45. THE GOOD AS AN “END,” “PERFECTING” THE “NATURE”.—So far, we have analysed the notion of what is “good” _for some being_; and we have gathered that it implies what _suits_ this being, what contributes to the latter’s realization of its end. But we apply the term “good” to objects, and speak of their goodness, apart from their direct and immediate relation of helpfulness or suitability _for us_. When, for instance, we say of a watch that it is a _good_ one, or of a soldier that he is a _good_ soldier, what precisely do we mean by such attribution of goodness to things or persons? A little reflection will show that it is intelligible _only in reference to an end or purpose_. And we mean by it that the being we describe as good has the powers, qualities, equipments, which _fit it for its end or purpose_. A being is good whose nature is equipped and adapted for the realization of its natural end or purpose. Thus we see that the notion of goodness is correlative with the notion of an end, towards which, or for which, a being has a natural tendency or desire. Without the concept of a nature as tending to realize an end or purpose, the notion of “the good” would be inexplicable.(175) And the two formulæ, “The good is that which beings desire, or towards which they naturally tend,” and “The good is that which is adapted to the ends which beings have in their existence,” really come to the same thing; the former statement resolving itself into the latter as the more fundamental. For the reason why anything is desirable, why it is the object of a natural tendency, is because it is good, and not _vice versa_. The description of the good as that which is desirable, “_Bonum est id quod est appetibile_,” is an _a posteriori_ description, a description of cause by reference to effect.(176) A thing is desirable because it is good. Why then is it good, and therefore desirable? Because it _suits_ the natural needs, and _is adapted_ to the nature, of the being that desires it or tends towards it; because it _helps_ this being, _agrees with_ it, by contributing towards the realization of its end: _Bonum est id quod convenit naturæ appetentis_: The good is that which suits the nature of the being that desires it. The greatest good for a being is the realization of its end; and the means towards this are also good because they contribute to this realization.