CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT to students the most impomant ofthe history of political thought. The Subsidiary contextual materia, Each vl the historical dentiy and contemporary significance ofthe text concerned, Aron th fs isles he srs wil be: Aristo, le by Sophen Boonen More dtd by Gane Legon uber and Cali, Har Hig ‘odin edb un FL. Pann Hooker, etl 8 Metrade ze cone tranes, ie by Gare Carat ARISTOTLE The Politics CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESSNote on the text ‘he tex translated is that ofA. Dreizehner, Artes Pld ck i ign nt in Politics shas ben prefeze this ben signaled sjows the tanlation. The marginal num eon of As Provide the standard mean forcing Aristte and are used by all choles. Bre biographical details of the people rio BOOKI 1 + Every state sa community ofsome kind, and every commun established with a view to some good; for everyone always order to obtain that which they think good. Bu sim at some good, the state or political coms ty, which is the 8 at good in a 5 1 highest good, ications of statesman, hing, id master are the same, and that they differ, nat in the number oftheir subjects. For example, the ruler. :0 led a master; over more, the manager ofa household; larger number, a stetesman or king, a if there were difference between a great household and 2 smal tion which is made between the king andthe stat When the governmentis personal, the ru to the rules ofthe pr turn, then he is 0 in polities, the compound shou | __alvass be resolved simple elements or least parts of the whole. We must therefore look at composed, in order that we may se in what the different kinds of ale differ from one another, and whether any scientific result can be stained about each one of them, 2 + He who thas considers things in their frst growth and origin,The Politics ‘whether state or anything els, will obvain the clearest view of them, In the first place there must be a union of those who cannot ex jut each other; namely, of male and female, that the race may Continue (and this i « union which is formed, not of choice, but because, in common with other animals and with plants, mankind have natural desire eo leave behind them an image of themselves), ‘nd of natural ruler and subject, thatboth may be preserved. For that which can foresee by the exercise of mind is by nature lord and ‘master, and that whicl an with ts body give effect such foresight is ‘subject and by naturea slave; hence master and slave have the same interest, Now nature has distinguished between the female and slave. For she is not niggarly, like the smith who fashions the DelpAian ‘knife for many uses; she makes each thing fora single use, and every instrument is best made when intended for one and not for many ‘uses, But among barbarians no distinction is made between women and slaves, because there is no natural ruler among them: they area ‘community of slaves, male and female. That is why the poets say, — {cis meet that Hlellenes should rule over barbarians! ‘sifthey thought that the barbarian andthe slave were by nature one. (Out ofthese two relationships the first thing to arise isthe family, and Hesiod is right when he says, — house and wife and an ox forthe plough? for the ox is the poor man’s slave. The family is the association «established by narure forthe supply of men’s everyday wants, and the members of it are called by Charondas, ‘companions of the cup board, and by Epimeaides the Cretan, ‘companions of the manger” ‘But when several families are united, and the association aims at something more than the supply of daly needs, the fist society to be Sormed is the id the most natural form of the village sppears ay from the family, composed of the children and 30 are suid to be ‘suckled with the same mill’. And this is the reason why Hellenic states were originally governed by ings; because the Hellenes were under royal rule before they came ‘ogether,as the barbarians stil are, Every familys ruled by the eldest, and therefore in the colonies of the family the kingly form of "opie, pina, roo, "Hes, Woks and Day, 4s. Homer says: Each one gives law to his For they lived disper why men say that the Gods either are or were in tence, originating in the existence forthe sake ofa good life, And therefare i the ear of society sre natural, sois the state, frit is the end of them, and the 8 thing is its end. Far what each thin, developed, we cal its nature, horse, or a family. Besides, the final cause and en best, and tobe sef-sutficing Hence it is evident th ‘Tribeess, lawless, heartless one 2 \whom Homer denounces ~ the na ar; he may be compared to an isolated piece at draughts, Now, that man is more of » gregarious animals is evident. invzin, and munis the only animal whereas mere voice is bu therefore found in other Pereeption of pleasure and pain and che intimat another, and no further), the power of speech the expedient and inexpedient good and evil, of just and un living beings who have this se Hower, 06 government prevailed because they were of the same blood. As 2s was the mannerinancie a characteristic —————— Book I len and to his have a king, because