Hahnemann: The Father of Homeopathy - Part 3

We now come to the part of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann's story that everyone who has ever studied or researched homeopathy knows about - how he "discovered" homeopathy. We established in part 2 of the series that Hahnemann became thoroughly disillusioned with his chosen profession, stopped practicing medicine, and supported his growing family by doing translations and original works related to medical science and chemistry. Imagine the strength of mind it took for him to abandon the path that could have made his family financially comfortable! But instead of continuing with medical practices that were ill-conceived and dangerous, thereby compromising his high standard of truth, he accepted poverty as a temporary step in his quest towards finding a better means of healing.

As I mentioned in Part 2, Hahnemann never wavered in his belief that God had created a perfect method of healing, and its discovery was his ultimate goal. I must also point out that Hahnemann was a steadfast skeptic. In his autobiography, Hahnemann credits his father for giving him the assurance to examine supposed facts (which included those taught in medical school). As a physician, he used the various  protocols he had learned, and invariably exposed everything that was wrong with them. He therefore could not, in good conscience, continue to practice medicine.

At this point, Hahnemann's abhorrence of accepted medical treatments was not widely known by his scientific peers, so they remained willing to acknowledge and honor him. In 1791, now in his mid-thirties, Hahnemann was elected into the Oekonomische Gesellschaft (Economic Society) of Leipzig and the Academy of Sciences of Mayence. He continued to write original articles which were widely read, including "The Insolubility of Metals," "Best Means of Preventing Salivation, and the Destructive Effects of Mercury," and "Freunde der Gesundheit" (Friends of Health) — advice that remains applicable to this day. For instance, he was one of the first to recommend washing hands to prevent the spread of infection; he also recommended a good night's sleep and a wholesome diet. And he continued his translations, to great acclaim. Lorenz von Crell, founder of the first periodical devoted to chemistry, says of one translation, "Hahnemann has added precious notes which expand and elucidate Fabbroni's principles; he has thus enhanced the value of the work."

Regardless of the accolades, Hahnemann was so financially strapped that he was forced to move his family away from the large city of Leipzig to the little village of Stotteritz (in 1792). He wore "the garb of the very poor" including wooden clogs, and helped his wife by doing all the heavy housework and kneading the family's bread.  In his autobiography, Hahnemann wrote that they washed their clothes with potatoes since soap wasn't in the budget.

And now we come to Hahnemann's translation of Dr. William Cullen's "Materia Medica." As Hahnemann was "the most accomplished translator of medical works of the time," the project was offered to him. Cullen was a famous and talented chemist, and a very popular teacher and lecturer in Edinburgh. The German publishers knew that a well-translated version of his book would bring in good money, because Germans in the field of medicine were excited to learn Cullen's new theories regarding disease.

Cullen wrote that Peruvian bark cures intermittent fever (malaria) because of its bitter/astringent quality, yet Hahnemann knew that other substances, just as astringent or bitter as the bark, had no effect whatsoever on intermittent fever. Cullen's argument was therefore faulty, which caused Hahnemann's scientific and skeptical mind to whirl. He decided to try Peruvian bark for himself in order to judge its effects. He took, twice daily, "four drachms" (0.5 ounce) of a solution made from the bark and developed symptoms characteristic of malaria, along with several other symptoms. His symptoms lasted 2 - 3 hours each time, recurring only if he repeated the dose, and when he stopped taking the solution his symptoms disappeared. Hahnemann discovered that the bark created the same symptoms of the disease for which it was a known cure. It produced symptoms and cured them in a similar way. [Note: Quinine, which is used to treat malaria, comes from Peruvian bark.]

The bark's additional (non-malarial) symptoms were also interesting to Hahnemann. They made him hopeful that each drug could cure far more than the one disease for which it was specified. For instance, the bark had caused him to have heart palpitations and numbness in his fingers, so perhaps it could also treat circulation problems.

