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but now they're recognizable as members of the same guild.
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This gave them a collective presence and authority,
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and Asclepius also vouched for their ethical conduct.
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Remember, these are peripatetic
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physicians whom you invite into your home.
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And, so, they needed to have someone vouch for them,
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and he vouches that they're good doctors and that
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they have special care for the poor who can't pay him.
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But again, there is no contradiction with naturalistic medicine.
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The temples were precursors,
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in a way, to health spas, sanatoria or hospitals.
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There they provided care for the poor and the seriously ill.