torture or merely had examined the skin of the
subject in order to discover anaesthesia patches which were called
marks of the devil.[2754] But from the merely oral examination which
took place we can only draw inferences concerning Jeanne's general
physical condition. In case excessive importance should be attached to
such inferences I should add that in the diagnosis of hysteria
contemporary neurologists pay less attention than did Charcot to
unilateral hallucinations of sight.

[Footnote 2752: A famous French alienist (1825-1893).--W.S.]

[Footnote 2753: _Progres medical_, January 19, 1878.]

[Footnote 2754: The existence of patches devoid of feeling was
considered in the Middle Ages to prove that the subject was a witch.
Hence needles were run into the supposed witch. And if she felt them
in every part of her body she was acquitted.--W.S.]

The other characteristics of Jeanne's hallucinations revealed by her
examinations during the trial are no less interesting than these,
although they do not lead to any more certain conclusions.

Those visions and voices, which the subject refers to an external
source and which are so characteristic of hysterical hallucinations,
proceed suddenly from the subconscious self. Jeanne's conscious self
was so far from being prepared for her voices that she declares she
was very much afraid when she first heard them: "I was thirteen when I
heard a voice coming from God telling me to lead a good life. And the
first time I was very much afraid. This voice came to me about noon;
it was in the summer, in my father's garden."[2755]

[Footnote 2755: _Trial_, vol. i, p. 52.]

And then straightway the voice becomes imperative. It demands an
obedience which is not refused: "It said to me: 'Go forth into
France,' and I could no longer stay where I was."[2756]

[Footnote 2756: _Trial_, vol. i, p. 53.]

Her visions all occur in the same manner. They appeal to the senses in
exactly the same way and are received by the Maid with equal
credulity.

Finally, these hallucinations of hearing and of sight are soon
associated with similar hallucinations of smell and touch, which serve
to confirm Jeanne's belief in their reality.

_Q._ "Which part of Saint Catherine did you touch?"

_A._ "You will hear nothing more."

_Q._ "Did you kiss or embrace Saint Catherine or Saint Margaret?"

_A._ "I embraced them both."

_Q._ "In embracing them did you feel heat or anything?"

_A._ "I could not em