SELF-PRESERVATION AND THE MENTAL LIFE 163 



This superficial discussion of the effects of hypnotic 

 suggestion may properly serve to introduce a brief 

 consideration of Christian Science and the Emmanuel 

 Church methods in their relation to suggestion. 



The circumstance that so many thousands of 

 human beings, not of the meanest intelligence, have 

 turned to mystical methods of gaining relief for their 

 mental and physical disorders is not intelligible, 

 unless we think of it in relation to the medical pro- 

 fession. It is self-evident that if the recognized 

 methods of medical practice could give satisfactory 

 relief to this class of sufferers, they would not have 

 deserted the conventional practitioners. The truth 

 is that these practitioners have distinctly fallen 

 short in two ways in not greatly helping their 

 patients and, what is equally serious, in not taking a 

 sympathetic and intelligent interest in troubles 

 partly imaginary and defiant of rational analysis. 

 It is not surprising that the busy physician, occupied 

 in combating serious structural disease, jeopardizing 

 to life, should sometimes turn a deaf ear to vague 

 troubles of a largely subjective nature. But he has 

 often gone too far in ignoring these troubles, and has 

 frequently overlooked the actual physical basis of 

 nervous and mental disturbances. The reason for 

 this is sufficiently plain. The medical school teach- 

 ings are confined to the very obvious, in clinical 

 work, in the deadhouse, and in the laboratory. 

 There has been neither time nor opportunity for the 

 study of the subtleties of pathology, and it is here 



