3。ThedoctrineoftheoriginofmostchronicdiseasesinPsora，notwithstandingHahnemannsaysitcosthimtwelveyearsofstudyandresearchtoestablishthefactanditspracticalconsequences，hasmetwithgreatneglectandevenoppositionfromverymanyofhisowndisciples。
Itistrue，notwithstanding，that，throughoutmostoftheirwritingswhichIhaveseen，thererunsaprevailingtoneofgreatdeferencetoHahnemann’sopinions，aconstantreferencetohisauthority，ageneralagreementwiththeminorpointsofhisbelief，andapretenceofharmoniousunioninacommonfaith。[ThosewhowilltakethetroubletolookoverHull’sTranslationofJahr’sManualmayobservehowlittlecomparativespaceisgiventoremediesrestinguponanyotherauthoritythanthatofHahnemann。]
Manypersons，andmostphysiciansandscientificmen，wouldbesatisfiedwiththestatementofthesedoctrines，andexaminethemnofurther。Theywouldconsideritvastlymoreprobablethatanyobserverinsofallaciousanddifficultafieldofinquiryasmedicinehadbeenledintoerror，orwalkedintoitofhisownaccord，thanthatsuchnumerousandextraordinaryfactshadreallyjustcometolight。TheywouldfeelarighttoexercisethesameobduracytowardsthemastheFrenchInstituteisinthehabitofdisplayingwhenmemoirsormodelsareofferedtoitrelatingtothesquaringofthecircleorperpetualmotion；whichitistheruletopassoverwithoutnotice。Theywouldfeelasastronomersandnaturalphilosophersmusthavefeltwhen，somehalfadozenyearsago，anunknownmancameforward，andaskedforanopportunitytodemonstratetoAragoandhiscolleaguesthatthemoonandplanetswereatadistanceofalittlemorethanahundredmilesfromtheearth。AndsotheywouldnotevenlookintoHomoeopathy，thoughallitsadvocatesshouldexclaiminthewordsofMr。BenjaminDouglassPerkins，venderoftheMetallicTractors，that“Onalldiscoveriestherearepersonswho，withoutdescendingtoanyinquiryintothetruth，pretendtoknow，asitwerebyintuition，thatnewlyassertedfactsarefoundedinthegrossesterrors。“Andtheywouldlaytheirheadsupontheirpillowswithaperfectlyclearconscience，althoughtheywereassuredthattheywerebehavinginthesamewaythatpeopleofolddidtowardsHarvey，Galileo，andCopernicus，theidenticalgreatnameswhichwereinvokedbyMr。BenjaminDouglassPerkins。
Butexperiencehasshownthatthecharacteroftheseassertionsisnotsufficienttodetermany，fromexaminingtheirclaimstobelief。
Ithereforeleanbutveryslightlyontheextravaganceandextremeapparentsingularityoftheirpretensions。Imighthaveomittedthem，butonthewholeitseemedmorejusttotheclaimsofmyargumenttosuggestthevastcomplicationofimprobabilitiesinvolvedinthestatementsenumerated。Everyonemustofcoursejudgeforhimselfastotheweightoftheseobjections，whicharebynomeansbroughtforwardasaproofoftheextravaganceofHomoeopathy，butsimplyasentitledtoabriefconsiderationbeforethefactsofthecasearesubmittedtoourscrutiny。