He expressed the
strongest
desire to become
Plato's scholar, and to proceed in the study of philoso-
phy; but he expressed it with reluctance in the presence
of those who wanted to divert him from his purpose,
and seemed as if he was in pursuit of something he
ought to be ashamed of.
Plato's scholar, and to proceed in the study of philoso-
phy; but he expressed it with reluctance in the presence
of those who wanted to divert him from his purpose,
and seemed as if he was in pursuit of something he
ought to be ashamed of.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
net/2027/wu.
89099228256 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www.
hathitrust.
org/access_use#pd-google
? DIoN.
91
disadvantage that she had the honor of giving Diony-
sius his eldest son. Aristomache, on the contrary, was
a long time barren, though the king was extremely de-
sirous of having children by her; and put to death the
mother of Doris, on a supposition that she had pre-
vented her conceptions by potions.
Dion, the brother of Aristomache, was well received
at court; not only on her account, but from the regard
which Dionysius had for his merit and abilities: and
that prince. gave his treasurer an order to supply him
with whatever money he wanted; but, at the same
time, to keep an account of what he received.
But whatever the talents and the virtues of Dion
might be originally, it is certain that they received the
happiest improvement under the auspices of Plato.
Surely the gods, in mercy to mankind, sent that divine
philosopher from Italy to Syracuse, that, through the
humane influence of his doctrine, the spirit of liberty
might once more revive, and the inhabitants of that
country be rescued from tyranny.
Dion soon became the most distinguished of his
scholars. To the fertility of his genius, and the excel-
lence of his disposition, Plato himself has given testi-
mony ; and he did the greatest honor to that testimony
in his life: for though he had been educated in servile
principles under a tyrant, though he had been famili-
arised to dependence on the one hand, and to the in-
dulgence of pomp and luxury, as the greatest happi-
ness, on the other, yet he was no sooner acquainted
with that philosophy which points out the road to vir-
tue, than his whole soul caught the enthusiasm, and,
with the simplicity of a young man who judges of the
dispositions of others by his own, he concluded that
Plato's lectures would have the same effect on Diony-
sius: for this reason he solicited, and at length per-
suaded the tyrant to hear him. When Plato was
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? PLUTARCH.
admitted, the discourse turned on virtue in general.
Afterwards they came to fortitude in particular; and
Plato made it appear that tyrants have, of all men,
the least pretence to that virtue. Justice was the next
topic: and when Plato asserted the happiness of the
just, and the wretched condition of the unjust, the
tyrant was stung; and being unable to answer his ar-
guments, he expressed his resentment against those
who seemed to listen to him with pleasure. At last he
was extremely exasperated, and asked the philosopher
what business he had in Sicily. Plato answered, 'that
he came to seek an honest man. '--' And so, then,' re-
plied the tyrant, 'it seems you have lost your labor. '
Dion was in hopes that his anger would have ended
here; but while Plato was hastening to be gone he
conveyed him aboard a galley, in which Pollis, the
Lacedaemonian, was returning to Greece. Dionysius
urged Pollis either to put Plato to death in his pas-
sage, or, at least, to sell him as a slave: 'for, accord-
ing to his own maxim,' said he, 'this man cannot be
unhappy; a just man, he says, must be happy in a
state of slavery, as well as in a state of freedom. '
Pollis therefore carried him to . /Egina, and sold him
there: for the people of that place, being at war with
the Athenians, had made a decree, that whatever Athe-
nian was taken on their coast he should be sold. Dion,
notwithstanding, retained his interest with Dionysius,
had considerable employments, and was sent ambassa-
dor to Carthage. Dionysius had a high esteem for
him, and he therefore permitted him to speak his sen-
timents with freedom. An instance of this we have in
the retort he made on the tyrant's ridiculing the go-
vernment of Gelo: ' Gelo,' said Dionysius, 'is [g-eZoi]
the laughing-stock of Sicily. ' While others admired
and applauded this witticism, Dion answered, 'You
obtained the crown by being trusted on Gelo's ac-
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? DIoN.
93
count, who reigned with great humanity ; but you have
reigned in such a manner, that, for your sake, no man
will be trusted hereafter. Gelo made monarchy ap-
pear the best of governments; but you have convinced
us that it is the worst. ' Dionysius had three children
by Doris, and four by Aristomacbe ; whereof two were
daughters, Sophrosyne and Arete. The former of these
was married to his eldest son Dionysius; the latter to
his brother Thearides; and, after his death, to her un-
cle Dion. In the last illness of Dionysius, Dion would
have applied to him in behalf of the children of Ari-
stomache, but the physicians were beforehand with
him. They wanted to ingratiate themselves with his
successor; and when he asked for a sleeping-dose,
Timaeus tells us, they gave him so effectual a one, that
he awaked no more.
When his son Dionysius came to the throne, in the
first council that he held, Dion spoke with so much
propriety on the present state of affairs, and on the
measures which ought to be taken, that the rest ap-
peared to be mere children in understanding. By the
freedom of his counsels he exposed, in a strong light,
the slavish principles of those who, through a timorous
disingenuity, advised such measures as they thought
would please their prince, rather than such as might
advance his interest. But what alarmed them most
was the steps he proposed to take with regard to the
impending war with Carthage; for he offered either to
go in person to Carthage, and settle an honorable
peace with the Carthaginians, or, if the king were
rather inclined for war, to fit out and maintain fifty
galleys at his own expense.
Dionysius was pleased with the magnificence of his
spirit; but the courtiers felt that it made them appear
little. They agreed that, at all events, Dion was to be
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PLUTARCH.
crushed, and they spared no calumny that malice could
suggest. They represented to the king that he cer-
tainly meant to make himself master by sea, and by
that means to obtain the kingdom for his sister's chil-
dren. There was, moreover, another and an obvious
cause of their hatred to him, in the reserve of his man-
ners, and of the sobriety of his life. They led the
young and ill-educated king through every species of
debauchery, the shameless panders to his wrong di-
rected passions. Yet while folly rioted, tyranny slept:
its rage was dissolved in the ardor of youthful indul-
gences, as iron is softened in the fire; and that lenity
which the Sicilians could not expect from the virtue
of their prince, they found in his weakness. Thus the
reins of that monarchy, which Dionysius vainly called
adamantine, fell gradually from the loose and disso-
lute hand that held them. This young prince, it is
said, would continue the scene of intoxication for
ninety days without intermission; during which time
no sober person was admitted to his court, where all
was drunkenness and buffoonery, revelry and riot.
Their enmity to Dion, who had no taste for these
enjoyments, was a thing of course: and, as he refused
to partake with them in their vices, they resolved to
strip him of his virtues. To these they gave-the names
of such vices as are supposed in some degree to re-
semble them. His gravity of manners they called
pride; his freedom of speech, insolence; his declining
to join in their licentiousness, contempt. It is true,
there was a natural haughtiness in bis deportment,
and an asperity that was unsociable and difficult of
access: so that it is not to be wondered if he found
no ready admission to the ears of a young king,
already spoiled by flattery. Many, even of his own
particular friends, who admired the integrity and gene-
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? DIoN.
rosity of his heart, could not but condemn those for-
bidding manners, which were so ill adapted to social
and political intercourse: and Plato himself, when he
wrote to him some time after, warned him, as it were
by the spirit of prophecy, 'To guard against that aus-
terity which is the companion of solitude. ' However,
the necessity of the times, and the feeble state of
the monarchy, rendered it necessary for the king,
though contrary to his inclination, to retain him in the
highest appointments; and this Dion himself very well
knew.
As he was willing to impute the irregularities of
Dionysius to ignorance and a bad education, he endea-
vored to engage him in a course of liberal studies, and
to give him a taste for those sciences which have a
tendency to moral improvement. By this means he
hoped that he should induce him to think of virtue
without disgust, and at length to embrace its precepts
with pleasure. The young Dionysius was not na-
turally the worst of princes; but his father being ap-
prehensive that if his mind were improved by science
and the conversation of wise and virtuous men, he
might some time or other think of depriving him of his
kingdom, kept him in close confinement; where,
through ignorance and want of other employment, he
amused himself with making little chariots, candle-
sticks, wooden chairs, and tables. His father, indeed,
was so suspicious of all mankind, and so wretchedly
timorous, that he would not suffer a barber to shave him;
but bad his hair singed off with a live coal by one of his
own attendants. Neither his brother nor his son were
admitted into his chamber in their own clothes, but were
first stripped and examined by the sentinels, and after
that were obliged to put on such clothes as were pro-
vided for them. When his brother Leptines was once
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? 96
PLUTARCH.
describing the situation of a place, he took a spear
from one of the guards to trace the plan; on which
Dionysius was extremely offended, and caused the sol-
dier who had given up his spear to be put to death.
