PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION

who have occupied themselves neither with medicine, nor physiology, nor physics; who believe in magnetism on faith, without having seen it practiced; and who, persuaded that I know more than they do on the subject I am treating, wish to try my method so that they might succeed—as I have had the good fortune to do—in curing or relieving the ailments of their fellow men. I will provide the principles I believe to be true, without entering into any discussion to prove their truth. I shall avoid pronouncing on anything that seems doubtful to me; and if I occasionally err in my way of viewing things, since my errors relate only to the theory The author distinguishes between the "theory" (the scientific explanation) and the "method" (the actual practice). He argues that even if his explanations are wrong, the techniques still work. I have constructed to link the phenomena In the context of magnetism, "phenomena" usually refers to the observable effects on a patient, such as a trance state or physical healing. and trace them back to a single cause, they will have no influence on the instructions for the means to be taken to produce these phenomena and to benefit from them. I will not stop to report facts in support of my doctrine original: "doctrine" — here meaning his specific system of belief and practice regarding magnetism.; I shall limit myself to citing some of those I have personally ob-