Additions to Classical Materia Medica (An Old and Rare Book)

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The most complete records of provings and clinical symptoms available in print are TF Allen’s The Encyclopaedia of Pure Materia Medica (12 volumes) and C Hering’s The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica (10 volumes) published first in 1874 and 1879 respectively. Later Dr. JH Clarke published A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica (3 volumes) in 1900.

Then on there is a yawning gap and no comparable records of provings and clinical symptoms came up because of many reasons, until Dr. O A Julian brought out his Materia Medica of New Homoeopathic Remedies (1971) in French which was later translated into English. There is also of course a publication of New Provings by James Stephenson prior to Julian’s. Even now, we do not have a complete record of the provings being carried out in different parts of the world, published sporadically and lying scattered in journals. The need for compilation of all hither- to available reliable symptoms into one place is quite obvious.

During my re-reading of some of the old records of books and journals | came across additional material of value in respect of four remedies by Clarke and one by Hahnemann himself, which to the best of my knowledge have not so far been published in book form. Dr. Clarke had collected this material subsequent to the publication of his Dictionary and published them in the "Homoeopathic World" ;which were reprinted in the "Homoeopathic Recorder’. These are:

1. Antimonium tartaricum
2. Antimonium sulphuratum aureum
3. Antimonium oxydatum
4. Antimonium natrum lacticum

To these four by Dr. Clarke is added "Some Notes on Badiaga and Therapeutic Hints" of Hahnemann as 5th.

Attentive study of these would reveal the valuable gems in them, useful in day-to-day practice. The therapeutic range of Ant-t., has become so wide, not just the ‘rattlings’, ‘asphyxia’, but Jaundice, Kala azar, sunstroke etc. It is also interesting that while Dr. H A Roberts and Dr. James Ward have included some symptoms in their ‘Sensations As If’, not all of the symptoms seem to have been included. In the Synthetic Repertory I have not found some of the symptoms; for example "MIND, Despairs of recovery"; "Unusual wild gaiety, towards evening"; both of which Clarke has given in italics; also "child clings to nurse and calls for help with cough".

With regard to Hahnemann’s observations and his Notes on Badiaga need anyone say that they are pure gold?

**Contents and Sample Pages**