(The Magnet) Symptoms produced by touching either pole of the magnet, indiscriminately, or by laying the whole of the magnetic surface upon the body. The potencies have been prepared by triturating milk sugar which had been saturated when exposed to the emanations of the magnet, a method Hahnemann does not appear to have practiced.
The pathogenesis of the magnet as a whole, and of each pole separately, is from Hahnemann’s Materia Medica Pura. It is to the original provings and observations of Hahnemann that we owe these valuable remedies, and no better or more logical introduction perhaps can be given than he has furnished in the Materia Medica Pura:
To the ordinary, materialistic, and atomistic heads – and there is a vast number of such-it seemed not only paradoxical, but childish and incredible, that, according to the homoeopathic medical doctrine, the administration of doses of only very minute fractions of a grain of the more powerful medicines could be of use.
I grant that it may certainly be more convenient to regard all diseases as accumulations of gross impurities, and active drugs as rough levers and brooms, or as chemical reagents, consequently as palpable things. This may, I repeat, be more convenient than to regard those alterations of the being of living creatures (disease) as pure dynamical affections of the vital force, and medicines as pure, virtual, tone-altering powers, as they are in reality, and to set about curing according to these views.
If we do not adopt these true views, but adhere to those ordinary material ones, the curative powers of medicines must be estimated according to their bulk and the weight of their dose; and hence the scales must determine the efficacy of the dose. But in that case we must first ascertain the weight of the disease, in order to be able to reckon whether a disease weighing so many pounds (it has, indeed, been hitherto not unusual to employ the phrase “grave illness”) could be pried out, as with a lever, by such a weight of medicine. I willingly abandon to those colleagues of mine such atomistic views, by which the business of treatment can be carried on very comfortably, even when half asleep; for as we all know, to us poor mortals nothing is more easy of comprehension than the material, ponderable, palpable, and sensible, because much thinking (and observing), as an Israelis teacher says, is a weariness to the body. I cannot suppose them capable of regarding disease as immaterial alterations of the vitality, as pure dynamic derangements of our state of health, and medicinal powers as mere virtual, almost spiritual, forces. It is impossible to disabuse them of the idea that for such and such a grave disease a dose of medicine of such and such a weight is required, seeing that they could point to the traditional practice of thousands of years, when palpable quantities of medicine must always be poured into the patient from large bottles, pots, and boxes, in order that any effect should be produced in serious diseases, and yet even this did not usually succeed. I can readily believe this; the effect of the ordinary treatment of all times fully corroborates it. But how can they reconcile it with the atomistic, materialistic notions they entertain respecting the action of medicines and their curative powers, that a single imponderable spark from a Leyden jar gives a shock to the strongest man, and yet no ascertainable ponderable substance is communicated to his body.? How can they reconcile with their atomistic, materialistic notions the enormous power of mesmerism, when a powerful man with a strong will to do good approaches the point of this thumb to the pit of the stomach of a nervous patient? How can they, finally, reconcile with their atomistic, materialistic notions respecting the actions of medicines the fact that a carefully constructed magnetic steel rod can effect such a powerful derangement of our health, even when it is not in actual with the body, but may even be covered with some thick material (such as cloth, bladder, glass etc.), so that we suffer therefrom violent morbid affections; or what is equally remarkable, that a magnetic rod can quickly and permanently cure the most severe disease for which it is a suitable medicine, when it is brought near the body, for but a short time, even though covered as above described ? Atomist! You narrow-minded wiseacre Tell me what ponderable quantity of the magnet entered the body in order to effect these often enormous changes in its state of health ? Is not centillionth of a grain ( a fraction of a grain that has 600 ciphers for its denominator ) still infinitely too heavy to represent this absolutely imponderable quantity, the kind of spirit that emanated from the magnetic rod into this living body? Will you now continue to express your amazement at the homoeopathic doses of powerful medicines of the sextillionth, octillionth, the decillionth of a grain, which are gross weight compared with this invisible magnetic power ?.
The subjoined symptoms occurred from various powerful magnets brought in with various sensitive individuals, without distinction of the poles. They were observed in experiments conducted for half a year for the purpose of ascertaining the proper and most efficacious mode of stroking the steel with magnets, in which a horse-shoe magnet capable of lifting twelve pounds was held in the hands, which were in with both poles for an hour at a time.
Early in the morning, when lying on the side, he feels a continuous, intolerable, simple or bruised pain in all the joints, where the cartilages of the two bones touch one another; the pain abates as soon as one turns on the back, with the head bent backward, and the knees bent and at a distance from one another.
Paralytic pain in all the joints, especially those of the small of the back, loins and chest, or pain as if the joints were crushed, broken and bruised; worse during motion and when standing accompanied with a drawing and tearing sensation, especially in the ligaments and tendons, where they are inserted in the bones, particularly early in the morning after rising, and in the evening before lying down the parts are painless when touched; the pains are relieved by emission of flatulence; an increase of pain obliges one to close the eyes.
In the morning, when lying in bed, and resisting a desire for an embrace, he is attacked with a kind of arthritic pain in the small of the back, knees and all the joints, the pains are bruised or weary pains.
