Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Vol. 5 [10 AD]

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The History of Rome by Titus Livius. Translated from the Original with Notes and Illustrations by George Baker, A.M.. First American, from the Last London Edition, in Six Volumes (New York: Peter A. Mesier et al., 1823). Vol. 5.

Author: Titus Livius (Livy)

Translator: George Baker

About this title:

Vol. 5 of Livy’s History of Rome from its founding to the reign of Augustus.

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THE HISTORY OF ROME.

BOOK XXXV.

Publius Scipio Africanus sent ambassador to Antiochus; has a conversation with Hannibal at Ephesus. Preparations of the Romans for war with Antiochus. Nabis, the tyrant of Lacedæmon, instigated by the Ætolians, makes war on the Achæans; is put to death by a party of the Ætolians. The Ætolians, violating the treaty of friendship with the Romans, invite Antiochus, who comes, with a small force, into Greece, and, in conjunction with them, takes several towns, and the whole island of Èubœa. The Achæans declare war against Antiochus and the Ætolians.

Y. R. 559
193.I.In the beginning of the same year, Sextus Digitius, prætor in the hither Spain, fought with those states, which, after the departure of Marcus Cato, had recommenced hostilities, a great number of battles, but none deserving of particular mention; and all so unfavourable to him, that he scarcely delivered to his successor half the number of men that he had received. In consequence of this, every state in Spain would certainly have resumed new courage, and have taken up arms, had not the other prætor, Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of Cneius, been successful in several engagements on the other side of the Iberus; and, by these means, diffused such a general terror, that no less than fifty towns came over to his side. These exploits Scipio performed in his prætorship. Afterwards, when proprætor, as the Lusitanians, after ravaging the farther province, were returning home, with an immense booty, he attacked them on their march, and continued the engagement from the third hour of the day to the eighth, before any advantage was gained on either side. He was inferior to the enemy in number of men, but he had the advantage of them in other respects: with his troops formed in a compact body, he attacked a long train, encumbered with multitudes of cattle; and with his soldiers fresh, engaged men fatigued by a long march; for the enemy had set out at the third watch, and, besides travelling the remainder of the night, had continued their route to the third hour of the day, nor had they been allowed any rest, as the battle immediately succeeded the march. Wherefore, though at the beginning they retained some vigour of body and mind, and, at first, threw the Romans into disorder, yet, after some time, the fight became equal. In this critical situation the proprætor made a vow to celebrate games in honour of Jupiter, in case he should defeat and cut off the enemy. The Romans then made a more vigorous push, which the Lusitanians could not withstand, but, in a little time turned their backs. The victors pursued them briskly, killed no less than twelve thousand of them, and took five hundred and forty prisoners, most of whom were horsemen. There were taken, besides, an hundred and thirty-four military standards. Of the Roman army, but seventy-three men were lost. The battle was fought at a small distance from the city of Ilipa. Thither Publius Cornelius led back his victorious army, amply enriched with spoil; all which was exposed to view under the walls of the town, and permission given to the owners to claim their effects. The remainder was put into the hands of the quæstor to be sold, and the money produced by the sale was distributed among the soldiers.

II. At the time when these occurrences happened in Spain, Caius Flaminius, the prætor, had not yet set out from Rome: therefore, he and his friends took pains to represent, in the strongest colours, both the successes and the misfortunes experienced there; and he laboured to persuade the senate, that, as a very formidable war had blazed out in his province, and he was likely to receive from Sextus Digitius a very small remnant of an army, and that, too, terrified and disheartened, they ought to decree one of the city legions to him, in order that, when he should have united to it the soldiers levied by himself, pursuant to decree, he might select from the whole number three thousand five hundred foot, and three hundred horse. He said, that “with such a legion as that (for very little confidence could be placed on the troops of Sextus Digitius), he should be able to manage the war.” But the elder part of the senate insisted, that “decrees of the senate ought not to be passed on every groundless rumour, fabricated by private persons for the purpose of humouring magistrates; and that no intelligence should be deemed authentic, except it were either written by the prætors, from their provinces, or brought by their deputies. If there was a tumultuous commotion in Spain, they advised a vote, that tumultuary soldiers should be levied by the prætor in some other country than Italy.” The senate’s intention was, that such description of men should be raised in Spain. Valerius Antias says, that Caius Flaminius sailed to Sicily for the purpose of levying troops, and that, on his voyage thence to Spain, being driven by a storm to Africa, he enlisted there many stragglers who had belonged to the army of Publius Africanus; and that, to the levies made in those two provinces, he added a third in Spain.

III. In Italy the war, commenced by the Ligurians, grew daily more formidable. They now invested Pisæ, with an army of forty thousand men; for multitudes flocked to them continually, led by the favourable reports of their proceedings, and the expectation of booty. The consul, Minucius, came to Aretium, on the day which he had fixed for the assembling of the troops. Thence he led them, in order of battle, towards Pisæ; and though the enemy had removed their camp to the other side of the river at the distance of no more than three miles from the place, the consul marched into the city, which evidently owed its preservation to his coming. Next day, he also encamped on the opposite shore, about a mile from the enemy; and by sending out parties from that post, to attack those of the enemy, protected the lands of the allies from their depredations. He did not think it prudent to hazard a general engagement, because his troops were raw, composed of many different kinds of men, and not yet sufficiently acquainted with each other, to act together with confidence. The Ligurians depended so much on their numbers, that they not only came out and offered battle, willing to risk every thing on the issue of it; while from their superfluity of men, they sent out many parties along the frontiers, to plunder; and whenever a large quantity of cattle, and other prey was collected, there was an escort, always in readiness, to convey it into their forts and towns.

IV. While the operations remained at a stand, at Pisæ, the other consul, Lucius Cornelius Merula, led his army through the extreme borders of the Ligurians, into the territory of the Boians, where the mode of proceeding was quite the reverse of that which took place in the war of Liguria. The consul offered battle, the enemy refused to fight; and the Romans, when they could not urge them to it, went out in parties to plunder, while the Boians chose to let their country be utterly wasted with fire and sword, without opposition, rather than venture an engagement in defence of it. When the ravage was completed, the consul quitted the enemy’s lands, and marched towards Mutina, in a careless manner, as through a tract where no hostility was to be apprehended. The Boians, when they learned that the Roman had withdrawn beyond their frontiers, followed him as secretly as possible, watching an opportunity for an ambuscade; and having gone by his camp in the night, took possession of a defile through which the Romans were to pass. But they were not able to effect this without being discovered; and the consul, who usually began his march late in the night, now waited until day, lest, in the disorderly fight likely to ensue, darkness might increase the confusion; and, though he did not stir before it was light, yet he sent forward a troop of horse to explore the country. On receiving intelligence from them of the number and situation of the enemy, he ordered the baggage to be heaped together in the centre, and the veterans to throw up a rampart round it; and then, with the rest of the army in order of battle, he advanced towards the enemy. The Gauls did the same, when they found that their stratagem was detected, and that they were to engage in a fair and regular battle, where success must depend on valour alone.

V. The battle began about the second hour. The left brigade of the allies, and the extraordinaries, formed the first line, and were commanded by two lieutenants-general, of consular dignity, Marcus Marcellus, and Tiberius Sempronius, who had been consul the year before. The present consul was sometimes employed in the front of the line, sometimes in keeping back the legions in reserve, that they might not, through eagerness for fighting, come up to the attack, until they received the signal. He ordered the two Minuciuses, Quintus and Publius, military tribunes, to lead off the cavalry of the legions into open ground, at some distance from the line; and “when he should give them the signal, to charge the enemy through the clear space.” While he was thus employed, a message came from Tiberius Sempronius Longus, that the extraordinaries could not support the onset of the Gauls; that great numbers had already fallen; and that partly through weariness, partly through fear, the ardour of the survivors was much abated. He recommended it, therefore, to the consul, if he thought proper, to send up one or other of the two legions, before the army suffered disgrace. The second legion was accordingly sent, and the extraordinaries were ordered to retire. By the legion coming up, with its men fresh, and the ranks complete in their numbers, the fight was renewed with vigour. The left wing was withdrawn out of the action, and the right took its place, in the van. The intense heat of the sun discomposed the Gauls, whose bodies were very ill qualified to endure it: nevertheless, keeping their ranks close, and leaning sometimes on each other, sometimes on their bucklers, they withstood the attack of the Romans; which, when the consul observed, in order to break their ranks, he ordered Caius Livius Salinator, commander of the allied cavalry, to charge them at full speed, and the legionary cavalry to remain in reserve. This shock of the cavalry first confused and disordered, and at length entirely broke the line of the Gauls; yet it did not make them fly. That was prevented by their officers, who, when they quitted their posts, struck them on the back with their spears, and compelled them to return to their ranks: but the allied cavalry, riding in among them, did not suffer them to recover their order. The consul exhorted his soldiers to “continue their efforts a little longer for victory was within their reach; to press the enemy, while they saw them disordered and dismayed; for, if they were suffered to recover their ranks, they would enter on a fresh battle, the success of which must be uncertain.” He ordered the standard-bearers to advance with the standards, and then, all exerting themselves at once, they at length forced the enemy to give way. As soon as they turned their backs, and fled precipitately on every side, the legionary cavalry was sent in pursuit of them. On that day, fourteen thousand of the Boians were slain; one thousand and ninety-two taken; as were seven hundred and twenty-one horsemen, and three of their commanders, with two hundred and twelve military standards, and sixty-three chariots. Nor did the Romans gain the victory without loss of blood: of themselves, or their allies, were lost above five thousand men, twenty-three centurions, four præfects of the allies, and two military tribunes of the second legion, Marcus Genucius and Marcus Marcius.

VI. Letters from both the consuls arrived at Rome, nearly at the same time. That of Lucius Cornelius gave an account of the battle fought with the Boians, at Mutina; that of Quintus Minucius, from Pisæ, mentioned, that “the holding of the elections had fallen to his lot, but that affairs in Liguria were in such a critical posture, that he could not leave that country without bringing ruin on the allies, and material injury on the commonwealth. He therefore advised, that if the senate thought proper, they should direct his colleague, (as in his province the fate of the war was determined,) to repair to Rome to hold the elections. He said, if Cornelius should object to this, because that employment had not fallen to his lot, he would certainly do whatever the senate should order; but he begged them to consider carefully, whether it would not be less injurious to the public, that an interregnum should take place, than that the province should be left by him in such a state.” The senate gave directions to Caius Scribonius to send two deputies, of senatorian rank, to the consul, Lucius Cornelius, to communicate to him the letter, sent by his colleague to the senate, and to acquaint him, that if he did not come to Rome to elect new magistrates, the senate were resolved, rather than Quintius Minucius should be called away from a war, in which no progress had been made, to suffer an interregnum to take place. The deputies sent, brought back his answer, that he would come to Rome, to elect new magistrates. The letter of Lucius Cornelius, which contained an account of the battle with the Boians, occasioned a debate in the senate; for Marcus Claudius, lieutenant-general, in private letters to many of the members, had written, “that they might thank the fortune of the Roman people, and the bravery of the soldiers, for the success of their arms. That the conduct of the consul had been the cause of a great many men being lost, and of the enemy’s army, which might have been entirely cut off, making its escape. That what made the loss of men the greater, was, the reinforcements, necessary to support them when distressed, coming up too late from the reserve; and that, what enabled the enemy to slip out of their hands, was, the signal being given too tardily to the legionary cavalry, and their not being allowed to pursue the fugitives.” It was agreed, that no resolution should be hastily passed on the subject; and the business was accordingly adjourned until there should be a fuller meeting.

VII. Another concern demanded their attention. The public was heavily distressed by usurious practices; and although avarice had been restricted by many laws, respecting usury, yet these had been evaded by a fraudulent artifice, of transferring the securities to subjects of some of the allied states, who were not bound by those laws, by which means usurers, freed from all restraint, overwhelmed their debtors under accumulated loads. On considering of the best method for putting a stop to this evil, the senate decreed, that a certain day should be fixed on for it: the next approaching festival of the infernal deities; and that any of the allies who should, from that day, lend money to the Roman citizens, should register the transaction; and that all proceedings respecting such money, lent after that day, should be regulated by the laws of whichever of the two states the debtor should choose. In some time after, when the great amount of debt, contracted through this kind of fraud, was discovered, by means of the registries, Marcus Sempronius, plebeian tribune, by direction of the senate, proposed to the people, and the people ordered, that all proceedings relative to money lent, between Roman citizens and subjects of any of the allied states, or Latine confederacy, should be regulated by the same laws as those wherein both parties were Roman citizens. Such were the transactions in Italy, civil and military. In Spain, the war was far from being so formidable, as the exaggerations of report had represented it. In hither Spain, Caius Flaminius took the town of Ilucia, in the country of the Oretanians, and then marched his army into winter-quarters. Several engagements took place during the winter, but none deserving of particular mention, the adversaries being rather bands of robbers, than regular soldiers; and yet the success was various, and some men were lost. More important services were performed by Marcus Fulvius. He fought a pitched battle, near the town of Toletum, against the Vaccæans, Vectonians, and Celtiberians; routed and dispersed their combined forces, and took prisoner their king, Hilermus.

