cracy an oligarchy; or the contrary, an aristocracy may change
into a democracy (for the poor, if they think themselves injured,
directly take part with the contrary side) and a free state into an
oligarchy. The only firm state is that where every one enjoys that
equality he has a right to and fully possesses what is his own. And what
I have been speaking of happened to the Thurians; for the magistrates
being elected according to a very high census, it was altered to a
lower, and they were subdivided into more courts, but in consequence of
the nobles possessing all the land, contrary to law; the state was too
much of an oligarchy, which gave them an opportunity of encroaching
greatly on the rest of the people; but these, after they had been well
inured to war, so far got the better of their guards as to expel every
one out of the country who possessed more than he ought. Moreover, as
all aristocracies are free oligarchies, the nobles therein endeavour to
have rather too much power, as at Lace-daemon, where property is now in
the hands of a few, and the nobles have too much liberty to do as they
please and make such alliances as they please. Thus the city of the
Locrians was ruined from an alliance with Dionysius; which state was
neither a democracy nor well-tempered aristocracy. But an aristocracy
chiefly approaches to a secret change by its being destroyed by degrees,
as we [1307b] have already said of all governments in general; and this
happens from the cause of the alteration being trifling; for whenever
anything which in the least regards the state is treated with contempt,
after that something else, and this of a little more consequence, will
be more easily altered, until the whole fabric of government is entirely
subverted, which happened in the government of Thurium; for the law
being that they should continue soldiers for five years, some young
men of a martial disposition, who were in great esteem amongst their
officers, despising those who had the management of public affairs,
and imagining they could easily accomplish their intention, first
endeavoured to abolish this law, with a view of having it lawful to
continue the same person perpetually in the military, perceiving that
the people would readily appoint them. Upon this, the magistrates who
are called counselors first joined together with an intention to oppose
it but were afterwards induced to agree to it, from a belief that if
that law was not repealed t