Bibliotheca Polyglotta

8. (21) Μέγιστον δὲ καὶ κυριώτατον ἁπάντων πρὸς τὸ δύνα(22)σθαι πείθειν καὶ καλῶς συμβουλεύειν <τὸ> τὰς πολιτείας ἁ(23)πάσας λαβεῖν καὶ τὰ ἑκάστης ἤθη καὶ νόμιμα καὶ συμ(24)φέροντα διελεῖν.

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Part 8. The most important and effective qualification for success in persuading audiences and speaking well on public affairs is to understand all the forms of government and to discriminate their respective customs, institutions, and interests.

πείθονται γὰρ ἅπαντες τῷ συμφέροντι, (25) συμφέρει δὲ τὸ σῶζον τὴν πολιτείαν.

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For all men are persuaded by considerations of their interest, and their interest lies in the maintenance of the established order.

ἔτι δὲ κυρία μέν (26) ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ κυρίου ἀπόφανσις, τὰ δὲ κύρια διῄρηται κατὰ (27) τὰς πολιτείας· ὅσαι γὰρ αἱ πολιτεῖαι, τοσαῦτα καὶ τὰ (28) κύριά ἐστιν. εἰσὶν δὲ πολιτεῖαι τέτταρες, δημοκρατία, ὀλι(29)γαρχία, ἀριστοκρατία, μοναρχία, ὥστε τὸ μὲν κύριον καὶ τὸ (30) κρῖνον τούτων τι ἂν εἴη μόριον ἢ ὅλον τούτων. (30) ἔστιν δὲ δημο(31)κρατία μὲν πολιτεία ἐν ᾗ κλήρῳ διανέμονται τὰς ἀρχάς, (32) ὀλιγαρχία δὲ ἐν ᾗ οἱ ἀπὸ τιμημάτων, ἀριστοκρατία δὲ ἐν (33) ᾗ κατὰ τὴν παιδείαν· παιδείαν δὲ λέγω τὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου (34) κειμένην. οἱ γὰρ ἐμμεμενηκότες ἐν τοῖς νομίμοις ἐν τῇ (35) ἀριστοκρατίᾳ ἄρχουσιν. ἀνάγκη δὲ τούτους φαίνεσθαι ἀρίστους, (36) ὅθεν καὶ τοὔνομα εἴληφεν τοῦτο. μοναρχία δ’ ἐστὶν κατὰ (1366a1) τοὔνομα ἐν ᾗ εἷς ἁπάντων κύριός ἐστιν· τούτων δὲ ἡ μὲν (2) κατὰ τάξιν τινὰ βασιλεία, ἡ δ’ ἀόριστος τυραννίς.

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Further, it rests with the supreme authority to give authoritative decisions, and this varies with each form of government; there are as many different supreme authorities as there are different forms of government. The forms of government are four — democracy, oligarchy, aristocracy, monarchy. The supreme right to judge and decide always rests, therefore, with either a part or the whole of one or other of these governing powers. A Democracy is a form of government under which the citizens distribute the offices of state among themselves by lot, whereas under oligarchy there is a property qualification, under aristocracy one of education. By education I mean that education which is laid down by the law; for it is those who have been loyal to the national institutions that hold office under an aristocracy. These are bound to be looked upon as ‘the best men’, and it is from this fact that this form of government has derived its name (’the rule of the best’). Monarchy, as the word implies, is the constitution a in which one man has authority over all. There are two forms of monarchy: kingship, which is limited by prescribed conditions, and ‘tyranny’, which is not limited by anything.

τὸ δὴ (3) τέλος ἑκάστης πολιτείας οὐ δεῖ λανθάνειν· αἱροῦνται γὰρ τὰ (4) πρὸς τὸ τέλος. ἔστι δὲ δημοκρατίας μὲν τέλος ἐλευθερία, (5) ὀλιγαρχίας δὲ πλοῦτος, ἀριστοκρατίας δὲ τὰ περὶ παιδείαν (6) καὶ τὰ νόμιμα, τυραννίδος δὲ φυλακή. δῆλον οὖν ὅτι τὰ (7) πρὸς τὸ τέλος ἑκάστης ἤθη καὶ νόμιμα καὶ συμφέροντα (8) διαιρετέον, εἴπερ αἱροῦνται πρὸς τοῦτο ἐπαναφέροντες. ἐπεὶ (9) δὲ οὐ μόνον αἱ πίστεις γίνονται δι’ ἀποδεικτικοῦ λόγου, ἀλλὰ (10) καὶ δι’ ἠθικοῦ (τῷ γὰρ ποιόν τινα φαίνεσθαι τὸν λέγοντα (11) πιστεύομεν, τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶν ἂν ἀγαθὸς φαίνηται ἢ εὔνους ἢ (12) ἄμφω), δέοι ἂν τὰ ἤθη τῶν πολιτειῶν ἑκάστης ἔχειν ἡμᾶς· (13) τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἑκάστης ἦθος πιθανώτατον ἀνάγκη πρὸς ἑκάστην (14) εἶναι.

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We must also notice the ends which the various forms of government pursue, since people choose in practice such actions as will lead to the realization of their ends. The end of democracy is freedom; of oligarchy, wealth; of aristocracy, the maintenance of education and national institutions; of tyranny, the protection of the tyrant. It is clear, then, that we must distinguish those particular customs, institutions, and interests which tend to realize the ideal of each constitution, since men choose their means with reference to their ends. But rhetorical persuasion is effected not only by demonstrative but by ethical argument; it helps a speaker to convince us, if we believe that he has certain qualities himself, namely, goodness, or goodwill towards us, or both together. Similarly, we should know the moral qualities characteristic of each form of government, for the special moral character of each is bound to provide us with our most effective means of persuasion in dealing with it.

ταῦτα δὲ ληφθήσεται διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ (15) ἤθη φανερὰ κατὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν, ἡ δὲ προαίρεσις ἀνα(16)φέρεται πρὸς τὸ τέλος. (17) ὧν μὲν οὖν δεῖ ὀρέγεσθαι προτρέποντας ὡς ἐσομένων (18) ἢ ὄντων, καὶ ἐκ τίνων δεῖ τὰς περὶ τοῦ συμφέροντος πίστεις (19) λαμβάνειν, ἔτι δὲ τῶν περὶ τὰς πολιτείας ἠθῶν καὶ νομίμων (20) διὰ τίνων τε καὶ πῶς εὐπορήσομεν, ἐφ’ ὅσον ἦν τῷ παρόντι (21) καιρῷ σύμμετρον, εἴρηται· διηκρίβωται γὰρ ἐν τοῖς Πολιτι(22)κοῖς περὶ τούτων.

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We shall learn the qualities of governments in the same way as we learn the qualities of individuals, since they are revealed in their deliberate acts of choice; and these are determined by the end that inspires them. We have now considered the objects, immediate or distant, at which we are to aim when urging any proposal, and the grounds on which we are to base our arguments in favour of its utility. We have also briefly considered the means and methods by which we shall gain a good knowledge of the moral qualities and institutions peculiar to the various forms of government — only, however, to the extent demanded by the present occasion; a detailed account of the subject has been given in the Politics.

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