Politics: A Treatise on Government
an aristocracy, and is bestowed according to worth, as either virtue,
family, beneficent actions, or these joined with power; for those who
have been benefactors to cities and states, or have it in their powers
to be so, have acquired this honour, and those who have prevented a
people from falling into slavery by war, as Codrus, or those who have
freed them from it, as Cyrus, or the founders of cities, or settlers of
colonies, as the kings of Sparta, Macedon, and Molossus. A king desires
to be the guardian of his people, that those who have property may be
secure in the possession of it, and that the people in general meet with
no injury; but a tyrant, as has been often said, has no regard to the
common good, except for his own advantage; his only object is pleasure,
but a king's is virtue: what a tyrant therefore is ambitious of
engrossing is wealth, but a king rather honour. The guards too of a king
are citizens, a tyrant's foreigners.
That a tyranny contains all that is bad both in a democracy and an
oligarchy is evident; with an oligarchy it has for its end gain, as the
only means of providing the tyrant with guards and the luxuries of life;
like that it places no confidence in the people; and therefore deprives
them of the use of arms: it is also common to them both to persecute the
populace, to drive them out of the city and their own habitations. With
a democracy it quarrels with the nobles, and destroys them both
publicly and privately, or drives them into banishment, as rivals and
an impediment to the government; hence naturally arise conspiracies
both amongst those who desire to govern and those who desire not to be
slaves; hence arose Periander's advice to Thrasybulus to take off the
tallest stalks, hinting thereby, that it was necessary to make away with
the eminent citizens. We ought then in reason, as has been already
said, to account for the changes which arise in a monarchy from the
same causes which produce them in other states: for, through injustice
received, fear, and contempt, many of those who are under a monarchical
government conspire against it; but of all species of injustice,
injurious contempt has most influence on them for that purpose:
sometimes it is owing to their being deprived of their private fortunes.
The dissolution too of a kingdom and a tyranny are generally the same;
for monarchs abound in wealth and honour, which all are desirous to
obtain. Of plots: some aim at the life of those who govern, others at
their government; the first arises from hatred to their persons; which
hatred may be owing to many causes, either of which will be sufficient
to excite their anger, and the generality of those who are under the
influence of that passion will join in a conspiracy, not for the sake
of their own advancement, but for revenge. Thus the plot against
the children of Pisistratus arose from their injurious treatment of
Harmodius's sister, and insulting him also; for Harmodius resenting the
injury done to his sister, and Aristogiton the injury done to Harmodius.
Periander the tyrant of Ambracia also lost his life by a conspiracy, for
some improper liberties he took with a boy in his cups: and Philip was
slain by Pausanias for neglecting to revenge him of the affront he had
received from Attains; as was Amintas the Little by Darda, for insulting
him on account of his age; and the eunuch by Evagoras the Cyprian in
revenge for having taken his son's wife away from him....
Many also who have had their bodies scourged with stripes have, through
resentment, either killed those who caused them to be inflicted or
conspired against them, even when they had kingly power, as at Mitylene
Megacles, joining with his friends, killed the Penthelidee, who used
to go about striking those they met with clubs. Thus, in later times,
Smendes killed Penthilus for whipping him and dragging him away from
his wife. Decamnichus also was the chief cause of the conspiracy against
Archelaus, for he urged others on: the occasion of his resentment was
his having delivered him to Euripides the poet to be scourged; for
Euripides was greatly offended with him for having said something of the
foulness of his breath. And many others have been killed or conspired
against on the same account. Fear too is a cause which produces the
same effects, as well in monarchies as in other states: thus Artabanes
conspired against Xerxes through fear of punishment for having hanged
Darius according to his orders, whom he supposed he intended to pardon,
as the order was given at supper-time. Some kings also have been [1312a]
dethroned and killed in consequence of the contempt they were held in by
the people; as some one conspired against Sardanapalus, having seen him
spinning with his wife, if what is related of him is true, or if not of
him, it may very probably be true of some one else. Dion also conspired
against Dionysius the Younger, seeing his subjects desirous of a
conspiracy, and that he himself was always drunk: and even a man's
friends will do this if they despise him; for from the confidence he
places in them, they think that they shall not be found out. Those
also who think they shall gain his throne will conspire against a king
through contempt; for as they are powerful themselves, and despise the
danger, on account of their own strength, they will readily attempt it.
