[4]
Democracy is a form of government in which the offices are
distributed by the people among themselves by lot; in an oligarchy, by those who
possess a certain property-qualification; in an aristocracy, by those who
possess an educational qualification, meaning an education that is laid down by
the law. In fact, in an aristocracy, power and office are in the hands of those
who have remained faithful to what the law prescribes, and who must of necessity
appear best, whence this form of government has taken its name. In a monarchy,
as its name indicates, one man alone is supreme over all;
if it is subject to certain regulations,
it is called a kingdom; if it is unlimited, a tyranny.
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Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 22, translated by J. H. Freese. Aristotle. Cambridge and London. Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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