Dr. Carroll Dunham performed a similar office for his teacher, von Boenninghausen, besides much original work. His Homoeopathy, the Science of Therapeutics, is one of our “sacred books”.
The Pocket Repertories, both of Jahr and of Bryant, quite diverse in plan, and now nearly or quite out of print, were exceedingly useful. Jahr’s Clinical Guide, so-called, is founded upon the former, edited by Dr. S. Lilienthal.
Lilienthal’s Clinical Therapeutics is an extension of the Guide, so far as concerns the detail of known drug indications, in particular diseases; is thus well-suited to recent converts, and to beginners generally. A repertory of the “symptoms” is greatly needed.
Hering’s Guiding Symptoms, in ten volumes, is the most complete and reliable summary of Homoeopathic experience and of verified provings, in existence. Among our English colleagues, the method itself is disapproved; they preferring pathological prescribers, it has proved an essential aid. The author was, through life, wont to record the symptoms of his cases and when these disappeared after a well selected remedy, that fact was noted by means of his colored pencil. In constructing his book the varying phraseology of many different patients in describing the same symptom, has been largely preserved; enabling the reader to study drug characteristics from so many sides, as to give assurance of exact meaning in each instance. For example, see the “rattling respiration” of Tartarus emeticus, in this work.
Now whilst this method is, as already shown, not above theoretical and scientific criticism, it is, to some mental organizations, indispensable. Therefore, let us be devoutly thankful for its existence.
Dr. T.S. Hoyne’s Clinical Materia medica, after the plan of Renckert’s Therapeutics, affords a vast mass of experience, which might now be much extended. Such books ever need an Index and Repertory to be quite available. Allen’s Index is often essential.
Hale’s New Remedies contains much valuable, but largely empirical information.
Raue’s Annual Record of Homoeopathic Practice; also his Pathology and Therapeutic Hints, afford a rich field of clinical study.
Guernsey’s Therapeutic key is really a condensed pocket summary of all the authorities, and its many editions prove its necessity.
Our numerous monographs on special diseases, of which the type is “Bell on Diarrhoea,” etc, are justly held in high esteem.
Gentry’s Concordance Repertory affords a rapid alphabetic reference to clinical and proving symptoms, and their remedies.
A number of systematic text-books on Practice, Surgery and Obstetrics, are published within our ranks, and are worthy of attention.
The Repertories and the Materia Medica are here, as they everywhere, in place.
Lastly, our numerous journals, and society Transactions, are full of therapeutic experiences of moment, which well employ the leisure of post-graduates, in with other literature.
True Homoeopathy has nothing to fear, and everything to gain by clinical study.
Besides “Bell on Diarrhoea,” etc., we have others in the field of the Specialties; on the Nervous System, the Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat; Genito-Urinary Organs; Disease of Woman; of Children; of the Rectum, Hemorrhoids, etc.
Diagnosis has too much hindered our progress here, by apparently demonstrating lesions hopeless of medical cure; but the Homoeopathic of forty years ago must have cured them; for these patients had a wonderful fashion of getting well. membranous dysmenorrhoea, ovarian tumors, endometritis, cancer, etc., were cured. Just before the death of Dr. H.N. Guernsey, a great cure of the first-named malady was effected by me, through his counsel; and I have witnessed much more of the same kind, and so have others.
Original Work.-Such work as this is identical with that of the founder and the pioneers. Expressed in scientific form, it belongs to the department of Original Work! This it is that has furnished School, the so-called “usual symptoms,” by which they always hasten to their prescriptions, and earn their money; and which are literally their “stock in trade;” they being personally incapable of the said “original work;” and who habitually sneer at their benefactors.
The Cyclopaedia of Drug Pathogenesy, as condensed, synoptical work, recently published by the joint efforts of the British and American national societies, supplies a former lack in this line, and with its Repertory will undoubtedly advance us in the future without superseding books.
Reading Between the Lines.-This is a common exercise of the human intelligence, since not all things are as they seem. In the repertory and in the Materia Medica, interpretation is often needed, in order to get the just meaning of a symptom; it may say too much, or too little. Rash interpretation must be avoided, but the mind should be on the alert in this way. For instance, Dr. Lippe complained to Boenninghausen that “aggravation by wearing the hat” was not to be found in the extant edition of his Pocket Book. His reply was: “Yes, it is necessarily included in ‘worse by covering the head.'” Such reading between the lines is always in place.
Again, Gelsemium produced intestinal symptoms under depressing excitement; but it has been successfully applied when no intestinal symptoms were present.
Dr. Hering, being a Swedenborgian, laid stress upon a branch of this subject, falling under “the doctrine of correspondences.” A special thought of his was, that certain persons correspond to, and represent certain animals of known physiology and habits and symptoms. Thus, a hog, human or other, will grovel in the dirt; and Sulphur presents a physical, and hence, a psychical affinity to both and thus a physiological and pathological adaptation to both.
Again, long before Schussler wrote he has said, “Wherever an inorganic substance exercise a physiological function in the nutrition of the tissues, there it is sure to be an important remedy in sickness.” (Sulphur in all albuminoid tissues) He compared people who cannot vomit with the horse, which also cannot vomit. In the language of Evolution, this kind of correspondence would be called “physiological homology.” Hausmann, Schussler, Grauvogl, Morgan have pursued this subject in old publications.
Dr. Samuel Freedley informed me of his curing himself of an “old man’s ulcer” of the leg by Tarentula cubensis. I reasoned that an animals so low represents degraded human tissue, and is homologous with low disease-changes. Hence I have used Cimex with benefit, in ulcer of the rectum, and Apis in gonorrhoea, etc. All of which is “reading between the lines”.
The germ-doctrine as related to Homoeopathy has agitated many among us. The first impression of such was that it might render infinitesimal doses in germ diseases absurd, indeed, and that the rational treatment of such diseases must needs be germicidal. Diphtheria, in particular, was the field of conflict; for the Hahnemannians held their ground by faith and cured their cases, as before, with the similimum.
The latest light of bacteriological science fully justifies them. It is now determined, firstly, that, internally at least, germicides are improper; secondly, that healthy blood-serum and other fluids of the body destroy the life of the disease-germs, and that then the white globules devour and digest them; thus, thirdly, the one thing needful above all the versus germ diseases is to maintain or to restore the vigor of the organs and tissues which generate these germicide fluids and globules continuously during life. This is the special office of Homoeopathic medication, supplemented by hygienic care. Doubters may now rest in peace.
The “orificial philosophy” in medicine. The surgical successes of this new element in the healing art have done much to divert Homoeopathic physicians from their own specialty and to aid in the dominance of “the surgical epoch.” This is scarcely necessary. Many orificial lesions are still amenable, as they have always been, to Homoeopathic remedies skilfully chosen and administered.
Our present concern is the recognition of the inlets and outlets of the body as special disease foci. An old doctrine is here brought prominently into view but in a new dress, in a new light and with great extension, viz., vital sympathy. Not alone the sympathetic nervous system, but the spinal reflex system as well must be considered in this philosophy; and both not only as to the motor reflexes, but also as to reflex sensation and functions, and trophic or nutritive reflexes affecting the most remote and diverse tissues and organs.
In looking over our written notes of former cases we are struck with the many anomalies-not always paralleled in the Materia Medica-in all these particulars which have distressed the patients and distracted the doctor. And now the orificial philosophy has come to teach the profession how in grasp and utilize these and give them a natural grouping; to “read between the lines” in this new direction, and to aid the Homoeopathic physician in exposing the occult “totality of symptoms” to objective recognition by eye tests, by the rectal speculum, and by all the modern methods of examination.
