But where can physicians turn to gain insights into what is most worth knowing about the humane aspects of medicine? To assist physicians who feel the tug of such a call, here are seven books that can enrich the work and life of every physician. Few can do more to inform and deepen the humanity of medical professionals.

Homer's The Iliad – Homer’s epic beautifully captures some of humanity’s fondest longings–for home, fame, and honor, as well as the unfathomable role of fate. It is especially relevant to physicians, because it also represents one of the most searching meditations on mortality ever composed. To what degree does the ineluctable fact of death nullify the significance of life and the effectiveness of good medicine? In what sense might mortality actually bring out the best in patients and physicians?

The Book of Exodus – The second book of the Bible is also one of history’s most influential accounts of liberation. It inspired the American Revolution, the war over slavery, and the civil rights movement. It also explores the essential professional themes of calling and covenant, asking what it takes to establish and sustain a community of people dedicated to a higher purpose. At a time when more and more physicians are becoming corporate employees, what is really at stake in preserving medical autonomy, and what sacrifices should thoughtful physicians be prepared to make for it sake?

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics – The most important work in the history of philosophical ethics, It invites the reader to examine absolutely foundational ethical concepts, including the nature of the good, the means by which moral excellence is acquired, and the interplay between life’s theoretical and practical dimensions. It reminds us that merely knowing what needs to be done is not always enough to do it. Is medical ethics simply a matter of avoiding wrong-doing, and if not, what vision should guide a physician’s work and life?

Augustine’s Confessions – Often regarded as the first Western autobiography, it represents one of the most probing accounts of a personal effort to discover life’s overarching purpose. As Augustine sees it, human beings can find meaning and peace only if their hearts are properly ordered with the highest things are on top. Letting the little things trump the big ones, a perennial temptation in contemporary healthcare, means leading an upside-down life. What might the “confessions” of contemporary physicians look like, and how might serious self-examination lead them to reorder their priorities?

Dante's The Divine Comedy – This masterwork of poetry reminds us that persons, events, and ideas can have multiple meanings, including historical, scientific, moral, and aesthetic dimensions. Dante’s message is especially important at a time when the imperative to practice medicine efficiently threatens to render patient contact ever more one-dimensional. What would visits to medical “hell” and “heaven” look like today? Who would physicians meet in each place, and why?