Prior to Man Himself

Aristotle claims that, "The city is prior by nature to the household and to each of us. For the whole must of necessity be prior to the part: for if the whole [body] is destroyed there will not be a foot or a hand..." This statement is very confusing, therefore, I tried to understand it by breaking it down.

"The city is prior by nature to the household and to each of us." This mean the city naturally came before the household or even us. We must remember that we are not talking about a real city filled with houses, but a city by definition. One that is self-sufficient and with people who are living well and performing what they were made to do.

"For the whole must of necessity be prior to the part: for if the whole [body] is destroyed there will not be a foot or a hand." In other word, the city is the body and the households and villages are the hands and feet. No body, no feet. Therefore, all households and villages have sprung off of cities, slowly growing and become a city themselves.

What about the first city? That was the garden of Edan. God had provided Adam and Eve with everything they needed, making them self-sufficient, had given Adam Eve, making them living well, and they had time to do what man was supposed to do, love God and, according to Aristotle, think. After they were thrown out, they were still growing on their experiences, making them a hand to the body.

Overall, Aristotle was right when he said the City was prior to the household, and even humans, because of God and the Garden of Edan.