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remember:
"a person is thought to be great-souled if he claims much and deserves much...he that claims less than he deserves is small-souled...the great-souled man is justified in despising other people – his estimates are correct; but most proud men have no good ground for their pride...he is found of conferring benefits, but ashamed to receive them, because the former is a mark of superiority and the latter of inferiority...it is also characteristic of the great-souled men never to ask help from others, or only with reluctance, but to render aid willingly; and to be haughty toward men of position and fortune, but courteous towards those of moderate station...he must be open both in love and in hate, since concealment shows timidity; and care more for the truth than for what people will think;...his is outspoken and frank, except when speaking with ironical self-deprecation, as he does to common people...he does not bear a grudge, for it is not a mark of greatness of soul to recall things against people, especially the wrongs they have done you, but rather to overlook them. he is...not given to speaking evil himself, even of his enemies, except when he deliberately intends to give offence...”
aristotle - nicomachean ethics, book 4, 3-31 truncated.
the entire passage bears reading and remembering.
so, the real question is this: do i find this so compelling because of its originator, or is it so compelling because it lines up with my own notions of what it means to be great-souled? does it matter?
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Posted by mywar on 2008-04-11 09:47:47 | Rating: | Views: 60
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