He was afraid, he said, of the sense and sagacity of
his friends; because he knew they must think it more
eligible to govern than to obey. He slew Marsyas,
whom he had advanced to a considerable military com-
mand, merely because Marsyas dreamed that he killed
him; for he concluded that this dream by night was
occasioned by some similar suggestion of the day.
Yet even this timorous and suspicious wretch was
offended with Plato, because he would not allow him
to be the most valiant man in the world!
When Dion, as we have before observed, considered
that the irregularities of young Dionysius were chiefly
owing to his want of education, he exhorted him ear-
nestly to apply himself to study, and by all means to
send for Plato, the prince of philosophers, into Sicily.
'When he comes,' said he, 'apply to him without
loss of time. Conformed by his precepts to that divine
exemplar of beauty and perfection, which called the
universe from confusion into order, you will at once
secure your own happiness, and the happiness of your
people. The obedience they now render you through
fear, by your justice and moderation you will improve
to a principle of filial duty; and of a tyrant, you will
become a king. Fear and force, and fleets and armies,
are not, as your father called them, the adamantine
chains of government; but that attention, that affec-
tion, that respect, which justice and goodness for ever
draw after them. These are the milder but the stronger
bonds of empire. Besides, it is surely a disgrace for
a prince, who in all the circumstances of figure and
appearance is distinguished from the people, not to rise
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? DIoN.
97
above them at the same time, in the superiority of his
conversation, and the cultivation of his mind. '
As Dion frequently solicited the king on this subject,
and occasionally repeated some of Plato's arguments,
he conceived at length a violent inclination to hear him
discourse. He therefore sent several letters of invita-
tion to him at Athens, which were seconded by the
intreaties of Dion. The Pythagorean philosophers in
Italy requested at the same time that he would under-
take the direction of this young prince, whose mind
was misguided by power, and reclaim him by the solid
counsels of philosophy. Plato, as he owns himself,
was ashamed to be a philosopher in theory, and not
in practice; and flattering himself that if he could
rectify the mind of the prince, he might by the same
means remedy the disorders of the kingdom, he yielded
to their request.
The enemies of Dion, now fearing an alteration in
Dionysius, advised him to recall from exile one Phi-
listus, who was, indeed, a man of learning, but em-
ployed his talents in defence of the despotic policy;
and this man they intended to set in opposition to
Plato and his philosophy. Philistus, from the be-
ginning, had been a principal instrument in promoting
the monarchic government, and kept the citadel, of
which he was governor, a long time for that party. It
is said that he had an unlawful desire for the mother
of the elder Dionysius, and that the tyrant himself
was not ignorant of it. Be this as it may, Leptines,
who had two daughters by a married woman, whom he
had corrupted, gave one of them in marriage to Phi-
listus: but this being done without consulting Diony-
sius, he was offended; imprisoned Leptine's mistress,
and banished Philistus. The latter fled to his friends
at Adria, where, it is probable, he composed the great-
PLUT. VoL. VII. G
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PLUTARCH.
est part of his history; for he did not return to Sicily
during the reign of that Dionysius. After his death,
as we have observed, Dion's enemies occasioned him
to be recalled. His arbitrary principles were suitable
for their purpose, and he began to exercise them im-
mediately on his return.
At the same time calumnies and impeachments
against Dion were, as usual, brought to the king.
He was accused of holding a private correspondence
with Theodoses and Heraclides, for the subversion of
the monarchy; and indeed it is probable that he en-
tertained some hopes from the arrival of Plato, of
lessening the excessive power of Dionysius, or at least
of making him moderate and equitable in the use of it.
Besides, if he continued obstinate, and were not to
be reclaimed, he was determined to depose him, and
restore the commonwealth to the Syracusans; for he
preferred even the popular form of government to an
absolute monarchy, where a well regulated aristocracy
could not be procured.
Such was the state of affairs when Plato came into
Sicily. At first he was received with the greatest ap-
pearance of kindness, and he was conveyed from the
coast in one of the king's most splendid chariots. Even
Dionysius himself sacrificed to the gods in acknow-
legement of his safe arrival, and of the honor and hap-
piness they had by that means conferred on his king-
dom. The people had the greatest hopes of a speedy
reformation. They observed an unusual decorum in
the entertainments at court, and a sobriety in the con-
duct of the courtiers; while the king answered all to
whom he gave audience in a very obliging manner.
The desire of learning and the study of philosophy
were become general; and the several apartments of
the royal palace were like so many schools of geomu-
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? DION.
99
tricians, full of the dust in which the students describe
their mathematical figures. Not long after this, at a
solemn sacrifice in the citadel, when the herald prayed
as usual for the long continuance of the government,
Dionysius is said to have cried, ' how long will you
continue to curse me? ' This was an inexpressible morti-
fication to Pbilistus and his party: if Plato, said they,
has already made such a change in the king, his influ-
ence in time will be irresistible.
They now no longer made their attacks on Dion
separately, or in private. They united in exclaiming
against him, that he had fascinated the king with the
delusions of eloquence and philosophy, in order to ob-
tain the kingdom for his sister's children. They repre-
sented it as a matter of the greatest indignity, that
after the whole force of the Athenians had vainly in-
vaded Sicily, and were vanquished and destroyed,
without so much as being able to take Syracuse, they
should now, by means of one sophist, overturn the
empire of Dionysius. It was with indignation they be-
held the deluded monarch prevailed on by his insinua-
tions to part with his guard of ten thousand spearmen,
to give up a navy of four hundred galleys, to disband
an army of ten thousand horse, and many times that
number of foot, in order that he might pursue an ideal
happiness in the academy, and amuse himself with
theorems of geometry, while the substantial enjoyments
of wealth and power were left to Dion and the children
of Aristomache.
By means of these suggestions Dion first incurred
the suspicion, and soon after the open displeasure of
Dionysius. A letter of his was likewise intercepted,
and privately carried to the king. It was addressed to
the Carthaginian agents, and directed them not to have
their audience of the king concerning the conclusion
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PLUTARCH.
of the peace, unless he were present, and then every-
thing should be settled as they wished. Timaeus in-
forms us, that after Dionysius had showed this letter
to Philistus, and consulted him on it, he overreached
Dion by a pretence of reconciliation, and told him that
he was desirous their good understanding might be re-
newed. After this, as he was one day walking alone
with him by the wall of the castle, near the sea, he
showed him the letter, and accused him of conspiring
with the Carthaginians against him. When Dion at-
tempted to speak in his own defence, Dionysius refused
to hear him; and having forced him on board a vessel,
which lay there for the purpose, commanded the sailors
to set him ashore in Italy.
When this was publicly known, it was generally con-
demned as tyrannical and cruel. The court was in dis-
tress for the ladies of Dion's family; but the citizens
received fresh courage from the event; for they were
in hopes that the odium which it would bring on Dio-
nysius, and the general discontent that his government
occasioned, might contribute to bring about a revolu-
tion. Dionysius perceived this with some anxiety, and
thinking it necessary to pacify the women and the rest
of Dion's friends, he told them that he was not gone
into exile, but only sent out of the way for a time, that
his obstinacy might not draw on him a heavier punish-
ment. He also allowed his friends two ships, that they
might convey to him, in Peloponnesus, as much of his
treasure, and as many of his servants, as they should
think fit; for Dion was a man of considerable property,
and little inferior to the king in wealth or magnificence.
The most valuable part of his effects, together with pre-
sents from the ladies, and others of his acquaintance,
his friends conveyed to him; and the splendor of his
fortune gained him great respect among the Greeks.
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? DIoN.
101
At the same time they conceived a high idea of the
power of the tyrant, when an exile from his kingdom
could make such an appearance.
Dionysius now removed Plato into the citadel, under
color of kindness; but in reality to set a guard on him,
lest he should follow Dion, and proclaim to the world
how injuriously he had been treated.
