Plutarch

“ Conscience was his tormentor, for truth was stronger than the illusions of self-imputed virtue. Though Brutus had condemned Cato’s death, he died by his own hand, not with the stubborn resolve of Cato, who would not yield to a usurper, but merely to escape from his enemies. A Roman might be pardoned for not choosing to become the prisoner of a Roman, but his grave should have been the battlefield, and the instrument should have been the hands of those who were fighting against the cause which he proclaimed to be righteous and just. ”

“ The existence of a numerous and needy class who participated in political power without having any property which should be a guarantee for their honest use of it, was the stuff out of which grew the revolutions of Rome. There was a crowded city population, clamorous, for cheap bread, for grants of land, for public shows and amusements, averse to labour, constantly called into political activity by the annual elections, always ready to sell their votes to the best bidders; and a class always ready to use this rabble as a tool for their political and personal aggrandisement. ”

“ Demetrius fled with five thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, and directed his march with the utmost speed towards Ephesus. All imagined that in his distress for money he would not spare the rich temple there, and he himself, fearing lest his soldiers should do so, set sail as quickly as possible for Greece, as his chief hopes now lay in Athens. Indeed he had left there a part of his fleet, some treasure and his wife Deidameia, and imagined that he could find no surer refuge in his adversity than Athens, where he felt assured of the loyalty of the people. ”

“ This has been the fate of many of those politicians who court the favour of the people; for, after they have once shared their blind impulses, they lose the power of checking their folly, and of restoring good discipline and order. These reflections upon the favour of the people occurred to me when I thought of its power, as shown in the case of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, men who were well born, well educated, and began their political career with great promise, and yet were ruined, not so much by an excessive craving for popular applause as by a very pardonable fear of disgrace. ”

“ After Dion had embraced his sister and his child, Aristomache led Arete forward, and said, “Dion, we were unhappy while you were an exile; but now that you have returned and conquered you have taken away our reproach from all but Arete here, whom I have had the misery to see forced to accept another husband while you were yet alive. Now, therefore, since fortune has placed us in your power, how do you propose to settle this difficulty? Is she to embrace you as her uncle or as her husband also?” Dion shed tears at these words of Aristomache, and affectionately embraced his wife. ”

“ Just as he entered the Forum, like a change of wind there came a rumour that Otho was at the head of the soldiers. And now, while in that vast crowd some called to Galba to turn back, and some to go on, some bade him be of good courage and others warned him to beware, and the litter was frequently shaken and swayed to and fro as if it were on a stormy sea, there suddenly appeared a body of horsemen, and then some foot-soldiers, who came through the basilica of Paulus, and loudly shouted to the people to take “that citizen” away. ”

“ And what is there at Rome so sacred, so venerated as the virgins who guard the ever-burning fire? but if any of them offends, she is buried alive; for when they sin against the gods, they no longer retain that inviolable sanctity which they have by being devoted to the gods. In like manner, neither has a tribune when he is wronging the people any right to retain the inviolable character which he receives from the people, for he is destroying the very power which is the origin of his own power. ”

“ When Lucilius had said this, and all were in amaze, Antonius, looking on those who conducted Lucilius, said, “I suppose, fellow soldiers, you are vexed at your mistake, and think that you have been grossly tricked. But be assured that you have taken a better prey than that which you were in search of. For while you were seeking for an enemy, you have brought us a friend; for as to Brutus, I know not by the gods, what I should have done with him if he were alive, but such men as this, I pray that I may have as friends rather than as enemies.” ”

“ He himself continued to live simply and frugally, while not only Sicily and Carthage, but all Greece viewed with admiration the manner in which he bore his prosperity, considering his achievements to be the greatest, and himself to be the most splendid instance of successful daring known to that age. He remained as modest in his dress, his household, and his table, as though he were still the guest of Plato in the Academy, and not living among mercenary soldiers, who recompense themselves for the hardships and dangers of their lives by daily indulgence in sensual pleasures. ”

“ Demetrius dreamed that Alexander appeared before him in shining armour, and inquired what would be their watchword for the battle. When Demetrius answered “Zeus and victory,” Alexander replied, “I will go away now, and tell this to the enemy; for I am going over to them.” Antigonus, too, as he stepped out of his tent to see his line formed stumbled and fell heavily upon his face. When he rose, he lifted his hands to heaven and prayed to the gods that they would either grant him victory or a painless death before his army was routed. ”

“ I know that a woman’s nature is considered too weak to carry a secret, but, Brutus, there is a certain power towards making moral character in a good nurture and honest conversation; and I am Cato’s daughter and also Brutus’ wife, whereon hitherto I had less relied, but now I know that I am also invincible to pain.” Thus saying, she showed him the wound, and told him of the trial she had made of herself. Struck with astonishment and stretching forth his hands, Brutus prayed that the gods would permit him to succeed in the enterprise and to show himself a husband worthy of Porcia. ”

“ He looks both backwards and forwards, to the past and the future, and views himself as a small link in the great chain of events which holds all things together. Brutus died in despair, with the courage, but not with the faith, of a martyr.
When men talk of tyranny and rise against it, the name of Brutus is invoked; a mere name and nothing else. What single act is there in the man’s life which promised the regeneration of his country and the freedom of mankind? ”

