§8.564ταὐτόν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὅπερ ἐν τῇ ὀλιγαρχίᾳ νόσημα ἐγγενόμενον ἀπώλεσεν αὐτήν, τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ πλέον τε καὶ ἰσχυρότερον ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐγγενόμενον καταδουλοῦται δημοκρατίαν.
"The very same disease," I said, "which, arising in oligarchy, destroyed it, this same disease, arising in this one to a greater and stronger degree out of license, enslaves democracy.
καὶ τῷ ὄντι τὸ ἄγαν τι ποιεῖν μεγάλην φιλεῖ εἰς τοὐναντίον μεταβολὴν ἀνταποδιδόναι, ἐν ὥραις τε καὶ ἐν φυτοῖς καὶ ἐν σώμασιν, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐν πολιτείαις οὐχ ἥκιστα. εἰκός, ἔφη.
And indeed, to do anything to excess is wont to bring about a great change to the opposite, in seasons, in plants, in bodies, and not least in constitutions." "Reasonably so," he said.
ἡ γὰρ ἄγαν ἐλευθερία ἔοικεν οὐκ εἰς ἄλλο τι ἢ εἰς ἄγαν δουλείαν μεταβάλλειν καὶ ἰδιώτῃ καὶ πόλει. εἰκὸς γάρ. εἰκότως τοίνυν, εἶπον, οὐκ ἐξ ἄλλης πολιτείας τυραννὶς καθίσταται ἢ ἐκ δημοκρατίας, ἐξ οἶμαι τῆς ἀκροτάτης ἐλευθερίας δουλεία πλείστη τε καὶ ἀγριωτάτη. ἔχει γάρ, ἔφη, λόγον.
"For excessive freedom seems to change into nothing other than excessive slavery, both for the individual and for the city." "Reasonably indeed." "Then," I said, "it is with good reason that tyranny is established from no other constitution than democracy; from, I suppose, the extreme of freedom arises the greatest and most savage slavery." "It makes sense," he said.
ἀλλʼ οὐ τοῦτʼ οἶμαι, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἠρώτας, ἀλλὰ ποῖον νόσημα ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ τε φυόμενον ταὐτὸν καὶ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ δουλοῦται αὐτήν. ἀληθῆ, ἔφη, λέγεις.
"But I do not think," I said, "that this is what you were asking, but rather what kind of disease, growing the same in both oligarchy and democracy, enslaves it." "You speak the truth," he said.
ἐκεῖνο τοίνυν, ἔφην, ἔλεγον τὸ τῶν ἀργῶν τε καὶ δαπανηρῶν ἀνδρῶν γένος, τὸ μὲν ἀνδρειότατον ἡγούμενον αὐτῶν, τὸ δʼ ἀνανδρότερον ἑπόμενον· οὓς δὴ ἀφομοιοῦμεν κηφῆσι, τοὺς μὲν κέντρα ἔχουσι, τοὺς δὲ ἀκέντροις. καὶ ὀρθῶς γʼ, ἔφη.
"Then," I said, "I was speaking of that class of idle and spendthrift men, the most courageous of whom lead, and the less courageous follow; whom we indeed liken to drones, some having stings, others stingless." "And very correctly," he said.
