Editing Hugh M'Neile (section)

=== M‘Neile's "Satanic Agency and Mesmerism" sermon ===
[[File:James Braid — Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed (1842) — Title Page.tif|thumb|200px|Braid's ''Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed'' (1842)]]
On the evening of Sunday, 10 April 1842, M‘Neile preached against [[Mesmerism]] for more than ninety minutes to a capacity congregation.<ref>His text was 2 Thessalonians ii. 9,10: "''Even him'', whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."</ref><ref>See Yeates (2013), pp.273–308.</ref> He began, speaking of "latter days" – following which, Christ would return to Earth, and peace would reign for 1,000 years – and how, as the [[Second Coming|second advent]] neared, "satanic agency amongst men" would become ever more obvious; and, then, moving into a confusing admixture of [[philippic]] (against [[James Braid (surgeon)|James Braid]] and [[Charles Lafontaine]]), and [[polemic]] (against [[animal magnetism]]), where he concluded that all mesmeric phenomena were due to "satanic agency".<ref>In particular, he attacked Braid as a man, a scientist, a philosopher, and a medical professional. He claimed that Braid and Lafontaine were one and the same kind. He also threatened Braid’s professional and social position by associating him with Satan; and, in the most ill informed way, condemned Braid’s important therapeutic work as having no clinical efficacy whatsoever.</ref> The sermon was reported on at some length in the ''Liverpool Standard'', two days later.<ref>"The Rev. Hugh M‘Neile on Mesmerism", ''The Liverpool Standard'', No.970, (Tuesday, 12 April 1842), p.3, col.G: the corrected text of the article is at Yeates (2013), pp.591–598.</ref> Once Braid became fully aware of the newspaper reports of the conglomeration of matters that were reportedly raised in M‘Neile's sermon, and the misrepresentations and outright errors of fact that it allegedly contained, as well as the vicious nature of the insults, and the implicit and explicit threats which were levelled against Braid's own personal, spiritual, and professional well-being by M‘Neile, he sent a detailed private letter to M‘Neile accompanied by a newspaper account of a lecture he had delivered on the preceding Wednesday evening (13 April) at Macclesfield,<ref>"Neurohypnology: Mr. Braid’s Lecture at Macclesfield", ''The Macclesfield Courier & Herald, Congleton Gazette, Stockport Express, and Cheshire Advertiser'', No.1781, (Saturday, 16 April 1842), p.3, col.A: the corrected text of the article is at Yeates (2013), pp.599–620.</ref> and a cordial invitation (plus a free admission ticket) for M‘Neile to attend Braid's Liverpool lecture, on Thursday, 21 April.

Yet, despite Braid's courtesy, in raising his deeply felt concerns directly to M‘Neile, in private correspondence, M‘Neile did not acknowledge Braid's letter nor did he attend Braid's lecture. Further, in the face of all the evidence Braid had presented, and seemingly, ''without the slightest correction of its original contents'', M‘Neile allowed the entire text of his original sermon, as it had been transcribed by a stenographer (more than 7,500 words), to be published on Wednesday, 4 May 1842.<ref>M‘Neile, H., "Satanic Agency and Mesmerism; A Sermon Preached at St Jude's Church, Liverpool, by the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, M.A., on the Evening of Sunday, 10 April 1842", ''The Penny Pulpit: A Collection of Accurately-Reported Sermons by the Most Eminent Ministers of Various Denominations'', Nos.599–600, (1842), pp.141–152: the corrected text of the publication is at Yeates (2013), pp.621–670.</ref> It was this 'most ungentlemanly' act of M‘Neile towards Braid, that forced Braid to publish his own response as a pamphlet; which he did on Saturday, 4 June 1842;<ref>Braid, J., Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed, In A Letter to the Reverend H. Mc. Neile, A.M., of Liverpool, in Reply to a Sermon Preached by Him in St. Jude’s Church, Liverpool, on Sunday, 10 April 1842, by James Braid, Surgeon, Manchester, Simms and Dinham; Galt and Anderson, (Manchester), 1842: the corrected text of the publication is at Yeates (2013), pp.671–700.</ref> a pamphlet which, in Crabtree's opinion is "a work of the greatest significance in the history of hypnotism, and of utmost rarity" (1988, p.&nbsp;121).

Aside from the newspaper reports of the M'Neile's actual sermon, there were at least twelve published responses to the published version of the sermon and its contents.<ref>The texts of the responses are at Yeates (2013), pp.701–739.</ref>