B560 <=> B562 (BTG XXXII Hypnotism, p. 561)

“And only many centuries later did this branch of their science again show signs of reviving.

“But . . . thanks to the fact that at this period most of the learned beings there had already become learned beings of ‘new formation,’ they sat upon this new revival so firmly that before the poor thing had time to develop, it soon found its way into their common what is called ‘rubbish heap.’

“And this happened in the following way:

“A humble learned being there, unlike his contemporaries, Mesmer by name, and by birth from what is called ‘Austria-Hungary,’ once happened to notice clearly during certain of his experiments the real duality of consciousness in beings like himself.

“He was greatly impressed by this and devoted himself entirely to this question which interested him.

“Continuing to observe and to study, he almost succeeded in understanding the reason. But when later he began making practical experiments for the elucidation of certain details, well it was just then that there began to be manifested toward him that particularity proper to the learned beings of ‘new formation’ there.

“This particularity of the learned beings of the Earth of new formation is called ‘pecking to death.’

“As this honest Austro-Hungarian learned being then began making his elucidating experiments not as all the learned beings of the Earth of new formation had in general become mechanized to do, he was, according to the custom there, very meticulously ‘pecked to death.’

“And this process of the pecking to death of this poor Mesmer was then so effective that it has already passed by its own momentum to the learned beings of the Earth from generation to generation.

“For instance, all the books now existing there on the question of this hypnotism – and of such books there are thousands there – always begin by saying that this Mesmer was nothing more nor less than a rogue with an itching palm and a charlatan of the first water, but that our ‘honest’ and ‘great’ learned beings very soon saw through him and prevented his doing any kind of mischief.