VIII. While this passed in Spain, the day of election drawing near, Lucius Cornelius, consul, left Marcus Claudius, lieutenant-general, in command of the army, and came to Rome. After representing in the senate the services which he had performed, and the present state of the province, he expostulated with the Conscript Fathers on their not having ordered a thanksgiving to the immortal gods, when so great a war was so happily terminated by one successful battle: and then demanded, that the same might be decreed, and also a triumph to himself. But, before the question was put, Quintus Metellus, who had been consul and dictator, said, that “letters had been brought, at the same time from the consul, Lucius Cornelius, to the senate, and from Marcus Marcellus, to a great part of the senators; which letters contradicted each other, and for that reason the consideration of the business had been adjourned, in order that it might be debated when the writers of those letters should be present. He had expected, therefore, that the consul, who knew that the lieutenant-general had written something to his disadvantage, would, when he was coming home, have brought him to Rome; especially, as the command of the army would, with more propriety, have been committed to Tiberius Sempronius, who was already invested with authority, than to the lieutenant-general. As the case stood at present, it appeared as if the latter was kept out of the way, designedly, lest he might assert, in person, the same things which he had written in his letters; and, face to face, either substantiate his charges, or if his allegations were ill founded, be convicted of misrepresentation, so that the truth would be clearly discovered. For this reason he was of opinion, that the senate should not, at present, assent to either of the decrees demanded by the consul.” The latter, nevertheless, persisted in putting the question, on a thanksgiving being ordered, and himself allowed to ride into the city in triumph; but two plebeian tribunes, Marcus and Caius Titinius, declared, that they would enter their protest, if the senate passed any decree on the subject.

IX. In the preceding year, Sextus Ælius Pætus, and Caius Cornelius Cethegus, were created censors. Cornelius now closed the lustrum. The number of citizens rated, was an hundred and forty-three thousand seven hundred and four. Extraordinary quantities of rain fell in this year, and the Tiber overflowed the lower parts of the city; by which inundation some buildings near the Flumentan gate were laid in ruins. The Cœlimontan gate was struck by lightning, as was the wall on each side of it, in several places. At Aricia, Lanuvium, and on the Aventine, showers of stones fell. From Capua, a report was brought that a very large swarm of wasps flew into the Forum, and pitched on the temple of Mars; that they had been carefully collected and burnt. On account of these prodigies, the duumvirs were ordered to consult the books; the nine days’ festival was celebrated, a supplication proclaimed, and the city purified. At the same time. Marcus Portius Cato dedicated a chapel to Maiden Victory, near the temple of Victory, two years after he had vowed it. During this year, a Latine colony was established in the Thurian territory, by commissioners appointed for the purpose, Cneius Manlius Vulso, Lucius Apustius Fullo, and Quintus Ælius Tubero, who had proposed the order for its settlement. There went out thither, three thousand foot and three hundred horsemen; a very small number in proportion to the quantity of land lying waste. Thirty acres might have been given to each footman, and sixty to a horseman; but, by the advice of Apustius, a third part was reserved, that they might afterwards, when they should judge proper, send out thither a new colony. The footmen received twenty acres each, the horsemen forty.

X. The year was now near a close, and with regard to the election of consuls, the heat of competition was kindled to a degree beyond what was ever known before. The candidates, both patrician and plebeian, were many and powerful: Publius Cornelius Scipio, son to Cneius, and who had lately come home from Spain, where he had gained great honour by his exploits; Lucius Quintius Flamininus, who had commanded the fleet in Greece, and Cneius Manlius Vulso: these were the patricians. Then there were, of plebeian rank, Caius Lælius, Cneius Domitius, Caius Livius Salinator, and Manius Acilius. The eyes of all men were turned on Quintius and Cornelius; for, being both patricians, they sued for one place; and they were both of them recommended by high and recent renown in war. Above every thing else, the brothers of the candidates, the two most illustrious generals of the age, increased the violence of the struggle. Scipio’s fame was the more splendid, and in proportion to its greater splendour, the more obnoxious to envy. Quintius’s was the more recent, as he had triumphed in the course of that very same year. Besides, the former had now, for almost ten years, been continually in people’s sight; which circumstance, by the mere satiety which it creates, diminishes the reverence felt for great characters. He had been a second time consul, after the final defeat of Hannibal, and also censor. All Quintius’s claims to the favour of the public were fresh and new; since his triumph, he had neither asked nor received any thing from the people; “he solicited,” he said, “in favour of his own brother, not of a half brother; in favour of his lieutenant-general, and partner in the administration of the war; his brother having conducted the operations by sea, while he did the same on land.” Such were the arguments by which he carried his point. His brother was preferred to the brother of Africanus, though supported by the whole Cornelian family, and while one of the same family presided at the election, and notwithstanding the very honourable testimony given by the senate, in his favour, when they judged him to be the best man in the state; and as such, appointed him to receive the Idæan Mother into the city, when she was brought from Pessinus. Lucius Quintius and Cneius Domitius Ahenobarbus were elected consuls; so that, not even with respect to the plebeian consul, could Africanus prevail; for he employed his interest in favour of Caius Lælius. Next day were elected prætors, Lucius Scribonius Libo, Marcus Fulvius Centumalus, Aulus Atilius Serranus, Marcus Bæbius Tamphilus, Lucius Valerius Tappus, and Quintus Salonius Sarra. The ædiles of this year, Marcus Æmilius Lepidus and Lucius Æmilius Paulus, distinguished themselves highly: they prosecuted to conviction many of the farmers of the public pastures, and with the money accruing from the fines, placed gilded shields in the upper part of the temple of Jupiter. They built one colonnade on the outside of the gate Tergemina, to which they added a wharf on the Tiber; and another, reaching from the Frontinal gate to the altar of Mars, to serve as a passage into the field of Mars.

XI. For a long time, nothing worth recording had occurred in Liguria; but, towards the end of this year, the Roman affairs there were twice brought into great peril; for the consul’s camp being assaulted, was, with difficulty, saved from falling into the enemy’s hands; and a short time after, as the Roman army was marching through a defile, the Ligurians seized on the opening through which they were to pass. The consul, when he found that passage stopped up, faced about, resolved to return by the way he came: but the entrance behind, also, was occupied by a party of the enemy, and the disaster of Caudium not only occurred to the memory of the Romans, but was, in a manner, represented to their eyes. The consul had, among his auxiliary troops, about eight hundred Numidian horsemen, whose commanding officer undertook to force a passage with his troops, on whichever side the consul should choose. He only desired to be told on which part the greater number of villages lay; for, on them he meant to make an attack; and the first thing he intended doing, was to set fire to the houses, in order that the alarm which this should occasion, might induce the Ligurians to quit their posts in the defile, and hasten to different quarters to the relief of their friends. The consul highly commended his zeal, and gave him assurance of ample rewards. The Numidians mounted their horses, and began to ride up to the advanced posts of the enemy, but without making any attack. Nothing could appear, on the first view, more contemptible. Both men and horses were of a small size, and thin make, the riders unaccoutred, and unarmed, excepting that they carried javelins in their hands; and the horses without bridles, and awkward in their gait, running with their necks stiff, and their heads stretched out. The contempt, conceived from their appearance, they took pains to increase; sometimes falling from their horses, and making themselves objects of derision and ridicule. The consequence was, that the enemy, who at first had been alert, and ready on their posts, in case of an attack, now, for the most part, laid aside their arms, and sitting down, amused themselves with looking at them. The Numidians often rode up, then gallopped back, but still contrived to get nearer to the pass, as if they were unable to manage their horses, and were carried away against their will. At last, setting spurs to them, they broke out through the midst of the enemy’s posts, and, getting into the open country, set fire to all the houses near the road. The nearest village was soon in flames, while they ravaged all around with fire and sword. At first, the sight of the smoke, then the shouts of the affrighted inhabitants, at last the old people and children, who fled for shelter, created great disorder in the camp. In consequence of which the whole of their army, without plan, and without command, ran off, each to take care of his own; the camp was in a moment deserted; and the consul, delivered from the blockade, made good his march to the place whither he intended to go.

XII. But neither the Boians nor the Spaniards, though professed enemies at that time, were such bitter and inveterate foes to the Romans as the nation of the Ætolians. These, after the departure of the Roman armies from Greece, had, for some time, entertained hopes, that Antiochus would come and take possession of Europe, without opposition; and that neither Philip nor Nabis would continue quiet. But, seeing no active measures, begun, in any quarter, they resolved, lest their designs might be damped by delay, to set on foot some plan of disturbance; and, with this view, they summoned a general assembly at Naupactum. Here Thoas, their prætor, after complaining of the injurious behaviour of the Romans, and the present state of Ætolia, and asserting, that, “of all the nations and states of Greece, they were treated with the greatest indifference, after the victory which they themselves had been the means of obtaining,” moved, that ambassadors should be sent to each of the kings; not only to sound their dispositions, but, by such incentives as suited the temper of each, to urge them to a war with Rome. Damocritus was sent to Nabis, Nicander to Philip, and Dicæarchus, the prætor’s brother, to Antiochus. To the Lacedæmonian tyrant, Damocritus represented that, “by the maritime cities being taken from him, his government was left quite destitude of strength; for from them he used to draw supplies of soldiers, as well as of ships and seamen. He was now pent up, almost within the walls of his capital, while he saw the Achæans domineering over the whole Peloponnesus. Never would he have another opportunity of recovering his rights, if he neglected to improve the one that now offered. There was no Roman army in Greece, nor would the Romans deem Gythium, or the other towns on the coast of Laconia, sufficient cause for transporting their legions a second time into that country.” These arguments were used for the purpose of provoking the passions of Nabis; in order that, when Antiochus should come into Greece, the other, conscious of having infringed the treaty of amity with Rome, by injuries offered to its allies, might unite himself with him. Nicander endeavoured to rouse Philip, by arguments somewhat similar; and he had more copious matter for discourse, as the king had been degraded from a more elevated state than the tyrant, and had sustained greater losses. Besides these topics, he introduced the ancient renown of the Macedonian kings, and the victorious arms of that nation, displayed through every quarter of the globe. “The plan which he proposed,” he said, “was free from any danger, either in the commencement, or in the issue. For he did not advise that Philip should stir, until Antiochus should have come into Greece, with an army; and, considering that, without the aid of Antiochus, he had maintained a war so long against the combined forces of the Romans and Ætolians, with what possible force could the Romans withstand him, when joined by Antiochus, and supported by the aid of the Ætolians, who, on the former occasion, were more dangerous enemies than the Romans?” He added the circumstance of Hannibal being general; “a man born a foe to the Romans, who had slain greater numbers, both of their commanders and soldiers, than were left surviving.” Such were the incitements held out to Philip by Nicander. Dicæarchus addressed other arguments to Antiochus. In the first place, he told him, that “although the Romans reaped the spoils of Philip, the honour of the victory over him was due to the Ætolians; that, to the Ætolians alone, the Romans were obliged, for having gained admittance into Greece, and that the same people supplied them with the strength which enabled them to conquer.” He next set forth the numerous forces, both horse and foot, which they were willing to furnish to Antiochus, for the purpose of the war; what quarters they would assign to his land-forces, what harbours for his ships. He then asserted whatever falsehoods he pleased, respecting Philip and Nabis; that “both were ready to recommence hostilities, and would greedily lay hold on the first opportunity of recovering what they had lost in war.” Thus did the Ætolians labour, in every part of the world, to stir up war against the Romans. Of the kings, however, one refused to engage in the business, and the other engaged in it too late.

XIII. Nabis immediately despatched emissaries, through all the towns on the coast, to sow dissensions among the inhabitants: some of the men in power he brought over to his party, by presents; others, who more firmly adhered to the alliance with Rome he put to death. The charge of protecting all the Lacedæmonians, on the coast, had been committed by Titus Quintius to the Achæans; they, therefore instantly sent ambassadors to the tyrant, to remind him of his treaty with the Romans, and to warn him against violating a peace which he had so earnestly sued for. They also sent succours to Gythium, which he had already besieged, and ambassadors to Rome, to make known these transactions. King Antiochus having, this winter, solemnized the nuptials of his daughter, with Ptolemy, king of Egypt, at Raphia, in Phœnicia, returned thence to Antioch, and came, towards the end of the season, through Cilicia; after passing mount Taurus, to the city of Ephesus. Early in the spring, he sent his son Antiochus thence into Syria, to guard the remote frontiers of his dominions, lest, during his absence, any commotion might arise behind him; and then, he marched himself, with all his land-forces, to attack the Pisidians, inhabiting the country near Sida. At this time, Publius Sulpicius and Publius Villius, the Roman ambassadors, who were sent to Antiochus, as above mentioned, having received orders to wait on Eumenes, first came to Elæa, and thence went up to Pergamus, where that monarch kept his court. Eumenes was very desirous of war being undertaken against Antiochus, for he thought, that if peace continued, a king, so much superior in power, would be a troublesome neighbour; but that, in case of hostilities, he would prove no more a match for the Romans, than Philip had been; and that either he would be entirely removed out of the way, or, should peace be granted to him, after a defeat, he (Eumenes) might reasonably expect, that a great deal of what should be taken from Antiochus, would fall to his own share; so that, in future, he might be very well able to defend himself against him, without any aid from his ally; and even if any misfortune were to happen, it would be better for him, in conjunction with the Romans, to undergo any turn of fortune, than, standing alone, either suffer himself to be ruled by Antiochus, or, on refusal, be compelled to submission by force of arms. Therefore, with all his influence, and every argument which he could devise, he urged the Romans to a war.

