[Ads-l] Saying: Doctors Are Paid To Talk Nonsense With the Patient Until Nature Heals Or the Remedies Kill

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

A family of sayings presents a humorously cynical viewpoint about
medicine. Here are four examples:

(1) Physicians sit by your bedside till they kill you, or nature cures you.

(2) A physician picks our pockets by talking unintelligible stuff in a
sick man’s chamber, till nature cures or medicines kill him.

(3) Doctors are paid for talking jargon to their patients, till either
nature cures, or their medicines kill ’em.

(4) The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature
cures the disease.

The famous French philosopher and satirist Voltaire (François-Marie
Arouet) has received credit for this expression. Also, the prominent
French playwright Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) has received
credit. But neither ascription has substantive support.

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/10/18/doctor-cure/

The earliest match I have found appeared in the 1678 book “Les Eaux
Chaudes de La Ville D’Aix” (“The Hot Waters of the City of Aix”) by
French writer and historian Jean Scholastique Pitton. The character
Eraste stated that medicine was a strange profession:

https://books.google.com/books?id=DxvCWzSvaOsC&q=%22remedes+bons%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
… où l’on êtourdissoit souvent un pauvre malade de raisons frivoles de
son mal, & d’un flus de paroles, mêlées avec des termes qui dans le
fond ne signifient rien, pour l’amuser par l’usage de certains remedes
bons ou mauvais en attendant que la nature le tue ou le guerisse.
[End excerpt]

Below is one possible translation:

[Begin translation]
… where a poor patient was often dazed with frivolous reasons for his
ailment, & a flurry of words, mixed with terms that basically meant
nothing, to amuse him by the use of certain good or bad remedies while
waiting for nature to kill or cure him.
[End translation]

Molière died in 1673, and he tentatively received credit by 1705.

Voltaire was born in 1694 and died in 1778. Hence, the saying was
circulating before his birth. The saying is not listed in the helpful
reference “The Quotable Voltaire” edited by Garry Apgar and Edward M.
Langille. Voltaire was given credit in 1842 which is quite late.

Feedback welcome
Garson O’Toole

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