A^t^VK^OC^v^T-' SLf%*s£ *4 A^v^l^2^4^<^Y 1 ■& (*r3tfi%l t>° •m WHAT is Htmomii? BENJAMIN EH KM ANN, M. D., MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF HOMOEOPATHY. " It is in this part of inrdicinr, thai I wish to see reform, an abandonment of hypothesis for sober facts, the first decree of value set on clinical observatiems, and the lowest in ii- sionruy theories."—ThosT Jekfbrsoh, Letter LV., vol. IV., page. CIIILL1COTHE: LlBR&y MINTED BY ELY & ALLEN. 1848. EXPLANATION. Allopathy, from the Greek l: allorv'1 and "pathos" means that medical system which makes other parts of the body suffer besides those affected by disease itself, for the sake of a cure ; and which, in most cases, follows flic maxim, " contraria eontrarus cttranttir"— which signifies that diseases are cured by medicines the effects of which are opposite to the symptoms of the disease. We use, in this essay, th6 word " Allopathy" as synonymous with old, regular or orthodox - school system, method or practice. Homoeopathy, from the Greek "lurnioioii" and "pathos," signifies the new medical system, which does not attack the sound parts of the body to perform a cure; but uses medicines, in accordance with the maxim, " si- milia similibus curantnr,"—like cured by its like—which directly operate on the affected parts, and which tend to produce, when taken in large doses, by persons in health, symptoms similar to those of the disease to be prescribed for. We call this the new school, reformed or Homoeopathic system, method or practice. TO THE CITIZENS OF CHILLICOTHE AND VICINITY: Nothing but a painful and imperious duty, to myself, as a professional man, induces me to address you at this time. There are circumstances which compel a person to become his own defender, however unpleasant that may be;—circumstances, which tend to deprive him of the esteem and confidence of the community, in which he lives, and thereby counteract, in some degree, his future usefulness among his fellow-men. Shall I endure all this, silently, if any exertion, on my part, can prevent it? No. On the contrary, if a constant, active and persevering attention, to the duties of my profession., may entitle me to your good opinion, then I will labor to .deserve and .hope to obtain it. I ask only a fair trial, from an enlightened and observant public But, what have I to complain of? Although I have conducted myself with the strictest regard to the rights, and even prejudices, of my brothers of the medical profession;—although I have, through delicacy, r.efrained from making any public announcement of my intention to practice on a new, and what I firmly believe to be, an improved system of medicine, and have quietly pursued my way;—yet, it grieves, and mortifies me to say, that some of those, belonging to the learned profession, have slyly and covertly endeavored to injure me, in the estimation 01 those who voluntarily put themselves under my professional treatment. They have, in a most illiberal, uncharitable and .unjust manner, charged me with an habitual use of dangerous and poisonous drugs;—thereby endeavoring to alarm my patients and prejudice the whole community against me. A simple statement will put you in possession of the facts, of which I complain, and will show you with what duplicity and inconsistency those have acted, who have thus meddled with my practice and my prospects. While some of those gentlemen are actively engaged, in assuring their listeners, that I give nothing but arsenic—others, who prefer lobelia and capsicum, to blistering and bleeding, and drive out calomel with steam, ominously inform their hearers, that I deal in that mischievous and dangerous drug — mercury! At one time, it is gravely said, that Homoeopathy is extremely dangerous, irom the potent .and poisonous drugs which this system recommends,; another time it is as seriously asserted, that it is one of the idlest and most ridiculous humbugs, of the present age, and that its infinitesimal .doses are next to nothing, &c. When patients, suffering with ohronic disease, improve gradually under Homooepathic treatment, the credit is then .ascribed to nature— imagination or diet—as if these three allies were latent orimpotent under Allopathic treatment, and waited patiently for years, until Homooepathy called them into life and salutary action. But when the cure of an acute case is so surprisingly prompt as to defy the above explanation, then the powerful giant Arsenic, must have performed the cure, or anything else, but the Homooep. treatment! How inconsistent! How contradictory ! However, those very gentlemen, who seem to believe so much in the all-healing power of Nature, (when Homocepafhy has cured a case,) are often the first to relinquish their faith in Nature, at the bedside of a patient, afflicted with a serious and acute disease, and resort to bleeding and blistering, vomiting and purging, calomel, opium, &c—while n Homccop. treatment proved entirely successful in the cure oi the most acute and dangerous maladies, without those annoying and tormenting means. We endeavor to aid nature, not to thwart her; to go with her, not against her. But I now fearlessly and confidently appeal to a justice-loving and enlightened public, whether there ever was a more absurd and impudent piece of inconsistency, than to charge us with the use of poisonous drugs, when every honorable physician knows, that he makes use of the very same, and in thousand-fold greater doses? Is it fair, is it honorable, is it honest, to charge us with dealing in dangerous medicines, when they are in the daily practice of giving the same, and sometimes under a ■concealed name?—Is is fair, is it just, to ascribe the success of Homne- jpathy, at one time, to the salutary effects of nature, and, at another, to ihe powerful operations of imagination and diet—while they find it expedient to distrust those very same powerful means, when any acute case presents itself, and are compelled to resort to harsh and heroic treatment for the cure of the very same diseases that Homoeopathy can cure, often in half the time, with mild remedies?—Have these gentlemen ever tested our medicines?—Have they ever given any of our pin-head globules in •appropriate cases? Not at all. If any physician will examine the Homoeopathic law, candidly and conscientiously, and endeavor to ascertain the effects of the medicine prescribed by it, according to the rales laid down by Hahnemann. I confidently assert, that he will be convinced of the truth of Homoeopathy, and compelled to acknowledge its superiority over any known system of medical practice. Of four professors of pathology* in various European Universities, who have undertaken to examine the truth of the Homoeopathic law, three have declared in its favor, one only against it The former are Professor ©'Amador, of the University of Montpelier, Professor J. W. Arnold, late of the University of Zurich; and Professor Henderson, of the University of Edinburgh; the latter, is Professor Andral, of the Parisian School of Medicine, whose experiments (as recorded by himself,) show, plainly and convincingly, that they were conducted with the utmost care- lessness and neglect of the first principles of the subject he pretended to examine. The number of Homoeopathic physicians, is daily increasing, from the ranks of the Old-School practitioners, some of whom have grown gray in the wisdom and experience of Allopathy—and many of them were invested with stations of honor and dignity. Homoeopathic Hospitals are established, in various parts of Europe, and its success, in every kind of disease, astonishes its opponents and puzzles their ingenuity to explain these stubborn facts. While the prac- tice of Homoeopathy was formerly prohibited by some Governments in Europe, it is now not only allowed, but even commanded to be taught, and candidates of medicine, to be examined in the Homcepathic, as well as in the Allopathic, Materia Medica and practice. In the face of these undeniable facts, who will dare to oppose this system still, with such lame and abominable falsehoods? Now, Citizens of Chillicothe, as singular as it may appear, these gentlemen of the most learned profession are in such a state of utter ignorance of Homoeopathy, that