The progress of homoeopathy: a series of papers, illustrative of the position and prospects of medical science / Published under the superintendence of the English Homoeopathic Association.

  • English Homoeopathic Association
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The progress of homoeopathy: a series of papers, illustrative of the position and prospects of medical science / Published under the superintendence of the English Homoeopathic Association. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    281/288 page 269
    choice of president was, the consciousness that his character did stand so far well with the public, that it was generally believed he would not lend his name to anything which was not capable of bearing the strictest and the most rigorous investigation, not only as to its truth, but as to the perfect honesty of the manner in which it was carried forth (hear). It would be unpardonable in him were he to trespass for more than a moment upon them. He should say, however, before sitting down, that he had listened with admira- tion to the addresses that had been delivered to them. He came there to learn, and he confessed he had learned a great deal. Both Mr. Aslmrst and Mr. Sampson had touched upon one topic, upon which he would wish to offer a single remark—namely, the propriety of non-professional persons mixing themselves up with a question of that nature. He confessed that he thought the objection to their doing so, wholly destitute of foundation. After the melancholy results which had been exhibited to them under the old system, of having these bodies composed purely and exclusively of professional men, he could not help feeling that if the only results which followed from such a system of exclusiveness were such as they had heard, that the sooner it was got rid of the better (hear, hear). He agreed with Mr. Ashurst, that when such meetings were confined to pro- fessional persons, they became too much of a technical character, and the subject which they were meant to promote, was soon in- volved in mystery, such as was so graphically described by Dr. Forbes, in an extract which he would beg to read to them. It was in the 41st number of the British and Foreign Medical Review, and was as follows : “ The truth as to the uncertainty of practical medicine generally, and the utter insufficiency of the ordinary evidence to establish the efficacy of many of our remedies, has been almost always attained to by philosophical phy- sicians of experience in the course of long practice, and has resulted, in general, in a mild, tentative, or expectant mode of practice in their old age, whatever may have been the vigorous or heroic doings of their youth. Who among us, in fact, of any considerable experience, and who has thought somewhat as well as prescribed, but is ready to admit that,—in a large pro- portion of the cases he treats, w'hether his practice in individual instances be directed by precept and example, by theory, by observation, by experience, by habit, by accident, or by whatsoever principle of action,—he has no positive proof, or rather no proof whatever, often, indeed, very little pro- bability, that the remedies administered by him exert any beneficial influ- ence over the disease?”
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image