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"It is not the object of this work to convince men who, otherwise well informed, still doubt the reality of magnetism; it is intended chiefly for those who are not engaged in medicine, physiology, or physics, who believe upon oral testimony, without having seen any person magnetized, and who, being persuaded that I know more than themselves upon the subject, wish to try my method, in order to succeed, as I have had the happiness of doing, in curing and ameliorating the ills of their fellow-creatures. I shall lay down principles, which I believe true, without entering into any discussion to prove their truth. I shall avoid pronouncing upon that which appears doubtful; and if I sometimes err in the mode of explaining things, my errors, appertaining solely to the theory which I have adopted to connect the phenomena by referring them to the same cause, will not affect the indication of the means to be taken to produce these phenomena, and derive advantage from them. I shall not stop to detail facts in support of my doctrine. I shall limit myself to the citing of a few of those which I have myself observed, whenever examples shall appear necessary to the better understanding of my subject. For the purpose of obtaining a more orderly arrangement, I shall divide this instruction into chapters. I shall first lay down certain principles, in order to make my instructions more plain and simple. If my manner of announcing these principles be somewhat hypothetical, there can be no change in the results. Thus I shall employ the expression ""magnetic fluid"", because I believe in the existence, of fluid, the nature of which is unknown to me; but those who deny the existence of this fluid, who compare the action of inagnetism in living beings to that of attraction in inanimate bodies, or who admit a spiritual influence without a particular agent, cannot, on that account, contradict the consequences to which I shall arrive. The knowledge of the processes, and of all the conditions necessary for the efficient use of magnetism, is independent of the opinions which serve to explain the phenomena, and of which, up to the present time, none are susceptible of demonstration. My first chapter shall contain an enunciation of the principles which are general and applicable to all cases. In the second chapter, I shall teach the various processes which are employed in magnetizing, when somnambulism does not take place. In the third, I shall speak of the indications which the first perceivable effects afford for the choice of processes. In the fourth, I will give information concerning the auxiliary means by which the force of magnetism may be augmented, either by communicating the magnetic virtue to certain bodies, or by putting magnetism in motion and circulation, so that several persons may at the same time experience the action, under the direction of one magnetizer. In the fifth, I shall treat of somnambulism, and of the manner of proceeding with somnambulists. In the sixth, I shall speak of the precautions which the patient ought to take in choosing a magnetizer. In the seventh, of the application of magnetism to various diseases, and of its association with medicine.In the eighth, of the dangers of magnetism, and of the means of preventing them. In the ninth, of the methods of developing and fortifying in one's self the magnetic power, and of drawing from it all the advantages possible. In the tenth and last, I shall speak of the studies which are appropriate to those who wish to acquire a profound knowledge of magnetism. Let us continue, then, to work in concert, to spread abroad the knowledge of magnetism, without disputation, without fear, and without the spirit of system. Let us banish the abuses and the dangers which may attend the use of it. Let us collect the materials of a beneficent science. The time will arrive when a man of genius will reunite all these materials, and rear an edifice which time cannot overthrow."

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9781651415290

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