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DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1787306
Kent's Minor Writings on Homoeopathy (1987) — Edited and Compiled by Dr. med. K.-H. Gypser
“Throw aside all theories, and matters of belief and opinion, and dwell in simple fact.”
–James Tyler Kent
NB: This is a review of K.-H. Gypser's book, which is an improvement over W.W. Sherwood's seminal attempt, New Remedies, Clinical Cases, Lesser Writings, Aphorisms and Precepts: A Compilation of Kent's Lesser Writings (1926), which was compiled and edited by Sherwood, MD.[1]
Sherwood's effort attempted to discover how Kent practiced, how he studied remedies, why he used certain potencies, and what symptoms he gave most attention to.
Calendula officinalis, Wyethia helenioides, and several aurum salts (arsenicum, iodatum isulphuratum) are some of the 30 remedies he presented. Also discussed is the homeopathic treatment of cancer and how to study and make use of the repertory. He offers his opinion on the use of potency series, 30, 200, 1M, 10M.
About 100 cases are presented on a great variety of illnesses and all are from his practice. This collection, of course, is only a part of Kent's writings but nonetheless an important part indeed.
Before reviewing Gypser's work, the following is a review of Sherwood's effort, which was published in The Homoeopathic Survey (1:2, January, 1927, p. 12):
“Kent's Lesser Writings: (New Remedies, Clinical Cases, Lesser Writings, Aphorisms and Precepts), by James Tyler Kent, A.M., M.D.; Chicago, Ehrhart and Karl, 1926).”
“It is only the gleanings of a mastermind in any science whose teachings and literary products have sufficient importance, in addition to one's major works, to be denominated “Lesser Writings.””
“James Tyler Kent may rightly, perhaps, be called the last great master of Homoeopathy since the days of Hahnemann, Boenninghausen and Hering. At any rate, men of this type and scope of mind are extremely rare to say the least.”
“The contents of this work of 698 pages have never before appeared in book form, although they embody much that has for a good many years been familiar to Kent students, embracing, in brief, nearly thirty provings which have not appeared in his published works (i.e., the two editions of his Materia Medica); his doctrine of series in degrees [refers to some of Kent's thoughts on potencies], observations on the chronic diseases, gout, cancer, tuberiulosis (sic), psora, psychosis [sic], and syphilis, et cetera: the treatment of diphtheria, typhoid fever, adenoids and glandular enlargements, asthma, goitre, etc., etc.; and many essays dealing with materia medica, homoeopathics, repertorial analysis, and the trend of homoeopathic thought. It all represents not merely an omnium gatherum [miscellaneous collection] of Kent's writings, but some of his most valued teachings. In addition, the last fifty pages embody nearly five hundred aphorisms and precepts of incomparable significance, in which approach may be had to the inner arcana of this mastermind.”[1]
–B.C.W. (Benjamin Collins Woodbury, Jr., editor)
Our German brother, Dr. med. Klaus-Henning Gypser, compiled an edited version of Sherwood's and, in 1987, Haug Verlag published it. Gypser substituted “Minor” for “Lesser” in the title thus, Kent's Minor Writings on Homoeopathy. Of course, with the good doctor's attention to detail and Haug's reputation for high production standards, this hardback compilation is much different from W.W. Sherwood's 1926 version. It will no doubt last the lifetime of the reader and beyond and continue to be a source of reliable information and inspiration, not to mention an enhanced appreciation of one of our greatest of masters.
William and Florence Kirtsos had this to say about Gypser's work. The following quote is taken from their recent book, which I highly recommend you or your local library purchase, The Kirtsos Historical Library of Homoeopathic Medicine (2023)[2]:
“[It is] an important revision and clarification of New Remedies, Clinical Cases, Lesser Writings, Aphorisms and Precepts; a compilation of Kent's lesser writings edited by W. W. Sherrwood, MD., 1926.”
“Gypser has reviewed Kent's writings in W. W. Sherwood's New Remedies, [...] for their authenticity, and his work shows the need for clarification and honest research in the publishing and presentation of homoeopathic literature and periodicals.”
–William Kirtsos, p. 174.
What follows now is K.-H. Gypser's “Introduction” to his important 1987 work, Kent's Minor Writings on Homoeopathy. Rather than summarize it, I decided to offer it here in its entirety as I might introduce some points of confusion or misunderstanding.
“Introduction
“In 1926, ten years after the death of his mentor, Willoughby W. Sherwood published, under the title, New Remedies, Clinical Cases, Lesser Writings, Aphorisms and Precepts, those of James Tyler Kent's writings that were not part of the Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy or Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica. For the past sixty years, most of those interested in reading articles Kent had published in journals had to rely on this edition. For reasons that will be explained below, a new edition seemed to be in order.
