S5762622 XX" 'I 9 its disciples, nothing is left to conjecture or guess; every conclusion is the result of observation and experiment. Many of the most accurate observers in Europe have made careful experiments upon healthy persons that it may possibly be made; these experiments have been repeated, minutely recorded, and are before the world in books, to be confirmed or refuted by further trials. About three hundred articles have been thus tested upon the healthy subject, and are now in constant use by Homoeopathic physicians; and if the system had done no more than this for the advancement of medical science, the name of its founder ought to be immortal. Some of these articles are, of course, more valuable than others;' and if some should fall into disuse from, not possessing the powers claimed for them, it would be no more than has befallen other articles, from time to time, ever since the days of Chiron the Centaur. It is charged upon Homoeopathy, that those who practice by its precepts are superficial in their examinations of disease, taking into consideration the symptoms alone, and prescribing for them as for the disease itself, instead of regarding them as the results of disease, and as so many guideboards pointing out which is the suffering organ. There is some apparent reason for this charge against Homoeopathy; and, for the sake of the argument, admit that Hahnemann thus teaches. Every writer on the new system has confined himself to something besides anatomy, physiology, surgery, &c., because they have all been educated in the Allopathic school, and because these branches are ably taught by others, and hence it seems that these things are neglected. But granting that the founder of Homceopathy and his most distinguished disciples should discard all knowledge of anatomy and physiology, that does not prove that the principles "*of the system are untrue or without value. It rather proves that these men are deluded, carried away by their enthusiasm; for every medical man, and every other man who has a particle of common sense, knows full well that the derangements of an intricate machine, much more that wonderful piece of mechanism the human body, cannot be discovered or repaired without a knowledge of its structure. If, therefore, such a doctrine is taught by Homoeopathy, its fallacy should be shown by those who have taken the second sober thought; the truth should not be rejected simply because the teachers of the system inculcate heresy. This charge. is false. No system investigates so closely and so thoroughly as Homoeopathy; and if any thing escapes detection, it is the fault of the man, and not of his doctrines. The very essence of the system is accurate and minute observation. I recur now to the doses. Homceopathy does certainly profess to cure with much smaller doses of'medicine than its antagonist system, the old 2 13 " COUNSELLORS.-The distinction of counsellors of state and counsellors in medicine, is conferred by the sovereigns of Europe upon such physicians alone as are distinguished for their acquisitions in general science and medicine, and is esteemed as a compliment of the highest order. Homcsopathia has such adherents. State Counsellors. Stegeman, St. Petersburgh. Trinks, Eglau, Ruppius, Schwartz, Weber, Schwartzenburg, Gsell, Cramer, Rau, Reubell, Sphor, Miihlenbein, Kurst Altenburg. Dresden. Lich. Mittweid. St. Gall. Baden. Giessen. Munich. Gandersheim. Brunswick. Necker, Trinius, Siegl, Libert, Bonninghausen, Paul Wolf, Zeroni, Brutzen, Wich, Neef, Dresden. Naples. St. Petersburgh. Brussels. Constantinople. Munster. Dresden. Baden. Riga. Carlsruhe. Frankfort. Stieler, Trinks, Blau, Geiseler, Widnmann, Medical Counsellors. Berlin. Winkler, Dresden. Stapf, Icterhausen. Kurtz, Dantzic. Aegidi, Munich. Altenburg. Raumberg. Dessau. Konigsberg. " Many physicians and surgeons in Europe, whose success in the practice of the healing art through the agency of Homoeopathia, has been undeniable, have been rewarded by places of honour, which Allopathic practitioners have always struggled to secure. From such we are enabled to record" Dr. Aegidi, appointed physician to Princess Frederica of Prussia. " Dr. Miihlenbein, physician to the Duke of Brunswick. "Dr. Kurtz, physician to the Duchess of Anhalt Dessau. "Dr. Cramer, physician to the Grand Duke Charles of Carlsruhe. " Dr. Romani, physician to the Queen of Naples. " Dr.. Necker, physician to the Duke of Lucques. " Dr. Liibert, physician to the Russian Embassy at Constantinople. " Dr. Riickert, physician to Count Holberg and Count Hohenthal Konigsbriick. "Dr. Griesselich, surgeon to the Grand Duke of Baden. "D r. Altmrillerx court surgeon at CasseL 14 "Dr. Horatiis, president of the Academy of Medicine (Allopathic) was selected physician to Francis I. the late King of Naples. " Dr. Stapfwas called to attend the Dowager Queen of England; but the important position he holds in Germany compelled him to decline the honour. " Buongiovanni is physician to the Hospital of Invalids, at Naples. "Baldi is surgeon-in-chief to the Neapolitan army. " La Raga is physician to the Military Hospital of Cotrone. " Sannicola is chief director of the Civil and Military Hospital of the kingdom of Naples. ARMY.