Book 7 / Chapter 1
Paragraph 2 - The State Opposed to the Brutish State
Explanation - Part By Part
"Therefore if, as they say, men become gods by excess of virtue, of this kind must evidently be the state opposed to the brutish state;"
Aristotle is saying that if a person could go so far beyond ordinary human virtue that they almost become divine or god-like in their goodness, then that state of "excessive virtue" must be the opposite of a completely degraded, brutish state. In other words, the extremes of human moral development oppose each other: the highest possible goodness and nobility sharply contrast with the lowest, most animalistic, and uncivilized condition.
"for as a brute has no vice or virtue, so neither has a god; his state is higher than virtue, and that of a brute is a different kind of state from vice."
What Aristotle is trying to convey here is a comparison between different states of being: brutishness, vice, virtue, and a godlike or superhuman virtue. He emphasizes that both brutes (like animals) and gods exist outside the typical moral framework that applies to humans. A brute, such as an animal, neither has the capacity for virtue nor the moral failings of vice because it acts purely on instinct. Its moral state is fundamentally different from human failings, like vice.
Similarly, a god is not confined by human qualities like virtue or vice. A god's state is considered above or beyond human virtue—it transcends it entirely. So, while humans can possess moral excellence (virtue) or its opposite (vice), brutes lack both because they function on a different plane altogether, and gods surpass these moral categories because their state is "higher than virtue."
The key here is the contrast: brutes are below the realm of moral reasoning, while gods are above it. Humans occupy the middle, where virtues and vices are relevant.