As wild beasts become tame and tractable by use, so
the tyrant, by frequent conversation with the philoso-
pher, began at last to conceive an affection for him;
yet even that affection had something of the tyrant in
it; for he required of Plato, in return, that he should
exclusively confine his regard and admiration to him.
On condition that he would prefer his friendship to that
of Dion, he was willing to give up the whole adminis-
tration into his hands. This extravagant affection gave
Plato no small trouble; for it was accompanied with
petulance and jealousy, as the love which subsists be-
tween the different sexes has its quarrels and reconcili-
ations.
He expressed the strongest desire to become
Plato's scholar, and to proceed in the study of philoso-
phy; but he expressed it with reluctance in the presence
of those who wanted to divert him from his purpose,
and seemed as if he was in pursuit of something he
ought to be ashamed of.
As a war broke out about this time, he found it ne-
cessary to dismiss Plato; but he promised him, before
his departure, to recall Dion the ensuing summer:
however, he did not keep his promise, but made the
war he was engaged in his apology, and remitted to
him the produce of his estate. At the same time he
desired Plato to acquiesce in his apology, assuring him
that he would send for Dion on the commencement of
the peace; and he intreated, in the mean while, that
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PLUTARCH.
Dion would be peaceable, and not say or do any thing
that might hurt his character among the Greeks. This
Plato endeavored to effect, by keeping Dion in the
academy in pursuit of philosophy.
At Athens, Dion lived with an acquaintance, whose
name was Callippus. But a piece of pleasure-ground,
which he purchased, he gave, on his departure, to Speu-
sippus, with whom he had most usually conversed.
Speusippus, as Timon, in his poems called Syllis, in-
forms us, was a facetious companion, and had a turn for
raillery; and Plato was desirous that Dion's severity
of manners might be softened by the pleasantry of his
conversation. When Plato exhibited a cborus of boys
at Athens, Dion took on himself the management, and
defrayed the expense. Plato was desirous that this
munificence might procure him popularity, and on that
account he readily gave up the honor of conducting the
affair himself.
Dion likewise visited other cities, and conversed
with the principal statesmen, by whom he was publicly
entertained. In his manners there was now no longer
any thing pompous or affected; there was nothing that
savored of the dissolute luxury of a tyrant's court; his
behavior was modest, discreet, and manly; and his phi-
losophical discourses were learned and ingenious. This
procured him popular favor and public honors; and
the Lacedaemonians, without regard to the resentment
of Dionysius, though at the very time they had received
succors from him against the Thebans, made him free
of their city. We are told that Dion accepted an invi-
tation from Ptoeodorus, the Megarensian, who was a
man of considerable power and fortune; and when he
found his door crowded with people on business, and
that it was difficult to have access to him, he said to
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? DIoN.
103
his friends, who expressed their dissatisfaction on the
occasion, ' Why should this affront us? we did this,
and more than this, at Syracuse. '
Dion's popularity in Greece soon excited the jealousy
of Dionysius, who therefore stopped his remittances,
and put his estate in the hands of his own stewards.
However, that his reputation might not suffer, through
Plato's means, amongst the philosophers, he retained
a number of learned men in his court; and being de-
sirous to outshine them all in disputation, he frequently
was under a necessity of introducing, without the least
propriety, the arguments he had learnt from Plato. He
now wished for that philosopher again, and repented
that he had so ill availed himself of his instructions.
Like a tyrant, therefore, whose desires, however ex-
travagant, are immediately to be complied with, he was
violently bent on recalling him. To effect this, he thought
of every expedient, and at length prevailed on Archy-
tas, and the rest of the Pythagorean philosophers, to
pledge themselves for the performance of his promises,
and to persuade him to return to Sicily; for it was Plato
that first introduced those philosophers to Dionysius.
On their part, they sent Archidemus to Plato, and
Dionysius, at the same time, sent some galleys with
several of his friends to join in their request. The
tyrant likewise wrote to him, and told him in plain
terms, that Dion must expect no favor from him, if
Plato should not come into Sicily; but on his arrival,
he might depend on every thing he desired. Dion was
also solicited by his sister and wife to prevail with
Plato to gratify the tyrant, that he might no longer
have an apology for the severity of his treatment.
Plato, therefore, as he says himself, set sail the third
time for Sicily:
To brave Charybdis' dreadful gulf once more!
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PLUTARCH.
His arrival was not only a satisfaction to Dionysius,
but to all Sicily; the inhabitants of which did not fail
to implore the gods that Plato might overcome Phi-
listus, and that the tyranny might expire under the
influence of his philosophy. Plato was in high favor
with the women in particular, and with Dionysius he
had such credit as no other person could boast; for he
was allowed to come to him without being searched.
When Aristippus, the Cyrenean, observed that the
king frequently offered Plato money, and that Plato
as constantly refused it, he said, 'that Dionysius was
liberal without danger of exhausting his treasury; for
to those who wanted, and would take money, he was
sparing in his offers, but profuse where he knew it
would be refused. '
After the first civilities were over, Plato took an op-
portunity to mention Dion ; but the tyrant put him off,
till, at last, expostulations and animosities took place.
These, however, Dionysius was industrious to conceal,
and endeavored to bring over Plato from the interest
of Dion by repeated favors and studied civilities. The
philosopher, on the other hand, did not immediately
publish his perfidy, but dissembled his resentment.
While things were thus circumstanced, Helicon of
Cyzicus, one of Plato's followers, foretold an eclipse
of the sun; and as it happened, according to his pre-
diction, the king, in admiration of his learning, re-
warded him with a talent of silver. On this Aristip-
pus, jesting among the rest of the philosophers, told
them he had something extraordinary, likewise, to
prognosticate. Being intreated to make it known, ' I
foresee,' said he, ' that in a short time there will be a
quarrel between Dionysius and Plato. ' Soon after this
Dionysius sold Dion's estate, and converted the money
to his own use. Plato was removed from his apart-
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? DIoN.
105
merit in the palace gardens, and placed within the pur-
lieus of the guards, who had long hated, and even
sought to kill him, on a supposition that he advised
the tyrant to lay d own his government, and disband
his army.
Archytas, who had engaged for Plato's safety, when
he understood his danger, sent a galley to demand
him ; and the tyrant, to palliate his enmity, previous
to his departure made pompous entertainments. At
one of them, however, he could not help saying, ' I
suppose, Plato, when you return to your companions
in the academy, my faults will often be the subject of
your conversation. '--' I hope,' answered Plato, ' we
shall never he so much at a loss for subjects in the
academy, as to talk of you. ' Such are the circum-
stances which have been mentioned concerning Plato's
departure; but they are not perfectly consistent with
Plato's own account.
Dion being offended, not only with these things,
but with some intelligence he had before received con-
cerning his wife, which is alluded to in Plato's letter
to Dionysius, openly declared himself his enemy. The
affair was this: Plato, on his return to Greece, was
desired by Dionysius privately to consult Dion, whether
he would be averse to his wife's marrying another man;
for there was a report, whether true, or the invention
of his enemies, that his matrimonial state was not agree-
able to him, and that there was a coolness betwixt him
and Arete. After Plato had consulted Dion on the
affair, he wrote to Dionysius, and though he spoke in
plain terms of other matters, he mentioned this in a
manner that could only be intelligible to the king. He
told him that he had talked with Dion on the business,
and that he would certainly resent it if any such at-
tempt were made.
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PLUTARCH.
While any prospect of an accommodation remained
Dionysius took no farther steps in the affair; but when
that prospect was gone, and Plato once more had left
Sicily in displeasure, he compelled Arete to marry Ti-
mocrates; and, in this instance, he fell short even of
the justice and lenity of his father. When Philoxenus,
who had married his sister Theste, was declared his
enemy, and fled through fear out of Sicily, Dionysius
sent for his sister, and reproached her with being privy
to her husband's escape, without letting him know it.
Theste answered without fear or hesitation, ' Do you
think me, Dionysius, so bad a wife, or so weak a wo-
man, that if I had known of my husband's flight, I
would not have accompanied him, and shared in the
worst of his fortunes? Indeed I was ignorant of it.
