上句见：Day84
The Story of Philosophy的第85句：第1章Plato第1节The Context of Plato第7段第2句：

No doubt this attack on democracy reflected the rise of a wealthy minority at Athens which called itself the Oligarchical Party, and denounced democracy as an incompetent sham. In a sense there was not much democracy to denounce; for of the 400,000 inhabitants of Athens 250,000 were slaves, without political rights of any kind: and of the 150,000 freemen or citizens only a small number presented themselves at the Ecclesia, or general assembly, where the policies of the state were discussed and determined. Yet what democracy they had was thorough as never since the general assembly was the supreme power; and the highest official body, the Dikasteria, or supreme court, consisted of over a thousand members (to make bribery expensive), selected by alphabetical rote from the roll of all the citizens. No institution could have been more democratic, nor, said its opponents, more absurd.
浙江大学译本：从某种意义上说，当时的雅典几乎谈不上民主：在四十万人口中，二十五万是没有任何政治权利的奴隶，其余十五万自由人或公民中，也只有极少数能够出席人民会议或全体大会，在那里决议城邦政策。

解析

这句批评当时的雅典的民主制不民主：受众少及参与不积极。
1、In a sense there was not much democracy to denounce;
总的：当时的雅典没什么民主。寡头政权指责的民主其实并不是什么民主。
in a sense (also in one sense):
thinking about something in one way, but not in every way ：指某种意义上
举例：In a sense, the publicization would contribute to building an honest society. 从某种意义上来说，公开信息将会让我们的社会变得更加诚实。

2、for of the 400,000 inhabitants of Athens 250,000 were slaves, without political rights of any kind
人数不代表：40万居民中有25万没有任何政治权利的奴隶。
of any kind: 任何的，常跟在否定形式后，加强语气
They did not want to be workers of any kind, anywhere.他们不愿意到任何地方去干任何一种工作。

3、and of the 150,000 freemen or citizens only a small number presented themselves at the Ecclesia, or general assembly,
参加不积极：在剩下的15万自由民或公民中仅有少数人出现在“Eccelsia”（公民大会）
present oneself： come into the presence and sight of another or others, or into a particular place, esp. in a formal manner; to appear, attend. Cf. sense 9 b.出席
the general assembly：a meeting of all the members of an organisation or shareholders of a company。大会：一个组织或团体的全体成员的正式会议，通常用于讨论和决定重要事项。
The general assembly called on him to enact their resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire on all sides.联合国大会要求他颁布决议，呼吁各方立即停火。

4、where the policies of the state were discussed and determined.
场所：国家政策讨论与制定的地方。

从某种意义上讲，当时的雅典没有什么民主值得谴责；在40万人中，20万就是有没任何政治权利的奴隶，其余的15万自由民或公民中，也只有少数人参加公民大会，即Ecclesia，在那里讨论并决定国家的政策。

当时雅典的民主一点都不民主，一是代表人数不够，人口只有3/8的有政治权力，不到一半；二是实行政治权利意识不高，在这不到一半的有政治权利的人，只有很少部分会去参与到国家政策中。所以一句，它只是一些贵族自娱自乐的地方。