they can find and make use of no other weapons against her but misrepresentations and ridicule ! If Homoeopathy were really nothing better, than what they would fain make it appear before the public—if this practice were really so dange- *Many professors of other branches in medicine have become Honituopathists; as Rau , Wbbee, M Miller, &c. V rous,(even when it restores to health) and at Ike same time so impotent in curing violent diseases—as they would wish us to believe—would it then be worth while, for those gentlemen to put themselves to so much trouble? By no means! It would go dovvnof its own accord. However, as those only of the community who give it a fair trial, will best be able to judge,whether the treatment was beneficial or injurious to them —I can rest satisfied, that Homoeopathy will stand firm and triumphant. Since this new method has been so much misrepresented, in this place, I hope an intelligent community will excuse me for my endeavors to show, what Homoeopathy really is, in the following pages—and for such statements of facts and arguments as I deem proper—in order to enable the public, and competent judges, to decide for themselves. I am only acting in defence, and not with an intention to hurt the feelings of phy- sicians, who practice on a different system, believing that they strive equally with myself, to confer the most possible good upon our fellow- beings. With sincere esteem for the just and generous community, I subscribe myself their fellow-citizen and servant. BEXJ. EHRMANN, M. D. -*,-^-.--~t- Macu* t-st Veritas.',3—V"/ / i :^0^\'L%^~ I N T RODUCTION. Tl»c Present State of Mcdicnl Practice. At this time, when great improvements are made in every department of human economy, it is somewhat extraordinary, that practical medicine- should not have kept pace with all other branches; a circumstance wholly attributable to the lamentable fact, that this department has not, hitherto been based upon any fixed principle. Or is there no need of improve- ment ? Does the present state, of practical medicine, satisfy the intelligent and conscientious physician?—and does it meet the wants of sufferino- humanity?—These questions are already decided; the call for reform" in medicine, has sounded from head-quarters;—the most eminent in the profession have, for some time, declared themselves dissatisfied with the present state of materia medica, and practice of medicine, and have not been ashamed to announce it tcr the world. Let us hear their own expressions: Dr. Girtaner sdys: ".Our materia medica is a mere collection of fallacious observations."* Dr. Cabanis also observes: " We discover nothing fixed ansf invariable, in the application of medicine, or in the plans they should furnish for our conduct. With the exception, therefore, of some principles which, in consequence of their very general nature, are little cal- culated to direct us in the detail of every particular circumstance, it seems as it the theoretical knowledge of a physician was reduced to nothing, at the bedside of the sick, and that his practical skill resides in a sort of instinctive acuteness, improved by habit and experience.f" Dr. Pereira" remarks i " We can hardly refuse our assent to the observation of the late Sir G. Blane, that, in many, cases, patients get well in spite of the means employed ; and some- times, where the practitioner fancies that he has made a great cure, we may fairly assume the patient to have made a happy escape."J Dr. Paris: " That such fluctuations in opinion and versatility in practice, should have produced, even in the most candid and learned observers, an unfavorable impres- sion with regard to the efficacy of medicines, can hardly excite our astonishment, much less our indignation : nor can we be surprised that another portion of man- kind has, at once, arraigned physic as a fallacious art, or derided it as a. composi- tion of error and fraud. They ask, and it must be confessed that they ask with reason, what pledge can be afforded them that the boasted remedies of the present day will not, like their predecessors, fall into disrepute, and in their turn serve only as humiliating memorials of the credulity and infatuation of the physicians, who command and prescribe them. In the progress of the history of medicines, when are we able to produce a discovery or improvement which has been the result of that happy combination of observation, analogy and experiment which has so eminently rewarded the labors of modern science ?"$ Dr. John Mason Good : " As the historian of medicine approaches nearer to his own times, he finds his path encumbered with almost insurmountable difficulties. The subject on which lie has to treat differs, perhaps, from every other branch of science, in this circum- stance that our actual information does not increase, in any degree, in proportion * Hist. Introd. Phar. t Essay on the Certainty of Medicine. t Lecture on Pharmacology. § Lecture, delivered, in London, before the Royal College of Physicians^ Mil to oilr experience. IfenevH follows that tin- uccumulalion of materials, frequently rather retards than promotes its progress. In other scioiu•»'s. although truth is not to be attained without a certain degree of laborious rose audi, yet to those who arc willing to bestow on it the requisite attention, it is, lor the most part, attainable; or, if it still eludes our grasp, we are at least sensible of the deficiency, and gene- rally ascertain the precise nature of the obstacles which impede our progress. In other sciences, when we enter upon an inquiry, or propose to ourselves an object, for experiment or observation, We are able to say, whether the result of our inqui- ry lias been satisfactory, and whether the object in view has or has not been accomplished. But this, unfortunately, is not the case in medicine."* Dr. Abeiu'rombie : ;: A writer of high eminence, has hazarded the assertion that those persons are most confident in regard, to the characters of the disease, whose knowledge is most limited, and that more extended observation generally leads to doubt. An equal, or even more remarkable, uncertainly attends all our researches of the action of external agents upon the body. These engage our attention, in two respects, as causes of disease and as remedies; and, in both these views, ths uclion of them is fraught witli the highest degree of uncertainty. * * * The diffi- culties and sources ol uncertainty, which meet us at every stage of such investi- gation, are, in fact, so great and numerous, that those who have the most extensive opportunities of observation, will be the lirsl to acknowledge, that our pretended experience must, in general, sink into analogy, and even our analogy, too often,. into conjecture."t Dr. S. Jackson, commenting on the imperfect state in which medicine- appears, and referring to the necessity of reform,, says: •■ Can this reform be much longer postponed? I believe not. The interests of the profession are too deeply Implicated to admit that things should long continue in their present slate. It cannot be concealed, that public confidence in the know- ledge and intelligence of the profession has been shaken—has been most mate- rially impaired—in some sections of the country. In She regular practice, has not the treatment of disewe too much degenerated into a blind routine, pursued in nearly every disease, however dissimilar in their nature 1 Let medicine be, what it really is. a science of calculation, of combination, of induction, the elements of which are deduced from the phenomena of organized beings, and the relations of exterior agents with them."% Dr. James Rush says: " It seems to be one of the rules of faith in our art, that every truth must be helped into belief by some persuasive fiction of the school: and I here owe it to the general reader to confess that, as far as I know, the medical profession can scarcely produce a single volume, in its practical departments, from the works oi Hippocrates down to the last-made text-book, which, by the requisitions of aik exact philosophy, will not be found to contain nearly as much fiction as truth."