quote · Source-linked selection
by doing just actions we come to be just
by doing just actions we come to be just
Approximate author period: c. 353 BC · classical
Editorial context: A short extract from the linked translation of Aristotle's work. It is not offered as the exact English words of an ancient Greek speaker.
Individually source-checked reading
Read the idea
Aristotle compares the formation of character with learning a craft. Reading about fairness is not the same as practising it when you must divide a reward, acknowledge a mistake or make a difficult decision. Repeated choices train your attention and make particular responses easier. The important qualification is that repetition alone is not enough: practising badly can also create a bad habit. The passage therefore points towards guided practice, correction and judgement, not simply persistence at anything you happen to do.
A question worth asking
Which specific action would practise the quality you claim to value, and what would count as doing it well?
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation, separate from the quoted passage. A short extract from the linked translation of Aristotle's work. It is not offered as the exact English words of an ancient Greek speaker.
Read the translation and source notes ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Aristotle
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 353 BC · classical
Approximate author-period anchor from life dates -384 to -322; Wikidata Q868, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q868 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Nicomachean Ethics
Book II, chapter 1; the discussion of habituation around 1103b
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.