Lifted in the air by an invisible gas discovered only a few years earlier: hydrogen.

被一種幾年前才發現的無形氣體：氫氣提升到空中。

Scientific progress in the 18th century in Europe, a period known as the “Age of Enlightenment”

18世紀歐洲的科學進步，這個時期被稱為 "啟蒙時代"

seemed like magic.

似乎像魔術一樣。

Experiments in chemistry and physics were fundamentally altering how humans understood

化學和物理實驗從根本上改變了人類的理解方式。

the universe.

宇宙。

The world of medicine, on the other hand, was still largely stuck in the past.

而醫學界，則基本上還停留在過去。

Painful, often ineffective medical procedures that had persisted for centuries, like leeching

痛苦的、往往是無效的醫療程序已經持續了幾個世紀，如吸血術；

and bloodletting, were still in practice.

和放血，仍在實行。

Until a charismatic German physician appeared in Paris in 1778.

直到1778年，一位富有魅力的德國醫生出現在巴黎。

He claimed to wield magnetic healing powers.

他自稱擁有磁力治療能力。

And that he could cure almost any illness using just his hands.

而且他只用手就能治癒幾乎所有的疾病。

His methods caused a sensation.

他的方法引起了轟動。

Even the Queen of France herself, Marie Antoinette, received his treatment.

就連法國女王瑪麗-安託瓦內特本人也得到了他的待遇。

It seemed like Anton Mesmer had discovered the key to how disease works in the human

安東-梅斯梅爾似乎發現了人類疾病的關鍵所在

body.

身體：

Or maybe he was making the whole thing up.

也可能是他編造了整個事件。

Franz Anton Mesmer studied medicine at the University of Vienna,

弗朗茨-安東-梅斯梅爾在維也納大學學習醫學。

and he was fascinated by how natural energies in the universe , like gravity, interacted

他對宇宙中的自然能量，如引力，如何相互作用感到著迷

with the human body.

與人體。

He ultimately developed a theory about the fundamental nature of life he called “animal

他最終發展了一個關於生命的基本性質的理論，他稱之為 "動物的

magnetism.”

磁性。"

Basically, Mesmer theorised that all living things are connected by an invisible magnetic

基本上，梅斯梅爾認為，所有的生物都被一種無形的磁力連接在一起

fluid.

流體。

It's a bit ambiguous whether it's an actual actual fluid or more like some sort of force.

這有點模稜兩可，到底是一種實際的實際流體，還是更像是某種力量。

But essentially it just pervades the universe.

但本質上它只是瀰漫在宇宙中。

My name is Urte Laukaityte and I'm a PHD student. I'm quite interested in sort of medical history

我叫Urte Laukaityte，是一名博士生。我對醫學史很感興趣。

more generally.

更普遍的是，

According to Mesmer, most diseases were caused by this fluid being blocked somewhere in the

根據梅斯梅爾的說法，大多數疾病都是由於這種液體被堵在身體的某處造成的。

body.

身體：

And the cure for almost anything involved restoring the flow of this fluid.

而治療幾乎任何疾病的方法都涉及到恢復這種液體的流動。

By “magnetizing” the patient.

通過對患者的 "磁化"。

Hence the…“medical” sort of treatments that he came up with.

是以，他想出了...... "醫療 "類的治療方法。

Initially Mesmer had his patients swallow iron filings, which he claimed he could guide

起初，梅斯梅爾讓病人吞下鐵片，他宣稱可以引導病人的情緒

through the body using magnets.

通過使用磁鐵的身體。

Quite quickly, though, he discovered that just using his hands was enough, and would

不過很快，他就發現，只要用手就夠了，而且會。

produce the same effects.

產生同樣的效果。

When he approached the French Academy of Sciences and Royal Society of Medicine to seek approval

當他向法國科學院和英國皇家醫學會申請準許時。

for his theory, he was turned away repeatedly.

對於他的理論，他多次被拒之門外。

So he switched tactics, and appealed directly to the people of Paris.

於是他換了個策略，直接向巴黎人民呼籲。

And they loved it.

而且他們很喜歡。

Mesmer's patients, many of them women, came to him with a range of ailments both physical

梅斯梅爾的病人，其中很多是女性，他們帶著各種身體上的疾病來找他。

and psychological, like “melancholia,” what's now called depression.

和心理上的，比如 "憂鬱症"，也就是現在所說的抑鬱症。

His practice was definitely stupendously popular among the French nobility and the upper classes.

他的做法在法國貴族和上層社會中絕對是非常流行的。

He would be invited to court quite a lot.

他會經常被邀請上法庭。

And that was another way that his popularity sort of grew at the time.

而這也是他當時人氣算是增長的另一種方式。

As Mesmer's reputation spread, he found ways to expand his practice.

