§9.8#2καὶ ἐγκρατὴς δὲ καὶ ἀκρατὴς λέγεται τῷ κρατεῖν τὸν νοῦν ἢ μή, ὡς τούτου ἑκάστου ὄντος·
And a person is called self-controlled or lacking self-control according as his intellect rules or does not, which implies that this is each person himself.
καὶ πεπραγέναι δοκοῦσιν αὐτοὶ καὶ ἑκουσίως τὰ μετὰ λόγου μάλιστα.
And people are thought to have done actions themselves, and voluntarily, most of all when these are accompanied by reason.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν τοῦθʼ ἕκαστός ἐστιν ἢ μάλιστα, οὐκ ἄδηλον, καὶ ὅτι ὁ ἐπιεικὴς μάλιστα τοῦτʼ ἀγαπᾷ.
That each person is indeed this part, or is so most of all, is not unclear, and also that the decent person loves this part most.
διὸ φίλαυτος μάλιστʼ ἂν εἴη, καθʼ ἕτερον εἶδος τοῦ ὀνειδιζομένου, καὶ διαφέρων τοσοῦτον ὅσον τὸ κατὰ λόγον ζῆν τοῦ κατὰ πάθος, καὶ ὀρέγεσθαι ἢ τοῦ καλοῦ ἢ τοῦ δοκοῦντος συμφέρειν.
Therefore he would be indeed most of all a self-lover, after a different form from the one held in reproach, and differing as much as living in accordance with reason differs from living in accordance with passion, and desiring the noble differs from desiring what seems to be advantageous.
τοὺς μὲν οὖν περὶ τὰς καλὰς πράξεις διαφερόντως σπουδάζοντας πάντες ἀποδέχονται καὶ ἐπαινοῦσιν· πάντων δὲ ἁμιλλωμένων πρὸς τὸ καλὸν καὶ διατεινομένων τὰ κάλλιστα πράττειν κοινῇ τʼ ἂν πάντʼ εἴη τὰ δέοντα καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἀγαθῶν, εἴπερ ἡ ἀρετὴ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν.
Those, then, who are exceptionally zealous about noble actions, everyone approves and praises; and if all were to strive towards the noble and strain to perform the noblest actions, there would be both for the public all things that are necessary, and for each person individually the greatest of goods, since virtue is indeed such a thing.
ὥστε τὸν μὲν ἀγαθὸν δεῖ φίλαυτον εἶναι (καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὀνήσεται τὰ καλὰ πράττων καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ὠφελήσει), τὸν δὲ μοχθηρὸν οὐ δεῖ· βλάψει γὰρ καὶ ἑαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς πέλας, φαύλοις πάθεσιν ἑπόμενος.
So, while the good person ought to be a self-lover (for he will himself benefit by doing noble actions and will help others), the wicked person ought not; for he will harm both himself and his neighbors, by following base passions.
τῷ μοχθηρῷ μὲν οὖν διαφωνεῖ ἃ δεῖ πράττειν καὶ ἃ πράττει· ὁ δʼ ἐπιεικής, ἃ δεῖ, ταῦτα καὶ πράττει· πᾶς γὰρ νοῦς αἱρεῖται τὸ βέλτιστον ἑαυτῷ, ὁ δʼ ἐπιεικὴς πειθαρχεῖ τῷ νῷ.
For the wicked person, then, what he ought to do and what he does clash; but the decent person does indeed what he ought to do, since every intellect chooses what is best for itself, and the decent person obeys his intellect.
ἀληθὲς δὲ περὶ τοῦ σπουδαίου καὶ τὸ τῶν φίλων ἕνεκα πολλὰ πράττειν καὶ τῆς πατρίδος, κἂν δέῃ ὑπεραποθνήσκειν·
It is also true of the excellent person that he does many things for the sake of his friends and his country, even if it should be necessary to die for them.
προήσεται γὰρ καὶ χρήματα καὶ τιμὰς καὶ ὅλως τὰ περιμάχητα ἀγαθά, περιποιούμενος ἑαυτῷ τὸ καλόν· ὀλίγον γὰρ χρόνον ἡσθῆναι σφόδρα μᾶλλον ἕλοιτʼ ἂν ἢ πολὺν ἠρέμα, καὶ βιῶσαι καλῶς ἐνιαυτὸν ἢ πόλλʼ ἔτη τυχόντως, καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν καλὴν καὶ μεγάλην ἢ πολλὰς καὶ μικράς.
For he will abandon both money and honors, and in general the goods fought over, securing for himself the noble; for he would prefer to feel intense pleasure for a short time rather than mild pleasure for a long time, and to live nobly for one year rather than for many years by chance, and to perform one noble and great action rather than many small ones.
τοῖς δʼ ὑπεραποθνήσκουσι τοῦτʼ ἴσως συμβαίνει· αἱροῦνται δὴ μέγα καλὸν ἑαυτοῖς.
And this is presumably what happens to those who die for others; they choose indeed a great noble thing for themselves.
καὶ χρήματα προοῖντʼ ἂν ἐφʼ ᾧ πλείονα λήψονται οἱ φίλοι· γίνεται γὰρ τῷ μὲν φίλῳ χρήματα, αὐτῷ δὲ τὸ καλόν· τὸ δὴ μεῖζον ἀγαθὸν ἑαυτῷ ἀπονέμει.
And they would also abandon money on the condition that their friends will receive more; for the friend gets money, while he gets the noble, and so he assigns to himself the greater good.
καὶ περὶ τιμὰς δὲ καὶ ἀρχὰς ὁ αὐτὸς τρόπος· πάντα γὰρ τῷ φίλῳ ταῦτα προήσεται· καλὸν γὰρ αὐτῷ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπαινετόν.
And concerning honors and offices, it is the same way; for he will abandon all these to his friend, for this is indeed noble for him and praiseworthy.
εἰκότως δὴ δοκεῖ σπουδαῖος εἶναι, ἀντὶ πάντων αἱρούμενος τὸ καλόν.
He is reasonably, then, thought to be excellent, choosing the noble in exchange for all things.
ἐνδέχεται δὲ καὶ πράξεις τῷ φίλῳ προΐεσθαι, καὶ εἶναι κάλλιον τοῦ αὐτὸν πρᾶξαι τὸ αἴτιον τῷ φίλῳ γενέσθαι.
And it is also possible for him to abandon actions to his friend, and it may be nobler to become the cause of his friend's doing them than to do them himself.
ἐν πᾶσι δὴ τοῖς ἐπαινετοῖς ὁ σπουδαῖος φαίνεται ἑαυτῷ τοῦ καλοῦ πλέον νέμων.
In all praiseworthy things, then, the excellent person clearly assigns to himself the greater share of the noble.
οὕτω μὲν οὖν φίλαυτον εἶναι δεῖ, καθάπερ εἴρηται· ὡς δʼ οἱ πολλοί, οὐ χρή.
In this way, then, one ought to be a self-lover, as has been said; but in the way the many are, one ought not.