Humanitext Reader

Aristotle · Great Ethics §1.28.1-1.28.2

Dignity as a Mean Between Self-Will and Obsequiousness

Passage 30 of 71 · Greek

Summary

Defines dignity as a mean between self-will and obsequiousness, and explains their respective attitudes in social intercourse.

§1.28.1σεμνότης δέ ἐστιν αὐθαδείας ἀνὰ μέσον τε καὶ ἀρεσκείας, ἔστιν δὲ περὶ τὰς ἐντεύξεις.
Dignity is a mean between self-will and obsequiousness, and it is concerned with social intercourse.
ὅ τε γὰρ αὐθάδης τοιοῦτός ἐσπιν οἷος μωηθενὶ ἐντυχεῖν μηδὲ διαλεγῆναι (ἀλλὰ τοὔ??ομα ἔοικεν ἀπὸ τοῦ τρόπου κεῖσθαι· ὁ γὰρ αὐθάδης αὐτοάδης τις ἐστίν, ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτὰς αὑτῷ ἀρέσκειν)· §1.28.2ὁ δὲ ἄρεσκος τοιοῦτος οἷος πᾶσιν ὁμιλεῖν καὶ πάντως καὶ πανταχῇ.
For the self-willed man is such as to meet with no one nor to converse with them (but the name seems to be derived from his character; for the self-willed man is a sort of self-pleaser, from pleasing himself); on the other hand, the obsequious man is such as to associate with everyone, in every way and everywhere.
οὐδέτερος δὴ τούτων ἐπαινετός, ὁ δέ γε σεμνὸς ἀνὰ μέσον τούτων ὢν ἐπαινετός· οὔτε γὰρ πρὸς πάντας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἀξίους, οὔτε πρὸς οὐθένα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοὺς αὐτοὺς τούτους.
Indeed, neither of these is praiseworthy, but the dignified man, being a mean between them, is praiseworthy; for he does not associate with everyone, but with those who are worthy, nor does he associate with no one, but with these very same people.

Notes

  1. 1.28.1μωηθενὶ — The reading μωηθενὶ in the text is a scribal error or corruption; it has been translated as μηθενὶ ('to no one', dative singular) as required by the context.
  2. 1.28.1τοὔ??ομα — A textual corruption or typographical defect in the source text, representing τοὔνομα (crasis for τὸ ὄνομα, 'the name').
  3. 1.28.1αὐτοάδης — An etymological wordplay reinterpreting αὐθάδης ('self-willed') as a compound of αὐτός ('self') and ἁνδάνω ('to please', stem ᾱδ-), yielding αὐτοάδης ('self-pleaser'). The subsequent αὐτὰς is highly likely a corruption of αὐτὸν ('himself'), meaning 'from his pleasing himself'.
  4. 1.28.1τοιοῦτός ἐσπιν οἷος — The demonstrative τοιοῦτος followed by the relative pronoun οἷος with infinitives introduces a consecutive construction meaning 'is of such a character as to...'. A parallel structure is found in 1.28.2 with ὁ δὲ ἄρεσκος τοιοῦτος οἷος...

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Great Ethics §1.28.1-1.28.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg022.humanitext-grc1:1.28.1-1.28.2

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