亚里士多德论中庸之道

读书带来的欢愉和宁静永远是他人不能给予满足的。《哲学的故事》集合了威尔杜兰特多年的心力，他用扎实的学术沉淀和精深思考的视角，为我们展现了一个又一个活生生的哲学大家的面孔。而这些哲学大家，带给世界的，则是丰富的思想内涵和精神力量，帮我们化解烦恼，开放心胸，在审视与自省的过程中，不断认知自己和世界，寻找与自己相处、和世界交流的最适合的渠道。这一次，看到了身为科学家的亚里士多德在人生的晚年时对生命意义的思考，对照自己的行为模式，受益匪浅。

Virtue, or rather excellence, will depend on clear judgment, self-control, symmetry of desire, artistry of means; it is not the possession of the simple man, nor the gift of innocent intent, but the achievement of experience in the fully developed man. Yet there is a road to it, a guide to excellence, which may save many detours and delays: it is the middle way, the golden mean. The qualities of character can be arranged in triads, in each of which the first and last qualities will be extremes and vices, and the middle quality a virtue or an excellence. So between cowardice and rashness is courage; between stinginess and extravagance is liberality; between sloth and greed is ambition; between humility and pride is modesty; between secrecy and loquacity, honesty; between moroseness and buffoonery, good humor; between quarrelsomeness and flattery, friendship; between Hamlet's indecisiveness and Quixote's impulsiveness is self-control.

美德，或者不如说是卓越，依靠的是清晰的判断、自我的控制、平衡的欲望和手段的巧妙；他既不是头脑简单之人的品质，也非单纯愿望的结果，而是充分发展了的人凭经验获得的成就。然而，有这样一条路能通向它，一个通向优越的指导手册，它能够避免许多迂回和耽搁；这就是中间的道路，即中庸之道。品格可以分为三类，每一类的第一等和最后一等都是极端和邪恶，而中间一类则是美德或优越性。因此，介于懦弱和鲁莽之间的是勇敢；介于吝啬和浪费之间的是慷慨，介于懒惰和贪婪之间的是进取；介于自卑和骄傲之间的是谦虚；介于秘密与多嘴之间的是诚实；介于争吵与谄媚之间的是友谊 ---- 介于哈姆雷特的优柔寡断与堂吉诃德的鲁莽冲动之间的便是自我控制。