THE CHARACTERISTIC OF HOMOOPATHIA. FROM HAHNEMANN'S " GEIST DER HOMOOPATHISCHEN HEIL-LEHRE."*^ 3l£^97 BY H. B. GRAM, C.M.L. ° Weto=¥ocK: t PRINTED BY J. AND J. HARPER, No. 327 Pearl-Street. 1825. V . * ^ - \^ t \ *s i^t V>- . >>%3 -•»• • * \ ^ t*.%\U\-% • ^ < I * \ - ^ <*^f?£*%ce}&~***~S/ au/s&' ^,S> J*£«-^~ ^~ <=^>£W y ^ jt~~* ** •^ y ^ >■ ■— «*-. — *y *r v^, /& &Jt*>~ j&^d* *s*t<~" <** V«~ ^O^-QSi- , ¥. PROFESSOR DAVID HOSACk. M.U. kt< . Sir, The doctrines of Homoopathia are not in unison with those generally accepted and promulgated by medical men. The subject is a new one, tending not only to a reformation in theoretical and practical medicine, but threatening to invalidate many of the doctrines, which, at present, are admitted as correct, and propagated as in- dispensably necessary in the study and practice of me- dicine. This new doctrine is already considerably ex- tended in Europe, andTEe number of its adherents is daily increasing. An examination of its principles will show that it is not to be contemned, but that it deserves serious consideration ; and especially so, as its propaga- tors contend that not only theory and reasonings, but ex- perience, establishes its truth. Knowing, Sir, from your being an eminent teacher and practiser of medicine, that you must be a competent judge of the doctrine here exhibited; and being con- vinced of your readiness to promote all that tends to the welfare of our fellow-beings, I have, with due respect, dedicated these pages to vou. H B. GRAM. ^Yew-York, December. 1825. HOMOOPATHIA. It is impossible to determine what the internal principles of diseases are, and what alterations these originally produce in the interior: and it is vain to build a plan of cure on such hypo- thetical conjectures and determinations. It is impossible to determine the virtues of medicines by any chemical hypotheses, or by the taste, appearance, or smell: and it is vain to apply these substances in the curing of diseases, relying upon such hypothetical conclusions and conjec- tures ; especially as the misuse of the remedies is injurious to the sick. And even if such prac- tice should be general, and should have been for many ages approved of, yet, notwithstanding, it must be an irrational and pernicious practice, on nothing better than conjecture to fable the existence of an internal morbous state, and on no better authority to fable the virtues of 1) drugs wherewith these fabi^d disorders are lu be encountered. If medicine shall cease to be a game of hazard about human life and ease, and shall begin to afford certainty, in the curing of diseases, then we ought to know, and with a degree of cer- tainty too, what in each disorder, demands treat- ment, in order to restore health; and we must know what the effects of the remedies are that are to be administered the diseased. It is worthy of attention to learn these things. What life is, is only empirically to be known by its utterings, its phenomena; but cannot be determined or explained, a priori, by metaphy- sical speculations. What life for itself is, or what its internal principle is, cannot be compre- hended by mortals; nor can conjectures ever discover it. Human life, and its forms, health and disease, cannot be explained by principles and rules used in the demonstrating of other subjects; it can- not be compared with any thing else in the world but itself. One subject of comparison would be just as useless as another: as watchwork, hydraulic machines, chemical processes, gas decompositions and productions, the phenomena / oi galvanism, or any thing not living. The phe- nomena of life are not in any respect governed by pure physical laws, which only govern the in- organical substances. The materials of which the human organism consists, are not, in their living union, subjected the laws which govern substances in a lifeless state; but are subjected laws peculiar to vitality. These materials, in their living state, are each inspired and enlivened, as is the whole enlivened whereof they are parts. Here reigns an unde- fined potent principle, which withstands the pro- pensities of the constituent parts of the body to subjection to pressure, impulse, gravity, fer- mentation, putrefaction, &c. It governs the materials by the wonderful laws of life, producing that sensibility and activity which is necessary to the continuation of the living whole : a nearly spiritual dynamical state. As then the state of the organism and its af- fections is entirely dependent oi the affections of that life to which it owes its existence and conti- nuance, therefore, it follows, that the alterations of the organism, (its altered affections) which we call disease, are only originally alterations in its living sensibility and activity ; a dynamically altered state, not a chemically or physically altered state. Thus disease in man is dependent of dynamical alterations of the organism; an altered state of existence, which can affect the qualities of the constituent parts of the body; being productive of an altered (morbous) state of the living whole. And certainly the influences of exterior things productive of disease, are so invisible and imma- terial,* that it cannot be admitted that they can directly effect a disorder or a disjunction in the form or matter of the constituent parts of the body; or that they fill our veins with a hurtful sharp fluid, whereby the mass of our humours could be chemically altered or spoiled. On the contrary, the causes producing disease operate upon the living organism by their virtual quali- ties ; not physically but dynamically, (in an almost spiritual manner) and when they have disturbed the higher organs and the regular phenomena of life, then there arise, from this dynamical alteration of the organism, from this disturbed existence, an alteration in sensation, * Exceptions are some disorders belonging more to surgery than to medicine ; and some others from hurtful food, and other substances in the alimentary canal. 