Humanitext Reader

Aristotle · Great Ethics §2.2.1

The Relation of Good Sense to Equity

Passage 44 of 71 · Greek

Summary

The author discusses the relationship between good sense and equity, stating that both deal with omissions in the law, but distinguishing them by defining good sense as the capacity for judgment and equity as the capacity to act in accordance with that judgment.

§2.2.1ἡ δὲ εὐγνωμοσύνη καὶ ὁ εὐγνώμων ἐστὶν περὶ ταὐτὰ περὶ ἃ καὶ ἡ ἐπιείκεια, περὶ τὰ δίκαια [καὶ] τὰ ἐλλελειμμένα ὑπὸ τοῦ νομοθέτου τῷ μῆ ἀκριβῶς διωρίσθαι, κριτικὸς ὢν τῶν ἐλλελειμμένων ὑπὸ τοῦ νομοθέτου, καὶ γιγνώσκων ὅτι ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ νομοθέτου ἐλλέλειπται, ἔστι μέντοι δίκαια, ὁ τοιοῦτος εὐγνώμων.
And good sense and the man of good sense are concerned with the same things as equity is, namely, with those just things which have been omitted by the lawgiver because they were not precisely defined. A person who is capable of judging the things omitted by the lawgiver, and who recognizes that although they have been omitted by the lawgiver, they are nevertheless just—such a person is a man of good sense.
ἔστι μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἄνευ ἐπιεικείας ἡ εὐγνωμοσύνη· τὸ μὲν γὰρ κρῖναι τοῦ εὐγνώμονος, τὸ δὲ δὴ πράττειν [καὶ] κατὰ τὴν κρίσιν τοῦ ἐπιεικοῦς.
Therefore, good sense does not exist without equity; for to judge is the characteristic of the man of good sense, but to act in accordance with that judgment is the characteristic of the equitable man.

Notes

  1. ¦35¦τῷ μὴ ἀκριβῶς διωρίσθαι — The dative of the articular infinitive (τῷ + infinitive) functions adverbially to express cause or reason ("because of... / by..."). Here, it indicates that the lawgiver's failure to define matters precisely is the reason why certain just things were omitted.
  2. ¦1199a¦τοῦ εὐγνώμονος — A predicate genitive of property or characteristic (with the copula verb omitted), meaning "is characteristic of..." or "is the part/duty of...". The subsequent phrase τοῦ ἐπιεικοῦς functions in the same manner.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Great Ethics §2.2.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg022.humanitext-grc1:2.2.1

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