[An aside: Peruvian bark does indeed cure circulation problems, but certain characteristics of it were also discovered that complete "the picture" of the remedy. E.B. Nash, one of my favorite "pioneer" homeopaths, describes some important characteristics of Cinchona officinalis (Peruvian Bark) in his book, Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics. He says it's a good remedy to consider in any complaint where there has been an excessive loss of bodily fluids - hemorrhage of blood from any outlet, diarrhea, vomiting, or even too much perspiration. With the loss of fluid there is the expected debility, but there is also an intolerance to light touch, including something as light as a draft of air. E.B. Nash was born too late to know Hahnemann but he, and all the homeopaths who have come after him, have benefited from the tests - "provings" - that all homeopaths do to understand remedy pictures. Such tests continue to this day.]

Hahnemann spent the next six years testing medicines on himself and his family and friends. He also examined the many Materia medica books with which he was familiar, carefully noting records related to accidental poisonings. He quickly realized that the action of a drug varied according to age, sex, and the general constitution of a person, so he made sure to test substances on a variety of people.

But when did he have time to do these experiments since, as it was, he was struggling to support his family? He sat up "the whole of every other night," and in the process picked up the habit of smoking a pipe to help him through the long nights. He disregarded his own advice for good sleep because pursuing his investigations was too important; it was divinely inspired work, so his comfort was secondary.

It's interesting to note that his habit of smoking a pipe remained with him for the rest of his long life. Hahnemann wrote about tobacco use in Chronic Diseases (published many years later, in 1828). He says "smoking in some cases of chronic disease may be permitted, when the patient has been accustomed to an uninterrupted use of it, and if he does not expectorate; but smoking should always be limited, and more so if the mental activity, sleep, digestion or the evacuation are defective." We must remember that Hahnemann did not have a chronic disease, and tobacco in his day was not polluted with additives and chemicals.

Next time: Hahnemann shares his new theories with the medical community but does not get the reception that he hoped for. The stage is set for the years of discord that followed.

Hahnemann: The Father of Homeopathy - Part 2

In Part 1 of my series, you learned a little about Dr. Samuel Hahnemann's boyhood and training. In this part, you'll learn how he met his wife, about his early days as a physician, and how he dealt with his disillusionment of the current medical practices.

Hahnemann's first official job after getting his medical degree was in the mining town of Hettstadt. He left after nine months to find a more intellectually fulfilling place to practice, choosing Dessau on the Mulde River. He certainly found "more congenial society" there, as he put it in his autobiography, and he also continued his study of chemistry. Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a famous Swedish chemist who remained steadfast against homeopathy, says of Hahnemann: "That man would have made a great chemist, had he not turned out a great quack."

Hahnemann's interest in chemistry led him to study with an apothecary so that he could fully understand the topic in relation to pharmacy. Herr Haseler was his main teacher, and the man also happened to have a "young and charming," 17-year-old step-daughter, Johanna Kuchler. [Her father had owned the apothecary shop but had died, and her mother married Herr Haseler, another apothecary.] Hahnemann and Johanna fell in love, and now Hahnemann had to consider how he could best support a wife and future children. He became a parish doctor in Gommern, 43 miles northeast of Dessau, marrying his beloved "Elise" almost 2 years later, once he was established there.

Hahnemann was the first physician to practice in the small town of Gommern, and he says in his autobiography, "the people had no idea concerning such a person." Therefore, his practice was not large and he didn't do much to increase it because he was happy immersing himself in studies, particularly of chemistry. He also did translations, and one translation was of French chemist Demachy's Art of Manufacturing Chemical Products. Demachy had published it so that his countrymen could have the tightly held trade secrets of the manufacturers, and Hahnemann wanted to do the same for his German countrymen. He did other translation work and each manuscript showcased his extensive knowledge through his insertions of corrections and additions. For example, Demachy claimed that he knew of no work on carbonification of turf but Hahnemann mentions six in his additions to the book.