Thus a general at the head of his army will endeavour to dethrone the
monarch, as Cyrus did Astyages, despising both his manner of life and
his forces; his forces for want of action, his life for its effeminacy:
thus Suthes, the Thracian, who was general to Amadocus, conspired
against him. Sometimes more than one of these causes will excite men
to enter into conspiracies, as contempt and desire of gain; as in the
instance of Mithridates against Ariobarzanes. Those also who are of a
bold disposition, and have gained military honours amongst kings, will
of all others be most like to engage in sedition; for strength and
courage united inspire great bravery: whenever, therefore, these join
in one person, he will be very ready for conspiracies, as he will easily
conquer. Those who conspire against a tyrant through love of glory
and honour have a different motive in view from what I have already
mentioned; for, like all others who embrace danger, they have only glory
and honour in view, and think, not as some do, of the wealth and pomp
they may acquire, but engage in this as they would in any other noble
action, that they may be illustrious and distinguished, and destroy a
tyrant, not to succeed in his tyranny, but to acquire renown. No doubt
but the number of those who act upon this principle is small, for we
must suppose they regard their own safety as nothing in case they should
not succeed, and must embrace the opinion of Dion (which few can do)
when he made war upon Dionysius with a very few troops; for he said,
that let the advantage he made be ever so little it would satisfy him to
have gained it; and that, should it be his lot to die the moment he had
gained footing in his country, he should think his death sufficiently
glorious. A tyranny also is exposed to the same destruction as all other
states are, from too powerful neighbours: for it is evident, that an
opposition of principles will make them desirous of subverting it;
and what they desire, all who can, do: and there is a principle of
opposition in one state to another, as a democracy against a tyranny, as
says Hesiod, "a potter against a potter;" for the extreme of a democracy
is a tyranny; a kingly power against an aristocracy, from their
different forms of government--for which reason the Lacedaemonians
destroyed many tyrannies; as did the Syracusians during the prosperity
of their state. Nor are they only destroyed from without, but also
from within, when those who have no share in the power bring about a
revolution, as happened to Gelon, and lately to Dionysius; to the first,
by means of Thrasybulus, the brother of Hiero, who nattered Gelon's
son, and induced him to lead a life of pleasure, that he himself might
govern; but the family joined together and endeavoured to support the
tyranny and expel Thrasybulus; but those whom they made of their party
seized the opportunity and expelled the whole family. Dion made war
against his relation Dionysius, and being assisted by the people, first
expelled and then killed him. As there are two causes which chiefly
induce men to conspire against tyrants, hatred and contempt, one of
these, namely hatred, seems inseparable from them. Contempt also is
often the cause of their destruction: for though, for instance, those
who raised themselves to the supreme power generally preserved it; but
those who received it from them have, to speak truth, almost immediately
all of them lost it; for, falling into an effeminate way of life, they
soon grew despicable, and generally fell victims to conspiracies. Part
of their hatred may be very fitly ascribed to anger; for in some cases
this is their motive to action: for it is often a cause which impels
them to act more powerfully than hatred, and they proceed with greater
obstinacy against those whom they attack, as this passion is not under
the direction of reason. Many persons also indulge this passion through
contempt; which occasioned the fall of the Pisistratidae and many
others. But hatred is more powerful than anger; for anger is accompanied
with grief, which prevents the entrance of reason; but hatred is free
from it. In short, whatever causes may be assigned as the destruction
of a pure oligarchy unmixed with any other government and an extreme
democracy, the same may be applied to a tyranny; for these are divided
tyrannies.
Kingdoms are seldom destroyed by any outward attack; for which reason
they are generally very stable; but they have many causes of subversion
within; of which two are the principal; one is when those who are
in power [1313a] excite a sedition, the other when they endeavour to
establish a tyranny by assuming greater power than the law gives them.
A kingdom, indeed, is not what we ever see erected in our times, but
rather monarchies and tyrannies; for a kingly government is one that
is voluntarily submitted to, and its supreme power admitted upon great
occasions: but where many are equal, and there are none in any respect
so much better than another as to be qualified for the greatness and
dignity of government over them, then these equals will not willingly
submit to be commanded; but if any one assumes the government, either by
force or fraud, this is a tyranny. To what we have already said we shall
add, the causes of revolutions in an hereditary kingdom. One of these
is, that many of those who enjoy it are naturally proper objects of
contempt only: another is, that they are insolent while their power is
not despotic; but they possess kingly honours only. Such a state is soon
destroyed; for a king exists but while the people are willing to obey,
as their submission to him is voluntary, but to a tyrant involuntary.
These and such-like are the causes of the destruction of monarchies.
CHAPTER XI
Monarchies, in a word, are preserved by means contrary to what I have
already mentioned as the cause of their destruction; but to speak to
each separately: the stability of a kingdom will depend upon the power
of the king's being kept within moderate bounds; for by how much the
less extensive his power is, by so much the longer will his government
continue; for he will be less despotic and more upon an equality of
condition with those he governs; who, on that account, will envy him the
less.
It was on this account that the kingdom of the Molossi continued so
long; and the Lacedaemonians from their government's being from the