The doctor is the familiar of death. When we call for a doctor, we are asking him to cure us and t relieve our suffering, but, if he cannot cure us, we are also asking him to witness our dying. The value of the witness is that he has seen so many others die. (This, rather than the prayers and last rites, was also the real value which the priest once had.)
J. Berger, A fortunate man (1967; 2016 edition), 70
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