Book Reviews II: Aristotle, Seneca, Plato

The Basic Works of Aristotle by Aristotle
A Treatise on Government by Aristotle
Plato: Complete Works by Plato
Letters From A Stoic by Seneca
The Republic by Plato
Selected Works by Cicero


The Basic Works of Aristotle
Edited by Richard McKeon

Categoriae (Categories), by Aristotle
Forms of speech are either simple or composite. Examples of the latter are such expressions as "the man runs", "the man wins"; of the former, 'man', 'ox', 'runs', 'wins'.
In regard to speech, that speech is a quantity is evident: for it is measured in long and short syllables.
Linguists describe voiced and unvoiced communication.
In his chapter on Physics, Aristotle mentions motion and rest, or contiguous, continuous motion, as well as questions with regard to a state of rest -- becoming a coming to a standstill. He mentions a difficulty involved in the view that remaining in particular place is contrary to motion from that place. Here, he also illustrates quick motion and slow motion. Examples that he gives are of a circle and a straight line.
In this chapter, Aristotle also discusses eternal, or infinite change and finite change. That something set in motion can cease that motion and be in a state of rest. Here, Aristotle also discusses that in some things, motion is accidental, and others, motion is essential. He also poses the question, if a thing moves itself, in what sense and in what manner does it do so?
De Caelo (On the Heavens)
In this chapter, Aristotle mentions that there are four elements: air, fire, water, earth, and a factor that exists but cannot be named, an unnamed factor. Here, he lays out the rules for the nature of the Heavens.
Here, he notes the central position of the earth to a fire, the sun. He also discusses the earth's motion around the sun, and the constant properties of the earth. He mentions that all of the planets are spherical in shape, not other shapes.
In the segment about his unknown element, Aristotle mentions that nothing is generated or destroyed, and always exists. With regard to simple bodies, he mentions natural and unnatural movements, like that of the earth.
He also describes a process of analysis that elements are subject to.
He says that it seems that sometimes perceptible things require perceptible principles, eternal things eternal principles, corruptible things corruptible principles; and, in general, every subject matter principles homogeneous with itself.
Aristotle makes it plain that there is an absolutely light and an absolutely heavenly body.
De Generatione et Corruptione (On Generation and Corruption)
In this chapter, he says that we are to study growth and alteration. He says that we must inquire what each of them is.
He mentions that sometimes we do not need to define terms, and that alteration is a fact of observation. He mentions that Empedocles seems to contradict his own statements as well as the observed facts.
Here, he describes points which are motionless and moving, as well as magnitudes that consist of contacts or points. Furthermore, he discusses bodies that are divided into separable magnitudes which are smaller at each division.
He mentions that Wind and Air are in truth more real than Earth. He also mentions that a change in the substratum causes a change in the body. The body, he writes, is now healthy and now ill. He also mentions that contraries refuse to be coupled.
Aristotle suggests that this unknown element is a 'simple' element.
He questions why, if the Forms are causes, is their generating activity intermittent instead of perpetual and continuous -- since there are always Participants as well as Forms.
This Form, Aristotle says, belongs to a different 'power,' because it does not suffer action, like matter. He also suggests that this Form is eternal, having existed very early on and is immune from the natural processes of passing-away.
He says that it is a form that has existed in the lives and the times of several kinds of living things in the past.
For Aristotle, there is a relationship between God and this force.
He says if there is to be movement, there must be something which initiates it. Then, he goes on to illustrate the roles of the elements, men, and animals.
De Anima (On the Soul)
In this chapter, he attempts to gain knowledge about the soul.
The soul, a person's soul, is responsible for movement and thought. Each soul is unique, based on a person’s appearance and experiences.
He writes, "we must consider whether the soul is divisible or is without parts, and whether it is everywhere homogeneous or not." He also mentions that animals have souls. He suggests that we investigate the mind or thinking, and the faculty or the act of sensation, and so on. He says we should consider that quite often, there seems to be no case in which the soul can act or be acted upon without involving the body. Thinking, he writes, seems to be the most probable exception; but if this too proves to be a form of imagination, it too requires a body as a condition of its existence.
He mentions that all the affections of soul involve a body -- passion, gentleness, courage, joy, etc. -- in all these there is a concurrent affection of the body.
A starting-point in his inquiry, is an exposition of those characteristics which have been held to belong to the soul. He says that just because a magnet can move an iron, does not mean that it has a soul. Here, he says that we must begin our examination with movement.
It is wrong, he says, to speak of a wise man as being 'altered' when he uses his wisdom, just as it would be absurd to speak of a builder as being altered when he is using his skill in building a house.
On Memory and Reminiscence is the chapter that follows. It is interesting that he says that we can remember numbers, some equations, and diagrams.
His chapter De Somniis (on Dreams) follows. Here, he examines the nature of dreams.
His chapter The History of Animals follows. First, he mentions that all animals are able to eat, sleep, voice, etc. He further mentions that their habits and their modes of living vary according to their character and their food. In animals, he mentions, there are traces of physical qualities such as fierceness, mildness or cross temper, courage or confidence and with regard to intelligence, something equivalent to sagacity.
De Partibus Animalium (On the Parts of Animals)
Here, Aristotle points out that an educated man should be able to criticize the method used by his professor.
He suggests that we cannot criticize species -- man, lion, dog, ox and the like.
He also says that we cannot say that there is an ultimate species. And he reminds us that we do not look at animals for their flaws.
He suggests that we may have a common soul. And he reminds us that all species were created by god.
He says that there are two causes, namely, necessity and the final end.
It is impossible, he says, that a single differentia shall express the whole essence of a species.
It deserves inquiry, he says, why a single name denoting a higher group was not invented by mankind. Here, questions if people are called black or white in the Bible.
De Genertatione Animalium (On the Generation of Animals)
In this chapter, Aristotle reminds us that some animals come into being from the union of male and female. They have this right, he says.
Metaphysica (Metaphysics)
Here, Aristotle reminds us that the nature of man is rooted in experience. He describes this as theory with experience.
He goes on to say that some are wiser in virtue in experience and knowledge.
He reminds us that "we do not regard any of the senses as Wisdom," and that wisdom was a crucial factor which determined how society was built.
He suggests that scientific wisdom is the ability to express knowledge about certain principles and causes.
He mentions that the wise man has knowledge about different things, and can learn things that are difficult.
He says of the wise man that the less wise must obey him.
This for Aristotle is the highest degree universal knowledge.
He suggests that an understanding of the sun and of the stars is within human comprehension, not beyond human power. That wisdom is a divine science, related to God, the essence of Man.
He asks us to question to what degree the universe is unchangeable.
He reminds us that friendship is the cause of good things, and strife of bad.
Aristotle reminds us of the greatness of the earth in relation to the other planets.
He says that that which is later in generation is prior in nature, and that which is concocted and compounded is later in generation -- water then must be prior to air, and earth to water.
Aristotle suggests that we understand the ways of the earth. He says neither can one thing proceed from another, as from matter, nor can the sources of movement form an endless series (man for instance being acted on by air, air by the sun, the sun by strife, and so on without limit).
He describes changes which are reversible and those which are unchangeable.
He reminds us of the existence of common beliefs, as well as the fact that there are different categories of knowledge.
In a previous passage he offers the suggestion to reverse one’s train of thought.
In his chapter Metaphysics, Aristotle suggests asking for clear-cut definitions, then seeing if the definitions can be changed.
He then says that if there is not unity in the definition, then there is a flaw in the being itself.
- He then illustrates flaws with the first antiquated definitions.
He then describes the “one definite kind of thing.”
He goes on to say that all things refer to one starting-point.
He says that there is one kind of thinker who is above the natural philosopher.
He writes, “Physics also is a kind of wisdom, but it is not the first kind.”
He suggests a failure in the system of education, not a failure in the student, when a student fails.
Sometimes, he writes, things are true and not true at the same time.
He writes that often, which things are true and which things are false is not obvious.
He questions whether the definitions themselves can be changed.
He suggests that it is unfair to generalize and make universal definitions based on a minority.
He suggests that we should not assume that everything which appears is true.
He suggests that the essential nature of man is good.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau also argued that human nature is essentially good.
He suggests that often, there is no necessity.
He points out people who always raise difficult questions.
He even issues the puzzle over the question whether we are now asleep or awake.
He illustrates instances when individuals contradict themselves, and instances where individuals come close to contradicting themselves.
He reminds us that often we can not agree on simple matters.
He indicates that things do not appear always the same to all men or even always the same to the same man.
He illustrates those who argue not because they feel a difficulty but for the sake of argument.
He points out that if the definitions are flawed, then perhaps the entire body of reason is weak.
He suggests that the definitions refer to the extremes, not the intermediates.
In some cases, he notes, some people give in to the argument and agree that the conclusion is true.
He suggests that things should be good, rather than neither good or not-good.
He mentions that the letters are the cause of syllables, and the material is the cause of manufactured things.
He describes "accidental senses," and gives two examples, one, 'the man is musical,' two, 'the musician is a man.'
He goes on to note that 'musical' is an accident of the man, and then goes on to illustrate opposite instances where 'the man is recovering' and 'the man recovers,' and 'the man is walking' and 'the man walks.'
He reminds us that 'being' and 'is' mean that a statement is true, e.g. 'Socrates is 'musical' means that this is true.
He goes back to the subject of definitions and describes antiquitated definitions that began in a prior time in nature.
Then he writes, 'Quality' means (I) the differentia of the essence, e.g. man is an animal of a certain quality because he is two-footed, (2) there is another sense in which it applies to the unmovable objects of mathematics, (3) all the modifications of substances that move, (4) quality in respect of virtue and vice and, in general, of evil and good.
He then writes, "Quality, then, seems to have practically two meanings, and one of these is more proper."
Next, he writes, "Things are 'relative' (I) as double to half," describes relative terms and when something is a definite numerical relation to a number.
He goes on to describe relative terms which imply number or potency, as well as things that are by their own nature called relative.
Then he explains that "What is called 'complete,'" and sets forth rules.
He then explains the term 'in virtue of itself,' and writes that many things have virtues.
He writes that man has more than one cause - two-footed - but yet man is man in virtue of himself.
He describes 'having,' one kind of activity, then describes a sort of having where the process will go on to infinity.
He describes a harmony in these relationships. Then he explains that 'Part' means (1) that into which a quantum can in any way be divided.
He defines the term 'Accident.'
In Book (VI), he discusses natural science, and mentions that "if all thought is either practical or productive or theoretical, physics must be theoretical science."
He suggests that some things happen by accident and some things happen for a reason.
He writes, when you consider a thing, consider what sense in that thing comes first.
He describes eternal substances and suggests that 'new' substances can exist.
In Metaphysics, Aristotle mentions that there are compounds.
Aristotle mentions that in nature, things progress naturally, while in the domain of man, there are more variables.
Because there are more variables in the domain of man, Aristotle suggests building up more things.
He writes, "The soul of animals is their substance according to the formula of each certain kind."
He mentions that the parts of the soul are prior to the concrete animal.
He poses the question whether soul is something different and not identical with the animal.
He gives the example of a finger, and says that some parts make up the whole.
He draws the distinction between being a soul, and being a concrete thing.
With regard to this, he says they are often aided by intuitive thinking or perception.
Whether the right angle and the circle and the animal are prior, the question can not be answered.
He poses the question whether all souls existed together at a prior time.
He then questions the determinants of form.
He writes, "because man is not found also in other matters we are unable to perform the abstraction."
Here, Aristotle's influence on some religious thought is obvious since many religions suggest that humans live as God willed.
He suggests a specific reason why certain human souls find human forms and certain animal souls find animal forms.
He says that there is a specific reason why we are trying to determine the nature of perceptible substances.
He draws the distinction between universal qualities of things and those which are not universal.
He writes, "A substance cannot consist of substances present in it in complete reality."
He illustrates the difference between Ideas and the animal-itself.
He says that it is not possible to define any Idea. For the Idea is an individual.
He briefly discusses eternal entities.
He gives the example of eternal things: the sun and the moon, then discusses that it is possible to define individuals.
Aristotle writes that some things are separable and some are not.
He writes, “that which is now of one size and again less or greater… is something that is now being generated and again being destroyed.”
He goes on to mention that still weather is absence of motion in a large expanse of air; a calm is smoothness of sea. Then he defines what sensible substance is and how it exists.
Metaphysics [Bk. VIII Ch. 3]
He discusses whether an animal is ‘a soul in a body’ or ‘a soul,’ then writes, ‘Animal’ might even be applied to both, not as something definable by one formula, but as related to a single thing.
Then he discusses the complex of form and matter.
He suggests that matter is simple and does not have hundreds or thousands of numerical combinations that compose it.
He mentions that a definition is a set of words which is one not by being connected together like The Iliad, but by dealing with one object.
He writes, “Again, if there is a substance and principle of such a nature as that which we are now seeking, and if it is one for all things, i.e. the same for both eternal and perishable things, it is a difficult question as to why…”
He writes, “Again, if the assertion is no more true than the negation, it will be no more true to say "A is man" than to say "A is not man."30 But it would also be admitted that it is more or at least not less true to say that a man is not a horse than to say that he is not a man; and therefore, since it was assumed that opposite statements are equally true, it will be true to say that the same person is also a horse. It follows therefore, that the same person is a man and a horse, or any other animal.”
He writes, “Again, when the doctor orders them to adopt some article of diet, why do they adopt it? But as it is, they adopt a particular food as though they knew the truth about it and it were the food prescribed;yet they ought not to do so if there were no fixed and permanent nature in sensible things and everything were always in a state of motion and flux.”
He writes, "Every science inquires for certain principles and causes with respect to every knowable thing which comes within its scope49; [1064a] e.g., the sciences of medicine and physical culture do this, and so does each of the other productive and mathematical sciences. Each one of these marks out for itself some class of objects, and concerns itself with this as with something existent and real, but not qua real; it is another science distinct from these which does this.Each of the said sciences arrives in some way at the essence in a particular class of things, and then tries to prove the rest more or less exactly. Some arrive at the essence through sense-perception, and some by hypothesis; hence it is obvious from such a process of induction that there is no demonstration of the reality or essence."
Ethica Nicomachea (Nicomachean Ethics)
Aristotle writes, every art and every kind of inquiry, and likewise every act and purpose, seem to aim at some good.
He mentions that this holds true for politics, and states that several sciences fall under politics.
