These 100 Hippocrates quotes come from the Father of Medicine, a Greek physician from the island of Kos who lived around 460 BC. They cover health, healing, food, nature, and the Hippocratic Oath, and many come from the Hippocratic Corpus and the Aphorisms. Some are only attributed to Hippocrates, so read each one with that in mind.
Famous Hippocrates Quotes
- “Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult.” — Hippocrates
- “As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.” — Hippocrates
- “Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future.” — Hippocrates
- “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” — Hippocrates
- “Walking is man’s best medicine.” — Hippocrates
- “Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity.” — Hippocrates
- “There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” — Hippocrates
- “The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well.” — Hippocrates
- “Health is the greatest of human blessings.” — Hippocrates
- “It is far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.” — Hippocrates
Hippocrates Quotes on Health
- “A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.” — Hippocrates
- “A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.” — Hippocrates
- “Positive health requires a knowledge of man’s primary constitution and of the powers of various foods.” — Hippocrates
- “But eating alone is not enough for health. There must also be exercise, of which the effects must likewise be known.” — Hippocrates
- “If there is any deficiency in food or exercise, the body will fall sick.” — Hippocrates
- “Illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They are developed from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear.” — Hippocrates
- “The function of protecting and developing health must rank even above that of restoring it when it is impaired.” — Hippocrates
- “Each of the substances of a man’s diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way, and upon these changes his whole life depends.” — Hippocrates
- “The combination of these two things makes regimen, when proper attention is given to the season of the year, the changes of the wind, the age of the individual, and the situation of his home.” — Hippocrates
- “Neither repletion, nor fasting, nor anything else, is good when more than natural.” — Hippocrates
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Hippocrates Quotes About Healing
- “Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” — Hippocrates
- “Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.” — Hippocrates
- “Cure sometimes, treat often and comfort always.” — Hippocrates
- “To do nothing is also a good remedy.” — Hippocrates
- “Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases.” — Hippocrates
- “Rest as soon as there is pain.” — Hippocrates
- “Divine is the task to relieve pain.” — Hippocrates
- “Before you heal someone, ask him if he’s willing to give up the things that make him sick.” — Hippocrates
- “If someone wishes for good health, one must first ask oneself if he is ready to do away with the reasons for his illness. Only then is it possible to help him.” — Hippocrates
- “What medicines do not heal, the lance will; what the lance does not heal, fire will.” — Hippocrates
Hippocrates Quotes About Food and Medicine
- “Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.” — Hippocrates
- “Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.” — Hippocrates
- “Just as food causes chronic disease, it can be the most powerful cure.” — Hippocrates
- “All disease begins in the gut.” — Hippocrates
- “To eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness.” — Hippocrates
- “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” — Hippocrates
- “Growing bodies have the most innate heat; they therefore require the most food.” — Hippocrates
- “The greatest medicine of all is teaching people how not to need it.” — Hippocrates
- “Old persons endure fasting most easily, then adults, then young persons, and boys worst of all.” — Hippocrates
- “Wine is an appropriate article for mankind, both for the healthy body and for the ailing man.” — Hippocrates
Hippocrates Quotes About Nature and the Human Body
- “The physician treats, but nature heals.” — Hippocrates
- “Nature itself is the best physician.” — Hippocrates
- “Everything in excess is opposed to nature.” — Hippocrates
- “We must turn to nature itself, to the observations of the body in health and in disease, to learn the truth.” — Hippocrates
- “It is the changes of the seasons that are especially responsible for diseases.” — Hippocrates
- “Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly should first consider the seasons of the year and what effects each of them produces.” — Hippocrates
- “One must also consider the water that the inhabitants use.” — Hippocrates
- “The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.” — Hippocrates
- “Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work.” — Hippocrates
- “Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.” — Hippocrates
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Hippocrates Quotes About Exercise and Walking
- “If you are in a bad mood go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.” — Hippocrates
- “That which is used — develops. That which is not used wastes away.” — Hippocrates
- “All parts of the body which have a function, if used in moderation and exercised in labors in which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy, well developed and age more slowly, but if unused they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly.” — Hippocrates
- “Even when all is known, the care of a man is not yet complete, because eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise.” — Hippocrates
- “For food and exercise, while possessing opposite qualities, yet work together to produce health.” — Hippocrates
- “The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day.” — Hippocrates
- “Anyone wishing to study medicine must master the art of massage.” — Hippocrates
