THERAPEUTICAL EFFECTS OF MEDICINES. 45

suatn,” and at each attenuation to shake it twice —“ bis, brachio quidembis moto, concute." (See Dr. Quin’s “ Pharmacopeia HomceopathicaP)

The principal facts to be urged against this doctrine may be reduced tofour lie ads:—

1st. Some of our best and most certain medicines cannot be regardedas homoeopathic : thus sulphur is incapable of producing scabies, thoughHahnemann asserts it produces an eruption analogous to it. Andral tookquinia in the requisite quantity, but without acquiring intermittent fever;yet no person can doubt the fact of the great benefit frequently derived fromthe employment of this agent in ague; the paroxysms cease, and thepatient seems cured. “ But,” says Hahnemann, “ are the poor patientsreally cured in these cases ?” All that can be said is, that they seem tobe so ; but it would appear, according to this homoeopath, that our pa-tients do not know when they are well. We are also told, that wheneveran intermittent resembles the effects of cinchona, then, and not till then,can we expect a cure. I am afraid if this were true, very few aguescould be cured. Acids and vegetable diet cure scurvy, but I never heardof these means causing a disease analogous to it.

2(lly. In many cases homoeopathic remedies would only increase theoriginal disease. Only contemplate the evils likely to arise from theexhibition of acrid substances in gastritis, or of cantliarides in inflam-mation of the bladder, or of mercury in spontaneous salivation.

3dly. The doses in which these agents are exhibited are so exceed-ingly small, that it is difficult to believe they can produce any effect onthe system, and, therefore, we may infer that the supposed homoeopathiccures are referrible to a natural and spontaneous cure. What effect canbe expected from one or two decillionth parts of a drop of laudanum ?Hahnemann says it is foolish to doubt the possibility of that which reallyoccurs; and adds, that the sceptics do not consider the rubbing andshaking bestowed upon the homoeopathic preparation, by which it ac-quires a wonderful developement of power !

4thly. Homoeopathia has been fairly put to the test of experiment bysome of the members of the Acadtmie de Medecine, and the result was afailure. Andral tried the system on 130 or 140 patients, in the presenceof the homoeopaths themselves, adopting every requisite care and precau-tion, yet in not one instance w r as he successful. (See Medical Gazette,vol. xv. p. 922.)

3. Allopathia (from "AXXoe, another, and IlaOoc, a disease ). The allopa-thic (called also by Hahnemann heteropathic) method consists in theemploying medicines which give rise to phenomena altogether differentor foreign (neither similar nor exactly opposite) to those of the disease.

Under this head is included that mode of cure effected by what iscalled Counter-irritation; that is, the production of an artificial or secon-dary disease, in order to relieve another or primary one. It is a methodof treatment derived from observation of the influence which maladiesmutually exert over each other. For example, it has been frequentlynoticed, if a diarrhoea come on during the progress of some internal dis-eases, the latter are often ameliorated, or perhaps they rapidly disappear,apparently in consequence of the secondary affection. The result ofobservations of this kind would naturally be the employment of alvineevacuants in other analogous cases where diarrhoea did not spontaneouslytake place: and this practice is frequently attended with beneficial