Since, then, the present inquiry does not aim at theoretical knowledge like the others (for we are inquiring not in order to know what virtue is, but in order to become good, since otherwise our inquiry would have been of no use), we must examine the nature of actions, namely how we ought to do them; for these determine also the nature of the states of character that are produced, as we have said.
Now, that we must act according to the right rule is a common principle and must be assumed-it will be discussed later, i.e. both what the right rule is, and how it is related to the other virtues.
This introduction will be surprising once we have finished the work, given the crucial importance of a life spent in philosophical contemplation (theoria) to the highest degree of happiness. However, you can't jump into it; you have to do the work of developing the right kind of character before it becomes available.
But this must be agreed upon beforehand, that the whole account of matters of conduct must be given in outline and not precisely, as we said at the very beginning that the accounts we demand must be in accordance with the subject-matter; matters concerned with conduct and questions of what is good for us have no fixity, any more than matters of health. The general account being of this nature, the account of particular cases is yet more lacking in exactness; for they do not fall under any art or precept but the agents themselves must in each case consider what is appropriate to the occasion, as happens also in the art of medicine or of navigation.
This is a restatement of I.3, in case you missed it the first time. Most people miss it, which is why I have taken some trouble to emphasize the point. This is the core of understanding the EN.
But though our present account is of this nature we must give what help we can. First, then, let us consider this, that it is the nature of such things to be destroyed by defect and excess, as we see in the case of strength and of health (for to gain light on things imperceptible we must use the evidence of sensible things); both excessive and defective exercise destroys the strength, and similarly drink or food which is above or below a certain amount destroys the health, while that which is proportionate both produces and increases and preserves it.
This is the first statement of what will prove to be a core concept of Aristotle's ethics: virtue is the proper balance between two extremes. It is not, as is often mistakenly thought, 'moderation' or 'the middle.' Sometimes the best course is very close to one of the extremes. This is, rather, a version of his concept of all sorts of motion (from the Physics) as being necessarily between two extremes. Motion is only possible if there are two opposing possible positions, and a substrate between them that allows you to shift from one towards the other.
Sometimes, in other words, nearly absolute anger is appropriate; sometimes nearly absolute bravery will be. Not always, though; and it is only because you have the capacity to shift from the absolute to something stronger or lesser that you can find the right degree for the present task.
So too is it, then, in the case of temperance and courage and the other virtues. For the man who flies from and fears everything and does not stand his ground against anything becomes a coward, and the man who fears nothing at all but goes to meet every danger becomes rash; and similarly the man who indulges in every pleasure and abstains from none becomes self-indulgent, while the man who shuns every pleasure, as boors do, becomes in a way insensible; temperance and courage, then, are destroyed by excess and defect, and preserved by the mean.
Again, 'the mean' can be confusing. Many are confused by it. There is an appropriate amount in a given set of circumstances; it isn't just seeking 'the middle' regardless of the situation.
But not only are the sources and causes of their origination and growth the same as those of their destruction, but also the sphere of their actualization will be the same; for this is also true of the things which are more evident to sense, e.g. of strength; it is produced by taking much food and undergoing much exertion, and it is the strong man that will be most able to do these things. So too is it with the virtues; by abstaining from pleasures we become temperate, and it is when we have become so that we are most able to abstain from them; and similarly too in the case of courage; for by being habituated to despise things that are terrible and to stand our ground against them we become brave, and it is when we have become so that we shall be most able to stand our ground against them.
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