Book 3
11
But nevertheless there is a single virtue of greatness of spirit side by side with the other virtues, so that the possessor of this virtue must be termed great-spirited in a special sense. And since there are certain goods which are in some cases honorable and in others not, according to the distinction made before,i.e. ll. 17 ff. and of goods of this sort some are truly great and others small, and some men deserve and claim the former, it is among these men that the great-spirited man must be looked for.
12
And there are necessarily four varieties of claim: it is possible to deserve great things and to claim them as one’s desert; and there are small things and a man may deserve and claim things of that size; and as regards each of these two classes of things the reverse is possible—one man may be of such a character that although deserving small things he claims great ones—the goods held in high honor, and another man though deserving great things may claim small ones.
13
Now the man worthy of small things but claiming great ones is blameworthy, for it is foolish and not fine to obtain what does not correspond to one’s deserts. And he also is blameworthy who though worthy of such things does not deem himself worthy to partake of them although they are available for him.
14
But there is left here the man who is the opposite of both of these, who being worthy of great things claims them as his desert,The Greek phrase combines the senses of rating one’s deserts high and asserting one’s claims. and is of such a character as to deem himself worthyOr, emending the text, and is as worthy as he claims to be. : he is praiseworthy, and he is in the middle between the two.
