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or the best absolutely.
The distribution of offices according to merit is a special characteristic of
aristocracy, for the principle of an aristocracy is virtue, as wealth is of an
oligarchy, and freedom of a democracy. In all of them there of course exists
the right of the majority, and whatever seems good to the majority of those
who share in the government has authority. Now in most states the form
called polity exists, for the fusion goes no further than the attempt to unite the
freedom of the poor and the wealth of the rich, who commonly take the place
of the noble. But as there are three grounds on which men claim an equal
share in the government, freedom, wealth, and virtue (for the fourth or good
birth is the result of the two last, being only ancient wealth and virtue), it is
clear that the admixture of the two elements, that is to say, of the rich and
poor, is to be called a polity or constitutional government; and the union of
the three is to be called aristocracy or the government of the best, and more
than any other form of government, except the true and ideal, has a right to
this name.
Thus far I have shown the existence of forms of states other than monarchy,
democracy, and oligarchy, and what they are, and in what aristocracies differ
from one another, and polities from aristocracies—that the two latter are not
very unlike is obvious.
IX
Next we have to consider how by the side of oligarchy and democracy the
so-called polity or constitutional government springs up, and how it should be
organized. The nature of it will be at once understood from a comparison of
oligarchy and democracy; we must ascertain their different characteristics,
and taking a portion from each, put the two together, like the parts of an
indenture. Now there are three modes in which fusions of government may be
affected. In the first mode we must combine the laws made by both
governments, say concerning the administration of justice. In oligarchies they
impose a fine on the rich if they do not serve as judges, and to the poor they
give no pay; but in democracies they give pay to the poor and do not fine the
rich. Now (1) the union of these two modes is a common or middle term
between them, and is therefore characteristic of a constitutional government,
for it is a combination of both. This is one mode of uniting the two elements.
Or (2) a mean may be taken between the enactments of the two: thus
democracies require no property qualification, or only a small one, from
members of the assembly, oligarchies a high one; here neither of these is the
common term, but a mean between them. (3) There is a third mode, in which
something is borrowed from the oligarchical and something from the
2008
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Buch The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Titel
- The Complete Aristotle
- Autor
- Aristotle
- Datum
- ~322 B.C.
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- PD
- Abmessungen
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Seiten
- 2328
- Schlagwörter
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Kategorien
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156