--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is short, and the Art long; the…" description: "\"Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious, and judgment difficult. The physician must not only be prepared to do wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/hippocrates-2237_art_life-is-short-and-the-art-long-the-occas_2280758.jpg" --- # Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting… ![“Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious, and judgment difficult. The physician must not only be prepared to do what is right himself, but also to make the patient, the attendants, and externals cooperate.” quote by Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/hippocrates-2237_art_life-is-short-and-the-art-long-the-occas_2280758.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/hippocrates-2237_art_life-is-short-and-the-art-long-the-occas_2280758.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bd/hippocrates-2237_art_life-is-short-and-the-art-long-the-occas_2280758.jpg) > “Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious, and judgment difficult. The physician must not only be prepared to do what is right himself, but also to make the patient, the attendants, and externals cooperate.” [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physicians must act rightly themselves and also coordinate patients, staff, and external factors despite limited time and complex judgments. **In simple terms:** Doctors must act rightly and manage everyone involved. Key Takeaway Balance personal judgment with teamwork. Themes ethics medicine leadership Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical practical When to use this quote - emergency care - hospital management - patient counseling Key Concepts clinical decision‑making cooperation Questions to Reflect On - How can physicians improve cooperation? - What limits affect ethical decisions? A Different Perspective Complex situations may hinder coordination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is-short/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Physician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physician/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [ “Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile. Life is short, \[the\] art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment dangerous, judgment difficult.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/ars-longa-vita-brevis-occasio-praeceps-experimentum-periculosum/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [“Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-fleeting-experience-treacherous/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment uncertain, and judgment difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/life-is-short-art-long-opportunity-fleeting-experiment-uncertain-and/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [“should always try to make the patient abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favour of the ‘best’ people, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/should-always-try-to-make-the-patient-abandon-the-people-or-food-or/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [The physician treats, but nature heals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/the-physician-treats-but-nature-heals/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The patient must combat the disease along with the physician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/the-patient-must-combat-the-disease-along-with-the-physician/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The physician must have at his command a certain ready wit, as dourness is repulsive both to the healthy and the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/the-physician-must-have-at-his-command-a-certain-ready-wit-as/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity transient. 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I am at once a physician, a citizen, and a woman, and I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-fay-jefferson/i-became-a-physician-in-order-to-help-save-lives-i-am-at-once-a/) Mildred Fay Jefferson ## More by Hippocrates > [Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/men-ought-to-know-that-from-nothing-else-but-the-brain-come-joys/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [But medicine has long had all its means to hand, and has discovered both a principle and a method, through which the discoveries made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/but-medicine-has-long-had-all-its-means-to-hand-and-has-discovered/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The dignity of a physician requires that he should look healthy, and as plump as nature intended him to be; for the common crowd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/the-dignity-of-a-physician-requires-that-he-should-look-healthy-and/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/i-will-follow-that-system-of-regimen-which-according-to-my-ability/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [There are in fact two things, science and opinion. The former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/there-are-in-fact-two-things-science-and-opinion-the-former-begets/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/the-soul-is-the-same-in-all-living-creatures-although-the-body-of/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is short, and the Art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious, and judgment difficult. 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