Yasgur's Homeopathic Dictionary & Holistic Health Reference

Review

This book review is reprinted from Volume 17, Summer editon of Homoeopathic Links with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Ralf Jeutter, Ph.D. United Kingdom

Julian Winston's accolade for this book sums it up nicely: 'this book is a necessity for the homeopathic student. JayYasgur has done a great service by bringing the archaic terminology together and defining those elusive terms clearly and succinctly' .

The core of the book is what the title says: A homeopathic dictionary, defining 4500 terms. He offers this book to the homeopathic community (us!), and asks us at the same time to continue this work by sending in more terms we want to see included, by offering criticisms and comments, suggestions, whatever helps to 'improve this work'.

A book of this kind is a labour of love. Jay Yasgur sifted through important source books, like Kent's 'Repertory', Boericke's 'Materia Medica', Clarke's 'Dictionary', Hahnemann's 'Organon' (not 'Materia Medica Pura' or 'Chronic Diseases'), etc.

The book starts off with a short essay on 'What is Homeopathy?' followed by a list of prefixes and suffixes, which are commonly used in medicine: ab-, ad-, apo-, dia-, dys-, ecto-, etc. going on to compound words like -algia, -antero, poly-, etc. Then the Dictionary proper starts. Since it is obviously not a book that is read from cover to cover (although in this case some readers might well want to do it), I had the book lying on my desk for weeks in order to test its useful. ness in practice (it is still on my desk and will remain there). The benefit became quickly clear to me: Here, indeed, is a book, which allows quick access to especially archaic terms, which cannot be easily found in modern medical dictionaries. On the other hand it will not replace modern medical dictionaries, because some modern terms are defined, while others are not. Which brings us neatly to the point where the pedantic critic comes in and questions inclusions and exclusions. What follows is a list of words I was looking up over the last few weeks and could find or not:

Cuprum's morbus caeruleus is in (Clarke); apraxia is in, but not dyspraxia; intussusception is in, but bradykinesia did not make it; porrigo and plica polonica are there, but pterygium was left out, while the appropriately named horripilation (for goosebumps) is in. Even the German rinderpest found its place in the original language. Cynanche cellularis is in and tussiculation (the hacking cough) has also its place. But sibilus has to be looked up somewhere else. Despite a certain obscurity about what is included or excluded on what grounds, it has certainly made my life much easier and the old texts have now the potential to come fully alive.

But this is not a dictionary of only homeopathic or old medical terms, but also definitions of other alternative medical disciplines are offered, e.g. bioresonance, EAV, homotoxicology, etc.

There is an entry for Rufeland's Journal, and Yasgur ventures deep into homeopathic philosophy. The entry under 'symptoms' for example is a particularly rich one. The whole range of different symptoms is dealt with under this section, e.g. complete symptom, concomitant symptom, eliminative symptom, contingent symptom, local, new, incomplete symptom etc. We also find terms like 'xenocritic' - 'one who criticises other persons or concepts which one does not fully understand or know'. Those who prescribe in high potencies can be found under transcendentalist or high flyers!

Scholten and Seghal have their own entries as new concepts in homeopathy, but Sankaran (Rajan) is left out, despite his efforts to establish his own brand of homeopathy.

After the Dictionary we find two astrological charts, each relating to Rahnemann's two different times of birth as proposed by KM. Gypser and Dobereiner. Unfortunately there is no explanation as to the significance of Saturn being in Capricorn and Pluto in Sagittarius for those, who are astrologically illiterate.

Then there are two body maps, one of the abdominal region and the other of the different planes of the body (median, anterior, coronal, dorsal, etc.). Which is followed by a list of remedies and a pronunciation key.

There is an article by Benjamin C. Woodbury from the early 20th century calied 'A Dictionary of Homeopathy', in which he stresses the importance of such a work and follows it up with his own attempt, which was meant to be an 'encyclopaedia of general information relative to homeopathy as a distinctive method in practice or as a separate school of medicine', and adds some information on homeopathic medicines.

Yasgur also included a very engaging chapter on selected homeopathic obituaries, prefaced by a little moving poem by T.L. Bradford:

But we all pass off with a task undone, Sudden and silent, and one by one. But the tasks we leave unfinished here we will finish up in another sphere.

