Pupils and Friends of Hahnemann



Also the apostle whom you have placed in the chair to teach homoeopathy will not remain without good influence for the emancipation of our school so that in the end the medical Sanhedrin (Jewish lawcourt-R.H.) of Berlin will be ashamed because a far-distant province has excellent it in rank in the initiation of the science which is the only one that is beneficent at the present time.

Cothen, March 9th, 1833.

None of my pupils has hitherto done our science such great service as you have done, of which your last summary bears testimony. With the exception of one or two the majority only use what has been discovered, or they argue on this or that point, and frequently try to persuade us that the deviation from the right path which they favour, are better than everything that was done previously.

Cothen, April 28th, 1833.

Your excellent book on Intermittent Fevers as far as I can see now (because I wish to answer you quickly) is classical; none of my other pupils this gift to suffering humanity

Cothen, February 11th, 1824.

I did expect that you manual of our science would turn our useful to the lay public, but I have fount hat you have achieved a masterpiece which will teach anyone with only average education all he needs to know, to enable him to form a thorough judgment of homoeopathy, to recognise its value and to enable him to silence the objections, slanders, and lies of the allopaths, to decide for himself whether in the future he will continue to trust the life and health of his dear ones to that old, dangerous, baseless, and unconsidered method of treatment or to the new, well-considered, gentle and true science of healing.

You have not only accomplished their instruction, but you, more than anyone hitherto, have put before homoeopathic physicians the salient point required from science in our Art, more comprehensively and completely than has ever been done before. I cannot tell you sufficiently how I have delighted in reading through this masterpiece of yours.

My colleague, Dr. Lehmann, agrees with me wholeheartedly in all I have said, and thanks you very much for the copy you have presented to him and he wishes to be remembered to you.

Cothen, June 30th, 1834.

I would have answered you esteemed letter of May 25th before if I had received a little note from you acknowledge the arrival of my bust, which the sculptor Steinhauser of Berlin (who modelled it) states that he posted to you on June 4th by J.F.A. Preuss, free of charge. This cannot have reached you yet. I wished to give you a little pleasure with it

SUPPLEMENT 256

HAHNEMANN TO BARON VON GERSDORFF.

The family of Gersdorff possesses letters of Hahnemann to Baron von Gersdorff from the years 1824-1836, which Dr. Goullon of Weimar has published in the “Journal of the Berlin Society of Homoeopathic Physicians” (1897, Vol. 16, pages 382-413). We herewith publish a selection from them:

(Undated.)

Dearest friend and Godfather,

After receiving your kind proving of Kali, I shall arrange all the symptoms which I shall then possess in good order, and insert them into a fourth part of “Chronic Diseases”-if God still grants me life.

You have been so far the most accurate among my collaborators at the alphabetical repertory. The others unfortunately are slack, except our diligent friend Gross. Should you wish to spend more time on this subject I would suggest Zincum. I would like you to ask Dr. Wislicenus to undertake Carbo veget. and animalis for which you might give him the necessary instructions, as you have penetrated better than anyone into the spirit of this work. He shall receive a copy the book and his share of the honorarium.

Kothen, February, 9th, 1824.

Highly esteemed Councillor (of Law).

I have used my few leisure hours to tabulate your important symptoms on charcoal, and to put them in their right order in my book, and I have only just finished this task-you have sent me so much material of great interest collected with much trouble and sacrifice on your part. Accept my best thanks for it. accurate and the information agrees with much which I already possess. I also thank you very much for copying Casparis’ desultory experiments.

I must further than you in the name of our science for your helpful and blessed efforts in obtaining the permission for the homoeopathic physician, Dr. Wislicenus to establish himself.

Kothen, January 3rd, 1825.

Your provings of Sepia must have cost you a great deal of trouble, especially s you were kind enough to put the symptoms obtained in order, they are naturally after more easily summarised and utilised in that way.

As regards the antidotes, you have taken great pains to find out the most effective ones.

