Table Of ContentTHE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
SYNTHESE HISTORICAL LIBRARY
TEXTS AND STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF
LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY
Editors:
N. KRETZMANN, Cornell University
G. NUCHELMANS, University of Leyden
L. M. DE RIJK, University of Leyden
Editorial Board:
J. BERG, Munich Institute of Technology
F. DEL PUNTA, Linacre College, Oxford
D. P. HENR Y, University of Manchester
J. HINTIKKA/
B. MAT ES, University of California, Berkeley
J. E. MURDOCH, Harvard University
G. P A TZIG, University of Giittingen
VOLUME 13
ARISTOTLE
THE NICOMACHEAN
ETHICS
Translated with Commentaries and Glossary by
HIPPOCRA TES O. APOSTLE
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
DORDRECHT: HOLLAND I BOSTON: U.S.A.
LONDON:ENGLAND
library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Aristoteles.
The Nicomachean ethics.
(Synthese historical library ; v. 13)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Ethics. I. Apostle, Hippocrates George. II. Title.
III. Series.
B430.A5A66 171'.3 75-5871
ISBN-13: 978-90-277-1150-2 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-2303-0
001: 10.1007/978-94-010-2303-0
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company,
P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland.
Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada
by Kluwer Boston Inc., Uncoln Building,
160 Old Derby Street, Hingham, MA 02043, U.S.A.
In all other countries, sold and distributed
by Kluwer Academic Publishers Group,
P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, Holland.
D. Reidel Publishing Company is a member of Kluwer Group.
0-1150-0580-500E
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 1975,1980 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1975
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
to Grace Reed Dennis
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE IX
SUMMARY OF THE ETHICS XIII
THE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS
Book Translation Commentaries
A 1 205
B 21 225
r 35 235
A 57 248
E 78 256
Z 101 277
H 116 296
e 140 318
I 162 331
K 181 341
GLOSSARY
English-Greek 353
Greek-English 363
INDEX 369
PREFACE
The principles used in the translation of the Ethics are the same as those
in the translations of the Physics and the Metaphysics, and their main
function is to help the reader get Aristotle's meaning as accurately as
possible. Briefly, they are principles of terminology and of thought, some
of which will be repeated here.
English terms common to all three translations have the same mean
ings, with a few exceptions, and many terms proper to ethics are added.
Many of the terms in the Glossary are defined or are made known dia
lectically or in some other way. For the term 1tpOUiPEcrt~ the term 'inten
tion' or the expression 'deliberate choice' will be used instead of the term
'choice', but the definition will be the same as that given in the Physics and
the Metaphysics. Difficulties arise from some allied terms or terms close
in meaning, e.g., the terms <l>UUAOC;, KUKOC;, ~OXeT\PO~, and 1tovT\p0C;, for
the exact differences of their meanings are not ascertainable from the
extant works. Each of these terms, however, seems to be used consistently,
and we shall assume such consistency. The choice of the corresponding
English terms can only be suggested by the usage of the Greek terms and
by induction. A Greek term, in some cases, has no English equivalent, and
in such a case it is advisable to choose an English term whose ordinary
meaning is closest to the meaning of the Greek term and to indicate the
meaning given to that term.
To distinguish in printed form an expression, whether vocal or written,
or a thought from what it signifies, we enclose it within quotation marks.
For example, 'bravery' is a term or a concept and is not a virtue, but that
which it signifies is bravery, which is a virtue. Expressions in Greek are
not enclosed by quotation marks, for this is not necessary.
Terms in italics with initial capital letters signify principles posited by
philosophers other than Aristotle. For example, the One and the Good are
principles posited by Plato, and Anaximenes posits Air as the principle
of simple bodies. Terms in italics without initial capital letters are used
(a) sometimes for emphasis, and (b) sometimes with meanings which
x PREFACE
are somewhat different from - usually narrower than - those of the
same terms without italics. For example, the terms 'desire' and 'desire'
differ in meaning, and the second is a species of the first; the meanings
of such terms are given in the Glossary. Expressions appearing in
brackets are added for the sake of the reader and are not translations
from the Greek.
In the margins of the translation we have inserted the pages and lines
of the Bekker text, which are standard. The various works of Aristotle
and the Bekker pages containing each of them are listed at the beginning
of the Commentaries.
The form of government which Aristotle calls allJlOlCpa't'ia is a devia
tion or perversion of what he calls 't'tJlolCpa't'ia or 1tOAueia, for (a) it aims
not at the common good but at that of the majority or of those without
property, (b) it is based not on merit but on indiscriminate freedom and
equality, and (c) it differs from what Aristotle calls 1tOAt't'eia by tending
to be a government by vote rather than by law. It is usually translated as
'democracy', but this is misleading; for (a), (b), and (c) are not attri
butes of what we mean by 'democracy'. The English term which best fits
this form of government is 'ochlocracy', but the more familiar term 'mob
rule' will be used in this translation. The terms 't'tJlolCpa't'ia and 1toAt't'sia
will be translated as 'timocracy' and 'democracy', respectively.
Students who wish to acquire the thought of Aristotle accurately should
make full use of the Glossary, for if one does not grasp the meanings
of the terms, one may be faced with apparent inconsistencies and
falsities, which lead to unfair criticism. For example, the expressions 'to
act justly', 'to do what is just', 'to act from injustice', and 'to be just' have
been given different meanings, and the use of four different allied ex
pressions in English is necessary if we are to translate accurately the four
corresponding Greek expressions to which Aristotle assigns different
meanings.
I am grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for
providing me with freedom from academic duties during the academic
year 1968-9 when the translations of the Ethics and the Posterior Ana/ytics
were started; to Professor John M. Crossett, who read the entire manu
script and made numerous corrections and suggestions; to Professor
Evangelos P. Papanoutsos, who clarified a number of passages in the
Ethics; to Professor Norman Kretzmann, for suggesting certain key
PREFACE XI
terms in the translation; and to Mr and Mrs Harry Fulton, Mr Lloyd
Gerson, Miss Janet E. Smith, Miss Susan J. Ashbrook, and Miss Ellen F.
Pill, for their secretarial and other assistance.
Grinnell College H.G.A.
