THE POWER OF HYPNOTISM. No. 2.
We had something to say upon this subject last week, but there are other points that should be mentioned. In our article last week it was stated that hypnotism is a power for evil that should be avoided. It may be difficult for some to see this, but a few points ought to open the eyes of the most unwary. A certain hypnotic “professor” in advertising his school says: “Hypnotism is power. . . . Hypnotism is the art of bringing others under your will, making them do exactly as you wish.” No one will say that the foregoing is not a true statement of what hypnotism is. And now look at it. Hypnotism is not only “power,” but it “is the art of bringing others under your will.” God never forces or controls the will of another. And it is only the agencies of evil that can suggest such slavery. For it is nothing short of a slavery of the whole mind of the subject, as well as the enslavement of the body,—a species of slavery that could not be made worse. When a person surrenders his will to another, he knows not where he may be led. And while some physicians have thought that hypnotism might be made to serve the healing art in various ways, yet, let us ask, have they taken into account the many other sources through which it may serve the cause of evil and misery? When the hypnotist “brings another under his will,” and thereby makes him do exactly as he wishes, have you any assurance that he will not wish to make him do something that is disgraceful and grossly criminal? For while “hypnotism is power,” it is a power to work evil as well as that which seems to be good. We say that which seems to be good, advisedly; for any power that takes away the will of another is purely and solely evil. The good that it may seem to do is only for the purpose of throwing the victims off their guard, in order that they may the more certainly be led to irredeemable ruin. Neither the hypnotist nor his victim may be sensible to this fact, but there is a master hand behind the scenes who is perfectly cognizant of the evil he is working. No person can be forced into the hypnotic state. Every one who is hypnotized must first surrender his will to another. His will can not be taken from him, but he surrenders it. And in making that surrender he submits to a slavish despotism that is more degrading and tyrannical than anything that was ever seen where only the body is under the yoke. Hypnotists themselves acknowledge that not all persons can be hypnotized. And were it not for the superstition in the minds of men which leads them to think that the hypnotist has a magic power that they can not resist, very few persons would ever be brought under this subtle influence. And with superstition out of the way, and every person standing on his God-given rights and powers not to yield his will to others, hypnotism would come to a sudden terminus. J. G. M’Kendrick, M.D., LL.D., Professor of the Institutes of Medicine, University of Glasgow, says of the hypnotic state, “Once the condition has been successfully induced, it can be more easily induced a second time, a third time more easily than a second, and so on until the patient may be so pliant to the will of the operator that a fixed look, or a wave of the hand, may throw him at once into the condition.” Now where is there any chance for good to come out of the workings of such power? The individual who submits to it gives up his will power and places himself wholly at the mercy of another. How can any one be foolish enough to make such a sacrifice? The hypnotic professor to whose advertisement allusion has already been made, says that “it is used to relieve the suffering, to reform the erring, to control the wayward, and to knit the bonds of family affection.” And at the close of his advertisement he says, “Those who may wish to become masters of this wonderful art for the working of evil in any way are not expected to apply for the free lesson, which possesses such startling possibilities.” Thus the professor admits that hypnotism is a power for evil, and that workers of evil may become masters of the art. Jesus, in exercising His power, exercises it only for good. And the instrument through whom He manifests His power must be devoted to the good, and to that alone. And the very moment that the agent of Christ’s righteousness and power even makes the start to descend to the use of that power in the cause of evil, the heavenly current is broken, and the agent is without strength. Divine power can not be prostituted. It can not be made to promote sin by “working evil.” Then since the power that works in hypnotism may be turned to the purposes of the evil-doer, it therefore follows that it is from no good source. And, rest assured, the worker of evil will not refrain from becoming a hypnotist simply because he is admonished so to do by the “professor.” Those who are given to evil are quick to catch at anything that will help them in their nefarious work. And there will be more tricksters than others who devote themselves to the mysterious arts of hypnotism. And when you surrender your will, and with it all your powers of mind, to another, you may find yourself in a grasp that can not easily be broken. For, as Dr. M’Kendrick affirms, the person who is once hypnotized is more easily brought under the influence the second time, and in a little while becomes so powerless that the hypnotist can throw him under his spell by a simple “wave of the hand.” Who wants to be brought into such a helpless condition? And who wants to experiment with a power that is possessed of such evil possibilities? It will be observed that in the advertisement already quoted from the hypnotic “professor,” he claims for hypnotism the power to “reform” and “control” the erring, and also to “knit the bonds of family affection.” The “family affection” that has no stronger bonds than hypnotism can offer is resting upon a very flimsy foundation. And the feet of the erring are surely standing on slippery places if they are depending upon this treacherous power. For, since this power can be used in “the working of evil,” it is possible for one hypnotist to perform what seems to be the work of “knitting the bonds of family affection.” But in a little while another may come along who can gain something for himself by breaking these bonds; and so he works his power in that direction. Upon its own testimony there is not a crime in the whole calendar, from highway robbery and adultery on down the list, that may not be forced upon a victim when once he or she is surrendered to this hypnotic influence. We can not hope that all will see and avoid this danger. Some will be so overconfident that they will go right ahead, in the face of every admonition and regardless of the most palpable facts. But those who regard their safety, including everything that pertains to their welfare for both time and eternity, will avoid every approach to the magic and mysterious arts of hypnotism. The one fact alone that it can be used as such a mighty agency for evil should be an eye-opener that once and forever sets you on your guard, and fills you with the fixed determination not to come under its influence. And don’t be afraid of the most skilful hypnotist that ever lived. There is no power on earth that can hypnotize you unless you voluntarily yield your will to the control of another. Some one may say to you that electricity, steam, gunpowder, etc., may be useful agents for good, and also dangerous elements for evil, the same as hypnotism. But just think about it for a moment and you will see that there is no semblance of a parallel. The useful operations of either electricity or steam do not require that any one shall first surrender all his will to their control before they can act. Electricity and steam are independent forces over which man presides, and no vassal must sit at his feet, stripped of his powers of will and intellect, in order to give them a medium through which to act. Hypnotism may seek to pose under the mantle of science; it may hide behind certain ones of the medical profession; it may seek in every way to show a respectable and fair exterior, but beware; there is evil lurking there.