The 70 best famous phrases of Hippocrates

Hippocrates (Cos, c. 460 a. C.-Thessaly c. 370 a. C.) is possibly the most famous doctor in Ancient Greece, and in fact he is 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 thought of this researcher of Classical Greece, and what was his vision of life and the body human.

• Recommended: "The theory of the four humors, of 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 culture of the Hellenes, while others could be applicable today.

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

An aphorism that covers many of the themes that Greek intellectuals dealt with in the time of Pericles: the finitude of life, the ability of art to make us transcend, and the complexity of reaching knowledge true.

2. Let food be your food and food your medicine

The easiest way to be healthy is to stay healthy through good habits, such as eating well.

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

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

4. Young people today 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 with regard to the youngest.

5. The human soul develops until the moment of death

These ideas are a precedent for the Developmental Psychology.

6. Neither society, nor man, nor anything else must exceed the limits established by nature to be good.

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

7. Do a comon circulation, and comon Putin. All things are related.

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

8. War is the best school for the surgeon.

One of the phrases of Hippocrates about the contexts in which you can learn as a doctor.

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

Distinguishing between valid knowledge and simple beliefs.

10. I will not give poison to anyone even if they ask me, nor will I suggest such a possibility.

About a very current topic: euthanasia.

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

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

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

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 a tendency to return to balance characterized as good health.

14. What is used, develops. What is not used is wasted.

This reflection reminds the Lamarck ideas that would emerge strongly in the scientific field two millennia after Hippocrates.

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

A joint work in which each one plays his part.

16. Walking is a man's best medicine.

Moving makes muscles work and promotes metabolism, which has a positive impact on health.

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

For a long time, the inhabitants of Hellas 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 wants to be a surgeon should go to war.

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

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

A wise observation, since 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 tip, Hippocrates talks about personal relationships and how to navigate them.

22. Heal sometimes, treats often, always comforts.

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 it is possible or how to do what we admire.

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

In nature, Hippocrates sees a model of what is perfect, what must 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 appear suddenly.

A moralistic view of the disease.

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

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

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

It is useless to be cured if the habits that return us 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. The elderly have fewer illnesses than the young, but their illnesses never leave them.

A paradox about health and age.

30. Divine is the task of alleviating 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 only from the brain, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jokes, as well as our sadness, pain, sadness and tears... It is the same as we makes us crazy or delusional, inspires us fear and fear, either at night or during the day, brings us insomnia, inopportune mistakes, senseless anxieties, distractions and acts that are contrary to the custom…

Again, pointing to the revolutionary idea that the brain is heavily involved in psychological tasks, more than the heart.

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

A feature that distinguishes advanced societies.

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

Prevention, the great virtue that we can learn.

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

His animistic conception of the human being.

35. Time is that in which there is an opportunity, and the opportunity is that in which there is no great moment

Philosophical phrase of the great Hippocrates.

36. The way to health is to take an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day

A way of saying that wellness 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 towards poor health.

38. Sport is a health preserver

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

39. The doctor treats, but nature heals

Great aphorism of Hippocrates.

40. The wise man should consider health to be the greatest human blessing

Of course, without health there are no well-being or goals.

41. Foolish the doctor who despises the knowledge acquired by the ancients

All scientific baggage must be valued and taken into consideration.

42. The physician must have a certain ingenuity at his disposal, since disease is repulsive to both the healthy and the sick.

Just following a manual is not enough.

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

Live and let live.

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

In his day, surgery could lead to even worse infections and 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 it can give us many clues about why a specific pathology has nested there.

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

He was not wrong.

47. Prayer is indeed good, but when 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. The 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 drawn into evil

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

52. The fever of the disease is caused by the body itself. The one of love, the body of the other

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 must be even superior to that of restoring it when it is deteriorated

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 the noblest of all the Arts; but, due to the ignorance of those who practice it, and of those who, inconsiderately, form a judgment about it, at present it is behind all the arts

His consideration of the science of medicine.

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

He bet on practicality in language.

58. Nature works without masters

Hippocrates knew the perfect order of nature.

59. Men think epilepsy is divine simply because they don't understand it. Someday we will understand what causes it and then we will stop calling it divine. And so it is with everything in the universe

He could not have been more correct 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 accumulated, diseases will appear suddenly

Bad habits create the perfect sediment for disease.

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

Certainly, there are disciplines that not a whole life can encompass.

62. The forms of diseases are many and the cure of them is multiple

There is no perfect formula for every condition.

63. Knowing really is science; just believing that you know is ignorance

Personal experience is not science.

64. What drugs do not heal is cured by iron; what iron does not cure, fire cures; what does not heal fire must be considered incurable

A maxim with a metaphorical edge.

65. Wine is an appropriate article for humanity, both for the healthy body and for the sick man

Everything has its application, as long as it is in moderation.

66. Young people today seem to have no respect for the past and no hope for the future.

Describing the mentality of young people.

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

A good doctor must have this tact.

68. Doctors are many in the 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.