Q0436
“Virtue lies in a mean” — Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Nicomachean Ethics II.6–9 (mean). Theme: meaning.
English
Virtue lies in a mean.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Nicomachean Ethics II.6–9 (mean) and files it under Peripatetic School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Aristotle
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher born in Stagira in Macedonia, the son of a court physician. At about seventeen he entered Plato’s Academy in Athens and remained associated with it until Plato’s death in 347.
Interpretation
Aristotle's doctrine of the mean is frequently misread as moderation for its own sake. The mean he describes is relative to the agent and the situation — the right amount is not the midpoint of a scale but the point between excess and deficiency that a practically wise person would choose. Courage, for instance, is a mean between rashness and cowardice, but it is closer to rashness than to caution. It is a claim about hitting the right point, not about avoiding extremes.
Why it matters
The practical question is not "am I being moderate?" but "what would be too much and too little here, for me?" That version is answerable; the moderate-sounding one is not.
Concepts in this quote
- Meaning
- Meaning appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat meaning as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Virtue
- Virtue names excellences of character—habits of perception and action oriented toward the good.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Aristotle. (n.d.). Virtue lies in a mean. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0436
MLA: Aristotle. “Virtue lies in a mean..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0436.
Chicago: Aristotle. “Virtue lies in a mean..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0436.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Virtue lies in a mean.”?
The passage is attributed to Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II.6–9 (mean). The archive attributes this English wording to Nicomachean Ethics II.6–9 (mean) and files it under Peripatetic School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Aristotle mean by meaning?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Viktor Frankl and Ludwig Wittgenstein), meaning is framed through Logotherapy and Analytic Philosophy. Some passages define meaning; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through meaning, virtue.