Hippocrates Now

Abstract

Abbreviations 35999.indb 10 11/07/2019 14:48'Too bad Hippocrates didn't have Twitter 2,400 years ago, because he's a pretty quotable guy. ' 1 This is how a 2017 article from the Australian Fitness Network by a sports nutrition specialist, aimed at those working in the fitness industry, summarizes the current value of Hippocrates to the modern world, before exploring various things he is supposed to have said; these include 'Let food be your medicine, ' 'Walking is the best medicine' and 'The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well. ' While he is by no means the only figure from the ancient world for whom there are lists of 'quotes' online, 2 whose 'words' are tweeted daily, who features as a common topic for secondary school projects, and for whom programmes, institutes, prizes, products and an online medical news service -the Hippocratic Post -are currently named, I believe that Hippocrates offers a particularly striking example of how the classical world is received outside the academy today. 3 Hippocrates' role in medicine remains exceptional; as Julius Rocca noted, 'Few, if any other professional bodies today either lay claim to an abiding relationship to a figure from classical antiquity or attempt to make use of one. ' 4 In the comparable case of Socrates, for whom there already exists a full study of his reception, 5 his name tends to feature in connection with various educational initiatives, such as the Aspen Institute's Socrates Program, 'a forum for emerging leaders (approximately ages 28-45) from various professions to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated dialogue' . The bilingual Socrates Academy in Matthews, North Carolina uses the Socratic method to teach the three Rs. 6 Socrates is known today for a method of 'moderated dialogue' as well as for his challenge to state religion, whereas the name of Hippocrates often carries a far more practical, material dimension: an electric juicer, a 'miraculous' face cream, a soup and a highly-controversial residential raw-food Receiving HippocratesWhen I taught at the University of Reading, we offered a third-year classical reception course called 'Uses and Abuses of Antiquity' . It raised the question of where, if anywhere, we should draw the line between a valid 'use' and an invalid 35999.indb 2 11/07/2019 14:48Hippocratic Oath, to which I shall return in Chapter 4. John Harley Warner argues that, until the last third of the nineteenth century, history rather than science was the true source of orthodox physicians' authority; the power of 'two millennia of enduring tradition' summoned by the name of Hippocrates provided them with a lineage, which in turn gave them legitimacy over the various 'irregular' practitioners. 32 In this historical rewriting, Hippocrates was 'highly malleable' . Some praised him unconditionally, and others criticized him for ignorance -for example, in confusing veins and arteries -or for holding 'absurd' views, but such criticisms could be qualified on the grounds t...

„Wenn eine abstoßende Krankheit das Rektum prüft …“

“…Der heutige Begriff begegnet uns in seiner altgriechischen Form ‚haimorroídes' (aus ‚haīma' für Blut und ‚rhoía' für Fluss) in der hippokratischen Schrift "Über die Hämorrhoiden" aus dem 4. vorchristlichen Jahrhundert, die womöglich von Hippokrates selbst oder aus seinem direkten Umfeld stammt [9] und zumeist zusammen mit der Schwesterschrift "Über die Fisteln" tradiert wurde [11]. Angemerkt sei an dieser Stelle, dass dem "Vater der (modernen) Medizin" bis heute keine der mehr als 60 Schriften aus dem "Corpus" mit Sicherheit zugeordnet werden können und letztlich auch kein einziges Zitat [15].…”