Letters Attributed to Plato Passage 349

τῇ δὴ μετὰ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν δείλης Εὐρύβιος καὶ Θεοδότης προσηλθέτην μοι σπουδῇ τεθορυβημένω θαυμαστῶς, καὶ Θεοδότης λέγει, Πλάτων, ἔφη, παρῆσθα χθὲς οἷς περὶ Ἡρακλείδου Διονύσιος ὡμολόγει πρὸς ἐμὲ καὶ σέ; πῶς δὲ οὔκ; ἔφην. νῦν τοίνυν, ἦ δʼ ὅς, περιθέουσιν πελτασταὶ λαβεῖν Ἡρακλείδην ζητοῦντες, ὁ δὲ εἶναί πῃ ταύτῃ κινδυνεύει· ἀλλʼ ἡμῖν, ἔφη, συνακολούθησον πρὸς Διονύσιον ἁπάσῃ μηχανῇ. ᾠχόμεθα οὖν καὶ εἰσήλθομεν παρʼ αὐτόν, καὶ τὼ μὲν ἑστάτην σιγῇ δακρύοντε, ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον· οἵδε πεφόβηνται μή τι σὺ παρὰ τὰ χθὲς ὡμολογημένα ποιήσῃς περὶ Ἡρακλείδην νεώτερον· δοκεῖ γάρ μοι ταύτῃ πῃ γεγονέναι φανερὸς ἀποτετραμμένος. ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἀνεφλέχθη τε καὶ παντοδαπὰ χρώματα ἧκεν, οἷʼ ἂν θυμούμενος ἀφείη· προσπεσὼν δʼ αὐτῷ ὁ Θεοδότης, λαβόμενος τῆς χειρὸς ἐδάκρυσέν τε καὶ ἱκέτευεν μηδὲν τοιοῦτον ποιεῖν, ὑπολαβὼν δʼ ἐγὼ παραμυθούμενος, θάρρει, Θεοδότα, ἔφην· οὐ γὰρ τολμήσει Διονύσιος παρὰ τὰ χθὲς ὡμολογημένα ἄλλα ποτὲ δρᾶν. καὶ ὃς ἐμβλέψας μοι καὶ μάλα τυραννικῶς, σοί, ἔφη, ἐγὼ οὔτε τι σμικρὸν οὔτε μέγα ὡμολόγησα. νὴ τοὺς θεούς, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, σύ γε, ταῦτα ἃ σοῦ νῦν οὗτος δεῖται μὴ ποιεῖν· καὶ εἰπὼν ταῦτα ἀποστρεφόμενος ᾠχόμην ἔξω. τὸ μετὰ ταῦτα ὁ μὲν ἐκυνήγει τὸν Ἡρακλείδην, Θεοδότης δὲ ἀγγέλους πέμπων Ἡρακλείδῃ φεύγειν διεκελεύετο. ὁ δὲ ἐκπέμψας Τεισίαν καὶ πελταστὰς διώκειν ἐκέλευε· φθάνει δέ, ὡς ἐλέγετο, Ἡρακλείδης εἰς τὴν Καρχηδονίων ἐπικράτειαν ἐκφυγὼν ἡμέρας σμικρῷ τινι μέρει. τὸ δὴ μετὰ τοῦτο ἡ πάλαι ἐπιβουλὴ Διονυσίῳ τοῦ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι τὰ Δίωνος χρήματα ἔδοξεν ἔχθρας λόγον ἔχειν ἂν πρός με πιθανόν, καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἐκπέμπει με, εὑρὼν πρόφασιν ὡς τὰς γυναῖκας ἐν τῷ κήπῳ, ἐν ᾧ κατῴκουν ἐγώ, δέοι θῦσαι θυσίαν τινὰ δεχήμερον· ἔξω δή με παρʼ Ἀρχεδήμῳ προσέταττεν τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον μεῖναι. ὄντος δʼ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖ, Θεοδότης μεταπεμψάμενός με πολλὰ περὶ τῶν τότε πραχθέντων ἠγανάκτει καὶ ἐμέμφετο Διονυσίῳ· ὁ δʼ ἀκούσας ὅτι παρὰ Θεοδότην εἴην εἰσεληλυθώς, πρόφασιν αὖ ταύτην ἄλλην τῆς πρὸς ἐμὲ διαφορᾶς ποιούμενος, ἀδελφὴν τῆς πρόσθεν, πέμψας τινὰ ἠρώτα με εἰ συγγιγνοίμην ὄντως μεταπεμψαμένου με Θεοδότου. κἀγώ, παντάπασιν, ἔφην· ὁ δέ, ἐκέλευε τοίνυν, ἔφη, σοὶ φράζειν ὅτι καλῶς οὐδαμῇ ποιεῖς Δίωνα καὶ τοὺς Δίωνος φίλους ἀεὶ περὶ πλείονος αὐτοῦ ποιούμενος. ταῦτʼ ἐρρήθη, καὶ οὐκέτι μετεπέμψατό με εἰς τὴν οἴκησιν πάλιν, ὡς ἤδη σαφῶς Θεοδότου μὲν ὄντος μου καὶ Ἡρακλείδου φίλου, αὐτοῦ δʼ ἐχθροῦ, καὶ οὐκ εὐνοεῖν ᾤετό με, ὅτι Δίωνι τὰ χρήματα ἔρρει παντελῶς.

