result  of  special  training  (both  factors  usually  act  to- 
gether), in  which  the  correcting  hypoconsciousness  re- 
cedes completely  into  the  background,  and  in  which  the 
hypnotized  becomes  completely  deceived.  This  can  only 
be  achieved  if  one  succeeds  in  extending  the  negative 
hallucination  completely  to  all  the  senses  :  for  example, 
if  one  arranges  that  an  object  can  be  neither  seen,  nor 
felt,  nor  heard  (when  it  knocks  against  something,  or 

^  '  One  can  observe  the  activity  of  the  hypoconsciousness  even  in 
the  insane  very  frequently  if  one  has  experience  in  hypnotic  experi- 
ments. An  hysteric  beHeves  that  I  am  her  brother,  and  refuses  to  be 
convinced  to  the  contrary.  But,  nevertheless,  the  fixation  of  my 
person  produced  a  chain  of  ideas  which  I  could  only  have  caused  in 
my  capacity  as  doctor.  Another  hysteric  always  saw  a  certain  person 
whom  she  hated  in  her  excitement.  She  went  for  the  supposed 
person,  but  stopped  herself  short  before  reaching  her,  and  never 
struck  at  the  hallucinated  person,  although  she  always  attacked 
everyone  else '  (O.  Vogt). 

Every  asylum  doctor  recognises  this  phenomenon.  In  acute  mental 
affections  the  discernment  alters  with  the  illness.  At  first  there  is  a 
sort  of  duel  between  the  healthy  and  diseased  brain  activity.  As  time 
goes  on  these  two  activities  gradually  become  more  reconciled  to  one 
another,  to  the  detriment  of  logic.  The  diseased  chain  works  more 
superconsciously  and  the  healthy  chain  more  hypoconsciously.  Thus 
a  patient  imagining  himself  to  be  God  or  a  king  is  quite  willing  to 
undertake  menial  duties,  and  another  who  believes  that  he  is  starving 
or  dying  eats  with  a  regal  appetite. 


io6       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

falls),  nor  smelt.  It  is  always  extremely  difficult  alto- 
gether to  exclude  a  certain  degree  of  hypoconscious 
noticing.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  easy  to  combine 
amnesia  with  the  phenomena  just  mentioned,  and  the 
majority  remain  firmly  convinced  afterwards  when  awake 
that  they  have  felt,  seen,  and  heard  absolutely  nothing. 

The  study  of  negative  hallucination  rapidly  leads  to 
the  conclusion  that  that  which  is  not  suggested  is  not 
only  supplemented  by  every  hypnotized  person  accord- 
ing to  its  kind,  as  it  is  \vith  all  suggestions  (the  one  hal- 
lucinates the  chair  behind  the  person  who  is  supposed  to 
have  vanished,  on  which  he  is  really  sitting  ;  the  second 
hallucinates  a  mist,  and  so  on) ;  but  every  negative  hal- 
lucination of  sight  is  complemented  by  a  positive  one, 
and,  conversely,  almost  every  positive  hallucination  is 
complemented  by  a  negative  one.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
one  cannot  see  a  gap  in  tne  field  of  vision  without  placing 
something  into  it,  even  if  it  be  only  a  black  background  ; 
and,  conversely,  one  cannot  hallucinate  anything  posi- 
tively without  covering  a  portion  of  the  visual  field,  or 
at  least,  as  in  the  case  of  transparent  hallucinations, 
rendering  this  part  misty.  The  same  takes  place  also 
with  many  deceptions  of  hearing  and  feeling.  \Mien  a 
voice  is  hallucinated,  actual  sounds  are  often  not  heard. 
If  a  blackbird's  song  is  changed  into  a  satire  (illusion), 
the  bird's  song  is  no  longer  recognised  as  such.  If  one 
lies  in  bed  and  hallucinates  that  one  is  lying  on  a  pin- 
cushion, one  no  longer  feels  the  soft  mattress,  and  so  on. 

These  facts  led  me  to  study  the  negative  hallucinations 
in  tlie  insane,  and  I  was  astonished  to  find  how  frequently 
this  phenomenon  really  occurs.  I  first  reported  on  this 
subject  in  1889  in  the  Verein  schweizerischer  Irrenaerzte 
(the  Association  of  Swiss  Asylum  Doctors),  and  later  in 
the  Congress  on  Hypnotism  in  Paris,i  and  gave  examples 
illustrative  of  this.  One  has  scarcely  paid  any  attention 
to  this  hitherto,  since  the  patients  mostly  only  speak  of 

*   *Compte  rendu,'  by  Berillon,  p.  122  (Paris  :  O.  Doin,  1890). 


MNEME  THEORY  107 

the  positive  parts  of  the  phenomena,   unless  one  asks 
them  especially. 

It  is  interesting  to  analyze  the  process  of  negative 
hallucination  in  the  light  of  Semon's  Mneme  theory. 
The  engram  is  that  which  I  formerly  termed  the  dynamic 
trace  (Ribot).^  The  engrams  are  not  produced  in  reality 
by  single,  completely  isolated  stimuli,  but  by  associated 
stimuli  complexes,  and  they  form  in  this  way  associated 
engram  complexes.  As  is  known,  the  association  takes 
place  either  in  point  of  place  or  in  point  of  time. 

Engrams  can  be  associated  simultaneously  in  point  of 
place,  according  to  Semon.  Simultaneous  engram  com- 
plexes exist — as,  for  example,  especially  those  which  we 
receive  by  means  of  our  sense  of  sight.  They  can  also  be 
associated  in  sequence,  as  is  particularly  the  case  with  the 
sense  of  hearing  and  in  ontogenia.  The  chief  difference 
between  simultaneous  and  successive  engram  complexes 
is  that  the  simultaneous  complexes  are  ambiguously 
linked  as  equivalents,  while  the  engrams  in  sequence 
are  linked  polarly  as  unequivalents.  In  the  sequence 
a-b,  a  acts  much  more  strongly  on  b  than  b  does  on  a, 
thus  the  backwards  action  is  weaker.  If  I  ask  '  woh,' 
instead  of  '  how,'  for  example,  the  person  asked  does  not 
realize  at  once  that  '  woh '  is  the  reverse  of  '  how.'  It 
often  occurs  in  the  sequence  of  engrams  that  two  or  more 
similar  engrams  are  more  or  less  equivalently  associated 
with  one  that  has  preceded.  In  such  a  case  Semon 
speaks  of  dichotomy,  trichotomy,  etc.  ;  but  as  two  suc- 
ceeding engrams  cannot  be  ecphorized  simultaneously 
from  the  one  which  has  preceded,  that  which  Semon  calls 
'alternative  ecphoria '  takes  place.  This  is,  that  either 
the  one  or  the  other  of  the  succeeding  associated  engrams 
are  ecphorized.  In  such  an  alternation  it  will  depend  on 
the  frequent  repetition  of  the  one  branch  that  this  one 
is  more  frequently  ecphorized  than  the  others.     Thus, 

1  A.  Forel,  '  Memory  and  its  Abnormalities '  (Zurich  :  Orell,  Fiissli 
and  Co.,  1885). 


loS       in'PXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

for  example,  in  the  second  verse  of  the  text  of  a  song,  if 
this  has  two  versions,  as  is  the  case  in  Goethe's  well- 
known  song  : 

Waldern  horest  du  keinen 

Cbcr  alien  Gipfcln  ist  Ruh,  in  allen<^         Hauch. 

Wipfeln  spiirest  du  kaum 
einen  Hauch. ^ 

These  forms  of  alternative  ecphorias  play  a  most  im- 
portant part  in  the  laws  of  ontogenia  and  of  inheritance. 
The  more  frequently  repeated,  stronger  engram  branch  is 
usually  alone  ecphorized,  while  the  other  or  others  gene- 
rally remain  completely  latent.  The  latter  may,  however, 
be  ecphorized  under  favourable  conditions — e.g.,  in  the 
following  generation. 

On  regarding  the  place  association,  one  meets  with 
something  of  the  same  sort,  in  so  far  as  the  whole  of  the 
same  space  cannot  possibly  be  filled  at  the  same  time  by 
two  different  sensations  or  complexes  of  sensations  in 
our  consciousness.  For  example,  I  cannot  see  the  same 
surface  of  one  square  centimetre  red  and  blue  at  the  same 
time.  Either  the  sensations  of  blue  and  red  fiJl  two 
surfaces  placed  side  by  side,  or  the  same  surface  can  be 
first  seen  red  and  then  blue,  or  the  reverse.  This  lav.', 
which  is  obviously  caused  by  the  conditions  of  the  outer 
world — that  is,  by  the  projection  of  these  conditions  in 
the  brain — repeats  itself  in  the  so-called  impressions  of 
memory  (in  the  ecphorized  engrams),  no  matter  whether 
these  be  hallucinated  or  whether  they  be  only  imagined 
internally. 

An  intf^lligent  person  suffering  from  recurrent  insanity 
hallucinated  that  she  was  in  a  subterraneous  passage  and 
witnessed  an  execution,  while  she  was  lying  in  a  bed  in 
the  dormitory.  She  told  me  later  quite  clearly,  on  being 
questioned  by  me,  that  while  she  had  this  hallucination 

,in    every  woodland    you    do 
'  High  on  the  tree-tops  all  is  peace<^         not  feel  a  breath. 

on  every  summit  you  scarcely 
feel  a  breath. 


SIMULTANEOUS  ENGRAMS  109 

she  no  longer  saw  the  whole  dormitory,  including  the  beds, 
and  did  not  even  hear  the  noise  of  the  patients  in  the 
neighbouring  corridor. 

If  we  now  regard  negative  hallucination  in  the  light  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Mneme,  we  are  bound  to  admit  that 
dichotomies  occur  even  in  simultaneous  engrams.  These 
can  be  alternately  ecphorized,  especially  when  the  same 
space  is  occupied  by  different  impressions  of  the  senses. 
For  example,  I  can  imagine  a  pine-tree  or  a  fir-tree  in  the 
same  imagined  place,  but  not  both  at  the  same  time  and 
in  the  same  place.  I  can  therefore  ecphorize  the  picture 
of  the  pine  or  the  picture  of  the  fir.  The  power  of  sugges- 
tion acts  on  the  negative  hallucination,  so  that  the 
ecphoria  of  a  formerly  suggested  sight  engram,  for  ex- 
ample, acts  more  strongly  than  the  stimulation  of  the 
light  which  reaches  the  brain  of  the  person,  hallucinating 
through  his  eye.  Thereby  even  the  original  direct  stimu- 
lation will  be  outweighed  by  the  alternating  ecphoria  of 
an  old  engram  in  the  brain.  The  same  applies  to  the 
sense  of  touch. 

But,  just  as  with  the  alternating  ecphorias  in  sequence, 
the  branches  of  the  dichotomies  which  are  not  ecphorized 
remain  latent  in  the  brain.  Such  a  latency  plays  a 
large  part,  undoubtedly,  in  all  hypnotic  and  also  in  all 
psychological  phenomena.'-' 

I  am  of  opinion  that  it  would  be  worth  while  to  in- 
vestigate the  Mneme  theory  of  Semon  further  in  this 
direction. 

One  need  scarcely  add  that  hallucination  is  a  purely 
cerebral  process,  which  is  just  as  little  influenced  by  the 
laws  of  optics,  etc.,  a.s  the  area  of  distribution  of  a  sug- 
gested anaesthesia  is  influenced  by  the  area  of  distribu- 
tion of  the  peripheral  sensory  nerves.  It  is  well  known 
that  a  man  whose  finger  has  been  amputated  often 
hallucinates  his  removed  finger,  and  that  a  person  whose 
optic  nerves  are  destroyed  can  have  visual  hallucinations 
for  many  years  after  the  destruction.     I  have  observed 


no 


HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 


a  striking  case  of  this  in  the  BurghoelzH  Asylum  in  Zurich. 
A  man  had  his  eye  destroyed  by  a  shot  thirty  years  pre- 
viously (March,  1865)  by  the  North  American  Indians. 
The  other  eye  was  lost  soon  after  from  a  sympathetic 
inllammation.  The  man  had  the  most  marked  visual 
hallucinations,  although  he  had  been  retinally  bhnd  for 
twenty-eight  years  (since  1867).  He  had  his  last  hallu- 
cination of  sight  at  the  end  of  the  year  1893.  In  all  other 
respects  he  was  quite  normal,  and  gave  very  clear  descrip- 
tions of  his  visions.  The  autopsy  undertaken  later 
revealed  complete  atrophy  of  both  optic  nerves. 

Reflexes. — I  say,  '  You  are  yawTiing.'  The  hypno- 
tized yawns.  '  You  feel  an  irritation  in  your  nose,  and 
must  sneeze  three  times  in  succession.'  The  hypnotized 
sneezes  three  times  immediately  in  the  most  natural  way. 
Vomiting,  hiccough,  etc.,  can  be  produced  in  the  same 
manner.  One  is  dealing  with  the  so-called  psychical 
reflexes  here,  which  are  produced  by  perceptions. 

The  most  extraordinary  phenomena  of  suggestion  are 
found  in  the  vasomotor,  secretory,  and  exudative  actions. 
One  can  produce  menstruation  in  women  by  simple  pro- 
phesyi^fcuring  hypnosis,  or  can  cause  it  to  stop.  One 
can  rebate  its  intensity  and  duration.  I  have  even  been 
able  to  obtain  with  certainty  punctuality  to  the  minute, 
both  as  regard  the  commencement  and  the  termination 
in  some  subjects.  Blushing  and  becoming  pale  can  be 
achieved.  In  the  same  way,  reddening  of  certain  parts 
of  the  body  or  areas  of  the  skin,  bleeding  of  the  nose, 
and  even  the  bleeding  habit,  can  be  produced.  However, 
these  are  very  rare  results.  The  pulse  can  be  quickened 
or  slowed  occasionally. 

I  have  been  able  to  regulate  the  menstruation  in  several 
cases  for  \'ears  in  such  a  way  that  the  period  always 
appeared  at  the  same  date  of  the  month— e.g.,  the  first- 
no  matter  whether  the  month  had  thirty-one,  thirty,  or 
twenty-eight  days.  These  cases  will  be  given  later. 
The  matter  is  of  importance  for  the  theory  of  the  relation 


MENSTRUATION  AND  OVULATION         iii 

of  menstruation  to  ovulation.  One  gynaecologist  told 
me  that  he  regarded  such  menses  obtained  by  suggestion 
as  uterine  haemorrhages,  and  not  as  menstruation. 
Could  such  an  opinion  hold  good  if  the  menstruation 
remains  regulated  for  years,  and  the  woman  has  normal 
pregnancies  and  labours  in  the  meantime  ?  The  usual 
theories  on  the  relation  between  ovulation  and  menstrua- 
tion are  still  very  insecure.  Animals  ovulate  without 
menstruating,  and  the  same  takes  place  in  some  women. 
In  my  opinion  there  are  two  possibilities  : 

(i)  Either  menstruation  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
ovulation,  and  only  serves  to  form  the  decidua  more  or 
less  periodically,  and  in  this  way  to  freshen  up  the  uterine 
mucosa,  so  that  the  ovum  can  attach  itself  well.  For  this 
purpose,  however,  a  bleeding  would  not  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary ;  a  free  fluxion  or  hyperaemia  would  appear  to  suffice. 
There  is  much  which  speaks  in  favour  of  this  view. 

(2)  Or  that  both  processes  are  so  intimately  connected 
with  one  another  that  the  ripening  of  the  ovum  does  not 
necessitate  the  immediate  casting  out  of  it,  but  that  the 
ripened  ovum  can  wait  in  the  Graafian  follicle,  and  that 
the  same  periodical  nerve  process  of  the  fluxio^p  men- 
struation produces  at  the  same  time  the  casting  oW  of  the 
ripe  ova  from  the  Graafian  follicles  and  the  fluxion  or 
uterine  bleeding,  by  the  osmotic  process  in  the  follicles 
being  favoured  by  the  hyperaemia. 

The  way  in  which  menstruation  depends  on  suggestion 
admits  of  both  these  explanations  in  my  opinion,  but 
does  not  tally  with  the  view  that  menstruation  is  pro- 
duced purely  as  secondary  to  ovulation. 

I  refer  those  who  still  are  sceptical  about  the  influence 
of  suggestion  to  Delius's  work.^  Delius  records  sixty 
cases  of  menstrual  disturbances  which  were  nearly  all 
cured  by  suggestion,  or  very  materially  improved. 

1  Delius,  '  The  Influence  of  Cerebral  Processes  on  Menstruation, 
and  the  Treatment  of  Disturbances  of  Menstruation  by  Hypnotic 
Suggestion'  {^Wiener  KUiiiscJie  Rundschau,  Nos.  11  and  12,  1905). 


112       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

It  is  easy  to  produce  the  secretion  of  sweat  by  sugges- 
tion, or  to  inhibit  it.  The  influence  on  the  movements  of 
the  bowels  is  of  greater  importance.  One  can  produce 
diarrhoea  or  constipation  very  often,  or,  what  is  of  greater 
value,  stop  it.  I  have  completely  cured  obstinate  cases 
of  constipation  which  have  lasted  for  years  by  a  few 
suggestions  {vide  infra).  The  same  apphes  to  diarrhoea, 
as  long  as  it  does  not  depend  on  inflammatory  conditions 
or  on  fermentation.  The  stimulation  of  the  appetite, 
of  the  digestion,  and  the  removal  of  idiosyncrasies  by 
suggestion  behave  similarly.  The  secretion  of  the  gastric 
glands  is  regulated  or  influenced  without  doubt  by  means 
of  the  suggested  perception.  In  the  influencing  of  men- 
struation a  vaso-motor  paralysis  simply  or  a  vaso-motor 
spasm  is  produced  by  the  perception.  Thus  it  can  be  de- 
monstrated ad  oculos  how  completely  independent  the  men- 
struation can  be  from  ovulation.  The  same  process  takes 
place  by  the  induction  or  inhibition  of  erections  by  sugges- 
tion, and  in  this  way  pollutions  can  be  influenced.  Urti- 
carial wheals  can  be  produced  in  certain  very  suggestible 
persons  by  simply  touching  the  skin .  One  can  produce  their 
name  in  yaphic  wheals  on  their  skin  with  a  pencil  (dermo- 
graphism). I  regard  this  phenomenon  of  pathological 
reflex  irritability  as  not  only  related  to  urticaria,  but 
also  to  hysterical  suggestibihty.  Von  Schrenck  and 
others  have  controverted  in  the  other  direction,  and  have 
explained  the  matter  simply  as  a  pathological,  urticaria- 
like phenomenon.  But  a  suggestibility  which  is  patho- 
logically increased  in  one  special  direction  is  nevertheless 
patliological,  as  are  all  the  pathological  increasings  or 
diminishings  of  the  normal  hfe  phenomena.  One  should 
not  set  up  antitheses  where  none  are  present.  Von 
Schrenck  doubts  the  authenticity  of  the  suggestive  vesica- 
tion. Against  this,  Wetterstrand^  produced  two  gan- 
grenous vesicles  by  means  of  suggestion  in  somnambuhsm. 
One  of  these,  situated  in  the  middle  of   the  hand,  was 

I  Wetterstrand,  *  Hypnotism,'  p.  31  (Vienna  and  Leipzig,  1891). 


VESICATION  113 

produced  on  October  7,  1890,  and  the  other,  on  the 
thumb  side  of  the  hand,  was  produced  on  October  14, 
and  he  photographed  them  on  October  15.  Both  vesicles 
appeared  eight  hours  after  the  suggestion  was  given. 
The  patient,  a  nineteen-years-old  epileptic,  was  con- 
trolled and  carefully  watched,  and  no  attacks  took  place 
from  July  15, 1889,  until  the  day  Wetterstrand  sent  in  his 
article  on  December  14,  1890.  The  very  excellent  original 
photograph  which  Wetterstrand  sent  me  is  in  my  pos- 
session. I  have  seen  one  other  case  like  this  in  the  prac- 
tice of  Dr.  Marcel  Briand  in  Paris.  The  patient  was  a 
hysterical  female,  and  the  blisters  were  produced  beneath 
a  newspaper  by  suggestion.  While  these  cases  are  very 
rare,  it  is  very  easy  to  produce  bleeding  from  the  mucous 
membranes  by  suggestion. 

The  following  cases  seem  to  me  to  be  interesting,  and 
to  be  very  nearly  related  to,  or  identical  with,  suggestion  : 
A  nervous,  sensitive  parson  was  slandered  by  a  woman, 
who  perjured  herself  in  a  court  of  law.  Shortly  after 
this  the  parson's  hair  in  the  neighbourhood  of  both 
temples  turned  white.  Later,  however,  his  hair  regained 
its  black  or  brown  colour — i.e.,  the  white  hairs  gradually 
fell  out,  and  were  replaced  by  brown  hairs.  I  myself 
have  treated  a  woman,  aged  forty-eight  years,  whose 
mind  was  severely  affected.  Her  hair  had  rapidly  turned 
white  one  and  a  half  years  previously,  in  consequence  of 
deeply  affecting  experiences  and  great  exhaustion.  While 
she  was  in  the  asylum  under  my  care  she  improved 
bodily,  and  she  got  a  copious  growth  of  dark  brown  hair. 
It  looked  as  if  every  bunch  of  hair  was  brown  at  the  roots 
and  white  at  the  tips  ;  but,  on  looking  more  closely,  one 
found  that  the  brown  hairs  were  only  shorter,  and  thus 
covered  the  roots  of  the  long  white  hairs.  The  latter 
were  much  longer  and  also  much  sparcer,  as  they  had 
fallen  out  considerably  six  months  after  they  had  turned 
white.  I  published  this  last  case  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur 
Hypnotismus  in  1897. 

8 


114      HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Feelings,  Impulses,  and  Disturbances  of  Mood. — It  is 
easy  to  suggest  or  inhibit  appetite,  thirst,  and  sexual 
impulse  by  affirmation.  One  can  increase  the  action  of 
the  suggestion  by  palpating  the  stomach,  or  by  causing 
suggested  foodstuffs  to  be  eaten,  etc.  Fear,  happiness, 
hatred,  anger,  jealousy,  love  for  someone  or  something, 
etc.,  are  easily  produced  by  suggestion — at  all  events,  for 
the  time  being  ;  to  these  one  can  add  laughing  and  crying. 
Onanism  and  bed-wetting  have  often  been  cured  in  this  way. 

Thinking  processes,  memory,  consciousness,  and  will, 
can  also  be  influenced.  I  say  :  '  You  will  forget  all  that 
I  have  told  you  while  you  are  asleep,  and  only  remember 
that  you  have  had  a  kitten  on  your  lap  and  have  stroked 
it.'  After  the  hypnotized  person  has  awakened,  he 
forgets  everything  save  the  kitten  episode.  Frank  said  to 
a  young  lady  who  spoke  French  well :  '  You  cannot  speak 
French  any  longer  until  I  again  suggest  it  to  you.'  And 
this  poor  lady  was  incapable  of  using  the  French  language 
until  this  suggestion  was  taken  away  from  her.  She 
might  have  been  rendered  dumb,  and  all  her  psychical 
qualities  could  have  been  taken  from  her  instantly  and 
at  will,  by  the  means  of  simple  suggestion.  Since  this 
I  have  frequently  succeeded  with  similar  experiments. 
I  caused  the  long  since  deceased  relatives  of  a  somnam- 
bulist to  appear  to  her  posthypnotically,  and  she  con- 
versed with  them  for  a  long  time.  I  allowed  others  to 
walk  on  the  sea  or  on  a  river,  hke  St.  Peter.  I  trans- 
formed others  into  hungry  wolves  or  lions,  and  they  barked 
at  me  and  wanted  to  attack  and  bite  me.  On  one  occasion 
blood  was  even  drawn  by  a  bite.  I  wish  to  call  Professor 
Delboeuf  s  nttention  to  this.  I  transformed  a  man  into 
a  girl,  and  he  remembered  menstruating  ;  and,  conversely, 
I  changed  a  girl  into  an  officer.  When  the  suggestion  of 
childhood  is  made  to  good  somnambulists,  the  speech 
and  writing  are  correspondingly  altered.  Such  occur- 
rences leave  a  deep  impression  of  mood  behind,  unless 
one  suggests  amnesia  for  the  whole  episode  afterwards. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  WILL  115 

I  can  suggest  to  a  hypnotized  any  thought  I  please,  or 
any  idea.  I  can  force  any  conviction  on  him — e.p^.,  that 
he  does  not  care  any  more  for  wine,  that  he  should  belong 
to  this  or  that  society,  or  that  he  likes  things  which  ho 
used  not  to  care  for.  I  have  achieved  deep  pangs  of 
conscience,  remorse,  public  (spontaneous)  confession  to  the 
president  of  the  temperance  society,  and  renewal  of  the 
oath  of  abstinence,  without  speaking  a  word  to  her  while 
she  was  awake,  in  an  alcoholic  woman  who  had  broken  her 
vow  to  observe  abstinence,  by  suggestion.  The  result  was 
most  striking,  and  took  effect  immediately  on  the  hypnosis. 
No  signs  of  this  had  been  noticeable  before. 

The  influence  on  resolutions  of  will  is  particular^ 
important.  Resolutions  of  will  of  the  hypnotized  person 
can  not  infrequently  be  influenced  at  pleasure.  It  has 
often  been  said  that  this  person  becomes  devoid  of  will, 
or  weak-willed.  That  is  a  mistake,  which  is  partly  due 
to  the  false  supposition  of  an  essentially  free  human  will. 
One  can  rather  strengthen  a  weak  will  by  means  of 
hypnosis. 

Still,  it  is  much  easier  to  influence  a  definite  localized 
phenomenon — e.g.,  the  craving  for  alcohol,  a  definite 
passion,  etc. — than  to  influence  general  characteristics 
or  changes  of  mood.  The  latter  are  in  themselves  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  govern,  and  I  doubt  whether  marked 
inherited  constitutional  characteristics  or  predispositions 
can  be  influenced  materially.  Under  no  circumstances 
could  this  influence  be  lasting,  while  acquired  habits  can 
undoubtedly  be  removed.  One  can  influence  momentarily 
the  direction  of  the  will,  can  provoke  resolutions  and 
quash  others,  but  one  cannot  permanently  alter  the  con- 
formation of  the  will,  taken  as  a  general  quality  of  the 
character  of  an  individual,  by  suggestion. 

6.  Resistance  of  the  Hypnotized  Person  ;  Auto- 
suggestion.— I  have  induced  all  the  phenomena  detailed 
and  many  others,  as  Liebeault,  Bernheim,  and  others  have 
done,  in  my  hypnotized. 

8—2 


ii6      HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

However,  as  Bernheim  has  rightly  emphasized,  one 
need  not  allow  one's  self  to  be  blinded  by  the  impression 
of  these  facts,  which  appear  to  be  almost  terrifying  and 
phantastic.  One  should,  further,  not  overlook  the  other 
side  of  the  phenomenon— that  is,  the  resistance  of  the 
brain  activity  of  the  hypnotized  person  against  the 
interference  of  a  strange  person.  Bhnd  automatic 
obedience  of  the  hypnotized  is  never  complete  ;  sugges- 
tion always  has  its  hmits,  which  are  sometimes  wdder  and 
sometimes  narrower,  and  may  vary  considerably  in  the 
same  individual. 

The  hypnotized  person  protects  himself  in  two  ways  : 
consciously  by  means  of  his  reasoning  logic,  and  uncon- 
sciously by  autosuggestion.  I  lift  the  arm  of  a  hypnotized 
and  say  \hat  it  is  stiff.  He  struggles  to  bring  it  down, 
straining  vigorously,  and  ultimately  succeeds.  Still,  the 
feeling  of  the  exertion  which  he  had  been  put  to  brings 
him  all  the  more  surely  into  my  hands,  since  it  shows 
him  my  superior  power.  A  little  trick  suffices  to  force 
him.  I  say  for  the  second  time,  '  I  life  your  arm  into 
the  air  with  force,  with  magnetism.'  This  is  enough  to 
prevent  it  from  falling  again.  I  hold  my  hand  near  his, 
without  touching  it,  and  compel  him  to  lift  it  above  his 
head  by  means  of  the  power  of  his  suggestibility. 

However,  the  resistance  was  present.  If  this  is  not 
rapidly  conquered,  the  hypnotized  believes  in  his  power 
of  resistance,  and  can  oppose  a  number  of  suggestions. 
Some  people  can  lose  their  suggestibility  entirely  by 
energetic  considerations  of  reason  and  exertion  of  will. 
This  takes  place  more  often  in  response  to  the  talking 
over  of  other  people,  and  still  more  often  if  the  hypno- 
tized loses  his  respect,  trust,  or  affection  for  the  hypno- 
tist, from  some  cause  or  other.  Disturbances  of  mood  and 
fear  play  a  great  part  in  this  ;  they  can  partly  or  wholly 
destroy  the  suggestibility,  either  temporarily  or  even 
permanently.  As  a  rule,  the  hypnotist  retains  what  he 
has  already  gained.     If  he  has  failed  repeatedly  by  his 


RESISTANCE  117 

want  of  skill  in  a  number  of  suggestions,  it  will  be  ex- 
tremely difficult  for  him  to  gain  the  upper  hand  later. 
The  autosuggestion  that  this  or  that  cannot  be  produced 
in  him,  or  that  this  hypnotist  cannot  do  it,  takes  more 
and  more  hold  of  the  hypnotized.  For  example,  I  touch 
a  hypnotized  person's  hand,  and  say  that  I  make  it  in- 
sensible and  dead.  However,  he  still  feels,  and  does  not 
believe  me  ;  and  when  I  ask  him,  '  Have  you  felt  any- 
thing ?'  he  answers,  '  Yes.'  It  is  very  difficult  to  pro- 
duce anaesthesia  gradually  in  such  cases.  This  depends 
partly  on  the  sleep  being  not  deep  enough,  but  not  always. 
I  have  produced  anaesthesia  by  simple  hypo  taxis.  For 
example,  I  do  not  touch  the  fingers  which  I  failed  to 
render  anaesthetic,  but  cause  the  hypnotized  to  believe 
that  I  do,  and  that  he  does  not  feel  anything.  Then  I 
am  able  in  the  next  hypnosis  to  procure  a  partial  anaes- 
thesia gradually,  by  very  light  touching.  It  is  just  the 
same  with  amnesia.  If  one  does  not  succeed  in  pro- 
ducing amnesia  in  two  or  three  sittings,  it  will  become 
extremely  difficult.  However,  one  may  succeed  at  times, 
with  the  aid  of  certain  tricks.  For  example,  one  gives 
the  hypnotized  a  drink  of  waler,  and  tells  him  that  it 
is  a  sleeping-draught,  which  will  make  him  amnesic,  and 
the  like.  In  short,  as  Bernheim  has  said,  the  hypno- 
tized is  not  a  perfect  automat um.  He  frequently  dis- 
putes the  suggestion,  especially  at  the  beginning,  and  at 
times  refuses  it.  I  might  almost  say  that  the  chief  secret 
lies  in  investing  the  suggestion  with  the  subjective  char- 
acter of  a  dream,  of  what  has  been  experienced,  per- 
ceived, or  acted  before  it  has  been  conceived  bv  the 
hypnotized  person.  If  it  is  first  conceived  as  a  simple 
perception,  the  suggestion  only  succeeds  with  difficulty, 
if  at  all.  Imitation  is  of  great  value,  and  the  same  may 
especially  be  said  of  the  impression  which  the  hypnotist 
produces  on  the  hypnotized  by  showing  him  the  results 
of  a  case.  Those  experiments  which  succeed  most 
easily  in  the  demonstrate^  case  as  a  rule  will  succeed 


ii8       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

most  easily  ^^'ith  the  person  who  watches  the  demonstra- 
tion. 

The  hypnotized  can  resist  each  suggestion  with  a  httle 
exertion  during  the  hghter  degrees  of  hypnotic  influence 
which  Liebeault  and  Bernheim  call  somnolence.  He 
becomes  somewhat  more  suggestible  if  he  remains  quite 
passive. 

It  is  a  fundamental  error  to  believe  that  the  hypnotized 
is  under  the  complete  dependence  of  the  hypnotist.  This 
dependence  is  a  very  relative  one,  and  is  encumbered 
by  all  sorts  of  conditions.  It  may  be  destroyed  by  mis- 
trust, ill-humour,  want  of  respect,  etc.,  at  one  stroke. 
Idiotic  deceptions,  absurdities,  and  things  which  are'dis- 
tasteful  to  the  character,  inclinations,  or  convictions  of 
the  hypnotized,  can  only  be  suggested  as  sorts  of  dreams 
in  hypnosis,  or  can  only  be  suggested  posthypnotically 
for  a  short  time.  They  will  then  be  refused  later  by  the 
recollected  and  reconcentrated  or  again  well  associated 
waking  activity  of  the  brain  of  the  person  who  has  been 
hypnotized.  If  one  plays  too  much  with  such  things, 
one  risks  losing  the  whole  of  one's  influence.  Suggestion 
means  a  sort  of  tournament  between  the  dynamisms  of 
two  brains  ;  the  one  gains  the  mastery  over  the  other 
up  to  a  certain  point,  but  only  under  the  condition  that 
it  deals  skilfully  and  delicately  with  the  other,  that  it 
stimulates  and  uses  its  inclinations  skilfully,  and,  above 
all  things,  that  it  does  not  make  its  dealings  go  against 
the  grain. 

Trust  and  belief  on  the  part  of  the  hypnotized  are 
fundamental  conditions  for  success.  One  can  see  clearly 
here  how  our  so-called  freewill  is  a  slave  to  the  affections 
of  mood — i.e.,  how  the  direction  of  will  is  guided  by 
feelings  more  than  by  anything  else.  One  influences  the 
will  in  a  positive  sense  by  sympathy,  and  in  the  reverse 
sense  by  antipathy.  Those  resolutions  which  are  governed 
by  reason  alone  take  place,  as  a  rule,  only  when  sentimen- 
tality is  present  in  minimal  traces  or  is  absent  altogether. 


AUTOSUGGESTION  119 

Typical  autosuggestions  are  the  products  of  one's  own 
brain,  and  abound  freely  in  all  healthy  persons.  For 
example,  an  otherwise  healthy  person  is  sleepless,  but 
eats  well.  I  hypnotize  her,  and  induce  the  sleep.  In 
exchange  for  this  the  appetite  disappears.  The  loss  of 
appetite  depends  on  autosuggestion.  This  example 
suffices  to  illustrate  the  whole  series  of  phenomena. 
For  instance,  if  we  can  only  go  to  sleep  in  a  certain 
accustomed  position  every  night  after  we  have  gone  to 
bed,  this  is  due  to  autosuggestion. 

An  educated  and  very  intelligent  lady,  Miss  X.,  once 
saw  me  hypnotizing,  and  was  very  much  interested  in 
it.  The  power  of  her  imagination,  as  well  as  her  com- 
prehension of  hypnosis,  is  well  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing :  She  awoke  during  the  night  at  a  later  date  with 
severe  toothache.  She  then  attempted  to  suggest  the 
pain  away  herself  by  imitating  my  voice,  the  mono- 
tonous tone,  and  the  contents  of  my  suggestions,  aloud. 
She  succeeded  perfectly  in  driving  the  toothache  away, 
and  in  going  to  sleep.  Next  morning,  when  she  awakened, 
the  pain  was  still  absent. 

The  same  lady  told  me  that  her  friends  possessed  a 
remedy  among  themselves  to  procrastinate  menstruation 
at  will  should  this  threaten  to  appear  on  the  evening 
before  a  dance.  They  simply  twisted  a  thin  red  thread 
around  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand  rather  tightly. 
This  did  not  act  equally  well  in  all  cases,  but  it  acted 
with  absolute  certainty  in  some  of  them,  who  menstruated 
very  regularly,  and  could  delay  the  menses  for  any  time 
up  to  three  days.  This  lady  is  absolutely  trustworthy, 
and  the  case  is  a  striking  example  of  unconscious  sug- 
gestion. This  became  clear  to  her  after  she  had  seen  me 
operate. 

The  mechanism  of  autosuggestion  is  perhaps  best  illus- 
trated by  the  fact  that  the  influencing  of  the  hypnotist 
can  never  be  perfectly  in  correspondence  with  the  reaction 
which  he  produces  in  the  hypnotized.     Our  speech  is  well 


120      HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

knowTi  to  be  only  a  symbol  of  ideas.  For  example,  if 
one  speaks  before  a  meetirig,  every  one  of  the  audience 
understands  according  to  the  kind  of  his  ideas.  This 
means  that  the  perceptions,  the  reactions  of  mood,  im- 
pulses of  will,  etc.,  which  are  awakened  by  the  speech 
in  every  brain  are  the  results  of  the  words  listened  to 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  individual  brain  activity 
(brain  mechanism)  of  each  of  the  listeners  on  the  other. 
Each  one  adapts  the  contents  of  the  speech  to  his  in- 
herited and  individually  acquired  mneme,  or  associates 
it  \\dth  the  same,  according  to  his  particular  peculiarities. 
There  are  many  agreements  which  ensue  from  the  unity 
of  the  first  components,  but  also  many  disagreements 
which  are  derived  from  the  inequality  of  the  parts  of  the 
second  group  of  components.  One  person  laughs  where 
another  cries  ;  one  assents  where  the  other  protests 
energetically.  There  are  large  numbers  of  partial  agree- 
ments, and  interpretations  between  agreement  and  dis- 
agreement, according  to  the  kind  and  degree  of  educa- 
tion, the  temperament,  the  inclinations,  and  the  experi- 
ence of  each  listener,  and  above  all  to  the  way  in  which 
he  has  been  influenced  in  the  past.  These  variations  of 
the  reactions  are  only  illuminated  by  the  superconscious- 
ness  in  part ;  many,  and  perhaps  the  greater  number,  are 
of  intuitive  nature — i.e.,  they  are  caused  by  brain  reactions 
which  are  not  superconceived  by  us.  From  these  facts 
it  becomes  clear  that  the  action  of  suggestion  always 
must  contain  elements  which  were  not  included  in  the 
suggestion  of  the  hypnotist,  and  must  always  lack  some 
things  which  the  hypnotist  had  intended  In  other  words, 
every  suggestion  is  complemented  and  modified  by  auto- 
suggestion on  the  part  of  the  hypnotized.  But,  besides 
this,  the  unavoidable  incompleteness  of  every  suggestion 
necessarily  requires  autosuggestive  complementation. 
When  I  suggest  the  vision  of  a  cat,  one  person  sees  it 
as  a  tabby,  and  another  as  a  white  cat  ;  one  person  sees 
a  small  cat,  another  sees  a  large  one,  etc.     When  I  sug- 


AUTOS  UGGESTION  121 

gest  a  narrow-minded  person  to  a  Socialist,  he  sees  him 
with  all  sorts  of  dreadful  qualities,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  hypnotized  narrow-minded  person  associates  the 
same  kind  of  thing  with  a  suggested  Socialist,  and  the 
like.  One  can  see  from  this  that  a  psychological 
observation  of  the  hypnotized  person  is  very  necessary, 
and  that  suggestions  must  be  quite  different  if  one,  for 
example,  wishes  to  produce  the  approximately  same 
result  in  a  peasant,  an  educated  lady,  and  a  scientist. 

One  can  possess  autosuggestions,  especially  in  the 
direction  of  idiosyncrasies,  and  yet  be  absolutely  in- 
capable of  guarding  one's  self  consciously  against  them. 
For  example,  one  may  instance  the  dislike  for  certain 
foods,  or  the  occurrence  of  diarrhoea  after  taking  certain 
substances  (milk,  coffee,^  etc.).  Conversely,  the  sugges- 
tion of  another  person  is  generally  capable  of  counteract- 
ing these  special  central  associations. 

'  Autosuggestion  is  the  ordinary  unconceived  produc- 
tion of  effects  on  the  central  nervous  system,  which  are 
identical  with  or  extremely  similar  to  the  effects  of  other 
persons'  suggestions.  This  applies  equally  whether  it  is 
caused  by  perceptions,  or  by  conceptions,  or  by  feelings, 
which  do  not,  however,  arise  from  the  intentional  influ- 
ence of  another  person.'     I  do  not  know  how  to  give  a 

1  In  my  younger  days  I  used  to  suffer  from  diarrhcea  on  drinking 
cafe  an  hut,  but  not  black  coff"ee.  This  lasted  for  many  years,  but 
the  action  ceased  later  on.  In  1 879-1 881,  when  I  took  black  coffee 
most  evenings,  I  began  to  have  diarrhoea  after  drinking  it.  I  ascribed 
it  to  the  coffee,  and  since  then  it  has  become  quite  impossible  for  me 
to  take  black  coffee  without  getting  diarrhoea  at  once,  notwithstanding 
that  since  1888  I  have  been  absolutely  convinced  that  it  only  depends 
on  autosuggestion.  The  most  absurd,  and  at  the  same  time  most 
convincing,  part  of  this  is  that  in  1889,  when  I  was  in  Tunis,  I  was 
able  to  enjoy  the  Arabic  coffee  without  getting  diarrhcea.  However, 
it  must  be  mentioned  that  it  was  prepared  in  quite  another  way.  At 
the  present  time  only  coffee  which  is  prepared  in  the  European  fashion 
causes  diarrhoea,  but  the  action  is  now  weaker  than  it  was  formerly. 
The  contradictions  of  these  actions  are  in  themselves  the  best  proof  qf 
their  suggestive  origin. 


122       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

better  definition  for  this,  and  must  emphasize  that  the 
idea  of  autosuggestion  actually  only  deserves  a  separate 
existence  if  taken  as  the  antithesis  of  suggestion,  and 
otherwise  is  merged  with  the  idea  of  the  so-called  psychical 
reflexes,  automatisms  of  the  brain,  and  hypoconceived 
dynamisms  of  the  brain.  The  fact  that  peripheral  nerve 
activities  are  often  brought  about  by  this  does  not  alter 
the  fundamental  principle  that  their  production  is  derived 
from  an  activity  of  the  cerebrum  (perception  and  the 
Hkc). 

Oscar  Vogt's  regular  investigations  of  the  subjective 
symptoms  in  his  hypnotized  subjects  during  hypnosis 
have  demonstrated  most  clearly  to  him  that  the  subjec- 
tive— i.e.,  autcsuggestive — reception,  supplementation, 
and  realization  of  the  suggestions,  and  also  those  auto- 
suggestions which  are  associated  with  the  suggestions, 
but  which  lack  all  close  logical  connection  with  the  same, 
are  mostly  of  an  unconceived  or  insufficiently  conceived 
nature.  This  means  their  perception  is  void  of  a  definite 
aim.  He  goes  ok  to  say  that  they  thus  lack  the  essential 
causes  of  suggestions.  The  same  applies  to  hj^sterical 
autosuggestions. 

Suppose  that  Vogt's  suggestion  that  a  person  does  not 
see  him  leads  to  the  autosuggestion  of  blindness,  the 
investigation  of  the  somnambulistic  condition  in  this 
case  shows  very  clearly  that  the  conception  of  being 
blind  was  first  called  into  hfe  by  self-observation — i.e., 
by  the  becoming  conscious  of  the  unconceived  auto- 
suggestion. 

7.  Posthypnotic  Phenomena.  — The  posthypnotic 
influences  of  suggestion  belong  to  the  most  important 
phenomena  of  hypnotism.  Everything  which  is  pro- 
duced in  hypnosis  itself  can  very  frequently  be  called 
forth  also  in  the  waking  condition  by  giving  the  sugges- 
tion to  the  hypnotized  person  during  hypnosis  that  it 
will  take  place  after  he  has  awakened.  Not  every  hypno- 
tized person  is  posthypnotically  suggestible.      However, 


POSTHYPNOTIC  PHENOMENA  123 

with  a  little  practice  and  perseverance,  one  can  achieve 
posthypnotic  effects  in  nearly  all  sleepers,  and  even  in 
many  cases  of  simple  hypotaxis  without  amnesia. 

Examples.  —  I  say  to  a  hypnotized  :  '  Vvhen  you 
awaken,  you  will  get  the  idea  of  placing  that  chair  on 
the  table,  and  will  then  tap  me  on  the  left  shoulder  with 
your  right  hand.'  After  having  told  him  other  things,  I 
say  :  '  Count  up  to  six,  and  you  will  awaken.'  He  counts, 
and  when  he  reaches  six  he  opens  his  eyes.  For  a  moment 
he  looks  sleepily  in  front  of  him,  then  regards  the  chair 
and  fixes  it  with  his  eyes.  There  is  frequently  a  struggle 
between  reason  and  the  powerful  impulse  of  the  sugges- 
tion. According  to  whether  the  suggestion  is  unnatural 
or  natural,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  suggestibility  of 
the  subject  on  the  other,  the  victory  is  gained  either  by 
the  former  (reason)  or  by  the  latter  (the  suggestion). 
But  I  have  repeatedly  observed,  just  as  other  experi- 
menters have  also  done,  that  the  attempt  to  resist  the 
impulse  of  the  suggestion  may  have  bad  effects  when 
there  is  marked  suggestibility.  The  hypnotized  becomes 
anxious  and  excited,  and  is  tortured  by  the  thought  that 
'  he  must  do  this  thing.'  In  two  cases  the  hypnotized 
was  read}^  even  to  undertake  a  walk  of  three  miles.  On 
one  occasion  it  was  to  tap  me  on  the  shoulder,  and 
on  another  it  was  to  hand  Miss  Y.  a  towel.  This  im- 
pulse may  last  for  hours  or  days.  At  other  times  it  is 
weak,  and  may  even  be  only  a  thought,  like  the  remem- 
brance of  a  dream,  which  does  not  impel  one  to  action, 
and  thus  the  suggestion  is  not  carried  out.  The  hypno- 
tized person  only  looks  at  the  object,  or  may  not  even 
do  that.  Still,  one  can  produce  the  impulse,  and  even- 
tually have  it  carried  out,  if  one  repeats  the  suggestion 
in  such  cases  during  hypnosis  energetically.  Our  hypno- 
tized has  regarded  the  chair  steadily  ;  suddenly  he  gets 
up,  takes  the  chair,  and  places  it  on  the  table.  I  say  : 
'  Why  do  you  do  that  ?'  His  answer  may  vary  according 
to  his  temperament,  education,  and  character,  and  the 


124       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

quality  of  the  hypnosis.  One  person  may  say  :  '  I 
believe  that  you  have  told  me  to  do  it  during  my 
sleep.'  The  second  may  say  :  '  I  beheve  that  I 
dreamed  something  about  it.'  The  third  acknowledges  in 
astonishment  :  '  I  was  simply  forced  to  do  it  ;  I  don't 
know  why.'  A  fourth  says  :  '  I  got  the  idea  that  I 
ought  to  do  it.'  Another  may  give  a  reasoning 
motive  that  he  found  the  chair  in  his  way,  and  that  it 
annoyed  him.  In  the  same  way,  if  the  latter  has  been 
told  in  the  suggestion  that  he  would  fetch  a  towel  and 
dry  his  face,  he  would  say  that  he  was  sweating  pro- 
fusely. Lastly,  the  sixth  has  lost  all  remembrance 
of  it  as  soon  as  he  has  carried  it  out.  He  believes  that 
he  had  just  awakened.  It  is  especially  in  the  last-named 
case  that  the  action  acquires  the  appearance  of  som- 
nambulism. His  gaze  is  more  or  less  fixed,  and  his 
movements  have  a  certain  automatic  character,  which, 
however,  is  lost  after  he  has  carried  out  the  action.  If 
one  does  not  make  the  experiment  ridiculous,  and  if  it  is 
carried  out  for  the  first  time  with  the  subject ;  if  he  does 
not  know  anything  about  hypnotism,  and  was  rendered 
fully  amnesic  during  the  period  of  the  hypnosis,  he  will 
not  guess  that  the  hypnotist  was  the  sinner,  the  insti- 
gator of  his  actions.  At  least,  this  is  so  according  to  my 
belief  and  my  experience.  Some  people,  however,  sus- 
pect the  hypnotist,  either  because  of  the  dreamlike 
remembrance  of  the  suggestion  during  the  hypnosis,  or 
because  the  same  experiment  has  been  carried  out  with 
the  same  subject  before  ;  or  because  they  have  seen  it 
carried  out  in  others,  or  have  heard  or  read  about  such 
an  experiment;  or  because  the  whole  thing  was  too 
idiotic,  too  nonsensical  or  unnatural,  for  them  to  have 
originated  it  spontaneously. 

I  have  said  to  another  hypnotized  person  :  '  WTien  you 
awake  you  will  see  me  entirely  dressed  in  scarlet,  and 
with  two  horns  of  a  chamois  buck  on  my  head.  Apart 
from  this,  my  wife,  who  is  sitting  next  to  me,  will  have 


POSTHYPNOTIC  SUGGESTION  125 

disappeared,  and  the  door  of  the  room,  too,  will  be  gone, 
and  will  be  replaced  completely  by  wall-paper  and  panel- 
ling, so  that  you  will  be  compelled  to  leave  the  room 
by  the  other  door.'  I  then  speak  of  other  things,  and 
tell  the  hypnotized  person  by  suggestion  to  yawn  three 
times  and  to  awaken.  He  opens  his  eyes,  rubs  them 
several  times,  as  if  he  is  trying  to  remove  a  haziness, 
looks  at  me,  begins  to  laugh,  and  rubs  his  eyes  again. 
'  Why  are  you  laughing  ?'  '  You  are  quite  red,  and 
have  two  chamois  horns  on  your  head,'  and  so  on.  '  Your 
wife  has  gone.'  '  Where  was  she  sitting  ?'  '  On  that 
chair.'  '  Do  you  see  the  chair  ?'  '  Yes.'  I  ask  him  to 
feel  the  chair.  He  does  this  unwillingly,  feels  all  round 
my  wife,  and  believes  that  he  is  touching  either  the  chair 
or  an  invisible  resistance,  according  to  the  way  in  which 
he  has  complemented  the  suggestion  by  autosuggestion. 
He  then  wants  to  go,  but  cannot.  He  only  sees  wall- 
paper and  panels,  and  states  this  while  he  is  touching 
the  door.  If  I  should  now  open  the  door,  the  hallucina- 
tion may  either  disappear  or  continue,  in  which  latter 
case  he  sees  the  space  filled  with  wall-paper  and  panels, 
but  does  not  see  the  open  door.  Such  posthypnotic 
hallucinations  can  last  for  a  few  seconds  or  hours,  or  in 
rare  cases  even  for  days,  according  to  the  suggestion  and 
to  the  subject.  As  a  rule,  they  only  last  a  few  minutes. 
Ihave  attempted  to  have  drawings  made  on  white  paper 
of  that  which  I  have  suggested  to  the  hypnotized.  The 
drawings  mostly  turned  out  badly.  The  people  stated 
that  they  could  not  see  the  outlines  distinctly.  However, 
some  were  not  so  bad.  A  very  reliable  and  educated 
lady,  who  is  related  to  me,  drew  the  outlines  of  her  sug- 
gested photograph  quite  well.  However,  she  could  draw 
very  well,  and  the  whole  subject  depend^  largely  on  this. 
People  who  cannot  draw  obviously  hallucinate  incorrectly, 
as  they  have  never  learned  to  conceive  and  also  to  per- 
ceive quite  correctly.  Bernheim  tells  of  a  lady  who 
could  not  say  whether  a  suggested  rose  was  real  or  sug- 


126      HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

gested.  I  have  often  made  the  following  experiment  : 
I  have  said  to  Miss  Z.  during  hypnosis  that  she  would 
find  two  violets  on  her  lap,  both  of  which  should  be 
natural  and  pretty,  when  she  awakened  ;  she  would  give 
me  the  prettier  one  of  the  two.  At  the  same  time,  how- 
ever, I  laid  one  real  violet  on  her  lap.  On  awakening,  she 
saw  two  violets  ;  the  one  was  paler  and  prettier,  she  told 
me,  and  gave  me  the  corner  of  her  white  handkerchief, 
while  she  kept  the  real  violet  for  herself.  I  asked  her 
if  she  thought  that  both  violets  were  real,  or  if  one  of 
my  evanescent  presents,  of  which  she  had  previous  ex- 
perience, were  among  them.  She  said  that  the  paler 
violet  was  not  real,  as  it  looked  so  flattened  on  her  hand- 
kerchief. I  repeated  the  experiment,  with  the  suggestion 
of  three  real,  equal-coloured,  not  flattened  violets,  which 
were  to  be  possessed  of  stalk  and  leaves,  and  which  should 
be  palpable  and  sweet-smelling.  This  time  I  only  gave 
her  one  real  violet.  She  w^as  completely  deceived,  and 
could  not  tell  me  whether  one  of  the  three,  or  two,  or  even 
all  three,  were  real  or  suggested.  She  thought  that  all 
three  were  real  this  time.  At  the  same  time,  she  held 
up  one  hand  with  nothing  in  it,  and  the  other  hand  with 
the  real  violet  in  it.  One  can  thus  see  that  if  one  sug- 
gests the  deception  for  all  the  senses  it  will  be  more  com- 
plete. I  have  given  another  hypnotized  a  real  knife,  and 
told  her  that  there  were  three.  She  was  fully  awake  at 
the  time,  and  could  not  distinguish  the  supposed  three 
knives  from  one  another,  either  when  she  cut  with  them, 
or  when  she  felt  them  or  knocked  them  against  the 
window,  etc.  She  cut  a  piece  of  paper  stretched  out  for 
her  quite  seriously,  with  nothing  in  her  hand,  and  stated 
tliat  she  saw  the  cut,  which  did  not  exist,  which  she  had 
made  with  the  suggested  knife.  On  asking  her  to  pull 
tlic  two  parts  of  the  paper  (imagined  only  as  two)  asunder, 
she  believed  that  the  resistance  which  she  felt  was  caused 
by  my  hypnotic  influence.  Later,  when  other  people 
laughed  at  her,  she  got  quite  angry,  and  maintained  that 


AMNESIA  127 

there  were  three  knives,  only  I  had  secreted  two  of  them 
later  on.  She  had  seen  all  three,  had  felt  them,  and 
heard  them,  and  would  not  be  convinced  about  the  whole 
incident.  On  suggesting  to  the  same  person  the  dis- 
appearance of  a  real  knife,  she  did  not  feel  when  it  lay 
in  her  hand,  did  not  hear  it  drop,  and  did  not  feel  any- 
thing when  I  pricked  her  with  it,  etc. 

Feelings,  thoughts,  resolutions,  etc.,  can  be  just  as  well 
suggested  posthypnotically  as  hypnotically.  The  results 
obtained  with  the  alcoholic  woman  mentioned  in  a 
preceding  page  and  with  the  menstruation  of  women 
were  posthypnotic.  On  two  occasions  only  I  was  able 
to  produce  or  to  control  the  menstruation  at  once  during 
the  hypnosis  itself.  . 

8.  Amnesia,  or  Loss  of  Memoi^y.^ — It  is  necessary  in 
this  place  to  warn  once  more  most  emphatically  against 
the  time-honoured  confusing  of  this  conception  with  that 
of  unconsciousness.  That  we  do  not  have  any  recollec- 
tion of  a  certain  epoch  of  our  lives  or  certain  things 
which  we  have  experienced  does  not  prove  in  the  least 
that  we  were  unconscious  of  them  at  the  time.  This 
holds  good  even  if  the  amnesia  dates  back  as  far  as  the 
occurrence.  But,  still,  we  have,  as  a  rule,  no  other  proof 
that  a  person  was  unconscious  than  his  amnesia  can  give. 
One  almost  admits,  thus,  that  it  is  impossible  to  prove 
absolute  unconsciousness.  One  can  only  speak  of  a 
veiling  of  the  consciousness,  which  is  based  on  chaotic 
dissociation.  As  a  rule,  a  person  during  the  period  of  a 
deep  veiling  of  the  consciousness  is  amnesic,  but  not 
always.  And,  conversely,  one  can  render  some  people 
at  will  amnesic  of  perfectly  clear  conceived  experiences 
and  periods  of  life  by  means  of  suggestion.  Amnesia  of 
a  certain  period  of  time  does  not  necessarily  include 
irresponsibility  during  this  period,  although  it  is  the  rule, 
apart  from  suggestion. 

Our  conclusion  as  to  the  unconsciousness  even  in  cases 
of  deep  sleep  and  of  coma,  in  which,  for  example,  a  patient 


128      HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

suffering  from  some  brain  disturbance  does  not  show  any 
reaction  even  when  the  cornea  is  touched,  is  only  an 
indirect  one.  We  usually  attempt  to  verify  our  conclusion 
by  making  out  that  amnesia  existed.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  direct  inspection  into  the  consciousness  of 
other  people. 

\\Tien  one  succeeds  in  producing  amnesia  for  the  time 
of  the  hypnosis  in  a  person  by  suggestion,  one  has  gained 
a  considerable  power,  for  one  can  thus  interrupt,  inhibit, 
or  re-establish  his  superconscious  linkings  at  will,  and 
can  produce  contrast  actions,  which  are  of  the  greatest 
value  for  the  results  of  later  suggestions.  One  can 
especially  cause  him  to  forget  everything  which  could 
offer  him  opportunity  to  ponder  over  and  to  destroy  the 
action  of  the  suggestion,  and  cause  him  only  to  remember 
those  things  which  assist  the  action  of  the  suggestion.  It 
is  true  that  at  times  amnesia  is  lost,  and  the  remembrance 
returns  spontaneously.  But  this  occurs  only  in  incom- 
plete cases.  By  means  of  suggestion,  one  is  able,  not  only 
to  limit  the  amnesia  to  the  single  perceptions  and  concep- 
tions, but  one  can  extend  it  and  allow  it  to  embrace  past 
and  future  time.  However,  the  suggestibility,  which  is 
increased  by  amnesia,  has  this  disadvantage — that  very 
highly  suggestible  persons,  as  we  have  seen,  are  very  easily 
subjected  to  any  influence,  so  that  the  quickty-achieved 
therapeutic  results  are  very  rapidly  destroyed  by  dele- 
terious contrary  influences,  and  thus  recurrences  are 
produced. 

Amnesia,  therefore,  pla3^s  a  very  important  part  in 
hypnosis.  I  will  illustrate  its  importance  by  a  single 
example  :  I  attempted  to  produce  anaesthesia  by  sugges- 
tion in  an  attendant  who  had  toothache.  I  only  partly 
succeeded.  The  extraction  of  the  tooth  was  nevertheless 
carried  out.  He  awakened,  cried  out,  seized  the  hand  of 
the  medical  officer,  and  hindered  him.  I  quietly  went  on 
suggesting,  after  the  tooth  was  taken  out,  that  he  would 
sleep  well,  had  not  felt  anything  at  all,  would  forget  all 


TOOTH  EXTRACTION  129 

when  he  awoke,  and  that  he  had  not  had  any  pain.  He 
actually  went  quietly  to  sleep,  and  was  completely 
amnesic  when  he  awoke.  He  imagined,  therefore,  that 
he  had  not  felt  anything,  and  was  very  grateful  and  glad 
about  the  painless  extraction.  Later  on  I  made  inquiries 
of  him  through  third  persons,  towards  whom  he  would 
have  had  absolutely  no  reason  whatsoever  to  conceal  the 
truth.  He  told  everybody  that  he  had  not  felt  anything, 
and  after  he  had  left  the  asylum  for  thirteen  years,  and 
had  an  engagement  in  the  town  of  Ziirich,  he  adhered  to 
this  statement.  In  contradistinction  to  this  case,  I  have 
allowed  teeth  to  be  drawn  from  persons  who  were  quite 
awake,  and  who  had  been  rendered  perfectly  anaesthetic 
by  suggestion.  These  persons,  who  were  otherwise 
cowards  as  far  as  pain  was  concerned,  laughed  during  the 
extraction,  and  did  not  feel  anything.  It  was  only  the 
becoming  conscious  of  the  impression  of  the  memory  of 
the  pain  which  was  limited  or  inhibited  in  the  first  case, 
while  in  the  second  case  it  was  the  becoming  conscious  of 
the  peripheral  stimulation  itself  during  the  moment  when 
it  took  place. 

A  peculiar  case  takes  up  a  position  between  these  two 
cases  :  A  very  capable  nurse  was  very  frightened  of  a 
tooth  extraction,  although  she  was  fairly  suggestible. 
Nevertheless,  I  hypnotized  her.  But  she  resisted  the 
application  of  the  forceps  during  the  hypnosis.  I  was 
able  to  render  the  tooth  anaesthetic,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  she  protected  herself  with  both  hands.  She  awoke 
with  a  slight  cry  when  the  tooth  came  out.  She  declared 
at  once  and  spontaneously  in  astonishment  that  she  had 
felt  nothing  else  than  the  tooth  lying  loose  in  her  mouth. 
She  had  not  had  the  least  pain,  and  not  even  a  trace  of 
tenderness  after  the  extraction.  But  she  still  remembered 
experiencing  much  fear.  In  this  case  the  anaesthesia  had 
succeeded,  but  I  had  not  been  able  to  remove  the  fear. 

The  following  experiments,  which  I  have  carried  out 
several  times  with  two  different  persons,  appear  to  me  to 

9 


130       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

be  of  special  importance.  One  of  them  possesses  an 
extremely  noble  character  from  an  ethical  point  of  view, 
and  has  a  high  ideal  of  veracity.  In  this  way  the  least 
degree  of  exaggerating  in  order  to  please  me  is  excluded 
with  absolute  certainty.  I  suggested  anaesthesia  for 
various  parts  of  the  body  when  she  was  fully  awake. 
Then  I  asked  her  to  close  her  eyes,  and  took  sufficient 
care  that  she  could  not  see  the  field  of  my  operation  by 
peeping  from  under  her  lids.  I  pricked  the  hypnotized 
person  in  three  or  more  definite  places.  She  assured  me 
that  she  felt  nothing,  and  did  not  know  what  I  was  doing. 
I  then  made  her  go  to  sleep,  and  suggested  a  current  to 
her  that  would  bring  back  the  feeling  in  such  a  way  that 
she  would  know  exactly  after  she  had  awakened  what  I 
had  been  doing  uith  her.  \\Tien  she  awakened  I  asked 
her  what  I  had  done  to  her.  At  first  she  had  difficulty 
in  remembering,  and  then  she  found  the  places  where  I 
had  pricked  her  approximately.  However,  on  repeating 
the  experiment  carefully,  altering  the  number  of  pricks 
and  the  situations,  I  succeeded  better.  She  found  the 
places  exactly,  and  knew  definitely  that  I  had  pricked  her. 
It  might  be  argued  that  the  rough  irritation  of  the  sensory 
nerves,  which  had  lasted  somewhat  longer,  still  persisted, 
and  was  perceived  afterwards  by  the  reassociated  con- 
scious brain  activity.  In  order  that  I  might  meet  this 
argument,  I  repeated  the  same  experiment,  only  using 
the  sense  of  hearing  instead,  and  made  the  wide-awake 
somnambulist  perfectly  deaf  to  certain  sounds.  Later 
on  I  caused  the  unconceived  acoustic  impression  which 
had  been  deposited  in  the  brain  to  be  conceived  by 
means  of  suggestion.  The  somnambulists  were  able 
to  tell  me  exactly  each  time  what  I  had  been  doing. 
I  then  asked  both  of  them  how  they  could  explain 
this,  and  each  of  them  answered,  quite  independently 
of  the  other,  that  they  almost  believed  that  I  could  use 
witchcraft.  They  had  neither  felt  nor  heard  anything 
at  all  when  I  pricked  them  or  made  the  noises,  and  later 


SUGGESTION  AS  TO  TIME  131 

on  they  suddenly  regained  the  full  recollection  of  the 
pricks  and  sounds.  It  was  absolutely  inexplicable  to 
them.  Bernheim  has  carried  out  similar  experiments, 
dealing  with  negative  hallucinations  with  equally  good 
results.  It  appears  to  me  that  this  proves  that  the  usual 
reflection  of  our  superconsciousness  does  not  stand  in  any 
definite  relationship  to  the  intensity  and  quality  of  the 
cerebral  activity,  and  that  the  cutting  off  and  reintro- 
ducing of  the  reflection  of  the  superconsciousn^s  depends 
more  on  associative  inhibitions  and  connections.  At  all 
events,  this  experiment  demonstrates  that  the  remem- 
brance of  a  sensation  which  is  obviously  only  effected  in 
the  hypoconsciousness  can  later  on  be  transferred  to  the 
chain  of  the  superconsciousness,  even  after  a  complete 
anaesthesia,  which  is  controlled  during  waking  conscious- 
ness. This  cannot  be  due  to  a  suggested  falsification  of 
the  memory,  because  the  somnambulists  detailed  the 
quality  and  kind  of  impressions  quite  correctly,  although 
I  had  naturally  carefully  avoided  giving  the  least  hint 
of  this  in  the  suggestion.  Engrams,  which  are  apparently 
unconsciously  effected,  may  therefore  be  ecphorized  con- 
sciously by  association  later  on. 

Dr.  O.  Vogt  has  repeated  similar  experiments  for  the 
hearing,  sight,  and  feeling.  Simple  touches,  which  were 
not  felt,  have  been  correctly  specified  even  after  many 
hours.  Every  one  of  the  persons  declared  that  they  had 
absolutely  no  sensation,  but  that  they  now  remembered 
the  stimuli  quite  distinctly.  When  asked  how  this  could 
be  possible,  they  either  said  that  they  could  not  under- 
stand it  or  that  Vogt  must  have  suggested  it  to  them. 

9.  Suggestion  as  to  Time  {Suggestion  a  echeance). — 
This  phenomenon,  which  has  been  so  excellently  described 
by  the  Nancy  School,  is  only  a  variet}/  of  posthypnotic 
suggestion,  albeit  a  variety  of  great  practical  importance. 

I  said  to  a  hypnotized  :  '  You  will  suddenly  get  the  idea 
that  you  wish  to  write  to  me  to  tell  me  how  you  are  at 
noon  to-morrow  as  you  are  going  to  dinner.     You  will 

9—2 


132       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

return  to  your  room  and  quickly  write  to  me  ;  then  you 
will  feel  that  your  feet  are  cold,  and  put  on  your  slippers.' 
The  hypnotized  person  did  not  have  a  suspicion  of  the 
whole  thing  after  he  awoke,  and  during  the  following 
day  up  to  mid-day.  Just  as  he  was  going  to  dinner  the 
suggested  thought  made  its  appearance  in  his  conscious- 
ness, and  the  suggestion  was  completely  carried  out.  I 
said  to  a  hypnotized  person  (a  female)  on  a  certain  Monday: 
'  Your  menstruation  will  set  in  at  7.15  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing. You  will  go  straight  to  the  Sister,  show  her  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  then  come  to  report  matters  to  me. 
But  you  will  see  me  in  a  sky-blue  coat,  with  two  horns 
on  my  head,  and  will  ask  me  when  I  was  born.'  On  the 
following  Sunday  I  was  sitting  in  my  study,  and  had 
forgotten  all  about  the  suggestion.  The  hypnotized  girl 
knocked  at  my  door  at  7.35,  came  in,  and  burst  out 
laughing.  I  was  immediately  reminded  of  my  sugges- 
tion, and  this  was  fulfilled  down  to  the  most  minute 
detail.  The  period  had  set  in  at  7.15,  the  Sister  had 
already  been  shown,  and  so  on.  The  hypnotized  had 
not  had  the  least  suspicion  of  the  whole  affair  up  to  this 
time,  and  had  not  even  known  when  her  period  was  to 
set  in  while  she  was  awake. 

The  great  importance  of  Termineingehung  (suggestion 
as  to  time)  is  apparent.  One  can  order  the  thoughts  and 
resolutions  of  the  hypnotized  person  in  advance  for  a 
certain  time  when  the  hypnotist  is  no  longer  present. 
One  can  further  give  the  suggestion  of  resolutions  of  a 
freewill.  More  than  this,  one  can  give  the  suggestion 
that  the  hypnotized  will  have  no  suspicion  that  the  im- 
pulse originated  from  the  hypnotist.  One  can  even  suc- 
cessfully suggest  complete  amnesia  of  the  hypnotizing 
with  very  suggestible  persons.  '  You  have  never  been 
hypnotized.  If  anyone  asks  you  about  it,  you  will  swear 
before  God  that  you  have  never  been  put  to  sleep.  I 
have  never  put  you  to  sleep.'  In  this,  perhaps,  a  forensic 
danger  of  hypnosis  may  be  found.     Not  less  than  thirteen 


SUGGESTION  AS  TO  TIME  133 

of  the  nineteen  healthy  nurses  mentioned  in  a  previous 
page  who  slept  deeply  carried  out  Termineingehung.  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  this  is  not  a  rare  phenomenon.  I  have 
succeeded,  as  has  already  been  stated,  with  one  of  the 
nurses  in  this  during  the  first  hypnosis. 

The  views  of  the  hypnotized  persons  about  the  source 
of  successful  suggestion  as  to  time  are  highly  remarkable. 
If  one  asks  them  how  it  came  about  that  they  did  this  or 
that,  they  generally  state  that  they  got  an  idea  at  the 
time  suggested,  and  that  they  felt  themselves  forced  to 
carry  this  idea  out.  They  always  tell  the  exact  time  at 
which  they  got  the  idea,  although  one  does  not  usually 
look  at  the  clock  at  each  thought  which  one  gets.  The 
fact  that  one  has  suggested  the  time  causes  them  to 
notice  it.  This  must  be  regarded  as  an  accompanying 
action  of  the  suggestion.  In  a  few  cases  the  idea  appears 
a  long  time  before.  The  hypnotized  person  feels  as  if 
he  must  do  this  or  that,  or  think  of  something,  at  a  certain 
future  time.  In  some  cases  the  idea  does  not  come  with 
the  subjective  character  of  a  spontaneous  thought,  but 
as  a  recollection  derived  from  the  hypnosis  turning  up 
suddenly.  In  such  a  case  the  hypnotized  says,  for 
example  :  '  I  remembered  suddenly  at  twelve  o'clock  that 
you  said  to  me  yesterday  while  I  was  asleep  that  I  should 
come  to  you  at  mid-day  to-day.'  As  a  rule,  the  sugges- 
tion as  to  time,  when  it  takes  place,  has  the  character  of 
compulsion,  or  of  irresistible  impulse  until  it  is  per- 
formed. However,  the  intensity  of  the  impulse  varies 
considerably.  It  is  because  of  this  character  that 
habitual  somnambulists  usually  recognise  that  they  are 
suggestions,  and  not  their  own  ideas  or  resolutions  of 
will.  But  it  is  mostly  quite  simple  to  deceive  them  if 
one  suggests  beforehand  that  the  character  of  the  un- 
natural compulsion  shall  be  absent.  One  substitutes  for 
this,  spontaneous  resolution  of  the  freewill,  and  Hnks 
the  suggested  thought  skilfully  and  logically  on  to  actual 
occurrences.     In  this  way  it  becomes  easy  to  deceive  the 


134       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

somnambulists,  so  that  they  are  convinced  that  they  have 
acted  in  response  to  their  free,  uninfluenced  will. 

The  most  extraordinary  part  of  the  whole  thing  is  that 
the  contents  of  the  suggestion  is  scarcely  ever  conceived 
during  the  waking  condition  from  the  time  of  the  hypnosis 
to  the  time  of  taking  place.  But  if  one  hypnotizes  the 
person  during  this  interval,  and  asks  him  during  the 
hypnosis  what  he  has  to  do  at  the  named  time,  he  generally 
knows  it  exactly.  Bernheim  concludes  from  this  that 
the  hypnotized  thinks  about  it  during  the  Vv'hole  time, 
only  he  does  not  know  about  it.  I  do  not  believe  that 
Bernheim  is  right.  In  my  opinion,  one  should  not  ex- 
press one's  self  in  this  way,  because  it  disturbs  psycho- 
logical ideas.  One  is  dealing  with  thinking  or  knowing 
in  the  sphere  of  the  subconsciousness — ix.,  with  a  brain 
dynamism  remaining  in  the  form  of  an  engra.m  behind 
the  threshold  of  the  usual  consciousness,  which  will  be 
repeated  by  means  of  a  time  signal  associated  with  it  and 
with  the  determined  time.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that 
one  can  explain  especially  the  suggestions  as  to  time 
which  Liebeault,  Bernheim,  and  Liegeois  achieved  even 
after  the  course  of  a  year.  The  feeling  of  time  without 
any  special  time  signal  suffices  to  produce  the  suggestion 
at  the  correct  time  for  short  suggestions  as  to  time.  A 
proof  of  the  importance  of  the  time  signal  is  that  the  men- 
struation can  be  much  more  surely  and  easily  regulated 
suggestively  for  a  certain  day  of  the  month — e.g.,  the 
first — than  for  every  four  weeks.  This  is  so  because  it 
is  easier  to  note  a  definite  day  of  the  month — e.g.,  the 
first  or  the  fifteenth — than  a  varying  day  of  the  month, 
with  a  four  weeks'  interval. 

The  phenomena  of  suggestions  as  to  time  are  other- 
wise identical  with  those  of  other  posthypnotic  sugges- 
tions. 

10.  Waking  Suggestion. — One  can  apply  suggestion 
successfully  in  very  susceptible  persons  while  they  are 
wide  awake,  without  having  recourse  to  hypnotic  sleep. 


WAKING  SUGGESTION  135 

All  the  phenomena  of  hypnosis  or  of  posthypnotic  sugges- 
tion can  thus  be  produced.  One  may  lift  an  arm  and  say  : 
'  You  cannot  move  it  now.'  The  arm  remains  in  the 
condition  of  cataleptic  rigidity.  One  can  suggest  anaes- 
thesia, hallucinations  (including  negative  hallucinations), 
amnesia,  mutacisms,  deceptions  of  memory,  and  anything 
else  one  pleases,  in  this  way,  just  as  surely  as  one  can  do  it 
in  hypnosis.  The  waking  suggestion  can  very  frequently 
be  achieved  even  in  perfectly  healthy  persons,  and  not  only 
in  the  hysterical. 

Waking  suggestibility  is  mostly  gained  first  in  people 
who  have  been  put  to  sleep  hypnotically  one  or  more 
times  previously.  Still,  it  is  possible  to  achieve  marked 
suggestive  actions  even  in  '  awake '  persons  who  have 
never  been  hypnotized  before.  A  '  magnetizer  '  succeeded 
in  fixing  the  arm  of  a  very  intelligent,  strong-minded  lady 
of  my  acquaintance  cataleptically  by  means  of  sugges- 
tion during  the  time  when  she  was  wide  awake  ;  she  had 
never  had  any  previous  acquaintance  with  hypnotism. 
I  succeeded  in  doing  this  with  two  women,  who  were 
certainly  not  hysterical,  out  of  four  on  whom  I  tried  it. 
It  is  much  easier  than  one  imagines  to  obtain  suggestive 
results  during  the  waking  condition,  without  allowing  the 
influenced  person  to  have  a  suspicion  of  it,  and  this  takes 
place  more  frequently  than  one  supposes.  My  colleague, 
Dr.  Barth,  of  Basle,  has  repeatedly  been  able  to  produce 
complete  anaesthesia  for  minor  operations  on  the  fauces 
and  elsewhere  by  painting  the  place  with  a  solution  of 
common  salt,  and  telling  the  patient  that  it  is  cocaine, 
and  that  the  mucous  membranes  are  perfectly  insensitive. 
Many  others  have  had  similar  experiences.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  red  thread  wound  around  the  little  finger 
on  menstruation,  mentioned  in  a  preceding  page,  belongs 
to  this  category. 

One  can  obtain  waking  suggestibility  in  cases  where  it 
does  not  exist  by  giving  the  suggestion  of  this  waking 
suggestion  during  hypnotic  sleep.     It  will  then  be  self- 


136       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

suggested.  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  one  only  needs  a 
certain  amount  of  practice  and  boldness  to  produce  waking 
suggestibility  in  a  large  proportion  of  healthy  persons, 
since,  for  example,  I  was  able  to  do  this  in  the  nineteen 
nurses  referred  to  before. 

Among  those  objections  which  are  constantly  being 
raised  by  people  who  do  not  understand  anything  about 
the  matter,  the  following  is  very  typical  :  '  Very  well  ; 
waking  suggestion  may  be  all  right  and  free  from  danger, 
but  it  is  quite  different  form  hypnosis.'  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  reader  will  be  able  to  see  that  such  assertions 
could  not  be  possible  apart  from  a  complete  misunder- 
standing of  suggestion,  and  apart  from  a  want  of  practical 
experience,  after  what  I  have  said  in  the  foregoing,  and 
in  consideration  of  what  I  am  about  to  explain.  The 
phenomena  of  waking  suggestion  are  absolutely  identical. 
and  equivalent  to  those  of  suggestion  during  hypnosis. 
WTiether  a  little  more  subjective  feeling  of  sleep  is  asso- 
ciated with  it  or  not  can  neither  increase  nor  diminish 
the  danger  or  the  importance  of  the  psychological  sequence 
of  events.  So  much  is  certain.  Every  suggestive  result 
indicates  a  dissociative  effect,  and  causes  thereby  a  single 
phenomenon,  which  is  homologous  to  that  of  dream  life. 
As  soon  as  multiple  suggestions  follow  one  another  rapidly 
in  waking  condition,  this  waking  condition  as  a  whole  only 
becomes  hypnotic — i.e.,  dreamlike  and  sleeplike — thereby. 
In  this  way  one  can  compare  every  suggestive  result 
during  waking  with  a  partial  circumscribed  dream  taking 
place  in  an  other\vise  '  awake  '  brain. 

II.  The  Condition  of  the  Mind  during  the  Carry- 
ing OUT  OF  Posthypnotic  Suggestions,  *  Termine- 
INGEBUNGEN,'  AND  Waking  SUGGESTIONS.— When  one  has 
frequently  observed  these  phenomena,  one  realizes  quite 
distinctly  that  the  condition  of  the  mind  of  the  hypnotized 
persons  in  the  three  cases  mentioned  above  must  be, 
and  actually  is,  the  same.  The  mind  is  awake,  but  is 
altered.     One  asks  one's  self  :  In  what  way  is  it  altered  ? 


