Original Research

‘All men have been considered equal by me’: The attitude of Amatus Lusitanus towards treating gentiles according to his Physician’s Oath

Abraham O. Shemesh
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 75, No 3 | a5287 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i3.5287 | © 2019 Abraham O. Shemesh | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 14 October 2018 | Published: 22 August 2019

About the author(s)

Abraham O. Shemesh, Department of Israel Heritage, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

Abstract

The ancient Jewish law took a strict approach to medical relationships between Jews and non-Jews. The current study deals with the attitude of Amatus Lusitanus (1511–1568), a notable Portuguese Jewish physician towards treating gentiles. The Physician’s Oath of Lusitanus emphasises that as a doctor he treated people from varied faiths and socio-economic status. Lusitanus treated many non-Jews. For instance, he received an invitation from the municipality of Ragusa to serve as the town physician and he accepted this mission. In Anconare, he was called upon to treat Jacoba del Monte, sister of Pope Julius III, and he also prescribed for Julius himself. Amatus Lusitanus was forced to leave his country because of the Portuguese inquisition and wandered in many countries. Despite the hostile religious attitude of his close surroundings, he did not retaliate against his patients and provided medical treatment indiscriminately.

Keywords

Amatus Lusitanus; Jewish physician; Physician’s oath; Amati Iusiurandum; Centuriæ; Asaph Harofe; Maimonides; Hippocratic oath

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