§1.5.1σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ καὶ κοινῇ πᾶσι σκοπός τις ἔστιν οὗ στοχαζόμενοι καὶ αἱροῦνται καὶ φεύγουσιν· καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ εἰπεῖν ἥ τʼ εὐδαιμονία καὶ τὰ μόρια αὐτῆς·
Almost both for each individually and for all in common there is some mark, aiming at which they both choose and avoid; and this is, to speak in sum, happiness and its parts.
§1.5.2ὥστε παραδείγματος χάριν λάβωμεν τί ἐστιν ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ἡ εὐδαιμονία, καὶ ἐκ τίνων τὰ μόρια ταύτης· περὶ γὰρ ταύτης καὶ τῶν εἰς ταύτην συντεινόντων καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων ταύτῃ αἵ τε προτροπαὶ καὶ αἱ ἀποτροπαὶ πᾶσαί εἰσιν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ παρασκευάζοντα ταύτην ἢ τῶν μορίων τι, ἢ μεῖζον ἀντʼ ἐλάττονος ποιοῦντα, δεῖ πράττειν, τὰ δὲ φθείροντα ἢ ἐμποδίζοντα ἢ τὰ ἐναντία ποιοῦντα μὴ πράττειν.
So, for the sake of example, let us grasp what happiness is, to speak simply, and from what its parts are made; for concerning this and the things that tend to it and their opposites, all exhortations and dehortations are made; for the things that produce this or some of its parts, or make them greater instead of less, we must do, but the things that destroy or hinder them, or produce their opposites, we must not do.
§1.5.3ἔστω δὴ εὐδαιμονία εὐπραξία μετʼ ἀρετῆς, ἢ αὐτάρκεια ζωῆς, ἢ ὁ βίος ὁ μετὰ ἀσφαλείας ἥδιστος, ἢ εὐθενία κτημάτων καὶ σωμάτων μετὰ δυνάμεως φυλακτικῆς τε καὶ πρακτικῆς τούτων· σχεδὸν γὰρ τούτων ἓν ἢ πλείω τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν ὁμολογοῦσιν εἶναι ἅπαντες.
Let happiness then be doing well with virtue, or self-sufficiency of life, or the most pleasant life accompanied by security, or abundance of possessions and bodies with a power to guard and produce these; for almost all agree that happiness is one or more of these.
§1.5.4εἰ δή ἐστιν ἡ εὐδαιμονία τοιοῦτον, ἀνάγκη αὐτῆς εἶναι μέρη εὐγένειαν, πολυφιλίαν, χρηστοφιλίαν, πλοῦτον, εὐτεκνίαν, πολυτεκνίαν, εὐγηρίαν· ἔτι τὰς τοῦ σώματος ἀρετάς (οἷον ὑγίειαν, κάλλος, ἰσχύν, μέγεθος, δύναμιν ἀγωνιστικήν), δόξαν, τιμήν, εὐτυχίαν, ἀρετήν· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν αὐταρκέστατός τις εἴη, εἰ ὑπάρχοι αὐτῷ τά τʼ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ ἐκτὸς ἀγαθά· οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἄλλα παρὰ ταῦτα.
If indeed happiness is such a thing, its parts must be noble birth, many friends, good friends, wealth, good children, many children, happy old age; further, the virtues of the body (such as health, beauty, strength, stature, athletic ability), reputation, honor, good fortune, virtue; for in this way a man would be most self-sufficient, if both the goods in himself and the external goods belong to him; for there are no others besides these.
ἔστι δʼ ἐν αὐτῷ μὲν τὰ περὶ ψυχὴν καὶ τὰ ἐν σώματι, ἔξω δὲ εὐγένεια καὶ φίλοι καὶ χρήματα καὶ τιμή, ἔτι δὲ προσήκειν οἰόμεθα δυνάμεις ὑπάρχειν καὶ τύχην· οὕτω γὰρ ἀσφαλέστατος ὁ βίος.
And the goods in himself are those concerning the soul and those in the body, while external goods are noble birth, friends, wealth, and honor; and further we think that powers and good fortune should belong to him; for in this way life is most secure.
λάβωμεν τοίνυν ὁμοίως καὶ τούτων ἕκαστον τί ἐστιν.
Let us grasp, then, in like manner, what each of these is.
§1.5.5εὐγένεια μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ἔθνει μὲν καὶ πόλει τὸ αὐτόχθονας ἢ ἀρχαίους εἶναι, καὶ ἡγεμόνας τοὺς πρώτους ἐπιφανεῖς, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐπιφανεῖς γεγονέναι ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ζηλουμένοις· ἰδίᾳ δὲ εὐγένεια ἢ ἀπʼ ἀνδρῶν ἢ ἀπὸ γυναικῶν, καὶ γνησιότης ἀπʼ ἀμφοῖν, καί, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ πόλεως, τὸ τούς τε πρώτους γνωρίμους ἢ ἐπʼ ἀρετῇ ἢ πλούτῳ ἢ ἄλλῳ τῳ τῶν τιμωμένων εἶναι, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐπιφανεῖς ἐκ τοῦ γένους καὶ ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ νέους καὶ πρεσβυτέρους.
