Commodus, of whose actions he was a constant eye-witness. On the fall of the emperor, Dion voted for the elevation of Pertinax, whose friendship he enjoyed while his brief reign l asted. His hopes were raised to a high pitch when Septimius Severus was elevated to the purple, but they were in great measure doomed to disappointment. Severus, indeed, showed him great favour for some time after his reign commenced; he thanked him in a long letter for the work which he had written on the dreams and prodigies by which his (Severus') elevation had been announced, and paid him many compliments on his literary productions. But Dion, who had expected something more than empty praise, was considerably disappointed at not obtaining some high post in the administration of the empire. It is probable that his work on Commodus had some connection with the causes of this disappointment. The opinions of Severus respecting that famous tyrant had undergone a complete change. Towards the close of his reign he admired him almost as much as he had formerly detested him, and it was hardly, therefore, to be expected that he would look with a very favourable eye upon Dion, whose work on Commodus was the opposite of a panegyric. The historian remained in Italy many years without receiving any new dignity. He had undertaken to write a history of Rome from the earliest times; ten years were accordingly spent in collecting materials, and twelve more in composing the work. During the greater part of the latter period he lived in retirement at Capua. It is supposed that he began collecting his materials in 201, and that the work was completed in 222. After the accession of Caracalla, Dion was chosen one of the number of senators who ordinarily accompanied the emperor in his expeditions and travels. He complains that in this capacity he was forced to squander large sums of money, as well as to witness, if not participate in, the disgraceful conduct of the imperial madman. Under Macrinus he was called to the government of the free cities of Pergamus and Smyrna, which had shortly before revolted. He remained in this office three years, after which he returned to his native town in Bithynia. While there he was raised to the consulship in 219 or 220. About four years later he obtained the proconsulship of Africa, and in 229 was raised to his second consulship by Alexander Severus, who conferred other distinctions upon him. Severus, who was himself his colleague in the consulship, offered to defray Dion's expenses out of his own purse; but the latter, finding himself in an uncomfortable if not dangerous position at Rome, obtained permission to return to his native Nicæa. He employed the rest of his life in finishing his history. The time of his death has not been ascertained, and we have no information respecting his family except a bare mention, in two passages, of his wife and children. It is probable that the Dion Cassius who was consul in 291 was his grandson. Dion Cassius wrote, besides his history of Rome, the work on dreams and prodigies, and the life of Commodus, already mentioned; a "History of Persia;" "Ἐνόδια" (Itineraries); a "Life of Arrian;" "Getica;" and a work on the reign of the Emperor Trajan. His great work, as we have said, was the "History of Rome" Ῥωμαικη ἱστορία). It consisted of eighty books, and was also divided, like the Roman History of Livy, into decades. It embraced the whole history of Rome, from the landing of Æneas in Italy till 229. Only a comparatively small portion of it, however, has come down to us. Like most of the ancient historians, Dion Cassius was deficient in critical power and judgment. But his style is generally clear and equal, although we have sometimes to complain that he forgets the historian in the rhetorician. His work is very rich in materials for the later history of the republic, and for a considerable period of the empire. The history of that period during which he himself lived is especially valuable. The most recent, as well, perhaps, as the most perfect edition of Dion Cassius, is that of Sturr, in nine volumes.—R. M., A.
DION CHRYSOSTOMUS, or the Golden-Mouthed, so called because of his great talents as an orator, was born at Prusa in Bithynia about the middle of the first century of the christian era, and belonged to a distinguished equestrian family. He was educated under the care of his father Pasicrates, and in early life travelled in Egypt, where he happened to be when Vespasian, who had been proclaimed emperor by his own army, came thither. It is said that that prince consulted him on the proper course to be adopted under the circumstances. Dion held for some time important offices in his native place, and employed himself in the composition of speeches and in philosophical speculation. He afterwards abandoned the region of rhetoric-sophistical essays, and endeavoured to apply the doctrines of philosophy to the practical business of life, and more particularly to the administration of public affairs—thinking in this way to bring about a better state of things. He was especially fascinated by the Stoic and Platonic philosophies. In spite of his prosecution of these tranquil pursuits, Dion was looked upon by his neighbours with suspicion and hostility. He was induced by this to go to Rome, where he incurred the marked displeasure of Domitian, an emperor who, it is well known, entertained so uncompromising a hatred towards philosophers that he obtained a decree of the senate by which they were banished from Rome and Italy. Having quitted Rome, Dion on the advice of the Delphic oracle, as it is said, donned the attire of a beggar, and with nothing in his wallet but a copy of Plato's Phædon and of Demosthenes' Oration on the Embassy, travelled through Thrace, Mysia, Scythia, and the country of the Getæ. Everywhere he met with a kindly reception, in consequence of the power and wisdom of his orations. In a.d. 96 occurred the assassination of his enemy Domitian. The legion quartered on the Danube were thereupon about to revolt, when Dion got up upon an altar and harangued them so effectually, that they submitted to the decision of the senate by which Nerva obtained the purple. With this emperor Dion stood in high favour, as also with his successor. Trajan often visited him, and even allowed him to ride by his side in his golden car on the occasion of his triumph after the Dacian victories. Dion, who was thus amply recompensed for his former wrongs, returned to his native Prusa, about a.d. 100. But he there immediately encountered the same petty spirit of jealousy which had first driven him forth into the world. Disgusted with his fellow-citizens he again returned to Rome, where he continued to enjoy the favour of the emperor. He numbered amongst his friends Apollonius of Tyana and Euphrates of Tyre. He was beloved for his kindly disposition, while his oratory was the theme of universal admiration. He died about a.d. 117. Dion Chrysostomus is one of the most eminent of the Greek rhetoricians and sophists. This is the verdict both of ancient and modern critics. Eighty of his orations, chiefly of his later years, are still extant. They are substantially essays, having only the external form of orations. Four are addressed to Trajan on the virtues of a sovereign. Of the rest, some are on slavery and freedom, others on subjects of ethics and practical philosophy. There are, besides, political discourses addressed to various towns, and also orations on mythical subjects, and show-speeches. His style is generally clear, but he was not always successful in avoiding the vices which characterized the Asiatic school of oratory. "He was," says Niebuhr, "an author of uncommon talent, and it is much to be regretted that he belonged to the rhetoricians of that unfortunate age. It makes one sad to see him waste his brilliant oratorical powers on insignificant subjects. He appears in all he wrote as a man of an amiable character, and free from the vanity of the ordinary rhetoricians, though one perceives the silent consciousness of his powers. He was an unaffected Platonic philosopher, and lived with his whole soul in Athens, which was to him a world, and which made him forget Rome, its emperor, and everything else. Whenever he touches upon the actual state of things in which he lived, he shows his mastermind. He was the first writer after Tiberius that greatly contributed towards the revival of Greek literature."—R. M. A.
DION of Syracuse, born 408 b.c. was the son of Hipparinus, and brother-in-law to Dionysius the Elder, of whose court he became a prominent and valuable member. It was by his advice that Plato was invited to visit Syracuse; and though the opinions of the philosopher proved extremely unpalatable to the despot, and were on the point of drawing upon him serious consequences, he found an ardent admirer in Dion, who adopted his liberal political principles, but was compelled to avoid the active advocacy of them till after the death of Dionysius. The accession of his son, Dionysius the Younger, placed upon the throne a prince of lively disposition and some literary taste, but with little strength of mind or moral excellence. Dion performed the part of a true friend in tendering to him in the beginning of his reign his wise counsels, as well as his personal support; and by his influence Plato was induced to pay a second visit to Syracuse. The great design of the minister and monitor was to introduce into the character of the young king a higher
