Principles of Pavement Branding # 8.5
To paraphrase a long standing medical tenet, we must be mindful to "First, do no harm." Hippocrates* the great Greek physician understood that while innovation and experimentation were vital to the growth of medical knowledge, that we should never lose site of our goal.
In the pavement industry we should hold ourselves to the same ideals. From time to time, this industry has been plagued by materials and systems that were driven by something other than the best interests of the pavement and the traveling public. Fortunately, they were short lived once the true performance of these pavements were tested under real conditions.
Innovation must be supported by proper development. For most highways and roads we are dealing with public funds entrusted to a highway agency. It is in the best interest of the public and our industry to continuously improve our current products, develop new products, and always keep the goal of safe, durable pavements in mind.
* It is a widely held misconception that the familiar dictum "First, do no harm" comes from the Hippocratic Oath, the oath many physicians take when they enter medical practice.
However, the Hippocratic Oath does not and never did contain those words. It expresses a sentiment similar in general meaning, but never employs the words "First, do no harm."
It is the opinion of many scholars that Hippocrates did, in fact, originate the phrase, but in another of his writings, Epidemics, Bk. I, Sect. XI. One translation reads: "Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future; practice these acts. As to diseases, make a habit of two things—to help, or at least to do no harm."
It is true that "First, do no harm" is expressed "Primum non nocere" in Latin, but Hippocrates wrote in his native Greek. The Latin, then, is not the origin of the phrase, and no one seems to know for sure who coined the Latin. It is a translation of the original Greek, perhaps, but some sources attribute "Primum non nocere" to the Roman physician, Galen.