CHAP. xvn. HYPNOTISM AND PSYCHICAL RESEARCH. 197 



the report, although we have long been in possession of 

 the materials. We are, however, far from excusing our- 

 selves, or from complaining of this delay, since it gives 

 to our observations a character of maturity and reserve 

 which should lead you to confide in the facts which we 

 have related, without the charge of prepossession and en- 

 thusiasm with which you might have reproached us if we 

 had only recently collected them. We add that we are 

 far from thinking that we have seen all that is to be seen, 

 and we do not pretend to lead you to admit as an axiom 

 that there is nothing positive in magnetism beyond what 

 we mention in our report. Far from placing limits to 

 this part of physiological science, we entertain, on the 

 contrary, the hope that a new field is opened to it; and 

 guaranteeing our own observations, presenting them 

 with confidence to those who, after us, will occupy them- 

 selves with magnetism, we restrict ourselves to drawing 

 the following conclusions, which are the necessary con- 

 sequence of the facts the totality of which constitutes our 

 report." 



A considerable proportion of these " conclusions " re- 

 lates to points which are either unimportant or now un- 

 disputed, such as the mode of magnetizing, the propor- 

 tion of persons who can be magnetized, the influence of 

 expectation, the variety of the phenomena produced, the 

 possibility of simulation, the nature of the magnetic 

 sleep, the therapeutic effects produced and their impor- 

 tance, and other similar points. The following para- 

 graphs give the more important of the " conclusions " 

 referring to those points which are still doubted or de- 

 nied by a considerable number of men of science. 



