Joseph Lister

I owe a great debt to the researches of Pasteur; without them my own work would have been impossible.

The progress of surgery has been slow and painful, but it has been sure.

Let us never forget that the patient is a human being, with feelings and fears that we must strive to allay.

The antiseptic method has opened up new fields for surgical enterprise.

I have been called the father of modern surgery, but I am only a labourer in the vineyard.

The struggle for the acceptance of new ideas is often long and bitter.

We must be guided by facts, not by theories, however plausible they may seem.

The use of carbolic acid was the first step, but it was only the first step.

I have seen too much of the horrors of pre-antiseptic surgery ever to forget the blessings of the new system.

The aim of surgery is not merely to save life, but to restore function.

Disease is often the result of our own ignorance or carelessness.

I have always tried to base my practice on the solid foundation of experimental research.

The microscope has been my most trusted guide.

There is no greater satisfaction for a surgeon than to see a patient recover from a serious operation without a trace of suppuration.

We are standing on the threshold of a new era in medicine.

The fight against sepsis is a fight against invisible enemies.

I have never claimed infallibility for the antiseptic system; it is capable of improvement, like everything else.

The true surgeon must be a student all his life.

Gentleness in manipulation is of the utmost importance in preventing shock and promoting healing.

I look forward with confidence to the future of surgery, for I believe that the principles we have laid down will bear ever richer fruit.