Author John Epps

Vintage book from year 1850 London

The author, John Epps, was born 15 February 1805. Epps became disillusioned with the religious atmosphere of his childhood. After schooling, he served an apprenticeship to an apothecary.

In 1824, at the age of 18, Epps went to Edinburgh to study medicine, and in 1827 graduated at the age of 21. He conceived of medicine as 'a tool of liberation for the poor and lower classes'. He lectured on materia medica and chemistry and he was a frequent contributor to the British Journal of Homeopathy, The Journal of health and Disease and The Lancet Journal in which his homeopathically treated case of haematemesis was published provoking "an avalanche of letters" which led to the rejection of further homeopathic cases.

Epps was drawn to homeopathy in about 1837- his major influence in homoeopathy was Dr Samuel Hahnemann. Epps had a "very large homeopathic practice, especially among the lower middle and lower classes of society". John Epps was a radical dissenter. One of the nineteenth century homeopaths who really saw medicine as a tool of liberation for the poor and lower classes, and who was a compassionate religious non-conformist. His patients included Emily Brontë.

The book systematically outlines Samuel Hahnemann's doctrines for practitioners and has sections on:

• The treatment and progress of truth
• The antipathy method
• The universality of homeopathiclaw
• The characteristics if science
• Injuries inflicted by old system medicine
• "Nature does it all"
• Treatment of cattle
• Ignorance of medical practitioenrs
• The opponents of homeopathy
• Cure of epilepsy