l^tH 7h>4v^ / ANNUAL ADDRESS, 'CHESTER COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY," DELIVERED APRIL 25, 1848. WILMER WORTHINGTON, M. D. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY WEST CHESTER, JOHN HODGSON, PRINTER 1848. "West Chester, April 25th, 1<--1J Dr. "W. YVorthingtok . Dear Sir : In behalf of the Chester County Medical Society, the un- dprsijned, their Committee, respectfully request of you for publication, your interesting address delivered on the -2jth inst. Respectfully your obedient servants, J. B. BRI\TO\, j CHARLES W PARKISH, \ Committee. JOSEPH HICKMAN, ) West Chester, April 25, 1848. GENTLEMEN : Your kind note, requesting for publication, a copy of my address, delivered this day before the Chester County Medical Society, has been received. What- ever may be my own views with regard to the publication of this address, Ido not feel myself at liberty to disregard the wishes of my professional friends.— Being prepared in pursuance of their appointment, I consider it their right to make such use of it as they deem proper, and therefore, place it at your disposal. I am, very truly, your friend, WILMER WORTHINGTON, Jjrs. Jno. B. Brintos, 1 C. W. Parrish, > Committee. J«0, HlCKMA.-, > ADDRESS. Gentlemen : 1 approach the c«ty assigned me upon this occasion, with diffidence. I appear as f,e organ of the Chester County Medical Society, to speak in its behalf, at its first annual meeting, after a !ong suspension of its labours. The position is one, calculated to awaken feelings of apprehension in a mind unaccustomed to play so conspicuous a part, in such a large circle of scientific and pro- fessional friends. I am, however, fully sensible that 1 address those who are imbued with liberal sediments, and endowed with a spirit of magnanimity which will lead them to regard in a proper light, every honest effort to do good, although it may be humble in its nature. No one acquainted with the duties of the medical practitioner can hesitate to believe, that the profession to which he belongs is one involving the highest responsibilities. It seeks to alleviate the sufferings of human nature. It contends with disease in every form to which humanity is liable. When the precincts of health are invaded—when that intricate piece of mechanism which the sweet Psalmist of Israel has said, is " fearfully and wonderfully made,' is deranged, this profession is looked to as the instrument under the blessing of Providence, to repair the injury. When suffering man is distracted with pain, he turns to the physician for relief.— With what anxiety does he listen to his advice—and with what solicitude does he regard his admonitions when surrounded with a death-dealing epidemic ? Then, amidst suffering and danger he flies to the profession, and for the time, none are held in higher estimation, or received with more cordial expressions of regard, than those who sedulously devote themselves to the duties it enjoins- Need I say, that whoever assumes these solemn duties, takes upon himself the implied obligation to discharge them with untirin g fidelity—and if he fail through gross ignorance or neglect, he is amenable to the laws of God as well as man. He is bound to avail himself of the opportunities which are offered, for acquiring a knowledge of the various branches of the profession he seeks to practice. Medical Schools are in successful operation in so many places throughout the Union, that none who are disposed to learn may remain in ignorance for want of a proper medical education. If 6 he desire to qualify himself for the duties of the physician, the requisite facilities are within his reach. If he duly appreciate the- high obligations which the profession enjoins upon those who enter it, he will not fail to seek that knowledge which is necessary for a proper discharge of its duties. He will make himself familiar with those fundamental principles, without which, he could never attain to distinction in the healing art. He would shudder at the thought of treating disease, the nature of vhich he did not under- stand, and turn with horror from the dreadful reflection, that his ignorance might contribute to the deatk of his patient. Yet, how many are there in every country, whc do not properly appreciate the solemn responsibilities they assune, when they enter the pro- fession of medicine ? Actuated b; the love of money, fame, or influence in the world, som* have engaged in the practice of medicine, with little knowledge, and less principle. They have come forth as professed disciples of Esculapius, clothed with the privilege of treating disease from some unknown or insignificant school, and palming themselves upon the unsuspecting portion of the community, they flourish as the great prodigies of the age, until some glaring blunder reveals their true character. It may be, some valued friend or relative is the victim of their deception, and this melancholy event has led to thedetection of the guilty pretender. From the earliest dawn of medical science, we find by recurring to its history, that improvements have been gradual but constant. Having but a humble origin, it remained a long time in a crude and unsettled state, receiving but few well-digested and permanent accessions. Here and there isolated facts were revealed, which being grouped together and arranged in the form of a system, gave to the art of healing the character of a distinct science. From that day to the present, talents of the highest order, and industry the most unwearied, have been employed to perfect this great be- nevolent enterprize. No profession can lay claim to more eminent attainments in scientific researches—or a purer benevolence, thau that which has marked our own. We say this in no spirit of boast- ing. The history of medicine furnish thousands of names which adorn the brightest pages of philosophy and literature, and even at this day, we can trace to the ranks of our profession, some of the brightest luminaries that shed their beams over the scientific world. It has been said, and with much truth, that we live in an age peculiarly distinguished for great improvements. To whatever portion of history we turn our attention for the last fifty years, we find its pages brightened with the discoveries of the period to which it relates. Scarcely any branch of science has been neglected^ 7 Every department of science has received its accessions, while new ones have been established upon a permanent basis. The introduction of steam as a propulsive agent, the successful application of which 13 owing to American genius and enterprize, is one of the great wonders of the age. It has done more to ad- vance the civil and political interests of man, than any other inven- tion of the times. Through its agency, distance and time have been almost annihilated. Our rivers are covered with fleets of steam boats, bearing with rapid and constant progress the productions of every section of the Union, and armies of men, engaged in their exchange, for the mutual benefit of all. Every stream is made tributary to enhance the wealth and comfort of our people, either by bearing upon their surface these floating vehicles of commercial intercourse, or propelling machinery for the manufacture of articles suited to the wants of man. Rail roads and canals are running like arteries through the land, giving life, and energy,and power to the whole. Here, again, we find the steam engine called into requisition, and where animal power was formerly the only means of travel and transportation, its place is supplied by this iron-horse, whose value is every where attested, and whose agency is every where sought. Notwithstanding these great inventions, which have created so much astonishment throughout the world, and extended such un- numbered blessings tocivilized man, we have yet' another of greater wonder, and more extraordinary in its operation. By it, man is enabled to command the lightning of Heaven, and render it subser- vient to his will, in holding converse with distant cities. In the course of a few minutes, he may transmit a message and obtain a response from those who reside at the distance of hundreds of miles. And the period is not very remote, when the most distant points of our vast Union will be united by these metallic rods, to convey our thoughts from place to place with almost the same rapidity they are now spoken. And who can tell, but that the shores of the mighty ocean may hereafter be linked together by'the same means, and thus, kingdoms and continents be made to approximate, until the entire earth shall be encircled, and every important city connected by the wires of the magnetic telegraph. In the contemplation of this im- provement we are induced to ask, who shall set bounds to the in- ventive powers of the human mind ? Surely, none but God. Do we wish to procure the likeness of our friends? We have only to command the light of the sun, and the work is accomplished. The most perfect resemblance is obtained, almost as it were in the •twinkling of an eye. Such, are 6ome of the great inventions of the last halfjcentury.