XIV. Sulpicius, falling sick, staid at Pergamus. Villius, on hearing that the king was carrying on war in Pisidia, went on to Ephesus, and during a few days, that he halted in that city, took pains to procure frequent interviews with Hannibal, who happened to be there at the time. His design was, merely, to discover his intentions, if possible, and to remove his apprehensions of danger threatening him from the Romans. No other business, of any kind, was mentioned at these meetings; yet they, accidentally, produced an important consequence, as effectually, as if it had been intentionally sought; the lowering Hannibal in the esteem of the king, and rendering him more obnoxious to suspicion, in every matter. Claudius, following the history, written in Greek by Acilius, says, that Publius Africanus was employed in this embassy, and that it was he who conversed with Hannibal at Ephesus. He even relates one of their conversations, in which Scipio asked Hannibal “what man it was, whom he thought the greatest captain?” who answered, “Alexander, king of Macedonia; because, with a small band, he defeated armies whose numbers were beyond reckoning; and because he carried his victorious arms through the remotest boundaries of the world, the merely visiting of which would be a task which no other man could hope to accomplish.” Scipio then asked, “to whom he gave the second place?” and he replied, “to Pyrrhus; for he first taught the method of encamping; and besides, no one ever showed more exquisite judgment, in choosing his ground, and disposing his posts; while he also possessed the art of conciliating esteem to such a degree, that the nations of Italy wished him, though a foreign prince, to hold the sovereignty among them, rather than the Romans, who had so long possessed the dominion of that part of the world.” On his proceeding to ask, “the name of him whom he esteemed the third?” Hannibal replied, “myself, beyond doubt.” On this Scipio, smiling, said “What would you have said if you had conquered me?” “Then,” replied the other, “I would have placed Hannibal, not only before Alexander and Pyrrhus, but before every other commander that ever lived.” This answer, conveying, with a turn of Punic artifice, an indirect compliment, and an unexpected kind of flattery, was highly grateful to Scipio, as it set him apart from the crowd of commanders, beyond competition, as if his abilities were not to be estimated.

XV. From Ephesus, Villius proceeded to Apamea, whither Antiochus, on hearing of the coming of the Roman delegates, came to meet him. In this congress, at Apamea, the debates were similar to those which passed at Rome, between Quintius and the king’s ambassadors; and the conferences were broken off, by news arriving of the death of Antiochus the king’s son, who, as just now mentioned, had been sent into Syria. This youth was greatly lamented and regretted at court; for he had given such specimens of his character, as afforded evident proof, that, had a longer life been allotted him, he would have displayed the talents of a great and just prince. The more he was beloved and esteemed by all, the stronger were the suspicions excited by his death; that his father, thinking that his heir shared too largely of the public favour, while he himself was declining in old age, had him taken off by poison, by some eunuchs, a kind of people, who recommend themselves to kings, by the perpetration of such foul deeds. People mentioned also, as another motive for that clandestine act of villainy, that, as he had given Lysimachia to his son Seleucus, he had no establishment of the like kind, which he could give to Antiochus, for the purpose of banishing him also to a distance, under pretext of doing him honour. Nevertheless, an appearance of deep mourning was maintained in the court for several days; and the Roman ambassador, lest his presence at that time might be troublesome, retired to Pergamus. The king, dropping the prosecution of the war which he had begun, went back to Ephesus; and there keeping himself shut up in the palace, under colour of grief, held secret consultations with a person called Minio, who was his principal favourite. Minio was utterly ignorant of the state of all foreign nations; and, accordingly, estimating the strength of the king from his successes in Syria or Asia, he was confident that Antiochus had superiority from the merits of his cause, and that the demands of the Romans were highly unreasonable; imagining also, that he would prove the more powerful in war. As the king wished to avoid farther debate with the envoys, either because he had found no advantage to result from the former conference, or because he was too much discomposed by recent grief, Minio undertook to say whatever was requisite for his interest, and persuaded him to invite for the purpose the ambassadors from Pergamus.

XVI. By this time Sulpicius had recovered his health; both himself and Villius, therefore, came to Ephesus. Minio apologized for the king not being present, and the business was entered upon. Then Minio in a studied speech, said, “I find, Romans, that you profess very specious intentions, (the liberating of the Grecian states,) but your actions do not accord with your words. You lay down one rule for Antiochus, and follow another yourselves. For, how are the inhabitants of Smyrna and Lampsacus better entitled to the character of Greeks, than the Neapolitans, Rhegians, and Tarentines, from whom you exact tribute, and ships, in pursuance of a treaty? Why do you send yearly to Syracuse, and other Grecian cities of Sicily, a prætor, vested with sovereign power, and attended by his rods and axes? You can, certainly, allege no other reason than this, that, having conquered them in war, you imposed these terms on them. Admit, then, on the part of Antiochus, the same reason with respect to Smyrna and Lampsacus, and the cities belonging to Ionia and Æolia. Conquered by his ancestors, they were subjected to tribute and taxes, and he only reclaims an ancient right. Answer him on these heads, if you mean a fair discussion and do not merely seek a pretence for war.” Sulpicius answered, “Antiochus has shown some modesty in choosing, that, since no other arguments could be produced in his favour, any other person should utter these rather than himself. For, what similarity is there in the cases of those states which you have brought into comparison? From the Rhegians, Neapolitans, and Tarentines, we require what they owe us by treaty, in virtue of a right invariably exercised, in one uniform course, since they first came under our power; a right always asserted, and never intermitted. Now can you assert, that as these states have, neither of themselves, or through any other, ever refused conforming to the treaty, so the Asiatic states, since they once came under the power of Antiochus’s ancestors, have been held in uninterrupted possession by your reigning kings; and that some of them have not been subject to the dominion of Philip, some to that of Ptolemy; and that others have not for many years maintained themselves in a state of independence; their title to which was not called in question? For, if the circumstance of their having been once subject to a foreigner, when crushed under the severity of the times, conveys a right to enforce that subjection again, after a lapse of so many generations, what can be said of our having delivered Greece from Philip, but that we have laboured in vain; and that his successors may reclaim Corinth, Chalcis, Demetrias, and the whole nation of Thessaly? But why do I plead the cause of those states, which it would be fitter that both we and the king should hear pleaded by themselves?”

XVII. He then desired, that the deputies of those states should be called, for they had been prepared beforehand, and kept in readiness, by Eumenes, who reckoned, that every share of strength that should be taken away from Antiochus, would become an accession to his own kingdom. Many of them were introduced; and, while each enforced his own complaints, and sometimes demands, some reasonable, many unreasonable, they changed the debate into a mere altercation. The ambassadors, therefore, without conceding or carrying any one point, returned to Rome, and left every thing in the same unsettled state, in which they found it. On their departure the king held a council, on the subject of a war with Rome, in which all the members vied with each other in the violence of their harangues; for every one thought, that the greater acrimony he showed toward the Romans, the greater share of favour he might expect to obtain. One inveighed against the insolence of their demands, in which they presume to impose terms on Antiochus, the greatest king in Asia, as they would on the vanquished Nabis. “Although to Nabis they left absolute power over his own country, and its capital, Lacedæmon, yet they insist on the impropriety of Smyrna and Lampsacus yielding obedience to Antiochus.”—Others said, that “to so great a monarch, those cities were but a trivial ground of war, scarcely worth mention; but unjust pretensions to authority were always urged, at first, in matters of little consequence, unless indeed, it could be supposed, that the Persians, when they demanded earth and water from the Lacedæmonians, stood in need of a morsel of the one or a draught of the other. The proceedings of the Romans, respecting the two cities, were meant as a trial of the same sort. The rest of the states, when they saw that two had shaken off the yoke, would go over to the party of that nation which professed the patronage of liberty. If freedom was not actually preferable to servitude, yet the hope of bettering their circumstances by a change, was more flattering to every one than any present situation.”

XVIII. There was, in the council, an Acarnanian named Alexander, who had formerly been a friend of Philip, but had lately left him to follow the more opulent court of Antiochus. This man, being well skilled in the affairs of Greece, and not unacquainted with the Romans, was admitted by the king into such a degree of intimacy, that he shared even in his secret counsels. As if the question to be considered were not, whether there should be war or not, but where, and in what manner, it should be carried on, he affirmed, that “he saw an assured prospect of victory, provided the king would pass into Europe, and choose some part of Greece for the seat of war. In the first place, the Ætolians, who lived in the centre of Greece, would be found in arms, ready to take the lead in the most perilous operations. Then, in the two extremities of Greece, Nabis, on the side of Peloponnesus, would put every thing in motion, to recover the city of Argos, and the maritime cities, from which he had been expelled by the Romans, and pent up within the walls of Lacedæmon: while on the side of Macedonia, Philip would be ready for the field the moment he heard the alarm sounded. He knew,” he said, “his spirit, he knew his temper; he knew that, (as is the case with wild beasts, confined by bars or chains,) for a long time past, the most violent rage had been boiling in his breast. He remembered also, how often, during the war, that prince had prayed to all the gods to grant him Antiochus as an assistant; and, if that prayer were now heard with favour, he would not hesitate an instant to resume his arms. It was only requisite that there should be no delay, no procrastination; for success depended chiefly on securing beforehand, commodious posts and proper allies: besides, Hannibal ought to be sent immediately into Africa, in order to distract the attention of the Romans.”

XIX. Hannibal was not called to this consultation, because the king had harboured suspicions of him on account of his conferences with Villius, and had not since shown him any mark of regard. This affront, at first, he bore in silence; but afterwards thought it better to take some proper opportunity to inquire the reason of the king’s suddenly withdrawing his favour, and to clear himself of blame. Without any preface, he asked the cause of the king’s displeasure; and on being told it, said, “Antiochus, when I was yet an infant, my father Hamilcar, at a time when he was offering sacrifice, brought me up to the altars, and made me take an oath, that I never would be a friend to the Roman people. Under the obligation of this oath, I carried arms against them for thirty-six years; this oath, on peace being made, drove me out of my country, and brought me an exile to your court: and this oath shall guide me, should you disappoint my hopes, until I traverse every quarter of the globe, where I can understand that there is either strength or arms, to find out enemies to the Romans. If, therefore, your courtiers have conceived the idea of ingratiating themselves with you, by insinuating suspicions of me, let them seek some other means of advancing their own reputation, rather than the depressing of mine. I hate, and am hated by, the Romans. That I speak the truth in this, my father Hamilcar, and the gods are witnesses. Whenever, therefore, you shall employ your thoughts on a plan of waging war with Rome, consider Hannibal as one of your firmest friends. If circumstances force you to adopt peaceful measures, on such a subject employ some other counsellor.” This discourse affected the king much, and even reconciled him to Hannibal. The resolution of the council, at their breaking up, was, that the war should be undertaken.

Y. R. 560.
192.XX. At Rome, people talked, indeed, of a breach with Antiochus as an event very likely to happen, but, except talking of it, they had hitherto made no preparation. Italy was decreed the province of both the consuls, who received directions to settle between themselves, or draw lots which of them should preside at the elections of the year; and it was ordered, that he who should be disengaged from that business, should hold himself in readiness, in case there should be occasion, to lead the legions any where out of that country. The consul, so commissioned, had leave given him to levy two new legions, and twenty thousand foot, and nine hundred horse, among the allies and Latine confederates. To the other consul were decreed the two legions which had been commanded by Lucius Cornelius, consul of the preceding year; and from the same army, a body of allies and Latines, amounting to fifteen thousand foot, and five hundred horse. Quintus Minucius was continued in command, and had assigned to him the forces which he then had in Liguria; as a supplement to which, four thousand Roman foot, and five hundred horse, were ordered to be enlisted, and five thousand foot, and two hundred and fifty horse to be demanded from the allies. The province of going out of Italy, wherever the senate should order, fell to Cneius Domitius; Gaul, and the holding the elections, to Lucius Quintius. The prætors then cast lots for their provinces: to Marcus Fulvius Centumalus fell the city jurisdiction; to Lucius Scribonius Libo, the foreign; Lucius Valerius Tappus obtained Sicily; Quintus Salonius Sarra, Sardinia; Marcus Bæbius Tamphilus, hither Spain; and Marcus Atilius Serranus, farther Spain. But the provinces of the two last were changed, first, by a decree of senate, which was afterwards confirmed by an order of the people. The fleet, and Macedonia, were assigned to Atilius; Bruttium to Bæbius. Flaminius and Fulvius were continued in command in both the hither and farther Spain. To Bæbius Tamphilus, for the business of Bruttium, were decreed the two legions which had served in the city the year before; and he was ordered to demand from the allies, for the same service, fifteen thousand foot and five hundred horse. Atilius was ordered to build thirty ships of five banks of oars: to bring out, from the docks, any old ones that were fit for service, and to raise seamen. An order was also given to the consul, to supply him with two thousand of the allied and Latine footmen, and a thousand Roman. The destination of these two prætors, and their two armaments, one on land, and the other on sea, was declared to be intended against Nabis, who was now carrying on open hostilities against the allies of the Roman people. But it was thought proper to wait the return of the ambassadors sent to Antiochus, and the senate ordered the consul Cneius Domitius not to leave the city until they arrived.

