Plato, Statesman, section 301a

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[301a] by a single ruler who rules with science—must never do anything in contravention of their existing written laws and ancestral customs.

Younger Socrates
You are quite right.

Stranger
Then whenever the rich imitate this government, we call such a state an aristocracy; and when they disregard the laws, we call it an oligarchy.

Younger Socrates
Yes, I think we do.

Stranger
And again, when one man rules according to laws

Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.

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