Burning emanation from the head, down the right side; immediately after, the whole body is covered with sweat.
Jerking shock, causing the trunk to bend violently upward and forward as low down as the hips, with cries.
The trunk, while in a recumbent position, is jerked up spasmodically as it were, the head being jerked forward upon the bed, and then again backward upon the cushion.
The upper part of the body is spasmodically lifted and jerked forward, and then again backward on one side.
The spasmodic rising and jerkings of the body forward, are followed by a long-lasting loss of consciousness, followed by blowing with the mouth as when one experiences a great heat; after which consciousness and cheerfulness return.
During the loss of consciousness the fingers are moved one after the other; after the return of consciousness a profuse sweat breaks out.
Swoon, during which she feels her pain, but is unable to complain on account of an inability to speak or move.
While attending to his business in the daytime, he talks aloud to himself, without being aware of it.
Excessive exhaustion of the body, with feeling of heat, and cool sweat in the face with unceasing, and, as it were, hurried and over strained activity.
Hurried heedlessness and forgetfulness; he says and does something different from what intends, omitting letters, syllables, and words.
He is disposed to feel vexed; this give him pain, especially a headache, as if a nail were forced into his head.
Transitory headache, one single jerk, composed of darting and tearing sharp pain in the middle of one of the two hemispheres like the pain that is felt at the moment when one receives a blow.
Headache occasioned by the least chagrin, as if a sharp pressure were made on a small spot in the brain.
Pain in the region of the vertex, at a small spot in the brain, as if a blunt nail were pressed into the brain; the spot feels sore to the touch.
Loud strong whizzing in one of the ears, accompanied with headache of the same side, as if a foreign body had lodged in the brain; the pupil of this side is very much enlarged.
Illusion of smell: smell of manure before the nose, from time to time he imagines he has a smell before the nose such as usually comes out of a chest full of clothes which had been closed for a long while.
Pressure in the stomach with cramps in the direction of the upper parts; restlessness which did not permit her to remain at any one place; heaviness of the tongue, paleness of the face, and coldness of the body, the pulse being very small tight, unequal.
This series of symptoms appeared every day at the same hour, for ten days in succession, in three females, decreasing progressively.
Loud, although painless rumbling, especially in the lesser intestines, extending under the pubic bones and into the groin, as if diarrhoea would come on.
Loud rumbling in the abdomen, early in the morning when in bed; afterwards colic as if from incarceration of flatulence.
Qualmish sensation and painfulness in the intestines, as if one had taken a resinous cathartic or rhubarb, with painful emission of hot, putrid flatulence.
Frequent but almost unsuccessful urging to diarrhoea in the morning, alternating with rumbling of flatulence in the abdomen.
Constipation with headache for several days, as if there were something wrong in the brain, the head is uniformly affected, the mind feeling vexed and impatient.
Violent hemorrhoidal pain in the anus after stool, erosive as if sore, and as if the rectum were constricted.
Blind hemorrhoids after soft stool, as if the varices on the margin of the anus felt sore, both when sitting and walking.
Menses had ceased a few days before, returned next day after imposing the magnetic surface and continued ten days.
Spasmodic cough, with shocks in the chest and anxious breathing, and visible oppression of the chest.
Pain in sacro-lumbar articulation, in the morning when in bed lying on the side, and in daytime when stooping a long time.
In the evening, between the sixth and seventh hours, he feels a tearing and bruised pain in the joints of the arm, more during rest than when bending the arm; the pain returns in twenty-four hours.
The arms are gently elevated, or even crossed as if by spasm; one of the arms is spasmodically tossed, either horizontally or vertically.
Deep-seated pain in the arm, extending as far as the elbow, the arm going to sleep and trembling spasmodically.
Continuous burning stitch, accompanied with sore feeling in the thickest part of the muscles of the palm of hand and calf of the leg; afterwards in the lower part of the tibia.
Fiery burning in the upper and lower limbs; when the right limb touched the left one, it seemed as if the latter were set on fire by the former.
Sore pain under the nail of the big toe of either foot, as if the shoe had pinched him, and as if the nail would come off by suppuration. Burning and sore pain of the corn, which is generally painless when commencing to walk.
Coma vigil early in the morning for several hours; after sunrise, sopor or deep sleep set in, full of heavy, passionate dreams, for instance, vexing dreams; the sopor terminates in a headache as if the brain were sore all over, disappearing after rising.
He wakes at three o’clock in the night; in a few hours he falls into a sopor full of dreams; afterwards, feeling of heat in the limbs without thirst, the limbs requiring to be uncovered at first, but afterwards covered carefully.
He wakes at three o’clock in the morning; at sunrise his eyelids close again, and he lies in a sort of stupor full of heavy dreams.
Early in the morning he sleeps on his back, one of his hands lying under the occiput, the other over the region of the stomach, the knees being apart, with moaning inspiration, half opened mouth, and low muttering, dreaming of amorous things and emissions, although no emission takes place; headache in the occiput after waking, as after an involuntary emission of semen, with asthma, and bruised pain in all the joints, going off after rising and during motion, with copious expulsion of catarrhal mucus.