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Kent's Lectures on Materia Medica

Agnus Castus (Agnus Cast)

অ্যাগনাস ক্যাস্টাস (agn)

The pale, sad young man broken by early excesses, newly married, impotent and cold, lamenting over his misspent life.

Source
Ripe berries of the chaste tree, Vitex agnus-castus
Kingdom
Plant
Thermal
Sensitive to cold; limbs tired and cold; wants to remain quiet
Main spheres
Male sexual organs and prostate, Female sexual organs and breasts, Mind and nerves, Stomach, abdomen and rectum, General weakness and relaxation
Kent's lecture
405 words, about 2 min
The remedy in one minute

Meet the Agnus Castus Patient

Kent calls Agnus a wonderful remedy that is often overlooked. It belongs to old sufferers broken by sexual excesses and secret vice: pale, sickly, sad mortals who lament over their misspent life. It is good for both sexes, and its theme is sexual weakness, relaxation of parts and perversion of all the functions. His central portrait is the pitiful, woebegone young man, heart-broken over his early life, newly married and impotent. He has had gonorrhea and lived in excesses; his genitals are relaxed and cold, he has emissions and prostatic discharge at stool, and his young wife excites no erection, though morning erections remain.

From this cause flow many distressing symptoms: loss of memory, despair, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, fear and peevishness, with headaches, photophobia, formication and tearing pains. Only the simplest food agrees. He is nauseated, flatulent, flabby and anemic, with enlarged glands, especially the spleen. He presses hard at a large, hard stool that often slips back. He is sensitive to cold, wants to remain quiet, and exertion and motion make him worse. In women Kent describes loss of sexual thrill after secret vice, belated or failing milk with sadness, a relaxed vagina, prolapsus and copious leucorrhoea. Many advisors have told him he has neurasthenia.

Keynotes

What Kent Wants You to Remember

  1. Broken by sexual excesses and secret vice

    Kent calls it a wonderful, often overlooked remedy for old sufferers worn down by excesses. It is good for both sexes.

    It should come to mind for old sufferers who are broken from sexual excesses and secret vice.

    Kent
  2. Pale, sad, lamenting the misspent life

    The patient is pale, sickly and sad, and heart-broken over his early life. Regret colours the whole picture.

    The pale sickly and sad mortals who lament over their misspent life.

    Kent
  3. Newly married, impotent, cold genitals

    After gonorrhea and excesses the genitals are relaxed and cold, with emissions and prostatic discharge at stool. Morning erections remain, but his wife excites none.

    His young and beautiful wife excites no erection, though only recently he had a clandestine success, and he has morning erections but no more.

    Kent
  4. No sexual thrill; belated, failing milk

    In Kent's case, a woman with a history of secret vice had no sexual thrill after marriage. After confinement her milk did not come; Agnus started the belated milk at the end of three weeks.

    Later she was confined and no milk came in her mammae, again Agnus started the belated milk at the end of three weeks.

    Kent
  5. Relaxed vagina, prolapsus, copious leucorrhoea

    The vagina is much relaxed, with frequent prolapsus and a copious leucorrhoea like white of egg. Kent also notes uterine hemorrhage and suppressed menses in young women with this history.

    It cures uterine hemorrhage, and restores suppressed menses in young women with a history.

    Kent
  6. Memory lost, despair, suicidal thoughts

    Out of the sexual cause come many mental symptoms. With them come headaches, photophobia, formication and tearing pains in head, face and teeth.

    Loss of memory, despair, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, fear and peevishness.

    Kent
  7. Weak rectum; stool slips back

    A large, hard stool needs hard pressing, often fails and slips back. The anus itches, smarts and is excoriated, and the flatus is noisy, with a urinous odor.

    he presses hard at stool, which often fails and slips back, like Silica, Sanic and Thuja.

    Kent
  8. Chilly, wants quiet; worse from motion

    The limbs are tired and cold, the muscles flabby. He is sensitive to cold, and exertion and motion intensify his complaints.

    He is sensitive to cold, and wants to remain quiet. Exertion and motion intensify his complaints.

    Kent
At a glance

The Picture on One Screen

Mind

  • Sad, lamenting over misspent life
  • Heart-broken over his early life
  • Loss of memory
  • Despair, suicidal thoughts
  • Anxiety and fear
  • Peevishness

Generals

  • Sexual weakness, relaxation of parts
  • Perversion of all the functions
  • Flabby muscles, anemia
  • Enlarged glands, especially the spleen
  • Limbs tired and cold
  • Formication of the skin
  • Hacking cough and night sweats

Worse

  • Exertion
  • Motion
  • Cold
  • All but the simplest food
  • After sexual excesses, secret vice

Better

  • Remaining quiet, which he wants
  • Only the simplest food agrees
  • Kent names no other amelioration

Desires and aversions

  • Kent gives no food cravings
  • Stomach disordered by all but simplest food
  • Much nausea
  • No sexual thrill (woman)

Where it acts

  • Male genitals and prostate
  • Uterus, vagina and breasts
  • Mind and nerves
  • Stomach and abdomen
  • Rectum and anus
  • Spleen and glands
Differential

Do Not Confuse It With

Silica

Kent names Silica beside Agnus for the stool that is pressed hard, fails and slips back. In Agnus this comes with a growing weakness of the rectum in a patient broken by sexual excess, with cold, relaxed genitals.

