Page:Greek Biology and Medicine.djvu/158

 GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE of the patient's reaction or the persistence of the noxious agent. And, finally, he showed himself true to the Hippocratic spirit in refus- ing blind obedience to any authority (even that of Hippocrates himself, whose reputed works he had studied diligently) and in testing everything by observation. His spirit is re- flected in a passage from one of his letters referring to his own medical writings: " I have been very careful to write nothing but what was the product of faithful observa- tion, and neither suffered myself to be deceived by idle speculations, nor have deceived others by obtruding anything upon them but down- right matter of fact." '* With Sydenham and the turn toward Hip- pocratic methods, we may leave this romance of the conflict and alliance between medical theory, or medical science, and medical prac- tice. To continue it exceeds my space as it does my powers. We have the word of the veteran of medical science and medical history that Hippocrates and Sydenham " did useful work for mankind in the twilight." Sir Clifford Allbutt has loved them well, these great for- bears of his, kin to each other though two thousand years apart. But now Sir Clifford, [136]