(See also Jahr’s biography in Chapter 27).
HAHNEMANN WARNS MEDICAL MEN AGAINST ADOPTING HOMOEOPATHY.
Correspondence with his nephew Trinius.
Dr. Trinius, a nephew of Hahnemann wrote from Petersburg on August 17th-29th in 1832:
My esteemed Uncle,
The Princess of Wurtemberg, whose physician I have been until now, and who is about to start for Germany to marry the ruling Duke of Coburg and Gotha, has derived great benefit from homoeopathy during the last two to three years; she was previously a great enemy of it, but has now become an ardent follower.) Shall accompany her to Germany, but will not be able to remain there with her She has charged me, on our arrival, to look for a homoeopathic physician at Coburg, to whom, in future she can trust herself.
I think I am on the right road for obtaining my object, if I take the liberty of applying to you, with the request that you may be so good as to send to Coburg, addressed poste restante, a few lines to tell me whether you know if there is in Coburg itself, or if not, perhaps in Gotha or district, a homoeopathic physician who deserves your recommendation for such a post. Naturally he would have to be more than a beginner, and not too young, as he will have to deal with a lady who (herself not so young) is very sensitive on the matter of her sex.
Your obedient nephew and sincere admirer, C. TRINIUS.
C. Bernhard Trinius was born in 1778 at Eisleben, and was the son of the preacher, Anton Bernhard Trinius; his mother, Charlotte nee Hahnemann, was a sister of Samuel Hahnemann. His father died early, and his mother’s second marriage was with the General Superintendent, Dr. Muller, of Eisleben. In the year 1802 he graduated and from 1804 he was a private practitioner in Kurland. In 1808 he became physician-in-ordinary to the Duchess Antoinette of Wurtemberg (born 1799: married to the Duke Ernst of Sachse-Coburg-Gotha; she died 1860); with her he travelled through Germany and Russia. He devoted much time t the study of botany, and from 1832 was a teacher of botany at Petersburg. In 1829 he was nominated as tutor to the Russian heir to the throne, and latter was physician-in-ordinary to the Emperor. In 1836, he visited the most important botanic collections aboard on behalf of the Imperial Russian Academy; he died in Petersburg in 1844.
Hahnemann’s reply to the above letter from his nephew is as follows “Neue Zeitschr. fur hom. Klinik,” 1864, Vol. IX, No. 15, page 118):
My esteemed Nephew,
Your commission shows much trust in me which I would like to deserve. Still, as you cannot be aware how inevitable and intolerable are the obstacles, insults and persecutions which a true homoeopathic physician has to encounter in Germany, in any locality where he may try to settle as an unprotected stranger, I must tell you that for me to advise a homoeopath to take such a step unsupported, would be inducing him to court misfortune. Under such circumstances Allopathic intrigues have perfectly free scope to display, under the pretence of ancient legal rights, their well known malice against the medical reformer who give his medicines to himself, and they are supported in his by the judges whose medical advisers they are. “What does that hateful man want here? He is not authorised either by the State or by the Municipal authorities, or will he be, as he is an accursed homoeopath. He is not a native of this state, and cannot nationalised as he does not possess landed property, and being a homoeopath he is a danger to us. We have the power to pervert and twist the old laws of medicine, although they only deal with the compounding homoeopath to have all his simple medicines prepared and dispensed to patients by the apothecaries, his enemies, although they do not understand how to prepare them. In order to crush the hateful homoeopathy which would interfere with their usurious profits, the apothecaries would only be too willing to put no medicine or the wrong one in the powders, and as the dose is so very small, the deception could never be proved. But for a homoeopath to be left to the mercy of the apothecaries, and not allowed to give his own remedies to his patients, is an impossibility, just like a painter deprived of the right to prepare his own colours, and even worse. And even if he succeeded in surmounting this difficulty, we (the Medical Guild) could always get up a law-suit against him in the event of the death of one of his patients, because he has not followed the treatment of our old school.
