250 HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ 



This contains an answer to the attacks made by Zollner upon 

 Thomson and Helmholtz, which were a source of great annoy- 

 ance and disturbance to the latter. 



' One of the most painful moments in his rich and vigorous 

 life/ writes Blaserna, ' was the violent attack made by Zollner 

 on him and other scientific workers. I could not understand 

 this till I heard that Zollner had been converted to spiritualism 

 by that enterprising swindler, Slade. His hatred was thus 

 directed in the first place against Tyndall, who had embarked 

 on a vigorous campaign in England against spiritualism, and 

 then against Helmholtz, who had translated Tyndall's works 

 into German, and put his name to the translation. He often 

 talked about it; and we soon discovered that the solution of 

 the so-called spiritualist problems lay in legerdemain. Every 

 conjurer who came to Pontresina could reckon on patronage 

 from myself and Helmholtz. We sat in front, and there was 

 keen competition to see which of us would be the first to 

 explain one or other of the tricks. Often we succeeded, often 

 not. " It is a very pleasant mental gymnastic," Helmholtz used 

 to say, " and one never knows how it may come in useful some 

 day." ' 



Helmholtz expressed himself to the same effect in a little 

 pamphlet called Suggestion and Imagination, which he published 

 at a much later time. ' Dear Sir ! I have never made any 

 scientific study of the question you propound to me. What 

 I know of it was learned accidentally. But I am familiar from long 

 experience with the thirst for miracles of the Nineteenth Century, 

 and the obstinacy with which such faith will overcome the most 

 obvious proof of gross deception ; for my youth reaches back 

 into the days when animal magnetism flourished. Since then 

 there have been many different phases of the same trend of 

 thought. Each has only a short life ; when the disillusionment 

 becomes too apparent, they merely change the method. 



1 If you ask why I have not gone into it more closely, I can but 

 reply that my time has always been taken up with work that 

 I believed to be of greater utility than the curing of marvel- 

 mongers who do not want to be cured. And on the other side 

 I must say that even if I had exposed the trick to myself, I could 

 hardly hope to make much impression upon the faithful. If 

 I had not succeeded I should have put a pretty argument into 



