THE MAKING OF ALLENS KEYNOTE

Prof. (Dr.) Abhijit Chattopadhyay

Dept. of Hom. Materia Medica
National Institute of Homoeopathy
(Govt. of India)
ABSTRACT- From the history of homoeopathy we see different popular books of Materia
Medica, which are widely accepted as the standard text books. Dr. H. C Allens Keynotes and
characteristics is one of the most popular books of Materia Medica in todays era (since a
long time now) and it is being used across by different sections of our profession. But how
this Materia Medica was derived from the Herings guiding symptoms and how it was
constructed is a major question which is hitherto never addressed. So here in this article I
wanted to throw a limelight, how each word was taken from Herings guiding symptom and
its pattern of construction.
Introduction:
After death of Dr. Hahnemann the homoeopathic profession had a big dilemma about
whether to go along the line of puritan group i.e. giving priority to the purity of proving
symptoms or, to go along the line of Materia Medica which had the priority towards the
clinical symptoms and utility in practice. But after the arrival of Herings guiding symptoms,
most of the books of Materia Medica followed the second path and were mostly constructed
from the perspective of clinical utility. Herings guiding symptom didnt became much
popular or frequently read book among the profession because of its outsize 10 volumes.
While Allens keynote formed connecting link between Herings guiding symptom and the
readers because of its concise and handy presentation.
Dr. Henry C. Allen was born on February 10, 1836 in the village of Nilestown, near London,
Ontario. In 1892 he founded the Hering Medical College and Hospital, of which he was Dean
and Professor of Materia Medica until his death, January 22nd, 1909.
Dr. Allen was an honourable senior of the American Institute of Homeopathy ; a member of
the International Hahnemannian Association; of the Illinois Homeopathic Medical
Association ; of the Englewood Homeopathic Medical Society ; of the Regular Homeopathic
Medical Society of Chicago ; Honorary Vice-President of the Cooper Club of London,
England ; and Honorary Member of the Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio State
Medical Societies and Honorary Member of the Homeopathic Society of Calcutta, India.
He was owner and editor of the Medical Advance for many years. Besides writing many
articles in Medical Advance and other magazines he wrote numerous books, which are as
follows :

Keynotes of Leading Remedies, lately placed on the Council List of Books for use in the
Canadian Medical Colleges;
The Homeopathic Therapeutics of Intermittent Fever
The Homeopathic Therapeutics of Fevers
Therapeutics of Tuberculous Affections
Bnninghausen's Slip Repertory, which he brought down to date and arranged for rapid and
practical work.
His latest work, a treatise on the Nosodes, was completed only a short time before his
death, and was the result of years of study, experience, and of proving and confirming the
symptomatology of many of the nosodes. His observations are here published for the first
time.
The book Keynotes of leading Remedies by Dr. Henry Clay Allen is the result of
years of study as student, practitioner and teacher, and is published at the earnest
solicitation of many alumni of Hering College, with the hope that it may be of as much
benefit to the beginner as it has been to the compiler. It was published in the year 1898 ,
containing 179 pages and 188 remedies by Boericke and Tafel. Its second edition came
within in a year of the first which was expanded to 318 pages.
The object of this work is to aid the student to master that which is guiding and
characteristics in the individuality of each remedy an thus utilize more readily the
symptomatology of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica , the most comprehensive and
practical work for the cure of the sick ever given the medical profession.
Dr. H.C. Allen's Keynotes of Leading Remedies is based exclusively on the Guiding
symptoms. Practically not a sentence or word has been changed, we will see by an example
as given below. This latter book became popular and had numerous reprints, but people
forgot about the original source. For each drug, Dr. H.C. Allen selected some of the
symptoms from the Guiding Symptoms according to his sense of priority and his own
personal experience. He synthesized many symptoms of the book into one single symptom by
putting; in between them. Many symptoms in this book is written in just one word which is
reflected in Hering guiding symptoms in more than twenty different lines. This study will
make us realise how the each line of this keynote book carries meaning of so many lines from
the source book and thereby better utilisation of the book. Yet there are quite a few symptoms
which should have been replaced by other more important symptoms which are lying
unnoticed in the Guiding Symptoms.

H C ALLEN (ABROTANUM)

HERINGS GUIDING SYMPTOMS OF

OUR MATERIA MEDICA

Alternate
constipation
diarrhoea; lienteria.