$ Dr. Magendie observes: "The chain that binds Allopatlua to its fixed position must be broken; is is a humiliating position of medical science. The people see it to be a mese race between physician and disease, as to which can reduce the patient first; while the medical standards show, as an established principle, that both disease and medicine act with a power proportionate to the debility of the patient."—Exp. And, in the Introduction to his Physiology, he remarks: " The natural sciences, like history, have had their fabulous period. Astronomy commenced in astrology; chemistry was, not long since, alchemy; and medicine but a combination of absurd-hypotheses. Strange condition of the human mind, which seems to require, that it should long exercise itself in error, before it dare to approach the truth." In conclusion, let us hear one of the champions of Allopathy of the present time, Dr. I. F. Forbes, of London, as he speaks through the British and Foreign Medical Review: 1. " That, in a largo proportion of cases, treated by Allopathic physicians, the disease is cured by nature, and not by them." 2. " That, in a lesser, but still not a small proportion, the disease is cured by iia- * On the Study of Medicine. t Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers and the Investigation of Truth. t Introductory Lecture to the Medical .Students of the University of Pennsylvania. § The Philosophy of the Human Voice. IX ture, in spite of the in;—in other words, their interference opposing, instead of assisting, the cure." '.i. ■■ That, consequently, in a considerable proportion of diseases, it would fare as Well, or better, with patients, in'the actual condition of the medical art, if all reme- dies, at least all active remedies were'abandoned." * " Although Homaopathy has brought more signally into the com'mon daylight this lamentable condition of medi- cine, regarded as a practical art, (continues Dr. I. F. Forbes.) it was one well known before, to all philosophical and experienced physicians." * * * " What, indeed, is the history of medicine, but a history of perpetual changes in the opinions and practice, of its professors, respecting the very same subjects-—the nature and treatment of diseases '.'" Again : " That things, in Allopathic physic, have arrived at such a pitch, that they could not be worse ; they must either mend or end." And is there any wonder at this, in a practice void of any scientific foundation—of any fixed principles'? There are many physicians who, like the preceding, are dissatisfied with Allopathy, and adhere to it still, hoping for improvement by following the old beaten track;—there are others, however, equally impressed with the deficiencies of the old school, who were seeking for something better—and who feel convinced of having found the desired object in Homoeopathy. It is no more than fai^ that we should hear the confessions of a few of them also: Dr. Schuler, an eminent allopathic physician of Stollberg: '• During a quarter of a century f had followed the banner of Allopathia. I had employed much time and1 money in studying its frequent transformations, without finding a thread which could guide me in the labyrinth of medicine, without power to unravel the mystery by which cures are effected. It is assuredly to our ignorance of the virtues of medicines and of the proper mode of using them, that we must attribute the ravages of disease. These thoughts besieged my mind and embarrassed my views, in spite of my attention to the letter of the law prescribed by the masters of the art, and I was forced to quit the beaten track and follow an unknown path. But, in wishing to avoid one rock, I fell upon another. That I might escape from this perplexity, I had for a long time devoted much attention to Homceopathia, but the cry of reprobation which rose against it, and the apparent parodox of many of its principles, especially that of the infinitely small doses, turned me from the study of it and retained me a faithful adherent to the old method. But my doubts and my fidelity were finally strongly shaken, and it was experience which produced these effects." J. A. H. Muhlenbein, M. D., Privy and State Counsellor, Physician t'o the Duke of Brunswick, and Knight of the Order of the Guelf: "I have been a doctor in medicine for fifty years, during the first thirty-three of Which I practiced allopathically and with success, if I may presume to judge by the public reputation conferred upon me; but I assure you that I owe daily oblations to my Creator for an allowance of sufficient years to become convinced of the homoeopathic truth. Indeed, it is only since I have practised Homceopathia, that I have been satisfied of the utility of any system of medicine, and have acquired information by which I could repair errors I committed in allopathic practice from want of absolute knowledge. These are my views ot Homceopathia, which I communicated sometime since through Stapf's Archives; but having nearly attained the limits of my existence, I reiterate to you, that I am more than eyer convinced, that Homceopathia is the only true mode of restoring the sick to health, and that perfect health." ,. M. Croserio, Doctor of Medicine, President of the Homoeopathic Society of Paris, and Physician to the Sardinian Embassy in the French Capitol, &c.: ,, , "The study and practice of the old system for thirty years have enabled me to tudge of its merits and defects, and it was only after a profound conviction, der.ved from a knowledge of both doctrines, that I have recognized the importance of the Hahnemannlan system. Several years of experience in its prac 'caUpphca- tion have served only to confirm my convictions of its merit; this circumstance, 2 A together with the wclf-known fact, that no practitioner, who has within thirty years adbpted it, ever returned to the old system, the principles of which appear truly a paltry absurdity to one who has been practising for soma time on the clear and National precepts of Homceopathia, are pretty favorable arguments of its real value. The tacit contract, made by every physician, embracing Homceopathia, to contri- bute with all his power to its propagation, encourages me in the painful task of publishing the falsity of my creed during the space of thirty years. James Kitchen, M. D., of Philadelphia, asserts he had been, before embracing Homceopathia, a practitioner of the old school for fifteen years, during which space of time he had seen considerable"practice and considered himself fully qualified to know what disease was, and to appreciate the effects of remedies—in addition he may say, that he had received the best medical education, both in this country and in Europe, and had studied under the most celebrated professors, and attended the different Hospitals in those places where he studied :• these remarks are made not by way of boast or an exhibition of superior qualifications, but merely fo? the purpose of allowing himself to think, that he was fully qualified to appreciate the effects of homoeopathic remedies on disease, ami to form a correct judgment as to their sanativenalure. Thece sana- tive effects he was first made aware of in his own person, and afterwards in a short space of time, in several well marked instances among his patients, insomuch that he soon became fully convinced of the efficacy of the doses, though he must confess, at first considerably prejudiced against such a conviction—but these instances were so numerous and so palpable,- that he was forced to acknowledge them as correct, and now, at this present time, after 'a lapse of nearly three years, his conviction is still more forcible. Dr. G. Hull, of New York, observes: " So far as our individual testimony may influence others, we are ready to state, that our convictions of the truth of the Homoeopathic law have been additionally strengUherted by personal intercourse with Hahnemann—travelling over the Eu- ropean1 ground of its occupation—-learning the reputation of its adherents—in- specting'ills archives—perusing the essential pages of the principal works of its literature; and, finally, we wotrld humbly affirm, that we have made full'and im- partial trials of the system in practice during the last twelve years, and, whether it was applied to sleeping or unconscious infancy, ripened manhood or the tottering decrepitude of old age:—whether aimed at the imminent dangers of acute sickness, or^thc insidious devastations of chronic maladies, that the general results invariably and irresistibly converged to one'conclusion—the confirmation of the principle, similia similibus citrantur, asowe of the immutable laws of nature." -^^g^?