(1330a). Northern races, we are told, are spirited; southern races, intelligent; therefore slaves
should be of southern races, since it is inconvenient if they are spirited. The Greeks alone are
both spirited and intelligent; they are better governed than barbarians, and if united could rule
the world (1327b). One might have expected at this point some allusion to Alexander, but there
is none.
With regard to the size of States, Aristotle makes, on a different scale, the same mistake that is
made by many modern liberals. A State must be able to defend itself in war, and even, if any
liberal culture is to survive, to defend itself without very great difficulty. How large this
requires a State to be, depends upon the technique of war and industry. In Aristotle's day, the
City State was obsolete because it could not defend itself against Macedonia. In our day, Greece
as a whole, including Macedonia, is obsolete in this sense, as has been recently proved. * To
advocate complete independence for Greece, or any other small country, is now as futile as to
advocate complete independence for a single city, whose territory can be seen entire from an
eminence. There can be no true independence except for a State or alliance strong enough, by
its own efforts, to repel all attempts at foreign conquest. Nothing smaller than America and the
British Empire combined will satisfy this requirement; and perhaps even this would be too
small a unit.
The book, which, in the form in which we have it, appears to be unfinished, ends with a
discussion of education. Education, of course, is only for children who are going to be citizens;
slaves may be taught useful arts, such as cooking, but these are no part of education. The citizen
should be moulded to the form of government under which he lives, and there should therefore
be differences according as the city in question is oligarchic or democratic. In the discussion,
however, Aristotle assumes that the citizens will all have a share of political power. Children
should learn what is useful to them, but not vulgarizing; for instance, they should not be taught
any skill that deforms the body, or that would enable them to earn money. They should practice
athletics in moderation, but not to the point of acquiring professional skill; the boys who train
for the Olympic games suffer in health, as is shown by the fact that those who have been
* This was written in May, 1941.