“Again, the evil practices of the last and worst form of democracy are all found in tyrannies. Such are the power given to women in their families in the hope that they will inform against their husbands…”
“Another mark of a tyrant is that he likes foreigners better than citizens, and lives with them and invites them to his table; for the one are enemies, but the Others enter into no rivalry with him”
Can someone translate this for me? I am very bad at reading old timey English (embarrassing, I know)
First highlighted section is basically: “Women and slaves having rights guaranteed by the state sucks shit for dudes and that’s why democracy is bad.”
Second: “Leaders of such states are more wary of their citizens than foreigners because the foreigners aren’t going to kill them.” (the citizens and Aristotle sound like mega-chuds of the day to me)
Thanks! That’s sort of what I thought it was saying but I wasn’t sure because the way it’s written made my brain go glooby
Reads to me like a version of the conservative complaint that liberal politicians cynically use welfare and rights in order to buy the support of the underclass. The sympathetic underclass is then willing to betray the Good Men who are the enemies of the rulers. All this in a formal democracy, but in substance tyranny.