And I assure you, that I should esteem it a higher
honor to be called the wife of Philoxenus the exile,
than the sister of Dionysius the tyrant. ' The king, it
is said, admired her spirited answer; and the Syra-
cusans honored her so much, that she retained her
princely retinue after the dissolution of the tyranny;
and the citizens, by public decree, attended the so-
lemnity of her funeral. This is a digression, but it
may have its use.
Dion now thought of nothing but war. Plato, how-
ever, was against it; partly on account of the hospi-
table favors he had received from Dionysius, and partly
because of the advanced age of Dion. Speusippus,
and the rest of his friends, on the other hand, en-
couraged him to rescue from slavery his native Si-
cily, that stretched forth her hands towards him, and
would certainly receive him with every expression of
joy. Speusippus, when he attended Plato into Sicily,
had mixed more with the people, and learnt their sen-
timents with regard to the government. At first, id. t
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? DIoN.
deed, they were reserved, and suspected him for an
emissary of the tyrant*s: but by degrees he obtained
their confidence. In short, it was the voice, the prayer
of the people, that Dion would come, though without
either army or navy, to their relief, and lend them
only his name and his presence against the tyrant.
Dion was encouraged by these representations; and
the more effectually to conceal his intentions, he raised
what forces he was able by means of his friends. He
was assisted in this by many statesmen and philoso-
phers, amongst whom was Endemus, the Cyprian, (on
occasion of whose death Aristotle wrote his dialogue
on the soul,) and Timonides, the Leucadian. These
engaged in his interest Miltas the Thessalian, who was
skilled in divination, and had been his fellow-acade-
mician. But of all those whom the tyrant had banished,
which were no fewer than a thousand, no more than
twenty-five gave in their names for the service. The
rest, for want of spirit, would not engage in the cause.
The general rendezvous was in the island of Zacyn-
thus; and here, when the little army was assembled,
it did not amount to eight hundred men. But they
were men who had signalised themselves in the greatest
engagements; they were in perfect discipline, and
inured to hardship; in courage and conduct they had
no superiors in the army: in short, they were such
men as were likely to serve the cause of Dion, in ani-
mating, by their example, those who came to his stan-
dard in Sicily.
Yet these men, when they understood that they were
to be led against Dionysius, were disheartened, and
condemned the rash resentment of Dion ; the conse-
quence of which they looked on as certain ruin. Nor
were they less offended with their commanders, and
those who had enlisted them, because they had con^
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PLUTARCH.
cealed the design of the service. But when Dion, in
a public speech, after showing them the feeble state of
Dionysius' government, told them that he considered
them rather as so many officers whom he carried to
head the people of Sicily, already prepared to revolt,
than as private men; and when Alcimenes, who, in
birth and reputation, was the principal man in Achaia,
had concurred in the address of Dion, and joined in
the expedition, they then were satisfied.
It was now about midsummer, the Etesian winds
prevailed at sea, and the moon was at the full, when
Dion prepared a magnificent sacrifice to Apollo, and
marched in procession to the temple, with his men
under arms. After the sacrifice he gave them a feast
in the race-ground of the Zacynthians. They were
astonished at the quantity of gold and silver plate that
was exhibited on this occasion, so far above the ordi-
nary fortunes of a private man; and they concluded
that a person of such opulence would not, at a late
period of life, expose himself to dangers without a
fair prospect of success, and the certain support of
friends. After the usual prayers and libations the
moon was eclipsed. This was nothing strange to Dion,
who khew the variations of the ecliptic, and that this
defection of the moon's light was caused by the inter-
position of the earth between her and the sun. But
as the soldiers were troubled about it, Miltas, the di-
viner, took on him to give it a proper turn, and assured
them that it portended the sudden obscurity of some-
thing that was at present glorious; that this glorious
object could be no other than Dionysius, whose lustre
would be extinguished on their arrival in Sicily. This
interpretation he communicated in as public a manner
as possible: but from the prodigy of the bees, a swarm
of which settled on the stern of Dion's ship, he inti-
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109
mated to his friends bis apprehensions that the great
affairs which Dion was then prosecuting, after florish-
ing a while, would come to nothing. Dionysius too,
they said, had many prodigies on this occasion. An
eagle snatched a javelin from one of his guards, and,
after flying aloft with it, dropt it in the sea. The
waters of the sea, at the foot of the citadel, were fresh
for one whole day, as plainly appeared to every one
who tasted them. He had pigs farrowed perfect in all
their other parts, but without ears. The diviners in-
terpreted this as an omen of rebellion and revolt: the
people, they said, would no longer give ear to the
mandates of the tyrant. The freshness of the sea-
water imported that the Syracusans, after their harsh
and severe treatment, would enjoy milder and better
times. The eagle was the minister of Jove, and the
javelin an ensign of power and government: thus the
father of the gods had destined the overthrow and
abolition of the tyranny. These things we have from
Theopompus.
Dion's soldiers were conveyed in two transports.
These were accompanied by another smaller vessel,
and two more of thirty oars. Besides the arms of
those who attended him, he took with him two thou-
sand shields, a large quantity of darts and javelins,
and a considerable supply of provisions, that nothing
might be wanting in the expedition; for they put off
to the main sea, because they did not think it safe to
coast it along, being informed that Philistus was sta-
tioned off Japygia to watch their motions. Having
sailed with a gentle wind about twelve days, on the
thirteenth they arrived at Pachynus, a promontory in
Sicily. There the pilot advised Dion to land his men
immediately; for if they once doubled the cape, they
might continue at sea a long time before they could
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PLUTARCH.
have a gale from the south at that season of the year.
But Dion, who was afraid of making a descent too
near the enemy, and chose rather to make good his
landing in some remoter part of the island, doubled
the cape notwithstanding. They had not sailed far
before a strong gale from the north, and a high sea,
drove them quite off Sicily. At the same time there
was a violent storm of thunder and lightning, for it
was about the rising of Arcturus; and it was accom-
panied with such dreadful rains, and the weather was
in every respect so tempestuous, that the affrighted
sailors knew not where they were, till they found
themselves driven by the violence of the storm to Cer-
cina, on the coast of Africa. This craggy island was
surrounded with such dangerous rocks, that they nar-
rowly escaped being dashed to pieces ; but by working
hard with their poles they kept clear, with much diffi-
culty, till the storm abated. They were then informed
by a vessel, which accidentally came up with them,
that they were at the head of what is called the Great
Syrtis. 1 In this horrible situation they were farther
disheartened by finding themselves becalmed; but,
after beating about for some time, a gale sprung iip
suddenly from the south. On this unexpected change,
as the wind increased on them, they made all their
sail, and, imploring the assistance of the gods, once
more put off to sea in quest of Sicily. After an easy
passage of five days, they arrived at Minoa, a small
town in Sicily,2 belonging to the Carthaginians. Sy-
nalus, a friend of Dion's, was then governor of the
place; and, as he knew not that this little fleet be-
longed to Dion, he attempted to prevent the landing
of his men. The soldiers leapt out of the vessels in
1 Not far from Tripoli. >> On the south coast.
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? DIoN,
111
arms, but killed none that opposed them; for Dion,
on account of his friendship with Synalus, had for-
bidden them. However, they ran in one body with
the fugitives into the town, and thus made themselves
masters of it. When Dion and the governor met, mu-
tual salutations passed between them, and the former
restored him his town unhurt. Synalus, in return,
entertained his soldiers, and supplied him with neces-
saries.
It happened that Dionysius, a little before this, had
sailed with eighty ships for Italy, and this absence of
his gave them no small encouragement; insomuch,
that when Dion invited his men to refresh themselves
for some time after their fatigues at sea, they thought
of nothing but making a proper use of the present mo-
ment, and called on him, with one voice, to lead them
to Syracuse. He therefore left his useless arms and
baggage with Synalus, and, having engaged him to
transmit them to him at a proper opportunity, marched
for Syracuse. Two hundred of the Agrigentine ca*
valry, who inhabited the country about Ecnomus, im-
mediately revolted, and joined him in his march, and
these were followed by the inhabitants of Gela.
The news of his arrival soon reaching Syracuse, Ti-
mocrates, who had married Dion's wife, and was ap-
pointed regent in the absence of Dionysius, immedi-
ately despatched letters to acquaint him with the event.
