It is a saying as old as the hills that "a little learning is a dangerous thing." While as a physician I am ready to admit the truth of this, I think that there is infinitely moredanger to the common weal from the populace being densely ignorant of the phenomena which are daily occurring in their midst.

Hypnotism is at the present time exciting widespread interest, from scientific men, professional men, and laymen as well.

The great public is the bar before which all things shall be tried, their utility determined, and their faults ascertained.

Medical men, conversant with the history of medicine, must all admit that a general intelligence concerning medical matters is greatly needed by the public at the present time.

Hypnotism is freely discussed by only the few. It is marvelled at by the many. Around it the charlatan throws the sombre robe of mystery. The novelist finds in it a rich field of romantic opportunity.

Now it is my purpose, as far as I may, to divest hypnotism of the supernatural, to show how it is done, and explain its rational basis. I shall also describe its dangers, and endeavor to outline its usefulness both in the medical world and in society, and in the latter part of my book shall describe the principal theories which are current about it.

I shall in the first part of this work quote mainly my own experience, for I have found hypnotism in the United States of America a very different thing from hypnotism in France.

The hypnotic states vary according to the temperament of the subject. The national characteristics also alter its manifestations. Especially is this true between northern and southern races.

I have hypnotized altogether about one thousand three hundred and fifty people. The greater part of these were Americans, some negroes, quite a number of French, a few Germans, and a few of the northern races, such as Danes, Russians, etc. It will be my purpose, then, to illustrate the differences in the hypnotic state, as they occur in the various nationalities.

So important do I believe this power of hypnotism to be that I wish every man, woman, and child of intelligence in this country could realize what a part it has played in the political and religious histories of the world. It has made prophets and seers of old, witches and wizards at the beginning of our century, religious fanatics of our own. day, of all conditions and kinds. Believing as I do in the importance of hypnotism, both as a healing agent and as a sociological factor, I shall endeavor, first, to tell what it is, how it may be accomplished, and try to outline some of its infinite varieties.

In the part devoted to the cure of disease, I shall endeavor to divest the subject of all technicalities, so that the lay reader may comprehend it, and to help him to form, if possible, an idea of the profound effect which the various mental conditions may have over his bodily well-being.

My plea, then, is for wider knowledge, To the goddess of Reason I humbly bow. She needs no crawling, cringing minions to do her homage. Knowledge is her swift messenger of peace. Goodness and Mercy are her white-winged angels, carrying glad tidings to all the world. True it is that life is a mystery, and yet the most mysterious and most marvellous thing we know of, is the fact that it is governed by law, and that every thought we have is a product of law. Every mental phenomenon of our own consciousness is immutably fixed by our subjective condition, plus our environments.

The human mind, presenting problems both of boundless study and endless utility, is the grandest thing in all this universe. Men have prayed and suffered in the past, magic and witchcraft have been evoked to cure disease, and yet the suffering are ever with us. Wrecked lives on every hand attest the error which man has made in not understanding his mental states. Therefore I believe that general knowledge of any part of that vast science we call psychology will prove at the same time the most interesting and the most useful study that man can pursue.

I shall treat briefly the subject of thought-transference or telepathy; shall give some of my own experiences, and also refer to published literature upon the subject.

As will be seen from what I have said I do not intend to confine myself strictly to the relation of hypnotism to medicine only, but shall endeavor to give a broader view of it in its application to every-day life.