This work contains the Latin text of an early medieval commentary on the first three books of Aristotle’s
Ethics. The commentary appears here in print for the first time, supported by an introduction considering the significance of the work and the attribution of it to the Dominican author, Robert Kilwardby (c. 1215-1279).
Celano argues that the commentary represents an early phase in the reception of Aristotle’s
Ethics in the thirteenth century, and that Kilwardby demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the meaning of Aristotle’s moral philosophy, showing its importance for the curriculum in the Arts Faculties of universities in the Middle Ages.
Anthony J. Celano, Ph.D. (1980), University of Toronto, is a Professor of Philosophy at Stonehill College. He is the author of
Aristotle Ethics and Medieval Philosophy: Moral Goodness and Practical Wisdom (2016),
From Priam to the Good Thief: The Significance of a Single Act in Greek Ethics and Medieval Moral Teaching (2000), and many articles on ancient and medieval ethics.
Preface Abbreviations
1
The Reception of the Nicomachean Ethics in the Latin Middle Ages
2
The Career of Robert Kilwardby 1
The Commentary on the NE
3
Analysis of the Text with Reference to the Works of Robert Kilwardby and His Contemporaries 1
The Introduction (Ethica Nova) 2
The Subject of Ethics 3
All Actions Are Directed to an End 4
The Supreme Human Good 5
The Idea of a Separate Good and Its Effect on Human Goodness 6
The Proper Student of Ethics 7
Various Opinions Concerning Happiness 8
A Re-examination of the Idea of a Separate Good 9
Attributes of the Human Good 10
The Definition of the Human Good 11
The Discussion of Happiness 12
The Perfections of the Soul 13
The Effects of Fortune on Happiness 14
The Cause of Happiness 15
Human and Divine Causality of Happiness and Virtue 16
Further Considerations on the Nature of Happiness 17
The Effects of Misfortune 18
The Final Determination of the Meaning of Happiness 19
Blessed as Human Beings 20
Happiness as Praiseworthy or Honorable 21
The Relation of Virtue to Happiness 22
A Short Discussion of the Human Soul 23
The Moral Virtues 24
The Intellectual Virtues 25
Conclusion of the Ethica Nova
4
Book II of the NE: Ethica Vetus 1
The Development of Virtue 2
The Practical Goal of Ethics 3
The Conditions of Moral Virtue 4
Virtue as an Act of the Soul 5
The Doctrine of the Mean 6
Voluntary and Involuntary Acts: Book III of the NE 7
Deliberation and Choice 8
The Will and Virtuous Acts 9
The Specific Virtues of Courage and Temperance (Chastity) 10
Two Vices: Fear and Intemperance
5
Conclusion 1
The Method and Significance of the Commentary 2
The Attribution of the Commentary to Robert Kilwardby 3
Date of Composition 4
The Text of the Ethica Nicomachea
6
The Edition of Kilwardby’s Commentary 1
The Manuscripts of the Expositio super libros Ethicorum 2
The Method of the Edition 3
Orthography and Sigla
Latin Text of the Ethica nova
Latin Text of the Ethica vetus
Bibliography Index
Anyone working on ancient and medieval ethics, the history of the university; university and research libraries; institutes of philosophy and medieval studies.