ld slide through their fingers
without the slightest discomposure, when, as they supposed, they had
crushed every joint in its tortuous and trailing body.

3. I have said, that to show the truth of the Homoeopathic doctrine,
as announced by Hahnemann, it would be necessary to show, in the third
place, that remedies never cure diseases when they are not capable of
producing similar symptoms! The burden of this somewhat comprehensive
demonstration lying entirely upon the advocates of this doctrine, it may
be left to their mature reflections.

It entered into my original plan to treat of the doctrine relating to
Psora, or itch,--an almost insane conception, which I am glad to get rid
of, for this is a subject one does not care to handle without gloves. I
am saved this trouble, however, by finding that many of the disciples
of Hahnemann, those disciples the very gospel of whose faith stands upon
his word, make very light of his authority on this point, although he
himself says, "It has cost me twelve years of study and research to
trace out the source of this incredible number of chronic affections,
to discover this great truth, which remained concealed from all
my predecessors and contemporaries, to establish the basis of its
demonstration, and find out, at the same time, the curative medicines
that were fit to combat this hydra in all its different forms."

But, in the face of all this, the following remarks are made by Wolff,
of Dresden, whose essays, according to the editor of the "Homoeopathic
Examiner," "represent the opinions of a large majority of Homoeopathists
in Europe."

"It cannot be unknown to any one at all familiar with Homoeopathic
literature, that Hahnemann's idea of tracing the large majority of
chronic diseases to actual itch has met with the greatest opposition
from Homoeopathic physicians themselves." And again, "If the Psoric
theory has led to no proper schism, the reason is to be found in the
fact that it is almost without any influence in practice."

We are told by Jahr, that Dr. Griesselich, "Surgeon to the Grand Duke
of Baden," and a "distinguished" Homoeopathist, actually asked Hahnemann
for the proof that chronic diseases, such as dropsy, for instance, never
arise from any other cause than itch; and that, according to common
report, the venerable sage was highly incensed (fort courrouce) with
Dr. Hartmann, of Leipsic, another "distinguished" Homoeopathist, for
maintaining that they certainl