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10
There are three kinds of constitution, and an equal number of deviation-
formsâperversions, as it were, of them. The constitutions are monarchy,
aristocracy, and thirdly that which is based on a property qualification, which
it seems appropriate to call timocratic, though most people are wont to call it
polity. The best of these is monarchy, the worst timocracy. The deviation from
monarchy is tyrany; for both are forms of one-man rule, but there is the
greatest difference between them; the tyrant looks to his own advantage, the
king to that of his subjects. For a man is not a king unless he is sufficient to
himself and excels his subjects in all good things; and such a man needs
nothing further; therefore he will not look to his own interests but to those of
his subjects; for a king who is not like that would be a mere titular king. Now
tyranny is the very contrary of this; the tyrant pursues his own good. And it is
clearer in the case of tyranny that it is the worst deviation-form; but it is the
contrary of the best that is worst. Monarchy passes over into tyranny; for
tyranny is the evil form of one-man rule and the bad king becomes a tyrant.
Aristocracy passes over into oligarchy by the badness of the rulers, who
distribute contrary to equity what belongs to the city-all or most of the good
things to themselves, and office always to the same people, paying most
regard to wealth; thus the rulers are few and are bad men instead of the most
worthy. Timocracy passes over into democracy; for these are coterminous,
since it is the ideal even of timocracy to be the rule of the majority, and all
who have the property qualification count as equal. Democracy is the least
bad of the deviations; for in its case the form of constitution is but a slight
deviation. These then are the changes to which constitutions are most subject;
for these are the smallest and easiest transitions.
One may find resemblances to the constitutions and, as it were, patterns of
them even in households. For the association of a father with his sons bears
the form of monarchy, since the father cares for his children; and this is why
Homer calls Zeus âfatherâ; it is the ideal of monarchy to be paternal rule. But
among the Persians the rule of the father is tyrannical; they use their sons as
slaves. Tyrannical too is the rule of a master over slaves; for it is the
advantage of the master that is brought about in it. Now this seems to be a
correct form of government, but the Persian type is perverted; for the modes
of rule appropriate to different relations are diverse. The association of man
and wife seems to be aristocratic; for the man rules in accordance with his
worth, and in those matters in which a man should rule, but the matters that
befit a woman he hands over to her. If the man rules in everything the relation
1883
back to the
book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- 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