Aristotle Quotes
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With the truth, all given facts harmonize; but with what is false, the truth soon hits a wrong note.
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There is a foolish corner in the brain of the wisest man.
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Authority is no source for Truth.
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A promise made must be a promise kept.
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For imagining lies within our power whenever we wish . . . but in forming opinons we are not free . . .
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Evils draw men together.
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It is our actions and the soul's active exercise of its functions that we posit as being Happiness.
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Man, as an originator of action, is a union of desire and intellect.
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A person's life persuades better than his word.
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But what is happiness? If we consider what the function of man is, we find that happiness is a virtuous activity of the soul.
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Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.
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Everyone honors the wise.
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Perhaps here we have a clue to the reason why royal rule used to exist formerly, namely the difficulty of finding enough men of outstanding virtue.
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Virtue means doing the right thing, in relation to the right person, at the right time, to the right extent, in the right manner, and for the right purpose. Thus, to give money away is quite a simple task, but for the act to be virtuous, the donor must give to the right person, for the right purpose, in the right amount, in the right manner, and at the right time.
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These, then, are the four kinds of royalty. First the monarchy of the heroic ages; this was exercised over voluntary subjects, but limited to certain functions; the king was a general and a judge, and had the control of religion The second is that of the barbarians, which is a hereditary despotic government in accordance with law. A third is the power of the so-called Aesynmete or Dictator; this is an elective tyranny. The fourth is the Lacedaemonian, which is in fact a generalship, hereditary and perpetual.
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The avarice of mankind is insatiable.
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Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.
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A thing chosen always as an end and never as a means we call absolutely final. Now happiness above all else appears to be absolutely final in this sense, since we always choose it for its own sake and never as a means to something else.
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Nature flies from the infinite, for the infinite is unending or imperfect, and Nature ever seeks an end.
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The ideal man takes joy in doing favors for others.