Two things thus constitute disease: first, the *qualities of the organism, which constitute the conditions for the disease; second *the external causes of the diseases.
Forms of disease also obey a fixed law of constancy. Entire groups of disease, chronic and acute, and externally the most various, arise from the same morbid cause and form a unit in their *succession, although one form occurs in childhood, another in youth and still another in advanced years. Syphilis and tuberculosis are striking examples.
Instead of seeking the cause and character of a presenting from of disease only in that which is immediate and near at hand, we should seek the more remote cause which have manifested themselves in the sequence of disorders and disease which have preceded the present form. Upon the adoption of this principle depends the power of prevision and progress, as well as an efficient prophylaxis and therapeutics.
All functioning of the living organism depends upon a constant reciprocal action between the different constituents of the body within itself, and of the organism as a whole with its environment, the external world and its constituents.
According to the laws of causation and *vis inertiae, every part of the whole is at the same time active and passive or in a state of approximate equilibrium of motion or rest. Disease, strictly speaking is neither an action nor a reaction, but only a new or changed state of the organism caused by the interaction of an external cause with the internal constituents of the organism, resulting in a new form of the whole of a reciprocal action in which cause and effect are ever conjoined.
Physically speaking, forces are properties of substances, or bodies. They may be divided into *changeable and unchangeable forces. Only those properties which are specific of bodies under all circumstances, which are necessary and constant, which isolate them perfectly from all other bodies and give each its individuality, can properly be called forces. Such, for example, are the specific gravity of each separate body; the property of a body which determines the constant equivalents of its combination with hydrogen or oxygen, or the specific individual qualities of organic forms.
Any change in bodies produced by an external cause takes place only within their changeable forces or properties, as in their volume, density, color, or manner of chemical combination.
The basic or unchangeable forces of matter which are the properties of its masses, are divided into forces of *repulsion or *attraction. Both may operate at the distance or by contact. Since every action in nature is a reciprocal action between bodies, such a basic force does not belong to the body alone, but belongs to it *in the ratio of its relations to other bodies. Here we find that the like repel and the unlike attract each other.
Thus, every who exists under the conditions of the combinations of its parts; the combination of its parts creates a dependence of the parts upon each other, and upon the specific form of the whole; and the whole exists in reciprocal relations with other forms in the external world.
Hence, in the organic world, there are no simple bodies, but only the simple, primary substance (the incorporeal life substance itself) of which in combination with the chemical elements, all living organized bodies are formed. Even living cells are not simple, since physically they are composed of chemical elements, the fundamental forces of which differ according to their form and composition and their reciprocal relation with the life force of the organism.
Within the cells, among their constituent chemical elements, exist the basic forces of attraction and repulsion, acting reciprocally with the inherent life force of the organism, derived from the incorporeal life substance itself.
Physical science has come to regard all matter as “condensation” of the universal, intangible, interatomic ether, which is thus acknowledged to be a fundamental substance. But physical science cannot account for *life and *mind or intelligence without acknowledging that life and mind are also substantial entities, having their existence in the being and existence of the one ineffable, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Supreme Being.
Relations of Science and Art. Art and science are inseparably bound together. Every art has it foundation in science, and every science finds its expression in art.
Consciously or unconsciously the artist or the craftsman at work is applying principles and laws, formulated and systematized knowledge of which constitutes science.
Exceptionally an artist, by virtue of inherent capacity and genius may not be aware that he is applying scientific principles in his work. The “Art Instinct”, when powerful, may express itself spontaneously and naturally by force on an internal feeling or native impulse, grasping principles intuitively and subconsciously and developing its own methods of technique through individual experience. But such endowment is rare, and even the greatest natural genius does not reach his highest development until he has awakened to the existence of theories, laws and principles and viewed his work consciously from the scientific standpoint.
When an artist reaches that point of development, philosophy begins to interest him. His eyes are opened and his vision is clear. He now wants things explained. Thenceforth, his field is broadened and his power of expression increases in proportion to his determinate development in that direction.
The scientist on the contrary never or very rarely, proceeds by instinct. His eyes are open from the beginning. He knows exactly what he want to do. He works deliberately by established rules and methods, based upon principles deduced from ascertained facts. Reason and logic, rather than feeling and emotion, are his guides from first to last. Not that the scientist may and does not have his moments of inspiration and high emotion as his imagination leaps forward into new fields opened up before him, or some new discovery rewards his studies investigations and researches; for he certainly does have such moments and the greater the man, the more, frequently does he experience them. When the artist becomes a scientist and the scientist becomes an artist they meet on the mountain tops of human experience and share alike in the joys of conscious creation.
Homoeopathy is both an art and a science. The successful homoeopathician must be both an artist and a scientist. His work must be both artistic and scientific. Theory and practice must go hand in hand. Technique must be governed by definite principles. Performance must be consistent with profession.
Some knowledge of the principles which are common to all sciences and arts is essential to a correct understanding of the special art and science with which we are concerned as homoeopathicians. Study of the relation of homoeopathy to other arts and sciences has been neglected and the standards as well as the morale of the profession have been lowered in consequence.
Homoeopathy has been regarded too much as a thing apart; a wanderer without friends or relations; a sort of medical Topsy: “Never had no parents jes growed” The fact is that homoeopathy was the logical and legitimate offspring of the Inductive Philosophy and Method of aristotle and Lord Bacon. It is the highest development of modern therapeutic science and as such stands intimately related to the sciences of Logic, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology and other sciences. The broader and more accurate the knowledge of these relations, the higher will be the respect for and the warmer the enthusiasm in the practice of the Hahnemannian Art.
Fundamental conceptions of matter and motion; energy and force; spirit and life; mind and body; health and disease; cure and recovery and their relations to each other which are embodied in the Organon of Hahnemann and which I shall endeavor to interpret in the light of modern science and philosophy are not only the profoundest subjects of human thought, but they are an integral part of homoeopathy.
Realization of this fact should arouse interest. It stimulates the kind of thought and study which develop the scientific spirit. It is the most powerful factor in the creation of the high *morale which is so essential to the progress and perpetuation of the science of therapeutic medication. The highest loyalty to principles, consistency in practice and perfection of methods can be attained in no other way.
A carpenter who is content to know his steel square only as a tool by which he can measure or draw a straight line across a board and tell whether the angles of a frame are true, will never become anything more than a mere day laborer. But arouse his interest in the mysterious lines and figures on that wonderful instrument; induct him into the mathematics of the square; teach him its higher uses and the possibilities of his development and progress are almost unlimited.