Later, however, some of these things were relinquished by the kings, some were taken away by the mob, and in most cities the kings were left only with the sacrifices. Thus most of those who have expressed views concerning the regime, even if what they say is fine in other respects, are in error when it comes to what is useful. For an account of the origins of the tyranny of Dionysius at Syracuse, see Diodorus Siculus 13.8594. (7) But it is not right to say that they are harsh toward those who are unknown. The related verb dokein (seem) is generally translated to hold or to resolve. RESPECTABLE (epieiks): decent, fair, reasonable, equitable; as a substantive, a person of the upper or educated classes. But since it is twofold, as we said, part of it being commerce and part the art of household management, the latter necessary [1258b] and praised, while the art of exchange is justly blamed since it is not according to nature but involves taking from others, usury is most reasonably hated, because ones possessions derive from money itself and not from that for which it was supplied. (21) The necessary sorts of superintendence are, then, to speak in summary fashion, the following. What things bring about revolutions in regimes and how many and of what sort they are; what are the sources of destruction for each sort of regime and into which sort of regime a regime is most particularly transformed; further, what are the sources of preservation both for regimes in common and for each sort of regime separately; and further, by what things each sort of regime might most particularly be preservedthese matters must be investigated in conformity with what has been spoken of. But speech serves to reveal the advantageous and the harmful, and hence also the just and the unjust. But there are several modes in which all decide. [Translation] Stephen Halliwell, Aristotles Poetics. . 2.2. Samos was crushed by Athens in 439 BC after it revolted in protest against an Athenian prohibition of its prosecution of a local war; the humiliations in question were most probably similar attempts by Athens prior to this time to limit the autonomy of these allies. (9) That there is some reason in the dispute, therefore, and that it is not [simply] the case that the ones are slaves by nature and the others free, is clear; and also that such a distinction does exist for some, where it is advantageous as well as just for the one to be enslaved and the other to be master; and that the one ought to be ruled and the other to rule, and to rule by the sort of rule that is natural for them, which is mastery, (10) while bad rule is disadvantageous for both. 24 confirms what is indicated at the end of 4.12, that the use of such devices is characteristic of well-blended regimespolities and aristocracies that approach polities. . Euripides, Bacchae 381. Text and meaning are somewhat uncertain. Reading thesin te echei pros tn ts arets epiphaneian with Thomas instead of epiphaneian te echei pros tn ts arets thesin (has conspicuousness in respect to the position of virtue) with the MSS and Dreizehnter. 45). 67. (14) Hence everything mean should be made foreign to the young, particularly things of this sort that involve either depravity or malice. For this oligarchic revolution at Argos (418 BC), which was short lived, see Thucydides 5.72.3, Diodorus Siculus 12.75.7980. In fact, this passage is problematic in several ways. (9) And even now they show their tombs, which are in full view of one another, but one has a view toward Corinthian territory and the other does not, the tale being told that they arranged the burial this wayDiocles, out of hatred for the passion of his mother, so that the territory of Corinth would [1274b] not be visible from his mound, Philolaus, so that it would be from his. 1957. 50. 2005. 7.2.1324b522, 7.1327b2327). Mission. In the case of the Thessalians, too, they revolted in the beginning when there was still war with those in adjacent territoriesAchaeans, Perrhaebeans, and Magnesians.74 (4) But it would appear that, apart from anything else, supervision of them is troublesome in itselfwhat the manner of ones relations with them should be; for if it is lax, they become arrogant and claim to merit equality with those in authority, and yet if harshly treated they come to hate and conspire against them. For the male, unless constituted in some respect contrary to nature, is by nature more expert at leading than the female, and the elder and complete than the younger and incomplete. Citizenship (3.15) 1. The numbers in the margins of the translation refer to the pages, columns, and lines of the standard edition of Aristotles works prepared for the Prussian Academy by Immanuel Bekker and published in Berlin in 1831. (In what sense we are speaking of deviant regimes will be evident later.3) Hence the citizen must necessarily differ in the case of each sort of regime. Nic. Slaves and women do not conspire against tyrants, and as they prosper under such circumstances they necessarily have a benevolent view both of tyrannies and of democracies (for, indeed, the people wish to be a monarch). (9) Again, that for the sake of which a thing exists, or the end, is what is best; and self-sufficiency is an end and what is best.13 [1253a] From these things it is evident, then, that the city belongs among the things that exist by nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. (10) The worse is always for the sake of the betterthis is evident in a similar way both in what accords with art and in what accords with nature; and the element having reason is better. Good governance renders eunomia, a word connoting social order and competent government. = Constitution