Controversy
Although homeopathy was initially viewed with some respect and tolerance, particularly by the public—it did appear to provide alleviation of symptoms in some cases and generally did no harm to the patient by allowing nature to take its course—professional opposition to the new movement in Massachusetts began almost immediately. On February 16, 1842, at a lecture to the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) delivered a scathing critique of homeopathy, equating it with the use of Perkins' metallic tractors and other "kindred delusions" of the past, ridiculing the Hahnemannian precepts of infinitesimal doses and the law of similars. The lecture was subsequently printed and provoked a public outcry from homeopaths, some of whom published their own responses.