Hahnemann & Others On The Succussion
of Medicinal Fluids, etc.
[Originally requested by Phyl Eyre of the South Downs School of Homeopathy, UK]
by Peter Morrell
Dream of Egypt, 1995 – Peter Morrell
His keen interest for chemistry and pharmacy, completely
underestimated by so many of his colleagues, became of great service to Hahnemann in
his later work. [Haehl, vol. 1, pp.268-9]
Homeopathic remedies are not only diluted but also succussed. As the
physical nature of homeopathic remedies is still unknown, so the precise role which
succussion plays in the process is a mystery. The origin of succussion as a process also
remains obscure.
It has been mentioned before that the idea for first using
succussion was based upon the jostling of medicinal liquids in bottles when riding on
horseback. In the past this idea has been derided and dismissed. But it might in truth have
some small basis in fact. Quite inadvertently, while looking for something else entirely, I
chanced upon the following about succussion:
In the Organon, however, he stated that trituration and succussion
release the spirit-like power of the medicine – which is compatible with his
assumption that medicines act through their spiritual (geistlich) or dynamic impact upon
the organism [321, d]. [Coulter, vol. 2, p.403]d. For this reason Hahnemann warned against shipping the liquid
remedies over long distances, since they receive an enormous number of additional
succussions during the transport, and they are so highly potentized during a long
journey that on their arrival they are scarcely fit for use, at least not for
susceptible patients, on account of their excessive strength, as many observations go to
prove (Lesser Writings, 736 *) Fortunately for suffering humanity, the dry pills were
not affected in this way (ibid., 766 **)Note 321. Hahnemann, Organon, Sec. 269, 270.
* It is only in this form [i.e. dry pills] that the homeopathic
medicines can be sent to the most distant parts, without any alteration of their powers,
which is impossible to be done in their fluid form; for in that case the medicinal
fluid, which has already been sufficiently potentized during the preparation (by two
succussions at each dilution), receives an enormous number of additional succussions
during the transport, and they are so highly potentized during a long journey, that on
their arrival they are scarcely fit for use… &c, as stated by Coulter above.
[Lesser Writings, pp.735-6]** The supposition of our author that dry globules that have been
impregnated with a certain degree of development of power can be further dynamized and
their medicinal power increased in their bottles by shaking, or carrying in the pocket,
like medicinal fluids further shaken, is not borne out by any fact and will appear to me
incredible until it is supported by proper experimental proofs. [Hahnemann, Lesser
Writings, p.766]
Stuart Close says this about potentisation:
Under certain conditions he found, perhaps to his surprise, that
instead of weakening the drug he was actually increasing its curative power. In reducing
the density of the mass he perceived that he was setting free powers previously latent,
and that these powers were the greatest and most efficient for their therapeutic
purposes… [Close, 1924, The Genius of Homeopathy, p.216]
Furthermore, in his last years in Paris, Hahnemann frequently
instructed patients to shake their liquid doses in the bottle before their daily dose, thus
enhancing or re-invigorating their medicinal power. Or to stir vigorously with a spoon in
the glass.
He…[advised] …that the liquid medicine, having been made up,
should be slightly succussed between each dose… [Handley, 1997, In Search of the
Later Hahnemann, p.131]Only very occasionally is a succussion of the container of the
liquid specified…this appears to be a succussion of the stock bottle, or main
container, rather than of an intermediate glass. [ibid., p.131]…it was stated that he should…shake the glass of water ten
times and then put the contents into another glass, taking a teaspoonful from there
mornings and evenings…one teaspoonful from this was to be put into a glass of water,
this was to be shaken well…the glasses of water were to be thrown away each evening.
[Handley, p.133]
In an essay titled Hahnemanns Doses of Medicines,
dated 1844, and published in his Lesser Writings, Boenninghausen gives us Dr.
