Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica

Details

John Henry Clarke consulted Allen, Hering, Hughes, Jahr, and Lippe, among others, in the writing of his 3 volume Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica.

Published between 1900-1902, Clarke's Dictionary gives useful information on almost 1000 homeopathic remedies. Each remedy is described as to source, description, clinical application, characteristics, relations, and the symptoms themselves.

Symptoms are not graded in any hierarchy of use as Clarke states in his Preface

"while not denying the utility of emphasizing by conspicuous type symptoms of proved characteristic value, this can only be done at the cost of apparently depreciating symptoms not so marked. I have so often found my indications in symptoms not distinguished by special type at all that I hesitate to put any under this ban."

However, Clarke says that all the symptoms placed under the heading "Characteristics" are weighted more than the
symptoms in other sections.

Clarke, along with Drs. Cooper, Skinner, and Burnett formed the Cooper Club. These homeopaths provided some of the most powerful influences on British homeopathy in the 20th century. Their clinical experience enriches the remedy descriptions throughout these books, providing case tidbits and detailed characteristics found nowhere else.

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Heritage

A pulling together of Allen's Encyclopedia, Hering's Guiding Symptoms, and Hale's New Remedies.

The clinical uses of the remedies are discussed, cases are given as examples of use, and then the remedy symptoms are listed using the Hahnemann schema. When some felt that the work was too long.

Clarke replied: "My work is a dictionary and I have never found a dictionary that explained too many words."

The first volume was issued in 1900. Volumes 2 and 3 were completed in 1902.

Julian Winston writes:
If one needed just a single materia medica, this set might serve the purpose.

Although the materia medica in the Hahnemann Schema is of use, the real "gold" of this work is found in the narrative that precedes the listing, where stories of the remedies are related, snippets from Burnett, Skinner, and Cooper are found, and unique characteristics of the remedy under discussion are presented.

From:
The Heritage of Homoeopathic Literature
copyright 2001 by Julian Winston
Reprinted with the permission of the author

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Author

Dr. John Henry Clarke, M.D.

(1853 - 1931)

Dr. Clarke was one of the most eminent homoeopaths of England. He had his famous Clinic at 8 Bolton Street, Piccadilly, located in London.

Anyone who met Clarke even once must have been impressed with the feeling of an exceptional human being, a forceful personality, a man apart. He was so busy in his studies that he had very little time to mix with others. He was a prodigious worker, as his published works testify, to say nothing of the host of private patients from all parts of the world.

He was also a consulting physician to the London Homoeopathic Hospital. He was the editor of the 'Homoeopathic World' for twenty-nine years. His famous publications are as follows:

The Prescriber - A Dictionary of the New Therapeutics
...with an essay on "How to Practice Homoeopathy." This little book has helped thousands of lay practitioners to prescribe successfully and carry the message of homoeopathy to far off lands.

It is one of the 'must-have' books for every new practitioner of Homoeopathy. Its indications of remedies are based on personal experiences of a number of reputed homoeopaths like Burnett, Hughes, Cooper, Ruddock, Neatby, Salser, etc.

The Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica
...consists of 3 volumes. In it he has given the synonyms, the source, the provers' experiences, clinical indications, temperament, keynotes and characteristics, modalities, pathological, sensational, locational and causational indications of each drug. He has also given the provings of the drug. In addition, the relationship of the drug to other remedies.

A Clinical Repertory to the Dictionary of Materia Medica
...was specifically designed by him for the study of his huge Materia Medica. The Repertory is very helpful for individualization of the simillimum from other similar remedies.

Dr. Clarke belongs to the band of provers of Nosodes, the products of disease used as homoeopathic remedies. The chief stalwarts among them were: Swan, Fincke, Clarke, Burnett, Hering, Stearns, Wheeler, Bach, Patterson, Grimmer and others.

He has the credit of introducing the following remedies to the Homoeopathic Materia Medica: Pertussin, Carcinosinum, Epihysterinum, Baccillinum Testicum, Morbillinum, Parotidinum, Scarletinum, and Scirrhinum.

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Reviews

From
RESONANCE

The following reviews are reprinted from The Pacific Coast Journal of Homeopathy which was published from 1893-1940.

This publication was the "official organ of the State Medical Societies (Homeopathic) of California, Oregon, Washington, and of the Southern California Homeopathic Medical Society." The journal started as the "California Homeopath" (1882-1892) and changed its name to The Pacific Coast Journal of Homeopathy in 1893.

These reviews were recovered from their resting place in the UCSF library by Lourdes Bradica.

I suspect Dr. H.R. Arndt is the writer of said reviews. My only reason for believing so is the following note on the front page of each journal, (Vol. VIII, at least) 'Manuscripts, exchanges, matter for review, etc., must be addressed to Dr. H. R. Arndt, San Diego, Cal.
- Lourdes Bradica.

reviewed by H.R. Arndt (?)

A Clinical Repertory to the Dictionary of Materia Medica - Together with repertories of Causation, Temperaments, Clinical Relationships, Natural Relationships.
By John Henry Clarke, M.D.
London: The Homeopathic

When this work was first presented to the profession it received the customary attention in the pages of this journal; and while it is not in the power of the writer to refer to what he then said, the impression is very strong upon him that he had such appreciation of its merits as a somewhat cautious reader is likely to have of any extensive work bearing upon its pages ample evidence of intelligence and thoroughness in workmanship, to say nothing of the general and enviable reputation of the workman himself.

That particular copy of Clarke's Dictionary went up in smoke some time ago [when was it?], as did the JOURNAL in which the volumes were "noticed"; and the writer would probably not be called upon to speak again of the work had not another complete set found its way upon our empty and ravenously hungry bookshelves, through the thoughtful kindness of Dr. Clarke, expressed in a way which made the gift doubly welcome.

It is not in any sense intended to lessen, if that were possible, the obligation under which the writer finds himself, if our readers' attention is once more called to the existence of this extensive and almost encyclopedic work on homeopathic materia medica.

The real object in speaking of it ten years after the publication of the first volume is to bear testimony to the fact that the "Dictionary" stood the test of constant use for purposes of reference, and proved more and more valuable as familiarity with it grew by daily handling.

No more positive proof of the writer's estimate of the value of the "Dictionary" can be given than the fact that the first attempt after the fire to get together such books as seemed absolutely indispensable resulted in sending East an order for Allen's "Handbook" and Clarke's "Dictionary," as the two works on materia medica without which he could not think of "keeping house," and they have nobly filled the place of a rather extensive list of writers on this subject which in the olden times were at our service.

That the writer is not alone in the high estimate he places upon the work now under discussion is shown by the hearty endorsement given it at Atlantic City. Such endorsement is worth more in 1906 than it would have been in A.D. 1900.

It facilitates ready analysis and comparison of the more than one thousand remedies considered in the materia medica. Its arrangement is simple and practical. The "clinical" section gives merely the remedies which clinically have proved of value in the treatment of certain morbid states.

Special sections are devoted to "causation" and to "temperament," covering that matter of special adaptability of certain remedies to "types," "dispositions," etc-., the importance of which as a consideration in the selection of the indicated remedy is well known to every experienced prescriber.

A repertory of relationships (clinical and natural) gives in tabulated form complementary remedies, compatible and incompatible remedies, remedies which follow well and which the remedy under consideration follows well, remedy antidotes, and duration of action.

Altogether it is a welcome aid in the study of remedies, for the sake of study alone or for prescribing.

RESONANCE MAY-JUNE 1996
International Foundation for Homeopathy

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