CLARKE JH, Homoeopathy Explained - Classical Homeopathy Online

acute and chronic diseases, from paragraph 72 of his Organon :
“The diseases to which man is liable are either rapid morbid processes of the abnormally
deranged vital force, which have a tendency to finish their course more or less quickly,
but always in a moderate time – these are termed acute diseases; or, they are diseases of
such a character that, with small, often imperceptible beginnings, dynamically derange
the living organism, each in its own peculiar manner, and cause it to deviate from the
healthy condition in such a way that the automatic life energy, called vital force, whose
office it is to preserve the health, only opposes to them, at the commencement and during
their progress, imperfect, unsuitable, useless resistance, but is unable of itself to
extinguish them, but must helplessly suffer (them to spread and) itself to be more and
more abnormally deranged, until at length the organism is destroyed; these are termed
chronic diseases. They are caused by infection from a chronic miasm.”
By “miasm’ Hahnemann means an infectious principle, which when taken into the
organism, may set up a specific disease. According to Hahnemann, there were not only
miasms acute diseases, like the infectious principle of scarlatina, for example, but also of
chronic diseases. Among the latter he recognised three – syphilis, sycosis and psora. The
first is the lues venerea, which is recognised by all schools alike. The second is allied to
this, but is distinguished by the production of characteristic warty growths. The third is a
discovery of Hahnemann’s about which there has been the greatest misconception.
Before giving an account of what Hahnemann meant by “psora”, I will give a familiar
instance of a chronic miasm – the disease set up by vaccination. Vaccinia or “Cow-pox”,
as the late Dr. Matthews Duncan pointed out, is extremely analogous to syphilis in many
of its characters, and not the least in the appearance of secondary disorders after the
primary illness is over. The course of the disease is well known. The virus having been
introduced through an abrasion of the skin, in about a week inflammation occurs at the
spot. Then there appears first a vesicle, then a pustule, then a scab, and finally a scar
when the scab drops off. During the time that this series of events is occurring,
constitutional symptoms manifest themselves, chiefly in the form of fever and undefined
malaise. When the healing has taken place, there may be nothing more occur. The
organism may have reacted perfectly and discharged the miasm. But this is not often the
case. The diminished susceptibility to small-pox infection shows a change of a deep
constitutional character. This constitutional change has been named “vaccinosis” by
Burnett, and, as I can attest, is the parent of much chronic illness. Often skin eruptions
occur, lasting for years, or various other kinds of ill-health, lasting, it may be, as long as
life lasts, and not seldom shortening life. When such a series of disorders occurs, it is not
(according to Hahnemann’s doctrine, though he did not use this illustration) a succession
of new diseases, but different evolutions of one and the same disease, the “miasm” of
vaccinia producing the chronic malady, vaccinosis.
In the early years of his homoeopathic practice Hahnemann noticed that in certain cases
the remedies he gave only produced temporary benefit. In these cases he found that the
homoeopathicity of the remedies given was not complete. There was some factor in the
case which had not been matched. It became apparent to him, then, that he had not only
to take account of the malady from which the patients were then suffering, but also of
previous and apparently different maladies. And he found that remedies which
corresponded, in their action, to the whole course of the pathological life of a patient
were needed for a cure; and through his provings he discovered what these deeply acting