In the mean while he applied himself to prevent all
tumults in the city; for the people were greatly ani-
mated on the report of Dion's arrival, though the un-
certainty they were under as yet kept them quiet. A
singular accident happened to the courier who was
despatched with letters for Dionysius. As he was
passing through the territory of Rhegium to Caulonia,
where the tyrant then was, he met an acquaintance of
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? DIoN.
91
disadvantage that she had the honor of giving Diony-
sius his eldest son. Aristomache, on the contrary, was
a long time barren, though the king was extremely de-
sirous of having children by her; and put to death the
mother of Doris, on a supposition that she had pre-
vented her conceptions by potions.
Dion, the brother of Aristomache, was well received
at court; not only on her account, but from the regard
which Dionysius had for his merit and abilities: and
that prince. gave his treasurer an order to supply him
with whatever money he wanted; but, at the same
time, to keep an account of what he received.
But whatever the talents and the virtues of Dion
might be originally, it is certain that they received the
happiest improvement under the auspices of Plato.
Surely the gods, in mercy to mankind, sent that divine
philosopher from Italy to Syracuse, that, through the
humane influence of his doctrine, the spirit of liberty
might once more revive, and the inhabitants of that
country be rescued from tyranny.
Dion soon became the most distinguished of his
scholars. To the fertility of his genius, and the excel-
lence of his disposition, Plato himself has given testi-
mony ; and he did the greatest honor to that testimony
in his life: for though he had been educated in servile
principles under a tyrant, though he had been famili-
arised to dependence on the one hand, and to the in-
dulgence of pomp and luxury, as the greatest happi-
ness, on the other, yet he was no sooner acquainted
with that philosophy which points out the road to vir-
tue, than his whole soul caught the enthusiasm, and,
with the simplicity of a young man who judges of the
dispositions of others by his own, he concluded that
Plato's lectures would have the same effect on Diony-
sius: for this reason he solicited, and at length per-
suaded the tyrant to hear him. When Plato was
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? PLUTARCH.
admitted, the discourse turned on virtue in general.
Afterwards they came to fortitude in particular; and
Plato made it appear that tyrants have, of all men,
the least pretence to that virtue. Justice was the next
topic: and when Plato asserted the happiness of the
just, and the wretched condition of the unjust, the
tyrant was stung; and being unable to answer his ar-
guments, he expressed his resentment against those
who seemed to listen to him with pleasure. At last he
was extremely exasperated, and asked the philosopher
what business he had in Sicily. Plato answered, 'that
he came to seek an honest man. '--' And so, then,' re-
plied the tyrant, 'it seems you have lost your labor. '
Dion was in hopes that his anger would have ended
here; but while Plato was hastening to be gone he
conveyed him aboard a galley, in which Pollis, the
Lacedaemonian, was returning to Greece. Dionysius
urged Pollis either to put Plato to death in his pas-
sage, or, at least, to sell him as a slave: 'for, accord-
ing to his own maxim,' said he, 'this man cannot be
unhappy; a just man, he says, must be happy in a
state of slavery, as well as in a state of freedom. '
Pollis therefore carried him to . /Egina, and sold him
there: for the people of that place, being at war with
the Athenians, had made a decree, that whatever Athe-
nian was taken on their coast he should be sold. Dion,
notwithstanding, retained his interest with Dionysius,
had considerable employments, and was sent ambassa-
dor to Carthage. Dionysius had a high esteem for
him, and he therefore permitted him to speak his sen-
timents with freedom. An instance of this we have in
the retort he made on the tyrant's ridiculing the go-
vernment of Gelo: ' Gelo,' said Dionysius, 'is [g-eZoi]
the laughing-stock of Sicily. ' While others admired
and applauded this witticism, Dion answered, 'You
obtained the crown by being trusted on Gelo's ac-
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? DIoN.
93
count, who reigned with great humanity ; but you have
reigned in such a manner, that, for your sake, no man
will be trusted hereafter. Gelo made monarchy ap-
pear the best of governments; but you have convinced
us that it is the worst. ' Dionysius had three children
by Doris, and four by Aristomacbe ; whereof two were
daughters, Sophrosyne and Arete. The former of these
was married to his eldest son Dionysius; the latter to
his brother Thearides; and, after his death, to her un-
cle Dion. In the last illness of Dionysius, Dion would
have applied to him in behalf of the children of Ari-
stomache, but the physicians were beforehand with
him. They wanted to ingratiate themselves with his
successor; and when he asked for a sleeping-dose,
Timaeus tells us, they gave him so effectual a one, that
he awaked no more.
When his son Dionysius came to the throne, in the
first council that he held, Dion spoke with so much
propriety on the present state of affairs, and on the
measures which ought to be taken, that the rest ap-
peared to be mere children in understanding. By the
freedom of his counsels he exposed, in a strong light,
the slavish principles of those who, through a timorous
disingenuity, advised such measures as they thought
would please their prince, rather than such as might
advance his interest. But what alarmed them most
was the steps he proposed to take with regard to the
impending war with Carthage; for he offered either to
go in person to Carthage, and settle an honorable
peace with the Carthaginians, or, if the king were
rather inclined for war, to fit out and maintain fifty
galleys at his own expense.
Dionysius was pleased with the magnificence of his
spirit; but the courtiers felt that it made them appear
little. They agreed that, at all events, Dion was to be
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PLUTARCH.
crushed, and they spared no calumny that malice could
suggest. They represented to the king that he cer-
tainly meant to make himself master by sea, and by
that means to obtain the kingdom for his sister's chil-
dren. There was, moreover, another and an obvious
cause of their hatred to him, in the reserve of his man-
ners, and of the sobriety of his life. They led the
young and ill-educated king through every species of
debauchery, the shameless panders to his wrong di-
rected passions. Yet while folly rioted, tyranny slept:
its rage was dissolved in the ardor of youthful indul-
gences, as iron is softened in the fire; and that lenity
which the Sicilians could not expect from the virtue
of their prince, they found in his weakness. Thus the
reins of that monarchy, which Dionysius vainly called
adamantine, fell gradually from the loose and disso-
lute hand that held them. This young prince, it is
said, would continue the scene of intoxication for
ninety days without intermission; during which time
no sober person was admitted to his court, where all
was drunkenness and buffoonery, revelry and riot.
Their enmity to Dion, who had no taste for these
enjoyments, was a thing of course: and, as he refused
to partake with them in their vices, they resolved to
strip him of his virtues. To these they gave-the names
of such vices as are supposed in some degree to re-
semble them. His gravity of manners they called
pride; his freedom of speech, insolence; his declining
to join in their licentiousness, contempt. It is true,
there was a natural haughtiness in bis deportment,
and an asperity that was unsociable and difficult of
access: so that it is not to be wondered if he found
no ready admission to the ears of a young king,
already spoiled by flattery. Many, even of his own
particular friends, who admired the integrity and gene-
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? DIoN.
rosity of his heart, could not but condemn those for-
bidding manners, which were so ill adapted to social
and political intercourse: and Plato himself, when he
wrote to him some time after, warned him, as it were
by the spirit of prophecy, 'To guard against that aus-
terity which is the companion of solitude. ' However,
the necessity of the times, and the feeble state of
the monarchy, rendered it necessary for the king,
though contrary to his inclination, to retain him in the
highest appointments; and this Dion himself very well
knew.
As he was willing to impute the irregularities of
Dionysius to ignorance and a bad education, he endea-
vored to engage him in a course of liberal studies, and
to give him a taste for those sciences which have a
tendency to moral improvement. By this means he
hoped that he should induce him to think of virtue
without disgust, and at length to embrace its precepts
with pleasure. The young Dionysius was not na-
turally the worst of princes; but his father being ap-
prehensive that if his mind were improved by science
and the conversation of wise and virtuous men, he
might some time or other think of depriving him of his
kingdom, kept him in close confinement; where,
through ignorance and want of other employment, he
amused himself with making little chariots, candle-
sticks, wooden chairs, and tables. His father, indeed,
was so suspicious of all mankind, and so wretchedly
timorous, that he would not suffer a barber to shave him;
but bad his hair singed off with a live coal by one of his
own attendants. Neither his brother nor his son were
admitted into his chamber in their own clothes, but were
first stripped and examined by the sentinels, and after
that were obliged to put on such clothes as were pro-
vided for them. When his brother Leptines was once
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PLUTARCH.
describing the situation of a place, he took a spear
from one of the guards to trace the plan; on which
Dionysius was extremely offended, and caused the sol-
dier who had given up his spear to be put to death.
