even the bondsmen are no less free than those who purchase them; and the women are on a perfect equality with their husbands. At length the citizens become so fastidious, and so intolerant of authority, that they despise all laws, written as well as traditional, lest any one should by their means rule over them. This, my friends, is the government apparently so excellent and beautiful, from which it appears to me that tyranny originates. The democracy is, in fact, enslaved by its own excessive licentiousness: for excesses of every kind are wont to occasion their contraries. Thus too much freedom seems to be changed into excessive slavery. Wherefore I say that out of no other republic doth tyranny so often arise as out of democracy: from extreme liberty, the most grievous and savage slavery springs. The idle and profligate, who are bold and enterprising, are the ruin of such a state, for they are generally the ruling party in it; and they say and do severe and daring things. Some of them frequent the tribunals of justice and speak there, and will allow no one to direct in them but themselves. All things in this republic, with few exceptions, are administered by them. But another party is soon distinguished; the industrious, the polite, and the opulent. These will be squeezed and pillaged by the other; for the rich are the pasture of the drones of this hive. And as for those who mind their own affairs and meddle not much with any others, they form a third or middle party, and are often numerous and influential in the general assembly of the state. The rich who are plundered, or in danger of being so, are obliged to defend themselves against the popular party by every means in their power. They are naturally led to wish for a change of government from the democratic to the oligarchic form. A violent opposition is made by the people and their partisans; and thence accusations, lawsuits, and mutual contentions arise. In such circumstances the people are wont to set up some one as their champion and defender, and to support and cherish him, in order that he may powerfully and effectually maintain their cause. This is the root of a tyranny. What then is the

beginning of the change from a lawful chief-magistrate into a tyrant? The fable relates, that whoever tasted of the human entrails, which were mixed with those of the other sacrifices in the temple of Lycæan Jupiter, (to whom was dedicated the wolf in Arcadia) immediately became a wolf. In the same manner, he who, becoming the ruler of an enslaved multitude, abstains not from kindred blood, but, as tyrants are wont, unjustly accuses others of pretended crimes, and stains himself with cruel slaughter, tasting with impure tongue and unhallowed mouth the blood of his neighbour, and banishes some and murders others, and abolishes debts and distributes plundered lands-must not such a man, of necessity, be either killed by his enemies, or exercise great tyranny, and from a man become a wolf? And if the people are unable to expel him or cause him to be put to death by a public accusation, they will conspire to kill him privately. Hence it happens, that all who have mounted up to tyranny have demanded guards for their

persons.

Let us now consider the condition with respect to happiness of the tyrant himself, and of the state in which such a man arises. At first, indeed, he smiles upon and salutes every one he meets, and declares that he is no tyrant, and promises many things, and frees from debts, and distributes lands to the people and to his partisans, and affects to be good-natured and mild to all. But when he shall have reconciled some of his enemies and destroyed others, and that tranquillity is established, he will immediately excite some war, in order that the people may stand in need of a leader, and that such of them as may have been impoverished and are destitute, may be thus urged and enabled to gain their daily subsistence, and be thereby less ready or likely to meditate plots against him. And if he suspect that any of them, who are of free and bold spirits, will not allow him to govern, to have some pretext for destroying them, he exposes them to the enemy. For these causes, it is necessary for a tyrant to be always stirring up new wars. But this must render him odious to his citizens. Some of these

who have been advanced along with him, and who partake of his power-such of them, at least, as are of manly spiritswill, among themselves and even with him, condemn these proceedings. It will behove the tyrant to cut off all those persons if he mean to reign securely, till he leave no one, eiHe must, ther friend or foe, of any importance in the state. therefore, strictly observe who is courageous, who is magnanimous, who wise and who rich: for such is his hard fortune, that whether he wills it or not, he is under a necessi y of being an enemy to all these, and to lay snares until he clear the state of them. In a dire necessity truly is he bound; that he must either live with many wicked men and be hated by them, or not live at all. And the more he is hated by his citizens or subjects, shall he not want a greater number of guards for his defence? And whom shall he employ? The sordid, the servile, and the worthless: for good men hate and fly from him.Euripides, and other poets, commend tyranny as an excellent government, and say much in praise of the wisdom of tyrants: for which reason those writers (as they too are wise) will pardon us, and those who wish to administer public affairs after our manner, for not admitting such panegyrists of tyranny into our republic. Let them go about among other states and offer for sale their fine, magnificent and persuasive words, and endeavour for the sake of the honours and rewards they receive from tyrants, to seduce republics into tyranny.-But to return to our subject: Let us now mention in what manner the tyrant can support his army, so numerous, so splendid and multiform. If there be in the state any property consecrated to religious purposes, he will, in the first place, seize and sell that, and spend what it produceth. He will next require from the people some light tax or tribute: and when these resources fail, he and his household companions, and his associates, and his harlots, must be maintained wholly by the people out of their paternal inheritance. Those who have begotten the tyrant must nourish him and his. But the enraged multitude, who set him up, will say that it is not just that the adult offspring

