Hippocrates
Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician of the Classical period, often called the father of Western medicine. The Hippocratic Corpus attributed to his school shaped medical ethics and clinical observation.
5 quotes in this collection. Read them below, share your favourites, or follow the related links to explore similar voices.
All quotes by Hippocrates
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“It is time which imparts strength to all things and brings them to maturity.”
Meaning: From The Law, a short text about learning medicine, this line says skill and strength ripen slowly. It applies to any health goal: a walking habit, a stronger back or better eating grows through months of repetition, so judge your progress by seasons, not days. -
“Life is short, and Art long; the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult.”
Meaning: This opening aphorism reminds physicians that medicine takes a lifetime to learn while emergencies pass quickly. For everyday health, it nudges you to learn the basics early, such as sleep, movement and checkups, so you can decide well when a health scare arrives. -
“As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.”
Meaning: A guideline from the Hippocratic text on epidemics: when treating illness, restraint matters as much as action. Applied today, it means pausing before the latest miracle supplement or crash diet and asking whether it could cause harm before you chase a benefit. -
“Conclusions which are merely verbal cannot bear fruit, only those do which are based on demonstrated fact.”
Meaning: In Precepts, the author argues that medicine must rest on observed results rather than clever talk. Use that standard with wellness claims you read online: ask what evidence supports them, and favor advice that has been tested over advice that only sounds convincing. -
“Sleep and watchfulness, both of them, when immoderate, constitute disease.”
Meaning: Hippocratic writers saw health as balance: too much sleep or too little wakefulness both harm the body. Try it by keeping a steady bedtime and wake time, noticing when either oversleeping or late-night grinding begins to leave you drained.