“ They were forced to leap over heaps of blazing beams, and to run from under great masses of falling ruins, struggling forwards through thick smoke and choking dust, and yet striving to keep their ranks unbroken. When at length they reached the enemy, only a few could fight on either side, because of the narrowness of the path, but the Syracusans, pushing confidently forward with loud shouts, forced the troops of Nypsius to give way. Most of them escaped into the citadel, which was close at hand: but all the stragglers who were left outside, were pursued and put to death by the Peloponnesians. ”

“ If in these notes I have occasionally expressed an unfavourable opinion directly or indirectly, I have expressed none that I do not believe true, and none for which abundant evidence cannot be produced, even from Cicero’s own writings. It is a feeble and contemptible criticism that would palliate or excuse that which admits not of excuse. It is a spurious liberality that would gloss over the vices and faults of men because they have had great virtues, and would impute to those who tell the whole truth a malignant pleasure in defaming and vilifying exalted merit. ”

“ XXXIX. In this terrible dilemma, as he was forced either to fight against his fellow-countrymen or to perish with his mercenaries, Dion stretched out his hands towards the Syracusans and implored them to desist, and pointed to the citadel, full of armed enemies, who were watching them from the battlements. As, however, the excited mob could not be turned from its purpose, for the speeches of the demagogues stirred up the people as the wind stirs up the waves of the sea, Dion ordered his troops not to charge them, but to march forward with a shout and martial clash of arms. ”

“ To these remarks of Therykion Kleomenes answered, “Wretch, do you think that by suicide, the easiest way out of all difficulties, and one which is within every man’s reach, you will gain a reputation for bravery, and will not rather be flying before the enemy more disgracefully than at Sellasia? More powerful men than ourselves have ere now been defeated, either by their own evil fortune or by the excessive numbers of their enemy: but the man who refuses to bear fatigue and misery, and the scorn of men, is conquered by his own cowardice. ”

“ For neither that great Pompeius, if he had put down Cæsar, was confidently expected to give up his power to the laws, but to retain affairs in his hands, pacifying the people with the name of consulship and dictatorship or some other title with more pleasing name; and this Cassius, who was a violent and passionate man and was often carried away from justice in quest of gain, more than any one else they thought would carry on war, and ramble about and expose himself to danger for the purpose of getting power for himself, not liberty for the citizens. ”

“ Offering his right hand to each with a cheerful countenance, he said that he felt great pleasure, that no one of his friends had deceived him, but he blamed fortune with respect to his country; as for himself, he considered that he was happier than the conquerors, in that not yesterday nor yet recently, but even now he left behind him a reputation for virtue, which those would not leave behind who gained the victory by arms or by money, nor would they make people think that unjust and vile men who had destroyed just and upright men did not rule unmeritedly. ”

“ The eloquence of Demosthenes never stoops to jest, and is utterly without ornament, but has a terrible concentrated earnestness, which does not smell of the lamp, as Pytheas sneeringly said, but which reminds us of the ungenial, painstaking, acrimonious nature of the man: while Cicero often is carried by his love of jesting to the verge of buffoonery, and in his pleadings treats serious matters in a tone of most unbecoming levity and flippancy, as in the oration for Cæcilius he argues that in an age of such luxury and extravagance there can be nothing to wonder at if a man takes his pleasure ”

“ Lydiades was naturally of a noble and ambitious nature, and had not, like so many despots, been led to commit the crime of enslaving his fellow-citizens by any selfish desire of money or of pleasure; but when a young man he had become inflamed with a desire of distinguishing himself, and listening to all the vain and untrue talk about despotic power being so fine and happy a thing, he, like a high-spirited youth, made himself despot, and soon became overwhelmed with the cares of state. ”

“ As the flames rushed onwards and engirdling the city blazed forth with violence, Brutus, in great affliction at what was going on, rode round the walls, being eager to save the people, and stretching out his hands to the Xanthians he prayed them to spare themselves and save the city; and yet no one regarded him, but in every way they sought to destroy themselves; and not only men and women, but even the little children ”

“ When all was prepared for her voyage, Kratesiklea proceeded to Tænarus escorted by Kleomenes with all his troops under arms. Before embarking she retired alone with him into the temple of Poseidon, where, after embracing him as he sorrowed at her departure, she said, “Now, king of the Lacedæmonians, take care when we come out that no one sees us weeping or doing anything unworthy of Sparta. This lies in our own power; but good or evil fortune befalls us according to the will of Heaven.” ”

“ Aratus, who dressed in the plainest of clothes, and was the declared enemy of despots wherever they were to be found, gained for himself a lasting command, not by force of arms, but by legal means by his own courage, and has left a posterity which even at the present day enjoys the greatest honour in Greece; whereas of all those men who seized strongholds, kept body-guards, and protected their lives with arms and gates and trapdoors, few escaped being knocked on the head like hares, and no one has left either a palace, or a family, or a monument to do honour to his memory. ”

“ Yet, in one who, like yourself, “by birth inherits glory from a noble race,” as Pindar has it, and who, as you do, imitates in his own life the noblest examples of his ancestry, may well take pleasure in discoursing upon the lives of well-born men, and in listening to the remarks of others about them. They do not depend for praise upon the lives of other men, because there is nothing to be admired in themselves, but they combine the glory of their ancestors with their own, and honour them both as having founded their families and as having set examples to be imitated. ”