Καρχηδονίους καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους: Aristotle similarly classes the Carthaginians and Spartans together: πολιτεύεσθαι δὲ δοκοῦσι καὶ Καρχηδόνιοι καλῶς . . . μάλιστα δ᾽ ἔνια παραπλησίως τοῖς Λάκωσιν (Pol. 1272^{b} 24), τοὺς δὲ βασιλεῖς (ἔχουσιν οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι) καὶ τὴν γερουσίαν ἀνάλογον τοῖς ἐκεῖ βασιλεῦσι καὶ γέρουσιν (ib. 37). The Spartan kings belonged to two families, the Agidae, who claimed Achaean descent, and the Eurypontidae, who were perhaps Dorian. In historic times their military functions were so preponderant that Aristotle (Pol. 1285^{a} 6) describes the kingship as στρατηγία τις αὐτοκράτωρ καὶ ἀΐδιος, ‘an absolute and perpetual generalship.’ Their official title βαγοί (‘leaders’) also indicates their chief function. The two chief magistrates at Carthage were known as ‘suffetes’ (probably the same word as the Hebrew ‘shophetim’, ‘judges’). They seem to have been chosen from a limited number of leading families.
τοὺς ἄριστα τῶν ἄλλων πολιτευομένους: Sparta appealed to the Greek thinker as the one state in Hellas which realized his ideal of permanence, which was secured by the perfect balance of the elements which composed it.
ἄριστα τῶν ἄλλων: lit. ‘best of all others’ (which is illogical), so ‘far better than any other state’. The superlative is often used, where a comparative might be expected, to express a superlative degree of superiority: cp. the well-known instance in Soph. Antig. 100 κάλλιστον τῶν πρότερον φάος, ‘light far fairer than all former lights.’
τὴν πόλιν: i.e. Athens. τῶν Ἀθηναίων is added by some MSS. (see critical note).
ὅταν μὲν πολλοὺς ἐκπέμψῃ στρατηγούς, a)tuxou=san: e.g. at Aegospotami, where six generals were in command, and on the Sicilian expedition, when Athens sent out three commanders.