— 8 The powers of the human mind have been signally displayed. The civiUpolitical, and religious blessings of man have all been extended with unprecedented rapidity. Among the various changes which have occurred to promote the welfare of man, the profession of medicine can fairly claim its full share. Its devoted partizans have been diligent to extend its usefulness ; and with this view, new modes of investigation have been adopted—the aid of new sciences invoked, and greater success given to the educated practitioner. The analytic method of investigating human maladies, rendered more effectual by the facilities now afforded of employing the scalpel and the microscope to reveal the correct nature of disease, has greatly promoted medical knowledge. We stand now upon as lofty an eminence, and are as justly entitled to be ranked as a science, as any other pursuit. The healing art is not that crude and undigested system of absurdities, which it seems to have been in the earlier days of its history. Every department of science has contributed to its elevation ; and with those who are competent to appreciate the benevolent labours of the educated and scientific physician, it is regarded as one of the most honorable pursuits. It is not strange that the unworthy and designing should seek its honors. It is one of the imperfections of our nature, to claim distinction, and seek renown where it is not to be obtained Ambition may incite men to deeds of daring, and by one successful effort, may encircle their brows with unfading laurels—or it may lead them to climb the rugged hill of science ; but there is but one way by which the summit can be reached. It is not by a sudden and momentary effort. It must be gradually and perseveringly sought. Days and nights of toil must be passed, and step by step the ascent must be overcome. In no profession is this more emphatically true, than in ours. It embraces a large amount of knowledge. It includes almost every branch of science, and he who would attain its loftiest honors, must never grow weary of his labours. While we have been living under favorable auspices, when science, and genius, and the blessings of Providence, have all contributed to advance the general good, is it not strange, that empiricism in every thing, and especially in medicine, should exhibit such fascinating powers over the minds of so many of our race ? It would seem, as though in proportion to the advancement of some, others bewildered by the light of science which beams around them, were incapable or unwilling to press forward in the cause of truth, and choose rather to give free indulgence to un- cultivated propensities, and seek renown amidst the rubbish of the grossest empiricism. This remark is applicable to all who travel 9 out of the beaten path of science, which is adorned with the richest fruits of observation and philosophic truth, and seek to rear a name upon some hypothetical system or absurd dogma, which is fanned into a blaze, but soon dies away and is forgotten, with its ingnoble author. To review the history of medicine, and notice the various systems of empiricism which have arisen, had their day of ignominy, and sunk again to oblivion, would open a field, too extensive to be explored upon this occasion. From the earliest period of our art, these absurdities have had their beginning and their end. One has succeeded another, with a singular rapidity, but all sooner or later meet the same fate. It is not beyond the recollection of many who hear me, that Perkinism, Thompsonianism, Homoeopathy, and Hydropathy, were hailed as the welcome harbingers of certain health—and all of which have inflicted their full share of injury upon a credulous community. The first two, where are they ? Almost entirely for- gotten. It is but occasionally that you hear of a case, treated according to the principles of Thompson, whose name at one time was almost synonymous with Lobelia. In some parts of our coun- try at least, it embraced a number of zealous advocates, and 1 have every reason to believe, that many useful lives were sacrificed to this perilous delusion. To rely upon this system of treatment now, in any important case would excite a sentiment of derision, rather than of approbation. The idea of the self constituted Doctor which it so freely propagated, has become obsolete ; and the public mind is again looking for more skill than was ever found in the possession of the Thompsonian practitioner. My intention, however, upon this occasion, is to speak more particularly of another system of empiricism, which in some places has acquired considerable notoriety. Although it dates,an earlier origin than either of the others, and excels them in ingenu- ity, it is only within a few years that it has attracted much attention in this country. Beginning in Germany in the latter part of the seventeenth century, it lingered in different places upon the conti- nent, attracting more or Jess attention, until it reached our shores and took its abode among our German population. Here, it met with sufficient encouragement to induce a number of practitioners to embrace it—and soon, most of our large cities had their Homoeo- pathic doctors, from whence are to be supplied every village and neighborhood, until the whole land is converted to the doctrines of Hahnemann. Comino' to us under the garb of a scientific system of medicine, it is proper that we should give it a fair investigation. Its princi- 10 pies should be rightly understood—and we shall not consider it unworthy our candid examination. If the principles are well found- ed, let them be adopted. If on the other hand they are false, let them be discarded. It is not the province of the physician, to reject any system of practice, without first learning its merits. His object is to contend with disease in every form in whioh it is presented, and he will not hesitate to use those means which are best adapted to the object in view. If there be any thing in the system of Hahnemann, that is better suited to the cure of our maladies, than our own, let us avail ourselves of it. Let us first, however be care- ful that we do not substitute a practice far inferior—one, that is totally inefficient. It is said of Hahnemann, that he found the practice of medicine so unsuccessful in his hands, that he set about reforming it. The result of this effort was the Homoeopathic system. After many years of toil and close study, he arrived at conclusions of the greatest absurdity, and which he propagated with the zeal of an enthusiast. To examine minutely the principles upon which this system is founded, although an easy task, would require more time than we can at present, appropriate to such a purpose. To notice briefly some of the leading doctrines, and the dangers, to which they lead, will afford ample proof of their falsity, to every enlightened and unbiased mind. Three distinct propositions or maxims, embrace the fundamental principles of this system. The first may be expressed in the follow- ing words:— All simple medicines taken by individuals in health, will produce under all circumstances, a train of morbid symptoms, which are similar to those observed in corresponding natural diseases. He attempts to establish the truth of this maxim, by a reference to some of the older writers upon medicine, and by a series of ex- periments upon himself and others. Although Hahnemann was not the first to observe that drugs produced certain symptoms when administered to healthy persons, he may be considered as the author of the false doctrine, that those symptoms are identical, without regard to the peculiarity of the system upon which they act. It is unfortunate for the advo- cates of this doctrine, that the same results from these experiments have not been obtained by others, who have endeavored with entire honesty, to test its truth. It is only in the hands of the great refor- mer himself, and perhaps a few of his disciples, that they have proved successful. And when we consider that he did not enjoy the best reputation for integrity and truth, but was guilty in various instances of moral and scientific duplicity, we are compelled to attach very little value to his experiments. Besides, we cannot 11 avoid taking into view the fact, that he was an enthusiastic reform- er, and liable to be*misled by a blind and infatuated zeal to propa- gate his new system. That he was to some extent made the dupe of others, we learn from a source fully entitled to our confidence. "We are told (says a respectable writer upon this