Dictionnaire des Auteurs D'ouvrages D'homéopathie en Langue Française

This, only in the French-language reference, translated as Dictionary of Authors Who Wrote Homeopathy Works in the French Language, begins with Algazi and ends with Zissu, both French natives. In between, one finds approximately 800 luminaries (doctors, pharmacists, veterinarians, lay persons, and dentists) who have either written French-language works of note or had their writings translated into French.

Thus, not only are virtually all important French homeopaths included (Hahnemann obviously is), but homeopaths from Poland, United States, Britain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Belgium, etc., are also included. So that you get a flavor of the text, here is the exact entry/monograph of a British homeopath, which I leave untranslated and without the usual French accents.

LAURIE, Joseph (d. 9 dec. 1865)

Medecin anglais, diplome du college royal de chirurgie d'Edimbourg, il publie de nombreux ouvrages dont un seul parait en francais, dans la traduction de Frederic Love: Elements de medecine pratique homoeopathique (Bailliere, 1850). Il s'agit d'un petit ouvrage de trente et une pages qui indique le regime, le choix du medicament, les doses et une liste des medicaments les mieux appropries aux divers temperaments. Il est le traducteur de plusieurs ouvrages de Jahr* en anglais.

“(Cordasco, p. 24 et 104; Bradford, Homoeop. bibliogr., p. 187-188.) O.R.”-p. 182.

(While his death date is still undetermined, it could be 9, 10, or 15, his birth date is definite, June 13, 1814.)

If you noticed, O.R. ends this entry. These are the initials of Olivier Rabanes (1952–), indicating him to be the one who researched and composed this entry. A.S. (1952–), obviously, is Alain's. Kent's entry, as one can imagine, is four times the size and Hahnemann's takes up several pages. Entries are not necessarily of deceased persons (many are still living) and contain data and material of an interesting nature.[1] Even I, with my less-than-perfect French, could manage an understanding with some judicious help from a software translating program.

In the beginning of Drs. Rabanes and Sarembaud's (Rabanes is also a trained historian) seminal work, one finds the Preface penned by the influential French homeopathic physician, Jacques Baur (1920–2003; the Preface was written shortly before his passing) and the Introduction by the two authors. These nine introductory pages are useful in understanding French homeopathic literature and how homeopathy developed in that country of some 68 million.[2]

About 20 years ago, British homeopath Francis Treuherz reviewed this book. He started his review with the following:

“This is a most unusual book, a dictionary of biography and of bibliography combined. Here one can locate details of every book ever written in French, or translated into French, on homeopathy, listed in a brief biography of each author. This is one of the few books I have encountered recently which requires no index as it is, in itself, an index.”

–pp. 60,1 (Homeopathy, 2005; 94:01, 2005)

In this same article, Treuherz, who owned nearly 500 titles in French, offers another poignant example of our archeological history:

Some years ago I was asked by John Churchill of Beaconsfield Publishers, for suggestions of a book which would be worth translating from French. I did not hesitate. It had to be La typologie et ses applications therapeutiques les temperaments, prototypes et métatypes by Léon Vannier first published in 1928, still in print, translated by Dr Marianne Harling which appeared as Vannier's Typology in 1992. From Rabanes and Sarembaud I learned that Vannier was taught by Swiss homeopath Antoine Nebel from whom he learned the concepts of terrain, diathesis, drainage, isotherapy and more. Vannier's influential writings, ideas and influence are explained in ways I had not hitherto realised.

“Unusual” says Treuherz? Yes, I suppose it is but what truly makes it “unusual” is its physical dimensions, plasticized hard/soft blue cover, utilitarian layout, and, finally, sewn and wrapped sturdiness. This is a book which will last into your later years and by then you will have learned enough French to at least wade through it. Again, this is a book that will last into your later years and by then you will have come to appreciate it even more and encounter an indescribable sustenance every time you dip into it.

Enjoying this book for nearly 20 years, I unfortunately never managed to pay thorough attention to its Preface and Introduction. Each discusses French homeopathic literature and a bit of its history in that country, too. It was only just recently that I made contact with a couple of Boiron employees asking if someone at their company could either authorize a translation or prepare it themselves. About a year passed and the English translation, first published in this journal, is now seeing the light.

For a bit of icing on the cake, I put together some information, albeit incomplete, about Jean-Baptiste Marie Bailliere and the small publishing empire that he founded.[3]

If you are at all interested in homeopathy and its biography, you will no doubt enjoy the scholarly efforts of the two authors. Like so many others, they have done thankless work for the art that we all so love.

What now follows are the Preface (pp. 2, 3) and Introduction (pp. 4–11) to Dictionnaire des auteurs d'ouvrages d'homeopathie en langue francaise (2003; Olivier Rabanes and Alain Sarembaud). “The translation from the original French book has been made possible courtesy of Linda Clemons and Christophe Merville”—this is how the two of them wanted their contribution to be noted.

Merville was the translator, while Clemons and I edited his labors. Now we can all become more aware of the rich and diverse development of homeopathy and its literature in France.

Publication History

Article published online:
06 November 2024