Societies of Harmony

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Societies of Harmony

Associations formed for the practice of animal magnetism by the pupils of Franz Anton Mesmer. The first Société de Harmonie was formed in Paris, and its members seem to have acted in a manner that was anything but "harmonious." After some quarreling among themselves, they broke their contract with Mesmer, whereby they had promised before being admitted to his lectures that they would not practice on their own account or give away the secret of his methods without his consent. Other Societies of Harmony soon sprang up, the most important being that of Strasbourg, founded in 1785 by the Marquis Chastenet de Puységur.

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Societies of Harmony

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Societies of Harmony