HOMOEOPATHY. 



The first law of Homoeopathy is, that when a 

 correct image of the disease has been obtained, a 

 medicine must be selected which will affect a 

 healthy person in a manner as similarly as possi- 

 ble ; that is, one that will excite in him symptoms 

 very similar to those presented by the disease to 

 be treated. The second law is, only to give a 

 single article at a time, but where one medicine is 

 not sufficient for the complete cure of a disease, 

 after allowing full time for the action of the first 

 remedy, another suitable one, nearest in analogy 

 to the existing state of the disease must be given, 

 followed by a third, if the patient be not fully re- 

 lieved : and so on, till the last traces of the indis- 

 position be obliterated. Homoeopathy goes to 

 work in tracing out diseases, and is of opinion 

 that the invisible morbid changes in the interior, 

 and the outward changes of the state of health 

 visible to our senses, constitute that which we 

 call disease, and thus it selects a remedy indica- 

 ted by the whole of the symptoms which will, by 

 removing these outward and perceptible symp- 

 toms of the disease, extinguish and destroy the 

 internal changes. A third rule, which although 

 it is not a law, is nevertheless inseparable from it, 

 is that of the dose of the medicine to be admin- 

 istered. 



When Hahnemann first made his "discovery, 

 small doses did not form part of his system. In 

 ! the early part of his career he made use of the 

 j pure mother tincture in ordinary doses, but he ob- 

 served that they were too active, and that there 

 usually occurred an augmentation of the symp- 

 toms. This induced him to reduce' his doses until 

 he came to make use of attenuations and dilutions ; 

 and he found that when the medicines were pro- 

 perly prepared, they still had their specific action, 



