§3.1#1ὅτι μὲν οὖν μεσότητές εἰσί τε ἐν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς, καὶ αὗται προαιρετικαί, καὶ αἱ ἐναντίαι κακίαι, καὶ τίνες εἰσὶν αὗται, καθόλου εἴρηται· καθʼ ἑκάστην δὲ λαμβάνοντες λέγωμεν ἐφεξῆς, καὶ πρῶτον εἴπωμεν περὶ ἀνδρείας.
That there are, then, mean states in the case of the virtues, and that these are concerned with choice, and that the opposite vices [exist] and what they are, has been stated in general; but taking them up individually let us speak of them in order, and first let us speak of courage.
σχεδὸν δὴ δοκεῖ πᾶσιν ὅ τʼ ἀνδρεῖος εἶναι περὶ φόβους καὶ ἡ ἀνδρεία μία τῶν ἀρετῶν.
Now, it seems to almost all that the brave man is concerned with fears, and that courage is one of the virtues.
διείλομεν δʼ ἐν τῇ διαγραφῇ πρότερον καὶ θράσος καὶ φόβον ἐναντία· καὶ γάρ ἐστί πως ἀντικείμενα ἀλλήλοις.
And we distinguished earlier in our diagram both daring and fear as opposites; for indeed they are in a way opposed to each other.
δῆλον οὖν ὅτι καὶ οἱ κατὰ τὰς ἕξεις ταύτας λεγόμενοι ὁμοίως ἀντικείσονται σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, οἷον ὁ δειλὸς (οὗτος γὰρ λέγεται κατὰ τὸ φοβεῖσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ δεῖ καὶ θαρρεῖν ἧττον ἢ δεῖ) καὶ ὁ θρασύς· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος κατὰ τὸ τοιοῦτος εἶναι οἷος φοβεῖσθαι μὲν ἧττον ἢ δεῖ, θαρρεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ δεῖ.
It is clear, then, that those who are spoken of in accordance with these states will likewise be opposed to each other, for instance the coward (for he is so called on account of fearing more than he ought and daring less than he ought) and the daring man; for this latter is also so called on account of being of such a kind as to fear less than he ought, but to dare more than he ought.
διὸ καὶ παρωνυμιάζεται· ὁ γὰρ θρασὺς παρὰ τὸ θράσος λέγεται παρωνύμως.
Therefore he is also named derivatively; for the daring man [thrasys] is spoken of derivatively from daring [thrasos].
ὥστʼ ἐπεὶ ἡ ἀνδρεία ἐστὶν ἡ βελτίστη ἕξις περὶ φόβους καὶ θάρρη, δεῖ δὲ μήθʼ οὕτως ὡς οἱ θρασεῖς (τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐλλείπουσι, τὰ δʼ ὑπερβάλλουσι) μήθʼ οὕτως ὡς οἱ δειλοί (καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι ταὐτὸ ποιοῦσι, πλὴν οὐ περὶ ταὐτὰ ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἐναντίας· τῷ μὲν γὰρ θαρρεῖν ἐλλείπουσι, τῷ δὲ φοβεῖσθαι ὑπερβάλλουσι), δῆλον ὡς ἡ μέση διάθεσις θρασύτητος καὶ δειλίας ἐστὶν ἀνδρεία· αὕτη γὰρ βελτίστη.
So that, since courage is the best state concerning fears and dares, and since one ought to be neither like the daring (for in some things they fall short, and in others they exceed) nor like the cowards (for these too do the same, except not concerning the same things but from the opposite way: for they fall short in daring, but exceed in fearing), it is clear that the mean disposition of daring and cowardice is courage; for this is the best.
δοκεῖ δʼ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος ἄφοβος εἶναι ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ, ὁ δὲ δειλὸς φοβητικός, καὶ ὃ μὲν καὶ πολλὰ καὶ ὀλίγα καὶ μεγάλα καὶ μικρὰ φοβεῖσθαι, καὶ σφόδρα καὶ ταχύ, ὃ δὲ τὸ ἐναντίον ἢ οὐ φοβεῖσθαι ἢ ἠρέμα καὶ μόλις καὶ ὀλιγάκις καὶ μεγάλα, καὶ ὃ μὲν ὑπομένει τὰ φοβερὰ σφόδρα, ὃ δὲ οὐδὲ τὰ ἠρέμα.
And the brave man seems to be fearless for the most part, whereas the coward is fearful, and the latter fears both many and few, and great and small things, and both violently and quickly, while the former does the contrary, either not fearing at all or [fearing] gently, with difficulty, rarely, and only great things, and the one endures extremely fearful things, while the other does not even endure gentle ones.
ποῖα οὖν ὑπομένει ὁ ἀνδρεῖος;
What sort of fearful things, then, does the brave man endure?
πρῶτον πότερον τὰ ἑαυτῷ φοβερὰ ἢ τὰ ἑτέρῳ;
First, is it those that are fearful to himself, or to another?
εἰ μὲν δὴ τὰ ἑτέρῳ φοβερά, οὐθὲν σεμνὸν φαίη ἄν τις εἶναι· εἰ δὲ τὰ αὑτῷ, εἴη ἂν αὐτῷ μεγάλα καὶ πολλὰ φοβερά.
