If they indeed have virtues, then the question arises of what separates them from the freemen.
Book II
I: Virtue is both intellectual and moral. In states, legislators make the citizens good by instilling good habits in them. In poorly run states, they instill bad habits into their people.
II: Too much or too little food or exercise can destroy the health. Similarly, too many or too few virtues lead equally to problems.
III: Moral excellence concerns itself with things that bring both delight and pain. All souls are concerned with things that make them either better or worse. People measure their actions by whether they cause pain or pleasure.
IV: Arts and virtues are dissimilar. A piece of art has a character of its own, but regarding virtue, the work must be done with knowledge, goodness must be chosen for its own sake, and the action must arise from an unwavering character.
V: Virtues cannot be defines as passions or faculties. Virtues must rather be defined as states of character.
VI: If too few or too many virtues can be self-defeating, then virtue should aim for a middle ground and avoid both excesses and deficiencies. Virtue is a state of character that is concerned with choice.
VII: Temperance is a mean, while self-indulgence is an excess. In financial terms, some people spend too little, while others spend too much. In anger there is also an excess, a deficiency and a mean.
IX: Virtue can be seen as a mean between two excesses or vices. It is extremely difficult to be good and to find the middle ground.
Summary:
Book I debated the morality of some of the most essential cornerstones of Aristotle's society: the superiority of freemen, the acceptability of slavery and the acquisition of wealth. In this discussion, he examined the relationships between members of a household, particularly between freemen, their wives and their slaves. He argued both points of slavery. On one hand, he suggests that slavery is a natural order and that some individuals are meant to be ruled, but he also posed the opposite argument, that slavery was against the natural order and was instead a legal institution. He also discussed the irrationality of collecting money in the place of authentic or tangible wealth, noting that rich men have starved to death when food was unavailable.
Book II discussed the concept of virtue. Aristotle suggested that both excess and deprivation are vices; likewise, both too much and too little virtue can lead to vices. He indicated that to have virtue, a person must make an effort to stay in the center between the two vices in all areas of life, from controlling emotions to collecting wealth. By staying between the vices, people may improve their moral character.
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