ment of your intellect. — Lysias: You distinguished between soul and passion by your illustration of heat and light; and you showed me the difference of their functions by showing the difference of their origin. I then asked you to make clear to me what they each do by some sign which should sever the work of the one:from the work of the other; you then told me that well-doing was the work of the soul and ill-doing the work of the passion. I asked you the difference between good and bad actions. You answered that whatever increases the intellect is a good action even though non-intelligence is increased by it, and whatever causes decrease of intellect is bad, even though it increase the non-intelligence. Neither intelligence nor non-intelligence is diminished except by its opposite, nor increased except by what agrees with it. Now, I still require an explanation of what it is that increases the intelligence and what it is that lessens it. — Aristotle said: Whatsoever adds brightness to your vision of things increases your intelligence, and whatsoever makes things dark to you lessens it. — Lysias said: What is it that gives them brightness, and what is it that veils them? — Aristotle: Truth-speaking and whatever resembles it is an illuminator, doubt and whatever resembles it a cloke. — Lysias said: I understand how true-speaking illuminates and how doubt darkens; but what are the things which resemble them? — Aristotle: Right-doing or justice resembles true-speaking, and injustice or iniquity resembles falsehood and doubt. — Lysias: In what respect do justice and veracity resemble each other? — Aristotle: Each of them consists in leaving things in their own places. — Lysias: And in what respect do falsehood and injustice resemble each other? — Aristotle: Each consists in removing things from their own places. — Lysias: Justice and injustice are the work of administrators and judges only; whereas I am asking you concerning things in general. — Aristotle: All men are judges, only some private, others public. He whose judgment errs, and whose tongue speaks false, and whosoever appropriates what is not his,
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