He mentions that precision is not to be sought for alike in all discussions. Then he points out that it is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things; that it is foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician probable scientific proofs.
He mentions that to examine all the opinions that have been held were perhaps somewhat fruitless; enough to examine those that are most prevalent or that seem to be arguable.
He writes that “possession of virtue seems actually compatible with being asleep.”
”Man is born for citizenship,” according to Aristotle.
Aristotle says that all things have a function. He writes that man too, has a function. What is the function of man he asks?
He suggests that the function of man is to follow the activity of his soul.
Aristotle points out that we should act in all matters, that our main task may not be subordinated by minor questions.
He suggests that we determine what happiness is, and seek it out.
He writes, “the question is asked, whether happiness is to be acquired by learning or by habituation or some other sort of training, or comes in virtue of some divine providence or again by chance.”
He writes that virtuous activities or their opposites are what constitute happiness.
Suggests that happiness is synonymous with the future.
Suggests that we should examine the nature of virtue.
Writes, “… this part or faculty seems to function most in sleep, while goodness and badness are least manifest in sleep.”
He writes, “Enough of this subject, however; let us leave [this] faculty alone, since it has by its nature no share in human excellence.”
Mentions that “while in the body we see that which moves astray, in the soul we do not.”
Mentions that “the agents themselves must in each case consider what is appropriate to the occasion, as happens also in the art of medicine or of navigation.”
Mentions that “it is also plain that none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature; for nothing that exists by nature can form a habit contrary to its nature. For instance the stone which by nature moves downwards cannot be habituated to move upwards, not even if one tries to train it by throwing it up ten thousand times; nor can fire be habituated to move downwards, nor can anything else that by nature behaves in one way be trained to behave in another.” (Book II)
Aristotle writes that often we cannot control fear and anger.
Suggests that we be aware of what we are doing as often as possible, and also notes that lower animals share in voluntary action.
Mentions that we do not deliberate about everything, the solstices and the rising of the stars, droughts and rains, and that we do not even deliberate about all human affairs; for instance, he writes, "no Spartan deliberates about the best constitution for the Scythians." Points out that if we are to be always deliberating, we shall have to go on to infinity.
Writes, "for every one ceases to inquire how he is to act when he has brought the moving principle back to himself and to the ruling part of himself," when we view ourselves as the object.
Writes, "so it is, too, with respect to weakness and infirmity; no one would reproach a blind man from birth or by disease or from a blow, but rather pity him..."
Writes, "and we punish those who are ignorant of anything in the laws that they ought to know and that is not difficult."
Aristotle notes that "it was the mark of a brave man to face things that are, and seem, terrible for a man, because it is noble to do so and disgraceful not to do so. Hence also it is thought the mark of a braver man to be fearless and undisturbed in sudden alarms than to be so in those that are foreseen."
He goes on to discuss people who appear brave, and mentions that the sanguine hold their ground for a time.
He mentions courage, and writes, "it is for facing what is painful, that men are called brave. Hence also courage involves pain, and is justly praised; for it is harder to face what is painful than to abstain from what is pleasant. Yet the end which courage sets before it would seem to be pleasant..."
He gives the example of a boxer who goes through a lot to win the crown and the honors.
He writes, "so much for courage; it is not difficult to grasp its nature in outline, at any rate, from what has been said."
He writes, "we must assume the distinction between bodily pleasures and those of the soul, such as love of honor and love of learning, here the mind being affected."
He discusses temperance and self-indulgence, then says "dogs do not delight in the scent of hares, but in the eating of them; nor does the lion delight in the lowing of the ox, but in the eating of it.
Then he gives the senses of touch and taste as examples.
Thus, he writes, "the sense with which self-indulgence would seem to be justly as a matter of reproach, because it attaches to us not as men but as animals."
Then he gives the example of the self-indulgent man who goes into the gymnasium for the consequent heat.
The self-indulgent man, he writes, "craves for all pleasant things or those that are most pleasant, and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else; hence he is pained both when he fails to get them..."
The temperate man, he writes, is "the sort of person that the right rule prescribes."
He writes, "here we conclude our account on temperance."
He reminds us that that which is courageous or brave is not always free from pain.
He writes, "the most valuable possession is that which is worth most, but the most valuable work of art is that which is great and beautiful.
He gives the example of a wedding or anything that interests the whole city or the people of position in it, and also the receiving of foreign guests.
Aristotle describes those who have no ulterior object, those who love truth, and he who does it for money.
Mentions that “the kind of people one is speaking to or listening to also makes a difference.”
Mentions that relaxation and amusement are thought to be a necessary element in life.
Suggests that the normal condition of man has a characteristic of perfect.
Writes, “This proportion is not continuous; for we cannot get a single term standing for a person and a thing.”
Mentions that often, life involves compromise.
Reminds us that often no one chooses to hurt himself.
Suggests that class affects justice. He writes that “justice can more truly be manifested towards a wife than towards children and chattels.”
Writes, “by nature the right hand is stronger, yet it is possible that all men should come to be ambidextrous.”
[Nichomachean Ethics Bk. V Ch. 7]
Writes, of voluntary acts we do some by choice, others not by choice. By choice those which we do after deliberation, not by choice those which we do without previous deliberation.
Of involuntary acts some are excusable, others not.
He goes on to discuss being treated justly and unjustly.
Discusses wisdom as a form of knowledge.
Writes that some people are wise in general, and others in limited respects. And defines scientific knowledge as judgement about things that are universal and necessary. (Refer to his chapter on Wisdom in Nichomachean Ethics [Bk. VI Ch. 7] for more information.)
Writes, "Therefore if, as they say, men becomme gods by excess of virtue..."
Writes, "those in whom nature is the cause of such a state no one would call incontinent."
Aristotle suggests that men govern by opinion.
He goes on to discuss men of moral worth.
He mentions that man's nature is to pursue pleasure.
He goes on to discuss friendship. "To be friends, then, they must be mutually recognized as bearing goodwill and wishing well to each other for one of the aforesaid reasons."
Mentions men who expect to be friends with the best or wisest of men.
Mentions men who choose to be loved rather than to love, then mentions wicked men who have no steadfastness.
Writes, "in tyranny there is little or no friendship."
Discusses parents, who love their children as themselves, and common upbringing and similarity of age.
Writes, "In honors paid to the gods or to parents; for no one could ever return to them the equivalent of what he gets."
He mentions that the attributes of good seem to belong to the majority of men.
Mentions that at times certain senses are more prominent, for example, often the sense of sight is more prominent than the sense of smell.
Aristotle draws the distinction between abstraction and reality.
Politica (Politics)
Aristotle mentions that reason is contemplative.
Mentions that doing good is associated with the pursuit of happiness.
Writes, “it is a characteristic of man that he alone has any sense of good and evil, of just and unjust, and the like.”
Writes that “there are many kinds both of rulers and subjects.”
Suggests we study "the man who is in the most perfect state both of body and soul.”
Writes, “it is clear, then, that some men are by nature free, and others slaves.”
Writes, of household management, “the male is by nature fitter for command than the female, just as the elder and full-grown is superior to the younger.”
Writes, “the rule of a father over his children is royal, for he rules by virtue both of love and of the respect due to age, exercising a kind of royal power.”
Aristotle asks, “which is better, our present condition, or the proposed new order of society?”
He quotes Socrates, that “the greater the unity of the state the better,” and reminds us that this is the nature of a state.
Writes, “let us remember that we should not disregard the experience of ages.”
Suggests “the bigger the family the better.”
Mentions that in some cases, “men do not use the knowledge which they have.”
Says, “we must not overlook the fact that the number of 5000 citizens, now just mentioned, will require a territory as large as Babylon, or some other huge site.”
Suggests that the best constitution is made up of numerous elements.
Suggests that the wise man, or the philosopher is the happiest of men.
Writes, “like the sailor, the citizen is a member of a community. Now, sailors have different functions, for one of them is a rower, another a pilot, and a third a look-out man…they all have a common object.” “Similarly, one citizen differs from another, but the salvation of the community is the common business of them all.”
Writes, “the good ruler is a good and wise man… And some persons say that even the education of the ruler should be of a special kind; for are not the children of kings instructed in riding and military exercises?"
Writes, “that governments which have a regard to the common interest are constituted in accordance with strict principles of justice, and are therefore true forms; but those which regard only the interest of the rulers are all defective and skewed forms, for they are despotic, whereas a state is a community of freemen.”
Writes, “all men have a claim [to life] in a certain sense.”
Writes, "the rich claim because they have a greater share in the land, and the land is the common element of the state.”
Writes, of monarchies not common to barbarians, “Such royalties have the nature of tyrannies because the people are by nature slaves; but there is no danger of them being overthrown.”
”For kings rule according to law over voluntary subjects, but tyrants over involuntary.”
Suggests that because of the complexities of society, government has arisen.
”The advocates of royalty maintain that the laws speak only in general terms, and cannot provide for circumstances.”
”The individual is liable to be overcome by anger or by some other passion and go wrong at the same moment.”
”We need only suppose that the majority are good men and good citizens.”
”At this place in the discussion there impends the inquiry respecting the king who acts solely according to his own will.” This is a so-called limited monarchy.”
Wherefore it is thought to be just that among equals every one be ruled as well as rule, and therefore that all should have their turn.”
”Men say that to give authority to any one man when all are equal is unjust.”
”But some things can, and other things cannot, be comprehended under the law.”
”We should consider, not only what form of government is best, but also what is possible and what is easily attainable by all.”
”In the first place we see that all states are made up of families.”
”The notables again may be divided according to their wealth, birth, virtue, education, and similar differences.”
”Of forms of democracy first comes that which is said to be based strictly on equality. In such a democracy the law says that it is just for the poor to have more advantage than the rich; and that neither should be masters, but both equals. For of liberty and equality…”
”In democracies which are subject to the law the best citizens hold the first place.””
Aristotle describes three modes in which fusions of government may be effected.
The happy life is the life according to virtue lived without impediment, and that virtue is a mean.
”Of two types of people, one grow into great criminals and the other into rogues and petty rascals. And the two sort of offenses correspond to them.”
In Book V he writes, “everywhere inequality is a cause of revolution.”
Writes, “every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.”
For equality implies that the poor should have no more share in the government than the rich, and should not be the only rulers, but that all should rule according to their numbers.”
Establishes rules characteristic of democracies. That no property qualification should be required for offices; that a man should not hold the same office twice; that all men should sit in judgment…”
Writes, “for the best material of democracy is an agricultural population; there is no difficulty in forming a democracy where the mass of people live by agriculture or tending of cattle.” Next best to an agricultural population are a pastoral people, who live by flocks.”
Mentions that different forms of government can be considered democracy.
In an ideal government he writes, “the right persons rule and are prevented from doing wrong, and the people have their due.”
Describes measures which are taken by tyrants, and gives a repressive law as an example.
”Yet the true friend of the people should see that they be not too poor, for extreme poverty lowers the character of the democracy; measures should be taken which will give them lasting prosperity; and as this is equally the interest of all classes, the proceeds of the public revenues should be accumulated and distributed among its poor, if possible, in such quantities as may enable them to purchase a little farm, or, at any rate, make a beginning in trade…”
”A remedy for this state of things may be found in the practice of generals who combine a proper contingent of [troops].”
”These, then, are the necessary offices, which may be summed up as follows: offices concerned with matters of religion, with war, with the revenue and expenditure, with the market, with the city, with the harbors, with the country; also with the courts of law, with the records of contracts, with execution of sentences, with custody of prisoners, with audits and scrutinies and accounts of magistrates; lastly, there are those which preside over the public deliberations of the state.”
Thus the courage, justice, and wisdom of a state have the same form and nature as the qualities which give the individual who possesses them the name of just, wise, or temperate.”
”For the wise man, like the wise state, will necessarily regulate his life according to the best end.”
Hence we see plainly that warlike pursuits, although generally to be deemed honorable, are not the supreme end of all things, but only means.
And the good lawgiver should inquire how states and races of men and communities may participate in a good life.
At one point, Aristotle replies, “you are partly right and partly wrong.”
For the perfect state cannot exist without a due supply of the means of life.
Neither is it necessary that states that are cut off from others and choose to live alone should be inactive, for activity may take place by sections.
Rhetorica (Rhetoric)
Rhetoric may be roughly Englished as 'the art of public speaking' and 'the art of logical discussion.'
Notes that, "the subject can be handled systematically."
Mentions that reasoning fallacies such as the arousing of negative emotions have nothing to do with the essential facts.
Writes, "now, it is of great moment that well-drawn laws should themselves define all the points they possibly can and leave as few as may be to the decision of the judges."
In a previous chapter, Aristotle writes that perhaps animals do not feel pain.
** Updated Monday, December 19, 2022
Enumerates the functions of a state: there must be food, arts, arms, revenue, religion, and a power of deciding public interest.
Gives standards for marriage and child-rearing.
Each government has a peculiar character which originally formed and which continues to preserve it. The character of democracy creates democracy, and the character of oligarchy creates oligarchy.
** Updated Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Writes, "further, we must be able to emply persuasion, just as strict reasoning can be emplyed."
Writes, "again, it is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed ofbeing unable to defend himself with his limbs, but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.
"There are three means of effecting persuasion. The man who is to be in command of them must, it is clear, be able to 1. reason logically, 2. to understand human character and goodness in their various forms, and 3. to understand the emotions -- that is to name them and describe them, to know their causes and the way in which they are excited."
Aristotle describes particular law and universal law. Particular law is the law which each community lays down and applies to its members. Universal law is the law of nature.
About acts, you can do wrong to an individual person, or do wrong to the community.
If a law is ambiguous, we shall turn it about and consider which construction best fits the interests of justice, and then follow that way of looking at it.
The emotions are all those feelings that so change men as to affect their judgment.
At one point writes, “clearly you do not think that he can do you harm, for then you would be afraid of him rather than slighting him.”
Each man is predisposed, by the emotion controlling him. Hence it is plain what seasons, times, conditions and periods of life tend to do this, and where and when this will happen; and it is plain that the more we are under these conditions the more easily we are stirred.
Discusses growing calm as a setting down or quieting of anger.
A friend is one who feels this and excites these feelings in return.
Suggests that we be intellectual equals, that is, on the same intellectual level as others.
We respect as true, the views of sensible people, such as our elders and those who have been well educated.

