As Hygienist and Dietist



Letters to von Villers. Leipsic ” Populare Zeitung,” IIth year, 1880, page 45 ff.

Dearest,

I have just read in the Hamburg Correspondent that you are ill in bed. My esteem, my friendship, my love for you, impel me to dare, in spite of the fact that it might look as if I were intruding in an unusual way, to beg, to implore you, if you have a certain number of connections, not to trust your valuable life to the ordinary uncertain medical Art, and if possible not to use medicines home remedies, herbal teas, clysters, or anything of a like nature. Our Seume would still be alive had he not given himself to the doctors ut nunc sunt. All medicines which do not fit a case accurately do harm, and the correct fitting of the medicine, in each respective case of illness, is not to be found in the ordinary medical art; that they sometimes prescribe here and there an approximately fitting remedy, is only a piece of good luck.

It is infinitely safer to use nothing of that kind, but whilst observing great moderation in all requirements of the body and soul, to follow one’s own instinct, which becomes more acute during sickness, and which demands this or that in moderations.

Do what you like with this honest outpouring of my heart; only convince yourself of the warmest sympathy and unselfish friendship of your

SAMUEL HAHNEMANN.

Torgau. 14th January, 1811.

Torgau, 30th January, 1811.

Very good. If the exchange please you so much, amiable friend. You present me with your French letters, and allow me to trouble you with my German ones. I wish to God that in the meantime your prophecy may have been fulfilled, and that you may be restored to health whilst my letters is hastening to you. Do not use any further medical prescription, not even mine. I would sooner know you to be well than be required as your doctor.

In every way you may expect wonders as to your complete recovery, owing to your moderation and other factors in the conduct of your natural life. In fresh air, especially when combined with bodily exercise ( not driving) there is an indispensable means for the recuperation of vitality, for our blood and the aether which may dwell in our nerves;- such an incomparable pabulum vitae- which could not be replaced by any medicine in the world. One cannot sufficiently recommend walking (very justifiably called prendre l’air) not only to all men and every creature that draws breath, but especially to those whose mind is very active. If these latter neglect taking regular walking exercise a wrong connection between the organs that are used for the exertion of the mind and the organs that belong to our growing life-our animal life suffers exceedingly through this neglect, and we become bodily sick while we are trying to live only with our soul, and neglect the tribute we should pay to our body through care and exercise. If God has restored you you sufficiently so that you can go out, never let a day pass without taking a walk in the fresh air. The body and its muscles must be kept at work and exerted ( that is the purpose of muscles) if one wishes to use the mind without injury to health. Only in a strong body can the mind work freely and with energy and endurance. A person who lives shut up in a room cannot do that : neither could you have given to the world such admirable works, if you had not been robust. But even the strongest body must inevitably be ruined by the ordinary mode in which scholars live, who in a one-sided way use only their mind, and the organs belonging to it, while they let the rest of the bodily machine which was given to them for use in a complete life, stand still. Et vitium captium ni moveantur agnae { for the lambs who have no movement are damaged-R.H.) Therefore if you recover if the full use of your limbs, use them for an assiduous daily walk in all weathers. How excellently the fresh air, enjoyed with movement cheers the spirits, lends self-control in sorrow an courage in danger. You must have experienced this yourself. A heart as tender and feeling as yours – the great possible treasures that a man can have – such a precious jewel must be enclosed in a strong case; only in full health of the whole body can a noble heart become charitable towards its fellow men!

