Dion Cassius

“ Brutus owed much of his success to the help of Cassius, who, though less trustworthy than Brutus in matters of virtue and honour, gave equal proofs of courage, skill, and energy in war, while some writers go so far as to give him the entire credit of the plot against Cæsar, and say that Brutus had no share in it. Dion on the other hand was obliged to provide himself with friends and fellow conspirators, no less than with arms, ships, and soldiers. ”

“ However that may be, he was subsequently worshiped with divine honors, and so highly esteemed by the greatest men of after days, that even Aurelian refused to sack Tyana, out of respect to the philosopher’s ashes.
Dion Cassius, the historian, records one of the most remarkable instances of his clairvoyance or second sight. He states that Apollonius, in the midst of a discourse at Ephesus, suddenly paused, and then in a different voice, exclaimed, to the astonishment of all:—“Have courage, good Stephanus! Strike! strike! Kill the tyrant!” ”

“ Dion Cassius, that flatterer of Augustus and detractor from Cicero, because Cicero was the friend of liberty—that dry and diffuse writer and gazetteer of popular rumors, Dion Cassius, reports that certain senators were of opinion that in order to recompense Cæsar for all the evil which he had brought upon the commonwealth it would be right, at the age of fifty-seven, to allow him to honor with his favors all the ladies who took his fancy. Men are still found who credit this absurdity. ”

“ Under the reign of a just and virtuous prince, the tyranny of the army threatened with instant death his most faithful ministers, who were suspected of an intention to correct their intolerable disorders. The Danger of Dion Cassius historian Dion Cassius had commanded the Pannonian legions with the spirit of ancient discipline. Their brethren of Rome, embracing the common cause of military licence, demanded the head of the reformer. ”

“ This dream according to Suetonius (Cæsar, c. 7) and Dion Cassius (41. c. 24) he had at Cades (Cadiz) in Spain during his quæstorship. The time of the dream is not unimportant, if the interpretation of it was that he was destined to have the dominion of the world. Cæsar has not recorded his dream. Sulla recorded his dreams. He was superstitious and cruel. Cæsar was not cruel, and there is no proof that he was superstitious.
[522] Pompeius went to Capua, where he thought of making a stand, but he soon moved on to Brundisium. On the confusion in the city see Dion Cassius (41. c. 5-9) . ”

“ See the note of Sintenis, who proposes to read κεκλημένος for κεκλημένον, to prevent any ambiguity, such as Kaltwasser discovered in the passage. It was the birthday of Cassius (Appian, Civil Wars, iv, 113) .
[565] Plutarch here quotes the Memoirs of Cæsar. It is of no great importance who saw the dream, and perhaps there was no dream at all. Cæsar wished to have an excuse for being out of the way of danger. Dion Cassius (xlvii. 41) says that it was Cæsar’s physician who had the dream, but he does not mention his name. ”

“ Antoninus Pius says after her death in a letter to Fronto that he would rather have lived in exile with his wife than in his palace at Rome without her. There are not many men who would give their wives a better character than these two emperors. Capitolinus wrote in the time of Diocletian. He may have intended to tell the truth, but he is a poor, feeble biographer. Dion Cassius, the most malignant of historians, always reports and perhaps he believed any scandal against anybody. ”

“ An eagle is not formidable at the head of an army of daws, nor a lion commanding fawns; and it was not Cassius, but you, that brought to an end the Arabian or the famous Parthian War. Again, even though he is renowned as a result of his achievements against the Parthians, yet you have Verus, who has won more victories than he and has acquired more territory in a not less, but more distinguished manner.--But probably he has already changed his mind, on hearing that I am alive, for surely he has done this on no other assumption than that I was dead. ”

“ To-day the enemy is wintering in Cyrrhestica and a serious war is imminent: for the son of Orodes the king of the Parthians is in a Roman province, and Deiotarus, to whose son the daughter of Artavasdes is betrothed, a very competent authority, is positive that the king himself will cross the Euphrates with all his forces in the early summer. On the very day on which Cassius’ despatch, dated the 7th of October, announcing victory was read in the Senate, came mine announcing trouble. My friend Axius says that Cassius’ despatch gained no belief and mine was considered worthy of attention. ”

