[13]
It is clear then, from what has been said,
that a thing may be greater in two ways; for if it is a first principle but
another is not, it will appear to be greater, and if it is not a first principle
[but an end], while another is; for the end is greater and not
a first principle.1 Thus,
Leodamas, when accusing Callistratus,2 declared that the man who had given the advice
was more guilty than the one who carried it out; for if he had not
suggested it, it could not have been carried out. And conversely, when accusing
Chabrias, he declared that the man who had carried out the advice was more
guilty than the one who had given it; for it could not have been carried out,
had there not been some one to do so, and the reason why people devised plots
was that others might carry them out.
1 A thing may be of greater importance in two ways: （a） that which is a first principle is superior to that which is not; （b） that which is not a first principle, but an end, is superior to that which is a first principle; for the end is superior to the means. In the illustration that follows: （a） the first principle （suggesting the plot） is said to be of more importance （worse） than the end or result （carrying out the plot）; （b） on the other hand, this end is said to be worse than the first principle, since the end is superior to the means. Thus the question of the amount of guilt can be argued both ways.
2 Oropus, a frontier-town of Boeotia and Attica, had been occupied by the Thebans （366 B.C.）. Callistratus suggested an arrangement which was agreed to and carried out by Chabrias—that the town should remain in Theban possession for the time being. Negotiations proved unsuccessful and the Thebans refused to leave, whereupon Chabrias and Callistratus were brought to trial. Leodamas was an Athenian orator, pupil of Isocrates, and pro-Theban in his political views.
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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