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First, do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose.
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“First, do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose.”

Marcus Aurelius

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Source
Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Date
c. 170
English wording
George Long — Translator · from Ancient Greek
Meaning

Meaning of “First, do nothing inconsiderately, nor without a purpose.”

Deliberate action begins by knowing why an act is being done instead of moving from impulse, distraction, or social pressure.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Meditations, Book XII, section 20, George Long translation.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

CalmDecisionDeepDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyGoalsInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLifeMeaning of Life Quotes About What Makes Life MatterMotivation For LifeMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistencePatiencePeacePurpose Quotes About Direction, Duty & Meaningful WorkResponsibilitySelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortStoicStrengthSuccessWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellAction
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Source identified
If you would make anything a habit, do it.
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“If you would make anything a habit, do it.”

Epictetus · Discourses of Epictetus · c. 125
Meaning & context

Habit formation is reduced to repeated action: the behavior itself is what trains the pattern.

Source details

Discourses of Epictetus, Book II, Chapter XVIII, “How we should struggle against appearances,” George Long translation; 1877 George Bell & Sons witness on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #10661. This short catalog record is an excerpt of Long’s longer clause “Generally then if you would make any thing a habit, do it”; this collection lightly normalizes “any thing” to “anything.”

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Generally then if you would make anything a habit, do it.
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“Generally then if you would make anything a habit, do it.”

Epictetus · Discourses of Epictetus · c. 125 CE
Meaning & context

Repeated behavior trains the corresponding habit, so change depends on practicing the desired action rather than merely endorsing it in theory.

Source details

Discourses of Epictetus, Book II, Chapter XVIII, “How we should struggle against appearances,” George Long translation; 1877 George Bell & Sons witness on Wikisource, cross-checked against Project Gutenberg #10661. This collection lightly normalizes Long’s “any thing” to “anything”; this longer record contains the shorter retained habit excerpt represented by a separate legacy quote URL.

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Source identified
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.
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“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.”

Rudyard Kipling · If— · 1910
Meaning & context

Kipling’s speaker recommends maintaining steadiness toward both success and failure rather than allowing either outcome to determine one’s character or judgment.

Source details

“If—,” in Rewards and Fairies, Project Gutenberg #556. The poem presents a period ideal of masculine self-command through a sequence of conditional tests; the stored lines are literary and moral rhetoric, not a requirement to suppress normal emotion.

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