He was afraid, he said, of the sense and sagacity of
his friends; because he knew they must think it more
eligible to govern than to obey. He slew Marsyas,
whom he had advanced to a considerable military com-
mand, merely because Marsyas dreamed that he killed
him; for he concluded that this dream by night was
occasioned by some similar suggestion of the day.
Yet even this timorous and suspicious wretch was
offended with Plato, because he would not allow him
to be the most valiant man in the world!
When Dion, as we have before observed, considered
that the irregularities of young Dionysius were chiefly
owing to his want of education, he exhorted him ear-
nestly to apply himself to study, and by all means to
send for Plato, the prince of philosophers, into Sicily.
'When he comes,' said he, 'apply to him without
loss of time. Conformed by his precepts to that divine
exemplar of beauty and perfection, which called the
universe from confusion into order, you will at once
secure your own happiness, and the happiness of your
people. The obedience they now render you through
fear, by your justice and moderation you will improve
to a principle of filial duty; and of a tyrant, you will
become a king. Fear and force, and fleets and armies,
are not, as your father called them, the adamantine
chains of government; but that attention, that affec-
tion, that respect, which justice and goodness for ever
draw after them. These are the milder but the stronger
bonds of empire. Besides, it is surely a disgrace for
a prince, who in all the circumstances of figure and
appearance is distinguished from the people, not to rise
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? DIoN.
97
above them at the same time, in the superiority of his
conversation, and the cultivation of his mind. '
As Dion frequently solicited the king on this subject,
and occasionally repeated some of Plato's arguments,
he conceived at length a violent inclination to hear him
discourse. He therefore sent several letters of invita-
tion to him at Athens, which were seconded by the
intreaties of Dion. The Pythagorean philosophers in
Italy requested at the same time that he would under-
take the direction of this young prince, whose mind
was misguided by power, and reclaim him by the solid
counsels of philosophy. Plato, as he owns himself,
was ashamed to be a philosopher in theory, and not
in practice; and flattering himself that if he could
rectify the mind of the prince, he might by the same
means remedy the disorders of the kingdom, he yielded
to their request.
The enemies of Dion, now fearing an alteration in
Dionysius, advised him to recall from exile one Phi-
listus, who was, indeed, a man of learning, but em-
ployed his talents in defence of the despotic policy;
and this man they intended to set in opposition to
Plato and his philosophy. Philistus, from the be-
ginning, had been a principal instrument in promoting
the monarchic government, and kept the citadel, of
which he was governor, a long time for that party. It
is said that he had an unlawful desire for the mother
of the elder Dionysius, and that the tyrant himself
was not ignorant of it. Be this as it may, Leptines,
who had two daughters by a married woman, whom he
had corrupted, gave one of them in marriage to Phi-
listus: but this being done without consulting Diony-
sius, he was offended; imprisoned Leptine's mistress,
and banished Philistus. The latter fled to his friends
at Adria, where, it is probable, he composed the great-
PLUT. VoL. VII. G
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PLUTARCH.
est part of his history; for he did not return to Sicily
during the reign of that Dionysius. After his death,
as we have observed, Dion's enemies occasioned him
to be recalled. His arbitrary principles were suitable
for their purpose, and he began to exercise them im-
mediately on his return.
At the same time calumnies and impeachments
against Dion were, as usual, brought to the king.
He was accused of holding a private correspondence
with Theodoses and Heraclides, for the subversion of
the monarchy; and indeed it is probable that he en-
tertained some hopes from the arrival of Plato, of
lessening the excessive power of Dionysius, or at least
of making him moderate and equitable in the use of it.
Besides, if he continued obstinate, and were not to
be reclaimed, he was determined to depose him, and
restore the commonwealth to the Syracusans; for he
preferred even the popular form of government to an
absolute monarchy, where a well regulated aristocracy
could not be procured.
Such was the state of affairs when Plato came into
Sicily. At first he was received with the greatest ap-
pearance of kindness, and he was conveyed from the
coast in one of the king's most splendid chariots. Even
Dionysius himself sacrificed to the gods in acknow-
legement of his safe arrival, and of the honor and hap-
piness they had by that means conferred on his king-
dom. The people had the greatest hopes of a speedy
reformation. They observed an unusual decorum in
the entertainments at court, and a sobriety in the con-
duct of the courtiers; while the king answered all to
whom he gave audience in a very obliging manner.
The desire of learning and the study of philosophy
were become general; and the several apartments of
the royal palace were like so many schools of geomu-
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? DION.
99
tricians, full of the dust in which the students describe
their mathematical figures. Not long after this, at a
solemn sacrifice in the citadel, when the herald prayed
as usual for the long continuance of the government,
Dionysius is said to have cried, ' how long will you
continue to curse me? ' This was an inexpressible morti-
fication to Pbilistus and his party: if Plato, said they,
has already made such a change in the king, his influ-
ence in time will be irresistible.
They now no longer made their attacks on Dion
separately, or in private. They united in exclaiming
against him, that he had fascinated the king with the
delusions of eloquence and philosophy, in order to ob-
tain the kingdom for his sister's children. They repre-
sented it as a matter of the greatest indignity, that
after the whole force of the Athenians had vainly in-
vaded Sicily, and were vanquished and destroyed,
without so much as being able to take Syracuse, they
should now, by means of one sophist, overturn the
empire of Dionysius. It was with indignation they be-
held the deluded monarch prevailed on by his insinua-
tions to part with his guard of ten thousand spearmen,
to give up a navy of four hundred galleys, to disband
an army of ten thousand horse, and many times that
number of foot, in order that he might pursue an ideal
happiness in the academy, and amuse himself with
theorems of geometry, while the substantial enjoyments
of wealth and power were left to Dion and the children
of Aristomache.
By means of these suggestions Dion first incurred
the suspicion, and soon after the open displeasure of
Dionysius. A letter of his was likewise intercepted,
and privately carried to the king. It was addressed to
the Carthaginian agents, and directed them not to have
their audience of the king concerning the conclusion
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PLUTARCH.
of the peace, unless he were present, and then every-
thing should be settled as they wished. Timaeus in-
forms us, that after Dionysius had showed this letter
to Philistus, and consulted him on it, he overreached
Dion by a pretence of reconciliation, and told him that
he was desirous their good understanding might be re-
newed. After this, as he was one day walking alone
with him by the wall of the castle, near the sea, he
showed him the letter, and accused him of conspiring
with the Carthaginians against him. When Dion at-
tempted to speak in his own defence, Dionysius refused
to hear him; and having forced him on board a vessel,
which lay there for the purpose, commanded the sailors
to set him ashore in Italy.
When this was publicly known, it was generally con-
demned as tyrannical and cruel. The court was in dis-
tress for the ladies of Dion's family; but the citizens
received fresh courage from the event; for they were
in hopes that the odium which it would bring on Dio-
nysius, and the general discontent that his government
occasioned, might contribute to bring about a revolu-
tion. Dionysius perceived this with some anxiety, and
thinking it necessary to pacify the women and the rest
of Dion's friends, he told them that he was not gone
into exile, but only sent out of the way for a time, that
his obstinacy might not draw on him a heavier punish-
ment. He also allowed his friends two ships, that they
might convey to him, in Peloponnesus, as much of his
treasure, and as many of his servants, as they should
think fit; for Dion was a man of considerable property,
and little inferior to the king in wealth or magnificence.
The most valuable part of his effects, together with pre-
sents from the ladies, and others of his acquaintance,
his friends conveyed to him; and the splendor of his
fortune gained him great respect among the Greeks.
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? DIoN.
101
At the same time they conceived a high idea of the
power of the tyrant, when an exile from his kingdom
could make such an appearance.
Dionysius now removed Plato into the citadel, under
color of kindness; but in reality to set a guard on him,
lest he should follow Dion, and proclaim to the world
how injuriously he had been treated.
As wild beasts become tame and tractable by use, so
the tyrant, by frequent conversation with the philoso-
pher, began at last to conceive an affection for him;
yet even that affection had something of the tyrant in
it; for he required of Plato, in return, that he should
exclusively confine his regard and admiration to him.
