proverb · Legacy record
Water is like medicine, but can be deadly in excess.
Water is like medicine, but can be deadly in excess.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Water compared with medicine yet described as dangerous in excess gives quantity a role in judging something beneficial. The saying warns against treating more as always better.
What the words are saying
A responsible interpretation uses the contrast as a general image of proportion. It does not specify a safe amount, describe a medical condition or give drinking advice. Particular health questions require context that this sentence does not provide.
Everyday example
Someone notices that a useful activity can become disruptive when it consumes all the available time.
When to use it
Use this as an editorial reading of the source image, with its stated limits retained.
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What it does not mean
No medical mechanism, intake amount or treatment guidance is supplied.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 326; PDF page 34; collection label: Tibet Province of China
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Tibet Province of China