Mesmerism

<p>2019 Reprint of 1948 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition not reproduced with Optical Recognition software.  Franz Friedrich Anton Mesmer [1734–1815] was a German doctor who theorized the existence of a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; what he called <em>animal magnetism</em> later also referred to as <em>mesmerism. </em> Mesmer's theory attracted a wide following between about 1780 and 1850 and continued to have some influence thereafter. 1843 the Scottish doctor James Braid proposed the term <em>hypnosis</em> for a technique derived from animal magnetism; today the word "mesmerism" generally functions as a synonym of "hypnosis".  This publication is a reprint of the first English translation in 1948 of Mesmer’s historic <em>Memoire sur la Decouverte du Magnetisme Animal</em> to appear in English.  It was originally published in French in 1779.</p>