Volume 1

Remarks on the Abracadabra of the nineteenth century; or on Dr. Samuel Hahnemann's homoeopathic medicine, with particular reference to Dr. Constantine Hering's 'Concise view of the rise and progress of homoeopathic medicine', Philadelphia, 1833 / [William Leo-Wolf].

  • Leo-Wolf, William
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on the Abracadabra of the nineteenth century; or on Dr. Samuel Hahnemann's homoeopathic medicine, with particular reference to Dr. Constantine Hering's 'Concise view of the rise and progress of homoeopathic medicine', Philadelphia, 1833 / [William Leo-Wolf]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    CONTENTS. Page Historical and biographical sketch of the homeopathic doctrine and of Hahnemann - - - - - . - , - 9 Remarks on Dr. Hering’s reproach of the incapability and dishonesty of the apothecaries at Leipzig, and on the state of pharmacyin Germany 34 Fragmentary remarks on the present state of practical medicine and surgery 46 On the homeopathic doctrine generally - - - - - - 58 The three fundamental maxims of homeopathia in general - - 61 Results of experiments with simple drugs on healthy persons = - - 62 The homeopathic “ law of nature,” or the maxim, similia similibus curantur 75 Hahnemann’s “ great truth,” that itch is the only cause of all chronic diseases 166 The third hemeopathic maxim, or that it is impossible to administer too small a dose of a drug - - - - - - - - 179 Medical virtues developed from all natural substances, and especially from simple drugs - ~ - > - - - - . - 181 The energy of solutions of medicinal substances excessively increased by their transmission from place to place - - - - - 228 Direful consequences of the homeopathic superstition if generally adopted 237 Homeopathia contradicted by Hahnemann’s earlier public statements, his later retractions, etc. - - - - ~ - - - - 239 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - - - 253 EXPLANATION OF THE VIGNETTE. The “‘old philosopher,” sitting in the magic diagram, proclaims to the world the charm of his discovered “ law of nature” written in the inverse shape of the old Abracadabra, (see page 262) and containing the same uneven number of letters,—‘‘ numero deus impare gaudet,” —Virg. Buccol. He is just engaged in developing spirits from a simple drug by trituration, as is clearly seen by a very large and fiery one—“‘ignea inest illis vis’—which is escaping from the mortar at the command of his magic wand, and which, on account of its size, appears to belong, at least, to the sixtieth potenz.—The negro, thankful for the gratifying prospects of his physical emancipation, which has already happily succeeded with one half of his sooty skin, assists the “great benefactor of mankind” in his ‘gigantic work,” and de- velopes the thirtieth potenz from table salt, by shaking ‘‘from above downwards.”’—It appears his zeal actuated him too much, and that he has shaken, contrary to the directions of the “ great reformer,” too violently and too often, as numerous spirits rush out of the vial. One of them, probably in consequence of his particularly glorified antipsoric nature, gets hold of the great cross of the order of the 1rcH, which, it is rumoured, has lately been created by the great magician, in spite of the “bayonets of the kings and princes of Europe;” and is reserved particularly as a munificent reward for the arduous zeal of his missionaries, in propagating the “ great truth,” in “ Egypt the land of monsters and the sanguinary gold coast,” and particularly in America.—The emblems of all the ‘learned lumber” of the healing art, accumulated for scores of centuries, have ‘‘ fallen to the ground;” the stick of Ausculapius as well as the scutcheon of Minerva are broken to pieces; and even the favorite bird of Athene, which so long has been her faithful companion, is dead ;—'‘nequidquam seros exercet noctua cantus,”—Virg. Georg. It died however, not from the hellebore, which luxuriantly grows around the mysterious grotto, without any remedial effect: but of grief, at seeing the new mathematical principles, and the other marvellous reforms of the com- petitor of ‘ Galileo and Harvey :” - - - Ile suz contra non immemor artis, Omnia transformat sese in miracula rerum.— Virg. Georg.
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