# Book IV: The Several Moral Virtues and Vices Continued explained — Nicomachean Ethics

> Chapter companion for Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.

## What happens

This book examines specific moral virtues, focusing on liberality (moderation in wealth) and high-mindedness (greatness of soul). Liberality is defined as the mean in giving and taking wealth, with the liberal man giving rightly for the sake of the noble. High-mindedness is presented as the crown of virtues, involving a correct claim to great honor based on true worth and complete virtue, while avoiding the vices of vanity and small-mindedness.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue and Character

High-mindedness is described as the 'crowning grace' of the virtues, requiring complete virtue and correct estimation of one's own worth.

### The Golden Mean

Liberality is the mean between prodigality and illiberality; high-mindedness is the mean in claiming honor, between vanity and small-mindedness.

### Pleasure and Pain

Virtuous acts, such as giving by the liberal man, are described as pleasant or at least painless, contrasting with the pain felt by those who give reluctantly.

## Character check-ins

### Aristotle

Primary author and expositor of the virtues of liberality and high-mindedness.

### Thetis

Cited as an example of the high-minded man's reluctance to mention benefits conferred, as she would not remind Zeus of her services.

### Zeus

Referenced in the context of Thetis' reluctance to mention her services to him.

## Key lines

> High-mindedness, then, seems to be the crowning grace, as it were, of the virtues; it makes them greater, and cannot exist without them.

High-mindedness is like an ornament that enhances all other virtues and depends on their presence.

_Aristotle emphasizes the interdependence of virtues, with high-mindedness as their culmination._

> The liberal man, therefore, like the others, will give with a view to, or for the sake of, that which is noble, and give rightly; i.e. he will give the right things to the right persons at the right times.

The generous person gives for the sake of what is morally fine, ensuring that the gift, recipient, and occasion are all appropriate.

_This illustrates the application of the golden mean to the virtue of liberality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nicomachean_ethics_se/chapters/book-iv
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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nicomachean_ethics_se/chapters