The 70 best famous quotes of Hippocrates

The father of Medicine left us important reflections and famous quotes.

Hippocrates (Cos, c. 460 B.C.-Thessaly c. 370 B.C.) is possibly the most famous physician of Ancient Greece, and is in fact considered the father of Medicine.

This researcher is the one who devised the theory of the four humors that later influenced many other great historical figures such as Galen or even Alfred Adler.

In this article we will see a selection of the best phrases of Hippocrates to better understand the thinking of this researcher of Classical Greece, and what was his vision of life and the human body.

• Recommended: "The theory of the four humors, by Hippocrates".

The best phrases of Hippocrates

By reviewing these phrases of Hippocrates it is easy to understand the way in which health and medicine were conceived in the times of Ancient Greece.. Many of them only make sense from the Hellenic culture, while others could be applicable today.

1. Life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experience deceptive, and judgment difficult.

An aphorism that encompasses many of the themes that Greek intellectuals dealt with in the time of Pericles: the finiteness of life, the ability of art to make us transcend, and the difficulty of arriving at true knowledge.

2. Let food be your nourishment and food be your medicine.

The simplest way to be healthy is to stay in a healthy state through good habits, such as good nutrition.

3. Declare the past, diagnose the present, forecast the future. Practice these acts.

A proto-scientific view of the past, present and future.

4. Today's young people seem to have no respect for the past and no hope for the future.

One of Hippocrates' phrases referring to the social situation of his time, at least as far as the younger ones were concerned.

5. The human soul develops until the moment of death.

These ideas are a precedent of Developmental Psychology.

6. Neither society, nor man, nor anything else must go beyond the limits set by nature in order to be good.

An essentialist view of nature, which identifies it with the concept of "good".

7. There is a common circulation, a common breath. All things are related.

As a physician, Hippocrates was interested in delimiting the normal functioning of the human body.

8. War is the surgeon's best school.

One of Hippocrates' phrases about the contexts in which one can learn as a physician.

9. In fact, there are two things, science and opinion. The former breeds knowledge, the latter ignorance.

Distinguishing between valid knowledge and simple beliefs.

10. I will not give poison to anyone even if he asks for it, nor will I suggest such a possibility.

On a very topical subject: euthanasia.

11. Silence is not only not thirsty, but never brings pain or sadness.

One of Hippocrates' most abstract reflections on the nature of silence.

12. Some patients, although aware that their condition is dangerous, recover their health simply because of their satisfaction with the kindness of the physician.

On the human and emotional component that often has therapeutic applications.

13. The natural force within each of us is the greatest healer of all.

Hippocrates believed that the body itself has the tendency to return to the equilibrium characterized as good health.

14. That which is used is developed. That which is not used is wasted.

This reflection is reminiscent of Lamarck's ideas that would emerge with force in the scientific field two millennia after Hippocrates.

15. The patient must fight the disease together with the physician.

A joint work in which each one does his part.

16. Walking is a man's best medicine.

Moving makes the muscles exercise and promotes metabolism, something that has a positive impact on health.

17. The Heart and diaphragm are particularly sensitive, however, they have nothing to do with the operations of understanding, because the brain is the cause of it all.

For a long time, the inhabitants of Helladic Greece believed that reason arose from the heart, and not from the brain; Hippocrates questioned this idea.

18. Anyone who wishes to study medicine must master the art of massage.

One of the facets of medical therapy, according to Hippocrates.

19. He who wishes to be a surgeon should go to war.

Again, talking about a context in which there are naturally many patients to care for.

20. When you are sick, look at your spine first.

A wise observation, given that the spine is one of the fundamental pillars of life in human beings.

21. An insolent response from an educated person is a bad sign.

In this advice, Hippocrates talks about personal relationships and how to navigate them.

22. Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.

A professional maxim that is easy to memorize and simple to apply.

23. Many admire, few know.

Beyond surprise, something can be done to understand or know how that which we admire is possible or how it is done.

24. We must turn to nature itself, to the observations of the body in health and disease, to learn the truth.

In nature, Hippocrates sees a model of what is perfect, what should be.

25. Diseases do not come to us out of nowhere. They develop from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have accumulated, diseases will suddenly appear.

A moralistic view of disease.

26. Practice acts that bring you closer to the future.

Hippocrates invites us to know what will happen by analyzing the present and the past.

27. If someone desires good health, he must first ask himself if he is ready to eliminate the reasons for his illness. Only then is it possible to help him.

It is of no use to be cured if the habits that bring us back to the disease are maintained.

28. Rest as soon as there is pain

Pain is the first sign that something is wrong with the human body.

29. Old people have fewer diseases than young people, but their diseases never leave them.

A paradox about health and age.

