Introduction
Nat. Ord., Violaceae. Viola odorata. Sweet violet.
Sweet violet.
Provings
1. HAHNEMANN proved tinct.; no particulars given. Makes him shut eyes. Swollen above eyes, and all seems dim. Jerking drawing downwards in cranial muscles near nape, when lying on opposite, e. Sensation in palate as of a healing wound, which is too dry. Constipation for 2 day; he has desire to go to stool, but nothing comes. Very unusual nocturnal emissions, which do not agree with him; he has headache thereafter. Transient burning here and there in body; it feels as if there was a contraction on a small spot, where it burned as in a small transient flame, both by day when seated and at n. when lying. Yawning every m., during which the eyes became full of water. On awaking in bed, m., bruised pain in all joints, going off after getting up. Contrary to habit, he lies at n. asleep on the back, the left hand under head, and the knees bent and widely extended sideways. Night swear. (Archiv, viii, 2, 182.)
2. STAFF proved tinct.; no particulars given. No time stated. – Unconnected ideas, one of which displaces another, but none of which he is able to retain, but so much sense remains that he knows how ill-understood he must have been when he gave utterance to his thoughts; hence he is silent, and mostly unable to say a word about his fancies. Half-ideas occur to him, he tries to arrange them and they elude him; he makes an effort to complete the other half, but at that instant the half – idea is supplanted by another incomplete idea, and so on; one thought chases away another, but they are always only half-thoughts, which he cannot retain or think out; his power of judgment, however, remains, he is aware of his imperfect fancies, but cannot help it; at the same time he appears to be in deep thought and out of spirits. Great weakness of memory for 24 h. Remarkable acuteness of mind for a long time. Dull dazed headache. Dull headache with spasm in eye, during which he saw a fiery quivering semicircle. For several day tension in integument of occiput, even when not moving, but increased by moving head back and forwards, a painful sensation which compels him to contract frontal muscles frequently. Hot forehead. Heat and burning in eyes. Burning pain in left eye. When reading the contour of the letters was not sharp, they ran together. Tension under eyes. Dislike of all music, especially the violin. roaring and ringing in ears. Shooting out at left ear. Pressive pain behind left ear, externally. Numb feeling in tip of nose as if he had received a blow there and the blood were being forced out. Tearing pain in left lower maxilla up to ear. Short breathing. Frightful oppression of chest and dyspnoea with pain in chest as if a stone lay on it. Drawing pains in right elbow-joint. Pressive pain in right wrist. Drawing pain in back of left metacarpus near wrist. Relaxation of all muscles. Yawning and stretching without sleepiness. Febrile rigor. Sadness, passing to gloomy melancholy. – Immediately, violent drawing pressure from zygomata to temples. After 1/4 hours shooting in tip of middle finger. After 1 hours increased cheerfulness for 1/2 hours; contracted pupils. After 1/1.4 hours heaviness of eyelids with normal clearness of eyes, as though he had got up too early. After 1/1.2 hours dislike for conversation, dazedness and hypochondriacal disposition with weakness of memory; difficulty of thinking for 1 h. After 2 hours, in order to see distinctly he must hold objects closer than usual-myopia. After 8 hours morbid state of the imagination; pictures present themselves to his imagination, he makes an effort to observe them, and before he can do so they are gone. After 8/1.2 hours deception of vision, wherever he looks he sees half a point, which then becomes a quivering light, and grows always more fiery, later appears as a semicircular, zigzag, serpentine, fiery object; lastly becomes weak, and gradually disappears; at same time the white of the eye has a reddish colour. Breathing scarcely perceptible, inspiration and expiration difficult; expiration is the most painful, with great anxiety and strong palpitation of heart. After 9 hours very powerful activity of brain and mind, with constant weakness of memory, followed by headache. Sharp sight, facility in seeing. (Ibid.)
3. GROSS took tinct.; no particulars given. No time stated. – Vertigo; all in the head seems to whirl, even when seated. Vanishing of the thoughts for instants. Confusion of thought; when he wished to give utterance to a thought it was immediately gone, and another quite strange one occurred to him, and he could then not remember the first one. Weakness of memory, when he has read to the end of a paragraph he has already forgotten the first part of it. Heaviness of whole head, during which the nuchal muscles seem to be too weak. Tension which sometimes affected the upper part of face, especially the nose, thence extends over forehead and temples to ears, alternating with a similar state in occiput and nuchal muscles. Drowsiness of eyes and lids; they are inclined to close without general drowsiness. Cramp like spasm in eyelids to zygoma, especially l. Pressure in both zygomata. Drawing and stretching in left ear, more externally. Transient deep stitches alternately in both ears, especially 1. Trembling of limbs. – After 5 m. spasmodic pain in distal joint of left index. After 10 m. tearing in right lower teeth. After 11 m. prickling from rush of blood in forehead. After 1/4 hours drawing in left frontal protuberance. After 3/4 hours tension in integuments of occiput and forehead. After 1/1.2 hours feels as if both eyeballs were compressed from the sides. (Ibid.).
Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.