Aristotle on divine movement and human nature 251
1248 a 29 – 34 :
29
1 $,
30 ^^43 /
0 ( $
s J )
31 $
^44 '
\ 0 < -
(
( .
32
1 "%
-# [ ^45 $ $
< - )
33 Ks . 3 !T $ 5 (
L
!.^46
$
34 5 ( -
T '
1 \
.^47
‘And for this reason, as people spoke of old, those people are called fortunate
people who, when they make a start, succeed though lacking reasoning, and
it is not profitable for them to deliberate. For they have such a starting-point
which is stronger than intelligence and deliberation (others have reasoning;
this the lucky people do not possess) and they have divine inspiration,^48
but they are not capable of intelligence and deliberation: they hit the mark
without reasoning.’
Comments: The question about the cause of the lucky people’s success is
now answered: they succeed owing to ‘the starting-point which is stronger
than intelligence and deliberation’. The adjunct ‘though lacking reasoning’
('
\ ) again stresses what has already been noted in the beginning
of the chapter ( 1247 a 4 ; 13 ), that their success is not due to reason or
intelligence; the sentence ‘it is not profitable for them to deliberate’ refers
to 1247 b 29 – 37 , where Aristotle says that in the case ofeutuchiathe natural
impulse ( ) is contrary to reasoning and that reasoning is idle (.
3 k q
, 35 ). The anticipation in lines 26 – 9 now turns out
to be very appropriate: having discussed the part played by the intellect
($being on a par in this context with !and<-
) in human
action, Aristotle stipulates that there is a starting-point which is even more
powerful than this, and that this starting-point is the cause of the lucky
people’s success.
(^43) The MS tradition is$ s
, withomitted, having dropped out (cf. the Latin tradition:
propter hoc quod olim dicebatur).
(^44) The MS tradition is $, but a finite verb is obviously appropriate here.
(^45) For the neuter (cf. line 28 ) see n. 37 above.
(^46) The MS tradition is
.
(^47) The MS tradition is"
, but this is completely out of place here, since the subject
must be the ( (see below).
(^48) On the word
!see n. 28 above.