Mental Philosophy: Including the Intellect, Sensibilities, and WillHaven, Joseph
Philosophy
Mental Philosophy: Including the Intellect, Sensibilities, and Will
Haven, Joseph
Psychology
_An Instance narrated._--A case which fell under the observation of the
Archbishop of Bordeaux, when a student in the seminary, is narrated
in the French Encyclopedia. A young minister, resident there, was a
somnambulist, and to satisfy himself as to the nature of this strange
disease, the Archbishop went every night into his room, after the young
man was asleep. He would arise, take paper, pen, and ink, and proceed
to the composition of sermons. Having written a page in a clear legible
hand, he would read it aloud from top to bottom, with a clear voice and
proper emphasis. If a passage did not please him, he would erase it,
and write the correction, plainly, in its proper place, over the erased
line or word. All this was done without any assistance from the eye,
which was evidently asleep; a piece of pasteboard interposed between
the eye and the paper produced no interruption or inconvenience. When
his paper was exchanged for another of the same size, he was not aware
of the change, but when a paper of a different size was substituted, he
at once detected the difference. This shows that the sense of tact or
feeling was active, and served as a guiding sense.
_Other Cases of a similar Nature._--Similar cases, almost without
number, are on record, in which much the same phenomena are observed.
In some instances it is remarked that the subject, having written a
sentence on a page, returns, and carefully dots the i's, and crosses
the t's. These phenomena are not confined to the night. Persons have
fallen into the magnetic state, while in church, during divine service,
have gone home with their eyes closed, carefully avoiding obstacles in
their way, as persons or carriages passing; and have been sent, in this
state, of errands to places several miles distant, going and returning
in safety.
An amusing incident is on record of a gentleman who found that his
hen-roost was the scene of nightly and alarming depredations, which
threatened the entire devastation of the premises, and what was
strange, a large and faithful watch-dog gave no alarm. Determined to
ascertain the true state of the case, he employed his servants to
watch. During the night the thief made his appearance, was caught,
after much resistance, and proved to be the _gentleman himself_, in a
state of sound sleep, the author of all the mischief.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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