These two cities did not permit Greece to continue in repose. We have seen he Peloponnesian and other wars, which were always occasioned, or fomented, by the jealousy of Lacedæmon and Athens. But the same jealousies which involved Greece in troubles, supported it in some measure, and prevented its falling into dependance upon either the one or the other of those republics. The Persians soon perceived this condition of Greece: and accordingly the whole mystery of their politics consisted in keeping up those jealousies, and fomenting those divisions. Lacedæmon, which was the most ambitious, was the first that gave them occasion to take a part in the quarrels of the Greeks. They engaged in them from the sole view of making themselves masters of the whole nation; and, industrious to weaken the Greeks by their own arms, they waited only the opportunity to crush them altogether. The states of Greece,* in their wars, already regarded only the king of Persia, whom they called the Great King, or the King, by way of eminence, as if they had already reckoned themselves among the number of his subjects. But it was impossible that the ancient spirit of Greece should not revive, when they were upon the point of falling into slavery, and the hands of the barbarians. The petty kings of Greece undertook to oppose this great king, and to ruin his empire. With a small army, but bred in the discipline we have related, Agesilaus, king of Sparta, made the Persians tremble in Asia Minor, and showed it was not impossible to subvert their power. The divisions of Greece alone put a stop to his conquests. The famous retreat of the 10,000, who, after the death of the younger Cyrus, in spite of the victorious troops of Artaxerxes, made their way in a hostile manner through the whole Persian empire, and returned into their own country; that action, I say, demonstrated to Greece more than ever, that their soldiery was invincible, and superic to all opposers; and that only their domestic divisions could subiect them to an enemy too weak to resist their forces when united. We shall see, in the series of this history, by what methods Philip, king of Macedon, taking advantage of these divisions, succeeded at length, partly by address and partly by force, in making himself little less than the sovereign of Greece, and by what means he obliged the whole nation to march under his colours against the common enemy. What he had only planned, his son Alexander brought to perfection; and showed to the wondering world how much ability and valour avail against the most numerous armies and the most formidable preparations. * Plat. l. iii. de. leg. Isocrat Panegyr. † Polyb.! BOOK XI. THE HISTORY OF DIONYSIUS THE ELDER AND YOUNGER, TYRANTS OF SYRACUSE. 04411000 SIXTY years had elapsed since Syracuse had regained its liberty by the expulsion of the family of Gelon. The events which passed during that interval in Sicily, except the invasion of the Athenians, are of no great importance, and little known; but those which follow are highly interesting, and make amends for the chasm: I mean the reigns of Dionysius the father and son, tyrants of Syracuse; the first of whom governed thirty-eight years, and the other twelve,* in all fifty years. As this history is entirely unconnected with what passed in Greece at the same time, I shall relate it in this place altogether, and by itself; observing only, that the first twenty years of it, upon which I am now entering, agree almost in point of time with the last twenty of the preceding volume. This history will present to our view a series of the most odious and horrid crimes, though it abounds at the same time with instruction. When on the one side we behold a prince,f the declared enemy of liberty, justice, and laws, treading under his feet the most sacred rights of nature and religion, inflicting the most cruel torments upon his subjects, beheading some, burning others for a slight word, delighting and feasting himself with human blood, and gratifying his inhuman cruelty with the sufferings and miseries of every age and condition: I say, when we behold such an object, can we *After having been expelled for more than ten years, he reascended the throne, and reigned two or three years. Erit Dionysius illic tyrannus, libertatis, justitiæ, legum exitium-Alios uret, alios verberabit, alios ob levem offensam jubebit detruncari. Senec. de Consol. ad Marc. c. xvii. Sanguine humano non tantum gaudet, sed pascitur; sed et suppliciis omnium ætatum erudelitatem insatiabilem explet. Id. de Benef. 