τούτω τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ταράττετον ἐν πάσῃ πολιτείᾳ ἐγγιγνομένω, οἷον περὶ σῶμα φλέγμα τε καὶ χολή· ὣ δὴ καὶ δεῖ τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἰατρόν τε καὶ νομοθέτην πόλεως μὴ ἧττον ἢ σοφὸν μελιττουργὸν πόρρωθεν εὐλαβεῖσθαι, μάλιστα μὲν ὅπως μὴ ἐγγενήσεσθον, ἂν δὲ ἐγγένησθον, ὅπως ὅτι τάχιστα σὺν αὐτοῖσι τοῖς κηρίοις ἐκτετμήσεσθον. ναὶ μὰ Δία, ἦ δʼ ὅς, παντάπασί γε. ὧδε τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, λάβωμεν, ἵνʼ εὐκρινέστερον ἴδωμεν ὃ βουλόμεθα. πῶς; τριχῇ διαστησώμεθα τῷ λόγῳ δημοκρατουμένην πόλιν, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἔχει. ἓν μὲν γάρ που τὸ τοιοῦτον γένος ἐν αὐτῇ ἐμφύεται διʼ ἐξουσίαν οὐκ ἔλαττον ἢ ἐν τῇ ὀλιγαρχουμένῃ. ἔστιν οὕτω. πολὺ δέ γε δριμύτερον ἐν ταύτῃ ἢ ἐν ἐκείνῃ. πῶς; ἐκεῖ μὲν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔντιμον εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ἀπελαύνεσθαι τῶν ἀρχῶν, ἀγύμναστον καὶ οὐκ ἐρρωμένον γίγνεται· ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ δὲ τοῦτό που τὸ προεστὸς αὐτῆς, ἐκτὸς ὀλίγων, καὶ τὸ μὲν δριμύτατον αὐτοῦ λέγει τε καὶ πράττει, τὸ δʼ ἄλλο περὶ τὰ βήματα προσίζον βομβεῖ τε καὶ οὐκ ἀνέχεται τοῦ ἄλλα λέγοντος, ὥστε πάντα ὑπὸ τοῦ τοιούτου διοικεῖται ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ πολιτείᾳ χωρίς τινων ὀλίγων. μάλα γε, ἦ δʼ ὅς.
"These two, then," I said, "disturb every constitution when they arise, just as phlegm and bile do in the body; which indeed the good physician and legislator of a city must guard against from afar, no less than a wise bee-keeper, primarily so that they do not arise, but if they do, so that they are cut out as quickly as possible along with the combs themselves." "By Zeus," he said, "absolutely so." "In this way, then," I said, "let us grasp it, so that we may see more clearly what we want." "How?" "Let us divide in our argument a democratically governed city into three, just as indeed it is." "It is so." "For first, I suppose, one such class grows in it because of license, no less than in the oligarchical one." "It is so." "And indeed, it is much fiercer in this one than in that." "How?" "There, because of not being held in honor, but being driven away from office, it becomes unexercised and not strong; but in a democracy, this is, I suppose, what presides over it, with few exceptions, and the fiercest part of it speaks and acts, while the rest, settling around the speaker's platforms, buzzes and does not tolerate anyone who speaks otherwise, so that everything is administered by such a class in such a constitution, with some few exceptions." "Very much so," he said.
ἄλλο τοίνυν τοιόνδε ἀεὶ ἀποκρίνεται ἐκ τοῦ πλήθους. τὸ ποῖον; χρηματιζομένων που πάντων, οἱ κοσμιώτατοι φύσει ὡς τὸ πολὺ πλουσιώτατοι γίγνονται. εἰκός. πλεῖστον δὴ οἶμαι τοῖς κηφῆσι μέλι καὶ εὐπορώτατον ἐντεῦθεν βλίττει. πῶς γὰρ ἄν, ἔφη, παρά γε τῶν σμικρὰ ἐχόντων τις βλίσειεν; πλούσιοι δὴ οἶμαι οἱ τοιοῦτοι καλοῦνται κηφήνων βοτάνη. σχεδόν τι, ἔφη.
"Then another class of this sort is always separated from the multitude." "Of what sort?" "When all are making money, I suppose, those who are by nature most orderly for the most part become the richest." "Reasonably." "Then, I think, the most and easiest honey is squeezed for the drones from there." "For how," he said, "could anyone squeeze honey from those who have little?" "Then, I think, such rich people are called the pasture of drones." "Very nearly so," he said.
§8.565δῆμος δʼ ἂν εἴη τρίτον γένος, ὅσοι αὐτουργοί τε καὶ ἀπράγμονες, οὐ πάνυ πολλὰ κεκτημένοι· ὃ δὴ πλεῖστόν τε καὶ κυριώτατον ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ ὅτανπερ ἁθροισθῇ. ἔστιν γάρ, ἔφη· ἀλλʼ οὐ θαμὰ ἐθέλει ποιεῖν τοῦτο, ἐὰν μὴ μέλιτός τι μεταλαμβάνῃ. οὐκοῦν μεταλαμβάνει, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἀεί, καθʼ ὅσον δύνανται οἱ προεστῶτες, τοὺς ἔχοντας τὴν οὐσίαν ἀφαιρούμενοι, διανέμοντες τῷ δήμῳ, τὸ πλεῖστον αὐτοὶ ἔχειν. μεταλαμβάνει γὰρ οὖν, ἦ δʼ ὅς, οὕτως.
