Glad you warned me

In the classic Hippocratic Oath, there was the demand to -- first--- do no harm to a patient. This phrase
is the sensible shorthand to an approach to actions of all kinds. It is instructive (and a bit stirring) to read the Classic Hippocratic Oath in the link below, and the modern one.

www.pbs.org/ wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_classical.html

www.pbs.org/ wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_classical.html

Wow Ward, this one worries me. Do you mean that the best they have to offer is they'll try not to hurt us? I was hoping for a slightly greater commitment than that. ---GODDESS

From my sister, a doctor in NZ:

"You shall not kill, but shall not strive
Officiously to keep alive".
- Keith

Phew - we're planning a holiday in NZ. Glad you warned me about their medical standards. ---GODDESS

The original quote came from
Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861)

The Latest Decalogue

Thou shalt have one God only; who
Would be at the expense of two?
No graven images may be
Worshipp'd, except the currency:
Swear not at all; for, for thy curse
Thine enemy is none the worse:
At church on Sunday to attend
Will serve to keep the world thy friend:
Honour thy parents; that is, all
From whom advancement may befall:
Thou shalt not kill; but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive:
Do not adultery commit;
Advantage rarely comes of it:
Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat,
When it's so lucrative to cheat:
Bear not false witness; let the lie
Have time on its own wings to fly:
Thou shalt not covet; but tradition
Approves all forms of competition.

Ah yes Bob, but... Thou shalt not kill; but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive:
...is a big improvement over 'first do no harm'. Well if I were a patient it would be. --GODDESS