§4.1290bμᾶλλον τοίνυν λεκτέον ὅτι δῆμος μέν ἐστιν ὅταν οἱ ἐλεύθεροι κύριοι ὦσιν, ὀλιγαρχία δʼ ὅταν οἱ πλούσιοι, ἀλλὰ συμβαίνει τοὺς μὲν πολλοὺς εἶναι τοὺς δʼ ὀλίγους· ἐλεύθεροι μὲν γὰρ πολλοί, πλούσιοι δʼ ὀλίγοι.
Therefore, we must rather say that democracy is when the free are sovereign, and oligarchy when the rich, but it happens that the former are many and the latter are few; for the free are many, and the rich are few.
καὶ γὰρ ἂν εἰ κατὰ μέγεθος διενέμοντο τὰς ἀρχάς, ὥσπερ ἐν Αἰθιοπίᾳ φασί τινες, ἢ κατὰ κάλλος, ὀλιγαρχία ἦν ἄν· ὀλίγον γὰρ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὸ τῶν καλῶν καὶ τὸ τῶν μεγάλων.
For indeed if they distributed offices according to stature, as some say they do in Ethiopia, or according to beauty, it would be an oligarchy; for the number both of the beautiful and of the tall is small.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τούτοις μόνον ἱκανῶς ἔχει διωρίσθαι τὰς πολιτείας ταύτας· ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ πλείονα μόρια καὶ τοῦ δήμου καὶ τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας εἰσίν, ἔτι διαληπτέον ὡς οὔτʼ ἂν οἱ ἐλεύθεροι ὀλίγοι ὄντες πλειόνων καὶ μὴ ἐλευθέρων ἄρχωσι, δῆμος, οἷον ἐν Ἀπολλωνίᾳ τῇ ἐν τῷ Ἰονίῳ καὶ ἐν Θήρᾳ (ἐν τούτων γὰρ ἑκατέρᾳ τῶν πόλεων ἐν ταῖς τιμαῖς ἦσαν οἱ διαφέροντες κατʼ εὐγένειαν καὶ πρῶτοι κατασχόντες τὰς ἀποικίας, ὀλίγοι ὄντες, πολλῶν), οὔτε ἂν οἱ πλούσιοι διὰ τὸ κατὰ πλῆθος ὑπερέχειν, δῆμος, οἷον ἐν Κολοφῶνι τὸ παλαιόν (ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἐκέκτηντο μακρὰν οὐσίαν οἱ πλείους πρὶν γενέσθαι τὸν πόλεμον τὸν πρὸς Λυδούς), ἀλλʼ ἔστι δημοκρατία μὲν ὅταν οἱ ἐλεύθεροι καὶ ἄποροι πλείους ὄντες κύριοι τῆς ἀρχῆς ὦσιν, ὀλιγαρχία δʼ ὅταν οἱ πλούσιοι καὶ εὐγενέστεροι ὀλίγοι ὄντες.
However, not even by these alone is it sufficient to have defined these constitutions; but since there are more parts both of the people and of the oligarchy, we must further distinguish that neither if the free, being few, should rule over more numerous and non-free people, is it a democracy—as for example in Apollonia on the Ionian Gulf and in Thera (for in each of these cities those who excelled in nobility and had been the first to found the colonies, being few out of many, held the honors)—nor if the rich, because of surpassing in number, should rule, is it a democracy—as for example in Colophon of old (for there the majority possessed large property before the war against the Lydians occurred)—but there is democracy when the free and poor, being more numerous, are sovereign over the office, and oligarchy when the rich and more noble, being few, are sovereign.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν πολιτεῖαι πλείους, καὶ διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν, εἴρηται· διότι δὲ πλείους τῶν εἰρημένων, καὶ τίνες καὶ διὰ τί, λέγωμεν ἀρχὴν λαβόντες τὴν εἰρημένην πρότερον.
That there are, then, several constitutions, and for what reason, has been said; but why there are more than those mentioned, and what they are and why, let us state, taking as a starting point the one mentioned before.
ὁμολογοῦμεν γὰρ οὐχ ἓν μέρος ἀλλὰ πλείω πᾶσαν ἔχειν πόλιν.
For we agree that every city has not one part but several.
ὥσπερ οὖν εἰ ζῴου προῃρούμεθα λαβεῖν εἴδη, πρῶτον ἂν ἀποδιωρίζομεν ἅπερ ἀναγκαῖον πᾶν ἔχειν ζῷον (οἷον ἔνιά τε τῶν αἰσθητηρίων καὶ τὸ τῆς τροφῆς ἐργαστικὸν καὶ δεκτικόν, οἷον στόμα καὶ κοιλίαν, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις, οἷς κινεῖται μορίοις ἕκαστον αὐτῶν)· εἰ δὲ τοσαῦτα εἴη μόνον, τούτων δʼ εἶεν διαφοραί (λέγω δʼ οἷον στόματός τινα πλείω γένη καὶ κοιλίας καὶ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν κινητικῶν μορίων), ὁ τῆς συζεύξεως τῆς τούτων ἀριθμὸς ἐξ ἀνάγκης ποιήσει πλείω γένη ζῴων (οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τε ταὐτὸν ζῷον ἔχειν πλείους στόματος διαφοράς, ὁμοίως δὲ οὐδʼ ὤτων), ὥσθʼ ὅταν ληφθῶσι τούτων πάντες οἱ ἐνδεχόμενοι συνδυασμοί, ποιήσουσιν εἴδη ζῴου, καὶ τοσαῦτʼ εἴδη τοῦ ζῴου ὅσαι περ αἱ συζεύξεις τῶν ἀναγκαίων μορίων εἰσίν—τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων πολιτειῶν.
Just as, then, if we chose to grasp the species of animal, we would first define those things which it is necessary for every animal to have (for example, some of the sensory organs, and that which works and receives food, such as a mouth and a stomach, and in addition to these, the parts by which each of them moves); and if there were only these, but there were differences among them (I mean, for example, several kinds of mouth and stomach and sensory organs, and further also of the locomotor parts), the number of the combinations of these will by necessity make several genera of animals (for it is not possible for the same animal to have several differences of mouth, and similarly nor of ears), so that when all the possible combinations of these are taken, they will make species of animal, and there will be as many species of animal as there are combinations of the necessary parts—in the very same way indeed also of the constitutions mentioned.
καὶ γὰρ αἱ πόλεις οὐκ ἐξ ἑνὸς ἀλλʼ ἐκ πολλῶν σύγκεινται μερῶν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται πολλάκις.
For indeed cities are composed not of one but of many parts, as has been said many times.
ἓν μὲν οὖν ἐστι τὸ περὶ τὴν τροφὴν πλῆθος, οἱ καλούμενοι γεωργοί,
One indeed is the multitude concerned with food, who are called farmers,