These things being determined, it remains to consider whether all the citizens should partake of all these employments; for it is possible that the same persons may be husbandmen and artificers, counsellors and judges; or should different persons be appointed to each of the above-mentioned works; or are some of these employments necessarily peculiar, and others common? This, however, is not the case in every polity. For, as we have said, it is possible that all the citizens may partake of all these works, and it is possible that all may not, but certain persons of certain employments. For these things produce different polities. For in democracies, indeed, all the citizens partake of all the employments; but the contrary takes place in oligarchies. Since, however, our inquiry is concerning the best polity, and this is that through which a city will be most happy; and since we have already observed that it is impossible for felicity to exist without virtue; it is evident that in the best governed city, and which contains men simply or really just, and not so from hypothesis, it is necessary that the citizens should neither be engaged in sordid occupations, nor in merchandise. For a life of this kind is ignoble, and adverse to virtue. Nor should they be husbandmen; for leisure is necessary both for the attainment of virtue, and for political actions. Since, however, the warlike and deliberative parts of the city are conversant with things advantageous, and with determining what is just, and appear to be eminently parts of the city, whether are these to be considered as different departments, or are both to be assigned to the same persons? But this also is evident; because in one way they should be assigned to the same, and in another to different persons. For so far as each of the employments requires a different acme of ability, prudence being necessary for the one, and power for the other, in this case they should be allotted to different persons. But so far as it is impossible to oblige those who have arms in their hands, and can insist on their own terms, to be always under command, so far these different employments should be assigned to one person. For those who have arms at their own disposal are the lords of the permanency or destruction of the polity. It remains, therefore, that this polity must be entrusted to both these persons, viz. to those who have prudence and power; yet not at once, but in such a way as is natural, viz. power to the younger, but prudence to the more elderly. For in this way it is advantageous and just that the distribution should be made to both; for this division is according to desert. Moreover, it is necessary that the property of the state should belong to these men. For it is requisite that the citizens should be rich; but these are citizens. For those who are engaged in sordid occupations do not partake of the city, nor any other class of men who are not the artificers of virtue. But this is evident from the hypothesis. For it was admitted that felicity necessarily exists in conjunction with virtue. It is necessary, however, to call a city happy, not by looking to a certain part of it, but to all the citizens. It is evident, therefore, that the property of the state should belong to these men, if it is necessary that the husbandmen should be slaves, or barbarians, or the neighbouring inhabitants. But there remains of those we have enumerated the class of the priests. The rank of these, however, is evident; for they are neither to be reckoned among the husbandmen, nor among those who are engaged in sordid occupations. For it is fit that the gods should be honoured by the citizens. And since the political part of the state is divided into two orders, the military and the council, but it is fit that worship should be paid to the gods, and that those should rest from other labours, who are employed for a time in their service, let the care pertaining to sacred concerns be allotted to these, [viz. to the priests]. And thus we have shown what the particulars are without which a city cannot subsist, and also what are the parts of it. For husbandmen, indeed, and artificers, and all hirelings, are necessary to cities; but the parts of a city are, the soldiers and senators. Each of these, also, are separated from the other; the one, indeed, always, but the other partially.
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