[Discussion] On the Gods and the World, Ch. X

[sdi]

Happy Wednesday, and a Happy New Year as well! All books written in 1926, including Arthur Darby Nock's 1926 translation of Sallustius, are finally in the public domain. What this means for us is that I may now excerpt his commentary in addition to his footnotes, and will try to do so where helpful.

Let's pick the puzzle-box back up, shall we?

X. Concerning Virtue and Vice.

The doctrine of Virtue and Vice depends on that of the Soul. When the irrational soul enters into the body and immediately produces Fight and Desire, the rational soul, put in authority over all these, makes the soul tripartite, composed of Reason, Fight, and Desire.* Virtue in the region of Reason is Wisdom, in the region of Fight is Courage, in the region of Desire it is Temperance: the virtue of the whole Soul is Righteousness.† It is for Reason to judge what is right, for Fight in obedience to Reason to despise things that appear terrible, for Desire to pursue not the apparently desirable, but, that which is with Reason desirable.‡ When these things are so, we have a righteous life; for righteousness in matters of property is but a small part of virtue. And thus we shall find all four virtues in properly trained men, but among the untrained one may be brave and unjust, another temperate and stupid, another prudent and unprincipled. Indeed these qualities should not be called Virtues when they are devoid of Reason and imperfect and found in irrational beings. Vice should be regarded as consisting of the opposite elements. In Reason it is Folly, in Fight, Cowardice, in Desire, Intemperance, in the whole soul, Unrighteousness.§

The virtues are produced by the right social organization and by good rearing and education, the vices by the opposite.

* Thomas Taylor calls these "reason, anger, and desire." Arthur Darby Nock calls these "reason, spirit, and desire."

† Taylor gives the four virtues as "prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice." Nock gives "wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice."

‡ That is, not to pursue base desires but instead to desire that which Reason dictates.

§ Taylor gives "folly, fear, intemperance, and injustice." Nock gives "folly, cowardice, intemperance, injustice."

Comments

[barefootwisdom]

You're most welcome and thank you!

With regard to your final remark here, maybe I've been thinking in this ancient millieu for too many years now, but education doesn't surprise me at all. When I recall that the Greek term for virtue (arete) literally means "excellence," I respond, "of course education ought to make us excellent! What else is it for?"

As to social organization, it's a microcosm-macrocosm thing. Just like a excellent society needs all of its parts properly balanced, so too an excellent person needs all of his parts properly balanced. Again, of course, a legacy of Plato, and of the Republic in particular.