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Aristotle · Politics §7.1328b

The Six Essential Tasks of a City and Citizens' Occupations

Passage 130 of 155 · Greek

Summary

The passage defines the six essential tasks (food, crafts, arms, wealth, priesthood, and judgment) necessary for a city's self-sufficiency, and argues that in the best constitution, citizens must not live the life of a craftsman, merchant, or farmer.

§7.1328bἄλλον γὰρ τρόπον καὶ διʼ ἄλλων ἕκαστοι τοῦτο θηρεύοντες τούς τε βίους ἑτέρους ποιοῦνται καὶ τὰς πολιτείας.
For hunting this in different ways and through different means, each group makes both their lives and their constitutions different.
ἐπισκεπτέον δὲ καὶ πόσα ταυτί ἐστιν ὧν ἄνευ πόλις οὐκ ἂν εἴη· καὶ γὰρ ἃ λέγομεν εἶναι μέρη πόλεως ἐν τούτοις ἂν εἴη, διὸ ἀναγκαῖον ὑπάρχειν.
And we must also examine how many these things are, without which a city could not exist; for indeed, those things which we say are parts of a city would be among these, which is why it is necessary for them to be present.
ληπτέον τοίνυν τῶν ἔργων τὸν ἀριθμόν· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἔσται δῆλον.
Therefore we must grasp the number of tasks; for from these it will be clear.
πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ὑπάρχειν δεῖ τροφήν, ἔπειτα τέχνας (πολλῶν γὰρ ὀργάνων δεῖται τὸ ζῆν), τρίτον δὲ ὅπλα (τοὺς γὰρ κοινωνοῦντας ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ἐν αὑτοῖς ἔχειν ὅπλα πρός τε τὴν ἀρχήν, τῶν ἀπειθούντων χάριν, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν ἀδικεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντας), ἔτι χρημάτων τινὰ εὐπορίαν, ὅπως ἔχωσι καὶ πρὸς τὰς καθʼ αὑτοὺς χρείας καὶ πρὸς τὰς πολεμικάς, πέμπτον δὲ καὶ πρῶτον τὴν περὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐπιμέλειαν, ἣν καλοῦσιν ἱερατείαν, ἕκτον δὲ τὸν ἀριθμὸν καὶ πάντων ἀναγκαιότατον κρίσιν περὶ τῶν συμφερόντων καὶ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους.
First, then, there must be food; second, crafts (for living needs many tools); third, arms (for it is necessary for those who associate to have arms among themselves, both for the sake of rule, because of those who are disobedient, and against those from without who attempt to do wrong); further, a certain abundance of money, so that they may have it both for their internal needs and for military ones; fifth, and foremost, the care concerning the divine, which they call priesthood; and sixth in number, and the most necessary of all, judgment concerning things advantageous and things just in relation to one another.
τὰ μὲν οὖν ἔργα ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν ὧν δεῖται πᾶσα πόλις ὡς εἰπεῖν (ἡ γὰρ πόλις πλῆθός ἐστιν οὐ τὸ τυχὸν ἀλλὰ πρὸς ζωὴν αὔταρκες, ὥς φαμεν, ἐὰν δέ τι τυγχάνῃ τούτων ἐκλεῖπον, ἀδύνατον ἁπλῶς αὐτάρκη τὴν κοινωνίαν εἶναι ταύτην)·
These, then, are virtually the tasks of which every city has need (for the city is a multitude, not just any, but self-sufficient for life, as we say, and if any of these happens to be lacking, it is simply impossible for this association to be self-sufficient).
ἀνάγκη τοίνυν κατὰ τὰς ἐργασίας ταύτας συνεστάναι πόλιν· δεῖ ἄρα γεωργῶν τʼ εἶναι πλῆθος, οἳ παρασκευάσουσι τὴν τροφήν, καὶ τεχνίτας, καὶ τὸ μάχιμον, καὶ τὸ εὔπορον, καὶ ἱερεῖς, καὶ κριτὰς τῶν ἀναγκαίων καὶ συμφερόντων.
It is necessary, therefore, for a city to be constituted according to these occupations; there must therefore be a multitude of farmers who will provide food, and craftsmen, and a fighting class, and a wealthy class, and priests, and judges of things necessary and advantageous.
διωρισμένων δὲ τούτων λοιπὸν σκέψασθαι πότερον πᾶσι κοινωνητέον πάντων τούτων (ἐνδέχεται γὰρ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἅπαντας εἶναι καὶ γεωργοὺς καὶ τεχνίτας καὶ τοὺς βουλευομένους καὶ δικάζοντας), ἢ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔργον τῶν εἰρημένων ἄλλους ὑποθετέον, ἢ τὰ μὲν ἴδια τὰ δὲ κοινὰ τούτων ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐστίν.
These things having been defined, it remains to examine whether everyone must share in all of these tasks (for it is possible for the very same individuals all to be farmers and craftsmen and those who deliberate and judge), or whether we must assign different people for each of the mentioned tasks, or whether some of these tasks are necessarily private and others common.
οὐκ ἐν πάσῃ δὲ ταὐτὸ πολιτείᾳ. καθάπερ γὰρ εἴπομεν, ἐνδέχεται καὶ πάντας κοινωνεῖν πάντων καὶ μὴ πάντας πάντων ἀλλὰ τινὰς τινῶν.
And it is not the same in every constitution; for as we said, it is possible both for everyone to share in everything and for not everyone to share in everything but certain people in certain things.
ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ ποιεῖ τὰς πολιτείας ἑτέρας· ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς δημοκρατίαις μετέχουσι πάντες πάντων, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ὀλιγαρχίαις τοὐναντίον.
For these differences indeed make the constitutions different; for in democracies everyone shares in everything, but in oligarchies the opposite is the case.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τυγχάνομεν σκοποῦντες περὶ τῆς ἀρίστης πολιτείας, αὕτη δʼ ἐστὶ καθʼ ἣν ἡ πόλις ἂν εἴη μάλιστʼ εὐδαίμων, τὴν δʼ εὐδαιμονίαν ὅτι χωρὶς ἀρετῆς ἀδύνατον ὑπάρχειν εἴρηται πρότερον, φανερὸν ἐκ τούτων ὡς ἐν τῇ κάλλιστα πολιτευομένῃ πόλει καὶ τῇ κεκτημένῃ δικαίους ἄνδρας ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, οὔτε βάναυσον βίον οὔτʼ ἀγοραῖον δεῖ ζῆν τοὺς πολίτας (ἀγεννὴς γὰρ ὁ τοιοῦτος βίος καὶ πρὸς ἀρετὴν ὑπεναντίος), οὐδὲ δὴ γεωργοὺς εἶναι τοὺς μέλλοντας ἔσεσθαι
And since we happen to be examining the best constitution, and this is the one according to which the city would be most happy, and it has been said before that happiness cannot exist without virtue, it is clear from these things that in the city that is governed best and that possesses men who are absolutely just, and not just in relation to a specific hypothesis, the citizens must live neither a mechanical life nor a commercial life (for such a life is ignoble and contrary to virtue), nor indeed must those who are going to be farmers.

