Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
Persian polymath, Canon of Medicine
Sayings by Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
A man’s worth is determined by his knowledge.
The physician must be a man of wisdom, for wisdom is the foundation of medicine.
The body is a vessel for the soul, and the soul is the captain of the ship.
The best way to keep the body healthy is to keep the mind healthy.
The wise man does not grieve for what he has not, but rejoices in what he has.
The physician must be a man of patience, for patience is the key to healing.
The soul is a substance that is neither body nor dependent on the body.
The physician must be a man of courage, for courage is necessary in the face of death.
The mind is the eye of the soul.
Is it the fault of wine if a fool drinks it and goes stumbling into darkness?
The different sorts of madness are innumerable.
Those who deny the first principle should be flogged or burned until they admit that it is not the same thing to be burned and not burned, or whipped and not whipped.
A horse is simply a horse.
Leeches should be kept a day before applying them. They should be squeezed to make them eject the contents of their stomachs.
O what a lean cow! it is not fit to be killed: give it fodder until it gets fat.
The world is divided into men who have brains and no religion, and men who have religion and no brains.
The human intellect is incapable of knowing the divine essence.