Mere repetition of anything to almost anybody, will produce remarkable
results; or a kind of Hypnotism Causing the patient to yield to what
becomes an irresistible power. Thus it is said that perpetual dropping
will wear away stones. Dr. JAMES R. COCKE in his "Hypnotism," in
illustrating this, speaks of a man who did not want to sign a note, he
knew that it was folly to do so, but yielded from having been "over
persuaded." I have read a story in which a man was thus simply
_talked_ into sacrificing his property. The great power latent in this
form of suggestiveness is well known to knaves in America where it is
most employed. This is the whole secret of the value of advertising.
People yield to the mere repetition in time. Attention and Interest
may in this way be self-induced from repetition.

It is true that an image or idea may be often repeated to minds which
do not think or reflect, without awakening attention; _per contra_,
the least degree of thought in a vast majority of cases forms a
nucleus, or beginning, which may easily be increased to an indefinite
extent. A very little exercise of the Will suffices in most cases to
fix the attention on a subject, and how this can be done will be shown
in another chapter. But in many cases Attention is attracted with
little or no voluntary effort. On this fact is based the truth that
when or where it is desired, Attention and Interest may be awakened
with great ease by a simple process.

It may be remarked on the subject of repetition of images or ideas,
that a vast proportion of senseless superstitions, traditions or
customs, which no one can explain, originate in this way, and that in
fact what we call _habit_ (which ranks as second nature) is only
another form or result of involuntary attention and the unconsciously
giving a place in the memory to what we have heard.