As is natural with entries like these, omissions are inevitable: Under C.M. Boger his 'General Analysis' could have been mentioned. Under ML Dhawale it would only have been right to mention him as the founder of the excellent Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) in Bombay. But some of these obituaries offer tantalising glimpses into lives, which deserve a fuller reconstruction. For example Callie Brown Charlton (1851-1934), the first woman to practice homeopathy in Oregon. 'After being widowed in 1872 she became determined to study medicine.'

Some entries stand out for what some people said, for example Arthur Brooks Green (1884-1977), a lay homeopath, who wrote: 'It .is more essential for a homeopathic physician to know thoroughly the remedies he has than to wait for new ones. In the pioneering days, the early homeopaths had something like 80 remedies all told, and did so much with them that they scared the traditionalists for their medical lives.' (p.373) And Hering, of course, whose 'If our school ever gives up the strict inductive method of Hahnemann, we are lost and deserve only to be mentioned as a caricature in the history of medicine' cannot be quoted often enough. (p.378) For those of us who think we have no time to spare for study or feel that it's too late to start anything new, we might want to take Mercy B. Jackson as a model, who became interested in medicine despite her eleven children and graduated at age 58! A little, bit of social history is written under Sarah Brooks Pettingill's entry. She was only admitted to materia medica lectures if she would sit like a 'veiled nun' behind a partition, screened from the students. And so it goes on. There are lots of gems to be discovered by the reader.

The book is concluded by a section on appellations, journals, associations etc. This is not only an extremely useful book, but also one, which oozes the comforting charm only a collector's passion can instill. He concludes his preface with the word: Be happy and smile. With this book in hand it is just this bit easier to do.

 

This book review is reprinted from Volume 17, Summer 2004 editon of Homoeopathic Links with permission from Homeopathic Links.

Reviewed by Ralf Jeutter, Ph.D. United Kingdom

Julian Winston's accolade for this book sums it up nicely: 'this book is a necessity for the homeopathic student. Jay Yasgur has done a great service by bringing the archaic terminology together and defining those elusive terms clearly and succinctly'.

The core of the book is what the title says: A homeopathic dictionary, defining 4500 terms. He offers this book to the homeopathic community (us!), and asks us at the same time to continue this work by sending in more terms we want to see included, by offering criticisms and comments, suggestions, whatever helps to 'improve this work'.

A book of this kind is a labour of love. Jay Yasgur sifted through important source books, like Kent's 'Repertory', Boericke's 'Materia Medica', Clarke's 'Dictionary', Hahnemann's 'Organon' (not 'Materia Medica Pura' or 'Chronic Diseases'), etc.

The book starts off with a short essay on 'What is Homeopathy?' followed by a list of prefixes and suffixes, which are commonly used in medicine: ab-, ad-, apo-, dia-, dys-, ecto-, etc. going on to compound words like -algia, -antero, poly-, etc. Then the Dictionary proper starts. Since it is obviously not a book that is read from cover to cover (although in this case some readers might well want to do it), I had the book lying on my desk for weeks in order to test its usefulness in practice (it is still on my desk and will remain there). The benefit became quickly clear to me: Here, indeed, is a book, which allows quick access to especially archaic terms, which cannot be easily found in modern medical dictionaries. On the other hand it will not replace modern medical dictionaries, because some modern terms are defined, while others are not. Which brings us neatly to the point where the pedantic critic comes in and questions inclusions and exclusions. What follows is a list of words I was looking up over the last few weeks and could find or not:

Cuprum's morbus caeruleus is in (Clarke); apraxia is in, but not dyspraxia; intussusception is in, but bradykinesia did not make it; porrigo and plica polonica are there, but pterygium was left out, while the appropriately named horripilation (for goosebumps) is in. Even the German rinderpest found its place in the original language. Cynanche cellularis is in and tussiculation (the hacking cough) has also its place. But sibilus has to be looked up somewhere else. Despite a certain obscurity about what is included or excluded on what grounds, it has certainly made my life much easier and the old texts have now the potential to come fully alive.

But this is not a dictionary of only homeopathic or old medical terms, but also definitions of other alternative medical disciplines are offered, e.g. bioresonance, EAV, homotoxicology, etc.

