“Democrats take equality for their motto; oligarchs believe that political rights should be unequal and proportionate to wealth. But both sides miss the true object of the state, which is virtue. Those who do most to promote virtue deserve the greatest share of power.”
“It is harder to preserve than to found a Democracy. To preserve it we must prevent the poor from plundering the rich; we must not exhaust the public revenues by giving pay for the performance of public duties...”
“Office should be made a burden, not a source of profit.”
- Aristotle Politics
“The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.” — Albert Camus