- // What is Homoeopathy? DISCOVERY OF H 0 MCE 0 P A TH Y. The Homoeopathic system owes its origin to the philosophic mind of a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann, who was born in 1755, at Meissen in Saxony, and died 1843 at Paris. Prior to the great discovery, Hahnemann was celebrated both as a physician and a chemist; yet so dissatisfied was he with this hap-hazard and routine practice, that he abandoned the profession altogether, and did not resume it, till Providence had selected him, as the instrument for completing a thorough reform in medical science. It was whilst translating, into German, the Materia Medica of the Scotch physician, Dr. Cullin, that he was induced, from the unsatisfactory attempts, made therein, to explain the effects of Peruvian bark, to try that substance upon himself. He was in perfect health, and found, to his astonishment, that this bark produced in him symptoms, exactly resembling those of a certain kind of fever and ague. As bark was considered a specific for the cure of the ague, his sagacious mind suspected something more, than a mere accident, in the circumstance of its producing those symptoms. Resting upon this fact, and pursuing the same train of inquiry, he arrived, after long and careful researches, at the conclusion, that it is a law of nature, "that maladies are effectually cured by such medicines, as have the power or tendency of producing, on healthy persons, symptoms similar to those, which characterise the disease" — or, in other words, that the effects of remedies must stand in an harmonious or homogenious relation to the symptoms of the disease to be prescribed for. As the opinion of an opponent to Homoeopathy may find more credit, than all that I could say in favor of Hahnemann and Homoeopathy, I will adduce here the remarks of Dr. J. F. Forbes, in reference to them: "No careful observer of his actions or candid reader of his writings, can hesitate for a moment to admit, that he was a very extraordinary man,— one whose name will descend to posterity as the exclusive encogitator, and founder, of an original system of medicine, as ingenious as many that b 12 WHAT IS preceded it, and destined, probably, to be the remote, if not the immediate, cause of more important fundamental changes in the practice of the healing art, than have resulted from any promulgated since the days of Galen himself. Hahnemann was undoubtedly a man of genius, and a scholar; a man of indefatigable industry, of undaunted energy. In the history of medicine, his name will appear in the same list with those of the greatest systematists and theorists; unsurpassed by few in the originality and ingenuity of his views, superior to most in having substantiated and carried out his doctrines into actual and most extensive practice." * * * "By most medical men, it was taken for granted, that the system was one, not only visionary in itself, but was the result of a mere fanciful hypothesis, disconnected with facts of any kind, and supported by no processes of ratiocination or logical inference; while its author, and his apostles and successors, were looked upon either as visionaries, or quacks, or both. And yet nothing can be further from the truth. Whoever examines the Homoeopathic doctrines, as announced and expounded in the original writings of Hahnemann, and of many of his followers, must admit, not only, that the sys- tem is an ingenious one, but that it professes to be based on a most formidable array of facts and experiments, and that these are woven, into a complete code of doctrine, with singular dexterity and much apparent fairness. And it is but an act of simple justice to admit, that there exist no grounds for doubting, that Hahnemann was as sincere in his belief of the truth of his doctrines, as any of the medical systematists who preceded him, and that many at least, among his followers, have been, and are, sincere, honest and learned men." Valentine Mott, justly the pride of American Surgery, after visiting Hahnemann during his sojourn in Europe, speaks of him thus: — "Hahnemann is one of the most accomplished and scientific physicians of the present age." Hufeland, the venerable Patriarch of German Allopathy— Kopp, a distinguished writer on legal and practical medicine —Broussais, the founder and champion of the celebrated Doctrine Physiologique—Brera, a distinguished Allopathist in Italy—Dr. J. G. Millingen, a highly esteemed Surgeon and Allopathic practitioner in England—Prof. James McNaughton, late President of the New York State Medical Society—all these gentlemen, though not Homoeopathists, speak in high terms of Hahnemann, and respectfully of his system. The estimation in which he is held in the literary world, is shewn IIOMCEGPATHY ? 13 by the fact that trie Medical Society of the city and county of New York, consisting of an association of all the .legal Allo- pathic physieians, more than fourteen years ago, elected hiua an honorary member of that body. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF HOMEOPATHY. The basis on which the entire system rests is a law of nature, acting .alike throughout the physical and moral world, and is plainly and forcibly expressed in the axiom: " similia similibus curantur," or in other words, "like are cured by like." To illustrate this principle, and to prove the truth of it, a few examples will suffice: Ipeeacuhana, or Tartar emetic, causes vomiting in healthy persons, and will cure (when given in small doses) a patient suffering from a similar disturbance of the stomach. Rhubarb causes purging, and will cure, in small doses, such an affection. Mercury produces ulcerated sore throat in healthy individuals, and will cure a disease exactly resembling it,' if produced by another cause. \Sulphur will produce an eruption similar to scabies (itch), and it is one of the best remedies against this disease. Coffee will excite the nervous system to such a degree, as to prevent sleep, in persons not habituated to it—and it will relieve such a state, when taken in small, homoeopathic doses. Belladona excites symptoms resembling those of Scarlatina, and will cure and even prevent that kind of Scarlatina to which it corres- ponds. Belladona is also used in the Old School for the same purpose, in consequence of Hahnemann's recommendations- Popular practice, which is as old as mankind itself, is often suprisingly successful, and when it is so, it acts, though unknowingly, upon this principle. A frost-bitten member is cured by the application of snow or ice, while hot applications would, in such a case, cause mortification. A burn is quickly healed by applying something of a heating nature : hot spirits, a warm soap-plaster, or raw cotton, &c, according to circum- stances, while ,the application of cold would increase the inflammation and retard the cure. A person overheated from work, will best be relieved by some warm drink, while cold water may cause inflammation of the stomach or sudden death. 