Kent’s
Repertory : Preface.PREFACE.
This work is offered
to the profession as a general Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia
Medica. It has been built from all sources, and is a compilation of
all the useful symptoms recorded in the fundamental works of our
Materia Medica, as well as from the notes of our ablest practitioners.
Many unverified symptoms have been omitted, but only when there was a
decided doubt about their consistency. And on the other hand clinical
matters have been given a place when it was observed to be consistent
with the nature of the remedy.The plan of
the Repertory is uniform throughout, and it is one which admits of the
indefinite expansion of each division, so that remedies can be added
from time to time as they come into use or have been confirmed and
verified. It has been attempted to proceed in every case from generals
to particulars, and in carrying this out the aim has been
to give first of all a general rubric containing all the
remedies which have produced the symptoms, followed by the
particulars, viz. the time of occurrence, the circumstances,
and lastly the extensions. Here it may be remarked, in
regard to extensions, that the point from which a certain
symptom extends is the one under which that symptom will be found,
never under the point to which it extends.As is well known to
older practitioners, the method of working out a case from generals to
particulars is the most satisfactory. If a case is worked out merely
from particulars it is more than probable that the remedy will not be
seen, and frequent failure will be the result. This is due to the fact
that the particular directions in which the remedies in the
general rubric tend have not yet been observed, and thus to depend
upon a small group of remedies relating to some particular symptom is
to shut out other remedies which may have that symptom, although not
yet observed. By working in the other direction, however, i.e., from
general to particular, the general rubric will include all
remedies that are related to the symptoms, and, if after having done
this the particulars are then gone into and the remedy which runs
through the general rubrics is found to have the particular
symptoms, this will aid in its choice as the one to be prescribed. One
object, then, of this Repertory has been to assist in obtaining good
general groups of remedies, and by general groups and rubrics it is
not to be understood as the general of the remedies. When pathological
names are used, only the leading remedies in the condition referred to
will be found in the rubric.To those who have
used Bœnninghausen’s “Therapeutic Pocket Book” the working
out of cases from generals is a familiar method. But for the benefit
of the younger men the following suggestions are offered which may
prove helpful: After taking the case according to the lines laid down
in the “Organon” (§§ 83-140), write out all the mental
symptoms and all symptoms and conditions predicated of the patient
himself and search the Repertory for symptoms that correspond to
these. Then search for such physical symptoms as are predicated of
the blood, colour of discharge, and bodily aggravation and
amelioration that include the whole being, as well as desire for open
air, desire for heat, cold air, for rest, for motion which may be only
a desire or may bring a general feeling of amelioration. It should be
understood that a circumstance that makes the whole being feel better
or worse is of much greater importance than when the same circumstance
only affects the painful part, and these are often quite opposite.
Then individualize still further, using the symptoms predicated of the
organs, functions and sensations, always giving an important place to
the time of occurrence of every symptom until every detail has been
examined. Then examine the symptom picture collectively and
individually, and lastly study the Materia Medica of such remedy or
remedies as run through the symptoms of the case until there is no
doubt about which is the most similar of all remedies.Cross references have
been inserted wherever it was thought they would be needed, but
doubtless more could profitably be added. Many busy men will find
groups of remedies under headings different from the one they would
naturally look for. If a cross reference be made at the time it would
always help to find that rubric in the future, and if all such cross
references be sent to the author they will assist in making later
editions more complete. Physicians are requested to send in verified
and clinical symptoms, and to call attention to any errors which they
may discover in the text. Only in this way can we expect to have a
complete and correct repertory. It is suggested that those who use
this Repertory should first of all read the headings of the general
rubrics from the beginning to the end and thus become acquainted with
the plan upon which it is formed. Only by constant use can any
repertory become a companion and a helper.J. T. KENT