“ Another account is that Verus, who was sent ahead into Syria, of which he had secured the governorship, found them among the effects of Cassius and put them out of the way, saying that this course would most probably be agreeable to the emperor, but even if he should be angry, it would be better that he [Verus] himself should perish than many others. Marcus was so averse to slaughter that he saw to it that the gladiators in Rome contended without danger, like athletes ”

“ He wrote quite independently of Livy from Fabius, and he perfectly understood the old Roman constitution. On the other hand, he is reproached with κακοήθεια, and ἐπιχαιρεκακία, with its being a pleasure to him to bring to light the hollowness of men’s pretensions to political virtue, and such like things. Indeed he is in a bitter mood against the false pretences to virtue in a thoroughly corrupted age; but this is quite different from showing an infamous delight in it. [Pg 63] The former only is the real character of Dio Cassius. When a man scoffs at religion, it is the sign of a bad heart ”

“ But now I am of a different mind in the circumstances, and if the deity shall not determine in our favour, I do not want to try other hopes and means, but I will withdraw content with fortune, that on the Ides of March I gave to my country my life and have lived another life for her sake free and glorious.” Whereat Cassius smiled and, embracing Brutus, said, “With such thoughts let us go against the enemy; for we shall either conquer or we shall not fear the conquerors.” ”

“ As soon as Dion appeared in Sicily, thousands joined him to attack Dionysius, while the power of Cæsar’s name even after his death rallied his friends, and enabled a helpless child to become at once the first of the Romans by assuming it, as though it were a talisman to protect him against the might and hatred of Antonius. ”

“ For all goodness has not yet perished from among mankind, but there is still in us a remnant of the ancient virtue. And if any one does disbelieve it, that renders the more ardent my desire that men may see accomplished what no one would believe could come to pass. That would be one profit I could derive from present ills, if I could settle the affair well and show to all mankind that there is a right way to handle even civil wars."
27
This is what Marcus both said to the soldiers and wrote to the senate, in no place abusing Cassius, save he constantly termed him ungrateful. ”

“ Gaius was in the habit of nicknaming him "sissy" (though he was the hardiest of men) and whenever it came the turn of Chairea to command would give him some such watchword as "yearning" or "Venus." Again, an oracle had a short time before warned Gaius to beware of Cassius. The former, supposing that it had reference to Gaius Cassius, governor of Asia at the time, because he was a descendant of that Cassius who had slain Cæsar, had him brought as a prisoner. The person whose future conduct the divinity was really indicating to the emperor, however, was this Cassius Chairea. ”

“ The truth is that the public accusers (Rüge Herrn) , the quæstores parricidii impeach Cassius before the curies; and the curies, as the community to which he belongs, cause him to be executed. This is intelligible: he had most grievously offended his order, and therefore they are only too glad to wreak their vengeance upon him. Dionysius is perplexed with the account; Livy gets over the difficulty. According to him, it is the Plebes, which condemns Cassius, as the tribunes are envious of him:—as if these had at that time already been able to bring forward any proposition of the kind! ”

“ One who killed another thought in the excessive joy of the moment that he could never die. Whoever fell lost consciousness and had no knowledge of his state. [-45-] Both sides remained stubbornly in their places and neither side retired or pursued, but there, just as they were, they wounded and were wounded, slew and were slain, until late in the day. And if all had contested with all, as may happen under such circumstances, or if Brutus had been arrayed against Antony and Cassius against Caesar, they would have proved equally matched. ”

“ He also produced a triumphal spectacle and had a naval battle of the captives in the strait close to Rhegium itself, so that his opponents could look on; in this combat he had wooden boats contend with others of leather, in the intention of making fun of Rufus. After this he built more ships and dominated the sea all round about, acquiring some renown, in which he took pride, based on the assumption that he was the son of Neptune, and that his father had once ruled the whole sea. So he fared as long as the resistance of Cassius and Brutus held out. ”

