1-LANS OF DION. 83 Accordingly he took upon him to pronounce her divorced, and tc remarry her, in spite of her own decided repugnance, with one of his friends named Tirnokrates. 1 To this he added another cruel injury, by intentionally corrupting and brutalizing Dion's eldest son, a youth just reaching puberty. Outraged thus in all the tenderest points, Dion took up with passionate resolution the design of avenging himself on Diony- sius, and of emancipating Syracuse from despotism into liberty. During the greater part of his exile he had resided at Athens, in the house of his friend Kallippus, enjoying the society of Speu- sippus and other philosophers of the Academy, and the teaching of Plato himself when returned from Syracuse. Well supplied with money, and strict as to his own personal wants, he was able largely to indulge his liberal spirit towards many persons, and among the rest towards Plato, whom he assisted towards the ex- pense of a choric exhibition at Athens. 2 Dion also visited Spar- ta and various other cities ; enjoying a high reputation, and doing himself credit everywhere ; a fact not unknown to Dionysius, and aggravating his displeasure. Yet Dion was long not without hope that that displeasure would mitigate, so as to allow of his return to Syracuse on friendly terms. Nor did he cherish any purposes of hostility, until the last proceedings with respect to his property and his wife at once cut off all hope and awakened vindictive sen* timents. 3 He began therefore to lay a train for attacking Diony sius and enfranchising Syracuse by arms, invoking the counte- nance of Plato j who gave his approbation, yet not without mourn- ful reserves ; saying that he was now seventy years of age that though he admitted the just wrongs of Dion and the bad con- duct of Dionysius, armed conflict was nevertheless repugnant to his feelings, and he could anticipate little good from it that he 1 Plutarch, Dion, c. 21 ; Cornel. Nepos, Dion, c. 4. 2 Plutarch, Dion, c. 17; Athenaaus, xi. p. 508. Plato appears also to have received, when at Athens, pecuniary assistance remitted by Dio- nysius from Syracuse, towards expenses of a similar kind, as well as towards furnishing a dowry for certain poor nieces. Dion and Dionysius had both aided him (Plato, Epistol. xiii. p. 361). An author named Onetor affirmed that Dionysius had given to Plate the prodigious sum of eighty talents ; a story obviously exaggerated ( Diog enes Laert. iii. 9).
- Plato, Epistol. vii. p. 350 F.
