NOTES, BOOK 1L I 1. 99
both contrasted with the judicial institutions of a democracy. The
difficulty in this way of construing the passage is not the paren-
thesis, u+ich is common in Aristotle, but the use of *or vaguely
for &different persons,’ and not, as the preceding words 6rrb T~V
;pxtiov would lead us to expect, for ‘different magistracies,’ or
‘ boards of magistrates.’
In neither way of taking the passage is there any real contra-
diction to the statement of iii. 1. § IO. The nords of the latter
are as follows: ‘For in some states the people are not acknow-
ledged, nor have they any regular assembly; but only extra-
ordinary ones ; suits are distributed in turn among the magistrates ;
at Lacedaemon, for instance, suits about contracts are decided,
some by one Ephor and some by another; while the elders are
judges of homicide, and other causes probably fall to some other
magistracy. A similar principle prevails at Carthage ; there certain
magistrates decide all causes.’
For the sale of great offices at Carthage, see Polyb. vi. 56. $ 4,ll.g.
nap& piv Kapxqaoviors &pa 6avcpis Giadurrs Xap&iuovur T~S 6pxds. Tapir
61 ‘Pupalois ed~a76~ iuri mpi roiro Irpdunpov.6ci ai vopiccw &&?pa vopdirou nju rapiq%uiv cfvac is (ipimoKpa- 11. IO.
rias 7a;nlu rc.7.X.
The error consists in making wealth a qualification for ofice;
the legislator should from the first have given a competency to the
governing class, and then there would have been no need to
appoint men magistrates who were qualified by wealth only. Even
if the better classes generally are not to be protected against
Poverty, such a provision must be made for the rulers as will
ensure them leisure. See infra $ 12, fid710U 6’ ci Kai ~rpori~o r$u
dwiav r~v &lflK&V 6 vopoeinls rC.7.~.
6; &i %TW Kai rpds firlropiav XQiv uxoXjs, (PaijXov ~b T~S pyimas 11. IO,
GYT~S cLar T~U cipxtv, mjv rc PaurXciav rrai rdv mpanlyiav.
Of this, as of many other passages in the Politics, the meaning
can only be inferred from the context. In the Carthaginian con-
stitution the element of wealth superseded merit. But whether
there was a regular traffic in offices, as the words T~S p’yimas
nz