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1. Ἰητρικὴ τεχνέων μὲν πασέων ἐστὶν ἐπιφανεστάτη· διὰ δὲ
ἀμαθίην τῶν τε χρεομένων αὐτῇ, καὶ τῶν εἰκῆ τοὺς τοιούσδε κρινόντων,
πολύ τι πασέων ἤδη τῶν τεχνέων ἀπολείπεται. Ἡ δὲ τῶνδε
ἁμαρτὰς τὰ μάλιστά μοι δοκέει ἔχειν αἰτίην τοιήνδε· πρόστιμον
γὰρ ἰητρικῆς μούνης ἐν τῇσι πόλεσιν οὐδὲν ὥρισται, πλὴν ἀδοξίης·
αὕτη δὲ οὐ τιτρώσκει τοὺς ἐξ αὐτέης συγκειμένους. Ὁμοιότατοι γάρ
εἰσιν οἱ τοιοίδε τοῖσι παρεισαγομένοισι προσώποισιν ἐν τῇσι τραγῳδίῃσιν·
ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι σχῆμα μὲν καὶ στολὴν καὶ πρόσωπον
ὑποκριτοῦ ἔχουσιν, οὐκ εἰσὶ δὲ ὑποκριταὶ, οὕτω καὶ ἰητροὶ, φήμῃ
μὲν πολλοὶ, ἔργῳ δὲ πάγχυ βαιοί.

Lex. Hippocrates. ed. Émile Littré. Paris. 1844.

Funding provided by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Current edition First1KGreek

Lex (Greek) (Hippocrates. Oeuvres complètes d'Hippocrate, Vol. 4. Littré, Émile, editor. Paris: Baillière, 1844)

Translations (1)

The Law Perseus (Hippocrates, The Genuine Works of Hippocrates, Vol. 2. Adams, Francis, translator. New York: William Wood and Company, 1886.) — 1 focus

[1] Medicine is of all the Arts the most noble; but, not withstanding, owing to the ignorance of those who practice it, and of those who, inconsiderately, form a judgment of them, it is at present far behind all the other arts. Their mistake appears to me to arise principally from this, that in the cities there is no punishment connected with the practice of medicine (and with it alone) except disgrace¹, and that does not hurt those who are familiar with it. Such persons are like the figures which are introduced in tragedies, for as they have the shape, and dress, and personal appearance of an actor, but are not actors, so also physicians are many in title but very few in reality.

Hippocrates Lex 1

ed. Émile Littré

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