Introduction
Aristotle was born in 384/3 b.c. in the little town of Stagira on the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalcidice in Thrace. At the age of eighteen, he was sent to Athens, where he remained in close association with the Academy of Plato for twenty years, until the death of Plato in 348/7.
Aristotle devoted extraordinary industry to the establishment of a school, the Lyceum, to the institution and pursuit of a program of investigation, speculation, and teaching in almost every branch of knowledge.
He died in exile, due to an accusation of impiety brought against him, not unlike those which had been brought against Anaxagoras and Protagoras or that on which Socrates had been condemned.
Since his father, Nicomachus, was a physician, this probably influenced his interest in biological investigations and his possible training in dissection and medicine. He spent twenty years in the Academy of Plato. Although some historians argue that Plato was not in the Academy at the time of Aristotle's arrival, others claim that Aristotle had a close association with Plato which resulted in a deep impression on his thought.
In an important sense an epoch of Greek history was brought to a close when Alexander, Aristotle, and Demosthenes all died within somewhat more than a year.
Contemporary political events and social changes left few marks on his political and moral philosophy, and slave labor led him to neglect the mechanical arts and prefer the theoretic to the practical sciences. Additionally, it is clear that the peace in Athens permitted Aristotle to organize a course of studies and to initiate a vast scheme of research in the history of political organization, of science, and philosophy-the study of constitutions of Greek states, of the history of mathematics and medicine, and of the opinions of philosophers - as well as into the natural history of minerals, plants, and animals, and to lay the foundations thereby for one of the first attempts at an encyclopedic organization of human knowledge.
The words of the philosopher himself are the best means by which to achieve understanding of the man and his thought.
Oxford translation of his works from Greek into English have greatly facilitated the study of his philosophy.
An objective of an introduction to the works of a philosopher is to suggest to read the works of a philosopher for no other adequate reason other than for the philosophy they express. For it is useful to permit Aristotle to speak for himself. Additionally, it is as difficult to reconstruct some notion of the appearance of Aristotle as to determine the lineaments and characteristics of his thought. No portrait of Aristotle can accurately define Aristotle.
The Middle Ages may seem to have exaggerated in calling him the Philosopher, but the understanding of what he said is still an unparalleled introduction to philosophy.
The Aristotelian World:
Of the various things that exist in the world described in Aristotle's writings, some exist by nature, some from other causes. Those that exist by nature have a nature of their own, an internal source of movement, growth, and alteration. Take the example of a kitten and why that kitten grows into a cat, why that cat moves and alters in the ways it does, and why it eventually decays and dies. A house or any other artifact, by contrast, has no such source within it; instead, the source in in something else external to the thing, namely, the craftsman who manufactures it.
A thing's nature is the same as its essence or function, which is the same as its end, or that for the sake of which it exists. For its end just is to actualize its nature by performing its function and something that cannot perform its funtion ceases to be what it is except in name.
Aristotle's view of natural beings is therefore teleological: He sees them as being defined by an end (telos) for which they are striving, and as needing to have their behavior explained by reference to it. It is this end, essence, or function that fixes what the good for that being consists in, and what its virtues or excellences are.
Most natural things, as well as the products of art or craft, are hylomorphic compounds, compounds of matter and form. Human beings are examples: Their matter is (roughly speaking) their body; their soul is their form. Thus a person's soul is not something separable from his body, but is more like the structural organization responsible for his body's being alive and functioning approrpiately.
With regard to matter and form, a human being can survive through change in his matter, but if his form changes, he ceases to exist. That is why the sort of investigation into human beings we find in De Anima and in ethical and political treatises focuses on souls rather than bodies.
These souls consist of distinct, hierarchically organized constituents. The lowest rung in the hierarchy is the vegetative soul, which is responsible for nutrition and growth, and which is also found in plants and other animals. At the next rung up, we find appetitive soul, which is responsible for perception, imagination, and movement, and so is present in other animals too, but not in plants. his sort of soul lacks reason but, unlike the vegetative, can be infuenced by it. The third element in the human soul is reason. It is divided into the scientific element, which enables us to contemplate or engage in theoretical activity, and the calculative or deliberative element, which enables us to engage in practical and political activity.
Because the human soul contains these different elements, the human good might be defined by properties exemplified by all three of them or by the properties exemplified by only some of them. In the argument from the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues for the latter alternative: The human good is happiness, which is an active life of the element that has a rational principle. The problem is that the scientific and the deliberative element both fit this description. Human happiness might, therefore, consist in practical political activity, or in contemplative theorizing, or in a mixture of both. Even a brief glance at Nichomachean Ethics will reveal how hard it is to determine which of these Aristotle has in mind.
Aristotelian Sciences:
The Aristotelian sciences provide us with knowledge of the world, how to live successfully in it, and how to produce what we need to do so. Hence they fall into three distinct types:
I. Theoretical sciences: theology, philosophy, mathematics, natural sciences.
II. Practical sciences: ethics, household management, statesmanship, which is divided into legislation and politics, with politics being further divided into deliberative science and judicial science.
III. Productive sciences (crafts, arts): medicine building, etc.
Of these, the theoretical ones are the Aristotelian paradigm, since they provide us with knowledge of universal necessary truths. The extent to which ethics or statesmanship fit the paradigm, however, is less clear. One reason for this is that a huge part of these sciences has to do not with universal principles of the sort one finds in physics, but with particular cases whose near infinite variety cannot easily be summed up in a formula. Perhaps then, we should think of practical sciences as having something like a theoretically scientific core, but as not being reducible to it.
We should state not only the truth, but also the cause of error - for this contributes towards producing conviction, since when a reasonable explanation is givrn of why the false view appears true, this tends to produce belief in the true view. If, at the end of this process, the difficulties are solved, then, Aristotle claims, will be a sufficient proof of the philosopher's conclusion.