CONDITIONS  PRIME  ET  SECONDE         137 

This  question  was  first  put  forward  by  Liegeois,i  and  later 
by  Beaunis2  and  Delboeuf.^  Liegeois  calls  this  condition, 
in  which  the  hypnotized  is  wide  awake  up  to  the  point 
which  has  been  '  forbidden  or  commanded '  by  the  hyp- 
notist, by  the  term  condition  prime.  This  term  is 
meant  to  stand  as  an  analogue  to  condition  seconde. 
The  latter  was  used  by  Adam  for  the  second  condition 
of  consciousness  in  his  case  (Felida)  of  double  conscious- 
ness in  the  waking  condition.  Later  on,  however, 
Liegeois  also  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  condition 
prime  is  only  a  variety  of  the  condition  seconde.  Beaunis 
styles  the  condition  prime  as  veille  somnambulique. 
Delboeuf,  on  the  other  hand,  considers  that  he  has  proved 
that  in  all  these  cases  the  hypnotized  person  has  only 
been  hypnotized  again,  and  that  one  is  dealing  simply  with 
ordinary  somnambulism,  only  the  person  has  his  eyes 
open.  The  suggestion  is  supposed  simply  to  produce  a 
new  hypnosis  by  means  of  association  unconsciously. 
Later  on  he,  however,  changed  his  views,  and  came  to  the 
same  conclusion  which  I  have  arrived  at.^ 

In  my  opinion,  none  of  these  views  are  tenable,  because 
they  are  all  too  dogmatic  and  too  systematizing.  Del- 
boeuf s  older  view  certainly  holds  good  for  many  cases. 
The  onset  of  the  realization  of  the  suggestion  may  produce 
the  autosuggestion  of  a  perfect  hypnosis  in  posthypnotic 
and  waking  suggestion,  and  also  in  suggestion  as  to  time. 
The  look  becomes  fixed,  and  the  hypnotized  may  even 
become  amnesic  for  all  that  has  taken  place,  afterwards. 
If  one  generalizes  in  these  cases,  one  deceives  one's  self 
just  as  much  as  one  does  if  one  generalizes  in  those  un- 
doubted cases  in  which  the  suggestion  has  been  realized 
during  complete  clear  waking  condition.     It  is  possible 

1  Jules  Lidgeois,  '  De  la  suggestion  hypnotique  dans  ses  rapports 
avec  le  droit  civil  et  le  droit  criminel '  (Paris  :  A.  Picard,  1884). 

2  Beaunis,  '  Recherches  experimentales  sur  les  condition  de 
I'Activit^  Cerebrale,'  etc. :  '  Somnambulisme  provoqud,'  p.  67. 

3  Revue  de  rhyp7wtisme^  l^re  annee,  1887,  p.  166. 


138       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

also  by  means  of  suggestion  to  remove  everything  which 
is  hypnotic,  including  the  intended  suggestion,  from  these 
conditions,  so  that  the  condition  becomes  absolutely 
identical  with  the  condition  of  complete  wakefulness. 
One  meets  with  all  stages,  from  the  fixed  look  to  a  per- 
fectly clear  look  ;  from  the  automatism  wanting  in  sound 
judgment,  in  which  the  most  flagrant  nonsense  appears 
natural  and  comprehensible  as  it  does  in  a  dream,  to  the 
finest,  sharpest  self-criticism  on  the  part  of  the  hypnotized, 
and  to  the  most  energetic  struggle  against  the  compulsion 
and  impulse  of  the  suggestion.  One  can  even  limit  the 
suggestion  to  such  natural  and  unimportant  details,  such 
as  one  intertwines  constantly  in  the  temporal  linking  of 
thought,  that  there  is  no  longer  any  question  even  of  a 
condition  prime  (Liegeois's  definition).  I  have  observed, 
apart  from  individual  peculiarities,  that  the  conditions 
under  discussion  approach  more  nearly  to  actual  hypnosis 
if  one  suggests  a  wide,  coherent,  and  at  the  same  time 
idiotic  complex,  while  it  approaches  more  nearly  to  the 
normal  waking  condition  the  more  natural,  probable, 
limited,  and  curt  the  suggestion  is.  Examples  will 
illustrate  this  clearly. 

I  have  said  to  a  woman  during  complete  wakefulness 
that  she  could  not  move  her  arm  ;  I  raised  the  arm  at  the 
time.  She  stared  at  me,  attempted  vainly  to  depress 
the  arm,  became  confused,  and  so  on.  I  then  added  the 
following  suggestions  rapidly  one  after  another  :  '  Here 
comes  a  lion  ;  you  see  him  ?  He  will  eat  us  up.  Now  he 
is  going  away.  It  is  getting  dark.  The  moon  is  shining. 
Look  at  the  great  big  river  there  with  thousands  of  fishes 
in  it.  You  are  quite  rigid  all  over;  you  cannot  move  at  all,' 
etc.,  etc.  In  a  few  seconds  all  these  impressions  rush 
through  the  consciousness  of  the  woman  in  the  form  of 
perceptions  with  corresponding  sensations.  Her  mental 
condition  approaches  more  and  more  that  of  the  ordinary 
hypnosis  ;  she  becomes  like  one  in  a  dream.  One  can  say 
with  Delboeuf  in  this  case  that  '  she  is  hypnotized  again,' 


EXAMPLES  139 

I  have  said  on  another  occasion  to  the  same  hypnotized 
nurse  :  '  Every  time  that  the  assistant  medical  officer 
comes  into  your  ward  and  you  report  on  the  condition  of 
the  excitable  patient,  Louisa  C,  you  will  make  a  mistake 
and  call  her  Lina  C.  You  will  notice  your  mistake,  and 
attempt  to  correct  yourself,  but  will  not  be  able  to  do  so  ; 
you  will  always  say  Lina  for  Louisa.  And  each  time  you 
call  the  medical  officer  "  Doctor,"  you  will  scratch  your 
right  temple  with  your  right  hand  without  being  aware 
of  it.'  The  suggestion  was  realized.  The  nurse  made  the 
mistake,  and  said  Lina  C.  instead  of  Louisa  C.  regularly 
in  ordinary  conversation.  It  was  just  like  a  suggested 
paraphasia  of  a  word.  She  noticed  it,  tried  to  correct 
herself,  but  made  the  same  mistake  again,  and  was 
astonished  at  it.  Every  time  that  she  called  the  assistant 
medical  officer  '  Doctor '  she  scratched  herself  exactly  in 
the  manner  I  suggested.  It  was  quite  extraordinary  to 
see  how  the  unsuspicious  nurse  repeated  the  mistake 
with  C.'s  name  almost  every  day,  apologized,  and  was 
astonished  ;  she  could  not  make  out  what  was  the  matter 
with  her  ;  such  a  thing  had  never  in  her  whole  life  occurred 
to  her  before.  The  scratching,  on  the  other  hand,  took 
place  quite  instinctively,  without  her  noticing  it.  Aitev 
some  weeks  she  began  gradually  to  assist  herself  out  of  the 
difficulty  by  leaving  out  the  patient's  Christian  name, 
and  simply  saying  C.  A  single  suggestion  sufficed  for 
the  disturbance  which  recurred  for  so  long  a  time.  One 
would  have  to  assume  that  the  condition  prime  only  held 
good  during  the  speaking  of  the  Christian  name  and 
during  the  scratching,  while  the  rest  of  her  speech  took 
place  in  the  condition  of  normal  wakefulness.  But  during 
the  time  that  she  is  scratching  she  speaks  of  things  which 
were  not  suggested,  and  which  are  quite  rational.  In 
consequence,  the  condition  prime  existed  only  for  a 
portion  of  her  psychical  activity. 

I  gave  the  suggestion  to  an  educated  young  man  (a 
student)  during  hypnosis  that  he  would  tap  me  on  the 


140       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

right  shoulder  with  his  left  hand  when  he  awoke.  He 
resisted  the  impulse,  for  he  was  very  obstinate,  and  would 
not  allow  his  freewill  to  be  interfered  with  at  any  price. 
He  went  home.  I  told  him  to  come  again  in  a  week's 
time,  and  when  he  came  he  confessed  to  me  that  my 
suggestion  had  worried  him  the  whole  week — so  much  so 
that  on  one  or  two  occasions  he  was  on  the  point  of  coming 
to  me  (a  distance  of  about  three  miles)  to  tap  me  on 
the  shoulder.  Was  the  whole  week,  during  which  the 
young  man  was  working  as  usual,  listening  to  lectures, 
sleeping,  and  so  on,  a  condition  prime  ? 

An  intelligent,  very  suggestible  nurse  was  so  powerfully 
affected  by  suggestions  as  to  time  that  she  told  me  that 
she  was  quite  overpowered  by  them,  and  would  be  com- 
pelled even  to  commit  murder  if  I  were  to  suggest  it  to 
her.  The  impulse  to  carry  out  even  the  greatest  nonsense 
was  fearful.  Her  repeated  energetic  attempts  to  resist 
only  increased  the  impulse  the  more  violently.  Once 
she  was  speaking  to  me  about  hypnotism  before  two  other 
persons.  She  said  :  '  But  it  is  always  the  same,  doctor  ; 
I  must  do  every^thing  that  you  have  suggested  to  me 
during  sleep.  Still,  although  I  never  know  anything 
about  it  before,  I  always  notice  that  it  comes  from  you 
when  it  does  come.  There  is  always  such  a  pecuHar 
impulse,  like  something  strange.'  I  then  said  to  her  : 
'  Go  to  sleep.'  She  went  to  sleep  at  once.  I  then  said  to 
her  :  '  After  you  have  been  awake  for  half  a  minute,  you 
will  get  the  idea,  entirely  of  your  own  account,  to  ask  me 
the  following  question  :  "  Doctor,  I  have  been  wanting  to 
ask  you  for  a  long  time  how  it  is  that  one  goes  to  sleep  so 
rapidly  when  hypnotized.  This  is  not  so  in  ordinary 
sleep  ;  one  takes  much  longer  to  go  to  sleep.  How  is  it  ? 
It  is  very  extraordinary."  You  will  have  no  suspicion 
that  I  have  said  this  to  you  during  your  sleep  ;  the  idea 
will  originate  entirely  of  yourself.  You  will  have  been 
wishing  to  ask  me  for  a  long  time  past.  Count  up  to  six, 
and  you  will  awake.'     She  counted  to  six,   awakened, 


EXAMPLES  141 

and  assured  me  that  she  had  slept  well.^  Then,  about 
half  a  minute  after,  she  broke  out  with  the  suggested 
sentence,  word  for  word.  Her  inquiring  tone  manifested 
the  highest  interest  in  the  matter.  I  listened  quietly  to 
her,  answered  her  in  detail,  and  then  asked  her  how  she 
came  to  ask  me  this  question.  '  Well,  I  have  been  wanting 
to  ask  it  you  for  a  long  time.'  '  Is  it  not  a  suggestion 
which  I  have  just  given  you  during  your  sleep  ?'  '  Cer- 
tainly not ;  I  am  not  to  be  deceived  ;  this  was  my  own 
idea.'  '  But  you  have  deceived  yourself  notwithstanding. 
Here  are  two  witnesses,  who  have  heard  that  I  have  sug- 
gested it  word  for  word  two  minutes  ago.'  The  poor 
hypnotized  girl  was  quite  confounded,  and  had  to  ac- 
knowledge that  she  could  not  recognise  every  suggestion 
as  such,  but  could  only  recognise  those  which  were  so 
idiotic  that  they  could  not  have  been  the  efforts  of  her 
own  brain. 

A  very  thorough,  intelligent  young  law  student,  who 
was  close  to  his  final  examination,  knew  the  theory  of 
suggestion  well.  I  was  able  to  put  him  to  sleep  deeply, 
with  total  amnesia.  I  once  suggested  to  him  that  he 
would  go  to  Dr.  D.,  one  of  our  colleagues  here,  as  soon  as 
he  awoke,  and  ask  him  his  name,  where  his  home  is,  and 
also  if  he  has  had  any  experience  of  hypnotism.  This 
was  accomplished,  but  the  student  added  to  this  :  '  I 
seem  to  have  seen  you  before.  Isn't  your  name  X.  ?' 
As  the  statement  as  to  his  home  did  not  coincide,  he  said 
that  he  must  have  been  mistaken,  and  went  away.  When 
he  presented  himself  to  me  on  the  following  day,  I  asked 
him  why  he  had  questioned  my  colleague  D.  as  he  had 
done  after  his  last  hypnosis.  '  I  thought  that  he  was  an 
acquaintance,  but  it  appears  that  it  is  not  so.'  I  asked 
whether  he  put  those  questions  of  his  own  accord  from 
his  own  free  will.  The  student  looked  at  me  in  astonish- 
ment, and  said,  '  Certainly.'     I  asked  whether  it  was  not 

1  She  slept  exceedingly  deeply  each  time.     This  was  objectively 
unmistakable. 


142       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

one  of  my  suggestions.  '  No.  At  least,  I  know  nothing 
about  it.'  He  then  became  rather  angry,  blew  his  nose, 
and  asked  me  :  'Is  it  due  to  suggestion,  too,  that  I  have  to 
blow  my  nose  ?'  (This  was  not  so.)  He  assured  me  that 
he  had  not  had  the  faintest  suspicion  that  his  question  to 
Dr.  D.  was  not  due  to  a  natural  desire  of  his  own,  and  was 
very  struck,  and  at  the  same  time  interested,  by  my 
explanation. 

I  could  add  many  more  examples,  as  I  have  paid 
special  attention  to  this  subject.  For  example,  the  post- 
hypnotic hallucination  of  the  lady  that  she  could  not  dis- 
tinguish two  suggested  violets  from  a  natural  one  which 
I  have  mentioned  in  a  preceding  page  belongs  to  this 
category.  However,  what  has  been  said  will  suffice  to 
show  that  one  can  smuggle  and  intertwine  a  suggestion 
into  the  normal  activity  of  the  waking  normal  mind  in 
such  a  way  that  all  outside  phenomena  of  a  hypnosis- 
like character  can  be  excluded.  In  these  cases  the 
'  hypnotized '  is  completely  deceived,  believes  that  he 
is  thinking  or  acting  spontaneously,  and  does  not  guess 
at  the  insinuating  suggestion  of  the  hypnotist. 

One  cannot  illustrate  Spinoza's  statement  more  strik- 
ingly than  by  detailing  these  hypnotic  experiments.  The 
statement  is  :  '  The  illusion  of  the  freewill  is  nothing  else 
than  the  want  of  knowledge  of  the  reasons  of  our  resolu- ' 
tions.'  We  have  a  real  visible  demonstration  that  our 
subjective  freewill  is  objectively  produced.  The  only 
difference  is  that  it  is  caused  by  suggestions  of  others  in 
the  hypnotized,  and  by  feehngs,  instincts,  habits,  auto- 
suggestions, etc.,  besides  the  plastic  self-adapting  activity 
of  reason,  in  the  not  hypnotized.  This  means  that  it 
is  caused  in  the  latter  case  by  the  combinations  of 
cngrams  of  the  inherited  and  individually  acquired 
mncme. 

However,  an  interesting  and  common  intermediate 
form  between  actual  hypnosis  and  waking  condition  con- 
sists in  the  fact  that  the  hypnotized  actually  has  his  eyes 


RESULTS  OF  SUGGESTION  143 

open,  behaves  just  like  a  normal  person,  and  does  not 
forget  anything  ;  but  he  shows  an  unmistakable  fixed 
stare,  and  accepts  unnatural,  meaningless  suggestions  as 
natural — i.e.,  he  does  not  wonder  at  them,  and  carries 
them  out  without  questioning  them.  If  one  asks  him 
later  on,  he  not  infrequently  admits  that  he  was  a  little 
giddy  or  dreamy  ;  he  was  not  absolutely  wide  awake  and 
clear.  This  would  correspond  to  the  veille  somnambu- 
lique,  or  condition  prime.  This  is  the  early  stage  of  con- 
traction of  the  consciousness,  the  commencement  of  the 
monoidism  of  hypnosis  with  report. 

12,  Lasting  Results  of  Suggestion. — Can  one  per- 
manently alter  the  mind  or  any  nerve  function  by  sug- 
gestion, in  however  slight  a  degree  ? 

One  has  been  able  to  give  suggestion  as  to  time  for  a 
whole  year's  duration  ;  one  has  produced  sleep  lasting 
for  days  by  suggestion  ;  and,  above  all,  one  can  show  a 
number  of  lasting  therapeutic  results.  But  still,  on  the 
other  hand,  everyone  who  has  taken  up  the  question  of 
suggestion  must  admit  that  the  action  of  a  hypnosis 
becomes  weakened  of  itself  in  the  course  of  time.  But  I 
have  not  been  able  tO'  convince  myself  that  the  hypno- 
tized person  gradually  ceases  to  be  under  the  influence 
of  the  hypnotist  when  the  latter  has  kept  away  for  a  long 
time.  This  used  to  be  stated  as  a  fact.  I  frequently 
find,  on  the  contrary,  that  later,  after  a  long  pause — 
more  than  half  or  one  year — the  results  of  hypnosis  are 
better  than  if  one  exhausts  one's  self  by  continuously 
hypnotizing  a  patient  or  a  healthy  person. 

The  therapeutic  results  of  hypnosis  appear  to  me  to 
give  the  best  solution  to  our  question  if  one  regards  them 
closely.  I  believe  that  one  can  only  achieve  a  lasting 
result  either  (i)  if  the  attained,  change  possesses  in  itself 
the  power  of  insinuating  itself  in  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ance  between  the  individual  dynamisms  of  the  central 
nervous  system  by  having  been  transformed  into  auto- 
suggestion or  habit  by  means  of  a  single  or  a  repeated 


144       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

suggestion  ;  or  (2)  if  the  power  which  is  wanting  in  this 
change  is  supphed  to  it  by  outside  means.  This  latter 
can,  however,  be  produced  also  by  suggestion  at  times. 
One  must  always  give  the  suggestion  that  the  result  will 
be  permanent.  But  experience  shows  that  this  alone 
rarely  acts  completely  without  the  outside  means  re- 
ferred to. 

Examples.  Ad  i. — A  child  retained  the  bad  habit  of 
wetting  its  bed.  It  was  compelled  by  means  of  sugges- 
tion to  get  up  during  the  night  and  micturate  into  the 
chamber,  and  at  length  to  hold  its  urine  altogether.  The 
bad  habit  was  replaced  by  a  good  one,  which  at  the 
same  time  was  easy  to  secure,  because  it  is  a  normal  one. 
The  child  had  accustomed  itself  to  sleep  quite  comfort- 
ably in  the  wet  bed.  Now  it  has  become  accustomed  to 
remain  dry.  It  is  awakened  even  by  a  dream  of  passing 
urine.  We  can  obtain  a  definite  cure  in  this  case  if  no 
abnormality  of  the  bladder  or  urethra  or  onanistic  habits 
continue  to  act  against  the  result  of  the  suggestion 
later  on. 

Ad  2. — A  person  siiffered  from  migraine,  sleeplessness, 
loss  of  appetite,  tiredness,  constipation,  and  frequent 
nocturnal  emissions,  and  had  become  ansemic  and  thin 
in  consequence.  I  succeeded  in  supplying  him  with 
sleep,  appetite,  regular  motions,  and  cessation  of  the 
emissions  by  means  of  suggestion.  In  consequence,  the 
anaemia  was  soon  lost,  the  hypnotized  person  gained  in 
nutrition  and  weight,  the  sleep  cured  the  nervous  ex- 
haustion, and  thereby  also  the  migraine.  The  latter  can 
be,  however,  suggested  away  immediately.  In  this  way 
the  balance  of  the  organism  was  regained,  and  the  cure 
will  remain  a  permanent  one  if  the  cause  which  produced 
the  illness  does  not  return  or  is  not  a  permanent  one. 

I  therefore  believe  that  suggestion  is  definitely  capable 
of  removing  acquired  vices  and  bad  habits  as  well  as 
certain  acquired  ailments  frequently,  especially  if  it  is 
assisted  by  outside  means.     But  it   can  never  perma- 


LASTING  RESULTS  145 

nently  alter  inherited  or  constitutional  individual  charac- 
teristics. In  such  cases  suggestion  will  only  have  a 
transitory  action,  and  the  same  applies  frequently  to 
destructive  and  also  to  deeply-rooted  troubles. 

But  we  do  not  always  know  in  a  concrete  case  how 
much  of  the  disturbance  is  inherited  and  how  much  is 
acquired — i.e.,  individually  adapted.  It  is  often  suffi- 
cient to  remove  the  acquired  factor  in  order  to  arrest  or 
suppress  the  inherited  disposition.  In  this  case  also  sug- 
gestion is  able  to  do  good.  This  is  what  we  do  when  we 
remove  the  hystero-epileptic  attacks  in  an  hysterical 
person,  for  example,  by  means  of  suggestion,  electro- 
therapy, or  hydrotherapy.  The  latter  are  based  on  an 
action  similar  to  that  of  suggestion.  The  acquired 
attacks  are  cured  in  this  way,  but  the  hysterical  constitu- 
tion remains  unchanged. 

Every  long-lasting  result  of  suggestion,  as  long  as  it 
influences  activities  during  the  waking  condition,  is,  eo 
ipso,  posthypnotic.  Thus  it  would  belong,  logically 
speaking,  to  Liegeois's  condition  prime.  For  example, 
one  may  cite  suggested  menstruation,  suggested  cheerful- 
ness, the  cure  of  stammering  and  of  constipation  by 
means  of  suggestion,  etc.  If  one  were  to  push  formal 
logic  to  the  extreme,  one  would  have  to  consider  that  a 
person  who  has  been  definitely  cured  would  remain  in 
the  condition  prime  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  I  only  wish 
to  point  out  clearly  by  this  that  there  cannot  be  a  line 
of  demarcation  between  the  altered  condition  of  the 
mind  during  hypnosis  and  its  perfectly  normal  condition 
of  activity  during  waking.  One  can  produce  any  stage 
or  degree  experimentally.  To  a  certain  extent,  graduated 
transitions  are  observable  in  many  persons  between 
spontaneous  sleep  and  the  waking  condition  without  sug- 
gestion. Still,  these  are  produced  by  the  accident  of 
autosuggestion,  and  are  therefore  not  nearly  so  exactly 
graduated  or  so  systematically  divided  as  those  pro- 
duced by  means  of  suggestion. 

10 


146       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

13.  'Hallucination  Retroactive,'  or  Suggested 
Falsification  of  Memory. — Bernheim  calls  the  sug- 
gested remembrance  of  what  has  never  taken  place  '  hal- 
lucination retroactive.'  As  one  is  not  dealing  in  this 
case  with  an  effective  actual  perception,  nor  yet  neces- 
sarily with  the  recollection  of  perceptions — for  it  might 
just  as  well  be  the  recollection  of  a  thought  or  of  a 
feeling  or  action — I  cannot  allow  this  term  to  pass.  This 
is  not  the  same,  either,  as  that  phenomenon  which  is  called 
actual  deception  of  memory  in  psychopathology,  since 
the  latter  always  refers  erroneously  a  duplicate,  or  a 
remembrance  into  the  past,  in  the  place  of  an  actual 
complex  of  perceptions.  However,  the  suggested  pro- 
cess is  equivalent  psychologically  to  the  wider  idea  of 
deception  of  memory,  taken  in  the  sense  in  which  Krae- 
pelin  has  defined  it.i 

Example. — I  said  all  of  a  sudden  to  a  certain  Miss  X., 
just  as  a  young  man  who  was  a  stranger  to  her  came 

^  A.  Delbriieck  ('The  Pathological  Lie  and  the  Psychically  Ab- 
normal Swindler':  Enke,  1891)  describes  a  case  of  deception  of 
memory  in  a  lunatic  in  the  Burghoelzli  Asylum.  At  first  I  had 
regarded  it  as  a  simple  hallucination  ;  one  used  to  think,  erroneously, 
that  one  was  dealing  in  such  cases  with  effective  hallucinations.  This 
patient  frequently  suddenly  appeared  and  explained,  or  wrote  in  great 
indignation,  that  the  director  or  the  assistant  medical  officer  had 
done  horrible  things  to  him — had  ill-used  him,  undressed  him,  etc. — on 
some  past  occasion  (yesterday  or  early  this  morning  to  a  stated  hour). 
The  important  point  of  this  is — and  it  can  be  proved  easily — that  he 
did  not  have  the  hallucination  at  the  time  to  which  he  referred  it,  but 
was  quietly  doing  something  ordinary,  and  was  in  good  spirits.  He 
explained  the  matter  in  this  way :  he  had  obviously  been  given  some 
narcotic,  so  ihat  the  remembrance  of  the  atrocity  only  returned  to  him 
several  hours  later.  Now,  this  is  the  purest  form  of  Bernheim's 
'  hallucination  retroactive,'  only  it  was  spontaneous  and  not  suggested, 
and  depended  on  a  severe  mental  disturbance. 

Another  lunatic  in  the  same  asylum  autosuggested  negative 
deceptions  of  memory,  which  had  given  rise  to  the  delusion  of  so- 
called  'creative  acts.'  For  example,  he  said  to  me:  'Doctor,  this 
table  only  appeared  this  morning  ;  it  was  not  there  before.  This 
is  an  act  of  creation.  You  may  say  that  I  am  mistaken,  but  you  may 
only  speak  in  that  way  if  you  have  higher  powers,'  etc.     The  table 


FALSIFICATION  OF  MEMORY  147 

into  the  room  (she  was  awake  at  the  time)  :  '  You  know 
this  gentleman.  He  stole  your  purse  at  the  station  a 
month  ago  and  ran  away  with  it,'  etc.  She  looked  at 
him,  first  somewhat  surprised,  but  was  soon  convinced. 
She  remembered  it  exactly,  and  even  added  that  there 
was  a  pound  in  the  purse.  She  then  demanded  that  he 
should  be  punished.  If  I  can  successfully  suggest  amnesia 
to  a  person  for  a  certain  past  time,  or  for  one  of  his  brain 
dynamisms — e.g.,  for  an  acquired  language — then  I  can 
just  as  easily  suggest  an  artificial  addition  to  his  recollec- 
tions, as  long  as  I  bring  the  corresponding  conceptions  into 
his  brain.  If  I  say  to  a  hypnotized  person,  '  You  can  speak 
Sanscrit,'  he  will  not  be  able  to  do  so  unless  he  has  learned 
it.  If  I  say  to  him,  however,  '  You  have  experienced 
this  or  that,  or  done,  said,  or  thought  something,'  etc., 
he  believes  that  he  has  experienced,  done,  or  thought  it, 
assimilates  the  suggestion  fully  in  the  recollections  of  his 
past  life,  and  complements  in  those  places  where  I  have 
left  the  details  out  (as  in  the  case  of  the  contents  of  the 
purse).  A  small  boy,  aged  eight  years,  whom  I  showed 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Law  Society  in  Ziirich,  swore  before 
God  that  one  of  the  barristers  present  had  stolen  his 
pocket-handkerchief  a  week  previously,  in  response  to  my 
suggestion.  He  added  of  his  own  account,  when  he  was 
asked,  the  exact  place  and  time.  Five  minutes  later  I 
suggested  to  him  that  this  had  never  taken  place,  and 
that  he  had  never  said  that  it  had.  He  denied  with  just 
as  definite  boldness  on  his  oath  the  charge  which  he  had 

had  stood  for  years  in  the  same  place  in  the  recreation-room  for  the 
patients.  But  it  was  not  difficult  to  prove  that  this  patient  had  known 
the  table  long  ago,  and  had  always  used  it.  Thus  a  real  negative 
hallucination  had  not  actually  been  present.  This  had  only  lain  in 
the  recollection,  and  took  place  at  the  time  when  he  regarded  the 
object  (in  the  same  way  as  with  genuine  deceptions  of  memory) ;  only 
the  object  was  blotted  out  from  the  past,  instead  of  being  again  added 
to  it.  The  same  patient  constantly  had  delusions  of  similar  creative 
acts,  as  the  result  of  this  kind  of  negative  deceptions  of  memory 
(retroactive  negative  hallucinations). 

10 — 2 


148       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

made  a  few  minutes  before,  in  spite  of  the  indignant 
admonition  of  the  lawyer. 

It  is  greatly  to  Bernheim's  credit  that  he  has  explained 
these  very  important  facts  clearly  by  means  of  numerous 
examples.  Bernheim  has  even  given  these  retroactive 
suggestions  collectively,  and  produced  a  number  of 
false  witnesses  in  this  way,  who  gave  their  evidence  with 
absolute  conviction.  He  has  pointed  out  that  it  is  par- 
ticularly easy  to  produce  such  deceptions  of  memory 
during  complete  wakefulness  by  means  of  suggestion, 
especially  in  children.  These  are  instinctively  inclined  to 
accept,  more  or  less,  everything  which  is  told  them  by 
grown-up  people  in  a  decided  tone.  Since  suggestion 
can  be  successful  in  many  cases  in  which  marked  influences 
of  imagination  act  without  hypnotic  sleep  ever  having 
taken  place  previously,  and  since  this  holds  good  especi- 
ally for  children  and  w^eakly  persons,  one  understands 
how  great  the  danger  of  the  suggestion  of  a  false  w^itness 
is,  and  especially  of  false  admissions  in  response  to  the 
suggestive  questions  of  the  examining  judge.  Bernheim 
has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  such  cases  have  not 
infrequently  taken  place  in  criminal  procedures.  For 
example,  this  was  so  in  the  supposed  Tisza-Ezlar  ritual 
murder  case,  in  which  a  child,  influenced  suggestively 
in  this  way,  appeared  as  a  witness  for  the  Crow^n. 
Lawyers  are  no  doubt  in  a  position  to  find  many 
such  cases  among  the  accounts  of  celebrated  trials. 
Intimidation  and  also  imitation  act  similarly  in  children. 
It  is  certain  that  there  is  scarcely  a  boy  or  girl  who 
dares  to  refuse  to  submit  to  Church  confirmation, 
although  most  of  them  would  deny  all  that  they  had 
promised  then  a  short  time  later.  In  this  an  undis- 
tinguishable  mixture  of  intimidation,  imitation,  and 
suggestion,  etc.,  takes  part.  This  is  mostly  not  a 
conscious  lie. 

A.  Delbrueck^  mentions  a  highly  interesting  tale  of  the 
^  A.  Delbrueck,  loc,  cit. 


GOTTFRIED  KELLER  149 

poet  Gottfried  Keller/  which  represents  nothing  else  than 
an  excellent  example  of  suggested  deception  of  memory  or 
of  retroactive  hallucination.  Keller's  account  is  so  true, 
and  corresponds  so  exactly  with  all  the  details  of  the 
psychological  phenomenon,  that  I  am  bound  to  believe 
with  Delbrueck  that  the  poet  must  have  experienced 
the   story   himself.     This   appears   to   be   all   the   more 

^  Gottfried  Keller  (' Der  Gruene  Heinrich,'  new  edition,  1879, 
chap,  viii.,  p.  107  et  scq.^  Crimes  of  Childreji). — I  did  not  speak 
much,  but  took  care  that  nothing  of  what  was  taking  place  before 
m)^  eyes  and  ears  escaped  me.  Laden  with  all  these  impressions, 
I  then  crossed  over  the  way  again  to  home,  and  wove  a  great 
dreamlike  fabric  out  of  the  material  in  the  stillness  of  our  apartment, 
and  in  this  my  excited  imagination  gave  its  council.  It  intermingled 
itself  with  real  life,  so  that  I  could  hardly  distinguish  it  from  the 
latter. 

'  In  this  way  I  may  be  able  to  explain  a  story  among  others  which  I 
experienced  when  I  was  about  seven  years  old,  and  which  I  could  not 
explain  in  any  other  way.  I  was  sitting  once  at  the  table  busy  with 
some  toy,  and  made  use  of  some  indecent,  highly  vulgar  words,  which 
I  had  probably  heard  in  the  streets,  and  which  I  did  not  understand. 
A  woman  was  sitting  with  my  mother,  and  was  talking  to  her,  when 
she  heard  the  words,  and  called  my  mother's  attention  to  them.  She 
asked  me  very  seriously  who  had  taught  me  such  things.  The  strange 
lady  especially  pressed  me,  at  which  I  was  astonished.  I  thought  for 
a  moment,  and  then  mentioned  the  name  of  a  boy  whom  I  was  accus- 
tomed to  meet  at  school.  At  the  same  time  I  added  the  names  of  two 
or  three  others,  all  of  whom  were  boys  of  from  twelve  to  thirteen  years 
old,  and  with  whom  I  had  scarcely  ever  spoken  a  word.  A  few  days 
later  the  schoolmaster  kept  me  in  after  school-time,  much  to  my 
surprise,  and  also  the  four  boys  whom  I  had  mentioned.  These 
boys  seemed  to  me  to  be  almost  men,  as  they  were  much  older  and 
bigger  than  I  was.  A  clergyman  came  in,  sat  down  next  to  the  master, 
and  told  me  to  sit  next  to  him.  This  clergyman  usually  gave  religious 
instruction  in  the  school,  and  managed  the  school  generally.  The 
boys,  on  the  other  hand,  had  to  stand  in  a  row  in  front  of  the  table 
and  wait  for  what  was  about  to  take  place.  They  were  then  asked  in 
solemn  tones  whether  they  had  uttered  certain  words  in  my  presence. 
They  did  not  know  what  to  answer,  and  were  quite  astounded.  The 
clergyman  then  turned  to  me,  and  said  :  "  Where  have  you  heard 
these  boys  say  these  things  ?"  I  had  collected  myself  by  this  time,  and 
answered  unhesitatingly,  with  cool  determination  :  "  In  the  Briiderlein 
Wood."  This  wood  is  situated  about  four  miles  from  the  town,  but  I 
had  never  been  there  in  my  life,  and  had  only  heard  people  talk  of  it. 


150       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

probable,  since  it  is  known  that  Keller,  in  the  '  Gruene 
Heinrich '  (Heinrich  Lee),  has  incorporated  many  experi- 
ences of  his  own  life.  Heinrich  Lee  was  seven  years  old 
at  the  time  of  the  story.  I  may  add  that  everyone  can 
easily  observe  in  little  children,  and  especially  in  children 
of  from  two  to  four  years  of  age,  the  boundless  suggesti- 
bility and  confusion  of  conception  with  reality.  I  have 
myself  watched  a  girl  between  the  age  of  eight  and  nine 

I  was  further  asked  :  "  What  happened  on  that  occasion  ?  How  did 
you  get  there  ?"  I  related  that  the  boys  had  persuaded  me  one  day  to 
take  a  walk,  and  had  taken  me  to  the  wood,  and  described  the  manner 
in  which  bigger  boys  Cake  a  little  boy  on  a  rollicking  expedition.  The 
accused  were  beside  themselves,  and  declared  with  tears  in  their  eyes 
that  some  of  them  had  not  been  in  the  wood  for  a  long  time,  and  some 
of  them  had  never  been  there  at  all,  and  none  had  been  there  with  me. 
They  regarded  me  with  terrified  hatred,  as  if  I  had  been  a  furious 
snake,  and  wanted  to  heap  reproaches  and  questions  on  me.  They 
were,  however,  told  to  be  quiet,  and  I  was  requested  to  say  which  way 
we  had  gone.  This  appeared  at  once  before  my  eyes,  and,  incited,  by 
the  contradiction  and  denial  of  a  fairy  tale,  in  which  I  really  believed 
myself  by  this  time,  for  I  could  not  explain  the  real  procedure  of  the 
scene  which  was  taking  place  in  any  other  way,  I  described  the  road 
exactly  which  led  to  the  place.  I  had  only  known  the  roads  from 
casual  hearsay,  and,  although  I  had  scarcely  paid  any  attention  to 
this,  I  was  able  to  place  each  word  correctly.  I  also  went  on  to 
describe  how  we  had  collected  nuts  on  the  way  from  the  trees  ;  how 
we  had  lit  a  fire  and  baked  potatoes,  which  we  had  stolen;  and, 
further,  how  we  had  thrashed  a  peasant  boy  unmercifully  for  trying  to 
stop  us.  When  we  arrived  in  the  wood,  my  comrades  climbed  up 
high  pine-trees,  and  shouted  "  Hurrah  1"  from  their  high  perches,  and 
called  the  schoolmaster  and  clergyman  by  nicknames.  I  had  long 
before  invented  these  nicknames  of  my  own  ideas,  having  considered 
the  appearance  of  both  men  in  so  doing,  but  I  had  never  uttered  them 
aloud.  I  told  them  to  their  faces  what  those  names  were  at  this 
opportunity,  and  the  rage  of  the  gentlemen  was  just  as  great  as  was 
the  astonishment  of  the  accused  boys.  After  they  had  come  down 
from  the  trees,  they  cut  big  birches,  and  told  me  to  climb  a  small  tree 
and  call  out  the  nicknames  from  the  top.  As  I  protested,  they  tied 
me  firmly  to  a  tree,  and  beat  me  with  the  birch  until  I  said  everything 
that  they  told  me  to  say,  including  the  indecent  words.  While  I  was 
callmg  out,  they  sneaked  away  behind  my  back,  and  a  peasant  came 
up  at  the  same  moment.  He  heard  the  dirty  things  I  was  saying,  and 
caught  me  by  the  car.    "Just  you  wait  till  I  catch  you  boys,"  he  called 


SUGGESTIBILITY  IN  CHILDREN  151 

years  who  completely  forgot  to  go  home  to  dinner  after 
she  had  come  out  of  school.  She  thereupon  suggested  to 
herself  a  perfectly  untrue  story,  according  to  which  she  had 
been  invited  to  dinner  by  a  lady,  had  been  driven  to  the 
house  in  a  carriage,  etc.  She  told  me  the  story  in  all  its 
details,  and  with  naive  conviction.  There  was  no  question 
that  she  was  telling  wilful  lies.  The  child  had  no  reason 
to  do  this,  and,  besides,  she  was  not  otherwise  untruthful. 

out :  "  I  have  got  this  one  ;"  and  with  this  he  dealt  me  several  blows. 
He  then  went  his  way  and  left  me  where  1  was.  The  light  was  fading. 
With  much  difficulty  I  freed  myself  from  my  bonds,  and  tried  to  find 
my  way  home  in  the  dark  wood.  I  missed  my  way  and  fell  into  a 
deep  brook,  in  which  I  partly  swam  and  partly  waded  until  I  came  to 
the  end  of  the  wood.  In  this  way,  after  experiencing  many  difficulties, 
I  succeeded  in  finding  the  right  way.  I  was,  however,  attacked  by  a 
big  billy-goat,  and  fought  him  with  a  pole  which  I  quickly  tore  from 
a  hedge,  and  beat  him  till  he  ran  away. 

'  Such  an  amount  of  eloquence  as  I  had  employed  in  telling  this 
story  had  never  before  been  heard  of  me  in  the  school.  No  one 
thought  of  asking  my  mother  if  she  could  remember  a  time  when  I 
had  come  home  of  an  evening  wet  through  and  through  ;  but  the  fact 
that  one  or  other  of  the  boys  had  played  the  truant  just  about  the  time 
of  which  I  had  been  speaking  was  brought  up  in  connection  with  what 
I  had  been  relating.  My  extreme  youth  was  believed  in,  as  was  my 
story  :  this  was  shot  unexpectedly  and  unconstrainedly  from  the  blue 
sky  of  my  habitual  silence.  The  accused  were  innocently  convicted 
as  wild,  ill-conditioned  young  fellows  ;  their  obstinate  and  unanimous 
denial  and  their  righteous  indignation  and  despair  only  made  matters 
worse.  They  received  the  most  severe  punishment  the  school  could 
give  them,  had  to  take  their  places  on  the  "shame"  bench,  and, 
besides,  they  were  whipped  and  locked  up  by  their  parents. 

'As  far  as  I  can  dimly  remember,  I  was  not  only  indifferent  in 
respect  to  the  wrong  which  I  had  done,  but  I  rather  felt  a  satisfaction 
in  myself  that  my  invention  had  been  so  prettily  and  visibly  smoothed 
by  poetic  license,  and  that  something  of  importance  had  taken  place, 
had  been  dealt  with,  and  had  been  suffered,  and  this  as  a  result  of  my 
creative  value.  I  did  not  understand  how  the  ill-used  boys  could 
lament  so  and  be  so  wild  vath  me,  as  the  excellent  course  of  the  story 
was  self-evident,  and  I  was  just  as  little  capable  of  altering  anything 
of  it  as  the  old  gods  were  of  altering  fate.' 

This  last  explanation  of  Keller's  corresponds  obviously  more  to  the 
later  reflections  of  the  adult  poet  than  to  the  direct  impressions  of 
the  child. 


152       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Keller's  story  and  its  true  importance  possesses  all  the 
more  scientific  value,  since  the  doctrine  of  suggestion 
was  still  quite  unkno\\Ti  at  the  time  when  '  Der  Gruene 
Heinrich '  appeared.  Keller,  thus  uninfluenced  by  any 
theory  and  investigation  of  others,  wrote  down  his 
excellent  psychological  observation. 

In  Psychiatry  one  has  long  recognised  cases  of  false 
self-accusations,  in  which  insane  patients  accuse  them- 
selves of  a  crime  which  they  ha.ve  not  committed,  giving 
the  most  minute  details,  and  applying  to  the  court  for 
punishment.  One  also  recognises  in  the  same  kind  of 
patients  the  occurrence  of  false  accusations  against 
other  persons.  One  has  hitherto  always  regarded  these 
things  as  delusions,  which  are  based  on  delusions  of 
sinning,  or  delusions  of  persecution,  or  hysteria,  mania, 
and  the  like.  This  is  mostly  the  case.  The  patients  are 
convinced  of  it ;  the  delusions  are  compulsory  auto- 
suggestions depending  on  mental  disease.  But  one  meets 
with  cases  in  which  these  self-accusations  are  possessed 
of  a  typically  suggestive  character,  and  are  only  associated 
with  very  trivial  mental  abnormalities.  I  myself  have 
come  across  a  case  of  a  man  who  accused  himself  of  having 
committed  a  murder  which  another  man  in  reality  had 
committed.  He  was  only  very  slightly  melancholic  and 
depressed.  He  realized  his  mistake  a  few  days  later,  and 
admitted  that  the  actual  murder  had  made  a  great 
impression  on  him.  Shortly  before  it  had  taken  place 
he  had  associated  with  the  accomplice  (a  female)  of  the 
murderer,  and  then  it  suddenly  seemed  as  if  he  himself 
had  committed  the  murder.  It  seemed  as  if  he  had 
experienced  every  single  circumstance  which  his  imagina- 
tion called  forth  in  him.  He  was  convinced,  and  could 
not  help  giving  himself  up  to  the  police  and  confessing  it 
all.  It  had  since  become  clear  to  him  that  this  was  only 
a  deception,  just  like  a  dream.  Manakow's  case  (a  case 
of  self-accusation  in  a  weak-minded  and  melancholic 
person,  1885)  was  of  a  similar  nature.     Here  the  patient 


LIES  153 

charged  herself  with  infanticide,  which  another  person 
had  committed,  although  she  herself  had  never  borne  a 
child,  and  was,  in  fact,  a  virgo  intacta. 

A  similar  condition  is  met  with  in  some  hysterical  and 
imaginative  liars.  These  persons  lie  to  themselves  and 
to  others  continually,  but  are  not  capable  of  distinguishing 
clearly  between  that  which  has  been  experienced  and 
that  which  has  been  invented.  They  cheat  and  make 
up  things,  either  half  consciously  or  quite  unconsciously. 
One  misunderstands  such  people  entirely  from  a  psycho- 
logical point  of  view  if  one  invests  their  false  statements 
with  the  dignity  of  conscious  lies.  XThey  are  instinct 
liars  ;  they  are  incapable  of  speaking  the  truth  even  if 
they  are  put  on  their  oath,  if  they  are  beaten  or  despised, 
if  one  applies  every  conceivable  means  of  kindness  or 
strictness  in  order  to  get  them  to  give  up  lying.  They 
only  continue  automatically  and  unconsciously  to  tell 
one  the  most  simple  and  useless  fairy  tales.  In  my 
youth  I  was  able  to  follow  up  the  history  of  one  of  my 
comrades  who  had  this  propensity,  and  attempted  every 
possible  means  of  breaking  him  of  it — in  vain.  He  had 
inherited  this  autosuggestive  peculiarity  from  his  mother, 
whom  he  had  never  known,  as  she  died  a  few  weeks  after 
his  birth.  In  this  case  one  is  dealing  with  a  constitutional 
brain  or  mental  disturbance  which  may  have  some 
relationship  with  a  habitual  diseased  autosuggestibility. 
The  salient  symptom  of  these  pathological  swindlers  can 
be  expressed  by  the  term  '  pseudologia  phantastica ' 
(see  Delbrueck,  loc.  cit.).  The  celebrated  swindler  of 
millions,  Theresa  Humbert,  was,  in  my  opinion,  certainly 
of  this  type. 

14.  Simulation  and  Dissimulation  of  Hypnosis.— 
It  must  be  apparent  to  every  thinking  person,  from  what 
has  been  said,  (i)  that  the  judgment  of  those  sceptic 
esprit  forts  who  cursorily  dismiss  hypnosis  as  humbug  is 
based  on  a  narrow-minded  bias,  without  a  personal  in- 
vestigation of  the  facts  ;  and  (2)  that,  on  the  other  hand. 


154       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

a  careful  criticism  and  self-criticism  is  necessary  in 
hypnotic  experiment,  as  every  one  of  the  experimenters 
of  standing  have  proved.  In  the  first  place,  every  hypno- 
tized person  is  weak  and  accommodating,  and  tries  to 
guess  the  intentions  of  the  hypnotist,  so  that  he  may 
carry  them  out.  This,  however,  is  not  malingering,  but 
is  suggestibility — i.e.,  plasticity  caused  by  dissociation  of 
the  brain  activity.  One  must  watch  the  inconsistency 
closely  which  lies  between  the  behaviour  of  the  hypnotized 
person  in  the  state  of  hypoconsciousness  and  his  state- 
ments in  the  state  of  superconsciousness.  One  must  take 
amnesia  into  account,  and  is  just  as  little  justified  in 
regarding  him  as  a  conscious  malingerer  as  one  is  in  re- 
garding him  as  an  unconscious  automatum.  However, 
some  people  half  unconsciously  simulate  the  symptoms 
of  hypnosis  from  a  diseased  desire  of  cheating  or  lying. 
These  are  usually  hysterical  persons,  or  the  kind  of  liars 
mentioned  above.  But  since  these  persons  believe  their 
lies  themselves,  their  hypnosis  is  neither  entirely  simu- 
lated nor  yet  entirely  real.  They  play  with  this,  add 
autosuggestions  to  it,  only  obey  those  suggestions  which 
appeal  to  their  fancies,  and  so  on.  The  more  phantastic 
and  dramatic  the  suggestion  is,  the  better  it  succeeds  with 
them,  as  a  rule.  But  these  are  extremely  unreliable 
subjects.  Some  schools,  and  especially  the  Salpetriere 
School,  have  unfortunately  fallen  into  the  error  of  using 
such  individuals  as  the  bases  for  their  experiments.  One 
further  meets  with  some  intensely  stupid  people  who 
think  that  one  only  wants  them  to  pretend  to  be  asleep, 
and  who  simulate  just  to  please  the  experimenter.  Bern- 
heim  calls  attention  to  this.  However,  it  is  very  easy  to 
discover  the  source  of  the  deception  by  personal  control 
and  by  well-directed  questions.  Still  another  class  is 
represented  by  those  conceitedly  stupid  people  who 
become  ashamed  later  on  of  having  been  hypnotized, 
and  declare  that  they  only  simulated,  although  they  were 
hypnotized  quite  well  in  reaUty.     Bernheim  paid  special 


SIMULATION  155 

attention  to  these  cases,  and  I,  too,  have  observed  them 
at  times.  If  one  can  find  them  out,  a  few  suggestions 
correctly  appHed,  as  a  rule,  suffice  to  compel  them  spon- 
taneously to  confess  their  false  statements  at  the  proper 
place.  Others,  again,  are  firmly  convinced  that  they 
have  not  been  hypnotized,  because  they  were  not  amnesic. 
They  say  that  they  did  not  try  to  bring  the  arm  down, 
for  instance.  In  this  case,  all  that  is  required  is  a  pressing 
invitation.  '  Do  try  to  bring  it  down  with  all  the  strength 
you  possess.  I  will  permit  it.  I  beg  of  you  to  try,  but 
you  cannot  do  it.' 

If  one  shows  a  hypnotized  person  that  one  mistrusts 
him,  one  can  give  him  the  suggestion  without  being  aware 
of  it  that  he  has  malingered,  and  thus  give  rise  to  a  false 
confession  of  simulation  (deception  of  memory).  I  have 
seen  a  classical  case  of  this  kind  which  was  produced  by 
a  mistrustful  doctor. 

The  hypnotized  person,  a  man,  came  to  me  crying,  and 
confessed  that  he  had  not  slept  at  all,  that  it  was  all  hum- 
bug— he  had  felt  all  the  pin-pricks — and  that  he  had  only 
carried  out  the  posthypnotic  phenomena  in  order  to 
please  me,  etc.  The  doctor  who  had  enticed  him  to 
make  this  confession  (without  doubt  by  means  of  sug- 
gestive questions,  and  with  the  best  of  intentions)  stood 
by  with  a  serious  face.  I  apparently  took  it  in,  gave  the 
hypnotized  a  good  talking  to,  and  said  that  he  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  himself  for  having  been  so  weak-minded. 
I  extracted  a  solemn  promise  from  him  in  future  only 
to  tell  me  the  absolute  truth.  He  was  deeply  moved 
as  he  promised  this.  Although  this  scene  was  very 
touching,  I  knew  quite  well  that  he  had  not  simulated, 
for  he  had  been  deeply  hypnotized,  and  was  totally 
somnambulic.  His  expression  during  the  hypnosis  and 
on  awakening  was  of  that  type  which  cannot  be  simu- 
lated. Immediately  after  he  had  given  the  promise, 
and  after  we  had  become  reconciled,  I  hypnotized  him 
again  in  the  presence  of  the  doctor.     I  then  suggested 


156       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

ancTsthesia  of  his  hand.  The  first  two  pricks  of  a  needle 
were  felt,  and  he  acknowledged  this  during  the  hypnosis  ; 
but  he  did  not  feel  anything  of  the  rest  of  the  pricks,  and 
denied  having  felt  anything,  and  the  rest  of  the  sugges- 
tions succeeded  as  they  had  done  before.  After  he  awoke 
he  acknowledged  that  he  had  felt  two  needle-pricks.  He 
did  not  know  anything  of  the  rest,  a.lthough  many  of  the 
later  ones  were  much  deeper  than  the  first.  In  this  way 
the  hypnotized  man  was  consoled  and  the  doctor  taught 
a  lesson. 

Oscar  Vogt  adds  the  following  -} 

'  Such  confessions  of  malingering  may  naturally  depend 
on  autosuggestion  as  well.  In  such  a  case,  it  presupposes 
a  certain  degree  of  influencing,  in  v/hich  a  transitory 
amnesia  at  the  utmost  is  present.  Two  cases  may  be 
cited  here  : 

'  (i)  The  patient,  whose  nervous  system  was  healthy, 
was  somnambulic  during  the  second  sitting.  He  carried 
out  some  commands  posthypnotically  with  promptitude. 
Before  he  left  the  doctor,  amnesia  for  the  commands 
wliich  he  had  carried  out  was  suggested  to  the  patient. 
He  left  the  doctor  perfectly  amnesic.  He  came  again 
in  three  days,  and  declared  that  he  had  not  been  hypno- 
tized. He  knew  all  that  had  occurred.  He  had  only 
carried  out  the  commands  of  the  doctor  to  please  him. 
The  amnesia  had  not  lasted,  and  this  circumstance  had 
called  forth  the  conception  that  he  had  not  been  hypno- 
tized at  all.     A  renewed  hypnosis  convinced  the  patient. 

*  (2)  A  medical  man  who  was  much  inclined  to  auto- 
suggestions was  hypnotized.  The  patient  became 
somnambulic.  A  posthypnotic  hallucination  and  post- 
liypnotic  carrying  out  of  a  command  succeeded  promptly. 
The  patient,  who  suffered  from  sleeplessness,  was  to  take 
a  drink  of  water  in  the  evenings,  and  then  go  to  sleep  at 
once.  After  he  awoke,  the  patient  was  doubtful  whether 
he  had  slept.  He  was  absolutely  amnesic.  During  the 
1  A.  Forcl,  '  Hypnotism,'  third  edition. 


MALINGERING  i57 

course  of  the  day  the  amnesia  became  lost.  In  the 
evening  he  had  already  become  very  doubtful  whether 
he  had  been  hypnotized  at  all.  Since  it  was  just  possible, 
he  again  drank  some  water,  but  without  going  to  sleep 
after  it.  He  then  became  convinced  that  he  had  not 
been  hypnotized.' 

The  two  last-mentioned  categories  of  deceptions,  as 
one  can  see,  do  not  offer  any  serious  difficulty,  while  the 
first  (hysterical  persons  and  pathological  swindlers)  is 
frequently  impossible  to  be  sure  of,  on  account  of  the 
indistinguishable  mixing  up  with  real  hypnosis.  The 
only  class  still  remaining  to  be  mentioned  is  that  of  con- 
scious malingering  for  definite  reasons.  This  is  possible, 
and  may  lead  to  deception  at  first,  since  one  has  to  be 
careful  in  hypnotizing  a  person  for  the  first  time.  How- 
ever, the  malingerer  runs  the  risk  of  being  caught — ix,, 
of  being  hypnotized — if  he  acts  his  part  too  well.  If  he 
does  not  act  well,  he  will  not  be  able  to  deceive  an  ex- 
perienced experimenter  for  long.  But,  after  all,  the 
whole  thing  is  only  done  as  a  rather  stupid  joke,  which 
but  few  people  are  inclined  for,  and  least  of  all  a  patient 
who  wishes  to  be  cured. 

Professor  Fr.  Fuchs,^  of  Bonn,  has  written  a  very 
humorous,  sarcastic  satire  on  the  hypnotic  demonstra- 
tion of  a  '  foreign  master,'  and  believes  that  he  has 
exposed  a  somnambulist  in  his  true  character  of  malingerer. 
From  his  account  that  this  professor  '  had  practised  the 
important  discovery  of  the  distant  action  of  medicaments 
in  sealed  glasses,'  and  also  from  the  incredible  want  of 
method  of  the  experiments  which  he  had  witnessed,  I 
believe  that  I  am  not  mistaken  if  I  deduce  that  the 
master  and  professor  was  Dr.  Luys,  of  Paris.  If  Pro- 
fessor Fuchs  only  knows  hypnotism  through  Luys,  I 
must  acknowledge  that  I  cannot  find  much  fault  with 
his  criticism  ;  but  one  is  not  justified  in  stamping  brain 

1  Professor   Fr.  Fuchs,  '  The  Comedy  of  Hypnosis  '  {BerL  Klin. 
Wochenschrift^  No.  46,  November  17,  1890). 


158       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

anatomy  as  '  all  bosh  '  because  Luys  was  guilty  of  almost 
as  great  a  want  of  method  in  studying  the  anatomy  of 
the  brain,  and  described  fibre  systems  which  only  he 
was  able  to  see,  and  which  undoubtedly  do  not  exist,  etc. 
However,  Professor  Fuchs  arrived,  practically,  at  such- 
like conclusions  in  reference  to  hypnotism. 

The  experiment  which  Professor  Fuchs  carried  out  to 
prove  that  an  innocent  young  man,  who  had  been  hypno- 
tized publicly  by  Krause  in  Bonn,  had  been  acting  is 
interesting. 

Professor  Fuchs  himself  hypnotized  the  same  young 
man  later  on  to  control  the  matter.  He  gave  him  all 
sorts  of  suggestions  before  he  hypnotized  him,  which,  if 
they  should  take  place,  were  to  prove  that  the  man  was 
malingering — at  least,  so  he  thought.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  Fuchs  was  quite  unconscious  of  these  suggestions, 
but  they  were  none  the  less  insinuating.  For  example, 
he  explained  minutely  to  him  that  he  would  later  during 
the  hypnosis  compress  the  radial  nerve,  and  that  the 
muscles  supplied  by  it  would  contract,  but  actually 
demonstrated  to  him  the  movements  which  are  produced 
by  the  innervation  of  the  median.  This  suggestion  which 
Professor  Fuchs  so  forcibly  gave  during  the  waking  con- 
dition was  naturally  carried  out  by  the  individual  promptly 
during  the  hypnosis.  Professor  Fuchs,  however,  called 
out,  '  Caught  !  Simulation  !'  and  so  on.  Then  he  taxed 
the  young  man  with  having  malingered,  and  at  length 
extracted  the  confession  from  him  (again  by  suggestion) 
that  '  perhaps  he  had  been  acting  without  having  been 
aware  of  it  during  the  hypnosis.'  Professor  Fuchs  did 
not  press  him  to  make  a  full  confession,  so  that  the 
young  man  might  '  beat  an  honourable  retreat,'  or,  in 
other  words,  out  of  sheer  humanitarian  reasons.  I  am 
sure  that  he  could  have  retroactively  suggested  a  con- 
fession to  this  man  if  he  had  wished  to,  in  the  same 
way  as  the  doctor  had  done  in  the  case  mentioned 
above.      Still,   in    spite   of    the   apparent   exposure   by 


SIGNIFICANCE  OF  SUGGESTION  159 

Professor   Fuchs,    the    young    man    had    certainly   not 
mahngered. 

In  conclusion,  Professor  Fuchs  adds  a  very  excellent 
example  of  the  suggestive  cure  of  blepharospasm  by 
electric  current  from  his  own  practice.  He  declares 
himself  (just  as  we  do)  that  the  cure  was  not  due  to  the 
electricity,  but  to  the  imagination. 

It  is  really  quite  amusing,  and  at  the  same  time  instruc- 
tive, to  note  how  the  whole  of  Professor  Fuchs'  descrip- 
tion from  the  beginning  to  the  end  contains  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  suggestion  in  nearly  all  its  details, 
although  he  certainly  did  not  intend  it.  It  also  contains 
just  as  sharp  judgment  on  the  Charcot  school,  and,  it  is 
true,  a  harder  one  on.  Luys'  illusion. 

15.  The  Significance  of  Suggestion. — I  can  deal 
briefly  with  this,  and  refer  the  reader  further  to  what 
has  already  been  said.  The  principal  significance  of 
suggestion  is  a  psychological  and  psychophysiological 
one.  It  offers  the  psychologists  a  scientific  method  for 
experimenting,  the  like  of  which  they  did  not  possess 
hitherto.  That  it  is  a  wonderfully  delicate  and  many- 
sided  reagent  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  can  influence 
and  modify  all  the  characteristics  of  the  mind  down  to 
the  finest  variations  of  logic,  ethics,  and  aesthetics.^ 

On  looking  more  closely  at  it,  suggestion  is  revealed 
to  us  as  being  an  invasion  into  the  associative  dynamics 
of  our  mind.  It  dissociates  that  which  was  associated, 
and  associates  that  which  was  not  associated  before. 
Its  chief  invasion  is  an  inhibitory  one,  is  a  dissociation 
of  the  associated  (hypoconceived)  automatisms  of  the 
mind  (brain).  The  dissociated  dynamics  of  the  brain 
of  the  hypnotized  person  are  in  the  condition  of  weakness 
or  of  hypotaxis,  as  compared  with  the  well-concen- 
trated and  associated  dynamics  of  the  hypnotist,  which 
press  the  suggestion  into  the  former  by  the  way  of  the 
organs  of  special  sense.     Its  activity  becomes  plastically 

1  O.  Vogt  (see  p.  165),  and  Naeffs  thesis  on  'A  Case  of  Amnesia.' 


i6o       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

mouldable,  and  is  compelled  to  adapt  itself  more  or  less 
irresistibly  to  the  suggestion.  The  cause  of  this  subor- 
dination does  not  lie  so  much  in  the  special  strength  of 
the  hypnotist  as  in  the  feeling  and  in  the  conviction  of 
the  subjection  or  the  being  influenced  on  the  part  of  the 
hypnotized  person.  We  are  all  in  the  condition  of  hypo- 
taxis,  of  weakness,  of  dissociation  during  normal  sleep, 
and  we  then  confuse  all  our  thoughts  (dreams)  with 
actual  occurrences.  For  this  reason  sleep  is  very  advan- 
tageous for  suggestion.  During  sleep  even  the  more 
powerful  brain  must  obey  the  suggestions  of  an  otherwise 
less  powerful  brain,  which,  as  it  is  in  a  waking  condition, 
is  more  powerfully  associated.  But  if  once  a  mind  A 
(a  brain)  has  been  energetically  influenced  by  another, 
B,  in  this  way,  the  possibility  of  being  influenced  by 
the  mind  B  remains  by  means  of  the  recollection  which 
heis  called  forth  the  conviction  that  B  is  capable  of 
acting  on  the  mind  A.  Still,  it  is  the  activity  of  the 
mind  (the  brain)  A  which  in  reality  accomplishes  the 
potent  action  of  the  suggestion.  It  is  only  guided  more 
or  less  definitely  and  at  will  by  the  mind  B — i.e.,  is 
incited  to  dissociation,  association,  inhibition,  or  to 
marked  development.  Similar  processes  are  at  work  in 
the  taming  of  lions  and  elephants. 

B  only  uses  those  dynamisms  present  in  A,  which 
work  as  idiosyncrasies  in  the  dynamisms  of  the  mind 
A,  and  which  only  follow  the  suggestions  from  B 
because  they  are  no  longer  capable  of  inducing  a  conscious 
general  concentration,  and  no  longer  recognise  their  own 
power.  A's  dynamisms  are  therefore  taken  unawares 
more  and  more  by  B's  suggestions,  and  always  follow 
them  more  and  more  automatically — at  all  events  at  first. 

The  same  sort  of  conditions  apply  to  the  influence  of 
persons  on  one  another  in  pohtical  and  also  in  social  hfe 
generally.  One  meets  with  it  in  the  case  of  the  ring- 
leader among  children,  and  among  animals  ;  in  certain 
prophets    and    chiefs;    in    the   white    man    against    the 


HISTORICAL  IMPORTANCE  OF  SUGGESTION     i6i 

coloured  races ;  in  Napoleon  and  Bismarck  against 
Europe ;  in  human  beings  against  the  domestic  animals  ; 
and  in  the  victors  against  the  conquered  generally,  not 
only  in  man,  but  also  in  animals.  One  can  even  observe 
similar  nerve  phenomena  in  insects  (ants),^  when  a  large 
number  of  larger  and  stronger  insects  have  been  impu- 
dently taken  by  surprise  by  a  few  weaker  ones,  and  run 
away  without  resistance  and  without  pluck,  leaving  their 
larvae  and  young,  whom  they  usually  nurse  so  carefully, 
in  a  cowardly  way.  This  is  a  very  striking  suggestion 
action  ;  but,  however  tempting  they  are,  one  should  not 
attribute  a  too  literal  importance  to  these  analogies. 
They  are,  after  all,  only  analogous  processes. 

One  must  not  regard  the  real  influencing  of  a  person 
by  means  of  pure  reasoning  as  suggestion.  But  there  is 
a  large  number  of  transition  stages  possible  between 
these  actions  and  those  of  perfectly  unconscious  true 
suggestions. 

The  historical  and  ethnological  importance  of  sug- 
gestion is  much  greater  than  one  supposes.  I  must 
refer  my  readers  to  the  estimable  work  of  Professor  Otto 
Stoll,  '  Suggestion  and  Hypnotism  in  the  Psychology 
of  the  Nations.' 2  Its  action  shows  itself  in  all  races,  in 
all  grades  of  culture,  and  plays  an  important  part  es- 
pecially in  religion  and  mystic.  Stoll  has  shown  that 
this  is  so  very  strikingly.  One  can  trace  it  phylogeneti- 
cally  from  the  lowest  developed  races  down  to  the 
various  species  of  the  animal  kingdom. 

An  extraordinary  historical  case,  in  which  auto- 
suggestive  hallucination  played  a  part  of  world-wide 
importance,  is  met  with  in  Joan  of  Arc,  the  maid  of 
Orleans.     I  refer  the  reader  to  the  work  of  Dr  J..  Zuercher 

1  Forel,  'Fourmis  de  la  Suisse,'  1877,  p.  314,  and  'The  Psychical 
Capabilities  of  Ants,'  p.  37  (Miinchen,  1901). 

2  Professor  Otto  Stoll, '  Suggestion  and  Hypnotism  in  the  Psychology 
of  the  Nations,'  Leipzig,  1905,  second  edition  (K.  F.  Koehler,  anti- 
quarian). 

II 


i62       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

on  this  important  subject.^  I  am  of  opinion  that  Joan 
of  Arc  was  a  genial  and  ethically  disposed  hysteric. 
Her  hallucinations  did  not  depend  on  a  mental  disturb- 
ance, but  on  continuous  autosuggestions,  which  were 
produced  by  her  religious  and  patriotic  exaltation. 

As  we  have  seen,  suggestion  is  of  practical  importance 
for  medical  therapy.  Habits  are  often  induced  auto- 
suggestively,  and  removed  suggestive^. 

And  thus  I  am  brought  to  the  consideration  of  the 
pa^dagogic  importance  of  suggestion.  Those  who  do  not 
understand  suggestion  will  be  terrified  by  the  thought 
of  this.  But  he  who  has  completely  grasped  it  will  know 
how  to  employ  it  paedagogically  in  two  ways  : 

Firstly,  symptomatically,  one  might  almost  say  medi- 
cally, in  order  to  combat  bad  and  harmful  habits  and 
perverse  qualities  of  character.  In  this  case  it  must  be 
applied  in  the  same  way  as  in  therapeutic  hypnosis,  and, 
as  in  the  latter  case,  one  must  contrive  to  only  use  it  as 
long  as  it  is  necessary,  and  not  ad  infinitum.  One  will  have 
to  use  all  means  to  make  the  result  a  lasting  one,  which 
will  propagate  itself  by  properly-guided  autosuggestions. 

Secondly,  the  suggestion  regarded  from  another  point 
of  view  becomes  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  future 
problems  of  paedagogism  and  of  developmental  psy- 
chology. Everyone  is  aware  that  some  teachers,  parents, 
guardians,  etc.,  can  achieve  anything  they  please  with 
children,  while  others  attain  just  the  reverse,  and  only 
reap  disobedience  and  contradictions.  This  depends 
simply  on  the  fact  that  the  children  are  subjected  to  the 
unconscious  suggestion  action  of  the  first  named,  but  not 
of  the  latter.  Repeated  unskilful  threats,  dissatisfac- 
tion and  complaints  that  the  authority  (e.g.,  of  a 
father)  is  not  respected,  powerless  exhibition  of  feehngs, 
especially  of  the  feeling  of  anger — in  short,  reveahng  of 
weaknesses — are  things  which,  as  is  well  known,  produce 
disobedience,  the  spirit  of  contradiction,  and,  in  conse- 

^  Dr.  Josephine  Zuercher  (Leipzig  :  Oswald  Mutze,  1895). 


PiEDAGOGIC  SUGGESTION  163 

quence,  obstinacy  toward  education  in  children.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  man  who  knows  how  to  teach  obe- 
dience as  a  natural,  unavoidable  thing,  and  who  puts 
what  he  teaches  above  all  possibility  of  dispute,  does 
nothing  else  than  suggest  instinctively.  He  will  be 
instinctively  obeyed.  Exaggeration  of  this  method, 
especially  continuation  of  it  in  children  up  to  an  advanced 
age,  breeds  the  danger  of  fostering  the  belief  in  authority 
and  dependence  on  others.  Reasonable  discussion  must 
be  introduced  into  the  mind  at  a  suitable  time  and  in  a 
proper  place.  Once  one  has  grasped  that  the  key  of 
these  mental  actions  and  reactions  in  children  is  to  be 
found  in  the  proper  application  of  suggestion,  paedagogism 
will  learn  to  use  that  which  has  hitherto  been  applied 
unconsciously  and  irregularly  with  consciousness  and 
system,  and  will  derive  enormous  benefits  from  it.  Above 
all,  one  must  suggest  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  school  an 
awakening  of  interest  for  the  school  to  the  children  by 
means  of  love  and  enthusiasm,  just  as  the  hypnotist 
wins  his  patients  over  for  himself.  The  secret  of  the 
successes  of  Dr.  Lietz's  new  reform  school  in  Ilsenburg- 
Haubinda,  of  Dr.  Reddie's  school  in  Abbotsholme,  and 
Messrs.  Zuberbuehler  and  Frei's  school  in  Glarisegg 
(Switzerland),  depends  in  part  on  this,  while  the  old 
school  system,  on  the  contrary,  often  suggests  antipathy 
for  the  school  and  teachers  to  the  pupils. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  clear  idea  of  the  paedagogic  value 
of  suggestion,  one  must  remember  that  the  character  of 
a  person  at  every  epoch  of  his  existence  is  the  product 
of  two  component  complexes,  inheritance  and  adaptation. 
One  usually  makes  the  mistake  of  attempting  to  trace 
everything  from  one  or  other  only  of  those  two  com- 
plexes. The  inherited  disposition  forms  the  deeper, 
more  tenacious  power  ;  but  it  may  be  implanted  at  times 
more  deeply,  and  at  times  less  deeply.  In  the  latter 
case,  it  is  possible  to  tackle  it  by  means  of  consistent 
educational  (adapted)  action  all  the  more  successfully, 

II — 2 


i64       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

so  that  on  being  repeated  over  again  these  actions  may 
become  habit  or  secondary  automatisms.  Suggestion  can 
step  in  here  and  work  successfully. 

I  must  refer  in  this  place  to  the  important  social  side 
of  suggestion.  One  realizes,  generally  speaking,  that 
good  manners  are  destroyed  by  bad  company,  and  that 
young  people  and  women  are  especially  easily  corrupted. 
One  recognises  the  power  of  the  press,  of  fashion,  of 
public  opinion,  of  ridicule,  of  political  and  religious 
fanaticism,  of  trashy  novels,  etc.  But  one  overrates  the 
capability  of  the  '  freewill '  of  the  '  free  man  '  to  protect 
himself  against  these  mass  suggestions.  A  closer  and 
deeper  study  of  the  conditions  shows  up  the  terrible 
weakness  of  the  majority  toward  the  power  of  such 
suggestions.  How  can  a  poor  girl  escape  the  insidious, 
cunning  traps  which  the  accomplices  of  the  trading  pro- 
curer sets,  assisting  himself  with  every  psychological  lever 
of  deception,  seduction,  want  of  money,  alcohol,  and  in- 
timidation ?  How  does  the  conceited  mass  of  voters 
stand  toward  superficial  gossip,  and  the  frequently 
systemized  perversion  of  the  half-educated,  who  so  often 
take  upon  themselves,  as  journalists,  to  judge  customs 
and  to  teach  the  world  ?  And  how  does  it  stand  toward 
the  machinations  of  political  cliques  ?  We  know^  by 
experience  that  a  few  cleverly-chosen  words,  and  not 
the  argument  of  reason,  nor  even  the  simple  truth, 
suggest  to  the  great  mass,  who  are  just  hke  a  herd  of 
sheep,  better  than  anything  else  ;  and  that  the  few  more 
reasoning  independent  people  who  will  not  follow  are 
left  in  the  lurch.  When  will  the  contrasuggestion  of  a 
healthy  human  morality  gain  the  upper  hand  over  the 
destructive  suggestions  of  our  immoral  pohtics  and 
literature  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  out-of-date  religious 
mystic  on  the  other  ?  After  all,  suggestion  does  not  act 
in  its  pure,  true  form  in  all  these  cases  ;  it  is  combined 
largely  with  more  or  less  conceived,  misunderstood 
arguments  of  reason,  and,  above  all,  with  feelings  and 


PHYSIOLOGY  165 

sensations,  so  that  it  is  as  a  rule  difficult  to  distinguish 
between  these  various  elements. 

16.  The  Nature  of  the  x\ction  of  Suggestion. — 
That  which  we  know  psychologically  of  suggestion  lies, 
on  the  one  hand,  in  the  sphere  of  consciousness,  and  in 
the  observed  motor,  vasomotor,  secretory,  and  similar 
reactions,  on  the  other  hand.  But  how  does  the  matter 
stand  when  viewed  in  a  physiological  light  ?  What  takes 
place  physiologically  in  those  hypoconceived  mechanisms 
which  connect  the  suggestion  with  its  action,  and  into 
which  hypnosis  supplies  us  with  a  fleeting,  incomplete, 
merely  subjective,  and  therefore  psychological  insight  by 
means  of  sporadic  associations  of  superconceived  pro- 
cesses, with  the  contents  of  the  hypoconsciousness  ? 

Meynert,  Wernicke,  Munk,  Exner,  Sachs,  and  others, 
have  attempted,  on  the  evidence  of  the  results  obtained 
in  the  anatomy  of  the  brain,  to  form  an  idea  of  the 
mechanism  of  the  neurokymes  of  the  brain.  The 
synthetic  introspection  of  the  latter  represents  conscious- 
ness. The  contents  of  consciousness  must  always  remain 
fragmentary  to  us,  for  the  reasons  already  given.  Physi- 
ology alone  can  lead  to  a  doctrine  of  the  mechanism  of  the 
mind,  as  it  can  supply  a  complete  chain  of  argument.  It 
is  true  that  we  do  not  possess  the  key  to  the  mechanisms 
of  life  ;  but  we  can  attempt  to  explain  it,  notwithstand- 
ing, biologically  and  approximately,  with  the  help  of  con- 
clusions by  analogy.  In  my  opinion,  Oscar  Vogt  has 
made  the  best  attempt  to  explain  the  dynamism  of  the 
brain.     I  propose  to  give  extracts  from  his  explanation. 

Oscar  Vogfs  Hypothetical  Views'^  on  the  Nature  and 
Psychological  Import  of  Hypnotism. — Vogt,  in  his  excel- 
lent work,  calls  the  massed  mechanism  of  the  brain, 
which  corresponds  to  a  psychological  process,  '  con- 
stellation.'    This   constellation   is   the  product   of  con- 

1  Oscar  Vogt,  '  Contributions  to  our  Knowledge  of  the  Nature  and 
Psychological  Import  of  Hypnotism,'  Zeitschrift  fur  Hyp?Jofisun(s, 
1895-1896  (Leipzig  :  Ambrosius  Barth). 


i66       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

scious  and  unconscious  (hypoconscious)  processes.  It 
influences  both  the  quahty  and  the  intensity  of  the 
central  excitabihty.  It  can  even  exceed  in  importance, 
in  virtue  of  its  assimilating  activity,  the  peripheral 
stimulation  for  the  quality  of  the  central  excitability. 
The  apparent  freedom  of  will  is  based  on  this  sort  of  thing. 

Vogt  accepts  parallelism  terminologically,  but  inter- 
prets it  in  the  hght  of  monistic  identity,  and  not  of  dualism. 
Peripheral  stimuli  of  too  powerful  a  nature  produce  un- 
consciousness instead  of  hyperaesthetic  phenomena  of 
consciousness  in  response  to  a  cutting  off  caused  by 
vasomotor  changes.  Our  qualitative  and  quantitative 
psychological  powers  of  differentiating  are  based  on  a 
passive  becoming  conscious  of  physiological  differences 
(in  this,  for  example,  Vogt  accepts  the  identity  theory). 

WTierever  phenomena  of  consciousness  appear,  these 
tend  at  once  to  become  synthetic  processes,  so  that  man 
from  his  youth  upwards  already  possesses  complex 
psychical  phenomena.  The  synchronous  irritability  of 
the  individual  elements  of  the  contents  of  conscious- 
ness leads  to  their  association,  which  becomes  fixed 
by  habit.  A  primary  degree  of  fixation  is  necessary  for 
a  psychological  synthesis.  Further  fixation  causes  recog- 
nition, and  still  further  fixation  causes  associative  repro- 
duction capability.  There  are  simultaneous  and  conse- 
cutive associations. 

Wundt  uses  the  term  '  assimilation '  for  the  fact  that 
in  the  whole  psychological  area  of  the  memory  of  man 
only  those  sensations  occur  which  are  associated  by  the 
co-irritation  of  the  impressions  of  memory,  and  not 
isolated  sensations  in  general.  For  this  reason  new 
elements  in  alternating  sequence  are  intermingled  with 
the  same  conception  at  each  repetition,  and  the  con- 
ception is  in  consequence  never  quite  identical — e.g.,  the 
conception  of  a  rose. 

The  principle  of  psychical  synthesis  is  thus  that  com- 
plete complexes  of  elements  of  consciousness  are  never 


VOGT'S  VIEWS  167 

bound  together  or  intermingled,  but  only  the  individual 
elements.  In  order  that  it  can  be  reproduced,  an  asso- 
ciation must  therefore  be  fixed,  in  so  far  that  it  can  be 
excited  in  its  entirety  from  each  of  its  elements. 

Vivid  pictures  of  the  imagination  are  qualitatively 
much  more  nearly  related  to  sensations  in  highly  dis- 
sociable persons. 

The  intensity  of  a  conception  depends  on  the  intensity 
of  the  excitability  of  the  individual  elements,  while  its 
clearness  (Lehmann)  depends  on  the  extent  of  the  same 
— i.e.,  on  the  number  of  elements  excited  at  the  same 
time.     These  are  therefore  different  things. 

Next,  psychical  energy  of  an  individual  forms  a  con- 
stant under  constant  conditions  of  nutrition.  This  may 
be  taken  to  mean,  for  example,  that  one  cannot  suffer 
intensely  from  toothache,  and  at  the  same  time  follow  a 
play  intently.  The  intensity  of  one  process  necessitates 
a  weakening  of  that  of  others. 

Associations  move  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  energy, 
in  the  order  arranged  by  habit,  always  in  the  direction 
of  least  resistance.  When  this  appears  not  to  be  the 
case,  the  cause  is  hypoconceived. 

Vogt  explains  attention  as  follows  :  The  centre  whose 
metabolism  is  increasing  receives  functional  stimuli  from 
the  centres  whose  metabolism  is  decreasing.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  vastly  more  peripheral  stimuli  for  the  senses 
travel  up  to  the  brain  than  are  recognised  (felt).  These 
numerous  neurokymes,  arriving  in  the  brain,  are  all 
deflected  to  the  situation  where  a  marked  excitability 
is  taking  place,  and  the  latter  becomes  thereby  increased. 
If  two  centres  are  equally  excited,  the  neurokymes  arriv- 
ing are  divided  correspondingly.  If  a  certain  centre  (A). 
is  alone  excited,  and  a  neurokyme  from  without  arrives 
suddenly  at  a  second  centre  (B),  exciting  it  intensely,  all 
the  neurokymes  will  be  deflected  to  B,  and  the  excita- 
bility of  A  will  diminish.  In  this  way  the  attention  will 
be  diverted  from  A  to  B.     Illusions  can  be  produced  in 


i68       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

a  similar  manner.  For  example,  suppose  that  a  person 
is  expecting  someone.  A  sound  is  heard,  and  this  person 
believes  that  he  can  recognise  the  footsteps  of  the  person 
expected.  The  marked  expectation  has  so  strengthened 
the  impression  of  the  memory  of  the  well-known  foot- 
steps that  it  drowns  the  real  noise  with  which  it  is  assimi- 
lated, and  thus  causes  the  illusion. 

