Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Stagira, a small town on the edge of Macedonia. His father Nicomachus served as personal physician to King Amyntas III, so the boy grew up surrounded by medical texts and court politics. Both parents died when he was young. At 17, orphaned and without patrons, Aristot...
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
— Aristotle Aristotle
Aristotle teaches that happiness (Eudaimonia) is not a fleeting emotion but the ultimate purpose of life, achieved through virtuous action. It places the responsibility for our well-being firmly in our own hands.
When I walked the grounds of the Lyceum with my students, I taught them that Eudaimonia-true flourishing-is not a gift from the fickle gods, but a structure built stone by stone through our own habits. I wrote this for my son, Nicomachus, and now I tell you: do not wait for fortune. You are the architect of your own soul; build your happiness through virtuous action today.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
— Aristotle Aristotle
This timeless wisdom acknowledges that learning demands sacrifice and struggle. Yet these difficulties become the foundation for future rewards, as knowledge and skill transform our lives in profound ways.
For twenty long years at Plato's Academy, I endured the rigors of dialectic and the sting of being challenged by greater minds. The path of discipline was often lonely and bitter to the taste. Yet, that sour root nourished the mind that would one day tutor Alexander the Great. Do not fear the bitterness of your current struggle; it is ripening into a sweetness you cannot yet imagine.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
— Aristotle Aristotle
Aristotle understood that genuine enjoyment in one's work naturally leads to superior results. When passion drives our efforts, we invest ourselves fully, achieving excellence that obligation alone cannot produce.
In the lagoons of Lesbos, they mocked me for staring at marine life for hours, mud on my tunic, forgetting to eat. But that intense curiosity birthed the science of biology. I found that when the soul delights in the task, fatigue vanishes and excellence emerges effortlessly. Find that obsession which makes you forget time, for that is where your genius lies hidden.
