Preface – Pathogénésies de l’an 1900 – Robert Séror

Pathogénésies de l’an 1900

New, Old And Forgotten Remedies

By Edward
Pollock Anshutz

Presented
by Dr Robert Séror

Preface

New, old and forgotten
remedies.

Papers by many writers.

Collected,
arranged and edited by Dr Edward
Pollock ANSHUTZ.

Autor of “Elements of Homœopathic Theory, Materia
Medica, Practice and Parmacy”, “Guide to the twelve Tissue
Remedies,” etc.

Dr Edward Pollock
ANSHUTZ

Preface to the first
edition.

During the many years that the compiler has had the management of the
publishing department of Messrs. Boericke & Tafel -long to look back
over, yet short to live so many inquiries came in for
“literature” or in the form, “where can I find something
about” this, that, or the other remedy, that finally I became
convinced that there might be a niche in the great world’s already
over-crowded library for a book containing, in part, at least, the
information desired by my numerous correspondents.

This determined, and the great publishing house willing to back the
enterprise, came the task of collecting the material. The work once
begun, it was soon found that it is much easier to plan such a volume
than to carry out the plan, for it involved no inconsiderable amount of
delving in dusty piles of old journals to discover the sought for
matter, which, when brought to light, had to be scanned closely to
determinate whether it was of a nature to justify this literary
resurrection.

However, in the old hours of time that could be bestowed the work was
finally completed and the result is before you, kindly reader.

That this collection of papers has many gems is, I believe, not to be
questioned ; that some better papers on the remedies than those
herein presented may exist is also probable ; that it may contain
some that are of doubtful value is not to be denied, and even some that
have no right in such a book may have crept in. But what it is, it
is ; take the good and, in the current phrase of the hour,
“forget” the rest.

The part borne by the editor, beyond delving for and selecting the
remedies, will be found scattered through the book in bracketed small
type, and consists simply in announcing who the writer of the paper was
and where it may be found ; no attempt has been made at editing any
of the papers, or commenting on them, beyond, a little cutting out of a
little verbosity here and there, or of matter not bearing on the use of
the remedy.

The material was drawn from journals of all “schools,”
wherever a paper could be found that seemed to contain something not to
be found in medical book literature, and to be honestly written.

The new remedies of the laboratory have been purposely ignored
because they do not come in the scheme of this book they having a
literature of their own that, not infrequently, may be had “free on
request” to the laboratories. Only remedies (with a few exceptions)
such as nature gives us are included in this work.

And now the task completed naught remains but for the compiler to
subscribe himself,

Edward Pollock Anshutz

1011 Arch St.,
Philadelphia, January 2, 1900.

*********************

Preface to second
edition.

The first edition of “New Remedies,” by Dr. Edwin M.

Hale, was published by Lodge, of Detroit in the
year 1864. The fifth edition was published
by the Hahnemann Publishing House, F. E. Boericke, in 1886. Many of Hale’s
“New Remedies” fell by the wayside but some of them have
become polychrests, not only with the homœopaths but with the other
schools of medicine.

Possibly if

Hale had not collected the data of
these remedies they would have been lost to the world-buried in the
bound volumes of journals in which they were published, and both remedy
and journal forgotten. Though one have the wisdom of Solomon or the
medical acumen of Hippocrates, it is lost to the world unless preserved
in books, which, as Carlyle says, are “the true University of these
days.” Hale did a really great service to
medicine in collecting the work of often unknown practitioners and
preserving it in “the true University” -Books.

When

Hale passed on over the Great Divide,
his work, after a lapse of years, was taken up and carried on in
“New Old and Forgotten Remedies,” The first edition of which
appeared in the year 1900 and now here is the second edition being offered, after
the lapse of nearly seventeen years. To the best of the compiler’s
knowledge this new edition contains all the new remedies of value that
have appeared in the past seventeen years together with those contained
in the first edition, now sold out.

The value of these additions to our materia medica must be determined
by experience. Remember that even some of Hahnemann’s well proved
remedies are practically unknown today.

The “Test at the Bedside,” to quote Dudley’s apt phrase,
alone can determine the value of a new remedy. Among the new ones in
this edition will be found a number of drugs that were proved at the
different homœopathic colleges under modern conditions. These
accurately proved that remedies may become valuable additions to our
materia medica. In addition to these there are also numerous new or old
drugs brought out through clinical observations such as

Formic acid, Gunpowder, Calcarea
calcin, Platanus, Glycerine, Ichthyol, Indol, and others. These, also may
become very useful additions to the physician’s armamentarium.

While no repertory is attached a very thorough therapeutic and
clinical index has been made that will guide the physician who is
looking for a remedy in this new field. It covers a great range, from
flat warts to leprosy -and nearly everything between. This ought to help
out many a worried practitioner by guiding him to the sought-for remedy.
Also, possibly, it may tend to dispel in a measure the growing
therapeutic nihilism.

As this book will be useful to physicians other than homœopaths, it
may be well to add here a few explanations.

The signs in some of papers, as for instance > means
“diminishing,” while < stands for “increasing.”

The sign

1X applies chiefly to triturations
and means 1 part drug to 9 of sugar of milk or other vehicle. 2X stands for 1
part of 1X to 9 of the vehicle consequently denoting 1/100
and so on up.

The sign q indicates the tincture, full strength.

When the name of a remedy is followed by a figure, as Pothos

1, it means the first centesimal potency of
dilution. This stands for 1/100th drug strength. Each succeeding figure means
an increase by 100. The decimal scale indicated by x
increases by 10, the centesimal indicated by
figures only as 1, 3, 6, 30 and so on indicate increases by 100. In making these centesimal potencies each one
is subjected to twelve powerful strokes, the corked vial or bottle being
held in the fist. This process is said to develop the drug power, as
trituration does with insoluble substances, as for instance mercury.

In conclusion it can be said that whatever value this book may have
is a permanent value, for the action of drugs on the human system like
the law of the Medes and Persians “changeth not.”

Edward Pollock Anshutz,

Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 10, 1917.

Numérisation, vérification, illustrations,
restructuration et mise en page par le Dr. R. S.