the single complete communi the state comes ito bare needs of life, and com whether we are spes Political animal than bees or any other ‘Nature, as we often say, makes nothing F a cit nature attains to the fF them to one mended to set forth efore likewise the just and the an that he alone has any sense of i and the like, and the association of nse makes a family anda state 5 er ia 1 63‘The Politics ‘urther, the state is by nature cleanly prior to dhe family and to the 2 individual, since the whole is of necessity prior to the part; for example, lebady be descroged, there willbe no faotor and, ‘except homenymously, a8 we might speak ofa stone hand; for when destroyed the hand willbe no beter than that. But things are defined by thee function and poser; and we ought not to say that they ae the same when they no longer have thei proper quality, buconly that they are homtonsmous. The proof thatthe state is a creation of nature and ing and therefore he slike @partin relation tothe whole. But hae who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is, ‘sufficient for himself, must be either abeast ora god: he sno partof a ‘men by nature, and yet he sates of benefictors, For a when perfect but, when separated from law ‘and justice, he isthe worst ofall since armed injustice is the more dangerous, and he is equipped atbirch with arms, meant robe used by lence, which he may use for the worst ends the y. Bur justice is the bond of men in states; forthe administration of justice, Which is the determination of what is just, i the principle of order in, political society 3+ Secing then that the state is made up of households, before speaking of the state we must speak of the management of the household, The parts of household management correspond to the and fevest and wife, ach of these ‘theee relations is and ought tobe:—Tmeen the relat servant, the marrage relation (he conjunction of man and wife has no 10 name ofits own), and thirdly, the paternal relation (his also has no proper name). And there is another element ofa household, the so- according to others a principal part of also have to be considered by us the 4 Book I Let us first speak of master and slave, looking to the needs fe and also seeking to attain some beter theory of theit n than exists at present. Por some are ofthe opinion thatthe rule ofa master isa science, and that the management and the mastership of slaves, and the political and royal saying at the outset, are all the same, Others affirm berween slave and freeman exists by nature; and being an interference with nature is therelore unjust 4» Property is part of the household, and the art of acquiring propery isa part ofthe art of managing the household; for no man rnccessaries. And as in the arts which have a definite sphere the ‘workers must have their own proper instruments forthe accomplish- too, a possession isan instrument for maintaining life, And so, in the arrangement ofthe family, a slave is living possession, and property & number of such instruments; and the servant is himself an inst ‘ment for instruments. For if every instrument could accomplish ‘own work, obeying or anticipating the will af others, ike the statues of Daedalus, or the tripods of Hephaestus, which, says the poet entered the assembly ofthe God it, ‘would weave and the plectrum touch the lyre, chief workmen would nor want servants, nor mastersslaves. Now the instruments commonly so called are instrument of ps whilst possession isan instrament of action, From 2 shuttle we something else besides the use oft, whereas ofa garment or of bed there is only the use. Further, as production and action are different in kind, and both require instruments, the instruments which they employ must likewise differ in kind. Buc life is action and not production, and therefore the slaveis the minister of ection. Again, 2 possession i spoken of asa partis spoken of; forthe partis not only a Part of something els, but wholly belongs toi; and ths s also trae of "Homer adslaves he who isby na creature consists in the First place of sal and body, an The Polities a possession. The master only the master of the sta ‘belong to him, whereas the slave is not only the lav ‘wholly belongs to im, Hence we see what i the nature and of not his own but another's man, isby nature aslave; and he may be said 1 be enother’s man who, being slaves also a possession. And a possession may be defined as an instrament ‘of ation, separable from the possessor. he does not 5 + Butis there any one ‘whom such a condi slavery a intended bynature to bea shve, and for spedient and right, or rather is aot al icully in answering this question, on grounds both ct For that some should rule and others be ruled is only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of ther birth, Some are marked out for subjection, others for rule. And there are many kinds both of rulers and subject (nd that rule is the beter which is exercised over better subjects — for example rule over men is beter than to rule over wild beast; for the work is and anotheris ult work); fri which form a composite whole and which are made up whether continuous