The Ethics of Aristotle - Penn State Hazleton

The Ethics of AristotleI. That Self-Control and Endurance belong to the class ofthings good and praiseworthy, while Imperfect Self-Controland Softness belong to that of things low and blameworthy.II. That the man of Self-Control is identical with the manwho is apt to abide by his resolution, and the man of ImperfectSelf-Control with him who is apt to depart from hisresolution.III. That the man of Imperfect Self-Control does things atthe instigation of his passions, knowing them to be wrong,while the man of Self-Control, knowing his lusts to be wrong,refuses, by the influence of reason, to follow their suggestions.IV. That the man of Perfected Self-Mastery unites the qualitiesof Self-Control and Endurance, and some say that everyone who unites these is a man of Perfect Self-Mastery, othersdo not.V. Some confound the two characters of the man who has noSelf-Control, and the man of Imperfect Self-Control, whileothers distinguish between them.VI. It is sometimes said that the man of Practical Wisdomcannot be a man of Imperfect Self-Control, sometimes thatmen who are Practically Wise and Clever are of ImperfectSelf-Control.VII. Again, men are said to be of Imperfect Self-Control,not simply but with the addition of the thing wherein, as inrespect of anger, of honour, and gain.These then are pretty well the common statements.IINow a man may raise a question as to the nature of the rightconception in violation of which a man fails of Self-Control.That he can so fail when knowing in the strict sense what isright some say is impossible: for it is a strange thing, asSocrates thought, that while Knowledge is present in his mind149