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334 THE WILL IN NATURE.
is one of the commonest forms of this practice, and of this
Bacon of Yerulam, cautious and empirical though he was,
attests the efficacy from personal experience. 1
The charm
ing away of erisypelas in the face by a spell,
is another
instance, and so often succeeds, that it is easy to con
vince oneself of its existence. Fever too is often success
&c. &c. 2
fully combated by spells, That, in all this, the
real agents are not the meaningless words and ceremonies,
but that it is the will of the operator which acts, as in
Animal Magnetism, needs no further explanation after
what has been said above. For such as are still unac
quainted with charm-cures, instances may be found in
These two facts therefore, Animal Magnetism and
Kieser. 3
Charm-curing, bear empirical evidence to the possibility of
magical, as opposed to physical, influence, which possi
bility had been so peremptorily rejected by the past cen
tury ; since it refused to recognise as possible any other
1
Bacon, Silva Silvarura," 997.
2 In the "Times" of June the 12th, 1855, we find, p. 10, the fol
lowing :
" A Horse-charmer.
" On the voyage to England the ship Simla experienced some heavy
weather in the Bay of Biscay, in which the horses suffered severely, and
some, including a charger of General Scarlett, became unmanageable.
A valuable mare was so very bad, that a pistol was got ready to shoot
her and to end her misery ; when a Eussian officer recommended a
Cossak prisoner to be sent for, as he was a juggler and could, by
charms, cure any malady in a horse. He was sent for, and immediately
said he could cure it at once. He was closely watched, but the only
thing they could observe him do was to take his sash off and tie a knot
in it three several times. However the mare, in a few minutes, got on her
feet and began to eat heartily, and rapidly recovered." [Add. to 3rd ed.]
2 Kieser,
"
Archiv. fur den thierischen Magnetismus," vol. v. heft 3,
p. 106 ; vol. viri. heft 3, p. 145 ; vol. ix. heft 2, p. 172 and vol. ix. heft
;
"
1, p. 128; Dr. Most s book likewise: Uber Sympathetische Mittel
und Kuron," 1842, may be used as an introduction to this matter. (And
even Pliny indicates a number of charm-cures in the 28th Book, chaps.
6 to 17. [Add. to 3rd ed.])