or discrete, distinction between the nature as a whole; even in things which ‘ruling principle, asin musical mode, But perhaps this is matter for a more popular investigation, A living the one is by nature the ruler and the other the subject. ‘must look for the intentions of nature in things which retain their ‘nature, and notin things which are corrupted. And therefore we must perfect state both of body and soul, ion ofthe twor although corrupted natures the body will often appear ta rule over the soul, ‘because they are in an evil and unnarural condition. Atal ‘may firstly observe in living creatures both a despotical and ¢ for the sout rules the body with a despotical rules the appetites with a rule. Anditisclear thatthe rule ofthe soul over he body, and of | lement ove the passionate is natural end 6 Book f whereas the equality ofthe two or 7 The same holds good of tame animals have a better nature than better off when they are ruled by man; for then they are preserved. Again, the males by nature superior, and the female inferior, and the one rules, nd the ather i ruled; of necessigy, extends ‘oall mankind, Where then there is such difference as that between soul and body, or between men and animals (28 in the case of those whose business isto use thei they should be under the rule of master Por he who ‘eam be, and therefore is, another's, and he who participates in reason ‘enough t0 apprehend, but nat wo have, is slave by nature. Whereas the fower animals cannot even apprehend reason,¢ they obey their passions. And indeed the use made of slaves and of tame animals is not very difereny; for both with their bodies minister tothe needs of = life, Narure would lke to distinguish between the bodies of freemen and slaves, making the one strong for serie about, the other upright, and although useless for such services, usefil for political ife in the ans both of war and peace. But the opposite often happens ~ that some have the souls and others have the bodies of freemen, And doubtlessif men differed from one another in the mere forms oftheir bodies as much as the statues of the Gads do from men, all would acknowledge that the inferior class should be slaves of the superior. And if this is true of the body, how mach more just that a similar , 88 constituted by Socrates, contains elements of danger; for he makes te same person alwys rule. And this soften a cause of disturbance among the meaner sor, how much more among high- spirited wartiors? But chatthe persons whom he makes nulersmustbe 16 ‘the same is evident; forthe gold which the God minglesin the souls of ‘men isnot atone time given to one, at another time to another, but always to the same:as he says, God mingles god in some, and slvr in others, fiom their very birth; bur brass and iron in those who ace 15 ‘meant to be artisans and husbandmen, Again, he deprives the soardians even of happiness, and says that the legislator ought 10 ‘make the whole ste happy." But the whale cannot be happy unless most, or me of its parts enjoy happiness. In this respect happiness is the even principe in num only in the whole, but in neither ofthe parts; not so happiness. An ‘the guardians are not happy, who are? Surely a ‘common people. The Republic of which Socrates discourses has these difficulties, and others quite as great. 35 6» The same, or nearly che same, objections apply 19 Plato’s ater work, the Laws, and therefore we had better examine briefly the ‘constitution which i therein described. In the Republic, Socrates has efinitely setled inal afew questions onl; suchas the community of | ‘women and children, the community of of the state. The population is divided hnusbandmen, and the other of warriors; third class of counsellors and rules ofthe state. Aetermined whether the husbandmen and artisans are to have a share in the government, and whether they, too, ae tocarry arms and share 35 in the military service, or not. He certainly thinks that the women ‘ought to share in the education of the guardians, and to fight by their to two classes ~ one of "Ren, 489 fh 29 akes the women common, and retains private 1344'cThe Politics cumstances, and not to have having been instrumental in faining the empire ofthe sea in the Persian War, began to geta notion of itself, and followed worthless demagogues, whom the better class If, appears to have given the Athenians only electing to offices and calling a account the magistrates whieh was absolutely necessary; for withoutitthey would have been in state of savory and enmity to the government. Allthe magistrates he ‘appointed from the notables and the men of wealth, that isto say, from the pentacosiomedimni, or from the class called zeugitae, oF from a third class of so-called knights, The fourth class were labourers who had no share in any magistacy ‘Mere legislators were Zaleueus, who gave laws tothe Epizephyian Locrians, end Charondas, who legislated for his own city of Catana, ily. Some people ‘out that Onomacritus was the first person who had in legislation, and that he, although a Loctian by birth, was trained in Crete, where he lived in the exercise of his ‘prophetic ar; that Thales