question being (to call things by their right names), between supernaturalism and rationalism. On the one side the incredulous, pantheists, skeptics of all degrees, pure rationalists; on the other side Christians.
"Amongst the former, the better kind allow the existence in the world and in the soul of a statue of God, if such an expression may be permitted, but a statue only, an image in marble. God himself is not there; the Christian alone has a living God.
"It is a living God that we need. It is necessary for our present and future salvation, that faith in the supernatural, respect and submission to the supernatural should live in the world and in the human soul; in great, as in simple minds; in the highest, as in the lowliest stations. The real, efficacious, and regenerating influence of religious creeds, rests on this condition; without it, they are superficial, and wellnigh useless.
"The sacred books are the sources whence this sublime truth is received and its empire established. They are the history of the supernatural order; the history of Deity in man and in the world.
"And be not disturbed at the difficulty of the work, the small number of actual believers, nor at the vast number of. those who neither believe nor care. The difficulty and the number of adversaries was still greater when Christianity first appeared on earth. There is more power in one grain of faith, than in mountains of doubt and indifference."*
The actual doctrine of hallucinations is, besides, in direct opposition to a sentiment innate in man, which makes him fling away an hypothesis, the principle of which is that, for six thousand years, he has been the puppet of illusions. Truth is eternal; it has shone since the appearance of man on earth, and censes not at this moment to enlighten him. Scientific systems may change; but there are ideas and principles fixed on the immovable basis of immutability.
The doctrine of hallucinations is not less afflicting in a human point of view. What more painful and distressing, in fact, than to pretend that the sublimest opinions, the greatest enterprises, the noblest acts, have been taught or done by mad
* Débats, of the 1st of May, 1851.
men under hallucinations, adding, as a corrective, what matters
the means, so the end be obtained? Will not history and rea-
son agree, in protesting against the madness of Socrates, of
Luther, of Joan of Arc, of George Fox, and of many others?
Of what nature, then, it may be asked, were the hallucinations
of these celebrated personages? They depended on a complex
influence; they proceeded at once from the tribute paid by these
choice spirits to the beliefs of the times, to that ecstatic cha-
racter which the struggles of the soul impart to ideas, and,
finally, to the natural organization; for, as M. de Saint Beuve
justly remarks, it is too frequently forgotten that every one has
his peculiar humor in his philosophy and in his theology. Pas-
cal had an unquiet and melancholy humor, thence his visionary
views. Bossuet had a calm humor, thence partly arose the
serenity of his views; and that independently of the greatness.
of their minds, and the nature of their ideas.*
No serious comparison can be made between the hallucinations.
of those famous men and those of the visionaries of our day.
There, enterprises conceived, carried out, consummated with all
the power of reason, the train of facts, the force of genius,
and with whom the hallucination was but an auxiliary; here,
projects without connection, without aim, without fact, and
always stamped with insanity.
But it may be said, How does it happen that this species of
hallucination has disappeared in our day? Here is a reply to
the query to be hallucinated in this manner needs profound
conviction, intense belief, extreme love of humanity; to live in
the midst of a society partaking of the same belief, and willing, in
case of necessity, to die for it. Then they walked with the age.
Where are new creeds? Where are the martyrs? What voice
governs the world? Every one lives for himself and in himself.
Skepticism has gained all classes. Generous devotedness excites
a smile. Material happiness is the motto. It will be allowed
that such a disposition of mind is little favorable to enthusiasm
and great enterprises.†
We know that there have been in religion, in morals, and in
* Of Saint Bevue, Pascal's Thoughts. Thoughts on Two Worlds, July,
1844.
From not having a proper understanding of the value of words, men
attribute opinions to others which they do not hold.
history, men, dupes of their imaginations and their ignorance,
who have desired to impose their reveries on others. It is one
of the accidents of humanity, which is too easily drawn into
error; amongst these, many were deceived without being mad-
men. It was with them, as with thousands of men, who, in the
most civilized countries, adopted superstitious ideas, without
being less capable of regulating their lives.
Ambition has doubtless made blamable use of hallucinations.