These  considerations  induced  Vogt  to  revert  to  the  old 
views  of  Schiff,  which  state  that  deflections  of  the  energy 
of  stimulation  cause  neurodynamic  inhibitions,  and  these 
are  to  be  regarded  as  compensation  phenomena  for  con- 
duction taking  place  in  other  directions.  In  this  way 
it  is  not  only  the  situation  of  the  stimulation,  but  also 
its  intensity,  which  influences  the  quality  of  the  action. 
Freusberg  found,  by  way  of  example,  that  a  mild  stimulus 
to  the  penis  of  a  dog  produces  an  erection,  but  a  stronger 
stimulus  to  the  erected  penis  leads  to  relaxation,  but  causes 
at  the  same  time  a  reflex  excitation  of  a  leg  movement. 
This  is  due  to  a  part  of  the  stronger  congested  energy  of 
stimulation  being  radiated  from  the  erection  centre,  and 
reaching  in  this  way  the  centre  for  the  reflex  excitation 
of  the  leg.  Since  the  latter  is  more  strongly  excitable, 
all  the  neurokymes  then  travel  to  it,  and  the  penis  in 
consequence  relaxes.  A  number  of  similar  facts  support 
Vogt's  view  that  the  increased  intensity  of  attention  is 
referred  to  an  opening  up  of  a  path  by  attracted  neuro- 
kymes. 

Vogt  further  adopts  Hering's  view  that  all  psychical 
phenomena,  movements  included,  are  caused  by  peri- 
pheral stimuh,  and  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  pure 
centrogenous  movement.  Hering  showed,  for  example, 
that  a  decapitated  frog  becomes  completely  motionless 
as  soon  as  one  divides  all  the  posterior  spinal  roots.  But 
the  direction  in  which  the  peripheral  neurokymes  travel 
to  the  central  nervous  system  naturally  depends  on  their 
constellation  for  the  moment. 

Dissociations    are    constellations    deflected    from    the 


VOGT'S  THEORY  OF  SLEEP      169 

usual  normal  condition  during  waking.  Here  one  meets 
with  all  sorts  of  transitions,  from  a  mild  warping  of  judg- 
ment to  dreaming. 

The  diminution  of  excitability,  which  we  call  inhibi- 
tion, takes  the  shape  normally  of  a  change  of  nutrition. 

A  lessening  of  metabolism  causes  exhaustion,  so  that 
the  dissimilation  overbalances  the  assimilation.  Anaemia 
of  the  brain,  which  is  always  associated  with  sleep,  causes 
a  similar  process,  but  is  introduced  by  tiring  (dissocia- 
tion). In  a  dissociated  dream  the  neurokyme  is  con- 
gested in  one  centre,  as  a  result  actually  of  this  anaemia. 
This  prevents  the  awakening  of  associated  contraconcep- 
tions,  and  increases  the  intensity  of  the  dream. 

The  Theory  of  Sleep. — I  showed  the  inadequateness  of 
the  theories  which  attempted  to  refer  sleep  to  a  collec- 
tion of  exhaustion  products — lactic  acid  (Preyer) — or 
which  tried  to  measure  the  depth  of  sleep  by  the  intensity 
of  the  stimulus  necessary  to  awaken  (Kohlschuetter), 
as  far  back  as  the  third  edition  of  this  book.  I  have 
shown,  as  the  earlier  experts  on  dreams  (Maury,  inter 
alia)  have  done,  that  the  brain  can  be  exhausted  without 
sleeping,  can  sleep  without  being  exhausted,  and  that 
faint  stimuli  may  awaken  when  strong  ones  fail.  In 
brief,  I  showed  that  sleep  undoubtedly  is  connected  with 
suggesting  mechanisms  which  are  adapted  in  quite  another 
way,  even  though  they  are  favoured  by  exhaustion. 
Oscar  Vogt  now  develops  a  very  ingenious  view,  which 
in  general  is  in  accordance  with  this,  only  it  takes  physio- 
logical conditions  further  into  account. 

We  have  seen  that  the  excitability  of  centres  increases 
by  conduction  if  no  other  stronger  excitability  acts  by 
deflection.  There  are  certain  centres,  among  which  the 
reflex  centre  for  the  closure  of  the  orbicularis  oculi  muscle 
may  be  cited,  whose  excitability  tend  to  call  forth  the 
neurodynamic  processes  occurring  on  going  to  sleep. 
When  the  cerebral  cortex  is  less  excited  as  a  result  of 
exhaustion,  the  neurokymes  are  guided  to  those  centres. 


170       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

But  they  may  also  be  excited  by  association,  suggestion, 
etc.,  and  sleep  may  be  produced  in  this  way.     One  of  the 
vasomotor  reflex  centres,  however,  is  still  more  impor- 
tant.    This  centre,  when  excited,  causes  an  increasing 
aucTmia  of  the  brain,  and  this  produces  dulness,  etc.,  and 
sleep.     Mosso  has  proved  beyond  doubt  that  an  anaemia 
of  the  brain  is  associated  with  sleep.     But  observation 
and  hypnotism  particularly  prove  that  this  can  be  pro- 
duced by  means  of  associated  reflexes,  and  not  only  by 
means  of  exhaustion.     In  consequence,  such  a  vasomotor 
centre  is  a  direct  postulate.     It  is  a  general  law  of  our 
life  that  increased  activity  is  associated  with  hyperaemia, 
and  lessened  activity  with  anaemia.     But  this  law  can 
only  be  brought  into  line  with  the  facts  of  sleep  by  the 
help  of  the  supposition  mentioned  above.     Vogt  gives  a 
number  of  further  proofs  for  this.     In  this  way  it  is 
explained  why  undressing,    the  bedroom,   the  sight   of 
someone   yawning,    the   accustomed   hour,    and   similar 
sensations  or  conceptions,  induce  the  conception  of  sleep, 
and,  by  working  out  paths  for  themselves,  act  upon  the 
reflex  centres  of  sleep,  cause  the  eyes  to  close,  and  intro- 
duce the  anaemia  of  the  brain.     A  single  remembrance  or 
an  association  thought  associated  with  a  previous  going 
to  sleep  may  even  suffice  to  produce  this  action.    In  this 
way  th"e  rapid  achieving  of  sleep  by  suggestion  is  per- 
fectly  explained.     It   is   not   necessary   for   the   person 
going  to  sleep  to  be  conscious  of  the  act  of  going  to  sleep 
or  its  causes,  for  the  goal  of  sleep,  toward  which  all  the 
ncurokymc?  aim,  is  not  the  conception  of  sleep,  but  is 
the  subcortical  sleep  centre. 

The  functional  rest  of  sleep  repairs  cerebral  exhaustion, 
should  this  be  present !  The  excitability  of  the  cerebrum 
is  thereby  increased  again,  and  more  neurokymes  are 
again  guided  to  it.  The  anaemia  lessens,  and  one  awakens 
gradually,  if  a  stimulus  does  not  suddenly  produce  the 
awakening  by  a  more  powerful  conduction  of  neuro- 
kymes. 


VOGT'S  VIEWS  OF  SLEEP  171 

It  is  primarily  the  cerebral  cortex  whose  excitability  is 
diminished  during  sleep.  In  the  early  stage  of  sleep 
(tiredness)  a  tendency  for  motor  expression  shows  itself, 
probably  in  consequence  of  the  simplification  of  the  reflex 
arch.  In  a  higher  degree  of  this  simplification,  before 
functional  incapability  sets  in,  the  so-called  catalepsy,  the 
flexihilitas  cerea,  takes  place,  in  which  a  limb  remains 
in  any  given  position.  During  the  condition  of  waking 
all  constellations  are  purposefully  employed,  distributed, 
and  active.  If  the  choice  of  attention  does  not  keep  the 
arm  raised,  the  neurokymes  will  be  required  elsewhere, 
and  it  (the  arm)  will  fall.  But  during  sleep  there  is  a 
degree  of  diminution  of  the  excitability  of  the  cortex  in 
which  the  neurokymes  arriving  can  no  longer  radiate 
sufficiently  on  the  association  tracks,  and  therefore  stag- 
nate at  the  direct  terminals  of  the  centripetal  track. 
The  excitability  of  the  muscular  sense  can  evidence  itself 
in  this  case  only  by  movement,  but  this  takes  place  in 
consequence  more  strongly.  Vogt,  basing  his  opinion 
on  probabilities,  concludes  that  this  phenomenon  is 
cortical,  and  that  it  causes  catalepsy  (fixation  of  passive 
positions). 

This  cataleptic  stage  lies  in  point  of  time  between  deep 
sleep  and  the  waking  condition  ;  it  occurs,  therefore, 
before  waking  and  after  going  to  sleep.  It  can  be  demon- 
strated frequently  in  normal  sleep,  but  its  duration  varies 
considerably  in  different  individuals.  The  degree  of  the 
rigidity  also  varies.  Liebeault  has  shown  that  one  can 
produce  it  in  normal  sleep  by  repeatedly  raising  the  arm. 

The  next  stage  is  that  of  complete  relaxation,  in  which 
the  neurokymes  diminish  in  the  cortical  muscular  sense, 
and  withdraw  from  the  subcortical  centres. 

Vogt  quotes  the  experiments  of  Bubnoff,  Heidenhain, 
and  Janet  in  support  of  his  view.  The  cortical  nature 
of  catalepsy  and  of  hysterical  anaesthesia  is  deduced  from 
these  experiments. 

The  associations  of  ideas  in  dreams  are  of  a  passive 


172       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

nature,  and  acquire  the  subjective  character  of  impressions 
(Vogt  always  uses  this  word  for  perceptions  as  well).  Volun- 
tary thinking  ceases,  and  the  connection  between  the  con- 
ceptions becomes  loosened  ;  the  person  going  to  sleep 
becomes  increasingly  passive  toward  them.  From  this 
a  kind  of  subjective  flight  of  thoughts  arises,  which, 
however,  corresponds  in  reality  to  an  inhibition  of  think- 
ing (Ashaffenburg,  Kraepelin),  and  to  a  slowed  course  of 
ideas. 

\'ogt  argues  against  me  because  I  accept  an  uninter- 
rupted dreaming  during  sleep,  and  believes  that  the  fact 
that  one  finds  one's  self  in  the  midst  of  a  dream  chain  if 
one  is  suddenly  awakened  out  of  a  deep  sleep  proves 
nothing.  This  could  take  place  so  quickly  that  the  com- 
mencement of  the  dream  chain  could  have  set  in  at  the 
moment  of  being  awakened.  My  observations  contra- 
dict this  explanation,  because  the  suddenness  of  the 
awakening  was  too  great  to  have  possibly  allowed  suffi- 
cient time  for  so  many  dream  linkings.  The  tone  on 
awakening  frequently  became  interlaced  with  the  ending 
of  the  dream  chain.  One  cannot  lay  any  weight  on  the 
subjective  statements  of  not  having  dreamed,  on  account 
of  the  usual  amnesia.  On  the  other  hand,  one  must  admit 
that  absolute  proof,  at  all  events  at  present,  can  hardly 
be  obtained. 

As  a  rule,  slightly  excitable  associations,  which  occupied 
us  considerably  in  the  past,  take  place  during  dreaming 
(railway  scenes,  examinations,  etc. ;  for  example,  I  often 
dream  that  T  am  an  assistant  or  the  Director  at  the  Asylum 
again).  This  is  due  to  the  diminished  excitabihty  of 
the  cortex.  1  may  add  that  peculiar  associations  insinuate 
themselves  from  unconceived  chains  into  the  dreaming 
consciousness. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  dreams  : 

(a)  The  usual  completely  dissociated,  diffuse  dreams. 

(b)  The  contracted  dreams  of  somnambuhsm,  which 
correspond  to  a  contracted  consciousness  or  monoidism. 


KINDS  OF  DREAMS  173 

In  this  the  neurokymes  stagnate  in  a  definite  area.     One 
might  almost  say  that  a  partial  waking  during  general 
sleep  takes  place.     In  this  special  area  even  the  per- 
ception and  the  thinking  increase  not  only  in  clearness, 
but  also  in  intensity.     If  one  follows  the  same  pheno- 
menon   still    further,    one    meets    with    a   partial   sleep 
during  the  general  condition  of  waking  (see  pp.  171-172). 
Thus  the  diminution  of  the  excitability  of  the  cortex 
during  sleep  is  irregular.     That  small  stimuli  are  capable 
of  awakening  when  strong  ones  fail  is  explained  by  this. 
In  such  a  case  the  neurokyme  of  the  stimuli  meets  with 
associations  which  are  but  slightly  diminished  in  their 
excitability,  and  thus   a   partial    awakening    may  take 
place  while  the  general  sleep  is  continued.     We  meet 
with  this  in  hypnotic   '  rapport.'     The  general  anaemia 
of  the  brain  prevents  the  radiation,  and  causes  the  locally 
awakened  elements  of  consciousness  to  be  abnormally 
strongly  excited   by  the   stagnating   neurokymes.     The 
condition    of    consciousness  of    the    systematic    partial 
awakening  is  the  same  as  that  of  somnambulic  dream. 

Vogt  further  shows  the  great  difference  between  the 
dreams  (a)  and  (b).  The  dreams  in  (6)  are  connected 
with  perfectly  ordered  actions.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
most  complicated  actions  are  dreamed  of  in  (a),  but  are 
not  carried  out.  This  is  due  to  the  diffuse  dissociation, 
which  does  not  allow  any  ordered  sequence  of  conceptions 
of  movements  to  arise.  The  action  is  suddenly  accom- 
plished in  the  consciousness,  but  there  has  been  an  omission 
of  the  conditions  of  its  having  taken  place.  It  is  quite 
different  in  (b),  where  the  whole  localized  functionally 
isolated  chain  from  the  sense  to  the  cortex  and  from  the 
cortex  to  the  muscle  is  accomplished  perfectly  regularly. 

Vogt  shows  further  that  the  ethical  associations  often, 
but  not  always,  remain  normally  connected  in  somnam- 
bulists and  revolt  against  criminal  demands,  while  one 
usually  murders,  steals,  etc.,  with  absolutely  defective 
ethics,  in  the  ordinary  dreams. 


174       HYPNOTISxM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

A  chain  of  actions  is  not  infrequently  continued  after 
sleep  has  set  in  (a  coachman  doses  off  and  drives  on). 
I  myself  when  a  student  have  fallen  to  sleep  during  a 
dry  lecture,  and  have  continued  to  write,  even  beginning 
to  write  down  fragments  of  dreams. 

Feelings, — According  to  Vogt,  feelings  are  of  no  value 
for  the  production  of  normal  hypnosis,  but  are  of  impor- 
tance for  the  production  of  hysterical  hypnosis  and  of 
the  hypnosis  of  fright. 

Feelings  appear  usually  as  accompanying  phenomena 
(shade  of  feeling)  of  the  intellectual  elements.  By  mood 
{Stinwiung)  one  understands  the  collective  condition  of 
feelings  at  any  given  time.  By  the  term  '  attitude  of 
mood '  one  means  the  disposition  or  tendency  of  the 
frame  of  mind  to  react  on  the  appearance  of  one  or  other 
of  the  intellectual  elements  with  this  or  that  mood. 

We  are  not  able  to  localize  feelings  in  space.  From 
this  fact,  Vogt  thinks  that  he  can  agree  with  Lipps  that 
they  cannot  be  deflected  from  sensations.  I  do  not 
consider  that  this  argument  can  hold  good,  for  pure 
intellectual  abstract  things  also  exist  which  are  not  in 
themselves  capable  of  being  localized  as  far  as  place  is 
concerned  (let  me  instance  the  idea  of  independence  or 
that  of  the  pitch  of  a  musical  tone),  and  can,  notwith- 
standing, be  deflected  from  sensations. 

Feelings  must  be  regarded  as  being  elementary.  WTiile 
Hoeffding  and  others  only  accept  two  fundamental 
quahties  of  feeling,  inclination  and  disinclination,  Wundt 
accepts  three  opposite  pairs  of  qualities  :  (i)  incHnation — 
disinchnation  ;  (2)  excitability — inhibition  ;  (3)  tension — 
relaxation. 

Vogt's  attempts  with  an  exceptionally  suitable  person, 
who  had  been  educated  up  to  this  for  a  considerable 
time,  only  yielded  at  first  two  sharply  differentiated 
series  of  opposing  feelings,  which  appear  markedly  in 
the  contracted  condition  of  consciousness  in  hypnosis, 
and  which  can  be  analyzed:   (i)  Pleasant— unpleasant ; 


FEELINGS  175 

(2)  Elevating  or  exhilarating  or  making  easier — relaxing 
or  depressing  or  rendering  sad. 

Vogt  calls  the  first  series  hedonistic,  and  the  second 
series  sthenic.  They  correspond  to  the  first  and  second 
quality  pair  of  Wundt's  classification.  While  both  series 
took  place  approximately  parallel  with  pressure  and 
pain,  this  was  less  marked  with  taste  and  smell,  and 
was  not  the  case  with  stimulation  of  hearing.  In 
the  last-named  case  they  were  rather  inversely  pro- 
portional. 

One  gathers  from  Vogt's  very  extensive  experiments 
that  the  weakest  grades  of  the  intellectual  elements 
(sensations)  are  quite  indifferent  (vv^ithout  accentuation  of 
feeling).  In  the  somewhat  higher  grades  an  accentua- 
tion of  inclination  appears,  which  increases  ;  in  a  greater 
intensity  the  inclination  again  diminishes  and  a  second 
indifference  point  appears,  which  in  its  turn  is  followed 
by  disinclination  in  still  further  increased  intensity. 
Even  in  sensation  of  pain  there  is  behind  the  threshold 
of  inclination  '  a  pleasant  pain,'  although  the  sensation 
of  pain,  as  Max  von  Frey  has  shown  and  Vogt  has  con- 
firmed, is  qualitatively  different  from  the  sensation  of 
pressure.     The  same  applies  also  to  the  sthenic  series. 

When  one  is  not  dealing  with  direct  sensations,  but 
only  with  the  reproduction  of  the  same  by  conception, 
the  intellectual  elements  naturally  awaken  the  shades 
of  feeling  which  were  formerly  associated  with  them. 

Persistence  of  emotional  elements  after  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  associated  intellectual  elements  can  be 
demonstrated.  But  one  is,  of  course,  only  dealing  with 
the  conscious  field,  and  intellectual  elements  may 
persist  hypoconsciously.  If  one  succeeds  in  rendering 
the  intellectual  element  conscious  again,  one  heightens 
the  feelings.  Vogt's  excellent  experiments  therefore 
show  : 

I.  That  the  feeling  in  the  consciousness  at  least  may 
outlive  it§  intellectual  substratum. 


176       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

2.  That  feelings  can  enter  into  the  consciousness  even 
without  an  intellectual  substratum. 

Still,  the  latter  only  appUes  for  the  psychical  series 
(the  introspective  side)  ;  a  physiological  process  is  always 
unconceived  in  the  background. 

Every  feeling  is  accompanied  by  a  deflection  of  nervous 
stimulation  energy  in  the  transcortical  and  subcortical 
tracks,  and  is  produced  slightly  later  than  its  intellectual 
substratum.  The  feehngs  are  therefore,  no  doubt, 
psychical  parallel  processes  of  the  deflection  processes  of 
the  energy  of  nervous  stimulation.  In  the  language  of 
the  identity  theory,  I  should  say  that  feelings  represent 
the  introspection  of  the  deflection  processes  of  the  energy 
of  nervous  stimulation.  Since  such  deflections  take 
place  in  every  area  of  the  brain,  there  can  be  no  localiza- 
tion for  the  feelings. 

Vogt  deduces  from  this  that  a  desire  is  contained  in 
every  feeling,  or  that  the  will  manifests  itself  through 
the  feelings,  and  is  not  materially  different  from  feeling. 
Vogt's  work  is,  unfortunately,  still  incomplete  ;  but  it 
points  out  the  way  in  which  one  can  use  hypnotism  for 
psychological  investigation,  and  throws  a  luminous  light 
on  to  the  whole  question  of  the  relation  of  psychology  to 
the  physiology  of  the  brain. 

In  the  third  edition  of  his  work  Vogt  states  the  follow- 
ing in  special  relation  to  the  mechanism  of  suggestion  : 

'  We  call  every  deflection  which  diminishes  the  irrita- 
bility of  the  individual  neurones  as  such,  as  a  rule,  inhibi- 
tion. We  speak  of  the  inhibition  causing  the  psychical 
balance  by  means  of  the  association  of  ideas.  An 
hysterical  person  complained  to  me  of  motor  weakness. 
His  dynamometric  grasp  was  1  =  97.  I  thought  that  this 
was  not  so  bad.  From  this  time  onwards  his  highest 
grasp  was  50,  and  the  average  was  only  28.  WTiat  had 
taken  place  ?  The  track  between  the  movement  con- 
ception of  the  grasp  and  that  of  the  motor  weakness  had 
become    more    strongly    conductable    by    means    of    an 


MECHANISM  OF  SUGGESTION  177 

irritation  issuing  from  the  centre  for  the  latter.     A  part 
of  the  neurokyme  arriving  at  the  centre  for  the  movement 
conception  was  deflected  from  this  time  into  this  track.    I 
was  also  enabled  to  observe  the  reverse.     A  psychopath 
got  the  hypochondriacal  conception  that  he  was  very 
weak.     This  conception  paralyzed  his  grasp  by  deflection 
so  much  that  he  could  only  press  1  =  65  and  r  =  55.     I 
then  produced  absolute  anaesthesia  for  the  affected  arm 
by  waking  suggestion.     The  grasp  was  naturally  reduced 
to  r=o.     I  then  suggested  to  him  that  amount  of  feeling 
to  give  him  free  movement.    He  pressed  r  =  115  and  1  =  120, 
having  at  the  same  time  a  numbed  feeling  in  his  joints. 
I  had  caused  a  localized  dissociation  by  means  of  the 
first  suggestion.     As  a  result  of  a  constellation  favour- 
ing me,  the  dissociation — i.e.,  the  cutting  off  of  the  deflec- 
tion— persisted  in  the  second  suggestion  for  the  hypo- 
chrondriacal  conception.     The  track  between  the  centre 
corresponding  to  the  latter  and  that  of  the  movement 
conception  did  not  deflect  again,  or,  as  one  can  also  express 
one's  self,  the  hypochrondriacal  conception  was  for  the 
time  being  forgotten.     The  higher  centres  further  inhibit 
the  lower  ones  by  such-like  deflections  of  a  part  of   a 
neurokyme.^     In   the   case   in   which    the   deflection   is 
rendered  impossible  on  account  of  functional  or  organic 
changes,  the  motor  discharge  of  the  neurokyme,  which 
now  only  passes  through  one  lower  centre,  increases  in 
intensity  and  rapidity. 

'  In  opposition  to  inhibition,  one  calls  the  increase  of 
the  excitability  of  a  centre  by  conduction  of  neurokymes 
along  various  tracks  "stimulation  increase,"  or  opening  up 
of  a  path  (Bahnung  of  Exner).  I  suggest  to  a  person 
that  his  forehead  shall  become  warm.  I  shall  succeed  in 
this  suggestion  more  easily  if  I  place  my  hand  on  his 
forehead  at  the  same  time,  for  I  stimulate  the  corre- 

^  *  It  is  advisable  to  call  progressing  nerve  excitability,  as  long  as 
we  do  not  thoroughly  understand  its  nature,  by  some  unprejudiced 
term,  such  as  '•  neurokyme"  '  (Forel,  '  Brain  and  Mind  '). 

12 


178       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

spending  centre  for  the  sensation  of  touch  by  laying  my 
hand  on  the  forehead.  This  is  then  connected  with  the 
corresponding  centre  for  the  sensation  of  warmth  through 
a  track  which  conducts  well  as  the  result  of  numerous 
previous  simultaneous  excitabihties.  The  neurokyme 
produced  by  my  touching  the  forehead  takes  this  course, 
and  acts  by  opening  out  a  new  path. 

'  All  those  inhibitions  and  the  opening  out  of  new 
paths  to  which  the  course  of  all  nervous  processes,  and 
also  the  whole  phenomena  of  suggestion,  are  traceable 
are  produced  in  this  way.  The  art  of  the  hypnotist 
consists  in  the  suitable  appHcation  of  such  inhibitions 
and  opening  out  of  new  paths,  and  the  nature  of  the 
training  consists  in  the  reaction  of  such-like  influencing 
on  the  more  widely  distributed  association  of  ideas. 

'  Let  us  look  at  the  mechanism  of  catalepsy,  for  in- 
stance. Suppose  that  I  lift  the  arm  of  a  hypnotized 
person.  The  arm  will  remain  in  the  position  in  which 
I  have  put  it.  I  produced  a  corresponding  sensation 
of  movement  by  means  of  a  passive  movement.  The 
association  tracks  deflecting  the  conception  of  this  move- 
ment from  the  centre  have  become  incapable  of  con- 
ducting on  account  of  the  hypnotic  dissociation.  As  a 
result  of  this,  the  neurokyme  excited  by  the  passive 
movement  of  the  arm  moves  mainly  along  the  track 
leading  centrifugally  from  the  centre  for  the  said  con- 
ception of  the  movement,  and  causes  a  muscular  con- 
traction which  corresponds  to  the  passively  determined 
position  of  the  arm.  The  hypnotized  person,  provided 
that  he  is  only  hypotactic,  "  feels  the  arm  suddenly 
becoming  rigid  after  it  had  been  raised."  In  this  case 
one  is  dealing  with  Bernheim's  "  passive  catalepsy."  It 
differs  from  an  active  movement  in  that  in  the  latter 
case  the  movement  conception  is  prompted  by  an  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  or  by  the  "  will,"  while  in  our  case  it  is 
prompted  by  a  peripheral  stimulus.  Passive  catalepsy 
always  occurs  when  the  movement  conception  is  suffi- 


CATALEPSY  179 

ciently  dissociated,  but  can  still  be  excited  sufficiently. 
If  the  sleep  has  become  so  deep  that  the  movement  con- 
ception can  no  longer  be  sufficiently  excited  by  means  of 
a  peripheral  stimulus,  a  passive  catalepsy  can  no  longer 
be  achieved.  One  meets  with  a  corresponding  depres- 
sion of  the  excitability  of  movement  conceptions  in 
hysterics,  whose  sensibility  for  touch  has  become 
diminished  in  one  or  other  extremity,  although  the 
kinaesthesia  is  retained.  The  extremity  in  this  case  is 
paretic  during  the  condition  of  waking,  and  is  extremely 
difficult  to  render  cataleptic  during  hypnosis.  Numerous 
components  which  open  out  new  paths  and  act  inhibi- 
torily  take  part  in  the  exciting  of  the  movement  con- 
ceptions. Among  these,  the  stimulus  opening  out  a  new 
path  which  leads  from  the  centre  for  the  sensibility  of 
touch  to  that  of  the  actual  muscular  sense  plays  an  l^ 
important  part. 

'  Other  stimuli  which  forge  new  paths  for  themselves, 
therefore,  are  required  in  the  case  of  insufficient  dis- 
sociation or  depressed  excitability  of  the  movement 
conception.  Here  one  should  first  have  recourse  to 
verbal  suggestion.  The  arm  which  has  been  raised  falls 
limply  to  the  side,  but  as  soon  as  I  declare  that  the  arm 
has  become  rigid  the  onset  of  the  corresponding  mus- 
cular contraction  is  felt.  The  influence  of  the  association 
of  ideas  which  finds  new  paths  for  itself  can  connect  itself 
both  with  a  passive  movement  and  with  a  verbal  sug- 
gestion. We  call  this  monoidism.  For  example,  I 
hypnotize  a  subject.  I  lift  his  arm  up.  This  falls  again 
to  his  side.  I  awaken  the  subject.  I  then  hypnotize 
a  second  subject  in  the  presence  of  the  first.  Here  the 
catalepsy  succeeds  at  once.  On  hypnotizing  the  first 
subject  for  the  second  time,  I  succeed  in  producing 
catalepsy  also  in  him.  In  this  case  we  are  dealing  with 
Bernheim's  active  element  of  catalepsy.  The  following 
conception  connected  itself  with  the  sensation  of  the 
passive  movement   of  the  arm  in  this  subject  :   "  The 

12 — 2 


i8o       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

holding  of  my  arm  in  this  position  is  the  will  of  the 
hypnotist,  but  I  must  do  as  he  wills."  The  sight  of  the 
catalepsy  produced  by  the  hypnotist  in  the  second 
subject  created  a  conducting  track  in  the  brain  of  the 
first  subject  leading  between  the  conception  of  the 
hypnotist  and  the  conception  of  the  movement  con- 
cerned. If  the  hypnotist  now  raises  the  arm  of  the 
first  subject,  the  conception  of  the  hypnotist  at  once 
appears  vividly.  Stimuli  issue  from  the  centre  of  this 
conception  to  the  centre  of  the  movement  conception. 
The  association  of  ideas  can  become  more  complicated 
and  more  similar  to  the  voluntary  movement  preceding 
it  in  this  connection,  and  one  cannot  find  fault  with  the 
subject  if  he  says  that  he  has  only  done  this  to  please 
the  hypnotist. 

'  Forging  out  a  new  path  by  means  of  monoidism 
plays  an  important  part  in  all  complicated  suggestions, 
and  especially  in  waking  suggestions.  They  rob  even 
the  "  rapport "  completely  of  its  mystery.  If  the 
mother  or  the  doctor  sleep  on  through  a  loud  noise,  but 
awaken  when  the  child  cries  or  when  the  attendant 
knocks,  we  are  only  dealing  with  excitability  which  has 
been  increased  by  former  opening  out  of  new  paths,  as 
is  the  case  in  "  rapport." 

'  In  what  has  been  said  above  inhibition  has  been 
deprived  of  all  activity.  Inhibitions  are  compensation 
symptoms  for  the  deflections  which  have  arisen  else- 
where. As  can  readily  be  seen,  one  is  only  referring  to 
those  inhibitions  (Wundt's  neurodynamic  inhibitions) 
here  which  represent  the  direct  result  of  nervous  pro- 
cesses. Apart  from  these,  there  exist  inhibitions  (Wundt's 
vasomotor  inhibitions)  frequently  interacting  in  response 
to  an  increase  of  the  resistance  in  the  conduction  caused 
by  tiring  or  by  some  alteration  of  the  metabohsm.  How- 
ever, as  long  as  we  are  dealing  with  the  neurodynamic 
and  not  with  the  nutritive  inhibitions,  we  should  be  able 
to  prove  the  existence  of  deflection  arising  in  other  ways 


NEURODYNAMIC  INHIBITIONS  i8i 

— that  is,  the  aspect  of  our  suggestion  which  opens  up 
new  paths. 

'*  Let  us  test  a  negative  hallucination  produced  by 
waking  suggestion.  I  give  the  suggestion  that  the  sub- 
ject will  not  see  me  on  awakening.  The  result  is  ex- 
tremely varied,  but  there  is  always  a  parallelism  between 
the  deflection  and  the  inhibition  which  one  can  discern. 
The  greater  the  inhibition  is,  the  greater  will  be  the  deflec- 
tion also. 

'  One  person  sees  me  as  usual,  but  does  not  recognise 
who  I  am.  Here  there  is  a  dissociation  between  the 
primary  and  secondary  identification,  between  the  centre 
of  the  optical  picture  of  the  memory  and  that  of  the 
comprehension.  This  dissociation  is  a  picture  of  memory 
which  has  long  since  been  formed,  which  has  been  pro- 
duced by  former  excitations,  which  has  since  existed 
latent,  and  which  has  now  been  reawakened.  The 
influence  of  my  suggestion  opening  up  new  paths  caused 
this  dissociation  to  appear  in  the  foreground.  To 
quote  one  possibility,  my  subject  passed  me  by  one  day 
while  he  was  thinking  out  a  problem  without  recognising 
me.  I  then  crossed  over  to  him,  and  found  out  in  con- 
versation that  he  had  not  recognised  me.  At  the  time 
when  my  subject  met  me  stimuli  travelled  from  the 
centre  of  the  problem  occupying  him  along  all  the  de- 
flecting tracks.  This  also  applied  to  the  optic  track. 
We  are  justified  in  assuming  a  direct  or  indirect  connec- 
tion of  every  nervous  centre  with  all  the  others.  The 
association  fibres  leading  to  the  centre  for  the  problem 
are  for  the  time  being  naturally  more  easily  excitable 
than  any  of  the  other  deflecting  efferent  fibres  of  the 
optic  centre.  A  large  part  of  the  neurokyme  which 
called  the  visual  impression  of  me  forth  was  deflected 
along  this  track.  As  a  result,  the  centre  for  the  con- 
ception of  my  person  was  not  sufficiently  excited  to  render 
the  subject  conscious  of  it.  The  conception  of  the  non- 
recognition  was  first  connected  during  the  conversation 


i82       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

with  the  centre  for  the  conception  of  my  person,  and 
then  with  the  problem  by  means  of  simultaneous  associa- 
tions. However,  the  conception  of  the  non-recognition 
was  further  connected  to  the  optical  centre  through  the 
centre  of  the  problem.  If  I  now  produce  the  concep- 
tion of  non-recognition  of  my  person  in  my  subject  in  a 
sufficiently  intense  manner,  an  excitability  travels  through 
the  centre  for  the  problem  to  the  optical  centre  for  my 
person,  and  forges  a  new  path  for  itself.  The  neurokyme, 
arriving  in  this  situation,  which  my  person  has  excited 
in  the  optic  nerve,  is  thus  deflected  without  arriving  in 
the  usual  track  in  sufficient  force  to  produce  conceived 
parallel  processes  in  this  place.  The  secondary  identifi- 
cation is  wanting.  One  might  state  in  opposition  to  this 
that  the  subject  did  not  identify  any  visual  impressions 
secondarily  as  he  went  along  pondering.  Then,  why 
should  he  not  identify  now  the  visual  impressions  which 
he  received  from  me  ?  The  cause  lies  in  a  double  open- 
ing out  of  new  paths.  During  the  conversation  which 
followed  the  occurrence  the  visual  picture  of  me  w^as 
vividly  excited.  An  association  took  place  in  conse 
quence  between  the  centre  for  the  problem  and  the  visual 
impression  of  me,  which  was  more  intimate  than  the 
associations  between  the  former  and  any  of  the  other 
optical  centres.  To-day,  as  I  gave  him  the  suggestion 
not  to  see  me,  I  awakened  in  the  subject  the  optical 
components  of  the  conception  of  myself  very  vividly  by 
means  of  sight  directly,  as  I  had  done  before.  As  the 
excitation  arrived  at  the  optical  centre  through  the 
centre  for  the  problem,  the  association  fibres,  which  were 
the  best  conductors,  naturally  seized  a  large  proportion 
for  themselves.  But  the  track  to  the  centre  for  my 
person  belonged  primarily  to  these,  as  a  result  of  the 
stimuh  which  occurred  directly  before.  This  track, 
which  is  usually  of  secondary  importance,  becomes  for 
the  time  being  the  chief  track.  The  visual  impression 
of  myself  is  deprived  of  its  usual  associations  for  the 


NEUROKYME  DEFLECTIONS  i8 


J 


present.  It  becomes  dissociated  by  the  opening  up  of 
new  paths.  That  parts  of  the  neurokymes  have  at  the 
same  time  reached  other  portions  of  the  optic  centre 
proves  that  suggestions  which  are  sensorily  connected 
can  now  succeed  much  more  easily.  I  only  need  to  ask 
the  subject  whether  he  recognise  this  person  or  that 
object.  This  suffices  frequently  to  connect  the  optical 
centre  of  the  object  to  the  deflection  system.  That  this 
takes  place  more  easily  in  connection  with  objects  which 
are  closely  associated  with  me  naturally  depends,  again, 
on  the  opening  up  of  new  paths  which  can  be  employed 
by  them  at  the  time  when  the  visual  impression  of  me  is 
excited  in  the  subject.  One  could  argue  further  in  objec- 
tion to  this  that  such  a  favourable  past  history  is  not 
usually  present  in  the  majority  of  experiments.  That  is 
certainly  true.  But  it  is  not  necessary  that  it  should  be 
present.  Every  one  of  us  has  passed  by  persons  with 
whom  we  are  acquainted  without  recognising  them.  The 
conception  of  me  which  the  subject  possessed  at  the  time 
of  the  experiment  contained  that  of  a  person  of  his  ac- 
quaintance as  an  essential  component.  The  track  was 
therefore  present.     It  only  wanted  strengthening. 

'  Every  dissociation  called  forth  by  suggestion 
depends  on  the  reappearance  of  earlier  conditions  of 
conduction,  of  earlier  constellations,  just  as  in  the  case 
dealt  with  in  detail  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  The 
form  of  the  dissociation,  and  hence  that  of  the  reception 
of  the  suggestion,  is  therefore  connected  singly  in  conse- 
quence of  the  past  experiences  of  the  individual.  Which- 
ever case  is  the  least  latent,  and  is  most  easily  excitable, 
now  appears  in  the  consciousness,  and  this  takes  place 
so  vividly  that  the  subject  believes  that  he  is  experiencing 
it  at  the  time.  A  second  subject  sees  as  if  he  had  a  mist 
before  his  eyes,  because  the  recollection  of  the  not  seeing 
his  acquaintance  was  most  easily  connected  with  dusk. 
A  third  subject  declares  that  he  is  bhnd.  The  concep- 
tion of  not  seeing  was  associated  most  strongly  in  him 


i84       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

with  the  conception  of  bhndness.  This,  then,  became 
vividly  excited.  The  conditions  of  conduction  became 
prominent  as  one  of  its  components  in  the  optic  centre, 
which  conditions  corresponded  to  an  earUer  sensation  of 
bhickness.  The  centre  for  black  absorbed  such  a  propor- 
tion of  the  neurokymes  arriving  that  the  latter  could  not 
cause  any  further  excitability  which  could  enter  into  the 
consciousness. 

'  I  will  add  two  more  examples  of  hysterics,  in  proof 
of  the  correctness  of  the  principle  propounded. 

'  I  gave  to  one  of  these  the  suggestion  mentioned  above. 
I  disappeared,  but  she  still  saw  the  surroundings.  She 
soon  became  very  excited,  rushed  about  in  an  anxious 
manner,  and  exclaimed  that  she  was  becoming  ill  again, 
she  could  not  think  properly,  and  that  she  saw  every- 
thing red.  The  patient  explained  then,  after  I  had  again 
quieted  her,  without  having  removed  the  recollection 
from  her  mind,  "  her  illness  had  begun  in  this  way  ;  she 
had  not  been  able  to  see  anything  :  it  had  all  become 
confused  and  mixed  in  front  of  her  eyes.  She  had  for- 
gotten all  about  it  till  now,  but  it  had  now  all  returned 
to  her." 

'  The  second  patient  was  brought  into  the  clinic 
paralyzed  and  dumb,  after  she  had  been  found  in  this 
condition  in  the  street.  One  day,  after  the  symptoms 
had  disappeared,  I  gave  her  the  waking  suggestion  of 
complete  anaesthesia.  The  suggestion  succeeded,  and  the 
patient  became  correspondingly  paralytic.  Noticing  a 
change  in  the  expression  of  the  patient's  face,  I  removed 
the  suggestion.  But  it  was  too  late.  The  patient  moved 
slowly  and  rigidly  about,  and  did  not  recognise  her  sur- 
roundings. She  was  again  dumb.  I  hypnotized  her, 
and  suggested  clearness  and  recollection  to  her.  The 
patient  then  acknowledged  that  she  had  beheved  that 
she  was  lying  in  the  street.  The  memory  of  the  past 
attack  had  thus  been  recalled. 

'  We  have  therefore  explained  the  mechanism  of  the 


IiNHIBITION  AND  SLEEP  185 

subjective  complementation  of  all  suggestions  on  the 
part  of  the  hypnotized  person,  and  especially  the  constant 
changing  condition  between  positive  and  negative  hallu- 
cinations (see  p.  105),  by  the  referring  back  of  the  inhibi- 
tions to  other  paths  which  have  been  opened  up. 

'  If  we  refer  all  suggestion  phenomena  back  to  one- 
sided paths  which  have  been  opened  up  this  would  have 
to  hold  good  for  the  most  important  suggestion  as  well — 
i.e.,  sleep.  Sleep  is  produced  in  the  new-bom  by  means 
of  certain  dynamisms  of  the  lower  brain  centres  de- 
pending on  chemical  changes,  probably  of  vasomotor 
character  chiefly.  Certain  sensations  which  appear  more 
strongly  as  the  consciousness  increases  (parallel  with  the 
development  of  the  cerebrum)  precede  this  reflex  sleep. 
These  are  increasing  bodily  and  mental  heaviness,  and 
especially  the  feeling  of  heaviness  of  the  eyes,  which  is 
chiefly  excited  by  the  gradual  reflex  contraction  of  the 
orbicularis  muscles.  These  associate  themselves  gradu- 
ally to  form  a  complex,  the  conception  of  sleep,  by  means 
of  mutual  opening  up  of  paths.  If  one  of  the  sensations 
appear  at  a  later  date  in  response  to  a  stimulus,  the 
others  will  follow,  as  the  excitability  will  spread  along 
the  tracks  which  conduct  well.  Further  simultaneous 
associations  then  lead  to  a  connection  in  the  tracks 
between  the  conception  of  sleep  and  the  lower  centres, 
producing  sleep.  This  track  becomes  such  a  good  con- 
ductor that  ultimately  it  is  the  conception  of  sleep  which 
produces  sleep.  We  thus  produce  a  general  dissociation, 
caused  by  a  change  of  the  metabolism,  by  means  of 
suggestive  excitability  of  the  conception  of  sleep.  We 
create  in  this  way,  by  means  of  opening  up  of  a  path, 
a  suitable  soil  for  the  action  of  further  opening  up  of  new 
paths. 

'  In  this  manner  the  conception  of  sleep  obtains  a 
purely  motor  character.  But  this  is  only  a  special  case 
of  a  general  law  dealing  with  the  development  of  brain 
mechanism.     In  the  same  way  all  voluntary  movements 


i86       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

have  developed  from  involuntary  ones  by  the  sensations 
of  reflex  movements  becoming  the  causal  conception, 
or  the  impulse  of  the  will.  The  doubt  with  which  one 
at  first  opposed  certain  suggestive  results  was  based  on 
the  fact  that  this  developmental  process  is  further 
advanced  than  one  could  suppose  from  the  position  of 
our  anatomical  knowledge.  These — e.g.,  the  influencing 
of  the  intestinal  peristalsis,  of  the  vasomotor  nerves,  and 
of  the  secretions  of  glands — are  established  beyond  all 
doubt  at  the  present  time.  Their  dependence  on  the 
sensations  indicates  in  itself  a  connection  of  their  centres 
with  the  cerebrum.  The  doctrine  of  suggestion  has 
proved  that  those  dulled,  scarcely  conceived  sensations 
have  already  become  weakly  motor  conceptions.  A 
prospective  insight  into  the  further  development  of  our 
cerebrum,  and  into  the  increasing  subordination  of  the 
reflex  movements  beneath  the  intelligence,  is  opened  out 
by  this.' 

Dr.  O.  Vogt  wishes  that  the  hypothetical  character  of 
his  theoretical  discussions  should  be  preserved,  and  I 
therefore  call  especial  attention  to  this  wish  here. 

Ed.  Claparede  expounds  a  '  Theorie  biologique  du 
sommeil,'  ^  which  agrees  in  the  main  with  ours ;  he  sums 
up  the  details  as  follows  : 

'  Le  sommeil  n'est  pas  la  consequence  d'un  simple  arret 
de  fonctionnement  ;  il  est  une  fonction  positive,  un 
instinct,  qui  a  pour  but  cet  arret  de  fonctionnement ; 
ce  n'est  pas  par  ce  que  nous  sommes  intoxiques,  ou  epuises, 
que  nous  dormons  mais  nous  dormons  pour  ne  pas  I'etre.' 

Claparede  therefore  endorses  what  is  being  said  in  this 
chapter  and  in  Chapter  XIV.  ('Suggestion  in  Animals'). 
It  is  evident  that  if  sleep  sets  in  on  the  one  hand  actively 
and  suggestively  or  autosuggestively,  and  can  even  be 
voluntarily  brought  about,  and  on  the  other  hand  is 
adapted  to  the  object  of  the  reconstruction  or  assimilation 

1  Ed.  Claparede,  'Theorie  biologique  du   sommeir  {Archives  des 
sciences  physique  et  tiatureUes  de  Ge?ihie,  March,  1904). 


THEORY  OF  SUGGESTION  187 

of  the  brain  neurons,  it  must  have  been  developed  in 
animals  phylogenetically  in  an  instinctively  automatic 
fashion. 

1  may  mention,  as  belonging  to  the  works  on  the  theory 
of  suggestion,  the  articles  by  Professor  Lipps,^  Dr. 
Doellken,2  and  Dr.  F.  Koehler,^  all  of  which  are  highly 
valuable  and  interesting,  and  have  been  placed  by  the 
side  of  other  works  of  O.  Vogt's  in  the  Zeitschrift  far 
Hypnotismus.  Still,  these  contributions  do  not  compare 
with  Vogt's  attempts  at  explaining  the  matter. 

^  Professor  Lipps,  *Zur  Psychologie  der  Suggestion.' 

2  Dr.  Doellken,  'Zur  Physiologic  der  Hypnose.' 

2  Dr.  F.  Koehler,  'Experimentelle  Studien  auf  dem  Gebiet  des 
hypnotischen  Somnambulismus.' 


CHAPTER  V 
Suggestion  and  Disorders  of  the  Mind — Hysteria 

Of  all  people  the  insane  are  the  least  suggestible,  and 
those  whose  mental  disturbances  are  severe  are  usually 
absolutely  unsuggestible.  All  hypnotists  of  experience 
agree  in  this.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
diseased  inhibitions  or  conditions  of  stimulation  attain 
such  an  intensity  in  the  brains  of  the  insane,  that  they  are 
no  longer  capable  of  being  dissociated  by  means  of  sug- 
gestion. And  if  one  should  succeed  in  spite  of  this  in 
hypnotizing  an  insane  person,  the  majority  of  the  curing 
suggestions  either  do  not  act  at  all,  or  only  act  transi- 
torily ;  those  suggestions  which  are  directed  against 
delusions  act  least  of  all.  A  lunatic,  Mrs.  X.,  for  example, 
believed  that  she  was  Mrs.  Y.  I  was  able  to  hypnotize 
her,  and  succeeded  in  suggesting  sleep,  appetite,  and  even 
posthypnotic  hallucinations,  successfully  to  her.  How- 
ever, when  I  declared  most  energetically  during  the 
hypnosis  that  she  knew  quite  well  that  she  was  Mrs.  X. 
and  not  Mrs.  Y.,  that  the  latter  idea  had  only  been  a 
nonsensical  delusion  which  she  would  now  laugh  at,  she 
shook  her  head  in  negation  persistently  during  the 
hypnotic  sleep  (as  long  as  I  stated  this),  showing  me  in 
this  way  that  she  could  not  accept  this  suggestion. 

One  uses  the  cerebrum  of  the  hypnotized  persons  as 
an  instrument  when  employing  suggestion.  This  in- 
strument is  functionally  deranged  in  the  insane,  and  for 
this  reason  the  suggestion  does  not  take  on.  The 
failures  in  mental  diseases  are  the  best  proofs  that  the 

i88 


HYSTERIA  189 

power  of  hypnosis  lies  in  the  brain  of  the  hypnotized, 
and  not  in  the  brain  of  the  hypnotist. 

So  much  that  is  untrue  has  been  said  of  the  relation- 
ship of  hypnotism  to  mental  disorders,  and  so  many 
false  doctrines  are  spread  about,  which  are  devoid  of  all 
thorough  foundations  of  observation,  and  which  are 
based  only  on  unsupported  statements,  that  it  will  be 
worth  while  to  consider  the  subject  somewhat  more 
closely.  I  cannot  emphasize  sufficiently  that  suggesti- 
bility is  an  absolutely  normal  characteristic  of  the  normal 
human  brain. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Charcot  school,  on  the  other  hand, 
wishes  to  define  hypnosis  as  a  form  of  hysteria.  But 
hysteria  is  a  disease,  and  actually  a  disease  of  the  mind, 
a  functional  abnormality  of  the  disposition  of  the  brain  ; 
it  has  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  '  hysfera ' — i.e., 
uterus.  In  Charcot's  teaching  of  hysteria  many  errors 
have  crept  in  beside  the  numerous  correct  observations  ; 
these  errors  are  connected  with  the  '  somatic  '  ideas.  In 
my  opinion,  which  agrees  with  Bernheim's,  the  zones 
and  points  hystero genes,  the  supposed  pathognomonic 
connection  of  hysteria  with  conditions  of  irritation  of 
the  ovaries,  typical  hemianaesthesia,  and  the  like,  are  all 
artificial  things — i.e.,  symptoms  which  are  fixed  by  being 
called  attention  to,  as  all  symptoms  in  the  hysterical 
are.  Hysteria  is  a  dissociative  weakness  of  the  brain, 
by  means  of  which  a  pathological  autosuggestibility  is 
caused.  A  marked  tendency  to  more  or  less  transitory 
functional  disturbances  of  all  sorts,  from  the  most 
localized  pain  or  convulsion,  from  the  most  localized 
anaesthesia  or  paralysis  to  the  most  general  mental  dis- 
turbance, is  produced  by  this  dissociative  weakness.  All 
these  hysterical  disturbances  can  fix  themselves  readily, 
and  can  persist  for  years.  They  can,  it  is  true,  even  then 
still  be  cured.  But  certain  transitions  from  the  more 
transient  hysterical  nerve  disturbances  to  severe  and 
even  irreparable  mental  disturbances  and  other  severe 


iQo       HYPNOTrSM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

neuroses  also  exist.  Still,  this  more  often  points  to  com- 
binations than  to  real  transition  forms.  « 

Pure  hysteria  is  mostly  a  constitutional  malady,  and 
is  incurable  as  such — i.e.,  as  an  abnormal  characteristic 
of  the  brain.  One  only  cures  the  symptoms,  and  not  the 
constitutional  disposition.  There  is,  however,  such  a 
thing  as  acquired  hysteria,  which  can  arise  from  the 
ill-usage  and  exhaustion  of  the  brain,  and  which  merges 
into  the  confused  idea  of  neurasthenia.^  In  the  same 
way  irritations  of  the  peripheral  nervous  system  can 
lead  to  it  by  a  reaction  on  the  brain.  I  do  not  wish  to 
deny  this.  These  cases  are  for  the  most  part  curable. 
There  is,  further,  a  large  number  of  mixtures  of  milder 
and  more  severe  predisposition,  and  '  nervous '  (i.e., 
cerebral)  constitution  with  acquired  damages. 

I  asked  Dr.  Babinski,  one  of  Professor  Charcot's  assis- 
tants, at  the  Congress  on  Physiological  Psychology,  held 
in  Paris  in  1889,  how  he  could  explain  that  all  of  us  who 
had  been  hypnotic  pupils  of  Liebeault  and  Bernheim 
could  hypnotize  from  80  to  90  per  cent,  of  all  people, 
no  matter  whether  they  are  German,  French,  Swedish, 
Russian,  Dutch,  or  Enghsh  ?  Did  he  consider  that  these 
80  or  90  per  cent,  were  all  hysterical.  If  this  were  so, 
the  idea  of  hysteria  was  being  extended  at  the  Salpetriere 
in  such  a  way  that  I  would  protest  against  it  energeti- 
cally. To  this  I  received  the  following  reply  :  '  We  protest 
in  the  Salpetriere  that  we  extend  the  idea  of  hysteria  too 
widely,  but  tares  hysteriques,  at  least,  must  be  present 
if  anyone  is  hypnotizible.'  This  controversy  was, 
however,  not  included  in  the  published  account  of  the 
congress.  Still,  I  have  repeated  it  accurately  here, 
because  it  shows  how  the  matter  hes. 

According  to  Babinski,  90  to  96  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion (I  hypnotized  as  many  as  this)  would  therefore  have 

*  Everything  that  is  possible  and  impossible  is  called  by  the  term 
'neurasthenia,'  from  general  paralysis  of  the  insane,  paranoia,  and 
melancholia  down  to  hysteria.  Hypochrondriasis  is  at  the  bottom  of 
all  this  confusion  of  ideas,  however. 


HYSTERIA  191 

tares  hysteriques  !    Thank  God,  the  conditions  are  at  all 
events  not  so  bad  as  all  that  ! 

Dr.  Babinski  has  not  seen  his  way  during  the 
following  twelve  years  to  materially  amend  his  error,  for 
he  defined  the  idea  of  hysteria  in  igoi  as  follows  '}  '  £tat 
psychique  rendant  le  sujet  qui  s'y  trouve  capable  de 
s'autosuggestionner.  L'hysterie  se  manifeste  princi- 
palement  par  des  troubles  primitifs  et  accessiorement  par 
quelques  troubles  secondaires.  Ce  qui  caracterise  les 
premiers,  c'est  qu'il  est  possible  de  les  reproduire  par 
suggestion  avec  une  exactitude  rigoureuse  chez  certains 
sujets  et  de  les  faire  disparaitre  sous  1' influence  exclusive 
de  la  persuasion.  Ce  qui  caracterise  les  troubles  secon- 
daires c'est  qu'ils  sont  etroitement  subordonnes  a  des 
troubles  primitifs.' 

It  would  have  been  wiser  to  have  passed  by  this  con- 
fused work  without  taking  any  notice  of  it,  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  it  reflects  accurately  the  confusion  exist- 
ing in  so  many  minds.  Babinski  remonstrates  against 
the  term  '  suggestion  '  because  it  contains  something 
which  is  ominous.  Then  he  desires  to  replace  the  word 
hysteria  by  troubles  pithiatiques  (disturbances  which  are 
curable  by  persuasion).  In  this  he  confounds  the  curing 
of  symptoms  with  the  curing  of  a  constitutional  psycho- 
pathy, for  hysteria  is  this,  and  he  continues  to  muddle 
up  hysteria  and  suggestion.  He  has  not  yet  understood 
the  difference  between  normal  suggestibility  and  the 
pathological  hypnosis  of  the  hysterical,  even  after  these 
twelve  years. 

We  know  from  the  manifold  phenomena  of  psycho- 
pathology  that  the  conceptions  in  this  science  are  for  the 
most  part  only  dependent  on  pathological  strengthening, 
weakening,  or  qualitative  alterations  of  psychological  or 
psychophysiological  ideas.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to 
explain  hysteria  also  as  a  pathologically  increased  sug- 

^  Babinski,  'Definition  de  I'hystdrie'  {Comptes  re?tdus  de  la  Society 
de  Nevrologie  de  Paris), 


102       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

gestibility,  as  Moebius  has  done.  He  pointed  out 
correctly  that  the  symptoms  in  the  hysterical  are  apt  to 
arise  from  conceptions.  I  myself  have  accentuated  the 
patliological  autosuggestibility,  because  the  majority  of 
liysterics  and  the  worst  cases  are  more  autosuggestible 
than  suggestible. 

Ringier^  was  right  when  he  distinguished  two  relative 
categories  of  hysterical  persons  ;  the  first  included  those 
who  possess  a  very  high  degree  of  autosuggestibility,  and 
are  but  little  influenced  by  foreign  suggestion,  and  the 
second  included  those  who  are  more  easily  influenced  by 
foreign  suggestion.  I  shall  return  to  these  categories, 
which  Ringier  introduced  on  the  basis  of  suggestive 
therapy,  because  they  are  reflected  in  other  conditions. 

There  have  always  been  some  paradoxical  practitioners 
who  say  that  all  women  are  more  or  less  hysterical.  We 
can  deduce  from  this,  as  well  as  from  Charcot's  identifi- 
cation of  hypnosis  with  a  portion  of  the  picture  of  hysteria, 
that  it  has  always  been  difficult  to  differentiate  the  idea 
of  hysteria  from  that  of  the  normal  condition. 

But  it  is  not  easy,  either,  to  differentiate  this  idea  from 
that  of  severe  psychoses.  This  is  well  shown  by  the  mixed 
terms  of  ' hystero-epilepsy,'  'hysterical  madness,'  'hys- 
terical mania,'  etc.  However,  Charcot,  Breuer,  Freund, 
Vogt,  and  also  several  authors  who  have  reported  single 
cases,  have  proved  that  apparently  severe  phenomena, 
which  are  extremely  like  severe  neuroses,  epilepsy,  or 
severe  psychoses,  can  be  produced  by  conceptions,  and 
can  be  again  removed  by  conceptions.  I  myself  have 
observed  a  number  of  striking  cases  of  this  kind.  Such 
cases  may  even  last  for  years,  or  almost  for  a  lifetime, 
and  yet  finally  be  cured,  as  if  it  were  by  a  miracle.  I 
have  seen  such  a  case  of  severe  paraplegia  in  Wetter- 
strand's  practice. 

Still,  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  bhnded  by 

1  Ringier,  '  Results  of  Hypnotism  in  Country  Practice '  (Miinchen  : 
Lehmann,  1891). 


POLYMORPHISM  OF  HYSTERIA  193 

appearances.  These  cases  belong  really  to  true  hysteria, 
whether  they  affect  men  or  women.  But  it  is  quite 
different  in  the  case  of  the  true  mixed  forms.  These 
belong  chiefly  to  Ringier's  first-mentioned  category.  If 
we  study  such  individuals  carefully,  we  find  that  they 
harbour  in  themselves  elements  of  severe  constitutional 
psychopathic  anomalies  or  psychoses,  such  as  ethical 
defects,  erethic  conditions  of  mood,  irritable  weakness, 
rudiments  or  elements  of  ideas  of  exaltation  or  delusions 
of  persecution  with  partial  lucidity  which  take  up  a  posi- 
tion halfway  toward  psychoses,  impulsion,  abnormalities 
of  the  sexual  sphere,  morbid  amorousness,  pathological 
giddiness,  constitutional  quarrelsomeness  or  melancholia, 
hypochondriasis,  etc.  In  brief,  we  are  floating  from 
the  region  of  hysteria  into  that  of  other  constitutional 
psychopathic  conditions,  or  maybe  we  are  already  in 
it  before  we  know  what  has  happened.  The  phenomenon 
of  pathological  autosuggestibility  is  undoubtedly  more 
deeply  pathological  than  that  of  pathological  suggesti- 
bility. But  one  cannot  draw  a  definite  line  of  demarcation. 
Not  only  can  other  psychopathical  persons  showexquisitely 
hysterical  phenomena,  but  if  we  fix  our  attention  on  the 
latter  of  Ringier's  categories,  we  find  that  these  people, 
if  they  are  markedly  hysterical  and  are  not  to  be  con- 
sidered normal,  really  belong  to  the  constitutional  psy- 
chopaths, even  if  it  be  to  the  relatively  milder  ones. 

We  have  built  up  a  transition  series  from  the  severe 
psychopathical  conditions  to  relatively  pure  hysteria, 
and  thence  to  the  normal  condition,  by  means  of  these 
cases. 

However,  lines  and  planes  are  not  to  be  found  in  this 
subject.  Many  constitutional  psychoses  show  transi- 
tions to  the  normal  condition  which  do  not  reveal  anything 
hysterical  at  all  in  them. 

But  more  than  that.  As  is  well  known,  a  formerly 
healthy  person  may  acquire  an  hysteria.  Attempts  have 
been  made  to  deny  this,  but  not  with  justification.     Just 

13 


194       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

as  the  cardinal  symptoms  of  paranoia,  or  of  melancholia, 
or  perverse  sexual  appetite,  etc.,  exist  both  constitu- 
tionally as  disorders  of  the  character  and  acquiredly  as 
acute  or  chronic  psychoses,  so  is  this  the  case  with  the 
symptoms  of  hysteria,  and  even  with  the  disposition 
toward  hysteria.  I  have  experienced  several  exquisitely 
acquired  cases  of  perverse  sexual  appetite,  which  have 
been  produced  by  autosuggestion,  occurring  in  highly 
ethical  and  educated  persons.  Some  of  these  I  have 
been  able  to  cure  by  suggestion. 

One  meets  at  times  with  acute  curable  hysteria,  follow- 
ing severe  emotions  (psychical  traumata)  or  wasting 
illnesses,  and  also  arising  without  any  ascertainable 
cause,  and  the  patients  in  these  cases  have  not  shown 
a  trace  of  such  phenomena  previously.  One  is  apt  to 
regard  these  cases  under  the  new-fashioned  term  of 
'  neurasthenia.'  However,  perfectly  pure  cases  of  this 
kind  are  rare.  As  a  rule,  one  deals  with  an  acquired 
pathological  hysterical  reaction  of  a  person  who  is  at 
least  constitutionally  predisposed  in  these  cases,  and 
this  can  usually  be  proved  by  following  up  the  anamnesis 
carefully.  The  actual  neurasthenias  do  not  fare  any 
better  (by  this  one  means  hypochrondriasis,  other 
psychopathical  conditions  and  the  like,  provided  that 
they  are  not. cases  of  early  general  paralysis  of  the  insane). 
Even  these  are  only  rarely  the  results  of  mental  over- 
work, but  are  mostly  the  results  of  hereditary  predis- 
position, associated  with  psychical  traumata  or  ex- 
haustions, and  the  like.  In  this  way.  Beard's  'new 
discovery  '  resolves  itself  into  a  new  naming  of  long- 
recognised  clinical  pictures  chiefly. 

If  I  might  be  allowed  to  draw  conclusions  from  this 
resume,  whicli  I  fear  has  already  become  too  long,  I 
should  choose  the  following  : 

I.  Hysteria  is  not  a  completely  circumscribed  clinical 
picture,  but  is  a  pathological  symptom  complex  or 
syndrome. 


PATHOLOGICAL  DISSOCIABILITY  195 

2.  This  symptom  complex  may  be  constitutional  or, 
more  rarely,  acquired  ;  both  factors  are  not  infrequently 
combined. 

3.  This  symptom  complex  is  characterized  especially 
by  a  pathological  dissociability  (suggestibility  and  auto- 
suggestibility)  in  which  the  autosuggestibility  prepon- 
derates in  the  severer  and  more  markedly  constitutional 
cases.  It  is  combined  under  numerous  conditions  with 
other  phenomena  of  constitutional  psychopathic  condi- 
tions. 

Pathological  dissociability  corresponds  to  a  condition 
of  the  brain  in  which  conceptions,  impulses  of  the  will 
and  emotions  are  especially  easily  and  intensively  disso- 
ciated. In  consequence,  spontaneous  somnambulic 
chains,  which  act  intensely,  are  formed  in  the  contracted 
consciousness.  These  chains  can  carry  the  personality 
with  them,  and  may,  under  certain  conditions,  divide  it 
into  a  double  '  ego '  ;  it  then  is  able  to  mature  some  very 
extraordinary  phenomena.  The  dramatic  hysterical 
deceptions  and  dreamlike  instability,  generally  speaking, 
of  such  patients  come  under  this  heading. 

The  pathological  suggestibility  and  autosuggestibility 
manifest  themselves  by  the  production  of  manifold 
functional  disturbances  of  the  whole  nervous  system  : 
psychopetal,  psychofugal,  and  psychocentral,  through  the 
intermediation  of  conceptions.  These  disturbances  can 
produce  material  changes  in  the  cells,  which  are  easily 
visible,  but  which  are  by  no  means  of  more  importance 
than  others  on  this  account.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  molecular  changes  of  living  nerve  elements  corre- 
spond to  every  function  and  disturbance  of  function  of 
the  nervous  system  (Hodge  and  others).  One  must 
regard  peripheral  hysterical  nerve  disturbances  and 
changes  as  products  of  pathological  hysterical  suggestions 
and  autosuggestions  (anaesthesia,  paralysis,  contracture, 
contraction  of  the  field  of  vision,  haemorrhage  of  the 
mucous  membrane,  etc.). 

13—2 


io6       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

If  the  definition  of  hysteria  as  I  have  given  it  be 
accepted,  the  gradual  Hmitation  in  all  directions,  even 
in  the  direction  of  normal  suggestibility,  becomes  self- 
evident.  The  difference  between  hysteria  and  normal 
suggestibility  may  be  compared  with  the  difference 
between  melancholia  and  normal  sadness,  or  between 
*  moral '  insanity  and  normal  egotism,  or  between  patho- 
logical swindling  and  normal  wilful  cheating,  or  also 
between  normal  and  hypochondriacal  sensation  of  pain. 

Very  marked  suggestibility  is  already  hypernormal,  and 
may  at  times  be  accompanied  by  hysterical  predisposi- 
tion. Still,  that  which  distinguishes  hysteria  more 
especially  is  the  pathological  reaction,  the  decking  out 
of  the  suggestions  given  with  unintentional  autosugges- 
tions, and  the  wholesale  production  of  paralyses,  con- 
vulsions, pains,  etc.,  which  have  not  been  suggested. 

Uncorrected  hypnosis  of  the  hysterical  is  quite  a 
different  thing  to  hypnosis  of  the  normal  person.  Dr. 
Babinski  does  not  take  this  fact  into  consideration.  The 
former  overshoots  the  mark,  tends  to  the  production  of 
lethargy  or  hysterical  attack,  does  not  obey  the  sug- 
gestions, or  exaggerates  them,  and  must  be  guided  with 
especial  caution,  circumspection,  and  skill ;  it  must,  in 
fact,  be  normalized. 

Hysterical  dissociability  plays  an  important  part, 
socially  and  historically  as  well  as  therapeutically.  It 
is  especially  this  which  transforms  a  personality,  be  it 
for  good  or  for  bad.  When  the  hysteria  occurs  in  a  gifted 
person  he  not  infrequently  becomes  a  convert,  a  leader 
of  the  mob,  a  prophet,  or  the  hke.  But  one  must 
not  suppo-^e  that  all  enthusiasts  and  fanatics  exhibit 
hysterical  phenomena.  One  meets  with  these  phenomena 
in  those  cases  in  which  striking  transformations  of  the 
whole  personality,  caused  by  suggestion,  take  place. 
However,  this  may  also  be  due  to  actual  psychoses  (e.g., 
paranoia).  In  this  case  a  degeneration  of  the  '  ego ' 
takes  place,  which  is  not  the  case  in  hysteria. 


MEYNERT'S  VIEWS  197 

Meynert  said  that  hypnosis  is  '  an  experimentally  pro- 
duced idiocy.'  If  he  had  said  '  insanity '  his  statement 
would  have  been  more  plausible.  His  views,  which  are 
deduced,  and  which  have  been  thrust  upon  us  without 
any  knowledge  of  the  matter,  are  obviously  based  on  the 
fact  that  one  can  produce  many  phenomena  (hallucina- 
tions, false  beliefs,  deceptions  of  memory,  and  the  like) 
in  the  hypnotized  which  are  also  to  be  observed  in  the 
insane.  A  casual  observer  can  be  easily  led  astray  by 
these  analogies,  if  he  has  had  no  experience  of  suggestion, 
but  has  only  gained  experience  of  the  insane.  The 
following  points  are  obviously  forgotten  in  connection 
with  this  : 

1.  All  these  apparent  symptoms  of  mental  disturbance 
occur  also  in  normal  sleep,  albeit  that  they  are  for  the 
most  part  less  well  developed  (see  p.  Sy).  And  sleep  is 
certainly  not  a  mental  disease.  :f^ 

2.  The  induced  symptoms  in  hypnotized  persons  do  not 
exhibit  any  tendency  towards  being  spontaneously  re- 
peated in  the  waking  condition,  provided  that  the  operator 
understands  his  subject,  and  does  not  intentionally 
endeavour  to  cultivate  and  fix  the  disturbing  symptoms 
by  means  of  suggestions.  This  brings  me  to  a  very 
important  question.  Liebeault,  Bernheim,  Wetterstrand, 
van  Eeden,  van  Renterghem,  de  Jong,  Vogt,  Ringier, 
Dehus,  I  myself,  and  the  other  pupils  of  the  Nancy 
school,  declare  emphatically  that  we  have  never  met 
with  a  single  case  of  serious  or  lasting  damage  to  the 
mental  or  bodily  health  produced  by  hypnosis,  but  have 
observed  very  many  cures  and  improvements  in  illnesses 
in  persons  whom  we  have  treated.  And  it  must  be 
pointed  out  that  we  have  had  the  experience  of  many 
thousand  cases  of  hypnotized  persons.  Autosuggestions 
and  hysterical  attacks,  transitory  mild  dizziness  in  the 
head,  and  the  hke,  as  well  as  the  occurrence  of  auto- 
hypnosis  on  a  few  occasions  during  our  early  attempts 
and  while  we  were  still  wanting  in  practice,  were  the 


198       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

only  indications  of  '  damage '  which  have  been  observed. 
The  matter  cannot  be  dismissed  by  ambiguous  forms  of 
speech,  in  view  of  such  evidence.  Either  we  are  all 
miserable  hars,  or  the  supposititious  damage  of  hypnosis 
must  depend  partly  on  the  application  of  faulty  methods, 
partly  on  the  stupidity  of  unskilled  operators,  partty  on 
frivolous  experiments,  but  chiefly  on  misconceptions  and 
exaggerations.  We  hold  this  view.  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  witnessing  a  hypnosis  of  fright  according  to 
the  Salpetriere  method  in  Paris  in  1889.  An  assistant 
advanced  toward  an  hysterical  girl.  She  realized  his 
intention,  cried  out,  and  fled  into  every  corner,  with  the 
expression  of  disgust  and  great  fear.  In  spite  of  this 
she  was  captured,  and,  heedless  of  her  despairing  struggles, 
was  held  fast.  The  assistant  then  pressed  with  all  his 
strength  on  some  point  or  other  (shoulder  or  leg)  which 
is  supposed  to  be  a  zone  hypnogene.  The  patient  was 
hypnotized  suddenly  in  a  cataleptic  position  in  this 
manner.  They  did  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  quieten 
her  by  means  of  suggestions.  We  certainly  must  state  that 
one  can  do  damage  in  this  way,  and  even  without  having 
recourse  to  such  brutal  behaviour,  one  may  do  damage 
if  the  patient  is  frightened  instead  of  being  reassured. 

Mental  disease  is  not  characterized  by  the  psychological 
form  of  a  symptom  or  of  a  symptom  complex,  but  by  a 
disease  of  the  brain  itself.  The  cause  of  the  disease 
(apart  from  general  paralysis  of  the  insane  and  other  so- 
called  organic  psychoses,  as  well  as  those  which  depend  on 
intoxications)  is  obscure,  but  nevertheless  is  undoubtedly 
concealed  behind  the  psychical  contents  of  the  symptoms. 
It  is  not  the  phenomenon  of  the  hallucination  which  is 
in  itself  morbid,^   but  it  is  the  concealed  pathological 

1  One  need  not  construct  one's  mind,  one's  whole  edifice  of  concep- 
tion, on  a  hallucinatory  foundation  for  this  reason  (Janet,  Dessoir). 
Without  wishing  to  dispute  the  sharpness  and  depth  of  such  views, 
I  may  be  permitted  to  state  that  in  the  philogenetic  development  of  the 
engrams  the  capability  of  primary  differentiation  between  impressions 
of  memory  conjured  up  (ecphorized)  and  actual  perception  of  reality 


SUGGESTION  AND  PSYCHOSES  199 

irritation  which  produces  the  continued  repetition  of 
certain  hallucinations.  A  rapid  jabbering  of  fleeting  ideas 
is  not  in  itself  morbid,  for  everyone  may  exhibit  the  pheno- 
mena of  a  brief  flight  of  ideas  during  the  moment  of 
adequate  incitation  or  excitability.  But  the  cause,  which 
is  still  unknown,  of  the  pathological  storm  of  irritation 
which  boils  in  the  brain  of  the  maniac,  and  which  produces, 
besides,  the  general  psychomotor  excitement,  euphoria, 
etc.,  is  morbid.  The  contents  of  delusions  are  not  in  them- 
selves morbid,  for  every  normal  person  can  think  or  dream 
nonsense.  But  the  incapability  of  correcting  the  de- 
lusions logically,  and  the  impulse  by  means  of  which  they 
keep  on  recurring,  is  the  morbid  thing.  Both  are  ob- 
viously based  on  peculiar  conditions  of  irritation  and  dis- 
turbances of  co-ordination  in  the  process  of  thinking  ; 
these  are  perhaps  localized  in  a  definite  manner,  and,  at 
all  events,  are  combined  in  a  more  or  less  regular  manner 
in  every  so-called  form  of  disease,  and  so  on. 

The  doctrine  of  suggestion  throws  light  on  psychology 
in  this  way,  and  offers  important  hints  to  it,  which  are 
partly  confirmations  of  views  that  clear-minded  psychi- 
atric observers  have  held  for  a  long  time.  It  is  of  par- 
ticular importance  for  the  doctrine  of  hallucinations.  It 
has  led  to  the  discovery  of  negative  hallucinations  in  the 
insane,  and  proves  clearly  to  us  that  the  hallucination  is 
not  the  morbid  symptom  in  itself,  but  becomes  this 
through  its  pathological  cause. 

It  is  indisputable  that  certain  forms  of  insanity  of  a 
mild  or  little  generalized  type  can  be  occasionally 
improved  or  even  cured  by  suggestion,  if  the  patient 
possesses  a  very  suggestible  brain,  and  if  the  operator  is 
very  skilful.     Wet  t  erst  rand  has  even  cured  several  cases  of 


forms  a  biological  postulate  of  the  self-preservation  of  the  individual 
and  of  the  kind.  The  animal  must  be  able  to  distinguish  the  renewed 
complex  of  stimuli  coming  from  without  from  the  ecphorized  engram 
complex  of  former  stimuli  which  lies  latent  in  the  brain  (internal 
conception)  in  order  to  find  his  way  about  in  the  outer  world. 


200       HYPNOTISxM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

epilepsy  solely  by  suggestion  i ;  he  has  also  done  the  same 
in  mild  melancholia  and  hypochondriasis.  Professor  von 
Speyr  of  Berne  and  others,  including  myself,  have  ob- 
served a  few  surprisingly  favourable  results  of  this  treat- 
ment. The  chief  difficulty  lies  in  the  inattention  and 
the  inaccessibleness  of  the  patient,  and  in  the  intensity  of 
the  pathological  stimuli  and  inclinations.  The  difference 
between  'the  insane  and  normal  hypnotized  persons  is 
recognised  only  too  markedly  even  when  the  type  of 
symptoms  appears  to  be  the  same.  I  have  often  com- 
pared the  waxhke  flexibility  of  the  katatonic  patient  with 
suggestive  catalepsy :  in  the  one  case  one  has  the  meaning- 
less stare  and  the  inaccessibihty  for  all  suggestions,  and 
in  the  other  one  has  automatic  obedience.  The  two  are 
absolutely  different.  In  the  former  there  is  in  all  prob- 
ability pathological  oedema  of  the  brain,  and  in  the  latter 
only  a  transient  functional  anaemia  of  the  brain  (see 
O.  Vogt,  p.  170). 

I  have  said,  '  The  brain  of  the  hypnotized  person  is  our 
curing  apparatus  with  which  we  work,  I  might  almost 
say  our  dynamo  machine.  If  the  machine  gets  out  of 
order,  it  becomes  difficult  or  impossible  to  work  with  it.' 

This  requires  a  certain  amount  of  explanation.  Firstly, 
it  is  self-evident  that  a  living  machine  is  not  a  machine  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term.  The  living  organism  is 
a  self-developing  and  self-supporting  machine,  which 
works  automatically.  It  seeks  the  conditions  of  its 
movements  (motor)  in  the  shape  of  food  and  water  for 
itself,  and  it  can,  besides,  adapt  itself.  Next,  it  goes 
through  a  progressive  evolution  of  life.  However,  if  we 
allow  for  all  these  differences,  the  comparison  may  be  of 
use  as  a  comparison  by  analogy. 

The  more  I  hypnotize,  the  more  clearly  do  I  learn  to 
recognise  the  reasons  of  failure  in  healthy-minded  persons. 
First  of  all,  there  are  the  emotions,  such  as  inward  excite- 

^  I  have  always  been  doubtful  whether  he  was  not  really  dealing 
partly  with  gross  forms  of  hysteria. 


ANTAGONISTS  TO  SUGGESTION  201 

ment,  anger,  exaggerated,  lively  exaltation,  fear,  mis- 
trust, sadness  and  despair,  etc.,  which  Hmit  the  result, 
or  may  actually  destroy  it  entirely,  even  in  very  suggestible 
people  who  have  often  been  hypnotized.  As  soon  as  I 
notice  that  a  person  remains  uninfluenced  or  does  not 
obey  well  any  longer,  I  ask  him,  '  What  is  it  that  is 
exciting  you  ?  Why  don't  you  tell  me  what  you  have 
got  on  your  mind  ?'  And  this  question,  asked  in  a  friendly 
but  definite  tone,  rarely  fails  to  elicit  a  positive  reply. 
The  patient  notices  that  I  have  recognised  the  cause  of 
the  failure  at  once,  and  almost  always  confesses  it.  I 
can  generally  reassure  him  thereby,  and,  in  consequence, 
attain  what  I  am  aiming  at. 

But  it  is  not  only  emotions  which  disturb.  Every 
other  brain  activity  as  well,  which  holds  the  attention  in  a 
condition  of  tension,  disturbs  hypnosis,  sometimes  to  a 
greater  and  sometimes  to  a  less,  extent — preoccupation, 
awakening  of  the  interest,  reasoning,  impulses,  etc. 

All  these  brain  activities  act  as  antagonists  to  sugges- 
tion. But  the  worst  of  all  for  the  suggestion  is  when  a 
definite  antagonist  (emotion,  conception,  impulse  of  will, 
or  a  mixture  of  these  activities)  regularly  counteracts  the 
suggestion  against  the  conscious  will  of  the  hypnotized 
person.  This  is  the  disturbing  autosuggestion  which  not 
infrequently  wins  the  day,  in  spite  of  all  the  endeavours 
of  the  hypnotist  and  of  the  best  intentions  of  the  hypno- 
tized. One  is  much  more  likely  to  gain  the  upper  hand 
over  several  autosuggestions  (by  means  of  the  Divide  et 
impera)  than  over  one  of  them  alone. 