subject,) by a trustworthy young physician, now in this country, who alter he had finished his studies in France and Germany, had lived some months with Hahnemann, chiefly to become acquainted with his mode of treatment, that he was frequently induced by his fellow students to follow their example, and make to Hahnemann fictitious|slatements about the drug symptoms,after new trials withsuch drugs as he made them take. Hahnemann appeared confidently to believe the most absurd and ridiculous reports, and wrote them down with great satisfaction, probably for a new work, or for the next edition of one of his old "gigantic" works.'' The writings of Hahnemann, as well as those who have succeed- ed him, as expounders of this new doctrine, abundantly prove the truth of this statement,—exhibiting as they do, groups of symptoms too ridiculous to be sanctioned by any well informed mind, and which never cbuldhave obtained a lodgment, except in the brain of those of the easiest credulity. Now in sincerely endeavoring to learn the truth or falsity of this maxim of Hahnemann, it would be very unwise to adopt the declaration of such a man, without pro- perly guarding ourselves against imposition. Certainly, there is no good reason why we should lay aside our own judgment and obser- vation, and imbibe his peculiar dogmas, unless they are well found- ed, and will bear the test of the closest scrutiny. Will they do so ? If this maxim be true, the experience of the medical profession for more than two thousand years has been altogether useless. The great amount of talent and learning, which have adorned our science, have been greatly perverted, in observing the effects of agents upon the animal organization. All their views upon this subject, have been founded in error. The universal sentiment that idiosyncra- cies exist, which render the impression of an agent different in one person from that of another, is untrue. If a dose of medicine be taken by a person in health, and a certain train of morbid symp- toms are produced, the same result must follow in every other case, whatever difference of physical condition may exist. Intemperance, from the use of spirituous liquors, must produce the same symptoms in all. Whereas, in one case, we find them producing a disease ol the liver, in another, of the lungs, in a third, an inflammation of the stomach or brain—in others, a rheumatism, an apoplexy, a palsy, an epilepsy, or that dreadful and agonizing form of insanity known by the name of delirium tremens. These, with a host of other mat- 12 adies are well known to be produced by the use of alcohol; and no two cases, presenting exactly the same morbid symptoms to a dis- cerning and well informed physician. The same thing maybe said, with equal truth, of almost any other poison. When miasmata exerts its baneful influence upon a number of persons, you will find them presenting different symptoms. They may all be affected with bilious fever—but its force will be more particularly expended upon the stomach of one, the liver of another, or the brain of a third—yet the cause is similar. The dele- terious agent which has originated the morbid symptoms in all these cases, is doubtless the same—but exerting its influence upon sys- tems modified by certain peculiar characteristics, known to belong to each individual. If this doctrine of Hahnemann is to be regarded as a rule for the government of physicians in their practice, experience at the bed- side is entirely unnecessary. We are not to look to the sick cham- ber as the place of acquiring a knowledge of the modus operandi of medicines. It is the effect of remedies upon the healthy we are required to study. All our efforts to attain skill in the nature and treatment of disease, must be directed to a faithful observation of those symptoms, which are produced in healthy individuals by the administration of drugs. The sick will afford no information upon this point. They are to be overlooked, until you are called upon to administer to their relief—and in doing this, you are to be guided by acertain infallible rule, which you have been taught to believe is certain in its application, simply for the reason that your remedy has been found to occasion in healthy persons, the same symptoms which you now witness, perhaps for the first time in the sick. In order to make a consistent practitioner upon this system, it is incumbent upon the Homoeopathic physician to use his remedies upon every patient whilst in a state of health. Without doing this, he cannot know what particular train of symptoms will be produced in his case. If medicines when given under such circumstances' always excited the same morbid symptoms, then such a course of trial might not be so necessary. But we know this is not thefcase— and even when diseased, the system is frequently so modified, th at remedies produce very different results from what they do when in health. Hence, the rational practitioner of medicine is obliged to observe with the keenest vigilance the effect of his remedy, and if, from some idiosyncracy, or a changed condition of bis patient by disease, he finds it unsuited to the case, he timely resorts to other means to recover the health of his patient. Not so, however, with the Homceopathist. After giving his minute doses of medicine, and 13 the relief which was expected by his suffering patient not being received—and his case becoming more aggravated by the advance- ment of disease, he urges him to confidence in his remedy, by as- suring him that it is only the salutary counter—or after action produced by it—and by perseverance he will eventually be cured. I shall be pardoned by relating the following anecdote illustrating the truth of this remark, which I obtained from an authentic source. "We were (says the narrator) recently amused with a curious but true narrative, showing the obstinate and implicit faith of Homoeopathists in the tenets and dictates of their doctrine, which was told to us by a professional man, to whom the patient afterwards applied." "In a large American city, a German merchant excessively enrap- tured with Homaeopathie, and forcing this "great treasure" upon his fellow citizens by his constant obtrusive solicitations, induced a man, suffering from giddiness, to apply to his easy and quick- curing Homoeopathic doctor. As the patient grew daily worse, after swallowing or smelling, we do not know exactly, a few atoms of some developed anti-psoric "drug-virtue," he complained to the doctor, and was consoled with the assurance that this was the in- tended effect of the drug, being its "salutary counter operation." After continuing the old, or some new developed drug virtue for several weeks, the indisposition increased, the giddiness, which before intermitted for hours or days, became constant, and the patient, on going down stairs, fell, and was near breaking his neck. The patient remonstrated with the all-curing doctor, and on telling him that he had almost broken his neck, the doctor jumped up joy- fully, and cheerfully laughing exclaimed, "Oh ! excellent! delight- ful ! that is just the salutary after-operation for which I so much wished! now you must believe yourself completely cured." The indignant patient, fearing a still more developed, similar after- operation, abandoned this frothy simpleton, applied to the allopathic physician mentioned above, and was soon cured of his giddiness by rational treatment. This mode of saying to patients who feel no relief, or even feel worse, "you are mistaken, you must not only feel much alleviated, but mustnowconsideryourself completely cured," is very common with Homoeopathic practitioners; it does not always arise from intentional imposition, or from this modern mode of quackery, but may be frequently ascribed only to the very charac- teristics of all honest fanatics, who unconsciously blind to the light of truth, would make the whole world so, if they could, even by willingly sacrificing all that is dear to them." The*second maxim upon which Hahnemann founds his theory is, 14 that the curative power of each simple medicine, consists entirely in the similarity of a natural disease, to those produced in healthy individuals by the administration of certain drugs. This is the fundamental principle of the Homoeopathic system of medicine—or, to use the language ofils acknowledged writers *— " the basis on which the entire system is founded is a law of nature acting alike on our physical and moral being, and which is briefly and forcibly expressed by the axiom, " slmilia similibus curantur," or in other words, "like cures like," the purport of which is, that « disease is cured by such medicinal agents as have the power of de- veloping a shr.Var disorder in a stalt of health." la illustration of this principle, a great number of instances are cited by Hahnemann and others, extracted principally from ancient end modern writers on medicine, but few of which, afford any evidence in confirmation of ils truth. Wc will refer to some from their own works. They tell us "a frost bitten member is best cured by the application of snow or iced water, while hot applications in a case of this nature, would impede the cure, or induce mortification."