AristotleAristotle, (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher

False Aristotle Quote

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit”

AristotleAristotle
~ Aristotle

Misattributed to Aristotle. Actually a quote from Will Durant in The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers (1926), Ch. II: Aristotle and Greek Science; part VII: Ethics and the Nature of Happiness. The misattribution is from taking Durant's summation of Aristotle's ideas as being the words of Aristotle himself.
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Will.Durant.Quote.FF00

Ratings and Comments


Colin, Arena WI

This quote is not from Aristotle. It's from Will Durant paraphrasing Aristotle. It's a fine quote, but it's not the sort of thing Aristotle would say - it's poetic; it's not strictly logical. Suppose we repeatedly do courageous actions. Does that make us "courageous actions"? No, it makes us courageous. That may sound like a nitpicky distinction, but when it comes to nitpicky distinctions, I learned from the best: Aristotle.

jim k, Austin

"Winning is a habit, unfortunately so is losing". Vince Lombardi

E Archer, NYC

Garbage in, garbage out. ;-)

cal, Lewisville, Tx

Practice makes perfect.

Mike, Norwalk

Any value given this quote would have to be with a defining limited scope.

Ronw13, Oregon

Aristotle could not see beyond self, therefore his limited view. 

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