constant character of a conscious, irresistible impulse; that is, although the subject is quite himself, and conscious of his identity, he can not resist the force which impels him to perform an act which he would under other circumstances condemn. Hurried on by this irresistible force, the subject feels none of the doubts and hesitations of a criminal who acts spontaneously; he behaves with a tranquillity and security which would in such a case insure the success of his crime. Some of our subjects are aware of the power of suggestion, and, when absolutely resolved to commit an act for which they fear that their courage or audacity may fail when the moment arrives, they take the precaution of receiving the suggestion from their companions.
The danger of these criminal suggestions is increased by the fact that, at the will of the experimenter, the act may be accomplished several hours, and even several days, after the date of suggestion. Facts of this kind, which were first reported by Richet, are not exceptional, and have been repeatedly observed by us.
The reality of this class of facts can not now be disputed, but the difficulty of proof in any given case is considerable. We have not, in the case of impulsive acts, the same objective criterion as we have in hallucinations and in the paralysis of movements and of sensation. It is, therefore, necessary for the expert to be cautious in his judgment.
Loss of memory is one chief characteristic of the facts of suggestion. The hypnotic subject does not know from whom, when, and how the suggestion was received. This amnesia may be either spontaneous or suggested, and it is a phenomenon of the waking state, which disappears when the subject is hypnotized anew. The recollection of all which occurred during hypnosis is then revived, and the subject is able to indicate, often with remarkable precision, the author of the suggestion, the place, day, and hour when it was made to him, always supposing that he has received no special suggestion of complete oblivion. Hence the question occurs whether an accused person who appeals to an hypnotic suggestion for his defense, and who submits to experiment, can be profitably examined at a time when he displays all the physical characteristics peculiar to the somnambulist state, so that there is no danger of imposture. We have had occasion to show that some subjects are in this state capable of suppressing the truth, and Pitres has shown that deceit was not impossible. An hypnotic subject may at the same time be criminal, and suggestion must be accepted only so far as it admits of material proof, or at any rate as far as it can be necessarily deduced from the facts of the case.
