§ 78 Fifth Edition
The true natural chronic diseases are those that
arise from a chronic miasm, which when left to themselves, and unchecked by the
employment of those remedies that are specific for them, always go on increasing
and growing worse, notwithstanding the best mental and corporeal regimen, and
torment the patient to the end of his life with ever aggravated sufferings.
These are the most numerous and greatest scourges of the human race; for the
most robust constitution, the best regulated mode of living and the most
vigorous energy of the vital force are insufficient for their eradication.
§ 78 Sixth Edition
The true natural chronic diseases are those that arise from a chronic miasm, which when left to themselves, and unchecked by the employment of those remedies that are specific for them, always go on increasing and growing worse, notwithstanding the best mental and corporeal regimen, and torment the patient to the end of his life with ever aggravated sufferings. These, excepting those produced by medical malpractice (§ 74), are the most numerous and greatest scourges of the human race; for the most robust constitution, the best regulated mode of living and the most vigorous energy of the vital force are insufficient for their eradication.
11 During the flourishing years of youth and with the commencement of regular menstruation joined to a mode of life beneficial to soul, heart and body, they remain unrecognized for years. Those afflicted appeal in perfect health to their relatives and acquaintances and the disease that was received by infection or inheritance seems to have wholly disappeared. But in later years, after adverse events and conditions of life, they are sure to appear anew and develop the more rapidly and assume a more serious character in proportion as the vital principle has become disturbed by debilitating passions, worry and care, but especially when disordered by inappropriate medicinal treatment.
Commentary: refer definition of chronic
disease
Hitherto syphilis alone has been to some extent known as such a chronic miasmatic disease, which when uncured ceases only with the termination of life. Sycosis (the condylomatous disease), equally ineradicable by the vital force without proper medicinal treatment, was not recognized as a chronic miasmatic disease of a peculiar character, which it nevertheless undoubtedly is, and physicians imagined they had cured it when they had destroyed the growths upon the skin, but the persisting dyscrasia occasioned by it escaped their observation.
Commentary: Lets define what is miasm.
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An energetic state which predisposes the organism to future illness, often due to the subtle effects of a particular toxic agent or noxious micro-organism. or |
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Miasm is an attributes in an individual that forms the seed of chronic disease. such attributes that forms the seed of chronic disease are mainly three types- psora, syphilis and sycosis |
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Miasm is a physiopsychological trait in an individual that is a source of all chronic disease. |
Incalculably greater and more important than the two chronic miasms just named, however, is the chronic miasm of psora, which, while those two reveal their specific internal dyscrasia, the one by the venereal chancre, the other by the cauliflower-like growths, does also, after the completion of the internal infection of the whole organism, announce by a peculiar cutaneous eruption, sometimes consisting only of a few vesicles accompanied by intolerable voluptuous tickling itching (and a peculiar odor), the monstrous internal chronic miasm - the psora, the only real fundamental cause and producer of all the other numerous, I may say innumerable, forms of disease1, which, under the names of nervous debility, hysteria, hypochondriasis, mania, melancholia, imbecility, madness, epilepsy and convulsions of all sorts, softening of the bones (rachitis), scoliosis and cyphosis, caries, cancer, fungus nematodes, neoplasms, gout, haemorrhoids, jaundice, cyanosis, dropsy, amenorrhoea, haemorrhage from the stomach, nose, lungs, bladder and womb, of asthma and ulceration of the lungs, of impotence and barrenness, of megrim, deafness, cataract, amaurosis, urinary calculus, paralysis, defects of the senses and pains of thousands of kinds, etc., figure in systematic works on pathology as peculiar, independent diseases.
1 I spent twelve years in investigating the source of this incredibly large number of chronic affections, in ascertaining and collecting certain proofs of this great truth, which had remained unknown to all former or contemporary observers, and in discovering at the same time the principal (antipsoric) remedies, which collectively are nearly a match for this thousand-headed monster of disease in all its different developments and forms. I have published my observations on this subject in the book entitled The Chronic Diseases (4 vols., Dresden, Arnold. [2nd edit., Dusseldorf, Schaub.]) before I had obtained this knowledge I could only treat the whole number of chronic diseases as isolated, individual maladies, with those medicinal substances whose pure effects had been tested on healthy persons up to that period, so that every case of chronic disease was treated by my disciples according to the group of symptoms it presented, just like an idiopathic disease, and it was often so for cured that sick mankind rejoiced at the extensive remedial treasures already amassed by the new healing art. How much greater cause is there now for rejoicing that the desired goal has been so much more nearly attained, inasmuch as the recently discovered and far more specific homœopathic remedies for chronic affections arising from psora (properly termed antipsoric remedies) and the special instructions for their preparation and employment have been published; and from among them the true physician can now select for his curative agents those whose medicinal symptoms correspond in the most similar (homœopathic) manner to the chronic disease he has to cure; and thus, by the employment of (antipsoric) medicines more suitable for this miasm, he is enabled to render more essential service and almost invariably to effect a perfect cure.
