But suppose， once more， that we were to appoint someone as the guardian of the law， who was both ignorant and interested， and who perverted the law： would not this be a still worse evil than the other? Certainly. For the laws are based on some experience and wisdom. Hence the wiser course is， that they should be observed， although this is not the best thing of all， but only the second best. And whoever， having skill， should try to improve them， would act in the spirit of the lawgiver. But then， as we have seen， no great number of men， whether poor or rich， can be makers of laws. And so， the nearest approach to true government is， when men do nothing contrary to their own written laws and national customs. When the rich preserve their customs and maintain the law， this is called aristocracy， or if they neglect the law， oligarchy. When an individual rules according to law， whether by the help of science or opinion， this is called monarchy； and when he has royal science he is a king， whether he be so in fact or not； but when he rules in spite of law， and is blind with ignorance and passion， he is called a tyrant. These forms of government exist， because men despair of the.true king ever appearing among them； if he were to appear， they would joyfully hand over to him the reins of government. But， as there is no natural ruler of the hive， they meet together and make laws. And do we wonder， when the foundation of politics is in the letter only， at the miseries of states? Ought we not rather to admire the strength of the political bond? For cities have endured the worst of evils time out of mind； many cities have been shipwrecked， and some are like ships foundering， because their pilots are absolutely ignorant of the science which they profess.
      Let us next ask， which of these untrue forms of government is the least bad， and which of them is the worst? I said at the beginning， that each of the three forms of government， royalty， aristocracy， and democracy， might be divided into two， so that the whole number of them， including the best， will be seven. Under monarchy we have already distinguished royalty and tyranny； of oligarchy there were two kinds， aristocracy and plutocracy and democracy may also be divided， for there is a democracy which observes， and a democracy which neglects， the laws. The government of one is the best and the worst： the government of a few is less bad and less good： the government of the many is the least bad and least good of them all， being the best of all lawless governments， and the worst of all lawful ones.