Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/188

 IG2 HISTORY OF GREECE. eyes of most Greeks was the same tiling in other woiJs the unbounded favor with which the gods had cherished both his per- son and his enterprise. Though greatly praised as a brave and able man, Timoleou was still more affectionately hailed as an en- viable man. 1 " Never had the gods been so manifest in their dis- pensations of kindness towards any mortal. 2 " The issue, M'hich Telekleides had announced as being upon trial when Timoleon was named, now stood triumphantly determined. After the cap- ture of Syracuse, we may be sure that no one ever denounced Ti- moleon as a fratricide ; every one extolled him as a tyrannicide. The great exploits of other eminent men, such as Agesilaus and Epaminondas, had been achieved at the cost of hardship, severe fighting, wounds and death to those concerned, etc., all of which counted as so many deductions from the perfect mental satisfac- tion of the spectator. Like an oration or poem smelling of the lamp, they bore too clearly the marks of preliminary toil and fa- tigue. But Timoleon, as the immortal gods descending to combat on the plain of Troy, accomplished splendid feats, overthrew what seemed insuperable obstacles by a mere first appearance, and without an effort. He exhibited to view a magnificent re- sult, executed with all that apparent facility belonging as a privi- lege to the inspirations of first-rate genius. 3 Such a spectacle of virtue and good fortune combined glorious consummation with graceful facility was new to the Grecian world. 1 Plutarch, Timoleon, c. 21. Td ftev ahuvai ryv TroAtv (Syracuse) /COT' uKpac Kal -yEVEa-dat ra^suf iiroxe'ipiov EKireaovruv TUV nohefiiuv, 61x0.101 uva&Etvai TTJ TUV fj.axofj.evuv iivdpaya'&ia KO.L rij dsivorijTi TVV orpaTtj-yoiJ rb <5e /J.TJ uTrodavEiv Tiva ftr/de Tpu'&rjvai TUV Kopivdiuv, I6iov epyav avrfj^ q Tifto^EOvrof EirsdsiZaTO rvxi], Ka-dinrep diafiiTC^u/iivr] Trpof TI/V uperriv roi avSpue, Iva TUV eirat vovpevu v aiiToti TU lovoi irw&avo fisvoi -&avij.auat v. El yap a 1 uf etfeAoi tyikeetv -yhavK 'S2f ror' 'OdiKTcr^Of TTEpiKrjdETa nvd &r/[4 EVI Tpuuv, ot?( iruaxoftEV a/lye' ' Oil -yap Tfu I6ov wcje $eoi>{ iivafyav 'Of KE'IVU avatpavtiH irapiararo Ha 1 Plutarch, Timoleon, c. 36. [isrii rov Kakov 7ro^.i) rd fodiuc exovoa r./ioXfovrof cTpaTijyia) (jiaivErat, roif EV Kal dutaiuif toyi>CUEvoif, (/ii
 * Homer, Odyss. iii. 219 (Nestor addressing Telemachus).