On condition that he would prefer his friendship to that
of Dion, he was willing to give up the whole adminis-
tration into his hands. This extravagant affection gave
Plato no small trouble; for it was accompanied with
petulance and jealousy, as the love which subsists be-
tween the different sexes has its quarrels and reconcili-
ations.
He expressed the strongest desire to become
Plato's scholar, and to proceed in the study of philoso-
phy; but he expressed it with reluctance in the presence
of those who wanted to divert him from his purpose,
and seemed as if he was in pursuit of something he
ought to be ashamed of.
As a war broke out about this time, he found it ne-
cessary to dismiss Plato; but he promised him, before
his departure, to recall Dion the ensuing summer:
however, he did not keep his promise, but made the
war he was engaged in his apology, and remitted to
him the produce of his estate. At the same time he
desired Plato to acquiesce in his apology, assuring him
that he would send for Dion on the commencement of
the peace; and he intreated, in the mean while, that
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PLUTARCH.
Dion would be peaceable, and not say or do any thing
that might hurt his character among the Greeks. This
Plato endeavored to effect, by keeping Dion in the
academy in pursuit of philosophy.
At Athens, Dion lived with an acquaintance, whose
name was Callippus. But a piece of pleasure-ground,
which he purchased, he gave, on his departure, to Speu-
sippus, with whom he had most usually conversed.
Speusippus, as Timon, in his poems called Syllis, in-
forms us, was a facetious companion, and had a turn for
raillery; and Plato was desirous that Dion's severity
of manners might be softened by the pleasantry of his
conversation. When Plato exhibited a cborus of boys
at Athens, Dion took on himself the management, and
defrayed the expense. Plato was desirous that this
munificence might procure him popularity, and on that
account he readily gave up the honor of conducting the
affair himself.
Dion likewise visited other cities, and conversed
with the principal statesmen, by whom he was publicly
entertained. In his manners there was now no longer
any thing pompous or affected; there was nothing that
savored of the dissolute luxury of a tyrant's court; his
behavior was modest, discreet, and manly; and his phi-
losophical discourses were learned and ingenious. This
procured him popular favor and public honors; and
the Lacedaemonians, without regard to the resentment
of Dionysius, though at the very time they had received
succors from him against the Thebans, made him free
of their city. We are told that Dion accepted an invi-
tation from Ptoeodorus, the Megarensian, who was a
man of considerable power and fortune; and when he
found his door crowded with people on business, and
that it was difficult to have access to him, he said to
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? DIoN.
103
his friends, who expressed their dissatisfaction on the
occasion, ' Why should this affront us? we did this,
and more than this, at Syracuse. '
Dion's popularity in Greece soon excited the jealousy
of Dionysius, who therefore stopped his remittances,
and put his estate in the hands of his own stewards.
However, that his reputation might not suffer, through
Plato's means, amongst the philosophers, he retained
a number of learned men in his court; and being de-
sirous to outshine them all in disputation, he frequently
was under a necessity of introducing, without the least
propriety, the arguments he had learnt from Plato. He
now wished for that philosopher again, and repented
that he had so ill availed himself of his instructions.
Like a tyrant, therefore, whose desires, however ex-
travagant, are immediately to be complied with, he was
violently bent on recalling him. To effect this, he thought
of every expedient, and at length prevailed on Archy-
tas, and the rest of the Pythagorean philosophers, to
pledge themselves for the performance of his promises,
and to persuade him to return to Sicily; for it was Plato
that first introduced those philosophers to Dionysius.
On their part, they sent Archidemus to Plato, and
Dionysius, at the same time, sent some galleys with
several of his friends to join in their request. The
tyrant likewise wrote to him, and told him in plain
terms, that Dion must expect no favor from him, if
Plato should not come into Sicily; but on his arrival,
he might depend on every thing he desired. Dion was
also solicited by his sister and wife to prevail with
Plato to gratify the tyrant, that he might no longer
have an apology for the severity of his treatment.
Plato, therefore, as he says himself, set sail the third
time for Sicily:
To brave Charybdis' dreadful gulf once more!
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PLUTARCH.
His arrival was not only a satisfaction to Dionysius,
but to all Sicily; the inhabitants of which did not fail
to implore the gods that Plato might overcome Phi-
listus, and that the tyranny might expire under the
influence of his philosophy. Plato was in high favor
with the women in particular, and with Dionysius he
had such credit as no other person could boast; for he
was allowed to come to him without being searched.
When Aristippus, the Cyrenean, observed that the
king frequently offered Plato money, and that Plato
as constantly refused it, he said, 'that Dionysius was
liberal without danger of exhausting his treasury; for
to those who wanted, and would take money, he was
sparing in his offers, but profuse where he knew it
would be refused. '
After the first civilities were over, Plato took an op-
portunity to mention Dion ; but the tyrant put him off,
till, at last, expostulations and animosities took place.
These, however, Dionysius was industrious to conceal,
and endeavored to bring over Plato from the interest
of Dion by repeated favors and studied civilities. The
philosopher, on the other hand, did not immediately
publish his perfidy, but dissembled his resentment.
While things were thus circumstanced, Helicon of
Cyzicus, one of Plato's followers, foretold an eclipse
of the sun; and as it happened, according to his pre-
diction, the king, in admiration of his learning, re-
warded him with a talent of silver. On this Aristip-
pus, jesting among the rest of the philosophers, told
them he had something extraordinary, likewise, to
prognosticate. Being intreated to make it known, ' I
foresee,' said he, ' that in a short time there will be a
quarrel between Dionysius and Plato. ' Soon after this
Dionysius sold Dion's estate, and converted the money
to his own use. Plato was removed from his apart-
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? DIoN.
105
merit in the palace gardens, and placed within the pur-
lieus of the guards, who had long hated, and even
sought to kill him, on a supposition that he advised
the tyrant to lay d own his government, and disband
his army.
Archytas, who had engaged for Plato's safety, when
he understood his danger, sent a galley to demand
him ; and the tyrant, to palliate his enmity, previous
to his departure made pompous entertainments. At
one of them, however, he could not help saying, ' I
suppose, Plato, when you return to your companions
in the academy, my faults will often be the subject of
your conversation. '--' I hope,' answered Plato, ' we
shall never he so much at a loss for subjects in the
academy, as to talk of you. ' Such are the circum-
stances which have been mentioned concerning Plato's
departure; but they are not perfectly consistent with
Plato's own account.
Dion being offended, not only with these things,
but with some intelligence he had before received con-
cerning his wife, which is alluded to in Plato's letter
to Dionysius, openly declared himself his enemy. The
affair was this: Plato, on his return to Greece, was
desired by Dionysius privately to consult Dion, whether
he would be averse to his wife's marrying another man;
for there was a report, whether true, or the invention
of his enemies, that his matrimonial state was not agree-
able to him, and that there was a coolness betwixt him
and Arete. After Plato had consulted Dion on the
affair, he wrote to Dionysius, and though he spoke in
plain terms of other matters, he mentioned this in a
manner that could only be intelligible to the king. He
told him that he had talked with Dion on the business,
and that he would certainly resent it if any such at-
tempt were made.
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? 106
PLUTARCH.
While any prospect of an accommodation remained
Dionysius took no farther steps in the affair; but when
that prospect was gone, and Plato once more had left
Sicily in displeasure, he compelled Arete to marry Ti-
mocrates; and, in this instance, he fell short even of
the justice and lenity of his father. When Philoxenus,
who had married his sister Theste, was declared his
enemy, and fled through fear out of Sicily, Dionysius
sent for his sister, and reproached her with being privy
to her husband's escape, without letting him know it.
Theste answered without fear or hesitation, ' Do you
think me, Dionysius, so bad a wife, or so weak a wo-
man, that if I had known of my husband's flight, I
would not have accompanied him, and shared in the
worst of his fortunes? Indeed I was ignorant of it.
And I assure you, that I should esteem it a higher
honor to be called the wife of Philoxenus the exile,
than the sister of Dionysius the tyrant. ' The king, it
is said, admired her spirited answer; and the Syra-
cusans honored her so much, that she retained her
princely retinue after the dissolution of the tyranny;
and the citizens, by public decree, attended the so-
lemnity of her funeral. This is a digression, but it
may have its use.