1. vii. c. 19 : deny a truth, which the Pagan world itself hath confessed, ana which Plutarch takes occasion to observe in speaking of the tyrants of Sicily That God in his anger gives such princes to a peopie, and makes use of the impious and the wicked to punish the guilty and the criminal. On the other side, when the same prince, the dread and terror of Syracuse, is perpetually anxious and trembling for his own life, and abandoned by day and night to remorse and regret, can find no person in his whole state, not even his wives and children, in whom he can confide; who will not exclaim with Tacitus,* That it is not withoul reason the oracle of wisdom has declared, That if the hearts of tyrants could be seen, we should find them torn in pieces with a thousand evils; it being certain, that the body does not suffer more from stripes and torments, than the minds of such wretches from their crimes, cruelties, and the injustice and violence of their proceedings. The condition of a good prince is quite different. He loves his people, and is beloved by them; he enjoys a perfect tranquillity within himself, and lives amidst his subjects as a father with his children. Though he knows that the sword of justice is in his hands, he dreads to make use of it. He loves to turn aside its edge, and can never resolve to evince his power, but with extreme reluctance, in the last extremity, and with all the forms and sanction of the laws. But a tyrant punishes only from caprice and passion; and believes, says Plutarch, speaking of Dionysius, that he is not really master, and does not act with supreme authority, but in proportion as he sets himself above all laws, acknowledges no other than his own will and pleasure, and sees himself obeyed implicitly. Whereas, continues the same author, he that can do whatever he will, is in great danger of willing what he ought not. Besides these characteristics of cruelty and tyranny, which particularly distinguish the first Dionysius, we shall see in his history, whatever unbounded ambition, sustained by great valour, extensive abilities, and talents qualified for acquiring the confidence of a people, is capable of undertaking for the attainment of sovereignty; the various means which he had the address to employ for maintaining himself in it against the opposition of his enemies, and the odium of the public; and, lastly, the tyrant's good fortune in escaping, during a reign of thirty-eight years, the many conspiracies formed against him, and in transmitting peaceably the tyranny to his son, as a legitimate possession, and an hereditary right. * Neque frustrà præstantissimus sapientiæ firmare solitus est, si recludantur tyrannorum montes, posse aspici laniatus et ictus; quando, ut corpora verberibus, ita sævitiá, libidine, malis consultis, animus dilaceraretur. Tacit. Annal. 1. vi. c. 6. Hæc est in maximâ potestate verissima animi temperantia, non cupiditate aliquâ non temeritate incendi; non priorum principum exemplis corruptum, quantum in cives suos liceat, experiendo tentare; sed hebetare aciem imperii sui. Quid interest inter tyrannum el regem (species enim ipsa fortunæ ac licentia par est,) nisi quòd tyranni in voluptate viunt, reges non nisi ex causâ et necessitate? Senec. de Clem. lib. i. c. 11. † Εφη ἀπολαύειν μάλιστα τῆς ἀρχῆς, ὅταν ταχέως ἃ βούλεται μοιῇ· μέσ γας οὖν ὁ κίνδυνος βούλεσθαι ἃ μὴ δεῖ, τὸν ἃ βούλεται ποιεῖν δυνάμενον Ad Princ. indoct. p. 782. CHAPTER I. SECTION I. Means made use of by Dionysius the elder, to possess himself of the tyranny DIONYSIUS was a native of Syracuse,* of noble and illustrious extraction according to some, but others say his birth was base and obscure. Be this as it may, he distinguished himself by his valour, and acquired great reputation in the war with the Carthaginians. He was one of those who accompanied Hermocrates, when he attempted to re-enter Syracuse by force of arms, after having been The event of that banished through the intrigues of his enemies. enterprise was not fortunate. Hermocrates was killed. The Syracusans did not spare his accomplices, several of whom were publicly executed. Dionysius was left amongst the wounded. The report of his death, designedly given out by his relations, saved his life. Providence would have spared Syracuse an infinity of misfortunes, had he expired either in the field or by the executioner. The Carthaginians had made several attempts to establish themselves in Sicily, and to possess themselves of the principal cities there, as we have observed elsewhere. The happy situation of that island for their maritime commerce, the fertility of its soil, and the riches of its inhabitants, were