La Tradizione Europea dell'Ipnosi — da Mesmer a Paret/en
This page traces the transmission line of magnetism and hypnosis from Mesmer's discovery to the Paret Method, based on the historical exposition of Magnétisme et Fascination Triomphants — Moréty e Paret and the journal Donato — La Rivista Le Magnétisme (1880-1886).
Primary source: Magnétisme et Fascination Triomphants — Paret version (ISI-CNV Drive)
Mesmer and the Discovery (1775)
Franz Anton Mesmer was born in 1744. From 1775 he practiced "animal magnetism": a universally diffused fluid transmitted between bodies through baquets, hand passes, friction, and magnets. He arrived in Paris in 1778 with enormous success. The Académie des Sciences rejected him. He left France in 1784.
Moréty/Paret comment: his theories were misunderstood because they postulate a unity of electromagnetic forces and matter — a direction toward which even modern physics is tending.
From Mesmer to Donato (1784-1874)
| Year | Figure | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1784 | Marquis de Puységur | Discovery of artificial somnambulism |
| 1808 | Dr. Petetin | Catalepsy and transposition of the senses |
| 1813 | Deleuze | Histoire critique du magnétisme animal — systematization |
| 1815 | Abbé Faria | Somnambulism with "Sleep!" — only the subject's psyche |
| 1820 | Baron du Potet | Magnetic passes; journal Le Magnétisme (1845-1861) |
| 1840 | Lafontaine | Stage magnetism; direct cause of Braid's interest |
| 1841 | James Braid (Manchester) | Hypnotism — fixation on a bright point; physiological explanation |
| 1874 | Canon Mouls | Meets Donato in Brussels; convinces him to become a magnetizer |
Donato and Fascination (1875-1900)
Alfred d'Hont "Donato" (Liège 1845) debuted in 1875 in Paris. He traveled throughout Europe fascinating spectators with open eyes. The 12 discoveries documented by Moréty include catalepsy from noise (1876), instantaneous induction, and the distinction between consciousness/unconsciousness. He founded the journal Le Magnétisme (1880-1886) with the same name as Du Potet's — an act of intentional continuity.
The 20% rate of subjects entering fascination in a public show is not a limit: with repeated sessions, as documented by the letters of the fascinated and Donato himself, all sensitive subjects enter. "I can magnetize almost everyone, if I am able to make a series of attempts" — Donato.
Official Science and Plagiarism
Moréty documents the systematic pattern: Charcot claims the catalepsy from noise (1878) while Donato had demonstrated it in 1876; Brémaud presents the "discovery" of fascination in 1883 using subjects trained by Donato; Ladame publishes a book appropriating the results.
Erminio Di Pisa
Erminio Di Pisa prides himself on continuing Donato's work in Italy. He transmits the tradition through audio cassettes and the book L'Ipnosi dalla A alla Zeta.
Marco Paret and the Paret Method
Marco Paret takes up Donato's works, deepens them, and merges them with research on therapeutic magnetism. Specific developments compared to Donato: two-level fascination (simple and experimental), activation of the parasympathetic system, catalepsy as ego dissolution, systematized therapeutic fascination.
The Complete Chain
Mesmer (1775) → Puységur → Du Potet (1820) → Lafontaine (1840) → [Mouls 1874] → Donato (1875) → Di Pisa → Paret / ISI-CNV
Parallel: Ceccarelli → Taurus do Brasil → Paret Method (Taurus Method)
Sources
- Moréty/Paret, Magnétisme et Fascination Triomphants — ISI-CNV Drive
- Donato — La Rivista Le Magnétisme (1880-1886): fasc. 1-50, fasc. 50-104, fasc. 104-154, fasc. 154+
See also
- Donato — Il Padre della Fascinazione
- Magnétisme et Fascination Triomphants — Moréty e Paret
- Il Metodo di Donato — Tecnica Precisa della Fascinazione
- Paret Method
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