For man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all; since armed injustice is the more … - Aristotle

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For man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all; since armed injustice is the more dangerous, and he is equipped at birth with the arms of intelligence and with moral qualities which he may use for the worst ends. Wherefore, if he have not virtue, he is the most unholy and the most savage of animals, and the most full of lust and gluttony. But justice is the bond of men in states, and the administration of justice, which is the determination of what is just, is the principle of order in political society.

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About Aristotle

Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotelēs; 384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the teacher of Theophrastus and founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition. His writings cover many subjects including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics, meteorology, geology and government. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. It was above all from his teachings that the West inherited its intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and methods of inquiry. As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Native Name: Ἀριστοτέλης
Alternative Names: the Stagirite Aristotelis Aristoteles
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Shorter versions of this quote

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law & justice he is the worst.

Additional quotes by Aristotle

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Excellence is an Art
Won by Training and Habit.
We do not act rightly
Because we have Virtue and Excellence,
But rather, we have Virtue and Excellence
Because we act rightly.

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