Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 186-187. (Budapest, 2004)
KÖZLEMÉNYEK — COMMUNICATIONS - JUTTE, Robert: The historiography of homoeopathy in Germany. — A homeopátiatörténetírás Németországban
Gross's book which was published in the same year (1834) bears the strange title Homöopathie und Leben (Homoeopathy and Life). 7 It follows almost the same historiographical pattern. The author who was one of the most loyal followers of Hahnemann starts with the biography of the great master and then gives a detailed account of the rise of the homoeopathic movement in Germany as well as in some European countries until the early 1830s. The great name of Hahnemann has also stimulated some purely biographical attempts already during his life-time and shortly after his death in 1843. 8 The discrepancy between the scanty authentic biographical data and the fame of the "father of homoeopathy" were, however, the cause of many embellishments and novelistic fancies. Hahnemann's son-in-law gave therefore his father-in-law the following advice in a letter dated 18th August, 1834: "People feel that it would be advisable for you to write your own biography, so that there might exist a correct life's history of yourself; and then your portrait bound in the frontispiece would be quickly distributed" 9 . And he concludes his wish with a heartfelt sigh "How very much do the biographies of great men differ from another!" Despite this plea by a historical-minded member of his family, Hahnemann did not sit down writing his memoirs. At the age of 80 he was obviously still too busy with his medical practice and did not bother very much about posterity. 10 What we have, however, is an early autobiography which he had finished as early as 1791. But even for his youth, and the beginnings of his medical career before he discovered the law of similars in 1796 this autobiography is incomplete and unsatisfactory as it was written rather hastily from memories and sudden inspirations.' 1 In 1847, Constantine Hering, the "father of American homoeopathy" (Thomas L. Bradford), published in a German-language homoeopathic periodical an article entitled Erfordernisse zur gerechten Beurlheilung Hahnemann's (Requisites to a Correct Estimate of Hahnemann). In this short essay he mentioned that in order to judge the character of this great man, belonging to history, correctly, it would be necessary to describe the age in which Hahnemann lived; to depict his childhood in Meissen. After this to delineate Hahnemann's life as student, young physician and prolific translator up to 1790, the year of of the discovery of the new law of healing, and then: "The foundation being thus laid, and the man presented to us in his daily life, his thoughts and his labors, his time and his contemporaries, the second and most important part would be devoted to the consideration of his new opinions, and a statement of the original and gradual development, step by step, of 7 Gustav Wilhelm Gross: Homöopathie und Leben. Oder: Die Homöopathie nach ihrem gegenwärtigen Verhältnis zum Leben, und nach ihrem allseitigen, wohlthätigen Einfluß auf alle Lebensverhältnisse betrachtet. Leipzig, Kollmann, 1834. 8 Friedrich Rummel: Hinblick auf die Geschichte der Homöopathie im letzten Jahrzehend nebst einer kurzen Lebensbeschreibung des Herrn Hofrathes Dr. Mühlenbein. Leipzig, Weigel, 1839; Franz Albrecht: Dr. Samuel Hahnemann 's des Begründers der Homöopathie Leben und Wirken. 2nd, completely revised ed., Leipzig, Schwabe, 1875 (1st edition: Leipzig, Hinrichs, 1851). 9 English translation according to Richard Haehl: Samuel Hahnemann: his life and work, transi, from the German by Marie L. Wheeler, W.ll.R. Grundy, London, Homoeopathic Publishing Company [1927?], vol. i, p. xii. 10 In 1829 he wrote to his pupil Dr Friedrich Rummel: „Let me go down to posterity only as the image of my inner self which can easily be discerned in my writings. My vanity goes no farther than this", quoted in Haehl: op. cit., see note 12 above, vol. ii, p. I . 11 See Haehl: op. cit., see note 12 above, vol. i, 10. ff.
