--- title: "18 Oligarchy Quotes By Aristotle" description: "18 Oligarchy quotes by Aristotle. Plus more from Aristotle and more Oligarchy sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/aristotle-78_aristocracy_the-perversions-are-as-follows-of-royalt_923464.png" --- > [The perversions are as follows: of royalty, tyranny; of aristocracy, oligarchy; of constitutional government, democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-perversions-are-as-follows-of-royalty-tyranny-of-aristocracy/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc5/aristotle-78_aristocracy_the-perversions-are-as-follows-of-royalt_923464.png) > [A democracy when put to the strain grows weak, and is supplanted by Oligarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-democracy-when-put-to-the-strain-grows-weak-and-is-supplanted-by/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/aristotle-78_democracy_a-democracy-when-put-to-the-strain-grows_2203152.png) > [A government which is composed of the middle class more nearly approximates to democracy than to oligarchy, and is the safest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-government-which-is-composed-of-the-middle-class-more-nearly/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/aristotle-78_class_a-government-which-is-composed-of-the-mi_2485973.png) > [The right constitutions, three in number- kingship, aristocracy, and polity- and the deviations from these, likewise three in number - tyranny from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-right-constitutions-three-in-number-kingship-aristocracy-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/aristotle-78_aristocracy_the-right-constitutions-three-in-number_1774899.png) > [A democracy exists whenever those who are free and are not well-off, being in the majority, are in sovereign control of government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-democracy-exists-whenever-those-who-are-free-and-are-not-well-off/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fd/aristotle-78_born_a-democracy-exists-whenever-those-who-ar_3019483.png) > [Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/where-some-people-are-very-wealthy-and-others-have-nothing-the-result/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/aristotle-78_democracy_where-some-people-are-very-wealthy-and-o_3119082.png) > [All men agree that a just distribution must be according to merit in some sense; they do not all specify the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-agree-that-a-just-distribution-must-be-according-to-merit-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/aristotle-78_agree_all-men-agree-that-a-just-distribution-m_344762.png) > [Of governments there are said to be only two forms - democracy and oligarchy. For aristocracy is considered to be a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/of-governments-there-are-said-to-be-only-two-forms-democracy-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/aristotle-78_aristocracy_of-governments-there-are-said-to-be-only_3085693.png) > [Because the rich are generally few in number, while the poor are many, they appear to be antagonistic, and as the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/because-the-rich-are-generally-few-in-number-while-the-poor-are-many/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/aristotle-78_arise_because-the-rich-are-generally-few-in-nu_242129.png) > [Democracy is the form of government in which the free are rulers, and oligarchy in which the rich; it is only an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/democracy-is-the-form-of-government-in-which-the-free-are-rulers-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/aristotle-78_accidents_democracy-is-the-form-of-government-in-w_1429220.jpg) > [Just as a royal rule, if not a mere name, must exist by virtue of some great personal superiority in the king,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/just-as-a-royal-rule-if-not-a-mere-name-must-exist-by-virtue-of-some/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/aristotle-78_aristocracy_just-as-a-royal-rule-if-not-a-mere-name_525739.jpg) > [There is an error common to both oligarchies and to democracies: in the latter the demagogues, when the multitude are above the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/there-is-an-error-common-to-both-oligarchies-and-to-democracies-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75f/aristotle-78_above-the-law_there-is-an-error-common-to-both-oligarc_3049428.jpg) > [Democracy appears to be safer and less liable to revolution than oligarchy. For in oligarchies there is the double danger of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/democracy-appears-to-be-safer-and-less-liable-to-revolution-than/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/342/aristotle-78_arise_democracy-appears-to-be-safer-and-less-l_1104994.png) > [In the Laws it is maintained that the best constitution is made up of democracy and tyranny, which are either not constitutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-the-laws-it-is-maintained-that-the-best-constitution-is-made-up-of/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/aristotle-78_constitution_in-the-laws-it-is-maintained-that-the-be_2086671.png) > [There are still two forms besides democracy and oligarchy; one of them is universally recognized and included among the four principal forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/there-are-still-two-forms-besides-democracy-and-oligarchy-one-of-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/aristotle-78_aristocracy_there-are-still-two-forms-besides-democr_3236455.png) > [The legislator should direct his attention above all to the education of youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-legislator-should-direct-his-attention-above-all-to-the-education/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/aristotle-78_attention_the-legislator-should-direct-his-attenti_186589.png) > [The real difference between democracy and oligarchy is poverty and wealth. Wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-real-difference-between-democracy-and-oligarchy-is-poverty-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/aristotle-78_democracy_the-real-difference-between-democracy-an_3190545.png) > [The form of government is a democracy when the free, who are also poor and the majority, govern, and an oligarchy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-form-of-government-is-a-democracy-when-the-free-who-are-also-poor/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/aristotle-78_democracy_the-form-of-government-is-a-democracy-wh_1450165.png) ## Other authors on Oligarchy - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bernie-sanders-17420.jpg) Bernie Sanders 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarchy/bernie-sanders/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b012/author-jane-mayer-47128.jpg) Jane Mayer 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarchy/jane-mayer/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarchy/aristotle/#itemlist", "name": "18 Oligarchy Quotes By Aristotle", "numberOfItems": 18, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", 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"item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A government which is composed of the middle class more nearly approximates to democracy than to oligarchy, and is the safest of the imperfect forms of government.