Repertory › Remedies in the repertory

Mercurius solubilis Hahnemanni (Merc.)

Mercurius solubilis Hahnemanni (Merc.) appears in 1,722 rubrics in the Repertory. Of these, 96 are single-remedy rubrics in which only this remedy is listed, and 89 are small rubrics with at most two other remedies. The emphasis lies on Delusions, Suicidal disposition, Kill, desire to, Fear, and Delirium; in addition there is a large group of Children rubrics. The picture is that of a person driven by inner restlessness who cannot keep the truth to himself. Where self-control slackens, impulses of violence, nocturnal anxiety, and delusions of peculiar tenacity come to the fore.

Restlessness

The basic trait is movement without a goal. The Repertory records a person who is "Quicksilver – mercurial, restless," becomes restless after the slightest exertion, and remains constantly impatient. The person walks back and forth, the will is unsteady, and there is an almost uncontrollable desire to travel far away. Fleeing appears in several forms: from the house after a fright, at night with anxiety, and from fear of having committed a crime. Alongside this stands an abundance of thoughts, a thousand ideas crowding one another out. One can read in this a restlessness that does not strive toward something but leads away from something.

Truth and Candor

The attitude toward truth is striking. Several single-remedy rubrics record that the person seeks the truth, has an instinct for it, and must speak it: "Truth – must speak the." Insincerity provokes anger and fits of rage. The reverse side is named by a further single-remedy rubric: "Unpopular – because of directness"; the rubrics undiplomatic and uncomfortable belong here as well. The person observes sharply, argues, and acts autonomously, is capable of abstraction, and is committed to the oppressed and the weak. At the same time the person senses deception: the feeling of being tricked and tricking others are both recorded, as are insulting distrust and the expectation of unconditional agreement. Reproach is directed against parents, teachers, and friends, but equally against oneself, and a single-remedy rubric names excessive, extreme remorse.

Violence against Others and against Oneself

The section of greatest weight consists of the rubrics on killing and suicide. The impulse to kill is directed against people who contradict, can rise suddenly from a slight insult, and appears during menses or with hysterical sadness. Using the beloved spouse as an example, the Repertory shows that the person fears the impulse itself: the person asks that the razor be hidden. The sight of a knife or a gun triggers the desire to kill, and it also triggers fear of suicide: "Fear – suicide, of – knife, with a." The suicidal disposition is finely differentiated: with sharp weapons, with headache, during menses, with mania, by starving, and it improves from weeping. Someone so divided between impulse and defense evidently lives in constant danger from himself; to this is added the aversion to oneself, which leaves no wish to live with oneself.

Fear and Night

Fear occupies a great deal of space, and it is bound to the night. Recorded are anxiety and fear at night with desire to flee, fear of robbers on waking, easy fright before midnight, and fear with grief. The fear of wrongdoing, of committing a wrong, complements the motif of truth: the person fears becoming guilty himself. In addition come anxiety with perspiration and anxiety about the appearance of an eruption.

Delusions

Among the Delusions (97, of which 22 specific) are specters and figures at night, a man hanging himself, animals jumping at one, needles that are seen, and flowing water. Unusual notions concern the body: being made of sweets, being mentally and physically ill, stretching in length as soon as one lies down. At night something living crawls into the mouth or the vagina. One rubric records the suffering of torments of hell: "Delusions – hell – suffering the torments of hell, without being able to explain it." The person thus suffers the image without being able to interpret it. Some rubrics are of strange proximity to action: one person heats the stove in summer, another grasps people by the nose.

Delirium and Uninhibited Behavior

In delirium the behavior becomes crude. Recorded are the desire to lick things and feces, smearing feces on the floor, spitting on the floor and then licking it up, and putting stones into the mouth: "Delirium – mouth – puts stones in the." To these are added involuntary hand movements that reach for the noses of bystanders, and pulling the noses of strangers. Taking everything apart belongs here as well. These rubrics show a person in whom the boundary between what is one's own and what is foreign, between the edible and the inedible, has been abolished.

Children, Speech, and Memory

Among the Children (176 rubrics) are a child that puts everything into its mouth and swallows it, difficult dentition with worm affection, stammering of mentally retarded children, inability to learn to write, and an older child who lacks understanding. Speech is hasty, stammering, and in short syllables, spasmodic; one who speaks hastily nevertheless answers slowly. Memory concerns mainly time and place, and there is the rubric of the person who forgets where he is going and cannot dress himself.

Summary

In Merc. the Repertory shows a person who cannot keep his balance: restless in thought and action, uncompromising in the truth, threatened by impulses he himself fears. At night and in delirium the boundaries dissolve, and what was controlled turns into delusion and disinhibition. Against this background the steadfastness in the truth also appears as an attempt to keep a fixed point.

A reference work for professionals; it does not replace diagnosis or treatment.