146 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book III. 



by pradlice or cuftom. And hence it is, that he calls the virtues *ap£rai 

 i6.Kui^ or iCrj, deriving the name, as he fays, with a very fmall va- 

 riation, from the word 'e^os, fignifying cujiom*. One of thefe vir- 

 tues, which he calls (p^ovt^crtg, or <To(piu,^ belongs to the intelle<flual 

 part of the mind, and is acquired and much improved by teaching : 

 Yet, he fays, it requires time and experience to make it complete f ; 

 and, therefore, according to him, it is likewife a *£|/j, and can- 

 fequently muft, by pradice, be formed into a habit if. Nor is it 

 without reafon that" Ariftotle fays, that all the virtues, which are em- 

 ployed in the conduct of life, and are therefore called pra&ical vir- 

 tues^ are formed by practice and cuftom into habit: For every man, 

 who knows any thing of human nature, muft know how prevalent 

 .habit is in it, w^hich is called, not improperly, a fecond nature ; and 

 it is often more prevalent than the firft. It is fo prevalent, that we 

 .do nothing in life perfedly, nor with eafe and pleafure, (with which 

 virtue ought to be prad:ifed, as it is in it that our happinefs confifts,) 

 .unlefs we have, by continued practice, formed the habit of it §; fo 

 that Virtue is very properly defined by Habit, and called ethical. See 

 alfo the 4th chapter of the Nicomacheia^ where he fliows that all the 

 afFedtions of the human mind are three ^ ToL&r,, ^yj-a^ccs^g, 'g^g^s; that is, 

 pajjioiis or feelings of the human mind ^faculties or powers of ailing ^ and, 

 laftly, habits. Now, fays he, virtue is neither pajfion nor power ; 

 therefore it is habit. And, in the preceding chapter, he proves, that 

 virtue is not knowledge of what virtue is; but that there muft be prac- 

 tice, and a habit in that way formed. For it is with virtue, he fays, 

 as it is with health. If we only knew how health is to be preferved 

 or recovered, but do not pradice thefe things, v/c may be very good 

 T)hyficians, but we (hall not enjoy health: In the fame manner we 

 may philofophife very well concerning morals; but if we do not 



pradice 



* Arlftot. K:ccmach. Lib. 2. Cap. i. in the beginning. 

 -|- Ibid. X Ibid. Lib. I. in fine, 



4 Kicomach. Lib. 2. Cap. 2. p. 19. 



