In order to avoid peculation of the
public money, the transfer of the revenue should be made at a
general assembly of the citizens, and duplicates of the accounts
deposited with the different brotherhoods, companies, and tribes.
And honors should be given by law to magistrates who have the
reputation of being incorruptible. In democracies the rich should be
spared; not only should their property not be divided, but their
incomes also, which in some states are taken from them
imperceptibly, should be protected. It is a good thing to prevent
the wealthy citizens, even if they are willing from undertaking
expensive and useless public services, such as the giving of choruses,
torch-races, and the like. In an oligarchy, on the other hand, great
care should be taken of the poor, and lucrative offices should go to
them; if any of the wealthy classes insult them, the offender should
be punished more severely than if he had wronged one of his own class.
Provision should be made that estates pass by inheritance and not by
gift, and no person should have more than one inheritance; for in this
way properties will be equalized, and more of the poor rise to
competency. It is also expedient both in a democracy and in an
oligarchy to assign to those who have less share in the government
(i.e., to the rich in a democracy and to the poor in an oligarchy)
an equality or preference in all but the principal offices of state.
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