9 (disagreeable feeling, pain,) and inactivity, (innor- mality of functions,) in the single organs and in them all collectively. The unavoidable conse- quence of alterations in the organism will be alterations in the humours of the vascular sys- tems ; the producing of innormal secretions, as secondary effects. These innormal secretions which are present in diseases, are then only products of the dis- eases ; and these innormal secretions will ne- cessarily continue as long as the character of the disease by which they are produced is. un- changed :—thus they constitute signs of the dis- ease, symptomata. They are effects of, and consequently utterings of, the present original disease : although they can contain matter that can contaminate others, even healthy people, yet they do not react, as miasmata, on the body that produced them, to create disease, or con- tinue it. From the above, it is apparent, that human diseases which are produced by the influence of unwholesome things, can, originally, only be a dynamical alteration in the healthy character of the organism. And it is plain that the dynamical alterations 10 in the healthy character of the organism, which is called disease, and which consists alone in al- tered sensation and activity, can only be express- ed by the aggregate of the symptoms which may be present; this aggregate being, at the same time, all we can discover of the disease. Now, in so important a work (respecting the welfare of fellow-beings) as that of healing dis- ease is, it is certain, we ought to be guided (re- specting the object of the cure) by a plain and comprehensible knowledge of the state of the body diseased. To take hypotheses that cannot be proved, or conjectures, as a guide, would not only be trifling with humanity, but could be even criminal. If, then, in treating diseases, we are to be guided by the state of the patient, it follows, that the aggregate of the symptoms must be the object of the cure; because diseases, as dy- namical disturbances in the organism, can only make themselves manifest in alterations in the sensation and activity of the organism; and these alterations are the symptoms. If all the symptoms be removed, health will remain. As, then, diseases are only dynamical altera- tions of the organism, it is impossible for human 11 beings to remove them by any other means than by applying such remedies as have power to produce dynamical alterations in the organism, restoring it to its natural healthy character; that is to say, diseases must be virtually, dy- namically healed, by the remedies. The remedies effect the healing of diseases by their dynamical powers to produce alterations in the organism, in sensation and activity; and by which power they affect a healthy subject, in dynamically altering his health, and producing certain morbous symptoms in him; the know- ledge of which, as we shall show, will be our best, if not the only guide, that we can depend upon, in the administering of remedies for the curing of diseases. And no substance in the world can heal a disease, or no substance or power can alter the organism in such manner that disease leaves it, unless it effect a general dynamical alteration in the organism; conse- quently, has the power, when applied in a healthy state, to produce morbous symptoms. On the contrary, there is not an active prin- ciple or power in nature, which is capable of producing morbous alterations in the organism, • vz but what possesses virtues for healing some cer- tain disease. As the qualities (virtues) of medicines for healing diseases, or for producing morbous af- fections in the healthy, are inseparable, and their activity, in both cases, having the same origin, (namely, their power to affect the or- ganism dynamically,) therefore, it is impossible that they act according to different laws on the sick and on the sound. Then, consequently, the same power in a remedy, which, when the remedy is given to a sick, heals the disease, will, when the remedy is given to a sound subject, produce morbous symptoms. Therefore, a knowledge of the virtues of re- medies (a knowledge of their effects upon, the organism, and of what help they can afford in diseases) cannot, in any way whatever, be as- certained with so much certainty, as by observing the morbous phenomena the remedies produce when administered to sound subjects, they pro- ducing here an artificial disease, in which their powers can be perfectly ascertained. When we first possess an account of the spe (ial morbous symptoms the several medicines • 16 produce, then we should be able to determine, by pure experiments, by which of the symp- toms of the remedies the symptoms of a disease could be healed and annihilated; and we could obtain the consequent advantage of being able to presage what remedy, in a given case, would be the surest. We ask experience, then, which of the reme- dies, with respect to its proper effects, is the most helpful in certain natural diseases: we ask, if certain and permanent sanation is to be ex- pected, 1. From such remedies, as, when given to 'sound subjects, produce a state different to the natural disease present ? 2. Or from such remedies, as, when adminis- tered to sound subjects, produce a quite contrary state to that presented in the disease to be cured ? 