Aristocracy, asort of political government administered by a small number of the noble and wise; [from] ἄρης, Mars , or powerful , or from ἄριστος, very good , very strong , and from κράτος, force , power , or the power of the great. Authors who have written on politics prefer aristocracy to all other forms of government. The Republic of Venice and that of Genoa are governed by nobles, the people being excluded. It would seem that aristocracies and oligarchies have much in common with one another; although an oligarchy is only a vitiated aristocratic government, since in the oligarchy the administration, entrusted to a small number of persons, is found concentrated in one or two [of them], who dominate over all of the others. See Oligarchy. [1]

*As for the laws relative to aristocracy , one may consult the excellent work of Monsieur de Montesquieu. [2] Here are the principle ones:

1. In an aristocracy , the body of nobles casting votes, these votes cannot be too secretive.
2. Suffrage must not be given by lot; only inconveniences would result from it. Indeed, once distinctions that raise a few citizens above the others are established, even if one were chosen by lot, one would not be less odious because of it. It is not the magistrate, but the noble that one envies.
3. When nobles are numerous, there must be a senate that regulates the affairs which the body of nobles will not be able to decide and that prepares that on which it rules; in that case, one might say that aristocracy is in a way, in the senate, democracy in the body of nobles, and that the people are nothing.
4. It will be a very good thing in an aristocracy , if by some indirect measure the people are freed from annihilation. Thus in Genoa the Bank of Saint George, which is directed by the people, gives them a certain influence in the government, from which all of their prosperity is derived.
5. The Senators must not have the right to fill empty seats in the senate; it is up to the Censors to name new Senators, if one does not wish to perpetuate abuse.
6. The best aristocracy is that in which the portion of the population who have no power is so inconsiderable and poor, that those who dominate have no interest in oppressing them.
7. The most imperfect is that in which the portion of the people who obey are in a state of civil servitude to those who rule.
8. If in an aristocracy the people are virtuous, they will always enjoy, more a less, a feeling of contentment equal to that of a popular government, and the state will become powerful.
9. The spirit of moderation is what one calls virtue in an aristocracy ; it takes there the place of equality in a popular state.
10. The modesty and simplicity of manners constitute the strength of aristocratic nobles.
11. If the nobles had personal and individual prerogatives, distinct from the corporative body, an aristocracy would diverge from its nature and its principle, in order to take those of monarchy.
12. There are two principle sources of disorder in aristocratic states: excessive inequality between those who govern and those who are governed, and inequality among those who govern.
13. The first of these inequalities will occur if the privileges of the principal [citizens] are honorable only because they are shameful to the people, and if the condition relative to taxes is different among citizens.
14. Commerce is the profession of equal persons; the nobles must therefore not participate in trade in an aristocracy .
15. The laws must be such that the nobles are constrained to render justice to the people.
16. They must mortify entirely the desire to dominate.
17. It is necessary that there be, either temporarily or perpetually, an authority that is feared by the nobles.
18. Extreme poverty of nobles [and] exorbitant riches of nobles [are] pernicious in an aristocracy .
19. There must be no primogeniture among nobles, so that the distribution of inheritances always levels the members of this order into approximate equality.
20. It is necessary that disputes that arise among the nobles not last long.
21. The laws must tend to abolish the distinctions that vanity raises among noble families.
22. If [the laws] are good, they will bring about more of a feeling among the nobles of the inconveniences of ruling than of its benefits.
23. Aristocracy will be corrupted when the power of nobles having become arbitrary, there will no longer be virtue in those who govern, or in those who are governed. See l’Esprit des lois , pp. 1ff., 13ff., 114ff., where these maxims are supported by ancient and modern examples, which hardly permit one to contest their truthfulness.

1. This is the end of Mallet’s contribution. The rest of the article, denoted by the asterisk, is by Diderot.

2. Most points in the list are paraphrased selections from Montesquieu's commentary on aristocracy in l’Esprit des lois .