Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/372

 364 DION AND BRUTUS. friend, and preferred above many, did yet lay violent hands upon his preserver. Nothing like this could be objected against Dion ; quite the contrary, whilst he was of Dionysius's famil}^ and his friend, he did good service, and was useful to him ; but driven from his country, wronged in his wife, and his estate lost, he openly entered upon a war just and lawful. Does not, how- ever, the matter turn the other way? For the chief glory of both was their hatred of tyranny, and abhor- rence of wickedness. This was unmixed and sincere in Brutus ; for he had no private quarrel with Caesar, but went into the risk singly for the liberty of his country. The other, had he not been privately injured, had not fought. This is plain from Plato's epistles, where it is shown that he was turned out, and did not forsake the court to wage war upon Dionysius. Moreover, the public good made Brutus Pompey's friend (instead of his enemy as he had been) and Csesar's enemy; since he proposed for his hatred and his friendship no other end and stand- ard but justice. Dion was very serviceable to Dionysius whilst in favor ; when no longer trusted, he grew angry and fell to arms. And, for this reason, not even were his own friends all of them satisfied with his undertaking, or quite assured that, havmg overcome Dionysius, he might not settle the government on hunself, deceiving his fel- low-citizens by some less obnoxious name than tyranny. But the very enemies of Brutus would say that he had no other end or aim, from first to last, save only to restore to the Roman people then* ancient government. And apart from what has just been said, the adventure against Dionysius was nothing equal with that against Ctesar. For none that was familiarly conversant with Dionysius but scorned him for his life of idle amuse- ment with wine, women, and dice ; whereas it required an heroic soul and a truly hitrepid and unquailing spirit