Humanitext Reader

Aristotle · Great Ethics §2.14.1-2.14.3

Self-Love in Good and Base Persons: Seeking the Noble

Passage 68 of 71 · Greek

Summary

In response to the question of whether the excellent person loves himself most of all, it is argued that while he yields useful things to friends, he obtains the noble for himself, thus loving himself in a different sense. In contrast, the base person is called a "lover of self" because he loves himself without any genuine nobility.

§2.14.1— πότερον δέ ποπε ὁ σπουδαῖος φιλήσει αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν μάλιστα ἢ οὔ;
— But will the excellent person ever love himself most of all, or not?
ἔστι μὲν οὖν αὐτὸς αὑτὸν μάλιστα ὡς φιλήσει, ἔστι δʼ ὡς οὔ ἐπειδὴ γάρ φαμεν τὸν σπουδαῖον ἐκστήσεσθαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν τῶν κατὰ τὸ συμφέρον τῷ φίλῳ, τὸν φίλον μᾶλλον αὑτοῦ φιλήσει.
In one way indeed he will love himself most of all, but in another way he will not; for since we say that the excellent person will yield the goods according to utility to his friend, he will love his friend more than himself.
§2.14.2ναί, ἀλλʼ ᾗ τούτων ἐξιστάμενος τῷ φίλῳ αὑτῷ τὸ καλὸν περιποιεῖται, ταύτῃ ἐξίσταται τῶν τοιούτων.
Yes, but in so far as by yielding these to his friend he procures the noble for himself, in this way he yields such things.
ἔστι μὲν οὖν ὡς τὸν φίλον αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ μᾶλλον φιλεῖ, ἔστι δὲ ὡς αὐτὸς αὑτὸν μάλιστα· κατὰ μὲν γὰρ τὸ συμφέρον τὸν φίλον, κατὰ δὲ τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν αὐτὸς αὑτὸν μάλιστα· αὑτῷ γὰρ ταῦτα περιποιεῖται κάλλιστα ὄντα.
In one way, then, he loves his friend more than himself, but in another way he loves himself most of all; for in respect of utility he loves his friend, but in respect of the noble and good he loves himself most of all; for he procures these for himself, being most noble.
§2.14.3ἔστι μὲν οὖν καὶ φιλάγαθος, οὐ φίλαυτος· μόνον γάρ, εἴπερ φιλεῖ αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν, ὅτι ἀγαθός.
Therefore he is also a lover of the good, not a lover of self; for only, if indeed he loves himself, is it because he is good.
ὁ δὲ φαῦλος φίλαυτος· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔχει διʼ ὃ φιλήσει αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν οἷον καλόν τι, ἀλλʼ ἄνευ τούτων αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν φιλήσει, αὐτός.
But the base person is a lover of self; for he has nothing for which he will love himself, such as something noble, but without these he will love himself, just because he is himself.
διὸ καὶ οὗτος ἂν κυρίως λέγοιτο φίλαυτος.
Therefore, he too would be called a lover of self in the strict sense.

Notes

  1. 10ἔστι μὲν οὖν αὐτὸς αὑτὸν μάλιστα ὡς φιλήσει, ἔστι δʼ ὡς οὔ — ὡς is a relative adverb forming the idiomatic expression ἔστιν ὡς ("there is a way in which...", "in some sense..."). The subsequent future indicative (φιλήσει) describes a potential or characteristic state.
  2. p.97ᾗ τούτων ἐξιστάμενος τῷ φίλῳ αὑτῷ τὸ καλὸν περιποιεῖται, ταύτῃ ἐξίσταται — The correlatives ᾗ... ταύτῃ ("in so far as... in that way") clarify the logical structure that the excellent person's yielding of useful goods to a friend simultaneously constitutes the acquisition (περιποιεῖται) of the noble (τὸ καλόν) for himself.
  3. 20ἀλλʼ ἄνευ τούτων αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν φιλήσει, αὐτός — The nominative αὐτός at the end of the sentence is used intensively to mean "simply because he is himself" in this context.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Great Ethics §2.14.1-2.14.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg022.humanitext-grc1:2.14.1-2.14.3

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