[1294a]
[1]
And it seems an impossibility for a city governed
not by the aristocracy but by the base to have well-ordered government, and
similarly also for a city that has not a well-ordered government to be governed
aristocratically. But to have good laws enacted but not obey them does not
constitute well-ordered government. Hence one form of good government must be
understood to consist in the laws enacted being obeyed, and another form in the
laws which the citizens keep being well enacted (for it is possible to
obey badly enacted laws). And for laws to be well enacted is possible
in two ways: they must either be the best laws possible for the given people or
the best absolutely. But aristocracy
in the fullest sense seems to consist in the distribution of the honors
according to virtue; for virtue is the defining factor of aristocracy, as wealth
is of oligarchy, and freedom of democracy (while the principle that a
decision of the majority is supreme is found in them all: for in both oligarchy
and aristocracy and democracies whatever the larger part of those who have a
share in the government decides is supreme). In most states1 then the name of aristocracy is given to that form of
constitutional government,2 for the combination aims only at the
well-off and the poor, wealth and freedom (since in almost the largest
number of states the rich seem to occupy the place of the gentry);
but as there are three things
that claim equal participation
[20]
in the
constitution, freedom, wealth and virtue (for the fourth, what is
called nobility, accompanies the two latter—nobility means ancient
wealth and virtue), it is manifest that the mixture of the two factors,
the rich and the poor,3 ought to be termed
constitutional government, while the mixture of the three factors deserves the
name of aristocracy most of all the various forms of aristocracy beside the true
and best form.It has then been stated that other
forms of constitution also exist besides monarchy, democracy and oligarchy, and
what their characteristics are, and how the various sorts of aristocracy and of
constitutional government differ from one another; and it is manifest that
aristocracy and constitutional government are not widely apart from one
another.Next to what has been said let us state the way in which what
is called constitutional government comes into existence by the side of
democracy and oligarchy, and how it is proper to establish it. At the same time
the defining characteristics of democracy and oligarchy will also be clear; for
we must grasp the distinction between these and then make a combination out of
them, taking, so to say, a contribution from each. And there are three
principles determining this combination or mixture. Under one plan we must adopt both features from the
legislative schemes of the two different constitutions: for example, in regard
to the administration of justice, in oligarchies they institute a fine for the
rich if they do not serve on juries but no pay for the poor for serving, while
in democracies they assign pay for the poor but no fine for the rich, but a
common and intermediate principle is to have both payment and fine, and
therefore this is a mark of a constitutional government, since it is a mixture
of elements from both oligarchy and democracy.
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