One  observes  a  variety  of  things  on  carrying  out  hyp- 
notic experiments  in  the  insane.  In  acute  psychoses 
emotions  oppose  us,  and  the  power  and  duration  of  these 
stifle  everything  else.  I  have  often  attempted  to  hypno- 
tize away  simple  home-sickness  in  the  healthy.  This  only 
succeeds  with  difficulty,  and  sometimes  fails.  Even  in 
this  case  the  emotional  wave,  and  the  conception  associ- 
ated with  it,  form  an  almost  insurmountable  antagonist. 


202       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

The  hypnosis  may  succeed,  and  even  other  troubles  (pain 
and  the  hke)  may  be  banished  successfully,  but  it  attacks 
the  impulse  of  home-sickness  unsuccessfully.  How  much 
more  markedly  is  this  the  case  in  the  psychoses  ! 

As  I  have  already  said,  one  can  certainly  overcome  the 
initial  onset  and  the  early  stage  of  a  psychosis  by  sugges- 
tion in  certain  cases.  But  if  a  melancholia,  a  mania,  or 
a  delusional  insanity  has  broken  out,  one  ^^'ill  only  rarely 
be  able  to  tranquilHze  the  patient  for  the  time  being. 
The  antagonist  in  the  brain,  no  matter  of  what  nature  it 
be,  is  much  too  powerful.  (For  further  details,  see  my 
histories  of  cases,  given  later.) 

We  find  that  other  forms  of  psychoses,  especially  those 
forms  with  prominent  delusions,  also  act  as  powerful 
antagonists,  toward  which  suggestion  is  helpless.  The 
attempt  even  to  hypnotize  a  patient  suffering  from  de- 
lusions of  persecution  or  delusions  of  exaltation  mostly 
proves  itself  to  be  futile,  and  may  even  be  a  harmful 
experiment.  This  patient  regards  everything  with  the 
utmost  suspicion  which  aims  at  influencing  his  person  in 
any  way.  The  former  suffers  from  delusions  of  encroach- 
ment, as  it  were,  and  applies  the  most  innocent  things  to 
himself.  Since  the  invention  of  the  telephone,  those 
suffering  from  delusions  of  persecution  frequently  imagine 
that  they  are  harassed  by  secret  telephones  (air  tele- 
phones and  the  like).  As  hypnotism  is  discussed  every- 
where, one  often  finds  the  most  marked  hypnotic  delu- 
sions of  persecution  in  such  patients.  They  f^ncy  that 
they  are  being  secretly  hypnotized,  or  that  they  are  being 
persecuted  hypnotically  by  enemies,  and  so  on.  Tele- 
pathic and  spiritualistic  theories  form  excellent  food  for 
this  kind  of  delusion  system.  One  can  now  understand 
how  foolish  it  is  to  wish  to  hypnotize  such  patients.  One 
only  supplies  them  with  material  for  delusions,  which  are 
at  once  directed  against  those  hypnotizing.  I  have  only 
done  this  once  or  twice  at  first,  experimenta  causa,  found 
my  belief  that  it  must  be  as  I  have  described  confirmed, 


HYPNOSIS  IN  THE  INSANE  203 

and  have  then  let  the  matter  drop.  The  patients  with 
delusions  of  exaltation  despise  the  hypnotist  inordi- 
nately, and  only  become  excited  by  the  attempt. 

Patients  suffering  from  organic  psychoses  depending  on 
atrophy  of  the  brain  cannot,  as  a  rule,  grasp  a  suggestion. 
The  destructive  brain  process  is  generalized  in  such  a  way 
that  one  cannot  even  obtain  those  partial  results  which 
one  often  obtains  in  apoplectic  paralysis.  The  brain 
tissue  of  the  apoplectic  patient  is  still  relatively  healthy 
apart  from  the  affected  area.  The  tissue  of  a  brain  in 
the  condition  of  senile  or  general  paralysis  is  diseased 
through  and  through. 

The  results  in  inherited  and  constitutional  psychoses, 
in  psychopathy,  hysteria,  etc.,  are  very  materially  better, 
provided  that  well-marked  idiocy  is  excluded.  But  the 
cerebral  lesion  and  the  morbid  disposition  naturally 
cannot  be  removed.  Still,  one  can  obtain  much  that  is 
for  the  good  of  the  patient — at  all  events,  in  a  number  of 
cases — by  means  of  a  correct  suggestive  pedagogic  treat- 
ment,, by  introducing  the  habit  of  good  and  healthy 
activities,  by  stimulating  the  healthy  traits  of  character, 
and  by  suggesting  abhorrence  and  disgust  for  morbid 
and  perverse  impulses.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  true,  the 
individual  concerned  must  be  reasonably  suggestible, 
and  must  possess  some  good  qualities,  which  is  often  the 
case.  The  brain  in  these  cases  is  neither  affected  by  delu- 
sions nor  continually  under  the  influence  of  emotions  ;  the 
dynamic  conditions  of  suggestibility  are  therefore  present. 

The  same  applies  to  the  intoxication  psychoses  (after 
the  delirium  has  passed  off),  in  which  one  can  achieve  a 
cure  for  the  rest  of  life  by  suggestion  of  a  dislike  of  the 
narcotic  and  of  total  abstinence  from  the  drug.  One  cannot 
arrive  at  a  curative  action  in  its  full  sense  in  certain  cases 
of  secondary  psychoses  which  have  run  their  course,  but 
one  attains  important  impulses  toward  useful  activities — 
e.g.,  toward  work,  etc. — and  also  inhibition  of  perverse 
habits,  in  place  of  this.     However,  these  cases  are  rare, 


204       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

and  owe  their  existence  to  the  cessation  of  the  emotions 
and  of  the  delusions,  together  with  a  partial  preservation 
of  the  intelligence.  Thus,  they  only  help  to  confirm  my 
view.  The  majority  of  persons  suffering  from  secondary 
insanity  are  too  demented  and  too  confused,  and  harbour 
too  many  delusions,  to  admit  of  suggestive  influence. 

At  first  sight  it  appears  less  easy  to  explain  that  certain 
insane  patients  can  be  easily  hypnotized,  that  one  can 
influence  them  freely  as  far  as  pain,  appetite,  motion  of  the 
bowels,  menstruation,  sleep,  and  the  like,  are  concerned, 
although  the  mental  disturbance,  the  morbid  delusions, 
and  emotions,  continue  to  exist  unchanged  and  unshort- 
ened.   One  sometimes  observes  if  one  hypnotizes  hysterical 
persons  without  having  determined  on  a  plan  of  procedure, 
without  a  programme,  that  the  patient  lapses  into  a  deep 
lethargic  sleep  ;  I  have  seen  this  in  four  patients.     In  two 
of  these  patients,  one  of  which  w^as  a  hystero-epileptic 
male  and  the  other  an  hysterical  girl,  this  deep  sleep  set 
in  with  such  lightning  rapidity  that  I  failed  completely 
to  remain  in  psychical  connection  with  them.     None  of 
the  means  at  my  disposal  sufficed  to  make  them  sugges- 
tively obedient.     I  only  succeeded  in  awakening  them 
from  their  sleep  with  great  difficulty,  although   I  had 
found  it  easy  to  put  them  to  sleep.     They  were  completely 
anaesthetic,  and  the  man  showed  complete  relaxation  of 
all  muscles,  while  the  girl  was  cataleptic.     In  the  third 
case,  that  of  an  epileptic  boy,  the  deep  sleep  also  set  in 
suddenly.     However,  it  was  always  possible,  albeit  with 
great  difficulty,  to  obtain  some  weak  actions  of  suggestion 
by  loud  shouting  and  energetic  stirring  up.     The  fourth 
case  was  one  of  melanchohc  psychopathic  disturbance, 
which  became  circular  later  on.      This  patient  lost  the 
'  rapport '  during  the  deep  lethargic  sleep  which  followed 
the  hypnotizing  by  a  colleague  of  mine.     In  this  case  I 
was  able  soon  to  replace  the  '  rapport '  completely  after  a 
httle  practice,  and  to  achieve  somnambuhc  obedience. 
I  was  consulted  in  an  interesting  case  by  my  colleague, 


HYPNOSIS  IN  HYSTERICAL  CATALEPSY     205 

Dr.  Boesch.  The  patient  was  an  hysterical  giri  who  had 
lapsed  into  a  spontaneous  catalepsy.  The  extremities 
were  cold  and  cyanotic,  the  look  was  glassy,  and  the  skin 
was  anaesthetic  during  the  ecstatic  sleep,  with  dream- 
like hallucinations.  I  attempted  in  vain  to  establish  a 
suggestive  'rapport.'  But  certain  signs  seemed  to  me 
to  indicate  that  this  was  not  quite  impossible.  Boesch 
attempted,  on  my  advice,  to  influence  the  girl  after  she 
had  awakened  from  the  sleep,  which  lasted  for  several 
hours  each  day,  by  means  of  suggestion  during  waking. 
He  succeeded  in  this  in  so  far  that  he  achieved  suggestive 
obedience  to  a  great  extent — at  first  during  the  waking 
condition,  and,  as  a  result,  even  in  the  spontaneous  cata- 
leptic sleep.  Unfortunately,  this  influence  was  lost  later 
on,  before  it  had  resulted  in  a  complete  cure. 


CHAPTER  VI  i 

Hints  to  the  Practitioner  on  Suggestive  Treatment 
and  Psychotherapeutics 

If  one  wishes  to  hypnotize,  and  especially  to  obtain 
therapeutic  results  by  this  means,  one  must  first  arm 
one's  self  with  great  patience,  with  enthusiasm,  \vith  con- 
sistency, with  an  unhesitating  manner,  and  with  the  capa- 
bility of  inventing  tricks  and  of  originating  ideas. 
Next,  one  must  learn  to  observe  psychologically  cor- 
rectly, and  to  individualize.  Lastly,  the  determination 
of  the  actual  diagnosis  is  necessary,  as  it  is  in  every  other 
form  of  treatment.  But  suggestion  itself  often  offers 
such  an  excellent  diagnostic  means  that  one  is  thoroughly 
justified  in  applying  it  for  this  purpose  frequently.  Ihe 
diagnosis  of  a  doubtful  case  can  ofttimes  be  made  from 
the  success  or  failure  of  the  hypnotic  suggestion. 

As  the  foregoing  implies,  not  every  medical  practitioner 
is  suitable  to  become  a  hypnotist.  It  is  true  that  the 
personal  magnetic  fluid,  which  used  to  be  considered 
necessary,  is  a  superfluous  myth,  but  everyone  does  not 
possess  the  characteristics  and  capabilities  mentioned 
above.  By  far  the  most  potent  factor  which  stands  in 
the  way  of  success  is  the  want  of  interest  and  of  personal 
initiative.  In  this  way,  if  it  is  not  constantly  being 
spurred  again  into  life,  one's  owti  mental  activity  slowly 
becomes  dormant  as  a  result  of  the  unavoidable  frictions 
of  everyday  life.  In  this  the  vis  inertia,  which  adheres 
so  tenaciously  to  the  larger  portion  of  the  populace,  plays 
a  determining  role.     The  man  who  attempts  to  hypnotize 

206 


CAUSES  OF  FAILURE  207 

in  an  automatic  sort  of  way,  following  out  a  preconceived 
scheme,  will  rapidly  fail  to  have  results  to  record  as  soon 
as  the  fascination  of  the  novelty  of  the  thing  has  passed 
off,  especially  if  he  does  not  take  any  intelligent  trouble 
over  it.  He  will  go  to  sleep  himself  more  and  more, 
and  his  patients  will  be  influenced  less  and  less. 

A  second  factor  which  prevents  success  is  mistrust, 
nervousness,  fear  that  others  will  laugh  at  him,  fear  that 
the  hypnotized  person  will  simulate,  and  misgivings  and 
doubts  of  all  kinds.  This  second  factor,  which  at  first  is 
the  most  formidable,  disappears  as  soon  as  one  gains 
experience,  and  then  the  first  factor  makes  itself  felt  to 
the  full  extent,  and  must  continuously  be  combated. 
One  can  frequently  notice,  when  one  is  depressed  or  tired, 
that  one  achieves  fewer  results,  for  this  weakness  of 
the  hypnotist  is  unconsciously  recognised  by  the  brain 
dynamisms  of  the  hypnotized. 

One  should  approach  the  person  to  be  hypnotized,  as 
Bernheim  advises,  quite  naturally  and  intent  on  one's 
purpose  ;  one  explains  to  him  that  there  is  nothing  un- 
natural or  uncanny  about  the  procedure,  but  that  it  is 
a  characteristic  of  the  nervous  system  which  applies  to 
everybody  ;  one  says  that  he  will  readily  be  influenced  or 
fall  to  sleep.  One  should  avoid  long  speeches  and  explana- 
tions, and  the  patient  or  subject  is  placed  in  a  comfortable 
easy-chair.  It  is  best  if  the  chair  has  no  arms,  or,  failing 
this,  if  the  arms  are  well  upholstered.  The  chair  is  so 
placed  that  one  side  is  touching  a  perpendicular  wall,  so 
that  one  can  assist  a  suggestive  catalepsy  of  the  arm,  of 
which  one  is  not  quite  certain,  by  leaning  the  arm  against 
the  wall. 

One  should  enjoy  the  trust  and  inclination  of  the  person 
to  be  hypnotized  as  far  as  is  possible,  or  attempt  to  gain 
these. 

O.  Vogt  (see  Chapter  IV.)  states  that  he  accustoms  his 
patients  to  the  '  rapport '  consistently  by  very  brief  re- 
peated hypnoses,  after  which  he  makes  them  relate  their 


2o8        HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

sensations  exactly.  In  this  way  he  strangles  unpleasant 
autosuggestions  in  the  bud,  and  at  the  same  time  joins  his 
following  suggestions  to  the  innocent  suggestive  results. 
He  avoids,  above  all  things,  giving  suggestions  in  such  a 
way  that  the  patient  does  not  realize  them  at  once,  or,  at 
all  events,  soon,  and  thus  prevents,  as  I  do  also,  awakening 
or  strengthening  the  idea  '  that  it  does  not  succeed  with 
him.'  At  first  he  only  hints  at  the  occurrence  of  some 
phenomenon  or  other,  and  only  suggests  this  more  forcibly 
after  he  has  noticed  the  beginnings  of  the  occurrence 
himself,  or  learns  of  it  by  the  statements  of  the  patient. 
He  avoids  a  commanding  tone  of  voice,  so  that  those  who 
do  not  want  to  lose  the  '  freedom  of  will '  shall  not  be 
disturbed.  The  phenomena  of  suggestion  should  be 
represented,  especially  to  educated  persons,  as  arising 
quite  naturally  out  of  themselves.  I  entirely  approve  of 
this  method,  and  had  already  employed  it,  although  not 
quite  so  consistently. 

One  should  further  avoid  that  the  person  to  be  hypno- 
tized is  mentally  stimulated  or  excited,  or  that  he  is 
anxious  or  in  a  condition  of  expectant  tension.  The  last- 
named  spoils  the  first  hypnosis  in  a  large  number  of  people, 
and  especially  in  the  educated,  who  imagine  all  sorts  of 
wonderful  things,  and  expect  them  to  take  place.  Some 
persons  are  afraid  that  they  cannot  be  hypnotized,  and, 
in  consequence,  give  themselves  this  autosuggestion,  which 
is  frequently  extremely  difficult  to  overcome.  In  this 
case  patience  and  various  tricks  must  be  employed. 
The  first  attempt  under  these  conditions  frequently  fails. 
One  then  explains  to  the  person  that  he  was  too  excited 
for  the  moment,  that  he  was  taking  too  keen  an  interest 
in  the  procedure,  but  that  he  was  already  influenced. 
Sleep  was  by  no  means  necessary  for  the  action  to  be 
attained,  and  it  would  come  later  of  its  own  account. 
One  then  speaks  only  of  light  dozing,  etc.  Once,  after  I 
had  exhausted  all  my  tricks  in  this  way  without  result 
with  a  lady,  I  appointed  another  time  for  her  to  come  to 


METHODS  OF  HYPNOTIZING  209 

see  me,  allowed  her  to  get  up,  and  put  on  her  hat,  coat, 
and  gloves,  and  then  I  got  up  too,  and  said  to  her,  appar- 
ently without  any  ulterior  motive,  '  Sit  down  again  for 
a  moment';  and,  with  a  few  rapid  and  definite  sugges- 
tions, she  was  hypnotized  in  a  few  seconds. 

In  many  cases  of  this  kind  the  hypnotizing  of  another 
person  in  the  presence  of  the  person  to  be  hypnotized  acts 
advantageously.  The  intention  of  this,  however,  must 
not  be  noticed,  or  else  the  action  will  be  lost. 

I  wish,  on  the  whole,  to  recommend  the  method  accord- 
ing to  Liebeault-Wetterstrand,  which  I  shall  describe  pre- 
sently— the  collective  hypnotizing. 

According  to  Bernheim's  procedure,  one  requests  the 
patient  to  sit  in  the  armchair,  tells  him  to  look  straight 
into  one's  eyes  for  a  few  seconds,  but  not  longer  than  one 
minute,  and  declares  to  him  loudly  and  firmly,  but  in  a 
monotonous  tone  of  voice,  that  he  is  going  on  famously, 
that  his  eyes  are  already  moist,  his  eyelids  are  heavy, 
and  that  he  feels  a  pleasant  sensation  of  warmth  in  his 
legs  and  arms.  Then  one  tells  him  to  look  at  the  thumb 
and  index  finger  of  the  hypnotist's  left  hand,  which  one 
depresses  unnoticeably,  so  that  the  lids  follow.  If  the 
eyelids  fall  to  of  their  own  account  soon,  one  has  gained 
one's  end.  If  not,  one  says,  '  Close  your  eyes.'  Some 
practitioners  let  the  patient  look  at  them  for  a  longer 
time. 

One  can  then  continue  by  following  Vogt's  procedure, 
or  one  can  also  lift  up  an  arm,  and  lean  it  against  the  wall 
or  against  the  patient's  head,  declaring  that  it  is  rigid. 
It  is  best  to  state  at  once  that  the  hand  of  the  raised  arm 
will  be  absolutely  irresistibly  drawn  against  the  head,  as 
if  the  latter  were  a  magnet.  Should  this  not  succeed, 
one  must  help  a  little  ;  one  becomes  very  definite  and 
intent  in  suggesting  ;  one  suggests  at  the  same  time  dis- 
appearance of  thought,  obedience  of  the  nerves,  feeling 
well,  rest,  and  slumber.  As  soon  as  one  notices  that  one 
or  other  of  these  suggestions  is  beginning  to  work,  one 

14 


2IO       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

must  use  it  and  lay  emphasis  on  it,  and  at  times  it  will 
be  well  to  require  the  patient  to  indicate  his  own  experi- 
ence by  movements  of  the  head.  Every  suggestion 
which  elicits  the  reply  '  Yes '  in  the  early  stages  is  an 
important  achievement,  and  one  must  use  it  for  all  the 
following  suggestions  :  '  You  see,  it  is  working  very  well. 
Your  slumber  is  getting  sounder.  Your  arm  gets  more 
and  more  rigid.  You  cannot  depress  it  now.'  The 
patient  tries  to  do  so,  with  some  result ;  one  then  quickly 
prevents  him  from  doing  this,  and  states  :  '  On  the  con- 
trary, if  you  try  to  bring  it  down,  it  only  moves  towards 
your  head.  Look  here,  I  attract  it  towards  your  head,'  etc. 
It  is  wise  to  avoid  the  suggestion  of  catalepsy  of  the  arm  at 
first  in  very  critical  and  refractory  people.  After  some 
practice,  one  soon  can  recognise  when  it  is  safe  to  risk  this. 

I  regard  it  as  a  mistake  to  make  the  patient  fix  his  eyes 
on  an  object  for  long,  as  a  rule.  I  rarely  do  this  for  more 
than  one  minute,  and  then  only  at  the  beginning  of  the 
first  sitting.  Later  on,  it  sufiices  always  to  look  at  the 
person  to  be  hypnotized  for  one  or  two  seconds  at  the  most, 
and  to  give  the  suggestion  of  sleep  at  the  same  time.  As 
a  rule,  I  simply  declare,  '  You  are  asleep,'  making  a 
movement  of  my  hand  in  front  of  the  patient's  eyes,  and 
the  subject  is  immediately  hypnotized. 

Grossmann^  details  his  method  of  hypnotizing  as 
follows  : 

'  First  of  all,  I  suggest  suggestibihty  to  every  patient. 
I  find  it  best  to  deal  with  the  sceptic  with  the  following 
little  experiment  :  I  say  to  him  that  I  am  going  to  press 
on  his  conjunctiva  with  my  finger,  although  he  will 
scarcely  believe  it,  without  producing  any  reflex  closure 
of  the  lids — that  is,  without  his  blinking.  The  experi- 
ment nearly  always  succeeds,  for,  as  I  have  pointed  out  in 
a  previous  work,^  the  conjunctiva  of  almost  every  person  . 

^  Grossmann,  Zeitschrift  fiir  Hypnotisjnus^  vol.  i.,  1892- 1893,  p.  410. 
2  Ibid.^  'The  Results  of  the  Suggestion  Treatment  in  Influenza' 
(Bedin:  H.  Brieger,  1892}. 


GROSSMANN'S  METHOD  211 

becomes  anaesthetic  by  fixing  at  the  same  time  the  atten- 
tion on  this  sort  of  suggestion.  The  fact  that  the  sugges- 
tion has  succeeded  frequently  increases  the  suggestibihty 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  command  to  sleep,  simply 
following  at  once  on  this,  suffices  to  cause  hypnosis  to 
appear  forthwith.  In  other  cases  I  get  the  patient  to  sit 
on  a  chair,  without  leaning  back,  or,  still  better,  to  rest 
on  a  sofa  in  a  half-sitting,  half-lying  position,  and  to  fix 
me  intently  with  his  eyes  for  a  few  seconds.  I  then  sug- 
gest to  him  that  he  feels  a  sensation  of  warmth  traversing 
his  limbs,  and  especially  that  his  arms,  which  are  resting 
on  his  knees,  are  becoming  as  heavy  as  lead.  Having  said 
this,  I  raise  them  a  little,  catching  hold  of  them  by  the 
wrists,  and  cause  them  to  fall  suddenly  by  a  slight  push 
of  my  hands.  They  fall  back  on  the  knees  apparently  as 
heavy  as  lead,  and  the  patient  actually  feels  a  marked 
tiredness  in  his  arms  ;  this  I  have  had  confirmed  by  nearly 
everyone.  If  I  do  not  observe  the  somewhat  dazed  ex- 
pression, or  traces  of  it,  which  may  only  last  for  a  few 
seconds,  I  then  employ  the  principal  trick.  I  ask  the 
patient  to  close  his  eyes,  or  I  close  them  myself  quickly  ; 
then  I  seize  his  wrists,  the  forearms  being  flexed  upwards, 
and  suggest  that  he  is  becoming  so  tired  that  he  can  no 
longer  keep  up,  but  must  sink  back  I  gradually  press 
him  backwards  myself  by  imperceptible  pushes,  until  his 
head  is  resting  on  the  back  of  the  chair,  and,  provided  that 
it  is  still  necessary,  give  the  command  to  sleep.' 

It  is  best  to  touch  the  painful  part  (head,  abdomen, 
etc.)  with  the  right  hand,  and  to  declare  at  the  same  time 
that  the  pains  are  disappearing  ;  one  then  asks  the  patient 
during  the  hypnosis  about  the  result,  and,  if  possible, 
one  does  not  leave  off  until  this  is  complete — at  all  events, 
for  the  moment.  One  often  has  to  use  several  different 
suggestions,  and  should  possess  talent  for  invention. 
Everything  succeeds  at  once  with  persons  who  are 
very  suggestible,  while  one  has  much  difficulty  with 
others. 

14 — 2 


212       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

One  must  first  see  that  one  induces  anaesthesia  anc' 
amnesia  after  awakening  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  is 
true  that  many  cure  suggestions  succeed  without  these 
two  results.  But  one  can  attain  one's  aim  more  rapidly 
and  better,  on  the  average,  with  them.  One  usually 
prevents  the  patient  from  carrying  over  the  thread  of  his 
conscious  logic  from  the  hypnosis  to  the  waking  condition, 
and  the  reverse,  by  means  of  amnesia. 

An  important  duty  of  the  hypnotist  is,  further,  to  pre- 
vent the  harmful  results  of  autosuggestions.  Persons 
who  are  anxious  and  nervous,  and  more  especially  hys- 
terical persons,  are  apt  to  imagine  autosuggestions  of 
harmful  actions  as  a  result  of  the  first  hypnosis.  This  is 
particularly  likely  if  they  have  learned  a  lot  of  this  kind 
of  thing  from  newspapers  or  from  other  people.  They 
become  giddy  after  the  hypnosis,  or  they  feel  themselves 
dazed,  or  they  have  a  feeling  of  fear,  or  headache,  trem- 
bling, or  twitchings  appear,  which  may  even  increase  into 
convulsions.  One  must  take  great  care  to  avoid  showing 
anxiety  or  concern  should  such  a  condition  appear,  lest 
one  increases  and  cultivates  the  autosuggestion  thereby. 
On  the  other  hand,  one  must  state  with  the  utmost  firm- 
ness and  confidence  that  these  things  are  only  stupid  little 
events,  which  occasionally  turn  up  during  the  first 
hypnosis,  but  which  can  be  removed  at  once,  and  which 
will  never  again  recur.  And  while  one  is  saying  this,  one 
suggests  away  these  phenomena,  down  to  the  smallest 
detail,  by  means  of  an  immediate  renewal  of  the  hypnosis. 
One  must  not  allow  any  part  of  it  to  remain,  and  should 
always  remember  that  everything  which  is  produced  by 
suggestion  can  also  be  removed  by  suggestion,  if  this  is 
done  in  time,  and  if  it  is  not  allowed  to  be  retained 
by  autosuggestion  or  habit.  Hypnosis  should  only  be 
employed  for  short  periods  and  not  frequently  for 
such  persons,  or  for  hysterical  individuals  generally, 
and  only  therapeutic  suggestions  should  then  be 
given. 


GENERAL  HINTS  213 

I  lay  great  stress  on  this  procedure.  I  am  absolutely 
convinced  that  want  of  knowledge  of  this  or  ignoring  it 
is  responsible  for  the  unintentional  damages  ascribed  to 
hypnosis  of  which  we  read  in  the  literature  on  the  sub- 
ject. I  have  personally  seen  a  case  of  trembling  and 
pain  in  an  arm  which  was  produced  by  this  sort  of  un- 
skilful hypnotizing  on  the  part  of  an  inexperienced  young 
man  ;  it  lasted  for  a  few  months,  but  was  then  completely 
removed  again  by  suggestion. 

In  my  experience,  one  achieves  more,  as  a  rule,  with 
hysterics  by  skilfully-applied  suggestions  during  waking 
than  one  does  by  means  of  formal  (announced)  hypnosis. 
The  old  rule  remains  the  same  :  kind,  consistent,  and  firm. 
One  must  gain  the  sympathy  of  the  hysterical  person, 
and  at  the  same  time  require  respect  from  him.  One 
must  never  scoff  at  him,  or  show  him  any  mistrust, 
repulsion,  or  contempt,  or  else  one  will  damage  him  con- 
siderably. But  one  must  be  just  as  careful  not  to  spoil 
him,  and  not  to  attach  much  importance  to  his  attacks, 
pains,  etc.  One  speaks  confidently  of  cure,  insists  that 
he  will  obey  implicitly,  and  then  one  guides  him  im- 
perceptibly, by  tickling  his  ambition,  etc.,  into  an  occu- 
pied mode  of  living,  and  into  healthy  hygienic  habits 
by  giving  him  therapeutic  hygienic  suggestions  when- 
ever one  comes  into  contact  with  him.  One  should 
employ  medicaments  as  seldom  as  possible,  and  never 
have  recourse  to  narcotics.  I  wish  to  deduce  the  maxim 
from  all  these  facts  that  medical  practitioners  who  are  still 
inexperienced  in  deahng  with  suggestions,  and  especially 
young  practitioners  who  so  far  have  had  but  little  general 
experience,  should  avoid  attempting  their  first  hypnotic 
experiments  on  hysterical  persons. 

That  one  can  do  harm  by  suggestion,  if  one  wishes  to, 
is  obvious,  and  is  only  the  reverse  of  the  curative  action 
of  suggestion.  One  can  suggest  headache,  disturbances 
of  menstruation,  etc.,  just  as  well  as  one  can  suggest  them 
away.     But  if  one  wishes  only  to  do  good,  one  must  never 


214       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

speak  to  a  hypnotized  person  of  the  possibiUty  of  doing 
harm,  and,  on  the  contrary,  always  state  firmly  and 
unconditionally  that  suggestion  can  only  act  for  good. 
In  this  way  one  removes  the  harmful  autosuggestions  in 
the  best  manner,  and  preserves  a  healthy  suggestive 
atmosphere  around  the  patient. 

One  must  avoid  the  '  occurrence  of  self-hypnosis,'  the 
supposed  '  weakening  of  the  will-power,'  and  other  things 
of  this  kind,  by  the  same  means  of  counter-suggestion. 
The  danger  of  these  things  are  always  being  held  up  as 
arguments  against  therapeutic  hypnotism.  Only  on  one 
occasion,  while  I  was  still  a  beginner,  did  a  person  whom 
I  had  hypnotized  fall  into  a  hypnotic  sleep  of  his  own 
account.  He  received  such  an  energetic  suggestive 
lecture  from  me  in  return  that  the  affair  was  not  repeated. 
If  one  admits  the  right  of  existence  of  such  phenomena  in 
one's  environments,  they  will  soon  be  repeated,  not  only 
in  the  same  patient  (as,  for  example,  in  the  hypnotized 
hysterical  girl  of  von  Krafft-Ebbing),  but  also  in  others. 
This  can  be  seen  in  Dr.  Friedrich's  results,^  who  hypno- 
tizes by  false  methods  and  with  preconceived  notions. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  a  self-hypnosis  suggested  by 
means  of  an  amulet  is  not  dangerous.  However,  one 
must  limit  the  duration  of  this  to  a  few  minutes  by  means 
of  suggestion,  and  only  allow  it  to  take  place  through  the 
intermediation  of  the  amulet  and  for  definite  treatment 
purposes,  with  the  permission  of  the  doctor. 

One  must  always  suggest  perfect  health,  cheerful  mood, 
good  sleep,  good  appetite,  and  strengthening  of  the  will. 
Besides  this,  one  should  always  bear  in  mind  Bemheim's 
and  Liebeault's  rules  : 

I.  To  insist  on  having  at  least  one  suitable  witness  for 

^  Dr.  Friedrich,  '  Annals  of  the  General  Hospital  in  the  Town  of 
Miinchen,'  1894.  The  article  of  Ur.  Friedrich,  which  is  directed 
against  the  therapeutic  application  of  hypnotism,  proves  conclusively 
that  the  author  has  fallen  into  all  the  errors  which  one  should  avoid, 
and  that  he  has  completely  misunderstood  the  whole  question. 


BERNHEIM'S  AND  LIEBEAULT'S  RULES     215 

every  hypnotizing,  as  a  protection  for  the  hypnotist  as 
well  as  for  the  person  hypnotized.^ 

2.  To  give  the  suggestion  to  all  very  suggestible  persons 
(somnambulists)  that  no  one  else  can  hypnotize  them. 

3.  Not  to  hypnotize  anyone  without  first  obtaining  his 
spoken  permission. 

4.  Only  to  give  suggestions  for  therapeutic  purposes, 
as  long  as  legal,  scientific,  or  didactic  purposes  do  not 
enter  into  the  question. 

1  have  called  attention  to  many  baneful  suggestions 
which  are  exercised  unconsciously  by  medical  practi- 
tioners by  their  expressions  of  face,  by  their  examinations 
and  prognoses.^  Bernheim  has  also  done  the  same.  I 
am  fully  aware  that  I  once  suggested  a  gastric  ulcer  to  a 
patient  in  whom  I  suspected  this  condition  by  having  a 
serious  countenance,  and  by  carefully  palpating  the  region 
of  the  stomach,  and  ordering  rest  in  bed  and  milk  diet. 
I  suggested  the  site  of  the  pain  by  means  of  a  pointed 
question,  and  the  result  of  my  want  of  knowledge  of 
suggestion  at  the  time  was  that  the  patient  was  confined 
to  her  bed  for  many  months  of  a  suggested  illness  which 
was  not  really  present.  The  patient  proved  herself  later 
on  to  be  an  excellent  somnambulist.  Hysterical  cough, 
hysterical  attacks,  diseases  of  the  stomach,  uterine  dis- 
turbances, constipation,  and  nervous  disorders  of  all 
kinds  are  frequently  suggested  in  this  manner  by  anxious 
practitioners,  who  are  apt  to  take  serious  views  of  cases, 
or  are  autosuggested  by  the  patients  themselves.  There 
is  no  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  this. 

That  one  can  suggest  hysterical  attacks,  for  example, 
even  without  using  words,  by  means  of  unskilful  manipu- 
lations has  long  been  recognised.  We  have  all  reported 
this,  and  it  has  been  confirmed  by  Dr.  Friedrich  in  a 

^  Special  exceptions  in  which  absolute  mutual  trust  can  be  relied 
on  may  take  place  under  especial  conditions. 

2  Forel,  '  Unconscious  Suggestion  '  {American  Journal  of  Psycho- 
lo^,  vol.  iv.,  No.  4,  1893). 


2i6       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

striking  manner.  But  when  one  understands  suggestion, 
one  gets  accustomed,  not  to  produce  it,  but  to  remove  it. 

On  one  occasion  a  hystero-epileptic  woman  was 
brought  to  me  with  the  history  of  several  severe  attacks 
daily  during  the  past  seven  years,  and  of  total  incapa- 
bility for  work.  I  was  called  to  her  during  the  first  attack 
in  the  asylum,  hypnotized  the  patient  during  the  attack, 
and  declared  that  the  attacks  had  definitely  ceased  from 
that  time,  and  that  the  disease  was  cured.  No  further 
attack  took  place,  and  after  a  few  weeks  the  patient  left 
the  asylum.  For  two  and  a  half  years  she  rem.ained  per- 
fectly well.  She  then  again  complained  of  some  hys- 
terical symptoms,  and  consulted  a  doctor.  The  latter 
told  her  during  the  treatment  that  the  attacks  would 
certainly  recur,  and  the  attacks  did  recur.  She  then 
begged  to  be  admitted  into  the  asylum  again,  and  arrived 
in  1894.  I  again  removed  the  attacks  at  once  by  means  of 
a  few  hypnoses  ;  she  was  discharged  cured,  and  has  re- 
mained well  since.    Comments  on  this  case  are  superfluous. 

Dr.  Weil,  of  Berlin,^  has  written  an  excellent  little 
article  on  the  suggestive  action  of  '  prognosis.'  Of 
course,  a  bad  prognosis,  which  some  practitioners  give 
to  the  poor  patients  without  consideration,  is  frequently 
tantamount  to  producing  a  further  illness  ;  not  infre- 
quently it  hastens  the  death  of  the  patient. 

Weil  reminds  us  with  perfect  justification  that  the 
patient  who  says  to  his  medical  attendant,  '  Doctor,  I 
want  to  know  the  whole  truth  ;  I  am  prepared  for  any- 
thing ;  tell  me  what  I  have  to  expect,'  etc.,  really  deceives 
himself,  and,  at  all  events,  usually  only  wishes  to  hear  a 
comforting  lie  from  the  doctor.  The  medical  practi- 
tioner must  be  a  psychologist  in  this  case,  and  his  duty,  as 
a  rule,  is  to  conceal  his  conviction,  and  even  to  lie  at  times. ^ 

*  WeW^  Zeifsc/irift/ilr  Hypnoiisvius,  vol.  i.,  1892- 1893,  p.  395. 

3  Compare  Mark  Twain  '  On  the  Decay  in  the  Art  of  Lying. 
Selected  Sketches  ':  'The  liar  who  is  most  to  be  pitied  is  the  one  who 
persuades  himself  that  he  always  speaks  the  truth,  for  he  lies  to 
himself  as  well  as  to  others,' 


HYPNOSIS  FOR  SURGICAL  OPERATIONS     217 

But,  besides,  every  practitioner  should  realize  how  far  he 
is  from  being  infallible,  and  this  should  help  him  to  allow 
the  patient  to  retain  hope  without  lying.  There  exist 
certain  exceptions  under  definite  circumstances,  and  with 
very  strong-minded  characters,  which  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  psychologist  to  find  out. 

One  must  always  study  the  individual  suggestibility  of 
one's  hypnotized  persons  closely,  adapt  one's  self  to  this, 
and  not  proceed  in  accordance  with  fixed  rules. 

If  one  wishes  to  employ  suggestive  anaesthesia  for 
surgical  purposes,  one  must  first  prepare  the  patient  by  a 
few  hypnotizings.  When  he  does  not  feel  pricks  of  the 
needle  in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  or  even  touching  of  the 
cornea,  he  is  ready  for  the  operation  ;  but  one  must 
avoid  exciting  him  by  extensive  preparations  for  the 
operation,  for  one  will  thus  risk  completely  desuggesting 
him.  I  have  often  seen  this.  One  should  hypnotize  him 
beforehand,  and  represent  the  operation  as  a  mere 
nothing  or  as  a  joke,  and  then  one  should  allow  it  to 
take  him  by  surprise  as  far  as  is  possible.  During  the 
operation  one  must  continuously  go  on  suggesting  anaes- 
thesia and  deadness  of  the  affected  part. 

If  the  suggestion  fails  in  a  person,  one  should  desist 
after  four  or  five  sittings.  It  sometimes  succeeds  later, 
or  if  another  hypnotist  tries. 

One  must  not  continue  to  hypnotize  a  person  ad 
infinitum  mechanically  ;  one  only  loses  and  does  not  gain 
anything.  One  should  attempt  to  attain  the  maximum 
effect  rapidly  in  a  few  sittings.  One  must  then  reduce  the 
number  of  hypnotizings  gradually,  which  at  first  were 
carried  out  every  day,  and  then  leave  off,  having  repre- 
sented the  result  which  one  has  gained  as  definite  and 
lasting.  There  are,  however,  some  obstinate  cases, 
accompanied  by  a  small  degree  of  suggestibility,  in  which 
one  succeeds  after  a  long  time,  if  one  perseveres.  Still, 
everything  has  its  limits.  If  the  patient  fails  to  see  any 
further    result,  he  will   often  become  desuggested,  and 


2i8       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

one  loses  one's  influence  instead  of  increasing  it.  The 
hypnotist  and  the  hypnotized  become  tired  out.  One 
must  always  try  to  find  something  new,  and  to  bring  this 
to  pass  until  one  has  achieved  one's  aim,  and  then  gradu- 
ally to  break  off. 

The  hypnotized  often  become  desuggestionized  by 
autosuggestions,  as  well  as  by  insinuation  of  other  people 
or  writings  which  find  fault  with  hypnotism.  They 
frequently  become  so  because  the  hypnotist  himself 
loses  courage  and  ardour.  However,  one  can  usually 
regain  what  one  has  lost  by  means  of  a  little  energy  and 
trouble.  It  will  be  found  not  infrequently  that  the  results 
are  better  if  one  interrupts  the  sittings  for  a  good  long  time. 

Hypnotism  may  be  applied  therapeutically,  as  Bern- 
heim  has  rightly  pointed  out,  not  only  by  itself,  but  also 
in  conjunction  with  other  remedies.  Many  of  these  latter 
can  be  employed  as  auxiliary  means  to  suggestion,  or 
directly  as  the  suggestion  itself.  It  is  certain  that  a  large 
number  of  medicaments  from  time  immemorial  have 
acted  solely  and  only  by  suggestion.  Homeopathy  is  a 
speaking  instance  of  this,  and  electrotherapy  is  almost  as 
striking  an  example. 

Many  a  pain  which  will  not  budge  in  response  to  simple 
suggestion  can  be  removed  by  aqua  colorata  or  mica  pants. 
Bernheim,  Moebius,  and  Wetterstrand  have  proved  most 
brilliantly  that  the  so-called  metallo-therapeutics  and 
a  large  proportion  of  electricity  only  act  by  suggestion. 

I  have  repeatedly  emphasized,  and  Bernheim  has  done 
the  same,  that  suggestion  is  not  a  panacea  which  cures  all 
ills.  If  one  expects  everything  of  it,  one  will  be  dis- 
appointed. It  is  of  paramount  importance  for  every 
hypnotizing  practitioner  never  to  forget  that  the  first 
duty  which  has  been  imposed  on  him  by  his  academic 
studies  and  by  his  diploma  is  the  duty  of  scientific 
thoroughness,  and  also  of  careful  examination  and  making 
of  the  diagnosis  ;  but  he  must  remember  that  neither  of 
these    consists    in    mere   scientific   terms   and  belief   in 


INDICATIONS  219 

authorities.  One  can  attain  much  by  suggestion,  espe- 
cially if  one  uses  it  with  perseverance,  intelligence,  and 
medical  knowledge,  and  if  one  understands  how  to  com- 
bine suggestion  with  other  means.  For  example,  if  one 
does  not  succeed  in  curing  stammering  completely  by 
suggestion  alone,  one  should  combine  it  with  a  systematic 
course  of  exercises  (breathing,  vowel,  and  consonant  exer- 
cises). If  one  does  not  succeed  in  curing  a  lady  of  sea- 
sickness by  verbal  suggestion  alone,  one  should  rock  her 
during  the  hypnosis  thoroughly,  and  at  the  same  time 
give  her  the  suggestion  of  enjoying  it.  One  v/ill  then 
probably  succeed.  The  electric  current  is  an  excellent 
means  of  applying  suggestion,  but  the  holy  water  of 
Lourdes,  the  '  praj/er '  treatment,  Father  Kneipp's 
method,  and  homeopathy,  are  not  less  good.  I  propose 
giving  a  list  of  those  morbid  conditions  here  which  seem 
to  me  to  respond  best  to  suggestion,  although  the  indica- 
tions have  by  no  means  been  sufficiently  tested,  and  much 
will  certainly  have  to  be  added  to  it  : 

Spontaneous  somnambulism. 

Pains  of  all  descriptions,  especially  headache,  neuralgia, 
sciatica,  toothache  which  does  not  depend  on  an  abscess,etc. 

Sleeplessness. 

Functional  paralyses  and  contractures. 

Organic  paralyses  and  contractures  (as  paUiative 
means). 

Chlorosis  (extremely  favourable). 

Disturbances  of  menstruation  (metrorrhagia  and  amen- 
orrhoea). 

Loss  of  appetite,  and  all  nervous  digestive  disturbances. 

Constipation  and  diarrhoea  (provided  that  the  latter 
does  not  depend  on  catarrh  or  fermentation).  Gastric 
and  intestinal  dyspepsia  (including  pseudo-dilatation). 

Psychical  impotence,  pollutions,  onanism,  perverted 
sexual  appetite,  and  the  like. 

Alcoholism  and  morphinism  (only  by  the  suggestion  of 
total  abstinence). 


220       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Chronic  muscular  and  arthritic  rheumatism,  lumbago. 

The  so-called  neurasthenic  disturbances. 

Stammering,  nervous  disturbances  of  the  vision, 
blepharospasm. 

Pavor  nocturnus  of  children. 

Sickness  and  sea-sickness,  the  vomiting  of  pregnancy. 

Enuresis  noctuma  (often  very  difficult,  on  account  of 
the  depth  of  the  normal  sleep). 

Chorea. 

Nervous  attacks  of  coughing  (also  in  emphysema). 

Hysterical  disturbances  of  all  kinds,  including  hystero- 
epileptic  attacks,  anaesthesia,  '  phobias,'  and  the  like. 

Bad  habits  of  all  kinds. 

All  hypochondriacal  parses thesiae,  irritable  weaknesses, 
conceptions  of  impulse,  and  the  like,  are  more  difficult  to 
cure. 

According  to  Wetterstrand,  epilepsy,  haemorrhages, 
etc.,  can  also  be  influenced. 

Suggestion  may  be  tried  in  all  pure  functional  nervous 
disturbances. 

Many  other  illnesses  have  been  enumerated  in  the 
literature  of  the  subject.  The  reader  can  read  these  for 
himself  in  the  articles  by  Liebeault,  Bemheim,  Wetter- 
strand,  Ringier,  and  others,  in  the  various  yearly  volumes 
of  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  HypJiotismus  (Leipzig  :  Ambrosius 
Barth).  The  list  given  above  will  suffice  for  everyone  to 
begin  with,  and  later  one  forms  one's  own  indications. 
One  should,  however,  also  mention  the  production  of 
anaesthesia  for  small  surgical  operations,  especially  on  the 
fauces  and  oral  cavity,  and  also  for  labour. 

I  was  enabled  to  visit  my  colleague.  Dr.  Wetterstrand, 
in  Stockholm  in  the  autumn  of  1890  ;  what  I  saw  of  his 
work  was  so  highly  interesting  and  instructive  that  I  trust 
he  will  forgive  me  if  I  give  some  details  of  it  here.  He 
has  considerably  improved  Liebeault's  method,  not  only 
by  means  of  going  deeply  scientifically  into  the  cases, 
and  by  thoroughness  and  sharper  criticism,  but  also  in 


WETTERSTRAND'S  METHOD  221 

erecting  practical  appliances.  He  has  two  large  rooms, 
which  communicate  with  one  another  by  means  of  a 
door,  and  in  which  all  conduction  of  sound  is  enormously 
subdued  by  thick  carpets,  etc.  They  contain  numerous 
sofas,  armchairs,  and  couches.  From  nine  to  one  daily 
the  patients  come  in  streams  to  Dr.  Wetterstrand  ;  they 
are  first  carefully  examined,  and  if  they  are  found  to  be 
suitable  cases,  conducted  into  the  two  rooms.  First, 
those  patients  who  have  previously  been  hypnotized  are 
again  treated.  The  suggestions  are  whispered  into  their 
ears  by  Wetterstrand  so  softly  that  only  the  person  for 
whom  they  are  intended  can  hear  them.  In  this  way 
Wetterstrand  achieves  the  powerful  suggestion  action  of 
the  sight  of  the  number  of  people  being  so  rapidly  put  to 
sleep,  and  avoids  the  disturbance  of  the  mass  action  of 
the  suggestions — i.e.,  of  each  suggestion,  which  is  only 
suitable  for  one  patient,  but  which  is  heard  by  the 
others,  as  in  Nancy.  If  Wetterstrand  wishes  to  give  one 
suggestion  to  two  or  more  patients,  he  raises  his  voice 
correspondingly.  The  newly-arrived  patients  look  about 
them  with  astonishment,  and  see  how  all  the  others  go 
to  sleep  in  response  to  the  slightest  sign  or  awaken  again, 
and  observe  the  beneficial  results.  When  Dr.  Wetter- 
strand comes  to  them  after  a  considerable  time,  they  are 
already  so  far  suggested  that  the  hypnosis  practically 
never  fails.  He  owes  his  excellent  results  to  this  method 
(97  per  cent,  of  all  the  patients,  numbering  some  3,148, 
were  hypnotically  influenced,  against  only  3  per  cent, 
who  remained  uninfluenced).  Wetterstrand  prefers  to 
allow  his  patient  to  sleep  for  a  long  time,  and  believes 
that  it  is  more  advantageous  to  produce  as  deep  a  hyp- 
nosis as  possible,  with  amnesia.  I  agree  with  him.  I 
have  witnessed  some  astonishing  cures  in  his  practice, 
and  am  convinced  that  they  are  due,  not  only  to  his 
striking  personality,  his  consistency,  and  his  patience, 
but  also  to  a  great  extent  to  his  excellent  method.  I 
had  recognised  long  before  that  I  lost  a  considerable 


222       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

portion  of  the  advantages  of  the  suggestion  in  the  way 
in  which  I  used  to  hypnotize  some  patient  or  other, 
accidentally,  as  it  were,  in  the  interval  between  various 
other  work.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  have  managed 
it  otherwise.  But  I  had  never  realized  how  the  majority 
of  failures  could  be  avoided  by  his  method  so  clearly 
until  I  visited  W'etterstrand.  One  ought  to  devote  one's 
self  entirely  for  hours  to  the  matter  :  one  should  allow 
each  patient  to  influence  the  other,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
one  should  observe  and  take  notes  on  everything  without 
missing  a  single  advantage  or  hint  which  would  lead  to  a 
deeper  action  in  each  patient.  In  this  way  one  will 
achieve  the  maximum  action  for  every  patient.  \Miile 
I  was  with  Wetterstrand  I  saw  a  hypochondriacal 
melancholic  influenced  within  a  short  time  by  his  per- 
severance and  by  the  surroundings.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  difficult  results  to  obtain.  In  reading  Wetter- 
strand's  book^ — e.g.,  in  the  passage  w^here  he  describes 
his  unique  cures  of  morphinism — some  people  may  become 
very  sceptic.  If  I  had  not  seen  him  operate,  I  should  very 
probably  have  entertained  considerable  doubts.  But  it  is 
only  in  respect  of  the  epilepsy  cases  that  I  still  harbour  any 
doubts,  and  these  arise  from  the  question  of  the  diagnosis. 

I  wish  to  express  considerable  reserve  with  regard  to 
this  last-named  point.  I  certainly  believe  that  only 
certain  cases  are  curable  by  suggestion.  In  one  case,  with 
a  long  aura,  I  have  since  succeeded  in  controlling  the 
aura  and  in  curing  the  epilepsy.  Carl  Graeter^  succeeded 
in  recalling  the  memory  of  an  amnesic  period  in  an  ex- 
tremely instructive  case  of  an  epileptic,  without  the  least 
doubt,  by  means  of  hypnosis.  But  the  epilepsy  was  not 
cured. 

Both  Wetterstrand^  and  Bemheim  emphasize  that  one 

^  Wetterstrand,  '  Hypnotism  and  its  Application  in  Practical 
Medicine'  (Vienna:  Urban  and  Schwarzenberg,  1891). 

=  Carl  Graeter,  '  A  Case  of  Epileptic  Amnesia  removed  by  Hypnotic 
Hypcramncsia,'  Zeiischri/t Jiir  Ilypnotismusy  vol.  viii.,  No.  3,  1897. 


RINGIER'S  CASES  223 

is  apt  greatly  to  undervalue  the  palliative  action  of  sug- 
gestion in  producing  sleep  and  in  quieting  pain  in  severe 
incurable  diseases,  such  as  tuberculosis,  cancer,  etc.  I 
would  wish  to  add  that  one  underestimates  very  vastly  its 
enormous  value  in  everyday  medicine  as  an  aperient, 
as  a  means  of  procuring  appetite  and  sleep,  and  as  a 
regulator  of  digestion,  secretion,  and  menstruation. 

It  is  invaluable  in  these  conditions,  and  is  quite  harm- 
less, in  contradistinction  to  the  scandalous  abuse  which 
so  many  practitioners  make  of  narcotics  and  alcohol. 
One  can  produce  sleep  even  in  high  fever  by  suggestion. 

Ringier^  has  divided  the  210  cases  which  he  has  treated 
into  the  following  groups  : 

1.  Dynamic  neuroses,  of  a  motor,  vasomotor,  and 
secretory  nature. 

2.  Dynamic  sensory  neuroses,  neuralgias. 

3.  Sleeplessness. 

4.  General  cerebral  neuroses  (or  mild  psychoses). 

5.  Rheumatic  affections. 

6.  Intoxications. 

7.  Various  cases. 

Of  these  : 

Cases. 

(i)  Cured,  with  a  report  later  that  the  cure 

had  lasted  . .  . .  •  •       73 

(2)  Cured,  without  a  subsequent  report  . .       15 

(3)  Considerably  improved,  with  or  with- 

out subsequent  report       . .  . .       64 

(4)  Somewhat  improved,  with  or  without 

subsequent  report  . .  . .       19 

(5)  Failure   of  the  hypnosis,   or  not  im- 

proved . .  . .  . .       25 

(6)  Interruption  of  treatment,  mostly  early       12 

(7)  Hypnosis  for  surgical  cases  . .  . .         2 

Total     ..  ..     210 

1  Ringier, '  Results  of  Therapeutic  Hypnotism  in  Country  Practice  ' 
(Miinchen  :  Lehmann,  1891). 


224       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 


Ringier  complains  with  justification  about  the  unsatis- 
factory resuhs  of  the  frequent  early  interruption  of  the 
treatment  in  country  practice.  The  majority  of  the 
improved  would  have  undoubtedly  been  cured  if  they 
liad  persevered. 

Among  the  number  of  interesting  tables,  the  following 
deserve  special  notice  :  27  recurrences  among  the  con- 
siderably improved,  g  recurrences  among  the  slightly 
improved,  so  that  he  had  36  recurrences,  all  of  which 
belong  to  the  patients  who  were  only  improved. 


Cure  with 
Degree.                     subsequent 
Report. 

n„  »  „.,M,        Consider- 
^^p         ;       able  I m- 
°"'^^P°^^*    provement. 

1 

Slight  Im- 
provement, 

Failure. 

Per  ct-nt. 

Somnolence          ...      i8"75 

Hypotaxis 24*45 

Somnambulism  and 
deep  sleep         ...      48*05 

'                1 

i 

Per  cent.     '   Per  cent. 

—                  6*25 

8*62          31-89 
5'i9          3376 

1 

Per  cent.        Per  cent. 

6-25    !    4375 
14*21    ,    12*07 

6*49          5*19 

Of  209  hypnotized  persons  (in  one  case  there  are  no 
details  on  these  points),  16  fell  into  the  condition  of 
somnolence,  116  fell  into  the  condition  of  hypotaxis, 
and  yy  fell  into  the  condition  of  somnambuHsm  or  deep 
sleep. 

In  addition  to  this,  Ringier  met  with  12  completely 
refractory  persons  out  of  a  total  of  221  ;  in  these  a  sug- 
gestive treatment  could  not  be  undertaken  on  this 
account. 

The  results,  expressed  in  percentages,  work  out  as 
follows  : 


Refractory 

Somnolence 

Hypotaxis 

Somnambulism  and  deep  sleep 

The  duration  of  the  treatment,  expressed  in  the  number 
of  sittings,  is  given  as  follows  : 


5-43 
7-24 

52*49 
34-84 


THE  O.P.  CLASS  IN  ZURICH 


225 


In  94  cases  only  i  sitting. 
43      ,j       „       2  sittings. 


23 
12 

4 
8 

I 

4 
21 


case 
cases 


,     more  than  8  sittings. 

Of  the  last-named,  one  case  was  treated  in  thirty-five 
sittings,  one  in  twenty-one,  and  one  in  twenty,  while  all 
the  rest  were  treated  in  less  than  twenty  sittings. 

These  tables  disprove  most  conclusively  the  contention 
of  our  adversaries  who  try  to  compare  suggestive  therapy 
with  the  morphine  habit. 

The  above  are  only  a  few  summary  extracts  of  some  of 
the  many  tables  which  Dr.  Ringier  has  compiled  with  the 
utmost  statistical  exactness  from  all  points  of  view,  and 
which  show  the  matter  in  a  critical  light.  His  chief  aim 
was  to  adhere  strictly  to  objective  observation,  and  not  to 
allow  his  results  to  appear  too  favourable.  These  results 
confirm  those  of  his  predecessors  and  mine. 

I  used  to  teach  suggestive  therapy  in  my  out-patient 
class  for  medical  students  in  Zfirich  every  Saturday  from 
2.30  to  4.  The  patients  were  derived  from  the  town. 
I  first  examined  them,  and  then,  imitating  Wetter- 
strand's  example,  made  them  all  sit  in  armchairs  in  the 
presence  of  the  students.  I  began  with  those  who  had 
already  been  hypnotized  previously,  and  thus  I  saved 
myself  from  having  to  prepare  the  new  patients.  When 
the  new  patients'  turns  arrived,  they  were,  as  a  rule, 
already  so  much  influenced  that  they  fell  asleep  at  once. 
Like  Bernheim,  I  explained  to  the  apparently  refractory 
patients  that  they  were  already  influenced,  and  that  sleep 
was  not  necessary  in  their  cases.  I  then  employed 
amulets,  pieces  of  metal,  and  the  like  at  times,  together 
with  suggested  currents  ;  in  this  way  nearly  all  of  them 

15 


226       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

became  hypnotized  after  one  or  two  sittings  (some  of 
them,  I  must  admit,  however,  only  became  hypotactic). 
I  have  not  prepared  a  statement  of  the  cases  and  results, 
on  account  of  want  of  time,  although  I  obtained  very 
good  therapeutic  results.  I  may  point  out  that  these 
results  were  obtained  in  this  simple  way  in  spite  of  the 
disturbing  presence  of  the  students  (many  of  the  patients 
were  embarrassed  by  this),  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  only 
hypnotized  once  a  week  (sometimes  twice  in  the  more 
diflicult  cases),  and  in  spite  of  the  necessity  of  giving  the 
suggestions  aloud  for  teaching  purposes,  as  well  as  in 
spite  of  the  unsuitable  quahty  of  the  cases. 

From  the  year  1898  to  1905  I  have  only  occasionally 
treated  a  few  patients  in  Chigny,  in  the  country,  by  sug- 
gestion according  to  Wetterstrand's  system.  In  all,  the 
number  of  patients  has  reached  236.  Of  these,  only  4 
proved  themselves  to  be  absolutely  refractor^'  (17  per 
cent.)  ;  19  (8-0  per  cent.)  became  only  more  or  less  som- 
nolent ;  146  (61-9  per  cent.)  became  hypotactic  ;  and  67 
(28-4  per  cent.)  became  somnambulic.  A  large  number 
were  unsuitable,  hopeless  cases  ;  others  only  came  once 
or  twice,  and  then  stayed  away,  so  that  the  statistics  of 
the  results  and  failures  do  not  prove  much.  The  number 
of  somnambulists  would  have  been  considerably  increased 
if  the  material  had  been  better  and  if  they  had  had  more 
patience. 

In  summing  up  the  cases,  one  finds  the  foUov^dng 
(c.  =  cured,  i.  =  improved,  u.  =  uninfluenced)  : 

I.  Actual  psychoses,  20  cases,  naturally  without  any 
visible  result.  In  2  cases  of  paranoia,  however,  the  sub- 
jective symptoms  were  materially  improved.  (Both  of 
them  implored  me  to  hypnotize  them.)  One  idiot  was 
cured  of  his  migraine.  In  one  case  of  deeply-rooted 
periodic  melanchoha  I  succeeded  in  stopping  the  attacks 
as  they  were  setting  in  by  suggestion  for  a  time,  after  the 
onset  of  the  attacks  had  first  been  delayed.  After  the 
course  of  some   weeks,   however,   they  again  returned. 


THERAPEUTIC  RESULTS  227 

Ringier  had  succeeded  some  time  ago  in  curing  a  mild  early 
case  of  periodic  melancholia,  which  I  myself  had  diag- 
nosed, by  suggestion  applied  in  the  intervals.  This  does 
not  prove  much.  But  these  observations  are  neverthe- 
less worth  recording. 

2.  Various  psychopathies  (constitutional).  By  '  cured ' 
I  mean  the  curing  of  the  pathological  symptoms  for  which 
I  was  consulted  in  these  cases.  There  were  23  cases,  of 
which  I  was  refractory  and  2  failed  to  turn  up  a  second 
time.     Of  the  remaining  20,  c.  =  6,  i.  =  8,  and  u.  =  6. 

3.  Hypochondriasis,  18  cases.  One  patient  disappeared 
immediately,  and  of  the  remainder,  c.  =4,  i.  =  7,  and 
u.  =  6. 

4.  Hysteria,  29  cases.  One  patient  failed  to  return. 
Of  the  remaining  28,  c.  =  15,  i.  =  8,  and  u.  =  5. 

Two  hysterical  married  people  were  already  improved, 
but  nagged  each  other  with  autosuggestions,  and,  in 
consequence,  went  away  uncured. 

5.  Astasia-abasia  (a  nervous  disturbance  of  standing 
and  walking,  mostly  due  to  hysteria),  i  case  :  improved. 

^^  Delusions  of  impulse,  4  cases  :  c.  =  i,  i  disappeared, 
u.  =  2  (these  latter  also  did  not  return  after  a  short  time). 

7.  Stammering,  4  cases  :  i.  =  3,  somewhat  improved  =  i. 

8.  Blepharospasm,  i  case  :  improved. 

g.  Facial  neuralgia,  2  cases  :  c.  =  i,  somewhat  im- 
proved =  I. 

10.  Epilepsy,  5  cases  :  uninfluenced. 

11.  Intercostal  neuralgia,  i  case  :  cured  (a  female  aged 
seventy-three). 

12.  Writer's  cramp,  2  cases  :  i.  =  1,  u.  =  i. 

13.  Cardiac  neuroses,  2  cases  :  cured. 

14.  Various  neuroses,  14  cases  :  c.  =  5,  i.  =  3,  and  u.  =  6. 

15.  Sleeplessness,  22  cases,  of  which  i  was  refractory 
and  I  failed  to  return.     Of  the  remaining  19  cases,  c.  =  14, 

i.  =  5- 

16.  Enuresis  nocturna,  7  cases:  c.  =  2,  i.=4,  i  dis- 
appeared. 

15—2 


228       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

17.  Profuse  menstruation  of  increased  frequency, 
4  cases  :  c.  =  3,  and  i.  =  i.  In  one  case  the  menses  were 
definitely  regulated  for  the  first  of  each  month,  and 
to  last  for  three  days. 

18.  Obstinate  cephalalgias,  ii  cases:  c.  =  11.  One 
case  was  associated  with  contracted  kidney  and  albu- 
minuria, and,  notwithstanding  this,  was  permanently 
cured.  Two  further  cases  were  due  to  overwork  at 
school.  One  of  these  was  that  of  a  young  man  who  was 
suffering  so  severely  that  he  was  nearly  compelled  to 
give  up  his  studies.  I  succeeded  in  again  mxaking  him 
capable  of  working  well  after  a  fortnight,  so  that  he  passed 
his  matriculation  a  few  months  later,  without  any  return 
of  the  headaches. 

19.  True  neurasthenia  (according  to  Beard) — i.e., 
cerebral  exhaustion  following  overwork — 3  cases  :  c.  =  2,  a 
little  improved  =  i.  The  last  case  was  not  a  pure  one  ;  it 
was  complicated  with  satyriasis  and  psychopathy.  But  in 
its  place  one  could  include  the  two  cases  tabulated  under 
18.  A  psychopathic  disposition  was  discernible  in  all 
the  cases,  although  this  was  not  extreme.  In  three  of  the 
four  pure  cases  the  cause  lay  in  overwork  at  school  on  the 
classical  side,  while  in  one  the  cause  of  the  exhaustion  lay 
in  overwork  at  school  on  the  modern  side  ;  in  all  four  the 
pupils  were  preparing  for  an  examination.  I  suggested 
to  the  subjects  in  all  cases  to  leave  off  learning  things  '  off 
by  heart,'  and  also  to  follow  their  school- work  as  an  intel- 
lectual game,  in  which  they  should  take  a  great  interest 
in  their  subjects.  I  further  suggested  away  the  examina- 
tion nervousness,  and  substituted  for  this  good  sleep, 
good  appetite,  and  coolness,  presence  of  mind,  and  ease  at 
the  examination.  This  had  the  desired  result,  and  was 
both  in  place  and  justifiable  in  connection  with  the  ante- 
diluvian  jystem  of  study  and  exaniination  which  Ts"un- 
fortunately  still  common,  and  which  is  especially  to  be 
met  with  in  our  classical  schools  (Gymnasien). 

20.  Impotence,  4  cases  :  c.  =  3,  u.  =  i.     One  of  the  cases 


THERAPEUTIC  RESULTS  229 

occurred  in  a  married  man  who  was  formerly  continent, 
but  who  was  psychopathic.  During  his  whole  life  he 
had  only  had  pollutions  during  sleep,  but  had  not  experi- 
enced orgasm  during  waking.  Thus,  he  suffered  from 
impotentia  coeundi,  in  spite  of  libido.  I  first  succeeded 
in  obtaining  good  erections  during  hypnosis.  Then  the 
complications  in  the  wife  were  dealt  with  by  operation 
(hymen  and  vaginismus).  Coitus  was  not  quite  success- 
ful during  the  hypnosis,  but,  as  the  result  of  suggestions, 
was  attained  after  consistent  stages  in  the  course  of  time. 
Two  pregnancies  of  the  wife  have  assured  the  result 
already  ;  the  children  are  healthy. 

21.  Constipation,  8  cases:  c.  =  4,  i.  =  2,  u.  =  2  (among 
the  last  there  was  one  case  in  which  I  was  only  able  to 
produce  slight  somnolence). 

22.  Perverse  sexual  appetite,^  i  acquired  case,  with 
excellent  result.  Normal  libido,  with  dreams  corre- 
sponding to  this,  were  obtained.  Supposed  cases,  7  : 
i.  =  4,u.  =  3. 

23.  Sciatica,  4  cases:  c.  =  i,  u.  =  3.  The  latter  three 
patients  interrupted  the  treatment  after  one  or  two 
sittings. 

24.  Digestive  disturbances,  5  cases.  One  case  dis- 
appeared at  once.     Of  the  other  4,  c.  =  2,  i.  =  i,  and  u.  =  i. 

25.  Chorea,  2  cases  :  i.  =  i,  u.  =  i. 

26.  Chlorosis,  i  case  :  cured. 

27.  Rheumatic  pains,  2  cases  :  cured. 

28.  Osteo-arthritis,  i  case,  which  was  not  cured,  as  was 
to  be  expected.  The  patient  was  only  hypnotized  a  few 
times,  in  order  to  satisfy  her  desire  for  this. 

29.  Asthma,  attacks  of  giddiness,  '  area  celsi,'  with 
neuropathy,  4  cases,  all  not   cured.     One   curable  case 

^  I  only  employ  suggestion  in  congenital  cases  from  ethical  reasons, 
to  lessen  the  impulse  and  to  soothe,  etc.  I  regard  the  attempt  to 
divert  impulse  toward  the  opposite  sex  as  inadmissible,  and  the  same 
applies  to  marriage  (see  Forel, '  The  Sexual  Question,'  E.  Rheinhardt, 
Miinchen,  1905).  For  this  reason,  one  cannot  speak  of  a  cure  in  these 
cases. 


230       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

disappeared  at  once,  and  one  incurable  case  did  likewise. 
In  one  case  of  asthma  which  had  previously  been  success- 
fully treated  by  a  colleague  of  mine,  disturbing  pheno- 
mena appeared  as  the  result  of  the  long  way  the  patient 
had  to  come,  and  these  led  to  autosuggestions  and  failures. 
The  fourth  case  was  that  of  a  severe,  almost  idiotic 
psychopathic  condition. 

30.  Phobias,  5  cases  :  c.  =  3,  and  i.  =  2. 

31.  Sexual  anaesthesia,  2  cases  :  uninfluenced.  In  one 
case,  which,  however,  was  not  quite  complete,  a  very 
slight  improvement  was  noticed. 

32.  Onanism,  6  cases  :  c.  =  2,  and  i.  =  4. 

33.  Sexual  hyperaesthesia,  2  cases  :  c.  =  i,  and  i.  =  i. 

34.  '  Exhibitionism,'  i  case  :  improved. 

35.  '  Ptcderosis '  (sexual  impulse  directed  towards 
children),  i  case  :  not  cured. 

36.  Nerv^ous  diarrhoea,  2  cases,  both  of  which  were 
cured.  The  one  case  was  complicated  by  opium-poison- 
ing, due  to  a  prescription  error  on  the  part  of  a  prac- 
titioner. 

37.  Lumbago,  i  case  :  cured. 

38.  Pathological  jealousy,  i  case  :  cured. 

39.  Alcoholism,  i  case  :  improved. 

40.  Myelitis,  i  case.  I  attempted  to  allay  the  pains, 
in  response  to  the  urgent  requests  of  the  patient's  family. 
Occasionally  there  was  a  sHght  symptomatic  result,  but 
the  case  must  be  tabulated  under  'not  cured.'  The 
patient,  a  female,  was  fairly  suggestible. 

41.  Paedogogic  treatment,  i  case.  A  ten-year' -old 
schoolboy,  who  got  up  to  boyish  pranks,  and  was  inatten- 
tive, as  a  result  partly  of  the  pedantic  method  of  teaching, 
and  partly  of  the  suggestions  of  other  naughty  boys. 
The  result  was  marked. 

I  refer  the  reader  for  further  hints  on  practical  sugges- 
tive treatment  to  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Hypnotismm  (1892  to 
1901 ),  edited  by  Dr.  Oscar  Vogt.  The  interesting  casuistic 
and  critical  articles  of  Messrs.  Brodmann,  Bruegelmann, 


ALCOHOLISM  231 

Loewenfeld,  Rauschburg,  Delius,  Tuckey,  Bonjour, 
Ringier,  Bramwell,  Baur,  Graeter,  Monier,  Inhelder, 
Hilger,  van  Straaten,  Self,  Cullerre,  and  others,  ought  to 
be  mentioned  here.  I  cannot  enter  into  the  details  of 
these  articles  in  this  place  ;  all  of  them  appear  in  the 
journal  named  above.  The  Zeitschrift  has  recently  been 
amalgamated  with  the  Journal  fiir  Psychologie  und 
Neurologie,  under  the  same  editorship. 

Alcoholism  and  Morphinism. — Lloyd  Tuckey ■••  and 
Hirt  recommend  suggestion  in  the  treatment  of  alco- 
holism. I  must  caution  against  a  crass  misunderstanding 
in  this  place.  It  is  an  absolutely  idiotic  and  harmful 
undertaking  to  try  to  convert  a  '  soaker  '  into  a  moderate 
drinker  by  means  of  suggestion,  as  Hirt  advises.  One 
sins  against  the  First  Commandment  for  a  lasting  result 
of  the  suggestion  therapy,  by  allowing  the  damaging  cause 
of  the  illness  to  persist  after  the  result.  There  are,  it  is 
true,  no  rules  without  exceptions,  and  it  is  possible  that 
in  rare  cases  a  not  consummate  drinker  may  be  rendered 
moderate  in  this  way,  provided  that  he  has  been  led  to 
abuse  alcohol  as  a  result  of  definite  circumstances,  and 
not  from  hereditary  causes  nor  from  psychopathic  con- 
ditions. But  in  the  large  majority  of  cases  one  will 
experience  relapses  sooner  or  later,  on  account  of  the 
contrasuggestion  induced  by  the  enjoyment  of  alcohol 
and  by  being  '  sociable.'  I  have  observed  this  repeatedly 
in  drunkards,  who  attempt  to  begin  again  to  drink  mode- 
rately. The  majority  of  drunkards  are,  besides,  individu- 
ally predisposed,  and  become  incapable  of  resisting  alcohol 
from  habit.  If  suggestion  is,  therefore,  to  be  of  real  use 
in  the  treatment  of  alcohoHsm,  one  must  suggest  definite 
and  complete  abhorrence  of  all  spirituous  Uquors,  Hfe- 
long  total  abstinence  from  the  same,  and,  if  possible,  the 
joining  a  temperance  society.  Tuckey  agrees  with  me  in 
this  respect ;  and  the  secret  of  the  renowned  and  costly 

1  Lloyd  Tuckey,  '  The  Value  of  Hypnotism  in  Chronic  Alcoholism ' 
(London  :  Churchill,  1892). 


2J2       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

*  gold  cure '  of  alcoholics  by  Keely  is  undoubtedly  to  be 
found  in  this  idea.  Keely  did  not  suggest  moderation  for 
his  patients  ;  he  suggested  complete  abhorrence  for  all 
spirituous  liquors. 

One  docs  the  same  in  the  treatment  of  the  morphine 
habit,  except  for  the  belonging  to  a  society.  But  there 
is  no  tempting  sociabihty,  no  compulsion  to  drink  in 
company  for  the  morphine-takers,  as  there  is  for  alco- 
holists.  For  this  reason  the  suggestive  sociability  of  the 
temperance  society,  which  is  devoid  of  alcohol,  is  so 
important  for  the  latter. 

I  myself  have  converted  many  a  drunkard  to  abstinence 
by  means  of  suggestion.  Still,  as  Bonne^  has  justly 
said,  the  abstaining  medical  practitioner  suggests  in- 
finitely better,  since  his  example  and  his  inward  convic- 
tion assist  the  suggestion.  I  have  shown  the  good  results 
statistically  of  suggestion  in  alcoholism  as  long  ago  as  in 
1888.2 

^  Bonne,  Wien.  Med.  Presse^  No.  45,  1901. 
2  Forel,  Miinch.  Med.  Woch.^  No.  26,  i 


vv 


CHAPTER  VII 

Hypnotism  and  Psychotherapy 

Since  suggestion  has  gained  a  certain  recognition  in 
medicine  some  curious  opinions  have  been  aired.  The 
doctor  and  also  the  medical  student  hear  a  lot  about 
suggestion,  and  read  of  it  occasionally  too.  The  subject 
is  often  discussed  theoretically  in  leisure  hours,  but,  with 
a  very  few  exceptions,  it  is  neither  taught  nor  learned  in 
the  schools.  Those  who  pass  judgment  on  it  rarely 
possess  any  practical  experience. 

Arising  out  of  this  superficial  discussion,  a  kind  of 
official  axiom,  spoken  with  the  utmost  authoritative 
arrogance,  is  met  with.  This  axiom  takes  something  of 
the  following  shape  : 

Waking  suggestion,  or  psychotherapy,  is  a  very  im- 
portant and  proper  thing,  and  every  capable  medical  man 
must  have  some  acquaintance  with  it  ;  it  has  actually 
been  intuitively  known  from  the  earliest  times.  But 
hypnotism  is  quite  another  matter  ;  it  is  a  suspicious 
thing,  is  unscientific,  humbugging  quackery — is,  at  all 
events,  disreputable,  or  it  is  harmful  or  even  dangerous. 

This  sounds  irresistibly  comical  to  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  suggestion.  A  surprising  superficiality 
and  a  remarkable  psychological  shortsightedness  are 
really  required  to  construe  two  different  things  out  of  a 
common  matter.  It  is  really  immaterial  in  judging  the 
nature  of  psychotherapy  whether  a  somewhat  larger  or 
smaller  dose  of  sleep  is  suggested.  The  person  who  is 
influenced  psychotherapeutically  is  placed  under  a  sug- 

233 


234       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

gestive  influence — i.e.,  his  brain  dynamics  are  used  as  the 
source  of  energy  for  dissociatively  influencing  all  those 
disturbances  which  depend  more  or  less  on  the  brain, 
cither  directly  or  indirectly.  \\Tiether  this  is  called 
hypnosis  or  psychotherapy  is  a  matter  of  no  importance. 

For  example,  Professor  Dubois  has  launched  forth  into 
an  overbearing  effusion  of  this  kind  in  the  Correspondenz- 
hlatt  fiir  Schweizer  Aerzte  of  February  i,  1900.  This 
author  has  already  been  sufiiciently  disproved  by  Dr. 
Ringier,  who  proved  to  him  that  the  hypnotizing  prac- 
titioners actually  do  and  teach  just  those  things  which 
he  imagines  he  could  teach  them. 

I  do  not  for  a  moment  dispute  that  there  are  swindlers 
who  hypnotize,  and  that  there  are  hypnotists  who  employ 
verbal  suggestion  unintelligently,  mechanically,  and  with- 
out sufficient  individualizing.  But  the  same  sin  is  met 
with  in  every  branch  of  medicine,  as  is  well  known,  and 
it  is  a  mean  and  unworthy  slander  to  throw  the  whole  art 
over,  as  Dubois  does,  instead  of  dealing  with  the  indi- 
vidual who  offends,  and  to  support  one's  self  in  this  on 
such  subtleties  as  the  derivation  of  the  word  '  suggestion,' 
or  on  general  suspicion. 

1  wish  further  to  warn  one  not  to  cast  about  general 
psychological  and  psychopathological  words,  such  as 
'will,'  'nervousness,'  'neurasthenia,'  'psychical,'  etc.,  in 
the  way  that  Dubois  and  others  have  done.^ 

Dubois^  elaborated  his  views  in  1904  in  a  book.  This 
book,  which  was  adapted  to  the  fashion  of  the  moment, 
deserves  a  few  words.  It  is  smartly  written,  and  contains 
the  personal  experience  of  the  author  in  psychotherapy, 

^  For  example,  I  may  quote  the  following  phrase  of  Dubois'  : 
'  Nen-ousness,  under  which  term  I  recognise  hysteria,  neurasthenia, 
and  all  related  mixed  forms,  is  a  psychical  disorder,  an  ahered  con- 
dition of  mood.'  Everything  thus  is  thrown  into  one  bag,  no  matter 
whether  it  be  incurable  hypochondriasis  or  an  easily  curable  case,  and 
everything  is  an  '  altered  condition  of  mood.'     No  more  need  be  said. 

2  Dubois,  •  Les  Psychondvroses  et  leur  traitement  moral '  (Masson, 
Paris:   ist  edition,  1904;  2nd  edition,  1905). 