of Athens. (6) But all the offices established by him were to be chosen from among notable and well-off personsfrom the five-hundred-bushel-men, the team-men, and the third rating, the so-called cavalrymen; but the fourth, the laborers, had no part in any office.120 Other legislators were Zaleucus for the Epizephyrian Locrians, and Charondas of Catana for both his own citizens and the other Chalcidic cities in Italy and Sicily. (7) That it is not the same in an unqualified sense, therefore, is evident from these things. But a city is excellent, at any rate, through its citizensthose taking part in the regimebeing excellent; and in our case all the citizens take part in the regime. At any rate, he lacks trust in them as not being sufficiently good men; and it is on this account that they repeatedly send them on embassies accompanied by their enemies, and hold that factional conflict between the kings means preservation for the city.92 The legislation concerning common messesthe so-called friends messes93 was also not finely handled by the one who first established it. (8) In Crete, it is handled instead in more common fashion: from all the crops and livestock derived from the public land and from the contributions of the subjects, one portion is set aside for the gods and for common sorts of public service, and another for the common messes, so that everyonewomen, children, and menreceives sustenance from the treasury. See further the Note on the Text and Translation. I have paid particular attention to the possible existence of lacunae (dropped text) throughout the Politics, and have provided notional supplements where it seemed appropriate. Aristotle's Politics - Cambridge University Press & Assessment Cf. Pol. Another is to live as one wants. (35) This error is no slight one. Musaeus was a semilegendary figure to whom various archaic poems and sayings were ascribed. 15. For he equalizes only the possession of land; but there may also be wealth in slaves, livestock, or money, and there is a great supply of it in movables, so-called. Cf. Discussion of the historical reception of the Politics may be found in Dreizehnter 1970, xvxxi, and Gnther Bien, Die Wirkungsgeschichte der aristotelischen Politik, Patzig 1990, 32556; see also the survey of the literature in Touloumakos 1998, 65127. One of the earliest of Aristotles writings was a dialogue on rhetoric, and Aristotle is said to have given lectures on or instruction in rhetoric during the time of his association with Platos Academy. One of his most significant measures to this end was the creation of a body known as the Royal Pages, adolescent sons of the nobility who were brought to Philips court to prepare them for service to the monarchy and to Philip personally. [Translation] Susemihl, Franz, and Robert D. Hicks. 95. For Aristotle, the good of the individual cannot be conceptually separated from the good of the community; political science is the architectonic or master science of practice because it establishes the framework within which all individual action takes place, or more precisely, because the city or the regime necessarily affects in fundamental ways the private behavior of individuals. (13) It is also advantageous if those who deliberate are chosen by election or by lot in equal numbers from the parts of the city; and where the popular sort among the citizens greatly exceed the notables in number, it is advantageous too either not to provide pay for all but only for as many as will balance the multitude of notables, or else to exclude the excess by lot [from participating].54 (14) In oligarchies it is advantageous either to elect additionally certain persons from the multitude to serve as officials, or to establish an official board of the sort that exists in some regimes, made up of those they call preliminary councillors or law guardians, and to [have a popular assembly that will] take up only that business which is considered in the preliminary council; for in this way the people will share in deliberating but will not be able to overturn anything connected to the regime. For it is not possible either not to touch on them or to exhaust all of the arguments pertaining to them (these things are a task for an inquiry belonging to another occasion5). (13) Hence the piece of advice that Periander gave to Thrasyboulus, the lopping off of the preeminent ears, the assumption being that it is necessary always to eliminate the preeminent among the citizens.94 As has in effect been said, one should consider the beginning points of revolutions to be the same in monarchies as in [republican] regimes. It is critical to appreciate Aristotles reservations against traditional Greek cultural attitudes toward war and manliness. Arguably the foundational text of Western political theory, Aristotle's Politics has become one of the most widely and carefully studied works in ethical and political philosophy. 14. His eldest son and successor, Alexander, was murdered shortly thereafter by Amyntass brother-in-law, Ptolemy of Alorus, thus initiating a dynastic struggle that was only resolved with the accession of Amyntass younger son, Philip, in 359. (5) For it came into being for the sake of exchange, but interest actually creates more of it. They had authority regarding leadership in war and those sacrifices that did not require priests; in addition to this, they were judges in legal cases. The word is apoliteuta. 1.5.1216b1125. (10) Though there are many of them and they possess little land, the Aphytaeans nevertheless all engage in farming. A related term is andreia, courage. MANAGER (-nomos): governor, regulator, supervisor, manager. 48. 