There is an entry for Rufeland's Journal, and Yasgur ventures deep into homeopathic philosophy. The entry under 'symptoms' for example is a particularly rich one. The whole range of different symptoms is dealt with under this section, e.g. complete symptom, concomitant symptom, eliminative symptom, contingent symptom, local, new, incomplete symptom etc. We also find terms like 'xenocritic' - 'one who criticises other persons or concepts which one does not fully understand or know'. Those who prescribe in high potencies can be found under transcendentalist or high flyers!

Scholten and Seghal have their own entries as new concepts in homeopathy, but Sankaran (Rajan) is left out, despite his efforts to establish his own brand of homeopathy.

After the Dictionary we find two astrological charts, each relating to Rahnemann's two different times of birth as proposed by KM. Gypser and Dobereiner. Unfortunately there is no explanation as to the significance of Saturn being in Capricorn and Pluto in Sagittarius for those, who are astrologically illiterate.

Then there are two body maps, one of the abdominal region and the other of the different planes of the body (median, anterior, coronal, dorsal, etc.). Which is followed by a list of remedies and a pronunciation key.

There is an article by Benjamin C. Woodbury from the early 20th century called 'A Dictionary of Homeopathy', in which he stresses the importance of such a work and follows it up with his own attempt, which was meant to be an 'encyclopaedia of general information relative to homeopathy as a distinctive method in practice or as a separate school of medicine', and adds some information on homeopathic medicines.

Yasgur also included a very engaging chapter on selected homeopathic obituaries, prefaced by a little moving poem by T.L. Bradford:

But we all pass off with a task undone, Sudden and silent, and one by one. But the tasks we leave unfinished here we will finish up in another sphere.

As is natural with entries like these, omissions are inevitable: Under C.M. Boger his 'General Analysis' could have been mentioned. Under ML Dhawale it would only have been right to mention him as the founder of the excellent Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) in Bombay. But some of these obituaries offer tantalising glimpses into lives, which deserve a fuller reconstruction. For example Callie Brown Charlton (1851-1934), the first woman to practice homeopathy in Oregon. 'After being widowed in 1872 she became determined to study medicine.'

Some entries stand out for what some people said, such as Arthur Brooks Green (1884-1977), a lay homeopath, who wrote: 'It .is more essential for a homeopathic physician to know thoroughly the remedies he has than to wait for new ones. In the pioneering days, the early homeopaths had something like 80 remedies all told, and did so much with them that they scared the traditionalists for their medical lives.' (p.373) And Hering, of course, whose 'If our school ever gives up the strict inductive method of Hahnemann, we are lost and deserve only to be mentioned as a caricature in the history of medicine' cannot be quoted often enough. (p.378) For those of us who think we have no time to spare for study or feel that it's too late to start anything new, we might want to take Mercy B. Jackson as a model, who became interested in medicine despite her eleven children and graduated at age 58! A little, bit of social history is written under Sarah Brooks Pettingill's entry. She was only admitted to materia medica lectures if she would sit like a 'veiled nun' behind a partition, screened from the students. And so it goes on. There are lots of gems to be discovered by the reader.

The book is concluded by a section on appellations, journals, associations etc. This is not only an extremely useful book, but also one, which oozes the comforting charm only a collector's passion can instill. He concludes his preface with the word: Be happy and smile. With this book in hand it is just this bit easier to do.

This book review is reprinted with permission from The American Homeopath.

Reviewed by Suzanne Marlow Fries

Jay Yasgur's new Homeopathic Dictionary and Holistic Health Reference is a wonderful asset to any zealous homeopath's library. It is an immediate reference for quick, detailed definitions of the words we frequently stumble upon in practice or study. This dictionary provides engaging and accessible reading material.

Containing more than 4000 modern and archaic definitions, including scientific terminology as it relates to homeopathy, Yasgur has given us a complete research guide by including prefixes, suffixes and compound words-the foundation of much medical language. The included pronunciation guide of the remedies may finally allow us all to pronounce "Lachesis" correctly. Under the heading of "symptoms" there are nine pages of explanations from the "concomitant" to the "peculiar." Words we come upon so often in the older literature can now be easily accessed. To complement each specific entry, Yasgur is careful to include, not only the origin of the words, but also to reference his sources, giving the definitions more depth and reliability.