DUBOIS  ON  HYPNOTISM  235 

as  well  as  views  which  one  can  find,  sometimes  even  with 
almost  identical  words,  in  Bernheim's  book  and  in  the 
former  editions  of  this  work  (especially  the  third  and 
fourth  editions,   1895   and  1902).     I  ask  the  reader  to 
compare  them.     At  every  opportunity  the  author  attacks 
the   professional   hypnotist    (les   hypnotiseurs  de   profes- 
sion) and  hypnotism  in  general  in  an  odious  and  over- 
bearing manner,   although   his   whole   book   consists   of 
views  which  are  only  slightly  modified  from  those  of  the 
hypnotists.     He  claims,  certainly,  that  he  appeals  to  the 
*  reason  '  and  the  '  will '  of  his  patients,  and  that  he  does 
not  suppress  both  of  these,  or  even  turn  the  patients  into 
machines  devoid  of  will,  as  these  wicked  hypnotists  do. 
Curious  !     We  all  say  and  do  exactly  the  same  thing. 
Not  a  single  one  of  my  patients  nor  any  of  the  patients  of 
my  hypnotizing  colleagues,  is  turned  into  our  '  will-less ' 
machine.     I    have    emphasized    this    for    many    years. 
Only  a  few  somnambulists  who  have  always  been  weakly 
have    become    relative   and   merely    transitory   will-less 
machines.     These  persons  are  used  as  subjects  for  scien- 
tific experiment,  or  are  produced  as  curiosities  at  certain 
Barnum  shows.      And  what  about  the  '  freewill '  which 
Dubois  respects  so  much  ?     He  claims  to  be  a  monist 
(using  my  own  arguments,  but  without  even  mentioning 
my  name  !),  and  does  not  believe  in  the  '  freedom '  of  the 
will.     But    the   most   remarkable   thing   of   all   is   that 
Dubois  imagines  that  he  only  influences  his  patients  by 
means  of  reasoning.     Does  he  really  believe  this  ?     Why 
should  he,  then,  treat  them  personally  as  well  ?     A  short 
theoretical  explanation  would  suffice  to   effect  a  cure. 
Does  he  really  not  realize  that  his  tone,  his  personality, 
his  therapeutic  reputation,  act  as  the  moving  and  in- 
tuitive   hypoconceived    suggesting    factors  ?     Professor 
Dubois  slangs  hypnotism  and  suggestion,  while  in  reality 
he  actually  practises  suggestion  from  alpha  to   omega, 
only  in  a  slightly  different  form.     Dr.  N.  once  attacked 
the  wandering  magnetizers,  from  whom  he  had  learned  to 


2j6       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

hypnotize.  The  Late  Professor  Delboeuf,  of  Luettich, 
took  the  part  of  the  latter,  and  reproached  N.  '  for 
gnawing  at  his  mother's  breast,  which  had  nourished  him.' 
I  must  admit  that  the  expression  was  somewhat  brusque. 
It  appears  to  me  that  Dubois  deserves  to  receive  a 
similar  reproach.  Curiously  enough,  he  does  not  slang 
the  wandering-show  hypnotist  Krause,  who  pretends 
to  produce  waking  suggestion,  so  that  he  does  not  come 
into  contact  with  the  law  of  the  canton  of  Berne  ;  but 
he  reserves  his  displeasure  for  his  colleagues,  who  did  the 
same  as  he  does,  honestly  and  long  before  him,  even  if  it 
be  under  another  flag.  Only  Bernheira  finds  some 
favour  in  his  eyes. 

Dubois  erroneously  calls  the  milder  cerebral  neuroses, 
such  as  hysteria,  phobias,  neurasthenia,  etc.,  '  psycho- 
nevroses  '  (psychoneuroses).  As  is  well  known,  the  word 
*  psychoneuroses  '  had  long  ago  been  used  by  Griesinger 
and  others  to  indicate  functional  or  severe  mental  dis- 
turbances or  psychoses  (Vesamen),  so  that  if  it  were 
employed  for  other  conditions  it  w^ould  lead  to  a  most 
horrible  confusion.  Dubois  deals  also  with  psychiatry  in 
a  deprecating  way,  although  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
studied  the  subject  closely  ;  for  he  mentions  things  as  his 
views  which  have  been  recognised  by  the  asylum  doctors 
for  a  century,  or  which  have  been  disproved  by  them  long 
ago.  According  to  Dubois,  conviction  enters  through  the 
front-door  of  the  mind,  while  suggestion  enters  by  the 
back-door.  This  sounds  very  pretty  as  an  attempt  to 
blacken  th<-  doctrine  of  suggestion  ;  but  the  entrance-doors 
through  the  senses  are  in  reality  the  same  for  both. 
And  when  the  hypnotist  tells  his  patient  openly  and 
honestly,  as  all  of  us  do,  that  he  acts  on  his  hypoconscious 
brain  activity  in  order  to  cure  his  illness,  he  is  more  truth- 
ful toward  the  patient  than  if  he  acts  as  if  the  latter  did 
not  exist,  and  pretends  to  speak  solely  to  the  patient's 
reason  and  freewill.  It  is  absolutely  false  for  the  hypno- 
tist to  speak  in  this  way,  since  he  really  acts  by  means  of 


DUBOIS  CRITICISED  237 

suggestion.  I  wish  to  bring  this  home  to  Professor 
Dubois.  Dubois  writes  the  following,  for  example  : 
*  Quoi  de  plus  absurde  que  de  s'endormir  en  plein  jour  ; 
alors  qu'on  n'a  aucun  besoin  de  sommeil,  en  cedant 
betement  a  I'injonction  d'un  hypnotiseur.'  He  con- 
tinues to  abuse  in  this  style  those  who  have  taught  him. 
Why  on  earth  should  it  be  absurd  to  be  put  to  sleep  for 
half  an  hour  during  the  day  if  one  is  nervously  excited,  as 
long  as  one  is  composed  thereby,  and  as  the  night  sleep  and 
the  steadiness  of  the  nerves  can  be  restored  ?  According 
to  Dubois,  the  condition  of  sleep  is  '  stupidity  '(see  p.  176 
of  Dubois'  work).  I  wonder  whether  he  goes  to  sleep  ! 
A  little  later  on  he  states  that  one  should  rely  on  one's 
reason  and  watch  the  condition  of  one's  mind,  in  order 
to  avoid  autosuggestions — that  this  is  better  than  being 
able  to  be  cured  by  suggestion.  We  certainly  do  rely  on 
our  reason,  but  we  do  not  cure  autosuggestions  in  this  way 
alone.  And  it  is  absolutely  false  to  insinuate  that  we 
render  people  less  reasonable  and  more  suggestible  by 
therapeutic  hypnotizing.  On  the  contrary,  we  remove 
pathological  brain  dynamisms,  and  thus  render  the  will 
and  reason  freer.  Dubois,  in  his  one-sided  bias,  goes  so 
far  as  to  apply  the  term  '  thaumaturges  '  (conjurers)  to 
his  hypnotizing  colleagues,  and  to  state  that  he  regards 
the  show-hypnotist  Krause  as  being  more  instructive 
than  the  hypnotizing  medical  practitioners.  I  do  not 
know  with  which  of  the  latter  he  has  become  acquainted, 
nor  why  he  imitates  such  stupid  people  as  we  are. 

There  is  one  sentence  of  Dubois'  which  I  cannot  with- 
hold from  my  readers  :  '  L' emotion  est  psychologique,  et 
non  physiologique ;  elle  est  intellectuelle  et  non  somatique.' 
He  has  even  had  this  nonsense  printed  in  italics,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  professes  to  be  a  monist,  as  if  a  monist 
could  recognise  something  psychological  which  does  not 
correspond  to  a  physiological  brain  activity. 

According  to  Dubois,  '  a  true  savant,  an  intellectual 
being,  may  be  neurasthenic,  but  cannot  be  hysterical,' 


238        HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

because  the  hysterical  are  never  logical.  I  protest. 
There  are  some  extremely  logically-thinking,  gifted 
hysterical  persons. 

Again,  in  melancholia  he  finds  the  most  characterized 
psychosis  ;  and  yet  he  allows  a  melancholic  to  remain  at 
large  because  'he  is  a  foreigner,'  with  the  result  that  he 
may  kill  himself.  He  regards  hypochondriasis  as  being 
nearly  related  to  melancholia.  It  is  certain  that  there  is 
hardly  a  single  asylum  doctor  of  experience  who  would 
endorse  this  opinion. 

Dubois  employs  the  suggestive  cure  for  constipation 
as  the  most  typical  action  of  his  psychotherapy  in  almost 
the  same  way  in  which  I  used  to  do  this,  and  dares  to 
abuse  and  laugh  at  the  hypnotizing  practitioners  from 
whom  he  has  learned  this.  In  this  he  again  uses  his  pet 
word  '  persuasion  '  in  opposition  to  '  suggestion.'  But  it 
is  just  in  this  that  everyone  who  has  understood  what  I 
have  written,  who  is  acquainted  with  the  matter,  who  has 
read  Dubois'  book,  and  who  is  not  prejudiced,  must 
realize  at  once  that  Dubois'  persuasion  is  precisely  the 
same  thing  as  suggestion.  He  mentions,  for  example, 
one  patient  whom  he  had  cured  of  constipation. 
This  patient  feared  that  he  might  have  a  relapse, 
because  mid-European  time  had  been  introduced  into 
Switzerland,  and  the  altered  time  might  interfere  with 
the  methodical  time  of  his  daily  motion.  This  patient 
is  supposed  to  have  been  cured  of  his  constipation  by 
means  of  persuasion,  and  not  by  means  of  suggestion  ! 

I  must  apologize  to  my  reader  if  I  have  detained  him 
too  long  with  Dubois'  psychonevroses  and  his  traite- 
ment  moral,  but  it  whs  absolutely  necessary.  Dubois 
and  his  book,  as  well  as  the  manner  of  behttling  hypno- 
tism and  those  who  deal  with  it  honestly,  and  of  boasting 
in  the  same  breath  of  a  '  psychotherapy,'  are  all  becoming 
one  of  the  well-known  fashionable  complaints  which, 
unfortunately,  attack  medicine  so  frequently.  This 
'psychotherapy'    is   only   a   piracy   of  the   doctrine   of 


INDIVIDUALIZING  239 

suggestion,  which  is  frequently  a  very  bad  imitation, 
and  is  also  mostly  incomplete. 

One  has  to  analyze  very  exactly  and  to  individualize 
to  discover  what  the  form  of  the  original  disturbance  is 
which  lies  behind  the  manifold  neuropathological  pheno- 
mena ;  whether  hysterical  dissociation,  hypochondriacal 
conception  of  impulse,  epileptic  constitution,  psychosis, 
or  even  an  organic  cerebral  disturbance,  take  part  in  the 
process  ;  how  much  is  acquired  and  how  much  inherited  ; 
what  part  the  real  exhaustion  of  the  nerve  centres  play  ; 
and  so  on.  One  must  proceed  in  accordance  with  what 
one  finds. 

One  should  inquire  at  times  for  previous  emotional 
psychical  traumata,  which  might  act  causally,  especially 
when  dealing  with  hysterical  disturbances,  if  one  follows 
the  advice  of  Freud.  However,  this  should  be  carried 
out  with  great  caution  and  wariness,  for  one  can  easily 
do  much  more  harm  than  good  by  being  disregardful  of 
tact  and  wise  behaviour  in  asking  questions  which  could 
offend.  Freud  calls  those  earlier  emotional  conceptions, 
which  are  often  sexual,  and  which  continue  hypocon- 
sciously  to  influence  the  whole  personality  and  to  cause 
nervous  disturbances,  '  strangulated  emotions  '  (Eingek- 
lemmte  affecte).  One  should  analyze  them  suggestively, 
and  remove  the  emotion  with  which  they  are  associated. 
Still,  one  should  not  construe  a  dogma  from  these  indi- 
vidual phenomena,  as  Freud  has  done. 

Psychotherapy  is  suggestive  therapy,  but  is  developed 
in  markedly  different  ways,  in  accordance  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  cases.  The  usual  verbal  suggestion  will 
mostly  suffice  to  remove  a  simple  headache.  But  if  one 
is  dealing  with  a  disposition,  one  will,  as  a  rule,  find  out 
all  sorts  of  habits,  inherited  predispositions,  frames  of 
mind,  etc.,  which  are  connected  with  the  disposition  ; 
it  then  becomes  the  function  of  psychotherapy  to  regulate 
this. 

It  has  become  fashionable  in  the  modern  nerve  sana- 


240       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

toria  to  employ  a  variety  of  methods  of  treatment,  such 
as  massage,  overfeeding,  rest  treatment,  hydrotherapy, 
electricity,  and  the  like.  The  action  of  these  methods 
depends  partly  on  the  acceleration  of  the  metabohsm, 
partly  on  suggestion,  and  partly  on  overfeeding.  They 
are  for  the  most  part  very  expensive,  and  can  generally  be 
replaced  with  advantage  by  cycling,  walking  tours, 
climbing  expeditions  into  the  mountains,  bathing  in  the 
open  (sea  or  river),  and  by  sleep.  In  many  cases,  it 
is  true,  the  compulsion  of  obeying  methodically,  and 
the  feeling  that  one  must  be  receiving  something  in 
return  for  one's  money,  do  good  in  themselves.  But 
the  greatest  disadvantage  of  these  methods  of  treat- 
ment is  that  after  they  have  terminated  the  old 
routine,  with  all  its  old  harmful  belongings,  frequently 
begins  again. 

Psychiatry  has  learned  to  value  occupation  very  highly, 
especially  in  connection  with  agriculture,  as  an  important 
remedy  in  chronic  insanity. 

In  1894  I  myself,  together  with  the  engineer,  Mr.  Groh- 
mann,  recommended  an  occupation  treatment  for  nervous 
patients,  and  P.  J.  Moebius  has  w^armly  supported  this. 
Mr.  Grohmann  noticed  in  this  respect  that  a  combination 
of  the  suggestive  therapy  carried  out  by  Dr.  Ringier 
w  ith  his  mechanical  occupations  was  frequently  of  value 
for  the  patient. 

Lastly,  if  one  cannot  succeed  with  ordinary  verbal 
suggestion  or  with  the  extended  psychotherapeutic  in- 
fluences, among  which  music,  mental  and  bodily  under- 
takings, etc.,  play  a  part,  one  will  have  to  intermingle 
other  forms  of  treatment,  medicaments,  massage,  and  the 
like,  according  to  the  case.  For  example,  the  Weir- 
Mitchell  rt'st-overf ceding  treatment,  which  can  work 
excellently  in  true  exhaustion  of  mind  or  body,  may 
actually  do  a  great  deal  of  harm  if  it  is  appUed  bhndly  for 
all  sorts  of  cases.  Dubois,  who  formerly  employed  this 
treatment  for  all  nervous  patients,  has  converted  himself 


GENIUS  AND  INSANITY  241 

to  my  views  in  this  respect  also,  without  even  mentioning 
my  name  {loc.  cit.). 

I  reported  some  interesting  psychotherapeutical  cases 
with  explanations  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Hypnotismus  of 
1902  (vol.  X.).     I  propose  mentioning  these  cases  here. 

My  principal  idea  in  planning  this  was  the  thought 
that  it  is  not  the  muscular  work  in  itself  which  acts 
curatively  by  diverting  the  brain  from  its  pathological 
activities,  but  that  it  is  chiefly  the  centrifugal  concentra- 
tion of  the  attention  on  the  purposeful  muscular  innerva- 
tion resulting  in  an  occupation  which  is  efficient,  and  which 
satisfies  the  mind.  Muscular  work  which  dulls  the  in- 
tellect, such  as  hygienic  gymnastics,  dumb-bell  exercises, 
or  Indian  clubs,  etc.,  in  the  first  place  does  not  satisfy, 
and,  above  all,  does  not  prevent  the  attention  from 
finding  its  way  into  side  channels.  And,  besides,  this 
kind  of  useless  exercise  cannot  be  continued  permanently 
as  a  calling.  The  beneficial  action  of  useful  occupation, 
especially  agricultural  work,  for  the  insane  has  long  been 
recognised. 

But  not  every  neuropathic  patient  is  fitted  for  garden- 
ing, carpentery,  or  agriculture,  and  the  pathology  of  the 
brain  life  is  by  no  means  exhausted  by  ordinary  sugges- 
tions of  good  sleep,  of  appetite,  and  of  noiTual  functions, 
etc.  Furthermore,  one  knows  that  genius  and  insanity 
are  related.  But  even  if  it  is  known  that  many  a  genius 
has  died  of  insanity,  it  is  probably  less  well  known  to 
medical  practitioners  that  many  a  genius,  or  at  least 
talents,  lie  dormant  behind  the  cloak  of  certain  forms  of 
hysteria  and  other  psychopathic  conditions — that  these 
languish  like  a  bird  in  a  cage.  It  is  generally  not  recog- 
nised that  the  usual  stereotype  treatment  of  the  nerve 
doctors  paralyzes  the  wings  of  the  bird  instead  of  freeing 
them.  It  is  here,  if  anywhere,  that  a  correct  diagnosis 
is  required,  and  that  an  individualizing  treatment  should 
be  employed.  Not  everyone  who  feels  that  he  is  a  genius 
really  is  one.     It  requires  the  experience  of  the  asylum 

16 


242       HVPNOTISxM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

doctor  to  discover  the  few  who  are  not  '  in  themselves 
failures '  amongst  the  many  brains  which  are  suffering 
from  delusions  of  exaltation  and  mental  weakness,  but 
which  are  possessed  of  a  full  share  of  exceptional  talent, 
which  has  only  been  hmited  and  paralyzed  in  its  develop- 
ment by  certain  disturbances.     But  if  one  discovers  such 
a  buried  treasure  lying  in  obscurity  in  any  one  of  the 
many  nervous  patients  who  seek  help  (including  the  in- 
sane or  encephalopathic  patients),  it  becomes  an  urgent 
duty  to  depart  from  the  stereotype  methods,  and  to  give 
the  eagle  back  his  wings.     Hypnosis  and  occupation  with 
manual  work  can  fulfil  excellent  services   as  auxihary 
means  here.     But  they  do  not  form  the  principal  factor. 
One  must  gain  the  full  confidence  of  the  patient  by  affec- 
tion and  intimately  insinuating  one's  self  into  all  sides  of 
his  mental  life  ;  one  must  sympathize  with  all  his  feelings, 
get  him  to  relate  the  whole  story  of  his  life,  live  it  all  over 
again  with  him,  and  enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  patient. 
But  one  must  naturally  never  lose  sight  of  the  sexual 
aspect,   which  differs  so  enormously  according  to    the 
kind  of  person,  and  which  may  form  an  actual  danger. 
I  need  scarcely  mention  that  the  doctor  has  to  be  on  his 
guard  in  these  cases,  although  this  is  a  very  important 
point.     It  must  be  understood  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to 
follow  the  usual  stereotype  medical  control,  which  con- 
sists in  paying  attention  to  the  discharge  of  semen,  or 
coitus,  and  pregnancy  ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  take  into 
consideration    carefully    all    the    higher    regions    of    the 
intellect,  mood,  and  will,  which  are  more  or  less  connected 
with  the  sexual  sphere.     When  this  has  been  carried  out, 
one  has  to  map  out  the  proper  definite  aim  in  hfe  for  the 
patient,  and  start  him  on  his  way  full  of  energy  and  con- 
fidence.    One  will  often  be  surprised  to  see  all  the  psycho- 
pathological  disturbances  disappear  as  if  by  magic,  and 
to  see  an  active,  capable,  distinguished,  valuable  person 
develop  out  of  the  unhappy,  incapable,  nervous  patient. 
He  frequently  astonishes  his  colleagues  by  his  capacity 


EXAMPLES 


243 


for  work,  and  remains  a  true  friend  to  the  doctor  who  has 
treated  him.  Out  of  an  unhappy  man  a  happy  one  has 
arisen  ;  out  of  a  failure  a  talented  one,  or  even  a  genius  ; 
out  of  a  diseased  person,  a  healthy  man. 

Let  me  now  pass  on  to  a  few  short  examples.  My 
friends  who  are  mentioned  here  may  recognise  themselves 
in  the  accounts,  but  in  the  interest  of  their  fellow-creatures 
they  will  forgive  me  for  this  publication. 

1.  A  very  highly  educated  young  lady,  daughter  of  a 
gifted  father  and  a  very  nervous  mother,  was  regarded  as 
being  less  talented  than  her  brothers  and  sisters.  She 
had  always  been  nervous,  and  became  increasingly  hys- 
terical. At  length  very  severe  signs  of  paralysis  made 
their  appearance,  and  she  was  admitted  into  the  asylum 
about  the  year  1892.  Having  been  practically  cured  at 
first  by  ordinary  hypnosis,  her  condition  relapsed  after 
some  months,  and  she  was  again  almost  totally  incapable 
of  walking.  She  was  again  cured  by  hard  agricultural 
work  with  peasants.  She  was  unhappy,  however,  not 
to  possess  a  definite  aim  in  life.  It  was  not  without  some 
doubts  that  I  agreed  to  her  following  her  ardent  wish  to 
become  a  nurse.  Her  parents  were  very  anxious  about 
night  duty,  but  this  was  carried  out  without  complaint 
with  the  assistance  of  a  few  suitable  suggestions.  She 
entered  into  her  calling  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  per- 
formed her  duties  thoroughly,  no  matter  how  hard  they 
were,  and  became  more  and  more  active  in  every  direc- 
tion. At  the  present  moment  she  is  one  of  the  most 
energetic  members  of  a  ladies'  committee  which  does 
wonders  in  philanthropy. 

2.  A  medical  practitioner  suffered  for  a  long  time  from 
severe,  presumably  neurasthenic,  disturbances,  and  at- 
tempted in  vain  to  cure  himself  by  all  sorts  of  means. 
He  came  to  me  in  1894,  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  his  tale  of  woe.  I 
encouraged  him,  advised  him  not  to  take  any  notice  of 
all  those  disturbances,  and  impressed  him  with  the  high 
aim  of  his  life.     We  agreed  about  this.     He  went  away. 

16 — 2 


244       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Later  on  he  wrote  to  me  that  he  had  been  cured  by  this 
single  conversation. 

3.  A  young  man,  with  a  moderately  marked  hereditary 
taint,  came  from  a  very  religious  family.     He  was  very 
talented,  and  developed  a  nervous  affection  which  bor- 
dered on  insanity.     He  made   a   desperate  attempt   to 
commit  suicide,   and  was  admitted  into  a  hospital  for 
nervous  diseases,  after  he  had  completely  given  up  his 
studies.     The  prognosis  made  was  very  gloomy.     He  was 
absolutely  incapable  of  working,  suffered  from  headache, 
sleeplessness,  incapability  of  carrying  out  any  kinds  of 
mental  work  with  attention.     He  took  no  notice  of  what 
he  read.     Gloomy  and  despairing,  he  still  did  not  show 
any  signs  of  melancholic  inhibition  and  the  like.     He  was 
perfectly  aware  of  his  psychopathic  condition  and  of  the 
failure  of  his  existence.     He  had,  besides,  suffered  from 
various  conceptions  and  deeds  of  a  compulsory  nature, 
which  had  led  him  into  difficulties.     He  was  brought  to 
me  as  a  hopeless  case  in  the  year  1895.     I  was  soon  struck 
by  the  young  man's  gifts.      More  intimate  association 
with  him  revealed  to  me  that  his  inmost  being  was  abso- 
lutely dissatisfied.     Although  he  had  been  brought  up  in 
a  very  strict  orthodox  manner,  he  found  that  he  could  not 
believe  in  those  religious  dogmata,  and  in  consequence 
thought   himself  cast   out   and  lost.     Besides   this,   the 
routine  way  in  which  he  was  compelled  to  study  and  in 
which  he  had  been  brought  up  was  distasteful  to  him. 
His  hfe  seemed  to  him  to  have  no  aim.     First  of  all,  I 
eased  his  mind  about  religion  ,and  showed  him  that  one  can 
be  a  happier  and  more  useful  person  without  adopting  any 
positive  beliefs.     Next,  I  showed  him  that  simply  learning 
things  by  heart  was  the  essence  of  insipidity,  and  that 
taking  an  intellectual  interest  in  a  subject  represents  a 
much  higher  standard.     I  told  him  not  to  try  to  learn  any 
more,  but  only  to  investigate,  to  read  those  things  which 
interested  him  without  bothering  whether  he  remembered 
them  or  not.    In  this  way  I  restored  his  self-confidence  and 


EXAMPLES  245 

also  some  enjoyment  of  life.  He  began  to  read  his  books 
with  pleasure  and  interest,  instead  of  learning  out  of  them 
in  a  nauseating  sort  of  way.  He  began  to  live  afresh  as 
a  philosopher  and  free-thinker.  He  then  became  an 
enthusiastic  temperance  advocate,  and  assisted  me  in 
founding  new  abstinence  organizations.  My  patient, 
whom  I  had  at  first  been  compelled  to  have  watched  on 
account  of  suicidal  tendencies,  soon  became  my  friend 
and  fellow- worker.  The  nervous  disturbances  disap- 
peared one  after  the  other,  and  after  a  time  he  undertook, 
with  my  consent,  a  prolonged  journey  by  himself  in  a  hot, 
uncivilized  country  in  order  to  complete  his  convales- 
cence, and  returned  completely  cured  and  self-confident. 
He  then  recommenced  his  studies,  a  few  years  later 
passed  his  final  examination  with  honours  in  all  subjects, 
was  admired  by  all  his  comrades  on  account  of  his  enor- 
mous capacity  for  work,  and  is  now  leading  a  perfectly 
regulated,  normal  life. 

4.  An  hysterical  lady,  who  was  very  talented  and  might 
almost  be  considered  to  have  been  a  genius,  consulted  me 
many  years  ago  in  Ziirich.  She  had  been  psychopathic  from 
childhood  onwards,  and  suffered  from  attacks  of  classical 
hysteria,  and  became  very  excited  from  various  causes, 
especially  by  having  to  live  with  a  near  relative.  She 
preferred  to  remain  single  for  various  reasons  of  wisdom, 
although  she  had  had  ample  opportunities  of  getting 
married.  I  attempted  hypnosis.  This  set  in  with  deep 
hysterical  sleep,  and  convulsions  began  to  manifest  them- 
selves. I  awakened  her  with  difficulty  and  force,  and  said 
to  her  boldly  that  the  result  was  even  more  powerful  than 
would  have  been  expected  ;  she  would  soon  recover,  only 
she  had  been  rather  too  strongly  influenced.  From  this 
time  onwards  I  only  used  suggestion  to  her  during  the 
waking  condition.  After  quite  a  short  time  almost  all  the 
symptoms  had  disappeared,  including  the  obstinate  con- 
stipation from  which  she  had  suffered,  and,  what  is  of 
import ancCj  including  the  attacks  also.     I  explained  to 


246       HYPNOTISM  AXD  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

her,  notwithstanding,  that  work  was  the  most  important 
thing  for  her,  and  that  she  must  have  a  definite  object  in 
hfe.  She  did  not  wish  to  have  a  family,  but  had  long  been 
interested  in  a  certain  philanthropic  work.  We  then  took 
up  this  subject.  Instead  of  ordering  baths,  electricity, 
and  massage,  I  gave  her  a  number  of  books  dealing  with 
the  subject  of  her  pet  theme,  and  also  introduced  her  to 
the  exponents  of  this  and  similar  undertakings.  She 
plunged  herself  into  the  work  with  enthusiasm,  and  dis- 
played marked  interest  in  all  the  details,  as  well  as  con- 
siderable understanding  and  an  astonishing  capability 
for  work.  She  improved  day  by  day,  and  left  us  after  a 
few  weeks.  .Later  on  she  achieved  very  important  results 
within  a  short  time  in  her  philanthropic  undertakings. 

5.  An  accomplished  young  man,  of  hysterical,  impulsive 
constitution,  became  ill  as  a  result  of  m^ental  excitement 
which  was  caused  by  painful  circumstances.  A  number 
of  different,  apparently  very  severe  mental  disturbances 
followed  one  another,  and  among  these  w^as  on  one  occa- 
sion a  complete  delusion  of  persecution  with  hallucina- 
tions. He  had  been  ill  for  two  years  in  all  before  he  came 
to  me.  The  bad  prognoses  which  had  been  given  him 
had  played  some  part  in  this  illness.  On  one  occasion 
lie  had  been  told  that  he  was  phthisical,  on  account  of  a 
pulmonary  haemorrhage  ;  on  another  occasion  he  was 
supposed  to  be  suffering  from  general  paralysis  of  the  in- 
sane, and  had  been  treated  with  mercury,  although 
syphilis  had  certainly  never  been  present.  The  lungs 
liad  certainly  never  been  infiltrated,  and  remained  quite 
healthy.  1  failed  to  detect  any  traces  of  general  paralysis 
of  the  insane.  The  most  striking  part  of  the  anamnesis 
was  the  sudden  change  in  the  form  of  illness,  in  response 
to  a  different  prognosis  or  treatment,  or  in  response  to 
depressing  or  comforting  emotions.  The  man  had  been 
condemned  to  inactivity,  to  giving  up  his  career,  etc. 
When  I  told  him  definitely,  after  having  examined  him 
carefully,  that  there  were  no  traces  of  any  organic  brain 


PSYCHOPATHIC  DEFECTS  AND  GENIUS     247 

disturbance  to  be  found  in  him,  and  that  even  an  actual 
psychosis  could  not  be  detected,  and  that  he  was  merely 
suffering  from  hysterical  autosuggestion,  he  already  felt 
much  better.  A  few  hypnoses  sufficed  to  remove  all  the 
disturbing  symptoms.  But  the  prescription  to  resume 
his  career,  and  also  to  become  a  total  abstainer,  acted 
best  of  all.  He  was  discharged  cured  after  a  short  time. 
Formerly,  in  the  eighties,  I  used  to  prescribe  the  stereo- 
type mental  rest,  inactivity,  bodily  exercise,  and  God  only 
knows  what  else,  in  these  cases.  I  was  still  suffering  from 
'  belief  in  the  authorities,'  and  my  patients  who  suffered 
in  this  way  did  not  get  better.  In  these  cases  the  brain 
is  not  exhausted  and  incapable  of  working,  as  one  sup- 
poses, and  as  one  would  be  inclined  to  believe  at  first, 
but  it  is  only  misdirected,  and  works  in  false  tracks.  Its 
natural  dispositions  are  starved  and  become  inhibited, 
and  the  activity  incited  does  not  suit  it ;  or  certain 
scruples  of  a  religious  or  sentimental  kind  paralyze  every 
activity,  so  that  an  open  path  is  formed  for  pathological 
brain  activities.  It  is  this  which  one  must  recognise  and 
must  alter  by  a  bold  move.  The  neurokyme  of  the  brain 
must  be  brought  again  on  to  the  right  track,  just  like  a 
central  telephone  exchange  which  has  been  disorganized 
by  a  thunder-storm.  These  patients  need  not  even  possess 
genius  or  special  talents.  They  may  be  the  most  common- 
place individuals.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  one  must  be 
careful  not  to  believe  every  psychopathic  patient  who 
considers  himself  to  be  an  unrecognised  genius,  and  wishes 
to  study  higher  philosophy.  There  are  fifty  of  this  kind 
to  one  of  the  kind  mentioned  above.  Agriculture  is  just 
as  well  adapted  for  him  as  it  is  for  the  weak-minded  or  for 
the  insane.  The  mind  which  is  merely  inhibited  is  not 
inclined  to  boast  like  a  person  with  ideas  of  exaltation, 
nor  to  overestimate  its  own  value.  One  has  to  worm  one's 
way  into  it,  to  seek  it,  and  to  recognise  it.  But  then  one 
can  apply  the  lever  to  the  right  spot,  and  may  no  longer 
be  satisfied  with  the  everyday  suggestions,  with  gardening 


248       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

and  carpentering,  nor  speak  about  rest  and  overfeeding, 
baths,  electric  and  other  forms  of  treatment. 

However,  a  deeper  insight  and  psychological  judgment 
is  necessary  in  carrying  this  out.  It  is  quite  wrong  to  label 
every  mad  bragger  and  boaster  an  unappreciated  genius, 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  label  every  genius  a  madman, 
as  the  public  so  glibly  do.  In  doing  this,  one  would  con- 
fuse everything  that  does  not  submit  to  the  dictates  of 
fashion  or  prejudice,  be  it  nonsense  or  inspiration. 

Lastly,  one  should  understand  that  there  are  large 
numbers  of  transitions  between  these  cases  and  those 
ordinary  cases  in  which  the  suggestion  treatment  is 
applied.  It  is  necessary  to  gain  the  confidence  and  ap- 
preciation of  the  patient  in  every  suggestive  treatment  ; 
it  is  necessary  to  proceed  with  steadfast  assurance  and 
with  intrepid  optimism,  as  long  as  there  is  hope.  Every 
result  depends  primarily  on  the  result  of  the  first  sittings 
in  the  cases  mentioned  above,  as  it  does  in  ordinary  hyp- 
notism. One  should  besiege  the  fortress  skilfully  from 
all  the  points  of  attack.  The  first  volley  is  decisive,  no 
matter  whether  it  is  fired  off  during  hypnosis  or  during  the 
waking  condition.  In  this  way  both  sides  gain  in  courage, 
and  the  power  of  the  suggestion  is  immediately  strength- 
ened. Should,  however,  a  negative,  pessimistic  frame  of 
mind  gain  the  upper  hand  in  the  patient  in  response  to  an 
initial  failure,  the  later  results  will  become  more  and 
more  problematical.  Therapeutic  failure  may  occur  when 
there  is  a  relatively  good  hypnotic  result,  or  even  (though 
this  is  rare)  when  somnambulism  has  been  achieved,  and 
may  spoil  it  all,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  an  organic  reason 
for  this  does  not  exist. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Examples  of  Cures  effected  by  Suggestion — A  Case 
of  Spontaneous  Somnambulism — The  Cure  of 
Constipation,  and  the  Rationale  of  it 

I  SHOULD  be  overstepping  the  limits  and  objects  of  this 
work  were  I  to  present  the  reader  with  long  lists.  Lists 
of  this  kind  have  already  been  published  on  several  occa- 
sions, and  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  refer  the  reader 
more  especially  to  Bernheim's  and  Wet  t  erst  rand's  clas- 
sical works,  and  also  to  Ringier's  careful  compilations, 
and  to  the  Zeitschrift  filr  Hypnotismus,  of  which  mention 
has  already  been  made.  But  I  propose  to  touch  upon  a 
few  examples  in  this  place  : 

I.  A  thoroughly  respectable  servant  girl  suffered  in 
the  summer  of  1888  from  profuse  menstruation,  which 
increased  in  spite  of  medicines,  until  in  the  autumn  the 
periods  set  in  every  fortnight,  and  lasted  for  a  whole  week. 
The  girl,  who  had  always  been  pale,  became  extremely 
anaemic,  and  looked  as  pale  as  a  ghost.  She  lost  her 
appetite,  and  slept  very  badly,  mostly  only  dozing  during 
the  night,  and  experiencing  bad  dreams.  Her  master, 
whom  I  knew  personally,  told  me  of  this  sad  condition, 
and  himself  thought  that  she  would  have  to  return  to  her 
parents  in  the  country,  and  that  she  would  probably 
not  recover.  I  requested  him  to  bring  the  girl  to  me. 
It  was  evening,  and  she  had  been  losing  excessively,  as 
usual,  for  four  days.  I  told  her  to  sit  down  in  an  arm- 
chair and  to  look  at  me.  She  had  scarcely  fixed  her  eyes 
on  my  finger  when  her  lids  closed.      I  then  suggested 

249 


250       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

catalepsy,  anaesthesia,  etc.,  with  good  result.  This  en- 
couraged me  to  suggest  an  immediate  cessation  of  the 
menstruation.  This  suggestion  was  given  in  connection 
with  touching  of  the  abdomen,  and  declaring  that  the 
blood  flowed  into  the  arms  and  legs  from  the  pelvis,  and 
it  succeeded  in  a  few  minutes.  Finally,  I  suggested 
good  sleep  and  a  good  appetite.  I  gave  orders  in  her 
home  that  the  housekeeper  was  to  control  her  menstrua- 
tion. The  loss  did  not  recur,  and  the  girl  slept  fairly 
well  during  the  following  night.  I  hypnotized  her  again 
a  few  times,  and  ordered  the  next  menstruation  to  appear 
four  weeks  later,  to  be  sparse,  and  to  last  for  two  and  a 
half  days  only.  I  obtained  a  good  deep  sleep  in  the  course 
of  three  or  four  days,  and  a  reasonable  appetite  after  a 
week,  by  means  of  suggestion.  A  regular  morning 
evacuation  of  the  bowels  on  getting  up  was  also  achieved 
(the  patient  had  previously  been  obstinately  constipated). 
The  girl  improved  visibly  day  by  day  from  this  time. 
The  next  menstruation  arrived  after  twenty-seven  days 
(one  day  too  soon)  at  the  hour  suggested,  was  sparse,  and 
only  lasted  for  two  days.  Since  then  the  girl  has  menstru- 
ated regularly  every  four  weeks ;  the  loss  remained 
moderate  in  quantity,  and  did  not  last  for  more  than 
three  days  (in  response  to  my  suggestion).  Her  colour 
returned  after  a  few  weeks,  and  since  then  she  has  been 
able  to  carry  out  her  duties  regularly  without  interrup- 
tion, although  she  is  still  somewhat  weak  and  anaemic. 
She  has  not  been  hypnotized  again,  save  once,  on  which 
occasion  she  had  again  become  somewhat  exhausted  and 
had  lost  her  appetite  (April,  1889).  She  was  still  quite 
well  in  1895,  but  I  have  not  seen  her  since. 

2.  An  old  alcoholic  subject,  aged  seventy  years,  who 
had  cut  his  throat  twice  during  attacks  of  dehrium  ten 
years  previously,  had  been  taken  care  of  in  the  Bur- 
ghoelzli  Asylum  from  1879  until  1887  as  a  confirmed 
drunkard  and  scoundrel.  He  seized  every  opportunity 
of  getting  dnmk  on  the  sly.     He  had  hallucinations  when 


CURE  OF  ALCOHOLISM  251 

he  was  drunk,  and  became  dangerous  to  himself  and 
others.  Apart  from  this,  he  was  the  worst  of  the  in- 
triguers who  opposed  my  attempts  to  introduce  absti- 
nence among  the  alcohohcs  in  the  asylum  ;  and,  although 
he  was  otherwise  good-natured,  he  teased  the  others 
about  the  temperance  society.  During  the  last  few  years 
he  suffered  considerably  from  lumbar  rheumatism,  which 
had  quite  crippled  him,  and  which  had  hindered  him  in 
his  work.  He  could  not  be  allowed  the  least  freedom 
without  at  once  abusing  the  freedom  by  drinking. 

I  had  long  since  given  him  up  as  hopeless,  but  never- 
theless attempted  to  hypnotize  him  in  1887.  He  proved 
to  be  very  suggestible,  and  I  succeeded  in  getting  him  to 
be  remarkably  earnest  in  a  few  sittings.  The  intrigues 
left  off  as  if  by  magic,  and  after  a  time  he  asked  of  his  own 
initiative  to  have  the  wine  which  I  had  allov/ed  him  in 
small  quantities,  because  I  regarded  him  as  a  hopeless 
case,  struck  out  of  his  diet. 

Soon  afterwards  the  rheumatism  disappeared  entirely 
in  response  to  suggestion  (up  to  March,  1889,  it  had  not 
reappeared).  He  continued  to  improve,  and  became 
one  of  the  most  ardent  abstainers  in  the  asylum.  I 
hesitated  for  a  long  time  before  I  allowed  him  to  go  out, 
but  did  this,  after  all,  in  the  summer  of  1888.  When  he 
was  allowed  to  go  out,  he  never  abused  the  opportunity, 
although  he  always  received  some  pocket-money  on  these 
occasions.  He  kept  his  vow  of  abstinence,  attended 
the  meetings  of  the  temperance  society  in  response  to 
suggestion,  and  when  he  went  into  the  town  he  never 
drank  anything  else  but  water  or  coffee,  or  things  of  this 
kind.  He  would  not  have  been  able  to  have  indulged 
on  a  single  occasion  without  being  found  out,  as  he  was 
totally  incapable  of  resisting  the  effects  of  alcohol.  Once 
he  caught  a  cold,  and  got  a  severe  recurrence  of  his 
rheumatism  in  consequence.  This  was  completely  re- 
moved in  three  hypnotizings  (twenty-four  hours),  and 
he  was  able  to  work  more  diligently  than  ever,  in  spite  of 


252       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

his  seventy-two  years.  Besides  he  was  hypnotized  only 
a  few  times  for  demonstration  purposes  in  1890.  But 
he  did  not  require  any  further  anti-alcohol  suggestions. 

Report  in  January,  1891. — The  alcohohsm  and  the 
rheumatism  have  remained  completely  cured  up  to  the 
present.  However,  he  had  been  affected  some  time  past 
by  senile  (gray)  cataract  of  both  eyes,  and  as  this  was  pro- 
gressing rapidly,  an  operation  was  considered  necessary. 
This  was  undertaken  by  my  colleague.  Professor  Haab, 
in  1890.  The  operation  was  performed  in  two  stages  : 
(i)  Iridectomy  and  massage  of  the  lens,  for  the  purpose 
of  hastening  the  ripening  ;  and  (2)  extraction,  carried 
out  only  in  one  eye.  On  both  occasions  the  patient  was 
hypnotized  before  the  operation,  and  rendered  ances- 
thetic  by  means  of  suggestion.  He  did  not  awaken 
during  the  time,  and  smoked  his  suggested  pipe  even 
while  the  iris  was  being  cut  into.  At  most,  he  only 
screwed  up  the  comer  of  his  mouth  while  the  iris  on  the 
opposite  side  was  being  dealt  with.  He  stated  afterwards 
that  he  had  not  felt  anything  of  the  operation,  and  that  he 
had  slept  right  through  it.  During  the  after-treatment 
in  the  hospital  in  my  absence  he  had  a  httle  pain,  but 
this  was  eased  by  suggestion. 

Report  in  1895. — The  cure  has  been  maintained.  A 
recurrence  of  the  rheumatism,  which  took  place  two  years 
previously,  had  been  cured  in  two  sittings.  The  prepara- 
tions for  a  big  operation  (rectal  carcinoma)  in  hospital 
had  upset  him  to  such  an  extent  that  hypnosis  became 
impossible.  Chloroform  had  therefore  to  be  used.  He 
recovered  from  the  operation,  but  a  recurrence  took  place 
later.  A  second  operation,  for  which  the  preparations 
were  not  perceptible,  was  successfully  performed  under 
hypnosis  without  chloroform.  He  died  after  this  opera- 
tion. 

3.  Miss  L.,  a  very  capable  workgirl,  had  suffered  for 
about  one  and  a  half  years  from  complete  sleeplessness. 
All  means  had  been  tried  unsuccessfully,  and  she  was 


CURE  OF  INSOMNIA  253 

sensible  enough  to  resist  the  temptation  of  accustoming 
herself  to  narcotics.  She  was  handed  over  to  me  by  one 
of  my  colleagues  for  out-patient  treatment  as  a  subject 
for  demonstration  in  February,  1890. 

Several  hypnotic  sittings  were  necessary  to  obtain  a 
marked  degree  of  hypnosis  gradually,  and  to  realize 
various  suggestions.  At  first  it  was  only  in  my  presence 
that  I  succeeded  in  getting  her  to  sleep  spontaneously 
on  taking  a  drink  of  water.  I  let  her  sleep  for  a  consider- 
able time  (one  hour),  and  in  this  way  I  was  able  to  restore 
the  normal  night  sleep  thoroughly  after  about  three 
weeks  (from  9  p.m.  till  6  a.m.).  She  was  then  discharged 
cured. 

Early  in  January  of  1891  she  came  to  me  of  her  own 
account,  looking  exceptionally  well,  to  thank  me,  and  to 
tell  me  how  happy  she  was  to  be  completely  cured  of  her 
insomnia,  and  to  have  remained  fit  for  work.  She  had 
suffered  from  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever  in  the 
summer  of  1890,  which  was  accompanied  by  high  fever, 
and  in  which  she  had  several  relapses  ;  she  had  almost 
been  '  given  up '  during  this  illness.  She  had  again 
become  sleepless  during  the  fever,  it  is  true,  but  normal 
good  sleep  had  returned  spontaneously  in  her  convales- 
cence. I  mention  this  case  especially  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  argue  that  one  only  drives  out  the  devil  by 
Beelzebub  when  one  substitutes  hypnotic  treatment  for 
morphine  treatment.  These  gentlemen  can  thus  be  shown 
that  the  analogy  is  inapplicable  from  two  points  of  view, 
for  neither  an  intoxication  nor  a  habit  is  produced  by 
suggestive  treatment,  and  one  simply  restores  the  natural 
healthy  sleep.  However,  '  II  n'y  a  pire  sourde  que  celui 
qui  ne  veut  pas  entendre.'  And  therefore  examples  may 
be  useful.  Since  then  I  have  treated  many  similar  cases 
with  equally  good  results  ;  three  of  these  came  under  my 
care  in  the  summer  of  1905. 

4.  Mrs.  F.,  a  spontaneous  somnambulist,  born  in  1833, 
had   followed   the   caUing   of  a   fortune-teller  since  her 


254       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

fifteenth  year.  She  had  been  punished  by  law  in  Germany 
for  alleged  swindling.  She  was  married,  and  had  a  big 
family.  One  of  her  labours  had  taken  place  while  she 
was  in  a  somnambulic  condition,  and  she  had  not  felt 
anything  of  what  was  going  on.  She  only  awoke  after 
the  baby  was  bom. 

She  had  consultation  hours,  and  the  patients  flocked  to 
her.  Since  her  youth  she  had  fallen  to  sleep  suddenly 
and  spontaneously  every  day  at  nine  and  three  o'clock, 
generally  with  a  cry.  The  sleep  lasted  from  a  quarter  to 
three-quarters  of  an  hour,  according  to  the  number  of 
patients  who  came  to  see  her.  During  the  sleep  she  spoke 
in  a  pathetic  tone  of  voice.  It  is  not  she  who  speaks, 
but  it  is  '  the  spirit  of  Ernest,'  which  haunts  her,  and  who 
lies  buried  in  Basle.  She  was  accused  of  deception  on 
these  grounds,  and  was  sent  to  me  in  order  that  I  m.ight 
examine  her. 

I  succeeded  at  once  in  placing  her,  during  her  spon- 
taneous somnambulic  sleep,  by  means  of  suggestion, 
under  my  control  and  under  the  influence  of  my  sugges- 
tion. She  was  forced  to  obey  the  suggestions  even  post- 
liypnotically,  in  spite  of  the  resistance  of  '  the  spirit  of 
Ernest.'  She  became  anaesthetic.  The  reality  of  the 
somnambulism  was  undoubted  ;  her  physiognomy  was 
completely  transformed,  and  she  was  totally  amnesic  after 
awakening.  I  succeeded  in  hypnotizing  her  whenever  I 
wished,  and  in  removing  the  spontaneous  attacks.  Before 
this,  experiments  were  carried  out  during  one  of  these 
attacks.  Patients  suffering  from  maladies  the  nature  of 
which  was  well  known  to  us  were  showTi  to  her,  and  she 
was  required  to  make  a  diagnosis  and  to  determine  the 
treatment.  She  spoke  pathetically  to  the  patients, 
calhng  thtm  '  my  dear,'  and  touched  them  with  her  hand, 
keeping  her  eyes  closed.  Her  diagnoses  were  all  wrong, 
for  we  avoided  any  words  or  signs  which  might  have  put 
her  on  the  right  track.  Then  Dr.  Mercier,  the  second 
assistant,  came  into  the  room  pretending  to  be  lame,  and 


SPONTANEOUS  SOMNAMBULISM  255 

allowed  her  to  examine  him.  She  diagnosed  a  '  disease 
of  the  legs '  (which  was  not  present).  It  thus  became 
clear  that  her  diagnoses  were  based  on  the  action  of  sug- 
gestion, produced  by  the  phenomena  in  the  patients, 
which  she  recognised  by  her  senses.  There  was  not  a 
suspicion  of  clairvoyance  to  be  detected.  She  knew  how 
to  gain  pecuniary  advantage  out  of  everything,  just  as 
the  majority  of  normal  people  do,  and  as  many  super- 
stitious persons  and  even  some  insane  persons  also  do. 
Still,  it  is  a  great  mistake  which  the  simulation  theory 
makes  to  deduce  from  this  that  it  was  all  simulation. 
It  is  well  known  that  suggestions  which  are  desired  readily 
gain  the  upper  hand  over  those  which  are  not  wanted. 
It  is  true  that  she  stated  that  she  would  be  pleased  to 
be  freed  from  her  sleep.  Her  husband  and  her  children 
were  dissatisfied  with  this,  and  she  herself  obviously  re- 
gretted that  she  had  lost  her  means  of  making  money 
more  than  she  rejoiced  that  she  was  cured.  I  had,  I 
must  admit,  promised  her  to  restore  her  sleep  if  she  wished 
it,  but  it  returned  of  itself  soon  after  her  discharge,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  since  I  was  no  longer  present ;  and 
those  more  powerful  factors,  as  well  as  the  old-standing 
autosuggestion,  soon  gained  the  upper  hand  again. 

I  stated  in  my  evidence  that  Mrs.  F.'s  somnambuHc 
sleep  was  real,  and  not  simulated,  and  on  this  she  was 
acquitted.  She  had  not  been  accused  of  quackery  ;  she 
might  have  been  punished  for  this  offence.  This  case 
has  been  dealt  with  more  minutely  in  the  Annals  of  the 
Society  of  Experimental  Psychology,  and  my  evidence  is 
added  to  the  report. 

I  must  emphasize  that  this  person  was  hysterical. 
This  will  be  found  mostly  to  be  the  case  in  well-marked 
spontaneous  somnambulists.  The  sleeping  attacks  have 
something  of  the  character  of  hysterical  attacks.  The 
convulsive  phenomena,  the  cry,  and  the  feeling  of  uneasi- 
ness, may  be  especially  mentioned.  The  marked  anaes- 
thesia, the  total  amnesia,  the  convulsive  disfigurement  of 


256       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  features,  the  confused,  dazed  expression  on  awakening, 
are  all  so  very  pronounced  that  one  can  exclude  all  possi- 
bility of  malingering  from  these  signs  alone.  Since 
spontaneous  somnambulism  is  not  often  observed  by 
medical  men,  and  as  it  is  of  great  interest  for  our  subject, 
I  considered  that  I  ought  to  give  the  details.  Another 
thing  which  seems  to  me  to  be  of  interest  in  this  case  is 
the  second  personality  appearing  in  the  somnambulic 
sleep,  which  became  automatized,  and  one  might  say 
organized,  gradually  by  habit,  as  a  result  of  frequent 
repetitions  during  the  course  of  a  long  life  (a  second  ego, 
with  second  illumination  of  consciousness).  The  tone  of 
voice,  the  quality  of  the  voice,  the  physiognomy,  the  whole 
naively  pathetic,  insolent  essence  of  the  second  personality, 
is  absolutely  different  from  the  homely,  quiet,  collected, 
good-natured,  but  cunning  and  uneasy  normal  Mrs.  F. 
In  the  various  attacks  of  sleep  and  during  the  consulta- 
tions with  patients,  the  same  phrases  and  actions,  together 
with  the  same  associated  general  condition  of  the  mind, 
are  always  repeated. 

5.  One  of  the  female  attendants  of  our  asylum  suffered 
for  a  long  time  from  profuse,  frequent  menstruation, 
which  set  in  every  two  to  two  and  a  half  weeks.  In  1888 
I  succeeded,  by  means  of  a  few  hypnoses,  in  reducing  the 
menstruation  to  once  a  month,  and  to  a  duration  of  exactly 
three  days.  I  suggested  definitely  and  repeatedly  that  the 
menses  would  set  in  on  the  first  or  second  of  the  month  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  no  matter  whether  the  month 
has  thirty-one,  thirty,  or  twenty-eight  days,  partly  for  the 
purposes  of  experiment,  and  partly  because  I  beheved  that 
the  conception  of  a  definite  date  would  be  more  easily 
fixed  in  the  brain  than  that  of  a  cycle,  recurring  every 
four  weeks.  This  lemale  attendant  (she  was  one  of  the 
most  capable  and  trustworthy  of  all  those  employed 
by  us,  and  controlled  the  sewing  and  tailoring  work  of  the 
patients)  remained  in  the  asylum  up  to  1894.  Since  1888 
—i.e.,  for  six  years— this  suggestion  action  was  completely 


MENSTRUATION  257 

retained  and  fixed  without  a  repetition  of  the  suggestion. 
At  times,  however,  the  period  set  in  one  day  too  soon  (on 
the  last  day  of  the  month),  but  the  following  period  then 
appeared  one  day  late,  in  compensation.  The  duration 
remained  exactly  three  days.  The  matter  was  objec- 
tively controlled  by  the  head  attendant.  The  attendant 
in  question  got  married  in  1894,  ^^^  ^^ft  Ziirich  in  con- 
sequence. However,  when  I  saw  her  later,  after  she  had 
become  a  mother,  her  menstruation  had  remained  un- 
altered. This  case  appears  to  me  to  be  especially  inter- 
esting in  view  of  the  theory  of  menstruation  and  ovula- 
tion, because  the  result  could  be  controlled  for  six  years, 
and  because  one  can  deduce  from  it  that  ovulation  must 
either  accommodate  itself  to  the  menstruation  and  sug- 
gestion, or  that  it  is  absolutely  independent  of  menstrua- 
tion. It  cannot  be  seriously  argued  that  ovulation 
adapts  itself  accidentally  and  spontaneously  to  the  arti- 
ficial time  of  the  calendar  months,  and  even  to  leap- 
years. 

Since  then  I  have  regulated  the  menstruation  of  two 
other  attendants,  who  were  much  weakened  by  metror- 
rhagia (one  of  them  suffered  from  mitral  regurgitation), 
in  the  same  way  ;  the  period  set  in  just  as  punctually  as 
in  the  first  case,  on  the  twelfth  and  on  the  first  of  the 
month  respectively,  and  lasted  for  three  days.  The 
result  was  controlled  in  both  cases  up  to  the  time  when  the 
individuals  left  the  asylum.  In  1903  I  treated  an  educated 
lady  suffering  from  profuse  menstruation,  with  equally 
good  results.  The  periods  have  remained  regular  on  a 
certain  day  of  the  month,  and  last  for  three  days,  up  to 
the  present  (two  years). 

6.  The  following  case  (among  others)  selected  from 
the  material  of  my  hypnotic  class  should  be  given  in  this 
place  :  Mr.  P.,  an  educated  business  man,  stated  that  he 
had  formerty  suffered  from  an  ulcer  of  the  stomach  ; 
a  constriction  of  the  stomach  had  resulted  from  this. 
In  spite  of  a  ravenous  appetite,  he  could  not  digest  any- 

17 


258       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

thing.  All  his  food  remained  in  his  stomach.  He  was 
exceedingly  constipated,  several  days  always  elapsing 
between  the  motions.  He  could  scarcely  take  any  food. 
Every  treatment  that  had  been  tried  had  been  of  no 
avail,  and  he  felt  that  he  could  not  stand  it  any  longer. 
The  constriction  in  the  stomach  had  been  detected  by 
several  doctors.  Professor  R.,  of  X.,  had  told  him  that 
the  only  thing  left  for  him  was  an  operation  (excision 
of  the  stomach),  but  that  was  not  free  from  danger.  He 
was  instructed  to  go  to  Professor  K.  to  have  this  carried 
out.  He  was  afraid  of  the  operation,  and  therefore 
begged  me  to  try  ^^dth  suggestion.  I  would  not  promise 
anything,  but  said  that  there  was  no  harm  in  trying,  and 
that  diagnoses  were  not  always  infallible.  Although  only 
hypotaxis  could  be  obtained,  the  action  was  very  marked. 
The  motion  was  regulated  at  once  (at  first  even  diarrhoea 
was  produced  four  times).  All  the  gastric  complaints 
ceased,  and  all  forms  of  food  were  tolerated.  The 
patient  was  cured  after  three  or  four  sittings,  and,  as 
far  as  I  am  aware,  has  remained  so  to  this  day.  Natu- 
rally, the  operation  was  not  carried  out.  One  must 
deduce  from  this  that  at  most  a  functional  ectasia  of  the 
stomach  had  been  present. 

Report  in  1902. — I  received  news  not  long  ago  from 
the  patient,  who  stated  that  he  had  remained  cured. 

7.  Patient  E.,  aged  thirty-eight  years,  suffering  from 
asthma,  complicated  by  emphysema  and  bronchitis.  He 
had  been  ill  since  1875.  He  was  admitted  into  Eich- 
horst's  medical  chnic  in  1888,  \vith  orthopnoea,  forty- 
four  respirations  to  the  minute,  etc.  The  lower  limit  of 
the  lung  was  the  seventh  rib  on  the  right  side  and  the 
seventh  intercostal  space  on  the  left  side.  The  cardiac 
dulness  was  absent,  and  no  apex  beat  could  be  felt.  He 
had  been  constipated  for  five  days.  The  hospital  treat- 
ment consisted  in  pneumatic  appHcations.  The  result 
was  only  transitory.  Later  on  he  got  attacks  every 
day.     In  spite  of  all  internal  remedies  (he  was  treated 


ASTHMA  259 

with    chloral,    iodide    of   potassium,    etc.),    he    became 
steadily  worse. 

He  came  to  me  on  December  15,  1889.  His  condition 
was  as  stated  above.  Constipation  had  lasted  from  six  to 
ten  days.  He  looked  very  ill,  wasted,  and  ashen.  He 
could  not  sleep  without  chloral. 

I  hypnotized  him  on  December  15,  16  and  19,  and  at 
first  got  him  to  do  without  the  chloral,  and  obtained 
normal  sleep,  appetite,  and  a  motion  every  second  day. 
After  this  he  was  handed  over  to  one  of  the  students 
for  further  hypnotizing  in  the  out-patients'  depart- 
ment. 

On  February  15,  1890,  the  patient  was  completely 
cured,  and  when  seen  five  months  later  v/as  still  quite 
well.  The  limits  of  the  lungs  had  receded  to  the  sixth 
intercosta.1  space.  The  apex  beat  of  the  heart  could 
be  distinctly  felt,  and  the  cardiac  dulness  had  in- 
creased materially.  His  bowels  were  open  daily.  He 
looked  well.  No  further  attacks  of  asthma  had  taken 
place. 

Toward  the  end  of  July,  1890,  patient  E.  was  taken 
with  pleurisy  and  fever.  This,  however,  was  got  rid  of 
without  any  recurrence  of  the  asthma  occurring.  The 
suggestive  treatment  passed  successfully  through  this 
stringent  test. 

8.  I  should  like  to  briefly  mention  two  other  cases  of 
hallucinations,  in  part  associated  with  delusions  of 
persecutions,  which  were  produced  artificially  by  spirits, 
in  the  one  case  in  a  gentleman  and  in  the  other  in  a 
lady.  In  the  case  of  the  former  more  especially,  the 
illness  had  assumed  the  type  of  paranoia.  He  believed 
in  his  spirits,  as  the  Maid  of  Orleans  believed  in  her 
ghosts,  and  even  smashed  lamps  and  crockery  at  their 
command.  I  hypnotized  him  in  the  presence  of  several 
patients,  on  whom  I  had  previously  experimented  in  his 
presence.  Overcome  by  the  impression  he  had  received, 
he  became  somnambulic  at  once.     In  this  way  I  con- 

17 — 2 


26o       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

quered  the  '  spirits/  whom  I  '  drove  out,'  together  with 
the  hallucinations  and  the  pseudo-paranoia.  The  lady 
had  been  cured  in  a  similar  manner  before  this.  This 
sort  of  case  is  very  instructive,  showing,  as  it  does,  that 
spiritualism  can  produce  a  pseudo-paranoia  on  a  sug- 
gestive basis,  just  as  hysteria  can. 

Constipation  and  the  Explanation  of  the  Cure  of 

THE  SAME  BY  MEANS  OF  SUGGESTION.^ — I   should  wish  tO 

place  those  disturbances  of  the  body  which  are  usually 
performed  unconsciously,  the  results  of  which  alone 
are  conceived  by  us,  but  which  come  under  the  influence 
of  the  central  nervous  system,  first  among  the  therapeutic 
objects  of  suggestion.  These  functional  disturbances, 
and  the  functions  themselves  as  well,  form,  in  my  opinion, 
the  most  thankful  field  of  suggestive  therapy,  whether 
they  be  produced  sensorily — i.e.,  psychopetally  or  psycho- 
centrally — or  whether  they  be  produced  as  motor,  vaso- 
motor, or  secretory  processes — i.e.,  psychofugally.  One 
can  include  these  disturbances  among  the  neuroses  ; 
no  real  objection  can  be  raised  to  this.  But  to  avoid 
imparting  the  false  idea  that  they  represent  diseases  of 
the  peripheral  nerves,  it  would  perhaps  be  better  to  call 
them  cerebral  neuroses  or  encephaloses. 

1  have  chosen  habitual  constipation  as  my  example. 
No  doubt  certain  cases  exist  in  which  local  intestinal 
affections  can  produce  constipation.  But  these  are 
really  very  rare.  Ordinary  common  habitual  constipa- 
tion is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  chronic  '  cerebral 
neurosis.'  Since  the  cure  of  this  condition  by  suggestion 
has  become  recognised,  this  has  been  repeatedly  ad- 
mitted.^    Let  us  first  look  at  the  facts  of  the  case. 

Apart  from  fermentative  diarrhoea,  catarrh,  stricture 
of  the  gut,  typhoid  fever,  and  the  Hke,  we  find  first  of 
all  that  both  the  frequency  and  the  consistency  of  the 

^  Reprinted  from  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Hyp7iotis77ius,  1893. 

2  See  also  Dr.  Th.  Uunin,  'On  Habitual  Constipation'  {Berlimr 
Klinik,  1891,  vol.  xxxiv.). 


CONSTIPATION  261 

motion  vary  enormously  in  healthy  persons.  Sometimes 
it  is  soft,  sometimes  it  is  formed  and  '  normal,'  and 
sometimes  it  is  hard.  We  may  regard  a  daily  formed 
stool  as  the  normal  condition. 

Turning  our  attention  first  to  the  case  of  a  normal, 
formed  stool,  passed  once  every  day,  we  find  that, 
although  one  can  voluntarily  hasten  or  retard  the  stool 
by  means  of  abdominal  pressing  and  of  the  action  of 
the  sphincters,  this  is  only  possible  within  certain  limits, 
and  that,  as  a  rule,  it  is  apt  to  be  passed  at  a  definite 
time  of  the  day.  This  time  of  day  varies  in  different 
persons,  and  in  different  epochs  in  the  same  person. 
However,  we  notice  in  general  that  when  a  person  has 
accustomed  himself  to  evacuate  his  bowels  at  a  certain 
time  of  the  day,  the  necessity  of  doing  so  is  a,pt  to  make 
itself  felt  at  this  time.  Perceptible  peristaltic  move- 
ments of  the  intestines,  rumblings  and  the  like,  often 
precede  this,  and  herald  the  desire  to  go  to  stool  at  the 
given  time  punctually.  But  one  can  frequently  make 
another  observation.  If  one  voluntarily  or  compulsorily 
postpones  the  evacuation  beyond  the  usual  time,  the 
desire  to  pass  the  motion  mostly  passes  off  after  a  re- 
latively short  time,  provided  that  the  faecal  accumulation 
is  not  too  large.  Not  infrequently  the  desire  is  post- 
poned till  the  same  time  on  the  following  day  in  such 
cases.  When  this  takes  place  the  faeces  will  have  become 
inspissated  and  harder  in  the  meanwhile,  and  the  motion 
can  only  be  passed  by  heavy  exertion  of  the  abdominal 
pressure,  sometimes  accompanied  by  pain.  In  short, 
constipation  is  present. 

These  facts  are  more  important  than  one  would  imagine 
at  first.  They  prove  that  normal  defaecation  is  sub- 
jected to  the  influence  of  central  automatisms,  and  the 
latter  in  their  turn  are  dependent  on  certain  conceptions 
of  time,  generally  remaining  unconceived.  They  further 
prove  that  the  longer  one  waits,  the  more  difficult  will 
be  the  work  for  the  bowel  and  abdominal  muscles.     It 


262       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that,  apart  from  this,  the 
accumulated  faecal  masses  act  as  stimuli,  and  thus  pro- 
duce the  desire  to  pass  a  stool  reflexly.  Still,  it  should 
suffice  for  the  present  to  mention  that  other  factors  take 
part  in  the  action. 

If  we  now  consider  the  conditions  other  than  those 
which  we  regard  as  strictly  normal,  we  also  find  several 
important  phenomena.  Constipation  is  a  very  common 
symptom  in  certain  psychoses,  especially  in  melancholia. 
The  same  applies  to  hysteria,  hypochondriasis,  and 
other  so-called  '  nervous  diseases,'  which  one  does  not 
usually  classify  among  the  psychoses  for  reasons  of 
politeness  and  other  considerations  of  this  kind,  but 
which  are  one  and  all,  none  the  less,  functional  ence- 
phaloses.  The  inhibitory  action  of  the  innervation  of 
the  brain  can  also  not  be  overlooked  in  these  conditions. 
On  the  other  hand,  certain  emotions,  especially  fear 
and  expectation,  notoriously  act  as  stimuli  in  such  a 
way  that  this  has  become  proverbial.  One  also  knows 
that  the  desire  to  go  to  stool  does  not  infrequently  present 
itself  at  times  when  one  fears  that  it  may  (under  cer- 
tain awkward  circumstances — e.g.,  in  former  times, 
when  there  were  no  w.c.'s  in  trains),  and  passes  off  as 
soon  as  the  '  danger '  is  over,  and  one  could  satisfy  the 
desire  in  peace  and  comfort. 

Certain  foods  have  the  reputation  of  constipating,  and 
others  of  rendering  the  motion  easier  or  more  fluid.  I 
certainly  must  acknowledge  that  there  is  something  in 
this,  and  that  fruit,  for  example,  generally  produces  a 
softer  motion.  However,  if  one  takes  the  trouble  to 
inquire  more  closely  into  the  matter,  one  meets  with 
inexplicable  contradictions,  as  is  well  known.  The  food 
which  constipates  one  person  purges  another.  The  same 
articles  of  diet  often  enjoy  opposite  reputations  with 
different  sets  of  people.  The  same  foodstuffs  can  pro- 
duce opposite  actions  even  in  the  same  individual  at 
different  periods  of  his  existence — e.g.,  milk,  coffee,  etc. — 


TREATMENT  OF  CONSTIPATION  263 

and  the  person  who  is  habitually  constipated  will  not  be 
helped,  as  a  rule,  by  foods. 

Practically  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  mode  of  life. 
Speaking  generally,  one  says  that  a  sedentary  mode  of 
life  leads  to  constipation.  But  this  is  often  produced, 
on  the  other  hand,  by  exercise  and  mountain-climbing. 

One  thing  is  certain  :   the  final  cause  of  constipation  is 
stagnation  and  inspissation  of  faecal  material  in  the  large 
intestine,  no  matter  how  this  is  brought  about.     The 
desire  to  go  to  stool,  acting  as  an  antagonist  to  this 
stagnation,  only  exists  as  a  sensation  and  an  impulse. 
The  sensation  calls  forth  the  impulse  and  the  action,  but 
it  is  in  itself  produced  by  something.     This  '  something  ' 
may  be  a  stimulus  on  the  mucosa  of  the  large  intestine 
caused  by  fascal  masses.     As  we  have  seen,  this  can  also 
be  a  conception,  an  unconceived  associated  process  in 
the  brain.     In  habitual  constipation  either  the  sensation 
itself — that  is,  the  desire — is  entirely  absent,  or  it  sets 
in  too  late  or  incompletely,  or  the  desire  is  present,  but 
cannot  convert  itself  into  sufficient  movement  to  evacuate 
the  fgecal  material.     In  this  case  the  muscular  innerva- 
tion is  at  fault.     Both  disturbances  are  frequently  com- 
bined.    In   treating   the   condition,    it   is   necessary   to 
understand  the  causal  conditions,  as  we  shall  see  pre- 
sently.    But  this  is  not  so  easy.     One  knows  how  many 
people  suffer  from  constipation,   and  how  severe  and 
distressing  this  disorder  may  become  ;  in  many  it  makes 
life  hardly  worth  living.     Humanity  is  more  benefited 
by  the  removal  of  such-like  disturbances  than  it  is  by  the 
diagnosis  and  treatment  of  many  an  incurable  severe 
disease,  such  as  apoplexy,  general  paralysis  of  the  insane, 
and  the  like,  against  which  the  whole  of  the  weight  of 
our   knowledge   notoriously   shows   itself   as   being   de- 
spairingly powerless. 

The  ordinary  treatment  of  constipation  consists  of  : 
I.  Purgatives. — These    form   the   most   common   pre-^ 
scription,  but  are  both  a  mistaken  idea  and  harmful. 


264       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

One  person  accustoms  himself  to  rhubarb,  another  to 
podophylHn,  and  a  third  to  sahnes.  The  dose  has  to  be 
increased,  the  digestion  becomes  impaired,  and  the  misery 
of  the  individual  grows  apace.  The  '  intestine  ' — i.e.,  the 
brain — accustoms  itself  to  the  mucous  membrane  stimulus 
and  to  the  medicine,  which  irritates  the  intestinal  secre- 
tion and  peristalsis  artificially.  The  reaction  becomes 
more  and  more  sluggish,  and  the  bowel  becomes  more 
and  more  incapable  of  performing  its  functions  wdthout 
artificial  assistance.  One  keeps  on  strengthening  the 
pathological  inclination,  and  one  adds  to  this  a  patho- 
logical irritation  or  intoxication,  the  importance  of  which 
is  overlooked.  One  makes  the  disorder  worse  instead  of 
curing  it. 

2.  Eneniata. — These,  at  all  events,  do  not  produce 
changes  in  the  mucous  membrane,  and  do  not  possess  a 
toxic  action.  The  same  may  be  said  of  glycerine  sup- 
positories. But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  accustom  the 
intestine  (the  brain)  to  artificial  assistance,  just  as 
purgatives  do.  The  innervation  of  the  peristalsis  is 
increasingly  diminished  by  it,  and  the  inclination  toward 
constipation  becomes  pari  passu  greater.  However,  we 
shall  never  be  able  to  do  entirely  without  these  doubtful 
remedies.  Their  application  is  perfectly  justified  in 
transitory  cases,  but  they  are  always  very  pernicious  in 
habitual  constipation. 

3.  There  still  remain  the  following  to  be  mentioned  : 
eating  fruit,  massage,  baths,  electrotherapy,  exercise, 
and — one  must  not  forget  this — Lourdes  water,  pil- 
grimages, the  laying  on  of  the  hands  in  institutes  for 
the  '  treatment  by  prayer,'  Kneipp's  treatment,  homoeo- 
pathy, and  sun-baths. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  these  means  are  all  more  rational 
and  more  successful  than  the  first-named,  for  they 
embarrass  the  innervation  of  the  intestine  to  a  less 
extent,  or  not  at  all.  However,  they  fail  frequently 
enough,  and  when  they  do  succeed,  their  action  depends 


SUGGESTIVE  TREATMENT  265 

on  suggestion.     We  had  better  consider  the  latter  in  its 
purer  form. 

Suggestive  Treatment. — A  young  lady  came  to  me,  as 
she  had  heard  that  I  had  cured  cases  of  constipation. 
She  had  suffered  for  years  from  this.  For  the  last  two 
years  her  suffering  had  become  intolerable.  She  took 
rhubarb  regularly,  and  also  used  enemata,  but  in  spite 
of  all  remedies,  which  were  continuously  increased,  she 
only  succeeded  in  obtaining  one  motion  a  week  with 
difficulty.  She  had  tried  everything  in  vain.  I  hypno- 
tized her  in  my  demonstration  course  before  the  students. 
She  went  to  sleep  at  once.  Touching  her  abdomen 
through  her  dress,  I  then  gave  her  the  suggestion  that 
her  bowels  would  henceforth  be  stimulated  by  the  action 
of  the  nervous  system.  I  told  her  that  there  had  only 
been  a  sluggishness  of  the  bowels,  and  that  this  was  now 
dispelled  definitely  and  permanently  by  the  regulating 
of  the  nervous  apparatus.  She  would  have  a  motion 
every  second  day  at  first.  This  would  take  place  regu- 
larly early  in  the  morning,  on  getting  up,  and  would  be 
spontaneous  and  independent  of  all  artificial  means. 
The  desire  to  go  to  stool  would  make  itself  felt  while 
she  was  dressing.  The  whole  hypnosis  did  not  last 
five  minutes,  and  I  then  awakened  her.  She  had  become 
very  markedly  suggested  already  by  seeing  the  results 
in  the  other  patients.  She  returned  to  me  after  a  week, 
and  told  me  with  great  pleasure  that  she  had  had  a 
motion  without  any  assistance  almost  every  day,  early 
in  the  morning,  since  the  hypnosis.  She  had  not  changed 
her  mode  of  life  (she  had  previously  been  inclined  to  ascribe 
her  constipation  to  this),  which  was  that  of  a  seamstress. 
The  suggestion  had  therefore  been  exceeded  by  the  result. 
I  hypnotized  her  once  again,  and  suggested  to  her  that 
she  would  have  a  daily  motion,  early  in  the  morning, 
as  punctually  as  a  clock,  and  that  the  cure  was  complete  ; 
and  this  was  so — at  least,  she  has  remained  cured  up  to 
the  present  (for  several  months).     In  the  same  way  I 


266       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

cured  an  educated  man  who  consulted  me  early  in  1890. 
He  had  suffered  from  severe  constipation  for  eight 
years.  I  was  only  able  to  produce  hypotaxis  in  him, 
but  he  has  remained  well  up  to  the  present  (this  was 
written  in  1902). 

I  have  treated  a  large  number  of  similar  cases  with 
equal  success,  and  my  colleagues  of  the  Nancy  school 
have  done  the  same.  I  do  not  intend  to  give  the  details 
of  cases  in  this  place,  and  have  only  quoted  these  simple 
cases  as  examples  to  show  in  which  way,  how  easily  and 
how  rapidly,  habitual  constipation  can  usually  be  cured 
by  means  of  suggestion  in  suggestible  persons.  At  times 
one  meets  with  more  difficulties,  and  some  autosuggestion- 
able  persons,  especially  hypochondriacs,  so  -  called  neu- 
rasthenics and  the  like,  defy  all  endeavours. 

What  I  am  aiming  at  is  to  inquire  more  closely  into 
the  nature  of  habitual  constipation,  with  the  help  of 
the  facts  gleaned,  and  also  into  the  real  mechanism  of  its 
cure. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  constipation  is  dependent  on 
various  things.  Firstly,  there  is  the  sluggishness  of  the 
motor  innervation  of  the  rectum,  or  the  absence  of  it. 
Secondly,  there  is  the  sluggishness  of  the  peristalsis  of 
the  whole  intestinal  track,  for,  as  is  well  known,  faeces 
can  stagnate  high  up  as  well.  Thirdly,  there  is  the 
faulty  secretory  activity  of  the  intestinal  mucosa,  and, 
conversely,  there  is  the  increased  absorption  of  fluid 
through  the  mucous  membrane.  Besides  these,  there  are 
certain  sensory  stimuli,  and  the  translation  of  the  same 
into  automatisms,  which  influence  the  motor  innervation 
and  secretion  mentioned  above.  Among  these  one  has 
to  recognise  the  direct  stimulation  of  the  accumulated 
fsecal  masses  on  the  nerves  in  the  intestinal  mucosa,  and 
unconceived,  temporary,  or  other  associations  of  con- 
ception.   Lastly,  there  is  the  quahty  of  the  food  ingested. 

If  we  consider  the  facts  mentioned  without  prejudice,  the 
sluggishness  of  the  innervation  of  the  sympathetic,  or  the 


ACTION  OF  THE  SUGGESTION  267 

absence  of  stimuli  which  excite  the  same  sufficiently  and 
at  the  proper  time,  certainly  appear  to  form  by  far  the 
most  important  factor.  We  recognise  that  this  sluggish- 
ness has  a  great  tendency  of  acting  like  a  snowball — i.e., 
once  it  is  present  the  fseces  become  increasingly  inspissated, 
and  defsecation  becomes  more  and  more  difficult. 

The  success  of  suggestion  demonstrates  the  correctness 
of  my  assertion  very  clearly.  We  throw  a  powerful  wave 
of  innervation  by  means  of  suggestion,  starting  from  the 
brain  along  the  path  accustomed  to  the  automatic 
sluggishness,  and  the  result  follows.  In  order  to  give  it  a 
definite  shape,  we  tack  on  the  suggestion  of  a  daily  regular 
repetition.  In  order  that  this  spontaneous  repetition  of 
the  necessary  wave  of  innervation  may  be  made  easier 
for  the  nervous  system — i.e.,  for  the  brain — we  associate 
this  with  a  daily  process  which  recurs  regularly  at  the 
same  hour ;  this  is  usually  on  getting  up  in  the  morning, 
immediately  after  awakening,  which  is  admittedly  the 
best  time  for  defsecation.  This  association  of  conception 
serves  as  a  temporal  landmark,  and  plays  an  important 
part,  as  such  landmarks,  generally  speaking,  do,  in  the 
whole  mechanism  of  our  memory.  But  we  are  not 
dealing  with  a  conceived  remembrance  in  this  case. 
The  suggestion  acts  on  the  automatisms  of  the  organic 
memory.  If  one  is  successful  in  tacking  on  the  automatic 
association  sufficiently,  and  in  fixing  it,  the  wave  of 
innervation  follows  each  day  at  the  suggested  time  in 
sufficient  force  to  overcome  all  obstacles.  The  '  disease  ' 
is  then  cured — and  really  cured.  For  what  has  been 
reinstated  is  the  normal  condition,  through  the  normal 
living  mechanism  of  the  brain  itself.  This  of  itself  has 
a  natural  tendency  to  be  retained.  How  absolutely 
different  this  result  is  from  a  motion  produced  by  an 
enema  or  by  rhubarb !  The  latter  strengthens  the  fatal 
suggestion  of  an  illness  in  the  brain  by  increasing  the 
conception  of  the  impossibility  of  a  motion  being  able  to 
take  place  without  artificial  means,  and  associates  and 


268       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

fixes  this  conception  more  and  more.  The  two  are 
actually  opposites. 

How  can  we  interpret  the  action  of  suggestion  in  this 
concrete  case  ?     How  can  we  analyze  it  ? 

