Science is the father of knowledge, but opinion breeds ignorance.

Hear the words of Hippocrates, the father of medicine, whose wisdom has echoed through centuries: “Science is the father of knowledge, but opinion breeds ignorance.” In this utterance, he lifts a lamp to guide all seekers of truth. For science—the disciplined search, the careful observation, the testing of reality—gives birth to understanding that endures. But opinion, when it struts without proof, when it shouts without foundation, blinds the eyes and hardens the heart, producing only the shadow of wisdom, which is ignorance disguised as truth.

The ancients understood this divide. The philosophers of Greece contended daily with sophists, who trafficked in clever opinions but cared little for truth. Socrates sought not mere appearance, but knowledge grounded in reason, stripping away pretenses to reveal what endures. Hippocrates, as physician, declared war against superstition and guesswork. He rejected the claim that sickness came from the wrath of gods or spirits, and instead observed the body, the environment, and the diet. His reliance on science—observation, diagnosis, and cause—was the true father of healing knowledge, not the swirling opinions of fearful men.

Consider the plague of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The city was crippled, and in desperation, people clung to every rumor, every opinion of charlatans. Some blamed the Spartans for poisoning wells, others said it was punishment from Apollo. These opinions spread like fire, sowing panic and despair. But the true path forward lay not in idle speculation, but in the work of healers and observers who sought causes and treatments through reason. It was science, not superstition, that would one day unlock the nature of disease.

This lesson has been repeated across history. When Columbus sailed west, opinion claimed the earth was flat. But observation and mathematics had already shown it round. When Galileo looked to the heavens, opinion insisted that the sun circled the earth. Yet his telescope, his science, revealed moons circling Jupiter and phases of Venus. Though he suffered condemnation, his work endured, while the ignorance of popular belief crumbled. Always, it is science that fathers knowledge, while opinion, clung to stubbornly, breeds blindness.

Hippocrates’ words also remind us of humility. For opinion arises quickly, without discipline, and it pleases the ego, for each man loves the sound of his own voice. But science requires patience, labor, and honesty. It does not flatter, but corrects; it does not inflate, but refines. The path of knowledge is hard, but it leads to life. The path of opinion is easy, but it leads to error. Thus, the good man must bridle his tongue and sharpen his mind, lest he mistake the noise of opinion for the light of truth.

The lesson, then, is clear: guard yourself from the comfort of untested beliefs. Seek truth in science, in observation, in reasoned thought. Do not despise questioning, for it is the root of understanding. Let your beliefs be shaped not by what is popular, but by what is proven. And when you speak, speak from knowledge, not from mere opinion, lest you add to the world’s confusion instead of its clarity.

What then must you do? Be diligent as Hippocrates was: observe carefully, test patiently, and value truth above pride. Read widely, question boldly, and when you form judgments, let them be founded on evidence, not hearsay. In this way, you will walk in the light of knowledge, not the darkness of ignorance. And by your example, you will help others to see that science is the father of all enduring truth, while opinion without reason is but a mother of shadows.

Thus remember the words of Hippocrates: “Science is the father of knowledge, but opinion breeds ignorance.” Let them be carved upon your heart. For only through science, humble and disciplined, can we rise from error into truth, and only by rejecting idle opinion can we guard ourselves from the chains of ignorance.