Offers a wide-ranging survey of early medical ethics, primarily in the English-speaking world. The period covered is the "long 18th century", culminating in the formal ethics of John Gregory and Thomas Percival. The relationship between ethical dilemmas of actual practice and the formulations of philosophically-minded physicians is closely examined, and the historical and philosophical roots of late Enlightenment medical-ethical theories are also explored. A second volume is planned, to examine developments in the 19th century.