First,  the  patient  is  prepared.  One  gives  him  sanguine 
hope  that  he  will  be  cured.  Then  one  brings  him  into  an 
atmosphere  of  cures  resulting  from  suggestion,  and  his 
brain  then  becomes  prepared,  surrenders,  and  is  per- 
suaded— i.e.,  consents  from  the  first  to  allow  itself  to  be 
dissociated,  and  not  to  offer  any  resistance.  He  feels 
himself  prospectively  influenced,  and,  in  fact,  beneficially 
influenced,  and  in  this  way  all  the  forces  working  in 
opposition  to  the  influence  of  the  hypnotist  become 
inhibited,  and  all  those  which  act  with  it  become  strength- 
ened. It  is  a  very  extraordinary  condition,  this  condition 
of  suggestibility,  of  belief,  of  enthusiasm,  of  subjection  to 
a  psychical  influence.  One  can  theorize  as  one  likes 
about  it,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  that  all  opposing 
psychical  aggregate  conditions,  associations,  conceptions, 
emotions  of  the  will,  or  whatever  one  chooses  to  call 
the  whole  psychical  dynamics  in  question,  suddenly  yield, 
becoming  plastic  and  weak,  and  are  pierced  like  butter. 
It  is  the  piercing  of  the  resistances  of  unconceived  auto- 
matisms, however,  which  appears  to  be  particularly 
important.  It  does  not  matter  whether  this  has  its  seat 
unrecognised  in  the  cerebrum,  or  in  the  medulla,  or  in 
the  spinal  cord,  or  even  in  the  sympathetic.  There  is 
no  doubt  about  this,  for  it  always  yields  the  safest  and 
most  permanent  results.  If  we  modify  or  inhibit  only  a 
conceived  associated  process  for  the  moment,  the 
psychical  (brain)  activity  of  the  patient  can  always  find  a 
thousand  ways  later  on  of  reinstating  it,  of  tacking 
it  on  again,  of  thinking  about  it,  and  thus  of  inter- 
fering vnih  the  result  of  the  suggestion.  In  the  case  of 
unconceived  automatisms,  Hke  defaecation  and  the 
innervation  of  the  intestinal  peristalsis,  the  brain  activity 
cannot  discover  the  path  of  association  of  the  conception 


ACTION  OF  THE  SUGGESTION  269 

in  its  whole  extent  right  up  to  the  achieved  result,  in 
spite  of  any  amount  of  ruminating  after  this.  It  is  and 
remains  unconceived  in  everyone.  One  sees  the  result, 
which  is  inexplicable,  and  one  is  able  to  rejoice  over  it, 
and  the  action  of  suggestion  holds  the  field  more  easily 
on  this  account. 

I  would  explain  the  action  of  suggestion  in  the  following 
manner :  After  having  prepared  the  patient  in  the 
manner  detailed  above,  I  suggest  sleep  to  him  in  order  to 
dissociate  him  more  completely.  I  then  call  forth  the 
conception  that  I  am  doing  something  with  the  abdomen, 
by  touching  the  abdomen  with  my  open  hand  (if  the  sug- 
gestion does  not  succeed  through  the  clothes,  or  if  it 
does  not  succeed  sufficiently,  it  can  be  strengthened  by 
touching  the  naked  abdominal  walls).  The  reflex  paths 
between  the  abdominal  region  and  the  brain  are  stimu- 
lated centripetally  in  this  way.  I  then  give  the  suggestion 
of  the  desire  and  of  peristaltic  movements.  I  can  cause 
the  result  to  take  place  at  once  (suggestion  of  a  motion 
immediately  after  awakening,  which  answers  very  well), 
or  can  order  it  for  some  future  time  association.  The 
mechanism  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  I  have  concen- 
trated the  dissociated  brain  activity  on  an  automatic 
functionating  nervous  apparatus.  The  moment  is  most 
important  for  the  result.  Next  I  call  into  existence  the 
conception  of  the  psychofugally  carrying  out  of  the  act, 
of  the  desire,  of  the  peristalsis,  and  of  the  defsecation. 
All  resistances  are  overcome ;  the  activity  in  the  one 
case  is  actually  taking  place,  or,  in  the  other  case,  is  only 
being  prepared,  and  the  result  is  postponed  till  a  later 
fixed  time.  I  believe  that  the  following  are  active  in 
this  process  :  The  conception  of  defaecation  and  desire 
to  go  to  stool,  psychopetal  (sensory)  excitations  issuing 
from  the  abdominal  walls,  psycho fugal  messages  from  the 
brain  to  the  spinal  cord,  messages  from  the  spinal  cord 
to    the    intestinal    sympathetic,    and,    lastly,    messages 


270       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

produced  by  the  direct  innervation  of  the  intestinal 
muscle,  and  possibly  of  the  bloodvessels  and  glands 
(the  furtherance  of  the  intestinal  secretion).  One  fre- 
quently only  obtains  the  desire  at  first.  Then  one  has 
to  repeat  and  vary  the  suggestions  until  the  psychofugal 
activity  has  overcome  all  resistances  right  up  to  the 
intestinal  muscle.  It  is  advisable,  in  order  to  insure 
success,  to  state  from  the  beginning  that  the  first  motion, 
which  will  have  to  remove  the  fsecal  accumulation  which 
has  already  become  inspissated,  will  be  a  little  difficult, 
but  that  from  this  time  onwards  the  accelerated  peristalsis 
will  prevent  the  stool  from  again  becoming  hardened  in 
this  way.  A  definite  normal  daily  process  of  defaecation 
is  achieved  by  means  of  this  conception,  which  finds  its 
way  in  the  plastically  dissociated  brain  required  for  the 
carrying  out  of  the  act,  by  w^ay  of  hypoconceived  and 
hitherto  absolutely  unrecognised  automatic  central 
apparatus. 

One  can  gather  from  these  facts  that  habitual  constipa- 
tion must  be  regarded  as  a  pathological  habit  of  the 
central  nervous  system.  This  habit  can  be  favoured  or 
produced  by  all  sorts  of  chance  occurrences,  inclinations, 
inherited  dispositions,  conditions  of  exhaustion,  neuroses, 
psychoses,  etc.,  and  it  harbours  the  nucleus  for  further 
growth  in  that  the  inspissation  of  the  faecal  material  which 
it  produces  reacts  in  its  turn  markedly  on  itself.  At  the 
same  time,  it  is  just  as  obvious  that  the  usual  treatment 
with  enemata  and  purgatives  is  not  only  no  good,  but 
directly  renders  the  condition  worse. 

DeHus^  reported  on  84  cases  of  this  kind  of  disturbance 
(chiefly  constipation)  which  he  had  treated  by  suggestion. 
Sixty-seven  of  them  were  cured,  13  were  improved,  and 
4  were  unimproved.  In  32  of  the  67  cured  cases  he  was 
able  to  show  that  the  cure  had  persisted  for  years.  It  is 
important  to  keep  on  emphasizing  these  facts,  for  one 

1  Delius,  '  The  Treatment  of  the  Functional  Disturbances  of  the 
Stool,'  etc.  {^Die  Hdlkunde,  November,  1905). 


MORBID  HABITS  271 

cannot  make  a  greater  mistake  than  to  presume  that 
the  cure  by  means  of  suggestion  is  not  of  a  lasting 
kind. 

Our  nervous  system  possesses  the  tendency  of  espousing 
many  other  similar  pathological  habits.  Some  of  these 
are  carried  out  entirely  in  the  spheres  of  its  activities 
which  are  unrecognised  by  our  superconsciousness,  and 
some  are  carried  out  in  processes  which  are  partly  or 
wholly  conceived  by  us.  Enuresis  nocturna  and  diurna, 
many  of  the  so-called  gastric  catarrhs  (nervous  dyspepsia), 
many  neuroses  of  various  kinds,  hysterical  attacks,  par- 
alyses, pains,  and  anaesthesias,  disturbances  of  menstrua- 
tion, vaso-motor  neuroses,  inter  alia,  are  undoubtedly 
examples  of  this.  A  number  of  cases  of  loss  of  appetite 
and  of  chlorosis,  in  which  one  ascribes  a  primary  role  to 
the  '  anaemia,'  are  nothing  more  or  less  than  this  form  of 
pathological  autosuggestions  or  morbid  habits  of  the 
brain.  One  must,  however,  never  forget  that  the  patho- 
logical process,  the  nature  of  which  one  has  recognised 
and  explained  in  this  way,  is  apt  to  have  all  sorts  of 
other  causes  acting  with  or  even  producing  the  habit, 
which  a  skilled  and  prudent  suggestive  treatment  will 
have  to  take  into  account.  I  repeat  that  among  these 
there  are  chiefly  the  inherited  disposition,  ennervating 
conditions,  psychical  disturbances,  violent  emotions, 
injudicious  mode  of  life,  bad  nutrition,  etc.  The  hypnotist 
must  seek  for  such  causes  in  every  individual  case,  and 
attempt  to  remove  them  as  well  by  means  of  skilfully 
interposed  suggestion  and  other  means,  if  there  are  any 
indications  for  the  latter. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  Case  of  Hysterical,  partly  Retrogressive  Amnesia, 
with  Protracted  Somnambulism,  analyzed  and 
cured  by  Suggestion  ^ 

Mr.  N.,  aged  thirty-two  years,  sought  admission  into  my 
clinic  of  his  own  accord.  He  came  from  a  good  family,  but 
inherited  a  marked  taint  of  psychical  abnormalities  from 
his  father.     One  of  his  brothers  had  a  very  bad  memory. 

Mr.  N.  himself  had  always  been  weakly,  anaemic,  and 
nervous,  and  suffered  from  headache  and  hyperaemic  con- 
ditions of  the  head,  which  increased  according  to  the 
nature  of  his  supper,  and  which  even  led  to  bleeding  from 
the  ears  (the  ears  were  still  red,  and  showed  many 
degenerate  capillaries). 

Dr.  Naef  describes  the  case  as  follows  : 

*  Mr.  N.  used  to  remain  awake  until  late  in  the  night 
when  a  boy  of  seven,  as  a  result  of  changing  his  school. 
During  the  morning  following  a  night  when  he  had  lain 
awake  until  two  o'clock  he  came  home,  contrary  to  his 
custom,  without  any  books,  commenced  to  cry,  and 
stated  that  the  police  wanted  to  arrest  him.  He  said 
that  he  had  stolen  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  that  he 
would  only  bring  disgrace  to  his  family.  In  connection 
with  this  he  refused  to  take  any  food  for  two  days,  and 
avoided  seeing  everyone.  After  a  few  days  the  storm 
passed  off,  his  condition  improved  rapidly,  and  rest  and 

^  Reproduced  from  the  Zcitschrift  fiir  Hypnotzsmus ;  communicated 
by  my  former  assistant,  Dr.  Max  Naef,  and  reprinted  here  with  his 
permission. 

272 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        273 

change  of  air  completely  restored  the  patient  to  health. 
The  patient  can  remember  this  episode  fairly  well,  but 
he  denies  all  knowledge  of  the  self-accusation. 

'  Later  on  the  patient  served  in  the  army,  and  felt  well 
during  this  time,  apart  from  a  moody  depression  which 
made  itself  felt  occasionally.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven 
he  wounded  himself  severely  with  a  gun-shot,  through 
carelessness,  in  America.  The  wound,  a  penetrating 
thorax  wound,  and  its  complications  caused  him'to  lie 
up  for  months.  Since  this  occurrence  our  patient  acquired 
a  great  horror  of  firearms.  After  his  return  to  Europe 
he  was  much  affected  when,  on  visiting  a  medical  friend, 
the  latter  was  summoned  to  someone  who  had  shot  him- 
self in  the  neighbourhood.  During  the  same  evening  the 
patient  was  seized  with  an  attack  of  giddiness  while  he 
was  sitting  in  a  cafe,  although  he  had  not  partaken  of  any 
alcohol.  He  was  so  unsteady  that  he  had  to  be  assisted 
home.  When  in  bed  at  home  he  got  a  second  severer 
attack  of  giddiness  ;  in  this  he  had  the  feeling  that  some- 
thing was  giving  way,  and  complained  of  palpitation 
and  difficult  breathing.  The  attack  ended  with  vomit- 
ing, consciousness  never  having  been  lost.  The  giddiness 
lasted  for  the  whole  of  the  next  day,  and  then  he  got 
better. 

'  The  patient  was  then  admitted  into  a  home  for 
nervous  patients,  and  was  discharged  from  this  place  as 
considerably  improved. 

'  However,  all  sorts  of  complaints  soon  reappeared,  and 
our  patient  frequently  suffered  during  the  period  which 
followed  from  headache,  marked  photophobia,  from  a 
feeling  of  general  languor  after  meals,  and  from  hypersemia 
of  the  head,  with  simultaneously  associated  cold  ex- 
tremities. 

'  All  this  did  not  prevent  Mr.  N.  during  the  following 
few  years  from  fulfilling  the  duties  which  were  imposed 
on  him  in  the  various  positions  which  he  held.  Neither 
he  nor  those  with  whom  he  came  into  contact  noticed  any 

18 


274       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

abnormality  of  his  mental  capabilities  during  this  time. 
In  his  own  account,  which  he  wrote  in  response  to  our 
wish,  he  gave  a  detailed  description  of  this  portion  of 
his  life  ;  he  was  able  to  name  all  the  places  which  he  had 
visited  correctly,  and  to  state  what  he  had  to  do  in  each. 
The  patient  still  remembered  clearly  that  he  stayed  in  A. 
in  the  autumn  of  189-,  in  order  to  complete  some  studies 
which  he  had  pj^ematurely  interrupted.  The  defect  of 
memory  commenced  to  appear  about  this  time.  He 
could  still  remember  the  beginning  of  the  winter  about  as 
late  as  the  month  of  November.  But  even  this  period 
seemed  to  him  to  be  much  less  distinct  and  more  mixed 
than  other  periods  of  longer  ago.  The  time  which  fol- 
lowed was  completely  dark  for  the  patient,  although  he 
was  not  able  to  state  a  definite  day  from  which  this  dated. 
His  memory  for  the  period  was  a  perfect  blank.  He  had 
not  the  slightest  idea  where  he  spent  the  winter  or 
what  he  had  been  doing,  and  yet,  as  we  shall  see  presently, 
his  experiences  during  this  time  were  of  such  an  order 
that  under  normal  circumstances  they  would  be  calculated 
to  have  remained  firmly  impressed  on  his  memory  for  the 
whole  of  his  life. 

'  The  first  reappearance  of  his  memory  took  place  about 
the  beginning  of  June  of  the  following  year,  according  to 
the  patient's  own  account  and  statements,  and  the  re- 
establishing of  the  memory  was  effected  at  all  events  just 
as  gradually  and  confusedly  as  the  suspension.  At  the 
time  which  he  was  able  again  to  recall  he  was  aboard  an 
Enghsh  steamer  toward  the  end  of  a  long  sea-journey,  the 
destination  of  which  was  Europe.  It  will  be  more 
instructive  if  I  append  his  own  very  interesting  account 
of  this  period.  He  writes  :  "  The  reappearance  of  a  very 
hazy  memory,  at  all  events  to  my  mind,  of  where  I  was 
and  what  I  was  doing  leads  me  on  board  an  English 
steamer,  the  name  of  which  I  am  unable  to  give.  I  have 
a  vague  recollection  of  having  been  on  board  ship  for  a 
long  time,  which  corresponds  with  the  distance  which 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        275 

separates  the  Australian  town  Z.  from  Naples.  I  am 
definitely  able  to  state  that  I  left  the  ship  at  the  last- 
named  port.  I  do  not  think  that  I  associated  intimately 
with  anyone  on  board.  The  feeding  and  the  class  of 
persons  who  formed  my  fellow-passengers  were  obviously 
not  brilliant,  and  therefore  I  think  that  I  must  have  been 
travelling  second  class  that  time.  I  seem  to  remember 
distinctly  that  I  was  never  spoken  to  in  German  during 
this  time.  I  have  only  a  very  superficial  knowledge  of 
the  English  language.  I  was  certainly  far  from  well  at 
the  time  of  my  journey  back  to  Europe,  for  I  remember 
having  been  repeatedly  attacked  by  muscular  convulsions 
affecting  the  back  of  the  head  and  the  neck,  associated 
with  simultaneous  involuntary  twitchings  of  the  face,  and 
especially  of  the  lower  jaw.  When  these  occurred, 
irresistibly  severely,  I  buried  myself  in  my  cabin,  un- 
doubtedly with  the  object  of  concealing  this  morbid 
condition.  I  shared  a  cabin  with  an  old  Irishman,  whom 
I  scarcely  ever  understood  when  he  spoke  to  me.  As  far 
as  I  can  remember,  it  was  very  hot  while  I  was  on  board. 
I  read  a  great  deal  about  this  time,  as  I  have  reason  to 
believe,  but  only  cheap  editions  of  English  w^orks.  I  am 
able  to  mention  the  names  of  some  of  them.  Among 
them  were  books  like  '  John  Halifax,  Gentleman,'  also 
some  of  Dickens'  works — '  Pickwick  Papers,'  '  Hard 
Times,'  etc.  Whether  I  brought  these  books  on  board 
myself,  or  got  them  there,  I  am  unable  to  say.  I  am 
also  not  able  to  remember  with  absolute  certainty  any 
port  besides  Naples  at  which  we  called,  but  now  think 
that  I  have  a  faint  recollection  of  Port  Said.  Still,  this 
has  only  occurred  to  me  since  I  looked  up  the  route  from 
Z.  to  Naples  on  the  map.  I  fancy  that  I  was  only  in 
Naples  for  a  very  short  time,  perhaps  onty  for  one  day  ; 
at  all  events,  I  do  not  remember  having  spent  the  night 
at  a  hotel,  but  I  do  remember  having  obtained  a  boat- 
ticket  for  Genoa  from  a  mercantile  agent  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  harbour,  with  the  assistance  of  a  guide,  who 

18—2 


276       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

certainly  did  not  speak  German.     I  have  no  recollection 
of  the  date  of  my  stay  in  Naples.  ..." 

'  From  this  time  onwards  his  memory  became  pro- 
gressively clearer  and  more  coherent.  Mr.  N.  went  on  to 
describe  his  journey  from  Naples  to  Genoa,  and  mentioned 
a  circumstance  which  struck  him  as  being  especially 
peculiar.  He  had  a  lot  of  trouble  with  his  baggage,  as  he 
never  knew  how  many  boxes  he  actually  had  with  him, 
and  as  he  had  packed  so  untidily,  which  was  contrary  to 
his  usual  habit,  so  that  he  often  had  to  look  for  a  long 
time  before  he  could  find  a  certain  thing.  Then  he  stayed 
for  a  time  in  Milan,  and  he  continued  his  journey  through 
the  St.  Gothard  tunnel,  and  arrived  in  Ziirich. 

'  Mr.  N.  then  passed  a  few  weeks  in  this  place  free  from 
care,  and  in  a  happy  frame  of  mind.  He  indulged  in 
small  innocent  amusements,  but  without  entering  into 
any  social  communication  with  acquaintances  either 
personally  or  by  letter,  without  giving  a  thought  to  the 
reason  and  object  of  his  stay,  and  without  realizing  where 
he  had  come  from.  He  led  a  very  steady,  regular  life,  did 
not  associate  wdth  anyone,  and  took  his  exercise  when  he 
went  out  for  walks  every  day  along  the  same  streets. 
His  landlady  described  him  as  a  quiet,  respectable  person, 
about  whom  she  did  not  notice  anything  striking,  apart 
from  his  very  retiring  disposition.  It  never  occurred  to 
him  to  communicate  with  his  near  relatives,  \\dth  whom 
he  had  always  been  on  affectionate  terms. 

'  He  continued  to  pass  his  time  without  a  thought 
or  care,  separated  from  all  the  ties  of  his  earher  life, 
obviously  more  or  less  under  the  dreamlike  impression 
that  he  wab  enjoying  a  change  of  air,  until  he  was  recalled 
to  himself  by  a  strange  coincidence.  One  day,  while  in 
a  restaurant,  his  attention  was  accidentally  attracted  to  a 
notice  in  a  newspaper  which  awakened  his  interest  very 
greatly.  This  note  stated  that  a  certain  Mr.  N.  (the 
name  was  given  in  full),  who  had  travelled  to  Austraha 
some  months  before  on  official  business,  and  who  had 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        277 

arrived  at  his  destination,  had  recently  disappeared  with- 
out leaving  any  traces  of  his  movements  behind.  The 
notice  went  on  to  hazard  the  conjecture  that  Mr.  N.  had 
either  become  the  victim  of  a  crime,  or  that  he  had  been 
suddenly  seized  by  an  illness,  the  most  probable  one 
being  given  as  dengue  fever,  which  was  prevalent  at  that 
time  in  the  neighbourhood  from  which  Mr.  N.  had 
disappeared. 

'  Shortly  after  a  further  reference  to  this  episode 
appeared  in  the  same  paper,  in  which  it  was  stated  that 
Mr.  N.  had  been  seen  at  a  certain  port  after  his  dis- 
appearance from  the  interior  of  Australia.  In  all  prob- 
ability, he  had  embarked  in  a  steamer  for  Europe  without 
having  told  a  soul  of  his  sudden  project.  The  writer 
of  the  article  suggested  that  the  cause  of  this  behaviour 
would  be  that  Mr.  N.  had  obviously  regretted  having 
accepted  his  post,  and  that,  having  possibly  been  weakened 
and  depressed  by  an  illness,  he  had  thought  it  best  to 
break  off  all  connection  by  going  away  secretly. 

'  The  first  of  these  newspaper  articles  exercised  a  power- 
ful influence  on  our  patient  as  soon  as  he  had  read  it,  for 
he  suddenly  became  aware  that  the  subject  of  the  notice 
was  no  other  than  himself.  Although  the  connection 
seemed  to  him  to  be  incredible  and  incomprehensible,  he 
was  compelled  to  realize  that  the  whole  story  dealt  with 
him.  His  conviction  about  this  was  turned  into  absolute 
certainty  by  a  passport  bearing  his  name  which  he  dis- 
covered by  chance  in  his  pocket.  It  may  be  as  well  to 
quote  Mr.  N.'s  own  words  about  this  highly  important 
occurrence  which  broke  into  his  life  so  suddenly.  He 
writes  as  follows  :  "  In  trying  to  remember  the  impression 
which  the  mention  of  my  name  in  this  connection  made 
on  me,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  I  regarded  the  whole 
matter  as  impossible  at  that  time.  I  bought  the  news- 
paper at  once,  and  kept  on  reading  the  unpleasant  notice 
again  and  again.  On  awakening  next  day,  I  had  com- 
pletely forgotten  all  about  the  whole  business,  but  as  the 


278       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

newspaper  lay  on  the  table  in  full  view,  the  occurrence 
rapidly  came  back  to  me.  I  had  endeavoured  to  get  hold 
of  all  the  German  newspapers  since  the  discovery  of  the 
first  article,  so  that  I  might  read  of  a  contradiction  or 
confirmation  of  the  correctness  of  the  matter.  I  did  not 
believe  that  the  first  note  was  true  until  I  read  the  second 
one  on  the  following  Tuesday.  But  on  Sunday  I  began 
to  entertain  doubts  about  myself  and  my  normal  con- 
dition, and  I  endeavoured  seriously  to  consider  my 
position.  I  further  began  to  wonder  w^hy  I  was  staying 
in  Ziirich  without  doing  anything,  and  how  I  had  got 
there." 

'  The  result  of  the  confusion  of  suppositions  and  plans 
which  took  possession  of  our  patient's  brain  in  connec- 
tion with  this  occurrence  was  the  gradual  conclusion 
that  he  would  trust  his  peculiar  fate  and  abnormal  con- 
dition to  a  medical  practitioner.  This  was  undoubtedly 
the  best  course  he  could  have  followed.  He  therefore 
applied  to  my  respected  chief.  Professor  Forel,  w^ho 
advised  him  to  consent  to  stay  for  a  time  in  our  asylum, 
so  that  his  mental  condition  might  be  carefully  observed 
and  judged.  He  had  applied  to  Professor  Forel  because 
he  had  once  heard  him  deliver  a  lecture,  and  the  re- 
membrance of  this  gave  him  the  idea  of  seeking  help  at 
his  hands.  The  impression  which  Mr.  N.  made  on 
Professor  Forel  on  admission  was  that  of  a  psychopathic 
patient  whose  nervous  system  was  much  affected.  He 
had  an  absent-minded  look,  and  his  eyelids  twitched 
frequently  in  a  peculiar  way.  Mr.  N.  requested  a  private 
interview,  and  on  being  granted  this,  handed  over  the 
newspapers  and  also  the  passport,  saying  :  "  That  must 
be  meant  for  me — there  is  no  other  possibiHty — but  I 
do  not  know  anything  about  it,"  and  so  on.  He  then 
added  :  "No  one  will  or  can  believe  me.  I  am  in  a  most 
desperate  position  ;  people  will  beheve  that  I  am  a 
swindler." 

*  Professor  Forel  determined  the  diagnosis  already  on 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        279 

the  first  day  of  his  stay.  This  was  total  temporary 
amnesia,  with  confusion  of  thoughts,  probably  resulting 
from  the  attack  of  dengue  fever  mentioned  in  the  paper, 
and  complicated  by  a  retrograde  period  of  amnesia, 
without  confusion.  He  was  certified  as  suffering  from 
this  condition  to  the  proper  authorities.  However,  it 
was  necessary  to  confirm  or  correct  the  diagnosis  by 
further  observation. 

'  The  first  task  consisted  in  testing  the  patient's 
account  as  to  its  reliability,  for  this  account  at  first 
appeared  extraordinary  even  to  an  experienced  psy- 
chiatrist. Further,  it  was  necessary  to  attempt  to  fill 
in  the  gap  in  his  memory  for  the  eight  months  by  the 
objective  statements  of  third  persons.  On  inquiry  from 
all  sorts  of  people  and  offices,  one  was  able  gradually  to 
glean  the  following  : 

'  Mr.  N.  had  really  applied  himself  to  his  studies,  which 
he  had  interrupted  for  divers  reasons  for  a  long  time  in 
the  autumn  of  189-,  in  A.  He  had  then  applied  for  an 
appointment  to  a  responsible  official  position  in  Australia, 
and  had  actually  obtained  the  post.  After  all  the  neces- 
sary preparations  had  been  made,  he  sailed  for  Australia 
in  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  and  entered  into 
his  new  position,  and  remained  for  several  weeks  in  the 
port  of  Z.  Not  a  single  incident  from  this  time  could 
be  elicited  which  would  justify  any  doubt  but  that  our 
patient's  mental  condition  at  that  time  was  a  perfectly 
normal  one.  Even  those  persons  who  came  in  contact 
with  him  almost  daily  were  not  aware  of  any  circumstance 
which  would  lend  credence  to  the  supposition  that  the 
reverse  was  the  case.  In  his  correspondence  mth  his 
relatives  not  a  single  peculiar  point  could  be  discovered. 
He  wrote  a  letter  home  fairly  regularly  once  a  week 
during  his  journey  out  and  during  the  first  period  of  his 
stay  in  Australia,  but  these  letters  did  not  contain,  either 
in  form  or  context,  anything  suspicious.  (We  have  read 
through  this  correspondence  ourselves,  and  found  that 


28o       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

it  was  sincere,  affectionate,  and  particularly  nice  in  all 
respects.)  This  correspondence  suddenty  ended  on 
May  6,  and  from  that  time  his  relatives  did  not  receive 
any  news  as  to  his  movements.  In  his  last  letter  from  Z. 
he  stated  that  he  would  undertake  an  official  journey 
inland  within  a  few  days,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  Mr.  N., 
according  to  the  official  report,  set  out  on  his  journey 
in  good  health  on  the  evening  of  May  6,  having  carried 
out  his  obhgations  in  a  perfectly  correct  manner,  leaving 
his  accounts,  etc.,  in  strict  order. 

*  We  have  it  on  excellent  authority  that  shortly  after 
his  arrival  in  the  towTi  O.,  in  the  interior  of  Australia, 
he  complained  of  being  unwell,  consulted  two  doctors, 
and  on  their  ad\dce  kept  to  his  room  for  a  few  days. 
The  doctors  stated  that  he  was  suffering  from  a  mild 
attack  of  fever,  sleeplessness,  and  marked  depression, 
in  consequence  of  overexertion  of  the  brain.  Mr.  N. 
made  up  his  mind,  consequently,  to  return  to  the  coast 
already  on  the  i6th  of  the  month,  and  in  connection  with 
this  he  stated  that  he  intended  to  stop  them  from  send- 
ing on  his  letters  from  Z.  by  telegram.  This  telegram, 
however,  was  never  sent,  neither  did  Mr.  N.  communicate 
with  O.  on  his  arrival  at  the  coast,  as  he  had  promised 
before  he  started  off.  From  the  moment  w^hen  he  left 
the  railway-station  in  0.  on  his  way  to  the  coast,  nearly 
all  traces  of  Mr.  N.  were  lost  until  he  turned  up  in  Zurich. 
We  have  only  been  able  to  pick  up  a  very  few  facts  of 
the  time  which  elapsed.  Among  these  there  is  the  fact 
that  the  patient  was  seen  and  recognised  at  the  station 
of  the  Australian  port  L.  by  a  lady  with  whom  he  had 
often  spoken  during  his  passage  out,  and  also  during  the 
time  in  which  the  steamer  lay  in  the  harbour  of  the 
same  port,  two  months  before.  The  lady  was  going  to 
bow  to  him,  but  he  turned  away  from  her,  and  went  off 
as  if  he  did  not  recognise  her.  Lastly,  it  was  discovered 
that  a  passenger  answering  to  the  description  of  Mr.  N. 
embarked  on  May  22  on  the  steamer  Oroya  on  the  return 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        281 

journey  from  L.  to  Naples,  and  that  the  name  entered 
on  the  ship's  hst  was  Corona. 

'  That  is  all  that  we  could  learn  of  the  doings  of  Mr.  N. 
during  the  time  in  question.  We  now  come  to  the 
observations  which  were  made  on  the  patient  in  the 
Burghoelzli  Asylum. 

'  At  first  the  patient,  who  was  bodily  healthy,  in  spite 
of  being  of  a  somewhat  weakly  build,  was  in  a  distinctly 
depressed  mood.  He  was  unhappy,  puzzled  about  his 
position,  which  he  did  not  yet  fully  appreciate.  The 
look  of  his  deep-set  eyes  was  rather  piercing,  and  this 
lent  a  gloomy  expression  to  his  whole  physiognomy. 
Apart  from  this,  one  noticed  extremely  rapid  twitchings 
of  the  eyelids,  followed  by  a  partial  closure  of  the  same. 
This  occurred  especially  when  he  was  talking.  He  slept 
badly  ;  as  a  rule,  he  lay  awake  for  a  long  time,  and  in 
spite  of  this,  awoke  early  in  the  morning.  He  suffered 
frequently  from  nightmare.  After  passing  such  a  night 
he  felt  as  if  he  had  been  beaten  all  over.  He  occupied 
himself  diligently  and  ardently  with  his  person  and  his 
bodily  condition,  often  spoke  of  all  sorts  of  mild  pains 
and  abnormal  sensations — e.g.,  pains  in  the  neck,  which 
made  it  impossible  for  him  to  wear  a  high  collar,  and 
also  prevented  him  from  letting  his  hair  grow  at  all  long. 
Mental  work  caused  the  patient  a  great  effort — e.g.,  he 
had  to  interrupt  the  writing  of  his  personal  history 
several  times,  and  when  it  was  finished  he  was  much 
exhausted.  In  the  same  way,  letter-writing  was  only 
carried  out  with  great  difficulty.  When  doing  this  he 
sweated  freely,  even  in  cool  weather,  although  he  did  not 
sweat  easily  as  a  rule.  He  frequently  made  mistakes, 
and  often  corrected  what  he  had  written  wrongly  again. 
He  complained  that  when  reading  he  had  frequently  to 
read  the  same  words  over  and  over  again  before  he 
understood  what  he  was  reading  about,  and  also  that 
reading  tired  him,  as  he  constantly  found  himself  missing 
a  line. 


282       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

'  At  first  a  suggestive  treatment  was  undertaken,  in 
order  to  improve  Mr.  N.'s  general  psychical  condition. 
The  first  hypnosis  was  carried  out  in  the  presence  of 
several  other  patients  who  had  been  hypnotized  first. 
As  our  patient's  turn  was  approaching  he  became  ex- 
tremely excited,  was  seized  with  a  sensation  of  great 
fear,  and  also  with  palpitation,  and  began  to  get  jerky, 
hysterical  convulsions.  He  soon  recovered,  in  response 
to  energetic  suggestions,  a.nd  to  treating  the  attack  as  if 
it  were  a  mere  nothing,  which  would  soon  pass  over, 
and  then  the  hypnosis  was  conducted  quite  smoothly. 
The  patient  proved  himself  to  be  accessible  to  suggestion, 
and  was  easily  brought  into  the  hypotactic  stage,  with 
beginning  amnesia  in  the  first  sitting.  The  suggestions 
which  were  given  at  first  dealt  with  improving  his  sleep, 
removing  all  his  minor  complaints,  and  replacing  his 
depressed  mood  by  a  collected  and  contented  one.  In 
this  the  result  was  striking.  His  sleep  became  longer 
and  quieter,  his  mood  became  more  composed,  even  if 
it  did  remain  somewhat  unstable.  He  acknowledged 
the  beneficial  influence  of  each  hypnosis  himself.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  conversations  from  this  time 
onward,  was  energetic  in  going  for  walks  or  bicycle  rides 
in  the  neighbourhood,  gained  confidence  in  himself 
again,  and  looked  into  the  future  full  of  hope. 

'  The  condition  of  his  memory  naturally  absorbed  our 
special  interest.  The  memory  for  the  present  and  for 
recent  times  could  not  be  considered  good,  but  could 
scarcely  be  regarded  as  being  morbidly  changed.  Mr.  N. 
presented  the  picture  of  a  person  who,  in  ordinary  life, 
would  be  styled  "  forgetful,"  such  as  one  meets  with 
in  almost  every  social  sphere.  For  example,  he  forgot 
to  fulfil  a  commission,  which  he  had  been  requested  to 
carry  out  immediately,  for  several  days  ;  he  failed  to 
recognise  a  shop  again  after  a  short  time,  because  the 
window-blinds  were  pulled  down  to  keep  off  the  sun  ; 
he  often  left  parcels  in  shops,  and  he  misplaced  things 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        283 

frequently,  and  had  great  difficulty  in  finding  them 
again.  His  memory  seemed  to  be  specially  imperfect 
for  names  of  people.  Mr.  N.  was  quite  conscious  of  this 
weakness,  and  therefore  wrote  down  important  things 
at  once,  to  remind  himself  of  them  ;  but  he  obviously  did 
not  trust  his  memory  as  far  as  it  could  be  trusted,  since 
he  lost  much  of  his  self-confidence  as  the  result  of  the 
disclosure  of  his  memorial  defect. 

'  Next,  great  interest  was  evinced  in  an  investigation 
to  see  if  some  impression  or  other  had  remained  from  the 
intermediate  period  between  the  time  when  his  memory 
had  gradually  been  lost  and  that  when  it  returned.  It 
was  hoped  that  some  such  impression  might  be  spon- 
taneously reproduced,  and  that  the  memory  might  partly 
or  wholly  be  reinstated  in  connection  with  this.  It  was 
therefore  intentional  that  suggestion  was  not  applied  in 
this  direction  at  first.  The  following  was  elicited  :  On 
being  asked  about  the  name  of  the  ship  on  board  which 
he  had  travelled  home  to  Europe,  Mr.  N.  thought  tha.t 
it  was  Orotava,  but  this  was  only  mentioned  after  he  had 
been  assisted  with  the  first  letters  of  the  name.  On 
mentioning  the  real  name  Oroya  to  him,  he  did  not  appear 
to  recognise  it.  The  patient  had  mentioned  the  name  of 
a  steamship  Orotava  in  a  letter  which  he  had  written 
during  the  time  when  he  was  quite  well  as  being  the 
name  of  the  ship  which  would  carry  the  letter  from 
Australia  home.  The  memorial  impression  of  the  word 
Orotava  must,  therefore,  have  been  preserved  in  his  brain, 
but  must  have  been  falsely  associated  on  its  turning  up 
without  being  connected  with  any  other  impression, 
and  thus  would  be  substituted  for  the  word  Oroya,  which 
certainly  has  a  similar  sound. 

'  Some  days  later  the  patient  was  visited  by  his  parents, 
who  found  their  son  absolutely  unchanged  in  himself. 
On  being  reminded  by  them  of  the  conclusions  of  his 
studies  in  A.,  of  the  applications  for  his  new  post,  and 
of  the  preparations  for  his  sea-trip,  he  failed  to  recognise 


284       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

anything.  His  parents  further  brought  the  letters  with 
them  which  the  patient  had  written  to  them  during  his 
journey  and  during  the  early  part  of  his  residence  in 
Australia.  Mr.  N.  recognised  his  own  handwriting  in 
them,  it  is  true  ;  but  for  the  rest  they  seemed  to  him  to 
be  something  quite  new  and  unknown.  One  of  these 
letters  was  then  read  aloud  to  him,  in  which  he  described 
minutely  his  rooms  in  Z.  ;  this,  too,  met  with  a  negative 
result.  The  rest  of  the  letters  were  kept  from  him  for 
the  time,  so  that  the  remembrance  of  what  he  read  and 
the  memories  of  what  he  had  actually  experienced, 
which  might  chance  to  make  their  appearance,  should  not 
be  hopelessly  confused.  Besides,  he  himself  requested 
that  this  should  be  done,  for  these  letters  excited  and 
confused  him. 

'  By  a  lucky  chance,  a  certain  Mr.  D.,  from  Australia, 
who  had  frequently  met  our  patient  in  Z.,  was  staying  in 
Zurich  at  this  time  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  Both 
doctor  and  patient  looked  for^vard  to  the  visit  of  this 
gentleman,  whom  the  patient  had  not  known  before  he 
went  to  Australia,  with  equal  interest.  Shortly  before, 
Mr.  N.  remarked,  on  being  asked,  that  he  could  not  re- 
member the  gentleman  at  all,  nor  yet  form  any  picture 
of  him.  He,  however,  believed  that  he  knew  that  some 
gentleman  or  other  had  two  children,  and  the  name  of 
one  of  them  was  a  very  striking  one,  probably  Achilles. 
This  might  be  the  gentleman.  Mr.  D.  greeted  the  patient 
as  an  old  acquaintance,  reminded  him  of  this  and  that 
occurrence  in  Z.,  and  of  the  time  they  had  spent  together, 
while  not  only  the  personality  of  Mr.  D.,  but  also  all  that 
he  said,  were  absolutely  strange  and  new  to  the  patient. 
He  felt  very  awkward  in  his  presence,  as  if  he  were 
sitting  on  hot  bricks.  On  the  other  hand,  it  turned  out 
that  Mr.  D.  actually  did  have  two  children,  and  that 
one  of  them  was  called  Alarich,  but  not  Achilles.  But 
there  was  not  the  least  agreement  between  the  conception 
which  the  patient  attempted  to  call  forth  about  the  ages, 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        285 

height,  and  appearance  of  the  children  and  Mr.  D.'s 
actual  descriptions.  Mr.  D.  assured  us  that  as  long  as 
he  had  had  the  opportunity  of  observing  him  in  Z. — 
that  is,  until  his  departure  for  the  interior — the  patient 
had  always  created  a  perfectly  normal  impression  on  him, 
not  only  in  his  speech,  but  also  in  his  dealings. 

'  Shortly  before  a  second  visit  the  name  of  a  certain 
Mr.  R.  suddenly  occurred  to  the  patient,  and  as  he  did  not 
remember  ever  having  had  anything  to  do  with  a  person 
of  this  name,  he  concluded  that  the  knowledge  of  this  name 
must  belong  to  the  Australian  period  which  was  lacking 
in  his  memory.  He  was  unable  to  form  any  idea  as  to 
the  appearance  or  position  of  this  gentleman.  On 
inquiring  of  Mr.  D.,  one  learned  that  R.  was  the  name  of  a 
certain  person  who  must  have  been  connected  with  our 
patient  in  business  in  Australia. 

'  The  larger  proportion  of  his  property,  and  obviously 
all  those  things  which  he  had  got  shortly  before  his 
departure  or  in  Australia,  were  new  and  unfamiliar  things 
to  the  patient.  He  did  not  know  how  he  had  become 
possessed  of  them,  but  was  even  astonished  at  the  appear- 
ance and  quality  of  his  articles  of  clothing.  Even  the 
finding  of  the  visiting-card  of  an  English  stranger,  pre- 
sumably an  acquaintance  on  board  ship,  and  a  sheet  of 
note-paper  bearing  the  name  of  the  steamer  by  which  he 
had  sailed  to  Australia,  did  not  assist  him  in  awakening  a 
wider  circle  of  impressions  of  memory.  The  same  also 
applies  to  his  own  visiting-card,  on  which  the  post  he  held 
in  Austraha  was  attached  to  his  name.  He  regarded  all 
these  proofs  of  an  epoch  which  had  passed  out  of  his 
consciousness  with  visible  astonishment. 

*  The  following  episode  is  curious  and  very  interesting. 
In  it  Mr.  N.  succeeded  in  reawakening  a  tiny  portion  of 
his  lost  recollections.  It  struck  him,  while  he  was  riding 
on  the  electric  trams,  which  travel  very  rapidly  in  this 
place,  but  which  make  a  great  deal  of  noise,  that  he 
experienced  a  curious  sensation,  and  that  he  must  have 


286       HYPxXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

been  in  a  similar  tram  before  in  his  life,  which  had 
travelled  just  as  quickly,  and  which  made  an  absolutely 
similar  vibrating  noise.  But  he  was  sure  that  the  tram 
of  which  he  was  thinking  did  not  have  overhead  wares, 
but  derived  its  electric  current  from  a  live  rail  below  the 
ground.  There  was  not  a  single  tram-line  of  this  kind  in 
any  of  the  towns  which  he  could  remember,  and  therefore 
he  had  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  dealing  on 
this  occasion  with  a  recollection  from  his  stay  in  Z. 

'  Since  it  appeared  to  be  quite  hopeless  to  wait  for  any 
further  spontaneous  filling  in  of  the  defects  of  the  memory, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  deal  with  the  amnesia  in  the 
following  hypnoses  by  means  of  suggestion.  For  this 
purpose  the  episode  of  the  electric  tram,  mentioned  above, 
was  used  as  an  association.  Mr.  N.  was  subjected  to  the 
suggestion  that  he  was  seated  in  a  car  of  the  said  tramway, 
that  he  was  able  to  recall  all  the  details  again,  and  also  to 
remember  the  passengers  travelling  with  him  in  the  car. 
One  was  actually  able  to  record  a  result  in  this,  inasmuch 
as  the  patient  was  capable  during  the  hypnosis  of 
describing  the  construction  of  the  car  and  the  distribution 
of  the  seats,  both  of  which  differed  greatly  from  that  of 
the  cars  in  this  town.  On  being  asked  which  route  the 
tramway  followed,  he  cried  out,  "  Uphill,  uphill !"  several 
times.  He  was  only  able  to  say  of  the  passengers  in  the 
car  that  they  had  thinner  faces  than  the  inhabitants  of 
this  part  of  the  world.  The  patient  made  a  little  sketch 
of  the  construction  of  the  tramcars  on  awakening  from 
the  hypnosis.  On  inquiring  of  Mr.  D.,  we  learned  that 
Mr.  N.  had  actually  ridden  daily  in  the  tramcars,  that 
the  route  rccdly  went  uphill,  and  that  the  arrangements 
were  certainly  of  the  type  which  was  shown  by  his 
account. 

'  Lastly,  it  must  be  stated  that  the  patient  assured  us 
very  defmitely  twice  or  three  times  in  the  morning  that 
he  had  dreamed  that  he  was  in  Australia,  and  that  he  had 
spoken    to    various    persons    there.     However,    all    the 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        287 

details  had  entirely  disappeared  in  the  meanwhile,  so  that 
one  could  not  gain  any  further  associations  from  this. 

'  After  the  attempt  to  awaken  the  memory  by  means 
of  the  forgotten  episode  had  only  been  followed  by  a  very 
sHght  result,  it  appeared  for  some  time  as  if  the  case 
would  not  be  accessible  to  a  continued  hypnotic  treatment. 
Professor  Forel  began  to  give  up  all  hope  of  restoring 
the  memory  for  the  amnesic  period  after  some  weeks  had 
passed  without  any  progress  having  been  made.  But 
before  the  observations  were  discontinued  he  got  the  idea 
of  choosing  the  last  remembered  time  of  Mr.  N.'s  stay  in  A. 
as  the  starting-point  of  the  suggestion  instead  of  the  stay 
in  Australia.  This  change  in  method  brought  with  it 
an  unexpected  result.  During  several  hypnoses,  which 
one  was  gradually  able  to  render  deeper  and  to  induce 
more  rapidly,  the  period  into  which  he  was  now  required 
to  transfer  himself  was  sketched  out  to  him  in  outline, 
progressing  consecutively,  and  it  was  suggested  to  him 
that  he  would  remember  all  the  details  of  this  period 
exactly  at  once,  and  after  he  had  awakened.  After  the 
patient  had  related  what  he  knew  afresh,  a  second 
hypnosis  was  frequently  induced  at  once,  and  in  this  the 
suggestion  was  given  to  continue  from  that  point  which 
had  been  reached  in  the  previous  hypnosis. 

'  The  first  result  consisted  in  Mr.  N.  remembering  that 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  stay  in  A.  he  no  longer 
attended  his  college  regularly,  but  had  devoted  himself 
instead  to  cycling.  In  response  to  the  suggestion  that 
he  would  remember  all  that  had  taken  place  prior  to  his 
appointment,  the  name  of  a  certain  official  suddenly 
occurred  to  him  (we  can  call  him  Bernhard),  and  this  was 
soon  followed  by  an  exact  description  of  his  appearance 
and  clothing.  In  connection  with  this,  Mr.  N.  recollected 
that  he  had  paid  this  gentleman  several  visits,  and  that 
it  was  through  him  that  the  preliminaries  had  been  gone 
through.  After  the  next  hypnosis  it  suddenly  occurred 
to  the  patient  that  he  had  undertaken  a  journey  to  the 


288       HYPiNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

capital  shortly  after  Christmas,  but  he  was  not  able  to  give 
any  account  of  his  stay  there.  It  was  only  after  the 
following  sitting  that  he  was  able  to  mention  the  name 
of  the  hotel  where  he  had  put  up  in  response  to  a  corre- 
sponding suggestion  ;  he  also  named  the  street  in  which 
the  hotel  was  placed,  the  duration  of  his  stay,  and  the 
business  transacted  with  the  official  board.  Then  he 
gradually  gained  a  clear  remembrance  of  the  town,  which 
he  had  never  visited  before.  The  remembrances  regained 
in  this  way  never  extended  beyond  the  time  which  had 
been  limited  by  the  suggestion  given.  WTien  beginning 
his  account  the  impressions  of  memory  never  appeared 
to  be  very  distinct,  and  Mr.  N.  generally  began  with  an 
*'  I  believe,"  or  "  It  seems  to  me  as  if."  It  was  only  in  the 
course  of  the  following  sittings  that  the  pictures  gained 
in  clearness,  and  united  themselves  to  form  a  consecutive 
story.  The  patient  further  succeeded  in  recalling  to  mind 
his  journey  back  to  A.,  and  the  preparations  for  his 
journey,  which  were  then  beginning.  In  connection  with 
this,  first  of  all  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  had  ordered 
two  dozen  shirts  and  eighteen  pairs  of  pants ;  then 
followed  the  short  run  down  to  the  port  of  embarkation, 
and  he  also  remembered  having  paid  a  visit  on  his  way. 
He  was  a  little  doubtful  as  to  the  actual  recollection  of 
the  port,  since  he  had  stayed  there  a  few  times  previously. 
The  suggestion  was  now  given  to  the  patient  that  his 
memory  for  the  whole  sea-trip  would  also  be  restored  to 
him,  and  this  also  succeeded  in  the  course  of  a  few  fresh 
hypnoses,  the  procedure  being  always  as  has  already 
been  described.  At  first  he  suddenly  recollected  the 
names  of  the  captain  and  of  the  ship's  doctor,  then  he 
remembered  some  of  his  fellow-passengers,  and  the 
arrangements  and  life  on  board.  He  remembered  that 
they  had  passed  through  the  Suez  Canal  during  the  night, 
and  that  it  had  taken  an  unexpectedly  long  time.  He 
was  able  to  recall  calling  in  at  Aden  extremely  clearly  ;  he 
was  particularly  struck  by  seeing  the  inhabitants  decked 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        289 

in  white  turbans,  and  by  seeing  camels  lying  on  the 
shore.  In  connection  with  this  came  the  remembrance  of 
a  period  of  great  heat,  and  then  the  calling  in  at  Colombo 
(Ceylon).  He  first  related  about  the  fertile  vegetation 
of  this  island,  and  about  a  little  trip  which  he  made  into 
the  interior  of  Ceylon,  but  was  somewhat  hazy  as  to  the 
destination  of  this  trip.  The  reawakening  of  the  recol- 
lection of  landing  in  Australia,  and  of  the  early  period 
of  his  stay  in  Z.,  offered  greater  difficulties.  Still,  after 
repeated  hypnoses  one  succeeded  in  re-establishing  the 
impressions  of  the  various  ports  at  which  they  called, 
among  which  was  the  port  of  L.  At  first  the  patient  was 
only  able  to  say  with  regard  to  Z.  that  it  must  have 
been  very  dry  there,  and  that  the  vegetation  was  largely 
comprised  of  eucalyptus -trees  and  conifera.  To  begin 
with,  he  stated  that  he  did  not  recollect  anything  about 
the  town  itself.  Then  the  recollection  of  the  Botanical 
Gardens  suddenly  came  back  to  him,  and  also  of  various 
trips  which  he  made  into  the  surrounding  country.  He 
spoke  of  his  landlady  by  a  certain  name,  which  he  had 
remembered  some  time  before,  but  which  he  could  never 
associate  with  any  definite  person.  He  then  recalled  his 
lodgings  and  his  club,  where  he  frequently  went,  and  in 
this  way  he  said,  after  a  time,  that  he  was  again  feeling 
quite  at  home  in  Z.  He  also  remembered  Mr.  D.  and  his 
family. 

'  The  hypnotic  treatment  had  to  be  interrupted  for  a 
time  at  this  stage,  as  the  patient  was  suddenly  seized  by 
an  attack  of  pneumonia.  The  illness  ran  its  usual  course, 
but  weakened  the  patient  considerably.  As  soon  as  he 
had  convalesced  sufficiently,  and  it  was  thought  that  he 
was  again  suitable  for  suggestion,  the  hypnosis  was 
started  afresh.  In  this  certain  remains  of  the  pneumonia, 
which  we  did  not  regard  as  being  due  to  organic  causes, 
were  first  dealt  with.  We  succeeded  soon  in  getting^his 
breathing  normal — as  this  had  been  strikingly  rapid^and 
dyspnoeic,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  pneumonic  changes 

19 


290       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

had  resolved  and  had  been  completely  absorbed — in 
removing  the  pains  which  he  felt  all  over  his  chest  (once 
the  pains  suddenly  changed  to  the  opposite  side  in  the 
region  of  the  old  shot-wound),  and  in  the  banishing  loss  of 
appetite  and  sleep.  Apart  from  this  we  continued  to 
work  at  the  awakening  of  the  memories  as  before. 

'  The  suggestions  which  were  given  at  first  consisted 
in  telling  the  patient  that  he  remembered  his  whole 
residence  in  Z.  absolutely  clearly,  and  that  he  also 
remembered  his  journey  into  the  interior  to  O.  The 
result  was  that  he  recalled  various  social  functions  later 
on  which  he  had  taken  part  in,  and  at  which  he  had 
experienced  some  difficulty  in  drinking  champagne  and 
the  like  as  the  others  did.  Apart  from  this  the  name  of 
the  hotel  in  0.  occurred  to  him,  where  he  had  arrived  at, 
and  where  he  had  stayed  for  some  time,  but  this  remained 
for  the  time  being  without  any  association  of  other 
occurrences.  It  was  only  after  the  next  hypnosis  that  the 
remembrance  of  the  journey  to  0.  came  back  to  him. 
Mr.  N.  then  remembered  that  he  had  accomplished  the 
thirty-six-hour  journey  in  one  stretch,  and  described  the 
country  as  being  in  part  barren  and  in  part  hilly,  and  the 
vegetation  as  being  monotonous,  consisting  of  tree-ferns 
and  the  like.  He  had  become  quite  clear  about  the  to\vn 
of  Z.  by  this  time,  and  produced  a  vivid  description  of  its 
position  and  of  the  traffic  in  the  town.  A  new  phe- 
nomenon which  followed  this  hypnosis  was  noted,  and 
this  consisted  in  the  capability  on  the  part  of  the  patient 
of  reproducing  the  results  of  the  observations  which  he 
had  made  in  Australia.  He  related  in  this  way  several 
things  about  the  political  and  economical  institutions 
of  the  country,  about  the  civil  administration  of  the 
touTis,  and  about  the  scarcity  of  working  men  in  the 
country  ;  he  also  told  of  the  regulations  which  rendered 
the  immigration  of  Chinese  difficult,  and  in  connection 
with  this  it  suddenly  occurred  to  him  that  there  were  a 
number  of  such  persons  on  board  the  steamer  in  which 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        291 

he  had  sailed  to  Austraha,  and  that  the  Chinese  went  about 
in  Z.  with  short  hair,  and  for  this  reason  did  not  attract 
so  much  attention.  Mr.  N.  further  recollected  several 
incidents  of  his  stay  in  O.  after  this  same  hypnosis.  On 
his  arrival  a  prolonged  drought  was  taking  place,  and  in 
consequence  the  dust  lay  foot  deep  in  the  streets,  and 
many  of  the  cattle  had  died.  He  also  recollected  various 
persons  in  O.  with  whom  he  had  business  relations.  Among 
these  was  Mr.  R.,  whose  name,  as  has  already  been  stated, 
had  occurred  to  him  a  long  time  before,  and  with  whom, 
as  he  now  recollected,  he  had  to  transact  some  unpleasant 
business,  as  he  had  attempted  to  place  some  obstacles 
in  the  way  in  connection  with  his  mission.  The  patient 
still  became  excited  on  relating  this  episode.  He  was 
further  able  to  remember  that  he  had  felt  unwell  soon  after 
he  arrived  in  O.,  and  had  changed  his  hotel  room  in 
consequence.  He  had  gone  to  an  Enghsh  doctor,  whose 
name  began  with  a  B,  complaining  of  fever,  giddiness, 
and  palpitation,  and  the  doctor  had  visited  him  later 
in  his  hotel.  As  the  memory  failed  on  giving  the  last 
few  details,  a  further  hypnosis  was  induced,  and  the  patient 
was  suggested  that  he  would  now  remember  all  the  minute 
incidents  of  his  illness  in  O.  more  clearly.  It  then  occurred 
to  him  that  a  second  medical  practitioner,  a  German,  had 
also  been  called  in,  and  that  they  had  given  him  a  sleeping- 
draught.  His  temperature  was  not  taken.  Apart  from 
the  doctors,  only  a  waiter  had  come  into  his  room  occasion- 
ally. The  two  doctors  had  given  him  advice  which 
differed  :  the  one  told  him  to  return  to  the  coast,  and 
remain  there  until  he  had  completely  recovered  ;  the  other 
said  that  he  ought  to  stay  in  O.,  and  wait  until  he  was  quite 
well  again  before  he  travelled.  He  was  quite  incapable 
of  saying  which  advice  he  followed,  and  what  he  had  done 
then. 

'  The  suggestion,  which  was  given  him  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  that  he  would  now  remember  the  minute 
details  of  his  departure  from  O.  and  his  return  to  Z.,  at 

19 — 2 


292       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

first  remained  without  result.  It  was  only  on  repeating 
tliis  on  the  following  day  that  some  progress  was  made. 
He  was  then  able  to  relate  that  on  the  evening  of  his 
departure  his  money  had  been  restored  to  him  at  his 
request,  and  that  the  gentleman  who  carried  this  out, 
accompanied  him  to  the  station  on  the  following  day. 
Mr.  N.  was  perfectly  capable  of  remembering  his  whole 
journey  and  the  aims  of  his  activities  in  Australia  at  this 
time  (at  the  time  of  his  departure  from  O.),  in  spite  of 
the  fever.  He  was  quite  certain  of  this,  and  this  is  a 
very  important  fact.  He  remembered  then  having  com- 
menced his  return  journey  by  train  to  Z.,  and  having 
obviously  been  half  asleep  in  the  railway  compartment. 
He  knew  nothing  whatsoever  of  his  arrival  in  Z. 

'  I  have  discussed  the  manner  in  which  the  latter  re- 
membrances were  recalled  to  his  consciousness  very  fully 
for  good  reasons.  As  we  shall  see  presently,  the  exact 
knowledge  of  the  occurrences  taking  place  about  this 
time  forms  an  important  landmark  for  a  correct  interpre- 
tation of  the  whole  case. 

'  We  then  attempted  to  recall  to  the  patient's  memory 
the  end  of  this  journey  to  Z.,  the  arrival  there,  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  he  embarked  for  Europe,  in 
repeated  hypnoses.  These  endeavours,  however,  failed 
to  elicit  any  result,  and  the  patient  was  quite  incapable 
of  remembering  a  single  fact  about  the  commencement  of 
the  journey  from  O.  to  Z. 

'  But  a  result  could  be  noted  again  when  Professor 
Forel  connected  the  suggestions  to  the  period,  which  the 
patient  had  spontaneously  retained  in  his  memory,  thus 
carrying  out  a  method  corresponding  to  the  one  which 
had  led  to  favourable  results  before.  This  time  was  the 
end  of  his  passage  on  board  the  Oroya.  The  suggestions 
therefore  took  the  shape  of  declaring  that  Mr.  N.  would 
now  remember  the  first  part  of  his  voyage  homewards, 
and  then  the  embarking,  and  lastly  the  reasons  which 
impelled  him  to  take  this  step.     The  patient  was  con- 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA        293 

sequently  able  to  relate  a  number  of  details  of  what  he 
experienced  on  his  voyage  home.  He  stated  that, 
unlike  the  majority  of  the  other  passengers,  he  did  not 
land  at  Colombo,  and  that  an  English  sergeant,  with  his 
wife  and  children,  had  come  on  board  at  this  place.  He 
was  able  to  remember  a  large  number  of  details  respecting 
the  life  on  board  the  Oroya  ;  one  little  girl  had  taken  his 
fancy  greatly  :  he  had  often  played  with  her  and  had 
carried  her  about.  Apart  from  this,  the  life  on  the 
steamer  was  not  particularly  congenial  to  him,  and  he 
had  therefore  not  responded  to  the  invitation  to  take 
part  in  various  amusements.  He  remembered  very 
vividly  two  deaths  having  taken  place  when  they  were 
in  the  open  sea,  and  also  the  burials  at  sea.  He  occupied 
himself  while  he  was  on  board  by  eating,  sleeping,  reading, 
and  walking  about.  In  this  way  he  only  lived  for  the 
present,  knowing,  as  he  now  believed,  that  the  destination 
of  his  journey  was  to  be  Europe,  but  without  caring 
about  what  had  preceded  or  what  was  to  follow.  The 
remembrance  of  his  departure  from  Z.,  of  the  embarka- 
tion in  L.,  and  of  the  first  part  of  his  voyage,  had  still  not 
been  recalled. 

'  A  number  of  hypnoses,  in  which  the  attempt  was  made 
to  fill  up  the  defects  still  remaining  in  his  memory  (these 
were  by  this  time  comparatively  small),  failed  for  the 
time  being.  The  patient  did  produce  a  whole  number 
of  new  remembrances,  which,  however,  he  had  to  refer 
to  the  time  of  his  voyage  to  Australia.  Then  all  of  a 
sudden  the  recollection  of  a  long  railway  journey  by  night 
suddenly  made  its  appearance,  albeit  indistinctly.  This 
journey  was  to  have  brought  him  from  Z.  to  the  port  of 
embarkation,  L.,  and  the  patient  represented  it  as  being 
in  uninterrupted  connection  with  the  journey  from  0.  to 
Z.,  which  he  now  remembered  again.  In  connection 
with  this  he  had  a  misty  impression  that  he  must  have 
put  up  at  a  small  second-class  inn  in  L.  He  was  again 
hypnotized  immediately,  and  given  the  suggestion  that 


'V 


.       si 


If  t. 


A  CASl-    (>!'   H\sri  KM(\\L  AMNR^IA        295 

on  Itini  on  tins  (vcision,  .is  it  li.ul  al\v.\\^s  dono  on  previous 
jonrnovs.  Uc  (Iumi  c.iUod  attention  t(>  tlie  fact  himself 
(h.it  it  w.is  elnetly  ^hc  \\mc  \n1umi  he  w.is  booking  his 
l>.iss.ig(^  which  l\e  conUl  not  reniemlvr.  Even  this  recol- 
hvtion  W.IS  pnxhiccHl  in  resp(>nse  to  detinite  suggestions 
p(Mt. lining  tt)  this  point,  .uul  Mr.  N.  then  n.inied  tlie 
s(iv(  t  in  wliicli  the  ag(MU  hved,  and  also  stated  the  price 
of  his  tit  k(  t  (^xactly.  Ih^  \\,\s  not  .iMc  t(>  n^mtnnher  giving 
a  wrong  na.me,  but  bt^lieved  that  this  must  have  arisen 
tlnongh  .1  niisnnd(Mst.inding  on  the  part  of  the  English 
sl(^w.irds,  whc>  did  not  und(Mst,ind  what  he  h.id  said. 

'  ()n  tlu^  (olI()wing  d.iy  we  were  successful  at  last  in 
Tilling  up  (1j{>  uMu.iinn^g  g.ips  still  persisting  in  the  memory 
ol  lh(Mime  just  mentiontnl  ilnring  a  niunber  of  hypnoses 
tollowing  one  an«>ther,  alw.iys  in  response  to  suitable 
suggestions.  Vho  p.ititMit  g.ive  the  following  consecutive 
account  :  Ih^  hid  ]^r.ictica.lly  not  slept  a  wink  during  the 
tim(^  of  his  bodily  illiuss  in  (>.  He  h.ul  then  taken  a 
lirstdass  tick(  t  to  /.,  being  tpiite  awMre  of  what  he  wms 
th>ing.  Ill'  liiUy  int(Mul(\l  w.iiting  till  he  had  completely 
i(H-o\(Mi^l  in  /.,  wluM('  he  h.id  his  quarters,  and  then 
n^t inning  to  ().  to  lontinue  his  business.  The  railw.iy 
journt\v  h.ul  t,ik(Mi  .1  long  time,  and  had  listed  .ill  night. 
His  comp.vrtni(Mit  .it  tinits  wms  full  of  p.isstMigers,  and  .it 
(iuKS  W.IS  f.iirly  (Mupty,  so  th.it  he  w.is  .ible  to  make 
hnuself  comloi  l.ihl(\  aiul  he  lud  f.ill(Mi  to  ^leep  several 
liiu(>s.  U.ixnig  arrived  in  /.  in  the  forenoon,  he  at  once 
bookcil  to  L.,  but  left  the  st.it ion.  where  there  were 
no  w.iiting  rooms  or  refreshment -rooms  in  which  one 
could  sil  down,  and  cMig.vgtHl  a  n^om  in  a  sm.dl  inn  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  station.  Here  he  look  some  refreshment, 
.md  went  to  ^l(u  p  for  some  hours.  It  ucvcv  occurred  to 
him  to  go  to  his  cpiarters,  or  even  th.it  he  i>t)ssessed  them, 
nor  th.it  he  h.ul  ever  Wen  in  Z.  before,  .mil  that  he  hid 
.1  lot  of  actpLiintances  tlu  n\  He  then  mule  a  few  sm.dl 
purch.ises  c./,'.,  he  bought  .1  comb  -.md  travelled  in  the 
evening  to   L.  with  the  ticket  which  he  h.id  taken  in  the 


296       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

morning.     He  could  not  remember  any  reason  for  having 
left  Z.  again,  but  believed  that  he  had  had  the  feeling  of 
being  a  stranger  in  the  place,  and  of  not  belonging  to 
it,  and  he  had  therefore  seized  the  first  opportunity  of 
traveUing  on.     On  arriving  in  L.,  he  made  his  way  into 
the  nearest  very  primitive  inn,  as  he  had  done  in  Z.,  and 
as  he  had  already  related  to  us.     He  now  remembered 
the  town  of  L.  exactly  ;  he  had  stayed  there  for  some 
days,  had  walked  through  the  same  streets  every  day, 
had  bought  his  ticket  for  the  passage  to  Europe,  as  has 
been  stated  above,  and  then  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer.     The  towTi  of  L.  appeared  to  him  to  be  entirely 
strange,  and  he  had  to  inquire  his  way  about,  although, 
as  he  was  now  aware,  he  had  actually  spent  a  few  days 
there  on  his  way  out.     On  this  occasion  also,  he  was  not 
conscious  of  having  stayed  at  the  place  a    few   weeks 
previously,  and  the  idea  never  occurred  to  him  to  look  up 
any  of  his  acquaintances.    He  could  not  remember  having 
met  a  lady  at  the  station,  as  had  been  described  by  a 
third  person,  but  believed  that  if  this  were  a  fact  he  had 
simply  not  recognised  the  lady  again.     He  was  again  able 
to  recollect  the  circumstances  clearly  concerning  his  em- 
barking :  he  had  driven  in  a  cab  from  his  hotel  to  the 
station,  a  distance  of  about  ten  minutes'  drive,  and  had 
then  travelled  right  up  to  the  ship's  side  by  train.     He 
was  also  incapable  of  ascribing  any  reason  for  going  on 
board  ship,  and  could  only  state  that  he  had  had   the 
desire  of  getting  out  of  Austraha  as  quickly  as  possible, 
as  he  felt  quite  out  of  place  there.     He  had  been  perfectly 
aware  that  he  was  in  Australia,  but  did  not  know  how  he 
had  got  there,  and  that  he  had  any  business  there,  or 
what  the  nature  of  that  business  was.' 

This  extremely  instructive  and  curious  case  does  not 
need  much  comment.  Mr.  N.  is  absolutely  trustworthy, 
and,  apart  from  this,  many  of  his  statements  were  con- 
firmed by  third  persons. 

From  the  type  of  the  remembrances  of  the  non-retro- 


A  CASE  OF  HYSTERICAL  AMNESIA       297 

grade  portion  of  the  amnesia — i.e.,  of  the  return  journey 
from  O.  by  way  of  Z.  and  L.  to  Naples  and  Zurich — 
it  appears  that  he  was  in  a  condition  of  dissociated, 
somnambuHc  confusion  of  thoughts  during  the  whole  of 
the  time.  He  must  have  lived  without  any  thought  of 
the  future,  and  have  forgotten  the  past  day  by  day.  The 
remembrances  of  these  events  reappeared  independently 
of  any  real  connection  with  one  another.  They  were 
dreamily  vague,  and  were  accompanied  by  marked 
changes  of  emotion.  He  became  so  clear  as  to  the  state 
of  affairs  that  he  told  me  that  he  now  realized  that  if 
he  had  not  had  plenty  of  money  with  him  he  would 
have  died  in  misery  in  L.  He  was  lucky  in  having 
booked  his  passage  to  Europe.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
remembrances  of  the  retrograde  portion  of  the  amnesia 
(the  journey  out)  were  normally  associated. 

This  case  is  a  mine  of  wealth  for  the  mechanism  of 
the  memory  and  for  its  analysis.  The  amnesia  remained 
cured.  I  must  beg  my  readers  to  consider  the  case 
especially  in  the  light  of  my  views  on  consciousness. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  Case  of  Double  Consciousness 

M.  Z.,  an  hysterical  person  who  was  fond  of  adventure 
and  of  a  free  hfe,  was  hypnotized  in  a  University  town 
by  some  students  for  fun,  and  discovered  that  she  was  an 
'  excellent  medium.'  She  then  went  to  Paris,  and  first 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  spiritualists  there,  and  subse- 
quently into  the  hands  of  the  doctors  of » the  Charcot 
school  in  the  Parisian  hospitals.  The  spiritualists  and 
telepaths  discovered  that  she  was  a  clairvoyant  who 
could  foretell  the  future,  and  who  could  presumably 
divulge  what  persons  were  doing  at  a  great  distance. 
She  was  only  used  as  an  object  for  demonstration  in 
accordance  with  the  pattern  of  Charcot's  hysterics  in  the 
hospitals,  and  was  declared  to  be  incurable.  In  the 
meantime  she  was  used  as  a  telepathic  wonder  by 
impressarios,  and  earned  large  sums  of  money  on  the 
stage,  which  she  spent  as  fast  as  she  got  it. 

As  a  result  of  this  systematic  abuse  of  her  hysterical 
somnambulism,  the  latter  continued  to  develop  spon- 
taneously. She  was  subject  to,  first,  spontaneous  som- 
nambulic-hysterical  attacks,  chiefly  during  the  night, 
which  at  times  lasted  for  two  or  three  days,  and  when 
she  awakened  she  did  not  have  any  idea  of  what  she  had 
been  doing  while  in  this  condition  (i).  She  jumped  out  of 
bed,  climbed  on  the  window-sills,  roofs,  and  raihngs  like 
a  monkey,  but  never  lost  her  balance.  Secondly,  she 
was  subject  to  spontaneous  hysterical  (hystero-epileptic) 
attacks  besides  (2).     In  these  she  suddenly  fell  down  un- 

298 


A  CASE  OF  DOUBLE  CONSCIOUSNESS      299 

conscious,  tore  her  hair  and  clothes,  scratched  herself, 
and  then  got  up,  climbed,  and  so  on. 

Once  she  lost  her  senses  suddenly  during  a  conversation 
in  the  street,  and  awakening  three  days  later,  took  up 
the  thread  of  her  thoughts  at  the  same  place  where  they 
had  been  broken  off  without  knowing  what  she  had  done 
during  the  three  days.  I  shall  return  to  this  '  three  days' 
wandering '  later.  The  doctors  were  never  able  to  in- 
fluence her  hysterical  attacks  (2).  Let  me  call  her  usual 
waking  condition  M.  Z.,  and  her  somnambulic  condition 
F.  L. 

As  a  result  of  the  continued  abuse  of  her  brain  on  the 
part  of  the  spiritualists  and  of  the  hospital  doctors  who 
hanker  after  the  supernatural  (I  will  not  express  my 
opinion  about  this  behaviour),  M.  Z.  got  increasingly 
nervous,  moody,  irritable,  and  on  account  of  her  hysterical 
crises  (i  and  2)  became  less  and  less  capable  of  earning  a 
living.  She  returned  to  her  home,  and  was  handed  over 
to  me  for  treatment. 

She  was  a  slender  little  thing,  about  thirty  years  of 
age,  with  a  penetrating  look,  which  became  fixed  easily, 
was  extremely  moody  and  obstinate,  possessed  the 
character  of  a  gipsy,  being  driven  by  the  impulses  of  the 
moment,  but  was  very  intelligent  withal.  She  had  under- 
taken all  sorts  of  things,  but  had  not  done  anything 
thoroughly,  and  had  acquired  a  peculiar  form  of  half- 
education.  She  liked  her  free  Parisian  life  beyond  all 
things,  was  very  skilful  at  certain  kinds  of  work,  but  was 
not  persevering,  and  could  be  either  very  simple  or  very 
exacting,  according  to  circumstances.  It  was  difficult 
to  persuade  her  to  submit  to  suggestive  treatment,  as  she 
was  of  opinion  that  it  would  be  of  no  avail.  I  had  first  to 
explain  to  her  that  this  was  quite  different  from  the 
hypnosis  of  the  Salpetriere  in  Paris. 

I  succeeded  in  putting  her  into  a  condition  of  som- 
nambulism at  once,  and  commenced  a  conversation  with 
her,  suggesting  especially  that  the  somnambulism  and 


300       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  hysterical  attacks  were  cured.  However,  it  soon 
became  clear  that  a  second  personality  (I  call  this 
F.  L.)  had  developed  during  the  somnambulic  condition. 
F.  L.  spoke  of  herself  in  the  third  person,  and  knew  a 
number  of  things  of  which  M.  Z.  was  unaware.  F.  L. 
was  an  artist,  loved  the  moon  passionately,  and  felt  herself 
drawn  toward  her  at  night-time  in  consequence.  F.  L. 
was  obviously  sexually  perverted,  and  had  desires  for  her 
own  sex,  while  M.  Z.  was  relatively  normal  sexually,  only 
showing  slight  perverse  inclinations  (she  was  fond  of 
biting  her  lover  until  she  drew  blood).  I  succeeded  in 
finding  out  by  means  of  a  few  repeated  questions,  at  all 
events  in  part,  what  she  had  done  in  Paris  during  the 
three  days  which  had  disappeared  out  of  M.  Z.'s  memory. 
She  answered  me,  however,  hesitatingly  and  with  diffi- 
culty. Like  Mr.  N.  (see  Dr.  Naef  s  case),  she  was  only 
able  to  reassociate  single  situations  of  her  somnambulic 
condition  with  difficulty.  In  this  the  nature  of  dreamlike 
dissociation  in  thinking  was  illustrated  afresh.  She  had 
yslept  with  '  Anna  T. '  in  one  bed,  and  had  carried  out 
/  lesbian  intercourse  with  her  ;  she  had  been  in  the  Quartier 
[  Latin  in  doubtful  society,  then  she  had  called  in  at  the 
I  flower-painter  Durand's  in  C.  Street,  and  had  painted 
\some  flowers  there,  etc.  She  only  admitted  the  lesbian 
intercourse  hesitatingly,  but  with  ecstatic  looks  and  with 
euphoristic  enthusiasm. 

When  I  declared  very  definitely  to  her  then  that  M.  Z. 
and  F.  L.  were  one  and  the  same  person,  and  that  all  that 
F.  L.  did  was  stupid  morbid  nonsense,  and  when  I  told 
her  that  she  must  sleep  quietly  at  night-time,  and  that 
I  forbad  F.  L.  to  wander  about,  she  became  very  excited, 
offered  opposition,  spoke  of  her  beloved  moon,  and  so  on. 
I  then  attempted  to  suggest  to  F.  L.  (the  somnambulist) 
that  she,  as  M.  Z.,  would  remember  everything  on  awaken- 
ing that  she  had  admitted— that  is  to  say,  told  me  in  her 
character  as  F.  L.  However,  I  had  to  desist  within  a 
short  time,  for  the  patient  only  became  very  excited  by 


'A  CASE  OF  DOUBLE  CONSCIOUSNESS      301 

this,  got  a  headache,  and  nearly  got  an  hysterical  attack, 
and  I  would  soon  have  lost  all  my  influence  over  her. 
M.  Z.  was  obviously  ashamed  and  emotionally  affected  by 
the  dawning  remembrances,  especially  those  of  the  homo- 
sexual nature.  Later  on  I  tried  to  relate  the  matter  to 
M.^.  during  the  waking  condition.  At  first  she  became 
so  excited  about  it  that  I  had  to  leave  the  sexual  theme 
at  all  events  untouched.  She  had  never  been  able  to 
paint — that  was  all  stupid  nonsense,  etc.  After  she  had 
improved  considerably  she  told  me  spontaneously  one  day 
that  something  was  becoming  clear  to  her.  She  was  in 
possession  of  a  photograph  of  herself  which  had  always 
been  a  puzzle  to  her.  She  was  wearing  a  blouse  in  the 
picture,  and  was  standing  in  front  of  an  easel  with  a 
paint-brush  and  palette  in  her  hand.  She  was  not  aware 
of  ever  having  been  photographed  in  such  a  costume,  and 
she  had  never  painted  ;  further,  she  had  no  idea  how 
she  had  got  hold  of  this  picture,  but  she  had  been  forced 
to  recognise  herself  in  the  picture,  which  she  had  found  in 
her  pocket  one  day.  The  matter  must  have  had  some 
connection  with  what  I  had  told  her  about  F.  L.  On  the 
following  day  she  really  did  bring  me  her  photograph  as 
a  painter  ;  it  was  just  as  she  had  described-  Her  look 
was  markedly  fixed  in  the  picture. 

The  patient  got  a  somnambulic  attack  that  night, 
having  been  rather  excited  by  my  attempts.  She  came 
to  me  in  the  morning  very  disturbed  in  her  mind,  and 
told  me  that  she  must  have  gone  out  of  her  room  in  her 
chemise  during  the  night,  for  on  awakening  in  the  morning 
she  found  herself  on  the  floor  with  dirty  feet,  her  door 
open,  everything  in  disorder,  and  she  was  very  tired.  She 
related  during  hypnosis  (as  F.  L.)  all  of  that  which  M.  Z. 
had  forgotten.  The  moon  had  shone  brightly.  This  was 
a  fact.  The  moon  had  attracted  her  ;  she  had  vaulted 
the  banister  in  her  chemise,  and  had  gone  into  the  fields 
to  look  at  the  beloved  moon. 

It  now  became  quite  clear  to  me  that  experimenting 


302       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

was  only  doing  the  patient  harm,  however  interesting  it 
might  be.  I  should  have  Hked  to  have  tested  her  sup- 
posed telepathic  capabilities,  but  I  had  to  deny  myself  this, 
for  I  should  have  had  to  have  used  F.  L.  for  this.  But 
my  duty  consisted  in  the  contrary  of  this — i.e.,  in  sup- 
pressing F.  L.  so  that  M.  Z.  might  regain  her  health  by 
means  of  normal  sleep.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  how  can 
a  person  remain  healthy  if  he  is  mentally  active  during 
sleep  as  well  as  during  waking  ?  He  must  become  nervous, 
incapable  of  working,  irritable,  and  like  an  hysterical 
plaything  in  unscrupulous  hands,  just  like  this  poor 
victim  of  the  craving  for  experiment  and  the  curiosity  of 
the  students,  spiritualists,  and  doctors.  My  experiments 
hitherto,  however,  had  been  necessary,  since  they  had 
given  the  key  to  the  double  existence  of  the  patient. 

I  left  off  giving  orders  which  were  unpalatable  to  her 
from  this  time,  did  not  return  again  to  the  homosexual 
theme,  and  tried  to  win  over  the  somnambulist  F.  L.  by 
showing  a  sympathetic  interest. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  she  was  hypnotized 
according  to  Wetterstrand's  system  in  the  same  room  as 
other  patients,  and  the  suggestions  were  whispered  into 
her  ear  (as  I  always  do).  I  then  flattered  F.  L.,  and  ex- 
plained to  her  my  scientific  views  in  a  friendly  manner. 
She  (F.  L.)  knew  of  M.  Z.'s  existence,  while  M.  Z.  did  not 
know  anything  about  her  (F.  L.).  But  both  were  existing 
in  the  same  brain,  and  the  poor  brain  would  perish  from 
this  double  work.  I  applied  to  F.  L.'s  generosity ;  she 
must  sacrifice  herself  to  make  room  for  a  healthy  M.  Z. 
She  would  have  to  give  up  the  moon,  and  sleep,  etc.  I 
obtained  a  promise  to  this  effect  from  F.  L.  by  kindly 
persuasion.  I  then  declared  to  her  the  impossibility  of 
getting  out  of  bed  during  sleep,  and  even  of  moving  about 
in  bed,  suggested  deep,  absolutely  quiet  sleep  during  the 
night,  etc. 

