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St Photius the Great, tr. Freese, 1920; selections
37. Codex 37: —, On Government
Read an essay On Government,1 in the form of a dialogue between Menas a patrician and Thomas a referendary.2 The treatise is in six books, in which is discussed a form of government, called δικαιαρχικόν (just rule), differing from those propounded by ancient writers. The Republic of Plato is deservedly criticised. The interlocutors hold that the constitution which they propose should be a combination of the three forms of government----monarchy, aristocracy, democracy. Each of these is to contribute what is genuine and sincere to the formation of the ideal constitution.
Notes
- There seems no reason to identify this with the treatise of Περὶ πολιτικῆς καταστάσεως of Peter Patricius (sixth century), Byzantine historian. There is no clue to the author.
- Master of requests, a sort of lord-in-waiting; also a Church dignitary, an intermediary between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities.