E. M. Cope, Commentary on the Rhetoric of Aristotle

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ἐφ᾽ ὅσοις τὰ ἆθλα τιμή, καλά] The καλόν is an end in itself; it is independent of all ulterior considerations and aims: therefore any act of which honour alone, and not profit (ἐφ᾽ ὅσοις τιμὴ μᾶλλον ἢ χρήματα) is the prize, is καλόν: the prize aimed at, or the end of the exertions and efforts, determines the character of those efforts or actions, which are therefore fair and noble like the end at which they aim. τιμή is an end of this kind. Eth. N. I 4, 1096 b 16, καθ᾽ αὑτὰ (ἀγαθά) δὲ ποῖα θείῃ τις ἄν; ἢ (are they not?) ὅσα καὶ μονούμενα διώκεται, οἷον τὸ φρονεῖν καὶ ὁρᾷν καὶ ἡδοναί τινες καὶ τιμαί; ταῦτα γὰρ εἰ καὶ δἰ ἄλλο τι διώκομεν, ὅμως τῶν καθ᾽ αὑτὰ ἀγαθῶν θείη τις ἄν. c. 3, 1095 b 22, τιμή is the end of the πολιτικὸς βίος, pursued by the χαρίεντες καὶ πρακτικοί, v. 30, δῆλον οὖν κατά γε τούτους ἡ ἀρετὴ κρείττων. In IV 7—10, τιμή is represented as the end of the μεγαλόψυχοι and φιλότιμοι, the sphere in which these two virtues are exercised. c. 7, 1123 b 18, μέγιστον δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν θείημεν ὃ τοῖς θεοῖς ἀπονέμομεν, καὶ οὗ μάλιστ̓ ἐφίενται οἱ ἐν ἀξιώματι, καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τοῖς καλλίστοις ἆθλον. τοιοῦτον δ̓ ἡ τιμή.

καὶ ὅσα μὴ αὑτοῦ ἕνεκα κ.τ.λ.] The general characteristic of all the following topics (to § 19) is disinterestedness; unselfish acts, of which the object is the good of some one else, and not one's own. Any act of this kind, where there is no ulterior end of profit or advantage to oneself, which is done therefore for its own sake, and ‘because it is in itself desirable’, conforms to the definition, § 3, and is καλόν. So the highest and purest form of friendship or love is distinguished from the two lower forms, those whose end is profit and pleasure. Both of these are selfish; true friendship is disinterested, οἱ βουλόμενοι τἀγαθὰ τοῖς φίλοις ἐκείνων ἕνεκα μάλιστα φίλοι, Eth. N. VIII 4 init.; and the true friend is ἕτερος αὐτός, IX 9 init. and Ib. 1170 b 6, or ἄλλος αὐτός, c. 4, 1165 α 31, ‘a second self’ (not one's own self) alter ego. And on the other hand, ἐπιτιμῶσι τοῖς ἑαυτοὺς μάλιστ᾽ ἀγαπῶσι, καὶ ὡς ἐν αἰσχρῷ φιλαύτους ἀποκαλοῦσι, δοκεῖ τε ὁ μὲν φαῦλος ἑαυτοῦ χάριν πάντα πράττειν, καὶ ὅσῳ μοχθηρότερος ᾖ τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον: ὁ δ̓ ἐπιεικὴς διὰ τὸ καλόν, κ.τ.λ. IX 8, init. And in the Politics, III 7, the distinction of the two classes of government, normal and abnormal, ὀρθαί and παρεκβάσεις (deviations from the true standard), is determined by the end of each, according as it is τὸ κοινόν or τὸ ἴδιον συμφέρον: the public interest of others, or the private interest of the governors themselves, one or several; in other words, it is determined by the selfishness or disinterestedness of the governing powers of the state.