5. This was notably the case in regard to the institution of kingship, at Athens and elsewhere; cf. (18) Oligarchies undergo revolution and factional conflict, then, through causes of this sort. (15) But concerning these matters let our discussion stand thus. This happened at one time in Elis. (12) Peculiar to Phaleas is the leveling of property; to Plato, having in common women and children as well as property; and further, the law concerning drinkingthat the sober must act as rulers of drinking parties; and also that aspect of military training which has them develop ambidexterity, the assumption being that they should not have one useful and one useless hand.123 (13) There are laws of Draco, but he laid them down for an existing regime; there is nothing peculiar to these laws that is worth recalling, except the harshness deriving from the size of the penalties.124 Pittacus too was a craftsman of laws and not of a regime; peculiar to him is a law that those who are drunk should pay a greater penalty than the sober if they commit an offense. However, it should not be assumed that Aristotles references to the legislator are in all cases to Lycurgus (cf. Now the kings are in this condition because of the honor accorded them, the gentlemen on account of the Senate (for this office is a prize of virtue), and the people on account of the overseers, who are selected from all. 36. The related term patrikos is translated hereditary. U USE (chrsthai): to use, employ, or practice; also translated to treat. Of related words, chrsimos is translated useful, chrstos (a term of moral approbation) decent, chrsis use or usage. Cf. But there is another connected with it. 1356a2528. 58. 47. It makes sense to connect this with the circumstances of the Amphissan War of 338 and the aftermath of the battle of Chaeronea, when Philip behaved with great leniency toward defeated Athens (Chroust 1979, 1:13344). It is among the most necessary things at the beginning to see how the best persons can be at leisure and avoid disgraceful conduct not only when they are ruling but even as private individuals. (3) Now of monarchies, that form which looks toward the common advantage we are accustomed to call kingship; rule of the few (but of more than one person) we are accustomed to call aristocracyeither because the best persons are ruling, or because they are ruling with a view to what is best for the city and for those sharing in it; and when the multitude governs with a view to the common advantage, it is called by the term common to all regimes, polity.35 (4) This happens reasonably. I mean, for example, concerning the number of citizens and the amount of territory. . But what is most puzzling is that Aristotles apparent reference to the discussion of the best regime in books 78 is then followed by a promise to discuss how each type of regime is ordered, and what laws and customs each uses. This has the appearance of an extensive discussion corresponding to nothing in the extant Politics. ARMS (hopla): arms or weapons generally; the armament of a heavy-armed soldier (hoplits), the mainstay of most Greek citizen armies. Chapel Hill, NC. Piraeus, the port of Athens, stood some five miles from the city, but was connected to it by long walls, and its harbors were fortified against attack by sea. (9) And it belongs to this same practical science2 to see both what laws are best and what are fitting for each of the regimes. We see that the entire activity of the political ruler and the legislator is concerned with the city, and the regime is a certain arrangement of those who inhabit the city. (4) Now in all cities there are three parts of the city, the very well off, the very poor, and third, those in the middle between these. There is no clear way to resolve this conundrum, and for that reason, I have seen fit to take the conservative approach of retaining the traditional order, even while I find the internal evidence for transposing the books difficult to dismiss. How could they not? Cf. In any case, it makes sense to suppose that the treatises served also, or even primarily, as reference works which were treated to some extent as the common property of the school and were available for the use of students. 19. Where the multitude of middling persons predominates either over both of the extremities together or over one alone, there a lasting polity50 is capable [1297a] of existing. These are particularly influential in each case, flatterers with tyrants and popular leaders with peoples of this sort. At the beginning of his commentary on Platos Republic, for example, Averroes explains that he has chosen to write on this work because Aristotles book on governance has not yet fallen into our hands (Averroes on Platos Republic, ed. . Nothing else is known of Phaleas. 1960. That is why the young and the wealthy are arrogant. But others became legislatorssome for their own cities, others for certain foreigners as welland engaged in politics themselves; and of these some were craftsmen of laws only, but others of a regime as wellfor example, Lycurgus and Solon, who established both laws and regimes. 6.7. (source edition) 64881062 Year 1885 . 10, 7.4. It is not easy to discover what sort of people these are, yet it makes no little difference with a view to the preservation of the [1264b] community of guardians. We may use the god as testimony to this: he is happy and blessed, yet not through any of the external good things but rather through himself and by being of a certain quality in his nature. Yet [1300a] even the power of the council is overturned in those sorts of democracies in which the people themselves meet and transact all business.
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