Comparison of Dion and Brutus

We see, therefore, that both men had many noble traits, and especially that they rose to the greatest heights from the most inconsiderable beginnings; but this is most to the credit of Dion. For he had no one to dispute his eminence, as Brutus had in Cassius, a man whose virtue and fame did not inspire confidence in like degree, but who, by reason of his boldness, ability, and efficiency, contributed no less than Brutus did to the war; indeed, some attribute to him the origin of the whole enterprise, declaring that he took the lead in the plot against Caesar when Brutus was passive. Dion, however, appears to have acquired by his own efforts, not only arms and vessels and a military force, but also friends and co-workers for his enterprise. However, Dion did not, like Brutus, win wealth and power from the course of the war itself, nay, he contributed his own wealth for the war, expending in behalf of the liberty of his countrymen those resources which supported him in his exile. And further, it was not safe for Brutus and Cassius to keep quiet after their banishment from Rome, but since they were condemned to death and pursued, it was of necessity that they resorted to war; and in committing their persons to the protection of their arms they incurred danger in their own behalf rather than in behalf of their countrymen; whereas Dion was living with greater confidence and pleasure in his banishment than the tyrant who banished him, and yet of his own accord he hazarded a peril so great in order to save Sicily. And verily it was not a like thing for Syracuse to be rid of Dionysius and Rome of Caesar. For Dionysius was even an avowed tyrant, and filled Sicily with countless ills; whereas the rule of Caesar, although during its establishment it gave no little trouble to its opponents, still, after they had been overpowered and had accepted it, they saw that it was a tyranny only in name and appearance, and no cruel or tyrannical act was authorized by it; nay, it was plain that the ills of the state required a monarchy, and that Caesar, like a most gentle physician, had been assigned to them by Heaven itself. Therefore the Roman people felt at once a yearning for Caesar, and in consequence became harsh and implacable towards his murderers; whereas Dion, for letting Dionysius escape from Syracuse, and for not demolishing the tomb of the former tyrant, was held most culpable by his countrymen. Next, as regards their actual military achievements, Dion was a consummate general; where he himself made the plans, he achieved the best results, and where failure was due to others, he restored and bettered the situation. Brutus, on the other hand, as it seems, was unwise in entering upon the last supreme struggle, and when he was defeated, could not find a way to restore his cause, but gave up and abandoned his hopes, not even facing adverse fortune with as much resolution as Pompey, and that too although on land he had much ground for confidence left in his troops, and with his fleet was secure master of all the sea.