your thoughtful comments would be valued on the following two extracts from hahnemann's writings.

"The antipsoric medicines treated of in what follows contain no so-called idiopathic medicines, since their pure effects, even those of the potentized miasma of itch (Psorin) have not been proved enough, by far, that a safe homoeopathic use might be made of it. I say homoeopathic use, for it does not remain (idem) the same, as it could only be useful to him in a potentized state, since crude itch substance which he has already in his body as an idem is without effect on him. But the dynamization or potentizing changes it and modifies it; just as gold leaf after potentizing is no more crude gold leaf inert in the human body, but in every stage of dynamization it is more and more modified and changed.
Thus potentized and modified also, the itch substance (Psorin) when taken is no more an idem (same) with the crude original itch substance, but only a simillimum (thing most similar). For between IDEM and SIMILLIMUM there is no intermediate for any one that can think; or in other words between idem and simlie only simillimum can be intermediate. Isopathic and oequale are equivocal expressions, which if they should signify anything reliable can only signify simillimum, because they are not idem."

Chronic Diseases vol. I, p 152
Latest edition by Hahnemann1838
Trans Tafel

"There are those who would like to create a third application of medicines against disease, through isopathy as it is called, namely, the cure of a present disease with the same miasm. But even granted that one could do this (since the miasm administered to the patient would be highly potentized and consequently changed) isopathy would nevertheless only produce a cure through a simillimum opposed ot the simillimo. But this wanting to cure through the an entirely identical disease potence (per idem) contradicts all healthy common sense, and therefore also all experience. Those who first broached the subject of so-called isopathy presumably had hovering before them the benefit which humanity received through cowpox inoculation. Those who were inoculated remained free from all future smallpox infection and were cured of the disease in advance, as it were. But cowpox and smallpox are only very similar; they are in no way entirely the same disease. They differ from one another in many respects, namely in that cowpox has a more rapid course and is gentler, and especially in that cowpox never infects the human being through proximity. Widespread inoculation with cowpox so effectively put an end to all epidemics of the deadly, terrible smallpox that the present generation has no vivid conception of that former horrible smallpox-plague. In this way, to be sure, certain other animal diseases will present us with medicinal and curative potences for very similar, important human disease, happily supplementing our stock of homoeopathic medicines. But wanting to cure a human disease (e.g., The itch diathesis or maladies arisen therefrom) with an identical human disease matter (e.g., With a psoricum taken from the itch diathesis) is going too far! Nothing results from it but calamity and aggravation of the disease."

Organon para. 56 footnote
Latest edition by Hahnemann though to be 1842
Trans Decker

[ 05 May 2002, 23:47: Message edited by: Anna Bryant ]