3. Or from such remedies, as, administered to the healthy, produce a state similar to that the natural disease presents ? There is no doubtfulness in the answer of ex- perience. It is self-evident, that the remedies of differ- ent effect: (aliopathical) those that produce on 14 the sound subject symptoms different from those included in the disease to be cured, cannot, from the nature of the case, possibly be helpful; but they must have a bad (oblique) effect; or other- wise, any disease could be safely and perma- nently cured by the administering of any reme- dy, let its effects be ever so heterogene to the symptoms of the disease. But this is not the case: it is a contradictio in adjecto: because, each medicine differing from all the others in its various effects, and each disease by the various alterations of the organism, differing from the others, the restitution of health, in a given case, can only be effected by such a remedy as is pro- per to produce the necessary alterations, and the healing cannot be effected per quamlibet causam. Experience shows, too, that the pre- scriptions, (in prax. vulg.) of any thing, or ever) thing, and the manifold composita, given the sick, do produce a great variety of effects, the less frequent of which is the healing of disease. The second method of treating disease, or some single symptoms, is the administration of palliative remedies, (and of such as produce a quite contrary state on the healthy to that pre- sented in the disease to be treated.) It is easily lo perceived, that such treatment cannot effect a permanent healing of the sickness, as the suf- ferings soon return again, and often, with in- creasing violence. The organized living being is not subject to the laws that govern the unor- ganized, dead, physical things ; but, on the con- trary, it strives to react against the impression of exterior things, and does not passively receive their impressions. The human body can seem passive to the incipient impressions of physical powers, and can be altered by them; but the alterations are not such as are produced on inor- ganical things, remaining, permanent; (which, however, would be the case, if palliative reme- dies should be able to produce a permanent ef- fect;) on the contrary, the living organism strives to produce, by antagonismus, an affec- tion contrary to that which the exterior things at first produced on it. It cannot, then, be otherwise, than that the al- teration produced by palliative remedies, must vanish in a short time; the organism of the living body will soon, not only soon change the flat- tering state produced by the palliative remedies to the original disease again, but produce, in time, a state of sufferings exactly contrary to 16 those symptoms the palliative remedy produced. Therefore, generally, the consequence of ad- ministering palliative and contrary remedies, is an increase of the original disease. In chronical diseases, (the true touchstone of the real art of healing,) the pernicious effects of palliative and contrary remedies, are gene- rally very manifest. Palliation is but transitory; and presently, the increase of sufferings makes a continually increasing dose of the palliative remedy necessary; and the dose is often in- creased to enormity, even without having its in- tended effect, and seldom or ever effecting a cure of the disease under which it was adminis- tered, but, in most cases, accelerating death. 3. But the third kind of administering of re- medies, is the using of such remedies in dis- eases, as can produce, on sound subjects, symp- toms similar, very similar, to those presenting themselves in the disease to be cured. These remedies, productive of similar sufferings, can really help. (They are called homoopathical remedies.) ., That the administration of the homoopathical remedies is the most perfect method of curing disease, is not only manifested by a great num- 17 ber of experiments, and common experience, but can be proved by good reasons. The laws of nature, by which the homoopa- thical healing of diseases takes place, and must take place, are not difficult to conceive of. The first undeniable law, is:— The susceptibility of the living organism, for natural diseases, is incomparatively less than its susceptibility for the effects of medicines. We are daily, hourly, exposed to the influence of things that can produce disease; yet they are Seldom sufficient to destroy our equilibrium: to make the sound sick. The activity of the living organism, generally, withstands morbous influences : man continues healthy. But when the exterior things productive of disease, in a greater degree, affect us, and we are too much exposed to their influence, we become sick; yet, even then, not remarkably sick, unless our organism, by disposition, (may be by weakness?) can be easier affected than in its perfect healthy state; or can more easily receive morbous im- pressions. If "Miasmata," if the partially psychical, par- tially physical potences in nature, which can cause disease, had unconditioned power to de- 3 18 stroy or diminish human health, there would scarcely be a sound man in existence: every one would be sickly affected; we should not even have an idea of what health is. But, generally speaking, disease is an exception in the com- mon state of man; and partly the morbous po- tence, and partly the subject to be affected by it, requiring a congregation of various circum- stances and conditions before the morbous po- tence can produce its effects ; it follows, then, that most of the morbous causes cannot fre- quently or easily affect the organism; and that the organism must be in most instances pre- disposed before such potences can violently affect it. It is otherwise with the artificial dynamical potences which we call medicines. But a me- dicine operates (makes peculiar operations) at almost any time, and almost unconditionally, upon any subject; and if given in sufficiently large quantities, it produces its peculiar altera- tions in the organism. Then it is plain that the living organism can be nearly unconditionally affected by medicines; whereas, it cannot easily be affected by "miasmata," &c. as was before shown, unless under the influence of a conerr 19 gation of conditions and circumstances. Then, the medicines have an almost absolute power to affect the organism ; while the miasmata and other causae morbi have a very conditional, re- lative power. And the possibility of healing sicknesses, by medicines, depends partly on the greater susceptibility the organism has for the effects of medicines than for the effects of those things which produce natural diseases ; and