The heads of families collected in a senate form an aristocracy,
and the families themselves, represented by their delegates, or
publicly assembling for public affairs, constitute a democracy.
These three forms, with their several combinations, to wit,
monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, and mixed governments, are all
the forms known to Aristotle, and have generally been held to be
all that are possible.
Historically, all governments have, in some sense, been developed
from the patriarchal, as all society has been developed from the
family. Even those governments, like the ancient Roman and the
modern feudal, which seem to be founded on landed property, may
be traced back to a patriarchal origin. The patriarch is sole
proprietor, and the possessions of the family are vested in him,
and he governs as proprietor as well as father. In the tribe,
the chief is the proprietor, and in the nation, the king is the
landlord, and holds the domain. Hence, the feudal baron is
invested with his fief by the suzerain, holds it from him, and to
him it escheats when forfeited or vacant. All the great Asiatic
kings of ancient or modern times hold the domain and govern as
proprietors; they have the authority of the father and the owner;
and their subjects, though theoretically their children, are
really their slaves.
In Rome, however, the proprietary right undergoes an important
transformation.
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