Illness Quotes

God and the doctor, We both adore In time of trouble, Not before. Illness cured, Reverses righted, God is forgotten, The doctor slighted.

I enjoy convalescence. It’s the part that makes the illness worthwhile.

The common cold, if left untreated, lasts about two weeks. If treated with medication and rest, it lasts about fourteen days.

The surly bird gets the germ.

Fire, the sea, and woman; these are three ills.

There is, let us confess it (and illness is the great confessional), a childish outspokenness in illness; things are said, truths blurted out, which the cautious respectability of health conceals. About sympathy for example – we can do without it. That illusion of a world so shaped that it echoes every groan, of human beings […]

Every invalid is a prisoner.

A man’s illness is his private territory and, no matter how much he loves you and how close you are, you stay an outsider. You are healthy.

Most illnesses tend to kill some people and to spare others, “and if you are one of the lucky ones and have also had at hand a steady knowledgeable doctor, you become convinced that the doctor saved you.” (The quote is from Lewis Thomas.) It is just this element of post hoc, propter hoc, I […]

I reckon being ill as one of the great pleasures of life, provided one is not too ill and is not obliged to work till one is better.