---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee…"
description: "\"Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee learned by going to Universities, but hee is for taking apprentices; and says one had as good send a man to Oxfor..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg"
---

#  Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee learned by going to…

![“Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee learned by going to Universities, but hee is for taking apprentices; and says one had as good send a man to Oxford to learn shoemaking as practising physick.” quote by Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg)

> “Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee learned by going to Universities, but hee is for taking apprentices; and says one had as good send a man to Oxford to learn shoemaking as practising physick.”

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Critiques formal university education for medicine, favoring apprenticeship and practical experience.

**In simple terms:** Medical learning should be hands‑on, not just academic.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize practical training.

Themes

education medicine apprenticeship

Mood

analytical historical

Type

academic professional

When to use this quote

- medical schools
- clinical training
- policy reform

Key Concepts

experiential learning professional development

Questions to Reflect On

- How can theory and practice be balanced?
- What modern models reflect this view?

A Different Perspective

May ignore benefits of theoretical knowledge.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Apprentice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprentice/) [Apprentices Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprentices-says-6106414/) [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Oxford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford/) [Practising Physick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practising-physick-6106416/) [Says Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-sydenham-6106412/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Shoemaking Practising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoemaking-practising-6106415/) [Taking Apprentices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-apprentices-6106413/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/)

## Related quotes

> [Donald Trump said he will not decide about a possible run for the presidency until after the current season of Celebrity Apprentice wraps up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/donald-trump-said-he-will-not-decide-about-a-possible-run-for-the/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [Every bad joke, every endorsement deal, all of the things that a typical host would normally get creamed for, people don't mind, because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/every-bad-joke-every-endorsement-deal-all-of-the-things-that-a/)

[Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/)

> [Music is my life. The last job I had, I was a bricklayer's apprentice. And I was happy with that job, too, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/music-is-my-life-the-last-job-i-had-i-was-a-bricklayer-s-apprentice/)

[Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/)

> [Donald Trump isn't really running for president, come on! This is obviously a new reality show, Celebrity Presidential Apprentice. It ends with the incompetent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-r-burch/donald-trump-isn-t-really-running-for-president-come-on-this-is/)

[Michael R. Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-r-burch/)

> [Capitalism is the sorcerer's apprentice: it has summoned up powers which have spun wildly out of control and now threaten to destroy us.The task…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/capitalism-is-the-sorcerer-s-apprentice-it-has-summoned-up-powers/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [The first time I saw Giggsy, he was playing for Salford Boys against United's apprentices. He was thin and wiry but he just glided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-robson/the-first-time-i-saw-giggsy-he-was-playing-for-salford-boys-against/)

[Bryan Robson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-robson/)

> [Had it not been for 'The Apprentice' and Donald Trump, I wouldn't have met my wife through an interview with 'E! News.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/had-it-not-been-for-the-apprentice-and-donald-trump-i-wouldn-t-have/)

[Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/)

> [You're an Apprentice! You're not ready to think!" Gilan and Halt. The Ruins of Gorlan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/you-re-an-apprentice-you-re-not-ready-to-think-gilan-and-halt-the/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [The professional respects his craft. He does not consider himself superior to it. He recognizes the contributions of those who have gone before him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-respects-his-craft-he-does-not-consider-himself/)

[Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/)

> [“If Education was a guild, I would still be an apprentice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kambiz-mostofizadeh/if-education-was-a-guild-i-would-still-be-an-apprentice/)

[Kambiz Mostofizadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kambiz-mostofizadeh/)

> [When by habit a man cometh to have a bargaining soul, its wings are cut, so that it can never soar. It bindeth reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/when-by-habit-a-man-cometh-to-have-a-bargaining-soul-its-wings-are/)

[Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/)

> [Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-in-your-new-apprentice-misplaced-may-be-as-is-your-faith-in-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Thanks to NBC News and thanks to the NBC primetime TV network, Donald Trump has been in living rooms for 11 years being who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/thanks-to-nbc-news-and-thanks-to-the-nbc-primetime-tv-network-donald/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [I'm a working-class former apprentice electrician; at the age of 14, if you'd told me I would one day be standing on a stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gordon-sinclair/i-m-a-working-class-former-apprentice-electrician-at-the-age-of-14-if/)

[John Gordon Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gordon-sinclair/)

> [I don't regret putting 'The Apprentice' on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-zucker/i-don-t-regret-putting-the-apprentice-on-television/)

[Jeff Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-zucker/)

