One who faces and who fears the right things and from the right motive, in the right way and at the right time, posseses character worthy of our trust and admiration. Aristotle More Quotes by Aristotle More Quotes From Aristotle The best tragedies are conflicts between a hero and his destiny. Aristotle destiny tragedy hero One citizen differs from another, but the salvation of the community is the common business of them all. This community is the constitution; the virtue of the citizen must therefore be relative to the constitution of which he is a member. Aristotle citizens community common Of ill-temper there are three kinds: irascibility, bitterness, sullenness. It belongs to the ill-tempered man to be unable to bear either small slights or defeats but to be given to retaliation and revenge, and easily moved to anger by any chance deed or word. Ill-temper is accompanied by excitability of character, instability, bitter speech, and liability to take offence at trifles and to feel these feelings quickly and on slight occasions. Aristotle anger revenge character How many a dispute could have been deflated into a single paragraph if the disputants had dared to define their terms Aristotle disputes argument term Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time. Aristotle lapses power time In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. Aristotle true-life true-friend comfort Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit. Aristotle examination tests humor He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god. Aristotle philosophical liberty society Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life. Aristotle atheist men religion Every great genius has an admixture of madness. Aristotle sanity madness genius The activity of happiness must occupy an entire lifetime; for one swallow does not a summer make. Aristotle summer doe happiness The greatest thing in style is to have a command of metaphor. Aristotle command metaphor style Men become builders by building and lyreplayers by playing the lyre; so too we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. Aristotle brave courage Whereas young people become accomplished in geometry and mathematics, and wise within these limits, prudent young people do not seem to be found. The reason is that prudence is concerned with particulars as well as universals, and particulars become known from experience, but a young person lacks experience, since some length of time is needed to produce it. Aristotle learning wise knowledge All men are alike when asleep. Aristotle essence men Art is identical with a state of capacity to make, involving a true course of reasoning. Aristotle states capacity art Anyone, without any great penetration, may distinguish the dispositions consequent on wealth; for its possessors are insolent and overbearing, from being tainted in a certain way by the getting of their wealth. For they are affected as though they possessed every good; since wealth is a sort of standard of the worth of other things; whence every thing seems to be purchasable by it. Aristotle wealth may way In the case of some people, not even if we had the most accurate scientific knowledge, would it be easy to persuade them were we to address them through the medium of that knowledge; for a scientific discourse, it is the privilege of education to appreciate, and it is impossible that this should extend to the multitude. Aristotle addresses appreciate people .. for desire is like a wild beast, and anger perverts rulers and the very best of men. Hence law is intelligence without appetition. Aristotle political law men Because the rich are generally few in number, while the poor are many, they appear to be antagonistic, and as the one or the other prevails they form the government. Hence arises the common opinion that there are two kinds of government - democracy and oligarchy. Aristotle government numbers two
