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The Ethics of Aristotle - Penn State Hazleton

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Ethics</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Aristotle</strong>thought to be right: for amusement is like rest, and menwant rest because unable to labour continuously.Rest, therefore, is not an End, because it is adopted with aview to Working afterwards.[Sidenote: 1177a] Again, it is held that the Happy Lifemust be one in the way <strong>of</strong> Excellence, and this is accompaniedby earnestness and stands not in amusement. Moreoverthose things which are done in earnest, we say, are betterthan things merely ludicrous and joined with amusement:and we say that the Working <strong>of</strong> the better part, or the betterman, is more earnest; and the Working <strong>of</strong> the better is atonce better and more capable <strong>of</strong> Happiness.<strong>The</strong>n, again, as for bodily Pleasures, any ordinary person,or even a slave, might enjoy them, just as well as the bestman living but Happiness no one supposes a slave to shareexcept so far as it is implied in life: because Happiness standsnot in such pastimes but in the Workings in the way <strong>of</strong> Excellence,as has also been stated before.VIINow if Happiness is a Working in the way <strong>of</strong> Excellence <strong>of</strong>course that Excellence must be the highest, that is to say,the Excellence <strong>of</strong> the best Principle. Whether then this bestPrinciple is Intellect or some other which is thought naturallyto rule and to lead and to conceive <strong>of</strong> noble and divinethings, whether being in its own nature divine or themost divine <strong>of</strong> all our internal Principles, the Working <strong>of</strong>this in accordance with its own proper Excellence must bethe perfect Happiness.That it is Contemplative has been already stated: and thiswould seem to be consistent with what we said before andwith truth: for, in the first place, this Working is <strong>of</strong> the highestkind, since the Intellect is the highest <strong>of</strong> our internal Principlesand the subjects with which it is conversant the highest<strong>of</strong> all which fall within the range <strong>of</strong> our knowledge.Next, it is also most Continuous: for we are better able tocontemplate than to do anything else whatever, continuously.Again, we think Pleasure must be in some way an ingredientin Happiness, and <strong>of</strong> all Workings in accordance with233

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