ĀRISTOCRĂTĬA

( ἀριστοκρατία ), signifies literally “the government of the best men,” and as used by Plato, Aristotle, Polybius, ., it meant the government of a cla whose supremacy was founded not on wealth merely, but on personal distinction. That there should be an aristocracy, moreover, it was e ential that the administration of affairs should be conducted with a view to the promotion of the general interests, not for the exclusive or predominant advantage of the privileged cla As soon as the government ceased to be thus conducted, or whenever the only title to political power in the dominant cla was the po e ion of superior wealth, the constitution was termed an oligarchy ( ὀλιγαρχία ), which, in the technical use of the term, was always looked upon as a corruption ( παρέκβασις ) of an aristocracy. In the practical application of the term aristocracy, however, the personal excellence which was held to be a nece ary element was not of a higher kind than what, according to the deeply-seated ideas of the Greeks, was commonly hereditary in families of noble birth, and in early times would be the ordinary accompaniments of noble rank, namely, wealth, military skill, and superior education and intelligence. It is to be noted that the word ἀριστοκρατία is never, like the English term aristocracy , the name of a cla , but only of a particular political constitution. IMG:6459379820872971714_ill041.jpg: Greek Soldier. (From an ancient vase.) Roman Soldiers. (From Column of Trajan.)