Thuja

Thuja is the other remedy Kent places with Agnus for the receding stool. The Agnus patient adds the history of gonorrhea and excesses, impotence before his young wife, and sad lamenting over his early life.

Caladium

Kent's third comparison, Sanicula, is not in the index, and he does not set Caladium beside Agnus in this lecture. For Agnus, hold to what Kent gives: cold, relaxed genitals and morning erections but none before the wife, after excesses and gonorrhea, in a sad, lamenting patient.

Self-test

Test Yourself

Answer in your head first, then tap to check. Come back tomorrow and try again: spaced recall is how keynotes stay.

1For what kind of patient does Kent say Agnus should come to mind?

Old sufferers broken from sexual excesses and secret vice. They are pale, sickly, sad mortals who lament over their misspent life.

2Describe the sexual state of Kent's newly married young man.

After gonorrhea and excesses his genitals are relaxed and cold, with emissions and prostatic discharge at stool. His wife excites no erection, though he has morning erections.

3What happened in Kent's case of the woman with a history of secret vice?

After marriage she had no sexual thrill, and Agnus helped her. Later, after confinement, no milk came, and Agnus started the belated milk at the end of three weeks.

4What female symptoms of relaxation does Kent give?

The vagina is much relaxed, there is often prolapsus, and there is a copious leucorrhoea like white of egg. He also mentions uterine hemorrhage and suppressed menses in young women with this history.

5What is peculiar about the stool, and which remedies does Kent compare here?

The stool is large and hard; he presses hard, it often fails and slips back. Kent compares Silica, Sanicula and Thuja.

6What are the general modalities, and what label have other advisors given him?

He is sensitive to cold, wants to remain quiet, and is worse from exertion and motion. Many advisors have told him he has neurasthenia.

Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905)

Agnus Castus by J. T. Kent

Complete and unabridged, with a faithful Bangla translation. Switch on parallel reading to see both languages paragraph by paragraph.

Sexual Weakness in Both Sexes

This wonderful remedy is often overlooked. It should come to mind for old sufferers who are broken from sexual excesses and secret vice. The pale sickly and sad mortals who lament over their misspent life. It is good for both sexes. Sexual weakness; relaxation of parts. Perversion of all the functions.

এই চমৎকার ঔষধটি প্রায়ই নজর এড়িয়ে যায়। যৌন বাড়াবাড়ি আর গোপন কুঅভ্যাসে (হস্তমৈথুনে) যারা ভেঙে পড়েছে, এমন পুরোনো ভুক্তভোগীদের ক্ষেত্রে এই ঔষধের কথা মনে আসা উচিত। ফ্যাকাশে, রুগ্ণ, বিষণ্ণ মানুষ, যারা নিজেদের নষ্ট করে ফেলা জীবনের জন্য আক্ষেপ করে। এটি নারী-পুরুষ উভয়ের জন্যই উপযোগী। যৌন দুর্বলতা; অঙ্গগুলোর শিথিলতা। সমস্ত ক্রিয়ার বিকৃতি।

A woman who indulged extensively in secret vice, found after marriage that she had no sexual thrill, was cured by this remedy. Later she was confined and no milk came in her mammae, again Agnus started the belated milk at the end of three weeks. When the milk ceases after it has started, or becomes scanty when the above history is known, and the woman is sad, this remedy will, if not opposed, most likely cure.

একজন নারী ব্যাপকভাবে গোপন কুঅভ্যাসে লিপ্ত ছিল; বিয়ের পর সে দেখল তার কোনো যৌন শিহরণ নেই। এই ঔষধে সে আরোগ্য লাভ করে। পরে তার প্রসব হয়, কিন্তু স্তনে কোনো দুধ আসেনি; তখন আবারও অ্যাগনাস তিন সপ্তাহ শেষে দেরিতে আসা দুধ চালু করে দেয়। দুধ একবার আসার পর যদি বন্ধ হয়ে যায়, বা কমে যায়, আর ওপরের মতো ইতিহাস জানা থাকে এবং নারীটি বিষণ্ণ থাকে, তবে অন্য কিছু বাধা না হলে এই ঔষধ খুব সম্ভবত আরোগ্য করবে।

It cures uterine hemorrhage, and restores suppressed menses in young women with a history. The vagina is much relaxed, there is often prolapsus, and there is a copious white-of-egg-like leucorrhoea.

