Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
A polymath whose 'The Canon of Medicine' was a standard medical text for centuries and integrated Greek and Indian medical traditions.
Most quoted
"Now it is established in the sciences that no knowledge is acquired save through the study of its causes and beginnings, if it has had causes and beginnings; nor completed except by knowledge of its accidents and accompanying essentials."
— from The Canon of Medicine
"Medicine is a science from which one learns the states of the human body in health and disease, in order to preserve health when it exists and restore it when it has been lost."
— from The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb)
"The more you study, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why study?"
— from Attributed, often as a humorous paradox
All quotes by Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (356)
The soul is the mirror of the universe.
The greatest treasure is a clear conscience.
The physician must be able to inspire confidence in patients.
The soul is the link between man and God.
The greatest power is the power of love.
The physician must be able to work effectively with other healthcare professionals.
The soul is the ultimate reality.
The greatest beauty is the beauty of the soul.
The physician must be dedicated to lifelong learning.
The soul is the true self.
The world is divided into men who have brains and men who have no brains. The latter are the majority.
The mind is like a mirror, it reflects what it sees.
The soul, when it is pure, is a mirror that reflects the truth.
The physician must have a good eye, a light hand, and a compassionate heart.
Medicine is the art of preserving health and of curing disease.
The best medicine is to keep the body in good health.
The patient must have confidence in his physician, and the physician must have confidence in his remedies.
The physician should be the servant of nature, not its master.
The soul is not a body, nor is it an accident in a body, but it is a substance.
The intellect is the first of all created things.
Contemporaries of Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
Other Medicines born within 50 years of Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (980–1037).