14 what is Ilasing shown tlaat this principle, on which Hahnemann founded the New System of Medical practice, is in harmony with nature and experience, I will now proceed to prove, that it was also recognised, in some single cases, before Hahne- mann: Hippocrates, in his Aphorisms, said: "Diseases arise by similars, and men are cured by similars administered." " Vo- mitus vomitu eurantur"—vomiting cured by vomits. j\t another place he says, most diseases are cured by the same means which brought on the disease. Basilius Valenttnus, in his book " de Microcosmo," plainly asserts: " Like is to be expelled by its like, and not by its contrary, heat by heal, cold by cold—for heat attracts heat, cold attracts cold, as the magnet does in regard to Lion. He who does not attend to that, is not a real physician, and may in silence boast of no medicine," &e. Detharding found, that an infusion of senna would cure a certain kind of colic, in consequence of its power of creating a similar malady in healthy persons. Bertholon states, that Electricity is .capable of extinguishing pains of disease, precisely similar to those it has been known to excite in healthy individuals. Boulduc attributes the same power to rhubarb in its action on diarrhoeas. Stahl, the celebrated Danish physician, writes: " The re- ceived method in medicine, of curing diseases by opposite remedies, is completely false and aibsurd. I am convinced, on the contrary, that diseases are subdued by agents, which produce a similar affection, &c. It is by these means that I have succeeded in curing a disposition to acidity of the stomach, by using very small doses of sulphuric acid, in cases where a multitude of absorbing powders had been adminis- tered to no purpose." Paracelsus observes: " It is a perverted method taught by Galen, to give remedies which produce the contrary of tin; disease; remedies ought to be administered which act simi- larly to it." Hunter " On the Blood," recommends in burns the method of exposing the parts to the fire, and speaks of the great inconvenience that arises from the application of cold water to burns. Sydenham and B. Bell are of the same opinion. This is all Homoeopathic practice, according to the law of similarity. On the truth and soundness of this law, the whole science depends. All the other doctrines are of minor impor- IIOMCKOFATHY? 15 tame; and are flowing out of this law, as a necessary conse- quence. Not one of the numerous opponents has been found bold enough to deny this fundamental principle. On the contrary, one of the last, previously quoted, Dr. J. F. Forbes, admits that " he sees nothing unfeasible in the doctrine, that the new artificial action should destroy the previous natural or morbid one. At least, this is as good and rational a theory as most of our orthodox medical theories. And indeed, it is supported by several strong analogies afforded both by patho- logy and allopathic therapeutics." It maybe counted as an indirect proof of the truth of this- system, that it has already stood longer than most of the hypo- thetical systems that preceded it, contrary to the predictions of its opponents—'that it has been constantly increasing among the medical profession in all enlightened countries—and that none of them, who were fully convinced of its truth, have ever returned to the Old School—'that,on the contrary,the longerthey are in the practice of this system, the firmer they are in the belief of its truth. The same may be said in regard to the intelli- gent portion of its patients, of whom it counts a good number, and among whom are many that are zealous advocates for the new system, when they are once theoretically and practically convinced of its value and truth. PRACTICAL ADVANTAGES OF HOMOEOPATHY. 1. The new system recommends itself fy its Simplicity, The fundamental laws of nature are simple, and so are the principles of Homoeopathy. We are not governed by the hypothetical or supposed nature of the disease, to prescribe medicines, the effects of which are equally hypothetieal, nor by the classification of medicines—but by the similarity of symptoms. It is well known, that the so-called physiological classification of medicine has changed as often as the theories and opinions about the nature of disease, according to the prevailing medical doctrines of the day, or the peculiar notions of the writer. What difference of opinion exists among Authors in reference to one single substance, the following will illustrate : Mercury, for instance, is placed in the class of sialagogues, by Drs. Cullen, Chapman, Young and Eberle— anion*- excitants, by Drs. A. T. Thomson, M. M. Edwards \(j WHAT iS and Vavasselir, and M. M. Trousseau and Pidoux ; it is con- sidered to be a sedative, by Conradi, Bretele and Horn—by Sir W. Philip, to be stimulant in small doses, and sedative in large ones ; by Dr. J. Murray,, it is placed among tonics ; by Vogt, among resolventia, alterantia; by Sundelin, among the liquef'acients ; and by the followers of Broussais (as Begin), among revulsives; by the Italians (as Giacomini), among contra-stimulants or hypostenics; by others (as Barbier), among the incerta sedis. Though Mercury is the Panacea of the Old School, yet " of the modus operandi of Mercury we know nothing," &c, declares the United States Dispensatory by Wood & Bache, a standard work for the Allopathic prac- titioner. Homoeopathic Physicians do not treat diseases according to names, but according to the state of the patient, indicated by the ensemble of the existing symptoms. How pernicious a treatment must be, directed against a supposed disease, is obvious. That Physicians are by no means of one opinion about, the nature of a complaint, at the bedside of the sick, is well known, and a case related by Dr. Attomyr, will serve as an illustration of this point: A Professor of a certain Univer- sity, treated a case of Chronic Headache, which, in the course of his treatment, became very violent, and a consultation, consisting of 5 professors, was held. The first of them thought the disease depended on excited irritability, and ought to be calmed by—Digitalis. The second supposed it to con- sist rather in an excited sensibility, and ought to be reduced by—Hyoscyaritus. The third, however, believed the cause of the Headache to depend on a stagnation in the abdominal or- gans, and advised "ad amovendas stases"—Aloe. To the fourth, it appeared' most probable to be an organic disease in the cranium, and proposed " ad solvendam animaliam orga- nieam"—Calomel. The fifth said : "Indeed,.my colleagues, the reasons which you give for your diverging opinions, are so striking, that I can not contradict any of you. I propose, therefore, to prescribe and try all four remedies in different forms—in fluids, powders and pills." How would Homoeopathic physicians appear in such a case ? Being guided by all the symptoms of the disease, they would eventually come to the same treatment; as an anecdote related by Hering, will serve to show: Dr. Hering, whilst travelling in Europe, met a rich old gentleman, who was an Invalid for twenty years, and yet had never submitted to any Allopathic treatment. When he was first attacked, he sent for two celebrated physicians, and as they could not agree nOMffi'OrPATHY ? 17 about his- disease, he discharged them. Then, after finding that the disease did not get better, he set out on his travels, with the purpose of consulting all the physicians of any repu- tation, resolved, however, not to submit to any treatment, un- less he could find three doctors who could perfectly, agree upon his case, Sec. He had consulted 477 of them, without finding the agreement desired, and therefore remained an invalid. Dr. Hering proposed to make a trial with the Homoeopathic physicians, and accordingly transmitted a description of the disease of the patient to thirty-three of then*, living in various- parts of the world, requesting them to name the remedies which were capable of curing, or, at least, of alleviating his disease. Some time after, Dr. Hering received a cask of Rhenish, of the vintage of 1822, with the following words from the old gentleman: "I send you wine of the year 1822, because twenty-two Homoeopathic physicians agreed respecting my case. I thereby perceive that there is certainty in some things in the world. The nearest physician has me under his care, and my health is improving from day to day." Homoeopathy is not only simple in its principles, but also* in its practice, and prescribes only one Medicine at a time— not a mixture. If many drugs are put up and mixed toge- ther, who is able to make a true calculation as to what will be the effect of each single medicine, and what must be the result of the mixtum compositum ? In such a treatment, it would be impossible to separate the symptoms of the disease, from those artificially produced by the compound. This is so self- evident, that even the better physicians of the Old School are, by degrees, approaching nearer, in their prescriptions,, to this Homoeopathic rule. 2. Homoeopathy follows a Direct Treatment. There can be but one direct method, but of the indirect,, many, as the