o have served as beacon lights in the
history and development of medicine. Not only does the modern medical
world acknowledge the doctrines of these four men as the foundation upon
which the practice of healing has been raised to a science, but
moreover,--_a point much more important for our consideration_,--it
also admits that the least essential part of the work of Hippocrates,
the "Father of Medicine;" namely, his _statement of theory_, is the part
which has been accorded permanent prominence, whilst the portion of
greatest value in his labours; that is to say, the _practical part_, has
been neglected and ignored.

The following passages are taken from the article entitled "History of
Medicine" in the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th. Edition, vol. XVIII,
pages 42-51.

"_Hippocrates_, called the 'Father of Medicine,' lived during the age of
Pericles, (495-429 B.C.), and occupied as high a position in medicine as
did the great philosophers, orators, and tragedians in their respective
fields.

His high conception of the duties and position of the physician and the
skill with which he manipulated the materials that were at hand,
constituted two important characteristics of Hippocratic medicine.
Another was the recognition that disease, as well as health, is a
process governed by what we call natural laws, learned by observation,
and indicating the direction of recovery. These views of the 'natural
history of disease' led to habits of minute observation and careful
interpretation of symptoms, in which the Hippocratic school excelled and
has been the model for all succeeding ages, so that even now the true
method of clinical medicine may be said to be the method of Hippocrates.

One of the important doctrines of Hippocrates was the healing power of
nature. He did not teach that nature was sufficient to cure disease, but
he recognized a natural process of the humours, at least in acute
disease, being first of all _crude_, then passing through _coction_ or
digestion, and finally being expelled by resolution or crisis through
one of the natural channels of the body. The duty of the physician was
to 'assist and not to hinder these changes, so that the sick man might
conquer the disease with the help of the physician.'"

"_Galen_, the man from whom the greater part of modern European medicine
has flowed, lived about 131 to 201 A.D. He was equipped with all the
anatomical, medical, and philosophical knowledge of his time; he