We
should be able further to say how a state may be constituted under any
given conditions (3); both how it is originally formed and, when
formed, how it may be longest preserved; the supposed state being so
far from having the best constitution that it is unprovided even
with the conditions necessary for the best; neither is it the best
under the circumstances, but of an inferior type.
He ought, moreover, to know (4) the form of government which is best
suited to states in general; for political writers, although they have
excellent ideas, are often unpractical. We should consider, not only
what form of government is best, but also what is possible and what is
easily attainable by all. There are some who would have none but the
most perfect; for this many natural advantages are required. Others,
again, speak of a more attainable form, and, although they reject
the constitution under which they are living, they extol some one in
particular, for example the Lacedaemonian. Any change of government
which has to be introduced should be one which men, starting from
their existing constitutions, will be both willing and able to
adopt, since there is quite as much trouble in the reformation of an
old constitution as in the establishment of a new one, just as to
unlearn is as hard as to learn. And therefore, in addition to the
qualifications of the statesman already mentioned, he should be able
to find remedies for the defects of existing constitutions, as has
been said before.
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