On Medicine in Eight Books

deserves well of himself and his neighbor who places the lit lamp upon a lampstand, so that it may give light to all who are in the house. But the learned are accustomed to doubt this concerning Celsus: whether he was practiced in the works of the art. Because you once asked for my opinion on this, I will speak briefly. The science of healing is a great thing; prudence and wisdom are greater. The former is the eye of science; the latter is the hand. If it is without prudence, the physician cannot survey the times to conduct the matter well, nor can he seize upon sudden opportunities. If it is without wisdom, he does not know how to treat men, and to fit each one with his own calopodium shoemaker's last. Just as science is not acquired except by learning—that is, by reading, hearing, and thinking—so prudence and wisdom are not acquired except by doing and adapting oneself to handling affairs. If Celsus is to be judged by the science of the art, it can hardly be persuaded that he is not to be held as a physician, and indeed one perfected by long use and practice,