was his companion, and that Lycuryus and Zaleucus were disciples of Thales, as Charondes was of Zaleucus, ‘Bur their account is quite inconsistent with chronology ‘There was also Philolaus, the Thebans. This ‘lover of Diocles, the Olympie victor, who left Corinth in horror of the incestuous passion whit his mather Haleyone had conceived for him, and retired to Thebes, where the two friends together ended their tombs, which are in fll View of one another, but one is visible from the Corinthian territory, the other not. Tradition says the nwo friends arranged them thus, Dioctes our of horror at his misforames, so that the land of Corin ‘ight not be visible from his tomb; Philolaus that it might. Thisis the reason why they settled at Thebes, and so Phlolaus legisla ‘Thebans, and, besides some other enactme the procreation of children, shi ‘These laws were peculi to it numberof the fr Inthe legislation of Charondas there is nothing distinctive, except the suits against fase witnesses. He is the first who instituted 50 Book II «denunciation for perjury. His laws are more exact and more precisely expressed than even those of our modern legislators. (Characteristic of Phaleas is the equalization of property; of Plat the community of women, children, and property, the common meals of women, and the law about drink ofthe feat also the tani squire by practice equal kill with both hands, so that one should be as useful a the other), Draco has left laws, but he adapted them to a constitation whic ‘mentioning, except the greatness and severity ofthe punishments, Pittacu ton he has lew which is peculiar to hit something wrong, he shall be more heasily punished than if he were 0 sober; he looked not to the excuse which might be offered for the drunkard, bu only 1 expediency, for drunken more often than sober people commit acts af violence. Androdamas of Rhegium gave laws ¢o the Chaleidians of Thrace. Some of them relate to homicide, and to heiresses; but there is. 25 nothing distinctive in them, And bere let us conclude our inquiry into the various constitations which either actually exis, or have been devised by theorists BOOK ITI 1 + He who would inquire into the essence and attributes of vatious y2 Kinds of government must fist of all determine what a state is, At present this isa disputed question. Some say that the state has done «35 ‘certain act; others, not the state, but de oligarchy or the tyrant. And the legislator or statesman is concerned entirely with the state, 2 government being an arrangement ofthe inhabitants of «state, But ¢ State is composite like any other whole made up of many parts~ these 40 are the citizens, who compose it Its evident, therefore, that we must 677s" begin by asking, Who is the citizen, and what is the meaning of the term? Forhere again there may bea difference of epinion. He who isa citizen in @ democracy will ofien not be a citizen in an oligarchy Leaving out of consideration those who have heen made citizens, ar stThe Politics Book HT in any other accidental manner, we may $2), is nota eltizen because he lives in a certain place, i and slaves share in the place; noris hea cizen who has egal ights tothe extentof suing and being sued; for this right may be enjoyed under the provisions of « treaty. Resident aliens in many places donot possess even such rights completely, for they are obliged to have a patron, so that they do but imperfeely pariipate in the communi ‘only in a qualified sense, as we might apply the term to children who are too young to be on the register, oF 1 old men who have been relieved from state duties. Of these we do not say quite they are citizens, but add inthe one case that they are inthe ther, that they are past the age, or something precise expression is immaterial, for ovr meaning is Uifculies to those which mentioned may be answered shout disfranchised citizens and about exiles. But the citizen whom we aresecking to defineisa cizenin the strictestsense, against whom no such exception can be taken, and his special characteristics that he shares inthe administration of justice, and in offices. Now of offices some are discontinuous, and the same persons are not allowed to hold them rwice, or can only hold them after fixed interval others have no limit of time ~ for example, the office of juryman or member ofthe these are not magistrates share in the goverament. But sure who have the supreme power don upon this, which is 2 purely ve indeed, be argued that ir functions give question; what we want is a common term including both juryman and member of the assembly. Letus forthe sake of distinction, cal it ‘indefinite office’, and we will assume that those who share in such offi ns. This isthe most comprehensive definition of a citizen, and best suits all those ‘who are generally socal at things of which the underlying kind, one of them being first, another second, when regarded in this relation, nothing, or hardly those which are faulty or perverted are necessarily posterior to dhose which are perfect. (What we mean by perversion will be hereafter explained) The izen then of necessity differs Isbestadapted to the citizen ofa