148 _ NOTICES OF THE MEETINGS (March 12, 
similar to this is often seen in that form of artificial somnambulism 
which is termed ‘ hypnotism’ by Mr. Braid, and less frequently in 
natural somnambulism.* 
But it is the peculiar feature of the ‘ biological’ state, that the 
subject of it is still awake, that he has generally the use of all his 
senses, and that he has in most cases a perfect recollection of what 
has taken place, when he returns to his ordinary state of mental 
activity, though sometimes the recollection does not extend to par- 
ticulars. 
All the phenomena of the ‘ biologized’ state, when attentively 
examined, will be found to consist in the occupation of the mind 
by the ideas which have been suggested to it, and in the influence 
which these ideas exert upon the actions of the body. Thus the ope- 
rator asserts that the ‘ subject’ cannot rise from his chair, or open 
his eyes, or continue to hold a stick; and the ‘ subject’ thereby 
becomes so completely possessed with the fixed belief of the impos- 
sibility of the act, that he is incapacitated from executing it, not 
because his will is controlled by that of another, but because his will 
is in abeyance, and his muscles are entirely under the guidance of 
his ideas. So again, when he is made to drink a glass of water, and 
is assured that it is coffee, or wine, or milk, that assurance, delivered 
in a decided tone, makes a stronger impression on his mind than 
that which he receives through his taste, smell, or sight; and not 
being able to judge and compare, he yields himself up to the 
‘ dominant idea.’+ Here, again, we perceive that it is not really 
the will of the operator which controls thé sensations of the subject ; 
but the suggestion of the operator which excites a corresponding 
idea, the falsity of which is not corrected, simply because the mind 
of the subject, being completely engrossed by it, cannot apprehend the 
truth Jess forcibly impressed on it through his own senses. Not 
only muscular movements, but other bodily changes, attest the 
* In natural somnambulism, the mindis generally engrossed by some ‘ dominant 
idea’ of its own, and cannot be directed by external suggestions, except such as 
may be in harmony with it. There are numerous instances on record, however, 
(among the best known of which is that of the Officer who served in the expedi- 
tion to Louisburgh in 1758, and at whose expense his comrades were accustomed 
to amuse themselves, as narrated by Dr. James Gregory) in which the current 
of thought and the course of action of a natural somnambulist have been entirely 
governed by the suggestions of those around. 
+ It is very curious to observe, in some instances, the perplexity arising from 
the contrariety between the opposing sensory impressions. The mind seems 
unable to reconcile this contrariety, and yields itself up to the impression which 
is most strongly felt. Sometimes it is convinced by the repeated assurances of 
the operator, so long as the taste alone is opposed to them, but attaches a superior 
importance to the indications of sight ; in other individuals, again, the indications 
of sight may be put aside, and yet the ‘ subject’ cannot be made to believe 
what is in opposition to his sense of taste. There are some individuals who can 
never be thus played upon, notwithstanding that their muscular movements and 
their purely mental conceptions are completely amenable to this kind of direc- 
tion, 
