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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 counsellors 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.

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load focus Notes (E.C. Marchant, 1909)
load focus Notes (Charles F. Smith)
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  • Commentary references to this page (2):
    • Harold North Fowler, Commentary on Thucydides Book 5, 5.71
    • Charles D. Morris, Commentary on Thucydides Book 1, Introduction
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