Joseph Lister

It is a peculiar form of bravery, to operate with such disregard for the unseen dangers.

My greatest ambition is to make the operating theatre a place of healing, not a chamber of horrors.

I have no doubt that one day, the very idea of an unsterile operating room will be considered barbaric.

The only thing I fear more than a germ is a surgeon who believes he is immune to them.

I am not asking for sainthood, merely for a little hygiene.

It seems some prefer the drama of a patient succumbing to infection, rather than the quiet triumph of recovery.

My legacy, I hope, will be fewer funerals and more healthy patients.

I have often found that the simplest solutions are the most difficult for some to accept.

To those who say my methods are too radical, I say: what is more radical than unnecessary death?

I am merely a humble servant of science, and a staunch advocate for clean hands.

The greatest enemy of good medicine is not disease itself, but the resistance to change.

It is a peculiar form of optimism, to believe that dirt will simply disappear on its own.

I have no doubt that one day, the operating room will be as clean as a drawing-room, and far less deadly.

The great principle of antiseptic surgery is to prevent the access of living organisms to wounds, and thus to avoid the putrefaction which they induce.

It is not the part of a scientific man to make a theory and then try to prove it, but to make a theory and then try to disprove it.

The life of a surgeon is one of constant anxiety and responsibility.

The ultimate object of all surgery is to save life, and to restore the patient to health and usefulness.

To be able to alleviate suffering is one of the highest privileges of our profession.

The true spirit of scientific inquiry is one of humility and a constant readiness to learn.

Every advance in surgery is a step towards a more humane and less painful existence for mankind.