the practice of Orthodox system of medicine. Once he wrote to his friend" I have been putting drugs of which I know little into bodies of which I know less; so I can but renounce the practice of medicine that I no longer incur the risk of doing injury".
|
|
 |
He was a genius having the knowledge of 14 languages and an authority in subjects like Chemistry, Philosophy, Pharmacy etc. So he engaged in translating books from different languages to German for his livelihood. While translating Cullen's Materia Medica from English to German language, he came upon the remarks of Cullen about the ague- curing property of Cinchona-bark and his explanation of the modus operendi of that drug i.e., by virtue of bitterness, the drug cured the malaria. This explanation did not satisfy Hahnemann. There were plenty of bitter drugs known to him but they did not have the ability to cure malaria. So he decided to test the action of Cinchona-bark on his own body. After talking a few doses of the decotion (tincture) made out of the bark he developed symptoms similar to malarial fever. |
He realized the power of producing malaria like symptoms in healthy bodies. After this he proved and reproved several other drugs and confirmed the fact that a drug that can cure a disease has the property of producing similar symptoms in a healthy man. He explained this natures law of cure as "Let likes be treated by likes " or " Similia Similibus Curentur". Thus Homoeopathy was born when Hahnemann published an article in Hufeland's journal under the title " An Essay on a New principle for Ascertaining the Curative powers Drugs ". He then conducted years of experiments and study and the complete systemization of the principles and practice of Homoeopathic art of healing was effected with the publication of Hahnemann's Organon of medicine in 1810. |
|
|