same manner as before.  The elective assembly will be presided over in the first instance, and until the prytanes and council come into being, by the guardians of the law in some holy place; and they shall divide the citizens into three divisions,—­hoplites, cavalry, and the rest of the army—­placing each of them by itself.  All are to vote for generals and cavalry officers.  The brigadiers are to be voted for only by the hoplites.  Next, the cavalry are to choose phylarchs for the generals; but captains of archers and other irregular troops are to be appointed by the generals themselves.  The cavalry-officers shall be proposed and voted upon by the same persons who vote for the generals.  The two who have the greatest number of votes shall be leaders of all the horse.  Disputes about the voting may be raised once or twice, but, if a third time, the presiding officers shall decide.

The council shall consist of 360, who may be conveniently divided into four sections, making ninety councillors of each class.  In the first place, all the citizens shall select candidates from the first class; and they shall be compelled to vote under pain of a fine.  This shall be the business of the first day.  On the second day a similar selection shall be made from the second class under the same conditions.  On the third day, candidates shall be selected from the third class; but the compulsion to vote shall only extend to the voters of the first three classes.  On the fourth day, members of the council shall be selected from the fourth class; they shall be selected by all, but the compulsion to vote shall only extend to the second class, who, if they do not vote, shall pay a fine of triple the amount which was exacted at first, and to the first class, who shall pay a quadruple fine.  On the fifth day, the names shall be exhibited, and out of them shall be chosen by all the citizens 180 of each class:  these are severally to be reduced by lot to ninety, and 90 x 4 will form the council for the year.

The mode of election which has been described is a mean between monarchy and democracy, and such a mean should ever be observed in the state.  For servants and masters cannot be friends, and, although equality makes friendship, we must remember that there are two sorts of equality.  One of them is the rule of number and measure; but there is also a higher equality, which is the judgment of Zeus.  Of this he grants but little to mortal men; yet that little is the source of the greatest good to cities and individuals.  It is proportioned to the nature of each man; it gives more to the better and less to the inferior, and is the true political justice; to this we in our state desire to look, as every legislator should, not to the interests either of tyrants or mobs.  But justice cannot always be strictly enforced, and then equity and mercy have to be substituted:  and for a similar reason, when true justice will not be endured, we must have recourse to the rougher justice of the lot, which God must be entreated to guide.