antiphlogistic, resolvent, revulsive, deobstruent, &c. There can be but one straight line to a certain point—of curved ones there can be many. Homoeopathy is the direct method, and Allopathy the indi- rect. By the direct method, an impulse is given to the speci- fic reaction of the healing power, so that the disease is not only attacked in its effects upon the different organs and sys- tems as with the indirect method ; but in its origin and seat. To accomplish this object, it was indispensably necessary for the Homoeopathic physician to know the precise effects of medicine on the healthy body,—and,, therefore, Hahnemann 3 18 WHAT IS and his disciples, up to this time, tried or tested upwards of two hundred different medicines on themselves—riot On their1 patients—to ascertain the effects of them. This is of great advantage and1 satisfaction to the patient; he may rest assu- red that the medicine he is talcing, has been taken by many physicians'irt much larger doses; and that the Homoeopathic physician' is not only acquainted with the effect of the remedy he is prescribing, but that he also knows how little of it is needed, for the sake of a cure. It was by these trials, that Hahnemann found Belladona to be (on account of the simi- larity of symptoms) a remedy fo* the cure of Scarlet fever, as well as a preventive against it, which has since been used as such, even by the Old School' physicians, without giving him credit for the invention. It was by these trials, that Hahne- mann could prescribe or point out medicines, for the cure and prevention of Cholera, raging though far distant from him— and it was by following his advice, that the treatment was entirely successful. And it is by the same trials or provings of medicines, (which constitute our Materia Medica,) that every Homoeopathic physician' is enabled to attend and pre- scribe successfully for any case of disease, however" new or uncommon it may be. The new system, in following a direct and specific treat- ment, can dispense with those indirect means of veriaesection, emetics^ physics, blisters, setons and irtoxa—and this is another advantage to patients. The difference between the act of bleeding and the substituted Homoeopathic dose is, that the first takes away from the source of life, while the last restores and preserves it in*" all its purity—and this is the precise diffe- rence between the two systems. Tdie idea of having too much blood, is as preposterous as that of a vessel containing more water than its capacity will admit. A superabundance of the means of life, is a' doctrine well worthy of ignorance or a disordered imagination. There may be an irregular accu- mulation or flow of blood in some parts, to the detriment of others; if, therefore, the equality of circulation is restored, the patient is cured at once. In this way Homoeopathy removes the most dangerous maladies, inflammations of any organ, and even Apoplexy, with so little danger of relapse. To aid na- ture, by crippling her—to heal, by reducing the chances of recovery-—to purify the fountain of health, by cutting off its main supplies—■-to give life, by taking it away—in short, to bleed, "is a barbarous piece of absurdity (says A. Eusta- chieve) no less destructive, in itself, than disgraceful to the present state of science and general civilization." Dr. Spe-"- HOMne grain of the first preparation (though the hundredth part 0) WHAT IS only of the original material,) may act as strongly .as though it were the tenth or fifth part, or even the half of it. The active properties of many remedies that seem nearly powerless in their crude state, are, by trituration, &c, dcve* loped—the latent power set free, as it were—and increased to an astonishing extent; so that they do not operate only me- chanically or chemically, on the superficies of the organs, as most of the crude medicines do ; but penetrate deeper into the organism, and act, dynamically, more thoroughly and exten- sively, though in a mild degree. Whether it is the expansion of the Medicine, or the increase ofsurface^-Whether the nice and infinite division of particles, or the liberated electricity—attained by this process of tritu- ration and friction, that accounts for this phenomenon, or all combined—I will leave for Philosophers to decide. That it is, however, a fact, can be proved positively, by experiments in health and disease. Doppler,* the celebrated mathematician, though not a Ifomoeopathist, in his " Essay on the Small and Great in Na- ture," shows, by mathematical calculation, that well refined or infinitely divided substances must necessarily act better than crude substances, on account of their increase of surface, at- tained by division of mechanical particles (trituration), by which the medicine affords many more points of contact with the minute nervous system. That such an infinite division of particles, such a minute refinement of crude substances, takes place in our preparations, the experiments of Drs. Mayerhoe- ferf and Rummel,J will prove conclusively. Intending to be brief, I will only refer to them, and give the result of their experiments in their own words: "By means of a good solar microscope, the medicinal substance which is contained in a drop, not only of the thirtieth, but even of the two-hundredth potence, are seen as millions of small points, the various forms and color of which, according as they come from one or the other metal, may be distinctly seen." If friction developes heat by liberating latent electricity, may not our medicines (by their peculiar preparation) partake in some degree, of the nature of the imponderables—electri- city, magnetism, light and heat, the powerful effects of which, regardless of weight, are not disputed ? Nothing, however, but the actual trials of medicine, when in health, is better calculated to remove the last shadow of * Holder's Journal of Physics in 1837, t Austrian Journal for Homoeopathy. Vol. I. \ Homoeopathic Journal of Leipzig, Vol. XXX. HOMOEOPATHY ? 2 J doubt in the effects of small doses. Carbo vegetabiHs is sup- posed to have very little more than a mechanical effect, in its crude state, but when properly triturated, it acquires strength and virtues previously unknown. Dr. Elliotts, the distinguished Oculist in New York, was- induced, by his friends, to try this harmless substance (com- mon charcoal). He took three pills daily, each containing one millionth part of a grain, with the intention of experimen- ting thus for six days. Great, indeed, was his astonishment,- when, in spite of his resolution to go on,- he found himself Compelled to stop on the fourth day, for, by this time, the overpowering effect of what he had already taken, was quite Sufficient to convince him of the positive effect of small doses.- There is a Society of Physicians in Vienna, for the particu- lar purpose of trying those Medicines, again, that Hahnemann and his early disciples had experimented with, in order to prove or disprove their veracity. They have taken many of those medicines, in large and small doses, and have so far riot been able to perceive any error in Hahnemann's trials; but on the contrary, confirmed only that the Master was a good and faithful experimenter, and a close and correct observer. The best test of small doses is, after all, the actual trial of them in disease—and the more violent this is, the better will be the experiment. We are ready to have Homoeopathy put to this test—particularly, in all acute' and dangerous diseases. He that is freed from a toothache with a few powders, that lasted, perhaps, for ten days and nights, in spite of every thing used—he that is relieved from a pleuritic stitch in one or two days without bleeding—he that is cured from a netw ralgic pain, a dysentery, a brain-fever, or a cholera, in a few days—will certainly not question the efficacy of small doses. 