Book 2 / Chapter 4
Paragraph 2 - Knowledge and Action in the Arts
Explanation - Part By Part
"Or is this not true even of the arts? It is possible to do something that is in accordance with the laws of grammar, either by chance or at the suggestion of another."
Aristotle is challenging the idea that merely performing a "just" or "temperate" action automatically makes someone just or temperate. He uses an analogy from the arts to illustrate his point. Just like in grammar or music, a person might correctly follow the rules by accident or by simply being told what to do. This doesn't mean they truly understand the skill or possess it within themselves. Similarly, doing a moral action isn't enough to make someone virtuous unless it's done intentionally and with knowledge, stemming from their own developed character. Virtue, then, requires more than isolated actions—it depends on deliberate practice and internal understanding.
"A man will be a grammarian, then, only when he has both done something grammatical and done it grammatically; and this means doing it in accordance with the grammatical knowledge in himself."
Aristotle is making an important distinction here. He’s saying that just performing an action that looks right (e.g., a grammatically correct sentence) doesn’t necessarily prove that someone fully possesses the skill or knowledge (in this case, grammar). For a person to truly be a grammarian, they not only need to produce something grammatical but must do so intentionally, based on their own internal understanding and expertise of grammar—not by accident or external guidance.
This means real mastery or virtue comes from acting with knowledge and purpose, not just achieving the correct outcome by chance or following someone else's instructions. Aristotle is linking this idea to justice and other virtues in the previous paragraph: being truly virtuous requires more than simply performing virtuous acts—it requires understanding and choosing to act virtuously with intention.