Hahnemann defines the true goal of medicine as the rapid, gentle, and permanent restoration of health, using clear and reliable principles. This means not just removing symptoms, but healing the entire person from the inside out. Modern medicine often focuses only on the disappearance of visible symptoms like skin eruptions or constipation, which gives a false impression of cure. But Hahnemann warns that if internal disease is not removed—and symptoms are just pushed inward—more serious problems may appear later.
He emphasizes three main points in this paragraph:
- Restoring health completely (not just removing symptoms),
- Doing so in a way that is mild, fast, and long-lasting, and
- Following simple, fixed, and intelligible principles—not guesswork.
A true cure happens when the internal disorder is corrected, and then the external symptoms naturally disappear. This is very different from suppressing symptoms with strong drugs or surgeries. According to Hahnemann, healing should flow naturally, like a stream running gently—without force or harm. Suppressive treatments only push disease deeper into the body, which leads to more dangerous, internal conditions like heart or liver disease.
Hahnemann also introduces the “law of cure”, which says that healing happens from within outward, from more important to less important organs, and in the reverse order of appearance. For example, when heart symptoms improve but old joint pain or skin eruptions return, it shows that the cure is going in the right direction. A real homoeopathic physician knows that such symptoms should not be suppressed again, or the disease may return to a deeper, more dangerous level.
He gives examples of this, such as rheumatism: when it is suppressed with local applications, it may shift to the heart, which is far more dangerous. In true healing, the rheumatism must return to the limbs before the heart can be cured.
Hahnemann warns that a physician must stick to moral and scientific principles—not act just to please patients or protect his income. For example, a doctor who gives a liniment to suppress pain (just to keep the patient happy) might actually cause more harm. He says true healing requires conscience, integrity, and inner discipline.
Finally, he connects orderly living with lasting health. If people live against natural laws—through unhealthy habits or immoral behaviors—they cannot be truly cured of chronic diseases. It is also the duty of a physician to guide patients toward an orderly life, in both physical and moral aspects.
🔑 Key Points for Exam:
- True cure = rapid, gentle, and permanent restoration of health.
- Not just symptom removal, but healing the whole person.
- Must follow clear, fixed principles, not trial and error.
- Cure moves from center to circumference, from within outward, from above downward, and in reverse order of symptom appearance.
- Suppression leads to deeper, more dangerous diseases.
- Moral integrity and orderly living are essential for true cure.
- Physician’s role is to observe, guide, and heal—not suppress.