§1.4.9περὶ δὲ πολέμου καὶ εἰρήνης τὴν δύναμιν εἰδέναι τῆς πόλεως, ὁπόση τε ὑπάρχει ἤδη καὶ πόσην ἐνδέχεται ὑπάρξαι, καὶ ποία τις ἥ τε ὑπάρχουσά ἐστιν καὶ ἥτις ἐνδέχεται προσγενέσθαι, ἔτι δὲ πολέμους πῶς καὶ τίνας πεπολέμηκεν.
Concerning war and peace, one should know the power of the city, both how great it already is and how great it can be, and of what kind both the existing power is and what kind can be added to it, and further, in what way and what wars it has waged.
οὐ μόνον δὲ τῆς οἰκείας πόλεως ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ὁμόρων ταῦτα ἀναγκαῖον εἰδέναι, καὶ πρὸς οὓς ἐπίδοξον πολεμεῖν, ὅπως πρὸς μὲν τοὺς κρείττους εἰρηνεύηται, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἥττους ἐφʼ αὑτοῖς ᾖ τὸ πολεμεῖν, καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις, πότερον ὅμοιαι ἢ ἀνόμοιαι· ἔστιν γὰρ καὶ ταύτῃ πλεονεκτεῖν ἢ ἐλαττοῦσθαι.
And it is necessary to know these things not only for one's own city but also for neighboring cities, and with whom it is expected to wage war, so that against those who are stronger peace may be kept, and against those who are weaker, the waging of war may be in our own power, and also their powers, whether they are similar or dissimilar; for in this way too one can either have the advantage or be disadvantaged.
ἀναγκαῖον δὲ καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα μὴ μόνον τοὺς οἰκείους πολέμους τεθεωρηκέναι ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς τῶν ἄλλων, πῶς ἀποβαίνουσιν· ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν ὁμοίων τὰ ὅμοια γίγνεσθαι πέφυκεν.
And it is necessary for these purposes to have observed not only our own wars but also those of others, in what way they turn out; for from similar things similar results are naturally produced.
§1.4.10ἔτι δὲ περὶ φυλακῆς τῆς χώρας μὴ λανθάνειν πῶς φυλάττεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πλῆθος εἰδέναι τῆς φυλακῆς καὶ τὸ εἶδος καὶ τοὺς τόπους τῶν φυλακτηρίων (τοῦτο δʼ ἀδύνατον μὴ ἔμπειρον ὄντα τῆς χώρας), ἵνʼ εἴ τʼ ἐλάττων ἡ φυλακὴ προστεθῇ καὶ εἴ τις περίεργος ἀφαιρεθῇ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους τόπους τηρῶσι μᾶλλον.
And further, concerning the defense of the country, it must not escape notice how it is defended, but one must know both the number of the defense force, its kind, and the locations of the guard posts (which is impossible without being experienced in the country), so that if the defense is too small, it may be increased, and if any is superfluous, it may be removed, and that they may guard the suitable places more.
§1.4.11ἔτι δὲ περὶ τροφῆς, πόση ἱκανὴ τῇ πόλει καὶ ποία, ἡ αὐτοῦ τε γιγνομένη καὶ ἡ εἰσαγώγιμος, καὶ τίνων τʼ ἐξαγωγῆς δέονται καὶ τίνων καὶ παρὰ τίνων εἰσαγωγῆς, ἵνα πρὸς τούτους καὶ συνθῆκαι καὶ συμβολαὶ γίγνωνται· πρὸς δύο γὰρ διαφυλάττειν ἀναγκαῖον ἀνεγκλήτους τοὺς πολίτας, πρός τε τοὺς κρείττους καὶ πρὸς τοὺς εἰς ταῦτα χρησίμους.
And further, concerning food, how much and what kind is sufficient for the city, both that which is produced there and that which is importable, and what things they need to export and what things and from whom they need to import, so that treaties and agreements may be made with these peoples; for it is necessary to keep the citizens free from complaints against two classes of people: those who are stronger and those who are useful in these matters.