XXI. The prætors, Fulvius and Scribonius, whose province was the administration of justice, at Rome, were charged to provide an hundred quinqueremes, besides the fleet which Atilius was to command. Before the consul and prætors set out for their provinces a supplication was performed on account of some prodigies. A report was brought from Picenum, that a goat had produced six kids at a birth. It was said that a boy was born at Arretium who had but one hand; that, at Amiternum, a shower of earth fell; a gate and wall at Formiæ were struck by lightning; and, what was more alarming than all, an ox, belonging to the consul Cneius Domitius, spoke these words,—“Rome, take care of thyself.” To expiate the other prodigies, a supplication was performed; the ox was ordered by the aruspices to be carefully preserved and fed. The Tiber, pouring into the city with more destructive violence than last year, swept away two bridges, and many buildings, particularly about the Flumentan gate. A huge rock, loosened from its seat, either by the rains, or by an earthquake, so slight that no other effect of it was perceived, tumbled down from the capitol into the Jugarian street, and buried many people under it. In the country, many parts of which were overflowed, much cattle was carried away, and many houses thrown down. Previous to the arrival of the consul, Lucius Quintius, in his province, Quintus Minucius fought a pitched battle with the Ligurians, in the territory of Pisæ, slew nine thousand of the enemy, and, putting the rest to flight, drove them within their works, which were assaulted and defended with obstinate valour until night came on. During the night, the Ligurians stole away unobserved; and, at the first dawn, the Romans took possession of their deserted camp, where the quantity of booty was the less, because it was a frequent practice with the enemy to send home the spoil taken in the country. Minucius, after this, allowed them no respite. From the territory of Pisæ, he marched into that of the Ligurians, and, with fire and sword, utterly destroyed their forts and towns, where the Roman soldiers were abundantly enriched with the spoils which the enemy had collected in Etruria and sent home.

XXII. About this time, the ambassadors, who had been sent to the kings, returned to Rome. As they brought no information of such a nature as called for any immediate declaration of war, (except against the Lacedæmonian tyrant, whom the Achæan ambassadors also represented as ravaging the sea-coast of Laconia, in breach of treaty,) Atilius, the prætor, was sent with the fleet to Greece, for the protection of the allies. It was resolved, that, as there was nothing to be apprehended from Antiochus at present, both the consuls should go to their provinces; and, accordingly, Domitius marched into the country of the Boians, by the shorter road, through Arminum, and Quintius through Liguria. The two armies of the consuls, proceeding by these different routes, spread devastation wide over the enemy’s country. In consequence of which, first, a few of their horsemen, with their commanders, then their whole senate, and, at last, all who possessed either property or dignity, to the number of one thousand five hundred, came over, and joined the consuls. In both Spains, likewise, success attended the Roman arms during this year. For, in one, Caius Flaminius, after a seige, took Litabrum, a strong and opulent city, and made prisoner Corribilo, a powerful chieftain; and, in the other, Marcus Fulvius, proconsul, fought two battles, with two armies of the enemy, and was victorious in both. He captured Vescelia and Holo, towns belonging to the Spaniards, with many of their forts, and others voluntarily submitted to him. Then, advancing into the territory of Oretum, and having, there also, taken two cities, Noliba and Cusibis, he proceeded to the river Tagus. Here stood Toletum, a small city, but strong from its situation. While he was besieging this place, a numerous army of Vectonians came to relieve their friends in the town, but he overthrew them in a general engagement, and, after their defeat, took Toletum by means of his works.

XXIII. At this juncture, the wars, in which they were actually engaged, caused not so great anxiety in the minds of the senate, as the expectation of one with Antiochus. For although, through their ambassadors, they had, from time to time, made careful inquiries into every particular, yet rumours, rashly propagated, without authentic foundation, intermixed many falsehoods with the truth. Among the rest, a report was spread, that Antiochus intended, as soon as he should come into Ætolia, to send a fleet immediately to Sicily. The senate, therefore, though they had already despatched the prætor, Atilius, with a squadron to the Ionian sea, yet, considering that not only a military force, but also the influence of characters entitled to respect, would be necessary towards securing the attachment of the allies, they sent into Greece, in quality of ambassadors, Titus Quintius, Caius Octavius, Cneius Servilius, and Publius Villius; at the same time ordering, in their decree, that Marcus Bæbius should lead forward his legions from Bruttium to Tarentum and Brundusium, so that, if occasion required, he might transport them thence into Macedonia. They also ordered, that Marcus Fulvius, prætor, should send a fleet of thirty ships to protect the coast of Sicily; and that, whoever had the direction of that fleet, should be invested with the authority of a commander in chief. To this commission was appointed Lucius Oppius Salinator, who had been plebeian ædile the year before. They likewise determined, that the same prætor should write to his colleague, Lucius Valerius, that “there was reason to apprehend that the ships of king Antiochus would pass over from Ætolia to Sicily; for which reason the senate judged it proper, that in addition to the army, which he then had, he should enlist tumultuary soldiers, to the number of twelve thousand foot, and four hundred horse, which might enable him to defend that coast of his province which lay next to Greece.” These troops the prætor collected, not only out of Sicily, but from the circumjacent islands; placing strong garrisons in all the towns on the coast opposite to Greece. The rumours already current, were, in some degree, confirmed by the arrival of Attalus, the brother of Eumenes; for he brought intelligence, that king Antiochus had crossed the Hellespont with his army, and that the Ætolians were putting themselves into such a posture, that, when he arrived, he expected to find them in arms. Thanks were given to Eumenes, in his absence, and to Attalus, who was present; and an order was passed, that the latter should be furnished with a house, and every accommodation; that he should be presented with two horses, two suits of horseman’s armour, vases of silver to an hundred pounds weight, and of gold to twenty pounds.

XXIV. As accounts were continually arriving, that the war was on the point of breaking out, it was judged expedient that consuls should be elected as soon as possible. Wherefore the senate passed a decree, that the prætor, Marcus Fulvius, should instantly despatch a letter to the consul, informing him, that it was the will of the senate that he should leave the command of the province and army to his lieutenants-general, and return to Rome; and that, when on the road, he should send on before him an edict appointing the day for the election of consuls. The consul complied with the letter; and, having sent forward the edict, arrived at Rome. There was, this year also, a warm competition, three patricians suing for one place: Publius Cornelius Scipio, son to Cneius, who had suffered a disappointment the year before: Lucius Cornelius Scipio, and Cneius Manlius Vulso. The consulship was conferred on Publius Scipio, that it might appear that the honour had only been delayed, and not refused, to a person of such character. The plebeian colleague, joined with him, was Manius Acilius Glabrio. Next day were created prætors, Lucius Æmilius Paulus, Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, Marcus Junius Brutus, Aulus Cornelius Mammula, Caius Livius, and Lucius Oppius; the two last, both of them, surnamed Salinator. This was the same Oppius who had conducted the fleet of thirty ships to Sicily. While the new magistrates were settling the distribution of their provinces, orders were despatched to Marcus Bæbius, to pass over, with all his forces, from Brundusium to Epirus, and to keep the army stationed near Apollonia; and Marcus Fulvius, city prætor, was commissioned to build fifty new quinqueremes.

XXV. Such were the precautions taken by the Roman people to guard against every attempt of Antiochus. At this time, Nabis did not disavow his hostile intentions, but, with his utmost force, carried on the siege of Gythium; and, being incensed against the Achæans, for having sent succours to the besieged, he ravaged their lands. The Achæans would not presume to engage in war, until their ambassadors should come back from Rome, and acquaint them with the sentiments of the senate; but as soon as these returned, they summoned a council at Sicyon, and also sent deputies to Titus Quintius to ask his advice. In the council, all the members were inclined to vote for an immediate declaration of war; but a letter from Titus Quintius, in which he recommended waiting for the Roman prætor, and fleet, caused some hesitation. While many of the members persisted in their first opinion, and others arguing that they ought to follow the counsel of the person to whom they of themselves had applied for advice, the generality waited to hear the sentiments of Philopæmen. He was prætor of Achæa at the time, and surpassed all his contemporaries both in wisdom and influence. He first observed, that “it was a wise rule, established among the Achæans, that their prætor, when he proposed a question concerning war, should not himself have a vote:” and then he desired them to “fix their determination among themselves as soon as possible;” assuring them, that “their prætor would faithfully and carefully carry their decrees into execution; and would use his best endeavours, that, as far as depended on human prudence, they should not repent of them, whether they were for peace or war.” These words conveyed a more efficacious incitement to war, than if, by openly arguing in favour of it, he had betrayed an ambition to distinguish himself in command. War was therefore unanimously resolved on: the time and mode of conducting it, were left entirely to the prætor. Philopæmen’s own judgment, indeed, besides its being the opinion of Quintius, pointed it out as best to wait for the Roman fleet, which might succour Gythium by sea; but he feared that the business would not endure delay, and that not only Gythium, but the party which had been sent to its aid, would fall into the hands of the enemy, and therefore he drew out what ships the Achæans had.

XXVI. The tyrant also, with the view of cutting off any supplies that might be brought to the besieged by sea, had fitted out a small squadron, consisting of only three ships of war, with some barks and cutters, as his former fleet had been given up to the Romans, according to the treaty. In order to try the activity of these vessels, as they were then new, and to have every thing in fit condition for a battle, he put out to sea every day, and exercised both the rowers and marines in mock fights; for he thought that all his hopes of succeeding in the siege depended on his preventing any succours being brought to them by ships. The prætor of the Achæans, in respect of skill for conducting operations on land, was equal to any of the most celebrated commanders both in capacity and experience, yet with naval affairs he was quite unacquainted. Being an inhabitant of Arcadia, an inland country, he was even ignorant in foreign affairs, excepting that he had once served in Crete as commander of a body of auxiliaries. There was an old ship of four banks of oars, which had been taken eighty years before, as it was conveying Nicæa, the wife of Craterus, from Naupactum to Corinth. Led by the reputation of this ship, for it had been reckoned a remarkably fine vessel when in the king’s fleet, he ordered it, though now quite rotten, and falling asunder through age, to be brought out from Ægium. The fleet sailed with this ship at its head, Tiso of Patræ, the commander, being on board it, when the ships of the Lacedæmonians from Gythium came within view. At the first shock, against a new and firm vessel, that old one, which before admitted the water through every joint, was shattered to pieces, and the whole crew were made prisoners. On the loss of the commander’s ship, the rest of the fleet fled as fast as their oars could carry them. Philopæmen himself made his escape in a light advice-boat, nor did he stop his flight until he arrived at Patræ. This untoward event did not in the least damp the spirit of a man so well versed in military affairs, and who had experienced so many vicissitudes of fortune. On the contrary, as he had failed of success in the naval line, in which he had no experience, he even conceived, thence, the greater hopes of succeeding in another, wherein he had acquired knowledge; and he affirmed, that he would quickly put an end to the tyrant’s rejoicing.

XXVII. Nabis, elated by this adventure, and confident that he had not now any danger to apprehend from the sea, resolved to shut up the passages on the land also, by parties stationed in proper posts. With this view, he drew off a third part of his forces from the siege of Gythium, and encamped them at Bææ, a place which commands both Leucæ and Acriæ, on the road by which he supposed the enemy’s army would advance. While he lay on this station, where very few of his men had tents, (the generality of them having formed huts of reeds interwoven, and which they covered with leaves of trees, to serve as a defence from the weather,) Philopæmen, before he came within sight, resolved to surprise him by an attack of such a kind as he did not expect. He drew together a number of small ships in a remote creek, on the coast of the territory of Argos, and embarked on board them a body of soldiers, mostly targeteers, furnished with slings, javelins, and other light kinds of weapons. He then coasted along the shore, until he came to a promontory near Nabis’s post. Here he landed; and made his way, by night, through paths with which he was well acquainted, to Bææ. He found the sentinels fast asleep, for they had not conceived the least apprehension of an enemy being near, and he immediately set fire to the huts in every part of the camp. Great numbers perished in the flames, before they could discover the enemy’s arrival, and those who did discover it could give no assistance; so that nearly the whole was destroyed by fire and sword. From both these means of destruction, however, a very small number made their escape, and fled to the principal camp before Gythium. Philopæmen having, by this blow, given a severe check to the presumption of the enemy, led on his forces to ravage the district of Tripolis, a part of the Lacedæmonian territory, lying next to the frontiers of Megalopolis; and, carrying off thence a vast number of men and cattle, withdrew, before the tyrant could send a force from Gythium to protect the country. He then collected his whole force at Tegea, to which place he summoned a council of the Achæans and their allies; at which were present, also, deputies from the Epirots and Acarnanians. Here it was resolved, that, as the minds of his men were now sufficiently recovered from the shame of the disgrace suffered at sea, and those of the enemy dispirited, he should march directly to Lacedæmon; for that was judged to be the only effectual means to draw off the enemy from the siege of Gythium. On entering their country, he encamped the first day at Caryæ, and on that very day, Gythium was taken. Ignorant of that event, Philopæmen advanced to the Barbosthenes, a mountain ten miles from Lacedæmon. On the other side, Nabis, after taking possession of Gythium, set out at the head of a body of light troops; marched hastily by Lacedæmon; and seized on a place called the Camp of Pyrrhus, which post he believed the Achæans intended to occupy. From thence, he proceeded to meet the enemy. The latter, being obliged, by the narrowness of the road, to extend their train to a great length, occupied a space of almost five miles. The cavalry, and the greatest part of the auxiliaries, covered the rear, Philopæmen expecting that the tyrant would attack him, on that quarter, with his mercenary troops, in whom he placed his principal confidence. Two unforeseen circumstances at once filled him with uneasiness: one, the post at which he aimed being preoccupied; the other, the enemy having met him in front, where, as the road lay through very uneven ground, he did not see how the battalions could advance without the support of the light troops.

