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The Ethics of Aristotle - Penn State Hazleton

The Ethics of Aristotle - Penn State Hazleton

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Ethics</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Aristotle</strong>some have a certain weight and turn the balance <strong>of</strong> life, whileothers are, so to speak, lighter; so it is likewise with thosewhich befall all our friends alike; if further, whether theywhom each suffering befalls be alive or dead makes muchmore difference than in a tragedy the presupposing or actualperpetration <strong>of</strong> the various crimes and horrors, we must takeinto our account this difference also, and still more perhapsthe doubt concerning the dead whether they really partake<strong>of</strong> any good or evil; it seems to result from all these considerations,that if anything does pierce the veil and reach them,be the same good or bad, it must be something trivial andsmall, either in itself or to them; or at least <strong>of</strong> such a magnitudeor such a kind as neither to make happy them that arenot so otherwise, nor to deprive <strong>of</strong> their blessedness themthat are.It is plain then that the good or ill fortunes <strong>of</strong> their friendsdo affect the dead somewhat: but in such kind and degree asneither to make the happy unhappy nor produce any othersuch effect.XIIHaving determined these points, let us examine with respectto Happiness, whether it belongs to the class <strong>of</strong> things praiseworthyor things precious; for to that <strong>of</strong> faculties it evidentlydoes not.Now it is plain that everything which is a subject <strong>of</strong> praiseis praised for being <strong>of</strong> a certain kind and bearing a certainrelation to something else: for instance, the just, and the valiant,and generally the good man, and virtue itself, we praisebecause <strong>of</strong> the actions and the results: and the strong man,and the quick runner, and so forth, we praise for being <strong>of</strong> acertain nature and bearing a certain relation to somethinggood and excellent (and this is illustrated by attempts to praisethe gods; for they are presented in a ludicrous aspect by beingreferred to our standard, and this results from the fact,that all praise does, as we have said, imply reference to astandard). Now if it is to such objects that praise belongs, itis evident that what is applicable to the best objects is notpraise, but something higher and better: which is plain matter<strong>of</strong> fact, for not only do we call the gods blessed and happy,38

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