"If we state the function of man..." - Quote by Aristotle
If we state the function of man to be a certain kind of life, and this to be an activity or actions of the soul implying a rational principle, and the function of a good man to be the good and noble performance of these, and if any action is well performed when it is performed in accordance with the appropriate excellence human good turns out to be activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete.
More by Aristotle
“Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit.”
“They - Young People have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things - and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning - all their mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively and vehemently. They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else.”
“Only an armed people can be truly free. Only an unarmed people can ever be enslaved.”
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“They hurt each other without wanting to, just because each represented to the others the cruel and demanding necessity of their lives.”
“It's not up to us what we learn, but merely whether we learn through joy or through pain.”
“It is reasonable that a man should be something worthier at the end of the year than he was at the beginning.”