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be produced by mechanical means alone. The
shining glass balls, the revolving mirrors borrowed
from the bird-catcher, the magnets, the fixed
staring in the eyes of the subject, the classical
mesmeric passes used at the Salpêtrière and the
Charité are sheer nonsense.
The therapeutic value of hypnotism in medicine
and surgery is not negligible as Charcot said. On
the contrary it is immense if in the hands of
competent doctors with clear heads and clean
hands, and thoroughly acquainted with the
technique. The statistics of thousands of well
investigated cases prove this beyond dispute.
Speaking of myself who have never been what is
called a hypnotiseur but a nerve doctor compelled
to make use of this weapon when other remedies
had proved useless, I have often obtained
marvellous results by this still misunderstood method
of healing. Mental disorders of various kinds
with or without loss of will power, alcoholism,
morphinomania, cocainomania, nymphomania
can as a rule be cured by this method. Sexual
inversion is more difficult to tackle. In many if
not most cases it cannot be considered as a disease
but as a deviation of the sexual instinct natural
to certain individuals where an energetic
interference often does more harm than good.
Whether and how far our social laws should
interfere, is a very complicated question I do not
mean to discuss here. What is certain is that
the actual formulation of the law is founded upon
a misunderstanding of the uncomfortable position
in our midst of this numerous class of people.
They are no criminals, but mere victims of a
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