Aristotle Quote on the Golden Mean: Virtue Between Two Vices

Quote

"Virtue is a mean between two vices." — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (c. 350 BCE)

Author

Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and student of Plato, and one of the most influential thinkers in the Western tradition. His ethics, set out in the Nicomachean Ethics, founded the tradition of virtue ethics.

Source

The quotation summarizes the doctrine of the mean, developed in Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics, where Aristotle explains the nature of virtue of character.

Context

The doctrine of the mean is Aristotle's answer to the question of what virtue is. He observes that each virtue is a state of character that stands between two vices: an excess on one side and a deficiency on the other. Courage lies between rashness and cowardice; temperance between self-indulgence and insensibility; generosity between prodigality and stinginess. The mean is not a crude midpoint between quantities but a state relative to us, grasped by the person of good character. Determining the right mean in each situation is the work of practical wisdom, the intellectual virtue that guides right action.

Meaning

The quotation is the classic statement of the golden mean, and it is easily misread. Aristotle is not recommending mediocrity or moderation-for-its-own-sake. He is saying that virtue consists in hitting the right amount of feeling and action — neither too much nor too little — at the right time, toward the right people, for the right reason. The mean is relative to us and to the situation; there is no fixed rule that fits every case. Finding it is the work of practical wisdom. This is why virtue is not a matter of following a rule but of developing a stable character that aims correctly. The doctrine of the mean is central to Aristotle's account of the good life and human flourishing, and it anchors the Ethics & Wisdom collection.

Related Wisdom

The quotation grounds Aristotle's account of virtue and practical wisdom, and it connects to the wider wisdom tradition's teaching on moderation, character, and the conditions of a good life.