ABSTRACT
No stranger to medical schools, Hippocrates made a surprising appearance at the Royal Society of London during the first half of the eighteenth century. Although a bit down at the heels during this period, the Royal Society nevertheless remained the most significant institution dedicated to the pursuit of the new natural philosophy.1 Its members met on a weekly basis to discuss a range of topics associated with natural philosophy, natural history and, to some extent, medicine. Domestic and foreign correspondents eagerly offered observations and reports in the hope of a public reading at a meeting and possibly publication in the Society’s journal, the Philosophical Transactions. Fellowship was sought after not only by aspiring philosophers and physicians, but by noblemen as well. To members, correspondents and aspirants, the Royal Society represented modernity and civility, and fellowship meant precisely that: a community of shared tastes and interests, among gentlemanly scholars who embraced new, useful knowledge and challenged ancient authority.2