4. Homoeopathic Medicine is Pleasant and of General Applicability. The tastes of people differ, but the most are rather fond of something sweet, and so is Homoeopathic medicine, even in this regard,-most suitable. Children, as well as the aged, can take it easily, either dry or in water. It is another advantage of this medicine, that it can be administered in cases of the o-reatest exhaustion, to bring on reaction and give strength, where the orthodox physician has to quit the use of medicines, as the patient often seems too weak to bear any allopathic druo-s whatever, much less the lancet, or the general anti- phlogistic treatment, in cases of inflammation—especially with the a°"ed' and' feeble. ^1 WHAT' fS The Homoeopathic system is adapted to all cases of disease of body and mind ; for every age and every sex—under all circumstances or conditions of life; for every constitution and every climate. However, it pretends not to be a " cure-alk" Never will there be such a system ; and human skill fails in the presence of death, not because this skill is powerless against disease, but because death is no disease; and cure is merely an expulsion of disease, with the assistance of nature, when possible. That Homoeopathy is of general applicability is doubted by some, though they grant that it may do good in chsonic cases. Therefore, I will endeavor to prove this« part more fully, by showing that 5, The Effect of Homoeopathic Treatment is Quick, Msid and Savfe. There are chronic diseases, of which it is plainly acknow- ledged, that neither nature, diet, nor Allopathic art, could cure. Such cases have often been cured by Homoeopathic means. Every physician can bring proofs of it—and the new school has received a great part of its good name by it. That acute and inflammatory diseases do get well (i. e. a reasonable pro- portion of them), if left entirely to nature, and in a reasonable time, too—in comparison to Allopathic treatment—is also acknowledged and proved by Allopathic authorities. If, therefore, Homoeopathy can cure diseases that nature and Allopathic art could not cure, how much easier, how much more certain will she be able to cure those acute diseases which nature alone can cure. If Homoeopathic treatment—whose success in the cure of dangerous diseases is proved by the official reports of various hospitals, to be much greater than that of the old school—if Homoeopathic treatment, whose suc> cess in the cure of the Asiatic cholera, was without parallel*— if Homoeopathic treatment, therefore, is, by some of our inge- nious and logical opponents, considered as just as good1 as nature or nothing—then Allopathic treatment must be worse than nothing, to say the least of it, and the acknowledgement of Dr. J. Cogswell, of Boston, will stand uncontradicted, "that the medical profession, with its prevailing mode of prac- tice, is productive of vastly more evil than good ; and were it absolutely abolished, mankind would infinitely be the gainer." Chronic cases are difficult to be treated by any method__the ' About eight deaths in a hundred patients—while about fifty-five out of a hun. dred under Allopathic treatment. HOMOEOPATHY? 25 more so, the longer the patient had been subjected to an inju- rious course of medical treatment, and require some length of time and patience to see a successful alteration—a thorough reform in the constitution. If the eradication of a complaint, that has, perhaps, gradually been on the increase for many years, should require even a year or more, it could still be considered a speedy cure, in comparison to an everlasting and never-ending one. In regard to acute cases, it may fairly be stated, that the duration in fevers, inflammations, neuralgias, and other diseases of an acute character, is considerably les- sened under the reformed practice. In affections, where help must be given without delay, this system can be put to the test most surely ; and the sufferings of the sick are most severe, Homoeopathy, well administered, will prove her superiority to advantage. Those physicians of the Old School that embra- ced the reformed system of medicine, have unanimously declared that those diseases—the acute and inflammatory— which they had formerly thought least adapted for Homoeopa- thic treatment, are not only suited for it—but that they are decidedly most successfully treated by the new method. The action of the Homoeopathic remedy is gentle and mild, and health is restored, in most cases, without any suffering from medicines. The constitution never will be injured ; as a proof of this, we dare state, that patients, as soon as the disease is contracted, will rally speedily, and not feel that exhausting weakness and debility, nor the bad consequences of after diseases, which are apt to follow the depleting, tor- menting and scouring method, and the use of large doses of Allopathic medicines. HOMOEOPATHIC REGIMEN. The regimen or diet prescribed by Hahnemann, is simple, rational and easily to be observed. It merely directs, that the food shall be digestible, nutritious, and not stimulating ; to take suitable exercise in the open air, and to keep the mind at ease. 4 2h WHAT IS COMMON OBJECTIONS AN S ■ W E II E I). Partial Recapitulation of the preceding, and some of the com- mon objectio7is to Homoeopathy briefly answered. 1. Is it Possible, that the Old System of Practice can be Wrong, since it has Stood for so many Centuries ? Whoever is acquainted with the history of Medicine, is well aware, that the present mode of practice is not as old as generally supposed ; for their own professors acknowledge that the theories about the nature of disease, as well as the notions about the effects of remedies, and their indication in disease, have not only often changed, but are still in a similar state of uncertainty and contradiction—and this department, therefore, is regarded by themselves, " as yet in its very infancy.'''' That the old system does not satisfy their own professors, we have seen in the " Introduction to this Essay." That many emi- nent physicians are not only dissatisfied with it, but actually abandon it, and join the Banner of Homoeopathy—does cer- tainly not speak in favor of its truth. And what are the rea- sons they assign for this transition? I will let Dr. F. Cogs- well answer this question, by an extract from a communication to the " Boston Atlas," in his own emphatic words : " About twenty years devoted to the practice and study of the popular system of medicine, which was founded by Galen one hundred and forty years after Christ, have fully convinced me that it is based on the deadliest error, and attended with the most fatal results to the world. My objections to it are unanswerable, and I ask for them the sober consideration of the public as well as of the faculty. 1st. Its acknowledged uncertainty, 2d. Its utter insufficiency. 3d. Its frequently ruinous consequences ; and 4th. The want of union among its advocates. " I wish not to detract from the exalted profession to which I have the honor to belong, and which includes many of my warmest and most valued friends, yet I cannot answer it to my conscience to withhold the acknowledgement of my firm Delief, that the medical profession (with its prevailing mode of practice,) is productive of vastly more evil than good; and were it absolutely abolished, mankind would infinitely be the gainer. * * * I mean just what J have said—not, how- HOMOEOPATHY ? 27 ever, that the established practice never does any good, but, on the whole,- more harm than good. * * * * "Since graduating, my experience has been such as to enable me to form a just estimate of the common mode of treatment, and abundantly to satisfy me that it is utterly unsound in root, trunk and branch. It is emphatically a guessing system, and the chance of a patient's being radically cured by it, is about as great as the chance of drawing a prize from an hundred thou- sand blanks." 