Consistency Quotes
This quote is often misattributed to Aristotle. Durant was summarizing some connected statements by Aristotle as follows: “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation: we not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather have these because we have acted rightly; these virtues are formed in man by doing his actions; we are we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” See related Aristotle quote for additional context.
This quotation shows us that the 16th century English did not bathe very often. Even the Queen would only bathe once a month and she and the norms of the times did not feel that she “needed” it that often. Many English would go many months without bathing. Other Europeans were as bad or worse. Japan, in contrast, at the same time, had very frequent bathing. The Romans, 1500 years earlier not only bathed very frequently but created facilities for bathing in most Roman communities. Jewish communities also bathed frequently and had ritual baths but these were mainly for women.
Frequently quoted by Earl Warren
It is not clear that L’Estrange actually originated the phrase that politicians use so frequently. It may have been a common aphorism of the day and place. However, this is the earliest English written use of the statement that we have yet found.
