The good clinicians of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of harm

Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.

Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.

Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.

The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.

From "Sun Tzu on the Art of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World"

Translated from the Chinese By Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)

Discussion:

"First, Do No Harm" is the maxim as old as healthcare itself. Defensive tactics and offensive tactics would translate to conservative treatment and active treatment, respectively. Also we can discuss evidence based medicine. One problem is interpretation of hiding in the defence. How about putting in the context of palliative care and see it as a skilful pain control?

Translation:

It is said: The good clinicians of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of harm, and then waited for an opportunity of addressing the conditions.

To secure ourselves against harm lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of addressing the condition is provided by the condition itself.

Thus the good clinician is able to secure himself against harm, but cannot make certain of addressing the condition.

Hence the saying: One may know how to recover without being able to do it.

Security against harm implies conservative treatment; ability to address the condition means taking the active treatment.

Standing on the conservative indicates insufficient evidence; attacking, a superabundance of evidence.

The general who is skilled in conservative treatment removes a pain in the most secret recesses of the body; he who is skilled in active treatment flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a cure that is complete.

Ray Murakami