Aphorism 38:
The Law of Suspension: Aphorism 38 and the Conflict of Dissimilar Diseases
In Aphorism 38, Samuel Hahnemann describes the second possible outcome when two dissimilar diseases meet within the same person. Building on the previous principle where a stronger old disease repels a new one, he now examines the scenario where the new, incoming disease is the stronger force.
The Principle of Suppression
Hahnemann asserts that if a new, stronger disease attacks an individual already suffering from a weaker, dissimilar malady, the new disease will suppress the old one. The pre-existing disease is not removed or cured; it is simply kept back and suspended for as long as the new, stronger disease runs its course. Once the new disease is either cured or has finished its natural cycle, the original old disease reappears uncured.
Evidence from Nature
To prove this law of suspension, Hahnemann provides a variety of clinical observations from the medical history of his time:
- Epilepsy and Ringworm: Children suffering from epilepsy were observed to be free from attacks while infected with ringworm (tinea); however, as soon as the skin eruption cleared, the epilepsy returned exactly as before.
- Itch and Scurvy: The itch (scabious eruption) has been seen to disappear upon the occurrence of scurvy, only to break out again once the scurvy was cured.
- Phthisis and Typhus: Pulmonary consumption (phthisis) often remains stationary when a patient is attacked by a violent typhus, resuming its fatal course only after the typhus has passed.
- Smallpox and Measles: When these two diseases occur together, the measles (if it broke out first) is typically checked by the supervention of smallpox. The measles does not resume its progress until the smallpox has completed its course.
- Mumps and Cow-pox: Hahnemann himself observed mumps disappear immediately when a cow-pox inoculation took effect, only to reappear and run its full seven-day course once the cow-pox had terminated.
The Allopathic Parallel (Aphorism 39)
Hahnemann uses these natural phenomena to explain why violent allopathic treatments fail to cure chronic diseases. When a physician uses powerful drugs that are unable to excite symptoms similar to the disease, they act as a new, stronger, dissimilar disease.
These drugs may appear to “work” by suspending the symptoms for as long as the medication is active. However, because the treatment is allopathic (dissimilar), it never addresses the internal derangement. Consequently, as soon as the patient’s strength fails or the drug treatment stops, the original chronic disease returns, often appearing as bad as or even worse than it was before.
Conclusion: Dissimilarity Never Cures
Aphorism 38 serves as a vital proof that strength alone cannot effect a cure. While a stronger force can push a weaker one into the background, the two remain separate and “never cure one another”. This reinforces Hahnemann’s central argument: for a disease to be annihilated rather than merely suspended, the incoming medicinal force must be similar in its manifestations to the natural disease.
