Aristotle: Politics, Books V and VI

Books V and VI of Aristotle's Politics constitute a manual on practical politics. In the fifth book Aristotle examines the causes of faction and constitutional change and suggests remedies for political instability. In the sixth book he offers practical advice to the statesman who wishes to establish, preserve, or reform a democracy or an oligarchy. He discusses many political issues, theoretical and practical, which are still widely debatedtoday—revolution and reform, democracy and tyranny, freedom and equality. David Keyt presents a clear and accurate new translation of these books, together with a commentary which, though primarily philosophical, also supplies a key to Aristotle's many historical references. It is intended to guide readers towards a proper understanding of this classic text in the history of political thought, and does not assumes knowledge of Greek or of ancient history and politics.

An excellent addition to the Clarendon Aristotle Series ... Compared to some other recent and/or widely read translations of the Politics, Keyt's is among those that stuck closest to the Greek text, and is better than the rest when considering (as we should) both readability and accuracy., Keyt's translation is excellent both in accuracy and fluency. The commentary is comprehensive. Keyt explores the meaning of the text, probes the logic of arguments, supplies the linguistic and cultural context, explains the known historical references, and cites relevant parallel texts of Aristotle ... This series of translations and commentaries is likely to remain the standard for a long time.