-Surgeons and Physicians. Apelt, Leipsic. Hayser, Darmstadt. Hartung, Saltzburg. Schmidt, Glatz. Miller, Pesth. Braun, Pesth. Kirshberg, Gallicia. Amman, Darmstadt. Marentzeller, Vienna. Puppke, Muhlhausen. Starke, -Laburthe, Surgeon Major, France. Seidel, "COLLATERAL TESTIMONY derived from sources not Homceopathic. We offer it as it is; it needs no comment:"' Le Moniteur, the official organ of the French government, thus refers to the distinction conferred on Dr. Mabit, in consequence of his successful Homceopathic treatment of cholera at Bordeaux, and also for having founded a Homceopathic hospital, the results of which were sufficiently striking to command the attention of the French sovereign: "-'Dr. MABIT has been created knight of the legion of honour; a recompense rendered to his devotion and exertions on the appearance of the Asiatic cholera, aswell as to his steadfast zeal and continued researches for the interests of humanity and progress of medicine.' "WILLIAM LEO-WOLF, M.D., an Allopathic physician, who has published a large volume, entitled ' Remarks on the Abracadabra of the Nineteenth Century; or on Dr. Samuel Hahnemann's Homaeopathic Medicine;' composed in the most rabid and virulent temper, against Hahnemann and his system, admits thus much as to the condition of Homaeopathia in Germany: ", 'The last accounts from thence state, that the Chamber of Deputies of Baden have resolved, almost unanimously, to have a special chair of Homaeopathia in the Heidelberg University; the same, we are told, was resolved by the Bavarian government for the University of Munich.' "And again:"' We are told also by men upon whose veracity we can rely, that new 16 " 1. At Heidelberg a professorship has been created, and Dr. Arnold has been chosen professor. "2. The Government of Hanover has decreed the formation of a professorship at the University of Gottingen. " 3. At Erlangen, Professor Leupoldt occupies the chair of Homceopathia with flattering success. " 4. At the University of Munich the professorship of Hommopathia has been conferred upon Dr. Roth. " 5. At Jena the Homoeopathic professorship is held by Dr. Martin. " 6. A professorship has been created at Leipzig. " 7. Another at Freiburg. " 8. A professorship has been recently formed in the Duchy of Darmstadt, to which Dr. Rau will probably be called. " Homeopathic Literature. " The literature of Homceopathia has been as little known and has encountered as much misrepresentation, as any one of its departments. It can be scarcely credited, even among the friends of Homceopathia, except by its physicians, that about SEVEN HUNDRED volumes have been issued from the press, developing the peculiarities of the system, and many of them possessed of a scientific character that savans know well how to respect. Controlled by an earnest desire to confirm our statement of facts by personal observations and testimony, we have taken especial trouble to investigate this subject and thus feel personally enabled, after a direct inspection, to enumerate, as the result of our labours, the existence of Six out of seven hundred volumes that have enriched the Russian, Danish, Italian, German, French, and English languages. " TWENTY periodicals of the system have been established in different parts of the world, the most prominent of which are deserving of present record." Hospitals. "Homceopathic hospitals and infirmaries are established at Leipzig, Munich, Paris, Bordeaux, London, Hungary, Oxford, and in other places. Austria. 1828. 1839. "The Allopathic commission re- The interdict has been removed. ported against Homceopathia, after Medical men of eminence have acthe trial at Vienna, although they knowledged their belief in Homceostated, that' the system is not ineffi- pathia. And part of the imperial cacious.' The Government there- household is at present under Hofore, interdicted its practice. mceopathic treatment. 23 takes the medicine it sleeps soundly, and every night it does not it is restless, and that the circumstances are the same when it takes, as when it does not take the medicine, is not the inference pretty fair that the medicine produced some effect l Suppose that a patient has a disease, for which he has undergone a variety of treatment,; during several years, without amelioration, and that under the same circumstances of diet, climate, occupation and all extraneous influences, he commences a new system of practice, from which, in a short time, he rapidly recovers-may we not consider this as some evidence of the effect of remedies? There is the evidence of the friends and nurses of patients, which is not to be overlooked; they see the 'patient when he sleeps, when he is insensible, and frequently confirm, or contradict, his account, either of which may aid in ascertaining the truth. The testimony of the physician himself is sometimes worthy of credit, especially if he has been generally found to be a man of veracity; and, if he has added to an acquaintance with his profession some years of experience, his testimony should carry more weight with it. Arid if he is a man who generally investigates closely, who is free from prejudice, not an enthusiast on other subjects, but under the control of good sense, should not his testimony have some weight when confirmed by his patient, his nurse and the friends of the patient 1 Suppose a remedy has been given to several persons in health, and all the effects it produced were accurately recorded in a book, and these effects are found to correspond with the results of experiments made by others, is there not some probability that this testimony of the effects of medicine is true-i Thus then we have the best chain of testimony in regard to the operations of medicine that human ingenuity can devise. Let experiments, made upon the healthy, be recorded, let the physician who administers to the diseased tell to one what effect he will experience, and let him withhold such disclosure from another, let the nurse, the patient's friends, the patient himself, and the disappearance of the disease, all combine to bear evidence of the same fact-the effect of the medicineand there is proof which ought to stagger the unbelief of a skeptic. A.nd when we have instances of this kind repeated under our own observation several hundred times, supported by such evidence, that skepticism must he firmly planted which cannot be thoroughly eradicated. Such is the evidence, sir, which has proved to my satisfaction that the principle of Homoeopathy is true. I have seen results follow my remedies, under such a variety of circumstances, where no other cause could have operated, that, in spite of my wishes and prejudice, I have been com pelled to believe that these results were the effect of medicine. 