"And the people would be the third class, as many as work with their own hands and are uninvolved in politics, not possessing very much; which indeed is the largest and most sovereign class in a democracy whenever it is assembled." "For it is," he said; "but it is not often willing to do this, unless it gets a share of some honey." "Then it does get a share," I said, "always, as far as the leaders are able, by taking away from those who have property, distributing it to the people, while keeping the most for themselves." "Indeed, it gets a share so," he said.
ἀναγκάζονται δὴ οἶμαι ἀμύνεσθαι, λέγοντές τε ἐν τῷ δήμῳ καὶ πράττοντες ὅπῃ δύνανται, οὗτοι ὧν ἀφαιροῦνται. πῶς γὰρ οὔ; αἰτίαν δὴ ἔσχον ὑπὸ τῶν ἑτέρων, κἂν μὴ ἐπιθυμῶσι νεωτερίζειν, ὡς ἐπιβουλεύουσι τῷ δήμῳ καί εἰσιν ὀλιγαρχικοί. τί μήν; οὐκοῦν καὶ τελευτῶντες, ἐπειδὰν ὁρῶσι τὸν δῆμον, οὐχ ἑκόντα ἀλλʼ ἀγνοήσαντά τε καὶ ἐξαπατηθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν διαβαλλόντων, ἐπιχειροῦντα σφᾶς ἀδικεῖν, τότʼ ἤδη, εἴτε βούλονται εἴτε μή, ὡς ἀληθῶς ὀλιγαρχικοὶ γίγνονται, οὐχ ἑκόντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ κακὸν ἐκεῖνος ὁ κηφὴν ἐντίκτει κεντῶν αὐτούς. κομιδῇ μὲν οὖν. εἰσαγγελίαι δὴ καὶ κρίσεις καὶ ἀγῶνες περὶ ἀλλήλων γίγνονται. καὶ μάλα. οὐκοῦν ἕνα τινὰ ἀεὶ δῆμος εἴωθεν διαφερόντως προΐστασθαι ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τοῦτον τρέφειν τε καὶ αὔξειν μέγαν; εἴωθε γάρ. τοῦτο μὲν ἄρα, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, δῆλον, ὅτι, ὅτανπερ φύηται τύραννος, ἐκ προστατικῆς ῥίζης καὶ οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἐκβλαστάνει. καὶ μάλα δῆλον. τίς ἀρχὴ οὖν μεταβολῆς ἐκ προστάτου ἐπὶ τύραννον;
"Then, I think, those from whom things are taken are forced to defend themselves, both speaking before the people and acting in whatever way they can." "For how could they not?" "Then they receive blame from the others, even if they do not desire to make a revolution, as plotting against the people and being oligarchs." "How could they not indeed?" "Then in the end, when they see the people, not willingly but out of ignorance and being deceived by the slanderers, attempting to do them injustice, then at last, whether they want to or not, they become truly oligarchic, not of their own free will, but this evil too that drone breeds in them, by stinging them." "Quite so." "Then impeachments, trials, and contests against one another arise." "Very much so." "Is it not then accustomed for the people always to set up one particular person as their leader, and to nurture and increase him to greatness?" "For it is accustomed." "This, then," I said, "is clear, that whenever a tyrant grows, he sprouts from a protector's root and from nowhere else." "Very clear indeed." "What then is the beginning of the change from a protector to a tyrant?
ἢ δῆλον ὅτι ἐπειδὰν ταὐτὸν ἄρξηται δρᾶν ὁ προστάτης τῷ ἐν τῷ μύθῳ ὃς περὶ τὸ ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ τὸ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Λυκαίου ἱερὸν λέγεται; τίς; ἔφη.
Or is it clear that it is when the protector begins to do the same thing as the man in the myth that is told about the temple of Lycaean Zeus in Arcadia?" "What is it?" he said.
ὡς ἄρα ὁ γευσάμενος τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου σπλάγχνου, ἐν ἄλλοις ἄλλων ἱερείων ἑνὸς ἐγκατατετμημένου, ἀνάγκη δὴ τούτῳ λύκῳ γενέσθαι.
"Namely, that he who tasted human entrails, when one piece of it had been cut up among those of other victims, is of necessity destined to become a wolf.
ἢ οὐκ ἀκήκοας τὸν λόγον; ἔγωγε.
Or have you not heard the story?" "I have indeed."