I am trying to keep “the open mind.” I admit that it is hard to do so, but so far we have had no satisfactory explanation as to how their curative action is brought about. Is it possible that the much longed-for internal bactericide has at last been discovered? A substance capable of killing pathogenic organisms living in the human body, the tissue cells of which are themselves more susceptible to attack and injury than are most of the pathogenic organism themselves.
It is possible, although to me I must admit it seems highly improbable, but again I say I am keeping “the open mind”. I have a strong suspicion, however, that the action of the sulphonamides is a homoeopathic one. Time and much hard work will, I suppose, eventually enlighten us. Certainly their discovery would appear to be one of the greatest ever achieved in the history of medicine.
Homoeopathy maintains that drugs have two actions: physiological action when given in moderately large doses, and a homoeopathic action may follow the administration of a small dose not necessarily potentized. Opium, for example, in large doses causes constipation, in small doses diarrhoea. In large doses, drowsiness, proceeding to coma. In small doses, it stimulates and causes sleeplessness. In the B.M.J. quite recently, much valuable space was given up to reports and discussions on the abdominal pain which sometimes follows the administration of morphine.
Corrosive sublimate in certain doses causes a violent enteritis. In small of doses it is almost a specific for dysentery. Our old friend Rhus toxicodendron is likewise almost a specific for rheumatism. acute or chronic, but remember its symptomatology–the pains relieved by movement, the irritability, the depression, the characteristic tongue. Bryonia is used just about as frequently as Rhus for rheumatic conditions but its symptomatology is quite different.
Pulsatilla for measles. As an orthodox practitioner you cannot go far wrong if you give the patient a few powders of this remedy for there is no other treatment for measles apart from nursing and common sense, but if you give Pulsatilla which is so often indicated, and it happens to be the right remedy, as it usually is in nine cases out of ten, you are unlikely to be troubled with any of its very troublesome complications.
Surely statements such as I have made and put before you form a definite challenge–“The challenge of Homoeopathy.” Can you afford to ignore this challenge ? Is it not worth while meeting it and giving Homoeopathy a trial ? I venture to make assertion that, should your interest in Homoeopathy be aroused sufficiently to make you give it a fair clinical trial, you will sooner or later, depending upon how long it is before you administer your first really similar remedy and see the dramatic result, become a confirmed homoeopath.
You may as all of us have experienced, have many failures, but perhaps your very first attempt will convince you. I can still remember vividly the impression made upon my then sceptical mind after having given my first crude home-made potency of Mercury to a child whose mouth was covered with thrush. It was the worst case I have ever seen, and as you know, the condition is common enough.
The result of this crude homoeopathic treatment was that the next day the mouth was completely clear, not a particle of thrush to be seen any- where. What a saving in Borax and glycerine! Now I do not wish you to imagine that this was the result of clever homoeopathic prescribing, but it was obviously the similar remedy and the dramatic result followed as a natural corollary.
I had reasoned somewhat in this way : “Mercury produces a stomatitis in a healthy person, therefore in small doses it should be of value in this case.” It was a shot in the dark but fortunately a correct one, for it not only cured the patient but it convinced me of the truth of Homoeopathy.
I remember making a promise that my paper would be a brief out. It is not an easy task to compose an introduction to Homoeopathy and at the same time to make it a brief one. The field is so vast, the methods of approach so many, and the evidence and material so abundant, that there is always great difficulty in deciding what to leave out in order to achieve brevity with safety. Doubtless I have omitted much that is of importance, but I sincerely hope that I have succeeded in arousing your interest in this most interesting subject, and I thank you for your patience in listening to me thus far.
The easiest way, I again repeat, to meet the challenge of Homoeopathy is to give it a personal clinical trial.
Reading may convince you and, of course, a certain amount of study is essential before you can put the hypotheses to the test, but do not condemn it until you have tested it clinically. I do not think I can emphasize this too much. You will be helping to close the breach which, unfortunately, still exists between the two opposing factions.
All differences of opinion eventually lead to a further advance along the way of truth. In the light of new discovery Prejudice has always been forced to yield, and Bigotry has had to retire and hide its face from the searching luminosity of unchallengeable facts–facts which turn false theories to ashes, soon to be swept away to the realms of oblivion and clearing the way of Truth for further advance. Even Homoeopathy may be one of the false theories. If you think so, do your best to disprove it, but do not join the large throng who condemn it, untried.
“The road leads upwards all the way,” but not to a bitter end! May you all reach a happy ending as I, who have had the great privilege of speaking to you to-night, do so now.
