DISCUSSION OF THE THEORY AND PRINCIPLES OF HOMOEOTHERAPEUTICS AND RELATED MEDICAL TOPICS


The typical pirate, literally or metaphorically, always buries his stolen treasure. That is the only way he knows of disposing of it, for he cannot use it as the only way he hopes to escape the law and enjoy his ill-gotten gains at some future time. But that time never comes. His treasure in its original form is a burden and a terror to him. He thinks that when he can dig it up and turn it into currency he will be able to spend and enjoy it.


In the light of passing events and by the exercise of a little imagination, it is conceivable, metaphorically speaking, that the “gold and jewels” of homoeopathy will eventually be sought by adventurous spirits upon some far “Treasure Island,” where they have been buries long before by bloody pirates who despoiled the owners and forced them to “walk the plank.” In that event the rollicking strains of R.L.S.s gruesome ditty, paraphrased as above, may once again be heard.

Not to press the metaphor too far, is it not evident that something analogous to this has been going on for a long time? Is not homoeopathy being robbed of its jewels and murdered by those in its own ranks who scorn, ignore or pervert its cardinal principles in their practice and ridicule its theories; who advocated cutting out from the materia medica the greater part of its remedies, stopping the use of all potencies above the twelfth, and dropping its distinctive name? Is not this a species of piracy?.

The typical pirate, literally or metaphorically, always buries his stolen treasure. That is the only way he knows of disposing of it, for he cannot use it as the only way he hopes to escape the law and enjoy his ill-gotten gains at some future time. But that time never comes. His treasure in its original form is a burden and a terror to him. He thinks that when he can dig it up and turn it into currency he will be able to spend and enjoy it. He does not realize, poor fool, that the currency would be as much of a curse to him as the gold and jewels, for the does not know how to use it. So his treasure always remains “buried” for him.

About once in a blue moon the editor of a journal like this gets a letter which reveals frankly and without circumlocation what is going on in the minds of the usually silent “rank and file” of homoeopathy, as the following letter will show. Such a letter deserves a reply, even if the view it presents is that of one who evidently is not widely read in homoeopathic literature, not to mention THE HOMOEOPATHIC RECORDER itself, in which he might have found answers to all of his questions if he had read it attentively.

Allowance must be made, however, for one who can read a foreign language only with difficulty and who therefore probably skips what seem to him the more difficulty and who therefore probably skips what seem to him he more difficult or obstruse articles. Nevertheless he has read with a purpose and written accordingly. But to the letter itself:.

“Kumla, Sweden, Aug. 1, 1927.

THE HOMOEOPATHIC RECORDER,.

Philadelphia.

I read your RECORDER with much interest and now I shall try to write a few lines to you. I cannot write English well, but I hope you may get some understanding of my letter.

I read in THE RECORDER for July: “several letters have come to us taking issue with us upon the question of sectarianism and the proposed dropping of the title “homoeopathic” , etc., and: “So far as we have been able to see, German homoeopaths balk at the use of high potencies, etc., and: Many of us have wandered of after strange gods, etc.

What is the reason of all this? I can tell it in a few words. It is the many medicines and the high potencies. In the Repertory I find for toothache, for example, several hundred remedies. It is all nonsense! I have every day some coming for relief of toothache and I give them all and every one Aconitum 4 D and Belladonna 4 D, and 90 percent get well in from 1 hour to 2 days. How tiresome would it not be if I should use the Repertory!.

One lady here got headaches with such dizziness that she must stay in bed, for seven weeks. Was under the care of one allopath 2 weeks and then under the care of another allopath 5 weeks. She did not believe in homoeopathy. Now since nothing had helped her, she sent for me. I gave her Cimicifuga 2 D, e pilules every hour for five or six times that afternoon. After she had taken 15 pilules the headache was gone. The day after the dizziness was gone and she was all right and healthy.

One 40 years old woman came to me with pain in her sexual organs. She said: I have had pain for two years and I have seen every allopathic doctor in the city, but I can get no help.

Can I get help from you? I must take my life if I cannot as I I can not stand it longer.

I gave her Schusslers Magnesia Phos. 4 D, 1 powder every hour for 5 or 6 times that night. The next day she was all right.

One man had Sciatica since 18 months and had seen many doctors and specialists without any help. He got Nux 4 D and Lycopod. 8 D, and was well in 3 weeks.

I cannot understand why You in America should bother with these many remedies and high potencies. Dont you see that your RECORDER and your school is by and by getting all alone? The doctors are going over to allopathy, eclecticism, osteopathy, etc.? I say this for the sake of homoeopathy, which method or system I love.

My dear RECORDER! teach us homoeopathy with low potencies, 3-4- 6-12 D and homoeopathy will again prosper in the U.S.

