Chapter 17

Term 1

Temperance

Temperance and fortitude seem to be virtues of the irrational parts of the soul.

Temperance does not regard pleasures of sight, hearing, and smell, except incidentally, such as the recollection of desirable things, like food.

The temperate man moderately desires pleasures, whatever is conducive to his health and good habits.

The temperate man desires the right things at the right times, as much as reason ordains.

Temperance is a mean concerning pleasures and pains but not all, it is more concerned with the sense of touch, and less so concerning pains.

Temperance and intemperance concern the sense of smell only incidentally, as much as smells represent the foods which are themselves the thing causing pleasure.

Temperance and intemperance do not relate to all parts of the body, but only those relating to to food and sex.

Term 2

The Temperate Man

The temperate man occupies the middle way, since he does not inordinately delight in pleasures, but rather dislikes them, nor is he pained when they are gone. He desires them only in a measured way, not more than is necessary.

We become temperate by abstaining from pleasures, and in thus being temperate we can more greatly abstain from them.

Every temperate man is continent but not the other way round.

The temperate man and the continent man are the same.

Term 3

Fear

Fear is the anticipation of an evil thing, many examples follow.

Fear makes men sad and dumbfounded.

Fear in general is more voluntary than fear about a particular thing, since fear in general is painless, but fear about a particular thing, such as undergoing death, stuns a man.

When a man is afraid about particular things, it seems like he is under compulsion.

The kind of man who does not fear anything, neither and an earthquake nor floods, does not have a name, but he could be called a madman, as is said of the Celts, who are senseless.

Term 4

The Coward

The coward fears the wrong things or too much, and so he is classified more by an excess of fear, rather than a lack of courage.

Term 5

What is Terrible

Something that is terrible is above man's power something feared by everyone who understands it. But since the power of a man may differ in proportion, a thing can be terrible to a greater or lesser degree.

Term 6

The Tyrant

Tyrants are not called wasteful, since the greatness of their wealth does not lend itself to excess in giving.

The tyrant is concerned with benefiting himself, but the king is concerned with benefitting with his subjects.

Tyranny is the worst form of government, this is obvious because it is opposed to the best form.

Tyranny is the perversion of monarchy.

In tyranny, which is the worst form of government, there is no or very little friendship, because the one ruling and the one ruled do not share anything.

The tyrant acts towards his subject as a lord to his slave, as the soul toward the body, and as the workman with a tool, those who use them benefit from them because of their utlity.

Witty men are well-liked by tyrants, since they act favourably to what tyrants seek after.

We do not call tyrants illiberal, but rather pernicious, impious, and unjust, such as when they plunder cities or defile sacred places.

Term 7

The Trireme Captain

The same sum is not fit for the captain of a trireme as for a man convening a sacred assembly.

Term 8

Sadness

All men flee sadness, not only its excess, but altogether.

Sadness is like a heavy burden which, when others share the burden, is made lighter to carry. So too is the pleasure one has from the presence of friends.

It does not follow that if sadness is evil that pleasure, its opposite, is good, since evil is opposed to both itself and to a neutral state. Plato insists this is the case, but the Philosopher says that if it is true, it has no bearing.

Plato says that sadness is an absence of what should naturally be there, but that pleasure is replenishing that absence. The Philosopher denies this since replenishment is a passion of the body which

Term 9

Unpleasantness

Someone can endure unpleasantness for a short while, but no one, even if he be good, can endure it continually.

Term 10

Timocracy

Timocracy deteriorates into democracy, these two are coterminous.

Term 11

Corrupt Forms of Rule

Just as there is little justice in corrupt forms of rule, so too there is just as little friendship.