- “In athletes, an excellent condition of the body, if it is at its extreme, is dangerous.” — Hippocrates
- “Fatigue without apparent cause portends disease.” — Hippocrates
- “Sport is a preserver of health.” — Hippocrates
Hippocrates Quotes About Doctors and Physicians
- “Physicians are many in title but very few in reality.” — Hippocrates
- “Foolish the doctor who despises the knowledge acquired by the ancients.” — Hippocrates
- “Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm.” — Hippocrates
- “The physician must be able to tell the antecedents, know the present, and foretell the future — must mediate these things, and have two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm.” — Hippocrates
- “The physician is the servant of the art, and the patient must co-operate with the physician in combating the disease.” — Hippocrates
- “A physician who is a lover of wisdom is the equal of a god.” — Hippocrates
- “Some patients recover their health simply through their contentment with the goodness of the physician.” — Hippocrates
- “Where there is love of man, there is also love of the art.” — Hippocrates
- “The art has three factors: the disease, the patient, and the physician.” — Hippocrates
- “Medicine is of all the arts the most noble.” — Hippocrates
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Hippocrates Quotes About Life and Wisdom
- “The life so short, the craft so long to learn.” — Hippocrates
- “Vita brevis, ars longa, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile.” — Hippocrates
- “There are, in effect, two things, to know and to believe one knows; to know is science; to believe one knows is ignorance.” — Hippocrates
- “Many admire, few know.” — Hippocrates
- “The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words.” — Hippocrates
- “Prayer indeed is good, but while calling on the gods a man should himself lend a hand.” — Hippocrates
- “Things that are holy are revealed only to men who are holy.” — Hippocrates
- “I do not believe that the ‘Sacred Disease‘ is any more divine or sacred than any other disease.” — Hippocrates
- “If you are not your own doctor, you are a fool.” — Hippocrates
- “Time is that wherein there is opportunity, and opportunity is that wherein there is no great time.” — Hippocrates
Hippocrates Quotes About the Mind, Sleep, and Disease
- “Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our pleasures, joy, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs and tears.” — Hippocrates
- “It is by the brain that we think, see, hear, and tell the ugly from the beautiful, the bad from the good.” — Hippocrates
- “By the same organ we become mad and delirious, and fears and terrors assail us.” — Hippocrates
- “When sleep puts an end to delirium, it is a good symptom.” — Hippocrates
- “Sleep and watchfulness, both being immoderate, constitute disease.” — Hippocrates
- “If fear or sadness lasts a long time, it is melancholy.” — Hippocrates
- “Eunuchs do not take the gout, nor become bald.” — Hippocrates
- “Those who are naturally very fat are apt to die earlier than those who are slender.” — Hippocrates
- “It is a good sign in all diseases when the patient’s intellect is sound and he is disposed to take whatever food is offered.” — Hippocrates
- “It appears to me a most excellent thing for the physician to cultivate prognosis.” — Hippocrates
Hippocratic Oath Quotes and Medical Ethics
- “Primum non nocere — first, do no harm.” — Hippocrates
- “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrong-doing.” — Hippocrates
- “Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick.” — Hippocrates
- “Whatever I see or hear in the course of treatment, I will keep to myself, holding such things to be shameful to be spoken about.” — Hippocrates
- “I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art.” — Hippocrates
- “I will hold the one who taught me this art as dear to me as my own parents.” — Hippocrates
- “I will impart this art by precept, by lecture, and by every other mode of instruction.” — Hippocrates
- “I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm.” — Hippocrates
- “May it be granted me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come.” — Hippocrates
- “Keep a watch also on the faults of the patients, which often make them lie about the taking of things prescribed.” — Hippocrates
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Final Thoughts
These 100 Hippocrates quotes show that good health starts with food, movement, rest, and kindness. They remind us that prevention, natural healing, and compassion still guide modern medicine. Save your favorites and share them with a nurse, doctor, or friend.
FAQ’s
Who was Hippocrates?
Hippocrates of Kos was a Greek physician born around 460 BC and is known as the Father of Medicine.
What is the most famous Hippocrates quote?
“Life is short, art long” opens the Aphorisms, and “First, do no harm” is the best-known saying linked to him.
Did Hippocrates really say “Let food be thy medicine”?
No confirmed source exists in the Hippocratic writings, so the quote is only attributed to him.
Is “First, do no harm” in the Hippocratic Oath?
No, the exact phrase is not in the Hippocratic Oath, but the oath does promise to avoid harm and wrong-doing.
What does “Life is short, art long” mean?
It means life is brief, but the art of medicine takes a lifetime to learn.
What did Hippocrates say about walking?
“Walking is man’s best medicine” is attributed to him, but no primary source has been found.
Why is Hippocrates called the Father of Medicine?
He helped separate medicine from superstition by focusing on observation and natural causes of disease.
Where can I find real Hippocrates quotes?
Look in the Hippocratic Corpus, including the Aphorisms, the Epidemics, and the Oath, in translations such as Francis Adams (1849).
I’m Isaac Miller, founder of DepresionQuote.com. I’m passionate about sharing meaningful quotes that offer comfort, hope, and emotional support. Through carefully chosen words, I hope to help people navigate difficult moments and find strength one quote at a time.
