§6.1318aἐὰν δέ τις καταλειφθῇ ἐξ ἀρχαίας μεταβολῆς, τό γε περιαιρεῖσθαι τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐξ αἱρετῶν κληρωτοὺς ποιεῖν.
But if any office is left from an old revolution, at least its power should be taken away and it should be made subject to lot instead of being elective.
τὰ μὲν οὖν κοινὰ ταῖς δημοκρατίαις ταῦτʼ ἐστί·
These, then, are the features common to democracies.
συμβαίνει δʼ ἐκ τοῦ δικαίου τοῦ ὁμολογουμένου εἶναι δημοκρατικοῦ (τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ τὸ ἴσον ἔχειν ἅπαντας κατʼ ἀριθμόν) ἡ μάλιστʼ εἶναι δοκοῦσα δημοκρατία καὶ δῆμος.
And from the justice which is agreed to be democratic (which is that all have equality according to number) arises that which is thought to be most of all a democracy and a government of the people.
ἴσον γὰρ τὸ μηθὲν μᾶλλον ἄρχειν τοὺς ἀπόρους ἢ τοὺς εὐπόρους, μηδὲ κυρίους εἶναι μόνους ἀλλὰ πάντας ἐξ ἴσου· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ὑπάρχειν νομίζοιεν τήν τʼ ἰσότητα τῇ πολιτείᾳ καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν.
For it is equality that the needy should rule no more than the wealthy, nor that they alone should be sovereign, but all equally; for in this way they would believe that equality and freedom exist in the constitution.
τὸ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο ἀπορεῖται πῶς ἕξουσι τὸ ἴσον, πότερον δεῖ τὰ τιμήματα διελεῖν χιλίοις τὰ τῶν πεντακοσίων καὶ τοὺς χιλίους ἴσον δύνασθαι τοῖς πεντακοσίοις, ἢ οὐχ οὕτω δεῖ τιθέναι τὴν κατὰ τοῦτο ἰσότητα, ἀλλὰ διελεῖν μὲν οὕτως, ἔπειτα ἐκ τῶν πεντακοσίων ἴσους λαβόντα καὶ ἐκ τῶν χιλίων, τούτους κυρίους εἶναι τῶν αἱρέσεων καὶ τῶν δικαστηρίων.
The question after this is how they will have equality: whether it is necessary to divide the property qualifications of five hundred among a thousand, and that the thousand should have equal power to the five hundred, or whether one should not establish equality in this way, but rather divide the property qualifications in this manner, and then, taking an equal number from the five hundred and from the thousand, these should be sovereign over the elections and the courts.
πότερον οὖν αὕτη ἡ πολιτεία δικαιοτάτη κατὰ τὸ δημοτικὸν δίκαιον, ἢ μᾶλλον ἡ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος;
Is this constitution, then, the most just according to democratic justice, or rather that which is according to the multitude?
φασὶ γὰρ οἱ δημοτικοὶ τοῦτο δίκαιον ὅ τι ἂν δόξῃ τοῖς πλείοσιν, οἱ δʼ ὀλιγαρχικοὶ ὅ τι ἂν δόξῃ τῇ πλείονι οὐσίᾳ· κατὰ πλῆθος γὰρ οὐσίας φασὶ κρίνεσθαι δεῖν.
For the democrats say that whatever is decided by the majority is just, while the oligarchs say whatever is decided by the greater wealth; for they say that judgment should be made according to the amount of wealth.
ἔχει δʼ ἀμφότερα ἀνισότητα καὶ ἀδικίαν· εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὅ τι ἂν οἱ ὀλίγοι, τυραννίς (καὶ γὰρ ἐὰν εἷς ἔχῃ πλείω τῶν ἄλλων εὐπόρων, κατὰ τὸ ὀλιγαρχικὸν δίκαιον ἄρχειν δίκαιος μόνος), εἰ δʼ ὅ τι ἂν οἱ πλείους κατʼ ἀριθμόν, ἀδικήσουσι δημεύοντες τὰ τῶν πλουσίων καὶ ἐλαττόνων, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον.
But both involve inequality and injustice; for if whatever the few decide is sovereign, it is a tyranny (for indeed if one person has more than the other wealthy, according to oligarchic justice he alone is just to rule), whereas if whatever the majority in number decide is sovereign, they will act unjustly by confiscating the property of the wealthy and fewer, as has been said before.
τίς ἂν οὖν εἴη ἰσότης ἣν ὁμολογήσουσιν ἀμφότεροι, σκεπτέον ἐξ ὧν ὁρίζονται δικαίων ἀμφότεροι.
We must therefore consider what kind of equality both will agree upon, based on the definitions of justice which both sides define.
λέγουσι γὰρ ὡς ὅ τι ἂν δόξῃ τοῖς πλείοσι τῶν πολιτῶν, τοῦτʼ εἶναι δεῖ κύριον· ἔστω δὴ τοῦτο, μὴ μέντοι πάντως, ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ δύο μέρη τετύχηκεν ἐξ ὧν ἡ πόλις, πλούσιοι καὶ πένητες, ὅ τι ἂν ἀμφοτέροις δόξῃ ἢ τοῖς πλείοσι, τοῦτο κύριον ἔστω, ἐὰν δὲ τἀναντία δόξῃ, ὅ τι ἂν οἱ πλείους καὶ ὧν τὸ τίμημα πλεῖον·
For they say that whatever is decided by the majority of the citizens, this must be sovereign; let this indeed be so, yet not absolutely, but since it has happened that there are two parts of which the city consists, the wealthy and the poor, whatever is decided by both, or by the majority of both, let this be sovereign; and if they decide the opposite, whatever is decided by those who are more in number and whose property qualification is greater.
οἷον, εἰ οἱ μὲν δέκα οἱ δὲ εἴκοσιν, ἔδοξε δὲ τῶν μὲν πλουσίων τοῖς ἓξ τῶν δʼ ἀπορωτέρων τοῖς πεντεκαίδεκα, προσγεγένηνται τοῖς μὲν πένησι τέτταρες τῶν πλουσίων, τοῖς δὲ πλουσίοις πέντε τῶν πενήτων· ὁποτέρων οὖν τὸ τίμημα ὑπερτείνει συναριθμουμένων ἀμφοτέρων ἑκατέροις, τοῦτο κύριον.
For example, if there are ten of one side and twenty of the other, and it is decided by six of the wealthy and fifteen of the poorer, there have been added to the poor four of the wealthy, and to the wealthy five of the poor; whichever side, therefore, the property qualification exceeds when both are added together on each side, this shall be sovereign.
ἐὰν δὲ ἴσοι συμπέσωσι, κοινὴν εἶναι ταύτην νομιστέον ἀπορίαν ὥσπερ νῦν ἐὰν δίχα ἡ ἐκκλησία γένηται ἢ τὸ δικαστήριον·
But if they turn out equal, this must be considered a common difficulty, just as now if the assembly or the court is divided in two.