Treatises “On Virtues and Vices”: Translation from the Greek into Russian and commentary

Abstract

This paper is divided into three sections: an introduction, a translation of Pseudo-Aristotelian treatise “On Virtues and Vices” (De virtutibus et vitiis), and a commentary to this text. In the introduction, the author briefly describes textual tradition, critical editions and available translations of the treatise in European languages. The major issue, discussed in the introduction, concerns the question of authenticity and authorship of the treatise. Arguments by E. Zeller, C. Schuchhardt, F. Susemihl, E. Schmidt, who seriously questioned the authenticity of the text, are contrasted with the opinion of P. Simpson, who insisted on its authenticity. The author of the present work is inclined to think that the treatise is a later composition. Respective arguments are presented in length in the commentary, where the author attempts to place the treatise in the context of the ethical works of the Corpus Aristotelicum, on the one hand, and this of the later Hellenistic developments, on the other.

Keywords

• Aristotle
• eclectics
• ancient ethics
• virtue
• vice