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Almighty God,
as I begin my sacred work of healing Your creations, I humbly plead before
Your Throne of Glory that You may grant me the courage, spirit, and abundant
energy to perform my work faithfully. May ambition for great wealth or
fame not blind my eyes from seeing aright.Grant me the ability to look
upon every suffering patient as a human being, without distinction between
rich and poor, friend and foe, virtuous and vicious. In a suffering human,
show me only the person. Should physicians wiser than I seek to impart
their wisdom to me, give me the will to learn from them, for the art of
medicine is invaluable. And if fools should mock me, allow me to devote
my love to Your created beings and to my craft, and strengthen my spirit
with no regard for the seniority and reputation of my detractors. Only
the truth shall light my path, for any concession in the performance of
my craft can only bring sickness and death upon Your creations. I implore
You Almighty God, merciful and beneficent Lord, grant me strength and
courage in my body and soul, and plant within me the spirit of peace.
Oath Of Maimonides
The eternal providence has appointed me to watch over the life and health
of Thy creatures. May the love for my art actuate me at all time; may
neither avarice nor miserliness, nor thirst for glory or for a great reputation
engage my mind; for the enemies of truth and philanthropy could easily
deceive me and make me forgetful of my lofty aim of doing good to Thy
children. May I never see in the patient anything but a fellow creature
in pain. Grant me the strength, time and opportunity always to correct
what I have acquired, always to extend its domain; for knowledge is immense
and the spirit of man can extend indefinitely to enrich itself daily with
new requirements. Today he can discover his errors of yesterday and tomorrow
he can obtain a new light on what he thinks himself sure of today. Oh
God, Thou has appointed me to watch over the life and death of Thy creatures;
here am I ready for my vocation and now I turn unto my calling.
Thou has created the human body with
infinite wisdom.
Ten thousand times ten thousand organs hast Thou combined in it that act
unceasingly and harmoniously to preserve the whole in all its beauty the
body which is the envelope of the immortal soul.They are ever acting in
perfect order, agreement and accord.Yet, when the frailty of matter or
the unbridling of passions deranges this order or interrupts this accord,
then forces clash and the body crumbles into the primal dust from which
it came. Thou sendest to man diseases as beneficent messengers to foretell
approaching danger and to urge him to avert it. Thou has blest Thine earth,
Thy rivers and Thy mountains with healing substances; they enable Thy
creatures to alleviate their sufferings and to heal their illnesses. Thou
hast endowed man with the wisdom to relieve the suffering of his brother,
to recognize his disorders, to extract the healing substances, to discover
their powers and to prepare and to apply them to suit every ill. In Thine
Eternal Providence Thou hast chosen me to watch over the life and health
of Thy creatures. I am now about to apply myself to the duties of my profession.
Support me, Almighty God, in these great labors that they may benefit
mankind, for without Thy help not even the least thing will succeed. Inspire
me with love for my art and for Thy creatures. Do not allow thirst for
profit, ambition for renown and admiration, to interfere with my profession,
for these are the enemies of truth and of love for mankind and they can
lead astray in the great task of attending to the welfare of Thy creatures.
Preserve the strength of my body and of my soul that they ever be ready
to cheerfully help and support rich and poor, good and bad, enemy as well
as friend. In the sufferer let me see only the human being. Illumine my
mind that it recognize what presents itself and that it may comprehend
what is absent or hidden. Let it not fail to see what is visible, but
do not permit it to arrogate to itself the power to see what cannot be
seen, for delicate and indefinite are the bounds of the great art of caring
for the lives and health of Thy creatures. Let me never be absent- minded.
May no strange thoughts divert my attention at the bedside of the sick,
or disturb my mind in its silent labors, for great and sacred are the
thoughtful deliberations required to preserve the lives and health of
Thy creatures. Grant that my patients have confidence in me and my art
and follow my directions and my counsel. Remove from their midst all charlatans
and the whole host of of ficious relatives and know-all nurses, cruel
people who arrogantly frustrate the |wisest purposes of our art and often
lead Thy creatures to their death. Should those who are wiser than I wish
to improve and instruct me, let my soul gratefully follow their guidance;
for vast is the extent of our art. Should conceited fools, however, censure
me, then let love for my profession steel me against them, so that I remain
steadfast without regard for age, for reputation, or for honor, because
surrender would bring to Thy creatures sickness and death. Imbue my soul
with gentleness and calmness when older colleagues, proud of their age,
wish to displace me or to scorn me or disdainfully to teach me. May even
this be of advantage to me, for they know many things of which I am ignorant,
but let not their arrogance give me pain. For they are old and old age
is not master of the passions. I also hope to attain old age upon this
earth, before Thee, Almighty God! Let me be contented in everything except
in the great science of my profession. Never allow the thought to arise
in me that I have attained to sufficient knowledge, but vouchsafe to me
the strength, the leisure and the ambition ever to extend my knowledge.
For art is great, but the mind of man is ever expanding.Almighty God!
Thou hast chosen me in Thy mercy to watch over the life and death of Thy
creatures. I now apply myself to my profession. Support me in this great
task so that it may benefit mankind, for without Thy help not even the
least thing will succeed.
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