from no horrid ſlaughter or deed ſhall he abſtain; but the tyrant within him, living without any reſtraint of law and government, ſhall lead him on to every mad attempt. Such as theſe eſtabliſh as tyrant, the man who among them hath himſelf moſt of the tyrant, and in greateſt ſtrength within his own ſoul. If the city relucts, he ſhall bring in other young people, and chaſtiſe his formerly beloved mother and father country, as the Cretans ſay. But liberty and true friendſhiip the tyrannic diſpoſition never taſted. Let us finiſh then our worſt man. He will be awake ſuch as we deſcribed him aſleep, and he who appears the moſt wicked, ſhall really be the moſt wretched; as many men as many minds; as city is to city, as to virtue and happineſs, ſo will man be to man; kingly government is the beſt, and tyranny is the worſt. No city is more wretched than that which is under tyranny, nor any more happy than that under regal power. Both the city and the tyrant ſhall be ſlaviſh, poor, timorous; and you will find more lamentations and groans, weepings and torments, than in any other city. We ſhould not merely conjecture about matters of ſuch importance, but moſt thoroughly enquire into them, by reaſoning of this kind, for the enquiry is concerning the moſt important matter, a good life and a bad.
Such private men as are rich, and poſſeſs many ſlaves, have this reſemblance at leaſt of tyrants, that they rule over many: if they live ſecurely, and are not afraid of their domeſtics, it is becauſe the whole city gives aſſiſtance to each particular man: but if a god ſhould lift a man, his wife and children, with fifty ſlaves, out of the city, and let them down in a deſart, in what kind of fear would he be about himſelf, his wife and children, leſt they ſhould be deſtroyed by the domeſtics!
