Read this quotation from Pericles’s Funeral Oration in ancient Athens.
It is true that we are called a democracy, because power is in the hands of the many and not the few . . . everyone is equal before the law; when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is chosen for public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as reward for his abilities. Neither is poverty an obstacle; a man may benefit his country whatever his social class. –Pericles’s Funeral Oration, 431 BCE
This quotation supports the idea that
the ability to govern should be a privilege.
few citizens have the skills for public service.
women and men should be equal under the law.
both the rich and the poor have the ability to serve.
It is true that we are called a democracy, because power is in the hands of the many and not the few . . . everyone is equal before the law; when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is chosen for public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as reward for his abilities. Neither is poverty an obstacle; a man may benefit his country whatever his social class. –Pericles’s Funeral Oration, 431 BCE
This quotation supports the idea that
the ability to govern should be a privilege.
few citizens have the skills for public service.
women and men should be equal under the law.
both the rich and the poor have the ability to serve.