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-government-which-is-composed-of-the-middle-class-more-nearly/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/aristotle-78_class_a-government-which-is-composed-of-the-mi_2485973.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/aristotle-78_class_a-government-which-is-composed-of-the-mi_2485973.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abd/aristotle-78_class_a-government-which-is-composed-of-the-mi_2485973.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A government which is composed of the middle class more nearly approximates to democracy than to oligarchy…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": 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For aristocracy is considered to be a kind of oligarchy, as being the rule of a few, and the so-called constitutional government to be really a democracy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/of-governments-there-are-said-to-be-only-two-forms-democracy-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/aristotle-78_aristocracy_of-governments-there-are-said-to-be-only_3085693.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/aristotle-78_aristocracy_of-governments-there-are-said-to-be-only_3085693.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/aristotle-78_aristocracy_of-governments-there-are-said-to-be-only_3085693.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of governments there are said to be only two forms - democracy and oligarchy. For aristocracy is considered…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because the rich are generally few in number, while the poor are many, they appear to be antagonistic, and as the one or the other prevails they form the government. Hence arises the common opinion that there are two kinds of government - democracy and oligarchy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/because-the-rich-are-generally-few-in-number-while-the-poor-are-many/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/aristotle-78_arise_because-the-rich-are-generally-few-in-nu_242129.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/aristotle-78_arise_because-the-rich-are-generally-few-in-nu_242129.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdf/aristotle-78_arise_because-the-rich-are-generally-few-in-nu_242129.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because the rich are generally few in number, while the poor are many, they appear to be antagonistic, and…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Democracy is the form of government in which the free are rulers, and oligarchy in which the rich; it is only an accident that the free are the many and the rich are the few.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/democracy-is-the-form-of-government-in-which-the-free-are-rulers-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/aristotle-78_accidents_democracy-is-the-form-of-government-in-w_1429220.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/aristotle-78_accidents_democracy-is-the-form-of-government-in-w_1429220.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/aristotle-78_accidents_democracy-is-the-form-of-government-in-w_1429220.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Democracy is the form of government in which the free are rulers, and oligarchy in which the rich; it is…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Just as a royal rule, if not a mere name, must exist by virtue of some great personal superiority in the king, so tyranny, which is the worst of governments, is necessarily the farthest removed from a well-constituted form; oligarchy is little better, for it is a long way from aristocracy, and democracy is the most tolerable of the three.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/just-as-a-royal-rule-if-not-a-mere-name-must-exist-by-virtue-of-some/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/aristotle-78_aristocracy_just-as-a-royal-rule-if-not-a-mere-name_525739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/aristotle-78_aristocracy_just-as-a-royal-rule-if-not-a-mere-name_525739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a2/aristotle-78_aristocracy_just-as-a-royal-rule-if-not-a-mere-name_525739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just as a royal rule, if not a mere name, must exist by virtue of some great personal superiority in the…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is an error common to both oligarchies and to democracies: in the latter the demagogues, when the multitude are above the law, are always cutting the city in two by quarrels with the rich, whereas they should always profess to be maintaining their cause; just as in oligarchies the oligarchs should profess to maintain the cause of the people, . .", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/there-is-an-error-common-to-both-oligarchies-and-to-democracies-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75f/aristotle-78_above-the-law_there-is-an-error-common-to-both-oligarc_3049428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75f/aristotle-78_above-the-law_there-is-an-error-common-to-both-oligarc_3049428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75f/aristotle-78_above-the-law_there-is-an-error-common-to-both-oligarc_3049428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is an error common to both oligarchies and to democracies: in the latter the demagogues, when the…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Democracy appears to be safer and less liable to revolution than oligarchy. For in oligarchies there is the double danger of the oligarchs falling out among themselves and also with the people; but in democracies there is only the danger of a quarrel with the oligarchs. No dissension worth mentioning arises among the people themselves. 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The citizen should be molded to suit the form of government under which he lives. For each government has a peculiar character which originally formed and which continues to preserve it. 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