Book 2 / Chapter 8
Paragraph 2 - The Greatest Contrariety is Between Extremes
Explanation - Part By Part
"These states being thus opposed to one another, the greatest contrariety is that of the extremes to each other, rather than to the intermediate; for these are further from each other than from the intermediate, as the great is further from the small and the small from the great than both are from the equal."
Aristotle is explaining that among the three dispositions—virtue (the intermediate state) and the two extremes (excess and deficiency)—the extremes are the most directly opposed to one another. This opposition is greater than the opposition between either extreme and the middle state. He uses the analogy of size: just as something very large and very small are more distant from each other than either of them is from something of average size (the "equal"), extremes in behavior or character are similarly further apart from one another than they are from moderation, the balanced middle ground.
"Again, to the intermediate some extremes show a certain likeness, as that of rashness to courage and that of prodigality to liberality; but the extremes show the greatest unlikeness to each other;"
Aristotle is pointing out that while the extremes of a particular trait might seem completely opposite to the balanced "mean" state, one extreme can sometimes slightly resemble the intermediate virtue more than the opposite extreme does. For example, rashness (an excess of boldness) can appear somewhat similar to courage (the balanced trait), while cowardice (a deficiency of boldness) is far more dissimilar to courage. Similarly, prodigality (overspending) might look somewhat closer to liberality (generosity) than stinginess (an unwillingness to give).
However, when you compare the two extremes themselves—rashness and cowardice, or prodigality and stinginess—they are vastly different and completely opposite. Aristotle's point here is that the extremes, being so far apart, are not only the most opposed to each other but also the least like the virtuous mean.
"now contraries are defined as the things that are furthest from each other, so that things that are further apart are more contrary."
Aristotle is making a key point here: when we talk about "contraries"—things that are directly opposite to each other—they are defined as being the most distant in nature or the furthest apart. The greater the gap between two things, the more opposite or contrary they are. For instance, when comparing extreme qualities (like extreme cowardice and extreme recklessness), they are much more unlike and opposed to each other than they are to the balanced "mean" state, such as courage. In essence, the more different two states are from each other, the more they represent true opposites.