200px, Hector Durville Hector Durville (1849–1923) was a French

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

and

magnetizer Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...

. He is the father of

Henri Durville Henri Durville (1887–1963), son of Hector Durville professed in his school which he called “the principles of dynamic physics” in which he showed the difference between animal magnetism and hypnotism. His studies were extremely advanced, ...

Durville directed the ''Journal of Magnetism'', which had been founded by Baron du Potet. He founded a number of occult institutions including: * The University of High Studies,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. It consisted of the faculties of Hermetic Sciences, Magnetic Sciences and Spirit Sciences. * The Practical School of Magnetism, Mozart Avenue, Paris. * The Eudiaque Order, an initiate spiritual society, where the main objective consisted in magnifying the human person. Followers investigated animal magnetism and the effects of

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

Books

* ''The Mysteries of Eleusis'' * ''Magnétisme Personnel ou Psyquique'', 1890
Digital copy
* ''Les Actions Psychiques à Distance'' * ''Pour devenir Magnétiseur'', 1890.

External links

— Famille de magnétiseurs et d'occultistes (in French). {{DEFAULTSORT:Durville, Hector French occultists 19th-century occultists 1849 births 1923 deaths