XXVIII. Philopæmen was possessed of an admirable degree of skill and experience in conducting a march, and choosing his station; having made these points his principal study, not only in times of war, but likewise during peace. Whenever, in travelling, he came to a defile where the passage was difficult, it was his practice, first, to examine the nature of the ground on every side. When journeying alone, he meditated within himself; if he had company, he asked them, “if an enemy should appear in that place, what would be the proper method of proceeding; what, if they should attack him in front; what, if on this flank or on that; what, if on the rear? For he might happen to meet them while his men were formed with a regular front; or when they were in the loose order of march, fit only for the road.” He would proceed to examine, either in his own mind, or by asking questions, “what ground he ought to choose; what number of soldiers; or what kind of arms (which was a very material point) he ought to employ; where he should deposit the baggage, where the soldiers’ necessaries, where the unarmed multitude; what number and what kind of troops he should appoint to guard them, and whether it would be better to prosecute his march as intended, or to return back by the way he came; what spot, also, he should choose for his camp; what space he should inclose within the lines; where he could be conveniently supplied with water; where a sufficiency of forage and wood could be had; which would be his safest road on decamping next day, and in what form the army should march.” In such studies and inquiries he had, from his early years, so frequently exercised his thoughts, that on any emergency of the kind occurring, no expedient that could be devised was new to him. On this occasion, he first ordered the army to halt; then sent forward, to the van, the auxiliary Cretans, and the horsemen called Tarentines, each leading two spare horses; and, ordering the rest of the cavalry to follow, he seized on a rock which stood over a rivulet, from which he might be supplied with water. Here he collected together all the baggage, with all the suttlers and followers of the army, placing a guard of soldiers round them; and then he fortified his camp, as the nature of the place required. The pitching of tents in such rugged and uneven ground was a difficult task. The enemy were distant not more than five hundred paces. Both drew water from the same rivulet, under escorts of light troops; but, before any skirmish took place, as usual, between men encamped so near to each other, night came on. It was evident, however, that they must, unavoidably, fight next day at the rivulet, in support of the watering parties. Wherefore, during the night, Philopæmen concealed, in a valley remote from the view of the enemy, as great a number of targeteers as could conveniently lie in the place.

XXIX. At break of day, the Cretan light infantry, and the Tarentine horse, began an engagement on the bank of the rivulet. Latemnastus, a Cretan, commanded his countrymen; Lycortas, of Megalopolis, the cavalry. The enemy’s watering party, also, was guarded by Cretan auxiliaries, and Tarentine horsemen. The fight was, for a considerable time, doubtful, as the troops on both sides were of the same kind, and armed alike; but, as the contest advanced, the tyrant’s auxiliaries gained an advantage, both by their superiority of numbers, and because Philopæmen had given directions to his officers, that, after maintaining the contest for a short time, they should betake themselves to flight, and draw the enemy on to the place of the ambuscade. The latter, pursuing the runaways in disorderly haste, through the valley, were most of them wounded and slain, before they discovered their concealed foe. The targeteers had posted themselves in such order, as far as the breadth of the valley allowed, that they easily gave a passage to their flying friends, through openings in their ranks; then starting up themselves, hale, fresh, and in regular order, they briskly attacked the enemy, whose ranks were broken, who were scattered in confusion, and were, besides, exhausted with fatigue and wounds. This decided the victory: the tyrant’s troops instantly turned their backs, and flying with much more precipitation than they had pursued, were driven into their camp. Great numbers were killed and taken in the pursuit; and the consternation would have spread through the camp also, had not Philopæmen ordered a retreat to be sounded: for he dreaded the ground, (which was rough, and dangerous to advance on without caution,) more than he did the enemy. Judging, both from the issue of the battle, and from the disposition of the enemy’s leader, that he was not a little dismayed, he sent to him one of the auxiliary soldiers in the character of a deserter, to assure him positively, that the Achæans had resolved to advance, next day, to the river Eurotas, which runs almost close to the walls, in order to cut off the tyrant’s retreat to the city, and to prevent any provisions being brought thence to the camp; and that they intended, at the same time, to try whether any could be prevailed on to desert his cause. Although the deserter did not gain implicit credit, yet he afforded Nabis’s captain, who was full of apprehensions, a plausible pretext for leaving his camp. On the day following, he ordered Pythagoras, with the auxiliaries and cavalry, to mount guard before the rampart; and then, marching out himself with the main body of the army, as if intending to offer battle, he ordered them to return with all haste to the city.

XXX. When Philopæmen saw their army marching precipitately through a narrow and steep road, he sent all his cavalry, together with the Cretan auxiliaries, against the guard of the enemy, stationed in the front of their camp. These, seeing their adversaries approach, and perceiving that their friends had abandoned them, at first attempted to retreat within their works; but then, observing the whole force of the Achæans advancing in order of battle, they were seized with fear, lest together with the camp itself, they might be taken; they resolved therefore to follow the body of their army, which, by this time, had proceeded to a considerable distance. Immediately the targeteers of the Achæans assailed the camp, and the rest set out in pursuit of the enemy. The road was such, that a body of men, even when undisturbed by any fear of a foe, could not without difficulty, make its way through it. But when an attack was made on their rear, and the shouts of terror, raised by the affrighted troops behind, reached to the van, they threw down their arms, and fled different ways into the adjacent woods. In an instant of time, the way was stopped up with heaps of weapons, particularly spears, which falling mostly with their points toward the pursuers, formed a kind of palisade across the road. Philopæmen ordered the auxiliaries to push forward in pursuit of the enemy, who would find it a difficult matter, the horsemen particularly, to continue their flight; while he himself led away the heavy troops through more open ground to the river Eurotas. There he pitched his camp a little before sunset, and waited for the light troops, which he had sent in chase of the enemy. These arrived at the first watch, and brought intelligence, that Nabis, with a few attendants, had made his way into the city, and that the rest of his army, unarmed and dispersed, were straggling through all parts of the woods; whereupon, he ordered them to refresh themselves, while he himself chose out a party of men, who having come earlier into camp, were, by this time, both recruited by food and rest; and, ordering them to carry nothing with them but their swords, he marched them out directly, and posted them in the roads which led from two of the gates, one towards Pheræ, the other towards the Barbosthenes: for he supposed, that through these the flying enemy would endeavour to make their retreat. Nor was he disappointed therein; for the Lacedæmonians, as long as any light remained, retreated through the centre of the woods in the most retired paths. As soon as it grew dusk, and they saw lights in the enemy’s camp, they kept themselves concealed from view; but, having passed it by, they then thought that all was safe, and came down into the open roads, where they were intercepted by the parties lying in wait; and such numbers of them were killed and taken, that, of the whole army, scarcely a fourth part effected their escape. As Nabis was now pent up within the city, Philopæmen employed the greatest part of thirty succeeding days in ravaging the lands of the Lacedæmonians; and then, after greatly reducing, and almost annihilating, the strength of the tyrant, he returned home, while the Achæans extolled him as equal in the merit of his services, to the Roman general, or, so far as regarded the war with Lacedæmon, even superior.

XXXI. While the Achæans and the tyrant were carrying on the war in this manner, the Roman ambassadors made a circuit through the cities of the allies; for they feared, lest the Ætolians might seduce some of them to join the party of Antiochus. They took but little pains, in their applications to the Achæans; because, knowing their animosity against Nabis, they thought that they might be safely relied on with regard to other matters. They went first to Athens, thence to Chalcis, thence to Thessaly; and, after addressing proper exhortations to the Thessalians, in a full assembly, they directed their route to Demetrias, to which place a council of the Magnetians was summoned. Their negotiation here required more address; for a great many of the leading men were disaffected to the Romans, and entirely devoted to the interests of Antiochus and the Ætolians; because, at the time when accounts were received that Philip’s son, who was an hostage, would be restored to him, and the tribute imposed on him remitted, among other groundless reports it had been given out, that the Romans intended to put him again in possession of Demetrias. Rather than that should take place, Eurylochus, a deputy of the Magnetians, and others of that faction, wished for a total change of measures to be effected by the coming of Antiochus and the Ætolians. In opposition to those it was necessary to reason in such a manner, that, in dispelling their mistaken fear, the ambassadors should not, by cutting off his hopes at once, give any disgust to Philip, whose friendship was of greater moment, on any occasion, than that of the Magnetians. They only observed to the assembly. that, “as Greece in general was under an obligation to the Romans for their kindness in restoring its liberty, so was their state in particular. For there had not only been a garrison of Macedonians in their capital, but a palace had been built in it, that they might have a master continually before their eyes. But all that had been done would be of no effect if the Ætolians should bring thither Antiochus, and settle him in the abode of Philip, so that a new and unknown king should be set over them, in the place of an old one, with whom they were long acquainted.” Their chief magistrate is styled Magnetarch. This office was then held by Eurylochus, who, assuming confidence from his high station, openly declared, that he, and the Magnetians, saw no reason to dissemble their having heard the common report about the restoration of Demetrias to Philip; to prevent which, the Magnetians were bound to use every effort, however hazardous; and, in the eagerness of discourse, he was carried to such an inconsiderate length, as to throw out, that “at that very time, Demetrias was only free in appearance; and that, in reality, all things were directed by the will of the Romans.” These words excited a general murmur in the assembly, some of whom showed their approbation, others expressed indignation at his presumption, in uttering such an expression. As to Quintius, he was so inflamed with anger, that, raising his hands towards heaven, he invoked the gods to witness the ungrateful and perfidious disposition of the Magnetians. This struck terror into the whole assembly; and one of the deputies, named Zeno, who had acquired a great degree of influence, by his judicious course of conduct in life, and by having been always an avowed supporter of the interest of the Romans, with tears besought Quintius, and the other ambassadors, “not to impute to the state the madness of an individual. Every man,” he said, “was answerable for his own absurdities. As to the Magnetians, they were indebted to Titus Quintius and the Roman people, not only for liberty but for every thing that mankind hold valuable, or sacred. By their kindness, they were in the enjoyment of every blessing for which they could ever petition the immortal gods; and if struck with phrenzy, they would sooner vent their fury on their own persons, than violate the friendship with Rome.”

XXXII. His entreaties were seconded by the prayers of the whole assembly: on which Eurylochus retired hastily from the council, and, passing through private streets, fled away into Ætolia. As to the Ætolians, they now gave plain indications of their intention to revolt, which became more evident every day; and it happened, that, at this very time, Thoas, one of their leading men, whom they had sent to Antiochus, returned, and brought back with him an ambassador from the king, named Menippus. These two, before the council met to give them audience, filled every one’s ears with pompous accounts of the naval and land forces that were coming; “a vast army,” they said, “of horse and foot was on its march, accompanied by elephants from India; and besides, they were bringing such a quantity of gold and silver, as was sufficient to purchase the Romans themselves:” which latter circumstance, they knew, would influence the multitude, more than any thing else. It was easy to foresee, what effects these reports would produce in the council; for the Roman ambassadors received information of the arrival of those men, and of all their proceedings. A rupture, indeed, was almost unavoidable, yet Quintius thought it advisable, that some ambassadors of the allies should be present in that council, who might remind the Ætolians of their alliance with Rome, and who might have the courage to speak with freedom in opposition to the king’s ambassador. The Athenians seemed to be the best qualified for this purpose, by reason of the high reputation of their state, and also from an amity long subsisting between them and the Ætolians. Quintius, therefore, requested of them to send ambassadors to the Panætolic council. At the first meeting, Thoas made a report of the business of his embassy. After him, Menippus was introduced, who said, that “it would have been happy for all the Greeks, residing both in Greece and Asia, if Antiochus could have taken a part in their affairs, while the power of Philip was yet unbroken; for then every one would have had what of right belonged to him, and the whole would not have come under the dominion and absolute disposal of the Romans. But even as matters stand at present,” said he, “provided you have constancy enough to carry into effect the measures which you have adopted, Antiochus will be able, with the assistance of the gods, and the alliance of the Ætolians, to reinstate the affairs of Greece in their former rank of dignity, notwithstanding the low condition to which they have been reduced. But this dignity consists in a state of freedom supported by its own strength, and not dependent on the will of another.” The Athenians, who were permitted to deliver their sentiments next after the king’s ambassadors, avoiding all mention of Antiochus, reminded the Ætolians of their alliance with Rome, and the benefits conferred by Titus Quintius on the whole body of Greece; and recommended to them, “not inconsiderately, to break off that connection by too hasty counsels; observing, that passionate and adventurous schemes, however flattering at first view, prove difficult in the execution, and disastrous in the issue: that, as the Roman ambassadors, and, among them, Titus Quintius, were within a small distance, it would be better, before any violent step was taken, to discuss, in amicable conference, any matters in dispute, than to rouse Europe and Asia to a dreadful war.”

