“The best writings of antiquity upon government those I mean of Aristotle, Zeno and Cicero are lost. We have human nature, society, and universal history to observe and study, and from these we may draw, all the real principles which ought to be regarded.”
Surprisingly, I actually found it easier to read Aristotle (in the original Greek, at least) than Plato
I have read Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics” in the original Ancient Greek. Specifically, I read the work from February 2023 to May 2025. (More about why I learned Ancient Greek here, and more about how exactly I learned the language here.) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the work. It was one of the most interesting works that I’ve ever had the privilege to read. Before undertaking this work, I had been reading some works by Plato instead, including Plato’s lengthy work “Republic.” But I had been somewhat worried about undertaking to read Aristotle, because of a quote from the historian Will Durant. Specifically, Will Durant once quipped that “We must not expect of Aristotle such literary brilliance as floods the pages of the dramatist-philosopher Plato. Instead of giving us great literature, in which philosophy is embodied (and obscured) in myth and imagery, Aristotle gives us science, technical, abstract, concentrated; if we go to him for entertainment we shall sue for the return of our money.” (See the same quotation at the beginning of this blog post for the relevant citation.) After hearing this quote, I was figuring that Aristotle would thus be harder for me to read than Plato. But my reaction was actually the opposite. That is, I actually found Aristotle easier to read (in the original, at least) than Plato.
Aristotle
Comments on Aristotle’s precise writing style, and its effect upon reading him in the original
I’m not sure why I had this somewhat atypical reaction – finding Aristotle easier to read than Plato, that is. But I suppose that part of this may simply be that Aristotle was trying to speak precisely. Among other things, this seems to have meant that he was making a greater effort to avoid ambiguity. Instead, he used words that had fewer possible meanings. When I looked things up in my Greek-English dictionary, that would usually mean having fewer possible definitions to read and choose from. Thus, I would look for the definition that was closest to that given in the English translation provided in this edition. Specifically, this edition had the original Greek on every left-hand page, and the corresponding English translation on every right-hand page. Thus, this was a bilingual edition. This made it significantly easier for me to make some sense out of the Greek text. Incidentally, this bilingual edition comes from the Loeb Classical Library. (More about how I found these handy bilingual editions here.) When I read things in certain modern languages, it is usually enough for me to have only a translation by my side. By contrast, I am still struggling enough with the Greek language that I need both a translation and a Greek-English dictionary to make any headway with the text. But I had experienced these same problems with Plato, so they were nothing new to my reading of Aristotle.
I also found it more rewarding to read Aristotle in Greek, than to read Plato in Greek
I also found it somewhat more rewarding to read Aristotle in Greek. This may be because (to me, at least) Aristotle seems to make much more sense than Plato does in “The Republic.” Perhaps partially because of this, I found more beauty in Aristotle’s use of the Greek language … than in the Greek language employed by Plato. This is another atypical reaction, because few would be tempted to describe Aristotle’s precise and technical language as “beautiful.” But I have found great satisfaction in decoding even a paragraph of Aristotle’s Greek text. After finishing a paragraph, I felt that I had gained some real insights – both into the Greek language, and into the actual content of what he was saying. There seems to be abundant reason for him to be counted among the greatest philosophers in world history – both with this work, and with many of his others. (More about those here.) In comparing this edition’s English translation (which is by Harris Rackham) to the original Greek text, I have come to the conclusion that it is an excellent translation. In part, this may be because Aristotle made such an effort to speak precisely, and avoid ambiguous constructions. This translation tries to preserve this kind of precision, by making the text as easy as possible for modern readers to understand. Although that translator died in 1944, his English is still very accessible today.
Aristotle
Some brief background on Aristotle’s sojourn in Athens, and what dialect of Greek he spoke
Interestingly, there is some controversy among scholars of Ancient Greek about what specific dialect was the one employed by Aristotle. That is, Aristotle was born in Stagira, Chalcidice, about 34 miles (or 55 kilometers) east of modern-day Thessaloniki. Aristotle had also lived in Macedonia, and was a tutor to the boy that would later become “Alexander the Great.” Aristotle may have used either the Attic dialect of Greek or the Ionic dialect of Greek. Thus, it was only later in his life that Aristotle moved to the famous city of Athens. At that time, Athens spoke the most prestigious form of the Attic dialect of Greek, with a prestige comparable to that enjoyed by the Queen’s English in our own time and language. Thus, there may be some debate among scholars about how different Aristotle’s speech was from that of his contemporaries in Athens. Specifically, were they both part of the “Attic” dialect of Greek or not? Given that Aristotle founded a school in Athens (specifically, the Lyceum), his speech was probably accepted (for the most part, at least) by the various Athenians that surrounded him, at least for a while. But, later in his sojourn at Athens, anti-Macedonian sentiment became a little stronger there. In fact, it was bad enough to force Aristotle to flee the city in 323 BC. Fifteen years before Aristotle’s birth, the Athenians had actually executed the great philosopher Socrates. (More about that here.) An ancient biographer (Diogenes Laertius) tells us an interesting story. That is, when Aristotle fled Athens, Aristotle is supposed to have said that he wanted to prevent the Athenians from “sinning twice against philosophy.” This story may be apocryphal, but it seems to be amusing either way.