30. Divine is the task of relieving pain.

Hippocrates, as a physician, once again focuses attention on the importance of the sensation of pain.

31. Men should know that from the brain, and from the brain alone, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jokes, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs and tears... It is the same thing that drives us mad or delirious, inspires us with fear and dread, whether by night or by day, brings us insomnia, untimely mistakes, senseless anxieties, distractions and acts that are contrary to custom....

Once again, pointing out the revolutionary idea that the brain is very much involved in psychological tasks, more so than the heart.

32. Where there is love for medicine, there is love for humanity.

A trait that distinguishes advanced societies.

33. The best medicine of all is to teach people how not to need it.

Prevention, the great virtue we can learn.

34. The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each one is different.

His animistic conception of the human being.

35. Time is that in which there is opportunity, and opportunity is that in which there is not a great moment.

Philosophical phrase of the great Hippocrates.

36. The way to health is to take a fragrant bath and a perfumed massage every day.

A way of saying that well-being gives us health and prosperity.

37. If you are not your own doctor, you are a fool.

Not knowing our own body is the first step to ill health.

38. Sport is a health preserver

Practicing physical exercise is a great idea if we want to improve our health.

39. The doctor treats, but nature heals

Great aphorism of Hippocrates.

40. The wise man should consider that health is the greatest human blessing.

Of course, without health there is no well-being and no goals.

41. The doctor who despises the knowledge acquired by the ancients is a fool.

All scientific knowledge must be valued and taken into consideration.

42. The physician must have at his disposal a certain ingenuity, for disease is repulsive to the healthy as well as to the sick

It is not enough just to follow a manual.

43. Make a habit of two things: help; or at least do no harm.

Live and let live.

44. It is better not to apply any treatment in cases of occult cancer; because if treated (by surgery), patients die quickly; but if not treated, they remain for a long time.

In his time, to intervene surgically could trigger infections and even worse problems.

45. It is much more important to know which person has the disease than which disease the person has.

Each organism is unique, and can give us many clues as to why a particular pathology has nested there.

46. Study the spine well, as many diseases are related to the spine.

He was not wrong.

47. Prayer, indeed, is good, but in invoking the gods, a man should lend a hand

To reflect.

48. Science is the mother of knowledge, but opinion breeds ignorance.

Opinions are often riddled with prejudice, clichés, and supine ignorance.

49. Things that are holy are revealed only to men who are holy.....

Another person could not value it.

50. Healing is a matter of time, but sometimes it is also a matter of timing

On how to intervene on a pathology.

51. Idleness and lack of occupation tend to be dragged towards evil.

Having neither occupation nor profit is not usually a good thing for anyone.

52. The fever of sickness is caused by one's own body. The fever of love, the body of the other

A good reflection on romantic passion.

53. Everything in excess is opposed to nature

The poison is in the dose.

54. The function of protecting and developing health should be even superior to that of restoring it when it is impaired

Prevention over intervention.

55. We must turn to nature itself, to the body's observations of health and disease, to learn the truth.

The human body hides many truths about life and well-being.

56. Medicine is of all the Arts the noblest; but, owing to the ignorance of those who practice it, and of those who unconsideredly form a judgment upon it, it is at present behind all the arts

His consideration of the science of medicine.

57. The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words

He was in favor of practicality in language.

58. Nature works without masters

Hippocrates knew the perfect order of nature.

59. Men think that epilepsy is divine, simply because they do not understand it. Some day we shall understand what causes it, and then we shall cease to call it divine. And so it is with everything in the universe

He could not have been more right with this reflection.

60. Diseases do not come to us out of nowhere. They develop from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have been accumulated, diseases will suddenly appear.

Bad habits create the perfect sediment for diseases.

61. Life is so short, and art is so long to learn.

Indeed, there are disciplines that even a lifetime cannot encompass.

62. The forms of diseases are many, and the cure for them is manifold.

There is no perfect formula for every pathology.

63. To really know is science; simply to believe that you know is ignorance.

Personal experience is not science.

64. What medicines do not cure, iron cures; what iron does not cure, fire cures; what fire does not cure, fire must be considered incurable.

A maxim with a metaphorical aspect.

65. Wine is a suitable article for mankind, both for the healthy body and for the sick man.

Everything has its application, provided it be in moderation.

66. The young people of today seem to have no respect for the past and no hope for the future.

Describing the mentality of the young.

67. And the remedy is best administered by the one who has foreseen what will happen from the present state of the body.

A good physician should have this tact.

68. Physicians are many in title, but very few in reality

Those who really have a vocation are a small percentage of the total.

69. Who could have predicted, from the structure of the brain, that wine could alter its functions?

Alcohol certainly changes the neurochemical balance of our brain.

70. Opposites are cures for opposites.

Normally, the antidote is usually part of the poison.