[Footnote A: Heavy armed foot-soldiers, carrying a spear and shield.]
When the Corinthians, fearing lest they might again suffer what they did
once before when their own allies took their city, decreed that they
would keep four hundred mercenary soldiers, they made Timophanes their
commander.
But he, disdaining truth and honour, immediately took measures to get
the city into his own power, and showed his tyrannical disposition by
putting to death many of the leading citizens without a trial. Timoleon
was grieved at this, and, treating the other's crime as his own
misfortune, endeavoured to argue with him, and begged him to abandon his
foolish and wicked design, and to seek for some means of making amends
to his fellow-citizens. However, as he rejected his brother's advice,
and treated him with contempt, Timoleon took Aeschylus, his kinsman,
brother of the wife of Timophanes, and his friend the seer, whom
Theopompus calls Satyrus, but Ephorus and Timaeus call Orthagoras, and,
after an interval of a few days, again went to his brother. The three
men now stood round him, and besought him even now to listen to reason,
and repent of his ambition; but as Timophanes at first laughed at them,
and then became angry and indignant, Timoleon stepped a little aside,
and covering his face, stood weeping, while the other two drew their
swords and quickly despatched him.
V. When this deed was noised abroad, the more generous of the
Corinthians praised Timoleon for his abhorrence of wickedness and his
greatness of soul, because, though of a kindly disposition, and fond of
his own family, he had nevertheless preferred his country to his family,
and truth and justice to his own advantage.
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