ETHICS

Aristotle is pointing out here that failure or "doing the wrong thing" has countless possibilities because it lacks structure or limits—it’s chaotic and open-ended, like what the Pythagoreans referred to as being "unlimited." Success, on the other hand, has a specific target—it is finite, measured, and requires precision. He suggests that hitting this "target" of what is good or virtuous is inherently harder because there is only one right way to succeed, while there are endless ways to fall short. This explains why virtue, which involves reaching that balanced "mean," requires effort, practice, and reason, whereas vice (failure) can happen easily by veering toward excess or deficiency without much thought.

Aristotle is saying here that what defines vice (or moral failing) is going too far (excess) or not far enough (defect) in our behavior or emotions. In contrast, virtue lies in hitting the "sweet spot," finding the balanced, appropriate response or action—the mean. Virtue is about balance, whereas vice veers off in one extreme or the other.

Aristotle is emphasizing here that achieving virtue—what it means to be "good"—is a precise and balanced endeavor, like hitting a single bullseye on a target. Virtue requires navigating a very specific pathway: finding the "mean" or the proper balance between two extremes (excess and deficiency). In contrast, failing to be virtuous—being "bad"—is much easier because there are countless ways to miss that balanced state. Just as there are countless ways to shoot an arrow wrong, there are endless ways to veer off the path of virtue.

This stresses that pursuing goodness demands intentional effort and careful judgment, while letting oneself fall into vice can happen in many ways, often as a result of carelessness or indulgence in extremes. It highlights the difficulty of moral excellence and the simplicity of moral failure.