Note 26 — Chapter VIII · BRIEF EXTRACTS FROM SOME OF THE HIPPOCRATIC WRITINGS

Daremberg (Hist. de la Méd.) makes the following comments on this sentence: “How many are the occasions when we physicians would have it in our power to avert death, or at least to postpone it for a few hours, if we would only engrave upon our memories these words of the old man of Cos! ‘What a cruel responsibility rests upon those whose duty it is to summon the doctor at the proper moment! And how great must be the remorse if he fails to arrive in time!’ On the other hand, how wise is the remark of Celsus: ‘The best practitioner is he who never loses sight of his patients.’”