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 world is a stage, and we are all actors.
The greatest gift you can give is your time.
The mind is a garden, and thoughts are its seeds.
Seek balance in all things, for imbalance leads to disease.
The light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
The true physician is one who can heal the soul as well as the body.
Do not be afraid of failure, for it is a stepping stone to success.
The universe is a book written in the language of mathematics.
The greatest pleasure is the pursuit of truth.
The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.
The essence of medicine is compassion.
The more you give, the more you receive.
The past is a lesson, the present is a gift, the future is a hope.
The greatest wealth is contentment.
The mind is a powerful tool; use it wisely.
The path to knowledge is long and arduous, but the rewards are immeasurable.
The physician's art is to preserve health and to cure disease.
The knowledge of the physician is the knowledge of the human body, its parts, its functions, and its diseases.
The soul is not a body, but a substance that is capable of knowing and understanding.
Contemporaries of Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
Other Medicines born within 50 years of Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (980–1037).