Strange Rare Peculiar

Strange Rare and Peculiar

or

Striking, Exceptional, Unusual, And Oddly Characteristic 

By

Lynn Cremona

As translated by various editors:

Dudgeon (1849) Striking, Singular, Uncommon, Peculiar...

Wesselhoeft (1876): Prominent, Uncommon, Peculiar...

Fincke (1895): Special, Uncommon, Peculiar...

Kunzli (1980): Striking, Strange, Unusual, Peculiar...

Decker/O’Reilly (1998): Striking, Exceptional, Unusual, Odd...

These are all are followed by the note “(characteristic)” as written by Hahnemann.

The chief (characteristic) signs are those symptoms that are most constant, most striking, and most annoying to the patient. The physician marks them down as the strongest, the principal features of the picture.

We record the striking characteristics of the disease state in an individual patient.

The strikingly characteristic symptoms tell you the nature of the disease state as well as the homoeopathic remedy.

from the Organon, O'Reilly translation:

In the search for a homoeopathically specific remedy, that is, in the comparison of the complex of the natural disease signs with the symptoms set of the available medicines (in order to find among them an artificial disease potence that corresponds in similarity to the malady to be cured) the more STRIKING, EXCEPTIONAL, UNUSUAL, AND ODD (characteristic) signs and symptoms OF THE DISEASE CASES are to be especially and almost solely kept in view. THESE, ABOVE ALL, MUST CORRESPOND TO VERY SIMILAR ONES IN THE SYMPTOMS SET OF THE MEDICINE  SOUGHT if it is be the most fitting one for cure. The more common and indeterminate symptoms (lack of appetite, headache, lassitude, restless sleep, discomfort, etc.) are to be seen with almost every disease and medicine and thus observe little attention unless they are mostly closely characterized.”

It is the striking, exceptional, unusual, and odd [strange, rare and peculiar] (characteristic) signs and symptoms of vital force that are characteristic of the disease in the human constitution.

The more common and vague symptoms (lack of appetite, headache, lassitude, restless sleep, discomfort, etc.) are to be seen with almost every disease and medicine and thus observe little attention unless they are mostly closely characterized.”

i.e. unless they have concomitants, locations, aetiology, modalities and sensations (CLAMS)

We do want to know how this patient in front of us manifests the vomiting, diarrhea, cough, headache etc.  Even though vomiting, fever and muscle pain may be common symptoms of the disease (Influenza), knowing the particulars and modalities must be taken into consideration and repertorized.

In Barthel's Characteristics of Homeopathic Materia Medica we find a brief

summary of the twelve ways in which the "strange, rare, and peculiar" or characteristic

symptom may be understood.

All the examples are from the remedy Phosphorus.

 1. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar in itself: "long narrow stool."

 2. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through the modality:

     "mania for work before   menses."

 3. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through its localization: "cold knees at night."

 4. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through sensations: "anus feels open."

 5. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through extension: "coryza extends to the chest."

 6. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through beginning, progression, and end: "pain

     increases and decreases with the sun."

 7. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through contrary symptoms: "lack of vital heat,

     but heat aggravates."

 8. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through its periodicity: "headaches every 7th day."

 9. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through alternating symptoms:

     "weeping alternating with laughter."

10. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through sequences:

      "bloody vomiting following suppressed menses."

11. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through vicarious symptoms: "vicarious epistaxis."

12. The symptom is characteristic or peculiar through the absence of expected symptom:

     "increased sexual desire without erections."

I participate with  a group of Homeopaths who study the Organon, led by Lois Hoffer who translates from the German.  It makes a big difference when the actual German and Latin word meanings are understood.  This is her interpretation of aph. 153

Aphorism 153

"Striking

The basic adjective, "auffallend", is made directly from the verb, "auffallen" which means "to fall on, strike on or upon" and more figuratively, "to astonish, amaze, strike with amazement or wonder, to surprise, shock, to attract or excite attention, to attract notice, to cause scandal".

