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The mutual relations between massage and mind are so complicated that in the nature of the case it is impossible to summarise them in brief. Moreover, the processes of endocrine action and the effect of massage upon certain systems to which we are compelled to assign some intermediary function between body and mind (e.g. the autonomic nervous system) are entirely unknown to us. My treatment of the subject is therefore inevitably incomplete, and I shall only attempt to discuss isolated sections.
A certain harmony of feeling on the animal level between doctor and patient is the fundamental basis of medical treatment which is, in essence, a reciprocal activity between doctor and patient, patient and doctor, wherein the doctor undertakes the duties, difficult to understand as well as to carry out, of servant responsible for the well-being of his master. The term ‘animal’ is meant to indicate that this important factor in treatment has, to begin with, nothing to do with the knowledge and skill of the physician, but arises from the contact of two human worlds and from their mutual human sympathy and antipathy. One does not need a great deal of experience to find out that the influence of this factor in healing is almost entirely dependent upon physical contact. The unconscious realisation of this truth is shown by the custom of submitting every patient on the first interview to a physical examination, although in most cases this procedure might be postponed without any ill results. Skilled physicians of long standing have learned that, given certain circumstances, examination may do irreparable harm, for one cannot always predict the result of bodily contact, and so, often enough they renounce the momentary advantages of a