XXXIII. The multitude, ever fond of novelty, warmly espoused the cause of Antiochus, and gave their opinion, that the Romans should not even be admitted into the council; but by the influence chiefly of the elder members, a vote was passed, that the council should give audience to the Romans. On being acquainted, by the Athenians, with this determination, Quintius resolved on going into Ætolia; for he thought that, “either he should be able to effect some change in their designs; or that it would be manifest to all mankind, that the blame of the war would lie on the Ætolians, and that the Romans would be warranted to take arms by justice, and, in a manner, by necessity.” On arriving there, Quintius, in his discourse to the council, began with the first formation of the alliance between the Romans and the Ætolians, and enumerated the many transgressions of the terms of the treaty, of which the latter had been guilty. He then enlarged a little on the rights of the states concerned in the dispute, and added, that, “notwithstanding, if they thought that they had any reasonable demand to make, it would surely be infinitely better to send ambassadors to Rome, whether they chose to argue the case, or to make a request to the senate, than that the Roman people should enter the lists with Antiochus, while the Ætolians acted as marshals of the field, an event which would cause a great convulsion in the affairs of the world, and the utter ruin of Greece.” He concluded with asserting, that “no people would feel the fatal consequences of such a war sooner than the first promoters of it.” This prediction of the Roman was disregarded. Thoas, and others of the same faction, were then heard, with general approbation; and they prevailed so far, that, without adjourning the meeting, or waiting for the absence of the Romans, the assembly passed a decree, that Antiochus should be invited to vindicate the liberty of Greece, and decide the dispute between the Ætolians and the Romans. To the insolence of this decree, their prætor, Damocratus, added a personal affront: for, on Quintius asking him for a copy of the decree, without any respect to the dignity of the person to whom he spoke, he told him, that “he had, at present, more pressing business to despatch; but he would shortly give him the decree, and an answer, in Italy, from his camp on the banks of the Tiber.” Such was the degree of madness which possessed, at that time, both the nation of the Ætolians, and their magistrates.

XXXIV. Quintius, and the ambassadors, returned to Corinth. The Ætolians, that they might not appear to depend merely on Antiochus, and to sit inactive, waiting for his arrival, though they did not, after the departure of the Romans, hold a general diet of the nation, yet endeavoured, by their Apocleti, (a more confidential council, composed of persons selected from the rest) to devise schemes for setting Greece in commotion. They were sensible, that in the several states the principal people, particularly those of the best characters, were disposed to maintain the Roman alliance, and well pleased with the present state of affairs; but that the populace, and especially such as were in needy circumstances, wished for a general revolution. The Ætolians, at one day’s sitting, formed a scheme, the very conception of which argued, not only boldness, but impudence,—being no less than the making themselves masters of Demetrias, Chalcis, and Lacedæmon. One of their principal men was sent to each of these places; Thoas to Chalcis, Alexamenus to Lacedæmon, Diocles to Demetrias. This last was assisted by the exile Eurylochus, whose flight, and the cause of it, have been mentioned above, and who had no other prospect of being restored to his country. Eurylochus, by letter, instructed his friends and relations, and those of his own faction, to order his wife and children to assume a mourning dress; and, holding the badges of supplicants, to go into a full assembly, and to beseech each individual, and the whole body, not to suffer a man, who was innocent and uncondemned, to grow old in exile. The simple and unsuspecting were moved by compassion; the ill-disposed and seditious, by the hope of seeing all things thrown into confusion, in consequence of the tumults which the Ætolians would excite; and every one voted for his being recalled. These preparatory measures being effected, Diocles, at that time general of the horse, with all the cavalry, set out, under pretext of escorting to his home the exile, who was his guest. Having, during that day and the following night, marched an extraordinary length of way, and arrived within six miles of the city at the first dawn, he chose out three troops, at the head of which he went on, before the rest of the cavalry, whom he ordered to follow. When he came near the gate, he made all his men dismount, and lead their horses by the reins, without keeping their ranks, but like travellers on a journey, in order that they might appear to be the retinue of the general, rather than a military force. Here he left one troop at the gate, lest the cavalry, who were coming up, might be shut out: and then holding Eurylochus by the hand, conducted him to his house through the middle of the city and the Forum, and through crowds who met and congratulated him. In a little time the city was filled with horsemen, and convenient posts were seized; and then parties were sent to the houses of persons of the opposite faction, to put them to death. In this manner Demetrias fell into the hands of the Ætolians.

XXXV. The plan to be executed at Lacedæmon was, not to attempt the city by force, but to entrap the tyrant by stratagem. For though he had been stripped of the maritime towns by the Romans, and afterwards shut up within the walls of his city by the Achæans, they supposed that whoever took the first opportunity of killing him, would engross the whole thanks of the Lacedæmonians. The pretence which they had for sending to him, was, that he had long solicited assistance from them, since, by their advice, he had renewed the war. A thousand foot were put under the command of Alexamenus, with thirty horsemen, chosen from among the youth. These received a charge from Damocritus, the prætor, in the select council of the nation, mentioned above, “not to suppose that they were sent to act against the Achæans; or even on other business, which any might think he had discovered from his own conjectures. Whatever sudden enterprise circumstances might direct Alexamenus to undertake, that (however unexpected, rash, or daring) they were to hold themselves in readiness to execute with implicit obedience; and should understand that to be the matter, for the sole purpose of effecting which they had been sent abroad.” With these men, thus pre-instructed, Alexamenus came to the tyrant, and at his first arrival filled him with very flattering hopes; telling him, that “Antiochus had already come over into Europe; that he would shortly be in Greece, and would cover the lands and seas with men and arms: that the Romans would find that they had not Philip to deal with: that the numbers of the horsemen, footmen, and ships, could not be reckoned; and that the train of elephants, by their mere appearance, would effectually daunt the enemy; that the Ætolians were resolved to come to Lacedæmon with their entire force, whenever occasion required; but that they wished to show the king, on his arrival, a numerous body of troops: that Nabis himself, likewise, ought to take care not to suffer his soldiers to be enervated by inaction, and by spending their time in houses; but to lead them out, and make them perform their evolutions under arms, which, while it exercised their bodies, would also rouse their courage: that the labour would become lighter by practice, and might even be rendered not unpleasing by the affability and kindness of their commander.” Thenceforward, the troops used frequently to be drawn out under the walls of the city, in a plain near the river Eurotas. The tyrant’s life-guards were generally posted in the centre. He himself, attended by three horsemen at the most, of whom Alexamenus was commonly one, rode about in front, and went to view both wings to their extremities. On the right wing were the Ætolians; both those who had been before in his army as auxiliaries, and the thousand who came with Alexamenus. Alexamenus made it his custom to ride about with Nabis through a few of the ranks, making such remarks as he thought proper; then to join his own troops in the right wing, and presently after, as if having given the necessary orders, to return to the tyrant. But, on the day which he had fixed for the perpetration of the deed of death, after accompanying the tyrant for a little time, he withdrew to his own soldiers, and addressed the horsemen, sent from home with him, in these words: “Young men, you are now to perform, and that with boldness and resolution, the business which you were ordered to execute at my command. Have your courage and your hands ready, that none may fail to second me in whatever he sees me attempt. If any one shall hesitate, and let any scheme of his own interfere with mine, that man most certainly shall never return to his home.” Horror seized them all, and they well remembered the charge which they had received at setting out. Nabis was now coming from the left wing. Alexamenus ordered his horsemen to rest their lances, and keep their eyes fixed on him; and in the meantime he himself re-collected his spirits from the hurry into which they had been thrown by the thoughts of such a desperate attempt. As soon as the tyrant came near, he charged him; and driving his spear through his horse, brought the rider to the ground. All the horsemen aimed their lances at him as he lay, and after many ineffectual strokes against his coat of mail, their points at length penetrated his body, so that, before relief could be sent from the centre, he expired.

XXXVI. Alexamenus, with all the Ætolians, hastened away to seize on the palace. Nabis’s life-guards were at first struck with horror and dismay, the act being perpetrated before their eyes; then, when they observed the Ætolian troops leaving the place, they gathered round the tyrant’s body, where it was left, forming, instead of avengers of his death, a mere groupe of spectators. Nor would any one have stirred, if Alexamenus had immediately called the people to an assembly, there made a speech suitable to the occasion, and afterwards kept a good number of Ætolians in arms, without offering to commit any act of violence. Instead of which, by a fatality which ought to attend all designs founded in treachery, every step was taken that could tend to hasten the destruction of the actors in this villainous enterprise. The commander, shut up in the palace, wasted a day and a night in searching out the tyrant’s treasures; and the Ætolians, as if they had stormed the city, of which they wished to be thought the deliverers, betook themselves to plunder. The insolence of their behaviour, and, at the same time, contempt of their numbers, gave the Lacedæmonians courage to assemble in a body, when some said, that they ought to drive out the Ætolians, and resume their liberty which had been ravished from them at the very time when it seemed to be restored; others, that, for the sake of appearance, they ought to associate with them some one of the royal family, to give authority to their proceedings. There was a very young boy, of that family, named Laconicus, who had been educated with the tyrant’s children; him they mounted on a horse, and taking arms, slew all the Ætolians whom they met straggling through the city. They then assaulted the palace, where they killed Alexamenus, who, with a small party attempted resistance. Others of the Ætolians, who had collected together round the Chalciæcon, that is, the brazen temple of Minerva, were cut to pieces. A few, throwing away their arms, fled, some to Tegea, others to Megalopolis where they were seized by the magistrates, and sold as slaves. Philopæmen, as soon as he heard of the murder of the tyrant, went to Lacedæmon, where, finding all in confusion and consternation, he called together the principal inhabitants, to whom he addressed a discourse, (such as ought to have been made by Alexamenus,) which had so great an effect, that the Lacedæmonians joined the confederacy of the Achæans. To this they were the more easily persuaded, because, at that very juncture, Aulus Atilius happened to arrive at Gythium with twenty-four quinqueremes.

XXXVII. Meanwhile, Thoas, in his attempt on Chalcis, was not near so fortunate as Eurylochus had been in getting possession of Demetrias; although (by the intervention of Euthymidas, a man of considerable consequence, who, after the arrival of Titus Quintius and the ambassadors, had been banished by those who adhered to the Roman alliance; and also of Herodorus, who was a merchant of Cios, and who, by means of his wealth, possessed a powerful influence at Chalcis,) he had engaged a party, composed of Euthymidas’s faction, to betray the city into his hands. Euthymidas went from Athens, where he had fixed his residence, first to Thebes, and thence to Salganea; Herodorus to Thronium. At a small distance, on the Malian bay, Thoas had two thousand foot and two hundred horse, with thirty light transport ships. With these vessels, carrying six hundred footmen, Herodorus was ordered to sail to the island of Atalanta, that, as soon as he should perceive the land-forces approaching Aulis and the Euripus, he might pass over to Chalcis; to which place Thoas himself led the rest of his forces, marching mostly by night, and with all possible expedition.

XXXVIII. Mictio and Xenoclides, who were now, since the banishment of Euthymidas, at the head of affairs in that city, either of themselves suspected the matter, or received some information of it, and were at first so greatly terrified, that they saw no prospect of safety but in flight; but afterwards, when their fright subsided, and they considered that, by such a step, they would betray and desert not only their country, but the Roman alliance, they struck out the following plan. It happened that, at that very time, there was a solemn anniversary festival, celebrated at Eretria, in honour of Diana Amarynthis, which was always attended by great numbers, not only of the natives but also of the Carystians: thither they sent envoys to beseech the Eretrians and Carystians, “as having been born in the same isle, to compassionate their situation; and, at the same time, to show their regard to the friendship of Rome: not to suffer Chalcis to become the property of the Ætolians, who, if they once got that city into their power would soon possess themselves of all Eubœa: and to remind them, that they had found the Macedonians grievous masters, but that the Ætolians would be much more intolerable.” Those states were influenced chiefly by motives respecting the Romans, as they had lately experienced both the bravery in war, and the justice and liberality in success, which characterised that people. Both states, therefore, armed, and sent the main strength of their young men. To these the people of Chalcis entrusted the defence of the walls, and they themselves, with their whole force crossed the Euripes, and encamped at Salganea. From that place they despatched first a herald, and afterwards, ambassadors, to ask the Ætolians, for what word or act of theirs, friends and allies came thus to attack them. Thoas, commander of the Ætolians, answered, that “he came not to attack them, but to deliver them from the Romans: that they were fettered at present with a brighter chain indeed, but a much heavier one, than when they had a Macedonian garrison in their citadel.” The men of Chalcis replied, that “they were neither under bondage, nor in need of protection.” The ambassadors then withdrew from the meeting, and returned to their countrymen. Thoas and the Ætolians, (who had no other hopes than in a sudden surprise, and were by no means in a capacity to undertake a regular war, and the siege of a city so well secured against any attack from the land or the sea,) returned home. Euthymidas, on hearing that his countrymen were encamped at Salganea, and that the Ætolians had retired, went back from Thebes to Athens. Herodorus, after waiting several days at Atalanta, attentively watching for the concerted signal in vain, sent an advice-boat to learn the cause of the delay; and, understanding that the enterprise was abandoned by his associates, returned to Thronium.

