Aristotle Quotes About Excellence

• Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.

  Aristotle

  Motivational, Wise, Intelligent

• No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.

  Aristotle

  Inspirational, Motivational, Self

• Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

  Aristotle

  Inspirational, Motivational, Inspiring

• Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.

  Aristotle

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

• We are what we repeatedly do... excellence, therefore, isn't just an act, but a habit and life isn't just a series of events, but an ongoing process of self-definition.

  Aristotle

  Self, Excellence, Events

• It is the mark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness where only an approximation is possible.

  Aristotle

  Nature, Truth, Mind

  "Time to rise to the challenge of social impact measurement" by Jeremy Nicholls, www.theguardian.com. May 10, 2013.

• There is an ideal of excellence for any particular craft or occupation; similarly there must be an excellent that we can achieve as human beings. That is, we can live our lives as a whole in such a way that they can be judged not just as excellent in this respect or in that occupation, but as excellent, period. Only when we develop our truly human capacities sufficiently to achieve this human excellent will we have lives blessed with happiness.

  Aristotle

  Blessed, Excellence, Crafts

• The virtues [moral excellence] therefore are engendered in us neither by nature nor yet in violation of nature; nature gives us the capacity to receive them, and this capacity is brought to maturity by habit.

  Aristotle

  Maturity, Giving, Excellence

• Of cases where a man is truthful both in speech and conduct when no considerations of honesty come in, from an habitual sincerity of disposition. Such sincerity may be esteemed a moral excellence; for the lover of truth, who is truthful even when nothing depends on it, will a fortiori be truthful when some interest is at stake, since having all along avoided falsehood for its own sake, he will assuredly avoid it when it is morally base; and this is a disposition that we praise.

  Aristotle

  Honesty, Men, Excellence

• Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

  Aristotle

  Courage, Peace, Bravery

  "Nichomachean Ethics". Book by Aristotle, Book II, c. 325 BC.

• Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.

  Aristotle

  Art, Academic Excellence, Training

  "The Story of Philosophy". Book by Will Durant, p. 76, 1926.

• All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.

  Aristotle

  Nature, Philosophical, Passion

  "Rhetoric". Book by Aristotle. Book I, 1369a.5,

• We are what we do.
  Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.

  Aristotle

  Motivational, Positive, Perseverance

• If happiness is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence.

  Aristotle

  Happiness, Laughter, Joy

  Aristotle, (2014). “Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation”, p.1860, Princeton University Press

• To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character.

  Aristotle

  Inspirational, Hate, Character

  Aristotle, (2014). “Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation”, p.1852, Princeton University Press

• Human good turns out to be activity of soul exhibiting excellence, and if there is more than one sort of excellence, in accordance with the best and most complete.Foroneswallowdoesnot makea summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.

  Aristotle

  Summer, Time, Blessed

  Nicomachean Ethics, bk.1, ch.7,1098 (translated by Sir David Ross).

• Now the goodness that we have to consider is clearly human goodness, since the good or happiness which we set out to seek was human good and human happiness. But human goodness means in our view excellence of soul, not excellence of body.

  Aristotle

  Mean, Views, Soul

  Aristotle (1996). “The Nicomachean Ethics”, p.22, Wordsworth Editions

• Excellence or virtue in a man will be the disposition which renders him a good man and also which will cause him to perform his function well.

  Aristotle

  Men, Good Man, Excellence

  Aristotle (1996). “The Nicomachean Ethics”, p.39, Wordsworth Editions

• Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.

  Aristotle

  Friendship, Men, Perfection

  Aristotle, (2014). “Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation”, p.1827, Princeton University Press

• These virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions ... The good of man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence in a complete life.

  Aristotle

  Men, Soul, Excellence

• The good of man is the active exercise of his soul's faculties. This exercise must occupy a complete lifetime. One swallow does make a spring, nor does one fine day. Excellence is a habit, not an event.

  Aristotle

  Spring, Exercise, Men

• The Good of man is the active exercise of his soul's faculties in conformity with excellence or virtue, or if there be several human excellences or virtues, in conformity with the best and most perfect among them.

  Aristotle

  Spiritual, Exercise, Men

  Aristotle (1996). “The Nicomachean Ethics”, p.13, Wordsworth Editions

• The excellence of a thing is related to its proper function.

  Aristotle

  Philosophy, Educational, Excellence

• We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence. But they hesitate, waiting for the other fellow to make the first move-and he, in turn, waits for you.

  Aristotle

  Integrity, Moving, Waiting

• Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.

  Aristotle

  Lying, Mean, Men

  Aristotle, (2014). “Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation”, p.1748, Princeton University Press

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