Ever since C. P. Snow's ex cathedra declaration of the constraining existence of two cultures ― the unbridgeable separation of the sciences and the humanities ― scientists have been forced on to the defensive. It rarely seems to matter greatly that 'liberal' and 'literate' people know little of science. And it rarely seems to be appreciated how creative and profound science can be ― or how torpid and turgid many humanities texts are. Medicine should bestride both of Snow's cultures, binding them with imagination and the truest humanity. At its best it can do this: in the divine hierarchy of classical Greece, Apollo was a god of both medicine and music. Iain Bamforth is a medical doctor as well as an essayist and poet, and his new anthology, The Body in the Library ― despite a title that suggests crime and malfeasance ― is asuperb reminder that the creativity of physicians flows beautifully beyond the consulting room or laboratory. Not all of the authors in his "history of medicine as told through literature" are doctors or medical scientists, but I found the pieces that were written from the inside to be telling and touching.
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机译：自从斯诺·雪诺（C. P. Snow）夸大其词地宣布了两种文化的束缚-科学与人文科学的不可逾越的分离以来-科学家一直被迫采取防御措施。 “自由”和“文盲”的人对科学知之甚少，这似乎并不重要。似乎很少有人赞赏科学如何具有创造力和深度，或者许多人文著作多么残酷和曲折。医学应该超越斯诺的两种文化，将它们与想象力和最真实的人类联系起来。最好的情况是可以做到这一点：在古典希腊的神圣等级制度中，阿波罗既是医学之神，又是音乐之神。伊恩·班福斯（Iain Bamforth）既是医生又是散文家和诗人，他的新选集《图书馆中的尸体》（尽管标题暗示了犯罪和渎职）是一个极好的提醒，医生的创造力在诊室或实验室之外流动得很漂亮。 。在他的“通过文学讲述的医学史”中，并不是所有的作者都是医生或医学科学家，但是我发现从内部写的那些作品令人信服和动人。
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