## More by Thomas Sydenham

> [I confidently affirm that the greater part of those who are supposed to have died of gout, have died of the medicine rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/i-confidently-affirm-that-the-greater-part-of-those-who-are-supposed/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [Disease is nothing else but an attempt on the part of the body to rid itself of morbific matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/disease-is-nothing-else-but-an-attempt-on-the-part-of-the-body-to-rid/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [The arrival of a good clown exercises a more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than twenty asses laden with drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/the-arrival-of-a-good-clown-exercises-a-more-beneficial-influence/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [We may ascertain the worth of the human race, since for its sake God's Only-begotten Son became man, and thereby ennobled the nature that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/we-may-ascertain-the-worth-of-the-human-race-since-for-its-sake-god-s/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [We are overwhelmed as it is, with an infinite abundance of vaunted medicaments, and here they add another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/we-are-overwhelmed-as-it-is-with-an-infinite-abundance-of-vaunted/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [For humble individuals like myself, there is one poor comfort, which is this, viz. that gout, unlike any other disease, kills more rich men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/for-humble-individuals-like-myself-there-is-one-poor-comfort-which-is/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [This is all very fine, but it won't do-Anatomy-botany-Nonsense! Sir, I know an old woman in Covent Garden, who understands botany better, and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/this-is-all-very-fine-but-it-won-t-do-anatomy-botany-nonsense-sir-i/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [ Acute \[diseases\] meaning those of which God is the author, chronic meaning those that originate in ourselves. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/acute-diseases-meaning-those-of-which-god-is-the-author-chronic/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [Gout, unlike any other disease, kills more rich men than poor, more wise men than simple. Great kings, emperors, generals, admirals and philosophers have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/gout-unlike-any-other-disease-kills-more-rich-men-than-poor-more-wise/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [Lastly, he must remember that he himself hath no exemption from the common lot, but that he is bound by the same laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/lastly-he-must-remember-that-he-himself-hath-no-exemption-from-the/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [The art of medicine was to be properly learned only from its practice and its exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/the-art-of-medicine-was-to-be-properly-learned-only-from-its-practice/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [Gout produces calculus in the kidney... the patient has frequently to entertain the painful speculation as to whether gout or stone be the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/gout-produces-calculus-in-the-kidney-the-patient-has-frequently-to/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [The generality have considered that disease is but a confused and disordered effort in Nature, thrown down from her proper state, and defending herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/the-generality-have-considered-that-disease-is-but-a-confused-and/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [A man is as old as his arteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/a-man-is-as-old-as-his-arteries/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

> [As no man can say who it was that first invented the use of clothes and houses against the inclemency of the weather, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/as-no-man-can-say-who-it-was-that-first-invented-the-use-of-clothes/)

[Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

[Explore all 26 Thomas Sydenham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/)

## More Apprentice quotes

> [Donald Trump said he will not decide about a possible run for the presidency until after the current season of Celebrity Apprentice wraps up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/donald-trump-said-he-will-not-decide-about-a-possible-run-for-the/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [I'm a working-class former apprentice electrician; at the age of 14, if you'd told me I would one day be standing on a stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gordon-sinclair/i-m-a-working-class-former-apprentice-electrician-at-the-age-of-14-if/)

[John Gordon Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gordon-sinclair/)

> [Thanks to NBC News and thanks to the NBC primetime TV network, Donald Trump has been in living rooms for 11 years being who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/thanks-to-nbc-news-and-thanks-to-the-nbc-primetime-tv-network-donald/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-in-your-new-apprentice-misplaced-may-be-as-is-your-faith-in-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When by habit a man cometh to have a bargaining soul, its wings are cut, so that it can never soar. It bindeth reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/when-by-habit-a-man-cometh-to-have-a-bargaining-soul-its-wings-are/)

[Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-george-savile-8th-baronet/)

> [“If Education was a guild, I would still be an apprentice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kambiz-mostofizadeh/if-education-was-a-guild-i-would-still-be-an-apprentice/)

[Kambiz Mostofizadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kambiz-mostofizadeh/)

> [The professional respects his craft. He does not consider himself superior to it. He recognizes the contributions of those who have gone before him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-respects-his-craft-he-does-not-consider-himself/)

[Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/)

> [You're an Apprentice! You're not ready to think!" Gilan and Halt. The Ruins of Gorlan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/you-re-an-apprentice-you-re-not-ready-to-think-gilan-and-halt-the/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [Had it not been for 'The Apprentice' and Donald Trump, I wouldn't have met my wife through an interview with 'E! News.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/had-it-not-been-for-the-apprentice-and-donald-trump-i-wouldn-t-have/)

[Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/)

> [The first time I saw Giggsy, he was playing for Salford Boys against United's apprentices. He was thin and wiry but he just glided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-robson/the-first-time-i-saw-giggsy-he-was-playing-for-salford-boys-against/)

[Bryan Robson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-robson/)

> [Capitalism is the sorcerer's apprentice: it has summoned up powers which have spun wildly out of control and now threaten to destroy us.The task…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/capitalism-is-the-sorcerer-s-apprentice-it-has-summoned-up-powers/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [Donald Trump isn't really running for president, come on! This is obviously a new reality show, Celebrity Presidential Apprentice. It ends with the incompetent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-r-burch/donald-trump-isn-t-really-running-for-president-come-on-this-is/)

[Michael R. Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-r-burch/)

> [Music is my life. The last job I had, I was a bricklayer's apprentice. And I was happy with that job, too, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/music-is-my-life-the-last-job-i-had-i-was-a-bricklayer-s-apprentice/)

[Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/)

> [Every bad joke, every endorsement deal, all of the things that a typical host would normally get creamed for, people don't mind, because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/every-bad-joke-every-endorsement-deal-all-of-the-things-that-a/)

[Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/)

> [I don't regret putting 'The Apprentice' on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-zucker/i-don-t-regret-putting-the-apprentice-on-television/)

[Jeff Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-zucker/)

[Browse all 175 Apprentice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprentice/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee learned by going to Universities, but hee is for taking apprentices; and says one had as good send a man to Oxford to learn shoemaking as practising physick.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Sydenham"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-learned-by-going-to-universities/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Apprentice"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-learned-by-going-to-universities/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ec/thomas-sydenham-23471_apprentice_physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-lear_2417359.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Physick, says Sydenham, is not to bee learned by going to Universities, but hee is for taking apprentices…” — Thomas Sydenham",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Thomas Sydenham",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Physick, says Sydenham, is not to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-learned-by-going-to-universities/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/physick-says-sydenham-is-not-to-bee-learned-by-going-to-universities/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