Noble birth, then, is for a nation or a city to be indigenous or ancient, and for its first leaders to have been illustrious, and for many illustrious men to have been born from them for things that are envied; and individually, noble birth is either from the father's side or from the mother's side, and legitimacy from both, and, as in the case of a city, that the first ancestors were well-known either for virtue or wealth or any other of the things that are honored, and that many illustrious men have come from the family, both men and women, both young and old.
§1.5.6εὐτεκνία δὲ καὶ πολυτεκνία οὐκ ἄδηλα.
Good children and many children are not obscure.
ἔστιν δὲ τῷ κοινῷ μὲν, νεότης ἂν ᾖ πολλὴ καὶ ἀγαθή, ἀγαθὴ δὲ κατʼ ἀρετὴν σώματος, οἷον μέγεθος, κάλλος, ἰσχύν, δύναμιν ἀγωνιστικήν· ψυχῆς δὲ σωφροσύνη καὶ ἀνδρεία νέου ἀρεταί· ἰδίᾳ δὲ εὐτεκνία καὶ πολυτεκνία τὸ τὰ ἴδια τέκνα πολλὰ καὶ τοιαῦτα εἶναι, καὶ θήλεα καὶ ἄρρενα· θηλειῶν δὲ ἀρετὴ σώματος μὲν κάλλος καὶ μέγεθος, ψυχῆς δὲ σωφροσύνη καὶ φιλεργία ἄνευ ἀνελευθερίας.
For the community, it is when the youth are numerous and good, and good in virtue of body, such as stature, beauty, strength, athletic ability; and of soul, temperance and courage are the virtues of a young man; and individually, good children and many children is that one's own children are many and of such a quality, both female and male; and of females, the virtue of body is beauty and stature, and of soul, temperance and love of work without servility.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ κοινῇ, καὶ κατʼ ἄνδρας καὶ κατὰ γυναῖκας, δεῖ ζητεῖν ἕκαστον ὑπάρχειν τῶν τοιούτων· ὅσοις γὰρ τὰ κατὰ γυναῖκας φαῦλα ὥσπερ Λακεδαιμονίοις, σχεδὸν κατὰ τὸ ἥμισυ οὐκ εὐδαιμονοῦσιν.
And in like manner, both individually and in common, both for men and for women, we must seek that each of these qualities belongs to them; for those for whom the condition of women is bad, as among the Lacedaemonians, are happy only to the extent of almost a half.
§1.5.7πλούτου δὲ μέρη νομίσματος πλῆθος καὶ γῆς, χωρίων κτῆσις πλήθει καὶ μεγέθει καὶ κάλλει διαφερόντων, ἔτι δὲ ἐπίπλων κτῆσις καὶ ἀνδραπόδων καὶ βοσκημάτων πλήθει καὶ κάλλει διαφερόντων, ταῦτα δὲ πάντα οἰκεῖα καὶ ἀσφαλῆ καὶ ἐλευθέρια καὶ χρήσιμα.
The parts of wealth are abundance of money and land, possession of estates distinguished in number, size, and beauty, and further, possession of movable property, slaves, and cattle distinguished in number and beauty; and all these should be one's own, secure, liberal, and useful.
ἔστιν δὲ χρήσιμα μὲν μᾶλλον τὰ κάρπιμα, ἐλευθέρια δὲ τὰ πρὸς ἀπόλαυσιν (κάρπιμα δὲ λέγω ἀφʼ ὧν αἱ πρόσοδοι, ἀπολαυστικὰ δὲ ἀφʼ ὧν μηδὲν παρὰ τὴν χρῆσιν γίγνεται ὅ τι καὶ ἄξιον).
And those that are useful are rather the productive ones, while those that are liberal are for enjoyment (and I call productive those from which revenues come, and enjoyable those from which nothing comes beyond the use which is of any value).
ὅρος δὲ ἀσφαλείας μὲν τὸ ἐνταῦθα καὶ οὕτω κεκτῆσθαι ὥστʼ ἐφʼ αὑτῷ εἶναι τὴν χρῆσιν αὐτῶν, τοῦ δὲ οἰκεῖα εἶναι ἢ μὴ ὅταν ἐφʼ αὑτῷ ᾖ ἀπαλλοτριῶσαι· λέγω δὲ ἀπαλλοτρίωσιν δόσιν καὶ πρᾶσιν.
And the boundary of security is to possess them in such a place and in such a way that the use of them is in one's own power, and of their being one's own or not, when it is in one's own power to alienate them; and I mean by alienation giving and selling.
ὅλως δὲ τὸ πλουτεῖν ἐστιν ἐν τῷ χρῆσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν τῷ κεκτῆσθαι· καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἐνέργειά ἐστι τῶν τοιούτων καὶ ἡ χρῆσις πλοῦτος.
In general, being wealthy consists in using rather than in possessing; for the activity and use of such things is indeed wealth.
§1.5.8εὐδοξία δʼ ἐστὶν τὸ ὑπὸ πάντων σπουδαῖον ὑπολαμβάνεσθαι ἢ τοιοῦτόν τι ἔχειν οὗ πάντες ἐφίενται ἢ οἱ πολλοὶ ἢ οἱ ἀγαθοὶ ἢ οἱ φρόνιμοι.
Good reputation is to be held as excellent by all, or to possess something of such a kind as all or the many or the good or the wise desire.