Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/102

 T6 HISTOEf OF GREECE. Dionyslus with readiness to execute the two best resolves whick the situation admitted ; resolves not only pregnant with benefit to the people, but also insuring the position of Dion since if Dionysius had once entered upon this course of policy, Dion would have been essential to him as an auxiliary and man of ex ecution. It is by no means certain, indeed, that such schemes could have been successfully realized, even with full sincerity on the part of Dionysius, and the energy of Dion besides. "With all govern- ments, to do evil is easy to effect beneficial change, difficult ; and with a Grecian despot, this was true in a peculiar manner. Those great mercenary forces and other instruments, which had been strong as adamant for the oppressive rule of the elder Dio- nysius would have been found hardly manageable, perhaps even obstructive, if his son had tried to employ them for more liberal purposes. But still the experiment would have been tried, with a fair chance of success if only Plato, during his short-lived spiritual authority at Syracuse, had measured more accurately the practical influence which a philosopher might reasonably hope to exercise over Dionysius. I make these remarks upon him with sincere regret ; but I am much mistaken if he did not afterwards hear them in more poignant language from the banished Dion, upon whom the consequences of the mistake mainly fell. Speedily did the atmosphere at Syracuse become overclouded. The conservative party friends of the old despotism, with the veteran Philistus at their head played their game far better than that of the reformers was played by Plato, or by Dion since the arrival of Plato. Philistus saw that Dion, as the man of strong patriotic impulses and of energetic execution, was the real enemy to be aimed at. He left no effort untried to calumniate Dion, and to set Dionysius against him. "Whispers and misrepre- sentations from a thousand different quarters beset the ear of Dionysius, alarming him with the idea that Dion was usurping to himself the real authority in Syracuse, with the view of ultimate- ly handing it over to the children of Aristomache, and of reigning in their name. Plato had been brought thither (it was said) as an agent in the conspiracy, for the purpose of winning over Dio- tiysius into idle speculations, enervating his active vigor, and ulti- mately setting him aside; in order that all serious political agcn-