--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Again, of all the things that come to us…" description: "\"“Again, of all the things that come to us by nature we first acquire the potentiality and later exhibit the activity (this is plain in the case of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/aristotle-78_character_again-of-all-the-things-that-come-to-us_837383.jpg" --- # Again, of all the things that come to us by nature we… ![“Again, of all the things that come to us by nature we first acquire the potentiality and later exhibit the activity (this is plain in the case of the senses; for it was not by often seeing or often hearing that we got these senses, but on the contrary we had them before we used them, and did not…” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/aristotle-78_character_again-of-all-the-things-that-come-to-us_837383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/aristotle-78_character_again-of-all-the-things-that-come-to-us_837383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/aristotle-78_character_again-of-all-the-things-that-come-to-us_837383.jpg) > ““Again, of all the things that come to us by nature we first acquire the potentiality and later exhibit the activity (this is plain in the case of the senses; for it was not by often seeing or often hearing that we got these senses, but on the contrary we had them before we used them, and did not come to have them by using them); but the virtues we get by first exercising them, as also happens in the case of the arts as well. For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them, e.g. men become builders by building and lyreplayers by playing the lyre; so too we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human capacities develop from potential to actual through practice; virtues arise by repeatedly performing the corresponding actions. **In simple terms:** We become what we repeatedly do. Key Takeaway Practice to develop virtues. Themes virtue practice development ethics habit Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - learning a new skill - ethical decision making - personal growth - training athletes Key Concepts Aristotelian ethics habit formation moral psychology Questions to Reflect On - What habits do you need to cultivate? - How does repeated action shape character? A Different Perspective Practice alone does not guarantee mastery without proper guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [But the virtues we get by first exercising them, as also happens in the case of the arts as well. 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We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/moral-excellence-comes-about-as-a-result-of-habit-we-become-just-by/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“It is well said, then, that it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-well-said-then-that-it-is-by-doing-just-acts-that-the-just-man/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/for-the-things-we-have-to-learn-before-we-can-do-them-we-learn-by/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [I've been naturally quick at learning things, and I learn by doing things, so if I sit beside someone who is actively doing something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-garratt/i-ve-been-naturally-quick-at-learning-things-and-i-learn-by-doing/) [Jack Garratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-garratt/) > [For what one has to learn to do, we learn by doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-what-one-has-to-learn-to-do-we-learn-by-doing/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [What you have to learn to do, you learn by doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/what-you-have-to-learn-to-do-you-learn-by-doing/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/what-we-have-to-learn-to-do-we-learn-by-doing/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The only way to learn is to keep doing something new, and, if you're lucky, learning with people who really know how to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/the-only-way-to-learn-is-to-keep-doing-something-new-and-if-you-re/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [I am always making that what I am not capable, in an attempt to learn how to doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-am-always-making-that-what-i-am-not-capable-in-an-attempt-to-learn/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You learn more doing than doing training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hart/you-learn-more-doing-than-doing-training/) [Ian Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hart/) > [You learn as much from doing a bad film as a good one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-moran/you-learn-as-much-from-doing-a-bad-film-as-a-good-one/) [Nick Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-moran/) > [Learning is an active process. We learn by doing.. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/learning-is-an-active-process-we-learn-by-doing-only-knowledge-that/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. 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