“ DIO CASSIUS (more correctly Cassius Dio) , Cocceianus (c. A.D. 150–235) , Roman historian, was born at Nicaea in Bithynia. His father was Cassius Apronianus, governor of Dalmatia and Cilicia under Marcus Aurelius, and on his mother’s side he was the grandson of Dio Chrysostom, who had assumed the surname of Cocceianus in honour of his patron the emperor Cocceius Nerva. After his father’s death, Dio Cassius left Cilicia for Rome (180) and became a member of the senate. During the reign of Commodus, Dio practised as an advocate at the Roman bar, and held the offices of aedile and quaestor. ”

“ And thus the common people instantly regretted Caesar, and grew enraged and implacable against those that killed him. Whereas Dion's chief offense in the eyes of his fellow-citizens was his having let Dionysius escape, and not having demolished the former tyrant's tomb. In the actual conduct of war, Dion was a commander without fault, improving to the utmost those counsels which he himself gave, and, where others led him into disaster, correcting and turning everything to the best. ”

“ Moreover, the public good made Brutus Pompey's friend (instead of his enemy as he had been) and Caesar's enemy; since he proposed for his hatred and his friendship no other end and standard 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, having overcome Dionysius, he might not settle the government on himself, deceiving his fellow-citizens by some less obnoxious name than tyranny. ”

“ In consequence of this the people of Rome were grieved at the death of Cæsar, and showed themselves harsh and inexorable to his murderers; while the severest charges which were brought against Dion by his countrymen were that he had allowed Dionysius to escape from Syracuse, and that he had not destroyed the tomb of the former despot.
III. In actual warfare Dion proved himself a faultless general, as he succeeded brilliantly in every enterprise planned by himself, and was able to remedy the failures caused by the misconduct of others ”

“ But since Cassius would never be willing to agree to this (for how could he trust me after having shown himself so untrustworthy towards me?) , you, at least, fellow-soldiers, ought to be of good cheer. Cilicians, Syrians, Jews and Egyptians have never proved your superiors nor shall so prove, even if they assemble in numbers ten times your own, whereas they are now by the same proportion inferior. Nor yet would Cassius himself now appear worthy of any particular consideration, however much he may seem to possess the qualities of generalship, however many successes he may seem to have gained. ”

“ He was raised a second time to the consulship by Alexander Severus, in 229; but on the plea of ill health soon afterwards retired to Nicaea, where he died. Before writing his history of Rome (Ῥωμαικά or Ῥωμαικὴ Ἱστορία) , Dio Cassius had dedicated to the emperor Severus an account of various dreams and prodigies which had presaged his elevation to the throne (perhaps the Ἐνόδια attributed to Dio by Suidas) , and had also written a biography of his fellow-countryman Arrian. ”

“ Some one may say, however, that he has many allies and a store of wealth. Well, how we have been accustomed to conquer the dwellers on Asia the mainland is known to Scipio Asiaticus the renowned, is known to Sulla the fortunate, to Lucullus, to Pompey, to my father Caesar, and to your own selves, who vanquished the supporters of Brutus and Cassius. This being so, if you think their wealth is so much more than others', you must be all the more eager to make it your own. It is but fair that for the greatest prizes the greatest conflicts should be undergone. ”

“ The exiled philosopher retired to Athens, where he was at first permitted to enjoy his revenues in peace; but the intercession of Plato (who had again visited Syracuse to procure Dion’s recall) only served to exasperate the tyrant, and at length provoked him to confiscate the property of Dion, and give his wife to another. This last outrage roused Dion. Assembling a small force at Zacynthus, he sailed to Sicily (357) and was received with demonstrations of joy. Dionysius, who was in Italy, returned to Sicily, but was defeated and obliged to flee. ”