Cynthia Young
FOREWORD The first edition of the Esmame (Essential Materia Medica) aimed only at a basic knowledge of homeopathy for summary therapy. In revising the book for the present, second, edition, considerable care has been taken to make it much more comprehensive, with a view to a broader and deeper understanding of the materia medica. Nineteen more healants have been added now to the ninety of the first edition. But as Bacillinum has been integrated with Tuberculinum, the total number comes to one hundred and eight now. The symptomology of each healant has been presented under distinctive heads, as before. Names of healants, not discussed but only referred to incidentally, have not been abbreviated. For ‘mucus’ the same spelling has been used, whether noun or adjective. Two other terms used need to be explained: 1) ‘healant’ to distinguish homeopathic medicines from others, since homeopathy operates on a different plane altogether and 2) ‘heaty’ to signify the polar opposite of ‘chilly’, on the analogy of ‘meat’ ‘meaty’, ‘grit’ ‘gritty’, ‘fault’ ‘faulty’. While ‘chilly’ conveys the thermal subjectivity quite well, ‘warm’ tends to convey rather the objective physical condition, and ‘hot’ is no better. ‘Heaty’ may serve to indicate more effectively the subjective sensation of heat. Item no.1 in the text of each materia medica aims at the immediate recognition of the healant and item no.2, elaborates its symptomology. The two items have different objectives, though one may seem rather repetitive of the other. Needless to say, in seeking to present the essence of the Materia Medica, Esmame has drawn on all valuable books on the subject, some of which are listed in the select bibliography at the end. Cynthia Young
Read this work at the World Public Library (library card needed).