* If this assertion be true, and as the law of nature upon which they act, is of universal application, you must in every case of frost bite use snow or ice to effect a cure. No matter what may be the degree of injury sustained, no departure from this rule is to be allowed. Warm or stimulating means would do mischief, and must therefore be avoided. Is there a medical man of even ordinary intelligence, or endowed with any experience upon the subject, that will subscribe to such a sentiment * In such cases, he would apply that remedy, which would, according to reason and observation be most likely to meet the necessities of the case—and not pursue the freezing course, simply for the reason, that a3 cold induced the injury, it must therefore cer- tainly remove it. Now the philosophy of a rational system of treat- ment is this. When a limb has been exposed to severe cold so as to arrest the circulation and destroy the sensibility of the part, its vitality for the time being greatly weakened or destroyed, it would be unsafe to go to the opposite extreme, and apply at once a high degree of heat, By so doing, you would endanger the return of a healthy action, by Ihe sudden transmission from one extreme of temperature to the other. To avoid this, a very moderate degree of warmth at first, gradually increased, until the natural heat of the limb is restored, and the healthy -circulation and sensibility again imparted. This is a rational treat- ment. If snow or iced water is employed, it is not because "like cures like," but for the more philosophical reason, that their temperature * Oncise view of Horn* jpalhy by the Irish Homoeopathic SooeV. 15 is above that to which the limb has been exposed, and are therefore, best suited to the first step in effecting a healthy reaction*—and is soon to be exchanged for a remedy still warmer, and this again for another, until finally we are frequently obliged to use articles of a highly stimu- lating nature, and with the tno9t unequivocal benefit. Now if Homoeopathy is true, no change in the treatment is to be permilled. You must continue your snow or iced-water until the cure is complete. Who would think of enveloping a limb or the whole body in snow or ice, after vitality had been brought to the lowest ebb by exposure to cold, and continuing the application with that obstinate pertinacity which is known to belong to the disciples of Hahnemann, as the best means of restoring a healthy action ? The IIomcEopalhic practitioner however, as he does not usually approve of external reme- dies, would be obliged, perhaps, in such a case, to administer internally his billionth or decillionlh of a grain of ice, and await its certai.i operation for a cure. Again, the HomoEopalhist say?, "a scald or burn is quickly cured by holding the affected part close to the fire, or by applying hot spirits, whereas, the application of cold would increase the inflammation and materially interfere with the recovery of the patient." "This law affords a satisfactory explanation why the genuine vaccine virus is so certain and efficacious a preventive against the small pox." "Mercury produces ulcerated sore throat in a healthy individual, and will cure a disease exactly resembling it." "Ipecacuanha causes vomiting in a healthy person, and will cure a patient suffering from a similar disturb- ance of the stomach." "In like manner every medicine will cure a disease, the exact image of which it can produce in a healthy indi- vidual."' Can any rational and well informed physician arrive at the conclu- sions here given ? After a careful examination of the animal organ- ism—the laws which govern it—the cause and nature of disease—< and the action of medicinal agents upon it, can we assent to such irra- tional and unphilosophical views ? Is it an established principle in the treatment of disease, that a scald or a barn is best and most quickly cured by the application of more heat, or aggravating the in- flammation by covering the part with powerful stimulants ? If such is the experience of medical men upon this point, we confess ourselves ignorant of the fact, and the practice we have been taught is altogether erroneous. In such case?, we would apply soothing applications, those which tend to allay the pain and inflammation. To irritate and Rggra. * Conci?c view, &c, 16 vale both, would neither be agreeable to (he patient, nor creditable to the physician. Would you apply hot spirits to an inflamed eye ? Would you hold it near the fire in order to abate the inflammation, although, it resulted from a scald or a burn ? Such a practice would betray the grossest ignorance, and common sense any where would condemn it. Is the principle of practice correct, that employs Ipecacuanha in cases of vomiting ? If it proceed from irritating ingesta in that organ, Ipecacuanha in allopathic doses might be useful—but even here, in every case it would not be judicious. In inflammation of the stomach, we all know, there is such an irritability of this organ, that great difficulty is frequently experienced in retaining the smallest article of drink. Would any sound practitioner ever dream ot administering an article in this case that would provoke still further the already too highly irritated condition of the organ, and greatly aggravate that fearful disease, of which the vomiting was only a symptom ? Is it true then, that Ipecacuanha is the remedy best adapted to tranquilize an inverted action of the stomach without any regard to the cause of the disturbance ? Neither is there any rational explanation of this law, to be drawn from the insertion of the vaccine virus as a preventive against small pox. Does the vaccine disease cure small pox ? If it were employed fcr this purpose, you should wait until the system is affected with small pox, and then apply your remedy. The practice of vaccination to prevent an attack of that dreadful scourge of our race, is in accord- ance with a well established fact, that the human system is seldom attacked more than once with it; and by the introduction of the vaccine virus you place the system under a milder form of a similar disease, which destroys that peculiar susceptibility to it, and renders the individual in most cases, exempt from a future attack. It is a preventive, not a cure—and can in no way illustrate the law of Hahne- mann that "like cures like." On the same principle, every drug that is used by the Homceopathist upon persons in health, should secure him against the natural disease, which it resembles. We do not find such a power, claimed by the most sanguine advocates of the system. Mercury produces inflammation of the salivary and other glands in the vicinity of the mouth. This may run into ulceration. Hence, the Homoeopathist considers it a certain remedy in the cure of ulcers in these parts. It may be true, that mercury in some cases will cure ulcerated sore throat, but if it do so, it affords no proof of the truth of Homoeopathy. An ulcerated sore throat from other causes than the action of mercury, is very different from that which mercury produces. It is known to have a specific action, and therefore, when it is effectual 17 in healing ulcers arising from a different cause, it does not accomplish it according to the Homoeopathic maxim of "similia similibus curax. tor," but in accordance with another rule, first promulgated by the father of physic—generally aetcd upon by medical men, and curing disease on the principle of "comtraria contrarhs." It is, by exciting a new but different action in the part, which eradicates the old one. Who would think of giving mercury to cure ulcers, which it had occasioned ? Yet, upon the principle that "iike cures like," this would be the appropriate remedy. Hahnemann asks, " what will suffocate sooner than the vapour of burning sulphur ?