powerful inducements to such an enterprise. We may form an idea of the wealth of some of its cities from Diodorus Siculus's account of Agrigentum. The temples were of extraordinary magnificence, especially that of Jupiter Olympius, which was 340 feet in length, 60 in breadth, and 120 in height. The piazzas, or galleries, in extent and beauty, corresponded with the rest of the building. On one side was represented the battle of the giants, on the other the taking of Troy, in figures as large as the life. Without the city was an artificial lake, which was seven stadia (above a quarter of a league) in circumference, and thirty feet in depth. It was full of all kinds of fish, covered with swans and other water-fowls, and afforded the most agreeable prospect imaginable. It was about the time of which we speak, that Exenetus, victor in the Olympic games, entered the city in triumph in a magnificent chariot, attended by 300 more, all drawn by white horses. Their habits glittered with gold and silver; and nothing was ever more splendid than their appearance. Gellias, the most wealthy of the citizens of Agrigentum, had erected several large apartments in his house for the reception and entertainment of his guests. Servants waited by his order at the gates of the city, to invite all strangers to lodge at their master's house, whither they conducted them. Hospitality was much practised and esteemed by the generality of that city. A violent storm having obliged 500 horsemen to take *Diod. 1. xiii. p. 197. In the history of the Carthaginians, vol i Died. 1. xiii. p. 203. 206 shelter there, Gellias entertained them all in his house, and supplied hem immediately with dry clothes, of which he had always a great quantity in his wardrobe. This is understanding how to make a noble use of riches. His cellar is much talked of by historians, in which he had 300 reservoirs hewn out of the rock, each of which contained 100 amphora.* A. M. 3598. This great and opulent city was besieged, and at length Ant. J. C. 406. taken, by the Carthaginians. Its fall shook all Sicily, and spread a universal terror. The cause of its being lost was imputed to the Syracusans, who had but weakly succoured it. Dionysius, who even then was engrossed solely by the thoughts of his grand designs, and who was engaged, though secretly, in laying the foundation of his future power, took advantage of this favourable opportunity, and of the general complaints of Sicily against the Syracusans, to render the magistrates odious, and to exclaim against their administration. In a public assembly, held to consider of the present state of affairs, when nobody dared to open their mouths for fear of incurring the displeasure of the persons at the helm, Dionysius rose up, and boldy accused the magistrates of treason; adding, that it was his opinion, that they ought to be deposed immediately, without waiting till the term of their administration should expire. They retorted this audacity by treating him as a seditious person, and a disturber of the public tranquillity, and as such laid a fine upon him according to the laws. This was to be paid before he could be admitted to speak again, and Dionysius was not in a condition to discharge it. Philistus, one of the richest citizens (who wrote the history of Sicily, which is not come down to us,) deposited the money, and exhorted him at the same time to give his opinion upon the state of affairs with all the liberty which became a citizen zealous for his country. Не Dionysius accordingly resumed his discourse with more vigour than before. He had long cultivated the habit of eloquence, which he looked upon with reason as a talent very necessary in a republican government; especially with relation to his views of acquiring the people's favour, and of conciliating them to his measures. began with describing in a lively and pathetic manner the ruin of Agrigentum, a neighbouring city, and one in their alliance; the deplorable extremity to which the inhabitants had been reduced, of quitting the place under cover of the night; the cries and lamentations of infants, and of aged and sick persons, whom they had been obliged to abandon to a ferocious and merciless enemy; and the cruel murder of all who had been left in the city, whom the barbarous victor dragged from the temples and altars of the gods, a feeble asylum against the Carthaginian fury and impiety. He imputed all these evils to the treachery of the commanders of the army, who, * An amphora contained about soven gallons; 100 consequently consisted of 700 gallons, or cleven hogsheads seven gallons, |