The Constitution of Athens by Aristotle

Author:Aristotle [Aristotle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Philosophie
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2015-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAP. XXX.: The constitution as proposed for the future.

Those who were appointed, then, drew up these measures. And after their ratification the five thousand chose a hundred out of their own number to make a public record of the form of government. So this body drew up and published the following record. Such as were over thirty years of age were to be members of the Council for a year, without pay; and from them were to be appointed the generals and the nine archons and the sacred recorder, and the infantry and cavalry commanders, and the chiefs of the tribes, the commandants of the forts, the treasurers of the sacred funds of Athena and all other gods to the number of ten, the Hellenotamiæ, Endnote 011 and the treasurers of all other sacred funds to the number of twenty, who were to control the managers of sacred rites and superintendents, each ten in number; and they were to choose all the above out of selected candidates, who at the expiration of their term should select successors from the then members of the Council, but all the other officers were to be appointed by lot, and not from the Council; and such of the Hellenotamiæ as might be managing the funds were not to take part in the Council. Further, that they should constitute four councils from the aforesaid age for the future, and of these the division to whose lot it fell should act as Council, and it should appoint also the rest to act according to each lot. That the hundred (who were drawing up the constitution) should apportion both themselves and the others into four divisions, as fairly as possible, and appoint them in turn by lot, and they should form the Council for a year. That they should recommend such measures as appeared likely to them to be the best in regard to the public money, with a view to its safe-keeping and expenditure on what was necessary, and about everything else as best they could; further, if they should wish to take counsel on any matter in a larger body than their own, each of them should call in to his assistance any assessor he liked from such as were of the same age. That they should make the sittings of the Council once every five days, unless they required more. That the Council should appoint by lot the nine archons, but that they should select by vote five who had been appointed by lot out of the Council, and out of them one should be appointed by lot every day to put the question. That the before-mentioned five should appoint by lot those who wished to present themselves before the Council, first regarding sacred matters, next for the heralds, thirdly for embassage, and fourthly about all other matters. That the generals should have the management of matters connected with the war department, whenever it might be necessary to make any proposal without casting lots.

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