XXXIX. Quintius, being informed of these proceedings, came with the fleet from Corinth, and met Eumenes, in the Euripus of Chalcis. It was agreed between them, that king Eumenes should leave there five hundred of his soldiers, as a garrison to the city, and should go himself to Athens. Quintius proceeded to Demetrias, as he had purposed from the first, hoping that the relief of Chalcis would prove a strong inducement to the Magnetians to renew the alliance with Rome. And, in order that such of them as favoured his views might have some support at hand, he wrote to Eunomus, prætor of the Thessalians, to arm the youth of his nation; sending Villius forward to Demetrias, to sound the inclinations of the people: for he was determined not to take any step in the business, unless a considerable number of them were disposed to revive the former treaty of amity. Villius, in a ship of five banks of oars, came to the mouth of the harbour, and the whole multitude of the Magnetians hastened out thither. Villius then asked, whether they chose that he should consider himself as having come to friends, or to enemies? Eurylochus, the Magnetarch, answered, that “he had come to friends: but desired him not to enter the harbour, but to suffer the Magnetians to live in freedom and harmony; and not to attempt, under the show of friendly converse, to seduce the minds of the populace.” Then followed an altercation, not a conference, the Roman upbraiding the Magnetians with ingratitude, and forewarning them of the calamities impending over them; the multitude, on the other side, clamorously reproaching him, and reviling, sometimes the senate, sometimes Quintius. Villius, therefore, unable to effect any part of his business, went back to Quintius, who despatched orders to the Thessalian prætor, to lead his troops home, while himself returned by sea to Corinth.

XL. I have let the affairs of Greece, blended with those of Rome, carry me away, as it were, out of the course; not that they were in themselves deserving of a recital, but because they gave rise to a war with Antiochus. After the consular election, for thence I digressed, the consuls, Lucius Quintius and Cneius Domitius repaired to their provinces, Quintius to Liguria, Domitius against the Boians. These latter kept themselves quiet; nay, the senators with their children, and the commanding officers of the cavalry, with their troops, amounting in all to one thousand five hundred, surrendered to the consul. The other consul laid waste the country of the Ligurians to a wide extent, and took some forts; in which expeditions he not only acquired booty of all sorts, together with many prisoners, but he also recovered several of his countrymen, and of the allies, who had been in the hands of the enemy. In this year a colony was settled at Vibo, in pursuance of a decree of the senate and an order of the people; three thousand seven hundred footmen, and three hundred horsemen, went out thither, conducted by the commissioners Quintus Nævius, Marcus Minucius, and Marcus Furius Crassipes. Fifteen acres of ground were assigned to each footman, double that quantity to a horseman. This land had been last in possession of the Bruttians, who had taken it from the Greeks. About this time two dreadful alarms happened at Rome, one of which continued long, but produced less mischief than the other. An earthquake lasted through thirty-eight days; during all which time there was a total cessation of business, so strong were people’s anxiety and fears. On account of this event, a supplication was performed of three days continuance. The other was not a mere fright, but attended with the loss of many lives. In consequence of a fire breaking out in the cattle market, the conflagration, among the houses near to the Tiber, continued through all that day and the following night, and all the shops with wares of very great value, were reduced to ashes.

XLI. The year was now almost at an end, while the rumours of impending hostility, and consequently, the anxiety of the senate, daily increased. They therefore set about adjusting the provinces of the magistrates elect, in order that they might all be the more attentive in their several departments. They decreed, that those of the consuls should be Italy, and whatever other place the senate should vote, for every one knew that a war against Antiochus was now a settled point. That he, to whose lot the latter province fell, should have under his command,—of Roman citizens, four thousand foot and three hundred horse; and of the Latine confederates, six thousand foot and four hundred horse. The consul, Lucius Quintius, was ordered to levy these troops, that the new consul might have nothing to prevent his proceeding immediately to any place which the senate should appoint. Concerning the provinces of the prætors, also, it was decreed, that the first lot should comprehend the two jurisdictions, both that between natives, and that between them and foreigners; the second should be Bruttium; the third, the fleet; to sail wherever the senate should direct; the fourth Sicily, the fifth Sardinia; the sixth farther Spain. An order was also given to the consul Lucius Quintius, to levy two new legions of Roman citizens, and of the allies and Latines twenty thousand foot and eight hundred horse. This army they assigned to the prætor to whom should fall the province of Bruttium. Two temples were dedicated this year to Jupiter in the capitol; one of which had been vowed by Lucius Furius Purpureo, when prætor, during the Gallic war; the other by the same, when consul. Quintus Marcius Ralla, duumvir, dedicated both. Many severe sentences were passed this year on usurers, who were prosecuted by the curule ædiles, Marcus Tuccius and Publius Junius Brutus. Out of the fines imposed on those who were convicted, gilded chariots, with four horses, were placed in the recess of Jupiter’s temple in the capitol, over the canopy of the shrine, and also twelve gilded bucklers. The same ædiles built a portico on the outside of the Triple Gate, in the Carpenters-Square.

XLII. While the Romans were busily employed in preparing for a new war, Antiochus, on his part, was not idle. He was detained some time by three cities, Smyrna, Alexandria in Troas, and Lampsacus, which hitherto he had not been able either to reduce by force, or to persuade into a treaty of amity; and he was unwilling, on going into Europe, to leave these as enemies. The difficulty of forming a fixed determination respecting Hannibal occasioned him further delay. First, the open ships, which the king was to have sent with him to Africa, were not readily fitted out; and, afterwards doubts were raised, whether he ought to be sent at all. This was owing chiefly to Thoas, the Ætolian; who, after setting all Greece in commotion, came with the account of Demetrias being in the hands of his countrymen; and as he had, by false representations concerning the king, and multiplying in his assertions, the numbers of his forces, exalted the expectations of many in Greece; so now, by the same artifices, he puffed up the hopes of the king; telling him, that “every one, with earnest wishes, longed for his coming; and, that, wherever they got a view of the royal fleet, they would all run down to the shore to welcome him.” He even had the audacity to attempt altering the king’s judgment respecting Hannibal, when it was nearly settled. For he alleged, that, “the flect ought not to be weakened by sending away any part of it, but that, if ships must be sent, no person was less fit for the command than Hannibal; for he was an exile, and a Carthaginian; to whom his own circumstances, or his disposition, might daily suggest a thousand new schemes. Then, as to his military fame, which, like a large dowry, recommended him to notice, it was too splendid for an officer acting under Antiochus. The king ought to be the grand object of view; the king ought to appear the sole leader, the sole commander. If Hannibal should lose a fleet or an army, the amount of the damage would be the same as if the loss were incurred by any other general; but should success be obtained, all the honour would be ascribed to Hannibal. Besides, if the war should prove so fortunate as to terminate finally in the defeat of the Romans, could it be expected that Hannibal would live under a king; subject, in short, to an individual: he who could not brook subjection to the government of his own country? His conduct, from early youth, had been of a very different cast: for he was a man who grasped at nothing less than the dominion of the world. It was therefore not likely that, in his maturer age he would be able to endure a master. The king wanted not Hannibal as a general: as an attendant and a counsellor in the business of the war, he might properly employ him. A moderate use of such abilities would be neither unprofitable nor dangerous: but, if advantages of the highest nature were sought through him, the probable consequences would be the destruction both of the agent and the employer.”

XLIII. There are no dispositions more prone to envy than those of persons whose mental qualifications are inferior to their birth and rank in life; such always harbour an antipathy to merit, as a treasure in which they cannot share. The design of the expedition, to be commanded by Hannibal, the only one thought of that could be of use, in the beginning of the war, was immediately laid aside. The king, highly flattered by the defection of Demetrias from the Romans to the Ætolians, resolved to pass into Greece without farther delay. Before the fleet weighed anchor, he went up from the shore to Ilium, to offer sacrifice to Minerva. Immediately on his return, he set sail with forty decked ships and sixty open ones, followed by two hundred transports, laden with provisions and warlike stores. He first touched at the island of Imbrus; thence he passed over to Sciathus; whence, after collecting the ships which had been separated during the voyage, he proceeded to Pteleum, the nearest part of the continent. Here, Eurylochus the Magnetarch, and other principal Magnetians from Demetrias, met him. Being greatly gratified by their numerous appearance, he carried his fleet the next day into the harbour of their city. At a small distance from the town he landed his forces, which consisted of ten thousand foot, five hundred horse, and six elephants; a force scarcely sufficient to take possession of Greece if there were to be no foreign opposition, much less to withstand the armies of Rome. The Ætolians, as soon as they were informed of Antiochus’s arrival at Demetrias, convened a general council, and passed a decree, inviting him into their country. The king had already left Demetrias, (for he knew that such a decree was to be passed,) and had advanced as far as Phalera on the Malian bay. Here the decree was presented to him, and then he proceeded to Lamia, where he was received by the populace with marks of the warmest attachment, with clapping of hands and shouting, and other signs by which the vulgar express extravagant joy.

XLIV. When he came to the place where the council sat, he was introduced by Phæneas, the prætor, and other persons of eminence, who, with difficulty, made way for him through the crowd. Then, silence being ordered, the king addressed himself to the assembly. He began with accounting for his having come with a force, so much smaller than every one had hoped and expected. “That,” he said, “ought to be deemed the strongest proof of the warmth of his good will towards them; because, though he was not sufficiently prepared in any particular, and though the season was yet too early for sailing, he had, without hesitation, complied with the call of their ambassadors, and had believed, that, when the Ætolians should see him among them, they would be satisfied, that in him, even if he were unattended, they might be sure of every kind of support. But he would also abundantly fulfil the hopes of those, whose expectations seemed at present to be disappointed. For, as soon as the season of the year rendered navigation safe, he would cover all Greece with arms, men, and horses, and all its coasts with fleets. He would spare neither expense, nor labour, nor danger, until he should remove the Roman yoke from their necks, and render Greece really free, and the Ætolians the first among its states. That, together with the armies, stores of all kinds were to come from Asia. For the present, the Ætolians ought to take care that his men might be properly supplied with corn, and other accommodations, at reasonable rates.”

XLV. Such was the purport of the king’s discourse, which was received with universal approbation, and he then withdrew. After his departure, a warm debate ensued between two of the Ætolian chiefs, Phæneas and Thoas. Phæneas declared his opinion, that it would be better to employ Antiochus, as a mediator of peace, and an umpire respecting the matters in dispute with the Roman people, than as leader in a war. That “his presence, and his dignified station, would impress the Romans with awe, more powerfully than his arms. That in many cases, men, for the sake of avoiding war, remit pretensions, which force and arms would never compel them to forego.” Thoas, on the other hand, insisted, that “Phæneas’s motive was not a love of peace, but a wish to embarrass them in their preparations for war, with the view that, through the tediousness of the proceedings, the king’s vigour might be relaxed, and the Romans gain time to put themselves in readiness. That they had abundant proof from experience, after so many embassies sent to Rome, and so many conferences with Quintius in person, that nothing reasonable could ever be obtained from the Romans in the way of negotiation; and that they would not, until every hope of that sort was out of sight, have implored the aid of Antiochus. That, as he had appeared among them sooner than any had expected, they ought not to sink into indolence, but rather to petition the king, that, since he had come in person, which was the great point of all, to support the rights of Greece, he would also send for his fleets and armies. For the king, at the head of an army, might obtain something; but, without that, could have very little influence with the Romans, either in the cause of the Ætolians, or even in his own.” This opinion was adopted, and the council voted, that the title of general should be conferred on the king. They also nominated thirty of their number, as a council, with whom he might deliberate on business, when he should think proper. The council was then broken up, and all went home to their respective states.