—and the same vapour of burning sulphur," he says, "is found to be the best remedy to revive persons asphyctic from other suffocating causes." On this principle, when a man has been suffocated by carbonie acid or any other irrespirable gas, instead of giving him a pure air, and endeavoring to establish the process of respiration by allowing the inhalation of oxygen which is essential to life, you should plaee him in an atmosphere of sulphuric vapour. By this means according to the law of Hahnemann, he would be most easily restored to health. If you are troubled with acidity of stomach, you should not use an alkali to remove it—but an acid should always be administered with the most eertain prospect of relief. In the treatment of delirium tremens, it is of the: utmost importance to distinguish it from an inflammed or engorged condition of the brain induced by a high state of intoxication. The safely of the patient may entirely depend upon • a timely discrimination. Opium is the remedy upon which our chief reliance is placed in the one case, while it would most certainly prove fatal in the other—which requires an antiphlogistic course of treat- ment. Yet, who does not know, that in many cases, the symptoms are very similar in both. We might in this manner, if time would permit, cite case after case ; and dwell particularly upon every instance which the Homceo- pathist furnishes in illustration of this unerring law of nature, and satisfy every intelligent mind of their falsity, or want of application to it. It is founded upon erroneous views of medical science, and cannot receive the sanction of sound philosophy. The instances they adduce to illustrate it, are so badly chosen, and the conclusions to which they arrive are so irrationally drawn, that I do not wonder, after an investi- gation of its doctrines, so few intelligent physicians have embraced it. The Homoeopathist, in selecting his remedy in conformity with the maxim that "like cures like," looks only to symptoms. He founds his treatment upon these alone. Entirely disregarding the nature or 18 Cause of disease, he aims to remove the symptoms, and when this is done, the cure is complete. Dr. Herring remarks, that, "in future times the new pathology, will as far excel the old, as do the natural sciences of the present period those of the last century. But, at the bedside of the patient, the Homoeopathic physician is unmindful of this future science." "His sole inquiry is after the symptoms, because tho symptoms alone determine his choice of the remedy, and upon the fullness and accuracy with which they are noted, rests the entire management of the cure. All, therefore, depends upon the correct examination of the patient, but not upon any possible opinions concerning the nature and essence of the disease, nor upon any learned views concerning its concealed seat." According to this view of an acknowledged author on the Ho- moeopathic doctrine, which is but a repetition of the sentiments of Hahnemann himself, no value is to be placed upon the nature of the disease. No matter what produced it, or where it is located— whether it is an inflammation of the liver, the lungs, or the brain —a disease of high arterial action, or one of debility—a dropsy, or a fever—a rheumatism, or a consumption; it is all the same. We are not to trouble ourselves about any thing but the symptoms.— They are the only index to point out the remedy to be employed. When called to a patient suffering with severe pain in the head, you need not enquire whether it is the result of an inflammation, a neuralgia, or a disordered stomach—whether it is owing to the exis- tence of actual disease in that part, or merely the effect of sym- pathy from some other deranged organ of the body. If your patient has sickness of stomach, caused by disease in a remote part of the system, and which may be obscured by the distress occasioned by the sympathizing organ, you are only required to apply your remedy for deranged stomach, over-looking the cause altogether. If at- tacked with inflammation of the liver, you will prescribe for pain in the side or shoulder, paying no attention to that condition of the diseased organ which produced it. If called upon to prescribe for an apoplexy, which is usually marked with a considerable degree of drowsiness and stupor, you should administer opium, because this drug is known to occasion symptoms of this kind. Need I ask any well-informed physician, what would be the consequence of such treatment in this disease ? Death must be its constant at- tendant. The records of medical science furnish many examples of indi- viduals falling victims to disease, of which no outward symptoms could be perceived. A case of this kind is related by a late re- 19 viewer directly in point, and which I shall be excused for relating in his own words : " A person had been affected, for a length of time, with a chronic disease, which was supposed to proceed from an external fis- tulous sore of the chest, accompanied with caries of one of the ribs. On examination of his body after death, the duodenum was found black, and so much softened, that it could not sustain the slightest force. The patient had suffered no symptoms of indigestion, no loathing of food, or vomiting, but had generally a good appetite.— Here the most acute Homoeopath could-not have discovered, from the symptoms, the nature of the malady ; indeed, there were no symptoms present—the all-important part of the disease, according to Hahnemann's views, was wanting, yet the patient was carried off by a profound lesion of an important organ." Thus we might mention a great variety of cases to illustrate the absurdity of looking only to symptoms. And no clearer evidence need be adduced to establish the certain claims of Homoeopathy to the grossest form of empiricism. The regular physician who aims to treat his patient upon the rational system, well knows how to Value symptoms, so as not to be misled in forming his opinion of the nature of the case. While he places every proper value upon symptoms, by regarding them as one of the means of arriving at a correct conclusion, he examines into the cause as well as the nature of the disease, and after a full knowledge of all the circum- stances attending it, he applies those remedies, which sound prin- ciples of philosophy and experience dictate. The third maxim of the Homoeopathic system may be expressed as follows : That medicines acquire by certain mechanical processes, medi- cinal virtues, which by their specific power operate as an effectual remedy in their appropriate diseases—and "this virtue is developed in the direct ratio of the mechanical process, and in the inverse ratio of the quantity of the substance employed." To illustrate this more clearly, 1 will quote from Dr. Herring's "Concise View" the following remarks: "He (Hahnemann) united one grain of the extract of Belladonna with a hundred drops of the spirits of wine. Of this mixture, one drop (which of course contained one hundredth part of a grain) he afterwards gave, in suitable cases, for a dose. But to his astonish- ment he observed that this dose acted too forcibly. He now made the great stride which none had done previously to him ; he took a hundred drops of the spirits of wine, added to them one drop,whicb 20 contained one hundredth of a grain of the medicine, shook thcrft together, and, now had in every drop of the new mixture, therefore; the one thousandth part of a grain. If the one hundredth of a grain was quite an unusual dose, Hahnemann went far beyond the limits of previous experience in his second operation, viz : that of ad- ministering the dose to the one ten thousandth part of a grain; When he gave one drop of this second preparation in a case adapted to the remedy, he expected a very slight and inconsiderable effect* In the great majority of cases, indeed, a more rapid cure followed it than in the case of the preceding preparation, but to his great as- tonishment, much more frequently the same impetuous aggravation of symptoms. In short, it was not to be mistaken : the virtue of the medicine had by no means been taken away in these high dilu- tions. How striking soever this phenomenon was in itself, and however wonderful and strange it must have appeared to Hahne- mann, it [had, nevertheless, been indisputably the result of his manipulations ; and as a quiet observer of nature, be proceeded, hand in hand,'with experience, still further. Pie added one drop of his second (the ten thousandth) dilution, to another one hundred drops of spirits of wine, shook them together, and thus procured a third mixture, in which each drop contained but the millionth part of the first grain of the extract of Belladonna. On administering this new preparation to his patients, he did not yet witness the desired and expected decrease of medicinal energy, the remedy remained as active as before, and in sensible children it operated frequently in quite as drastic a manner as the extract had at first; nay, it ap- peared as if it operated with even greater violence than before—and therefore rendered necessary the exhibition of an antidote. Hahne- mann, who knew that the secrets of nature had not yet been fully unveiled to us, and that any thing new and important, though ever so striking, if its ttuth be attested by repeated experiment, ought to be investigated, continued to prosecute this great discovery. He addednne drop of each successive dilution to