It will be said, perhaps, that democracy is neither wise nor equitable,
but that the holders of property are also the best fitted to rule. I
say, on the contrary, first, that the word demos, or people, includes
the whole state, oligarchy only a part; next, that if the best guardians
of property are the rich, and the best counselors the wise, none can
hear and decide so well as the many; and that all these talents,
severally and collectively, have their just place in a democracy. But an
oligarchy gives the many their share of the danger, and not content
with the largest part takes and keeps the whole of the profit.
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War
A commonplace book: an old-fashioned literary diary for recording interesting items from reading you've done. I use mine to record snippets from reading, conversation and life in general. (The early 2003 entries are from a period some years ago -- before the blog age -- when I tried an online commonplace book as a straight web page.)
Friday, January 22, 2016
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