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Who really said it

Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write

Spoken by Epictetus c. 50 – c. 135 AD · Stoic philosopher, born enslaved in Phrygia
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Genuine Epictetus. The line opens Discourses Book 2, Chapter 18 (II.18.1) — a lecture given at his school in Nicopolis and taken down by his student Arrian. The exact English wording that circulates today is George Long’s Victorian translation, confirmed word for word in the George Bell and Sons text digitized by the Perseus Digital Library ↗.

Last verified 6 Aug 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write” Epictetus, Discourses 2.18.1 — recorded by his pupil Arrian, c. 108 AD; translated by George Long (London: George Bell and Sons, 1890). "Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write."

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Evoking the world of Epictetus — Stoic philosopher, born enslaved at Hierapolis. Theme: "Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Work
Discourses, Book 2, Chapter 18 — “How we should struggle against appearances”
Recorded by
Arrian, pupil of Epictetus, c. 108 AD
Translation
George Long — London: G. Bell, 1877; George Bell and Sons, 1890 (the edition digitized by Perseus)
Passage
II.18.1, the opening lines of the chapter

Every habit and faculty is maintained and increased by the corresponding actions: the habit of walking by walking, the habit of running by running. If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write. But when you shall not have read for thirty days in succession, but have done something else, you will know the consequence. Discourses II.18.1, trans. George Long

The chapter opens on this sentence — it is not buried in an argument but the premise Epictetus builds the rest of the lecture on.

Scanned edition
George Long's translation, George Bell and Sons, 1890, on the Internet Archive
Read Discourses 2.18 in Long's translation at Perseus

How we checked

  • Perseus Digital Library ↗ carries George Long’s translation (George Bell and Sons, 1890), and Book 2, Chapter 18 opens with the quoted wording exactly as it circulates — “maintained and increased,” “if a writer, write,” and all.
  • Wikiquote ↗ lists the line among its Discourses Book II entries with the reference II.18.1, independently placing it in the same chapter.
  • Wikisource ↗ hosts W. A. Oldfather’s 1925 translation of the same chapter, headed “How must we struggle against our external impressions?” — the passage is there, phrased differently, which is what confirms the popular English is Long’s and not a free-floating invention.
  • Wikipedia’s article on the Discourses ↗ sets the chain of custody: Arrian wrote them down around 108 AD, four of the original eight books survive complete, and mainstream scholarly opinion holds that they preserve Epictetus’s actual teaching and voice.
Public domain

The Greek original is ancient and long out of copyright. The English shown here is George Long’s translation, first published in London by G. Bell in 1877 and reissued by George Bell and Sons in 1890 — both comfortably before 1931, so the translation is in the public domain in the United States. W. A. Oldfather’s alternative rendering quoted for comparison comes from a 1925 volume, also pre-1931.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

What people get wrong about it

The name on this one is right — unusually so for a Stoic quote card. What gets misdescribed is how the sentence came to exist at all, and whose English you are actually reading.

“Written by Epictetus” he wrote nothing

Epictetus published nothing. No writings by him are known ↗; his teaching survives only because his pupil Arrian took down the lectures, around 108 AD ↗, and even then insisted he had not written a book — he was keeping a record of what he heard.

George Long, the translator wording

“If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write” is Long’s compression. W. A. Oldfather’s 1925 version on Wikisource ↗ reads “If you wish to be a good reader, read; if you wish to be a good writer, write” — same sense, none of the snap. The aphoristic quality that made this quotable is a Victorian translator’s doing.

Blended translations mixed text

Wordings drift between editions and get spliced. Wikiquote ↗ lists the passage under Discourses Book II at II.18.1 but opens it “Every habit and faculty is confirmed and strengthened by the corresponding actions” — not Long’s “maintained and increased.” Both point at the same Greek; only one matches the version you will see on a poster.

The thought is Epictetus’s, spoken in a classroom at Nicopolis and preserved by Arrian; the sentence you can quote from memory is George Long’s English, and it opens Discourses Book 2, Chapter 18 ↗.

Context

Why it mattered

Chapter 18 of Book 2 — headed in Long’s translation “How we should struggle against appearances” — is Epictetus’s practical theory of habit. His claim is mechanical rather than moral: a capacity is not a possession you own but a groove you keep cutting. Walking makes a walker, running makes a runner, reading makes a reader. Stop, and the groove fills in.

The teeth of the argument are in what follows. Epictetus turns the same rule on the passions: every time you give way to anger you have not merely had a bad day, you have made the next outburst easier. That is why the chapter sits under “struggling against appearances” — the Stoic discipline is not a single heroic act of will but the refusal to feed a habit one more time.

A capacity is not a possession you own but a groove you keep cutting.

The same passage in a second translation

W. A. Oldfather’s 1925 rendering, on Wikisource ↗, keeps the argument and loses the epigram: “Every habit and faculty is confirmed and strengthened by the corresponding actions, that of walking by walking, that of running by running. If you wish to be a good reader, read; if you wish to be a good writer, write.”

Oldfather also preserves the homely illustration that follows: “So also if you lie in bed for ten days, get up and try to take a rather long walk, and you will see how wobbly your legs are.” Epictetus taught by way of the body long before self-help discovered the idea.

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More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

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Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Discourses 2.18, George Long translationperseus.tufts.edu

The Perseus Digital Library text of Long's translation (George Bell and Sons, 1890) — carries the exact popular wording as the chapter's opening lines.
Discourses Book 2, Chapter 18 (Oldfather, 1925)en.wikisource.org

The same passage in W. A. Oldfather's translation — useful for seeing exactly how much of the famous phrasing belongs to the translator.
Epictetus on Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Lists the line under Discourses, Book II with the citation II.18.1.
The Discourses of Epictetus, Long translation (1890)archive.org

Scanned George Bell and Sons edition of Long's translation — the same edition Perseus digitizes.
The Discourses of Epictetus, Long translation (1877)archive.org

Scan catalogued as George Long's translation, London: G. Bell, 1877 — the first appearance of this English wording.
Discourses of Epictetusen.wikipedia.org

Background on Arrian's role: he wrote the Discourses down around 108 AD, and four of the original eight books survive.

The true author

Who was Epictetus?

Epictetus

c. 50 – c. 135 AD · Stoic philosopher, born enslaved at Hierapolis

Epictetus was born into slavery at Hierapolis in Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, Turkey), was freed, and after being banished from Rome founded a school of philosophy at Nicopolis in Greece. No writings by Epictetus are known — everything we have of him is lecture-room talk, recorded by his pupil Arrian in the Discourses and the Enchiridion. Of the eight books Arrian is said to have compiled, four survive complete, plus fragments.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Discourses II.18.1, trans. George Long

Epictetus, The Discourses of Epictetus, with the Encheiridion and Fragments, trans. George Long (London: George Bell and Sons, 1890), Book 2, chap. 18 (II.18.1); recorded by Arrian c. 108 AD. Long’s translation first published London: G. Bell, 1877.

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