Aristotle Quotes About Goodness

• Good has two meanings: it means that which is good absolutely and that which is good for somebody.

  Aristotle

  Mean, Two, Goodness

• ... the friendship of worthless people has a bad effect (because they take part, unstable as they are, in worthless pursuits, and actually become bad through each other's influence). But the friendship of the good is good, and increases in goodness because of their association. They seem even to become better men by exercising their friendship and improving each other; for the traits that they admire in each other get transferred to themselves.

  Aristotle

  Exercise, Men, People

• All are agreed that the various moral qualities are in a sense bestowed by nature: we are just, and capable of temperance, and brave, and possessed of the other virtues from the moment of our birth. But nevertheless we expect to find that true goodness is something different, and that the virtues in the true sense come to belong to us in another way. For even children and wild animals possess the natural dispositions, yet without Intelligence these may manifestly be harmful.

  Aristotle

  Children, Animal, Brave

  Aristotle, Harris Rackham (1962). “The Nicomachean ethics”

• It is easy to perform a good action, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions.

  Aristotle

  Kindness, Justice, Black

  Aristotle (1953). “Ethics: The Nicomachean Ethics”

• Now the goodness that we have to consider is clearly human goodness, since the good or happiness which we set out to seek was human good and human happiness. But human goodness means in our view excellence of soul, not excellence of body.

  Aristotle

  Mean, Views, Soul

  Aristotle (1996). “The Nicomachean Ethics”, p.22, Wordsworth Editions

• Happiness is a certain activity of soul in conformity with perfect goodness

  Aristotle

  Happiness, Perfect, Soul

  Aristotle (1996). “The Nicomachean Ethics”, p.22, Wordsworth Editions

• Everything that depends on the action of nature is by nature as good as it can be, and similarly everything that depends on art or any rational cause, and especially if it depends on the best of all causes.

  Aristotle

  Art, Causes, Action

  Aristotle (2016). “Pocket Aristotle”, p.170, Simon and Schuster

• Happiness is something final and complete in itself, as being the aim and end of all practical activities whatever .... Happiness then we define as the active exercise of the mind in conformity with perfect goodness or virtue.

  Aristotle

  Happiness, Laughter, Exercise

• Error is multiform (for evil is a form of the unlimited, as in the old Pythagorean imagery, and good of the limited), whereas success is possible in one way only (which is why it is easy to fail and difficult to succeed - easy to miss the target and difficult to hit it); so this is another reason why excess and deficiency are a mark of vice, and observance of the mean a mark of virtue: Goodness is simple, badness is manifold.

  Aristotle

  Mean, Simple, Errors

  Aristotle (1996). “The Nicomachean Ethics”, p.41, Wordsworth Editions

• Some things the legislator must find ready to his hand in a state, others he must provide. And therefore we can only say: May our state be constituted in such a manner as to be blessed with the goods of which fortune disposes (for we acknowledge her power): whereas virtue and goodness in the state are not a matter of chance but the result of knowledge and purpose. A city can be virtuous only when the citizens who have a share in the government are virtuous, and in our state all the citizens share in the government.

  Aristotle

  Blessed, Government, Hands

  Aristotle (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Aristotle (Illustrated)”, p.3135, Delphi Classics

• Goodness is to do good to the deserving and love the good and hate the wicked, and not to be eager to inflict punishment or take vengeance, but to be gracious and kindly and forgiving.

  Aristotle

  Forgiveness, Hate, Punishment

  Aristotle (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Aristotle (Illustrated)”, p.2947, Delphi Classics

• The goodness or badness, justice or injustice, of laws varies of necessity with the constitution of states. This, however, is clear, that the laws must be adapted to the constitutions. But if so, true forms of government will of necessity have just laws, and perverted forms of government will have unjust laws.

  Aristotle

  Government, Law, Justice

  Aristotle, Stephen Everson (1996). “Aristotle: The Politics and the Constitution of Athens”, p.78, Cambridge University Press

• Since the branch of philosophy on which we are at present engaged differs from the others in not being a subject of merely intellectual interest — I mean we are not concerned to know what goodness essentially is, but how we are to become good men, for this alone gives the study its practical value — we must apply our minds to the solution of the problems of conduct.

  Aristotle

  Philosophy, Mean, Men

  Aristotle (1953). “Ethics: The Nicomachean Ethics”

• There are, then, these three means of effecting persuasion. The man who is to be in command of them must, it is clear, be able (1) to 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

  Character, Mean, Men

  Marcus Aurelius, Plato, Aristotle (2012). “The Modern Library Collection of Greek and Roman Philosophy 3-Book Bundle: Meditations; Selected Dialogues of Plato; The Basic Works of Aristotle”, p.3615, Modern Library

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