THE BAGER.ORG PUBLIC LIBRARY

Oath And Law Of Hippocrates

THE OATH OF HIPPOCRATES

I Swear by Apollo the physician and AEsculapius, and Health,
and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my
ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation
-- to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to me as my
parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities
if required; to look upon his offspring in the same footing as my
own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they shall wish to learn
it, without fee or stipulation; and that by precept, lecture, and
every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art
to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by
a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none
others. I will follow that system of regimen which, according to
my ability and judgement, I consider for the benefit of my patients,
and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will
give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such
counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to
produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life
and practice my Art. I will not cut persons labouring under the stone,
but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this
work. Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the
benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of
mischief and corruption; and, further, from the seduction of females
or males, of freemen and slaves. Whatever, in connection with my
professional service, or not in connection with it, I see or hear,
in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will
not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. While
I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me
to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men,
in all times. But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the
reverse be my lot.

THE LAW OF HIPPOCRATES

1. Medicine is of all the arts the most noble; but, owing to the
ignorance of those who practice it, and of those who, inconsiderately,
form a judgment of them, it is at present far behind all the other
arts. Their mistake appears to me to arise principally from this, that
in the cities there is no punishment connected with the practice
of medicine (and with it alone) except disgrace, and that does not
hurt those who are familiar with it. Such persons are the figures which
are introduced in tragedies, for as they have the shape, and dress,
and personal appearance of an actor, but are not actors, so also
physicians are many in title but very few in reality.

2. Whoever is to acquire a competent knowledge of medicine, ought to
be possessed of the following advantages: a natural disposition;
instruction; a favorable position for the study; early tuition; love
of labour; leisure. First of all, a natural talent is required; for,
when Nature leads the way to what is most excellent, instruction
in the art takes place, which the student must try to appropriate to
himself by reflection, becoming an early pupil in a place well
adapted for instruction. He must also bring to the task a love of labour
and perseverance, so that the instruction taking root may bring
forth proper and abundant fruits.

3. Instruction in medicine is like the culture of the productions
of the earth. For our natural disposition, is, as it were, the soil;
the tenets of our teacher are, as it were, the seed; instruction in
youth is like the planting of the seed in the ground at the proper
season; the place where the instruction is communicated is like the
food imparted to vegetables by the atmosphere; diligent study is like
the cultivation of the fields; and it is time which imparts strength
to all things and brings them to maturity.

4. Having brought all these requisites to the study of medicine,
and having acquired a true knowledge of it, we shall thus, in travelling
through the cities, be esteemed physicians not only in name but in
reality. But inexperience is a bad treasure, and a bad fund to those
who possess it, whether in opinion or reality, being devoid of
self-reliance and contentedness, and the nurse both of timidity and
audacity. For timidity betrays a want of powers, and audacity a lack
of skill. They are, indeed, two things, knowledge and opinion, of
which the one makes its possessor really to know, the other to be
ignorant.

5. Those things which are sacred, are to be imparted only to sacred
persons; and it is not lawful to impart them to the profane until
they have been initiated into the mysteries of the science.