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[7]
those who are praised or
eulogized either by poets or by prose writers.1 The opposite characters we
despise; for contempt is the opposite of emulation, and the idea of emulation of
the idea of contempt. And those who are in a condition which makes them emulate,
or be emulated by, others, must be inclined to despise those persons2 （and for that reason） who
suffer from defects contrary to the good things which excite emulation. That is
why we often despise those who are fortunate, whenever their good fortune is not
accompanied by highly valued goods. The means of producing and destroying the
various emotions in men, from which the methods of persuasion that concern them
are derived, have now been stated.
1 λογογράφοι means either the oldest Greek historians （or rather “chroniclers”）, or the writers of speeches for use in the law courts, or of panegyrics.
2 καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις. According to Cope, an unnecessary parenthetical note （“and on such occasions”）. Jebb refers both τούτων and τούτοις to persons: “tend to show contempt to or about those who.” The “reason” in the translation above is that they suffer from the want of “the highly valued goods.”
Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 22, translated by J. H. Freese. Aristotle. Cambridge and London. Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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