隨著梅斯梅爾名聲的傳播，他想方設法擴大自己的實踐。

So he not only trained disciples, but also he started having group seances.

所以他不僅培訓弟子，還開始進行集體座談。

Mesmer invented his “baquet,” a wooden tub that could “magnetize” groups of people

梅斯梅爾發明了他的 "磁力球"，一個可以 "磁化 "一群人的木盆。

simultaneously.

同時。

It was filled with what Mesmer claimed was “magnetized water,” along with other materials

裡面裝的是梅斯梅爾所說的 "磁化水"，還有其他材料。

like glass bottles and pieces of metal.

如玻璃瓶和金屬片。

And they would have protruding rods that the patient would press against the affected body

他們會有突出的杆子，病人會壓在患處的身體上

part.

部分。

Or tether the ailing body part to the baquet with rope, like this man, who's suffering

或者用繩子把生病的身體部位拴在籃子上，就像這個人一樣，他正在遭受痛苦的折磨

from a headache, is doing.

從頭痛，正在做。

Having in mind the alternatives that were on offer at the time, taking part in Mesmer's

考慮到當時所提供的其他選擇，參加Mesmer的

seances was just a great way to spend your time in addition to kind of trying to heal

通靈只是一個偉大的方式來度過你的時間 除了種試圖治癒

whatever it is that your complaint is

怨天尤人

People crowded in a dimly lit room, while someone nearby played soft music on the glass

昏暗的房間裡擠滿了人，附近有人在玻璃上播放著輕柔的音樂。

armonica.

阿莫尼卡：

And then Mesmer would be wandering around in his lilac coat, touching them in various

然後梅斯莫就會穿著丁香大衣四處遊蕩，用各種方式觸摸它們。

places.

場所。

Lower abdomen, thighs.

下腹部、大腿。

Which is where the stoppages seem to be located, especially in the women patients.

這似乎是停藥的位置，尤其是女性患者。

People responded to magnetization by experiencing what Mesmer called a “crisis.”

人們對磁化的反應是經歷了梅斯梅爾所說的 "危機"。

You would expect crying, shouting, convulsing, hiccups, laughter.

你會期待著哭聲，喊聲，抽搐聲，打嗝聲，笑聲。

Some of the cases that are described involve people biting their hand such that a mark

所述的一些案例涉及到人們咬傷自己的手，以至於留下了一個印記。

is left.

是左。

It would be fairly extreme reactions.

這將是相當極端的反應。

One of these group seances is reimagined in the 1994 biographical film "Mesmer," which stars

在1994年的傳記電影《梅斯梅爾》中，其中的一次集體降神被重新演繹，該片的主演是

Alan Rickman as the enchanting physician himself.

艾倫-裡克曼飾演妖嬈的醫生本人。

RICKMAN: You see before you the conductors of my power.

你看到的是我力量的導體。

But not everyone loved what Mesmer was doing.

但並不是每個人都喜歡梅斯莫所做的事情。

He had already been chased out of Vienna in 1777, after being labeled a fraud and a charlatan

1777年他已經被趕出了維也納，因為他被貼上了金光黨和江湖騙子的標籤。

for falsely claiming to have cured a young girl of her blindness.

因謊稱治好了一個年輕女孩的失明。

And he was starting to gain the wrong kind of attention in Paris, too.

而他在巴黎也開始獲得了錯誤的關注。

Namely, within the scientific community.

即在科學界。

The conventional sort of doctors were definitely losing a lot of their patients.

傳統的那種醫生肯定會流失很多病人。

You also had people actually concerned with the fact that, you know, this magnetic fluid

你也有人真正關心的事實， 你知道，這種磁性液體，

was probably not a thing.

是可能沒有的事情。

One of those people was the King of France himself, Louis XVI.

其中一個人就是法國國王本人，路易十六。

Who, in 1784, commissioned a group of leading scientists to investigate Mesmer's methods.

1784年，他委託一群頂尖的科學家來研究梅斯梅爾的方法。

The commission was headed up by the first US Ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin.

該委員會由美國第一任駐法大使本傑明-富蘭克林上司。

A celebrity scientist himself, who had already mastered a different form of energy: electricity.

自己是一位名人科學家，他已經掌握了另一種能量形式：電。

Those 'crises' Mesmer's patients experienced certainly made it seem like his methods were

梅斯梅爾的病人所經歷的那些 "危機"，當然讓人覺得他的方法是

doing…something.

做... 一些事情。

But the commission wanted to figure out if it was caused by magnetic fluid or something

但委員會想弄清楚這是否是由磁流體或其他東西引起的

else entirely.

其他完全。

The commission came up with one clear way to test this.

