Clemens Maria Franz von Bönninghausen

A Reproof : Smelling of Medicines

Among the more causeless defamations of the founder of the homoeopathic school, which we read in the Hygea, is an attack by Dr. Griesselich found in the third volume (pp. 256 and 257), entitled "Contribution to the History of Smelling Medicines." He there protests against the "authorship" of the discovery, assigned to him by Hahnemann, that smelling of the highly potentized Mercury may incline the vital force which has become diseased by abuse of Sulphur, so as to again admit a benificent effect of Sulphur upon it. Not only this, but he says in conclusion: "I was with Hahnemann in the last days of April, 1832, and that the preface alluded to is dated only a few days later, was the more surprising, as it was impossible that he should have the time in these few days to verify my enormous discovery."

Little is to be said against this statement as here laid down, and there is not the least doubt that Dr. Griesselich has a perfect right to decline the honor of this discovery, since I am assured by very creditable men, whose names, if necessary, I can give, that he devotes himself so little to practice that it is difficult in Karlruhe to find out his place of residence, so that he must be devoting his time especially to theoretical studies.

But, in order to present history in its true light, I must add the following, and I feel myself the more called upon to the truth, as I alone am able to indicate the exact circumstances, though I am fully resolved not to answer in future any attack made upon myself personally.

The remarks made in the appendix to the preface to the letter of Hahnemann of August, 1832 (following p. 24), that this is the third matter inserted, and that it was impossible for him to communicate to the world anything of which he was not convinced, would have caused any unprejudiced person to entertain the supposition, that this smelling of Mercurius to cure the abuse of Sulphur, was among the matters inserted later. And that this is really the case the writer of this article can prove from the original documents, which have been preserved; and this is actually the second point inserted, sent in by Hahnemann on June 15, 1832. In the preface dated May 6, 1832, there is as yet not a syllable about smelling of Mercurius, nor in the first matter inserted, which speaks of the use of Sulphur in psoric patients suffering from intermittent fever, and which is dated May 28. Not before June 15, 1832, had sufficient time elapsed to verify the observation as it now stands, and not before that time was it sent in by Hahnemann for publication.

But as these facts could not be definitely known to Dr. Griesselich I do not want to state this as a reproach to him, but only in order to wipe out the undeserved stain that he has thrown on the power of observation and the love of truth of Hahnemann. But what ought to have moved him not so easily to charge this honorable old gentleman with credulity, in contradiction to the extract published above from the letter of Hahnemann of August 21, 1832, is the fact that in the second edition of the year 1833, which had been enlarged by the addition of many remedies, the preface written by Hahnemann was, indeed, wholly rewritten, but that passage was preserved verbatim, and this has given to it a very important confirmation. We cannot, therefore, well see what his phrase about "discoveries which are unconfirmed" can mean, especially as the correctness of that observation has surely been recognized in numerous cases by all good homoeopaths, who only allow their patients to smell the Mercurius in cases where it corresponds with the Sulphur symptoms, as is very often the case; while in other cases they take their refuge to other remedies (as the honorable editors of the Archiv will testify *) although Dr. Griesselich, in case he should have tried it, may have been as unsuccessful with it as in the case of Silicea 30 (according to his own confession in Hygea III, 17,) which, to be sure, is not suitable in all cases where merely the scholastic, pathological name of the disease may point to it.

Münster, January 17, 1838