democracy; but not necessa states, Forin some states the people are not acknowledged, nor have they any regular assembly, but only extraordinary ones; and law-suits are distributed by sections among the magistrates, At Lacedaemon, for instance, the Ephors determine suits tracts, which they ute among themselves, while heel and other causes are decided by other magist prevails at Carthage; there certain magistrates decide all causes. We indeed, modify our definition ofthe citizen sos to inclnde these them itis the holder of a definite, not an indefinite office, who is juryman and member ofthe assemls, and tosome orall such holders of definite offices is reserved the right of deliberating oF judging about some things o about all things. The conception ofthe citizen now begins 10 clear up, ‘He who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state is said by us to bea citizen of that tate; and, speaking generally, a sae is a body of citizens suficing for the purposes of life. 2+ But in practice a citizen is defined to be one of whom both the parents are citizens (and not just one, i. father or mother); others insist on going further back; say co two oF three or more ancestors, ‘This isa shore and practical definition; bu there are some who raise the further question of how this third or fourth ancestor came co be a citizen. Gorgias of Leontini, partly because he was in 2 dificult, pertly in irony, sald chat mortars are what is made by the mortar ‘makers, and the citizens of Larisa are those who are made by the Imagisrates; for it is their trade to ‘make Larissaeans’. Yet the question i really simple, for, if according co the definition jus given they shered in the government, they were citizens. This is a berer definition than the other. For the words, ‘born ofa father or mother ‘who is @ citizen’, eannot possibly apply to the frst inhabitants or founders of state, ‘There is a greater difficulty inthe case of those who have been made citizens after a revolution, as by Cleisthenes at Athens after the expulsion of the tyrants, for he enrolled in tribes many metics, both strangers and slaves. The doubt in these cases is, not who is, but 33 %1 democra ‘whether he who is ought to be: Aoubs, wher what ought not to be is some who hi office, and yet ought not to hold office, whom we describe Dut ruling un) it ae 3 + Whether they ought ta be so or up with the previous inguity, For a for example inthe iansiton from an oligarchy ora tyranny toa In such eases p the common good. to democracies, and then the act of the democracy will be neither more st Book IIT the generat butthat the state changes? For, and isa tion, govern and becomes different, Jonger the same, just asa tag differs from a comic ch ‘the members ofboth may be identical. And in this manner we 2 scale containing sounds is suid 10 be different, accord) ight or ought not to fulfil engagement when the form of government changes. 4 There is a point nearly allied to the preceding: Whether the excellence of a goad ma ‘The same question may also be approached ration of the best constitution,‘The Politics ‘business well, and must therefore have excellence, sil, inasmuch 25, all che citizens cannot be alike, the excellence ofthe citizen and af the good man cannot coincide. All mast have the exc citizen ~thus, and thus only, can the tate be perfec have the excellence ofa good man, unless we assume hatin the good state all the citizens must be good the state, as composed of unikes, may be compared tothe ing-as the frst elements into is made up of rational principle and iyo husband and wife, property of masterand slave, these, as well a5 other dissimilar elements, the state is composed; and therefore the excellence of all the citizens cannot Possibly be the sme, any more than the excellence ofthe leader of = ‘chorus isthe same as that of the performer who stands by his side. [ have said enough to show why the two kinds of excellence cannot be absolutely the same. Il there then be no casein which the excellence ofthe good id the excellence of the good man coincide? To this we answer thatthe good rulerisa good and wise man, butthe citizen need. not be wise. And some persons say that even the education of the ruler shouldbe ofa special kind; forare not the children of kings instructed in riding and military exercises? As Euripides says: [No subtle ars for me, but hat the state requires, As though there were a special education needed for a ruler. IPthe excellence ofa good rer isthe same as that of a good man, and we ‘assume further thatthe subject isa citizen as well es the ruler, the excellence of the good citizen and the excellence of the good men ‘cannot be absolutly the same, akhough in some cases they may, for the excellence of a Tewas the sense iy when he ‘wasnota tyrant, meaning that he could not endure to live ina private station. Bus, onthe other hand, it may be argued that men are praised for knowing both how to rule and how to obey, and he is ssid to be a citizen of excellence who is abe to do both well. Now if we suppose the excellence of a good man to be that which rules, and the excellence of the citizen to include ruling