The Tyrannicide (22)

How many punishments were there in all this? How many wounds? How many deaths? How many tyrant-slayings? How many rewards? And at the end you have all seen not only the young man exposed in death (no slight accomplishment or easy to achieve), but the old man prostrate upon him, you have seen the blood of both intermingled (that thank-offering for liberty and for victory), and the havoc of my sword; aye, the sword itself between them both, evincing that it has not been unworthy of its owner and testifying that it served me faithfully. Had this been done by me, it would be less of an achievement; but now it is more splendid by reason of its novelty. It is I, to be sure, who overthrew the entire tyranny; but the performance has been distributed among many people as in a play; the leading part was played by me, the second by the son, the third by the tyrant himself, and the sword served all.