And now they will command

should be maintained by the parent; that they did not make him for this purpose to be the servants of his servants, and to maintain him and them with all the tumultuary train of his attendants and parasites; but in order to be liberated by him from the dominion of the rich. him and his friends to depart from the state, in the same manner that a father would turn out of doors a prodigal son and his drunken companions. Then at length, by Jupiter, will this people know what beasts they are themselves, and what a beast they have generated, and bred up, and delighted in. Their attempt to drive him out will be vain, for he is now too strong for them. The tyrant with parricidal arms will overpower his country: so that this people, so impatient of the government of freemen, instead of the excessive and unseasonable liberty they desired, must submit to the most rigorous and grievous bondage.

The tyrant himself remains to be considered, what kind of man he is, how his character is formed, and whether he leads a miserable or a happy life. Let us first consider the nature of the desires of man.-Of those desires which are not necessary, some, it appears to me, are unlawful. These indeed spring up in every one; but being corrected by reason, by the laws, and by the better desires, they either forsake some men altogether, or are so repressed, as to appear rarely, and to become feeble. Such are the desires which are oftenest excited in sleep, when the rational part of the soul is at rest, and the part which is brutal and savage, being intoxicated with liquor and loaded with food, exults immoderately. It then dares to do every thing, being void of all reason and discretion: it will commit whatever is impudent, rash, impure, and atrocious; and scruples not at any crime, or any manner of depravity, however hideous. But he who is in good health, and lives with temperance and moderation, and retires to rest, having stirred up the rational part of his soul, and filled it with good thoughts, and feasted it with choice reasonings;-and having allowed the concupiscible

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part of the soul (which requires the nourishment of pleasures) neither to be starved nor glutted, so that it may be quiet, and give no disturbance by its wants or its satiety; and having likewise restrained and soothed the irascible part of the mind, that it be not disturbed by transports of anger; such a person having thus composed the two unadvised parts of the soul, in order that the third, or rational part, wherein wisdom resides, shine forth unclouded, shall in this manner take rest: he will enjoy tranquillity, and the visions of his sleep will resemble truth. There is, in fact, in every one, even in those who appear among men the most moderate, a species of desires, terrible, savage, and iniquitous.

may

Suppose now a person educated in corrupt manners, and drawn into all kinds of licentiousness and flagitiousnesswhich is termed, however, by those who seduce him, the most complete liberty: when those corrupters have no hopes of retaining him in their power any other way, they excite in him certain furious lusts, and by their odours, and perfumes, and garlands, and wines, and all the various contrivances and machinations which such dissolute persons are wont to employ, they feed his pleasures, and add stings to his desires. Then, indeed, his whole soul rages and burns with madness. Being thus stimulated and surrounded with such companions, if any moderate desires, or any modest sentiments or opinions should obtrude themselves upon him, he immediately destroys or expels them, until he be entirely void of all temperance, and be filled with new phrenzy. Thus it is that a tyrannical man originates. Of old it was said, that love is a tyrant; and hath not a drunken man, likewise, a tyrannical disposition? He is furious and beside himself, and endeavours and hopes to govern not only men, but even the immortal gods. The tyrannical man, most excellent friends, becomes so completely, when, either from his natural temper, or his pursuits, or from both, he becomes melancholy, or a drunkard, or violently in love.-But in what manner does he live? In the midst of feastings, and revellings, and banquets and harlots, and all such things as may be ex