By the crafty exasperation of his patients, and disseminating calumnies against his science, he would be so pestered and disheartened that, with the loss of money and health, he would withdraw and go elsewhere, which is exactly, what we (satan’s own) the dominant medical guild, desire with all our heart.”
Many have undergone such sad experiences, and no true homoeopath who has a moderate income in his own locality would be foolish enough to subject himself to such an obvious disadvantage.
Without a special licence from a reigning Sovereign authorising him to exercise his beneficial knowledge, as well as to prepare and dispense his own medicines unhindered by the medical authorities, no worthy homoeopath chosen by me will or can consent to set up in Coburg, and even then not before his subsistence is assured by an annual allowance subscribed by a sufficient number of families; for the allopaths, without exception, will seek to keep the public away from him, by the most dreadful calumnies, so that even the very poorest will hardly dare to cross his threshold as I know by experience.
Even if the ruler of the country appoints him physician-in- ordinary, and give him the licence alluded to above, he will still have to undergo the serious attacks of allopathic intrigue; but he has the assured means of existence, which every true physician should possess.
Therefore, only if the man chosen for this post is appointed to the Duke with a salary for lice, and is granted a licence authorising him to practise freely, unhindered country, dispensing himself his own prepared medicines, will I be quite willing to suggest and persuade the most capable man for this post.
If you care to see your loving uncle again before his exist from this earthly stage, then do not grudge the time to come a little out of your way for his sake. Trusting that you will do this, I expect you with certainty.
Your affectionate uncle, SAMUEL HAHNEMANN.
Cothen, September, 17th, 1832.
LETTER TO DR. ROBBI.
In conformity with its contents, this seems the most opportune place to insert Hahnemann’s correspondence with Dr. Heinrich Robbi. It is unfortunately given without a date in Albrecht’s “Christian Friedr, Sam. Hahnemann, a biographical monument.” Dr. Robbi, after graduating, tried to force his way through to him (during his sojourn in Leipsic) and to speak to him personally. As he did not succeed he wrote to Hahnemann with the request that he would give him the names of the most important homoeopathic books, as he wished to study homoeopathy more thoroughly, and only possessed the “Organon” and the “Defence of Friedrich Hahnemann against Hecker,” In reply to his request he received a similar answer to that given by Hahnemann to his own nephew Trinius (in the previous letter).
He wrote:
Dear Dr. Robbi,
Having taken you degree, you are now at liberty to think and act as you please, which is of great value to every man to science. You are free to continue in the old way, or to adopt the new one that has been pointed out.
I am pleased that my engagements rendered me unable to speak to you in my own house, in so far as I am now able to communicative my thoughts to you in a more permanent manner by writing. I am inclined to warm you against homoeopathy. Listen!
When we enter upon a practical career in life we usually have a threefold purpose. First, to make ourselves generally beloved by our mode of thinking and acting, to offend no one, and to be on good terms with everybody; secondly, to arrange our occupation in the way that is the easiest to transact, and thirdly, to earn as much as possible by our work. You cannot attain any one of these three purposes so well through homoeopathy as through the ordinary method of treatment. For consider how a man is tolerated among his colleagues, if he wishes to do nothing that is new, and if he immediately follows the same path as they do, or if he acts as if he does not wish to raise himself above them, by introducing improvements, and casts no suspicion upon the belief of their antecedents by introducing innovations.
Then he is the “dear Colleague,” and no one thinks of undermining his good name by defamation. If he adheres to their way, to their belief, hallowed by time-honoured opinions, in other words, does as they do, who would then culminate, harm and persecute him? How can anyone with a conscientious mind think of doing wrong to a brother of the same persuasion? By following this course, you obviously secure the good-will of your colleagues, and you perceive that no one will them rob you of the esteem and confidence which you command among your patients. You offend no one, and remain friends and on the best of terms with those around you. Is this of no consequence?
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