§5.1313bἀλλὰ πάντα φυλάττειν ὅθεν εἴωθε γίγνεσθαι δύο, φρόνημά τε καὶ πίστις, καὶ μήτε σχολὰς μήτε ἄλλους συλλόγους ἐπιτρέπειν γίγνεσθαι σχολαστικούς, καὶ πάντα ποιεῖν ἐξ ὧν ὅτι μάλιστα ἀγνῶτες ἀλλήλοις ἔσονται πάντες (ἡ γὰρ γνῶσις πίστιν ποιεῖ μᾶλλον πρὸς ἀλλήλους)· καὶ τὸ τοὺς ἐπιδημοῦντας αἰεὶ φανεροὺς εἶναι καὶ διατρίβειν περὶ θύρας (οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἥκιστα λανθάνοιεν τί πράττουσι, καὶ φρονεῖν ἂν ἐθίζοιντο μικρὸν αἰεὶ δουλεύοντες)· καὶ τἆλλα ὅσα τοιαῦτα Περσικὰ καὶ βάρβαρα τυραννικά ἐστιν (πάντα γὰρ ταὐτὸν δύναται)· καὶ τὸ μὴ λανθάνειν πειρᾶσθαι ὅσα τυγχάνει τις λέγων ἢ πράττων τῶν ἀρχομένων, ἀλλʼ εἶναι κατασκόπους, οἷον περὶ Συρακούσας αἱ ποταγωγίδες καλούμεναι, καὶ οὓς ὠτακουστὰς ἐξέπεμπεν Ἱέρων, ὅπου τις εἴη συνουσία καὶ σύλλογος (παρρησιάζονταί τε γὰρ ἧττον, φοβούμενοι τοὺς τοιούτους, κἂν παρρησιάζωνται, λανθάνουσιν ἧττον)· καὶ τὸ διαβάλλειν ἀλλήλοις καὶ συγκρούειν καὶ φίλους φίλοις καὶ τὸν δῆμον τοῖς γνωρίμοις καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους ἑαυτοῖς.
But rather to watch everything from which two things are accustomed to arise, high spirit and trust, and to allow neither schools nor other assemblies for discussion, and to do everything by which as far as possible all will be unknown to one another (for mutual acquaintance produces more trust toward one another); and that those who are residing there should always be in the open and spend time at the gates (for in this way they would least escape notice in what they do, and they would be accustomed to have a small mind by always living as slaves); and all other such Persian and barbarian tyrannical measures (for they all have the same effect); and to try not to escape notice in whatever any of the subjects happens to say or do, but to have spies, like the so-called "bringers of news" in Syracuse, and those "eavesdroppers" whom Hiero used to send out wherever there was any gathering or assembly (for they speak less freely, fearing such people, and even if they do speak freely, they escape notice less); and to slander one another and set friends at variance with friends, and the people with the notables, and the rich with themselves.
καὶ τὸ πένητας ποιεῖν τοὺς ἀρχομένους τυραννικόν, ὅπως μήτε φυλακὴ τρέφηται καὶ πρὸς τῷ καθʼ ἡμέραν ὄντες ἄσχολοι ὦσιν ἐπιβουλεύειν.
And it is tyrannical to make the subjects poor, so that a guard cannot be maintained, and being occupied with daily necessities, they may have no leisure to conspire.
παράδειγμα δὲ τούτου αἵ τε πυραμίδες αἱ περὶ Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὰ ἀναθήματα τῶν Κυψελιδῶν καὶ τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου ἡ οἰκοδόμησις ὑπὸ τῶν Πεισιστρατιδῶν, καὶ τῶν περὶ Σάμον ἔργα Πολυκράτεια (πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα δύναται ταὐτόν, ἀσχολίαν καὶ πενίαν τῶν ἀρχομένων)· καὶ ἡ εἰσφορὰ τῶν τελῶν, οἷον ἐν Συρακούσαις (ἐν πέντε γὰρ ἔτεσιν ἐπὶ Διονυσίου τὴν οὐσίαν ἅπασαν εἰσενηνοχέναι συνέβαινεν).
An example of this is the pyramids in Egypt, and the votive offerings of the Cypselids, and the building of the Olympieum by the Peisistratidae, and the Polycratean works around Samos (for all these have the same effect, lack of leisure and poverty of the subjects); and the levying of taxes, as in Syracuse (for in five years under Dionysius it turned out that they had paid in their entire property).