এটি জরায়ুর রক্তস্রাব আরোগ্য করে, এবং এমন ইতিহাসওয়ালা তরুণীদের চাপা পড়া ঋতুস্রাব আবার ফিরিয়ে আনে। যোনিপথ খুব শিথিল, প্রায়ই জরায়ুর স্থানচ্যুতি (প্রোল্যাপস) থাকে, আর থাকে ডিমের সাদা অংশের মতো প্রচুর শ্বেতপ্রদর।

The Impotent Young Man

But the pitiful, woebegone young man, heart-broken over his early life, now finds himself newly married and impotent. He has had gonorrhea; he has lived in excesses and now suffers from relaxed and cold genitalia, emissions, prostatic discharge at stool. His young and beautiful wife excites no erection, though only recently he had a clandestine success, and he has morning erections but no more.

কিন্তু সেই করুণ, দুঃখে ভেঙে পড়া তরুণ, যে নিজের আগের জীবনের জন্য মর্মাহত, এখন সদ্য বিয়ে করে দেখছে সে পুরুষত্বহীন। তার গনোরিয়া হয়েছিল; সে বাড়াবাড়ির মধ্যে জীবন কাটিয়েছে, আর এখন ভুগছে শিথিল ও ঠান্ডা যৌনাঙ্গ, বীর্যপাত, মলত্যাগের সময় প্রোস্টেট রস নিঃসরণে। তার তরুণী ও সুন্দরী স্ত্রী তার মধ্যে কোনো লিঙ্গোত্থান জাগাতে পারে না, যদিও মাত্র কিছুদিন আগেও গোপন এক সম্পর্কে সে সফল হয়েছিল; সকালে তার লিঙ্গোত্থান হয়, কিন্তু এর বেশি কিছু নয়।

Out of the above cause and condition come many distressing symptoms. Loss of memory, despair, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, fear and peevishness. These patients suffer from headaches, photophobia and nervous symptoms too numerous to mention. Formication of the skin. Tearing pains to head, face and teeth. All but the simplest food disorders the stomach, and he complains much of nausea. His muscles are flabby. He is anemic, and his glands are enlarged, especially the spleen.

ওপরের কারণ ও অবস্থা থেকে অনেক কষ্টদায়ক লক্ষণ দেখা দেয়। স্মৃতিশক্তি লোপ, হতাশা, আত্মহত্যার চিন্তা, উদ্বেগ, ভয় আর খিটখিটে ভাব। এই রোগীরা মাথাব্যথা, আলোকভীতি এবং বলে শেষ করা যায় না এত স্নায়বিক লক্ষণে ভোগে। ত্বকে পিঁপড়ে হেঁটে বেড়ানোর মতো অনুভূতি। মাথা, মুখমণ্ডল ও দাঁতে ছিঁড়ে ফেলার মতো ব্যথা। একেবারে সাদামাটা খাবার ছাড়া সব খাবারই পাকস্থলী বিগড়ে দেয়, আর সে বমিভাবের কথা খুব বলে। তার পেশি থলথলে। সে রক্তশূন্য, আর তার গ্রন্থিগুলো বড় হয়ে যায়, বিশেষ করে প্লীহা।

He is growing increasingly flatulent. The abdominal viscera hang down as a weight. There is a growing weakness of the rectum and constipation, and he presses hard at stool, which often fails and slips back, like Silica, Sanic and Thuja. The stool is large and hard. Itching, smarting at the anus, noisy flatus of a urinous odor. Excoriated anus. He soon takes on a hacking cough and night sweats. The limbs are tired and cold. He is sensitive to cold, and wants to remain quiet. Exertion and motion intensify his complaints. He has been to many advisors, and they have told him he has Neurasthenia. He must have Agnus castus.

তার পেটে বায়ু ক্রমশ বাড়তে থাকে। পেটের যন্ত্রগুলো যেন একটা ভারের মতো নিচে ঝুলে থাকে। মলাশয়ের দুর্বলতা ক্রমে বাড়ে, কোষ্ঠকাঠিন্য থাকে; মলত্যাগের সময় সে খুব জোরে কোঁথ দেয়, কিন্তু প্রায়ই মল বের হয় না, আবার ভেতরে ফিরে যায়, সাইলিসিয়া, স্যানিকিউলা ও থুজার মতো। মল বড় ও শক্ত। মলদ্বারে চুলকানি, জ্বালা, শব্দ করে বের হওয়া বায়ু, যার গন্ধ প্রস্রাবের মতো। মলদ্বারে ছাল উঠে যাওয়া। শিগগিরই তার খুকখুকে কাশি আর রাতের ঘাম দেখা দেয়। হাত-পা ক্লান্ত ও ঠান্ডা। সে শীতকাতর, এবং চুপচাপ থাকতে চায়। পরিশ্রম ও নড়াচড়ায় তার কষ্ট বেড়ে যায়। সে অনেক পরামর্শদাতার কাছে গেছে, আর তারা তাকে বলেছে তার নিউরাস্থেনিয়া (স্নায়বিক দৌর্বল্য) হয়েছে। তার দরকার অ্যাগনাস ক্যাসটাস।

Original text: James Tyler Kent, Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905), public domain. Section headings, light punctuation fixes, study notes and the Bangla translation: IZ Homeo.

For study by homeopathic physicians and students. This is not advice to take any medicine: in classical homeopathy a remedy is chosen only after a full case. For treatment, book an online consultation. Book Online Consultation

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