Further I must warn you against a substance that has been strongly introduced by scholars, and which they use in order to brighten themselves up when they miss fresh air, and imprison themselves in their study. It is the medicinal substance called coffee. How much the use of this stimulating drink has undermined the tone of the body, how much it has inclined our bodies to painful illness and other evils, I cannot tell you here in a few words. I would ask you to red my little book on the subject, “The Effects of Coffee,” Leipsic, by Steinacker. The continued and frequent use of this powerful house-medicine has frequently damaged the nerves to a considerable extent. Pfeffel and Delisle would not have lost the use of their eyesight had they not used coffee, and Musaeus would not have been torn away from us at such an early age. This is one example, without mentioning thousands of others. On this point I would like to know your decision in your next letter. Those who use it habitually can only leave it off very gradually and carefully, but you can find instruction about this in the little book above mentioned. Generally speaking these stimulants do not seem consistent with health or longevity. Their first effect is to refresh, as if they were strengthening cordials; but with continued and daily use (sic) their true and lasting after- effects become evident, exhaustion, prostration and many other ills come to light. No one perceives that they are positive things which create disease and which only brighten you up as a palliative leaving great and permanent disabilities.

I cannot recommend the frequent use of wine, unless it be mixed with water, as was the custom of the Romans and Greeks.

Leipsic,

26th September, 1811.

One thing more! I should have liked to see you happy, if possible. forgive, therefore, my pressing advice; get married if your circumstances allow it, to a true, good and pure soul, even if her body is not very beautiful. Nothing in the world can replace the heavenly friendship that you miss by the absence of such a tie. We are only half human being without such a noble union.

Hahnemann writes to a young scholar. (The original of this letter is in the possession of Dr. August Korndorfer in Philadelphia.)

First of all the rules of life. Mental exertion and study are in themselves very unnatural occupations for young people whose bodies are not yet fully developed, especially for such as are gifted with sensitive feelings. (This nearly cost me my life between the age of 15 and 20 years.) Strenuous study and profound thought absorb a greater portion of life’s energy than is required to thresh corn in a barn. The latter is only a small thing compared with the former. How then can the body which has to put forth so much power in order to complete its growth (this is the first and most essential endeavour of the organism, which cannot be denied) endure the withdrawal not only of forces withdrawn by study, but also those which are so essential for digestion, especially as the necessary muscular exertion is absent and the requisite enjoyment of fresh air is missing – without there being a violent shattering of the whole life-force, or sickness of those organs which are mostly exhausted by studying – the brain, the nerves and the eyes.

Had I appreciated this as clearly, at your age, as I do now, I should have progressed much farther in my knowledge than I have done, and I should have been able to render greater service to the world.

The development of the body and its forces comes long before the development of the mind. The mind can only accomplish as much as those organs are equal to, which, by their constant use, in his daily avocations, man has developed to perfection. What great work can be accomplished when the instruments for it are weak and inefficient? The mind can only grow in a strong and stable body, and only then can it undertake and carry out important deeds. The immortal work of Conrad Gessner on Natural History would never have appeared, for he would have been unable to produce any of it, and he not duly perceived that his frail body could only carry on, and resist death and dissolution for a short time, owing to his sedentary life study. He immediately adopted an altogether different mode of life, which exercised an strengthened his body, and behold! his health was re-established and he was able to carry out the great works at which we marvel at the present day. He might even have attained old age had not the Levant pest carried him off.

Of these facts the following prescriptions are based, after a few preliminary observations. The more cheerful, firm and healthy the bodily conditions are, the keener will the mental activity become. The time that is devoted to bodily exercise is well repaid by the force and disposition of the mind which follows is, as one can then achieve in half-an-hour what would have taken half a day to accomplish by remaining passively in one’s study. The one process cripples the mind – the other induces an alert mental activity.

Richard Haehl
Richard M Haehl 1873 - 1932 MD, a German orthodox physician from Stuttgart and Kirchheim who converted to homeopathy, travelled to America to study homeopathy at the Hahnemann College of Philadelphia, to become the biographer of Samuel Hahnemann, and the Secretary of the German Homeopathic Society, the Hahnemannia.

Richard Haehl was also an editor and publisher of the homeopathic journal Allgemcine, and other homeopathic publications.

Haehl was responsible for saving many of the valuable artifacts of Samuel Hahnemann and retrieving the 6th edition of the Organon and publishing it in 1921.
Richard Haehl was the author of - Life and Work of Samuel Hahnemann