On Friday night, we presented "Maimonides and Galen Face Off" as part of a Friday night dinner for our "Athens and Jerusalem" shabbaton. The goal was to use a creative approach to explore the medicine and personalities of the Rambam and of Galen, and to learn some of the Rambam's Torah along the way. Here is Act One; I hope to post all three acts, as well as the source sheet we distributed:
INTRODUCTION
NARRATOR:
Thank you
for being here to watch our presentation; the play should run about twenty
minutes. You might wish to consult our source sheets along the way, to aid in
following the dialogue.
Dr. Claudius
Galen, our "Greek" physician, actually lived after the Greek
Empire fell to the Roman empire – but he is still considered the greatest of
the ancient Greek physicians, perhaps because he credited the Greek Hippocrates
for much of his medicine. He lived in the 2nd century of the Common
Era, and practiced medicine first in treating Roman gladiators, then in
clinical medicine and as a royal physician. He wrote nearly 300 books, and his
lessons formed the bedrock of medical practice until modern times. He was also
a bit of a character, as we will see.
Rabbi Moses
Maimonides lived one thousand years after Galen, and is considered the
greatest Jewish physician. He practiced medicine clinically as well as for the
family of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and additional Arab lands, and founder of
the Ayyubid dynasty. Aside from Maimonides' accomplishments in Judaism, he
wrote ten medical books, and inspired centuries of Jews to enter medical
practice.
By the
magic of Hollywood and in flagrant violation of the laws of space and time, Toronto's
Sunnybrook Hospital has imported these two great physicians to interview for
the position of Chair of Medicine in their Research Centre. Due to budget cuts,
though, the two men will be interviewed simultaneously – by Board President and
hospital staff member Elyssa Goldschmiedt.
ACT I – GETTING ACQUAINTED
President Goldschmiedt walks in with Maimonides
and Galen. She motions Maimonides and Galen to sit behind one desk, and she
sits behind another desk which might have some standard desk odds-and-ends on
it to make the scene more "real". Maimonides and Galen eye each other
with visible dislike.
PRESIDENT: Thank you very much for
coming in, gentlemen; I trust your trip was uneventful?
MAIMONIDES (scowling): It would
have been uneventful if not for this fellow turning Gladiator on airport
security.
GALEN (offended): They
confiscated our theriac!
MAIMONIDES: I was in the middle of calmly
explaining to the uniformed gentleman that it was innocuously medicinal, using
a polite, quiet tone geared to settle wrath,[1]
when the Greek drew a dagger.
G: Which they had the nerve to confiscate as
well!
M (sigh): It’s a wonder they let us on
the plane in the end.
P: I see. Well, I'm sorry for the
inconvenience. Would either of you like a drink?
M: Wine, please. Diluted, three parts water to
one part wine.
P: Umm… how about coffee?
M: Very well - but only with a great deal of
sugar. One should endeavor to partake of sweet foods, for the sweet is what
nourishes.[2]
G (a sharp look): You stole that from
us.
M (calmly): I give proper attribution,
always.
P (buzzes phone): Please send in coffee,
thank you. With many sugar packets.
P (turning to Galen): Let's start with
our senior candidate, then, Dr. Galen. (reading off a resume) I
understand you come from Pergamum, which would be in Western Turkey today. You
were born in 129, and started medical school there?
G: That is correct. We initiated studies
in medicine, as well as philosophy and the natural sciences, in Pergamum,
before pursuing studies in Smyrna and Corinth, and finally in great Alexandria.
All told, we spent twelve years in our studies.
P: I see; what made you decide to pursue a
career in medicine?
G: Not a career, a calling, to serve mankind.
But we embarked upon this path after the god of healing, Asclepius [Maimonides
coughs "Avodah Zarah"; Galen is irritated] appeared to our
father, Nicon, and ordered him to have us study his arts.
P: I see. [makes a note on a sheet, saying
"religiously motivated" under her breath as she writes]
G: And Asclepius rewarded us – years later,
when we were grievously ill, Asclepius guided us through an arteriotomy [Maimonides
coughs "idolatry"; Galen is more visibly irritated] that saved
our life.
P: Most interesting. And then I see you went
into sports medicine?
G: Yes, for four years we treated wounded
gladiators. It was a wonderful opportunity to study human anatomy, you know, as
well as to network. You would be surprised at how much the lions left us to
work with. Not that we pursued the opportunity – the chief priests demanded our
services.
M (unable to control himself, he spits out
the word): Barbarians.
G: Nonsense. One must have a strong body and
mind. We have been careful to recommend against abusive training regimens and
fad diets, and we have stood firm against the wrestling schools which produce
men lame and wrinkled and eyes askance.
M: You think to prescribe a proper balance of
strong, rapid and violent exercise and by this avoid responsibility for all of
the negative effects of this practice, the dulling of the warriors'
brains[3]
and the bloodlust of the mob?! Certainly, one should not study at all times,
avoiding all exercise,[4]
and exercise can even improve one's frame of mind,[5]
but you glory in the development of the body at the expense of
the development of the mind.
G: Our civilized positions on these were known
from our many texts on the subject, including our best-selling, "Exercise
with the Small Ball".
M: Barbarians.
P (clears her throat): I believe you
left for Rome after that?
G: Yes, Rome – a deadly city. Overcrowded, poor
sewage and drainage, public water supply, public baths, malaria-ridden
mosquitoes and frequent plagues of tuberculosis and smallpox. Every element of
infrastructure the Empire provided for its smallest, least significant outpost,
was denied Rome.
P: I believe you served the royal family of
Marcus Aurelius there?
G: Yes (hands over rolled up piece of paper);
here is their letter of reference.
P: Thank you. But you fled the city four years
later?
G: Yes, due to one of their many unfortunate plagues.
