Beelzebubs-Tales-to-His-Grandson-by-G-I-Gurdjieff

of these contemporary physicians, the ordinary beings introduce intothemselves, ostensibly to cure their various illnesses."And this is something I must really tell you about, for who knowssome day you too may have to exist on that peculiar planet among those queerfolk, and you would not know how to deal with these innumerablemedications, nor what importance to give them."Above all, you should remember that every young three-brained beingwho is preparing himself to take up the profession of physician when hereaches responsible age merely learns by rote as many names as possible fromthe thousands of medications known there today."And later, when he has become a responsible being practicing thisprofession with the official title of 'physician,' and is called to the bedside of asick person, his entire help consists in making a being-effort of a certainintensity just to remember the names of some of these medicines and then towrite them on a scrap of paper called a 'prescription,' in order to indicate themixture to be introduced into the planetary body of what is called 'his patient 'The intensity of his effort, however, depends first of all on the 'social status' ofthe patient, and second, on the number of eyes fixed on him by the beingssurrounding the sick being."Well then, this prescription he has written is taken by the near relatives ofthe sick being to one of their contemporary 'pharmacies,' as they are called,where the 'pharmacist' prepares the required 'mixture. '"As for the way such 'mixtures' are prepared in these pharmacies and exactlywhat goes into them . . . well, you will understand this if I give you just one ofthe many pieces of information I picked up about it from one of the beingsthere exercising this very profession of pharmacist."The tale I am about to relate refers to the period when