Pagina 340 de 1391

Next comes democracy and the democratic man, out of oligarchy and

the oligarchical man. Insatiable avarice is the ruling passion of

an oligarchy; and they encourage expensive habits in order that

they may gain by the ruin of extravagant youth. Thus men of

family often lose their property or rights of citizenship; but

they remain in the city, full of hatred against the new owners of

their estates and ripe for revolution. The usurer with stooping

walk pretends not to see them; he passes by, and leaves his

sting-that is, his money-in some other victim; and many a man has

to pay the parent or principal sum multiplied into a family of

children, and is reduced into a state of dronage by him. The only

way of diminishing the evil is either to limit a man in his use

of his property, or to insist that he shall lend at his own risk.

But the ruling class do not want remedies; they care only for

money, and are as careless of virtue as the poorest of the

citizens.