The more common adjective, instead of "auffallend" is "auffällig", which means "striking,
remarkable, conspicuous, strange, peculiar, odd".

So, we're talking about something which takes you aback, which makes you sit up and take
notice, which hits you over the head with itself, because it's so OBVIOUS, so surprising, or just plain *weird*, odd.

Odd                             

sonderlich:

"sonder-" by itself means generally "special, separate, private, exclusive", so we're talking about something which is particular to THIS remedy or disease, and no other. When you add the
"-lich" ending to make a regular adjective of it, you get "considerable, remarkable, eminent, extraordinary".

The Muret-Sanders of 1901 says that the noun "Sonderlichkeit" is equivalent to "Sonderbarkeit", so if we move over to look at "sonderbar", we find the usual translations, "odd, strange, queer, peculiar, curious, singular...". Again, we're talking about something which is unusual, out of the common, which sticks out.

Unusual, Exceptional
ungewöhnlich:

this is the negation of "gewöhnlich", and means "unusual, exceptional, out of the common, novel, not in use, singular, strange, rare, wonderful, uncommon".

eigenheitlich (characteristisch):

this is the only one that Hahnemann "defined" by adding something next to it in parenthesis to make sure you knew what he meant by it. And I have to say, it's good he did, because I think this an odd word.

Why didn't he use "eigentumlich"? i.e. something which is "your own, proper to you, characteristic"?

Instead he makes an adjective out of the noun "Eigenheit", which means
"peculiarity, particularity, specialness, trick, singularity, originality, strangeness, oddity, queerness".

In the end, it sounds a great deal like "sonderlich". And yet...given that word in parenthesis, I almost wonder whether Hahnemann didn't make a mistake here and MEANT to write "eigentumlich" except that I know he edited his drafts VERY carefully, so I'd be surprised that he'd have missed it.

And Hahnemann goes on to add:
"...because above all else must these correspond to very similar ones in the Symptom-series of the sought for Medicine if they are to be the most suitable one for the Cure."

Many homeopaths are looking for something so STRANGE, RARE and in the process they are missing the STRIKING, EXTRAORDINARY, UNUSUAL, and ODDLY CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS that are presenting.

All cases have SEUO symptoms!  These symptoms characterize the disease as well as the nature of the similar remedy. They are what individualize the disease state, remedy, and the patient as a unity.

It is the SEUO characteristics that tell the homoeopath the nature of the disease and its most probable group of homoeopathic remedies.  The concomitants are where those symptoms that are not related logically to the pathology, are given special emphasis in the case.  Together that gives us a good totality of symptoms.

Aphorism 153 is pointing out that this is characteristic of this patient's disease case and not common to "all diseases".  All disease do not have such symptoms.

Add to this:

Boenninghausen's  "Seven Attributes of a Complete Symptom"

(CLAMS)
1. A Location, be that the mind or one of the various regions listed in
    the materia medica. "Where is it?"
2. A quality which includes Sensations and complaints. "What is it like?  How does it feel?"
3. A quantity or severity as well as the nature of the onset and cessation of pains. "How bad is it    

    and what is the nature of its occurrences."
4. Time factor. "When does it start? How long does it last? How often does it come?"
5. Aetiology. Circumstances in which it occurs which include environmental factors,
    personal activities, emotional reactions or other circumstances which
   contribute to the problems. "What seems to cause it or bring it on?"
6. Modalities that aggravate or ameliorate the symptoms. "What seem to
    make it better or worse?"
7. Concomitants or associated manifestations. "Are there any other
    symptoms that seem to come along with it or are experienced at the same
    time, or in alternation?"

and

Boenninghausen suggested that these seven questions contained all the essential

facets of proper case taking:

Quis? Quid?   Ubi?     Quibus auxiliis? Cur?   Quomodo?            Quando?   

Who,  What,   Where,  With what,        Why,   In What Manner,  When?

Lynn Cremona