If indeed those that are fearful to another, someone would say there is nothing grand in that; but if those to himself, there would be great and many fearful things for him.
φόβου ποιητικὰ ἑκάστῳ ᾧ φοβερά, οἷον εἰ μὲν σφόδρα φοβερά, εἴη ἂν ἰσχυρὸς ὁ φόβος, εἰ δʼ ἠρέμα, ἀσθενής.
What is fearful to each is productive of fear to the one for whom it is fearful; for instance, if it is extremely fearful, the fear would be strong, but if gently, weak.
ὥστε συμβαίνει τὸν ἀνδρεῖον μεγάλους φόβους καὶ πολλοὺς ποιεῖσθαι.
So that it follows that the brave man experiences great and many fears.
ἐδόκει δὲ τοὐναντίον ἡ ἀνδρεία ἄφοβον παρασκευάζειν, τοῦτο δʼ εἶναι ἐν τῷ ἢ μηθὲν ἢ ὀλίγα φοβεῖσθαι, καὶ ἠρέμα καὶ μόλις.
Yet the contrary seemed to be the case, that courage made one fearless, and that this consisted in fearing either nothing or few things, and gently and with difficulty.
ἀλλʼ ἴσως τὸ φοβερὸν λέγεται, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ἡδὺ καὶ τὸ ἀγαθόν, διχῶς.
But perhaps "fearful" is spoken of, just as "pleasant" and "good" are, in two ways.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς, τὰ δὲ τινὶ μὲν καὶ ἡδέα καὶ ἀγαθὰ ἐστίν, ἁπλῶς δʼ οὔ, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον φαῦλα καὶ οὐχ ἡδέα, ὅσα τοῖς πονηροῖς ὠφέλιμα καὶ ὅσα ἡδέα τοῖς παιδίοις ᾗ παιδία.
For some things are so absolutely, but others are pleasant and good to someone, but absolutely not so, but on the contrary base and not pleasant, as many things as are beneficial to the wicked, and as many as are pleasant to children qua children.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰ φοβερὰ τὰ μὲν ἁπλῶς ἐστί, τὰ δὲ τινί.
And similarly, of fearful things, some are so absolutely, but others to someone.
ἃ μὲν δὴ δειλὸς φοβεῖται ᾗ δειλός, τὰ μὲν οὐδενί ἐστι φοβερά, τὰ δʼ ἠρέμα· τὰ δὲ τοῖς πλείστοις φοβερά, καὶ ὅσα τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, ταῦθʼ ἁπλῶς φοβερὰ λέγομεν.
Indeed, what the coward fears qua coward, some are fearful to no one, and others only gently; but those that are fearful to most people, and as many as are so to human nature, these we call absolutely fearful.
ὁ δʼ ἀνδρεῖος πρὸς ταῦτʼ ἔχει ἀφόβως, καὶ ὑπομένει τὰ τοιαῦτα φοβερά, ἃ ἔστι μὲν ὡς φοβερὰ αὐτῷ, ἔστι δʼ ὡς οὔ, ᾗ μὲν ἄνθρωπος, φοβερά, ᾗ δʼ ἀνδρεῖος, οὐ φοβερὰ ἀλλʼ ἢ ἠρέμα ἢ οὐδαμῶς.
And the brave man behaves fearlessly towards these, and endures such fearful things, which are in one way fearful to him, and in another way not: qua human being, they are fearful, but qua brave, they are not fearful except either gently or not at all.
ἔστι μέντοι φοβερὰ ταῦτα· τοῖς γὰρ πλείστοις φοβερά.
Yet these are fearful things; for they are fearful to most people.
διὸ καὶ ἐπαινεῖται ἡ ἕξις· ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ἰσχυρὸς καὶ ὑγιεινὸς ἔχει.
Therefore also the state is praised; for he is as the strong and the healthy man is.
καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι οὐ τῷ ὑπὸ μηθενὸς ὃ μὲν πόνου τρίβεσθαι, ὃ δʼ ὑπὸ μηδεμιᾶς ὑπερβολῆς, τοιοῦτοι εἰσίν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὑπὸ τούτων ἀπαθεῖς εἶναι, ἢ ἁπλῶς ἢ ἠρέμα, ὑφʼ ὧν οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ οἱ πλεῖστοι.
For indeed these are such not by being worn down by no labor in the one case, or by no excess in the other, but by being unaffected, either absolutely or gently, by those things by which the many and the most [are affected].
οἱ μὲν οὖν νοσώδεις καὶ ἀσθενεῖς καὶ δειλοὶ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν κοινῶν παθημάτων πάσχουσί τι, πλὴν θᾶττόν τε καὶ μᾶλλον ἢ οἱ πολλοί, καὶ ἔτι ὑφʼ ὧν οἱ πολλοὶ πάσχουσιν, ὑπὸ τούτων ἀπαθεῖς ἢ ὅλως ἢ ἠρέμα.
Therefore, while the sickly, the weak, and the cowardly are affected in some way even by common experiences, only more quickly and more than the many, those who are healthy, strong, and brave, moreover, are unaffected, either altogether or gently, by those things by which the many are affected.