Observations sur le magnétisme animal

Before going further, I believe it is appropriate to observe for the clarity of what follows, that one expresses oneself imperfectly when saying that Mr. Mesmer heals diseases through sight and touch. Here, sight and touch are nothing by themselves: they are simple conductors of Magnétisme animal Animal Magnetism, a principle which, according to all appearances, exists in Nature with all its properties, but which only acts with the help of a particular direction. This direction, Mr. Mesmer can give to Animal Magnetism whenever he pleases, by means of various conductors of his choice, such as the animal body, a stick, an iron bar, the magnet, electricity, the reflection of light, sound, glass, thread, and so on. It is in this way that we direct electric fire