How did Aristotle’s idea of the mean apply to temperance?

In Aristotelian ethics, the golden mean serves as a framework for virtue, which Aristotle defines as a middle ground between the extremes of excess and deficiency.12

Regarding the virtue of temperance (or self-restraint), Aristotle applies this principle by identifying it as the appropriate balance in the enjoyment of physical pleasures. A temperate person avoids the excess of self-indulgence—such as eating or drinking too much—while also avoiding the deficiency of being entirely indifferent to such pleasures.123

Aristotle notes that temperance is a unique case in the application of the mean because, while the excess of self-indulgence is common and easily identified, the opposite error of having an insufficient concern for physical pleasures is rare and scarcely exists. Ultimately, the temperate person exercises practical wisdom to determine the appropriate degree of interest in these appetites, ensuring they are neither lustful nor frigid.231