Speaking of Dr Mesmer, my dictionary defines
mesmerism: hypnosis as induced, according to F. A. Mesmer,
through animal magnetism.
May I suggest a neologism:
mesmertie - sham immortality, a state into which
charlatans are plunged after death (Mesmer + bessmertie,
"immortality"). Any other meanings of mesmertie (accented on the second
e, pronounced mesmertiye)?
VN himself liked to invent new words
(krestoslovitsa for "crossword puzzle," nimfetka for
"nymphet") and whole languages (Zemblan), that's why I am writing to
Nabokv-l (and not to Mikhail Epshteyn's Dar slova).
Alexey Sklyarenko