and remain free and self-sufficing, and adequate in every respect for its population, he also discusses the question of its size and the proper limits of its increase. The gist of what he says is as follows:[1] —
There is a certain limit of size, he tells us beyond which the πόλις ceases to be at its best; though many Greeks erroneously believe that the greater the population and territory, the greater will the State be. Experience shows that the best governed States are not the largest; in a very large State, for example, we shall not find law working with the best result. Law is a kind of order, and good law is good order; but a very great multitude cannot be orderly, at least without the aid of some divine power such as that which orders the whole universe. States are like animals and plants, and even like products of human art, such as tools or ships, in that they cannot exceed a certain size without either losing their true nature, or at least without being spoilt for use. Where, then, is this limit of size to be found? What test can we apply to a State in order to discover whether it has grown beyond its proper and natural size?
The answer which Aristotle makes to these questions is at first sight a most singular one; but it is all the more significant of the true nature of the πόλις. "The true limit of the population of a State is the largest number which suffices for the [higher] purposes of life, and which can be taken in at a single view.[2] Just as the πόλις begins
