§5.11πότερον δʼ ἐνδέχεται ἑαυτὸν ἀδικεῖν ἢ οὔ, φανερὸν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων.
Whether it is possible to treat oneself unjustly or not, is manifest from what has been said.
τὰ μὲν γάρ ἐστι τῶν δικαίων τὰ κατὰ πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου τεταγμένα, οἷον οὐ κελεύει ἀποκτιννύναι ἑαυτὸν ὁ νόμος, ἃ δὲ μὴ κελεύει, ἀπαγορεύει.
For some of the just things are those ordained by the law in accordance with every virtue; for instance, the law does not bid one to kill oneself, and what it does not bid, it forbids.
ἔτι ὅταν παρὰ τὸν νόμον βλάπτῃ μὴ ἀντιβλάπτων ἑκών, ἀδικεῖ, ἑκὼν δὲ ὁ εἰδὼς καὶ ὃν καὶ ᾧ·
Furthermore, when a person voluntarily, not in retaliation, harms someone contrary to the law, he acts unjustly; and a person acts voluntarily who knows both whom he is affecting and what instrument he is using.
ὁ δὲ διʼ ὀργὴν ἑαυτὸν σφάττων ἑκὼν τοῦτο δρᾷ παρὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον, ὃ οὐκ ἐᾷ ὁ νόμος· ἀδικεῖ ἄρα.
But he who from anger slays himself does this voluntarily contrary to the right reason, which the law does not allow; therefore he acts unjustly.
ἀλλὰ τίνα;
But towards whom?
ἢ τὴν πόλιν, αὑτὸν δʼ οὔ;
Surely towards the state, and not towards himself?
ἑκὼν γὰρ πάσχει, ἀδικεῖται δʼ οὐδεὶς ἑκών.
For he suffers voluntarily, and no one is treated unjustly voluntarily.
διὸ καὶ ἡ πόλις ζημιοῖ, καί τις ἀτιμία πρόσεστι τῷ ἑαυτὸν διαφθείραντι ὡς τὴν πόλιν ἀδικοῦντι.
That is why the state also punishes, and a certain loss of civil rights attaches to the one who has destroyed himself, as treating the state unjustly.
ἔτι καθʼ ὃ ἄδικος μόνον ὁ ἀδικῶν καὶ μὴ ὅλως φαῦλος, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀδικῆσαι ἑαυτόν (τοῦτο γὰρ ἄλλος ἐκείνου· ἔστι γάρ πως ὁ ἄδικος οὕτω πονηρὸς ὥσπερ ὁ δειλός, οὐχ ὡς ὅλην ἔχων τὴν πονηρίαν, ὥστʼ οὐδὲ κατὰ ταύτην ἀδικεῖ)· ἅμα γὰρ ἂν τῷ αὐτῷ εἴη ἀφῃρῆσθαι καὶ προσκεῖσθαι τὸ αὐτό· τοῦτο δὲ ἀδύνατον, ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ ἐν πλείοσιν ἀνάγκη εἶναι τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὸ ἄδικον.
Furthermore, in respect of which the unjust person is only unjust and not entirely bad, it is impossible to treat oneself unjustly (for this is different from the former case; since the unjust person is bad in a way, like the cowardly person, not as having whole badness, so that he does not act unjustly in accordance with this latter either); for if so, the same thing would at the same time have been taken away from and added to the same person; but this is impossible, and the just and the unjust must always involve more than one person.
ἔτι δὲ ἑκούσιόν τε καὶ ἐκ προαιρέσεως καὶ πρότερον· ὁ γὰρ διότι ἔπαθε καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἀντιποιῶν οὐ δοκεῖ ἀδικεῖν· αὐτὸς δʼ αὑτόν, ταὐτὰ ἅμα καὶ πάσχει καὶ ποιεῖ.
Moreover, unjust action is voluntary and done from choice, and prior; for he who retaliates because he has suffered, and does the same thing back, is not thought to act unjustly; but the man who acts against himself both does and suffers the same things at the same time.
ἔτι εἴη ἂν ἑκόντα ἀδικεῖσθαι.
Further, it would be possible to be treated unjustly voluntarily.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις, ἄνευ τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἀδικημάτων οὐδεὶς ἀδικεῖ, μοιχεύει δʼ οὐδεὶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ οὐδὲ τοιχωρυχεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ τοῖχον οὐδὲ κλέπτει τὰ αὑτοῦ.
