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When you have decided that a thing ought to be done, and are doing it, never avoid being seen doing it.
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“When you have decided that a thing ought to be done, and are doing it, never avoid being seen doing it.”

Epictetus

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Source
Enchiridion
Date
c. 125
English wording
George Long — Translator · from Ancient Greek
Meaning

Meaning of “When you have decided that a thing ought…”

Once judgment has concluded an action is right, misplaced criticism should not become a reason to hide or abandon the action.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Enchiridion, chapter 35, George Long translation; the following sentence distinguishes right action from fear of wrong criticism.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

Courage Quotes About Acting Despite FearDecisionDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityIntegrityLeadershipMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceResponsibilitySelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentStoicStrengthSuccessActionConscienceEthics
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Source identified
To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.
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“To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.”

Confucius · The Analects of Confucius · James Legge translation
Meaning & context

Recognizing the right course is incomplete if fear or convenience prevents a person from acting on that judgment.

Source details

The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book II connects moral recognition with the courage required for action.

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Do the Duty which lies nearest thee
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“Do the Duty which lies nearest thee”

Thomas Carlyle · Sartor Resartus · 1836
Voice: Fictional narrator · Diogenes Teufelsdröckh (framed voice)
Meaning & context

The advice narrows attention from an overwhelming field of possibilities to the responsibility that is already clear enough to act on, with later duties expected to become clearer through action.

Source details

Sartor Resartus, Book II, Chapter IX, “The Everlasting Yea,” printed page 156 / Wikisource scan leaf 188 in The Works of Thomas Carlyle, Centenary Edition, Vol. I (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896). “Do the Duty which lies nearest thee” follows the doubt/action sentence and is explicitly described as a precept that was of invaluable service to Teufelsdröckh. It remains fictional-philosophical and religious conduct-of-life rhetoric rather than a context-free productivity command.

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Here is my work, here or nowhere.
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“Here is my work, here or nowhere.”

Thomas Carlyle · Latter-Day Pamphlets · 1850
Meaning & context

Carlyle’s imagined capable leader locates responsibility in the actual sphere available to him rather than waiting for a more convenient setting in which to act.

Source details

Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. IV “The New Downing Street”; Project Gutenberg #1140. The sentence occurs inside Carlyle’s controversial political argument about leadership; this collection uses it for work/responsibility while retaining that historical context.

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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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