William Osler

The physician must be a man of action, for he will often have to intervene.

The physician must be a man of science, but not a slave to it.

The physician must be a man of art, but not a charlatan.

The physician must be a man of the world, but not of the flesh.

The physician must be a man of God, but not a fanatic.

The physician must be a man of his time, but not a slave to fashion.

The physician must be a man of the future, but not a dreamer.

The physician must be a man of the past, but not a fossil.

The physician must be a man of all seasons, but not a chameleon.

The physician must be a man of principle, but not a bigot.

The physician must be a man of humor, but not a jester.

The physician must be a man of peace, but not a coward.

To study the phenomenon of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all.

In seeking absolute truth we aim at the unattainable, and must be content with finding broken portions.

No human being is constituted to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; and even the best of men must be content with fragments, with partial glimpses, never the full fruition.

We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can from, Life.

Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition.

The first step towards success in any occupation is to become interested in it.

Care more for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease.

To have striven, to have made an effort, to have been true to certain ideals—this alone is worth the struggle.