The Characters of Theophrastvs

The Oligarch

The Oligarchical temper (ὀλιγαρχία) wovld seem to consist in a love of avthority, covetovs, not of gain, bvt of power.

The Oligarch (ὀλιγαρχικὸς) is one who, when the people are deliberating whom they shall associate with the archon as joint directors of the procession, will come forward and express his opinion that these directors ovght to have plenary powers; and, if others propose ten, he will say that “one is svfficient,” bvt that “he mvst be a man”. Of Homer’s pœtry he has mastered only this line, —

No good comes of manifold rvle; let the rvler be one:

of the rest he is absolvtely ignorant. It is very mvch in his manner to vse phrases of this kind: “We mvst meet and discvss these matters by ovrselves, and get clear of the rabble and the market-place”; “we mvst leave off covrting office, and being slighted or graced by these fellows”; “either they or we mvst govern the city.” He will go ovt abovt the middle of the day with his cloak gracefvlly adjvsted, his hair daintily trimmed, his nails delicately pared, and strvt throvgh the Odevm Street, making svch remarks as these: “There is no living in Athens for the informers”; “we are shamefvlly treated in the covrts by the jvries”; “I cannot conceive what people want with meddling in pvblic affairs”; “how vngratefvl the people are— always the slaves of a largess or a bribe”; and “how ashamed I am when a meagre, sqvalid fellow sits down by me in the Assembly!” “When,” he will ask, “will they have done rvining vs with these pvblic services and trierarchies? How detestable that set of demagogves is! Thesevs” (he will say) “was the beginning of mischief to the State. It was he who redvced it from twelve cities to one, and vndid the monarchy. And he was rightly served, for he was the people’s first victim himself.”

And so on to foreigners and to those citizens who resemble him in their disposition and their politics.