ἔστι δὲ καὶ πολεμοποιὸς ὁ τύραννος, ὅπως δὴ ἄσχολοί τε ὦσι καὶ ἡγεμόνος ἐν χρείᾳ διατελῶσιν ὄντες.
And the tyrant is also a warmonger, so that indeed they may have no leisure and may continue being in need of a leader.
καὶ ἡ μὲν βασιλεία σῴζεται διὰ τῶν φίλων, τυραννικὸν δὲ τὸ μάλιστʼ ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς φίλοις, ὡς βουλομένων μὲν πάντων δυναμένων δὲ μάλιστα τούτων.
And kingship is preserved through friends, but it is tyrannical to distrust friends most of all, on the ground that while all wish to destroy him, these are most able to do so.
καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν δημοκρατίαν δὲ γιγνόμενα τὴν τελευταίαν τυραννικὰ πάντα, γυναικοκρατία τε περὶ τὰς οἰκίας, ἵνʼ ἐξαγγέλλωσι κατὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν, καὶ δούλων ἄνεσις διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν· οὔτε γὰρ ἐπιβουλεύουσιν οἱ δοῦλοι καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς τυράννοις, εὐημεροῦντάς τε ἀναγκαῖον εὔνους εἶναι καὶ ταῖς τυραννίσι καὶ ταῖς δημοκρατίαις· καὶ γὰρ ὁ δῆμος εἶναι βούλεται μόναρχος.
And the things that happen in ultimate democracy are all tyrannical, both the rule of women in the households so that they may report against their husbands, and the indulgence of slaves for the same cause; for slaves and women do not conspire against tyrants, and when they fare well they must be well-disposed both to tyrannies and to democracies; for the people also wish to be a monarch.
διὸ καὶ ὁ κόλαξ παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις ἔντιμος, παρὰ μὲν τοῖς δήμοις ὁ δημαγωγός (ἔστι γὰρ ὁ δημαγωγὸς τοῦ δήμου κόλαξ), παρὰ δὲ τοῖς τυράννοις οἱ ταπεινῶς ὁμιλοῦντες, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἔργον κολακείας.
Wherefore also the flatterer is held in honor by both, the demagogue among democracies (for the demagogue is a flatterer of the people), and those who associate in a lowly manner among tyrants, which is the work of flattery.
§5.1314aκαὶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο πονηρόφιλον ἡ τυραννίς· κολακευόμενοι γὰρ χαίρουσιν, τοῦτο δʼ οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς ποιήσειε φρόνημα ἔχων ἐλεύθερον, ἀλλὰ φιλοῦσιν οἱ ἐπιεικεῖς, ἢ οὐ κολακεύουσιν.
For because of this, tyranny is a lover of the wicked; for being flattered they rejoice, and no one would do this who has a free spirit, but the decent love, or at least do not flatter.
καὶ χρήσιμοι οἱ πονηροὶ εἰς τὰ πονηρά· ἥλῳ γὰρ ὁ ἧλος, ὥσπερ ἡ παροιμία.
And the wicked are useful for wicked things; for "peg by peg," as the proverb says.
καὶ τὸ μηδενὶ χαίρειν σεμνῷ μηδʼ ἐλευθέρῳ τυραννικόν (αὑτὸν γὰρ εἶναι μόνον ἀξιοῖ τοιοῦτον ὁ τύραννος, ὁ δʼ ἀντισεμνυνόμενος καὶ ἐλευθεριάζων ἀφαιρεῖται τὴν ὑπεροχὴν καὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν τῆς τυραννίδος· μισοῦσιν οὖν ὥσπερ καταλύοντας τὴν ἀρχήν)· καὶ τὸ χρῆσθαι συσσίτοις καὶ συνημερευταῖς ξενικοῖς μᾶλλον ἢ πολιτικοῖς τυραννικόν, ὡς τοὺς μὲν πολεμίους τοὺς δʼ οὐκ ἀντιποιουμένους—ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα τυραννικὰ μὲν καὶ σωτήρια τῆς ἀρχῆς, οὐθὲν δʼ ἐλλείπει μοχθηρίας.
And it is tyrannical to rejoice in no one who is dignified or free (for the tyrant claims to be the only one of this kind, and he who conducts himself with dignity and free spirit deprives the tyranny of its superiority and its mastery; so they hate them as if they were destroying the rule); and to use foreigners rather than citizens as companions at meals and in daily life is tyrannical, on the ground that the latter are enemies while the former do not compete. These and such things are tyrannical and preservative of the rule, but they lack nothing of wickedness.
