Rome was not a democracy, nor did anyone think it was. When an
observer familiar with Greek political thought undertook to characterize
the Roman system of government, he made no mention of
democracy. The Greek writer Polybius, living in Rome in the second
century BC, described the Roman political system not as a democracy
but as a mixed constitution (memigmene politeia). The government
of Rome, Polybius argued, was a combination of monarchical,
aristocratic, and democratic features. The consuls, and magistrates
in general, constituted the monarchical element, the Senate the
aristocratic element, and the popular assemblies (comitia) the democratic
element. According to Polybius, it was the balance of these
three institutions that gave Rome its exceptional stability. The three
powers checked and balanced each other, thus avoiding the abuses
of power that afflicted all pure constitutions (monarchy, aristocracy,
or democracy) and doomed each of them to degenerate and subsequently
give way to another in a recurrent cycle
Rome was not a democracy, nor did anyone think it was. When an
observer familiar with Greek political thought undertook to characterize
the Roman system of government, he made no mention of
democracy. The Greek writer Polybius, living in Rome in the second
century BC, described the Roman political system not as a democracy
but as a mixed constitution (memigmene politeia). The government
of Rome, Polybius argued, was a combination of monarchical,
aristocratic, and democratic features. The consuls, and magistrates
in general, constituted the monarchical element, the Senate the
aristocratic element, and the popular assemblies (comitia) the democratic
element. According to Polybius, it was the balance of these
three institutions that gave Rome its exceptional stability. The three
powers checked and balanced each other, thus avoiding the abuses
of power that afflicted all pure constitutions (monarchy, aristocracy,
or democracy) and doomed each of them to degenerate and subsequently
give way to another in a recurrent cycle
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
Rome was not a democracy, nor did anyone think it was. When an
observer familiar with Greek political thought undertook to characterize
the Roman system of government, he made no mention of
democracy. The Greek writer Polybius, living in Rome in the second
century BC, described the Roman political system not as a democracy
but as a mixed constitution (memigmene politeia). The government
of Rome, Polybius argued, was a combination of monarchical,
aristocratic, and democratic features. The consuls, and magistrates
in general, constituted the monarchical element, the Senate the
aristocratic element, and the popular assemblies (comitia) the democratic
element. According to Polybius, it was the balance of these
three institutions that gave Rome its exceptional stability. The three
powers checked and balanced each other, thus avoiding the abuses
of power that afflicted all pure constitutions (monarchy, aristocracy,
or democracy) and doomed each of them to degenerate and subsequently
give way to another in a recurrent cycle
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..