II. In the meantime, after Dion was assassinated at Syracuse, Dionysius again became master of that city, and his enemies solicited assistance from the Corinthians, desiring a general whose services they might employ in war. Timoleon, being in consequence despatched thither, expelled Dionysius, with wonderful success, quite out of Sicily. Though he might have put him to death, he refused to do so, and secured him a safe passage to Corinth, because the Corinthians had often been supported by the aid of both the Dionysii, and he wished the memory of that kindness to be preserved, esteeming that victory noble, in which there was more clemency than cruelty; and, finally, he wished it not only to be heard, but seen, what a personage he had reduced from such a height of power to so low a condition. After the departure of Dionysius, he had to go to war with Hicetas, who had been the opponent of Dionysius; but that he did not disagree with him from hatred of tyranny, but from a desire for it, this was a sufficient proof, that after the expulsion of Dionysius he was unwilling to lay down his command. Timoleon, after defeating Hicetas, put to flight a vast army of the Carthaginians on the river Crimessus, and obliged those who had now for several years maintained their ground in Sicily, to be satisfied if they were allowed to retain Africa. He took prisoner also Mamercus, an Italian general, a man of great valour and influence, who had come into Italy to support the tyrants.
3. Quibus rebus confectis cum propter diuturnitatem belli non solum regiones, sed etiam urbes desertas videret, conquisivit quos potuit, primum Siculos, dein Corintho arcessivit colonos, quod ab iis initio Syracusae erant conditae. [2] civibus veteribus sua restituit, novis bello vacuefactas possessiones divisit, urbium moenia disiecta fanaque detecta refecit, civitatibus leges libertatemque reddidit: ex maximo bello tantum otium totae insulae conciliavit, ut hic conditor urbium earum, non illi qui initio deduxerant, videretur. [3] arcem Syracusis, quam munierat Dionysius ad urbem obsidendam, a fundamentis disiecit, cetera tyrannidis propugnacula demolitus est deditque operam, ut quam minime multa vestigia servitutis manerent. [4] cum tantis esset opibus, ut etiam invitis imperare posset, tantum autem amorem haberet omnium Siculorum, ut nullo recusante regnum obtinere liceret, maluit se diligi quam metui. itaque, cum primum potuit, imperium deposuit ac privatus Syracusis, quod reliquum vitae fuit, vixit. [5] neque vero id imperite fecit: nam quod ceteri reges imperio potuerunt, hic benivolentia tenuit. nullus honos huic defuit, neque postea res ulla Syracusis gesta est publice, de qua prius sit decretum quam Timoleontis sententia cognita. [6] nullius umquam consilium non modo antelatum, sed ne comparatum quidem est. neque id magis eius benivolentia factum est quam prudentia.
III. Having achieved these objects, and seeing not only the lands, but also the cities, deserted through the long continuance of the war, he assembled, in the first place, as many Sicilians as he could, and then sent for settlers also from Corinth, because it was by the Corinthians that Syracuse had been originally founded. He gave back to the old inhabitants their own lands, and divided such estates as had lost their owners in the war, among the new colonists; he repaired the dilapidated walls of the cities, and the neglected temples; he restored their laws and liberties to the several communities, and, after a most destructive war, established such tranquillity through the whole island, that he, and not those who had brought colonists thither at first, might have been thought the founder of those cities. The citadel of Syracuse, which Dionysius had built to overawe the city, he demolished to its foundations; other bulwarks of tyranny he removed, and exerted his efforts that as few traces as possible of servitude might be left.
Though he was possessed of so much influence that he might have ruled the Syracusans even against their will, and though he had so strongly gained the affection of all the Sicilians that he might have assumed supreme power without opposition from any one, he chose rather to be loved than to be feared. He therefore laid down his authority as soon as he could, and lived as a private person at Syracuse during the remainder of his life. Nor did he act in this respect injudiciously; for, what other rulers could scarcely effect by absolute power, he attained by the good will of the people. No honour was withheld from him; nor, when any public business was afterwards transacted at Syracuse, was a decision made upon it before Timoleon’s opinion was ascertained. Not only was no man’s advice ever preferred to his, but no man’s was even compared to it; nor was this occasioned more by the good will of others towards him, than by his own prudence.
4. Hic cum aetate iam provectus esset, sine ullo morbo lumina oculorum amisit. quam calamitatem ita moderate tulit, ut neque eum querentem quisquam audierit neque eo minus privatis publicisque rebus interfuerit. [2] veniebat autem in theatrum, cum ibi concilium populi haberetur, propter valetudinem vectus iumentis iunctis, atque ita de vehiculo quae videbantur dicebat. neque hoc illi quisquam tribuebat superbiae: nihil enim umquam neque insolens neque gloriosum ex ore eius exiit. [3] qui quidem, cum suas laudes audiret praedicari, numquam aliud dixit quam se in ea re maxime dis agere gratias atque habere, quod, cum Siciliam recreare constituissent, tum se potissimum ducem esse voluissent. [4] nihil enim rerum humanarum sine deorum numine geri putabat; itaque suae domi sacellum Automatias constituerat idque sanctissime colebat.