28 judge himself must be included in his own sentence. The attempt of R. to prove that A. cannot cure his patients, because B. himself cannot, is what the logic of C. would be, were he arraigned for shooting D. through the lungs, causing instant death, were he to prove, to the satisfaction of the court and jury, that E. had been shot through the lungs and recovered from the injury, arid, therefore, D. was not killed by the shot, but died from a sudden fit of apoplexy, or from some unknown cause. By this logic, we can prove or disprove any fact in medical science; and I repeat, that each case, with its attendant circumstances, must be judged of by itself. Ten physicians may cure a disease in ten different ways; but that does not prove that the eleventh physician may not cure the same disease by a process different from either, or that the whole ten may not fail in their next patient, or that the eleventh may not be successful. Another common method of disposing of the cures of Homceopaths by us gentlemen of the old school, is, to deny the facts as they are related to us. A Homceopath may, for instance, relate a case of disease, that he has successfully treated, to his brethren, and relate it in such a manner that, if it is once admitted the disease was as described, the cure from Homceopathic treatment must be admitted also; so they deny the existence of the disease. Now et us look at the common sense, or common honesty, if there be any, n such a course. The Homceopath who relates the case, may be older, more experienced, better informed, and quite as reputable for honesty and candour, as those who deny his facts. But he is gravely told to his face, that the disease which he saw daily, for weeks, a record of the appearance and treatment of which he kept, was not what he believed it to be!-and he is told this by one who never once saw the case!! This, you will agree with me, is rather a summary "way of disposing of alleged facts, than a philosophical. A physician's statement is thus impugned-his judgment and veracity are impeached-without an examination, or even the manifestation of a desire to examine into the truth. Who can best judge of the character and appearance of a disease, the effect of remedies, &c. -one who saw and treated it, or one who saw it not, and never saw a case treated like it Whose judgment, in this case, is most to be depended upon. The argument is just this:-B. has never cured a case as A. declares he has, and therefore B. insists that it cannot be done. Perhaps, sir, you will think that I am condemning myself by my own arguments, or that I am preparing the way to declare myself a believer in all that I have ever considered the dogmas and extravagances of Hahnemann. I ask from no man more than I would give-blind credulity! 27, all that I'ask is an honest and thorough examination, by practice, of the principle upon which Homceopathy is founded. There is one reason why Allopathic physicians in this country are, to a very great extent, excusable for not examining, more thoroughly, this new system-and that is, they have not had the means. There have never been but eight or ten numbers of any periodical, advocating Homceopathy, published in this country;. so that it has been without this powerful, and almost necessary aid, to urge its claims upon the attention of the profession. Of all the works upon Homceopathy, not more than two or three have ever appeared in the English language, that are of any practical value to the practitioner; and the most valuable of these, Jahr's Repertory, is of so little value, that the Homceopaths declare, that if they depended on this alone, they could not practice with any success. A few works have appeared in French-perhaps there are a hundred-all the rest being in the original German. Now, as all American physicians cannot read French, and very few, German, it is quite evident that we are excusable for our ignorance, in regard to Homoeopathy. A man who reads nothing but English, cannot understandinigly practice Homeopathy; but so slight an obstacle as the ignorance of the German language can be soon and easily overcome. Excusable ignorance of the language does not excuse us for denouncing the whole system; and if our patients can be benefited by knowledge to be obtained-only by our learning the German, I do not consider that sacrifice too great for us to make. Our duties are not fully discharged till we have done all that we can do. With the knowledge of Homoeopathy now accessible to a majority of American physicians, I consider it just as impossible for them to be able to judge of its merits, without seeing it in practice, as it would be for an architect to judge of the interior of a building by an external examination, or to form an opinion of the exterior, by inspecting a single brick taken from it. One objection made against Homoeopathy, is, that even if it is true, it is too laborious, and requires too much time, to practice it. In plain English it reads thus-we must visit thirty patients in a day, and have some leisure, as now;-if we practice Hommeopathically, we can visit only twenty, and that, too, after much labour, without having any leisure left us. This is a powerful argument, and not entirely destitute of truth; for whoever begins to practice upon the new system, must, for a time, make up his mind to become a student, and to study his cases; and although he may now and then, be obliged to study a case much longer at first than he Prervtin A 19~-0 A -4 S A