Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics by St. Thomas Aquinas (review)

BOOK REVIEWS Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics by ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Translated by C. I. Litzinger, 0. P. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1964. Vol. I, pp. xiii and 534. Vol. II, pp. xiii and 535-1000. (Both volumes contain the same Index of Names and Index of Subjects.) $25.00. It would be difficult, from all relevant points of view, to give too much praise to the careful, scholarly work of translation Fr. I"itzinger has achieved in this rendition of the Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics by St. Thomas Aquinas. While there can never be any substitute for going to the original language when reading St. Thomas, still many of us over the years have often wished we could turn to a readable and accurate translation to supplement our examination of the text. Fr. Litzinger has provided us with such a translation and has superlatively achieved the middle course he designated between a slavishly literal translation and a free one that would, in a bid for popularization, distort the meaning of the original and introduce, as well, unfounded interpretations . Fr. Litzinger's "middle course" is an Aristotelian mean: it is literal when the text is best served thereby and it is freer in rendition when the thought accordingly benefits. As one who has wrestled with the problems of translating St. Thomas readably, I marvel at the apparent ease with which Fr. Litzinger has mastered the various difficulties, for the ease can only be apparent. Underneath the appearances lie the hours and hours of translating, phrasing , polishing and refining. The finished form amply justifies the toil and mental sweat; to speak of it as a faithful and sound rendition of the original is to pay it the highest compliment. The format is an admirable complement to the work of translation . Each book of Aristotle's text is preceded by a listing of the lectures of the commentary (I am not too happy with the translation of lectio by "lecture," but it is hard to pick a word free from all objection; the idea is a reading or an exposition of the text, but no one word in English seems to convey the meaning sufficiently). Each lecture begins with two parallel columns. The column on the right is a translation of the text of Aristotle from the Latin versio antiqua, generally attributed to William of Moerbeke, interspersed with numbers indicating the paragraphs as commented on by St. Thomas. (The decision to translate Aristotle from the Latin version has the merit Fr. Litzinger notes: it is a translation of a 332 BOOK REVIEWS 333 text more closely conformable to the one St. Thomas used; however , if I may make a domestic, and not wholly a personal, point, my wife's translation of On Interpretation from the Greek has the added advantage of being more conformable to the text of Aristotle without any detriment to the commentary of St. Thomas on that work.) The column on the left reproduces the analytical outline of St. Thomas as expressed in explanatory phrases and sentences taken from the Commentary itself. These sentences have been numbered and lettered to correspond with the bracketed marks found directly in the Commentary. The Bekker enumeration of Aristotle's text has been included, a desirable and even necessary inclusion in order to facilitate reference to other translations . The Commentary of St. Thomas thereupon follows in double columns, nicely spaced and in very legible print. One of the most important points treated in the Nicomachean Ethics, and sometimes not sufficiently paid attention to by moral philosophers, is the method of moral science and the degree of certitude attainable in it. Aristotle discusses this matter chiefly in Book I, Chapter 3 and Book II, Chapter 2. St. Thomas is clear and explicit in his Commentary in underlining the point that "the matter of moral study is of such a nature that perfect certitude is not suitable to it" (N. 32). It is particularly important that the Commentary on this matter be well and carefully translated, since it is imperative to understand the proper method of moral science. On the whole, Fr. Litzinger's translation continues to hold up well, but the following passages...