Страница 237 из 734

Now since falsehood is in itself low and blameable, while truth

is noble and praiseworthy, it follows that the Truthful man (who

is also in the mean) is praiseworthy, and the two who depart from

strict truth are both blameable, but especially the Exaggerator.

We will now speak of each, and first of the Truthful man: I call

him Truthful, because we are not now meaning the man who is true

in his agreements nor in such matters as amount to justice or

injustice (this would come within the province of a different

virtue), but, in such as do not involve any such serious

difference as this, the man we are describing is true in life and

word simply because he is in a certain moral state.