A TEXT-BOOK OF lEtt, NANCY SCHOOL.* THERE is no denying

the fact that for those who have studied the methods of the Nancy School for some time the present wave of fashion towards the doctrines and practices of M. Collo acts as a deterrent. To see all the sensationmongers in London flocking to M. Gout's lectures, to read the halting explanations of his methods given by newspaper reporters in the daily Press, and to study the list of " cures," which inevitably resemble

the marvellous tales told by the vendors of patent medicines, causes the student who has taken the matter seriously a great revulsion of feeling. Yet perhaps this same revulsion is, after all, one of the greatest proofs of the wisdom of the Nancy methods, for is it not an example of that " law of reversed effort " made familiar to us by M. Baudouin in his volume on Autosuggestion A distinguished ecclesiastic, on the other hand, has told us that M. Gout's methods are unchristian, and some of us wonder

how he reconciles that statement with the record of many of the miracles in the New Testament. At this moment then, when M. Gout's system, the essence of which is absence of struggle and effort, is not only the subject of violent controversy, but is actually a fashionable fad, it is a comfort to take up Mr. C. H. Brooks's book. Its pages contain not only a treatise on the Nancy method, but also two chapters in which the author

attempts to reconcile Autosuggestion with reason and to give support by an appeal to that faculty for the exercise of faith which is necessary to obtain success in carrying out M. Coue's suggestions.

In chapter four Mr. Brooks formulates the basic law of

Autosuggestion as follows :- "Every idea which enters the conscious mind, if it is accepted by the Unconscious, is transformed by it into a reality and forms henceforth a permanent element in our life. This is the process called ' Spontaneous Autosuggestion.' " As an example of the fact that " Spontaneous Autosuggestion" affects our bodies, Mr. Brooks reminds us that

" the thoughts we think determine not only our mental states, our sentiments and emotions, but the delicate actions and adjustments of our physical bodies. Trembling, palpitation, stammering, blushing—not to speak of the pathological states which occur in neurosis—are due to modifications and changes in the blood-flow, in muscular action and in the working of the vital organs. Those changes are not voluntary and conscious ones, they are determined by the Unconscious and come to us often with a shock of surprise."

We have all of us known what it is to pass through crises of emotion, fear, or excitement, apparently unmoved, and find • The Practice o Autosuggestion by the Method of Emile Coal. By 0. Harry Breeis. George Allen and Llnwin. tee. Odj

afterwards that some symptom, each as a trembling of the hands, or a shaking of the knees, has arisen without our conscious volition. Such an experience is, according to Mr. Brooks, due to " Spontaneous Autosuggestion."

In order to follow out the practice of M. Cone, " Spontaneous (or unconscious) Autosuggestion " must become " Induced (or voluntary) Autosuggestion," and to find out how this should be effected we must, if we have granted the principle of " Spontaneous Autosuggestion," analyse its constituent parts. Hero is the author's analysis :-

" To sum up, the wholo process of Autosuggestion consists of two steps (1) Tho acceptation of an idea. (2) Its transforma- tion into a reality. Both these operations are performed by the Unconscious."

Process No. 2, " Its transformation into a reality," obviously presents no difficulties, for we have seen that in " Spontaneous (or unconscious) Autosuggestion" it is performed without our volition. Our problem in " Induced (or voluntary) Auto- suggestion " is, therefore, reduced to carrying out process No. 1, " The acceptition of an idea." How can we present an idea to the Unconscious so that it may be accepted and transformed into reality 7 In the beginning of the chapter on " Acceptation," called by Mr. Brooks " The Imagination and the Will," he enlarges upon the fact that " Every idea that enters into the mind is charged, to a greater or less extent, with emotion " ;— " The greater the degree of emotion accompanying an idea, the more potent is the autosuggestion resulting from it. Thus a moment of violent fright may give rise to effects which last a lifetime. This emotional factor also plays a large part in securing acceptation."

He then points out that the Unconscious is most available in a state of droweiness or dreaminess, and that it reaches the highest degree of availability " compatible with theconscious direction of our thoughts . . . just before we fall asleep and just after we wake." The inducement of this state of dreaminess may, indeed, be compared to the preparation of the soil of the uncon- scions mind to fit it for the sowing of a seed—that is, for the reception of an idea of which we want to ensure acceptance. Before preparing the soil it is, however, necessary to examine into the truth of M. Cone's contention that " when the imagination and the will are in conflict, the imagination invariably gains the day." The particular proofs of this contention which are cited by Mr. Brooks are the attraction of the bunker for the nervous golfer and the fright of the candidate for examination. The

golfer " imagines " when striking the completed fact of his hall having found its way into the bunker, and accordingly the Unconscious accepts the idea and the ball is duly deposited in the most unfavourable place. Again, the examinee cannot recall his knowledge when confronted by the questions of the examination paper. His forgetfulness is due to thoughts of failure previously entertained in the mind. Having seen himself in his imagination as failing in his examination, no amount of summons issued to his will can bring his knowledge to the front at the requisite moment. As an elucidation of the above phenomena Mr. Brooks continues :-

" A moment's reflection will suffice to show that the will cannot be more than the servant of thought. We are incapable of exercising the will unless the imagination has first furnished it with a goal. We cannot simply will, we must will something, and that something exists in our minds as an idea. The will acts rightly when it is in harmony with the idea in the mind."

Further, he tells us, " When practising Autosuggestion we are living in the mind, where thoughts are the only realities. We can meet with no obstacle other than that of thought itself," and this is the reason why exertion of effort cannot induce accep- tation of an idea by the Unconscious. Conscious effort " sets the will and the thought at once in opposition," for " In applying effort during the practice of Induced Autosuggestion, we use in the world of mind an instrument fashioned for use in the world of matter." From this argument it seems to the present writer that the use of the word " imagination " presents a certain difficulty to students of M. Cones methods. The word that should be used is surely " thought "—" for there is nothing good or evil, but thinking makes it so." And if this is the conclusion

to which the closer study of M. Couee method brings us, it would appear to be almost ludicrous to call it anti-Christian. It is, indeed, difficult in explaining the complete mastery of our lives which is wielded by the seat of thought not to use the actual work of icor Lord Himself. Does He not tell us that not only

do all evil things come out of the evil thoughts of the heart, but that the actual Kingdom of God is within us ?

Leaving this controversy aside as not concerning the present book, we may give one last quotation from Mr. Brooks :—

" With our knowledge of the powerful effect which an idea produces, we shall see the importance of exercising a more careful censorship over the thoughts which enter our minds. The imagination is the legislative power in our lives, just as the will is the executive."

This last sentence would surely have been stronger and more ' comprehensible if the word " thought " had been substituted for " imagination."

The further chapters of Mr. Brooks's book give a description of M. Coue's Clinic at Nancy, and provide an excellent guide for the student who wishes to follow his technique ; but the eras of the whole matter may surely be found in the two words which M. Cou6 uses over and over again, both in his lectures and his

treatments--" Pensez bien," he tells his patients, " and you will be able to cure yourselves."