“ A city can be virtuous only when the citizens who have a share in the government are virtuous, and in our state all the citizens share in the government; let us then inquire how a man becomes virtuous. ”
Aristotle, Politics (4th century BC). copy citation
| Author | Aristotle |
|---|---|
| Source | Politics |
| Topic | government sharing |
| Date | 4th century BC |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Benjamin Jowett |
| Weblink | http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.html |
Context
“May our state be constituted in such a manner as to be blessed with the goods of which fortune disposes (for we acknowledge her power) : whereas virtue and goodness in the state are not a matter of chance but the result of knowledge and purpose. A city can be virtuous only when the citizens who have a share in the government are virtuous, and in our state all the citizens share in the government; let us then inquire how a man becomes virtuous. For even if we could suppose the citizen body to be virtuous, without each of them being so, yet the latter would be better, for in the virtue of each the virtue of all is involved.
There are three things which make men good and virtuous;”
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