Moral essays. With an English translation by J.W. Basore

kill ? "ON MERCY, I. XII. 1-4Yes, but only when they are induced to doso for the good of the state. Tyrants take delightin cruelty. But the difference between a tyrantand a king is one of deeds, not of name ; for whilethe elder Dionysius "may justly and deservedly becounted better than many kjngs, what keeps LuciusSulla from being styled a tyrant, whose killing wasstopped only by a dearth of foes ? Though heabdicated the dictatorship and returned to privatelife, yet what tyrant ever drank so greedily of humanblood as he, who ordered seven thousand Romancitizens to be butchered at one time, and who, as hesat nearby at the temple of Bellona and heard themingled cry of the many thousands moaning beneaththe sword, said to the terror-stricken senate, " Letus attend to business, Gentlemen of the Senate ;only a few seditious persons are being killed by myorder " ? This was no he ; to Sulla they seemed afew. But more about Sulla by and by, when we shalltake up the question of the sort of anger we shouldhave for enemies, particularly if fellow-countrymenhave broken away from the body politic and passedover into the category of enemies. Meanwhile, as Iwas saying, it is mercy that makes the distinctionbetween a king and a tyrant as great as it is, thoughboth are equally fenced about vrith arms ; but theone uses the arms which he has to fortify good-will,the other to curb great hatred by great fear, andyet the very hands to which he has entrusted himselfhe cannot view ^^ithout concern. Conflicting causesforce him to conflicting courses : for since he ishated because he is feared, he \\ishes to be feared" See Index.393