and obeying, it cannot be Book IIT ‘uid that they are equally worthy of praise, Since, then itis sometienes ght thatthe ruler and the ruled must lear different things and yo ‘not the same, but thatthe citizen must know and share in them both, the inference is obvious. There i, indeed, the rule of a master, which ‘is concerned with menial offices the master need not know how to Perform these, but may employ others inthe execution of them: the 33 other would be clegrading, and bythe other Lmean the power ac todo menial duties, which vary much in character and are executed by various classes of slaves, such, for example, as handicrafismen, who, as their name signifies, live by the labour oftheic handsunder these» luded, Hence in ancient times, and among some nations, the working classes had no share in the goverment ~ a privilege which they only acquired under extreme democracy (Ceranly the good man and the statesman and the good citizen ought 5 ‘ot to learn the erafis ofinferors except for their own occasional use; if they habitually practise them, there will cease to be a distinction between master and slave ‘Butthere sa rule of another kind, whichis exercised over freemen snd equals by birth ~a constitutional rule, which the ruler must by obeying, as he would learn the duties of general of eaalry by being under the orders of 2 general of cavalry, or the duties of general of infantry by being under the orders ofa general of infant and by having had the command ofa regiment and of a company. It has been well sid that he who has never learned to obey eannot be 2 Good commander. The excellence of the nwo isnot the seme, but 00d citizen ought co be capable of both; he should know how to a freeman, and how to obey ike a Freeman these are the +s excellences ofa citizen. And, although the temperance and justice of a ruler are distinct from those ofa subje« ‘comprise 20 ighim to rule, the other to obey, and ring as the temperance snd courage of men and women differ. Foraman would be thought a coward ifhe had no more courage than 8 courageous woman, and @ woman would be thought loquacious if she imposed no more restraint an her conversation than the good ‘man; and indeed their pat in the management of the houschold is Aifferent, for the duty of the one is to aequite, and ofthe other to. as Preserve. Practical wisdom isthe only excellence peculiar tothe ruler~ s varie The Polities it would seem that all other excellences mast equally belong to ruler and subject. The eveellence of te sub his master is like the fu From these considerations may be gathere question, whether the excellence ofthe good man is the seme as that of the good citizen, or diferent, and how far the same, and how far diferent, 5 - There sil remains one more question about the citizen: Is he only a trae citizen who has «share ofofie, or isthe mechanic to be included? If they who hold no office are to be deemed citizens, not very citizen can have this excellence; for this man isa ctizen. And i none ofthe lower cass are citizens, in which par of the state ate they to be placed? For they are not resident aliens, and they are not Joreigners. May we not reply, thats far as this objection goes there is them than in excluding slaves and freedmen from any of the above-mentioned classes? It must be admitted that we cannot consider all those to be citizens who are ssary tothe existence ofthe state; for example, children are not th grown-up men, who ae citizens absol ion, In ancient times, and among some nation class ere slaves or foreigners, and therefore the majority of them are so now. ‘The best form of state will not admit them to citizenship; bu if are admitted, chen our definition ofthe excellence apply to every citizen, nor fo every free man as such, but only to those Wwho are freed from necessary services, The necessary people are cither slaves who minister wo the wants of individuals, or mec and labourers who are the servants of the community. These tions carried a litle further will explain their position; and indeed ‘hat has been said already is of itself, when understood, explanation enough. Since there are many forms of government there must be many varieties of citizens, and especially of citizens who are subjects; so that under some governments the mechanic and the labourer will be citizens, bu er, a for example, in so-called aristocracies, if there are any, in which honours are given acconding to excellence 8 and merit for no man can practise excellence whois ‘mectanic or labourer, In oligarchies the qu high, and therefore no| hold office who had not retired from business for ten years. But in many states the law goes to the length of admitting aliens; for in some democracies @ man isa citizen though his mother only be a citizen; and a similar principle is applied to sitimate children among many. Nevertheless they make such people citizens because of the dearth of legitimate citizens (fr they Introduce this ort of legislation owing to lack of population) so when the number of citizens increases, first the children of a male or a female slave are excluded; then those whose mothers only are 1 right of citizenship