YPOCRAS. Hippocrates of Cos, fl. fifth century B.C., was the first scientific physician and the founder of Greek medical science. Several works were attributed to him, among them the Aphorisms, which included the famous dictum: "Life is short, but art is long, the opportunity fleeting, the experiment perilous, the judgment difficult." Between 1360 and 1385 Merton College owned a copy of the Aphorisms in a Latin translation from the Arabic of Constantinus Africanus.

Ypocras is among the Physician's authorities, Gen Prol 431. Neither Ypocras nor Galen can cure the Man in Black of his grief, BD 571; the line reflects RR 15959. A summary of the famous dictum appears in PF 1-2. Ypocras is also the name of an aphrodisiac made of wine, sugar, and spices, MerchT 1807.

Ypocras, the OF variant, occurs medially, Gen Prol 431; BD 571.