That Whose Existence Is Necessary Must Necessarily

Medicine Deals With The States Of Health And Disease In The Human Body. It Is A Truism Of Philosophy That A Complete Knowledge Of A Thing Can Only Be Obtained By Elucidating Its Causes And Antecedents, Provided, Of Course, Such Causes Exist. In Medicine It Is, Therefore, Necessary That Causes Of Both Health And Disease Should Be Determined.

It Is In The Nature Of Water ... To Become Transformed Into Earth Through A Predominating Earthy Virtue; ... It Is In The Nature Of Earth To Become Transformed Into Water Through A Predominating Aqueous Virtue.

Medicine Is The Science By Which We Learn The Various States Of The Human Body In Health And When Not In Health, And The Means By Which Health Is Likely To Be Lost And, When Lost, Is Likely To Be Restored Back To Health. In Other Words, It Is The Art Whereby Health Is Conserved And The Art Whereby It Is Restored After Being Lost. While Some Divide Medicine Into A Theoretical And A Practical [applied] Science, Others May Assume That It Is Only Theoretical Because They See It As A Pure Science. But, In Truth, Every Science Has Both A Theoretical And A Practical Side.

Pain Is A Sensation Produced By Something Contrary To The Course Of Nature And This Sensation Is Set Up By One Of Two Circumstances: Either A Very Sudden Change Of The Temperament (or The Bad Effect Of A Contrary Temperament) Or A Solution Of Continuity.

The Theory Of Medicine, Therefore, Presents What Is Useful In Thought, But Does Not Indicate How It Is To Be Applied In Practice-the Mode Of Operation Of These Principles. The Theory, When Mastered, Gives Us A Certain Kind Of Knowledge. Thus We Say, For Example, There Are Three Forms Of Fevers And Nine Constitutions. The Practice Of Medicine Is Not The Work Which The Physician Carries Out, But Is That Branch Of Medical Knowledge Which, When Acquired, Enables One To Form An Opinion Upon Which To Base The Proper Plan Of Treatment.