partly, on this second law, namely, that the. organism, as a living integer, (union of parts,) is only capable of receiving one general (total) impression at once. And we see, that when proper medicines are administered the sick, their operation upon the organism annihilates the effect of the morbous causes (the disease.) ^ But if healing is to be a reality, then this third law must come into force, namely, a stronger dyna- mical affection of the organism annihilates a weaker (similar) affection. The alteration of j the organism necessary to the restoration oil health, cannot be effected by allopathical reme- dies, because these produce a greater disturb- ance in the organism, its unnecessary reactions ; neither can the contrary remedies be good, be- cause, alter apparently easing the present suf- 20 I feiings, or palliating them, they cause the cer- I tain exacerbated return of the original disease; I but the remedies producing the desired effect, I (the healing of the disease,) must be such as j can produce a state (suffering) similar to that of the present disease ; that is, they must have * the power of producing, on a sound subject, symptoms similar to those of the disease against J which they are administered: and the adminis- i tration of these homoopathical remedies will procure the wished-for help. Now, as the alterations of the organism, if from disease or from medicine, can only be known by the altered activity and sensation, so the similarity, too, of its affections, can only be expressed by the similarity of the symptoms. But as the organism (being more easily affected by medicine than by disease) is more subjected to the affection produced by remedies than to similar affections produced by the disease, so it becomes a doubtless conclusion, that the organ- ism must be freed from morbous affection, when affected by a remedy capable of producing symptoms similar to those of the disease pre- sent, (that is to say, when a homoopathical re- medy is administered;) and because the organ- 21 ism, as a living integer, (a union) cannot, at any one time, receive more than one general (total) impression: and consequently, as it is peculiar to the organism to be affected more strongly by the one potence (affectio remediorum) than by the similar weaker one, (affectio morbosaj so this last affection must leave the organism when it is affected by the remedy; whereby the dis- ease is healed. It must not be supposed, that the sufferings of the living organism will be increased by the ad- ministering of homoopathical remedies to the diseased, as a piece of lead, when pressed by a weight of iron, gets crushed by the addition of a stone to that weight; or, as a warm plate of copper becomes warmer by pouring boiling water on it:—not so; the Uving organism is not passive, is not affected by physical laws as inor- ganical things are affected; it reacts, with the antagonism of life, as an united Uving whole, bearing (at any one time,) but a single general dynamical affection; and extinguishing, in itself, its morbous affections, when a similar, yet stronger affection is excited by a homoopathical remedy. The living human organism is such a react- 22 ing, spiritual thing, that it spontaneously ex- cludes weaker affections, (diseases) when the stronger power of homoopathical remedies sets it in another and similar affect; or, with other words, the organism is such that it is only capa- ble of one single constitutional affection at once, its life being a whole, indivisible; but it must cease to suffer of the weaker dynamical affec- tion (disease) as soon as it becomes affected by a second and stronger dynamical power, (medi- cine,) this being able to produce an affection similar to the weaker one. The organism, in days of health, is easier af- fected by medicine than by disease; but when disease is present, it is incomparatively easier affected by homoopathical remedies than by other remedies. It is in the highest degree sus- ceptible of the powers of these remedies: (the present disease, disposing to, and producing symptoms similar to those the homoopathical remedies produce, the organism becomes in a great degree susceptible of the powers of these remedies ;) therefore, it is only necessary and useful to give a very little dose of a homoo- pathical remedy to effect a cure; that is, to change the natural morbous affection of the or- 23 ganism to a similar medicinal affection. Here the medicines act not by quantity, but by qual- ity, by their potentiality, (homoopathia, and dy- namical admensuration.) Large doses of a remedy are hurtful, as ttiey, on the one hand, do not effect so safe an altera- tion in the present morbous affections of the or- ganism ; but on the other hand, they create a violent medicinal disease in the stead of the one they were administered against, which is always an evil, although it be one which generally ceases in a determined time. The organism is strongly affected by a remedy which can produce the total of the symptoms of the disease which may be present, and even if the remedy be given in small doses; it being, by its power to produce this similar state of affection, the better qualified to counterbalance or remove the disease. If the remedies, given in large doses, can af- fect the organism a certain number of days, then it is reasonable to expect that a small dose will but continue its effect some few hours, and thus the medicinal affection, will, in a short time, and unperceivably, cease, and the organism remain healthy. 24 It will be found impossible for the organism to be otherwise affected, in the healing of dis- eases, by the administration of remedies, than according to the laws here exposed. And there are no cases of dynamical disease* but what can be healed quickly and permanent- ly, by remedies which can produce symptoms similar to those present in the diseases. * Efceept the agony preceding death ; advanced age; the destruction of some important viscus, or the like.