The  result  was  a  continuous  tranquillity.  A  few  mild 
somnambulic  attacks,  it  is  true,  did  take  place,  but  she 


A  CASE  OF  DOUBLE  CONSCIOUSNESS      303 

did  not  leave  her  room  again,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks  even  these  attacks  ceased.  At  the  same  time  M.  Z. 
improved  visibly.  Her  appetite  and  capability  for  work 
returned.  The  changing  mood  (sadness,  irritability, 
etc.)  stopped  also.  In  short,  after  a  few  months  M.  Z.  was 
in  a  position  to  enter  into  service  with  an  elderly  lady. 
Since  then  she  appears  to  be  quite  cured,  and  wrote  to 
the  woman  with  whom  she  had  lived  a  very  happy  and 
bright  letter,  saying  that  she  was  now  cured,  after  having 
been  ill  for  many  years.  I  had  given  her  an  amulet  as  a 
precaution  in  case  of  a  temporary  disturbance  of  her 
nervous  system,  with  which  she  could  put  herself  to  sleep 
for  half  an  hour  and  tranquillize  herself. 

Although  this  case  is  not  so  striking  as  that  of  Mr.  N. 
with  his  Australian  journey,  it  is  nevertheless  very 
instructive  on  account  of  the  analysis.  It  confirms  the 
rule  which  I  would  wish  to  formulate. 

A  person  does  not  know  anything,  or  only  knows  very 
little,  about  his  sleep  life  during  the  waking  condition. 
During  somnambulism  or  the  sleeping  condition,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  generally  knows  of  his  waking  condition. 
F.  L.  knew  of  M.  Z.,  and  spoke  of  her  as  the  '  second  F.' 
But  this  is  a  detached,  dissociated  knowledge,  a  dreamlike 
knowledge.  The  somnambulist  only  has  knowledge  of  a 
few  half  hallucinated  pictures  both  from  his  actions  and 
thoughts  during  the  somnambulism,  and  from  his  doings 
and  thoughts  in  the  waking  condition.  These  pictures 
follow  one  another  mistily  dissociated,  while  only  the 
automatic  instinct  life  remains  well  associated.  One 
must  therefore  presume  the  existence  of  a  '  third,'  more 
animal  consciousness,  which  is  connected  more  with  the 
activity  of  the  subjected  brain  centres,  while  the  dream 
consciousness  belongs  to  the  dissociated  cerebral  activity. 
In  the  somnambulic  condition  F.  L.  was  as  nimble  as  a 
cat,  climbed  on  railings,  and  waltzed  in  giddy  heights  (as 
she  had  often  been  told),  while  M.  Z.  was  very  careful  and 
nervous. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Suggestion  in  its  Relation  to  Medicine  and  to 

Quackery 

In  spite  of  all  the  drastic  satires  which  the  priests  of 
iEsculap  have  had  to  submit  to  in  all  times,  and  of  which 
Moliere's  'M.  le  Pourceaugnac,'  'Le  Malade  imaginaire,' 
etc.,  are  perhaps  the  severest,  they  (the  priests)  always 
relapse  into  their  old  mistakes,  as  if  they  were  incor- 
rigible in  this  respect,  and  as  if  they  were  compelled  by 
some  law  of  Nature.  I  may  mention  the  following  as 
being  some  of  these  mistakes  :  professional  etiquette, 
belief  in  the  authorities,  the  dogma  of  infallibility,  pre- 
conceived judgment,  and,  above  all,  the  complementing 
of  real  knowledge  by  autosuggestions,  which  acquire 
the  characters  of  aphorisms  and  of  axioms,  credulity 
in  the  simplest  deductions  concerning  therapeutic  results, 
and  also  (this  must  not  be  forgotten),  unfortunately, 
charlatanism.  Every  calling  has  its  weaknesses,  and  also 
its  black  sheep,  and  we  should  beware  of  the  implicated 
metaphysics  of  some  theologians,  and  of  the  hard,  often 
pettifogging  dogmatism  of  some  lawyers,  in  which  they 
disregard  all  psychological  observations  on  man.  How- 
ever, it  is  certainly  more  advantageous  to  study  and 
combat  our  own  weaknesses  and  diseases  than  to  wait 
until  some  unknown  quack  turns  up  to  teach  us  and 
to  laugh  at  us.  The  lawyers  are  beginning  to  weed 
these  things  out,  and  are  adapting  themselves  to  the 
results  of  scientific  investigation.  The  scientifically 
educated  medical  practitioner  ought  not  to  fall  behind 

304 


THERAPEUTICS  305 

and  claim  the  privilege  of  dogmatism  and  of  superficial 
credulity. 

One  is  always  inclined  to  forget  that,  apart  from  the 
larger  part  of  external  treatment,  perhaps  two-thirds  of 
the  patients  recover  of  their  own  account,  and  that  the 
half  of  the  remaining  third  either  become  incurable  or 
die,  without  troubling  themselves  about  our  treatment. 
If  we  really  improve  or  cure  the  last  sixth,  we  are  doing 
a  great  deal,  and  we  must,  without  doubt,  keep  on  asking 
the  question,  '  Have  you  not  done  more  harm  than 
good  ?'  in  order  to  keep  the  balance  of  our  therapeutic 
conscience.  What  is  it  that  really  has  cured  the  patient  ?^ 
Of  course,  one  is  not  to  include  prophylaxis  in  this. 

The  more  exact  a  science  is,  the  greater  are  the  exactions 
which  are  made  of  its  disciples  in  respect  to  exactness  of 
results  (compare,  e.g.,  mathematics  and  zoology).     But 
the  less  exact  sciences  may  not  sin'"on  this  account,  as 
if   a  license  were  held,  and  dispense  with  the  logic  of 
thinking  reason,   but  must   take  its  uncertainties  and 
weaknesses  openly  into  account,  and  search  for  greater 
exactness  and  new  points  of  view  in  studying  obscure 
questions.     The  matter  has  an  extraordinary  appearance 
in   therapeutic  'science.'      In   those   of  this  branch ^in 
which  a  more  exact  and  clearer  knowledge  already  exists 
we  meet  with  a  more  critical  mind,  more  exacting  require- 
ments, and  a  much  greater  reserve  in  the  claims.     The 
enormous  advances  of  surgery  have  made  this  branch 
more  modest  and  more  careful.     The  less  medicine  knows 
in  any  one  branch,  the  more  dogmatic  are  the  thera- 
peutic claims,  and  the  bog  of  the  present-day  "medicinal 
therapy  is  scarcely  less  sticky  than  the  bog  of  the  herbal 
mixtures  of  the  past  or  of  the  yard-long  prescriptions 
consisting  of  twenty  different  constituents.     It  is  true 
that  chemistry  has  to  maintain  the  appearance  of  scien- 
tific soundness  for  modern  remedies  in  the  place  of  botany  ; 
still,  this  is  only  changing  the  label.     The  unfathomable 

^  See  also  Sonderegger,  '  The  Outposts  of  Hygienic  Measures.' 

20 


3o6       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

wantonness  with  which  therapeutic  results  are  cast  about 
and  boasted  of,  in  medical  journals,  societies,  etc.,  often 
for  the  purpose  of  advertising,  and  mostly  with  a  dis- 
regard of  the  elements  of  logic  and  the  most  modest 
claims  of  scientific  methods,  has  acquired  most  terrifying 
dimensions  through  the  ever-increasing  mass  of  the  press. 
It  has  grown  into  a  true  medical  cachexia.  If  we  add 
to  this  the  bouncing  advertisements  which  are  perpe- 
trated without  regard  of,  and  in  opposition  to,  all  science, 
by  hydrotherapy,  balneotherapy,  electrotherapy,  metallo- 
therapy,  massage,  and  the  systems  of  Dr.  Y.  and  Father  Z., 
etc.,  we  gain  a  picture  which  is  as  sad  as  it  is  well  known, 
and  in  which  the  laity  will  soon  be  unable  to  distinguish 
the  swindler  from  the  serious  doctor.  A  very  pernicious 
modern  symptom  is  met  with  in  the  paid  medical  reports 
on  this  or  that  remedy  or  this  or  that  method,  instituted 
by  enterprising  companies  for  their  own  benefit.  The 
beer  breweries  of  Germany  have  in  1905  gone  so  far 
as  to  found  their  own  illustrated  magazine  secretly, 
in  order  to  smuggle  into  it  the  medical  opinions 
written  by  those  in  authority,  in  opposition  to  the  total 
abstinence  movement.  The  professors  in  question  have 
been  craftily  ensnared,  and  their  confidence  has  been 
grossly  abused.  But  the  matter  is,  nevertheless,  sig- 
nificant. 

Wliat  I  have  just  written  is  common  knowledge,  but 
I  regarded  it  to  be  necessary  to  repeat  it.  I  will  not 
ask,  '  A  qui  la  faute  ?'  for  that  would  be  idle  ;  but  I 
may  ask,  '  Are  there  no  means  of  curing  this  therapeutic 
disease  T  I  think  that  I  can  answer  this  partly  in  the 
affirmative,  and  am  of  opinion  that  one  of  these  lies  in 
an  exact  study  of  the  weaknesses  of  therapeutic  logic  in 
its  relation  to  suggestion. 

When  a  secret  activity  invariably  takes  place,  ap- 
parently in  response  to  absolutely  varying  causes,  which 
contradict  one  another  and  act  irrespective  of  any  law 
in  the  same  regular  way,  with  the  same  substance  or 


THERAPEUTIC  ACTION  307 

with  the  same  organism,  human  logic  is  justified  in 
assuming  that  some  of  the  apparent  ca,uses  are  either 
not  really  causes  or  are  only  indirect  ones,  which  set  the 
actual  cause — i.e.,  the  real  mechanism  of  the  constant 
occurrence — into  action  in  an  obscure  way.  It  then 
becomes  necessary  to  discover  the  latter.  A  person  who 
does  not  understand  anything  about  electricity  cannot 
comprehend  why  an  electric  bell  rings  either  when  one 
presses  the  button  or  when  one  adds  fresh  elements  to 
increase  the  current,  or  when  a  mouse  gnaws  through  the 
insulation  of  two  wires  touching  each  other.  He  will 
believe  in  the  three  different  causes  which  he  can  per- 
ceive if  he  is  thoughtless,  but  if  he  considers  the  matter 
carefully  he  will  realize  that  some  common  cause  lies 
at  the  bottom  of  it  all.  R.  Semon  built  up  his  ingenious 
theory  of  the  Mneme  on  the  basis  of  such-like  considera- 
tions. 

I  must  request  the  reader  to  consider  the  process  of 
the  cure  of  an  idiopathic  neuralgia  or  of  a  functional 
paralysis.  One  sees  it  taking  place  miraculously  imme- 
diately on  applying  the  remedy,  or  advancing  by  stages, 
sitting  after  sitting,  no  matter  whether  this  cure  be  effected 
by  electric  treatment  (and,  according  to  the  theory  of 
each  electro  therapeutist,  by  the  most  contradictory 
forms  of  current  and  of  application  of  the  same),-^  hydro- 
therapy, massage,  metallotherapy,  antipyrine,  quinine, 
tincture  of  valerian,  and  the  like,  taken  internally ; 
stretching  of  nerves,  blisters,  blood-letting,  inhalation 
of  amyl  nitrite,  fright,  the  laying  on  of  hands,  homoeo- 
pathy, secret  remedies  of  all  kinds,  vegetarianism,  the 
so-called  '  natural  methods,'  prayer,  herbs  (prepared  by 
a  somnambulist  or  some  such  fortune-teller),  the  holy 
water  of  Loudres,  persuasion  according  to  Dubois,  .  .  . 

1  Sperling  of  Berlin,  for  example,  achieved  surprisingly  marked 
curative  results  with  extremely  weak  currents  alone,  and  Julius  Heller 
of  Lucerne,  on  the  other  hand,  did  the  same  with  the  exclusive  use  of 
very  powerful  currents  and  extensive  contact  of  the  electrodes. 

20 — 2 


3o8       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

or  suggestion.  No  remedy  acts  in  all  cases,  but  each  of 
the  remedies  named  actually  acts  in  a  large  number. 
The  remedy  which  has  once  acted  in  a  certain  person  is 
likely  to  act  in  recurrences,  especially  if  the  patient  con- 
tinues to  have  faith  in  it.  I  wish  to  call  especial  attention 
to  the  following  :  Each  of  these  remedies  acts  especially 
well  in  the  hands  of  those  doctors,  quacks,  priests,  mid- 
wives,  or  old  women  who  beheve  in  the  action  themselves, 
and  the  other  remedies  generally  fail  in  their  action  when 
applied  by  them.  This  is  the  reason  why  there  are  so 
many  contradictory  opinions  on  this  subject.  It  is  use- 
less to  laugh  and  to  meet  my  argument  with  the  state- 
ment that  this  is  based  on  humbugging  or  faulty  observa- 
tion. Both  of  these  may  occasionally  play  a  part,  but 
the  law  is  much  too  constant  to  be  explained  in  this  way. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  and  the  practitioner  who  be- 
lieves that  valerian  is  the  only  effective  remedy  for 
neuralgia  obtains  the  best  results  with  this  drug,  just  as 
the  one  who  believes  the  same  of  a  certain  application 
of  a  constant  current  will  celebrate  his  victories  with 
this  method.  But  one  must,  of  course,  accept  ever}^- 
thing  with  a  grain  of  salt,  since  not  only  the  belief  of  the 
practitioner,  but  also  that  of  the  patient,  comes  into  play, 
as  do  other  circumstances,  especially  the  narcotic  and 
similar  actions  which  the  medicaments  temporarily  pro- 
duce. What  should  one  deduce  from  these  facts  ?  That 
these  cures  possess  for  certain  some  common  cause,  that 
they  are  induced  by  a  common  mechanism,  which  can, 
it  is  true,  be  stimulated  in  totally  different  ways,  but 
which  nevertheless  acts  in  the  same  regular  way  in  in- 
ducing the  cure.  The  matter  becomes  more  apparent 
when  one  remembers  that  the  same  remedy  often  removes 
entirely  opposite  symptoms,  such  as  convulsions  and 
paralyses,  anaesthesia  and  hypercesthesia,  etc.  The  same 
currents,  the  same  cold-water  douches,  the  same  prayers, 
the  same  baths  (irrespective  of  whether  the  spring  contains 
y^  per  cent,  more  or  less  lithium),  often  act  equally  well 


SUGGESTIVE  ELEMENT  IN  THERAPEUTICS    309 

or  badly  in  both  cases.  They  frequently  even  do  harm 
if  the  patient  autosuggests  this  to  himself,  which  is  by 
no  means  an  uncommon  occurrence. 

These  facts  show  quite  clearly  that  the  common  factor 
in  the  cure,  which  one  has  to  surmise  and  to  seek,  lies  in 
the  body  of  the  patient,  and,  further,  that  it  can  only  lie 
in  his  nervous  system.  No  other  tissue  of  the  body  is 
capable  of  starting  such  an  equable  machinery  by  so 
many  means.  If  we  take  into  consideration  the  part 
played  by  the  belief  which  the  practitioner  passes  on  to 
the  patient,  it  becomes  apparent  that  all  these  cures  are 
produced  unconsciously  by  the  dynamic  action  of  per- 
ceptions— i.e.,  by  suggestion.  One  must  admit,  after 
carefully  considering  the  circumstances,  that  there  is 
no  possibility  of  a  direct  specific  action  of  these  remedies 
taking  place  in  the  majority  of  cases,  for  the  absolutely 
incongruous  contradictions  on  the  one  hand  and  the  con- 
firmations on  the  other  could  not  be  reconciled  by  such 
an  assumption.  The  matter  can  be  explained  simply 
and  naturally  by  suggestion,  understood  in  the  sense  in 
which  I  have  hitherto  used  the  term. 

Bernheim  has  expressed  his  opinion  repeatedly  and 
unreservedly  on  the  suggestive  action  of  a  considerable 
number  of  medicaments  and  other  therapeutic  procedures. 
This  was  done  notably  in  1889  in  Paris,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Congress  on  Hypnotism.  I  elucidated  the  train 
of  thought  sketched  above  before  the  meeting  of  German 
scientists  in  Bremen  in  1890,  in  discussion  against  Dr. 
Klenke.  The  latter  openly  related  his  own  contradictory 
and  startling  results  with  electrotherapeutic  treatment, 
and  tried  to  explain  the  action  as  being  due  to  vaso- 
motor forces,  while  he  doubted  whether  there  was  any 
specific  action  in  the  current  itself.  The  vasomotor 
nerves,  naturally  being  a  part  of  the  mechanism  sub- 
jected to  the  control  of  our  cerebrum,  do  take  a  part  in 
the  action.  However,  the  action  of  suggested  currents, 
in   conjunction   with   an   interruption   of  real  currents, 


310       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

proves  that  the  regulation  emanates  from  the  conception, 
which  is  associated  with  the  local  interference. 

Dr.  Naegeli,  of  Ermatingen,  Canton  Thurgau,  Switzer- 
land, has  discovered  a  new  curative  treatment  — '  the 
treatment  of  neuralgias  and  neuroses  by  manipulations.' 
At  first  everyone  laughed  at  this  new  method,  but  later 
on  it  was  recognised  by  the  scientific  medical  world, 
especially  since  he  published  the  method  in  an  illus- 
trated book  in  the  medical  press.  But  when  Naegeli 
terminated  his  explanatory  remarks  on  his  method  before 
the  Swiss  Central  Society  with  the  words,  '  Suggestion  is 
excluded,'  a  smile  stole  over  the  faces  of  everyone  present. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  Naegeli's  head,  hand,  and  other 
manipulations  are  pure  forms  of  suggestions.  Instead 
of  recognising  this,  an  attempt  was  made  to  carry  out 
absurd  experiments  by  means  of  v/hich  the  matter 
would  be  explained  by  mechanical  vasomotor  pro- 
cesses. 

Brown-Sequard's  empiricisms  on  spermatotherapy  also 
were  admitted  into  scientific  medicine,  possibly  because 
they  originated  from  a  scientist.  Naturally,  curative 
results  were  obtained  by  this  means,  for  a  powerful  sug- 
gestive factor  must  act  in  this  case.  One  hears  of  results 
which  have  taken  place  without  the  patient  knowing 
anything  of  the  procedure,  but  how  can  one  carry  out  an 
injection  without  the  knowledge  of  the  patient  ?  The 
organotherapy  developed  in  response  to  a  comparison 
with  injections  of  other  substances.  According  to  this 
last-named,  the  physiological  action  of  an  organ  can  be 
more  or  less  transferred  to  the  body  by  the  eating  of  the 
organ.  Luckily,  one  does  not  hear  much  about  these 
new  panaceas  now,  although  there  certainly  seems  to  be 
something  in  it  as  far  as  the  thyroid  gland  is  concerned. 

Homoeopathy,  the  new-fangled  '  natural  methods,' 
Kneipp's  methods,  and  the  hke,  owe  their  results  to 
suggestion  in  connection  with  a  healthy  dietary.  Apart 
from  this,  they  further  owe  their  power  to  the  avoidance  of 


SUGGESTIVE  ELEMENT  IN  THERAPEUTICS    311 

a  haphazard  appHcation  of  active  remedies.  In  this  way 
the  most  consummate  ignorance,  the  most  idiotic  super- 
stition, often  in  conjunction  with  the  most  contemptible 
advertising  swindle,  may  succeed  in  competing  successfully 
with  sound  medical  science.  But  why  should  one  damn 
the  whole  treatment  by  suggestion,  even  if  the  suggestive 
action  of  our  drugs  and  methods  is  not  satisfactory  ?  The 
actual  justification  of  the  homoeopathic  method,  for 
example,  cannot,  of  course,  be  admitted  as  long  as  we  have 
no  proof  that  homoeopathically  diluted  drugs  act  by 
themselves,  without  the  assistance  of  the  credulity  of  the 
patient. 

Should  we  go  to  the  other  extreme,  and  only  see  sug- 
gestive action  indiscriminately  in  everything  ?  Those 
who  interpret  us  like  this,  or  who  pretend  to,  either  do 
not  or  will  not  understand  us.  In  medicine  one  must 
distinguish  serious  investigation,  clear  and  indisputable 
facts,  and  also  those  facts  which  are  explained  in  their 
causal  connections  from  the  therapeutic  drivel,  as  I  have 
described  it  above.  The  laity  is  inclined  naturally  to 
confuse  things,  and  may  refuse  medical  science  on  account 
of  the  medical  shortcomings. 

One  comes  across  cases  and  methods  of  treatment 
frequently  enough  which  demonstrate  quite  clearly  that 
when  one  compares  the  results  of  alternating  exhibition 
of  the  method  and  those  of  pure  suggestion  carefully 
and  without  bias  the  results  may  be  referred  one  and 
all  to  suggestion.  This  becomes  clearer  the  longer  one 
continues  these  observations.  The  experiment  must  be 
carried  out  without  the  patient  being  aware  of  it,  and 
should  be  tried  in  a  number  of  patients.  One  can  substi- 
tute an  absolutely  inert  drug  for  the  drug  which  one  is 
testing,  but  the  name  should  not  be  altered.  The  theories 
of  specific  actions  of  certain  drugs  can  also  be  disproved 
by  removing  the  essential  conditions  for  the  specific 
action  without  letting  the  patient  know  of  it.  One  obtains 
just  as  good  results,  if  not  better  ones,  in  this  way  if^one 


312       HYPxXOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

carries  out  the  suggestions  skilfully  and  intently.  But 
one  may  not  have  a  personal  faith  in  the  drug  one's  self. 
Bernheim  is  undoubtedly  right  in  referring  the  action  of 
suspension  for  tabes  dorsalis,  the  results  of  metallotherapy, 
and  at  all  events  the  greater  part  of  the  results  of  electro- 
therap}',  to  pure  suggestion.  I  would  add  to  these  the 
greater  part  of  balneotherapy  (the  supposed  specific 
action  of  certain  natural  springs),  of  hydrotherapy,  and 
many  other  new  and  old  fashioned  methods  of  treatment, 
without  hesitation.  In  these  the  whole  type  of  the 
results  shows  clearly  that  they  belong  under  the  same 
heading. 

One  should  not  forget  that  the  suggestive  action  of 
numerous  methods  of  treatment  is  particularly  pov/erful, 
and  the  results  are  often  better  than  those  of  simple  verbal 
suggestion  for  this  reason.  To  wit,  the  mystic  nature 
of  the  remedy  (electricity,  metallotherapy),  the  peculiar 
local  sensation  (electricity)  or  pain  (blisters),  erotic  sen- 
sations (Brown-Sequard's  spermatotherapy),  powerful 
shock  (suspension,  cold  douches),  the  religious  belief 
(laying  on  of  hands),  the  high  price  or  altered  surroundings 
and  the  improved  conditions  of  life  (treatment  in  w^atering- 
places,  etc.).  One  is  not  justified  in  contending  that  the 
action  of  any  method  does  not  depend  on  suggestion 
because  the  method  succeeds  when  simple  hypnotizing 
fails.  For  this  reason  one  must  continue  to  use  these 
methods,  and  to  combine  them  with  verbal  suggestion. 

However,  the  most  instructive  cases  are  those  in  which 
the  suggestive  action  is  combined  with  an  ascertained 
specific  action  of  a  dnig.  Bernheim  has  proved  conclu- 
sively that  chloroform  often  acts  suggestively,  especially  in 
those  cases  in  which  the  patient  falls  fast  asleep  after  having 
scarcely  taken  a  couple  of  breaths.  In  these  cases  one 
can  calmly  sprinkle  something  else  on  the  chloroform 
mask  on  the  next  occasion  ;  the  anaesthesia  will  set  in 
just  as  well.     Roth^  described  a  case  of  this  kind.     One 

*  Roth,  CorrespondenzbhiitfiirSchweizerAerzie^  vol.  xix.,  i,  p.  29,  1889. 


COMBINED  ACTION  •    313 

can  observe  the  intermingling  of  suggestion  and  the  action 
of  the  drug  still  more  clearly  in  the  breaking  off  of  the 
morphine  habit.  The  patients  often  go  to  sleep  in 
response  to  an  injection  of  pure  water  at  the  end  of  the 
treatment,  but  cannot  sleep  without  an  injection.  We 
are  not  going  to  dispute  the  narcotic  actions  of  morphine 
and  chloroform,  for  they  are  absolutely  clear,  certain,  and 
powerful.  The  following  may  be  taken  to  represent  the 
scientific  moral  of  the  story  : 

Suggestion  insinuates  itself  insidiously  into  all  the 
actions  of  our  lives,  and  combines  with  the  therapeutic 
attempts  of  all  kinds  in  a  very  complicated  manner.  At 
times  it  acts  by  accelerating  and  at  times  by  inhibiting. 
It  either  adds  to  or  subtracts  from  the  action  of  the  drug. 
But  in  a  large  number  of  cases  it  actually  forms  the  only 
therapeutic  agent.  Both  doctors  and  patients  have  been 
deceived  about  the  speciiic  action  of  numerous  drugs  from 
the  earhest  times,  and  the  scientific  development  of 
therapeutics  has  suffered  considerably  in  consequence. 
I  do  not  deny  that  the  more  '  enlightened '  formerly 
realized  the  matter  more  or  less,  and  recognised  that 
'  fancy '  played  an  important  part  in  cures.  Still,  the 
most  enlightened  did  not  have  the  faintest  idea  of  the 
real  importance  of  suggestion,  of  the  actual  objective 
intensity  of  its  action,  and  of  its  identity  with  the  phe- 
nomena of  animal  magnetism,  which  they  themselves  felt 
obliged  to  regard  as  mysterious.  Animal  magnetism 
used  to  be  called  cures  by  miracles  or  by  witchcraft. 

It  has  become  a  problem  of  the  investigations  in  thera- 
peutics of  the  future  to  exclude  the  suggestive  element 
carefully  and  with  scientific  certainty  by  means  of 
exact,  painstaking  experiments  with  every  method  of 
treatment  (medicinal,  externally  or  otherwise  applied). 
This  task  will  be  found  to  be  extremely  difficult  and 
delicate  in  many  cases.  In  any  case  I  warn  the  reader 
against  the  empty  and  impudent  "presumptive  assertion 
printed  in  advertisements ;  since  the  introduction  of  the 


314       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

doctrine  of  suggestion  one  reads  at  the  end  of  the  praises 
of  a  large  number  of  vaunted  new  remedies,  '  Suggestion 
is  excluded.' 

It  is  just  in  these  cases  that  a  purely  suggestive  action 
is  most  probable. 

A  serious  and  careful  valuation  of  suggestion  must 
assist  in  overthrowing  the  exuberant  and  corrupt 
therapeutic  frauds  of  the  present  day. 

What  right  have  we  to  object  to  the  homoeopaths,  the 
herbalists,  the  meignetizers,  the  persons  dealing  out 
mystic  treatment  or  treating  by  prayer,  or  to  their  practice 
or  results,  which  really  only  depend  on  suggestion  and  on 
remedies  stolen  from  medicine,  as  long  as  we  allow  our- 
selves to  be  led  astray  so  disastrously  by  suggestion  ? 
We  ought  to  first  clear  our  own  domains  of  fraud  and  of 
deception  by  sound  investigation;  we  should  then  have 
an  easy  task  with  these  gentlemen,  for  they  only  gnaw 
at  the  outside  of  science,  and  build  up  their  knowledge 
out  of  the  scraps  which  they  can  pull  off. 

There  are  further  two  points  of  view  which  are  very 
damaging.  Firstly,  there  is  the  fact  that  we  have  partly 
to  approve  of  the  views  of  those  persons  who  do  not  wish 
to  have  anything  more  to  do  with  the  whole  of  medicine 
(surgery,  perhaps,  excepted),  because  of  the  false  behef 
in  an  enormous  number  of  specific  actions  of  drugs  and 
costly  or  exhausting  methods  of  treatment,  which  really 
act  wholly  or  partly  by  suggestion,  and  often  do  more 
harm  than  good.  These  persons  are  inclined  to  return 
to  a  natural  mode  of  life  with  outdoor  exercise,  hardening, 
avoidance  of  all  artificial  toxic  foods,  all  alcohohc  drinks, 
etc.  It  would  be  most  disheartening  if  medicine  were  to 
allow  priests  and  herbalists  to  claim  the  right  of  interceding 
for  this  first  principle  of  a  true  and  healthy  hygiene,  by 
introducing  propaganda  for  alcohol,  morphine,  brothels, 
and    also    numerous    dear    and    useless    medicaments,^ 

1  Forel,  'The  Hygiene  of  the  Nerves  and  of  the  Mind '  (Stuttgart : 
E.  H.  Moritz,  1905,  2nd  edition). 


QUACKERY  AND  SUGGESTION  315 

by  which  means  it  would  only  favour  rather  than 
hinder  the  development  of  hypochondriasis,  nervousness, 
and  degeneration  of  the  race.  Secondly,  medical 
practitioners  have  to  protect  themselves  against  sug- 
gestion in  themselves — i.e.,  against  autosuggestion.  As 
Bernheim  has  told  us,  incredible  things  are  done  in  this 
respect  in  medicine.  This  fact  is  not  easily  differentiated 
from  the  first  fact,  since  the  practitioner  is  often  himself 
suggested  by  means  of  the  suggestive  action  in  the  patient. 
But  in  this  case  I  would  wish  to  deal  with  the  practitioners 
who  are  intuitively  influenced  by  their  muddled,  undi- 
gested, phantastic  combinations  of  curative  means  in 
such  a  way  that  they  find  panacea  in  all  of  them  ;  at  times 
there  is  not  much  more  logic  in  this  than  there  is  in 
Gustav  Jager's  hair  pills  and  their  accompaniments.  It 
is  only  necessary  for  the  author  to  have  a  reputable  name, 
or  to  use  scientific  language  in  its  strict  sense,  or,  better 
still,  if  both  of  these  are  accomplished  facts. 

These  very  people  are  the  ones  who  are  afraid  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  hypnotism,  and  assume  a  scornful 
tone  because  the  matter  appears  to  them  to  be  unusual, 
and  because  they  consider  that  it  has  a  mysterious  and 
fraudulent  reputation.  They  are  afraid  of  compromising 
themselves.  They  are  entirely  influenced  by  the  stuff  and 
nonsense  clothed  in  scientific  expressions  of  the  present 
day  ;  it  would  be  almost  sacrilege  to  investigate  the 
matter  scientifically.  '  German  science  refuses  to  accept 
hypnotism '  is  one  of  these  stereotype  phrases,  on  the 
strength  of  which  one  considers  one's  self  justified  in 
backing  out  of  a  real  scientific  investigation  of  the 
question.  As  if  science  could  be  called  German  or  French 
or  English,  and  as  if  it  could  judge  a  priori  in  an  adverse 
or  favourable  Hght !  It  is  the  same  old  story  of  the 
'  petit  hypnotisme  de  Provence '  of  the  Parisian  school. 

With  the  best  of  intentions,  the  Minister  of  the  Ecclesi- 
astical, Educational,  and  Medical  Departments  of  the 
Kingdom  of    Prussia  issued  the  following  order  to  the 


3i6       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

Berlin-Brandenburg  Medical  Council  (Aerztekammer)  on 
April  5,  1902  : 

'  It  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  me  to  be  informed  as  to 
the  curative  value  of  hypnosis,  and  also  to  what  extent 
and  with  what  results  the  same  is  employed  by  doctors 
in  the  treatment  of  patients.' 

As  soon  as  the  author  heard  of  this  he  took  the  liberty 
of  calling  his  Excellency  the  Minister's  attention  to  the 
fact  that  hypnotism  is  almost  entirely  excluded  from  the 
syllabus  of  the  medical  schools,  that  only  a  few  prac- 
titioners have  taken  up  this  study  of  their  own  initiative, 
and  have  obtained  extremely  satisfactory  results,  and 
also  that  medical  students  are  not  taught  psychology, 
and  in  consequence  the  majority  of  practitioners,  and 
especially  the  teachers  in  the  schools,  have  no  knowledge 
of  the  whole  question.  It  was  therefore  to  be  expected 
that  his  question  would  receive  a  negative  reply — i.e.,  that 
the  committee  of  the  Medical  Council  would  express  itself 
in  opposition  to  hypnosis  as  a  curative  method.  My 
expectations  were  naturally  fulfilled.  However,  neither 
official  reports  nor  the  vote  of  the  majority  can  decide  in 
scientific  matters.  For  this  reason  I  took  upon  m^/self 
to  subject  the  Report  of  the  Hypnosis  Commission  of  the 
Berlin-Brandenburg  Medical  Council,  issued  by  Messrs. 
Mendel,  Gock,  D.  Munter,  and  Aschenborn,  to  a  critical 
survey  in  the  Miinchener  Medicinische  Wochenschrift 
(No.  32)  in  1903.  Mr.  Mendel  is  well  kno^\^l  as  an 
aggressive  opponent  of  treatment  by  suggestion,  although 
he  has  obviously  never  inquired  into  the  matter  himself. 
I  am  unacquainted  with  any  special  technical  knowledge 
on  the  part  of  the  other  three  gentlemen. 

To  avoid  having  to  repeat  myself,  I  refer  the  reader  to 
this  article,  and  will  be  content  in  stating  briefly  that  the 
Report  of  the  Hypnosis  Commission  of  the  Berlin- 
Brandenburg  Medical  Council  is  a  miserable  dogmatic 
fabrication,  which  carefully  and  consistently  ignores  the 
proofs  of  the  results  of  suggestive  therapy,  which  have 


REPORT  OF  THE  HYPNOSIS  COMMISSION    317 

been  most  conscientiously  reported  in  the  medical  press. 
It  exaggerates  unjustifiably  the  unimportant  dangers  of 
the  practice  of  it  by  lay  persons  or  by  unskilled  prac- 
titioners, and  at  the  same  time  does  not  mention  the  fact 
that  it  has  been  proved  to  be  absolutely  safe  when  prac- 
tised by  experienced  men. 

I  feel  that  I  have  said  enough  about  this.  Liebeault's 
and  Bernheim's  doctrine  of  suggestion  forms  a  deeply- 
rooted,  gradual  reform  of  internal  medical  treatment,  is 
indicative  of  a  moral  elevation  of  medical  science  and 
its  reputation,  and  wins  a  signal  victory  over  the  mysteries 
of  miraculous  cures  and  secret  remedies.  Even  external 
treatment  will  have  to  deduce  its  doctrines  from  it,  and 
will  have  to  be  careful  in  future  not  to  remove  an  ovary 
in  cases  in  which  the  trouble  can  be  cured  by  suggestion, 
or  to  interfere  with  the  caput  gallinaginis  in  disturbances 
which  are  psychically  produced,  but  in  which  the 
symptoms  are  referred  to  the  sexual  organs.  It  will 
further  have  to  avoid  destroying  the  hymen  in  girls  in 
order  to  treat  the  os  uteri,  when  the  disease  is  situated  in 
the  head,  or  to  tan  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  stomach 
or  intestine  in  vain  by  all  sorts  of  remedies  in  the  attempt 
to  cure  non-existent  gastritis  or  enteritis,  or  even  con- 
stipation, when  a  few  suggestions  can  often  remove  the 
innervation  dyspepsia,  which  is  really  responsible  for 
the  symptoms.  One  might  go  on  giving  examples  of  this 
kind  almost  indefinitely. 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Forensic  Aspect  of  Suggestion 

Von  Lilienthal^  published  an  excellent  resume  of  the 
results  of  hypnotism  in  its  relations  to  law.  This  essay 
has  been  composed  from  the  lawyer's  point  of  view,  and 
illustrates  the  question  very  lucidly.  Von  Lilienthal 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  law,  as  it  stands  at  present, 
contains  sufiftcient  provisions  for  the  protection  of  society 
against  the  dangers  of  hypnotism.  Rieger  and  other 
authors  who  reject  or  ignore  hypnotism  a  priori  and  with- 
out any  technical  knowledge  of  it  do  not  deserve  to  be 
listened  to,  since  their  absolutely  unscientific  standpoint 
has  been  overruled  in  every  quarter. 

Hoefelt^-has  also  published  a  valuable  and  interesting 
study  on  this  subject. 

In  the  following  I  will  attempt  to  avoid  encroaching 
into  the  province  of  the  lawyer,  and  will  only  emphasize 
the  facts  which,  according  to  my  experience  and  also  to 
the  experience  of  others,  appear  to  be  of  importance  to 
jurisprudence. 

I  must  refer  here  to  a  bulky  work  by  Liegeois,  '  De  la 
suggestion  et  du  somnambulisme,  dans  leurs  rapports 
avcc  la  jurisprudence  et  la  mcdecine  legale,  1888.'  I 
certainly  agree  with  von  Lilienthal  that  the  matter  is 
not  so  dangerous  in  reality  as  Liegeois  tries  to  make  out. 

1  Von  Lilienthal,  '  Hypnotism  and  its  Relation  to  Jurisprudence  ' 
(in  ihe /our/ta/  of  Collective  Legal  Science). 

2  Hoefelt,  'Hypnotism  in  its  Relation  to  Jurisprudence'  (Leiden: 
S.  C  van  Doesburgh,  1889). 

318 


PERSONAL  INFLUENCE  319 

But  I  also  must  partly  agree  ^\dth  Liegeois  in  his  criticism 
of  Delbceuf,  who  has  completely  misunderstood  the 
earnestness  and  legal  importance  of  suggestion. 
>r  First  of  all,  one  must  mention  the  interesting  fact  that 
the  disposition  of  certain  persons,  which  has  been 
observed  and  recognised  from  the  earliest  times,  of 
allowing  themselves  to  be  very  easily,  and  one  might  say 
instinctively  and  unconsciously,  influenced  by  others 
without  recourse  to  hypnotic  procedure  is  based  on 
suggestion.  This  disposition  is  very  highly  developed 
in  certain  persons,  in  men  as  well  as  in  w®men.  They 
simply  cannot  resist  the  suggestion,  the  influence  of  those 
who  take  an  interest  in  them,  and  in  consequence  become 
the  playthings  of  other  people,  and  are  mostly  misused. 
One  frequently  spea.ks  of  them  as  being  weak-minded. 
But  they  are  often  very  intelligent  and  industrious,  and 
are  by  no  means  always  weak  in  controlling  their  passions. 
They  may  even  show  great  devotion,  energy,  and  per- 
severance, but  they  are  incapable  of  resisting  the  sugges- 
tions of  certain  other  persons.  The  most  glaring  facts 
are  not  sufflcient  to  bring  them  to  their  senses,  or  are 
incapable  of  removing  them  from  the  influence  of  those 
persons  who  have  once  gained  the  mastery  over  them. 
These  persons  need  not  by  any  means  be  their  mental 
superiors.  A  book,  even  a  thought,  can  influence  them 
in  a  similar  way. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  meet  with  people  who  know  how 
to  subject  others  irresistibly  to  their  influence.  These 
are  great  natural  hypnotists.  They  often  abuse  their 
gift  if  they  are  unscrupulous.  A  historical  example  of 
this  kind  is  met  with  in  the  person  of  Napoleon  L  One 
frequently  hears  it  stated  that  the  results  alone  create 
this.  But  that  is  not  correct.  In  a  small  way  one  can 
often  observe  persons  who  fail  frequently  because  they 
lack  a  clear  perception,  but  who,  nevertheless,  act  on 
many  other  persons,  as  if  by  '  magnetism,'  especially  on 
women,  and  lead  to  the  ruin  of  a  large  number  of  them. 


320       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

The  victims  not  infrequently  explain  later  on  that  they 
simply  could  not  resist  the  influence  of  the  person  in 
question,  and  had  felt  an  intoxicating  sort  of  mental  com- 
pulsion. Such  cases  undoubtedly  occur  not  only  in 
connection  \\ith  '  love,'  but  also  \\dthout  any  connection 
with  sexual  matters. 

These  facts  are  absolutely  identical  with  suggestion  in 

waking  condition.     It  becomes  a  matter  for  the  lawyers 

/  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  psychological  relationship 

'    to  the  mentally  dependent,   will-less  condition  can  be 
utilized  in  the  future  in  forensic  practice.-^ 

In  passing  on  to  hypnotism  in  its  stricter  sense,  it  is 
necessary  to  point  out,  as  von  Lilienthal  has  done,  that 
the  hypnotized  person  may  be  the  object  of  a  crime,  or 
may  commit  a  crime.  I  am  intentionally  not  quoting 
from  the  literature,  as  I  wish  to  avoid  repeating  what 
von  Lilienthal  has  said  in  his  essay.  I  propose  to  deal 
chiefly  with  the  range  of  suggestion  here. 

_  /I  am  convinced  that  every  conceivable  crime  may  be 
committed  on  a  hypnotized  person,  provided  that  a 
higher  degree  of  hj^pnosis  is  attained.  We  have  seen, 
further,  that  one  should  not  lay  too  much  stress  on  the 
not-willing  on  the  part  of  the  hypnotized,  since  there  are 
innumerable  grades  of  this.  But  a  general  knowledge 
of  hypnotism  will  familiarize  the  public  with  its  dangers, 
and  thus  put  it  on  its  guard.  Apart  from  this,  the  pre- 
cautionary measures  recommended  by  Bernheim  and 
Beaunis,  of  insisting  on  the  presence  of  an  authorized 
witness  during  the  hypnotizing,  and  of  obtaining  the 
permission  for  the  proposed  suggestion  beforehand,  have 
been  mentioned  by  von  Lihenthal.  It  will  be  very 
difficult,  however,  to  carry  out  the  second  point,  and  it 
is  the  French  authors  especially  who  have  sinned  most 
in  this  respect. 

A  further  protection,  which  is  at  the  same  time  the 

1  This  paragraph  in  the  second  edition  of  my  book  appears  not  to 
have  been  taken  into  consideration  in  the  celebrated  Czynski  trial. 


CRIMES  ON  THE  HYPNOTIZED  321 

most  important,  is  found  in  the  hypnotized  himself. 
However  tempting  and  easy  a  crime  on  the  hypnotized 
person  may  be,  the  results  of  this  for  the  hypnotist  are 
extremely  dangerous,  for  the  whole  structure  on  which 
he  would  build  up  his  security  is  a  fragile  one,  which  can 
very  easily  be  blown  over.  The  hypnotized  person 
sometimes  awakens  at  a  time  when  one  least  expects  it. 
At  times  one  thinks  that  he  is  amnesic,  and  yet  the 
recollection  of  it  all  suddenly  returns  to  him,  by  means 
of  some  autosuggestion  or  other.  The  subject  can 
mostly  be  hypnotized  by  another  person,  and  a  complete 
detailed  remembrance  of  what  has  happened  may  be 
restored  to  him  in  a  later  hypnotic  sleep.  All  the  im- 
pressions which  his  brain  received  during  the  hypnosis 
are  preserved  in  it.  They  are  merely  prevented  from 
being  conceived  by  an  inhibitory  command,  and  this 
command  can  be  easily  overruled.  I  believe  that  the 
instinctive  feeling  of  these  facts  on  the  part  of  hyp- 
notists is  to  a  great  extent  responsible  for  the  fact 
that  so  few  crimes  have  hitherto  been  committed  on 
hypnotized  persons. 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  all  these  safeguards 
of  hypnotism  are  almost  completely  lost  for  certain 
'  better  somnambulists,'  especially  for  certain  hysterical 
persons,  who  are  so  completely  and  deeply  affected  by 
suggestion  that  one  could  misuse  them  in  any  way  with 
comparative  safety.  It  is  very  difficult  to  say  what  per- 
centage of  people  belong  to  this  category,  for  one  cannot 
judge  a  number  x5f  persons  whom  one  only  hypnotizes 
once  or  twice.  V  As  we  have  seen,  a  person,  who  for  a 
time  does  not  appear  to  be  hypnotizable,  or  only  appears 
to  be  slightly  hypnotizable,  can  suddenly  become  a  per- 
fect somnambulist  if  one  ascertains  the  proper  access  to 
his  individual  suggestibility.  .The  figures  which  have 
been  accepted  up  to  the  present  by  the  Nancy  school  of 
15  to  20  somnambulists  per  100  persons,  and  about 
50  per  100  children,  will  probably  be  found  to  be  capable 

21 


322       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

of  considerable  increase  if  sufficient  practice  and  a 
deeper  study  into  the  nature  of  suggestion  be  employed 
(see  O.  Vogt's  results ).V' However,  there  are  many 
grades  of  somnambulism,  and  one  must  not  deduce  from 
these  figures  that  it  would  be  easy  to  commit  a  crime 
undetected  on  every  somnambulist.  Liegeois  has  an 
erroneous  conception  of  suggestion  when  he  states  that 
somnambulists  are  necessarily  automatons,  and  I  wish 
to  point  out  here  that  Bernheim  has  never  agreed  v^dth 
him  in  these  exaggerations. 

/  Von  Lilienthal  considers  that  one  can  draw  a  distinction 
between  the  lethargic  and  the  somnambulic  condition  in 
law.  The  lethargic  person  alone  is  regarded  as  uncon- 
scious legally,  probably  in  response  to  Charcot's  state- 
ments. The  somnambulist,  with  his  power  of  speech 
and  open  eyes,  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  just  as  incapable 
of  resistance  as  is  the  lethargical  person  who  is  only 
apparently  unconscious.  I  refer  to  what  I  have  already 
said  on  this  subject.  I  must,  of  course,  except  deep 
pathological  lethargy,  which  does  not  belong  to  hypno- 
tism, but  rather  to  the  category  of  hystero-epileptic  and 
epileptic  attacks,  and  which  cannot  be  transformed  into 
somnambulism  at  will,  hke  Charcot's  form  of  lethargy. 
y'^he  most  common  crime  is  that  of  a  sexual  nature, 
and  up  to  the  present  this  is  the  only  one  which  has  been 
dealt  with  in  the  hterature.  This  consists  simply  in  the 
abuse  of  a  deep  hypnosis,  for  the  purpose  of  the  perform- 
ance of  sexual  intercourse  by  the  hypnotist,  who  is 
satisfied  that  his  victim  will  not  awake,  and  that  she  ^vill 
remain  amnesic.  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  is  possible 
with  certain  very  good  somnambuhsts — i.e.,  with  those 
hypnotized  persons  in  a  condition  of  deep  sleep  who  can 
be  rendered  anaesthetic,  and  who  remain  amnesic.  U 
one  considers  that  T  was  able  to  put  nineteen  out  of  the 
twenty-three  female  attendants  to  sleep  with  amnesia 
and  anaesthesia,  one  wall  reahze  the  danger  easily.  But 
one  must  not  forget  the  danger  of  being  found  out  later 


ABUSE  OF  POSTHYPNOTIC  ACTIONS       323 

on.  K However,  the  danger  is  very  great  when  one  thinks 
that  the  two  chains  (superconceived  and  hypoconceived) 
act  in  the  same  brain,  and  that  the  tempter  will  achieve 
his  aims  more  surely  and  more  cleverly  during  waking 
suggestion.  This  cannot  be  so  easily  followed  up  by 
criminal  law  (cf.  the  Czynski  trial).  It  is  self-evident 
that  murder,  theft,  and  the  like  could  easily  be  committed 
on  such  defenceless  persons.  They  are,  for  all  intents  and 
purposes,  in  the  same  condition  for  the  moment  as  if  they 
were  drugged,  or  deeply  idiotic,  or  even  apparently  dead. 
For  this  purpose,  however,  it  is  necessary  that  the  criminal 
has  not  previously  awakened  the  mistrust  of  his  victim 
for  a  single  instant,  for  otherwise  this  alone  would  be 
sufficient  to  desuggest  him.  But  after  all  is  said  and 
done,  the  advantage  for  the  criminal  is  not  very  great 
over  the  more  usual  attacking  an  unsuspecting  and 
defenceless  person. 

The  abuse  of  posthypnotic  actions  of  suggestion 
appears  to  be  more  complicated.  One  might  wait  until 
such  a  case  is  subjected  to  legal  judgment.  However, 
I  am  of  opinion  that  it  would  be  wiser  to  form  a  clear 
idea  on  the  subject  at  once. 

/ 1  have  shown  that  these  phenomena  vary  considerably, 
according  to  the  personality.  The  varying  individual 
ethical  or  cesthetic  reaction  of  a  normal  person  to  un- 
ethical or  unaesthetic  posthypnotic  suggestions  is  very 
interesting. 

If  I  say  to  a  hypnotized  person,  '  After  you  awaken 
you  will  drink  some  water  out  of  this  glass,'  this  sugges- 
tion is  carried  out  without  any  hesitation.  If  I  add  to 
this,  '  You  will  also  place  this  chair  on  the  table,'  some 
persons  will  be  puzzled,  will  look  at  the  chair,  be  ashamed, 
laugh,  and  in  the  end  some  of  them  will  not  carry  out 
this  second  suggestion,  because  they  consider  it  too  stupid, 
too  simple.  If  one  asks  them  what  they  are  thinking 
about,  they  answer,  '  I_got  the  stupid  idea  of  placing  this 
chair  on  the  table.'     This  thought  can  follow  the  hypno- 

21 — 2 


324       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

tized  person  for  a  long  time,  like  a  kind  of  impulsion,  if 
he  has  failed  to  carry  out  the  suggestion.  But  this  is 
not  always  the  case.  The  idea  is  often  soon  lost,  and 
then  the  matter  is  ended.  If  I  say  to  a  still  more  sug- 
gestible hypnotized  person  who  has  placed  the  chair 
on  the  table,  '  After  awakening,  you  will  give  Mr.  X.  a 
kiss,'  or,  '  You  will  upset  this  inkpot  over  your  hand,' 
or  '  You  will  put  my  knife,  which  is  lying  on  the  table, 
into  your  pocket  ;  I  will  not  notice  it.  This  will  no 
doubt  be  a  small  theft,  bdt  that  does  not  matter,'  the 
result  will  be  different.  yK  violent  struggle  between  the 
impulse  of  the  suggestion,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
associated  aesthetic  or  ethical  opposing  conceptions  of 
the  normal  individuality — i.e.,  of  the  inherited  and 
acquired  (educational)  brain  dynamisms — on  the  other 
hand,  will  take  place.  This  struggle  increases  in  pro- 
portion to  the  strength  of  the  opposing  conceptions  and 
to  the  development  of  the  suggestibility.  The  stronger 
the  antagonistic  forces  are  developed,  the  more  violent 
the  struggle  will  be.  The  upshot  of  it  will  depend  on 
the  momentary  intensity  as  well  as  the  durableness  of 
each  of  the  forces.  One  must  therefore  take  each  of 
the  component  parts  into  account  which  make  up  each 
of  the  antagonistic  forces.  These  may  be  tabulated  as 
follows  : 

1.  The  degree  of  the  individual  suggestibility. 

2.  The  lasting  power  of  the  action  of  the  suggestion 
in  the  brain  of  the  hypnotized. 

3.  The  strength  of  the  hypnotic  education  or  training. 

4.  The  depth  of  the  sleep  (which  diminishes  the  power 
of  resistance  of  the  normal  mind  by  dissociation,  and  is 
of  special  importance  in  the  activity  during  the  hypnosis 
itself). 

5.  The  adequate  nature  of  the  suggestion — i.e.,  the 
adaptation  of  the  desired  action  skilfully  and  powerfully 
suggested,  or,  in  other  words,  the  psychical  action  of  the 
hypnotist. 


ANTAGONISTIC  FORCES  325 

6.  The  normal  individuality  of  the  hypnotized — i.e.,  the 
standard  and  kind  of  his  ethical  and  sesthetic  disposition, 
his  power  of  will,  his  education,  etc. 

7.  The  momentary  psychical  condition  of  the  hypno- 
tized, etc. 

The  sixth  item  is  very  important.  A  person  who  does 
not  possess  a  sensitive  conscience  will,  ceteris  paribus, 
carry  out  a  criminal  suggestion  more  readily  than  a  per- 
son possessed  of  a  well-developed  conscience.  A  cunning 
person  will  not  be  so  inclined  to  carry  out  a  criminal 
suggestion  in  which  he  gains  no  advantage  as  soon  as 
he  smells  a  rat. 

Item  4  holds  good  also  for  posthypnotic  conditions, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  provided  that  these  possess 
more  or  less  the  characters  of  a  renewed  hypnosis.  The 
more  completely  awake  the  hypnotized  person  is,  the 
more  readily  will  he  be  able  to  protect  himself  against 
a  suggestion.  But  one  can  suggest  to  him  that  he  will 
go  to  sleep  again  posthypnotically. 

It  can  readily  be  understood  how  complicated  the 
problem  is.     The  question  is,  '  How  far  can  one  go  ?' 

I  have  pointed  out  that  even  during  the  deep  hypnotic 
sleep  a  struggle  between  the  suggestion  and  the  indi- 
viduality of  the  hypnotized  can  take  place.  Not  every 
suggestion  is  accepted.  This  has  been  clearly  pointed 
out  by  Bernheim.  But  even  when  a  criminal  suggestion 
has  been  accepted,  it  usually  leaves  traces  of  deep  associ- 
ated emotion  behind. 
\/  In  the  presence  of  the  Ziirich  Law  Society  I  put  a 
seventy-year-old  man  to  sleep  in  an  empty  room,  and 
said  to  him  ;  '  Look  there,  B.;  that  man  standing  close 
to  us  is  a  wicked  wretch,  an  unmitigated  rascal.  Let  us 
do  for  him  ;  here  is  a  knife.'  (I  handed  him  a  piece  of 
chalk.)  '  He  is  standing  immediately  in  front  of  you  ; 
stab  him  in  the  abdomen.'  Evidencing  great  excite- 
ment, trembling,  and  with  drawn  features,  he  seized  the 
chalk  convulsively  in  his  right  hand,  suddenly  got  up, 


326       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

and  plunged  the  knife  (chalk)  with  great  force  twice  into 
the  air.  He  continued  to  be  excited  during  the  hypnosis, 
and  did  not  return  the  chalk  to  me,  but  put  it  into  his 
pocket.  It  took  me  several  minutes  to  quieten  him  by 
suggestion.  When  I  awoke  him  he  was  still  sweating 
and  excited.  He  could  not  remember  what  he  had  been 
doing,  but  said  that  '  something  wrong  must  have  taken 
place.' 

Bernheim,  Liegeois,  and  other  French  authors,  have 
related  some  exceedingly  interesting  cases  of  criminal 
suggestions,  some  of  which  were  carried  out  quietty, 
without  emotion.  These  included  imitation  murders, 
suggested  real  thefts,  etc. 

/  For  the  purpose  of  assisting  Mr.  Hoefelt,  a  young 
la\vyer,  who  was  writing  his  thesis  on  this  subject,  I 
carried  out  two  experiments  of  this  kind.  I  gave  an 
elderly,  very  suggestible  man  a  revolver,  after  having 
hypnotized  him  ;  Mr.  Hoefelt  had  previously  loaded  it 
^\^th  blank  cartridges.  I  told  him  that  Mr.  Hoefelt  was 
a  very  bad  person,  and  that  he  was  to  shoot  him.  He 
took  up  the  revolver  with  great  determination,  and  fired 
a  shot  straight  at  the  lawyer.  The  latter,  pretending  to 
be  wounded,  fell  down.  I  told  the  hypnotized  that  the 
fellow  was  not  quite  dead  :  he  must  fire  another  shot  at 
him.  This  was  done  without  hesitation.  Professor 
Delboeuf  might  answ^er  me  that  the  hypnotized  had 
known  from  the  first  that  I  would  not  order  him  to  commit 
a  real  crime.  I  admit  this.  But  he  ought  to  allows  that 
the  man  must  have  had  a  very  extraordinary,  almost 
incredible  presence  of  mind  and  a  limitless  confidence  in 
me  were  this  so  ;  for,  firstly,  I  had  never  carried  out 
such  an  experiment  before  ;  and,  secondly,  the  loading 
of  the  revolver  with  blank  cartridge  (of  w-hich  he  had 
no  idea),  and  the  very  loud  report  w^hich  the  firing  caused 
in  the  closed  room,  as  well  as  the  excellently  acted  fall 
by  Mr.  Hoefelt,  w'ould  have  disturbed  the  balance  of 
the  best  malingerer,  at  all  events  for  an  instant,  and  have 


FORENSIC  DANGERS  327 

awakened  him  ;  but  this  was  not  the  case.     The  second 

\  shot  was  fired  as  dehberately  as  the  first. 

'  */  A  modest  (elderly  and  ugly),  servant-girl,  whom  I  had 
known  for  many  years  to  be  extraordinarily  prudish,/ 
energetically  resisting  the  most  ordinary  medical  ex- 
aminations— e.g.,  that  of  the  breast — and  getting  excited 
about  it,  was  at  the  same  time  a  highly  suggestible 
somnambulist.  At  that  time,  however,  she  was  not 
under  the  slightest  obligation  to  me,  nor  had  she  any 
reason  to  hope  for  an  engagement  from  me.  I  advised 
Mr.  Hoefelt  to  look  her  up,  an^'toobtain  her  sanction  to 
allow  me  to  hypnotize  her  in  his  presence.  She  con- 
sented to  this.  I  then  gave  her  the  suggestion  during 
the  hypnosis  to  strip  completely  to  the  waist'  in  the  ; 
presence  of  this  strange  gentleman  and  myself.  She  j 
carried  this  out  immediately,  without  hesitation-,  and 
without  exhibiting  the  least  emotion.  I  own  that  I  was 
astounded  at  it.  If  I  had  not  been  absolutely  certain 
of  her  complete  amnesia,  I  would  never  have  dared  to 
have  performed  this  experiment,  for  she  would  have 
despaired  had  she  known.  I  only  carried  it  out  with 
considerable  disinclination,  and  only  in  the  interest  of 
science,  for  this  kind  of  experiment  borders  on  the 
illegal.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  something  has  to  be 
done  to  illuminate  the  matter.  Professor  Delboeuf 
would  say  to  me  that  hundreds  of  girls  do  this  during 
full  consciousness.  But  this  is  only  true  of  a  certain  I 
category  of  girls.  In  this  case  I  knew  the  girl,  and  her 
straight,  modest  character,  well  for  many  years,  or  else 
I  would  not  have  lain  any  stress  on  the  experiment. 
Much  less  was  proved  in  the  case  of  another  hypnotized, 
whom  I  caused  to  box  Mr.  Hoefelt's  ears  soundly  (J.  A. 
Hoefelt,  loc.  cit.). 

'■/  One  must  agree  with  Delboeuf   that  Liegeois  has  ex- 
aggerated the  forensic  dangers  of  suggestion  greatly,  and    1 
the  facts — i.e.,  the  small  number  of  actually  proved^crimes    j 
induced  by  hypnotism   (suggestion) — seem  to  bear  him    j 


328       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

out  in  this.  But  Delboeuf  generalizes  much  too  much 
in  his  negations.  He  admits  that  he  does  not  render 
his  somnambuhsts  amnesic,  and  does  not  suggest  a  deep 
sleep  to  them.  Now,  this  is  a  matter  of  taste,  but  he 
gives  all  these  persons  the  suggestion  of  a  light  sleep,  and 
neglects  the  experiments  of  deep  sleep  with  amnesia  and 
anaesthesia.  ^There  is  no  doubt  that  a  large  number  of 
somnambulists  are  so  enormously  suggestible  that  they 
can  be  rendered  almost  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
suggestions  of  the  hypnotist.  These  persons  are  the 
dangerous  instruments  for  the  carrying  out  of  crimes,  and 
also  may  become  the  easiest  victims  of  the  same.     For 

)this  reason  they  need  not  be  necessarily  bad  or  weak- 
minded  persons  ;  they  are  frequently  weak  in  this  one 
respect  only.  I  am  acquainted  with  some  of  them  who 
are  even  quite  good  characters.  The  fact  that  such  per- 
sons have  in  former  times  been  misused  by  cunning 
criminals  for  their  own  purposes,  even  wdthout  hypnosis, 
has  been  made  use  of  by  Delboeuf  somewhat  narrowly. 
Delboeuf  recognises  that  a  full  hypnosis  is  not  necessary 
for  suggestive  influencing.  Consequently,  he  ought  not 
to  reproach  the  Nancy  school  for  having  erroneously^ 
ascribed  these  cases  to  suggestion,  but  he  ought  to  blame 
those  former  judgments  which  did  not  realize  that 
suggestion  was  playing  a  part.  Liegeois,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  mistaken,  according  to  the  views  of  all  level- 
minded  specialists,  in  imagining  that  in  the  celebrated 
murder  committed  by  Gabriele  Bompard  this  morally 
defective  person  had  told  the  truth  about  the  circum- 
stances of  the  murder  during  the  hypnosis.  Delboeuf 
is  quite  justified  in  opposing  him  in  this  particular. 
Although  she  has  never  stated  it,  it  is  quite  possible,  and 
not  improbable,  that,  as  she  was  so  very  easily  influenced, 
Bompard  acted  in  obedience  to  Eyraud.  ■ 

The  matter  assumes  quite  another  appearance  if  one 
places  one's  self  in  the  position  of  the  judge,  and  regards 
Bompard  as  an  undoubtedly  ethically  defective,  hysterical 


THE  BOMPARD  CASE  329 

subject.  This  was,  in  all  probability,  true.  The  absur- 
dity of  the  legal  logic  lies  in  sentencing  such  a  person.  I 
have  repeatedly  tried  to  express  myself  in  this  direction.^ 
Delboeuf  expresses  himself  in  favour  of  a  sentence,^ 
'  because  Society  has  only  to  protect  herself,  and  not  to 
punish  a  crime  or  improve  the  criminal  ;  and  because 
people  like  Bompard  are  dangerous,  and  it  is  especially 
dangerous  to  encourage  this  class  by  leniency  or  by 
acquitting  the  prisoner.'  But  in  this  the  fine  old  logician 
and  investigator  has  made  an  error  which  I  cannot  allow 
to  pass.  For,  following  out  his  reasoning,  one  ought  to 
punish  all  dangerous  lunatics  for  the  same  reasons.  I 
agree  with  him,  with  the  exception  of  the  punishment, 
but  only  in  the  opposite  sense.  One  should  render  all 
criminals  harmless,  just  as  one  does  lunatics  (Society  is 
undoubtedly  bound  in  duty  to  do  so),  but  one  ought 
not  to  inflict  the  odium  of  criminal  sentences  on  irre- 
sponsible brains  with  such  an  amount  of  pomp.^  1  I  am 
convinced  of  the  fact  that  a  good  somnambulist  may 
commit  serious  crimes  during  hypnotic  sleep  in  response 
to  suggestion,  and  that,  under  certain  circumstances,  he 
may  not  know  anything  about  it  later  on. 
'/The  best  proof  that  a  good  somnambulist  believes  that 
he  has  intentionally  carried  out  those  acts  which  he  has 
committed  posthypnotically  is  to  be  found  in  the  way  in 
which  he  is  ashamed  of  them,  and  in  which  he  shows  his 
embarrassment  and  tries  to  conceal  the  act.  I  induced 
a  hypnotized  person  who  was  ethically  rather  weakly 
developed  to  steal  a  knife  lying  on  the  table  posthyp- 
notically. As  soon  as  she  left  the  room  she  went  to  my 
cook  and  told  her  with  some  embarrassment  that  she  had 
taken  the  knife  with  her  by  mistake  ;  she  did  not  know 
how  she  came  to  do  it,  and  requested  the  cook  to  replace 

^  Yoroi^  Journal  of  Swiss  Jurisprudence^  2nd  year,  vol.  i.,  1889  ;  and 
Correspo?2di7ig  Journal  for  Swiss  Practitio7iers,  1890,  etc. 

2  Delboeuf,  Hypjtotic  Review,  January,  1891. 

3  Vide  also  Delboeuf,  '  The  Pathological  Lie  '  and  the  '  Textbook 
on  Forensic  Psychopathology.' 


330       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  knife  without  saying  anything  to  me,  as  '  she  felt 
very  awkward  about  it.* 

One  of  the  most  insidious  tricks  of  suggestion  might  be 
met  with  in  the  employment  of  suggestion  as  to  time 
(Tcrmineingehung),  which  is  always  possible,  together 
with  the  suggestion  of  amnesia  and  of  resolution  of  free- 
will, in  order  to  cause  a  person  to  carry  out  an  act  to  serve 
a  selfish  purpose  or  to  commit  a  criminal  deed. 

In  former  times  one  often  noticed  that  the  hypnotized 
<^were  afraid  of  the  hypnotist,  and  that  they  concealed 
"themselves  from  him,  as  they  would  from  an  '  evil  spirit.' 
This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  '  magnetizers  '  of  that 
tJ  time  did  not  understand  their  own  art  in  its  psycho- 
logical sense,  and  induced  the  hypnosis  with  all  sorts 
of  humbug  having  the  appearance  of  mystery.  Hypnosis 
is  achieved  by  Liebeault's  method  ^^ith  the  assistance 
of  comforting,  quieting,  natural,  and  friendly  words. 
The  hypnotist  does  not  now  appear  like  a  Mephistopheles 
with  his  apparition  ;  he  gives  the  impression  of  being  a 
helpful  doctor,  or,  at  least,  of  being  a  trustworthy  man 
of  science,  who  applies  natural  and  not  supernatural 
remedies.  Apart  from  this,  he  has  it  in  his  power  to 
make  the  hypnosis  beloved  and  desired  by  the  hypno- 
tized by  means  of  suggestion.  He  can  suggest  to  them 
the  feeling  of  being  well,  good  spirits,  good  sleep,  appetite, 
etc.  The  fact  that  persons  hypnotized  in  this  way 
/for  the  most  part  gladly  come  again,  and  regard  the 
hypnotist  as  their  friend,  can  be  explained  by  this.  And 
'}n  this  fact  lies  the  greatest  forensic  danger  of  suggestion. 
y^One  catches  flies  with  honey,  and  not  with  vinegar.  It 
is  tme  that  it  is  not  a  recent  development,  as  we  have 
already  seen  ;  that  certain  siren-like  persons  possess  the 
gift  of  transforming  other  persons  into  their  blind  tools, 
for  their  own  egotistical  purposes.  But  undoubtedly 
much  more  may  be  done  in  this  respect  in  the  future  with 
the  help  of  well-directed,  regular  suggestion. 

However,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  danger  of  the  hypno- 


FORENSIC  DIFFICULTIES  331 

tized,  who  pays  such  close  attention  to  the  hypnotist, 
detecting  unspoken  intentions  of  the  latter,  and  of  thus 
losing  his  suggestibility,  is  so  great  for  the  hypnotist  that 
it  swallows  up  ever3/thing  else,  and  really  reduces  the 
forensic  danger  of  hypnotism  enormously. 

Besides,  the  newly-acquired  knowledge  brings  its 
antidote  with  it.  People  are  warned  by  ipoi  the  danger 
of  suggestion  by  unscrupulous  persons,  j^-^ The  judge  will 
have  to  learn  to  weigh  and  judge  the  psychological  import 
of  the  whole  series  of  facts.  Lastly,  a  highly  suggestible 
person  can  acquire  a  considerable,  if  not  a  complete,  pro- 
tection against  bad  suggestions  by  allowing  himself  to 
be  suggested  by  an  honest  practitioner  in  the  presence  of 
witnesses,  to  his  advantage.  This  protection  can  be 
attained  by  suggestions  of  power  of  will,  self-protection 
against  pernicious  influences,  etc.  One  must  tell  the 
hypnotized  (this  is  of  paramount  importance),  '  I  alone 
can  hypnotize  you  ;  no  one  else  in  the  wide  world  can 
do  it.' 

Unfortunately,  a  criminal  can  employ  similar  means, 
and  say  to  the  hypnotized,  '  I  alone  can  put  you  to  sleep, 
and  you  will  not  know  that  you  have  been  hypnotized.' 
Liegeois,  it  is  true,  has  demonstrated  {loc.  cit.),with  the 
help  of  experiments,  which  he  carried  out  together  with 
Bernheim  and  Liebeault,  that  one  can  force  a  hypno- 
tized person  to  reveal  the  identity  of  the  wrongdoer  indi- 
rectly, by  means  of  suggestions  of  apparent  safeguarding 
the  rogue  who  has  cunningly  suggested  amnesia,  personal 
initiative,  etc.,  for  the  purpose  of  committing  a  suggested 
criminal  act.  However,  Liegeois  seems  to  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  one  must  be  able  to  hypnotize 
the  somnambulist  again,  and  that  the  wrongdoer  was 
not  able  to  suggest  successfully,  '  No  one  else  in  the  wide 
world  can  hypnotize  you  again.' 

I  am  of  opinion,  in  common  with  Liegeois,  that  the 

■'detection  of  the  real  criminal  by  hypnotic  means  applied 

to  the  somnambulist  will    always  succeed  easily  in  the 


332       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

hands  of  a  practised  hypnotist,  as  long  as  it  does  not  He 
in  the  interests  of  the  hypnotized  to  keep  silent  on  the 
subject. 

But  the  possibility  of  a  crime  is  not  excluded  by  this. 
The  criminal  often  commits  his  crimes  without  sufficient 
precaution  ;  and  yet  hypnotism  may  exercise  its  attraction 
for  the  criminal,  because  it  offers  a  certain  degree  of  safety 
and  protection  for  him  for  the  immediate  future.  And, 
apart  from  this,  one  will  not  always  think  of  hypno- 
tism in  connection  with  a  suggested,  apparentl}^  spon- 
taneous deed. 

; /The  Czynski  case,  in  which  a  hypnotizing  pathological 
swindler  (Czynski)  carried  out  a  sexual  assault  on  a  titled, 
virtuous  lady,  and  wanted  to  marry  her,  shows  how 
difficult  it  is  to  fix  a  definite  limit  to  the  possibilities. 
He  had  first  hypnotized  her  for  the  treatment  of  some 
condition,  then  tried  to  excite  her  sym.pathy  for  him,  and 
pretended  to  be  madly  in  love  with  her  (probably  he 
actually  felt  this  passion,  for  it  is  not  uncommon  with 
pathological  swindlers  of  this  type  to  have  a  very  elastic 
imagination).  Professor  Hirt  beheves  that  suggestion 
can  be  excluded,  and  that  a  natural  love  existed  ;  Pro- 
fessor Grashey  accepts  hypnosis,  and  speaks  of  a  patho- 
logical love.  Doubtless  the  love  of  the  majority  of 
psychopathic  persons  hke  the  Baroness  is,  to  some 
extent,  pathological.  Dr.  von  Schrenck/accepts  a  sugges- 
tion influence,  and  is  certainly  right.  t-'^There  is  no  doubt 
that  a  powerful  suggestive  influence  had  been  exercised. 
But  this  takes  place  in  every  intense  passion,  as  Hirt 
has  correctly  pointed  out.  As  I  have  repeatedly  empha- 
sized, one  has  to  deal  with  the  sum  total  of  actions.  An 
excess  can  be  attained  with  the  assistance  of  a  skilled 
hypnotic  suggestion,  and  a  sexual  inclination  can  be 
changed  into  an  irresistible  resignation.  Who  can 
weigh  these  imponderable  things  ? 
yV  A  further  danger  of  hypnosis  might  consist  in  the  pro- 
-  duction  of  ilhiesscs.     As  will  be  easily  understood,   no 


u 

SUGGESTION  OF  ILLNESS  333 

experimental  proofs  in  support  of  this  contention  are 
available.  But  the  matter  Js,  nevertheless,  undoubtedly 
(  possible,  and  even  easy .'j/ Hysterical  attacks  have  been 
accidentally  produced  by  faulty  methods  in  hypnotizing.  > 
Even  the  Nancy  method  can  produce  unpleasant  results 
in  the  unskilled  hands  of  a  novice,  as  we  have  seen,  if 
the  hypnotist  does  not  know  how  to  nip  the  auto- 
suggestions of  morbid  symptoms  in  the  bud  by  imme- 
diately applying  energetic  opposing  suggestions.  These 
autosuggestions  mostly  are  formed  in  the  first  hypnosis — 
e.g.,  trembling,  headache,  and  the  like — and  my  experi- 
ence teaches  me  that  they  are  always  curable.  Such- 
like mishaps  can  generally,  if  not  always,  be  remedied  by 
an  experienced  person.  Liebeault,  and  also  Bernheim 
(at  a  later  date),  have  pointed  out  that  certain  very 
peculiar  phenomena,  certain  illnesses,  and  even  deaths, 
which  have  been  prophesied  by  the  individual  for  a 
definite  date,  or  which  have  been  prophesied  by  fortune-  ^ 
telling  for  him,  and  which  took  place  at  the  exact  time, 
may  depend  on  autosuggestion  or  suggestion.  A  person 
who  has  a  hypochondriacal  inclination  may  acquire  a 
very  marked  loss  of  appetite,  dyspepsia,  and  considerable 
wasting  by  autosuggestion.  If  we  further  consider  that 
one  can  produce  or  prevent  such  a  process  as  the  menstrua- 
tion of  women  at  wall  by  means  of  suggestion  (I  have 
experimentally  postponed  the  menstruation  in  a  woman 
for  over  two  weeks),  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  one  can 
produce  illness  and  possibly  death  indirectly  (perhaps 
even  directly)  in  a  criminal  manner  by  suggestion.  If 
it  were  possible  to  suggest  a  cardiac  paralysis  or  oedema 
of  the  glottis,  for  example,  the  possibilities  of  a  direct 
death  suggestion  would  be  present.  As  we  have  seen, 
suggestion  in  itself  is  not  attended  with  any  disadvantages 
either  of  a  hysterical  or  nervous  kind,  provided  that  it 
is  properly  carried  out  according  to  the  Nancy  method. 
And  even  if  it  should  produce  an  unpleasant  symptom, 
such   as   spontaneous   appearance   of   somnambulism,    a 


^ 


334       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

contrary  suggestion  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  remove  it. 
I  have  never  observed  a  harmful  result  in  any  of  the  375 
tabulated  cases,  nor  in  the  persons  who  have  not  been 
included  in  the  statistics,  whom  I  have  subjected  to 
hypnotism  (apart  from  the  temporary  autosuggestions  of 
headache,  etc.,  which  appear  at  times  during  the  first 
hypnosis,  and  which  can  be  immediately  suggested 
away).'  But  if  suggestion  be  applied  frivolously  and 
exaggeratedly,  if  one  neglects  to  remove  the  before- 
mentioned  autosuggestions  of  nervous  symptoms  at  once, 
from  want  of  thought  or  of  knowledge,  mild  neuroses,  at 
all  events  in  hysterical  subjects,  may  develop,  without 
any  bad  intention  on  the  part  of  the  hypnotist.  The 
principal  danger  of  hypnotizing  by  non-medical  persons 
and  by  medical  men  who  have  not  grasped  suggestion 
lies  in  this  fact. 

y  A  sad  case  which  took  place  in  Hungary  in  1894  seems 
to  belong  to  this  category.  A  magnetizer,  believing  in 
telepathy,  who  had  not  been  medically  trained,  had  re- 
peatedly hypnotized  a  girl  suffering  from  hysteria, 
whose  general  health  was  very  bad,  and  who  showed 
severe  nervous  disturbances.  He  had  succeeded  in 
improving  her  considerably.  This  extremely  suggestible 
girl,  who  was  supposed  to  be  a  clairvoyante,  was  then 
hypnotized.  She  was  to  diagnose  the  disease  of  a  certain 
man  at  a  distance,  and  to  determine  the  condition  of 
his  lung.  While  in  the  condition  of  hypnosis,  obviously 
picturing  a  diseased  lung  to  herself,  she  began  to  speak 
about  it,  and  then  suddenly  fell  back  dead.  The  autopsy 
only  revealed  anaemia  and  beginning  oedema  of  the  brain, 
which  does  not  offer  any  explanation  for  the  death. 
Could  the  terrifying  conception  of  a  diseased  lung,  which 
the  somnambulist  might  possibly  have  for  the  moment 
thought  was  her  own,  have  caused  the  death  ?  Was  it 
accidental  ?  I  beheve,  with  Liebeault  and  Bernheim, 
that  the  former  is  possible.  One  only  learned  of  the 
case  through  the   daily   papers,   although   many  details 


SUGGESTED  CONFESSIONS  335 

Were    given.      Anyway,    the   case    is    of   much    import- 


ance. 


\f  One  of  the  most  pecuhar  and  at  the  same  time  most 
important,  if  not  actually  the  most  important  forensic 
I  aspect  of  suggestion,  is  to  be  found  in  the  unconsciously- 
produced^ — i.e.,  suggested — falsification  of  memory  [hallu- 
cination   retroactive    of    Bernheim)   by  a   counsel  when 

,.  cross-examining  the  accused.     I  have  already  discussed 

•-^this  phenomenon.  Just  as  one  can  wring  a  confession 
out  of  a  child,  a  woman,  or  a  weak  man,  of  a  suspicious 
deed  by  the  power  of  skilful  persuasion,  so  one  can  sud- 
denly produce  the  suggestion  in  an  innocent  person 
that  he  is  guilty.  When  this  takes  place,  not  only  a 
complete  confession  of  the  crime,  which  he  has  not 
committed,  is  made,  but  all  sorts  of  details  of  the  most 
concrete  kind,  as  we  have  seen,  are  also  hallucinated 
retroactively.  It  is  just  these  details  which  serve  best' 
to  show  that  one  is  dealing  with  a  suggested  falsification 
of  memory,  especially  when  they  do  not  coincide  with 
the   actual    facts  which  can  be  ascertained  about  the 

,  deed.  An  easy  and  very  commendable  control  experi- 
ment, when  one  is  suspicious  about  this,  consists  in 
further  suggesting  to  the  accused  details  which  one  is 
quite  sure  cannot  possibly  have  taken  place.  If  he 
admits  them  as  well,  one  can  be  tolerably  certain  that 
the  whole  confession  was  valueless — i.e.,  depended  on 
the  suggestion  of  the  barrister.  One  can  prevent  horrible 
legal  murders  in  this  way.  I  have  come  across  a  few 
such  cases,  and  am  convinced  that  they  are  at  times 
erroneously  mistaken  for  melancholia  by  asylum  doctors, 
§ince  similar  false  self-accusations  occur  in  melancholia. 

AAVe  have  also  seen  that  certain  '  instinct  liars  '  are  only 
persons  who  are  so  suggestible  that  they  constantly  con- 
fuse their  own  conceptions  and  those  conveyed  to  them 
by  others  with  reality. 