ἔστι δʼ ὡς εἰπεῖν πάντα ταῦτα περιειλημμένα τρισὶν εἴδεσιν.
But all these may be said to be encompassed in three classes.
στοχάζεται γὰρ ἡ τυραννὶς τριῶν, ἑνὸς μὲν τοῦ μικρὰ φρονεῖν τοὺς ἀρχομένους (οὐθενὶ γὰρ ἂν μικρόψυχος ἐπιβουλεύσειεν), δευτέρου δὲ τοῦ διαπιστεῖν ἀλλήλοις (οὐ καταλύεται γὰρ πρότερον τυραννὶς πρὶν ἢ πιστεύσωσί τινες ἑαυτοῖς· διὸ καὶ τοῖς ἐπιεικέσι πολεμοῦσιν ὡς βλαβεροῖς πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐ μόνον διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀξιοῦν ἄρχεσθαι δεσποτικῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ πιστοὺς καὶ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις εἶναι καὶ μὴ καταγορεύειν μήτε ἑαυτῶν μήτε τῶν ἄλλων)· τρίτον δʼ ἀδυναμία τῶν πραγμάτων (οὐθεὶς γὰρ ἐπιχειρεῖ τοῖς ἀδυνάτοις, ὥστε οὐδὲ τυραννίδα καταλύειν μὴ δυνάμεως ὑπαρχούσης).
For tyranny aims at three things: first, that the subjects should have a small mind (for no one with a small mind would conspire); second, that they should distrust one another (for a tyranny is not destroyed before some people trust one another; wherefore also they fight against the decent as being harmful to the rule, not only because they do not claim to be ruled despotically, but also because they are loyal both to themselves and to others, and do not denounce either themselves or others); third, lack of power for action (for no one attempts the impossible, so that they do not even attempt to destroy a tyranny if power is not present).
εἰς οὓς μὲν οὖν ὅρους ἀνάγεται τὰ βουλεύματα τῶν τυράννων, οὗτοι τρεῖς τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες· πάντα γὰρ ἀναγάγοι τις ἂν τὰ τυραννικὰ πρὸς ταύτας τὰς ὑποθέσεις, τὰ μὲν ὅπως μὴ πιστεύωσιν ἀλλήλοις, τὰ δʼ ὅπως μὴ δύνωνται, τὰ δʼ ὅπως μικρὸν φρονῶσιν.
Into which limits, then, the designs of tyrants are reduced, these happen to be three; for one would reduce all tyrannical measures to these hypotheses, some that they may not trust one another, others that they may not have power, others that they may have a small mind.
ὁ μὲν οὖν εἷς τρόπος διʼ οὗ γίγνεται σωτηρία ταῖς τυραννίσι τοιοῦτός ἐστιν· ὁ δʼ ἕτερος σχεδὸν ἐξ ἐναντίας ἔχει τοῖς εἰρημένοις τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν.
The one way, then, through which preservation happens to tyrannies is of this kind; but the other has its care almost from the opposite of the things mentioned.
ἔστι δὲ λαβεῖν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς φθορᾶς τῆς τῶν βασιλειῶν.
And it is possible to grasp it from the destruction of kingships.
ὥσπερ γὰρ τῆς βασιλείας εἷς τρόπος τῆς φθορᾶς τὸ ποιεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν τυραννικωτέραν, οὕτω τῆς τυραννίδος σωτηρία τὸ ποιεῖν αὐτὴν βασιλικωτέραν, ἓν φυλάττοντα μόνον, τὴν δύναμιν, ὅπως ἄρχῃ μὴ μόνον βουλομένων ἀλλὰ καὶ μὴ βουλομένων.
For just as one way of destruction of kingship is to make the rule more tyrannical, so the preservation of tyranny is to make it more kingly, guarding only one thing, power, so that he may rule not only over those who wish but also over those who do not wish.
προϊέμενος γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο προΐεται καὶ τὸ τυραννεῖν.
For in abandoning this, he also abandons being a tyrant.
ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ὥσπερ ὑπόθεσιν δεῖ μένειν, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα τὰ μὲν ποιεῖν τὰ δὲ δοκεῖν ὑποκρινόμενον τὸ βασιλικὸν καλῶς.
But this must remain as a hypothesis, while in other things he should do some and seem to do others by playing the kingly part well.
πρῶτον μὲν δοκεῖν φροντίζειν τῶν κοινῶν,
First, to seem to care for the public funds,