“The greatest virtue of speech is clarity; obscurity comes from the use of strange or unfamiliar words.” — Hippocrates (460BC-370BC) #writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #hippocrate #HippocratesWisdom More than two thousand years ago, Hippocrates, best known as a foundational figure in medicine, also laid down a principle that every writer and speaker can use: the highest virtue of language is clarity. In his medical treatises (the above line comes from "Peri Technēs"), he warned that meaning is weakened when communication becomes obscure, especially through the use of unfamiliar or showy words. The goal of language, in his view, is not to impress but to be understood. That advice still slices cleanly through modern writing. Technical jargon, inflated vocabulary, and decorative complexity can make a message feel smarter while actually making it harder to grasp. Hippocrates’ principle flips that instinct on its head: clarity is not dumbing down, it is leveling up. Whether in science, storytelling, or everyday communication, the best language serves the reader first, ego last.

“The greatest virtue of speech is clarity; obscurity comes from the use of strange or unfamiliar words.”
— Hippocrates (460BC-370BC)

#writerslift #life #authors #love #art #coffee #diary #write #books #amwriting #quotes #hippocrate #HippocratesWisdom