a successive portion of one hundred drops of spirits of wine, and united them by shaking. He perceived in the progress of these manipulations, that every successive dilution was still operative, and though attenuated a hundred fold at every step of the process, yet by no means did it become in the same proportion a hundred fold less efficient ; in fact* each dilution differed in activity very little from the dilution imme- diately preceding. He continued, therefore, these processes with the medicine, until experience taught him, that it had, at length, become entirely mild in its operation. The troublesome increase of the morbid symptoms became gradually less and less considera- 21 ble by dilution, nevertheless the succeeding salutary effect remaifj- ed equally decided, and even the extreme dilutions themselves* Were always sufficient to effect a cure. Remarking even from the thirtieth dilution, in very sensible subjects, an increase of the symptoms, he diminished thedosefrom one drop of this dilution, to a small portion of a drop. He discovered a mode by which a drop could be accurately divided into any desired number of parts, and from the one hundredth and even smaller fractions, decided effects were witnessed from the medicine." "All other medicinal substances were found by him to be sus- ceptible of a preparation similar to that of Belladonna." Absurd as this may appear to a rational mind, we are not to stop here, in our dilutions, to develope the virtues of a medicine. Sub- sequent investigators of the Homoeopathic doctrine have carried their attenuations to the fifteen hundredth and two thousandth dilu- tion. And they Confidently declare, that the last preparation of the series, has not lost all efficacy, but often shows itself too energetic. Surely, it requires the credulity of a believer in animal magnetism, or Witch Craft, to adopt such a sentiment. Dr. Jahr says, "to explain the truly unheard of fact of the effi- cacy of his attenuations, Hahnemann has endeavored to set down, as a principle, that, the more we destroy the material parts of a substance, so much the more we develope or loosen the dynamic Force, or in other words, the spirit of the medicine ; and that, to augment the energy of preparations to an incredible extent, we have only to carry them from attenuation to attenuation, in sub- mitting them at the same time to a great number of triturations and shakes." From these extracts, which are taken from Homoeopathic authors df acknowledged distinction, it is evident, that the principle upon Which thesl infinitissimal doses act upon the diseased animal or- ganism, is not in proportion to the quantity of matter they contain, but in proportion to their diminution and the amount of mechanical agitatio* to which they have been subjected. Now, to develope such a wonderful power in so small a portion of matter, by shaking or trituration, has only been successful in the hands of the Homoeo- pathists. No other persons but Hahnemann and his disciples have been able to attain such miraculous effects. Among all the physi- cians and apothecaries of the allopathic practice, who have for a score of centuries been in the constant practice of shaking and triturating their medicines, not one of them has discovered this alledged fact, which stands opposed to every property pertaining to matter. 22 In order to present this subject of minute doses more Clearly be- fore the mind, we shall recur to calculations made by Dr. Panvini of Italy, and partly repealed by others, which prove most conclu- sively its absurdity- The Homoeopaths, we have already said, in the attenuation of their medicines, have adopted for multiplier, the number one hund" red. "Thus, when they prepare a liquid medicine, they take one drop, which they mix with a hundred of spirits of wine, this is the first attenuation or dilution ; for the second dilution they take ten thousand drops, and so on, always multiplying by one hundred, as far as the thirtieth or even fortieth dilution. Dr. Panvini has cal- culated how much alcohol is necessary for the dilution of a medi- cinal drop, and how much sugar is needed for the attenuation of a grain of powdered substance, so as to arrive at the thirtieth and fortieth dilution." "The first dilution of a drop of the tincture of chamomile for ex- ample, would require, as has just been mentioned, the hundred drops of alcohol; the second, ten thousand drops, or nearly a pound; the third, one hundred pounds, or nearly a barrel ; the fourth, one hundred barrels ; and continuing in proportion, the ninth would require as much alcohol as the lake Agnano could contain; the twelfth, one hundred millions of lakes of Agnano ; the seventeenth, ten millions of Adriatic seas ; the thirtieth, as much alcohol as the terrestrial globe could contain, all our planetary system, and perhaps, all the stars of the first and second size that can be seen on a fine summer's night ; to which must be added, for the fortieth dilution, all the constellations that can be discovered from one pole to the other." Then carry your calculations still further, even up to the two thousandth dilution, and it is impossible to form any conception of the amount of alcohol that would be required to dilute a single drop. It is not, however, necessary to use the whole of the liquid in ma- king/these dilutions, as but one drop of each attenuation is required to be retained. But a calculation of this kind enables uf to judge more accurately of the enormous extent of division which a single drop or grain of a substance must undergo in carrying their atten- uations so far. And yet, we are told with the most apparent sincer- ity, that these inconceivably minute portions of medicine not only retain medicinal powers, but have them increased by the mechani- cal process employed for their separation. Could any thing be more absurd? "As a further illustration of his theory. Hahnemann affirms that 23 gold is without any action in our organism in its natural state; but that when one grain of this metal is triturated according to his process until each grain ofthe last triturated preparation contains a quadrillion^ part ofthe original grain ofthe mineral, it will be so powerful that it will be sufficient to place this single grain in a phial, to be inspired for a moment, to produce the most amazing results, and none more so than the faculty of restoring to a melan- cholly individual disposed to suicide, his pristine partiality to life." We shall not attempt upon this occasion, to notice even the prin- cipal arguments adduced by Homoeopathic writers in defence of these extremely small doses of medicine. It is sufficient to deny that they can have any medicinal influence in removing disease. This must appear evident to any rationaFmind who honestly inves- tigates the subject. It is true, they do not aggravate the symptoms, although in allopathic doses they might have this effect. If Hahn- emann found belladonna toaggravate the symptoms of scarlet fever when administered in ordinary doses, it was only because it was unsuited to the disease. It was not because the dose was too large. And when he discovered by reducing the dose to a billionth and less, that it did not aggravate the symptoms, it was much more rational to suppose that the article had no effect whatever, and nature being permitted to exert her restorative powers unmolested, the cure was accomplished through her agency alone. So of every other remedy he employed. From what we have said in a former part of this discourse, it is manifest that many ofthe articles used by Hahnemann, would, if employed in allopathic doses and upon the principle that " like cures like," not only materially aggravate disease, but frequently prove fatal to the patient. It is fortunate, therefore, for those who subject themselves to Homoeopathic treatment, that this attenuation of medicine is an essential feature of the system. Were it not for this safeguard, you would soon find the falsity and danger of the maxim "similia similibus curdntur," by the great multitude of its victims. As well might we expect to see an individual nourished by infini- tissimal atoms of food, which had been subjected to the manip ula- tions of a Homoeopathist, as to see him cured by his attenuated doses of medicine, without the agency of nature. If the mechani- cal process to which a medicine is exposed is sufficient to develope the latent virtues it contained, there is no good reason why the same means should not unfold the nutritious properties of a grain of flour, or a fibre of meat. The intemperate man who has nearly exhausted his supply of brandy, might in the same way, renew the power of his favorite beverage. There would be no need of making a new purchase. All that is required, would be to agitate the con- 24 tenls of his bottle after each