is confined to those whose 1 are both citizens, ident there are dfferentinds of citizens; and he is. 35 8 citizen in the fullest sense who shares in the honours of the state Compare Homer's words ‘lke some dishonoured strangee’s*he who is excluded from the honours of the state is no better than an alien, But when this exclusions concealed, then its objects to deceive theit fellow inhabitants, As to the question whether the excellence of the good man is the ‘same as that ofthe good citizen, the considerations already adduced prove that in some states the good man and the good citizen ace the sane, and in others different, When they are the same itis not every fen who is good man, but only the statesman and those who have ay have, alone or in conjunction with athers, the conduct of public affairs. 5 6 » Having determined these questions, we have next to consider Whether there is only one form of government or many, and if many, what they are, and how many, and what ae the differences between them, A constitution is the arrangement of magistracs . especially of the highest everywhere sovereign inthe state, and the constitution i in fct the government.iiss econ The Politics Forexample,in democracies the people are supreme, butin aligarch- 3 fews and, therefore, we say that these two constitutions also other cases. purpose ofa state, and how many society is regulated, We ha already is treatise, when discussing household manggement and the rule of 2 master, that man is by ve nature apo And thezefore, men, even when they do not require one anthers help, desire t live cogether; not but that they sxe also brought rogether by their common interests insofar as they each attain to any measure of well-being. This is certainly the chief both of individuals end of states. And mankind meet together ‘maintain the politcal community also for the sake of mere life (in ‘some noble element so ong as the evils of| fe g004). And we ll see that if great misfortune, sural sweetness and happiness. Tete is no difficulty in distinguishing the various kinds of role; they have been often defined already in our popular discussions. The rule ofa master, though the slave by nature and the master by nature have in reality the same interests, s nevertheless exercised primarily 435 witha view tothe interestof the master, butaceidentally considers the slave, since, if the slave perish, the rule of che master perishes with hit, On the other hand, the gover feand children and of 4 household, which we have called household management, is ‘exercised inthe fist instance for the good ofthe governed or forthe govern in general, which are only accidentally concerned with the good of the aitists thennselves. For there is no reason why the tainer may Sometimes practise gymnastics, and the helmsman is always one of 55 the erew, The trainer or the helmsman considers the good of those ‘committed to bis care, But, when he is one of the persons taken care ne accidentally participates inthe advantage, forthe helmsman is ining. And so se seeming to find 60 Book Ii ‘while in office, had looked after theirs. But nowadays, forthe sake of the advantage which is to be gained fom the public revenues and fom office, men want to be alvays in office. One might imagine th the rulers, being sickly, were only kept in health while they continued in office; in that ease we may be sure that they would be hunting after places. The conclusion is evident: thar governments which have a regard to the common interest are constituted in accordance with strict principles of justice, and are therefore true forms; but those ‘which regard only the interest of the rulers are all defective and orms, for they are despotic, whereas state is a community 7° Flaving determined these points, we have next to consider how many forms of government there are, and what they are; and in the for when they are determi fs the supreme auth istbe in the hands of ane, or of fees, or of the many, The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or de few, or the many, govern with a view to ‘he common interest; but governments which rule with a view to the private interest, whether ofthe one, or ofthe few, or ofthe many, are sessions. For the members of a state, if they are truly citize ts advantages, Of forms of government ‘which one rules, we call that which regards the common inter kingship; that in which more than one, but not many, aristocracy; and itis socalled, ether because the rulers are the best men, or because they have atheartthe bestineresis ofthe state and of intrest, the government is called by the generic name ~ a consitu- tion, And there isa reason for this use of language. One man ora fe ay excel in excellence; buras the number increases itbecomes more to atin perfection in every kind of excellence, excellence, for this is found in the masses. Hence in a constitutional government the fighting-men have the supreme power, and those who possess arms are the etizens. ‘Ofthe above-mentioned forms, the perversions areas hip, tyranny; of aristocracy oligarchy; of constitutional govern ent, democracy. For tyranny is 2kind of monarchy which has in view 6