Lafontaine e il Leone — La Dimostrazione del Magnetismo sugli Animali/en
Lafontaine and the Lion documents one of the most famous episodes from the Mémoires d'un magnétiseur by Charles Lafontaine: the magnetization of a lion in a menagerie in Tours. The episode is central to the ISI-CNV tradition because it anticipates by decades the theme of trans-species fascination later developed by Donato.
The Account (Mémoires, vol. I)
Lafontaine reports that it was in Tours that, for the first time, he magnetized a lion. He had gone with other people to visit a menagerie; while observing the animals, his gaze fell upon a lion that was staring at him with the meek air that «le roi des déserts» assumes when, deprived of freedom and weakened by captivity, it seems resigned to its fate.
Without communicating his plan to anyone, Lafontaine positioned himself near the cage and fixed his eyes on those of the animal. He reports that soon the lion found it impossible to sustain his gaze: its eyelids began to flutter, then closed «malgré les efforts qu'il fit pour les relever». The animal stretched out, its muzzle against the bars, one of its enormous paws protruding halfway out of the cage. Lafontaine continued to stare into its eyes, although closed, then — according to fluidic theory — «lança d'une main le fluide sur sa tête» obtaining, after about twenty minutes, a deep sleep.
The Proof of Insensitivity
All those present remained motionless in silence; even the owner of the menagerie, having recognized Lafontaine, had interrupted his explanations. Lafontaine recounts that he then took every precaution and ventured to touch the paw that came out of the bars: the lion did not move. He then took the shawl pin from one of the ladies present and pricked the animal on the muzzle, leaving the pin in the wound and quickly withdrawing; «mais l'animal ne donna pas signe de vie». Convinced then that it was immersed in magnetic sleep, he lifted its paw, touched its head and, opening its jaws, inserted his hand: «l'animal était comme mort», to the great astonishment of the onlookers.
The Awakening
At the first passes of awakening, the lion opened its eyes and rose on its paws with a terrifying roar that made everyone step back. Lafontaine adds a significant detail: during his stay in Tours he repeated the experiment several times, always successfully, and every time he entered the menagerie the lion turned its gaze towards him «avec une espèce de satisfaction», as if soliciting him to reproduce a state that was evidently pleasant.
Significance in the ISI-CNV Tradition
The episode is relevant for three reasons:
- Historical priority of animal fascination: Lafontaine documents the action of the fixed gaze on a predatory animal decades before the systematic demonstrations of Donato on animals.
- Constant technical structure: the pattern is the same as the human method — ocular fixation → eyelid drooping → catalepsy → insensitivity → awakening by passes. It confirms the reading of the technical continuity of the school.
- Clue to the trans-species mechanism: that the same protocol works on a lion suggests — in the ISI-CNV perspective — a mechanism not dependent on language or verbal suggestion, but on the relationship of gaze and presence.
The Mémoires also note that the same volume contains a contemporary reference to the episode («Un lion magnétisé. — Extrait d'un journal»), an indication that the demonstration had an echo in the contemporary press.
Primary Sources
Verification dossier: the full passage of the episode is reported in the dossier of primary source extracts on Drive (anti-hallucination system).
Digitized sources available in the ISI-CNV Drive folder "Lafontaine":
- Charles Lafontaine, Mémoires d'un magnétiseur, vol. I (Genève, 1866) — episode of the lion in Tours (chapter titled "Un lion magnétisé") — PDF Drive
- Charles Lafontaine, Mémoires d'un magnétiseur, vol. II (Genève, 1866) — episode of the lion cubs — PDF Drive
- Charles Lafontaine, L'Art de Magnétiser ou le Magnétisme Animal — PDF Drive
See Also
- Charles Lafontaine — Il Magnetizzatore Franco-Svizzero
- Metodo Lafontaine nei Materiali ISI-CNV
- Donato — La Fascinazione degli Animali e il Meccanismo Trans-Specie
- Persone Curate da Lafontaine — Casi Clinici dai Mémoires
- Lafontaine e gli Indiani d'America
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