But, as I was saying, there must be a limit. What should be the
limit will be easily ascertained by experience. For both governors and
governed have duties to perform; the special functions of a governor
to command and to judge. But if the citizens of a state are to judge
and to distribute offices according to merit, then they must know each
other's characters; where they do not possess this knowledge, both the
election to offices and the decision of lawsuits will go wrong. When
the population is very large they are manifestly settled at haphazard,
which clearly ought not to be. Besides, in an over-populous state
foreigners and metics will readily acquire the rights of citizens, for
who will find them out? Clearly then the best limit of the
population of a state is the largest number which suffices for the
purposes of life, and can be taken in at a single view. Enough
concerning the size of a state.
V
Much the same principle will apply to the territory of the state:
every one would agree in praising the territory which is most entirely
self-sufficing; and that must be the territory which is all-producing,
for to have all things and to want nothing is sufficiency. In size and
extent it should be such as may enable the inhabitants to live at once
temperately and liberally in the enjoyment of leisure.
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