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To the Editor: Drs Bernstein and Ludwig¹ write well of the need to preserve planetary biodiversity and of the many drugs derived from nature. I was reminded of a passage in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, in which Friar Lawrence talks about much the same thing:

 O, mickle is the powerful grace that lies
 In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities;
 For naught so vile that on the earth doth live
 But to the earth some special good doth give . . . 
 Within the infant rind of this weak flower
 Poison hath residence, and medicine power;
 For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part;
 Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.
(Act II, scene 3)

Martin Boxer, MD
martin.boxer@asu.edu
Scottsdale, Arizona

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RELATED ARTICLE

The Importance of Biodiversity to Medicine
Aaron S. Bernstein and David S. Ludwig
JAMA. 2008;300(19):2297-2299.
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RELATED LETTER

Biodiversity, Medicine, and Shakespeare—Reply
Aaron S. Bernstein and David S. Ludwig
JAMA. 2009;301(14):1437.
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