Commentary:
Lets define psora
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According to Hahnemann, Psora is the original miasm or familial disposition that is shared by most of humanity. |
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Psora is considered the earliest miasm affecting human race, and is the most fundamental underlying layer of weakness upon which other miasm have been subsequently built. |
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Psora is the only true disease, while
all the so called diseases such as nervous debility, hysteria,
hypochondriasis, mania,
melancholia, imbecility, madness, epilepsy and convulsions of all sorts,
softening of the bones (rachitis), scoliosis and cyphosis, caries,
cancer, fungus nematodes, neoplasms, gout, haemorrhoids, jaundice, cyanosis,
dropsy, amenorrhoea, haemorrhage from the stomach, nose, lungs, bladder and
womb, of asthma and ulceration of the lungs, of impotence and barrenness, of
megrim, deafness, cataract, amaurosis, urinary calculus, paralysis, defects of
the senses and pains of thousands of kinds, etc having different shapes and
names are expression of psora. |
illustration of psora.
A patient come to you with headache. You prescribe a suitable remedy to that case, say belladona based on totality. The man comes to you after few days and complaints that his headache is relieved only for few days and you give him the same medicine. The man feel relief this time too, but not as quickly as the first. He again returns to you after couple of weeks or so of the last dose, and complains of the same headache. Since you find the symptoms exactly the same as at the first and second instances, you will therefore give the indicated remedy. But there is no relief. There is a relapse each time. You can see such relapses occur in many other disease. If you study the cases more closely, you will see that in some cases the headache disappears or is perhaps permanently relived by some medicine, but instead a colic comes. And colic is relieved, there is perhaps epilepsy. The tendency to catch cold is substituted by headache.
Now what can be the cause of their return so frequently and why these diseases not annihilated at all even by the well selected homoeopathic remedy, which gives such prompt relief at first or second attack? These questions will lead you to suppose that diseases that have this very curious tendency of returning repeatedly and of not being removed even by the remedy indicated on the basis of laws of similiar, must not be very superficial things and must have their source deeper into the system. And deep acting medicines than have already been used will necessary for annihilating it. You will be astonished by other facts such as
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how is that one catches cold so easily, while others do not in the same circumstances. |
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how is that some who are better form cold, instead of catching it? |
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some get headache when over exerted and others are least affected by overexertion. |
How will you explain all these. You will be tempted to say it is the difference in nature of these different persons that explains the difference in the affection of the one in one way and of the other in another ,though the cause is same. It may lead you to question, why should there be a difference in nature?
These must direct you to think that there must be some very deep acting cause behind this tendency of one disease disappearing and making room for another or recurrence of the same disease again and again. In fact ,it will be apparent to you that these apparently different diseases cold, headache, colic ,insanity are only different manifestation of the same thing. This Hahnemann called psora.
There are three factors within which miasms are embedded.
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passive thinking |
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active thinking |
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action. |
I BRING TO YOU THREE PROPOSITION REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THREE MIASM - PSORA, SYPHILIS AND SYCOSIS
1ST PROPOSITION (HEALTHY MIND SO HEALTHY BODY)
(First comes an idea (passive thinking) about some thing then comes thinking (active thinking) and last of all action)
God gave us the way to be good. But gave free will and action. So long as man lived according to law of nature he is in perfect health.
PROPOSITION II (DEVELOPMENT OF PSORA).
As soon as he exercised the power of free will, with which he was gifted, and willed against the law of nature, the trouble began. Example god willed man to love his neighbour but instead he began to hate his neighbour. Evil thinking caused commotion in mind. Yet , it was evil thinking only, ie this condition of mind was yet a condition of mind only and was not expressed in active desire. But any passive condition of mind is bound to be followed by active condition. The passive hatred gradually developed into actual hatred and then came action. Now, passive thinking even if it is evil is harmless, because in it element to do is deficient, but active thinking in which there is a element of "doing" according to thinking is the beginning of harm. This active thinking ,this mental endeavour of doing ,is a kind of mental itching and this is "psora"
There are two types of psora - latent psora and physical manifestation
LATENT PSORA
This "psora" was in yet the mind i.e. it was yet a condition of mind and not expressed in the body. In the mind smoothness that was present before is now substituted by commotion as it is opposed to law of nature (of god). The FIRST EVIL THINKING MODIFIED THE MIND AND GAVE IT A COMMOTION (ITCHING) WAS THE LATENT PSORA.
PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF PSORA.
But this condition of mind cannot be confined to the mind alone, because mind will gradually influence the body. Thought will be expressed in physical body. Example: if you are angry with some one it will be reflected in face. So, in the same way, the condition of the mind ,which was a condition of itching, as it were, gradually came to be expressed in physical body in shape of itches. THIS WAS THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF PSORA. Psora is not an itch but it is cause of an itch. psora makes itch possible.
PROPOSITION III (DEVELOPMENT OF SYPHILIS AND SYCOSIS)
Now mind means thinking, feeling and willing;
and mind were affected means all the three were affected. Action is always in
accordance with the mind. As the mind thinks so will be the action. Mind
affected with evil, lead to evil action. Psora having demoralised the mind,
the action was also corrupted and evil and this evil
action brought other two disease-namely syphilis and sycosis.
PSORA WAS THE RESULT OF EVIL THINKING, AND SYCOSIS AND SYPHILIS WERE THE RESULTS OF EVIL DOING. It therefore, follows that without psora there could have been no sycosis or syphilis because without thinking there could have been no action. Thus without psora there could have been no disease at all.