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Aristotle was the last of the great philosophers who had eyes to see and, what is still more decisive, the energy and tenacity to continue to force inquiry back to the phenomena and to the seen and to mistrust from the ground up all wild and windy speculation, no matter how close to the heart of common sense. Martin Heidegger, Basic Problems of Phenomenology
Seeing that
every
city
Seeing that we look upon every city as being a communion of some sort, and
heneken
pasan
(And, seeing that we look upon) every communion as having arisen for the sake of a good of some sort) because of ( dokountos agathou kharin pantes
the good in gratitude in all possible ways acts
panta
always)
einai
of
thinking
(since, whenever one acts, accomplishes, performs, achieves, or does anything in any way, one is always [already] in gratitude to the thinking good, i.e., to what they think or hold the good to be)
men
while
agathou
tinos
aim
thus
all
(communions)
shoot , endeavor
It is thus self-evident that all communions aim after a good of some sort, [given that one is always [already] acting in accordance to ones conception of the good.]
malista kuritatou
then and
And then, the communion aiming, more than any other, after the most supreme good,
kai
pasas
others
This communion, which aims at the most supreme good, is the most supreme of all other communions, including and protecting all other communions.
kaloumen
polis
kai h
This
And this communion is the one calling itself a city-state and a political communion.
oikonomikon kai despotikon einai ton auton ou kals legousin the householder and the master of a family to be the same not beautifully speak
Then, they who think that the statesman, the royal ruler, the householder, and the master of a family to be the same speak indeed greatly not beautifully
all' ouk
But not
eidei
in the form
, toutn
of the
hekaston,
each one
For they hold the forms of rule to differ quantitatively (manyness or fewness in respect to the number of subjects each ruler possesses), and not in respect to the form, look, kind, appearance, shape of each form of rule.
, ek pleionn kmn
the and of more
koinnia
communion
perfect
villages
teleios
city-state
h d' polis,
And the communion of more villages is a perfect, accomplished, having-reached-its-end, finished city-state.
, heneken,
ousa de
to live.
for the sake of, being and of the well because of on account of
Coming into being for the sake of life, and being of the good life.
by nature
Hence every city-state exists by nature, just as the first communions exist by nature
telos telos
goal
for
, ekeinn,
h de phusis
goal is
For the city-state is itself the goal of the others communions, and nature is goal-oriented (teleological)
of a man
This (that which each thing is when its growth is completed) we say the nature of each thing to be, for instance of a man, of a horse, of a house.
Again
heneka
for the sake of because of and the
kai to
goal best
telos
And again, the which for the sake of, the telos for and because of which a thing exists, is its best goal (telos).
telos
a goal
kai
and best.
Then, from these things, it is open and clear to sight that the city-state is of nature and exists by nature.
, zon,