As happy as Hahnemann was with his chemistry work, he was growing less and less satisfied with what he considered to be ill-founded medical practices. He says "It was agony for me to walk always in darkness, with no other light than that which could be derived from books...and to prescribe according to such or such an hypothesis." The medicines, he said, "so easily occasion death, or produce new affections and chronic maladies, often more difficult to remove than the original disease." [The "such or such" hypotheses that abounded were Hippocratico-vitalistic, Gelenic, Humoral, Electro-Galvanic and others.]

He also wrote, "To become thus the murderer or the tormentor of my brethren was to me an idea so frightful and overwhelming, that soon after my marriage, I renounced the practice of medicine, that I might no longer incur the risk of doing injury, and I engaged exclusively in chemistry and in literary occupations."

However, Hahnemann could not let the matter drop. When he became a father, he wrote, "Serious diseases threatened my beloved children, my flesh and blood. My scruples redoubled when I saw that I could afford them no certain relief." He eventually shunned all the prevailing hypotheses and took a simpler approach, using only medicines whose effects were well-known. He was also one of the first physicians to recommend a wholesome diet. And throughout his search for a better method, Hahnemann remained strong in his belief that God had ordained some certain method of healing the sick.

Despite shunning many medical practices, Hahnemann was a respected physician. In Gommern, he gained the influential position of medical officer, or "Stadtphysikus," and his position included inspecting drugs in the apothecary shops - a job that sowed the seeds of his dissatisfaction with such establishments. He was also a surgeon, as records indicate that he treated a necrotic bone by scraping it. But prestige did not go to his head; he is known to have said that most of his patients would have done as well without his aid.

He resigned the position in Gommern after almost three years. Too disgusted with the errors and uncertainties of the prevailing methods of medical practice to remain, he moved his growing family to Dresden. His fervent wish was to determine some better method, and if he had to sacrifice money and prestige, so be it. In Dresden, he did not start his own practice, largely devoting himself to translation work and his favorite study of chemistry.  But he met "venerable Dr. Wagner," the town physician, and formed a lasting friendship - even taking over care of patients at the town hospitals when Dr. Wagner needed a sabbatical due to illness.

Dresden was a more cultured and enlightened city than Gommern. There was an Electoral Library on the first and second stories of a Japanese palace there, which was full of historical and antiquarian works. Hahnemann must have felt that he was back in Hermannstadt as Baron Brukenthal's librarian (see part 1), and he relished his time in Dresden, staying for about five years. It was a time of growth for him - mentally and otherwise. At the start of his time in Dresden, Hahnemann and Johanna had one daughter, and by the time they left, in 1789, they had three daughters and a son. [Dresden is within 20 miles of Meissen, where Hahnemann grew up, so I like to imagine that his parents made periodic trips to see their grandchildren; perhaps he, Johanna, and the children traveled to Meissen for holidays.]

Other friendships that developed in Dresden were with the superintendent of the Electoral Library, John Christopher Adelung,  and with the librarian, Karl Wilhelm Dassdorf. Hahnemann was given free reign at the library, and formed additional friendships with author Blumenbach and chemist Levoisier (who was guillotined during the Reign of Terror in 1794). Needless to say, Hahnemann's thirst for knowledge was deeply satisfied during these years.

Hahnemann completed many translations in Dresden (with accompanying notes and corrections), but he also introduced new concepts based on his understanding of chemistry. For instance, he developed a method for the detection of adulteration in medicines—the Wine Test—which effectively detected dangerous metals in wine manufactured during that time. A writer in the "Journal of Pharmacy" stated that "ignorance of Hahnemann's Wine Test was damning evidence of the incompetence of many apothecaries." At times, he branched away from science. One of his praised translations was The History of the Lives of Abelard and Heloise.  Critics said the translation was "correct and fluent, and of value to romantic history."

Hahnemann also published some books during his time in Dresden. One was Poisoning by Arsenic: Its Treatment and Judicial Investigation, and he was one of the first to suggest that poisonous substances should be kept under lock and key and strictly regulated. He also wrote Instructions Concerning Venereal Diseases, Together with a new Mercurial Preparation, and his new preparation was greatly praised by physicians and chemists. He wrote many journal articles too, and his peers highly respected his ideas and writings. But he by no means wanted to rest on his laurels. In 1789, he moved to Leipzig "in order to be nearer to the fountain of science." In his mind, he still had much work to do.