A Treatise on Government
By Aristotle

1. Ethics - Every art, and every science reduced to a teachable form, and in like manner every action and moral choice, aims, it is thought, at some good: for which reason a common and by no means a bad description of the Chief Good is, “that which all things aim at.”
2. Government
3. And when many villages so entirely join themselves together as in every respect to form but one society, that society is a city, and contains in itself, if I may so speak, the end and perfection of government: first founded that we might live, but continued that we may live happily.
4. As we see that every city is a society, and every society Ed. is established for some good purpose; for an apparent good is the spring of all human actions; it is evident that this is the principle upon which they are every one founded, and this is more especially true of that which has for its object the best possible, and is itself the most excellent, and comprehends all the rest.
5. Suggests that people should not be slaves to their government, should not feel oppressed by their government.

6. Those men therefore who are as much inferior to others as the body is to the soul, are to be thus disposed of, as the proper use of them is their bodies, in which their excellence consists; and if what I have said be true, they are slaves by nature, and it is advantageous to them to be always under government.
7. Suggests that rather than lock everyone up or classify everyone as mentally ill, government should encourage people to learn and use their skills and follow their dreams.
8. Of beasts, some live in herds, others separate, as is most convenient for procuring themselves food; as some of them live upon flesh, others on fruit, and others on whatsoever they light on, nature having so distinguished their course of life, that they can very easily procure themselves subsistence; and as the same things are not agreeable to all, but one animal likes one thing and another another, it follows that the lives of those beasts who live upon flesh must be different from the lives of those who live on fruits; so is it with men, their lives differ greatly from each other...
9. Suggests that in many ways, our lives are totally unconnected, that at times, one’s life is completely unconnected from his neighbors.
10. Now of all the works of art, those are the most excellent wherein chance has the least to do, and those are the meanest which deprave the body, those the most servile in which bodily strength alone is chiefly wanted, those most illiberal which require least skill; but as there are books written on these subjects by some persons, as by Chares the Panian, and Apollodorus the Lemnian, upon husbandry and planting; and by others on other matters, let those who have occasion consult them thereon...

