The magnetic prophet, or Andrzej Towiański and mesmerism

Andrzej Towiański (1799–1878), philosopher, Messianist and religious leader, is one of the most interesting figures of 19th-century Polish emigre circles. As a result of the religious revelation he apparently experienced, he began to propagate the need for a Christian revolution for the authentic imitation of Christ. In 1840 he left for France, where he attracted many supporters to his ideas, including Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki. In Paris in 1841 they founded the Circle of God’s Cause, also known as the Circle of Towiańskiites. The author of this paper analyses the influence of the idea of mesmerism on Towiański’s concepts, although he himself firmly denied these influences. The author suggests that Towiański understood magnetism in much broader terms than his contemporaries, and did not want to be associated with the picture of magnetism popular in the social circles of the time; for him it was a practice leading solely to awakening of loving exaltation.

Andrzej Towiański (1799–1878), philosopher, Messianist and religious leader, is one of the most interesting figures of 19th-century Polish emigre circles. As a result of the religious revelation he apparently experienced, he began to propagate the need for a Christian revolution for the authentic imitation of Christ. In 1840 he left for France, where he attracted many supporters to his ideas, including Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki. In Paris in 1841 they founded the Circle of God’s Cause, also known as the Circle of Towiańskiites. The author of this paper analyses the influence of the idea of mesmerism on Towiański’s concepts, although he himself firmly denied these influences. The author suggests that Towiański understood magnetism in much broader terms than his contemporaries, and did not want to be associated with the picture of magnetism popular in the social circles of the time; for him it was a practice leading solely to awakening of loving exaltation.