IV. When he was advanced in age he lost the sight of his eyes, without any apparent disease in them; a misfortune which he bore with so much patience, that neither did any one ever hear him complain, nor did he take a less part in private and public business. He used to come to the theatre, when any assembly of the people was held there, riding in a carriage by reason of his infirmity, and used to state from the vehicle what he thought proper. Nor did any one impute this to pride; for nothing arrogant or boastful ever came out of his mouth. Indeed when he heard his praises repeated, he never made any other observation than that “he paid and felt the utmost gratitude to the immortal gods for this favour, that when they had resolved on regenerating Sicily, they had appointed him, above all others, to be the leader to execute their will.” For he thought that nothing in human affairs was done without the directing power of the gods; and he therefore erected a temple to Fortune in his own house, and used to worship at it most religiously.
5. Ad hanc hominis excellentem bonitatem mirabiles accesserant casus. nam proelia maxima natali suo die fecit omnia, quo factum est ut eius diem natalem festum haberet universa Sicilia. [2] huic quidam Laphystius, homo petulans et ingratus, vadimonium cum vellet imponere, quod cum illo se lege agere diceret, et complures concurrissent, qui procacitatem hominis manibus coercere conarentur, Timoleon oravit homines, ne id facerent. namque id ut Laphystio et cuivis liceret, se maximos labores summaque adiisse pericula. hanc enim speciem libertatis esse, si omnibus, quod quisque vellet, legibus experiri liceret. [3] idem, cum quidam Laphystii similis, nomine Demaenetus, in contione populi de rebus gestis eius detrahere coepisset ac nonnulla inveheretur in Timoleonta, dixit nunc demum se voti esse damnatum: namque hoc a dis immortalibus semper precatum, ut talem libertatem restitueret Syracusanis, in qua cuivis liceret de quo vellet quod vellet impune dicere. [4] Hic cum diem supremum obisset, publice a Syracusanis in gymnasio, quod Timoleonteum appellatur, tota celebrante Sicilia sepultus est.
V. To this eminent virtue in his character were added certain wonderful incidents in his life; for he fought all his most remarkable battles on his birth-day; and hence it happened that all Sicily kept his birth-day as a festival. When one Lamestius, an impudent and ungrateful fellow, wanted to compel him to give bail for his appearance, as he said that he was merely dealing with him according to law, and several persons, flocking about him, would have curbed the insolence of the man by laying hands upon him, Timoleon entreated them all “not to do so, for that he had encountered extreme labours and dangers in order that Lamestius and others might enjoy such privileges; since this was the true form of liberty, if it were permitted to every one to try at law what he pleased.” When a person, too, something like Lamestius, by name Demaenetus, had proceeded to detract from his actions before an assembly of the people, and uttered some invectives a
gainst Timoleon himself, he observed, that “he now enjoyed the fulfilment of his prayers, for that he had always made this his request to the immortal gods, that they would re-establish that degree of liberty among the Syracusans, in which it would be lawful for every man to say what he wished of any one with impunity.” When he died, he was buried at the public expense by the Syracusans, in the Gymnasium, which is called the Timoleontean Gymnasium, all Sicily attending his funeral.
XXI. OF KINGS.
The Spartan kings, kings only in name; the most eminent kings of Persia, I. The greatest kings of Macedonia; the only great sovereign of Sicily, II. The kings that arose after the death of Alexander the Great, III.
1. Hi fere fuerunt Graecae gentis duces, qui memoria digni videantur, praeter reges: namque eos attingere noluimus, quod omnium res gestae separatim sunt relatae. [2] neque tamen ii admodum sunt multi. Lacedaemonius autem Agesilaus nomine, non potestate fuit rex, sicut ceteri Spartani. ex iis vero, qui dominatum imperio tenuerunt, excellentissimi fuerunt, ut nos iudicamus, Persarum Cyrus et Darius, Hystaspi filius, quorum uterque privatus virtute regnum est adeptus. prior horum apud Massagetas in proelio cecidit, Darius senectute diem obiit supremum. [3] tres sunt praeterea eiusdem gentis: Xerxes et duo Artaxerxae, Macrochir cognomine et Mnemon. Xerxi maxime est illustre, quod maximis post hominum memoriam exercitibus terra marique bellum intulit Graeciae. [4] at Macrochir praecipuam habet laudem amplissimae pulcherrimaeque corporis formae, quam incredibili ornavit virtute belli: namque illo Perses nemo manu fuit fortior. Mnemon autem iustitiae fama floruit. nam cum matris suae scelere amisisset uxorem, tantum indulsit dolori, ut eum pietas vinceret. [5] ex his duo eodem nomine morbo naturae debitum reddiderunt, tertius ab Artabano praefecto ferro interemptus est.
