第12部分(第3/5 頁)

　we　bee　brave。。。

How　we　act　in　our　relations　with　other　people　makes　us　just　or　unjust。　How　we　face　dangerous　situations；　either　accustoming　ourselves　to　fear　or　confidence；　makes　us　brave　or　cowardly。　Occasions　of　lust　and　anger　are　similar：　some　people　bee　self…controlled　and　patient　from　their　conduct　in　such　situations；　and　others　uncontrolled　and　passionate。　In　a　word；　then；　activities　produce　similar　dispositions。　Therefore　we　must　give　a　certain　character　to　our　activities。。。　In　short；　the　habits　we　form　from　childhood　make　no　small　difference；　but　rather　they　make　all　the　difference。

Moral　virtue　is　a　mean　that　lies　between　two　vices；　one　of　excess　and　the　other　of　deficiency；　and。。。　it　aims　at　hitting　the　mean　both　in　feelings　and　actions。　So　it　is　hard　to　be　good；　for　surely　it　is　hard　in　each　instance　to　find　the　mean；　just　as　it　is　difficult　to　find　the　center　of　a　circle。　It　is　easy　to　get　angry　or　to　spend　money—anyone　can　do　that。　But　to　act　the　right　way　toward　the　right　person；　in　due　proportion；　at　the　right　time；　for　the　right　reason；　and　in　the　right　manner—this　is　not　easy；　and　not　everyone　can　do　it。

Therefore　he　who　aims　at　the　mean　should　make　it　his　first　care　to　keep　away　from　that　extreme　which　is　more　contrary　than　the　other　to　the　mean。。。　For　one　of　the　two　extremes　is　always　more　erroneous　than　the　other。　And　since　hitting　the　mean　exactly　is　difficult；　one　must　take　the　next　best　course；　and　choose　the　least　of　the　evils　as　the　safest　plan。。。

We　should　also　take　notice　of　the　errors　into　which　we　naturally　tend　to　fall。　They　vary　in　each　individual’s　case；　and　we　will　discover　ours　by　the　pleasure　or　pain　they　give　us。　Having　discovered　our　errors；　we　must　force　ourselves　off　in　the　opposite　direction。　For　we　sh