2. That Minute Doses can have no Effect on Diseases, and could not be Depended upon in Acute and Dangerous Cases. This is an error founded in ignorance. When regnlarly educated physicians, who have been administering large Allo- pathic doses for years, quit this practice, and give small Homoeopathic ones—when physicians, who have acquired celebrity in the Old School, and are invested with stations of honor and dignity, administer minute Homoeopathic doses in acute as well as chronic cases—when physicians, whose oppo- nents even admit, that they are sincere, honest and learned men, believe and prescribe, after careful examination, Ho- moeopathic doses in preference to Allopathic doses—is it not arrogant, in the highest degree, for those persons that never examined into them, nor experimented with them, even to presume to know better ? Is it not absurd, to assume to judge of what they never studied—to assume to decide in matters of which they absolutely know nothing1? Is it not silly to suppose, that physicians would prescribe such doses for ten or twenty years, if they never observed any effect—and to be- lieve that patients would take them still, if they had never been benefitted by them? Do those practitioners not accuse themselves, if they believe, or at least pretend to believe, that pleurisy, pneumonia, congestion or inflammation of the brain, &c, could be cured by ineffectual (Homoeopathic) doses, or by nothing, while they torture their patients with bleeding, blistering and purging, &c, for the same diseases, to no bet- ter result than to prolong the case, and often endanger the life of the patient ? Why is not the bulk of the dose increased, if it were only to remove the objection as to size ? Because, in their present quantity and form, they are sufficiently active and efficacious, and have answered their purpose for more than forty years, not only in chronic, but especially in the most acute and violent, diseases admirably, and have thereby 28 WHAT IS gained credence of all those that gave them a fair trial. The best physicians are well known to have always used the least medicine, and vice versa. Homoeopathic doses have, at the same time, the advantage of not injuring health, even if they were not correctly chosen—an advantage which cannot be pleaded, in favor of the immense doses administered by the Old School. 3. That the Cures of Homoeopathy are attributable to Nature alone. When cures under Homseopathic treatment are too obvious to be denied, they are of course attributed to nature. Why does not nature cure under Allopathic treatment—and why does she wait until Homseopathy is applied to, before she commences a cure ? Can nature, by her unaided efforts, cure severe cases of croup, typhus fever, scarlet fever and cholera, or a long standing chronic complaint ? Moreover, if nature alone is capable of performing such cures, how can bleeding, leeching, blistering, and all such tormenting measures, be justified—or how can the long catalogue of pills and draughts be defended ? 4. That the Cures of Homoeopathy are attributable to the Faith and Imagination of the Patient. This is really a very silly objection, since by far the greater number of persons who resort to it, do so, not only without any faith, but prejudiced against it; and have recourse to it only as a last resource, because the old system has signally failed in its attempt to relieve them. One of the most decided arguments against the bug-bear imagination is, that Homoeo- pathy cures horses, cows, and all domestic animals. Are the various complaints of infants cured by faith and imagination ? If so, surely their delicate stomachs might have been spared the nauseous potions they have hitherto been doomed to swallow. 5. That Homoeopathy Cures by Severe Regimen. This is another assertion which has no foundation in truth. If strict attention to diet will of itself remove disease, why does the Old School not adopt the same mode, and cease to wage war against our constitutions with dangerous weapons ? HOMOEOPATHY ? 29 6. That many Persons have been treated by Homeo- pathy, AND HAVE NOT BEEN CURED. This is probable, and yet it is not a sound argument against the system ; for the disciples of science do not pretend to in- fal ibihty But I may be allowed to meet such objections with the following questions: Were the cases treated cura- ble.-' Did the patient adhere to the rules prescribed? Did they continue the treatment sufficiently long to effect a cure ? —for it is certain, that a chronic complaint can only be eradi- cated by slow degrees. I admit, that cases occur where Homoeopathic means may fail to cure, because many patients have recourse to its aid, when the vital powers have become so exhausted by disease, and by a long continued course of injurious medical treatment, that cure is hopeless. The real question is, does Homoeopathy not succeed in cases where the old practice always fails, and does it not, in cases where the latter only relieves at a great expense to the constitution- cure promptly and effectually, and without the least injury to the organism? On this ground it takes its stand, and chal- lenges public enquiry. If occasional failures are to be the test of a system of medicine, the fate of the Old School, can indeed be no longer doubtful. 7. That Homoeopathy is going down every where. A grand argument against Homoeopathy. Sixteen years ago it was not known, even by name, to the majority of the profession in England and the United States ; while now, amongst the enlightened public, it would be difficult to find a person unacquainted with the system. In Paris, where six- teen years ago, there was no Homoeopathic practitioner, there are now upwards of sixty. In Boston, New York and Phila- delphia, there are, in each city, upwards of twenty-five—in Pittsburgh, six—and in Cincinnati, ten—Homoeopathic phy- sicians ; and not a village can be found in the New England States, where there is not a practitioner of Homoeopathy. About twenty Universities and Academies in Europe, allow lectures on Homoeopathy, and even in this country they are about establishing a College for this system in Philadelphia. The " Saturday Courier " contains the following remarks in regard to it: " A very large, intelligent and highly respectable class of physicians now practice on this system ; and a very large, highly respectable and intelligent class of people prefer this 30 WHAT IS practice to any other. * * * It is too late in the day to raise the cry of quackery, empiricism, and all that, in regard to Homoeopathy. It has stood the severest tests, and proved itself worthy of intelligent consideration." The system is publicly advocated by more than one thou- sand physicians in this country, who have relinquished the old practice to become its adherents. The literature of Ho- moeopathy consists of more than eight hundred volumes in the German, English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Danish, Swedish and Portugue languages. Forty periodicals have been established in different parts of the world. There are more than fifty Homoeopathic associations in Europe, compo- sed of physicians and laymen of eminence ; there are Ho- cnoeopathic hospitals at Leipzig, Vienna, Munich, Bordeaux, Gram, London, Paris, Palermo, &c. According to official documents, there were, in the treat- ment of cholera, eight deaths to one hundred patients, under Homoeopathic—whilst under the old treatment, half the pa- tients died. In the Homoeopathic hospital of Vienna, Dr. Fleichman treated during nine years, (from 1834 to 1843,) two hundred and ninety eases of inflammation of the lungs. Of these, nineteen died, or about one in sixteen ; while the average mortality in the various Allopathic hospitals in Ger- many, France and England, is about one death in six or seven patients, with the same disease. Hahnemann treated one hundred and eighty patients, affected with a most fatal typhus fever, raging in Leipzic, after the battle in October, 1813, and he restored them all except one, who was rather too far advanced in years. Is such a system very likely to go down if those are the results of its treatment ? " The tree is known by its fruits." HOMOEOPATHY ? 31 CONCLUSION. In conclusion, we would ask the kind indulgence of the reader, in judging this Essay. We are aware of its deficien- cies. If we have succeeded in conveying more correct opinions in regard to the value of Homoeopathy f and to the beneficial influence it is capable of bestowing on suffering humanity— we shall feel gratified. Discoveries,, inventions and reforms—conducive to human happiness, or social improvement—are blessings bestowed upon us from Heaven ; and it is our duty, as well as our interest, to make use of them. For further information, Dr. " Curie's Principles of Ho- moeopathy," the Rev. " T. Everest's Popular View of Ho- moeopathy," and Dr. " Channing's Discourse," may be read with advantage. FINIS. f f