CHARACTER AND WORKING OF THE DESPOTS. 21 not ,<ti^ng enough to crush the Greek mind, imprinted upon it a painful but improving political lesson, and contributed much to enlarg*- the range of experience as well as to determine the sub- sequent cast of feeling. 1 They partly broke down the wall of distinction between the people properly so called, the general mass of freemen and the oligarchy ; indeed, the demagogue- despots are interesting, as the first evidence of the growing im- portance of the people in political affairs. The demagogue stood forward as representing the feelings and interests of the people against the governing few, probably availing himself of some special cases of ill-usage, and taking pains to be conciliatory and generous in his own personal behavior ; and when the people, by their armed aid, had enabled him to overthrow the existing rulers, they had thus the satisfaction of seeing their own chief in pos- session of the supreme power, but they acquired no political rights and no increased securities for themselves. What measure of positive advantage they may have reaped, beyond that of seeing their previous oppressors humiliated, we know too little to deter- mine ; 3 but even the worst of despots was more formidable to the rich than to the poor, and the latter may perhaps have gained by the change, in comparative importance, notwithstanding their share in the rigors and exactions of a government which had no other permanent foundation than naked fear. A remark made by Aristotle deserves especial notice here, as illustrating the political advance and education of the Grecian communities. He draws a marked distinction between the early demagogue of the seventh and sixth centuries, and the later demagogue, such as he himself and the generations immediately preceding had witnessed : the former was a military chief, daring and full of resource, who took arms at the head of a body of pop- 1 Thucyd. i, 17. Tvpavvoi 6e oaoi qaav ev ratf 'EAhijviicaif trofaat, rt* tiji' eavruv fiovov irpoopu/tevoi ef re TO aufia nai is T& TOV Idiov OIKOV av&ii <5t' uff(pa?.eiaf oaov tfivvavTo fj.u7.iaTa, rue TroXeif $KOVV.
- "Wachsmuth (Hellenische Alterthumskunde, sect. 49-51) and Tittmann
(Griechisch. Staatsvcrfassungen, pp. 527-533) both make too much of the supposed friendly connection and mutual good-will between the despot and the poorer freemen. Community of antipathy against the old oligarchy wai a bond essentially temporary, dissolved as soon as that oligarchy was pnt down.
