Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/86

 60 HISTORY OF GREECE. which the young Spartan kings Agis and Kleomenes imbiiKjd, * century afterwards, in part from the conversation of the philoso- pher Sphaerus. 1 Never before had Plato met with a pupil who so quickly apprehended, so profoundly meditated, or so passionate- ly laid to heart, his lessons. 2 Inflamed with his newly communi- cated impulse towards philosophy, as the supreme guide and directress of virtuous conduct, Dion altered his habits of life ; exchanging the splendor and luxury of a Sicilian rich man for the simple fare and regulated application becoming a votary of the Academy. In this course he persisted without faltering through- out all his residence at the court of Dionysius, in spite of the un- popularity contracted among his immediate companions. His en- thusiasm even led him to believe, that the despot himself, unable to resist that persuasive tongue by which he had been himself con- verted, might be gently brought round into an employment of his mighty force for beneficent and reformatory purposes. Accord- ingly Dion, inviting Plato to Syracuse, procured for him an inter- view with Dionysius. How miserably the speculation failed, has been recounted in my last chapter. Instead of acquiring a new convert, the philosopher was fortunate in rescuing his own person, and in making good his returning footsteps out of that lion's den, into which the improvident enthusiasm of his young friend had inveigled him. The harsh treatment of Plato by Dionysins was a painful, though salutary, warning to Dion. Without sacrificing either his own convictions, or the philosophical regularity of life which he had thought fit to adopt he saw that patience was imperatively necessary, and he so conducted himself as to maintain unabated the favor and confidence of Dionysius. Such a policy would 1 Plutarch, Kleomenes, c. 2-11. 1 Plato, Epistol. vii. p. 327 A. A/wv psv yup 66pa, uf ov6elc iruTrore uv yw Trpofftrv^ov viuv, Kal rbv fa'donrov [i, ot. yi> ydefyae diafspovTUf rutv iroAXuv 'Ira/Uurui> Kal ZIK&IUTCJV, uper^i irepl nheiovof iiiovrjf rijf re uXtyf rpvQfjf iroiovfievof 6tisi> i:nax$corcpVXJ)V, etc.