Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/204

* HOIKEOPATHY. 176 HOMEOPATHY. the author says: "These manipulations are to bo conducted thus" (by adding 2 drops of a pre- ctdin-,' potcnce' to 98 drops of aleoliul and shak- ing twice) "from the first up to'tlie thirtieth or deeillionth development of |)uver, wliieli is the one in most general use" (p. 200). The ctlect of shaking, on homoeopathic medicines, "is so ener- getic that latterly I have been forced by experi- ence to reduce the number of shakes to two. of which I formerl}' prescribed ten to each dilution" (p. 205). "The Ijest mode of administration is to make use of small globules of sugar, the size of a nnistard-seed ; one of these globules having imbibed the medicine, and being introduced into the vehicle, forms a dose containing about the three-hundredth part of a drop; for three hun- dred of such globules will imbibe one drop of alcohol." "By placing one of these on the tongue, and not drinking anything after it, the dose is considerably diminished. Hut if the pa- tient is very sen.sitive, and it is necessary to employ the smallest dose possible, and attain at the same time the most speedy results, it will be sullicient to let him smell once" (p. 207). The directions for smelling a "remedy' are as follows: "The patient should hold the phial con- taining ihe globule under one nostril, when one momentary inhalation of the air in the phial is to be made; and if the dose is intended to Im> stronger, the same operation may be rei)eated with the other nostril" (p. 191). Hahnemann considered mesmerism a honueopathic remedj'. He .says: "This curative power, of whose cnieacy none but madmen can entertain a doubt, which through the powerful will of a well-intentioned individual, intluences the body of the patient by the touch, acts homoeopathically, by exciting symptoms analogous to those of the malady" (■p. 210). In 181.3 an epidemic of typhus fever occurred ii< Leipzig, during which it is said that seventy- three patients were allotted to Hahnemann for treatment. Of these it is claimed that but one died. Many of his claims were denied and many of his ideas were ridiculed. As a result of the opposition of the apothecaries' g»iild he was for- bidden to prepare his own medicines for pay. In spite of all opposition, he and his pupils con- tinued their practice and gave the remedies gratuitously wlien- they were not allowed to take pay. Finally, opposition and social ostracism so discouraged Hahnemann that he left Leipzig in 1S20 for Rothen, where, under the patronage of the Duke of Anhalt. he had a certain vogue. I'p to this time homrpopathy was centred in the per- son and teachings of Hahnemann; but now that he was absent, his pupils, already having become doctors of medicine, began, in 1821. the publica- tion of the first homoeopathic journal, the .-Ir- chire of the Hontwopafliic Method of Curinrj. This publication was continued until 1843. The growth of homoeopathy in Germany has ever been slow. In Austria, homoeopathy was first official- ly kniiwn in 1819. in which year the Kmperor Francis I. decreed that the method should be for- bidden. Afterwards it was tacitly permitted, and the decree was revoked in 1837. Since IS4(i there has been no governmental interference with individual preference. Honia-opathj- was intro- duced into Russia in 1823. There, as el.sewhere, its pioneers Avere lavmen. and its growth has been slow. It was introduced into Great Britain in 1827, by Quin, a physician. Shortly after, the medical opposition was so great aa to prevent those who desired to practice it from obtaining a decree entitling them to register as physicians. At present there are no restrictions placed upon any person desiring to practice this system, but there are no legally incorporated schools for in- struction. In France, honiaopathy was first sys- tematically tried in the year 18.30. It steadily grew in favor until 183o, when Hahnemann, .set tling in Paris, gave the cause a ])owcrful impetus. He groui)ed around him a large number of able men, and until his death in 1843 Paris was the Mecca of homceopathy. The laws of France, as of most countries in Europe, discriminate against homceopathy, and no place of public preferment or emiilnment is allowed its adherents. As a rule, homteopathic medical colleges are not legalized in Furopean countries. In the United States, and in other young coun tries, homoeopathy has been most active. Vi. Hans B. Gram, a native of Boston, educated at Copenhagen, first began the jiractice of homoe- opathy in New York City. The n<ivel method was adopted by many, and many became earnest advocates of the system. Later, and about the same time, there came into notice men and women, generally and very largely of the laity, who, without knowledge of disease or of science, began to report cures with the aid of homa-o- pathic 'remedies.' Domestic practice was so easy, by means of a cabinet of ])hials filled with globules and a book giving complete instruction for the use of homipopathic medicines as adapted to any symptoms, without the need of a diagnosis of disease, that the new cult grew rapidly. Soon there came from over the sea men who had learned the science and art from Hahnemann and his associates, and as a help to the more perfect understanding of this way, the first homoeopathic college was established at AUentown, Pa., in the year 1835. While the converts to homoeopathy have never been subjected to positive repressive legislation. yet they have been butreted by the same storm of opposition as gieeted their brethren in other lands. In order that the cause might be strengthened and physicians record progress, the publication of the Ameriean Journal of Homoeopathy was begun in 1835. The American Institute of Homceopathy, the oldest national medical association in the country, was organized in 1844, though there were already societies in the States of Pennsylvania, Xew York, and Massa- chusetts. The existence of most of the local societies is mainly due to the suggestion and festering care of the Ameriean Institute, to which they annually report. In 1900 there were in the United States about 15,000 homoeopathic physicians, and about eigh- teen medical colleges in which lionueopathic therapeutics are taught. Considering its age, homoeipatby is especially rich in theoretical and practical literature. The most exhaustive work on anv division of the subject is the Eneiielopirilin of Materia Meilirn. by the late Prof. T. F. Allen. M.D.. of Xew York City. Every department of medicine has been treated by homoeopathic au- thors. Perhaps the chief factor in the spread of homoeopathy in this country, especially in the newer portions of the Western States, is the equality of all schools of medicine and all quali- fied practitioners before the law. For many years homopopathists in this countrj- taught only