[65]
Again, there is the case of Dionysius1（for I desire you to be convinced by many instances that the course of action to which I am urging you is an easy one）. He was a person of small account among the Syracusans in birth,2 in reputation, and in all other respects;3 yet, being inspired by a mad and unreasoning passion for monarchy, and having the hardihood to do anything which advanced him to this goal, he made himself master of Syracuse, conquered all the states in Sicily which were of Hellenic origin, and surrounded himself with a power on both land and sea4 greater than any man before his time had possessed.
1 Dionysius, the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, 406-367 B.C.
2 See Dio. Sic. 13.96.
3 Yet Isocrates once wrote to him a most respectful letter （ Isoc. Letter 1）.
4 A navy of three hundred and ten ships, Dio. Sic. 14.42, and an army of a hundred thousand men more or less, Dio. Sic. 2.5.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
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