Now on the next day, at evening, Eurybius and Theodotes came to me hurriedly, in an extraordinary state of perturbation; and Theodotes said - Plato, were you present yesterday at the agreement which Dionysius made with us both concerning Heracleides? Of course I was, I replied. But now, he said, peltasts are running about seeking to capture Heracleides, and he is probably somewhere about here. But do you now by all means accompany us to Dionysius. So we set off and went in to where he was and while they two stood in silence, weeping, I said to him - My friends here are alarmed lest you should take any fresh step regarding Heracleides, contrary to our agreement of yesterday; for I believe it is known that he has taken refuge somewhere hereabouts. On hearing this, Dionysius fired up and went all colors, just as an angry man would do; and Theodotes fell at his knees and grasping his hand besought him with tears to do no such thing. And I interposed and said by way of encouragement - Cheer up, Theodotes; for Dionysius will never dare to act otherwise contrary to yesterday’s agreement. Then Dionysius, with a highly tyrannical glare at me, said - With you I made no agreement, great or small. Heaven is witness, I replied, that you did, - not to do what this man is now begging you not to do. And when I had said this I turned away and went out. After this Dionysius kept on hunting after Heracleides, while Theodotes kept sending messengers to Heracleides bidding him to flee. And Dionysius sent out Tisias and his peltasts with orders to pursue him; but Heracleides, as it was reported, forestalled them by a fraction of a day and made his escape into the Carthaginians’ province. Now after this Dionysius decided that his previous plot of refusing to pay over Dion ’s money would furnish him with a plausible ground for a quarrel with me; and, as a first step, he sent me out of the citadel, inventing the excuse that the women had to perform a sacrifice of ten days’ duration in the garden where I was lodging; so during this period he gave orders that I should stay outside with Archedemus. And while I was there Theodotes sent for me and was loud in his indignation at what had then taken place and in his blame of Dionysius; but the latter, when he heard that I had gone to the house of Theodotes, by way of making this a new pretext, akin to the old, for his quarrel against me, sent a man to ask me whether I had really visited Theodotes when he invited me. Certainly, I replied; and he said - Well then, he ordered me to tell you that you are not acting at all honorably in always preferring Dion and Dion ’s friends to him. Such were his words; and after this he did not summon me again to his house, as though it was now quite clear that I was friendly towards Theodotes and Heracleides but hostile to him; and he supposed that I bore him no goodwill because of the clean sweep he was making of Dion ’s moneys.

[349a] Nous courûmes auprès de lui ; mais, une fois en sa présence, Eurybe et Théodote fondirent en larmes et ne purent prononcer un mot. Je pris la parole : Denys, lui dis-je, Eurybe et Théodote craignent que, contre ta promesse d’hier, tu ne maltraites Héraclide qui paraît s’être montré près d’ici. À ces mots, Denys entra en fureur et changea de couleur comme un homme hors de lui. Théodote [349b] tomba à ses genoux, et, lui prenant une main qu’il arrosait de ses larmes, le conjura de ne pas commettre une pareille action. Je l’interrompis pour le consoler : Rassure-toi, lui dis-je ; Denys n’osera jamais manquer à une promesse qu’il nous a faite hier. À toi ! s’écria Denys en me lançant un regard de tyran, je ne t’ai rien promis du tout. - J’atteste les dieux, répliquai-je, qu’hier tu nous a promis ce que Théodote te demande aujourd’hui, de ne pas poursuivre Héraclide. [349c] Puis, lui tournant le dos, je me retirai. Denys n’en continua pas moins à chercher Héraclide ; mais Théodote le fit prévenir de ce qui se passait et l’engagea à fuir ; et quoiqu’on eût envoyé à sa poursuite Tisias et une troupe de soldats, le malheureux parvint à leur échapper, et, dans le court espace d’une journée, atteignit les frontières carthaginoises. Denys, qui désirait depuis longtemps retenir les biens de Dion, saisit avec empressement cette occasion de rompre avec moi. D’abord il me renvoya de la citadelle, [349d] sous prétexte que les femmes allaient célébrer dans le jardin où se trouvait mon logement un sacrifice de dix jours, et me dit d’aller demeurer chez Archidème. Pendant ce temps Théodote m’engagea à venir chez lui, me témoigna beaucoup d’indignation de tout ce qui s’était passé, et se plaignit amèrement de Denys. Le roi, apprenant que j’étais allé chez Théodote, saisit ce nouveau prétexte, [349e] qui n’avait pas plus de fondement que le premier, et me fit demander si j’étais allé chez Théodote sur son invitation. Je répondis que oui. - Sache donc, reprit l’envoyé, que le roi m’a ordonné de te dire que tu prenais un mauvais parti en embrassant les intérêts de Dion et de ses amis avec plus de chaleur que les siens. Ce fut son dernier mot, et il ne me rappela jamais dans son palais, comme m’étant ouvertement déclaré l’ami de Théodote et d’Héraclide et son ennemi ; il comprenait d’ailleurs que je ne pouvais conserver aucune amitié pour lui, quand tous les biens de Dion avaient été dissipés.