Political fragments of Archytas, Charondas, Zaleucus, and other ancient Pythagoreans, preserved by Stobaeus; and also, ethical fragments of Hierocles ... preserved by the same author / Translated from the Greek. By Thomas Taylor.

  • Thomas Taylor
Date:
1822
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Political fragments of Archytas, Charondas, Zaleucus, and other ancient Pythagoreans, preserved by Stobaeus; and also, ethical fragments of Hierocles ... preserved by the same author / Translated from the Greek. By Thomas Taylor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    These things being thus considered, it is the province of him who strives to conduct him- As the selflove, however, mentioned here by our poet is of a virtuous nature, and is wholly different from that selflove which is reprehensible, and is possessed by the vulgar, 1 shall present the reader with what Aristotle says concerning the former in the 9th book of his Nicomachean Ethics, as the distinction between the two is at present but little known. Aristotle, therefore, having observed, that the selflove of the multitude leads them to distribute to themselves the greater part in wealth and honours, and corporeal pleasures, and that in consequence of vindicating to themselves more of these things than is fit, they are subservient to desires and passions, and the irrational part of the soul, adds as follows : “ He who always earnestly endeavours to act justly or temperately, or to act according to any other of the virtues, the most of all things, and, in short, who always vindicates to himself that which is beautiful in conduct; such a man will never be called by any one a lover of himself, nor will he be blamed by any one. It would seem, however, that such a man as this is, in a greater degree, a lover of himself; for he distributes to himself things whicli’are most eminently beautiful and good, is gratified in his most principal part [in¬ tellect], and in all things is obedient to it. But as that which is the most principal thing in a city appears to be most emi¬ nently the city, and this is the case in every other system of things; thus, also, that which is most principal in man is especially the man. He, therefore, who loves this principal part of himself, is especially a lover of himself, and is grati¬ fied with this. That every man, therefore, is principally in¬ tellect, and that the worthy man principally loves this is not immanifest. Hence, he will be especially a lover of him¬ self, according to a different species of selflove from that which is disgraceful, and differing as much from it as to live