“ but the wicked man is like a city that uses its laws, but has wicked laws to use. ”
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (c. 334 BC - 330 BC). copy citation
| Author | Aristotle |
|---|---|
| Source | Nicomachean Ethics |
| Topic | law city |
| Date | c. 334 BC - 330 BC |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by W. D. Ross |
| Weblink | http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.mb.txt |
Context
“And thus the incontinent man like a city which passes all the right decrees and has good laws, but makes no use of them, as in Anaxandrides' jesting remark,
The city willed it, that cares nought for laws; but the wicked man is like a city that uses its laws, but has wicked laws to use.
Now incontinence and continence are concerned with that which is in excess of the state characteristic of most men; for the continent man abides by his resolutions more and the incontinent man less than most men can.”
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