Phaedrus — Plato

3 so PLATO THE TEACHER And what is honored is cultivated, and that which has no honor is neglected. That is the case. And so at last, instead of loving contention and glory, men become lovers of trade and money, and they honor and reverence the rich man, and make a ruler of him, and dishonor the poor man. Certainly.

Then they proceed to make a law which fixes a sum of money as the qualification of citizenship ; the money fixed is more or less as the oligarchy is more or less exclusive ; and they forbid any one whose property is below the amount fixed to share in the government : these changes in the constitution they effect by force of arms, if intimidation has not already done the work. Very true.

And this, speaking generally, is the way in which oligarchy is established. Yes, he said ; but what are the characteristics of this form of government, and what are the supposed defects ? First of all, I said, consider the nature of the qualification. Just think what would happen if the pilots were to be chosen according to their property, and a poor man refused permission to steer, even though he were a better pilot?

You mean that they would shipwreck ? Yes ; and is not this true of the government of anything ? Yes, that is what I should imagine. And would you say this of a city also, or do you make an exception in favor of a city? Nay, he said, the case of a city is still stronger, in proportion as the rule of a city is greater and more difficult. This, then, will be the first great defect of oligarchy ? Clearly.

And here is another defect which is quite as bad. What defect ? The inevitable division ; such a State is not one, but two States, the one of poor men, the other of rich men, who are living on the same spot and ever conspiring against one another. Yes, that is equally bad. Another discreditable feature is the impossibility of carrying 2p. 351on any war, because if they arm and use the multitude they are more afraid of them than of the enemy : that is unavoidable. If they do not use them, then, in the hour of battle, they appear oligarchs indeed, few to fight and few to rule : and at the same time their fondness for money makes them unwilling to pay taxes. That is not creditable.

And what do you say of our former charge that, under such a constitution, the same persons are busy at many things, and are husbandmen, tradesmen, warriors, all in one? Does that seem well ? Anything but well. There is another evil which is, perhaps, the greatest of all, and to which this State first begins to be liable. What is the evil?

The evil is that a man may sell all that he has, and another may possess his property, yet after the sale he may dwell in the city of which he is no longer a part, being neither trader, nor artisan, nor horseman, nor hoplite,^^ but only poor and helpless. Yes, that begins in this State. An oligarchy offers no security against this ; for oligarchies have both the extremes of great wealth and utter poverty. True.

But think again : what sort of a gentleman is this ? In his wealthy days, while he was spending his money, was he a whit more good to the State for the purposes of which we were just now speaking? Or did he only seem to be a member of the ruling body, being really no more a ruler than he was a subject, but just a spendthrift? As you say, he seemed to be a ruler, but was only a spendthrift.

May we not say that this is the drone in the house who is like the drone in the honeycomb, and that the one is the plague of the city as the other is of the hive? Just so, Socrates.

And God has made the flying drones, Adeimantus, all without stings, whereas of the walking drones he has made some without stings and others with dreadful stings : of the stingless class are those who in their old age end by dying paupers ; of the stingers come all the criminal class, as they are termed. i» Heavy-armed soldier.