I’ve written about Hippocrates before. But, I don’t think enough can ever be written about this extraordinary physician. He is the paragon of modern medicine. Doctors and other professionals seen on TV give advice about diet and exercises that sound practical and sensible. Yet, they’re all usually saying what Hippocrates had said those thousands of years ago. So, in essence, his counsel and advice is as good now as it was then.

Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos during the age of Pericles, around the fifth century, BC. His formal name was Hippocrates Asclepiades, meaning ‘descendant of the doctor-god, Asclepius’. His parents, Praxithea and Heracleides, were wealthy and were able to give him a good education. He learned the basics of medicine from his father and the physician, Herodicus. Historians believe he traveled throughout the mainland of Greece and, possibly, Libya and Egypt. He practiced and taught about how the internal body works and about healing abilities, passing on his medical knowledge to his two sons before starting a school in Kos around 400 BC. Later on, many of his methods were recorded by physicians in about 60 books called the ‘Hippocratic Corpus’, where future physicians added additional documents. According to the Corpus, Hippocratic medicine usually recommended a healthy diet and physical exercise as a remedy for most ailments. When that didn’t bring the desired results, many plants were prescribed that had the power of healing and were included in the medicinal treatments. Hippocrates believed that disease was caused by natural forces, physical neglect, or ignorance but not ‘the will of the gods’ as was commonly believed.

So much of what he wrote and said is still very practical and wise, like; “we know half-truths are more dangerous than lies. We also know that many of the medical concepts are half-truths.” And, he said, “Men think epilepsy divine, merely because they do not understand it. We will one day understand what causes it and then cease to call it divine. And so it is with everything in the universe.”

He also said, “wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love for humanity.” Another piece of wisdom: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” He advised, “keep a watch also on the faults of the patient, who often lies about the taking of things prescribed.”

A lasting legacy is the Hippocratic Oath seen on the walls of most doctors’ offices. Though not applicable today in its original form, it exists as a start for graduates beginning their careers since some basic tenets of the oath encourages the practicing of medicine to the best of one’s ability, sharing knowledge with other physicians, using sympathy, compassion, and understanding while also respecting the privacy of patients.

Not much is known about Hippocrates’ death or how long he lived, although it is believed he lived well into his nineties and that he died in the ancient Greek town of Larissa. But, what is known is that, without doubt, he made a major contribution to medicine and set an excellent standard for ethical practices. As a tribute, let me quote Charles Darwin; “I wish I had known about the views of Hippocrates before I had published my views and interpretations for, they seem almost identical with my own.” I wonder what Hippocrates would have said about the numerous TV ads that show groups of happy, laughing adults or children, seemingly cured after buying and partaking of the alphabetically difficult labels displayed on the chemical formulas advertised as definite cures along with the dire precautions and side effects that could happen afterwards. It appears that Hippocrates was prophetic when he said, “The chief virtue that language can have is clearness. Nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words.”