Much research has gone into the fourth edition of Yasgur's Homeopathic Dictionary and Holistic Health Reference. It also includes a glossary of alternative therapies, and a list of homeopathic pharmacies. In "A Selected Homeopathic Obituary," the true homeopathic scholar will be intrigued with the names, dates and accomplishments written about so many that pioneered before us. A telling gauge of how far homeopathic references have come is apparent when reviewing the included "A Dictionary of Homeopathy- 1921." This colorful and attractive hardback is large enough to lay open on a desk, and yet small enough to take with you.

One could look at Yasgur's Homeopathic Dictionary and Holistic Health Reference as the ultimate and concise guide for every student, health care practitioner, and dedicated homeopath.

The American Homeopath 1998

This book review is reprinted from the 'Homeopathy' journal Vol 91, January 2002, with permission from Peter Fisher, Editor.

It is sometimes said that one of the strengths of homeopathy is its use of everyday language to describe its phenomena. While this may be true, much of the homeopathic literature still in use today dates from the second half of the nineteenth century, while the continuing influence of Kent means that it is American usage of that time that predominates. As readers of Kent's Repertory will know, language has altered in various ways since then, and there have also been developments in medical terminology and medical knowledge which render many of the older expressions obsolete, obscure, or misleading to modern readers. And it is not only the orthodox medical vocabulary and categories that have changed; there have been comparable changes within homeopathy itself. For example, Boericke's Materia Medica, still a widely used reference book, includes references to terms like 'oxygenoid' and 'hydrogenoid', which only make sense if one knows about the constitutional theory of von Grauvogl.

For these reasons, it is difficult to study homeopathy in depth without a knowledge of its historical background, but not all modern homeopaths are fully aware of this and they may therefore acquire a mistaken view of key ideas in their subject. There is thus a place for a homeopathic dictionary for such readers even if they have a conventional medical background. The present work fulfills this need, but it is also aimed at people without a medical training; it therefore contains definitions of common medical and anatomical terms such as perineum, rale, stridor, exfoliation, and etiology (yes, American spelling is used throughout). Some non-technical English words also find a place (snuff, filch, flank, buffoonery); presumably these are included for readers whose native language is not English.

However, the main purpose of the dictionary is to explain specifically homeopathic terminology, so I was particularly interested to see how Yasgur dealt with this. In general, I think he has done a good job. There are adequate entries for difficult terms like psora, miasm, and the aforementioned oxygenoid and hydrogenoid and Yasgur provides a sound historical perspective throughout. For example, there is an entry for Swedenborgianism, making clear the considerable influence of this on 19th-century American homeopathy. There is also an entry for the Eclectic School of medicine, in which Kent was originally trained, though this fact is, oddly, not mentioned. The term 'symptom' is discussed at length, as it should be in view of its all- important role in homeopathy. One of the longest entries, occupying several pages and amounting almost to a small monograph, is for 'potency'. I was, however, disappointed to find no entry for the mysterious "all- gone" feeling which surfaces frequently in Kent and was presumably often described by patients in his day; perhaps Yasgur doesn't know what it means any more than I do.

Although commendably aware of the historical dimension of homeopathy, Yasgur also includes up- to-date items such as resonance therapy (a form of homeopathic prescribing based on resonance with organs rather than on the similia principle) and Voll's system known as EAV, which gets a lot of space. However, his enthusiasm for some of these things seems to me to have misled him into including quite detailed accounts of other unorthodox forms of treatment unconnected with homeopathy. Do we really need a whole page on Gerson therapy (an idiosyncratic dietary treatment for cancer), especially when Anthroposophical medicine, which might be thought as being more closely related to homeopathy, rates only a couple of paragraphs? And I feel it would have been wiser to omit the two (sic) astrological charts for Hahnemann's (somewhat uncertain) date of birth, especially since Yasgur starts the book by defining homeopathy as a therapeutic medical science. Some of the other appendices, particularly that containing obituary notices for a considerable number of bygone homeopathic luminaries, are however of value.

All in all, I think this book, in spite of certain idiosyncracies, deserves a place in the library of any serious student of homeopathy. It would also be useful for non-native English speakers who are trying to read the older homeopathic literature.

Anthony Campbell
8 Oak Way, Southgate, London, UK

Homeopathy (formerly the British Homeopathic Journal)