Quoting the Hippocratic Oath
1999; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 286; Issue: 5441 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1126/science.286.5441.901c
ISSN1095-9203
Autores Tópico(s)Neurology and Historical Studies
ResumoOne of the most reiterated and erroneous myths of medical history appears in the review by Julio Licinio of Howard I. Kushner's book A Cursing Brain? The Histories of Tourette Syndrome (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1999) ( Science 's Compass, 1 Oct., p. [56][1]). In the final column of this otherwise enjoyable review, Licinio parenthetically equates the Hippocratic Oath with the quote “first do no harm.” This may seem a bit of a quibble, but for the past 20 years I have fielded queries from physicians and lay researchers for the exact citation in the Hippocratic Oath of that quote. They are amazed when they can't find it in the Oath or another of the Hippocratic works, because they have seen it cited as such in reputable books and magazines. Neither those words nor that sentiment appears in any known version of the Hippocratic Oath. In Ludwig Edelstein's translation of the Greek version, the Oath does say, “I will keep them [the sick] from harm and injustice” ([1][2], p. 3). “First do no harm” is a most worthwhile rule, and I do not mean to belittle it. However, the closest Hippocrates (or any of the unknown authors of the Hippocratic corpus) came to expressing it is in the work Epidemics, book I, where it is stated, “As to diseases, make a habit of two things—to help, or at least to do no harm.” 1. [↵][3]1. L. Edelstein , Bull. Hist. Med. 1943(suppl. 1), 1 (1943). [OpenUrl][4] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.286.5437.56 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [4]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DBull.%2BHist.%2BMed.%26rft.volume%253D1943%26rft.issue%253Dsuppl.%2B1%26rft.spage%253D1%26rft.atitle%253DBULL%2BHIST%2BMED%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx
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