Aristotle tutoring the future Alexander the Great
The “Nicomachean Ethics” talks about how to live the good life, and find happiness
The original Greek title of this work is ΗΘΙΚΩΝ ΝΙΚΟΜΑΧΕΙΩΝ (“Ethicon Nicomacheion”), or “Nicomachean Ethics.” No one knows for sure whom the “Nicomachean Ethics” was named after. But we know that Aristotle’s father was named Nicomachus, and we know that Aristotle’s son was also named Nicomachus. Thus, it is possible that the “Nicomachean Ethics” may have been named after one of them. Aristotle also wrote a few other ethical works besides this one, such as the “Eudemian Ethics.” But it seems that his “Nicomachean Ethics” is generally looked upon as his most mature thinking on this subject. This is part of why I decided to read this particular work for myself. I am also interested in Aristotle’s other work entitled “Politics,” which is sometimes considered to be a sort of sequel to the “Nicomachean Ethics.” This is the biggest reason that I wanted to read the “Nicomachean Ethics” first. I will save the commentary on Aristotle’s “Politics” for another post, to be written after I’ve read that later work. Instead, this post has been focusing on the original “Nicomachean Ethics.” This work is one of the foundational texts of Western ethics. It may be the first treatise ever written about ethics. It is also the first such treatise that I’ve ever read for myself. Like many ethical commentaries, it focuses on how to live the good life, and on the best way to find happiness. Incidentally, we know that this work was written sometime in the fourth century BC. But it is hard to be precise about the date.
Aristotle
The “Nicomachean Ethics” focuses on the ethical decisions of individuals (see specifics below)
Regardless, to me, this work seemed to be well-thought-out, giving a systematic (and early) treatment of various ethical principles. These include the pros and cons of pleasure, the role of free will and responsibility for one’s actions, the importance of friendship, and the value of education – and even contemplation. Aristotle also discusses specific virtues (such as courage, temperance, and generosity), along with intellectual achievements, practical judgment, and the need for self-control. Notably, Aristotle believed in moderation, saying that most decisions require us to choose a sort of middle course between two extremes. Thus, he has sometimes been erroneously accused of “taking moderation to extremes.” But he actually acknowledged that not all things work in this manner. To say that we need “moderation” between good and evil, for example, would be ridiculous – an argument that he debunks in the text. Thus, I would have to reject this criticism of Aristotle, after reading what he actually said in the book. I might also briefly clarify that this is a work mostly focused on the ethical decisions of individuals. That is, it has only occasional references to society as a whole. This is in contrast to the work’s sequel, which I plan to discuss later.
The Lyceum – Aristotle’s school
Conclusion: The work may be Aristotle’s lecture notes, but is well-acclaimed either way
As I’ve noted elsewhere, the book as we have it … may actually be the lecture notes for one of his classes at the Lyceum. These notes may in fact be written by Aristotle himself, or they may instead be a transcription from one of his students there. Whatever the “Nicomachean Ethics” might be, it is clear that it is connected with his other work “Politics.” Or, to use the latter’s original Greek title, ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΩΝ (“Politicon”). That is, if what we have for both of these works is the lecture notes, then they may have originally been two parts of a connected series of lectures. The “Nicomachean Ethics” concludes by setting up the discussion of its sequel work. That is, it sets up the discussion of society at large, in Aristotle’s work entitled “Politics.” Incidentally, the “Nicomachean Ethics” had an influence upon Catholic philosophers like Thomas Aquinas, and upon many Protestant thinkers as well. But Aristotle also had an influence upon politics – and, specifically, upon the American Founding Fathers. John Adams considered Aristotle to be among “The best writings of antiquity upon government” (see the quotation at the beginning of this blog post for the details). And Thomas Jefferson was also a fan of Aristotle. Specifically, Jefferson classed Aristotle among the “elementary books of public right” (see this letter for details). Jefferson also found Aristotle to be “corroborative of the facts and principles” advanced in the Declaration of Independence (again, see this same letter for details). Indeed, knowing of Aristotle’s influence upon our Founding Fathers was another major reason for my decision to read Aristotle in the first place. I also wanted something to get my Greek up to speed, for my future Greek-language projects. As someone with an interest in philosophy (and particularly political philosophy), Aristotle’s works seemed like a good choice for this purpose. Again (and surprisingly), I found it far more fun than reading Plato’s “Republic.” I’m now glad that I spent two years (technically, somewhat more than two years) reading this work in the original.
Aristotle’s work entitled “Politics” is a sort of sequel to the “Nicomachean Ethics.” After I finish reading the “Politics” in the original Greek, I intend to do a blog post about that, as a follow-up to this post.
*****
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Greek and English copy of Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics” at Amazon
English-only copy of Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics” at Amazon
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