11. our consideration. The members of every state must of necessity have all things in common, or some things common, and not others, or nothing at all common. To have nothing in common is evidently impossible, for society itself is one species of community; and the first thing necessary thereunto is a common place of habitation, namely the city, which must be one, and this every citizen must have a share in.
12. And upon what principles would they do it, unless they should establish the wise practice of the Cretans? for they, allowing everything else to their slaves, forbid them only gymnastic exercises and the use of arms.
13. ...notwithstanding Socrates says they will not want many laws in consequence of their education, but such only as may be necessary for regulating the streets, the markets, and the like, while at the same time it is the education of the military only that he has taken any care of. Besides, he makes the husbandmen masters of property upon paying a tribute; but this would be likely to make them far more troublesome and high-spirited than the Helots, the Penestise, or the slaves which others employ; nor has he ever determined whether it is necessary to give any attention to them in these particulars, nor thought of what is connected therewith, their polity, their education, their laws; besides, it is of no little consequence, nor is it easy to determine, how these should be framed so as to preserve the community of the military.
14. Besides, if he makes the wives common, while the property continues separate, who shall manage the domestic concerns with the same care which the man bestows upon his fields?
15. Suggests that countries with large populations, can just give their citizens instructions in basic combat send them to war with other countries, or defend their homeland, and win.

16. It may also be considered whether the quantity of each person's property may not be settled in a different manner from what he has done it in, by making it more determinate; for he says, that every one ought to have enough whereon to live moderately, as if any one had said to live well, which is the most comprehensive expression.
17. Asks, if you’re rich, how far do you want your riches to take you?
18. And upon the same principle there are laws which forbid men to sell their property, as among the Locrians, unless they can prove that some notorious misfortune has befallen them. They were also to preserve their ancient patrimony, which custom being broken through by the Leucadians, made their government too democratic; for by that means it was no longer necessary to be possessed of a certain fortune to be qualified to be a magistrate. But if an equality of goods is established, this may be either too much, when it enables the people to live luxuriously, or too little, when it obliges them to live hard. Hence it is evident, that it is not proper for the legislator to establish an equality of circumstances, but to fix a proper medium. Besides, if any one should regulate the division of property in such a manner that there should be a moderate sufficiency for all, it would be of no use; for it is of more consequence that the citizen should entertain a similarity of sentiments than an equality of circumstances; but this can never be attained unless they are properly educated under the direction of the law. But probably Phaleas may say, that this in what he himself mentions; for he both proposes a equality of property and one plan of education in his city. But he should have said particularly what education he intended, nor is it of any service to have this to much one; for this education may be one, and yet such as will make the citizens over-greedy, to grasp after honours, or riches, or both.
19. For men are not guilty of crimes for necessaries only (for which he thinks an equality of goods would be a sufficient remedy, as they would then have no occasion to steal cold or hunger), but that they may enjoy what they desire, and not wish for it in vain; for if their desire extend beyond the common necessaries of life, they were be wicked to gratify them; and not only so, but if their wishes point that way, they will do the same to enjoy those pleasures which are free from the alloy of pain. What remedy then shall we find for these three disorders. And first, to prevent stealing from necessity, let every one be supplied with a moderate subsistence, which may make the addition of his own industry necessary; second to prevent stealing to procure the luxuries of life, temperance be enjoined; and thirdly, let those who wish for pleasure in itself seek for it only in philosophy, all others want the assistance of men.
20. As he was very desirous of the character of a universal scholar, he was the first who, not being actually engaged in the management of public affairs, sat himself to inquire what sort of government was best; and he planned a state, consisting of ten thousand persons, divided into three parts, one consisting of artisans, another of husbandmen, and the third of soldiers; he also divided the lands into three parts, and allotted one to sacred purposes, another to the public, and the third to individuals.

21. He also made a law, that those should be rewarded who found out anything for the good of the city, and that the children of those who fell in battle should be educated at the public expense; which law had never been proposed by any other legislator, though it is at present in use at Athens as well as in other cities, he would have the magistrates chosen out of the people in general, by whom he meant the three parts before spoken of; and that those who were so elected should be the particular guardians of what belonged to the public, to strangers, and to orphans.
22. We know, indeed, that it is possible to propose to new model both the laws and government as a common good; and since we have mentioned this subject, it may be very proper to enter into a few particulars concerning it, for it contains some difficulties, as I have already said, and it may appear better to alter them, since it has been found useful in other sciences.
23. Suggests that officials get creative with government rewards, advancements and enhancements.
24. Thus the science of physic is extended beyond its ancient bounds; so is the gymnastic, and indeed all other arts and powers; so that one may lay it down for certain that the same thing will necessarily hold good in the art of government. And it may also be affirmed, that experience itself gives a proof of this; for the ancient laws are too simple and barbarous; which allowed the Greeks to wear swords in the city, and to buy their wives of each other.
25. Nor is it, moreover, right to permit written laws always to remain without alteration; for as in all other sciences, so in politics, it is impossible to express everything in writing with perfect exactness; for when we commit anything to writing we must use general terms, but in every action there is something particular to itself, which these may not comprehend; from whence it is evident, that certain laws will at certain times admit of alterations.

26. For a law derives all its strength from custom, and this requires long time to establish; so that, to make it an easy matter to pass from the established laws to other new ones, is to weaken the power of laws. Besides, here is another question; if the laws are to be altered, are they all to be altered, and in every government or not, and whether at the pleasure of one person or many? all which particulars will make a great difference; for which reason we will at present drop the inquiry, to pursue it at some other time.
27. CHAPTER IX
28. There are two considerations which offer themselves with respect to the government established at Lacedaemon and Crete, and indeed in almost all other states whatsoever; one is whether their laws do or do not promote the best establishment possible? the other is whether there is anything, if we consider either the principles upon which it is founded or the executive part of it, which prevents the form of government that they had proposed to follow from being observed; now it is allowed that in every well-regulated state the members of it should be free from servile labour; but in what manner this shall be effected is not so easy to determine; for the Penestse have very often attacked the Thessalians, and the Helots the Lacedaemonians, for they in a manner continually watch an opportunity for some misfortune befalling them.
29. Suggests that if the laws are too harsh, simply try lessening them, decreasing their severity.
30. But we are not now considering where the fault lies, or where it does not lie, but what is right and what is wrong; and when the manners of the women are not well regulated, as I have already said, it must not only occasion faults which are disgraceful to the state, but also increase the love of money.

31. Suggests that we should first, give a general description of a good citizen.
32. There are many sorts of slaves; for their employments are various...
33. I have already mentioned in my treatise on the management of a family, and the power of the master, that man is an animal naturally formed for society, and that therefore, when he does not want any foreign assistance, he will of his own accord desire to live with others...
34. Formerly, as was natural, every one expected that each of his fellow-citizens should in his turn serve the public, and thus administer to his private good, as he himself when in office had done for others; but now every one is desirous of being continually in power, that he may enjoy the advantage which he makes of public business and being in office; as if places were a never-failing remedy for every complaint, and were on that account so eagerly sought after.
35. If what is now said does not make this clear, we will explain it still further: if there should be any one, a very excellent player on the flute, but very deficient in family and beauty, though each of them are more valuable endowments than a skill in music, and excel this art in a higher degree than that player excels others, yet the best flutes ought to be given to him; for the superiority in beauty and fortune should have a reference to the business in hand; but these have none.
36. To be continued.

1. CHAPTER XIII
2. Suggests that government should focus on and encourage work in certain areas. For example, encourage work in arts and science if they are areas that need work.
3. The last spoken of, and the Lacedaemonian, for the chief of the others are placed between these, which are as it were at the extremities, they having less power than an absolute government, and yet more than the Lacedaemonians; so that the whole matter in question may be reduced to these two points; the one is, whether it is advantageous to the citizens to have the office of general continue in one person for life, and whether it should be confined to any particular families or whether every one should be eligible: the other, whether it is advantageous for one person to have the supreme power over everything or not.
4. Suggests that if in experimenting with different forms of government, one form fails, members can revert to the old forms of government, in part or in entirety.
5. ...but if he did it sooner it was at his own peril: from whence it is evident, on the very same account, that a government of written laws is not the best; and yet general reasoning is necessary to all those who are to govern, and it will be much more perfect in those who are entirely free from passions than in those to whom they are natural. But now this is a quality which laws possess; while the other is natural to the human soul. But some one will say in answer to this, that man will be a better judge of particulars.

6. It will be necessary, then, for a king to be a lawgiver, and that his laws should be published, but that those should have no authority which are absurd, as those which are not, should. But whether is it better for the community that those things which cannot possibly come under the cognisance of the law either at all or properly should be under the government of every worthy citizen, as the present method is, when the public community, in their general assemblies, act as judges and counsellors, where all their determinations are upon particular cases, for one individual, be he who he will, will be found, upon comparison, inferior to a whole people taken collectively: but this is what a city is, as a public entertainment is better than one man's portion: for this reason the multitude judge of many things better than any one single person.
7. Moreover, let the people be free, and they will do nothing but in conformity to the law, except only in those cases which the law cannot speak to. But though what I am going to propose may not easily be met with, yet if the majority of the state should happen to be good men, should they prefer one uncorrupt governor or many equally good, is it not evident that they should choose the many? But there may be divisions among these which cannot happen when there is but one. In answer to this it may be replied that all their souls will be as much animated with virtue as this one man's.
8. Suggests that it is better to have a good king rule, than a group of corrupt councilors.
9. Asks, should the laws be written, or spoken or a mixture of the two.
10. BOOK IV - CHAPTER I