§1.4.12εἰς δʼ ἀσφάλειαν ἅπαντα μὲν ταῦτα ἀναγκαῖον δύνασθαι θεωρεῖν, οὐκ ἐλάχιστον δὲ περὶ νομοθεσίας ἐπαΐειν· ἐν γὰρ τοῖς νόμοις ἐστὶν ἡ σωτηρία τῆς πόλεως, ὥστʼ ἀναγκαῖον εἰδέναι πόσα τέ ἐστι πολιτειῶν εἴδη, καὶ ποῖα συμφέρει ἑκάστῃ, καὶ ὑπὸ τίνων φθείρεσθαι πέφυκεν καὶ οἰκείων τῆς πολιτείας καὶ ἐναντίων.
And for security, it is necessary to be able to consider all these things, but it is not of least importance to understand legislation; for in the laws is the preservation of the city, so that it is necessary to know how many kinds of constitutions there are, and what kind is beneficial to each, and by what factors they are naturally destroyed, both by those proper to the constitution and by their opposites.
λέγω δὲ τὸ ὑπὸ οἰκείων φθείρεσθαι, ὅτι ἔξω τῆς βελτίστης πολιτείας αἱ ἄλλαι πᾶσαι καὶ ἀνιέμεναι καὶ ἐπιτεινόμεναι φθείρονται, οἷον δημοκρατία οὐ μόνον ἀνιεμένη ἀσθενεστέρα γίγνεται ὥστε τέλος ἥξει εἰς ὀλιγαρχίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιτεινομένη σφόδρα· ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ γρυπότης καὶ ἡ σιμότης οὐ μόνον ἀνιέμενα ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ μέσον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα γρυπὰ γινόμενα ἢ σιμὰ οὕτως διατίθεται ὥστε μηδὲ μυκτῆρα δοκεῖν εἶναι.
And I mean by 'being destroyed by what is proper' that all other constitutions, apart from the best, both when relaxed and when intensified, are destroyed, just as democracy, when relaxed, becomes weaker so that it will finally come to oligarchy, but also when intensified excessively; just as hook-nosedness and snub-nosedness not only when relaxed reach the mean, but also when they become excessively hooked or snub, they are so disposed that they do not even seem to be a nose.
§1.4.13χρήσιμον δὲ πρὸς τὰς νομοθεσίας τὸ μὴ μόνον ἐπαΐειν τίς πολιτεία συμφέρει, ἐκ τῶν παρεληλυθότων θεωροῦντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις εἰδέναι, αἱ ποῖαι τοῖς ποίοις ἁρμόττουσιν· ὥστε δῆλον ὅτι πρὸς μὲν τὴν νομοθεσίαν αἱ τῆς γῆς περίοδοι χρήσιμοι (ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ λαβεῖν ἔστιν τοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν νόμους), πρὸς δὲ τὰς πολιτικὰς συμβουλὰς αἱ τῶν περὶ τὰς πράξεις γραφόντων ἱστορίαι· ἅπαντα δὲ ταῦτα πολιτικῆς ἀλλʼ οὐ ῥητορικῆς ἔργον ἐστίν.
And for legislation, it is useful not only to understand what constitution is beneficial, by considering from past events, but also to know the constitutions among other peoples, what kinds fit what kinds of peoples; so that it is clear that for legislation, travels around the earth are useful (for from there one can grasp the laws of nations), and for political advice, the histories of those who write about actions; and all these are the work of political science, not of rhetoric.
περὶ ὧν μὲν οὖν ἔχειν δεῖ τὰς προτάσεις τὸν μέλλοντα συμβουλεύειν, τὰ μέγιστα τοσαῦτά ἐστιν· ἐξ ὧν δὲ δεῖ καὶ περὶ τούτων καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων προτρέπειν ἢ ἀποτρέπειν λέγωμεν πάλιν.
Therefore, concerning what subjects the one who is going to advise must have his propositions, these are the most important; but from what premises we must both exhort or dehort concerning these and other matters, let us speak again.