A half doctor near is better than a whole one far away.

This saying is attributed to German proverbial tradition rather than a single identifiable author. It reflects conditions in which medical help could be scarce, travel slow, and emergencies time-sensitive—especially in rural areas before modern transportation and widespread professional healthcare. In such settings, the nearest available healer, barber-surgeon, midwife, or partially trained practitioner might be the only realistic option when illness or injury struck. Like many European folk proverbs, it uses a deliberately blunt comparison (“half” versus “whole”) to emphasize practical judgment over ideal choice: in urgent matters, immediacy can outweigh expertise.

The proverb argues for pragmatism: timely, accessible help often matters more than perfect help that arrives too late. “Half doctor” suggests limited skill or resources, but “near” implies speed and availability—critical factors in crises. More broadly, it generalizes beyond medicine to decision-making under constraints: an imperfect solution at hand can be better than an optimal one that is distant, delayed, or unattainable. The line also hints at risk management—reducing the danger of waiting—while acknowledging that real life frequently requires choosing the best feasible option rather than the best imaginable one.