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[1]The Hippocratic Oath, considered the origin of medical ethics, forbids physicians to kill patients1. It began in ancient Greece at the time of Socrates in fifth century B.C.E. But did Hippocratic physicians represent most ancient Greek physicians? 2. Almost certainly not. 3.

[2]In 1931, medical historian Ludwig Edelstein described Hippocrates as a disciple of the mathematician Pythagoras, developer of the famous theorem, who worshipped numbers as divine and who held that all life was sacred1. . As his follower, Hippocrates did not represent most ancient Greek physicians2.

[3]Indeed, the Hippocratic corpus, or body of writings, does not represent the work of one man named Hippocrates, but was drawn from a number of his followers1. . The practioners of the Hippocratic school “possessed no legally recognized professional qualifications” and competed with gymnastic instructors, drug-sellers, herbalists, midwives, and exorcists2. .

[from Gregory Pence, Classic Cases in Medical Ethics, 4E, pp. 89-90]

1

The Hippocratic Oath is a medical textbook.
A)True
B)False
2

Most ancient Greek physicians were not followers of Hippocrates’s principles of medicine.
A)True
B)False
3

Hippocrates was Pythagoras’s teacher.
A)True
B)False
4

The writings called “Hippocratic” were not actually written by Hippocrates.
A)True
B)False
5

The Hippocratic Oath is
A)a curse
B)a pledge to follow Hippocrates
C)a pledge to follow Pythagoras
D)a pledge to preserve the lives of patients
6

Which of the following was not Greek?
A)Socrates
B)Edelstein
C)Pythagoras
D)Hippocrates
7

The main point of this passage seems to be that
A)the Hippocratic Oath is not respected today.
B)ancient Greek physicians were really no more qualified to treat patients than exorcists.
C)the Hippocratic Oath is the origin of medical ethics.
D)Hippocrates and his followers were outside of the mainstream of ancient Greek medical practice.
8

Pythagoras worshipped numbers as divine. To err is human; to forgive, divine. In these sentences, “divine” means
A)perfect
B)godlike
C)fantastic
D)beautiful





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