Notes

  1. 1328b1ἄλλον γὰρ τρόπον καὶ διʼ ἄλλων ἕκαστοι τοῦτο θηρεύοντες — The object pronoun `τοῦτο` refers back to `εὐδαιμονία` (happiness) mentioned in the previous section. `ἄλλον τρόπον` (accusative of manner) and `δι' ἄλλων` represent the different manners and means of pursuing happiness, explaining the cause of the variety in constitutions.
  2. 1328b3ἃ λέγομεν εἶναι μέρη πόλεως — The relative pronoun `ἃ` (accusative) functions as the subject of the infinitive `εἶναι` or the object of the verb `λέγομεν`, with the entire relative clause acting as a nominal clause ("what we say are parts of a city") serving as the subject of the main clause.
  3. 1328b12πέμπτον δὲ καὶ πρῶτον — The expression "fifth, and first (foremost)" indicates that while this task is fifth in the numerical order of listing, it is designated as "first" in terms of dignity, status, or importance.
  4. 1328b38ἀλλὰ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ὑπόθεσιν — Contrasted with `δικαίους ἄνδρας ἁπλῶς` (absolutely just men), this phrase refers to the relative justice defined in accordance with the specific premise or hypothesis that a particular constitution sets up.
  5. 1329a1οὐδὲ δὴ γεωργοὺς εἶναι τοὺς μέλλοντας ἔσεσθαι — An accusative-and-infinitive construction governed by `δεῖ` (understood from line 39). The participle phrase `τοὺς μέλλοντας ἔσεσθαι` (those who are going to be [citizens]) acts as the subject of the infinitive `εἶναι`, and `γεωργούς` is the complement, spanning across the milestone `¦1329a¦ ¦1¦` to the next chunk.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Politics §7.1328b. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg035.humanitext-grc2:7.1328b

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