ouvrage; vous ne serez pas insensibles à mes tourments, vous les ferez cesser dès qu'ils vous seront connus. TO ALL THE EMPERORS, KINGS, PRINCES, AND SOVEREIGNS OF THE FOUR PARTS OF THE WORLD Milords, Fathers of nations, you who represent the heavenly God of peace and consolation on earth, unite your efforts to my own to destroy the power of Demons, Witches, and Imps, that devastate the unhappy dwellers of your countries. You see at your feet the most unfortunate of men; the torments with which I have struggled for these twenty-five years are the best titles that I can bear before your paternal gaze. Ah! The diabolical persecutions of the Imps would have long since been ended on Earth, had one of your subjects had the courage to reveal them to you. It is in order to unmask them that I have dedicated my work to you, that you may not be heedless to my torments, and that you will work to end them now that they are known to you. The autobiography relates Berbiguier's struggles with the imps. He was able to capture some of them, and confine them in bottles. Sulphur and thyme were two odours he found were effective to repel them. The book tells of an adventure he had with firefighters during a sojourn in Paris, where he attracted the alarmed notice of neighbours by burning sulphur to keep the imps at bay. Notwithstanding his efforts, the imps continued to tempt and torment him. The title de Terre-Neuve du Thym was self-bestowed; it means "of the New World of Thyme," and shows his hope that revealing his methods will renew the world and purge it of impish influences. He also bestowed upon himself the style Le Fléau des Farfadets, "the Scourge of the Imps." Psychiatric interpretation As a result of these activities, he eventually was committed to the Hospice de la Salpêtrière under the care of Dr Philippe Pinel, a pioneer of psychotherapy; he was eventually released. Pinel was unable to achieve much for him, and appears in the book as a servant of the imps. An ultimate improvement in Berbiguier's mental state may be indicated by a report that he attempted to round up and destroy the surviving copies of his book, which as a result are quite scarce. Literary interpretations Raymond Queneau and André Blavier considered Berbiguier to be a fou littéraire, a