But  not  only  false  confessions,  but  also  false  witness, 
may   be   prepared   in    this   manner.     In   the   terrifying 


336       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

procedures  which  witnesses  frequently  are  subjected  to, 
and  in  the  manner  in  which  they  are  turned  and  twisted 
by  the  barristers,  they  will  certainly  often  be  induced 
to  make  statements  which  depend  on  suggestion.  Bern- 
heim  and  I  are  at  one  in  this.  The  contradictions  which 
\  one  accuses  them  of  are  not  always  conscious  lies  :  they 
are  not  seldom  the  results  of  suggestion.  It  is  especially 
children  who  are  dangerous  in  this  respect,  and  the 
younger  they  are  the  more  marked  this  is. 
1/  One  must  differentiate  two  classes  of  cases — (i)  the 
case  in  which  the  suggestion  calls  forth  its  effects  through 
the  special  action  on  the  part  of  the  inquisitor  in  a  per- 
son who  is  otherwise  inclined  to  speak  the  truth  ;  and 
(2)  the  case  in  which  the  witness  has  always  confused 
truth  and  imagination,  because  he  has  never  been  able 
to  do  otherwise. 

The  second  case  has  been  long  recognised  under  all 
sorts  of  names,  and  is  of  secondary  importance.  One 
soon  recognises  the  type  of  such  witnesses  by  their  be- 
haviour in  dealing  with  other  things  as  well,  or  one  learns 
of  it  by  their  reputation.  They  are  regarded  as  habitual 
liars,  and  no  weight  is  attached  to  their  statements.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  first  case  must  exercise  the  mind  of 
the  criminal  lawyer  greatly,  for  it  can  occur  in  really 
good  persons,  who  bear  evidence  in  all  other  respects  in 
accordance  with  the  truth,  and  have  only  arrived  at  a 
false  recollection  by  suggestion.  Of  course,  transition 
forms  frequently  occur  also  in  this  case. 

Is  a  hypnotized  person  to  be  regarded  under  all  cir- 
cumstances as  irresponsible  ?  This  question  must  be 
regarded  in  the  concrete  case  as  an  extremely  difficult, 
almost  insoluble,  one,  after  what  has  been  said.  As  nearly 
all  authors,  including  von  Lilienthal,  have  done,  one  must 
naturally  regard  every  person  whose  actions  are  com- 
pletely governed  by  the  influence  of  a  suggestion  as  being 
irresponsible  on  principle.  The  hypnotist  is  responsible 
i^    for  his  actions,  for  he  has  made  use  of  them.     But  how 


EXHIBITION  OF  THE  HYPNOTIZED       337 

,  are  we  going  to  carry  this  out  in  practice,  when  we  think 
of  the  frequency  of  unconscious  suggestions,  which  are 
not  recognised  as  such,  which  occur  all  over  the  world 
without  tangible  hypnosis  ?  Where  are  we  to  place 
the  limits  of  responsibility  in  the  concrete  case  in  the 
finer  shades  of  waking  suggestion  which  I  have  already 
discussed  ?  Natura  non  facit  saltuni.  This  old  truth 
is  applicable  in  this  case  also,  and  it  gives  the  lie  direct 
to  our  artificial  categories,  as  it  does  in  mental  diseases. 

As  the  authors,  and  also  von  Lilienthal,  have  already 
pointed  out/a  further  great  danger  of  suggestion  lies  in 
the  employment  of  the  same  by  the  hypnotized  person 
for  the  purpose  of  extortions  of  all  kinds.     This  danger  \ 
is  so  great  that  the  presence  of  witnesses  is  more  neces-  / 
jsary  in  the  interest  of  the  hypnotist  than  of  the  hypno-  ^ 
''tized  person.     For  further  particulars  I  refer  the  reader 
to  von   Lilienthal' s  essay.      The  exigency  of    a  person 
wishing  to  be  hypnotized  with  the  express  purpose  of 
having    courage    or  getting  off    scot-free  in  connection 
with  a  crime  suggested  to  him  is  also  "dealt  with  in  the 
same   article.     Courage  is  sought  in  the  cup  by  some 
people. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  that  I  am  in  com- 
plete concord  with  von  Lilienthal  when  he  states  that 
i/public  exhibitions  of  hypnotized  somnambuhsts  ought 
to  be  rigidly  prohibited,  on  the  ground  that  they  repre- 
sent a  gross    nuisance  which    is    detrimental   to   pubhc 
morals  and  pubhc  health.    Such  exhibitions  may  be  com- 
pared  with   those   of    the    Insane    or    of    physiological 
experiments.     To  my  mind,  the  carrying  out  of  hypnosis 
for  gain  should  be  prohibited  altogether. 
/  Finally,  it  appears  to  me  that  a  frivolous  or  negHgent , 
use  of  suggestion,  and  especially  an  abuse  of  the  same  for 
egotistical  purposes,  even  if  they  be  not  criminal,  ought  *> 
not  to  be  neglected  in  jurisprudence. 
V  Casuistic. — In  one  case  an  elderly,  ugly  female  spiri- 
tualist succeeded  in  hypnotizing  a  rich  young  ni^-ii^Jts 

22 


338       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

such  an  extent  that  he  became  entirely  subjected  to  her 
influence,  broke  off  from  his  relatives,  who  were  very 
fond  of  him,  and  married  the  old  witch.  The  latter  was 
wise  enough  and  tricky  enough  to  keep  him  under  her 
influence  by  her  mental  accomplishments  and  by  means 
of  sexual  stimulation.  Such-like  and  similar  cases,  in 
which  one  of  the  two  sexes  takes  the  active  and  the 
other  the  passive  part,  have  undoubtedly  always  taken 
place.  It  might  be  desirable  if  definite  legal  measures 
could  be  adopted  in  these  cases. 

Another  man  told  me  himself  that  he  had  been  in- 
fluenced in  a  similar  way  for  a  time  by  a  woman  who  had 
always  magnetized  him.  She  was  skilled  in  hypno- 
tizing and  v/as  nympho-maniacal-polyandrical  as  well. 
This  man  succeeded  only  with  great  difficulty  in  escaping 
from  the  clutches  of  this  woman  when  she  directed 
her  attacks  toward  other  members  of  his  family. 

In  the  Czynski  case,  on  the  contrary,  the  man  had  the 
active  part.  In  these  cases  the  passive  party  complains, 
as  we  have  seen,  of  feeling  the  compelling  influence  ; 
.  he  becomes  sexually  stimulated.  There  is  no  question 
of  a  normal  love,  or  even  of  a  normal  sexual  attraction, 
but  the  feeling  of  impulsion  and  want  of  freedom  reigns 
supreme.  The  influenced  person  would  like  to  escape, 
but  cannot,  even  though  the  compulsion  does  not  attain 
the  brutal  character  of  the  well  -  known  case  of  the 
criminal  beggar  Castellan,  cited  by  Bernheim  and  others, 
who  hypnotized  a  poor  girl,  took  advantage  of  her,  and 
compelled  her  to  follow  him. 

Von  Schrenck-Notzing's  Views  and  Cases. — Von 
Schrenck  has  taken  up  this  question  during  the  last  few 
years. 1 

Von  Schrenck  divides  the  forensic  cases,  as  I  too  have 
done,  into — 

T.  Crimes  on  hypnotized  persons. 

/      fo!  ^'""    Schrenck,   'The    Medico- Forensic    Aspect   of  Suggestion' 
■^nv  fur  Crimi7ial-Anih}-opologie  und  Criminalistik,  August,  1900). 


VON  SCHRENCK'S  CASES  339 

2.  Crimes  which  are  committed  with  the  assistance  of 
hypnotized  persons. 

3.  He  adds  a  third  category  :  criminal  acts,  induced  by 
suggestion  during  the  waking  condition.  I  regard  this 
category  merely  as  a  variety  of  the  second,  as  will  be 
gathered   from  my  conception  of  suggestion   (and  also 

Vogt'3). 

Suggested  evidence  and  self-accusation  should  figure 
instead  as  the  third  category. 

To  the  first  category  a  number  of  cases  belongs  in  which 
a  markedly  lethargic,  deep,  hysterical  hypnosis  was  abused 
for  sexual  assaults.  As  a  rule,  the  culprit  was  discovered 
and  punished. 

The  following  is  a  short  resume  which  Von  Schrenck 
gives  of  the  most  important  cases  : 

^  '  A  certain  patient  writes  in  his  autobiography  that  he 
rendered  a  young  woman,  who  was  tied  to  a  decrepid  old 
man,  deeply  somnambulic,  and  commanded  her  during 
this  condition  to  perform  certain  onanistic  manipulations 
with  his  genital  organs.  This  she  did,  but  did  not  re- 
member  anything  about  it  after  awakening.  The  sexual 
intercourse  was  continued  for  three  months,  and  was 
not  discovered.  The  lady,  however,  possessed  a  passion- 
ate disposition,  and  loved  her  seducer.  He  would  in  all 
probability  have  been  able  to  possess  her  in  the  waking 
condition  as  well.  He  chose  this  peculiar  hypnotic  way, 
as  he  feared  detection.' 

'  Miss  von  B.,  daughter  of  a  superior  officer,  was 
hypnotized  by  a  clergyman,  and  raped  while  in  the  con- 
dition of  somnambulism,  and  the  sexual  abuse  was  re- 
peatedly carried  out  in  this  way.  After  nine  months 
a  child  was  born.  The  criminal  prosecution  of  the 
culprit  was  not  proceeded  with,  in  order  to  avoid  pub- 
licity. Later  on,  when  Miss  von  B.  had  become  engaged, 
her  lover  used  the  susceptibility  which  still  remained  from 
the  past  experiments  in  his  fiancee  for  fresh  hypnotic 
experiments  ;  drew  from  her  confessions  about  all  sorts 

22 — 2 


340       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

of  details  of  her  inmost  self,  and  dictated  his  will  to  her 
by  means  of  suggestion  during  the  condition  of  deep 
hypnosis,  when  they  had  any  difference  of  opinion.  This 
mischief  was  only  got  rid  of  after  my  medical  aid  had 
been  called  upon,  and  an  energetic  hypno therapeutic 
treatment  had  been  instituted.' 

'  Czynski  [see  above]  had  hypnotized  the  Baroness  for 
medical  reasons,  and  having  got  her  in  such  a  deep 
hypnotic  condition  that  she  was  no  longer  capable  of 
evincing  her  own  will,  he  suggested  his  love  for  her,  with 
the  assistance  of  kisses  and  caresses.  After  six  or  eight 
hypnoses  of  this  kind,  he  succeeded  in  getting  her  to 
yield  herself  to  him,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  did  not 
return  his  love.  Her  resistance  had  been  artificially 
broken  down  by  hypnotic  means,  love  suggestions  in 
connection  with  actual  touching  of  her  body,  as  well 
as  by  influencing  her  phantasy  during  waking.  Czynski 
had  therefore  obtained  the  acceptation  of  his  love  pro- 
posals with  the  help  of  easily-carried-out  suggestion. 
The  jury  acquitted  the  accused  in  respect  to  this  part  of 
the  charge  (offence  against  morality),  probably  on  account 
of  the  legal  interpretation  of  the  Act,  or  possibly  because 
the  Baroness  later  yielded  herself  voluntarily  to  her 
seducer.  But  in  spite  of  this,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
about  the  crime  of  the  accused,  and  therefore  about  the 
criminal  use  which  he  made  of  the  hypnotic  condition 
by  means  of  intentional  suggestions.  In  this  instructive 
case,  therefore,  the  decision  of  the  hypnotic  specialist 
will  differ  from  that  of  the  lawyer.' 

'  Laurent  reports  a  case  of  this  kind  in  which  a  medical 
student  hypnotized  a  cousin  of  his,  whom  he  had  put  in 
the  family  way,  and  suggested  to  her  the  symptoms  of 
abortion  for  a  definite  time  {suggestion  a  echeance).  The 
abortion  set  in  at  the  required  time.' 

'  *  Johann  Berchthold,  triple  murderer.  Since  the  mys- 
terious uncertainty  which  attached  to  the  deed  was  not 
cleared  up  after  the  discovery  of  the  murder,  a  portion  of 


THE  BERCHTHOLD  CASE  341 

the  Miinchen  daily  press  began  a  kind  of  preliminary 
examination.  Notices  appeared  daily  in  the  most-read 
journals  about  the  murder  for  nearly  a  month,  as  well  as 
critical  remarks  about  the  unsatisfactory  arrangements 
for  public  safety  and  of  the  police  arrangements  of  the 
Isar  town.  Besides,  the  Government  offered  a  reward  of 
1,000  marks  for  the  detection  of  the  murderer.  Further- 
more, the  M linchener  Neuesten  Nachrichten  invited  any- 
one who  knew  anything  of  the  matter  to  report  it  to 
the  editorial  staff,  promising  the  strictest  confidence. 
The  material  gained  in  this  way  formed  matter  for 
publication,  and  satisfied  the  cravings  for  sensational 
news.  After  several  persons  had  brought  forward 
matters  relating  to  the  occurrence,  this  journal  declared 
at  the  time,  before  the  magistrates  had  completed  their 
preliminary  investigations,  "  that  there  was  practically 
no  doubt  that  Berchthold  was  the  murderer."  The 
result  of  this  behaviour  of  the  press  was  that  numerous 
persons  offered  themselves  as  witnesses,  and  gave  evidence 
on  oath,  making  statements  which  represented  the  most 
obvious  contradictions.  Apart  from  this,  the  photograph 
of  Berchthold,  which  had  been  published  in  the  papers, 
caused  several  persons  to  have  undoubted  reactionary 
falsification  of  memory.  Several  female  persons  swore 
that  this  man — or  some  person  bearing  a  striking  re- 
semblance to  him — had  attempted  to  gain  admission 
into  their  houses,  in  the  same  way  as  admission  had 
been  gained  into  the  houses  of  the  murdered  persons. 
Added  to  this,  there  was  the  evidence  of  undoubtedly 
hysterical  persons  and  the  adventurous  relations  of 
doubtful  and  repeatedly  convicted  individuals,  and  the 
only  argument  for  the  trustworthiness  of  this  evidence 
was  that  it  was  given  on  oath.  The  suggestion  exercised 
by  the  press  in  favour  of  the  guilt  of  the  accused  had 
therefore  not  failed  in  its  action.  The  defence  assumed 
this  standpoint,  with  the  result  that  the  magistrates 
had  to  desist  from  calling  a  number  of  witnesses  for  the 


342       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

prosecution.  But  the  proof  independent  of  the  evidence 
of  ^vitnesses,  the  past  hfe  of  Berchthold,  his  insufficient 
attempt  to  prove  an  ahbi,  his  whole  behaviour — all  were 
so  much  against  him  that  the  jury  would  have  found  him 
guilty  even  without  taking  into  consideration  the  "  psy- 
chical epidemic  "  produced  by  the  press.  The  difficult 
duty  of  the  experts  (Grashey  and  von  Schrenck-Notzing) 
lay  in  discovering  the  source  of  error  of  the  memor}^  and 
in  reporting  on  the  mental  condition  of  a  number  of 
witnesses  in  respect  to  the  trustworthiness  of  their 
evidence. 

(/  Whether  one  believes  that  Berchthold  was  guilty  or 
innocent,  the  trial  indisputably  showed  up  the  fact  that 
part  of  the  evidence  of  witnesses  was  inspired  by  the 
newspapers.  In  what  other  way  can  one  explain,  e.g., 
the  curious  circumstance  that,  during  the  fourteen  days' 
proceedings,  not  less  than  seven  persons  surrendered 
themselves  with  the  statement  that  they  had  committed 
the  murder  of  the  Roos  family  ?  Among  the  210  wit- 
nesses called  there  were  eighteen  whose  evidence  could 
be  referred  to  the  influence  of  the  newspaper  notices. 
One  of  these,  for  example,  stated  "  he  had  noticed  the 
accused  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  house  in  which  the 
deed  had  been  committed  (a  house  in  the  Karl  Street) 
three  times  at  a.  certain  hour  on  a  Friday  afternoon,  and 
had  recognised  him  again  at  once,  after  the  publication 
of  the  photograph."  But  the  fact  that  the  same  witness 
had  been  present  at  a  trial  in  the  courts  at  the  hour 
mentioned  on  that  particular  Friday  contradicted  the 
evidence,  which  was  given  on  oath.  As  he  could  not 
have  been  at  two  places  at  one  time,  the  value  of  his 
evidence  could  be  judged  from  this.  Six  other  witnesses 
— all  female  householders  of  the  tow^n  of  Munich — stated 
on  their  oath  independently  that  they  had  been  visited 
by  a  suspicious-looking  man,  who  had  attempted  to  gain 
admission  on  the  pretext  of  having  to  do  something  to 
the  arrangements  of  the  water-closets.     They  only  recog- 


THE  SAUTER  CASE  343 

nised  the  suspicious  person  as  the  accused  Berchthold 
when  his  photograph  had  been  pubHshed.  More  than 
this,  one  of  the  papers  represented  Berchthold  wearing 
some  clothes  which  he  had  never  worn.  One  of  the 
witnesses  said  that  she  noticed  these  clothes  on  the 
suspicious  person,  although  they  were  only  in  Berchthold' s 
possession  in  the  imagination  of  the  artist,  and  not  in 
reality. 

r\/'  In  short,  the  result  of  this  proceeding,  which  is  so 
very  interesting  for  the  doctrine  of  suggestion,  teaches 
\j ! ;  that  the  authorities  still  lack  a  proper  knowledge  of  the 
suggestive  factor  in  law  cases  ;  that  the  number  of  per- 
sons who  give  evidence  on  oath  in  good  faith  untruthfully 
and  inexactly  is  much  greater  than  one  usually  sup- 
poses. Above  all,  it  has  brought  new  proof  of  the 
^*  suggestive  power  of  the  press.' 

'  On  October  2,  1899,  the  wife  of  the  butcher  Sauter 
was  charged  before  the  Upper  Bavarian  Criminal  Court 
in  Munich  with  attempted  murder,  and  with  inciting  to 
murder  nine  persons. 

'  German   law   punishes   attempts   and  •  incitations   to 

'^  crime,  even  if  they  are  undertaken  with  ineificacious 
means.  The  prisoner  was  accused  of  having  attempted 
to  kill  her  husband,  with  whom  she  had  lived  unhappily, 
by  strewing  gentian  root  into  his  socks.  This,  in  her 
opinion,  was  supposed  to  be  a  means  of  kilhng  ;  it  had 
been  advised  to  her  by  a  fortune-teller.  Apart  from 
this,  she  was  charged  with  having  incited  the  fortune- 
teller to  kill  by  magic  means  nine  persons  who  stood  in 
her  way,  among  whom  were  three  of  her  children,  two 
former  servants,  etc. 

'  The  prisoner  was  at  her  menopause,  suffered  con- 
siderably from  pelvic  troubles,  and  showed  marked  signs 
of  hysteria.  Being  extremely  superstitious,  she  re- 
garded the  fortune-teller,  whom  she  consulted  on  every 
important  occasion,  as  a  person  endowed  with  super- 
natural capabihties  and  with  the  power  of  determining 


344       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  fate  of  persons  and  of  life  and  death.  The  fortune- 
teller, on  the  other  hand,  stimulated  the  imagination  of 
Frau  Sauter  by  all  sorts  of  humbug,  and  was  able  to 
profit  materially  and  systematically  to  fleece  her  victim. 
This  fortune-teller,  it  was  proved,  had  been  convicted 
twenty-one  times  previously  for  serious  offences.  The 
court  had  no  doubt  that  the  fortune-teller  was  really 
the  guilty  party.  She  had  been  able,  by  her  swindling, 
to  convince  the  credulous  prisoner,  who  had  fallen  entirely 
under  her  influence,  that  it  was  very  easy  to  cause  all 
persons  who  stood  in  her  way  to  die  a  natural  death,  and 
it  was  she  vvho  had  in  this  way  first  suggested  to  her  the 
whole  plan  of  the  murder,  albeit  unintentionally.  As  these 
ideas  took  hold  of  the  prisoner,  the  prophetess  informed 
against  her  victim  to  the  police,  and  induced  Mrs.  Sauter 
to  discuss  the  whole  murder  plan  once  more,  and  to 
make  up  a  list  of  the  people  whom  she  had  determined 
to  remove,  so  that  the  detectives,  who  were  hiding  in 
the  adjoining  room,  could  hear  it  all,  and  could  appear 
as  the  principal  witnesses  for  the  prosecution. 

'  While  the  reports  of  Messerer  and  Focke  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  Frau  Sauter  was  in  possession  of  the 
exercise  of  her  freewill  at  the  time  of  the  deed  ascribed 
to  her,  the  report  which  I  gave  led  to  the  proof  that  the 
accused,  fascinated  by  the  fortune-teller,  had  carried  out 
the  ideas  of  the  latter  while  in  a  condition  of  suggestive 
dependence  ;  that  her  responsibility  had  been  materially 
diminished  as  a  result  of  hysteria,  as  a  result  of  her 
menopause,  and  as  a  result  of  superstitious  conceptions. 

/  The  jury  acquitted  the  prisoner  on  both  charges. 
\J'  The  Sauter  case  represents  the  first  acquittal  of  an 
accused  person  who  hod  committed  a  breach  of  the  law 
under  the  suggestive  influence  of  another  person,  and  is 
therefore  of  principal  and  lasting  importance  for  the 
doctrine  of  the  relationship  of  suggestion  to  criminal  law.' 

'  About  seven  years  ago  a  five-year-old  girl  was  placed 
under  my   treatment.     This  child    suffered    from    "de- 


SUGGESTED  CONFESSIONS  345 

structiveness,"  which  extended  itself  in  the  most  cunning 
way  to  the  most  valuable  possessions  of  the  family.     The 
parents  never  succeeded  in  catching  the  child  red-handed. 
The   deeds   always   took  place   when   their   backs   were 
turned,  or  when  they  were  absent.     Once  the  child  was 
found    in    flames    in    bed.     The    numerous    frequently- 
repeated  thefts  and  destructions,  which  were  carried  out 
in  a  very  cunning  manner,  caused  the  parents  considerable 
material  losses.    Educational  influencing  and  punishments 
failed  to  improve  matters.     The  child  cried,   and  con- 
fessed fresh  misdeeds.     At  last  the  child  was  chained  up 
and  treated  hypnotically,  but  the  criminal  deeds  never- 
theless   continued.     After    nine    months    an    accidental 
circumstance  disclosed  the  truth.     The  child  went  into 
the  country  with  her  parents,  while  her  nurse  stayed  in 
town.     From  this  moment  the  destructions  ceased.     It 
was  now  discovered  that  the  child  was  absolutely  innocent, 
but  that  the  hysterical  nurse  had  committed  the  deeds, 
or  had  caused  them  to  be  carried  out.     She  knew  how 
to  continuously  suggest  the  consciousness  of  guilt  to  the 
child  placed  under  her  care  in  such  a  way  that  the  latter 
had  stood  all  the  punishments  for  nine  months  without  a 
murmur,  and  repeated  the  confessions,  which  had  been 
suggestively  dictated  to  her,  without  ever  betraying  her 
tyrant.' 

'  False  accusations  of  medical  men  and  hypnotists  for 
sexual  misdeeds  are  much  more  frequent  than  proved  real 
immoral  acts  on  hypnotized  persons.  Even  in  the  case  of 
actual  seduction,  the  excuse  that  they  were  the  victims 
of  a  suggestive  impulse  is  not  uncommon.  Altogether, 
false  accusations  of  immoral  offences  are  very  common. 

'  The  assistant  medical  officer  of  a  large  Munich 
hospital  hypnotized  the  thirteen-year-old  Magdalena  S. 
for  medical  purposes  in  his  room  without  any  witnesses, 
and  was  thoughtless  enough  to  pass  urine  in  the  presence 
of  the  hypnotized  girl  during  the  time  when  she  was 
asleep.     Shortly  after  this  occurrence  he  was  charged  by 


346       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

the  Public  Prosecutor  with  having  put  his  genital  organ 
into  the  mouth  of  the  hypnotized  child,  and  having 
micturated  into  her  mouth.  The  accusation  depended 
on  the  statement  of  the  thirteen-year-old  child.  On 
being  asked  to  give  my  opinion  on  this  case,  I  soon  came 
to  the  conclusion,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  facts, 
and  on  examining  the  child,  that  the  matter  dealt  with  a 
dreamy,  illusionary  warping  of  conceptions  during  the 
hypnotic  condition  ;  this  took  place  in  connection  with 
the  passing  of  the  urine.  The  retroactive  pseudo- 
reminiscences  had  been  exaggerated  in  the  waking  con- 
dition by  imagination  and  by  discussing  the  matter  with 
her  relatives.  And  thus  the  simple  product  of  false 
autosuggestive  interpretation  of  conceptions  in  hypnosis 
and  of  reactive  falsification  of  memory  became  the  basis 
of  a  heavy  charge,  which  threatened  to  ruin  the  whole 
future  of  our  colleague.  The  result  of  my  report,  as  I 
have  already  said,  was  that  the  charge  was  withdrawn.' 
Von  Schrenck  continues  :v '  Opinions  and  judgments 
which  we  read  unconsciously  infiltrate  our  thinking, 
govern  the  direction  of  our  ideas,  and  have  a  powerful 
influence  over  the  moulding  of  our  memory.  A  confusion 
of  what  has  been  personally  experienced  and  of  that  which 
has  been  heard  or  read  takes  place  all  the  more  easily  if 
the  contents  of  the  subject  in  question  had  previously 
absorbed  our  interest.  ^The  truth  of  reproduction  suffers 
when  there  is  a  want  of  critical  deliberation,  when  there 
is  a  lively  imagination,  and  also  at  times  when  psychical 
excitement  (emotions)  or  tiredness  are  present.  If  the 
elements  of  a  momentary  situation  are  carried  over  to 
the  impressions  of  memory  the  situation  may  be  easily 
falsified  in  the  sense  of  a  new  perception  [cf.  the  influence 
of  the  appearance  of  Berchthold's  photograph  on  the 
remembrance  of  the  suspicious  visitor).  These  external 
stimulations  may  exercise  a  suggestive  influence,  and  may 
offer  a  suitable  site  for  sources  of  error  in  our  memory. 
A  complete  picture  can  be  made  up  of  fancy  and  truth 


VON  SCHRENCK'S  VIEWS  347 

in  this  way,  as  it  was  with  several  of  the  witnesses  in 
the  Berchthold  trial,  without  it  being  possible  for  the 
psychological  expert  always  to  detect  the  correct  cause 
for  the  individual  portions  of  the  impression  of 
memory. 

/  '  One  must  therefore  regard  it  as  an  error  in  judicial 
examination  if  the  details  of  the  remembrances  in  the 

.  evidence  of  witnesses  are  too  much  overrated.  Altogether, 
the  sources  of  error  of  memory  receive  much  too  little 
attention  in  the  court  of  law.  An  intimate  knowledge 
of  them  would  protect  the  judge  from  falling  into  the 
dangerous  mistake  of  confusing  perjury  and  falsification 
of  memory.  He  would  thus  be  capable  of  distinguishing 
more  easily  the  nucleus  of  truth  from  the  product  of 
suggestion.  Apart  from  this,  he  would  impose  greater 
reserve  in  hearing  of  witnesses,  so  that  no  details  in  the  "^ 
evidence  would  be  suggested  to  them.  A  careful  esti- 
mation of  the  doctrine  of  suggestion  would  cause  the 
organizations  for  the  safety  of  the  public  to  limit  the 
,  influence  of  the  press  on  criminality,  which  is  still  greatly 
^undervalued. 

'  The  judging  of  the  conditions  in  foro  becomes  difficult 

[  if,  as  in  the  Sauter  case,  the  intelLectual  originator  (in 
this  case  the  fortune-teller,  Frau  Gaenzbauer)  has  abso- 
lutely no  conception  of  the  lawlessness  of  her  actions, 
and  of  having  committed  a  crime.  We  are  therefore 
dealing  with  unintentional,  unnoticed  influencing.  For 
Frau  Gaenzbauer  was  obviously  not  cognizant  that  she 
had  excited  in  Frau  Sauter  the  trend  of  ideas  aiming  at 
the  removal  of  her  husband  and  of  other  persons  by  her 
superstitious  humbug.  She  was  completely  ignorant 
that  on  the  occasion  of  the  demonstration  before  the 
hidden  detectives  she  had,  so  to  say,  dictated  the  whole 
murder  plan  to  her  victim,  and  that  she  conducted  the 
whole  conversation  in  this  way,  according  to  the  pro- 
cedure agreed  to  by  the  police.  The  court  of  justice  is 
not  in  a  position,  under  these  circumstances,  to  punish 


348       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

either  the  originator  or  the  person  who  has  carried  out 
the  deed,  since  it  is  impossible  to  prove  a  criminal 
intention. 

'  There  is  scarcely  a  sphere  of  human  error  which  offers 
such  a  favourable  basis  for  the  development  of  suggestive 
action  as  does  superstition.  This  always  presents  itself, 
as  Loewenstimm  has  so  ably  described,  as  a  product  of 
the  ignorance  and  undeveloped  condition  of  whole  classes 
of  people,  and  leads  not  infrequently  to  the  committing 
of  extraordinarily  cruel  crimes.' 

The  results  of  von  Schrenck's  account  is  summarized  as 
follows  : 

'  I.  Crimes  committed  on  hypnotized  persons  and 
those  committed  with  the  help  of  hypnotized  persons 
(posthypnosis)  are  almost  entirely  limited — 

'  {a)  To  sexual  misdeeds  {e.g.,  Czynski  case,  1894). 

'  (i)  To  the  dangerous  abuse  of  hypnotized  persons 
(public  shows,  the  exhibition  of  the  mysterious). 

'  2.  Suggestion  in  waking  condition  possesses  a  medico- 
forensic  importance,  which  has  hitherto  not  been  realized 
in  its  full  extent.     For — 

'  (a)  It  is  capable  of  causing  persons  who  are  mentally 
perfectly  normal  to  give  false  boitd  fide  sworn  evidence 
{e.g.,  the  eighteen  false  witnesses  in  the  Berchthold  trial, 
1896  ;  influence  of  the  press  ;  psychical  epidemics). 

'  {b)  It  can  impel  persons  who  are  especially  susceptible 
to  suggestive  influence  to  commit  criminal  acts  (Sauter 
case,  1899). 

'  3.  Generally  speaking,  criminal  suggestions  are  not 
dangerous  for  normal  individuals  with  well-developed 
moral  resistance,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  following 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  it :  childish,  psychopathically  inferior, 
hysterical,  psychically  weak,  ethically  defective  indi- 
viduals, in  whom  the  possibihty  of  resistance  is  diminished 
by  a  feeble  cultivation  of  the  moral  balance.' 

I  am  in  full  agreement  with  von  Schrenck-Notzing 
that  legal  measures  are  required    against  unauthorized 


LAY  HYPNOTIZING  349 

hypnotizing  by  non-medical  persons.  A  person  who  is 
particularly  gifted  in  hypnotizing  might  be  allowed  to 
hypnotize  for  scientific  or  therapeutic  purposes  under  the 
supervision  and  responsibility  of  a  medical  practitioner. 

But  the  mischief  that  is  done  by  hypnotism  by  careless 
or  greedy  persons  under  the  name  of  spiritualism,  tele- 
pathy, clairvoyance,  fortune-telling,  and  the  like,  as  well 
as  for  fun  and  for  show,  is  increasing  into  dangerous 
dimensions.  One  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  interfere 
at  will  with  one's  neighbour's  brain,  any  more  than  with 
the  rest  of  his  body  or  with  his  money.  Unfortunately, 
one  gives  the  laity  a  perfectly  free  hand,  and  is  always 
prepared  to  blame  the  medical  man. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  harm  done  by,  and  the  crimes 
which  are  ascribed  to,  suggestion  are  mostly  the  work 
of  the  laity,  and  especially  of  the  spiritualists.  These 
persons  do  not  realize  that  they  work  with  the  brain  of 
their  usually  hysterical  mediums,  and  impose  things  on 
these  latter  which  in  time  do  grave  damage  to  health, 
even  when  deceit  and  assaults  are  not  coupled  with  it. 
Regular  epidemics  of  hysterical  attacks,  autohypnoses, 
and  the  like,  have  been  produced  in  this  way.  The  laity 
fails  to  understand  how  to  avoid  autosuggestions  and 
how  to  remove  them. 

It  is  not  my  duty  to  make  suggestions  for  laws.  But 
we  must  insist  that  more  attention  be  paid  to  this  subject 
in  the  future  than  has  been  paid  in  the  past,  and  that  at 
least  a  medical  supervision  be  introduced. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Hypnotism  and  the  Medical  Schools 

The  postulate  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter  proves 
conclusively  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  medical  practitioner 
to  know  and  understand  suggestion,  even  if  the  reader 
has  not  been  convinced  of  this  in  the  earlier  chapters. 
Unfortunately,  this  is  still  far  from  being  accomplished. 
The  majority  of  medical  men  are  still  lay  and  ignorant 
persons  in  respect  of  the  question  of  suggestion. 

In  this  respect  there  exists  a  serious  gap  in  our  medical 
studies.  Medical  practitioners  are  mostly  extremely 
ignorant  not  only  in  the  suggestion  question,  but  also  in 
psychology  and  psychophysiology,  and  for  this  reason 
they  are  incapable  of  comprehending  the  doctrine  of 
suggestion.  They  interpret  the  matter  almost  as  lay 
people  do,  and  are  frequently  inclined  to  wander  over 
from  '  materialism '  to  '  spiritualism,'  or,  at  all  events,  to 
'  telepathy,'  evidencing  a  want  of  critical  spirit,  since  the 
relationship  of  psychology  to  the  physiology  of  the  brain 
appears  to  them  to  be  'a  dark,  uncanny  sphere.'  They 
have  followed  their  studies  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  without  taking  cerebral  life  and  its  influence  on  the 
body  into  consideration.  Only  a  few  attempt  to  educate 
th<jp»selves  thoroughly  on  this  point  later  on.  How  can 
one  ever  understand  the  normal  and  pathological  man 
without  understanding  his  brain  and  its  functions  ? 

A  large  number  of  the  worst  mistakes  of  our  numerous 
specialists  arise  from  this.  They  seek  the  causes  of 
central  disturbances  in  the  periphery  of  the  body,  because 

350 


IMPORTANCE  OF  STUDY  OF  SUGGESTION     351 

the  psychophysiological  mechanism  is  incomprehensible 
to  them. 

It  suffices  to  have  pointed  out  this  defect,  in  order  to 
show  that  the  filling  out  of  it  has  become  an  urgent  need. 
The  study  of  modern  psychology,  psychophysiology, 
and  the  doctrine  of  suggestion  (the  latter  in  connection 
with  a  small  clinic  or  out-patient  department)  ought 
to  be  rendered  possible  in  every  medical  school. 

It  is  only  in  this  way  that  a  successful  struggle  against 
superstition  and  quackery  v/ill  be  possible,  and  that  the 
medical  practitioners  will  be  able  to  escape  making  those 
awkward  blunders  which  the  laity  nowadays  is  on  the 
look  out  for.  In  this  I  am  only  speaking  of  the  results 
of  empirical  practitioners,  and  do  not  even  include  the 
attacks  which  could  be  made  on  them  by  psychologically 
trained  non-medical  persons.  It  is  clear  that  if  the 
medical  practitfoner  diagnoses  and  treats  a  local  dis- 
turbance, which  does  not  exist,  through  his  ignorance  of 
suggestion  and  of  the  phenomena  of  pathological  auto- 
suggestion, or  else  if  he  goes  to  the  other  extreme  and 
suspects  the  patient  of  malingering,  he  will  lay  himself 
open  to  being  laughed  at  by  the  first  quack  whom  the 
patient  consults,  or  by  one  of  the  religious  magic  insti- 
tutions. These  blunders  act  like  so  many  harmful  stabs 
inflicted  on  science,  its  earnestness,  and  its  dignity. 

Bernheim  has  already  shown  that  the  magic  of  the 
'  stigmatized '  Luisa  Lateau  undoubtedly  depends  on 
suggestion,  as  he  was  able  to  obtain  the  same  by  sug- 
gestive means.  The  same  applies  in  my  opinion  to  the 
'miraculous  cures'  which  are  attained  in  Protestant  so- 
called  '  prayer '  institutes. 

In  Zeller's  institute  in  Maennedorf,  Canton  Ziiri^Ji, 
e.g.,  Mr.  Zeller  lays  his  hand  (the  right  or  the  left)  on  the 
naked  affected  part  of  the  body  for  a  definite  length  of 
time  (laying  on  of  hands  according  to  the  Bible)  ;  repeats 
this  procedure  according  to  the  requirements,  and  in 
this  way  obtains  the  cure  of  pains,  paralyses,  etc.     A 


352       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

second  form  of  laying  on  of  hands  which  is  employed 
there  is  the  '  anointing  with  oil '  (also  from  the  Bible). 
The  hand  is  moistened  with  cold  olive  oil,  and  '  laid  on ' 
in  the  manner  before  mentioned.  Mr.  Zeller,  who  told 
me  this  himself,  ascribes  the  chief  power  to  the  prayer 
connected  \\ith  the  procedure,  and  believes  that  he  can 
disprove  the  assertion  that  '  it  is  magnetism,'  since  he 
does  not  employ  any  passes  (strokings).  But  the  Nancy 
school  does  not  employ  these  either. 

However,  that  Mr.  Zeller  suggests  his  patients  intensely 
without  realizing  it,  both  verbally  and  by  touching  the 
affected  part,  is  quite  obvious  from  what  has  already 
been  said.  Apart  from  the  absolutely  different  explana- 
tion, his  curative  method  is  extremely  like  Liebeault's 
method  of  suggestive  therapy,  only  it  would  seem  that 
waking  suggestion  is  mostly  applied. 

It  has  always  been  a  high  ethical  and  cultural  privilege 
of  the  education  centres  and  of  science  to  illuminate  into 
the  darkness  of  superstition  and  of  ignorance  with  the 
torch  of  knowledge.  It  is  therefore  disheartening  to  see 
how  just  these  centres  still  behave  toward  the  doctrine 
of  suggestion  and  the  newer  psychological  investigations, 
hesitatingly,  timidly,  and  even  opposingly,  although  no 
other  discipline  is  capable  of  throwing  so  much  light  on 
the  modern  forms  of  superstition. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Suggestion  in  Animals — The  Winter  and  Summer 

Sleepers 

LiEBEAULT^  has  referred  the  winter  sleep  of  the  dormouse 
to  psychical  causes  analogous  to  suggestion,  and  proved 
already  at  that  time  that  cold  could  not  be  the  cause  of 
this  sleep,  since  the  same  animals  not  infrequently  slept  in 
summer  and  in  warm  rooms,  and  because  a  Madagascar 
mouse  regularly  falls  into  lethargy  during  the  warmest 
time  of  the  year. 

I  myself  have  made  the  following  personal  observations  -?' 
In  the  year  1877  ^  ^^^  ^^  Munich.  I  was  offered  two 
dormice  {Myoxys  glis),  because  their  owner  had  been 
bitten  by  them.  He  gave  them  to  me  in  the  winter,  and 
I  was  astonished  to  find  that  they  were  not  asleep,  but 
that  they  were  very  lively,  which  I  ascribed  to  the  warmth 
of  the  room.  I  placed  them  in  a  wire  cage,  standing 
some  5  to  6  feet  high,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a  small 
fir-tree  of  the  same  height.  I  allowed  the  little  animals 
to  run  about  in  my  room  besides.  They  remained  lively 
all  through  the  winter,  and  ate  up  a  large  quantity  of 
walnuts  and  hazel-nuts.  When  one  of  them  was  gnawing 
through  the  nutshell  with  much  difficulty  the  other  came 
up  behind  noiselessly,  and  tried  to  snatch  it  away  from 
the  first.     They  remained  wild  and  inclined  to  bite. 

After  having  eaten  a  lot  during  the  whole  spring,  they 
became  very  fat,  and  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  see 

^  Liebeault,  '  Du  Somneil  et  des  Etats  Analogues'  (Paris,  i866» 
Masson). 
2    Forel,  Revue  de  P Hypnotis7ne^  April  i,  1887,  p.  318. 

353  23 


354       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

them  fall  into  a  lethargic  sleep  one  after  the  other  in  the 
month  of  May.  This  was  contrary  to  the  assertions  of 
the  books,  which  state  that  the  sleep  is  the  result  of  the 
winter  cold.  They  had  got  as  fat  as  little  bears,  their 
movements  had  become  slower,  and  they  crept  together 
into  a  comer  and  became  completely  lethargic.  Their 
body  temperature  sank  while  they  were  in  this  condition, 
their  respiratory  movements  became  slower,  and  their 
lips  cyanotic.  \Mien  put  into  the  open  air  the  animals, 
which  were  more  or  less  rolled  up,  stretched  themselves 
partly  when  turned  on  their  backs.  On  pricking  them 
with  a'needle,  they  made  a  reflex  movement,  and  uttered 
a  mild  "grunt  or  hiss.  I  was  able  to  aw^aken  them  for  an 
instantj  by  stimulating  them'^strongly,  but  they  relapsed 
into  their  lethargy  as  soon  as'I  left  them  alone  again. 

I  then  made  the  following  experiment  :  I  took  one  of 
the  dormice'and  placed  it  on  the  top  branch  of  the  fir-tree. 
Although  it  was  asleep,  to  bring  the  sole  of  its  foot  into 
contact  with  the  thin  branch  of  the  tree  was  sufficient 
to  call  forth  a  reflex  flexion,  by  means  of  which  it  clung 
to  the  branch  with  its  claws,  just  as  it  would  have  done 
had  the  corresponding  instinctive  movement  taken  place 
during  the  waking  condition.  I  then  let  the  dormouse  go, 
hanging  on  one  branch  with  one  foot.  Soon  it  gradually 
sank  into  a  deeper  sleep  again.  The  muscles  of  the 
clinging  foot  slowly  relaxed,  the  polar  or  plantar  surfaces 
of  the  foot  extended  themselves  slowly,  and  after  a  short 
time  only  the  extremity  close  to  the  claws  held  on  to  the 
branch.  I  thought  that  my  dormouse  would  have  fallen. 
However,  as  it  was  beginning  to  lose  its  balance,  its 
nervous  system  was  pervaded  by  a  sort  of  instinctive 
flash,  and  the  other  foot  grasped  that  branch  which  lay 
next  lowest,  so  that  the  animal  had  thus  climbed  down 
one  step.  The  same  scene  then  began  again  :  the  dor- 
mouse \\ent  fast  asleep  again  ;  the  foot  relaxed  again 
slowly,  until  it  nearly  let  go,  then  the  other  foot  grasped 
a  branch  lying  a  httle  lower.     In  this  way  the  animal 


LETHARGIC  SLEEP  OF  DORMICE  355 

climbed  down  the  tree  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  without 
awakening  or  falHng  until  it  arrived  at  the  floor  of  the 
cage,  where  it  continued  to  sleep.  I  repeated  the  experi- 
ment several  times  with  both  dormice,  always  with  the 
same  result.     Neither  of  them  fell  on  a  single  occasion. 

The  lethargic  sleep  of  my  dormice,  although  interrupted 
from  time  to  time  for  a  few  hours  or  even  a  day  by  more 
or  less  complete  awakening,  during  which  time  they  took 
some  food,  lasted  for  the  greater  part  of  the  summer,  and 
gradually  left  off  in  the  month  of  August.  The  little 
animals  had  slept  through  the  great  heat  of  June  and 
July.  They  were  considerably  wasted  toward  the  end 
of  their  lethargic  sleep — still,  less  than  I  had  expected. 
During  the  lethargy  their  body  temperature  was  about 
20°  to  22°  C,  as  far  as  I  could  measure  it  with  a  very 
imperfect  thermometer. 

These  facts  prove  conclusively  that  the  so-called  winter 
sleep  of  dormice  does  not  depend  on  low  temperatures. 
Perhaps  the  nutrition,  and  especially  the  accumulation  of 
fat  in  their  body  tissues,  plays  a  leading  part  in  it.  But 
it  seems  to  me  to  be  probable,  from  the  observations 
Recounted  above,  that  this  condition,  independent  of 
what  cause  produces  it,  is  closely  related  to  hypnosis  on 
the  one  hand  and  to  catalepsy  on  the  other. ^ 

^  It  was  only  after  publication  that  I  became  aware  of  an  earlier 
work  of  Quincke's  ('  On  the  Thermic  Regulation  in  the  Marmot, 
Archiv  fur  experiinentelle  Pathologie  und  Pharmakologie^  vol.  xv.). 
The  author  presumes,  on  the  ground  of  experiments,  another  (internal) 
cause  besides  cold  for  the  onset  and  termination  of  the  winter  sleep. 
Rewrites:  'It  appears  to  me  as  if  on  awakening  (and  becoming 
warm)  movements  and  reactions  may  take  place  even  during  lower 
temperatures,  and  on  going  to  sleep  (becoming  cold)  these  become 
sluggish  even  during  higher  temperatures.  For  this  reason  I  think  that 
the  alteration  of  the  body  temperature  only  follows  the  onset  and 
termination  of  the  other  symptoms  of  sleep,  and  does  not  produce 
them.  The  going  to  sleep  again  after  spontaneous  awakening  (in 
winter,  etc.)  takes  place  at  very  different  rates  in  different  individuals. 
This,  too,  shows  that,  although  the  external  conditions — rest  and  suit- 
able^ temperature — are  necessary  conditions  for  the  onset  of  the  winter 
sleep  [this  is,  as  we  have  seen,  an  error — ForelJ,  the  actual  cause  for 

23—2 


356       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

It  is  a  fact  (Liebeault,  Bernheim,  Wetterstrand)  that 
one  can  produce  a  deep,  long-lasting  catalepsy,  with 
slowing  and  weakening  of  all  the  living  functions,  in  man 
by  means  of  suggestion  under  certain  circumstances.  It 
is  further  certain  that  the  dormouse  never  sleeps,  when  it 
is  free,  outside  its  nest,  that  it  makes  its  preparations 
for  the  sleep,  and  that  in  consequence  the  setting  in  of 
the  sleep  depends  up  to  a  certain  degree  on  association 
conceptions.  My  observations  prove  that  even  during 
the  lethargic  sleep  certain  purposeful  movements  can  be 
incited  by  sensory  stimuli.  The  relatively  sudden  transi- 
tion from  the  waking  to  the  sleeping  condition  and  the 
reverse,  and  also  the  temporary  awakening  and  going  to 
sleep  again  mentioned  above,  speaks  in  favour  of  the 
part  played  by  suggestion  in  the  winter  sleep  of  the 
dormouse.  These  facts  appear  to  me  to  prove  that  the 
appearance  of  the  lethargy  depends  on  two  components  : 
(i)  The  accumulation  of  fat,  predisposing  to  somnolence  ; 
and  (2)  the  suggestion  acting  on  the  nervous  cent 
through  associative  means. 

I  now^  come  to  the  celebrated  experimentum  mirabile 
of  Athanasius  Kircher,  w^hich  the  keen-sighted  Padre  had 
already  entitled  '  On  the  Power  of  Imagination  of  the  Hen.' 
It  is  true  that  the  experiment,  in  which  a  hen  was  bound 
tightly  and  rendered  rigid  by  means  of  a  chalk  hne,  had 
been  carried  out  by  Daniel  Schwenter  (Niimberg, 
1636)  before  Kircher  performed  it.  Schwenter  ascribed 
the  rigidity  of  the  hen  to  fright.  This  has  been  reported 
by  Preyer  (Hypnotismiis,  1890). 

The  physiologist  Professor  Preyer  took  up  these  ex- 
periments again  in  1 872-1873,  according  to  Czermak, 
employing  several  animals,  and,  adopting  the  views  of 
Schw^enter,  referred  the  rigidity  to  fright,  because  the 
ammals  are  said  to  show  trembling,  peristalsis,  panting 

the  onset  must  be  another  (internal)  one.'  Quincke  saw  the  tempera- 
ture sink  in  the  marmot  down  to  7°  and  even  to  6°  C.  during  the  winter 
sleep. 


CATAPLEXY  357 

respiration,  and  anaemia  of  the  head.  He  called  this 
condition,  therefore,  cataplexy,  or  fright  rigidity.  I 
have  never  been  able  to  reconcile  myself  to  this  Schwenter- 
Preyer  theory  of  cataplexy,  chiefly  because  tame  animals, 
like  guinea-pigs  and  hens,  are  the  most  easily  rendered 
'  cataplexic,'  without  it  being  necessary  for  one  to 
frighten  them  ;  while  frightened  wild  animals  do  not 
fall  into  this  condition  so  easily.  Further — and  this  is 
of  great  importance — there  is  an  unmistakable  analogy 
between  these  conditions  and  hypnosis. 

In  attempting  to  prove  cataplexy  and  his  lactic  acid 
theory  of  sleep,  Preyer  made  the  statement  that  there  is 
no  instance  in  which  ordinary  sleep  sets  in  suddenly — 
that  it  always  sets  in  gradually.  This  is  certainly  in- 
correct ;  in  certain  persons  sleep  sets  in  with  very  marked 
suddenness  ;  and  I  can  further  prove  to  everyone  who 
will  visit  me  that  I  can  hypnotize  a  person  as  quickly  as 
lightning,  without  allowing  a  trace  of  fright  to  appear, 
and  Charcot,  Liebeault,  Bernheim,  and  others  have  done 
the  same. 

Professor  Preyer  goes  on  to  say  that  he  had  intention- 
ally examined  animals,  because  they  do  not  malinger. 
I  am  sorry  to  be  compelled  to  contradict  him  again  in 
this.  We  have  not  inherited  simulation,  together  with 
so  many  other  minor  qualities,  from  our  betailed  an- 
cestors in  order  to  dispute  them  away  now.  Animals 
simulate  very  nicely  ;  even  insects  know  how  to  pretend 
to  be  dead,  and  do  not  by  any  means  need  to  be  rigid 
from  fright — according  to  Preyer,  cataplexic — for  this 
purpose.  I  have  watched  the  method  of  life  of  insects 
very  closely,  and  am  absolutely  convinced,  from  in- 
numerable small  incidents,  the  value  of  which  is  only 
recognised  after  continuous  exact  biological  observations, 
that  the  rigidity  of  insects  pretending  to  be  dead  is 
never  due  to  fright,  which  would  render  them  incapable 
of  moving.  It  certainly  is  due  to  artfulness — although 
this    may   be   an  instinctively  automatized    (organized) 


358       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

artfulness — which,  being  associated  \\dth  the  idea  of 
self-preservation,  is  set  into  action  when  danger  looms 
near.  I  may  remind  the  reader  of  the  cunning  of  mam- 
malian animals.  I  might  almost  say  that  it  is  easier  for 
the  psychologist,  at  all  events,  to  detect  simulation  in 
the  majority  of  persons  than  in  animals,  since  one  can 
get  at  the  matter  later  on  by  means  of  speech  quite 
easily  with  human  beings,  which  is  impossible  with 
animals.  Apart  from  this,  we  have  seen  that  one  has  to 
be  very  careful  as  to  how  one  deals  with  the  idea  of 
malingering,  and  that  it  is  foolish  to  suspect  everybody 
of  conscious  malingering  in  order  to  jeer  at  us.  One  will 
be  misled  a  hundred  times  by  unrecognised  suggestion 
to  every  one  time  when  one  is  duped  by  conscious  ma- 
lingering. 

Professor  Danilewsky,  of  Charkow,^  has  carried  out 
extensive  experiments  on  hypnosis  in  animals,  from 
the  crab  to  the  rabbit.  The  abnormal  position  in  which 
one  places  the  animal  and  the  continuous  mild  but  con- 
sistent overpowering  on  the  part  of  the  hypnotist  are 
most  effective  in  producing  this  condition.  Danilewsky 
proves  that  fear  itself  is  often  absent,  and  ascribes 
hypnosis  of  animals  beyond  doubt  to  suggestion.  He 
says  that,  of  course,  one  cannot  talk  of  verbal  suggestion 
in  these  cases.  But  the  influence  on  the  more  simple 
conceptions  of  the  animal  is  absolutely  homologous  to 
that  of  suggestion.  The  animal  understands  intuitively 
the  suggestive  command,  subjects  to  it,  and  becomes 
hypnotized.  Danilewsky  has  determined  a  number  of 
symptoms  of  human  hypnosis  in  this  way  in  animals  ; 
not  only  the  muscular  rigidity,  but  also,  e.g.,  extreme 
anaesthesia,  and  so  on.  The  hypnosis  of  man,  says 
Danilewsky,  has  the  same  basis  phylogenetically  as  that 
of  animals  ;   one  is  dealing  ^vith  the  same  psychophysio- 

1  Professor  Danilewsky,  '  Compte  rendu  du  congres  international 
de  psychologic  physiologique  de  Paris,  stance  du  9  aout,'  1889,  p.  79 
(Paris,  1890). 


HYPNOSIS  IN  ANIMALS  359 

logical  mechanism,  only  it  is  much  more  complicated  in 
man.  The  action  of  the  fixed  look  of  a  person — e.g.,  on 
a  lion — is  distinctly  of  a  suggestive  nature.  Danilewsky's 
experiments  are  to  be  published  in  extenso  separately. 
I  must  add  that  all  suggestive  actions  in  animals  possess 
a  much  more  instinctive,  more  reflex  character  than  in 
man,  since  the  activity  of  the  lower  nerve  centres  in  the 
former  is  much  less  governed  by  the  activity  of  the 
cerebrum.  They  (animals)  are  much  more  directly  under 
the  influence  of  peripheral  sensory  stimuli.  This  is  not 
a  difference  in  principle,  but  only  in  degree,  for  the 
cerebral  activity  is  not^different  in  principle  from  that  of 
other  nerve  centres  (cf.  the  experiments  of  Isidor  Steiner 
with  fishes). 

I  must  therefore  refuse  the  theory  of  cataplexy,  and 
ascribe,  with  Danilewsky,  hypnosis  of  animals  to  a 
simplified,  more  automatic  suggestion  mechanism,  which 
mechanism  can  be  induced  at  times  by  means  of  fixation 
of  the  look  and  the  like.  In  reference  to  this  mechanism 
we,  too,  are  undoubtedly  automatons  to  a  greaterjor 
smaller  degree.  The  lethargic  sleeping  condition  of  the 
dormouse  and  several  other  mammalian  animals  is  a 
simple  physiological  cataleptic  condition,  which  is  in- 
duced or  introduced  by  the  action  of  suggestion,  phylo- 
genetically  adapted  to  a  definite  purpose  and  inserted 
into  the  linkings  of  instinct  (see  O.  Vogt's  theory  of 
sleep). 


CHAPTER  XV 

Appendix — A  Hypnotized  Hypnotist 

Professor  E.  Bleuler^  writes  on  the  '  Psychology  of 
Hypnosis  '  as  follows  : 

'  Very  few  self-observations  by  hypnotized  persons  have 
so  far  been  published.  The  following  notice  may  there- 
fore be  of  some  interest  : 

'  After  I  had  often  attempted  in  vain  to  allow  myself 
to  be  hypnotized  by  other  methods  (among  others  by 
Hansen),  my  friend  Professor  von  vSpeyr  succeeded  in 
placing  me  in  a  hypnotic  sleep  according  to  Liebeault's 
method  (verbal  suggestion  and  fixation).  In  order  to 
assist  the  conception  of  sleep,  I  had  gone  to  bed  (it  was 
already  somewhat  late  in  the  evening).  I  was  quite 
willing  to  become  hypnotized,  but  attempted  during  the 
hypnosis  to  back  out  of  the  majority  of  the  suggestions 
in  order  to  learn  the  power  of  the  latter  and  their  influence. 
Since  the  strained  fixation  did  not  exercise  any  soporific 
influence  on  me,  and  pure  verbal  suggestion  seems  to 
have  but  little  effect  on  persons  who  themselves  hypno- 
tize, I  employed  the  following  httle  trick  :  I  had  carried 
out  experiments  on  myself  some  years  before  on  the 
importance  of  peripheral  retinal  pictures,  of  accommoda- 
tion, etc.,  for  the  apperception  of  visual  pictures,  and  had 
discovered  that  by  certain  inexact  fixing  a  definable  but 

1  Professor  E.  Bleuler,  '  Psychology  of  Hypnosis '  {Miinch.  Med. 
Woch.,  1889,  No.  5).  My  colleague  Dr.  Bleuler,  now  Professor  of 
Psychiatry  in  Ziirich,  had  himself  hypnotized  a  great  deal  at  the 
time  ol  writing,  and  had  completely  mastered  the  method.  See  also 
his  publications  on  Hypnotism  (Forel). 

360 


PROFESSOR  BLEULER'S  EXPERIENCES     361 

alternating  portion  of  the  visual  field  is  completely 
excluded — e.g.,  if  I  looked  at  a  framed  picture,  the  one 
side  of  the  frame.  The  exclusion  of  this  caused  exactly 
the  same  subjective  phenomena  as  the  blind  spot  when 
brought  to  consciousness.  I  therefore  fixed  the  eye  of  the 
hypnotist  in  this  way,  which  was  familiar  to  me.  The 
defects  in  the  visual  field  which  appeared  assumed  a 
much  greater  expansion,  probably  as  a  result  of  the 
accompanying  verbal  suggestion,  than  I  had  ever  noticed 
before.  Soon  the  objects  still  perceived  by  me  became 
hazy,  then  I  felt  a  slight  burning,  and  then  a  somewhat 
more  marked  dampness  of  the  eyes,  and  at  length  I  only 
saw  light  and  shadow,  but  no  longer  the  outlines  of  any 
objects.  To  my  astonishment,  this  condition  did  not  tire 
me  ;  my  eyes  remained  quietly  and  wide  open  without  an 
effort  and  without  blinking  ;  a  comforting  feeling  of 
warmth  crept  from  my  head  over  my  body  down  to  my 
legs.  It  was  only  in  response  to  suggestions  pointing  in 
this  direction  ("Your  eyes  will  close  of  themselves") 
that  I  felt  the  need  of  c'^osing  my  eyes  (up  to  that  time 
I  had  the  feeling  that  I  could  only  close  them  by  making 
an  effort),  and  closed  them  apparently  actively,  as  one 
does  on  going  to  sleep  quickly  when  one  is  tired.  The 
hypnotizing  had  taken  about  one  minute. 

'  My  condition  then  was  that  of  a  pleasant,  comfortable 
rest  ;  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  was  not  in  the  least  inclined 
to  alter  my  position,  which,  under  other  circumstances, 
would  not  have  been  actually  comfortable.  Psychically 
I  was  quite  clear,  observing  myself  ;  my  hypnotist  was 
able  to  confirm  all  the  objective  things,  which  I  told  him 
of,  later.  My  conceived  thoughts  were  not  influenced  in 
a  different  way  to  the  waking  condition  during  the 
following  suggestions,  but  in  spite  of  this  the  greater  part 
of  them  were  realized.  I  did  not  fix  my  particular 
attention  on  the  hypnotist,  but  did  so  on  myself  alone. 

'  My  friend  placed  one  of  my  forearms  horizontally  in 
the  air,  and  told  me  that  I  could  not  put  it  down.     I 


362       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

tried  to  do  this  directly  afterwards  with  success,  but  was 
prevented  from  carrying  this  out  completely  by  a  light 
touch  of  his  hand  and  by  renewed  suggestion.  I  then 
felt  my  biceps  contracting  against  my  will  as  soon  as 
I  attempted  to  move  my  arm  by  means  of  the  extensor 
muscles  ;  once,  on  making  a  stronger  effort  to  carry  out 
my  intention,  the  contraction  of  the  flexors  became  so 
energetic  that  the  arm,  instead  of  moving  outwards  as 
I  had  intended,  moved  backwards  on  the  upper  arm. 

'  Then  my  friend  said  that  my  right  hand  was  anaes- 
thetic. I  thought  to  myself  that  he  had  made  a  mistake 
in  this,  as  it  was  still  too  soon  for  such  a  suggestion, 
and  when  he  stated  that  he  had  pricked  me  on  the  back 
of  the  hand  I  thought  that  he  was  trying  to  deceive  me 
to  make  me  more  confident.  I  only  felt  the  touch  of  a 
blunt  object  (I  thought  that  it  was  the  edge  of  my  watch). 
On  awakening,  I  was  not  a  little  astonished  to  find  that 
I  had  been  pricked.  He  did  not  succeed  in  producing 
real  anaesthesia  ;  only  once  when  he  remarked  that  the 
hand  was  as  if  it  had  gone  to  sleep  I  felt  a  tingling  sensa- 
tion for  a  short  time,  and  only  felt  a  touch  as  if  through  a 
thick  bandage. 

'  The  suggestion  was  then  given  me  to  awake  at 
6.15  a.m.  (I  had  never  been  able  to  awaken  at  a  previously 
determined  time).  I  was  then  supposed  to  open  my  eyes 
and  to  blow  out  the  lamp.  I  did  this  so  clumsily  that  I 
felt  somewhat  ashamed  that  my  friend  should  see  me. 
It  seemed  as  if  my  stereoscopic  vision  was  impaired  ;  I 
wanted  to  hold  my  hand  obliquely  over  the  lamp-glass  to 
deflect  the  air-current  produced  by  blowdng,  but  held  it 
at  one  side  several  times,  without  noticing  it.  Then  I 
held  the  hand  over  the  flame  for  a  considerable  time 
without  feeling  any  pain,  which  I  could  not  have  done 
without  hypnosis  without  feeling  considerable  pain  of 
burning.  The  frequently  and  energeticaly  repeated 
suggestion  to  awaken  at  6.15  a.m.  had  an  unpleasant 
result.     I  did  not  awaken  during  the  whole  night,  but  1 


PROFESSOR  BLEULER'S  EXPERIENCES     363 

believe  that  I  kept  on  thinking  whether  it  was  not  yet  a 
quarter-past  six.  As  I  was  fairly  conscious  of  my  position, 
from  time  to  time  I  tried  to  listen  to  the  church  clock  so 
that  I  could  reassure  myself,  but  I  did  not  hear  it  strike  a 
single  time,  although  my  room  is  situated  opposite  the 
church  tower.  It  was  only  when  six  o'clock  struck  that 
I  counted  the  four  quarters  and  then  the  six  hour 
strokes,  but  without  awakening.  Exactly  at  the  stroke 
of  6.15  there  was  a  knock  at  my  door,  and  I  awakened 
immediately.  The  next  time  the  suggestion  of  awakening 
at  a  definite  time  succeeded  without  any  disturbance 
after  a  pleasant  sleep,  as  the  suggestion  was  applied 
differently. 

'  On  the  following  evening  I  was  hypnotized  twice 
lying  on  the  sofa  by  Dr.  von  Speyr,  and  on  the  following 
day  once  by  Professor  Forel.  The  experiments  mentioned 
were  repeated  with  great  ease,  and,  further,  an  arm  was 
rendered  rigid  and  certain  acts  were  required  of  me. 
The  suggested  analgesia  often  lasted  for  such  a  short 
time,  that  when  other  suggestions  were  given  immedi- 
ately, the  pricks,  which  I  had  only  felt  as  touches  while 
they  were  being  made,  began  to  pain  during  the  same 
hypnosis.  Painful  stiffness  of  my  legs  after  a  long  walk, 
on  the  other  hand,  disappeared  permanently  after  a  few 
suggestions.  When  the  impossibility  of  carrying  out  a 
certain  movement  was  made  to  me  I  no  longer  observed 
the  contractions  of  the  antagonists  so  frequently.  The 
power  over  my  will  appeared  to  be  interfered  with  ;  my 
muscle  would  not  contract,  notwithstanding  all  my  efforts. 
In  the  later  suggestions  my  will  had  become  so  weakened 
that  I  no  longer  innervated  at  times,  contrary  to  my 
intentions,  because  the  vain  attempt  was  too  exhausting, 
or  because  I  did  not  think  for  the  moment  of  opposing 
the  suggestion.  When  I  was  required  to  perform  an  act 
I  was  able  to  struggle  against  it  for  a  long  time.  At 
length,  however,  I  carried  it  out,  partly  from  want  of 
will-power  to  resist  it,  just  as  one  gives  in  to  a  reflex 


364       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

which  costs  a  great  effort  to  resist.  At  other  times  I 
felt  that  the  movement  was  made  without  any  active 
taking  part  of  my  ego,  this  being  especially  marked  with 
unimportant  commands,  such  as  the  lifting  of  a  leg.  I 
had  the  feeling  on  several  occasions  of  giving  in  in  order 
to  please  the  hypnotist.  But  since  I  was  still  mostly 
clear  enough  in  such  cases  during  the  carrying  out  to 
attempt  to  resist,  the  uselessness  of  the  latter  convinced 
me  of  the  incorrectness  of  my  views.  I  felt  every  new- 
suggestion,  even  the  command  to  desist  in  an  act  which 
I  had  begun,  at  first  to  be  unpleasant,  and  this  made  the 
resisting  easier  for  me.  I  was  able  to  oppose  the  order 
to  fetch  something  outside  the  room  with  comparative 
ease,  but  could  not  do  so  when  the  act  was  divided  up  into 
its  component  parts — e.g.,  w^hen  I  received  the  suggestion 
to  move  one  leg,  then  the  other,  and  so  on  until  the  act 
was  accomplished. 

'  I  was  able  to  resist  the  carrying  out  of  a  posthypnotic 
suggestion.  However,  this  cost  me  considerable  trouble, 
and  if  I  forgot  my  resolve  for  an  instant  during  talking 
not  to  take  any  notice  of  the  plate,  which  I  was  supposed 
to  place  somewhere  else,  I  suddenly  found  myself  fixing 
this  object  with  my  eyes.  The  thought  of  what  I  had 
been  ordered  to  do  worried  me  until  I  went  to  sleep,  and 
when  I  was  in  bed  I  nearly  got  up  again  to  carry  it  out, 
merely  to  ease  my  mind.  However,  I  soon  fell  asleep, 
and  the  action  of  the  suggestion  was  then  lost. 

'  It  was  only  possible  once  to  call  forth  a  hallucination. 
Professor  Forel  commanded  me  to  put  my  finger  into  my 
mouth,  and  I  would  find  it  taste  bitter.  I  expected  to 
find  a  bitterness  like  that  of  aloes,  and  was  very  astonished 
to  perceive  a  sweetish  bitter  salt  taste,  so  that  I  beheved 
that  my  hands  must  have  been  soiled.  On  awakening, 
a  control  showed  that  my  fingers  w-ere  free  from  any 
substance  possessed  of  a  taste.  It  therefore  appears 
that  the  suggestion  in  this  case  had  worked  differently 
on   my    conceived    thoughts    than    on    my    unconceived 


PROFESSOR  BLEULER'S  EXPERIENCES     365 

ones  ;    the    latter    determined    the    reaUzation    of    the 
suggestion. 

'  My  consciousness  was  scarcely  changed.  However, 
after  awakening  from  the  two  last  hypnoses,  in  which 
amnesia  had  been  suggested  to  me,  although  not  very 
intensely,  I  had  some  difficulty  in  recalhng  everything. 
The  temporary  sequence  of  the  experiments  remained 
forgotten,  while  I  could  recall  the  logical  connection  to 
mind.  I  did  not  retain  any  recollections  for  a  brief  period 
of  the  third  hypnosis.  Once  when  the  hypnotist  made 
me  lie  quite  quiet  shght  traces  of  hypnagogic  hallucina- 
tions made  their  appearance  (I  had  attempted  to  study 
these  several  years  ago). 

'  The  awakening  took  about  ten  seconds  in  response 
to  suggestion,  against  my  will  and  unaccompanied  by 
any  marked  symptoms,  and  was  similar  to  the  awakening 
from  a  light  sleep. 

'  The  condition  in  which  I  had  been  must  be  con- 
sidered as  being  a  milder  degree  of  hypnosis,  since  no 
amnesia  had  been  present.  As  is  frequently  the  case,  it 
could  not  be  classified  exactly  according  to  the  degrees  of 
hypnotic  sleep  formulated  by  the  various  investigators. 
However,  I  have  observed  apparently  identical  conditions 
on  several  other  occasions. 

'The  publication  of  further  self-observations  by 
educated  persons  is  much  to  be  desired,  and  would 
assist  not  inconsiderably  in  understanding  hypnotic 
phenomena.  For  the  present  it  would  be  important  to 
know  if  the  subjective  symptoms  of  hypnosis  are  as 
enormously  manifold  and  varying  as  are  the  objective 
symptoms,  or  if  there  may  perchance  be  some  regular  rule 
in  this  respect.' 

I  myself  experienced  a  sort  of  autohypnosis  some 
time  ago  (1878),  when  going  to  sleep  on  a  sofa  or  in 
an  easy-chair  in  the  afternoon.  I  was  only  able  to 
awaken  myself  with  difficulty,  and  at  first  only  partially, 
so  that  to  begin  with  only  certain  muscle  groups  awakened 


366       HYPNOTISM  AND  PSYCHOTHERAPY 

\4'.e.,  could  be  voluntarily  moved — while  the  rest  of  the 
body  remained  cataleptic.  At  the  same  time  partial 
dreams  occurred  (hallucinating  of  steps  or  of  movements, 
which  I  really  had  not  made,  and  the  like). 

Bleuler's  observation  is  very  instructive,  for  it  shows 
very  clearly  the  important  part  which  the  hypoconceived 
cerebral  activity  plays  in  suggestion. 

A  certain  Dr.  W.  Gebhardt  reproduced  improperly,  under  the  title 
'  Medical  Certificates,'  in  an  advertising  prospectus  which  he  circu- 
lated all  over  the  place,  quotations  from  the  third  edition  of  this  book 
(cures),  to  which  he  appends  my  name  without  mentioning  the  source. 
This  gives  the  impression  tliat  I  (and  also  my  colleagues  Bernheim, 
Wetterstrand,  Ringier,  and  Burckhardt,  with  whom  he  has  dealt 
in  a  similar  manner)  had  tried  and  approved  of  the  method  of  cure 
called  by  him  (Dr.  Gebhardt)  the  Liebeault-Levy  method,  and  also 
that  I  had  communicated  these  cases  to  him  for  publication.  My 
colleagues  mentioned  above  and  I  have  already  publicly  objected  to 
the  misappropriation  of  our  names,  and  Drs.  Lidbeault  and  Levy 
have  done  the  same.  All  seven  of  us  have  stated  that  we  have 
absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  Dr.  Gebhardt's  publication.  Not  one 
of  us  is  acquainted  with  him. 

I  wish  to  add  here  that  I  naturally  do  not  give  certificates  for 
methods  of  treatment  to  anyone,  and  I  warn  the  reader  of  this 
book  against  any  future  misuse  of  the  kind.  Lastly,  I  state  that 
Dr.  C.  Bertschinger  (U.S.A.),  who  publicly  claims  to  be  a  former 
assistant  of  mine,  never  was  my  assistant. — Dr.  A.  Forel. 


INDEX 


Abuse    of   posthypnotic   actions, 

323 
Alcoholism,  219,  231,  250 
Amnesia,  72,  127 
case  of,  272 
Anaemia,  249 
Anaesthesia,  y^,  217 
Animal  magnetism,  50,  63,  313 
Antagonistic  forces,  324 
Ants,  28,  45 
Apathy,  38 
Aphasia,  76 
Apperception,  34 
Association,  79,  171 
Asthma,  229,  258 
Attention,  7,  167 
Autohypnosis,  360 
Autosuggestions,  48,  64,  75,   115, 

119 

B 

Babinski,  190 

Bahnung,  36,  168,  177 

Beard,  228,  194 

Beaunis,  137 

Berchthold  trial,  340 

Bernheim,  47,    54,   70,    148,    178, 

209,  214,  327 
Bleuler,  45,  360 
Bompard  case,  329 
Braid,  51,  62 
Brain,  physiology  of,  26 

in  its  relation  to  conscious- 
ness, 25 
Brown-Sequard,  312 
Burdach,  13 


Catalepsy,  72,  178 

Cataplexy,  62,  356 

Cerebrum  of  fishes,  27 

Charcot,  58,  189 

Clairvoyance,  51,  334 

Conceptions,  180 

Conditione  prime  et  seconde,    12,7, 

145 
Conditions  for  hypnosis,  69 
Confessions,  335,  345 
Consciousness,  i,  20,  28,  160 

illumination  of,  35 
Constellations,    165 
Constipation,  219,  229,  260 
Crimes  on  the  hypnotized,  321 
Criminal  suggestions,  323 
Czynski,  318,  323,  332 

D 

Danilewsky,  358 
Deflections,  183 '; 
Degrees  of  hypnosis,  98 
Delboeuf,  30,  72,  137,  327 
Delbrueck,  146 
Dictation,  54,  63 
Dissimulation  of  hypnosis,  154 
Dissociation,  88,  154,  178,  185 
Dormice,  353 
Double  consciousness,  2t, 
case  of,  298 
ego,  23 
Dream  consciousness,  23,  84 
Dreams,  85,  160,  172 
Dualism,  1 1 
Dubois,  234 


367 


368 


INDEX 


Duval,  39 

Dynamic  changes,  19,  32,  40,  324 


Ecphoria,  4,  157 

Emotions,  114,  201 

Energy,  law  of,  13 

Engrams,  4,  107 

Evidence  in  court  of  law,  341 

Exhaustion,  169 

Exhibition  of  the  hypnotized,  ^7)7 

Exner,  36,  165 


Faith,  218,  310 
Fechner-Weber  law,  18 
Feelings,  174 
Fluid  theory,  49 
Forel's  results,  225 
Forensic  aspect  of  hypnotism,  318 
dangers,  327 


Genius  and  insanity,  241 
Grossmann,  210 

H 

Habits,  271 

morbid,  271 
Hallucination  retroactive ,  146,  335 
Hallucinations,    42,    50,    66,    84, 

199.  259 

negative,  104 
Hen,  356 
Hering,  3,  168 
His,  Z7 
HoefTding,  19 
Homoeopathy,  310 
Homophonia,  4 
Hypnosis,  causes  of  failure  in,  207 

degrees  of,  98 

in  animals,  359 

in  the  insane,  202 

phenomena  of,  loi 

resistance  against,  115 

therapeutic  uses  of,  142 


Hypnotizibility,  66 
Hypoconsciousness,  2,  25,  yj,  105 
Hypotaxis,  72,  98 
Hysteria,  189,  193,  215,  220,  227, 

25s.  273 
Hysterical,  the,  61,  75,  184 


Identity  hypothesis,  i 

Imagination,  32,  167 

Impulse,  31,  114,  201,  227 

Impulsion,  193,  324 

Indications  for  hypnotic  treat- 
ment, 219 

Indifference,  condition  of  primary 
and  secondary,  4 

Inhibition,  24,  180,  185 

Instinct,  30 

Intuition,  31 

J 

Jouer  au  naturel,  33 

K 

Keller,  G.,  149 
Kopernik's  theory,  10 


Lactic  acid  theory  of  sleep,  169 
Law  of  preservation  of  energy,  1 3 
Lay  hypnotizing,  349 
Lethargy,  1 18,  322 
Liebeault,  50,  93,  171,  214 
Liegeois,  137,  318,  z^? 
Lillienthal,  von,  319,  322,  nj 
Lying,  152,  241 

M 

Malingering,  61,  157 
Mass  suggestion,  220 
Max  Dessoir,  23 
Medical  schools,  350 
Melancholia,  194,  238 
Memory,  20,  31,  36 

falsification  of,  146,  335 
Menstruation,   y^,,    iii,    119,    132, 
219,  22%,  249,  256 


INDEX 


369 


Mental  disturbances,  193 
Mesmerism,  50,  63 
Metaphysics,  14,  29 
Methods  of  hypnotizing,  206 
Meynert,  13,  165,  196 
Mneme  theory,  3,  107,  307 
Monism,  i,  11,  15 
Morbid  habits,  271 
Morphinism,  219,  231 
Motor  phenomena,  102 

N 

Nancy  school,  47,  54,  63,  131,  321 
Nerve  activity,  36,  41 

elements,  36 

energy,  43 
Neurodynamic  inhibitions,  181 
Neurokymes,  2,  168,  183 
Neurone  theory,  39 
Neurons,  39,  176 
Number  of  hypnotizable  persons, 
56 

O 

Opening  up  new  paths,   36,    168, 

177 
Organotherapy,  312 


Paedagogic  importance  of  hypno- 
tism, 163 
Parallelism,  12,  166 
Pathological  dissociability,  195 
Perception,  19 
Perjury,  347 
Personar  influence,  319 
Posthypnotic     phenomena,      122, 

155 

Preyer,  169,  356 

Psychological    aspect    of    hypno- 
tism, 165 

Psychology,  study  of,  350 

Psychopathic  conditions,  190,  22"], 

243 
Psychoses,  193,  199,  226 
Psychotherapy,  233,  256 


Quackery,  304 


Q 


R 

Reflex,  no,  168 

vasomotor,  no 
Resistance  against  hypnosis,  115 
Ringier,  57,  192 
Ringier's  results,  223 
Rules  of  hypnosis,  214 


Safeguards,  320 

Sauter  case,  343 

Schrenk-Notzing,  Von,  57,  82,  338 
Seeing,  44 

Semon,  R.,  3,  107,  307 
Sensation,  retroactive,  131 
Sensations,  175 
Sensory  phenomena,  103 
Sexual  crimes,  322 
Simulation  of  hypnosis,  153 
Sleep,  7^,  169,  185 
Sleeping  consciousness,  y}, 
Sleeplessness,  219,  227,  252 
Social  importance  of  hypnotism, 

164 
Somatic  theory,  59 
Somnambulism,  72,  95,  130 

spontaneous,  219,  253,  272 
Somnolence,  118 
Speech,  9 
Spiritualism,  49 
Steiner,  27 

Suggested  confessions,  335 
Suggestibility,  67 
Suggestion,  47,   54,  6t, 

a  ^cMance,  131,  340 

as  to  time,  131,  340 

historical  importance  of,  161 

lasting  result  of,  143 

significance  of,  159 

study  of,  350 
Suggestions  of  illness,  t,:^,'^ 
Superconsciousness,  2,  26,  105 


Telepathy,  52 
Termineingebung,  132,  330 


Z7^ 


INDEX 


Terminology,  63 
Theories  of  hypnotism,  49 
Thoughts,  114 
Tooth  extraction,  129 
Training,  99 

U 

Unconscious  suggestions,   48,   64, 

75.  115.  119 

V 

Vcille  somnamhiilique ,  i^y 
Vesication,  1 1 3 


Vogt,  O.,  57,  71.  97.  105,  122,  156, 

186,  209,  322 
Vogt's  theory,  165 

of  sleep,  169 

W 

Waking  consciousness,  73 
suggestion,  134,  233 
Wetterstrand,  56,  71,  199,  220 
Will,^ii4,'  142 
Winter  sleepers,  353 
Witnesses,  241 


THE    END 


Rebtnan  Litnited,  129  Shaftesbury  Avenue,  London,  fV.C. 


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