“First and foremost, bibliographic indications for the individual articles have been provided, rendering possible a chronological presentation and thus enabling the reader to observe and follow the evolution of Kent's thoughts on homoeopathy. In the course of the search for these sources, 49 articles by Kent were discovered which had not been incorporated in the 1926 edition and had remained mostly unknown in homoeopathic circles. The collection now comprises a total of 172 articles containing, among other things, about 150 case histories, plus an appendix.
“Furthermore, a critical evaluation of the material was made in an effort to decide what should be incorporated in the new edition. It was necessary to ascertain that the articles were genuinely Kent's and not lecture notes taken by his pupils, or fragments of discussions jotted down by others. For this reason, the Aphorisms and Precepts were eliminated, having been first edited by Helen B. Carpenter under the title Aphorisms and Precepts from the Extemporaneous Lectures of J.T. Kent (1897) and containing fragmentary pronouncements to which Kent had not lent his signature. The following publications did not come from Kent's pen either, but were edited by Sarah L. Guild-Leggett under the title Class-room Talks, No. 1-7 [HPH, 7(1887)-8(1888)] and The Study of Provings [CMA, 24(1890) 334-336]. The articles on Sycosis [HPH, 8(1888)163-168] and Syphilis [HPH, 8(1888) 213-218] were lecture notes supplied by an anonymous writer. In addition, I have in my possession approximately 50 remarks made by Kent during discussions, of which Sherwood published two, namely Aconite or Sulphur? –(Pneumonia) [CMA, 21(1888) 300] and Breech Presentation [CMA, 24(1890) 80]. All these were also not included in the present edition, since their authenticity is questionable. Editorials that did not explicitly indicate Kent's authorship were also excluded. We know that Kent edited, together with Hugh A. Cameron, The Journal of Homoeopathics and later with Julia C. Loos The Homoeopathician. The question as to which ones of the lead articles were written by Kent arises here. A few editorials were omitted because they dealt with nonmedical matters such as remarks about the creation of new journals or educational facilities.[3]
“The new edition avoids carefully Sherwood's frequent practice of subdividing Kent's articles, and of presenting them, and especially case histories, separately with titles of his invention.
“A few entries from the Sherwood edition were relegated to the Appendix, because no source could be found for them. They are the following: Aletris farinosa, Culex musca (A different text from that incorporated in the main section under this title), Distinction between the Similar and the Simillimum, To All Homoeopaths, Vespa vulgaris.
“The contributions printed in the present edition are reproduced, with a few exceptions, in the original version, which was frequently not the case in the Sherwood edition. For instance, the latter made several unjustifiable changes, such as often omitting the name of the person preparing the remedy, or leaving out mind, head, etc. subdivisions in the materia medica. He also changed the type of print and some titles and he introduced his own divisions of the subject matter. Alterations introduced by me concern the following standardizations: simillimum instead of similimum, homoeopathy instead of Homoeopathy or Homeopathy, and capitalization of the first letter of remedy names. Names of persons were generally printed in italics. Obvious printing errors were also corrected.
“The index contains names of people and of remedies, in so far as the latter further the understanding of the respective thought processes…”
–K.-H. Gypser, MD.
The late Julian Winston had this to say about Gypser's effort:
“The ultimate “Kent Reader.” A fascinating study of how Kent developed his ideas, since his thinking can be traced through the chronological order of publication.”
–The Heritage of Homoeopathic Literature, 2001, p. 19)
And now you know the rest of the story; well, as much as I can tell.
Now it is up to you—“seek and ye shall find.”
2 This link will take you directly to information about William and Florence Kirtsos' newly published bibliography of his massive homeopathic library and collection of ephemera:
3 HPH (The Homoeopathic Physician). This journal was a highly respected classical homoeopathic journal. It ran for 19 years, from 1881 to 1899. An index was created for this journal by myself, Cumulative Index to The Homoeopathic Physician (1996):
3 “…is a loose-leaf work, printed on one side. Authors, article titles and remedies are listed alphabetically, and book reviews alphabetically by volume. Obituaries are listed alphabetically in a separate index. Complete indexes for homoeopathic periodicals are uncommon.”
3 –Kirtsos, p. 260.
3 CMA (Cincinnati Medical Advance). This journal over the years went through many changes in name:
3 “Articles on clinical cases, homoeopathic provings, materia medica, surgery and therapeutics [may be found]. Of interest are two letters to the editor from Madame Melanie Hahnemann (vol. 5, no. 9: 403-405; and no. 12: 545-546). These letters, written in Paris shortly before her death, discuss the preparation and publication of the sixth edition of Hahnemann's Organon and request the financial aid to finish the project.”
3 –Kirtsos, p. 279.
Publication History
Article published online:
30 August 2024
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