Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Bartlett and Collins have penned what now must be considered the translation of choice into English of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. The best review I have so far read of it is "Code of the Gentleman" by Diana Schaub in The Claremont Review of Books with the response of the authors. There are so many felicities in their rethinking of how to translate Aristotle into English, and so many useful features such as footnotes (not tiresome endnotes), a glossary, interpretative essay, detailed indices etc., that the reader is brought closer to the text, and therefore to the meaning of the author, and not estranged from it by excessive pandering to the limitations of careless readers who do not like to have to think long and hard to get to the truth about things, especially naturally contentious human things like `morality'. This translation surpasses those by Sachs, Broadie and Rowe, Irwin, Ostwald, and Ross (the superior literary, but not literal translation) which are still useful to consult especially for their critical apparatus and alternative readings of key terms. Alas, certain significant words do not have footnotes or glossary entries, such as `inquiry/investigation' which they use to translate methodos - literally "the way after" or "the way towards" or "the way of proceeding" especially to the truth about the things human - philosophy. A detailed analytical outline would have been helpful. And, perhaps the size of the font could have been a bit larger in kindness to older eyes. This translation is also the superior twin to Carnes Lord's translation of "Aristotle The Politics" from the same stable, The University of Chicago Press. The other most useful pair of literal translations of Aristotle's "philosophy of things human" would be Joe Sachs, "Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics" and Peter L. Phillips Simpson's, "The Politics of Aristotle". The appendix to the Politics is the "Poetics" of which Seth Benardete's translation is the superior literal and scholarly translation, perhaps followed by Joe Sachs. The other work in Aristotle's quartet (or trilogy if one accepts the Poetics as a form of appendix to the Politics) is the "Rhetoric" which Bartlett has now also translated literally with a useful interpretive essay, glossary and notes.

I really couldn't ask for more in a thoughtful, diligent translation. Fives stars for what it set out to be. I'm using this as an occasional reference for my own abridgement of the Ross version. The interpretive essay is most useful. This is quite the gem, even if reading Aristotle as he wished to be understood is a too often painful slog. But there's real, essential, foundational ideas and arguments therein. That's why I'm doing the abridgement to separate the wheat from the chaff. Thanks, guys! Super scholarly work, and much appreciated to compare with my own take on the material.

This is why the Ellanoi (that we mistakenly call "greeks" today) conquered the world with their culture. When everybody else was still living in little mud huts, the Ellanoi philosophers were talking about ethics and higher knowledge. This book is a fine example of an extraordinary civilization that still shines bright all over the world.

I absolutely adore this book. Aesthetically it is amazing and the translation is great and the notes/annotations really help. If you're going to read any version of this book make it this one. Since this book is in the public domain the main reason to purchase it, at least in my view, are on aesthetic grounds and this book is exceedingly well in that category. From the quality of the cover to the quality of the paper used for the book cover... A+ all around.

Excellent copy, very good