As regards your intention of trying Teucrium marum, or, as the gardener calls, it, Marum verum, I encourage you to do so and enclose.

Kothen, August d26th, 1825.

You have been kind enough to send me a very compete list of symptoms of Teucrium marum, which I appreciate very much and for which I thank you.

Kothen, April 12th, 1827.

Would you be so kind as to prove Iodine on yourself? For this purpose I am enclosing four small powders of which No. I contains one globule, No.2, two globules; No.3, three globules, and No.4, four globules. Take one each morning moistened with a few drops of water, but perhaps No.3 and 4 will not be needed, if the first numbers have already produced some symptoms, because I should not symptoms I shall be very much obliged to you.

Hahnemann must therefore have thought, even then, that the 30th dilution taken in globules of the size of a poppy seed could affect a healthy person.

Kothen, April 21st, 1828.

As agreed I take the liberty of sending you the enclosed your small powders, an when opportunity occurs will you please take on e of them every 24 hours, moistened with water, for a proving, but as soon as symptoms of importance begin to show themselves, do not continue to take them, but observe what you can from the powder already taken. The antidote, if it should become too troublesome, is frequent smelling of Camphor, or also of tinctura sulphuris

(Undated-R.H.)

You have thought out the difficult task of registration with care and circumspection, more so than the other co-workers. You grasp the task correctly; everything that is unnecessary must be cut out, and yet all the terms necessary to record the symptoms must be brought skilfully into the alphabet. This must be done by reversing the sentences as often as our dear German language will permit it. You see clearly through all this and have considered every point for which I cannot thank you enough. I shall try to instruct the others as far as impossible, but I must not expect as much consideration from them.

Kothen, September 4th, 1828.

I believe you statement that you are hindered by business and know that when you can you will think of our repertories. I wonder it the other co-workers are as anxious about it

You are quite according to my wishes when you give antipsoric medicines always in /x, and when they are useful them act at least for seven weeks. I think that your other patient is one of importance whose case has been bungled in Berlin with unsuitable medicines.

PUPILS AND FRIENDS OF HAHNEMANN

From this it is evident that von Gersdorff also treated patients.

Kothen, 12th January, 1829.

I thank you heartily for your diligent elaboration of the Sepia symptoms which must have caused you a great deal of work. You can see that I am very well satisfied with it from the fact that a fortnight ago I sent to another homoeopath (who is willing to undertake a similar work with Lycopodium but required some instructions as to the method of dealing with work) eight sheets of your elaboration as a model for his guidance, without telling him it came from you because I did not know if you would allow it

Kothen, 20th July, 1829.

I am overwhelmed with work and yet cannot attain my greatest wishes. For instance, my register has to remain a pious wish, because so many who had promised, Schweikert, Stapf, Rummel, Hartlaub (who offered himself, I did not ask him) have not kept their word. I have only received some work through your kindness, and from Dr. Gross

I enclose three small powders, each contains Natrum muriaticum X and would like you to be so kind as to try them; take one every third day (leaving an interval of two days) until they begin to show a definite effect, and then discontinue.

This proving on yourself would be very valuable to me.

SUPPLEMENT 257 CONCERNING THE DEATH OF DR. GRIESSELICH.

Adolf Kussmaul relates in his “Youthful Reminiscences of an Old Physician, “Stuttgart, 1900, Eighth Edition (page 408) about the last days of Grisselich:

We arrived at Cologne as night was approaching. On the 21st we travelled by train through Rhineland and Westphalia to Buckeburg; on the 22nd to Harburg and early on the morning of the 23rd we embarked on a slip on the Elbe to Altona, where the Brigade had already gone into quarters.

After our arrival we received orders not to show ourselves in the streets of Altona and Hamburg, except in Parade uniform. Surgeon-General Grisselich, who supervised all sanitary arrangement of the Brigade gave me personally, among many other orders, the task to inspect, as soon as possible, a large Field hospital which had been installed recently in Altona.

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