nly by becoming a master of the proper virtues through habituation could one achieve excellence. Aristotles believes a good constitution is vital because the way in which the legislators draft the constitution forms the habits of the people. The third way in which we can see the value Aristotle places in character development lies within the way in which he relates the importance of educating the youth with the development of the state. Aristotle lived in Athens towards the end of the Peloponnesian wars, the vicious internal tensions within Greece revealed the inadequacies of both the radical democracy of Athens and the communal/democratic/oligarchic/militaristic government of Sparta. Because of the deficiencies of the political structures surrounding Aristotle he became determined to develop a constitution that took all the positive from past political designs and eliminated the negatives. Educating Hellenic youth in a manner that would impress a life of adherence to the guidelines of this ultimate constitution was therefore an obvious goal. Aristotle had a strong belief that citizens should be educated in a manner that moulds their minds to suit the form of government under which he or she lives , meaning that every government developed its own individual character and the better the character the better the government. Aristotle felt strongly that legislators that did not direct their attention to the education of youth did harm to the constitution. By neglecting to form character at a young age politicians miss an opportunity to instill the values of true virtue and the desire to live a life in pursuit of eudaimonia. Book VII of the Politics states that each government has a unique character, which is a direct representation of the format of the constitution, therefore creation of a constitution that developed a nation in motion towards the state of eudaimonia was imperative to Aristotle ....
