Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/178

 152 HISTORY OF GREECE. very despot, bearing the terrific name of Dionysius, against whom the expedition had been chiefly aimed ! Timoleon sent a special trireme l to Corinth, carrying Dionysius, and communicating im portant events, together with the convention which guaranteed to the dethroned ruler an undisturbed residence in that city. The impression produced at Corinth by the arrival of this trireme and its passengers was powerful beyond all parallel. As- tonishment and admiration were universal ; for the expedition of Timoleon had started as a desperate venture, in which scarce one among the leading Corinthians had been disposed to embark ; nor had any man conceived the possibility of success so rapid as well as so complete. But the victorious prospect in Sicily, with ser- vice under the fortunate general, was now the general passion of the citizens. A reinforcement of two thousand hoplites and two hundred cavalry was immediately voted and equipped. 2 If the triumph excited wonder and joy, the person of Diony- sius himself appealed no less powerfully to other feelings. A fallen despot was a sight denied to Grecian eyes ; whoever as- pired to despotism, put his all to hazard, forfeiting his chance of retiring to a private station. By a remarkable concurrence of cir- 1 Theopompus stated that Dionysius had gone from Sicily to Corinth in a merchant ship (vrjt aTpoyyvAri). Timasus contradicted this assertion seemingly with his habitual asperity, and stated that Dionysius had beci sent in a ship of war (vrjl uaicpp). See Timaeus, Fragment 133 ; Theopom pus, Fragm. 216, ed. Didot. Diodorus (xvi. 70) copies Theopompus. Polybius (xii. 4 a) censures Timaeus for cavilling at such small inaccu- racies, as if the difference between the two were not worth noticing. Probably the language of Timseus may have deserved blame as ill-man- nered; but the matler of fact appears to me to have been perfectly worth correcting. To send Dionysius in a trireme, was treating him as prisoner in a respectful manner, which Timoleon was doubtless bound to do ; and which he would be inclined to do on his own account seeing that he had a strong interest in making the entry of Dionysius as a captive into Corinth, an impressive sight. Moreover the trireme would reach Corinth more apeedily than the merchantman. That Dionysius should go in a merchant-ship, was one additional evi- dence of fallen fortune ; and this seems to have been the reason why it was taken up by Theopompus from the passion, prevalent among so manj Greek authors, for exaggerating contrasts
 * Plutaich, Timoleon, c. 13, 14, 15.