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Aristotle · Economics §1.2.1-1.2.3

Constituents of the Household and the Superiority of Agriculture

Passage 2 of 15 · Greek

Summary

The text discusses human beings and property as the constituents of a household, emphasizing the importance of managing the relationship with one's wife, and argues for the superiority of agriculture as a natural, just, and courage-building mode of acquisition.

§1.2.1μέρη δὲ οἰκίας ἄνθρωπός τε καὶ κτῆσίς ἐστιν.
The parts of a household are human beings and property.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πρῶτον ἐν τοῖς ἐλαχίστοις ἡ φύσις ἑκάστου θεωρεῖται, καὶ περὶ οἰκίας ἂν ὁμοίως ἔχοι.
And since the nature of each thing is first observed in its smallest parts, the same would hold true of a household.
ὥστε καθʼ Ἡσίοδον δέοι ἂν ὑπάρχειν " οἶκον μὲν πρώτιστα γυναῖκά τε " τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς τροφῆς πρῶτον, τὸ δὲ τῶν ἐλευθέρων.
So, according to Hesiod, there should be first of all "a house, and a woman" for the former is first for sustenance, while the latter is for the free.
ὥστε δέοι ἂν τὰ περὶ τὴν τῆς γυναικὸς ὁμιλίαν οἰκονομήσασθαι καλῶς· τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ ποίαν τινὰ δεῖ ταύτην εἶναι παρασκευάσαι.
Thus, one must manage well the matters concerning association with a wife; and this is to arrange what sort of person she ought to be.
§1.2.2κτήσεως δὲ πρώτη ἐπιμέλεια ἡ κατὰ φύσιν.
First among the cares of property is that which is according to nature.
κατὰ φύσιν δὲ γεωργικὴ προτέρα, καὶ δεύτεραι ὅσαι ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, οἷον μεταλλευτικὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλη τοιαύτη.
And according to nature, agriculture is prior, and second are those which are from the earth, such as mining and any other such art.
ἡ δὲ γεωργικὴ μάλιστα, ὅτι δικαία· οὐ γὰρ ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων, οὔθʼ ἑκόντων, ὥσπερ καπηλεία καὶ αἱ μισθαρνικαί, οὔτʼ ἀκόντων, ὥσπερ αἱ πολεμικαί.
And agriculture is preeminently so because it is just; for it does not acquire from other men, whether willing, like retail trade and wage-earning, or unwilling, like the arts of war.
ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν· φύσει γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς ἡ τροφὴ πᾶσίν ἐστιν, ὥστε καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς.
Furthermore, it is also among the things according to nature; for by nature there is sustenance from the mother for all, so also for human beings from the earth.
§1.2.3πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ πρὸς ἀνδρίαν συμβάλλεται μεγάλα· οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ αἱ βάναυσοι τὰ σώματα ἀχρεῖα ποιοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ δυνάμενα θυραυλεῖν καὶ πονεῖν, ἔτι δὲ δυνάμενα κινδυνεύειν πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους· μόνων γὰρ τούτων τὰ κτήματα ἔξω τῶν ἐρυμάτων ἐστίν.
In addition to these, it also contributes greatly to courage; for it does not render the body useless, as do the mechanical arts, but makes it capable of living in the open and working hard, and furthermore, capable of facing danger against the enemy; for only of these are the possessions outside the fortifications.

Notes

  1. 1343a20τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς τροφῆς πρῶτον, τὸ δὲ τῶν ἐλευθέρων — Corresponding to Hesiod's quote "a house, and a woman," the contrastive expression with neuter articles 'tò mèn... tò dè...' is used. The former refers to the house (or the ox/assets needed to maintain it), while the latter refers to the wife. Each is accompanied by a genitive of purpose or relation (tês trophês, tôn eleuthérōn), meaning that the former is the first requisite for sustenance, whereas the latter is the first for the free.
  2. 1343a20τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ ποίαν τινὰ δεῖ ταύτην εἶναι παρασκευάσαι — The demonstrative pronoun 'toûto' is the subject, with the articular infinitive 'tò ... paraskeuásai' functioning as the predicate complement. The infinitive 'paraskeuásai' ('to prepare/render') takes the feminine accusative 'taútēn' (referring to the wife) as its direct object, governing the indirect question or object complement clause 'poían tinà deî [taútēn] eînai' ('what sort of person she ought to be').
  3. 1343a20οὔθʼ ἑκόντων... οὔτʼ ἀκόντων — These are genitive adjectives (treated as participles) modifying the preceding genitive noun phrase 'ap' anthrōpōn' ('from men'). Literally 'neither from willing [men]... nor from unwilling [men]', explaining that agriculture does not acquire property by relying on the will of other people, in contrast to retail trade ('kapēleía', where the other is willing) and war ('hai polemikaí', where the other is unwilling).
  4. 1343b1ἀλλὰ δυνάμενα θυραυλεῖν καὶ πονεῖν — The neuter plural accusative participle 'dynámena' modifies 'tà sṓmata' ('bodies'), which is the object of 'poioûsin' in the preceding clause. The verb 'poioûsin' (or a similar verb of making/rendering) is implied to function in the second half after 'allá', resulting in the structure '[making] the bodies capable of living in the open and working hard.'

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Economics §1.2.1-1.2.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg029.humanitext-grc2:1.2.1-1.2.3

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