If I could write English well I would have a whole lot more to say, but I must close my letter and hope you will excuse my writing.

Yours respectfully,.

O.EKHOLM”.

Can you in the RECORDER gives us, your readers, a good reason for the many remedies and the high potencies?.

Have you any evidence to prove that high potencies are nay better for the sick than the low potencies?.

Why were the old homoeopaths so successful with their low potencies? Why could we not have a repertory with our best forty remedies, including Schusslers twelve?.

Why are you losing hold of your doctors and the people by holding on to your high potencies and bewildering repertories and many remedies?.

There you have it, the honest expression of a well-meaning physician who believes in homoeopathy as far as he knows it and avows he loves it; who sees the school declining, deplores it and thinks he sees the reason for it, but is entirely unaware that he is a perfect type of those who have caused the “Decline and Fall” of homoeopathy-who are themselves the fallen ones! And how great has been their fall!.

To come directly to the gist of it, there is some truth in what our Swedish colleague says: that the trouble is “many remedies and the high potencies.” Dr. Ekholm is “in the right church, but the wrong pew”.

“In the repertory, for toothache, several hundred (Sic) remedies. Its all nonsense!” he exclaims in righteous indignation.

As an unqualified statement it is all nonsense and everybody who understand homoeopathy knows it. The homoeopathic physician who regards “toothache,” or any other similar symptom, as a pathological entity to be names, classified in the repertory and treated as such with a hundred remedies, or one remedy, is-not to mince words-an ignoramus.

He has a pathological mind and a very narrow one at that. He is so imbued with allopathic pathological ideas, so biased, that he cannot see that “toothache” (using the word metaphorically as well as literally) is merely a single symptom, anatomically classified in the repertory for convenience of reference, and never intended to be regarded or used as anything more than a never intended to be regarded or used as anything more than a very small part of the totality-the case as a whole-which is the sole basis of a real homoeopathic prescription.

It is true the experienced prescriber may and often does prescribe “off-hand”successfully for “toothache”; and he will be very apt, like our Swedish friend, to give Aconite or Belladonna, since they probably cover the majority of the kind of case for which help is sought from a physician. The potency used is a matter of relative unimportance. Dr. Ekholm has cure 90 per cent. of his cases, he tells us, in from one hour to two days with Acon. 4 and Bell. 4. I have cured cases in ten minutes with a single dose of Acon. or Bell. in the 200th potency-but not always. So both high and low potencies cure-when rightly selected.

But how and why are such cases cured? Is it because Aconite and Belladonna, singly, mixed or in alternation (Dr. E. does not tell us how he uses them) are specifics for “toothache”? Is Dr. E. successful in 9- per cent. of this toothache cases because he employs only two remedies in low potencies? And has he therefore an advantage over the man who employs (if need be) any one or more of the “hundreds of remedies” listed for toothache in the repertory, using them in high potencies? (remember, we are using “toothache” figuratively. The line of argument applies equally well to any pathological or diagnostic symptom regarded as an entity).

First, then as to the why and how of such cases.

Dr. Ekholm perhaps does himself scant justice as an observer when he conveys the impression that his prescription is based upon the patients simple statement that he has a toothache. He may think he is prescribing for a single condition or symptom, but (if he uses his two remedies singly) how does he choose between Aconite or Belladonna? Something governs his choice. He can not be an experienced physician without observing, consciously or subconsciously, several things about the patient who presents himself with toothache. The human mind is a wonderful thing, more or less mysterious in its operations. Not all of its activities are consciously realized or expressed, yet they go on just the same.

Stuart Close
Stuart M. Close (1860-1929)
Dr. Close was born November 24, 1860 and came to study homeopathy after the death of his father in 1879. His mother remarried a homoeopathic physician who turned Close's interests from law to medicine.

His stepfather helped him study the Organon and he attended medical school in California for two years. Finishing his studies at New York Homeopathic College he graduated in 1885. Completing his homeopathic education. Close preceptored with B. Fincke and P. P. Wells.

Setting up practice in Brooklyn, Dr. Close went on to found the Brooklyn Homoeopathic Union in 1897. This group devoted itself to the study of pure Hahnemannian homeopathy.

In 1905 Dr. Close was elected president of the International Hahnemannian Association. He was also the editor of the Department of Homeopathic Philosophy for the Homeopathic Recorder. Dr. Close taught homeopathic philosophy at New York Homeopathic Medical College from 1909-1913.

Dr. Close's lectures at New York Homeopathic were first published in the Homeopathic Recorder and later formed the basis for his masterpiece on homeopathic philosophy, The Genius of Homeopathy.

Dr. Close passed away on June 26, 1929 after a full and productive career in homeopathy.