The 48 Laws Of Power

undsatdown

again

to

hisTalmud.

Butnosomwrhadhe

begun

toconczantrum

when

surirlcnly

he

hearda

ditming

tumult

outside.

Andwhatdid

heSee.’A

great

crowd

ofmen,

womenand

children,

all

running

towardthe

.i'ynagugtw.

“What's

up?”

he

cried,

sticking

hisheadout

of

thewindow.

“Whata

question.’

Why,
don'1‘
you
know?”

they

atzswered.

"Right

in

fromof

the

synav

gogue

tltereii(Isuu

monster.Ii’;:1crmrure

with

fivelogy,

three

eyes,

andaboardlike

that

oft:goat,only

its

ween!"

Andas‘thecrowd

hurried

by,

RehFeivcl

sudzlerily

tiotirredthat

therabbihimscl

f

was

among

them.

“Lord

of

the

world!"

heexclaimed.

“lfthe

rabbi

himself

15

running

withthem

vurely

thereniustbe

somethinghappening.

Wherethere‘:smoke

then:.5

fire!"

Without

further

thought

Rel)Fezvel

grabbed

Iris

hat,left

his

house,

andalso

beganrunning.

“Whocantell?"he

mutrmcd

to

Iumsclfas

he

ran,

allout

of

breath,

towardthe

synagogue.

A1'iu:Asi:RYor

J)-.WISHF()l,KLO[<E.

NAYHAN

AU§UBtL,21)..

1948

some

and

strappingyoung

men—wouldenterwith

jars

of

magnetized

waterthat

they

would

sprinkle

onthe

patients,rubbing

the

healing

fluidon

their

bodies,

massaging

itintotheir

skin,

moving

themtowardatrancelike

state.Andafterafewminutesakindofdeliriumwouldovercomethe

women.Somewould

sob,

somewouldshriekandbeartheir

hair,

others

would

laughhysterically.

Atthe

height

ofthe deliriumMesmerwould

reenterthe

salon,

dressed

ina

flowing

silkrobeembroidered

with

golden

flowersand

carrying

awhite

magnetic

rod.

Moving

aroundthe

container,

hewouldstrokeand soothethe

patients

untilcalmwasrestored.

Many

womenwouldlaterattributethe

strangepower

hehadonthemtohis

piercing

look,which,

theythought,

was

exciting

or

quieting

the

magnetic

fluidsintheirbodies.

Withinmonthsofhisarrivalin

Paris,

Mesmerbecamethe

rage.

His

supporters

includedMarie—Antoinette

herself,

the

queen

of

France,

wifeof

LouisXVI.Asin

Vienna,

hewascondemned

by

theofficial

faculty

ofmed-

icine,

but

it

did

notmatter.His

growingfollowing

of

pupils

and

patients

paid

him

handsomely.

Mesmer

expanded

histheoriesto

proclaim

thatall

humanity

couldbe

brought

into

harmony

through

the

power

of

magnetism,

a

concept

with

much

appealduring

theFrenchRevolution.AcultofMesrnerism

spread

acrossthe

country;

in

many

towns,

“Societies

of

Harmony”sprangup

to

experiment

with

magnetism.

Thesesocieties

eventually

becamenotorious:

They

tendedtobeled

by

libertineswhowouldturntheirsessionsintoa

kindof

grouporgy.

Atthe

height

ofMesmer‘s

popularity,

aFrenchcommission

published

a

report

basedon

years

of

testing

the

theory

ofanimal

magnetism.

The

conclusion:

Magneu'sm’s

effectsonthe

bodyactually

camefromakindof

group

hysteria

and

autosuggestion.

The

report

waswell

documented,

and

minedMesmer’s

reputation

inFrance.Heleftthe

country

andwentinto

retirement.

Only

afew

years

later,

however,

imitators

sprangup

allover

Europe

andthecultofMesmerism

spread

once

again,

its

believers

more

numerousthanever.

Interpretation

Mesmer’scareercanbebrokenintotwo

parts.

Whenstillin

Vienna,

he

clearly

believed

inthe

validity

ofhis

theory,

anddidallhecouldto

prove

it.Buthis

growing

frustrationandthe

disapproval

ofhis

colleagues

made

him

adopt

another

strategy.

Firsthemovedto

Paris,

wherenooneknew

him,

andwherehis

extravagant

theoriesfound

a

morefruitfulsoil.Thenhe

appealed

totheFrenchloveoftheaterand

spectacle,

making

his

apartment

intoakindof

magical

worldinwhicha

sensory

overloadof

smells,

sights,

andsoundsentrancedhiscustomers. Most

important,

from

now

onhe

practiced

his

magnetismonly

ona

group.

The

groupprovided

the

setting

inwhichthe

magnetism

wouldhaveits

proper

effect,

onebeliever

infecting

the

other,

overwhelmingany

individualdoubter.

Mesmer

thus

passed

from

being

aconfirmedadvocateof

magnetism

tntheroleofacharlatan

usingevery

trickinthebookto

captivate

the

pub-