Trance, then, it appears, is a peculiar3 mental seizure4 liable to supervene in persons of an irritable5 nervous system, either after mental excitement or in deranged6 bodily health. The seizure may last for a few hours, or99 a few days, or for weeks, or years; and is liable to recur7 at regular or irregular intervals8.
Trance again, it has been observed, has phases corresponding with the sleeping and waking of our natural state. And as natural sleep presents three varieties—the profound and heavy sleep of extreme exhaustion9, ordinary deep sleep, and the light slumber10 of the wakeful and the anxious, so trance-sleep is three-fold likewise. But as in trance every thing is magnified, the differences between the three states are greater, and the phenomena of each more bold and striking.
Two conditions are common, however, to every phase of trance-sleep; these are, the occurrence of complete insensibility, and that of vivid and coherent dreams.
The insensibility is so absolute that the most powerful stimulants11 are insufficient12 to rouse the patient. An electric shock, a surgical13 operation, the amputation14 even of a limb, are seemingly unfelt.
The dreams of trance-sleep have a character of their own. It is to be remarked, that in the dreams of ordinary sleep the ideas are commonly an incoherent jumble15; and that, if they happen to refer to passing events, they commonly reverse their features. The attention seems to be slumbering17. Thus Sir George Back told me, that in the privations which he encountered in Sir John Franklin’s first expedition, when in fact he was starving, he uniformly dreamed of plentiful18 repasts. But in the dreams of trance-sleep, on the contrary, the impressions of the waking thoughts, the exciting ideas themselves, which have caused the supervention of trance, are realized and carried out in a consecutive19 train of imaginary action. They are, accordingly, upon the patient’s awaking, accurately20 remembered by him; and that with such100 force and distinctness, that if he be a fanatic21 or superstitiously22 inclined, he very likely falls into the belief that the occurrences he dreamed of actually took place in his presence. A temperate23 fanatic goes no further, under such circumstances, than to assert that he has had a vision. The term is so good a one, that it appears to me worth retaining, in a philosophical24 sense, for the present exigency25. I propose to restrict the term vision to the dreams of persons in trance-sleep.
Then of the three different forms of trance-sleep,
I. Death-trance.—Death-trance is the image of death. The heart does not act; the breathing is suspended; the body is motionless; not the slightest outward sign of sensibility or consciousness can be detected. The temperature of the body falls. The entranced person has the appearance of a corpse26 from which life has recently departed. The joints27 are commonly relaxed, and the whole frame pliable28; but it is likely that spasmodic rigidity29 forms an occasional adjunct of this strange condition. So the only means of knowing whether life be still present is to wait the event. The body is to be kept in a warm room, for the double purpose of promoting decomposition31 if it be dead, and of preserving in it the vital spark if it still linger; and it should be constantly watched. But should every recently dead body be made the subject of similar care? it is natural to ask. There are, of course, many cases where such care is positively32 unnecessary—such, for instance, as death following great lesions of vital organs; and in the great majority of cases of seeming death, the bare possibility of the persistence33 of life hardly remains34. Still it is better to err35 on the safe side. And although in England, from the higher tone of moral feeling, and from the respect shown to the101 remains of the dead, the danger of being interred36 alive is inconsiderable, still the danger certainly exists to a very considerable degree of being opened alive by order of a zealous37 coroner. But for the illustration of this danger, and examples of the circumstances under which death-trance has been known to occur, and of its usual features, I refer the reader back to the second Letter of this series. Let me, however, add, that it is not improbable that, by means of persons susceptible38 of the influence of Od, or of persons in induced waking-trance, the question could be at once decided39 whether a seeming corpse were really dead.
In England, during the last epidemic40 visitation of cholera41, several cases of death-trance occurred, in which the patient, who was on the point of being buried, fortunately awoke in time to be saved. Death-trance, it is probable, is much more frequently produced by spasmodic and nervous illness than by mental causes: it has followed fever; it has frequently attended parturition42. In this respect it differs from other forms of trance-sleep, which mostly, when spontaneous, supervene upon mental impressions.
The only feature of death-trance which it remains for me to exemplify is the occurrence in it of visions. Perhaps the following may be taken as an instance:—
Henry Engelbrecht, as we learn in a pamphlet published by him in 1639, after an ascetic43 life, during which he had experienced sensorial illusions, fell into the deepest form of trance, which he thus describes: In the year 1623, exhausted44 by intense mental excitement of a religious kind, and by abstinence from food, after hearing a sermon which strongly affected45 him, he felt as if he could combat no longer; so he gave in and took to his bed.102 There he lay a week, without tasting any thing but the bread and wine of the sacrament. On the eighth day, he thought he fell into the death-struggle. Death seemed to invade him from below upwards46. His body became to his feelings rigid30; his hands and feet insensible; his tongue and lips incapable47 of motion; gradually his sight failed him. But he still heard the laments48 and consultations49 of those around him. This gradual demise50 lasted from mid-day till eleven at night, when he heard the watchmen. Then he wholly lost sensibility to outward impressions. But an elaborate vision of immense detail began; the theme of which was, that he was first carried down to hell, and looked into the place of torment51; from whence, after a time, quicker than an arrow he was borne to Paradise. In these abodes52 of suffering and happiness, he saw and heard and smelt53 things unspeakable. These scenes, though long in apprehension54, were short in time; for he came enough to himself, by twelve o’clock, again to hear the watchmen. It took him another twelve hours to come round entirely55. His hearing was first restored; then his sight; feeling and power of motion followed; as soon as he could move his limbs, he rose. He felt himself stronger than before the trance.
