"No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune"

Plutarch’s observation draws attention to the principle that intention and effort are essential for meaningful outcomes. The image of a man wetting clay, a clear first step in a deliberate process like brickmaking, signifies an action taken with purpose. Yet, if he were to simply wet the clay and abandon it, he would not reasonably expect bricks to form on their own. The clay, without shaping, molding, and firing, remains just malleable earth, not a useful object. Plutarch uses this example to highlight the folly of expecting results in the absence of concerted labor and follow-through.

The fortuitous completion of anything worthwhile is, in reality, extremely rare. The brickmaker knows each phase, mixing, molding, drying, and firing, is critical before rough materials are transformed into functional bricks. These processes require knowledge, persistence, and repeated attention. If any step is neglected, the result falls short of the aim. Thus, it’s not enough to simply begin an endeavor; sustained engagement and intention are necessary to see it through. Relying on luck or accident disregards the natural relationship between effort and achievement.

Beyond craftsmanship, the metaphor extends into broader human pursuits: personal growth, education, virtuous living, or building relationships. The first steps in any of these areas, acquiring knowledge, making an attempt, or deciding to improve, furnish raw potential, but this potential must be cultivated. Passive hope for development or success, unaccompanied by action, is as misguided as expecting unshaped and untended clay to turn into bricks.

Plutarch emphasizes human agency and the responsibility one bears for crafting outcomes. By dismissing the notion that chance alone produces enduring or valuable results, he urges us to recognize the necessity of intention, persistence, and active engagement in everything we aspire to build, whether tangible structures or the character and substance of our lives themselves.