dram, diluting every time with cold water. In answer to our objections to the agency of Homoeopathic doses in the cure of disease, we are asked, how it is, that persons get well under this system of treatment ? Whatever difficulty may ap- pear to exist upon this point in the minds of those unacquainted with medicine, there can be none to a well informed physician. He is well acquainted with the part which medicine performs in the cure—and while he is fully sensible of its agency if judiciously applied, he knows too, that there exists in the animal economy a certain restorative power, which we call the livis medicatrix na- *wr«," and which is of itself in a vast majority of cases, sufficient to afford relief. All we claim to do as rational physicians is, to aid nature in this effort—and by so doing, we can greatly facilitate the recovery. No judicious physician would take the case entirely out of her hands. He would, by the application of his remedies, assist to substitute a healthy for a diseased action. And under- standing the nature as well as the cause of the disease, he is the better qualified to apply his remedy with success. Now the Ho- moeopathic physician denies this power of nature entirely. He gives her no part ofthe credit of the cure—but claims all for his inert and inefficient atom, to which he ascribes a specific power, operating upon the diseased organ alone, and disturbing no other part of the system. When the medicine is taken by his patient for a pain in one of the extremities, no impression is made upon the stomach to which it is applied, but acts in a specific manner upon the painful part alone. If it be tooth ache, that the medicine is to relieve, no impression is produced any where, but on the particular tooth. In this way, he explains the cure. We say, in such cases, where a Homoeopathic dose is given, na- ture effects the cure. The medicine can have no influence what- ever, except so far as it satisfies the mind—and through this mental impression, the pain is suspended. Who does not know that healthy persons may be made sick, and sick persons made well through mental impressions? How often has a violent attack of tooth ache been relieved, through the influence of the mind alone, when about to undergo the operation of extraction ? And thus, a great variety of pains, and even other symptoms, may be either produced, or removed by impressions made upon the mind. Such were Hahne- mann's own private views, as may be seen by the following extract from the Dublin Medical Press, Oct. 16, 1844, being communicated by Dr. Schubert, of Dramburg : " We hear it continually asserted that Hahnemann placed no 25 confidence in the powers of nature in curing disease ; but from my intercourse with him, I am quite satisfied that no physician ever trusted more to the vis medicatrix natures. It requires, indeed, but very little reflection to enable us to perceive that it was through the closest acquaintance with the curative powers of nature that Hahnemann was led to adopt his new system of medicine. 1 have heard him declare that he looked with contempt upon medica1 practice, and he thought that a patient would be none the worse if left to himself. He had a thorough conviction that all curable dis- eases might, under proper attention to diet, be removed by the efforts of nature alone ; he looked upon these as his sheet anchor. On one occasion, he said to me—" I give medicines but very sel- dom, although 1 always prescribe small powders ! I do this for the sake of keeping up in the patient's mind the firm belief that each powder contains a particular dose of some medicine ! Most patients will get well by adopting a simple mode of living, and by placing a boundless confidence in their medical attendants. Ordinary prac- titioners know nothing of this practically, although they are always talking of the healing powers of nature. If a patient recover un- der this treatment, they immediately ascribe it to the nauseous drugs which they have poured into him, although these commonly do more harm than good" He never hesitated to promise recovery to every patient without concerning himself about the nature of the malady ; and I have seen some ludicrous results follow these predictions. His plan was to demand for the cure, in the shape of a fee, a good round sum—one half to be paid down—unlimited confidence in his treatment—doses of sugar of milk and a particular diet ! The dieting, which simply consisted in the denial of all stimuli, he considered to be absolutely necessary in order to allow nature to have free play. Unlimited confidence in the treatment was bis great support in carrying out this system ; and he invari- ably insisted upon this from every patient, well knowing that it was the important secret of life and death in such cases. Further, he used to observe—"We must not attend patients for nothing, or let them have even a penny-worth of medicine gratuitously; the greater the sum paid for physic and physician, the greater is the confidence placed in both." Here we have the secret of the Homoeopathic treatment fully set forth by the great master himself. It will be recollected how- ever, that these were his private views. They were not intended for the public eye—but they lose none of their importance on this account. He relied altogether upon the vis medicatrix naturae for the cure of his patients—while he amused them with the pretended 26 doses of medicine, which he administered in the shape of sugar pellets. The same thing is true, of every genuine Homoeopathic practitioner. He cannot if he be an educated and enlightened physician, believe there i9 any virtue in his small doses of medicine. If they are reduced in the manner recommended, it is impossible to detect in one of their globules, even with the most delicate chemical test, the smallest quantity of the substance said to be present. Another doctrine which the Homceopathists hold as correct, is found embraced in the following extract from Dr. Black. He says "to the opponents of Homoeopathy who endeavor to prove the in- efficiency of our remedies by the argument, that a healthy man may devour the contents of a whole pocket case of Homoeopathic medicines without feeling the least alteration," to this Brobdig- naglike feat we reply, that the peculiarity of these remedies is not to operate on the healthy, but only upon individuals whose diseases bear to them a specific relation and affinity." False as this doctrine is, it nevertheless, serves to help these consistent practitioners occasionally out of a difficulty a9 may be seen from the following anecdote, related by an eminent physician* of the city of Philadelphia : "A lady, the patient of a practitioner of this class, went to his office to consult him in her own case, and received a packet of powders, with directions to dissolve one in a tumbler of water, to take a teaspoonful ofthe solution twice a day, to note it3 effects carefully. On arriving at home, she placed the packet on a tolera- bly high mantel in the parlor, while she proceeded to the kitchen to obtain the water. A spoiled child, some four or five years old, observed with what especial care bis mother deposited the treasure, and with the curiosity natural to his age, determined to embrace the opportunity presented by her absence to see what it contained; so, climbing upon a chair to the place where it was, he took down the packet,opened it, took out a powder, tasted it, and finding it sweet, swallowed it; and so of all the rest! At the moment of finish- ing the last powder, his mother entered the room. It is not neces- sary to describe the scene that presented itself—the smiling uncon- sciousness of the victim, and the consternation and distress of the parent. With a mother's instinct, she flew to the doctor's office, which she had ieft but a short half hour before, and with terror pourtrayed in every feature, told him what had happened, that "little Tommy had eaten all the powders!" "What! Tommy eat all the powders !" responded the doctor, not knowing at the moment ♦Professor R. M. Huston. 27 what to say. "Yes, doctor, and for God's sake tell me what to do!" The doctor, still at a loss what to do or say, repeated the exclama- tion—"Tommy eat all the powders!" Scratching his head the while. "'Yes doctor, dear doctor, do tell me what to do," said the agonized mother. Fortunately, by this time the doctor had regained his composure, and recollecting the fundamental law of Homoeopathy, the answer was at hand ; so, with the happiest expression of face imaginable, he exclaimed; "Ah, ha! madam, don't be frightened! don't be frightened! that is the peculiarity' of our medicine ; it al- ways cnres the sick, butnever affects the well—it won't hurt your child. For once, at least, the doctor's prognosis was right;—it did not hurt the child." If Homoeopathic medicine when taken by the well, never affects them, but always cures the sick in minute doses, how would they explain its entire inactivity when taken in large quantities by the patient. How often have we known patients either by mistake or design, take whole packages of their powders, without producing any perceptible effect? Again and again, this has been done, by children as well as adults, and yet no injury has followed. There are a few other topics it might be proper to notice in order to have a full understanding of the merits of Homoeopathy ; such for instance, as that all chronic diseases arise from three primary causes the principal of which, is itch.