II. Trance-coma.—The appearance of a person in trance-coma is that of one in profound sleep. The breathing is regular, but extremely gentle; the action of the heart the same; the frame lies completely relaxed and flexible, and, when raised, falls in any posture56, like the body of one just dead, as its weight determines. The bodily temperature is natural. The condition is distinguishable from common sleep by the total insensibility of the entranced person to all ordinary stimulants:103 besides, the pupil of the eye, instead of being contracted to a minute aperture57, as it is in common sleep, is usually dilated58; at all events it is not contracted, and it is fixed59.
Perhaps the commonest cause of trance-coma is hysteria; or by hysteria is meant a highly irritable state of the nervous system, most commonly met with in young unmarried women. There seems to be present, as its proximate cause, an excessive nervous vitality60; and that excess, in its simplest manifestation61, breaks out in fits of sobbing62 and crying, alternating often with laughter—a physical excitement of the system which yet fatigues63 and distresses64 the patient’s mind, who cannot resist the unaccountable impulses. It is at the close of such a paroxysm of hysteria that trance-coma of a few hours’ duration not unfrequently supervenes. It is almost a natural repose65 after the preceding stage of excitement. Hysteria, besides giving origin to a peculiar class of local ailments66, is further the fruitful mother of most varieties of trance.
Trance-coma sometimes supervenes on fever, and the patient lies for hours or days on the seeming verge67 of death. I have known it ensue after mesmeric practice carried to an imprudent excess. Religious mental excitement will bring it on. In the following instance, which I quote from the Rev16. George Sandby’s sensible and useful work on Mesmerism, the state of trance so supervening was probably trance-coma:104 “George Fox, the celebrated68 father of Quakerism, at one period lay in a trance for fourteen days, and people came to stare and wonder at him. He had the appearance of a dead man; but his sleep was full of divine visions of beauty and glory.”
Here is another instance, wherein the prevailing69 state must have been trance-coma. I quote it from the letter of an intelligent friend. It will help the reader to realize the general conception I wish to raise in his mind:—
“I heard,” says my correspondent,105 “through the newspapers, of a case of trance ten miles from this place, and immediately rode to the village to verify it, and gain information about it. With some difficulty I persuaded the mother to allow me to see the entranced girl. Her name is Ann Cromer; she is daughter of a mason at Faringdon Gournay, ten miles from Bristol. She was lying in a state of general but not total suspension of the symptoms of life. Her breathing was perceptible by the heaving of the chest, and at times she had uttered low groans70. Her jaws71 are locked, and she is incapable of the slightest movement, so as to create no other wrinkle in her bed-clothes but such as a dead weight would produce. When I saw her, she had not been moved for a week. Upon one occasion, when asked to show, by the pressure of the hand, if she felt any pain, a slight squeeze was perceptible. A very small portion of fluid is administered as food from time to time, but I neglected to discover how. Her hands are warm, and her mother thinks that she is conscious. Three days before I saw her, she spoke72 (incoherently) for the first time since her trance commenced. She repeated the Lord’s prayer, and asked for an aunt; but she rapidly relapsed, and her locked-jaw returned. Her mother considered this revival73 a sign of approaching death. The most remarkable74 feature in the case is the length of time that the girl has remained entranced. She was twelve years old when the fit supervened, and the locked-jaw followed in sixteen weeks afterwards. She is now twenty-five years of age, and will thus, in a month, if alive, have been in this condition for thirteen years. In the mean while she has grown from a child to a woman, though her countenance75 retains all the appearance of her former age. She is little else than skin and bone, except her cheeks, which are puffy. She is as pale as a corpse, and her eyes are sunk deep in the sockets76.”
III. Simple or Initiatory Trance.—In the lightest form of trance-sleep, the patient, though perfectly77 insensible to ordinary impressions, is not necessarily recumbent. If he is sitting when taken, he continues sitting; if previously78 lying, he will sometimes raise himself up when entranced. His joints are neither relaxed nor rigid: if you raise his arm, or bend the elbow, you experience a little resistance; and immediately after, probably, the limb is restored to its former posture. Such is the ordinary degree of muscular tone present; but either cataleptic immobility, or catochus, may accidentally co-exist with initiatory trance. The patient may even remain standing79 rapt in his trance. I quote the following classic instance from the Edinburgh Review:—“There is a wonderful story told of Socrates. Being in military service in the expedition to Potidea, he is reported to have stood for twenty-four hours before the camp, rooted to the same spot and absorbed in deep thought, his arms folded and his eyes fixed upon one object, as if his soul were absent from his body.”
It is not my intention to dwell more on this form of trance at present. Various cases, exemplifying its varieties, will be found in the letter on Religious Delusions80. It is the commonest product of fanatical excitement. I have called this form initiatory trance, because, in day106-somnambulism, it always precedes the half-waking which constitutes that state; and because it is the state into which mesmeric manipulators ordinarily first plunge81 the patient. Out of this initiatory state I have seen the patient thrown into trance-coma; but the ordinary progress of the experiment is to conduct him in the other direction—that is, towards trance-waking.
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1
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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initiatory
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| adj.开始的；创始的；入会的；入社的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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deranged
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| adj.疯狂的 | |
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recur
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| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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stimulants
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| n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物 | |
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insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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amputation
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| n.截肢 | |
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jumble
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| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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consecutive
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| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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superstitiously
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| 被邪教所支配 | |
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temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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pliable
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| adj.易受影响的；易弯的；柔顺的，易驾驭的 | |
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rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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parturition
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| n.生产，分娩 | |
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ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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laments
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| n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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consultations
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| n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找 | |
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demise
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| n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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abodes
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| 住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留 | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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distresses
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| n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 )；痛苦；贫困；危险 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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ailments
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| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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