598 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



search. In South America, it numbers among its adherents, David 

 Benavente and Octavio Maria, of Chili. The interest in hypnotism 

 in France centered around two schools, the school of Salpetriere and 

 the school of Nancy. The former was led by Charcot, whose luminous 

 researches in this subject are epoch-making. 



The Paris school held that hypnotism is the result of an abnormal 

 or diseased condition of the nervous system; that suggestion is not at 

 all necessary to produce the phenomena; that hysterical subjects are 

 the most easily influenced; and that the whole subject is explainable 

 on the basis of cerebral anatomy and physiology. But lately the fol- 

 lowers of Charcot, who had been numerous in the beginning because 

 he Avas so highly reliable a man, have begun to dwindle away and 

 have turned to the school of Nancy. The reason for this is obvious 

 to any one who has studied hypnotic phenomena. The first objection 

 to the school of Salpetriere is that most of the experiments have been 

 made on hysterical women. In the second place, this school ignores 

 suggestion, which has been found to be one of the most important 

 factors in hypnotism. They appreciate of course that it can be used, 

 but assert that it is not necessary. 



The school of Nancy, led by Bernheim, met with equal success 

 and is now upheld by more people than the other school. The theory 

 of the school of Nancy may be summed up in a few words : first, the 

 different psychological conditions in the hypnotic state are determined 

 by mental action; secondly, people of good sound physical health and 

 of perfect mental balance can produce the best results; and thirdly, 

 all the mental and physical actions are the result of suggestion. In 

 fact suggestion is the all important factor in producing the various 

 phenomena. 



Liebault, and Bernheim, his pupil, by bringing forth the idea of 

 suggestion, have made themselves in a way the equal of Braid, for 

 in continuation of the latter's method, the method of the former 

 is always used now-a-days. The influence of Bernheim over his 

 patients is remarkable. His great success may be accounted for by 

 the confidence his patients have in him. Of course the low intellectual, 

 state of the peasant class of France may have something to do with 

 it, for one can hardly think that in any ordinary community this 

 supreme belief and trust in a human being could exist. To Nancy 

 people come from all over the provinces to visit this ' Man of God/ 

 who performs experiments and cures which seem divine. Bernheim 

 goes from one patient to another, shouting ' sleep.' Many of them 

 having been hypnotized by him often fall into the state immediately. 

 When the experiments are over he goes the rounds of his patients, 

 snapping his fingers, in which way he awakens them. 



To sum up then, we may say the history of hypnotism may be 

 divided into five epochs. The first before the time of Mesmer; the 



