Kitap 1
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since they are of great importance for the subsequent course of the enquiry. The beginning is admittedly more than half of the whole,The usual form of the proverb is The beginning is half of the whole. Aristotle applies it by a sort of play on words to ἀρχή in its technical sense of a general principle of science, which is a beginning in the sense that it is the starting-point of deductive reasoning. There is a reminiscence of Hesiod, Hes. WD 30, πλέον ἥμισυ παντός, The half is more than the whole, though the meaning of that is entirely different. and throws light at once on many of the questions under investigation.
1
Accordingly we must examine our first principlei.e. our definition of the Good for man, or happiness. not only as a logical conclusion deduced from certain premises but also in the light of the current opinions on the subject. For if a proposition be true, all the facts harmonize with it, but if it is false, it is quickly seen to be discordant with them.
