The Complete Aristotle (eng.)

reputation among men of good
standing, whereas up to this time such men had always been found as
leaders of the democracy. The first leader of the people, in the
very beginning of things, was Solon, and the second was
Pisistratus, both of them men of birth and position. After the
overthrow of the tyrants there was Cleisthenes, a member of the
house of the Alcmeonidae; and he had no rival opposed to him after
the expulsion of the party of Isagoras. After this Xanthippus was
the leader of the people, and Miltiades of the upper class. Then
came Themistocles and Aristides, and after them Ephialtes as leader
of the people, and Cimon son of Miltiades of the wealthier class.
Pericles followed as leader of the people, and Thucydides, who was
connected by marriage with Cimon, of the opposition. After the
death of Pericles, Nicias, who subsequently fell in Sicily,
appeared as leader of the aristocracy, and Cleon son of Cleaenetus
of the people. The latter seems, more than any one else, to have
been the cause of the corruption of the democracy by his wild
undertakings; and he was the first to use unseemly shouting and
coarse abuse on the Bema, and to harangue the people with his cloak
girt up short about him, whereas all his predecessors had spoken
decently and in order. These were succeeded by Theramenes son of
Hagnon as leader of the one party, and the lyre-maker Cleophon of
the people. It was Cleophon who first granted the twoobol donation
for the theatrical performances, and for some time it continued to
be given; but then Callicrates of Paeania ousted him by promising
to add a third obol to the sum. Both of these persons were
subsequently condemned to death; for the people, even if they are
deceived for a time, in the end generally come to detest those who
have beguiled them into any unworthy action. After Cleophon the
popular leadership was occupied successively by the men who chose
to talk the biggest and pander the most to the tastes of the
majority, with their eyes fixed only on the interests of the
moment. The best statesmen at Athens, after those of early times,
seem to have been Nicias, Thucydides, and Theramenes. As to Nicias
and Thucydides, nearly every one agrees that they were not merely
men of birth and character, but also statesmen, and that they ruled
the state with paternal care. On the merits of Theramenes opinion
is divided, because it so happened that in his time public affairs
were in a very stormy state. But those who give their opinion
deliberately find him, not, as his critics falsely assert,
overthrowing every kind of constitution, but supporting every kind
so long as it did not transgress laws; thus showing that he was
able, as every good citizen should be, to live under any form of
constitution, while he refused to countenance illegality and was
its constant enemy.
29
    So long as the fortune of the war continued even, the Athenians
preserved the democracy; but after the disaster in Sicily, when the
Lacedaemonians had gained the upper hand through their alliance
with the king of Persia, they were compelled to abolish the
democracy and establish in its place the constitution of the Four
Hundred. The speech recommending this course before the vote was
made by Melobius, and the motion was proposed by Pythodorus of
Anaphlystus; but the real argument which persuaded the majority was
the belief that the king of Persia was more likely to form an
alliance with them if the constitution were on an oligarchical
basis. The motion of Pythodorus was to the following effect. The
popular Assembly was to elect twenty persons, over forty years of
age, who, in conjunction with the existing ten members of the
Committee of Public Safety, after taking an oath that they would
frame such measures as they thought best for the state, should then
prepare proposals for the public. safety. In addition, any other
person might make proposals, so that of all the schemes before them
the people might choose the best. Cleitophon concurred with the
motion of Pythodorus, but moved that the committee should also
investigate the ancient laws enacted by Cleisthenes when he created
the democracy, in order that they might have these too before them
and so be in a position to decide wisely; his suggestion being that
the constitution of Cleisthenes was not really democratic, but
closely akin to that of Solon. When the committee was elected,
their first proposal was that the Prytanes should be compelled to
put to the vote any motion that was