"This is a work written by a homeopath with many years in both practice and teaching. It shows his discipline and careful choice of words. Whenever one needs to decide between remedies that are close, this book will prove a valuable addition. - Alan V. Schmukler in Hpathy Ezine, October, 2015
The publisher:
This book offers an original perspective on comparative materia medica, incorporating information on newer and less understood remedies within the framework of well-known remedies. It clarifies and systematizes our study of materia medica, allowing us to navigate the complexities of materia medica study more effectively. There are thirty-six chapters, each one focusing on a well-known remedy, giving an initial summary and utilizing a three-stage development for each remedy.
“Intrinsic, Compensated, Decompensated“ that relates to the three fundamental miasms of Psora, Sycosis and Syphilis. Each remedy is compared and discussed within this framework, weaving comparisons with many other remedies in the process. Understanding how to relate and compare remedies is essential in the development of homeopathic knowledge and this book explores comparisons and relationships from many perspectives - constitutional, mental, pathological, miasmatic, keynote, organ affinity etc. There are discussions of remedies from all realms: animals such as insects, birds, mammals and sea remedies; common and unusual mineral and metal remedies and plant and other vegetable remedies, including fungi. Remedies from the bacteria and virus families and other imponderabilia are compared, always looking at possible connections to well-proven and documented remedies.
A Comparative Materia Medica offers a bridge; it allows for the exploration of new areas of homeopathic knowledge, and seeks to ground our existing knowledge into a coherent pattern so the practice of homeopathy can be objectively applied and verified.
- Author: Richard Pitt
- ISBN: 978-0976091813
- 527 pages
- Paperback
- Printed in United Kingdom
Reprinted with the permission of The ARH (from the journal 'Homeopathy in Practice', Spring 2020 edition). Reviewed by John Morgan.
Some students find learning materia medica to be a hard slog but, when the relationships and comparisons with other remedies are introduced, it grounds the understanding and knowledge of remedies. The best known book devoted to comparative materia medica is that of Farrington of 1874. Richard Pitt's book is comparable except that the remedy descriptions are based on a contemporary way of understanding, and the comparisons reference 778 remedies including new ones recently introduced into our materia medica. It is also much easier to read than older texts, and each chapter is an enjoyable journey through the remedy and beyond in its comparative journey.
It is structured into 36 chapters, each chapter focusing on a major polychrest remedy. The book introduces the idea of three stages of development of a remedy picture; the intrinsic stage (or constitutional), a compensated stage and a decompensated stage. Compensation starts when dis-ease begins and the symptoms appear and is the state we see in most patients. The de-compensation is the stage of chronic breakdown and reveals the pathological extremes of the remedy. The stages also refer to the miasms of psora (intrinsic), sycosis (compensated) and syphilis (decompensated).
Each remedy starts with an eloquent central idea assigned to the remedy. For example, Lac Caninum: 'My survival depends on my getting love and attention I never had and I'll do it by any means necessary.' This is followed by the keynotes, the three states of compensation, and the progression of the remedy which describes the situation the remedy type is in and how it is compensated for. Then follow the main themes of the remedy which are greatly expanded by comparisons to other remedies with similar connections and pathogenesis.
The book has three indexes - a remedy index, a chapter theme index with comparisons, and a therapeutic index. The indexes alone are nearly 50 pages.
A very nice touch is the last chapter, 36, headed Zingiber with the idea:
Nothing seems to fit, normal strategies of finding a remedy are not working, whether looking at essence, sensation, totality keynotes, lesion, pathology, causation, modalities. Something else is needed.
There is a small section on Zingiber but most of the chapter is a review of the bowel nosodes, childhood disease nosodes, other unusual nosodes, sarcodes, periodic table row stages and analysis, and imponderabilia making it one of the longest chapters in the book. There is a generosity of information in this book.
The author is an experienced homeopath and educator and the book is a considerable tome of 527 pages. It has been written with the goal of helping students and practitioners study remedy pictures from many perspectives and complementing other materia medicas. The book helps us to be open to new information while not excluding the old. The texts are not only based on detailed research but practical experience with the remedies used throughout decades of practice, all of which gives it a very authentic tone.
I consider this book to be a modern classic and it is one which every homeopath, student or studious patient would find great value in, as well as it being a fascinating and engaging read.
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