Hyppocratic Writings.

THE OATH

"I swear by Apollo the healer . . .
I will pay the same respect to my master in the Science as to my parents . . . and pay all my debts to him. I will regard his sons as my brothers and teach them the Science . . . without fee or contract. . .
I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it.
I will not give a fatal draught to anyone . . . Neither will I give a woman means to procure an abortion. . .
Whatever I see or hear, professionally or privately, which ought not to be divulged, I will keep secret and tell no one. . ."^1a

THE CANON

"Although the art of healing is the most noble of all the arts, yet, because of the ignorance both of its professors and of their critics, it has at this time fallen into the least repute of them all. The chief cause for this seems to me to be that it is the only science for which states have laid down no penalties for malpractice. Ill-repute is the only punishment and this does little harm to the quacks . . ."^1b

THE SCIENCE OF MEDICINE

"I would define medicine as the complete removal of the distress of the sick, the alleviation of the more violent diseases and the refusal to undertake to cure cases in which the disease has already won the mastery, knowing that everything is not possible to medicine."^1c

APHORISMS

"In every illness, a healthy frame of mind and an eager application of victuals is good, The reverse is bad."^1d

Sudden death is more common in those who are naturally fat than in the lean."^1e

"It is better not to treat those who have internal cancers since, if treated, they die quickly; but if not treated they last a long time."^1f

THE SACRED DISEASE

"It ought to be generally known that the source of our pleasure, merriment, laughter and amusement, as of our grief, pain, anxiety and tears, is none other than the brain. It is specially the organ which enables us to think, see and hear, and to distinguish the ugly and the beautiful, the bad and the good, pleasant and unpleasant. . . It is the brain too which is the seat of madness and delirium, of the fears and frights which assail us . . ."^1g

"The majority of maladies may be cured by the same things as caused them."^1h

DREAMS

"When the body is sleeping it receives no sensations, but the soul being awake at the time perceives everything . . . In short, during sleep the soul performs all the functions of both body and soul. A correct appreciation of these things implies considerable wisdom."¹ⁱ

* Italics in the original.

¹ Hippocrates (c. 460 BC - c. 370 BC). Hippocratic Writings. Edited with an Introduction by G. E. R. Lloyd. Translated by J. Chadwick and W. N. Mann; I. M. Lonie; E.T. Withington. London, U.K.: Penguin Books Ltd., 1983.
^a The Oath, at 67.
^b The Canon, at 68.
^c The Science of Medicine, at 140.
^d Aphorisms, at 211.
^e Ibid., at 212.
^f Ibid., at 230.
^g The Sacred Disease, at 248.
^h Ibid., at 251.
ⁱ Dreams (Regimen IV), at 252.

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