Who would deny it? That visions and apparitions have been
feigned by impostors is incontrovertible. But to all who have
studied the question, the fraud is so easily discovered that we
shall not even attempt a refutation.
In following out these researches, we have had two objects;
the one, to protest against the doctrines we believe are contrary
to truth; the other, to write an historical and medical history
of hallucinations.
It would appear impossible that such a programme should be
otherwise than favorably noticed by the critic, or not meet with
general sympathy.
We have but one word to add; it relates to particular facts;
we have deduced them from our own practice, or borrowed them
from the most reliable authors, always being careful to acknow-
ledge their source, to translate them ourselves from the originals,
and to select amongst them the most interesting and the least
known. Their authenticity has been generally proved as many
of them have been made public. Little inclined to unite in a
spirit of rivalry, or in the conspiracy of silence against modern
authors, we have not hesitated to borrow for this new edition
such remarks and observations as have appeared to us to throw
new light on our subject, and we believe that the choice we have
made will add greatly to the interest of the book.
DEFINITION AND DIVISION OF HALLUCINATIONS.
Importance of the study of hallucinations-Definition of authors-Outline of the
principal classifications-Character of the one presented by the author.
HALLUCINATIONS CONSISTENT WITH REASON.
Influence of reverie in the production of hallucinations-Distinctions to be esta-
blished-On the reverie of Orientals-Belief in the supernatural-1. Recognized,
spontaneous, ephemeral, and prolonged hallucinations; 2. Unrecognized hallu-
cinations-Causes of hallucinations-Observations borrowed from historical
personages-Their importance-Recapitulation
HALLUCINATIONS OF INSANITY IN ITS SIMPLE STATE.
SECTION I. Simple isolated hallucinations-Their action on the mind-Profound
conviction of the hallucinated-Loss of the senses no obstacle to hallucina-
tions-Cases-Of hallucination of hearing by deaf persons-Hallucinations, in-
ternal and external, isolated or combined—Hallucination of the sight-Visions-
Visionaries-Belief in apparitions-These hallucinations vary like those of
hearing Hallucinations in weakness or loss of sight-The hallucinated be-
lieve they can see inside their bodies, a power analogous to that possessed
by persons magnetized-Hallucinations of sight and hearing combined-Hallu-
cination of the touch-Difficulties of diagnosis-Certain tactile hallucinations
referable to hypochondriacal illusions—Hallucinations of smell and taste, as rare
as the preceding-Hallucinations rarely unconnected with one of the forms of
insanity-Very common in madness and several other diseases Recapitulation.
SECTION II.-General hallucinations-Recapitulation
ON HALLUCINATIONS AS CONNECTED WITH ILLUSIONS.
Frequency of illusions-Opinions relative to the errors of the senses-Charac-
teristics by which illusions and hallucinations are distinguished-Opinions of
MM. Calmeil, Aubanel, and Dechambre; their concurrence-Peculiar charac-
teristics of illusions-Internal hallucinations allied with sensations of hypo-
chondriacs-Illusions are observed both in a healthy and a morbid state-
Illusions of hearing and of sight-Causes-Illusions of sight sometimes epi-
demic-Aerial illusions-Causes of public illusions-Illusions of hearing-
Motives for the chapter-Illusions may precede, accompany, or succeed
hallucinations-Illusions may be isolated or general-Illusions very capricious-
Illusions, like hallucinations, may induce the commission of reprehensible acts—
Illusions of the touch, of the smell, of the taste-Their influence on the con-
duct of madmen-Illusions almost always accompany hallucinations-Reca-
pitulation
HALLUCINATIONS ARRANGED IN THE ORDER OF THEIR FREQUENCY.
The varieties of monomania with which they most generally unite-Observations
on lypemania Hallucinations are a reflex of the habits of the insane-Ob-
servations on demonology of the incubus-Nature of sexual hallucinations-
Observations on nostalgia-Observations on calentura-Recapitulation . 119
ON HALLUCINATIONS IN STUPOR.
The greater number of persons affected with stupor have hallucinations and illu-
sions-Symptomatology-Arrangement of hallucinations and illusions in some
patients-Cases of stupor-Remarks on this malady-Recapitulation
|