委員會想出了一個明確的測試方法。

Strip out all the suggestive elements from Mesmer's practice: the group setting, the

從梅斯梅爾的實踐中剝離出所有的暗示性元素：小組設置、。

glass armonica, and see if animal magnetism could cause a “crisis” on its own.

玻璃阿莫尼卡，看看動物磁力會不會自己造成 "危機"。

Mesmer refused to participate, so the commission worked with his lead disciple, mesmerist Charles

梅斯梅爾拒絕參加，所以委員會與他的主要弟子，迷魂藥師查爾斯合作。

Deslon, instead.

德斯隆，而是。

Here he is attempting to “magnetize” Benjamin Franklin during the proceedings.

在這裡，他試圖在訴訟過程中 "磁化 "本傑明-富蘭克林。

When Deslon “magnetized” a subject while hidden behind a partition, nothing happened

當德思隆對躲在隔板後面的對象進行 "磁化 "時，什麼也沒發生。

at all.

完全沒有。

Then he emerges, does exactly the same moves in front of her. She collapses.

然後他出現了，在她面前做著一模一樣的動作。她倒下了。

Another test involved a woman drinking water she was told was “magnetized,” but wasn't.

另一項測試涉及一名婦女喝的水，她被告知是 "磁化 "的，但不是。

She collapsed quite quickly within, I think, minutes in a full-fledged crisis.

她很快就倒下了，我想，幾分鐘之內就在全面的危機中倒下了。

And then the commissioners bring her water to recover.

然後委員們給她送水恢復。

They told her that this was regular water.

他們告訴她，這是普通水。

She feels much better after drinking that. However, that cup was, in fact, magnetized.

她喝了之後，感覺好多了。然而，那個杯子，其實是被磁化了。

Their innovative approach became the first prominent placebo-controlled blind trial.

他們的創新方法成為第一個著名的安慰劑對照盲試驗。

Unsurprisingly, the commission concluded that the subjects only reacted to animal magnetism

不出所料，委員會的結論是，受試者只對動物磁力有反應。

when they expected it.

當他們期望的時候。

And the true force behind Mesmer's methods was what they labelled “imagination.”

而梅斯梅爾的方法背後真正的力量是他們所標榜的 "想象力"。

But, as it turns out, that conclusion ended up being an innovation itself.

但事實證明，這個結論最終還是成為了一種創新本身。

Although the report shattered the notion that it was magnetic fluid that was doing the work,

雖然報告打破了是磁流體在作怪的觀念。

they did acknowledge that something's going on.

他們確實承認有事情發生了。

Even if the reason is imagination.

即使原因是想象。

Once the report was made public, Mesmer's reputation was ruined.

報道一經公開，梅斯莫的名聲就毀了。

Animal magnetism became a joke.

動物磁場成了一個笑話。

And Mesmer was once again labelled a fraud and a charlatan.

而梅斯梅爾又一次被貼上了金光黨和江湖騙子的標籤。

He left Paris in disgrace, and died in 1815.

他恥辱地離開巴黎，於1815年去世。

But mesmerism lived on, finding a new fanbase in the United States through the mid-1800s.

但是，彌勒主義活了下來，到19世紀中期，在美國找到了新的粉絲群。

Until it evolved into something more recognizable today: hypnotism.

直到演變成今天更容易辨認的東西：催眠術。

James Braid, the surgeon who coined the term “hypnotism” in the 1840s, was fascinated

19世紀40年代創造 "催眠 "一詞的外科醫生詹姆士-布萊德，對 "催眠 "一詞非常著迷。

by animal magnetism, and wrote extensively about its potential.

由動物磁力，並寫了大量關於其潛力的文章。

Like the Franklin Commission, Braid concluded that “outside influence” wasn't necessary

與富蘭克林委員會一樣，布萊德也得出了 "外部影響 "沒有必要的結論。

to produce the phenomena of mesmerism.”

以產生迷信的現象"。

It could come from the mind alone.

它可能只來自於心靈。

No magnets necessary.

不需要磁鐵。

Mesmer's downfall at the hands of the Franklin Commission's report inadvertently ended

梅斯梅爾在富蘭克林委員會的報告中的下場無意中結束了

up being foundational for our understanding of the placebo effect.

為我們理解安慰劑效應奠定了基礎。

There are a couple of different ways you can read it.

有幾種不同的閱讀方式。

So one would be, the rational scientific approach, like the scientific method, has triumphed.

所以，人們會，理性的科學方法，就像科學方法一樣，已經取得了勝利。

Animal magnetism is completely destroyed as a sham.

動物磁力被徹底摧毀為假象。

And that's the end of the story.

故事就這樣結束了。

Another way of reading it would be how powerful such a psychological suggestion can be.

另一種解讀是，這樣的心理暗示會有多麼強大。