books, * Laelius, you will remember that he is called ‘master of the people’).
LAELIUS : Yes, I do.
SCIPIO : And so those men of old wisely …
[One leaf is lost.]
… When the people are deprived of a just king, they are like orphans. A sense of loss lingers within their hearts. As Ennius says * in the lines following the death of that excellent king:
64
And all the time they say among themselves
‘O Romulus, O Romulus divine,
Sent down from heaven as guardian of our land,
O sire, O father, offspring of the gods!’
They did not give the name ‘lords’ or ‘masters’ or even ‘kings’ to those whose just rule they obeyed, but ‘guardians of our land’, ‘fathers’ and ‘gods’—with good reason; for what do they say next?
You brought us forth into the realms of light.
Life, honour, glory—these were the blessings they thought they had received from their just king. The same goodwill would have continued in later generations if the character of the king had remained the same. But, as you know, owing to the wickedness of one individual that whole form of government collapsed.
LAELIUS : Yes indeed. And I’m interested to hear how those changes have taken place, not just in our country but in countries in general.
65–8. The instability of simple forms
SCIPIO : When I’ve told you my opinion about what I regard as the best type of constitution, I shall have to talk in greater detail about how constitutions in general pass into one another, even though the best one, I think, will not readily undergo such changes. But the first and most inevitable of all changes is that which overtakes a monarchy. As soon as a king begins to rule unjustly, that kind of government vanishes on the spot, for that same man has become a tyrant. That is the worst kind of government, and at the same time the closest neighbour to the best. If a tyranny is overthrown by an aristocracy, as usually happens, the country then moves into the second of these constitutions. It is somewhat like monarchy in being a paternal council of leading men who have the best interests of the people at heart. If the tyrant has been killed or expelled by the people acting directly, the latter behave with reasonable restraint as long as they remain wise and sensible. They take pleasure in what they have done, and are keen to preserve the constitution which they themselves have set up. But if, violently or otherwise, the populace deposes a
just
king, or if, as more frequently happens, it tastes the blood of the aristocracy and subjects the entire state to its wild caprice (and make no mistake about it, no tempest or conflagration, however great, is harder to quell than a mob carried away by the novelty of power), then the result is what Plato * so brilliantly described, if I can express it in Latin. (It’s not easy, but I’ll try.) ‘When’, he says, ‘the insatiable throat of the mob is parched with thirst for freedom, and when, thanks to the wicked servants it employs, it thirstily quaffs a freedom which instead of being sensibly diluted is all too potent, then, unless its magistrates and leaders are extremely softand indulgent, and administer that freedom generously in its favour, it denounces them, arraigns them, and condemns them, calling them despots, kings, and tyrants.’ I expect you know the passage.
65
66
LAELIUS : Very well.
SCIPIO : Well, this is the next bit: ‘Those who take orders from the leading men are harassed by the populace and called willing puppets. Public officials who try to behave like private citizens, and private citizens who manage to abolish the distinction between ordinary people and officials, are overwhelmed with praise and showered with honours. In a state of that kind total freedom must prevail. Every private household is devoid of authority—a disease which infects even domestic animals. Father fears son, son ignores father, respect is completely absent. In the interests of universal freedom there
LAELIUS : Yes, I do.
SCIPIO : And so those men of old wisely …
[One leaf is lost.]
… When the people are deprived of a just king, they are like orphans. A sense of loss lingers within their hearts. As Ennius says * in the lines following the death of that excellent king:
64
And all the time they say among themselves
‘O Romulus, O Romulus divine,
Sent down from heaven as guardian of our land,
O sire, O father, offspring of the gods!’
They did not give the name ‘lords’ or ‘masters’ or even ‘kings’ to those whose just rule they obeyed, but ‘guardians of our land’, ‘fathers’ and ‘gods’—with good reason; for what do they say next?
You brought us forth into the realms of light.
Life, honour, glory—these were the blessings they thought they had received from their just king. The same goodwill would have continued in later generations if the character of the king had remained the same. But, as you know, owing to the wickedness of one individual that whole form of government collapsed.
LAELIUS : Yes indeed. And I’m interested to hear how those changes have taken place, not just in our country but in countries in general.
65–8. The instability of simple forms
SCIPIO : When I’ve told you my opinion about what I regard as the best type of constitution, I shall have to talk in greater detail about how constitutions in general pass into one another, even though the best one, I think, will not readily undergo such changes. But the first and most inevitable of all changes is that which overtakes a monarchy. As soon as a king begins to rule unjustly, that kind of government vanishes on the spot, for that same man has become a tyrant. That is the worst kind of government, and at the same time the closest neighbour to the best. If a tyranny is overthrown by an aristocracy, as usually happens, the country then moves into the second of these constitutions. It is somewhat like monarchy in being a paternal council of leading men who have the best interests of the people at heart. If the tyrant has been killed or expelled by the people acting directly, the latter behave with reasonable restraint as long as they remain wise and sensible. They take pleasure in what they have done, and are keen to preserve the constitution which they themselves have set up. But if, violently or otherwise, the populace deposes a
just
king, or if, as more frequently happens, it tastes the blood of the aristocracy and subjects the entire state to its wild caprice (and make no mistake about it, no tempest or conflagration, however great, is harder to quell than a mob carried away by the novelty of power), then the result is what Plato * so brilliantly described, if I can express it in Latin. (It’s not easy, but I’ll try.) ‘When’, he says, ‘the insatiable throat of the mob is parched with thirst for freedom, and when, thanks to the wicked servants it employs, it thirstily quaffs a freedom which instead of being sensibly diluted is all too potent, then, unless its magistrates and leaders are extremely softand indulgent, and administer that freedom generously in its favour, it denounces them, arraigns them, and condemns them, calling them despots, kings, and tyrants.’ I expect you know the passage.
65
66
LAELIUS : Very well.
SCIPIO : Well, this is the next bit: ‘Those who take orders from the leading men are harassed by the populace and called willing puppets. Public officials who try to behave like private citizens, and private citizens who manage to abolish the distinction between ordinary people and officials, are overwhelmed with praise and showered with honours. In a state of that kind total freedom must prevail. Every private household is devoid of authority—a disease which infects even domestic animals. Father fears son, son ignores father, respect is completely absent. In the interests of universal freedom there
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