11. There is, moreover, a third sort, an imaginary one, and he ought, if such a one should be presented to his consideration, to be able to discern what sort of one it would be at the beginning; and, when once established, what would be the proper means to preserve it a long time. I mean, for instance, if a state should happen not to have the best form of government, or be deficient in what was necessary, or not receive every advantage possible, but something less. And, besides all this, it is necessary to know what sort of government is best fitting for all cities: for most of those writers who have treated this subject, however speciously they may handle other parts of it, have failed in describing the practical parts.
12. He, therefore, who aspires to the character of a legislator, ought, besides all we have already said, to be able to correct the mistakes of a government already established, as we have before mentioned. But this is impossible to be done by him who does not know how many different forms of government there are: some persons think that there is only one species both of democracy and oligarchy; but this is not true: so that every one should be acquainted with the difference of these governments, how great they are, and whence they arise; and should have equal knowledge to perceive what laws are best, and what are most suitable to each particular government: for all laws are, and ought to be, framed agreeable to the state that is to be governed by them, and not the state to the laws: for government is a certain ordering in a state which particularly respects the magistrates in what manner they shall be regulated, and where the supreme power shall be placed; and what shall be the final object which each community shall have in view...
13. We ought not to define a democracy as some do, who say simply, that it is a government where the supreme power is lodged in the people; for even in oligarchies the supreme power is in the majority. Nor should they define an oligarchy a government where the supreme power is in the hands of a few: for let us suppose the number of a people to be thirteen hundred, and that of these one thousand were rich, who would not permit the three hundred poor to have any share in the government, although they were free, and their equal in everything else; no one would say, that this government was a democracy. In like manner, if the poor, when few in number, should acquire the power over the rich, though more than themselves, no one would say, that this was an oligarchy; nor this, when the rest who are rich have no share in the administration.
14. Suggests that you maybe divide the country into parts with people of similar interests, then have a spokesperson in government for each group of people with similar interests.
15. These parts would still have to observe certain universal laws.

16. CHAPTER VII
17. Commotions also arise in aristocracies, from there being so few persons in power (as we have already observed they do in oligarchies, for in this particular an aristocracy is most near an oligarchy, for in both these states the administration of public affairs is in the hands of a few; not that this arises from the same cause in both, though herein they chiefly seem alike): and these will necessarily be most likely to happen when the generality of the people are high-spirited and think themselves equal to each other in merit...
18. Maybe the day will come when the separate parts of the country can get unified.
19. Indeed an oligarchy and a tyranny are of all governments of the shortest duration.
20. To be continued.


1. ... he conceives that nature will then produce bad men, who will not submit to education, and in this, probably, he is not wrong; for it is certain that there are some persons whom it is impossible by any education to make good men; but why should this change be more peculiar to what he calls the best-formed government, than to all other forms, and indeed to all other things that exist? and in respect to his assigned time, as the cause of the alteration of all things, we find that those which did not begin to exist at the same time cease to be at the same time; so that, if anything came into beginning the day before the solstice, it must alter at the same time.
2. Suggests that an education makes "good men."
3. But we will first consider what particular sort of democracy is fitted to a particular city, and also what particular oligarchy to a particular people; and of other states, what is advantageous to what. It is also necessary to show clearly, not only which of these governments is best for a state, but also how it ought to be established there, and other things we will treat of briefly.
4. All founders of states endeavour to comprehend within their own plan everything of nearly the same kind with it; but in doing this they err, in the manner I have already described in treating of the preservation and destruction of governments. I will now speak of these first principles and manners, and whatever else a democratical state requires.
5. Suggests that the founders of government should not be surprised if they meet with a unique circumstance while governing. This is like saying that parents shouldn't be surprised if they meet a unique circumstance while parenting.

6. Now the foundation of a democratical state is liberty, and people have been accustomed to say this as if here only liberty was to be found; for they affirm that this is the end proposed by every democracy... This, then, is another criterion of a democracy.
7. In the next place we must inquire how this equality is to be procured. Shall the qualifications be divided so that five hundred rich should be equal to a thousand poor, or shall the thousand have equal power with the five hundred? or shall we not establish our equality in this manner? but divide indeed thus, and afterwards taking an equal number both out of the five hundred and the thousand, invest them with the power of creating the magistrates and judges.
8. Cautions against ruling based on episodes of anger.
9. It is also the business of the legislator and all those who would support a government of this sort not to make it too great a work, or too perfect; but to aim only to render it stable: for, let a state be constituted ever so badly, there is no difficulty in its continuing a few days: they should therefore endeavour to procure its safety by all those ways which we have described in assigning the causes of the preservation and destruction of governments; avoiding what is hurtful, and by framing such laws, written and unwritten, as contain those things which chiefly tend to the preservation of the state; nor to suppose that that is useful either for a democratic or [1320a] an oligarchic form of government which contributes to make them more purely so, but what will contribute to their duration: but our demagogues at present, to flatter the people, occasion frequent confiscations in the courts; for which reason those who have the welfare of the state really at heart should act directly opposite to what they do, and enact a law to prevent forfeitures from being divided amongst the people or paid into the treasury, but to have them set apart for sacred uses: for those who are of a bad disposition would not then be the less cautious, as their punishment would be the same; and the community would not be so ready to condemn those whom they sat in judgment on when they were to get nothing by it: they should also take care that the causes which are brought before the public should be as few as possible, and punish with the utmost severity those who rashly brought an action against any one; for it is not the commons but the nobles who are generally prosecuted: for in all things the citizens of the same state ought to be affectionate to each other, at least not to treat those who have the chief power in it as their enemies.
10. Suggests that some governments should operate by a system of rank.

11. Let us therefore be well assured, that every one enjoys as much happiness as he possesses virtue and wisdom, and acts according to their dictates; since for this we have the example of GOD Himself, who is completely happy, not from any external good, but in Himself, and because such is His nature. For good fortune is something different from happiness, as every good which depends not on the mind is owing to chance or fortune; but it is not from fortune that any one is wise and just: hence it follows, that that city is happiest which is the best and acts best: for no one can do well who acts not well; nor can the deeds either of man or city be praiseworthy without virtue and wisdom; for whatsoever is just, or wise, or prudent in a man, the same things are just, wise, and prudent in a city.
12. Thus much by way of introduction; for I could not but just touch upon this subject, though I could not go through a complete investigation of it, as it properly belongs to another question: let us at present suppose so much, that a man's happiest life, both as an individual and as a citizen, is a life of virtue, accompanied with those enjoyments which virtue usually procures. If there are any who are not convinced by what I have said, their doubts shall be answered hereafter, at present we shall proceed according to our intended method.
13. Suggests that government and being governed is a tricky task. No one wants to be in chains and governed and controlled, but government it is a “necessary evil” in our lives.
14. ...but if it was proper to determine the strength of the city from the number of the inhabitants, it should never be collected from the multitude in general who may happen to be in it; for in a city there must necessarily be many slaves, sojourners, and foreigners; but from those who are really part of the city and properly constitute its members; a multitude of these is indeed a proof of a large city, but in a state where a large number of mechanics inhabit, and but few soldiers, such a state cannot be great; for the greatness of the city, and the number of men in it, are not the same thing. This too is evident from fact, that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to govern properly a very numerous body of men; for of all the states which appear well governed we find not one where the rights of a citizen are open to an indiscriminate multitude.
15. Reminds us that one function of government is to preserve the society.

16. When, judging court cases, suggests that we consider race, class, gender, etc.
17. Besides, as in every business and art there are some things which men are to learn first and be made accustomed to, which are necessary to perform their several works; so it is evident that the same thing is necessary in the practice of virtue. As there is one end in view in every city, it is evident that education ought to be one and the same in each; and that this should be a common care, and not the individual's, as it now is, when every one takes care of his own children separately; and their instructions are particular also, each person teaching them as they please; but what ought to be engaged in ought to be common to all.
18. Suggests that an education can give you information to think about when at rest.
19. Aristotle suggests that when people sing, you can hear in their voices if they're being timid, or sneaky, or aggressive, or shy, or funny, etc.
20. The end.



Plato: Complete Works
By Plato

Euthyphro
The narrator notes that “in any city, and particularly in the city of Athens, it is easier to do men harm than to do them good.”
Socrates is charged with a crime, some people in the crowd laugh.
At one point, Socrates says, “Okay, let’s let the administrative procedures of the state take place.”
Socrates says, "And do you really believe that the gods fought with one another, and had dire quarrels, battles, and the like, as the poets say, and as you may see represented in the works of great artists? The temples are full of them; and notably the robe of Athene, which is carried up to the Acropolis..."
I admire Socrates' direct reference to the gods in the works of great artists.
Euthyphro and Socrates' dialogue suggests that sometimes question and answer does not lead to a correct answer.
Socrates and Euthyphro debate for some time on seemingly irrelevant philosophical issues, after which point the play ends.

