§4.1294aδοκεῖ δʼ εἶναι τῶν ἀδυνάτων τὸ εὐνομεῖσθαι τὴν μὴ ἀριστοκρατουμένην πόλιν ἀλλὰ πονηροκρατουμένην, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἀριστοκρατεῖσθαι τὴν μὴ εὐνομουμένην.
And it seems to be among the impossible things for a city that is not governed by the best but by the wicked to have good laws, and likewise for a city that does not have good laws to be governed by the best.
οὐκ ἔστι δὲ εὐνομία τὸ εὖ κεῖσθαι τοὺς νόμους, μὴ πείθεσθαι δέ.
And good law-abidingness (eunomia) is not the laws being well-established but not being obeyed.
διὸ μίαν μὲν εὐνομίαν ὑποληπτέον εἶναι τὸ πείθεσθαι τοῖς κειμένοις νόμοις, ἑτέραν δὲ τὸ καλῶς κεῖσθαι τοὺς νόμους οἷς ἐμμένουσιν (ἔστι γὰρ πείθεσθαι καὶ κακῶς κειμένοις).
Therefore, one must suppose one part of good law-abidingness to be the obeying of the established laws, and another part to be that the laws which they abide by are well-established (for it is possible to obey laws that are badly established too).
τοῦτο δὲ ἐνδέχεται διχῶς· ἢ γὰρ τοῖς ἀρίστοις τῶν ἐνδεχομένων αὐτοῖς, ἢ τοῖς ἁπλῶς ἀρίστοις.
And this is possible in two ways: for either to the best of those possible for them, or to those that are absolutely best.
δοκεῖ δὲ ἀριστοκρατία μὲν εἶναι μάλιστα τὸ τὰς τιμὰς νενεμῆσθαι κατʼ ἀρετήν (ἀριστοκρατίας μὲν γὰρ ὅρος ἀρετή, ὀλιγαρχίας δὲ πλοῦτος, δήμου δʼ ἐλευθερία)· τὸ δʼ ὅ τι ἂν δόξῃ τοῖς πλείοσιν, ἐν πάσαις ὑπάρχει· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ καὶ ἐν ἀριστοκρατίᾳ καὶ ἐν δήμοις, ὅ τι ἂν δόξῃ τῷ πλείονι μέρει τῶν μετεχόντων τῆς πολιτείας, τοῦτʼ ἐστὶ κύριον.
And aristocracy seems to be especially the distribution of honors according to virtue (for the defining principle of aristocracy is virtue, of oligarchy wealth, and of the people [democracy] freedom); but that whatever seems good to the majority exists in all of them; for in oligarchy, in aristocracy, and in democracies, whatever seems good to the majority part of those who share in the constitution, this is authoritative.
ἐν μὲν οὖν ταῖς πλείσταις πόλεσι τοῦτο τῆς πολιτείας εἶδος καλεῖται· μόνον γὰρ ἡ μίξις στοχάζεται τῶν εὐπόρων καὶ τῶν ἀπόρων, πλούτου καὶ ἐλευθερίας· (σχεδὸν γὰρ παρὰ τοῖς πλείστοις οἱ εὔποροι τῶν καλῶν κἀγαθῶν δοκοῦσι κατέχειν χώραν)· ἐπεὶ δὲ τρία ἐστὶ τὰ ἀμφισβητοῦντα τῆς ἰσότητος τῆς πολιτείας, ἐλευθερία πλοῦτος ἀρετή (τὸ γὰρ τέταρτον, ὃ καλοῦσιν εὐγένειαν, ἀκολουθεῖ τοῖς δυσίν· ἡ γὰρ εὐγένειά ἐστιν ἀρχαῖος πλοῦτος καὶ ἀρετή), φανερὸν ὅτι τὴν μὲν τοῖν δυοῖν μίξιν, τῶν εὐπόρων καὶ τῶν ἀπόρων, πολιτείαν λεκτέον, τὴν δὲ τῶν τριῶν ἀριστοκρατίαν μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων παρὰ τὴν ἀληθινὴν καὶ πρώτην.
In most cities, then, this form of constitution is called "politeia"; for the mixture aims only at the wealthy and the poor, at wealth and freedom (for almost among most people, the wealthy seem to occupy the place of the noble and good); but since there are three things that dispute for equality in the constitution—freedom, wealth, and virtue (for the fourth, which they call noble birth, follows upon two of them; for noble birth is ancient wealth and virtue)—it is manifest that the mixture of the two, the wealthy and the poor, should be called "politeia", while that of the three should be called "aristocracy" more than any other, apart from the true and first aristocracy.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἔστι καὶ ἕτερα πολιτείας εἴδη παρὰ μοναρχίαν τε καὶ δημοκρατίαν καὶ ὀλιγαρχίαν, εἴρηται, καὶ ποῖα ταῦτα, καὶ τί διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων αἵ τʼ ἀριστοκρατίαι καὶ αἱ πολιτεῖαι· καὶ ὅτι οὐ πόρρω αὗται ἀλλήλων, φανερόν.
It has been said, therefore, that there are other forms of constitution besides monarchy, democracy, and oligarchy, and what these are, and in what way aristocracies and politeiai differ from one another; and it is manifest that these are not far from one another.
τίνα δὲ τρόπον γίνεται παρὰ δημοκρατίαν καὶ ὀλιγαρχίαν ἡ καλουμένη πολιτεία, καὶ πῶς αὐτὴν δεῖ καθιστάναι, λέγωμεν ἐφεξῆς τοῖς εἰρημένοις.
In what way, then, the so-called politeia comes into being alongside democracy and oligarchy, and how one must establish it, let us discuss next after what has been said.
ἅμα δὲ δῆλον ἔσται καὶ οἷς ὁρίζονται τὴν δημοκρατίαν καὶ τὴν ὀλιγαρχίαν· ληπτέον γὰρ τὴν τούτων διαίρεσιν, εἶτα ἐκ τούτων ἀφʼ ἑκατέρας ὥσπερ σύμβολον λαμβάνοντας συνθετέον.
And at the same time, those things by which they define democracy and oligarchy will also become clear; for we must take the division between them, and then, taking as it were a tally (symbolon) from each of them, put them together.
εἰσὶ δὲ ὅροι τρεῖς τῆς συνθέσεως καὶ μίξεως.
And there are three modes of this composition and mixture.
ἢ γὰρ ἀμφότερα ληπτέον ἃ ἑκάτεροι νομοθετοῦσιν, οἷον περὶ τοῦ δικάζειν (ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ὀλιγαρχίαις τοῖς εὐπόροις ζημίαν τάττουσιν ἂν μὴ δικάζωσι, τοῖς δʼ ἀπόροις οὐδένα μισθόν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς δημοκρατίαις τοῖς μὲν ἀπόροις μισθόν, τοῖς δʼ εὐπόροις οὐδεμίαν ζημίαν· κοινὸν δὲ καὶ μέσον τούτων ἀμφότερα ταῦτα, διὸ καὶ πολιτικόν, μέμεικται γὰρ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν)·
For either we must take both things which each side legislates, as for instance concerning judging in courts (for in oligarchies they ordain a fine for the wealthy if they do not judge, but no pay for the poor, whereas in democracies they ordain pay for the poor, but no fine for the wealthy; and what is common and in the middle of these is both of these, wherefore it is also political [constitutional], for it has been mixed from both);