Materia Medica Pura (Set of 2 Volumes)

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The Materia Medica Pura, is the master piece of the master, Dr Samuel Hahnemann. It is the store house of all the symptoms produced during provings conducted by Dr Hahnemann. He conducted provings on himself and on his disciples and patients. The symptoms are written in the very own language of the patient without any modification; so it will serve to narrow down the correct interpretation of the symptoms. It is a vast and exhaustive literary work of Dr Hahnemann. The new materia medica that developed subsequently, were originated from this marvelous work of Dr Hahnemann. The medicines are arranged in alphabetical order. When carefully studied, it will help in increasing the knowledge and wisdom of the students as well as practitioners.

Samuel Hahnemann, founder of the homoeopathic system of medicine was a thorough master of different languages like German, French, English, Italian, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Syrian, Chaldaic and Hebrew. His medical studies were pursued in the famous centres of learning in Europe. He graduated in medicine with special honours at Erlangen in the year 1779. He was a member of various scientific societies in Leipsic and other cities and was highly honoured for his researches in chemistry. The last years of Hahnemann's life were spent in Paris, where he was received with every mark of respect and honour and where his great ability was recognised by an enormous clientage.

THE Materia Medica Pura as left to us by HAHNEMANN consists of six volumes, two of which, viz., Vols. I and II, had reached a third edition, while the remainder did not get beyond the second.

The dates of the publication of these volumes are as follows:- Vol. I, 1830; Vol. II. 1833; Vols. III and IV, 1825: Vol. V. 1826: Vol. VI, 1827. In the earlier editions the pathogeneses of the various medicines are not arranged in the same way as they are in the latest first Thus, in the former, HAHNEMANN'S and by own observations are put themselves and separately numbered; the symptoms observed by his disciples under his superintendence, and those derived from the work of other observers, being arranged together in a different list, and specially numbered.

In the third edition, to which only the first two volumes attained. the arrangement is different. Here all the symptoms of each medicine, whether observed by HAHNEMANN himself or his disciples, or taken from old-school authorities are combined in one schema and numbered continuously; HAHNEMANN S own observations being distinguished by having no name or sign attached, while those of his pupils are indicated by an abbreviation of the name of each appended to their respective observations. The authorities of the old son symptoms for which they are responsible. are named after the

Another peculiarity in the work as it has been left to us is, that the medicines are not arranged alphabetically. Each volume contains a varying number of medicines, arranged alphabetically according to their common German names, but there is no attempt to maintain the alphabetical arrangement in respect to the whole work.

In making a translation the work might be presented to the English reader exactly as we have it, i. e. each separate volume given with its own peculiar arrangement of symptoms, the medicines of each being only arranged alphabetically according to their English and Latin names. This would give six volumes of various sizes and with their contents differently arranged. It would reproduce the work as it exists in the German original, but it would, like that, be difficult to use as a book of reference; and if the minor details of the German work were also preserved it would involve a considerable additional amount of printing without any advantage therefrom.

Though some were of opinion that the work should be presented to the English reader in the above form. it appeared to the translator that it would be paying but a poor compliment to HAHNEMANN to neglect to bring the volumes of the second edition into conformity with the perfected arrangement of those he brought out in a third.

**Contents and Sample Pages**