In addition to these, no one acts unjustly without committing particular acts of injustice, but no one commits adultery with his own wife, or breaks into his own house, or steals his own property.
ὅλως δὲ λύεται τὸ αὑτὸν ἀδικεῖν καὶ κατὰ τὸν διορισμὸν τὸν περὶ τοῦ ἑκουσίως ἀδικεῖσθαι.
And in general the question whether a man can treat himself unjustly is solved also by the definition we have given about being treated unjustly voluntarily.
φανερὸν δὲ καὶ ὅτι ἄμφω μὲν φαῦλα, καὶ τὸ ἀδικεῖσθαι καὶ τὸ ἀδικεῖν (τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἔλαττον τὸ δὲ πλέον ἔχειν ἐστὶ τοῦ μέσου καὶ ὥσπερ ὑγιεινὸν μὲν ἐν ἰατρικῇ, εὐεκτικὸν δὲ ἐν γυμναστικῇ)·
It is also clear that both are bad, both being treated unjustly and treating others unjustly; for the one is to have less, and the other to have more, than the mean, which is like the healthy in medicine and the fit in gymnastics.
ἀλλʼ ὅμως χεῖρον τὸ ἀδικεῖν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀδικεῖν μετὰ κακίας καὶ ψεκτόν, καὶ κακίας ἢ τῆς τελείας καὶ ἁπλῶς ἢ ἐγγύς (οὐ γὰρ ἅπαν τὸ ἑκούσιον μετὰ ἀδικίας), τὸ δʼ ἀδικεῖσθαι ἄνευ κακίας καὶ ἀδικίας.
But still, treating others unjustly is worse; for treating others unjustly involves vice and is blameworthy, and vice that is either complete and absolute or nearly so (for not all voluntary action involves injustice), whereas being treated unjustly is without vice and injustice.
καθʼ αὑτὸ μὲν οὖν τὸ ἀδικεῖσθαι ἧττον φαῦλον, κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς δʼ οὐδὲν κωλύει μεῖζον εἶναι κακόν.
In itself, then, being treated unjustly is less bad, but accidentally there is nothing to prevent its being a greater evil.
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν μέλει τῇ τέχνῃ, ἀλλὰ πλευρῖτιν λέγει μείζω νόσον προσπταίσματος· καίτοι γένοιτʼ ἄν ποτε θάτερον κατὰ συμβεβηκός, εἰ προσπταίσαντα διὰ τὸ πεσεῖν συμβαίη ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ληφθῆναι ἢ ἀποθανεῖν.
But science does not care about this, but calls pleurisy a greater disease than a stumble; and yet the latter might on occasion be accidentally greater, if a man stumbled and fell, and in consequence was taken by the enemy or killed.
κατὰ μεταφορὰν δὲ καὶ ὁμοιότητα ἔστιν οὐκ αὐτῷ πρὸς αὑτὸν δίκαιον ἀλλὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ τισίν, οὐ πᾶν δὲ δίκαιον ἀλλὰ τὸ δεσποτικὸν ἢ τὸ οἰκονομικόν.
Metaphorically and by resemblance, however, there is a justice not between a man and himself but between certain parts of him; yet not all justice, but that of a master or that of a household.
ἐν τούτοις γὰρ τοῖς λόγοις διέστηκε τὸ λόγον ἔχον μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς τὸ ἄλογον· εἰς ἃ δὴ βλέπουσι καὶ δοκεῖ εἶναι ἀδικία πρὸς αὑτόν, ὅτι ἐν τούτοις ἔστι πάσχειν τι παρὰ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ὀρέξεις· ὥσπερ οὖν ἄρχοντι καὶ ἀρχομένῳ εἶναι πρὸς ἄλληλα δίκαιόν τι καὶ τούτοις.
For in these discussions the part of the soul that has reason is distinguished from the irrational part; and it is with an eye to these parts that people think there is injustice towards oneself, because in these parts it is possible to suffer something contrary to one's own desires; so that there is a certain justice between them, as between ruler and ruled.
περὶ μὲν οὖν δικαιοσύνης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, τῶν ἠθικῶν ἀρετῶν, διωρίσθω τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον.
Let this, then, be our discussion of justice and the other, the moral virtues.