Page 357 sur 1391

He appears not to have reflected upon the full meaning of his own

words, 'In the brief space of human life, nothing great can be

accomplished'; or again, as he afterwards says in the Laws,

'Infinite time is the maker of cities.' The order of

constitutions which is adopted by him represents an order of

thought rather than a succession of time, and may be considered

as the first attempt to frame a philosophy of history.