Dion now thought of nothing but war. Plato, how-
ever, was against it; partly on account of the hospi-
table favors he had received from Dionysius, and partly
because of the advanced age of Dion. Speusippus,
and the rest of his friends, on the other hand, en-
couraged him to rescue from slavery his native Si-
cily, that stretched forth her hands towards him, and
would certainly receive him with every expression of
joy. Speusippus, when he attended Plato into Sicily,
had mixed more with the people, and learnt their sen-
timents with regard to the government. At first, id. t
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? DIoN.
deed, they were reserved, and suspected him for an
emissary of the tyrant*s: but by degrees he obtained
their confidence. In short, it was the voice, the prayer
of the people, that Dion would come, though without
either army or navy, to their relief, and lend them
only his name and his presence against the tyrant.
Dion was encouraged by these representations; and
the more effectually to conceal his intentions, he raised
what forces he was able by means of his friends. He
was assisted in this by many statesmen and philoso-
phers, amongst whom was Endemus, the Cyprian, (on
occasion of whose death Aristotle wrote his dialogue
on the soul,) and Timonides, the Leucadian. These
engaged in his interest Miltas the Thessalian, who was
skilled in divination, and had been his fellow-acade-
mician. But of all those whom the tyrant had banished,
which were no fewer than a thousand, no more than
twenty-five gave in their names for the service. The
rest, for want of spirit, would not engage in the cause.
The general rendezvous was in the island of Zacyn-
thus; and here, when the little army was assembled,
it did not amount to eight hundred men. But they
were men who had signalised themselves in the greatest
engagements; they were in perfect discipline, and
inured to hardship; in courage and conduct they had
no superiors in the army: in short, they were such
men as were likely to serve the cause of Dion, in ani-
mating, by their example, those who came to his stan-
dard in Sicily.
Yet these men, when they understood that they were
to be led against Dionysius, were disheartened, and
condemned the rash resentment of Dion ; the conse-
quence of which they looked on as certain ruin. Nor
were they less offended with their commanders, and
those who had enlisted them, because they had con^
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? 108
PLUTARCH.
cealed the design of the service. But when Dion, in
a public speech, after showing them the feeble state of
Dionysius' government, told them that he considered
them rather as so many officers whom he carried to
head the people of Sicily, already prepared to revolt,
than as private men; and when Alcimenes, who, in
birth and reputation, was the principal man in Achaia,
had concurred in the address of Dion, and joined in
the expedition, they then were satisfied.
It was now about midsummer, the Etesian winds
prevailed at sea, and the moon was at the full, when
Dion prepared a magnificent sacrifice to Apollo, and
marched in procession to the temple, with his men
under arms. After the sacrifice he gave them a feast
in the race-ground of the Zacynthians. They were
astonished at the quantity of gold and silver plate that
was exhibited on this occasion, so far above the ordi-
nary fortunes of a private man; and they concluded
that a person of such opulence would not, at a late
period of life, expose himself to dangers without a
fair prospect of success, and the certain support of
friends. After the usual prayers and libations the
moon was eclipsed. This was nothing strange to Dion,
who khew the variations of the ecliptic, and that this
defection of the moon's light was caused by the inter-
position of the earth between her and the sun. But
as the soldiers were troubled about it, Miltas, the di-
viner, took on him to give it a proper turn, and assured
them that it portended the sudden obscurity of some-
thing that was at present glorious; that this glorious
object could be no other than Dionysius, whose lustre
would be extinguished on their arrival in Sicily. This
interpretation he communicated in as public a manner
as possible: but from the prodigy of the bees, a swarm
of which settled on the stern of Dion's ship, he inti-
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? DIoN.
109
mated to his friends bis apprehensions that the great
affairs which Dion was then prosecuting, after florish-
ing a while, would come to nothing. Dionysius too,
they said, had many prodigies on this occasion. An
eagle snatched a javelin from one of his guards, and,
after flying aloft with it, dropt it in the sea. The
waters of the sea, at the foot of the citadel, were fresh
for one whole day, as plainly appeared to every one
who tasted them. He had pigs farrowed perfect in all
their other parts, but without ears. The diviners in-
terpreted this as an omen of rebellion and revolt: the
people, they said, would no longer give ear to the
mandates of the tyrant. The freshness of the sea-
water imported that the Syracusans, after their harsh
and severe treatment, would enjoy milder and better
times. The eagle was the minister of Jove, and the
javelin an ensign of power and government: thus the
father of the gods had destined the overthrow and
abolition of the tyranny. These things we have from
Theopompus.
Dion's soldiers were conveyed in two transports.
These were accompanied by another smaller vessel,
and two more of thirty oars. Besides the arms of
those who attended him, he took with him two thou-
sand shields, a large quantity of darts and javelins,
and a considerable supply of provisions, that nothing
might be wanting in the expedition; for they put off
to the main sea, because they did not think it safe to
coast it along, being informed that Philistus was sta-
tioned off Japygia to watch their motions. Having
sailed with a gentle wind about twelve days, on the
thirteenth they arrived at Pachynus, a promontory in
Sicily. There the pilot advised Dion to land his men
immediately; for if they once doubled the cape, they
might continue at sea a long time before they could
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? 110
PLUTARCH.
have a gale from the south at that season of the year.
But Dion, who was afraid of making a descent too
near the enemy, and chose rather to make good his
landing in some remoter part of the island, doubled
the cape notwithstanding. They had not sailed far
before a strong gale from the north, and a high sea,
drove them quite off Sicily. At the same time there
was a violent storm of thunder and lightning, for it
was about the rising of Arcturus; and it was accom-
panied with such dreadful rains, and the weather was
in every respect so tempestuous, that the affrighted
sailors knew not where they were, till they found
themselves driven by the violence of the storm to Cer-
cina, on the coast of Africa. This craggy island was
surrounded with such dangerous rocks, that they nar-
rowly escaped being dashed to pieces ; but by working
hard with their poles they kept clear, with much diffi-
culty, till the storm abated. They were then informed
by a vessel, which accidentally came up with them,
that they were at the head of what is called the Great
Syrtis. 1 In this horrible situation they were farther
disheartened by finding themselves becalmed; but,
after beating about for some time, a gale sprung iip
suddenly from the south. On this unexpected change,
as the wind increased on them, they made all their
sail, and, imploring the assistance of the gods, once
more put off to sea in quest of Sicily. After an easy
passage of five days, they arrived at Minoa, a small
town in Sicily,2 belonging to the Carthaginians. Sy-
nalus, a friend of Dion's, was then governor of the
place; and, as he knew not that this little fleet be-
longed to Dion, he attempted to prevent the landing
of his men. The soldiers leapt out of the vessels in
1 Not far from Tripoli. >> On the south coast.
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? DIoN,
111
arms, but killed none that opposed them; for Dion,
on account of his friendship with Synalus, had for-
bidden them. However, they ran in one body with
the fugitives into the town, and thus made themselves
masters of it. When Dion and the governor met, mu-
tual salutations passed between them, and the former
restored him his town unhurt. Synalus, in return,
entertained his soldiers, and supplied him with neces-
saries.
It happened that Dionysius, a little before this, had
sailed with eighty ships for Italy, and this absence of
his gave them no small encouragement; insomuch,
that when Dion invited his men to refresh themselves
for some time after their fatigues at sea, they thought
of nothing but making a proper use of the present mo-
ment, and called on him, with one voice, to lead them
to Syracuse. He therefore left his useless arms and
baggage with Synalus, and, having engaged him to
transmit them to him at a proper opportunity, marched
for Syracuse. Two hundred of the Agrigentine ca*
valry, who inhabited the country about Ecnomus, im-
mediately revolted, and joined him in his march, and
these were followed by the inhabitants of Gela.
The news of his arrival soon reaching Syracuse, Ti-
mocrates, who had married Dion's wife, and was ap-
pointed regent in the absence of Dionysius, immedi-
ately despatched letters to acquaint him with the event.
In the mean while he applied himself to prevent all
tumults in the city; for the people were greatly ani-
mated on the report of Dion's arrival, though the un-
certainty they were under as yet kept them quiet. A
singular accident happened to the courier who was
despatched with letters for Dionysius. As he was
passing through the territory of Rhegium to Caulonia,
where the tyrant then was, he met an acquaintance of
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