I. THESE were almost all the generals of Greece that seemed worthy of record, except kings, for we would not treat of them, because the actions of them all are narrated separately; nor are they indeed very numerous. As for Agesilaus the Lacedaemonian, he was a king in name, not in power, just like the other Spartan kings. But of those who were sovereigns with absolute authority, the most eminent were, as we think, Cyrus, king of the Persians, and Darius, the son of Hystaspes, both of whom, originally in a private station, obtained thrones by merit. The first of these was killed in battle among the Massagetae; Darius died a natural death at an advanced age. There are also three others of the same nation; Xerxes and the two Artaxerxes, Macrochir and Mnemon. The most remarkable act of Xerxes was, that he made war upon Greece, by land and sea, with the greatest armies in the memory of man. Macrochir is greatly celebrated for a most noble and handsome person, which he rendered still more remarkable by extraordinary bravery in the field; for no one of the Persians was more valorous in action than he. Mnemon was renowned for his justice; for, when he lost his wife through the wickedness of his mother, he indulged his resentment so far only, that filial duty overcame it. Of these, the two of the same name died a natural death; the third was killed with the sword by Artabanus, one of his satraps.
2. Ex Macedonum autem gente duo multo ceteros antecesserunt rerum gestarum gloria: Philippus, Amyntae filius, et Alexander Magnus. horum alter Babylone morbo consumptus est, Philippus Aegiis a Pausania, cum spectatum ludos iret, iuxta theatrum occisus est. [2] unus Epirotes, Pyrrhus, qui cum populo Romano bellavit. is cum Argos oppidum oppugnaret in Peloponneso, lapide ictus interiit. unus item Siculus, Dionysius prior. nam et manu fortis et belli peritus fuit et, id quod in tyranno non facile reperitur, minime libidinosus, non luxuriosus, non avarus, nullius denique rei cupidus nisi singularis perpetuique imperii ob eamque rem crudelis: nam dum id studuit munire, nullius pepercit vitae, quem eius insidiatorem putaret. [3] hic cum virtute tyrannidem sibi peperisset, magna retinuit felicitate: maior enim annos sexaginta natus decessit florente regno. neque in tam multis annis cuiusquam ex sua stirpe funus vidit, cum ex tribus uxoribus liberos procreasset multique ei nati essent nepotes.
II. Of the nation of the Macedonians, two kings far excelled the rest in renown for their achievements; Philip, the son of Amyntas, and Alexander the Great. One of these was cut off by a disease at Babylon; Philip was killed by Pausanias, near the theatre at Aegae, when he was going to see the games. Of Epirus, the only great king was Pyrrhus, who made war upon the people of Rome; he was killed by a blow from a stone, when he was besieging the city of Argos in the Peloponnesus. There was also one great sovereign of Sicily, Dionysius the elder; for he was both brave in action and skilful in military operations, and, what is not commonly found in a tyrant, was far from being sensual, or luxurious, or avaricious, and was covetous indeed of nothing but absolute and firmly-established sovereignty; and to attain that object he was cruel; for in his eagerness to secure it he spared the life of no one that he thought to be plotting against it. After having gained absolute power for himself by his abilities, he preserved it with remarkable good fortune, and died at the age of more than sixty, with his dominions in a flourishing condition. Nor in the course of so many years did he see the funeral of any one of his offspring, though he had children by three wives, and several grand-children had been born to him.
3. Fuerunt praeterea magni reges ex amicis Alexandri Magni, qui post obitum eius imperia ceperunt, in eis Antigonus et huius filius Demetrius, Lysimachus, Seleucus, Ptolemaeus. [2] ex his Antigonus in proelio, cum adversus Seleucum et Lysimachum dimicaret, occisus est. pari leto affectus est Lysimachus ab Seleuco: namque societate dissoluta bellum inter se gesserunt. [3] at Demetrius, cum filiam suam Seleuco in matrimonium dedisset neque eo magis fida inter eos amicitia manere potuisset, captus bello in custodia socer generi periit a morbo. [4] neque ita multo post Seleucus a Ptolemaeo Cerauno dolo interfectus est, quem ille a patre expulsum Alexandrea alienarum opum indigentem receperat. ipse autem Ptolemaeus, cum vivus filio regnum tradidisset, ab illo eodem vita privatus dicitur. [5]
De quibus quoniam satis dictum putamus, non incommodum videtur non praeterire Hamilcarem et Hannibalem, quos et animi magnitudine et calliditate omnes in Africa natos praestitisse constat.
