“ for different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life and forms of government. ”
Aristotle, Politics (4th century BC). copy citation
| Author | Aristotle |
|---|---|
| Source | Politics |
| Topic | happiness government |
| Date | 4th century BC |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Benjamin Jowett |
| Weblink | http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.html |
Context
“Now, whereas happiness is the highest good, being a realization and perfect practice of virtue, which some can attain, while others have little or none of it, the various qualities of men are clearly the reason why there are various kinds of states and many forms of government; for different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life and forms of government. We must see also how many things are indispensable to the existence of a state, for what we call the parts of a state will be found among the indispensables. Let us then enumerate the functions of a state, and we shall easily elicit what we want:”
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