The Essentials of Hippocratic Doctrine: Dr Paul Carton: Why This Book Changes Everything

One cannot understand naturopathy without tracing it back to its source. And that source is Hippocrates.

Not the Hippocrates of personal development quotes. The real one. The one who, 2,400 years ago, laid the foundations for everything naturopathy teaches today: the terrain takes precedence over the germ, food is the first remedy, vital force is the inner physician.

The problem? Hippocrates’ texts are voluminous, scattered, sometimes obscure. This is where Dr Paul Carton comes in.

A condensed version worth years of study

In 1923, Dr Carton: former intern at the Paris Hospitals, physician in Brévannes: publishes The Essence of Hippocrates’ Doctrine. His project is simple and ambitious: extract from thousands of pages of Hippocratic texts the fundamental principles that govern health and disease.

The result is a dense, structured text of remarkable clarity. Carton does more than translate: he organizes, he prioritizes, he connects ideas to one another. He does the work that no one had done before him.

What you will find in it

The terrain above all. Hippocrates does not treat diseases: he treats patients. Each individual has their own terrain, their own constitution, their own weaknesses. Disease is merely the signal of a terrain imbalance. This is exactly what Marchesseau would teach half a century later.

Vital force as the inner physician. The body heals itself: provided it is not hindered. The practitioner’s role is not to fight disease, but to support nature’s healing power. Fever, inflammation, eruptions: these are all defense processes that must be supported, not suppressed.

Food as the first remedy. “Let your food be your first medicine”: this famous phrase takes on its full meaning in the original text. Hippocrates details the effects of foods on the humors, temperaments, seasons. Carton restores this nutritional science with a precision that still amazes today.

The humors and temperaments. Blood, bile, black bile, phlegm: the four Hippocratic humors are not a historical curiosity. They are the foundation of individualizing care. Understanding a person’s temperament means understanding why they fall ill and how they can heal.

Why this book is essential

If you are a naturopath or naturopathy student, this book is your foundation. Everything you learn in class: terrain, humors, vital force, lifestyle hygiene: comes from here. Reading Carton means going back to the source and understanding why these principles work.

If you are simply curious about natural health, this book will give you a framework that you won’t find anywhere else. You will understand why naturopathy is not just about taking dietary supplements. You will understand why terrain is everything.

“Hippocrates’ medicine is the only one that is truly scientific, because it is the only one founded on the observation of nature.” : Dr Paul Carton

Editor’s note

I chose to reissue this text because it had become unavailable. A book of this importance cannot disappear. Every naturopath should have read it at least once. Anyone interested in their health will find answers here of striking relevance: 2,400 years after Hippocrates, a century after Carton.

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Healthy recipe: Regenerative bone broth: Hippocrates already prescribed bone broth.