Neither should we forget the mean, which at the present day is lost sight of in perverted forms of government; for many practices which appear to be democratical are the ruin of democracies, and many which appear to be oligarchical are the ruin of oligarchies. Those who think that all virtue is to be found in their own party principles push matters to extremes; they do not consider that disproportion destroys a state. A nose which varies from the ideal of straightness to a hook or snub may still be of good shape and agreeable to the eye; but if the excess be very great, all symmetry is lost, and the nose at last ceases to be a nose at all on account of some excess in one direction or defect in the other; and this is true of every other part of the human body. The same law of proportion equally holds in states. Oligarchy or democracy, although a departure from the most perfect form, may yet be a good enough government, but if any one attempts to push the principles of either to an extreme, he will begin by spoiling the government and end by having none at all. Wherefore the legislator and the statesman ought to know what democratical measures save and what destroy a democracy, and what oligarchical measures save or destroy an oligarchy. For neither the one nor the other can exist or continue to exist unless both rich and poor are included in it. If equality of property is introduced, the state must of necessity take another form; for when by laws carried to excess one or other element in the state is ruined, the constitution is ruined. Aristotle
About This Quote

The passage starts with a comparison between the ideal of straightness in the nose, and the ideal of “proportion” in a state. The passage continues with a discussion of how this ideal is broken by an excess of either the straight or the crooked. Then it moves on to explain that if one element is too much, all symmetry is lost. This concept is illustrated even further by the examples of poor eyesight and extreme obesity.

The passage ends by pointing out that if one element is too much, then the state must evolve into something else. This concept can be applied to any form of government, as well as any condition in life.

Source: Politics

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