We then served with the army, but Asclepius (Maimonides: coughs
"idolatry") forbade us from travelling with them to the front, so
we returned home.
M: How convenient.
G (turns to Maimonides, indignant):
Excuse us! And what is with this coughing? Did you not write an entire treatise
On Asthma?
M (smiling): My apologies; "we"
seem to have an idol stuck in our throat.
Galen scowls, half-rises
G: We learned more than just anatomy from those
gladiators, you know!
P (trying to assert control of the meeting):
Dr. Galen - I know you list your major influences as Hippocrates and Aristotle;
I see that your opinion of other predecessors was less respectful. What would
you view as your own legacy?
G (incredulous): Our legacy? Must we
really answer that? Nearly 300 books, adoption by the Muslims and the
Christians, the foundation of all Western medicine until the 16th
century, that isn't enough of a legacy? (points to Maimonides) Why,
everything this student of Moses said came from us!
Maimonides grins calmly.
P: I see. I did have one other question: It
seems that you had some issues in cooperation with your colleagues?
G: Colleagues? These pretenders knew nothing.
P: I believe you said of your rival anatomists,
Erasistratus and Aesclepiades, "Like slaves caught in the act of
stealing... one says nothing, and the other indulges in shameless lying."…?
G: Correct.
P: And in one of your books you
wrote, "We have written of
these things because of the inane loquacity of recent physicians."
G: Correct again. These gentlemen were so obstinate
in their foolishness; one might more easily teach novelties to (looks at
Maimonides) Jews and Christians (Maimonides shakes his head in
disapproval) than to the physicians and philosophers who cling fast
to their schools.
P: I… see. (scribbles notes on sheet, then
turns to Maimonides). And let us turn now to Dr. Maimonides. I believe you
also studied in Egypt?
M: I was born in Cordoba in 1135, and had to
flee the Almohads at the age of 13. I came to Fez, where I began to study
medicine, then travelled to the Holy Land before settling in Fustat, in Egypt
as you call it, in 1167.
G: How few were the years you invested in medical
education, which ought to have been the foundation of your practice! And that
while sandwiched around your Judaics?
P: Thank you for your point, Dr. Galen, but
this is my interview. Dr. Maimonides: What made you go into medicine?
M: (addresses Galen) Gd did not appear
to my father. (turns back to the President) Rather, Gd spoke to
my ancestors collectively and commanded them to heal.[6]
P: Was that the entire motivation for this
career change? I believe you were a rabbinic scholar first.
M: Correct, but one must fill his belly with
the meat and bread of Torah before he can turn to study nature.[7]
P: So your plan all along was to study
medicine?
M: Well, not exactly. My brother – peace be
upon him – supported my studies, but when he unfortunately died in a shipwreck
in 1169 I became a practicing physician.
P: So this was a step away from your rabbinic
life?
M: Certainly not! I completed my commentary to
mishnah before this, but afterward I wrote my Book of Mitzvot and my work of
law, Mishneh Torah, as well as my Guide of the Perplexed. And, at the same
time, I served in the nagid leadership role for the Egyptian Jewish
community.
G (sarcastic): Great dedication
to the medical field, indeed.
P (explicitly ignoring Galen): Most
impressive, Dr. Maimonides! And in 1185 you were invited to become physician
for the sultan Saladin's chief advisor, and then for Saladin's own family?
M: That is correct, and here is my letter of
reference. (hands over rolled up piece of paper; Galen mocks "my letter
of reference") And my influences were rather broad, including
Aristotle, Hippocrates and, yes, Galen, as well as the Arabic Avicenna,
Albucassis and Averroes, and even elements of Chinese medicine.
P: And your relationship with your colleagues?
M: Unlike my esteemed predecessor, I take my
lesson from Pirkei Avot and try to be accepted by all[8]
– but I will not deny that when it came to writing the truth I minced no words,
even if that meant offending ten thousand people for the sake of conveying the
truth to just one.[9]
P: I see; yes, I heard about the book-burnings.
So what would you consider your medical legacy?
M: Many generations of Jews who have embraced
the study of general science, and particularly medicine. Not to mention, the
ten medical works I published.
G: Ten – hah!
M: I was not in the practice of recording
every syllable I uttered and publishing it, claiming that my words had been
requested in print by the masses.
G: Nor were you in the habit of saying anything
original.
M: I would pursue accuracy over originality.
And as far as your legacy, I don't see too many "Galen Medical
Centres" and "Galen Hospitals" out there. Try looking it up on Googlos.
(Assistant enters with coffee; President sighs
with relief and excuses herself to see to a phone call. She beckons the two men
to join her offstage.)
Wow. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI see you're going with the version taught in yeshivas, that Rambam sat and learned until his brother drowned. But this has been questioned for various reasons; most notably Rambam writing that "my brother drowned holding money of his, mine, and others", implying that Rambam had some sort of salary (perhaps as a partner of his brother's, or his brother managed his investments).
Do you find the traditional account more convincing?
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI didn't think I took a stand on it in this script; to my mind, even if the Rambam did actually invest with his brother's work, his brother was the one doing the labour.
His brother was definitely doing the riskier, longer-hours work. ("He allowed me to dwell securely"); my impression is that Rambam was still putting in a few hours at the office (shuk, whatever).
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot like the poetic waxing at the end of Shmitah v'Yovel -- "If a person is on the right spiritual level, G-d will provide for them" -- couldn't that be in the form of an easy job?
Informative and entertaining! Looking forward to the rest of it... hopefully I won't have to search "Googlos" to find it ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe "greatest Jewish physician"? I thought that was the son/daughter/grandchild of whoever is speaking...
ReplyDeleteDaniel Saunders,
ReplyDeleteNo; it's whoever the Jewish institution wants as their banquet honoree this year. :)