*—But these must give place to a few additional remarks, upon a point, which seems to be essen- tial in this examination ofthe Homoeopathic system of treatment. After this brief explanation of the principles of Hahnemann, we propose to dwell for a short time, upon the success ofthe treat- ment his system offers for the cure of disease. This we regard as a very important inquiry. If experience find, that greater benefits ara derived from it, than attend the regular practice—if more prompt and certain relief is obtained for suffering humanity, by the application ofthese attenuated doses of medicine, let the allopathic system give way to it, and let us all join with hearty good will to spread abroad its beneficent doctrines. If on the other hand, we should find, that it falls far short of that wonderfully salutary effect which its advocates claim for it, and is greatly inferior to the prac- tice of the regular physician, let us discard it as a mere phantom of the immagiiiation, calculated to mislead credulous minds, and sacrifice the lives of its deluded followers. Such we believe it to be, after a careful examination of its merits. Such it has been proved to be, wherever the test has been fairly and justly applied. *AI1 chronic diseases, according to Hahnemann, arise from syphilis tendency to warts, and the ITCH. 28 In private practice, it is very difficult tomake such experiment* as will correctly determine the relative value of the two systems. To compare the practice of one practitioner with another in the same neighborhood, is not easily done, so as to do justice to both. The public mind maybe vigilant in its observation of cases, and yet, be too little acquainted with their nature, to arrive at a just conclusion with regard to their treatment. It cannot be expected, that minds devoid of a knowledge of the structure and laws of the animal economy, the functions of healthy, or the nature of diseased organs—the smyptoms. of disease or the /emedies which are best adapted for their removal, can justly appreciate the value of any particular system of treatment. To do this, requires a far greater amount of medical knowledge than is usually possessed by the pub- lic. In making this remark, I do not mean to depreciate the in- telligence of the mass, but merely to say, that in order to judge correctly of medical truths, it is necessary to have some acquain- tance at least, with the subject upon which they attempt to decide. How often do we see that a self-constituted practitioner of medi- cine, who offers to treat disease upon some new system, takes hold of a case, even of the most trivial character, and either by accident, or through the restorative power of nature it recovers under hi a care—and is then blazoned through the community as a wonderful triumph over disease. That single case decides the unerring effi- cacy of his treatment, and all who are afflicted, are urged with the most unyielding pertinacity, to seek relief at the same never failing fountain of health. While this great prodigy of the healing art, by a single effort of his genius, has acquired a reputation for science and skill, which places him in the front rank of medical philosophers, the regularly educated and meritorious physician, perhaps in the same time, has treated a large number of similar but more serious cases.which has scarcely been noticed by the public eye. The latter pursues his daily course in the treatment of a vast amount of disease of the most aggravated forms, and being too modest to trumpet his own fameabroad, and having no kind friends to engage in this laudable work for him, he is left to devote his days and nights to toil and study, in order to render himself useful in alleviating the sufferings of human nature. We are not however, left entirely to conjecture the success of the Homoeopathic treatment, when compared with that of the ra- tional system of medicine. That which cannot be so well done in private practice has been very satisfactorily tested in several pub- lic institutions under the authority of different governments. In Prussia, Austria, and Russia, experiments, have been made, under 29 the most favorable circumstances for Homoeopathy, and they have all tended to establish the undoubted fact, that the medicinal arti- cles they employ perform no agency in the cures which take place. The power of nature residing in the animal economy. under a well regulated diet, being the only efficient means in effecting a res- toration. It is nevertheless true, that much stress is laid upon these inves- tigations by Homoeopathists—and we find them whenever an oppor- tunity offers to deceive, claiming the most perfect triumph for their new system. How far they are entitled to this eminent dis- tinction, let a few extracts, which I make from a source not to be questioned, determine. "The Prussian Government, a few years since, ordered a public trial of Homceopathieto be made in the largest hospital in Berlin, the Charite, by one of Hahnemann's disciples, particularly recom- mended by him for that purpose. Although of the many hundred patients in that hospital, he selected twenty-five cases, which he considered most suitable for his experiments, not one was cured.— As Hahnemann afterwards asserted that the incompetency of his disciple must have been the only cause of failure, a second pupil was despatched by him to Berlin ; the same misfortune attending his practice also, he was dismissed." "The experiments instituted by the Austrian Government in a large Hospital at Vienna, were attended with the same results."— Dr. Herrman, of Saxony,one ofthe oldest disciples of Hahnemann, and probably the same whose name is quoted so frequently in the experiments described in Hahnemann's Materia Medica, was ex- pressly sent for by the Russian Government, to try the new method in a military hospital; being completely unsuccessful, he was dis- missed, and the Homoeopathic practice was entirely prohibited in all the Russian military hospitals. For the sake of experiment an equal number of patients, and so far as could be ascertained by minute examination, quite similar to those under the care of Dr. Herrman, were at the same time publicly treated by Dr. Giggler, Surgeon General ofthe Russian army, methodo expectativa, or by mere diet, without administering any medicine, and the result was similar to that obtained by the Homoeopathic treatment of Dr. Herrman." / The following table exhibits the result of the experiments made in one of the wards of the Hospital de Tuttschin, which contained a number of soldiers affected with dysentery and fever. The ex- periments continued during the space of two months: Patients. Cured. Died. Remained. Common method, 457 364 ---- 93 Homoeopathic do. 128 65 5 58 30 By an examination of this table it will be seen, that, out of 4o7 patients treated by the regular system, not a single death took place —and 364 were cured, which is about eight-tenths of the whole number While out of 128 patients treated by the Homoeopathic plan, 5 died, and only 65 were cured. About one half recovered, and one in twenty-five died. The results here, fully corroborate the opinion heretofore expressed, that nature alone was the instru- ment of their recovery. The medicinal agents employed were en- tirely devoid of influence, and are in no way entitled to our confi- dence in the treatment of disease. "Notwithstanding the results of this experiment were so decided against the new doctrine, the Ministers ofthe Russian Government some time afterwards summoned Dr. Herrman to Petersburg, gave him authority to select his own hospital, and to make any arrange- ments he thought fit. The wards were fresh painted, and every hygienic precaution faithfully executed. Even the kitchen was placed entirely under his control and superintendence; and in or- der to prevent the possibility of any interference a sentinel wa- placed before the door, and none permitted to enter during the occasional absence of Dr. Herrman. His first request respecting the patients was a very moderate and modest one, viz : that none should be sent to his hospital who labored under ulcers, dropsy, phthisis,