Crito
Socrates is in danger and Crito has come to help him escape. This can easily be accomplished by his friends, who will incur no danger in making the attempt to save him, but will be disgraced for ever if they allow him to perish.
All his life, Socrates has followed the dictates of reason only and the opinion of the one wise or skilled man.
Socrates proceeds:-Suppose the Laws of Athens to come and remonstrate with him: they will ask, 'Why does he seek to overthrow them?' and if he replies, 'They have injured him,' will not the Laws make to them which would justify him in overturning them? Was he not bought into the world and educated by their help, and are they not his parents?
He might have left Athens and gone where he pleased, but he has lived there for seventy years more constantly than any other citizen.
Finally, they exhort him to think of justice first, and of life and children afterwards.
That Socrates was not a good citizen was a charge made against him during his lifetime.
He must be guided by reason, although her conclusions may be fatal to him.
Crito - persons of the dialogue: Socrates, Crito - scene: The Prison of Socrates
Socrates: What is the exact time?
Crito: The dawn is breaking.
Socrates: Why, Crito, when a man has reached my age he ought not to be repining at the approach of death.
Crito: And yet other old men find themselves in similar misofrtunes, and age does not prevent them from repining.
Crito: "...and therefore to-morrow, Socrates, will be the last day of your life."
Socrates: Very well, Crito; if such is the will of God, I am willing; but my belief is that there will be a delay of a day.
Crito: oh! my beloved Socrates, let me entreat you once more to take my advice and escape. For if you die I shall not only lose a friend who can never be replaced, but there is another evil: people who do not know you and me will believe that I might have saved you if I had been willing to give money, but that I did not care.
Socrates: But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of many?
Crito: Please tell me Socrates, whether you are not acting out of regard to me and your other friends...
Crito: Cebes and many others are prepared to spend their money in helping you to escape.
Nor can I say think that you are justified, Socrates in betraying your own life when you might be saved; in acting thus you are playing into the hands of your enemies, who are hurrying on your destruction. And further I should say that you are deserting your own children; for you might bring them up and educate them. I bessech you therefore, Socrates, be persuaded by me, and do as I say.
Socrates: Dear Crito, your zeal is invaluable, if a right one...; and therefore we ought to consider whether I shall or shall not do as you say. For I am and always have been one of those natures who must be guided by reason.
Then, my friend, we must not regard what the many say of us, but what he, the one man who has understanding of just and unjust, will say, and what the truth will say.
Socrates: Then I will go on to the next point, which may be put in the form of a question:-Ought a man to do what he admits to be right, or ought he to betray the right?
Socrates: Then they will not say: "You, Socrates, are breaking the covenants and agreements which you made with us.... after you had seventy years to think of them..."
Socrates: Leave me then, Crito, to fulfill the will of God, and to follow whither he leads.

Meno
This dialogue begins with a question of Meno, who asks 'whether virtue can be taught.' Socrates replies that he does not as yet know what virtue is, and has never known anyone who did.
Remember that Aristotle writes, "The happy life is the life according to virtue lived without impediment, and that virtue is a mean."
Writes, "there is the virtue of a man, of a woman, of an old man, and of a child; there is virtue of every age and state of life, all of which may easily be described."
Socrates reminds Meno that this is only an enumeration of the virtues and not a definition of the notion which is common to them all.
There is a bit of debate. The definition will then stand thus: 'Virtue is the power of getting good with justice.' But justice is a part of virtue, and therefore virtue is the getting of good with a part of virtue.'
Upon the assumption just made, then, virtue is teachable. But where are the teachers? There are none to be found. So what then, is virtue?
Perhaps virtue is represented by popular figures, Zeus, King Arthur for example.
They discuss the first intimation of the doctrine of reminiscennce and of the immortality of the soul.
Knowledge is prior to any particular knowledge, and exists not in the previous state of the individual, but of the people.
"... nor is Socrates positive of anything but the duty of enquiry."
There is a common meaning or spirit which pervades all of Plato's writings. This is the spirit of idealism, which in the history of philosophy has had many names and taken many forms, and has had an elevating effect on human nature, and has exercised a wonderful charm and interest over a few spirits...
The notion of a previous state of existence is found in the verses of Empedocles and in the fragments of Heracleitus. It was the natural answer to two questions, 'Whence came the soul?' and 'What is the origin of evil?'
Writes, "the eternal truths' of which mataphysicians speak have hardly ever lasted more than a generation. In our own day schools or systems of philosophy which have once been famous have died before the founders of them.
It is a method which does not divorce the preent from the past, or the part from the whole, or the abstract from the concrete, or theory from fact, or the divine from the human, or one science from another, but labors to connect them.
In Meno, the dialogue leads readers to believe that in issues concerning abstractions, there is often no 'right' or 'wrong' answer. Socrates and Meno begin a discussion, and Socrates asks for a definition of the term.
A little into the discussion, Socrates asks, "to what then do we give the name of a figure?"
Through his distinction between the body and the soul, Plato suggests that we can examine the souls of past figures, for example, King Tutankhamun.
He goes on discuss the doctrine of the immortality of the soul in reference to people and eternity.
Discusses instances where figures of speech “…gave an expression in words to a cherished instinct.”
Plato suggests that there is a common element to our souls, a mere force of life.
Mentions that “we cannot reason from the seen to the unseen.”
Mentions that good and evil are relative terms, that there are degrees of evil, and degrees of good.
Writes, “when speaking of divine perfection, we mean to say that God is true and loving, the author of order and not disorder, of good and not of evil. Or rather, that he is Justice, truth, love, order; and that wherever these qualities are present, there is God.”
”These precious moments, if we have ever known them, are the nearest approach which we can make to the idea of immortality.”
”In the Phaedo the soul is conscious of her divine nature.”
”His language may be compared to that of some modern philosophers, who speak of eternity, not in the sense of perpetual duration of time, but as an ever-present quality of the soul.”
Suggests that you cannot see the soul.
Suggests that the soul exists with other phenomena.
Writes that after you think about the intellectual, you have the mythological.
”The truth is, Plato in his argument for the immortality of the soul has collected many elements of proof or persuasion, ethical and mythological as well as dialectical…”
”And we may fairly translate the dialectical into the language of Hegel, and the religious and mythological in the language of Dante or Bunyan.”
Like the Asian or religious mystic, the philosopher is seeking to withdraw from impurities of sense… and to find his higher self.
Proof in the immortality of the soul is that overall the world is good.
In one case, “at last we rest on the conviction that the soul is inseparable from the ideas, and belongs to the world of the invisible and unknown… then the veil of mythology descends upon the argument.”
Cebes added: Your favorite doctrine, Socrates, that knowledge is simply recollection.
Suggests, through his abstractions on the nature of the soul, that we can only reach the supernatural world by varying degrees.
Writes, when the soul and the body are united, then nature orders the soul to rule and govern, and the body to obey and serve.
Suggests that in death, the soul leaves the body behind.
Mentions that, “such is the nature of the whole earth,” and that on earth “there are passages broad and narrow in the interior of the earth,” for example.
Writes, “let a man be of good cheer about his soul…” and has arrayed his soul in her own proper jewels, temperance, and justice, and courage, and nobility, and truth — in these adorned she is ready to go on her journey to the world below.”
Book Six - Ion
The Ion is the shortest, or nearly the shortest, of all the writings which bear the name Plato.”
”The grace and beauty of this little work supply the only, and perhaps a sufficient, proof of its genuineness.”
Socrates admires and envies the rhapsode’s art; for he is always well dressed and in good company — in the company of good poets and of Homer, who is the prince of them.
”… he brightens up and is wide awake when Homer is being recited, but is apt to go to sleep at the recitations of any other poet."
Briefly discusses the judgment of all poetry.
Discusses “genius,” that genius is often said to be unconscious, or spontaneous, or a gift of nature.
Says the judgement of all poetry is like that of flute-players or singers.
Writes, “had he learned by rules of art, he would have known how to speak not of one theme only, but of all.”
Suggests that poetry should seem to us divine and the work of God.
Writes, “when you produce the greatest effect upon the audience in the recitation of some striking passage,” “are you not carried out of yourself and does not your soul in an ecstasy seem to be among the persons or places of which you are speaking..."
Writes, “you praise Homer not by art but by divine inspiration.”
Ion doubts whether Socrates will ever have the eloquence to persuade him that he praises Homer infrequently.
Discusses the arts and writes, “if the subject knowledge were the same , there would be no meaning in saying that the arts were different."

Phaedrus
Writes, "let us now proceed to consider the true use of writing. There is an old Egyptian tale of Theuth, the inventor of writing, showing his invention to the god Thamus, who told him that he would only spoil men's memories and take away their understandings. From this tale, may be gathered the lesson that writing is inferior to speech."
Book Seven - Phaedrus - Introduction
Mentions that “true love of the mind cannot exist between two souls, until they are purified from the grossness of earthly passions; they must pass through a time of trial and conflict first; in the language of religion they must be converted and born again… a divine idea would accompany them in all their thoughts and actions.”
Discusses whether certain concepts receive too minute an interpretation or not.
Suggests that each soul bears the character of a God.
Mentions that souls have influence upon the earth.
Discusses things which are beyond the range of human faculties.
Discusses the power exercised by friendship over the mind of the Greek.
Admits that the Phaedrus is full of inconsistencies and ambiguities which were not perceived by Plato himself.
Questions what Plato is referring to, in speaking of beauty.
Briefly discusses St. Paul.
Describes periods in the history of the human race that had no love of knowledge for its own sake.

Phaedrus
Plato reminds us that society likes seeing productive people.
Writes, “would not anyone who was himself of a noble and gentle nature had imagined that our ideas were -- unknown he would certainly never have admitted the justice of our censure."
Mentions that that which is ever in motion is immortal.
Writes that, the soul which has seen the most of truth shall become a philosopher, and the soul of a philosopher who is distinguished from the ordinary good man who gains his wings in three thousand years, and suggests that this is the noblest and highest to him who has it.
Writes, “all the great arts require discussion and high speculation about the truths of nature.”
Writes that the invention of writing produced not only written text, but also a fondness of the inventor from his children.

