Time is the best doctor — wounds of the heart, conflicts between people, grief, anger, and humiliation all yield eventually to the passage of time when other remedies have failed. A proverb of consolation and long-term perspective used across all situations from bereavement to broken friendships. In a culture where memories were long, this proverb reminded people that even long memories eventually soften.
Medical knowledge in rural Sicily was limited for most of its history — the parish priest, the healer-woman (the 'maga' or 'guaritrice'), and common-sense folk remedies provided most of what passed for healthcare before the 20th century. In this context, time was not a metaphor but a genuine medical observation: many conditions that seemed catastrophic resolved themselves without treatment, if the patient survived long enough and conditions were not too extreme. The proverb transferred this medical observation to emotional and social wounds with equal accuracy. The feud that seemed undying softened after a generation. The grief that seemed unbearable became bearable, then simply a sadness, then a memory, then a story. The humiliation that had driven a young man to thoughts of revenge became, with decades, simply an anecdote. Time worked where anger could not, where money could not, where cleverness could not.
A Sicilian proverb of consolation equating time with healing, common throughout the Mediterranean world but with particular depth in a culture accustomed to long memories and long feuds. 'Lu tempu' = il tempo (time), 'megghiu' = migliore (best), 'medicu' = medico (doctor). Used in bereavement, conflict resolution, and personal consolation across all of Sicily.
Consoling a friend after the end of a relationship
Lo so che adesso sembra impossibile. Lu tempu è lu megghiu medicu — tra un anno non ci crederai che stavi soffrendo così.
I know it seems impossible now. Time is the best doctor — in a year you will not believe you were suffering this much.
After a family conflict that had no immediate resolution
Non si parleranno per mesi. Ma lu tempu è lu megghiu medicu — alla fine torneranno insieme, come sempre.
They will not speak for months. But time is the best doctor — in the end they will come back together, as always.
Advising against hasty revenge
Non fare niente di stupido adesso che sei arrabbiato. Lu tempu è lu megghiu medicu — aspetta che la testa si raffreddi.
Do not do anything stupid now that you are angry. Time is the best doctor — wait for your head to cool down.
Reflecting on how old wounds had finally healed
Per anni ho portato quella rabbia. Poi un giorno mi sono svegliato e non c'era più. Lu tempu è lu megghiu medicu — aveva lavorato in silenzio.
For years I carried that anger. Then one day I woke up and it was gone. Time is the best doctor — it had been working in silence.