Timaeus — Plato

Let that be his place, he said. Last of all comes the most beautiful of all, man and State alike, tyranny and the tyrant ; these we have now tc; consider. Quite true, he said. Say then, my friend, In what manner does tyranny arise? — that it has a democratic origin is evident. Clearly. And does not tyranny spring from democracy in the same manner as democracy from oligarchy — I mean, after a sort ? How? The good which oligarchy proposed to itself and the means by which it was maintained was excess of wealth — am I not right? Yes. And the insatiable desire of wealth and the neglect of all other things for the sake of money-getting was also the ruin of oligarchy? True. And democracy has her own good, of which the insatiable desire brings her to dissolution? What good? Freedom, I repHed ; which, as they tell you in a democracy, is the glory of the State — and that therefore in a democracy alone will the freeman of nature deign to dwell. Yes ; the saying is in everybody's mouth. I was going to observe, that the insatiable desire of this and the neglect of other things introduces the change in democracy, which occasions a demand for tyranny. How so? When a democracy which is thirsting for freedom has evil cup-bearers presiding over the feast, and has drunk too deeply of the strong wine of freedom, then, unless her rulers are very amenable and give a plentiful draught, she calls them to account and punishes them, and says that they are cursed oligarchs. Yes, he replied, a very common occurrence. Yes, I said ; and loyal citizens are insultingly termed by her slaves who hug their chains and men of naught ; she would have subjects who are like rulers, and rulers who are

The extreme of liberty.

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like subjects : these are men after her own heart, whom she praises and honours both in private and pubhc. Now, in such a State, can hberty have any Hmit? Certainly not. By degrees the anarchy finds a way into private houses, and ends by getting among the animals and infecting them. How do you mean?

I mean that the father grows accustomed to descend to the level of his sons and to fear them, and the son is on a level with his father, he having no respect or reverence for either of his parents ; and this is his freedom, and the metic is equal with the citizen and the citizen with the metic, and the 63 stranger is quite as good as either. Yes, he said, that is the way.

And these are not the only evils, I said — there are several lesser ones : In such a state of society the master fears and flatters his scholars, and the scholars despise their masters and tutors ; young and old are all alike ; and the young man is on a level with the old, and is ready to compete with him in word or deed ; and old men condescend to the young and are full of pleasantry and gaiety ; they are loth to be thought morose and authoritative, and therefore they adopt the manners of the young.

Quite true, he said. The last extreme of popular liberty is when the slave bought with money, whether male or female, is just as free as his or her purchaser ; nor must I forget to tell of the liberty and equaHty of the two sexes in relation to each other. Why not, as Aeschylus says, utter the word which rises to our lips?

That is what I am doing, I rephed ; and I must add that no one who does not know would believe, how much greater is the liberty which the animals who are under the dominion of man have in a democracy than in any other State : for truly, the she-dogs, as the proverb says, are as good as their she-mistresses, and the horses and asses have a way of marching along with all the rights and dignities of freemen ; and they will run at anybody who comes in their way if he does not leave the road clear for them : and all things are just ready to burst with liberty.

Republic VIII. Socrates, Adeimantus.

The inversion of all social relations.

Freedom among the animals.

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Extremes pass into extremes.

Republic VIII. Socrates, Adeimantus. No law, no authority.

The common evil of oligarchy and democracy is the class of idle spendthrifts.

Illustration.