Dante's Heart
The Seven Sages of Rome
Hippocrates and His Nephew
“…Hippocrates had a nephew who was very wise in medicine. It happened
then in that country that a king's son became so gravely ill that all the doctors
had given up on him. The king heard counsel that he ought to send for
Hippocrates, who would come to cure the son without delay. The king sent
his messengers with a very large supply of money to fetch him. The
messengers went to his place, and they expressed their message.
Hippocrates replied to them that he could not come because of his age,
and he told them, ‘I will give you my nephew who is very wise, and if there is a
man in the world who is able to heal him, he will do it.’ The messengers,
seeing that they could not have Hippocrates, took his nephew with them.
"And when Hippocrates' nephew was in the presence of the sick boy, he
looked at the king and the queen, and he asked the doctors about the
disorders of the sick child, and he found out, according to the
philosophers, that this boy was not the son of the king; indeed, he was
illegitimate. So the doctor had the urine of each one shown to him, and he
came to see beyond a doubt that the ill boy was not a son of the lord king.
And he said that he wished to speak in secret to the wife.
"He said to her, ‘If you will tell me the truth about what I ask you, your son
will get well; otherwise he will not be able to.’ The queen replied to him that
indeed she would tell him the truth. The doctor said, ‘Who is the father of
this lad?’ The queen replied, ‘Who do you think his father is, if not the king,
and what are you questioning me about?’ The doctor said, ‘Since you are
not telling me the truth, I’m leaving.’
"Seeing this, the queen, who desired the health of her son, made it clear to
the doctor that a certain one had come to court who had asked for her love,
and this young boy was thus conceived. And after that, the doctor cared
for him, so that he got well. Then the king had them give the young doctor a
great quantity of gold and silver.
"When the doctor returned to Hippocrates, he told him what had
happened. Hippocrates, hearing this, was filled with envy; he thought that
his nephew might be a better doctor than himself. Now Hippocrates had
made many books whose memory he feared would die, if he himself should
be forgotten. For this reason he thought of killing his nephew. He went with
him into a garden, in which he had many salutary herbs, and he said to him,
‘Do you see any medicinal herbs?’
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Hippocrates and His Nephew
“…Hippocrates had a nephew who was very wise in medicine. It happened
then in that country that a king's son became so gravely ill that all the doctors
had given up on him. The king heard counsel that he ought to send for
Hippocrates, who would come to cure the son without delay. The king sent
his messengers with a very large supply of money to fetch him. The
messengers went to his place, and they expressed their message.
Hippocrates replied to them that he could not come because of his age,
and he told them, ‘I will give you my nephew who is very wise, and if there is a
man in the world who is able to heal him, he will do it.’ The messengers,
seeing that they could not have Hippocrates, took his nephew with them.
"And when Hippocrates' nephew was in the presence of the sick boy, he
looked at the king and the queen, and he asked the doctors about the
disorders of the sick child, and he found out, according to the
philosophers, that this boy was not the son of the king; indeed, he was
illegitimate. So the doctor had the urine of each one shown to him, and he
came to see beyond a doubt that the ill boy was not a son of the lord king.
And he said that he wished to speak in secret to the wife.
"He said to her, ‘If you will tell me the truth about what I ask you, your son
will get well; otherwise he will not be able to.’ The queen replied to him that
indeed she would tell him the truth. The doctor said, ‘Who is the father of
this lad?’ The queen replied, ‘Who do you think his father is, if not the king,
and what are you questioning me about?’ The doctor said, ‘Since you are
not telling me the truth, I’m leaving.’
"Seeing this, the queen, who desired the health of her son, made it clear to
the doctor that a certain one had come to court who had asked for her love,
and this young boy was thus conceived. And after that, the doctor cared
for him, so that he got well. Then the king had them give the young doctor a
great quantity of gold and silver.
"When the doctor returned to Hippocrates, he told him what had
happened. Hippocrates, hearing this, was filled with envy; he thought that
his nephew might be a better doctor than himself. Now Hippocrates had
made many books whose memory he feared would die, if he himself should
be forgotten. For this reason he thought of killing his nephew. He went with
him into a garden, in which he had many salutary herbs, and he said to him,
‘Do you see any medicinal herbs?’
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