Is it surprising that the commission dismissed contemptuously such a mass of sheer assertion and unsupported theory, seasoned with truth to be sure, but so diluted and obscured as not to be recognizable? Like a Bengal witness, D'Eslon was not content to tell the truth simply, but added so many corroborating inventions of his own that no one knew what to believe, and the case was dismissed as unworthy of further investigation. 

He ruined himself, and his cause, also, (perhaps in ignorance, however,) by loading the truth with a parcel of trumpery machinery through which he hoped the power of nature would nevertheless penetrate; but Nature, like an overloaded camel, turned upon her driver and threw him and his paraphernalia of magnetic platforms, conducting-rods and ropes, pianos, magnetized trees and buckets, into the dirt; and truth retired in disgust to the bottom of her well, there to dwell till more honest men should draw her forth again to surprise and benefit the world.

As far as my observation goes, all that is necessary for success, if the parties are in the relation of agent and subject, is passive obedience in the patient and a sustained attention and patience on the part of the operator. The process being a natural one, the more the parties are in a state of nature the better: the bodies of my patients being naked, and their heads generally shaved, is probably of no small consequence in the proceedings...

There are a number of very important assertions in this excerpt from Esdaile's book. First, he certainly points out clearly the reason why the commission turned down the phenomenon as unworthy of further investigation. Second, he also illustrates the point doubly by even adding a number of misconceptions of his own, misconceptions which were nevertheless accepted as true in his day regarding medical practice. Thirdly, he sums up a really ingenious and brilliant theory in one sentence: As far as my observation goes, all that is necessary for success, if the parties are in relation of agent and subject, is PASSIVE OBEDIENCE in the patient, and a sustained patience on the part of the operator. Fourthly, he makes a statement which might serve further experimentation: The process being a natural one, the more the parties are in a state of nature the better. This might be better accomplished by means other than mere nudity although perhaps the possibility that by being nude the subject psychologically is "defenseless," or more "submissive" should not be overlooked. My favorite induction method is to take the patient with all his or her senses on a journey into a primitive wooded area, peaceful and quiet, serene and still where concentration and relaxation are greatest. Both the spirits of passive obedience as well as the journey into the wilderness of nature to seek communion with God are a part of every major religion in the world.

So much for the report of the commission which had as its ultimate effect the denunciation of Mesmer, his methods and theories, although his theories were actually far more on trial than his methods.

After being denounced in Paris, Mesmer's popularity quickly faded, and he traveled to England, Italy and Germany, returning for a brief visit to Paris before the outbreak of the revolution. He then settled in Frauenfeld in Switzerland, until the summer of 1814 whence he moved to Morsburg, where he died on March 5, 1815.

It is not generally known but nevertheless true that Mesmer and his son published works on animal magnetism, and even today copies of these completed works can be obtained. As Mesmer's patients were placed in a tub filled with water and iron filings protruding from which were larger iron rods, Mesmer would suggest to them that as he touched them with his magnetic rod, they would become magnetized and eventually would go into a state of "crisis" from which they would emerge cured. His patients invariably did this and Mesmer considered the crisis an absolute necessity for the cure. Mesmer made a very imposing picture in his long flowing robes, holding his magnetic rod and passing from room to room in his clinic. His methods of magnetism, therefore, were unquestioned and his follower and pupil of good faith, the Marquis de Puysegur placed patients in a trance which he called artificial somnambulism, in which the patients did not enter the crisis or fit, but rather into a state of quiet relaxation. (The Marquis had forgotten to suggest to them in advance that they would experience a seizure!)

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