Croserios account:
Hahnemann at all times used only the well known small
pellets…moistened with the 30th dilution…he would dissolve one or at most two in
eight to fifteen tablespoons of water and a half or whole tablespoonful of French
brandy in a bottle and thoroughly shake it up. Only one tablespoon of this solution
was put in a tumblerful of water, and of this latter the patient would take only a
coffeespoonful until he observed some action. [Boenninghausen, p.212]From correspondence with Boenninghausen and conversations with
Everest, it is clear that in the final years of his life, Hahnemann considerably
diverged from his earlier methods of dilution. [Haehl, vol.1, p.325]
A similar account is given in Handley, 1997.
He never prescribed two different remedies, to be used in
alternation or one after the other…[ibid., p.213]
But Handley says he sometimes did, especially by olfaction.
Hahnemann in the last years of his practice seemed to devote
his whole dexterity to continually diminish the doses of his medicines. On this
account he in the last years frequently contented himself to allow his patients to
smell of the medicine…in chronic diseases he would in no case allow the patient to
smell at the medicine oftener than once a week, and would give nothing but sugar of
milk besides…by your constant correspondence you have had abundant opportunity to
appreciate his rare powers of observation… [ibid., p.213]
Most of this is already well known.
…he potentized in the last years all his medicines with many,
at least with 25 strokes. [ibid., p.215]But with time there emerges ever more clearly the view that, by
shaking and trituration, a uniform mixing, dilution and weakening of the medicinal
substance is not all that is achieved; on the contrary, the material part of the
medicine is thereby more and more eradicated and as a consequence the spiritual part
of the medicine (not perceptible to human faculties) is released and extraordinarily
increased. This is dynamization…be possible to increase the power by succussion; the
more the medicine is succussed when prepared, the stronger its effect… [Haehl,
1922, vol.1, p.324]…in regard to the most appropriate number of succussions he
altered his opinion repeatedly within a few years. [ibid., p.326]
As usual, Dudgeon makes some very informative, but also some very
critical remarks about succussion:
By trituration and succussion, he says, the medicinal power of
medicines may be increased almost to an infinite degree. Hence we are warned against
succussing our succussive dilutions over-much. [Dudgeon, p.346]So fearful is he of increasing the medicinal potency of a
medicine by shaking it too much, that he earnestly deprecates the practice of carrying
about medicines in the liquid state, as the mere shaking of walking or driving will,
he alleges, increase their potency to a dangerous extent. [ibid., p.347]Whilst in the earlier periods of the growth of his system he
merely tells us to shake the bottle, to shake it strongly – to shake it for a minute
or longer – he afterwards tells us that much shaking increases the power of the
medicine to a dangerous extent, and therefore only two shakes must be used for each
dilution. Latterly, however, he again loses his dread of shaking, and after once more
appointing ten shakes for each dilution as the standard, he becomes more liberal and
allows twenty, fifty, or more shakes, and half a dozen shakes to the bottle before
each dose of the medicinal solution. Again, whereas in one place he says that the
shaking is the only agent in the dynamization…in another he alleges that dilution is
essential to the dynamizing effect of succussion, and that all the rubbing and shaking
in the world will not dynamize an undiluted substance. [ibid., pp.349-50]
All these quotations also illustrate the manner in which Hahnemann
believed that succussion was more important in creating potency than mere dilution. He
seemed to believe that by violent shaking some subtle medicinal power, derived from the
kinetic energy of shaking, was imparted into the liquid. And it was this subtle force which
he believed to be the true healing power of the remedy. But nowhere have I been able to find
any reference to the beating of the human heart as the original inspiration for the
succussion process. And which was the original question I was asked to investigate by Phyl
Eyre back in October 1998.
Sources:
Bradford, Thomas L, Boenninghaussen, The Lesser Writings, Jain
Close, 1924, The Genius of Homeopathy, Lectures and Essays on Homeopathic Philosophy
Coulter, Harris, L, Divided Legacy A History of the Schism in Medical Thought, Washington,
1975
Dudgeon, Robert Ellis, 1853, Lectures On the Theory and Practice of Homeopathy
Haehl, Richard, 1922, Samuel Hahnemann His Life and Works
Handley, Rima, In Search of The Later Hahnemann, Beaconsfield, UK, 1997