Full Idea
It is possible to get started in virtuous action without being virtuous, just as it is in the arts; it is possible to put a few words together correctly by accident, or at the prompting of another person.
Gist of Idea
People can break into the circle of virtue and good action, by chance, or with help
Source
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics [c.334 BCE], 1105a24)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Ethics (Nicomachean)', ed/tr. ThomsonJ A K/TredennickH [Penguin 1976], p.97
A Reaction
This is a crucial idea, applicable in many areas. Philosophers love to say that it is logically impossible to get started in something (e.g. scientific theory and scientific observation) because of circularity. But they are wrong.