The physician must be able to tell the antecedents, know the present, and foretell the future – must mediate these things, and have two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm.

Hippocrates
About This Quote

The physician must be able to tell the antecedents, know the present, and foretell the future — must mediate these things, and have two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm. The physician must be able to tell the antecedents, know the present, and foretell the future. For instance, one may say that a high fever is due to a slight chill; but if we know that the chill was due to the presence of a germ and not so slight as we thought at first, and if we can tell how long it has been there and what it is like, we may be able to give a more correct diagnosis. One must also understand what is going on with our patient at the present time. If we take for example a person who might be called “constipated” (a word I despise), we should know that this state may not always exist; that it is probably due to some cause other than constipation; and if we know these facts we may be able to treat it in such a way as will cure it altogether. Lastly, if we would rightly perform our duties as good physicians and devote all our energies towards curing our patients or doing them no harm (which is theoretically impossible) we should foresee their past and present conditions and prescribe accordingly.

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