Book 3
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.
15
Since, therefore, greatness of spirit is the best disposition in relation to the choice and the employment of honor and of the other good things that are esteemed, and not in relation to useful things, and since we assign this to the great-spirited man, and since also at the same time the middle state is most praiseworthy, it is clear that even greatness of spirit must be a middle state.
16
And of the opposites as shown in our diagram, the one in the direction of deeming oneself worthy of great goods when one is not worthy is vanity (for the sort of men that fancy themselves worthy of great things though they are not we call vain), and the one that is concerned with not deeming oneself worthy of great things when one is worthy of them is smallness of spirit (for if a man does not think himself worthy of anything great although he possesses qualities which would justly make him considered worthy of it, he is thought small-spirited); so that it follows that greatness of spirit is a middle state between vanity and smallness of spirit.