Next time: Hahnemann explores the fundamental Law of Similars and homeopathy is born.

Hahnemann: The Father of Homeopathy - Part 1

I just finished reading "The Life and Letters of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann" by Thomas Lindsley Bradford, and it has inspired me to write a series of blogs. This first one is about Hahnemann's younger years. The description "genius" can sometimes be applied without merit but, even as a boy, Hahnemann gave indications that he was a truly brilliant person.

When he was a grade-school boy, growing up in Meissen, Germany, his father would sometimes pull him out of school when the tuition money ran out (school was never free in those days). However, the "great men of the little German village" urged Hahnemann's father to keep him in school, granting Hahnemann scholarships and giving him (at 12 years of age!) the task of teaching basic (101) Greek to the other children.

His father came from a long line of tradesmen (he was a porcelain designer), and he could not envision any future for his son outside of that realm. He might have agreed to the school scholarships, but he discouraged Hahnnemann from devoting any additional time to books. But Hahnemann was determined, and devised a way to sneakily study at night. He handcrafted a small lamp out of clay so that his father wouldn't notice that a household lamp was missing. The lamp was shielded on three sides so that the light could not easily be seen through a window blind or from under a door.

At fifteen, his father insisted he learn a trade and sent him off to Leipzig to apprentice with a grocer. Hahnemann tried to comply but was miserable. He finally ran away from the grocery store, back to his home, and he hid from his father while appealing to his mother. She convinced her husband that, as a grocer, their son would not be following one of the fatherly principles he had tried to instill, which was "to live and to act without pretense or show." Once that pivotal episode resolved (with the help of Hahnemann's most prominent teacher, Magister Müller), the boy attended a boarding school for gifted students, more or less on scholarship.

His dream was to become a physician, and at the age of twenty, with letters of recommendation from all his teachers, and 20 thalers from his father, he left for Liepzig to attend the university there. At this point, he already knew English, French, Greek, Latin, Hebrew - in addition to his native German. He had also studied history, physics and botany, but his favorite topic was medical science. [Side note: The thaler was, more or less, Europe's first Euro. It gave Europe a standard unit of trade and was used for roughly 400 years. In Hahnemann's day, it was reportedly worth about a week's wages for a skilled laborer, so Hahnemann's father was as generous as his modest income would allow - a sign that he had finally accepted his son's destiny. But I digress....]

Despite the money that his father gave him, Hahnemann did not have a free ride at the University of Leipzig. He attended lectures during the day but he also worked most nights. Thanks to his excellent knowledge base, he was able to procure a job doing English-to-German translations. He also took on pupils who wanted to learn either German or French.

At the age of 22, he moved to Vienna to gain more extensive, firsthand knowledge of medicine. A celebrated physician, Dr. Von Quarin, became his mentor, and he was so impressed by Hahnemann's ability that he made him his protege and took him on visits to see private patients (something he had never done before). When Hahnemann's meager funds ran out, Dr. Von Quarin secured for him a paid position as family physician and librarian to the governor of Siebenburgen, Baron von Bruckenthal.

Hahnemann took full advantage of his status as librarian and read extensively, becoming proficient in additional languages - Italian, Syriac, Arabic, Spanish and even a little Chaldaic. He gained an excellent, self-taught classical education, acquiring a diverse knowledge of ancient literature and the occult sciences. It was with reluctance that he left this wonderful job to finish his degree at Erlangen University. But leave he did, and he was finally awarded his long-awaited medical degree in August 1779 at the age of 24.

He started his medical career in the mining town of Hettstadt, where he continued to enhance his knowledge, this time by reading about mining, smelting and chemistry. Less than a year later, he left for the town of Dessau, where he met (and later married)

19-year-old Miss Johanna Kuchler, the daughter (and step-daughter) of an apothecary.

Next time: Hahnemann's early life as a physician and husband.