Marasmus of children with marked

emaciation, especially of legs (Iod.,
Sanic., Tub.); the skin is flabby and
hangs lose in folds (of neck, Nat.
m., Sanic.).

In marasmus head weak, cannot

hold it up. (Aeth.).
Head weak, could not hold it up.

Marasmus of lower extremities

only.

and Alternate diarrhoea and constipation. The

food passed undigested.

This symptom is actually a combination of four

different symptom:
Marasmus of children.
Marasmus( this symptom is mention by Hering
in 14 places under different section but Allen has
mention it in two symptom)
Children: emaciation, especially of legs. (Stages
of life, Constitution)
The skin is flabby and hangs loose. ( in folds is
not mention in Hering guiding symptom this
is an addition of Allen).

Emaciation, mostly of legs. Marasmus.

Ravenous hunger; losing flesh while

eating well (Iod., Nat. m., Sanic.,
Appetite great, ravenous while emaciating;
Tub.).
marasmus.

Painful contractions of the limbs

from cramps or following colic.

Rheumatism: for the excessive pain

before the swelling commences;
from suddenly - checked diarrhoea
or other secretions; alternates with
hemorrhoids, with dysentery.

Contractions of
following colic.

limbs

from

cramps

or

This whole symptom is also combination of 4

different symptom under different section :
Painful, inflammatory rheumatism before
swelling.
Rheumatism from suddenly checked diarrhoea
(Mention under section Tissues)

After sudden checking of diarrhoea, rheumatism.

Piles appear and become < as rheumatic pains
abate.( Mention under the section Rectum and
Gout; joints stiff, swollen, with Stool , but with dysentery is addition of Allen).
pricking sensation; wrists and ankle
Gout: painful and inflamed wrists and ankle
- joints painful and inflamed.
joints.
Joints stiff, with pricking sensation.
Very lame and sore all over.

Itching chilblains (Agar.).

Great weakness and prostration and Itching chilblains.

a kind of hectic fever with children;
unable to stand.
Great weakness and prostration , and a kind
of hectic fever with children, after influenza.
(unable to stand is the addition of Allen).

Child is ill- natured, irritable, cross

and despondent; violent, inhuman,
would like to do something cruel.

Very lame and sore all over. Rheumatism.

The child is cross and depressed. Marasmus.

Face old, pale, wrinkled (Op.).

Relationship. After Hepar in

Face wrinkled, old, pale.
furuncle; after Acon. and Bry. in
pleurisy, when a pressing sensation
remains in affected side impeding After hepar sulph, in furuncle.
respiration.
After Acon. And bryon., in pleurisy.(both in
relationship section)
In pleurisy (after Acon. And Bryon.), when a
pressing sensation remains in affected side,
impeding free breathing. [present under section
Inner Chest]

Ill- natured, irritable, violent.

Exceedingly peevish, feels as if she would like to
do something cruel ; no humanity.

CONCLUSION: The idea of writing this article is to help the students & the practitioner for
better understanding of its construction and its importance in the clinical practice. Each and
every lines of Allens keynote are golden words as each word are precisely described from
Hering Guiding Symptoms which contains clinically verified symptoms.

REFERENCES
1. Allen. H.C; Keynotes and characterstics with comparisions of some of the leading
remedies of the Materia Medica ; B. Jain Pub. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi: Reprint edition
2005.
2. Bradford .T. L; Pioneers of Homoeopathy ; Boericke & Tafel; Philadelphia 1897
3. Hering C; The Guiding symptoms of our Materia Medica (Volume I X); B. Jain Pub.
Hering C; Analytical Repertory of the symptoms of the Mind; 2 nd edition; B. Jain
Pub. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi: Reprint edition 2000.
5. Knerr C.B; The Conversation, talks, life & times of Hering; B. Jain Pub. Pvt. Ltd.
New Delhi: Reprint edition 2000
6. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi: Reprint edition 2005.
4.

7. Winston, Julian. The Faces of Homeopathy. Tawa: Great Auk Publishing, 1999.
8.

Singh Mahendra;Pioneers of Homoeopathy; B. Jain Pub. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi:

Reprint edition 2011.

9. www.modernhomoeopathy.com/biography of homoeopathic stalwarts.