Hahnemann's Organon of Medicine - Aphorism 59

[Ardavan Shahrdar]

Hahnemann's Organon of Medicine
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Aphorism 59:

'Important symptoms of persistent diseases have never
yet been treated with such palliative, antagonistic
remedies, without the opposite state, a relapse -
indeed, a palpable aggravation of the malady -
occurring a few hours afterwards. For a persistent
tendency to sleepiness during the day the physician
prescribed coffee, whose primary action is to enliven;
and when it had exhausted its action the day -
somnolence increased; - for frequent waking at night
he gave in the evening, without heeding the other
symptoms of the disease, opium, which by virtue of its
primary action produced the same night (stupefied,
dull) sleep, but the subsequent nights were still more
sleepless than before; - to chronic diarrhoeas he
opposed, without regarding the other morbid signs, the
same opium, whose primary action is to constipate the
bowels, and after a transient stoppage of the
diarrhoea it subsequently became all the worse; -
violent and frequently recurring pains of all kinds he
could suppress with opium for but a short time; they
then always returned in greater, often intolerable
severity, or some much worse affection came in their
stead. For nocturnal cough of long standing the
ordinary physician knew no better than to administer
opium, whose primary action is to suppress every
irritation; the cough would then perhaps cease the
first night, but during the subsequent nights it would
be still more severe, and if it were again and again
suppressed by this palliative in increased doses,
fever and nocturnal perspiration were added to the
disease; - weakness of the bladder, with consequent
retention of urine, was sought to be conquered by the
antipathic work of cantharides to stimulate the
urinary passages whereby evacuation of the urine was
certainly at first effected but thereafter the bladder
becomes less capable of stimulation and less able to
contract, and paralysis of the bladder is imminent; -
with large doses of purgative drugs and laxative
salts, which excite the bowels to frequent evacuation,
it was sought to remove a chronic tendency to
constipation, but in the secondary action the bowels
became still more confined; - the ordinary physician
seeks to remove chronic debility by the administration
of wine, which, however, stimulates only in its
primary action, and hence the forces sink all the
lower in the secondary its primary action, and hence
the forces sink all the lower in the secondary action;
- by bitter substances and heating condiments he tries
to strengthen and warm the chronically weak and cold
stomach, but in the secondary action of these
palliatives, which are stimulating in their primary
action only, the stomach becomes yet more inactive; -
long standing deficiency of vital heat and chilly
disposition ought surely to yield to prescriptions of
warm baths, but still more weak, cold, and chilly do
the patients subsequently become; - severely burnt
parts feel instantaneous alleviation from the
application of cold water, but the burning pain
afterwards increases to an incredible degree, and the
inflammation spreads and rises to a still greater
height;1 - by means of the sternutatory remedies that
provoke a secretion of mucus, coryza with stoppage of
the nose of long standing is sought to be removed, but
it escapes observation that the disease is aggravated
all the more by these antagonistic remedies (in their
secondary action), and the nose becomes still more
stopped; - by electricity and galvanism, with in their
primary action greatly stimulate muscular action,
chronically weak and almost paralytic limbs were soon
excited to more active movements, but the consequence
(the secondary action) was complete deadening of all
muscular irritability and complete paralysis; - by
venesections it was attempted to remove chronic
determination of blood to the head, but they were
always followed by greater congestion; - ordinary
medical practitioners know nothing better with which
to treat the paralytic torpor of the corporeal and
mental organs, conjoined with unconsciousness, which
prevails in many kinds of typhus, than with large
doses of valerian, because this is one of the most
powerful medicinal agents for causing animation and
increasing the motor faculty; in their ignorance,
however, they knew not that this action is only a
primary action, and that the organism, after that is
passed, most certainly falls back, in the secondary
(antagonistic) action, into still greater stupor and
immobility, that is to say, into paralysis of the
mental and corporeal organs (and death); they did not
see, that the very diseases they supplied most
plentifully with valerian, which is in such cases an
oppositely acting, antipathic remedy, most infallibly
terminated fatally. The old school physician rejoices2
that he is able to reduce for several hours the
velocity of the small rapid pulse in cachectic
patients with the very first dose of uncombined purple
foxglove (which in its primary action makes the pulse
slower); its rapidity, however, soon returns;
repeated, and now increased doses effect an ever
smaller diminution of its rapidity, and at length none
at all - indeed - in the secondary action the pulse
becomes uncountable; sleep, appetite and strength
depart, and a speedy death is invariably the result,
or else insanity ensues. How often, in one word, the
disease is aggravated, or something even worse is
effected by the secondary action of such antagonistic
(antipathic) remedies, the old school with its false
theories does not perceive, but experience teaches it
in a terrible manner.
Footnotes:

1 Vide Introduction.
2 Vide Hufeland, in his pamphlet, Die Homoopathie,
p.20.'
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Minutus appreciates your fruitful contribution!
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"Life is beautiful, if you look at it in a beautiful way."

Dr Ardavan Shahrdar, MD, DIHom
President of Iranian Homeopathic Association
Website: http://www.minutus.org
Email: ashahrdar@yahoo.com
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