ἀνθρώποισι πᾶσι μέτεστι γινώσκειν ἑωυτοὺς καὶ σωφρονεῖν.
To me it seems that as far as regards the maintenance of concord among the citizens, the security of the Laconian territory and the preservation of the freedom of Sparta, the legislation of Lycurgus and the foresight he exhibited were so admirable that one is forced to regard his institutions as of divine rather than human origin. Continue reading “Polybius’ criticism on the constitution of Sparta”
To pass to the constitution of Crete, two points here demand our attention. Continue reading “Polybius’ criticism on the Cretan constitution”
The three kinds of government that I spoke of above all shared in the control of the Roman state. Continue reading “The Roman Constitution”
Lycurgus had perfectly well understood that all the above changes take place necessarily and naturally, and had taken into consideration that every variety of constitution which is simple and formed on one principle is precarious, as it is soon perverted into the corrupt form which is proper to it and naturally follows on it. Continue reading “The constitution of Lycurgus”
In the case of those Greek states which have often risen to greatness and have often experienced a complete change of fortune, it is an easy matter both to describe their past and to pronounce as to their future. Continue reading “The cycle of political revolution – Polybius’ timeless political thinking”
Here we present and analyze two excerpts from Pindar, the lyric poet. Continue reading “Pindar’s timeless political messages”
