--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men become builders by building and…" description: "\"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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png" --- # Men become builders by building and lyreplayers by playing… ![“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.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png) > “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. Virtue is developed by repeatedly performing just, temperate, and brave acts, shaping character through habit. **In simple terms:** Character forms by doing virtuous acts. Key Takeaway Practice virtue daily. Themes ethics habit character virtue Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - education - leadership - parenting - self‑improvement Key Concepts moral development habit formation Questions to Reflect On - Which virtue will you practice today? - How do small actions build character? A Different Perspective Habits can be hard to sustain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acts Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-brave-1926633/) [Acts Temperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-temperate-612748/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Brave Acts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-acts-2407541/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Men Builders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-builders-2407543/) [Temperate Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperate-doing-2407542/) ## Related quotes > [Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/whatever-we-learn-to-do-we-learn-by-actually-doing-it-men-come-to-be/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [But the virtues we get by first exercising them, as also happens in the case of the arts as well. For the things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/but-the-virtues-we-get-by-first-exercising-them-as-also-happens-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [We become brave by doing brave acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/we-become-brave-by-doing-brave-acts/) [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-2/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. 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/) > [“Again, of all the things that come to us by nature we first acquire the potentiality and later exhibit the activity (this is plain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/again-of-all-the-things-that-come-to-us-by-nature-we-first-acquire/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [When their adventures do not succeed, however, they run away; but it was the mark of a brave man to face things that are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/when-their-adventures-do-not-succeed-however-they-run-away-but-it-was/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [He then alone will strictly be called brave who is fearless of a noble death, and of all such chances as come upon us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/he-then-alone-will-strictly-be-called-brave-who-is-fearless-of-a/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I'm very proud of 'Every Girl's a Super Girl.' I want all girls to know that no matter what size, color, or shape, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-siwa/i-m-very-proud-of-every-girl-s-a-super-girl-i-want-all-girls-to-know/) [JoJo Siwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-siwa/) > [“Victory is for the fucking brave, not the timid and excuse-riddled weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakk-wylde/victory-is-for-the-fucking-brave-not-the-timid-and-excuse-riddled-weak/) [Zakk Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakk-wylde/) > [It's always brave to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-yifei/it-s-always-brave-to-be-yourself/) [Liu Yifei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-yifei/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) ## 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. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Brave quotes > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [It's always brave to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-yifei/it-s-always-brave-to-be-yourself/) [Liu Yifei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-yifei/) > [“Victory is for the fucking brave, not the timid and excuse-riddled weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakk-wylde/victory-is-for-the-fucking-brave-not-the-timid-and-excuse-riddled-weak/) [Zakk Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakk-wylde/) > [I'm very proud of 'Every Girl's a Super Girl.' I want all girls to know that no matter what size, color, or shape, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-siwa/i-m-very-proud-of-every-girl-s-a-super-girl-i-want-all-girls-to-know/) [JoJo Siwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-siwa/) > [And I read the moral--A brave endeavour To do thy duty, whate'er its worth, Is better than life with love forever, And love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/and-i-read-the-moral-a-brave-endeavour-to-do-thy-duty-whate-er-its/) [James Jeffrey Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeffrey-roche/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a fallacy with stand up comedy, which is, people come up to comedians, and they go, 'You say what I think but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jefferies/there-s-a-fallacy-with-stand-up-comedy-which-is-people-come-up-to/) [Jim Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jefferies/) > [Fortune helps the brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/fortune-helps-the-brave/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [“A ‘good’ father will tenderly cultivate his children. But a ‘good’ father who is also a ‘brave’ father will let the children without cultivate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/a-good-father-will-tenderly-cultivate-his-children-but-a-good-father/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [And is it selfish of me to crave victory, or is it brave?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-is-it-selfish-of-me-to-crave-victory-or-is-it-brave/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [THE British are brave people. They can face anything, except reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-are-brave-people-they-can-face-anything-except-reality/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) [Browse all 3,314 Brave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyreplayers-by-playing-the-lyre/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyreplayers-by-playing-the-lyre/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a63/aristotle-78_brave_men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyre_2658409.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men become builders by building and lyreplayers by playing the lyre; so too we become just by doing just…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men become builders by building and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyreplayers-by-playing-the-lyre/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-become-builders-by-building-and-lyreplayers-by-playing-the-lyre/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```