There is no doubt that hypnotism is a very old subject, though the name was not invented till 1850. In it was wrapped up the -mysteries of Isis- in Egypt thousands of years ago, and probably it was one of the weapons, if not the chief instrument of operation, of the magi mentioned in the Bible and of the -wise men- of Babylon and Egypt. -Laying on of hands- must have been a form of mesmerism, and Greek oracles of Delphi and other places seem to have been delivered by priests or priestesses who went into trances of self-induced hypnotism.