# physician, heal thyself

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/physician-heal-thyself
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

One should attend to one's own flaws or defects before presuming to advise others about theirs.

## Examples

- You should fix your own problems, physician, heal thyself.
- He keeps telling me how to manage my stress, but he is always exhausted; I told him, physician, heal thyself.
- Before the senator criticizes the moral failings of his colleagues, he would do well to remember the old proverb: physician, heal thyself.

## Origin

Calque of Ancient Greek ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν (iatré, therápeuson seautón) and Latin medice, cūrā tē ipsum, from Luke 4:23.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.