Abbé Faria

Abbé Faria (Abade Faria in Portuguese), or Abbé (Abbot) José Custódio de Faria, (1746 - 1819), was a colourful Goan Catholic monk who was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of hypnotism, following on from the work of Franz Anton Mesmer. Unlike Mesmer, who claimed that hypnosis was mediated by "animal magnetism", Faria understood that it worked purely by the power of suggestion. In the early 19th century, Abbé Faria introduced oriental hypnosis to Paris.