Greece -- Biography -- Early works to 1800; Rome -- Biography -- Early works to 1800
LIII. Now Herakleides again opposed him. When Dion sent for him to
attend at the council, he refused to come, declaring that he was a mere
private man, and would go only to the public assembly with the other
citizens. Next he reproached Dion for not having demolished the citadel,
for having restrained the people when they wished to break open the tomb
of Dionysius (the elder) and cast out his body, and for having insulted
his own fellow-countrymen by sending to Corinth for counsellors and
colleagues. Indeed, Dion had sent to Corinth for some commissioners from
that city, hoping that their presence would assist him in effecting the
reforms which he meditated. Like Plato, he regarded a pure democracy as
not being a government at all, but rather a warehouse of all forms of
government: and his intention was to establish a constitution, somewhat
on the Lacedæmonian or Cretan model, by a judicious combination of
monarchy and oligarchy: and he saw that the government of Corinth was
more of an oligarchy than a democracy, and that few important measures
were submitted to the people. As Dion expected that Herakleides would
most vehemently oppose these projects, and was moreover a turbulent,
fickle, and facetious personage, he gave him up to those who had long
before desired to kill him, but whom he had formerly restrained from
doing so. These men broke into the house of Herakleides and killed him.
The Syracusans were deeply grieved at his death; yet, as Dion gave him a
splendid funeral, followed the corpse at the head of his army, and
afterwards made a speech to the people, they forgave him, reflecting
that their city could never have obtained rest while Dion and
Herakleides were both engaged in political life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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