This is precisely the part of the Government which is the minister of the sovereign and not sovereign itself. Democracy is in practice impossible. It demands conditions too numerous and virtues too difficult for the whole people. If there were a people of gods, its government would be democratic, so perfect a government is not for men. Aristocracy may be natural, hereditary, or elective.
Kings seek to be absolute, and offices are given to intriguers.
All things being equal, the best form of government for a country is the one under which the citizens, without any outside means, without naturalization or colonies, increase and multiply. In order to prevent any usurpation on the part of the government, some fixed and periodical meetings of the people must be determined by law, during which all executive power is suspended, and all authority is in the hands of the people. Intermediary between the sovereign authority and the Government there is sometimes another power, that of the deputies or representatives. In the fourth book, Rousseau speaks of certain social institutions. As to different modes of elections and institutions, such as tribunate, dictatorship, censure, etc., the history of the ancient republics of Rome and Greece, of Sparta especially, can teach us something about their value.