Book Eight - Protagoras
Discusses the man who, “will learn to order his house in the best manner, and he will be able to speak and act for the best in the affairs of the state.”
”Do I understand you, and is your meaning that you teach the art of politics, and that you promise to make good men citizens?” “That, Socrates, is exactly the profession which I make.”
Writes, “when the question is an affair of the state, they are under the impression that this sort of knowledge cannot be taught.”
Discusses that, “holiness is the nature of justice and justice the nature of holiness.”
Discusses that one can tell when things are done in opposite ways.
Writes, “I have heard, that you can speak and teach others to speak at such length that words never seemed to fail.”
Writes, that you should learn the nature of things, in this city, which is the metropolis of wisdom, to show what is worthy of its height and dignity.
There is a great deal in modern philosophy that was inspired by ancient philosophy.
According to Spinoza, there is no reality in human action and no place for right and wrong.
Descartes, like Plato, supposes them to be reunited for a time, not in their own nature but by a special divine act, and he also supposes all the parts of the human body to meet in the pineal gland.
"Although the three groups of Platonic dialogues differ, it is possible to argue that they are united by the Socratic idea of philosophy as a continuing search for objective truth."
"Also implied is that making progress in this search means that you have to change your overall objectives and adopt the philosophical way of life."



Letters From A Stoic
By Seneca

He quotes Epicurus in writing, "A cheerful poverty, is an honorable state."
It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more.
You ask what is the proper limit to a person's wealth? First, having what is essential, and second, having what is enough.
Discusses balance in life.
It is a great man who treats his earthenware as if it were silver, and a man who treats his silver as if it were earthenware is no less great.
Part of my joy in learning is that it puts me in a position to teach.
What progress have I made today? I am beginning to be my own friend.
Associate with people who are likely to improve you. Welcome those who you are capable of improving. The process is a mutual one: men learn as they teach.
'To me,' says Democritus, 'a single man is a crowd, and a crowd is a single man.'
[The person] when asked what was the object of all the trouble he took over a piece of craftsmanship when it would never reach more than a few people, replied: 'A few is enough for me; so is one; and so is none.'
With me no day is ever whiled away at ease.
Indulge the body just so far as suffices for good health.
Spurn everything that is added by way of decoration and display.
Reflect that nothing merits admiration except the spirit, the impressiveness of which prevents it from being impressed by anything.
Quotes the philosopher Attalus in writing, "it was more of a pleasure to make a friend than to have one." Then briefly discusses the benefits of friendship.
The time of life which offers the greatest delight is the age that sees the downward movement; and even the age that stands on the brink has pleasures of its own.
Mentions that wisdom should accompany good health.
Consider whether you've advanced in philosophy or just actual years.
Quotes Epicurus in saying, "If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor..."
Discusses enduring trials of moral strength.
“Instead of admiring one tree, look at the whole forest.”
Discusses the presence of philosophical gems in the lives of the leading Stoics.
Quotes Zeno in saying of education, “Why, after all, should I listen to what I can read for myself?”
“Philosophy is good advice.”
“Language which devotes its attention to truth ought to be plain and unadorned… its object is to sway a mass audience.”
“Medicines do no good unless they stop [at] some length of time.”
“A way of speaking which is restrained, not bold, suits a wise man in the same way as an unassuming sort of walk does.”
“This pleasure in their company, is one we enjoy the more when we’re absent from one another.”
“You must be made of iron…”
“Voices are more inclined to distract one than general noise; noise merely fills one’s ears, while voices actually catch one’s attention.”
“At any moment something or other will happen that will turn that long face of yours into a smiling one.”
“All art is an imitation of nature.”
Since the universe is logical, man’s life should be logical too.
“There are countless questions about the soul alone - where it comes from, what its nature is, when it begins to exist, and how long it is in existence; whether it passes from one place to another, moving house, so to speak, on transfer to successive living creatures, taking on a different form with each, or is no more than once in service and is then released to roam the universe; whether it is a corporeal substance or not; what it will do when it ceases to act through us, how it will employ its freedom once it has escaped its cage here; whether it will forget its past and become conscious of its real nature from the actual moment of its parting from the body and departure for its new home.”
“What about thinking how much time you lose through constantly being taken up with official matters, or ordinary everyday matters, through sleep, etc.? Measure your life…”
“Nausiphanes declares that of the things which appear to us to exist, none exists any more than it does not exist.”
“Our whole universe is no more than a semblance of reality, perhaps a deceptive semblance, perhaps one without substance altogether.”
Quotes Lucilius in writing, “that life is the gift of the immortal gods, but that living well is the gift of philosophy,” and the corollary “that our debt to philosophy is greater than the debt we owe to the gods.
"They have given no one the present of a knowledge of philosophy, but everyone the means of acquiring it.”
“That each man owes wisdom to his own efforts.”
“Philosophy has taught men to worship what is divine, to love what is human, telling us that with the gods belongs authority, and among human beings fellowship.”
"I disagree that it was by wise men that tools were originally invented.”
Suggests that much of agriculture was invented by philosophers.
“[The philosopher] has taught us not just to recognize but to obey the gods, and to accept all that happens exactly as if it were an order from above.”
“Those people had no mansions on the scale of towns. Fresh air and the breezes of the open spaces… that was the environment around their dwelling places in the countryside… men of exalted spirit, only one step removed from the gods.”
Here I learned of the existence of biblical commentaries.
A single day shows the results of a long span of time’s construction and involves a number of separate works.
“A person teaching and a person learning should have the same end in view: the improvement of the latter.”
“A person who goes to a philosopher should carry away with him something or other of value every day; he should return home a sounder man or at least more capable of becoming one.”
“Imagine how a philosopher can intersperse passages of sound advice with lines of poetry calculated to deepen their hold on unenlightened minds.”
“When a rhythm is introduced, the very same thought appears more profound.”
Quotes Sectius in writing, “he gave reasons for inferring that variety of diet was incompatible with our physical make-up and inimical to health,” then quotes Pythagoras who wrote, “on the other hand, maintained that all creatures were interrelated and that there was a system of exchange…”
Suggests that souls undergo a suspension of their existence.
“You should preserve an open mind on the whole subject anyway.”
Quotes the line of the philosophical couplet in writing:
“If any man may rise to heaven’s levels..."
Gives the proverb that “People’s speech match their lives."
“A luxuriant literary style is a sign of an extravagant society.”



The Republic
By Plato

1. “That it is right to give each man his due.”
2. "That each art needs another to look after its interests."
3. Notes that being musical involves intelligence.

1. Plato describes "a things function." An example that he gives is a horse, as something only a horse can do, or does best, as well as the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
2. One philosopher argues that "justice, or morality, is merely a matter of convenience. It is natural for men to pursue their own interests regardless of others, and the system of morality is arrived at as a compromise."
3. Suggests that god can be impressed by noble deeds.
4. For Socrates, "men are not self-sufficient, they need to live together in society."
5. The state originates from our needs. Our first need is the provision of food to keep us alive. Our second need is shelter.

1. Examines the origins of society, and “also society when it enjoys the luxuries of civilization.”
2. ”Such a society will not be satisfied with the standard of living we have described. It will want a variety of specializations, the fine arts of painting and embroidery," for example.
3. "There will be artists, painters, poets and musicians.”
4. It must also be remembered that the Greeks had no Bible, and what the Bible has been to us a source of theology and morals, the poets were to the Greeks.

5. Describes three elements of the soul: 1. instinctive, 2. reasoning, or the reflective element, and 3. miscellaneous (courage, determination, spirit, and so on.)
6. Also discusses priorities within the instinctive element.
7. In the next chapter, suggests that a leader should be educated.
8. In the following chapter, discusses how the philosopher/leader should be educated.
9. In society, men and women are different mainly because of physical reasons.

1. One of the last chapters explains that a primary goal of teaching astronomy is to teach people how to think abstractly.
2. The Appendix II explains The Spindle of Necessity.



Selected Works
By Cicero

1. Writes that judges have been offered a particularly desirable gift; a unique chance to make the Senatorial Order less unpopular, (and better society as a whole.)
2. “Your men have made my library as fine as a picture.”
3. “It was a sumptuous dinner, and more than that, with good talk and in a good word agreeable. We talked no serious politics, but a good deal about literary matters.”
4. Will you never understand that you must decide which description to apply to the men who did that deed?

1. Discusses implications that Caesar was superhuman (he was not deified by the state until 42 B.C.)
2. “Yet no one, I believe, should spurn that reward which they have also won — immortality.”
3. "Their achievements were mighty."
4. “After a long life such as mine, death actually seems to me desirable.”

5. Book II.3 - The Unnaturalness of Doing Wrong
6. Nature’s Rational Principle - the law that governs gods and men alike. Everyone who wants to live according to nature’s laws must obey it.
7. IV - Difficult Moral Decisions
8. VI, I 5 - Activities for the Old
9. ”Old age takes us away from active work, from the sort of work that needs youth and strength.”
10. "There were those who used the experience and authority of their advancing years for the protection of their country.”

11. "Great deeds are often the products of thought, and character, and judgment, And such qualities actually increase in age."
12. "That is why law and custom exempt men of my age from public duties requiring bodily strength.”
13. ”However short your life may be, it will still be long enough to live honestly and decently.”
14. "In fact, we are not only spared duties that are beyond us, we are even excused functions that would be within our powers.”



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