Men worry over the great number of diseases, while doctors worry over the scarcity of effective remedies.
—Bian Qiao, c. 500 BCQuotes
Death from the bubonic plague is rated, with crucifixion, among the nastiest human experiences of all.
—Guy R. Williams, 1975What timid man does not avoid contact with the sick, fearing lest he contract a disease so near?
—Ovid, c. 10The beginning of health lies in knowing the disease.
—Miguel de Cervantes, 1615The passion for setting people right is in itself an afflictive disease.
—Marianne Moore, 1935’Tis a portentous sign / When a man sweats and at the same time shivers.
—Plautus, c. 180 BCDisease is not of the body but of the place.
—Latin proverbPlagues are as certain as death and taxes.
—Richard Krause, 1982All the world is topsy-turvy, and it has been topsy-turvy ever since the plague.
—Jack London, 1912Health in all lands is among the indispensable guarantees of human progress.
—Helen Keller, 1936We should always presume the disease to be curable until its own nature proves it otherwise.
—Peter Mere Latham, c. 1845How sickness enlarges the dimension of a man’s self to himself! He is his own exclusive object.
—Charles Lamb, 1833’Tis the destroyer, or the devil, that scatters plagues about the world.
—Cotton Mather, 1693