III. There arose also some great kings from among the followers of Alexander the Great, who assumed regal authority alter his death. Among these were Antigonus, and his son Demetrius, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy; of whom Antigonus was killed in battle, when he was fighting against Seleucus and Lysimachus; and Lysimachus was cut off in a similar way by Seleucus, for the alliance between the two being broken, they went to war with one another. Demetrius, after he had given his daughter to Seleucus in marriage, and yet the alliance between them could not be maintained the more faithfully on that account, was taken prisoner in battle, and died of some disease, the father-in-law in the custody of his son-in-law. Not long after, Seleucus was treacherously killed by Ptolemy Ceraunus, whom he had entertained, when he was expelled by his father from Alexandria, and stood in need of assistance from others. As for Ptolemy himself, he is said, after having resigned his throne to his son during his life, to have been deprived of life by that same son.
But, as we think that sufficient has been said concerning these, it seems proper not to omit Hamilcar and Hannibal, who, as is agreed, surpassed all the natives of Africa in power and subtilty of intellect.
XXII. HAMILCAR.
Hamilcar’s success in Sicily; his defence of Eryx, and honourable capitulation, I. His suppression of the rebellion raised by the Carthaginian mercenaries, II. He takes his son Hannibal with him into Spain, and his son-in-law Hasdrubal, III. Is killed in battle in Spain, IV.
1. Hamilcar, Hannibalis filius, cognomine Barca, Karthaginiensis, primo Poenico bello, sed temporibus extremis, admodum adulescentulus in Sicilia praeesse coepit exercitui. [2] cum ante eius adventum et mari et terra male res gererentur Karthaginiensium, ipse ubi affuit, numquam hosti cessit neque locum nocendi dedit, saepeque e contrario occasione data lacessivit semperque superior discessit. quo facto, cum paene omnia in Sicilia Poeni amisissent, ille Erycem sic defendit, ut bellum eo loco gestum non videretur. [3] interim Karthaginienses classe apud insula
s Aegates a C. Lutatio, consule Romanorum, superati statuerunt belli facere finem eamque rem arbitrio permiserunt Hamilcaris. ille etsi flagrabat bellandi cupiditate, tamen paci serviundum putavit, quod patriam exhaustam sumptibus diutius calamitates belli ferre non [4] posse intellegebat, sed ita ut statim mente agitaret, si paulum modo res essent refectae, bellum renovare Romanosque armis persequi, donicum aut virtute vicissent aut victi manus dedissent. [5] hoc consilio pacem conciliavit, in quo tanta fuit ferocia, cum Catulus negaret bellum compositurum, nisi ille cum suis, qui Erycem tenerent, armis relictis Sicilia decederent, ut succumbente patria ipse periturum se potius dixerit, quam cum tanto flagitio domum rediret: non enim suae esse virtutis arma a patria accepta adversus hostes adversariis tradere. huius pertinaciae cessit Catulus.
I. HAMILCAR the Carthaginian, the son of Hannibal, and surnamed Barcas, began in the first Punic war, but towards the end of it, to hold the command of the army in Sicily; and though, before his coming, the efforts of the Carthaginians were unsuccessful both by sea and land, he, after he arrived, never gave way to the enemy, or afforded them any opportunity of doing him harm, but, on the contrary, often attacked the foe when occasion presented itself, and always came off with the advantage. Afterwards, though the Carthaginians had lost almost every place in Sicily, he so ably defended Eryx, that there seemed to be no war going on there. In the meantime, the Carthaginians, having been defeated at sea, near the islands called Aegates, by Caius Lutatius, the Roman consul, resolved on putting an end to the war, and left the settlement of the matter to the judgment of Hamilcar, who, though he ardently desired to continue in arms, thought it, nevertheless, necessary to submit to make peace, because he saw that his country, exhausted by the expenses of the war, was no longer in a condition to bear the pressure of it; but such was his feeling on the occasion, that he soon meditated, if the affairs of his country should be but in a small degree improved, to resume the war, and to pursue the Romans with hostilities, until they should indisputably obtain the mastery, or, being conquered, should make submission. With this resolution he concluded a peace, but showed such a spirit in the transaction, that when Catulus refused to desist from hostilities unless Hamilcar, with such of his men as were in possession of Eryx, should lay down their arms and quit Sicily, Hamilcar replied, that, though his country submitted, he himself would rather perish on the spot than return home under such disgrace, for that it was not consistent with his spirit to resign to his enemies arms which he had received from his country as a defence against enemies.
Delphi Complete Works of Cornelius Nepos Page 48
