Book 7: Chapter 1, Additional Characteristics of the State & the Role of the Philosopher in the State Summary and Analysis

Aristotle starts this chapter by discussing the relationship between virtue and prosperity. The translator provides some notes at the very beginning of the chapter, prior to the bulk of the text. He does this consistently throughout the entire compilation, so that every section has at least a paragraph of notes provided by the translator. These are set apart through the use of a different font.

The translator acknowledges that there is original Greek material that cannot be translated into English effectively at all. Amongst what can be translated is a popular question among the ancient Greeks, especially the intellectuals, "what is the ideal state?" Closely related popular questions of the time were "what...