XLVI. Next day, the king held a consultation with their select council, respecting the most eligible place for beginning his operations. They judged it best to make the first trial on Chalcis, which had lately been attempted, in vain, by the Ætolians; and they thought that the business required rather expedition than any great exertion or preparation. Accordingly the king, with a thousand foot, who had followed him from Demetrias, took his route through Phocis; and the Ætolian chiefs, going by another road, met, at Cheronæa, a small number of their young men, whom they had called to arms, and thence, in ten decked ships, proceeded after him. Antiochus pitched his camp at Salganea, while himself, with the Ætolian chiefs, crossed the Euripus in the ships. When he had advanced a little way from the harbour, the magistrates, and other chief men of Chalcis, came out before their gate. A small number, from each side, met to confer together. The Ætolians warmly recommended to the others, “without violating the friendship subsisting between them and the Romans, to receive the king also, as a friend and ally. For his coming into Europe was not for the purpose of making war, but of vindicating the liberty of Greece; and of vindicating it in reality, not in words and pretence merely, as the Romans had done. Nothing could be more advantageous to the states of Greece, than to possess the friendship of both those powers; as they would then be always secure against ill-treatment from either, under the guaranty and protection of the other. If they refused to receive the king, they ought to consider the immediate difficulties which they must encounter: the aid of the Romans being far distant, and Antiochus, whom with their own strength they could not possibly resist in character of an enemy at their gates.” To this Mictio, one of the Chalcian deputies, answered, that “he wondered who those people were, for the vindicating of whose liberty Antiochus had left his own kingdom, and come over into Europe. For his part, he knew not any state in Greece which either was awed by a garrison, or paid tribute to the Romans, or was bound by a disadvantageous treaty, and obliged to submit to terms which it did not like. The people of Chalcis, therefore, stood not in need, either of any assertor of their liberty, which they already enjoyed, or of any armed protector; since, through the kindness of the Roman people, they were in possession of both liberty and peace. They did not slight the friendship of the king, nor that of the Ætolians themselves. The first instance of friendship, therefore, that they could give, would be to quit the island and go home; for, as to themselves, they were fully determined, not only not to admit them within their walls, but not even to agree to any alliance, but with the approbation of the Romans.”

XLVII. When an account of this conference was brought to the king, at the ships, where he had staid, he resolved for the present to return to Demetrias; for he had not with him a sufficient number of men to attempt any thing by force. At Demetrias, he held another consulation with the Ætolians, to determine what was next to be done, as their first effort had proved fruitless. It was agreed that they should make trial of the Bœotians, Achæans, and Amynander, king of Athamania. The Bœotian nation they believed to be disaffected to the Romans, ever since the death of Brachyllas, and the consequences which attend it. Philopæmen, chief of the Achæans, they supposed to hate, and be hated by, Quintius, in consequence of a rivalship for fame in the war of Laconia. Amynander had married Apamia, daughter of a Megalopolitan, called Alexander, who, pretending to be descended from Alexander the Great, had given the names of Philip and Alexander to his two sons, and that of Apamia to his daughter; and when she was raised to distinction, by her marriage to the king, Philip, the elder of her brothers, followed her into Athamania. This man, who was naturally vain, the Ætolians and Antiochus persuaded to hope, that, as he was really of the royal family, he should be put in possession of the kingdom of Macedonia, on condition of his prevailing on Amynander and the Athamanians to join Antiochus; and these empty promises produced the intended effect, not only on Philip, but likewise on Amynander.

XLVIII. In Achaia, the ambassadors of Antiochus, and the Ætolians, were admitted to an audience of the council at Ægium, in the presence of Titus Quintius. The ambassador of Antiochus was heard prior to the Ætolians. He, with all that pomp and parade, which is common among those who are maintained in the courts of kings, covered, as far as the empty sound of words could go, both lands and seas with forces. He said, that “an innumerable body of cavalry was coming over the Hellespont into Europe; some of them cased in coats of mail, whom they call Cataphracti, others discharging arrows on horseback; and, what rendered it impossible to guard against them, shooting with the surest aim even when their backs were turned, and their horses in full gallop. To this army of cavalry, sufficient to crush the forces of all Europe, collected into one body,” he added another of infantry of many times its number; and to terrify them, repeated the names of nations scarcely ever heard of before: talking of Dahans, Medes, Elymæans, and Cadusians. “As to the naval forces, no harbours in Greece were capable of containing them; the right squadron was composed of Sidonians and Tyrians; the left of Aradians and Sidetians, from Pamphylia,—nations which none others had ever equalled, either in courage, or skill in sea affairs. Then, as to money, and other requisites for the support of war, it was needless for him to speak. They themselves knew, that the kingdoms of Asia had always abounded in gold. The Romans, therefore, had not now to deal with Philip, or with Hannibal; the one a principal member of a commonwealth, the other confined merely to the limits of the kingdom of Macedonia: but with the great monarch of all Asia, and part of Europe. Nevertheless, though he had come to the remotest bounds of the East to give freedom to Greece, he did not demand any thing from the Achæans, that could injure the fidelity of their engagements with the Romans, their former friends and allies. For he did not require them to take arms on his side against them; but only, that they should not join themselves to either party. That, as became common friends, they should wish for peace to both parties, and not intermeddle in the war.” Archidamus, ambassador of the Ætolians, made nearly the same request: that, as was their easiest and safest way, they should stand neuter; and, as mere spectators of the war, wait for the issue, which would affect only the interest of others, while their own affairs were exposed to no manner of hazard. He afterwards allowed himself to be transported into such intemperance of language, as to utter invectives, sometimes against the Romans in general, sometimes against Quintius himself in particular; charging them with ingratitude, and upbraiding them, as being indebted to the valour of the Ætolians, not only for the victory over Philip, but even for their preservation; for, “by their exertions, both Quintius himself and his army had been saved. What duty of a commander had he ever discharged? He used to see him, indeed, in the field, taking auspices; sacrificing and offering vows, like an insignificant soothsaying priest; while he himself was, in his defence, exposing his person to the weapons of the enemy.”

XLIX. To this Quintius replied, that “Archidamus had calculated his discourse for the numerous auditors, rather than for the persons to whom it was particularly addressed. For the Achæans very well knew, that the bold spirit of the Ætolians consisted entirely in words, not in deeds; and was more displayed in their councils and assemblies than in the field He had therefore been indifferent concerning the sentiments of the Achæans, to whom he and his countrymen were conscious that they were thoroughly known; and studied to recommend himself to the king’s ambassadors, and, through them, to their absent master. But, if any person had been hitherto ignorant of the cause which had effected a junction between Antiochus and the Ætolians, it was easy to discover it from the language of their ambassadors. By the false representations made by both parties, and boasts of strength which neither possessed, they mutually puffed up each other, and were themselves puffed up with vain expectations: one party talking of Philip being vanquished by them, the Romans being protected by their valour, and the rest of what you have just heard; and that you, and the other states and nations, would follow their lead. The king, on the other side, boasting of clouds of horsemen and footmen, and covering the seas with his fleets. Their representations,” he added, “are exceedingly like a supper that I remember at the house of my host at Chalcis, who is both a man of worth, and an excellent conductor of a feast. He gave a cheerful entertainment to a party of us at midsummer; and on our wondering how he could, at that time of the year, procure such plenty and variety of game, he, not being so vain-glorious as these men, told us, with a pleasant smile, that the variety was owing to the dressing, and that what appeared to be the flesh of many different wild animals, was entirely of tame swine. This may be aptly applied to the forces of the king, so ostentatiously displayed a while ago; that those men, in various kinds of armour, and nations, whose names were never mentioned before, Dahans and Medes, and Cadusians, and Elymæans, are nothing more than Syrians, a race possessed of such grovelling souls, as to be much fitter for slaves than for soldiers. I wish, Achæans, that I could exhibit to your view the rapid excursions of this mighty monarch from Demetrias; first, to Lamia, to the council of the Ætolians: then to Chalcis. I would show you, in the royal camp, about the number of two small legions, and these incomplete. You should see the king, now, in a manner begging corn from the Ætolians, to be measured out to his soldiers; then, striving to borrow money at interest to pay them; again, standing at the gates of Chalcis; and presently, on being refused admittance, returning thence into Ætolia, without having effected any thing, except indeed the taking a peep at Aulis and the Euripus. Both have been duped: Antiochus by the Ætolians, and the Ætolians by the king’s vain and empty boastings. For which reason, you ought to be the more on your guard against their deceptions, and rather to confide in the tried and approved fidelity of the Romans. For, with respect to a neutrality, which they recommend as your wisest plan, nothing, in fact, can be more contrary to your interest: for the inevitable consequence must be, that, without gaining thanks or esteem from either, you will become a prey to the conqueror.”

L. His arguments, in opposition to both, were deemed conclusive; and there was no difficulty in bringing an audience, prepossessed in his favour, to give their approbation to his discourse. In fact, there was no debate or doubt started, but all concurred in voting, that the nation of the Achæans would treat, as their friends or foes, those who were judged to be such by the Roman people, and in ordering war to be declared against both Antiochus and the Ætolians. They also, by the direction of Quintius, sent immediate succours of five hundred men to Chalcis, and five hundred to the Piræus; for affairs at Athens were in a state, not far from a civil war, in consequence of the endeavours, used by some, to seduce the venal populace, by hopes of largesses, to take part with Antiochus. But at length Quintius was called thither by those who were of the Roman party; and Apollodorus, the principal adviser of a revolt, being publicly charged therewith by one Leon, was condemned and driven into exile. Thus, from the Achæans also, the king’s embassy returned with a discouraging answer. The Bœotians made no explicit declaration; they only said, that “when Antiochus should come into Bœotia, they would then deliberate on the measures proper to be pursued.” When Antiochus heard, that both the Achæans and king Eumenes had sent reinforcements to Chalcis, he resolved to act with the utmost expedition, that his troops might get the start of them, and, if possible, intercept the others as they came; and he sent thither Menippus, with about three thousand soldiers, and Polyxenidas with the whole fleet. In a few days after, he marched himself, at the head of six thousand of his own soldiers, and a smaller number of Ætolians, as many as could be collected in haste, out of those who were at Lamia. The five hundred Achæans, and a small party sent by king Eumenes, being guided by Xenoclides, of Chalcis, (the roads being yet open,) crossed the Euripus, and arrived at Chalcis in safety. The Roman soldiers, who were likewise about five hundred, came, after Menippus had fixed his camp under Salganea, at Hermæus, the place of passage from Bœotia to the island of Eubœa. They had with them Mictio, who had been sent express from Chalcis to Quintius, to solicit the reinforcement; and when he perceived that the passes were blocked up by the enemy, he quitted the road to Aulis, and turned away to Delium, with intent to pass over thence to Eubœa.

LI. Delium is a temple of Apollo, standing over the sea, five miles distant from Tanagra; and the passage thence, to the nearest part of Eubœa, is less than four miles. As they were in this sacred building and grove, sanctified with all that religious awe and those privileges which belong to temples, called by the Greeks asylums, (war not being yet either proclaimed, or so far commenced as that they had heard of swords being drawn, or blood shed any where,) the soldiers, in perfect tranquillity, amused themselves, some with viewing the temple and groves; others with walking about, unarmed, on the strand; and a great part had gone different ways in quest of wood and forage; when on a sudden, Menippus attacked them in that scattered condition, slew many, and took fifty of them prisoners. Very few made their escape, among whom was Mictio, who was received on board a small trading vessel. Though this event caused much grief to Quintius and the Romans, on account of the loss of their men, yet it tended greatly to the justification of their cause in making war on Antiochus. Antiochus, when arrived with his army so near as Aulis, sent again to Chalcis a deputation, composed partly of his own people, and partly of Ætolians, to treat on the same grounds as before, but with heavier denunciations of vengeance: and, notwithstanding all the efforts of Mictio and Xenoclides to the contrary, he carried his point, and the gates were opened to him. Those who adhered to the Roman interest, on the approach of the king, withdrew from the city. The soldiers of the Achæans, and Eumenes, held Salganea; and the few Romans who had escaped, raised, for the security of the place, a little fort on the Euripus. Menippus laid siege to Salganea, and the king himself to the fort. The Achæans and Eumenes’ soldiers first surrendered, on the terms of being allowed to retire in safety. The Romans defended their fortress with more obstinacy. But even these, when they found themselves completely invested both by land and sea, and saw the machines and engines prepared for an assault, could hold out no longer. The king, having thus got possession of the capital of Eubœa, the other cities of the island did not even attempt resistance; and he seemed to himself to have signalized the commencement of the war by an important acquisition, in having brought under his power so great an island, and so many cities so conveniently situated.

BOOK XXXVI.

Manius Acilius Glabrio, consul, aided by King Philip, defeats Antiochus at Thermopylæ, and drives him out of Greece; reduces the Ætolians to sue for peace. Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica reduces the Boian Gauls to submission. Sea-fight between the Roman fleet and that of Antiochus, in which the Romans are victorious.

Y. R. 561.
191.I.Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of Cneius, and Manius Acilius Glabrio, consuls on their assuming the administration, were ordered by the senate, before they settled any thing respecting their provinces, to perform sacrifices, with victims of the greater kinds, at all the shrines where the lectisternium was usually celebrated for the greater part of the year; and to offer prayers, that the business which the state had in contemplation, concerning a new war, might terminate prosperously and happily for the senate and people of Rome. At every one of those sacrifices, appearances were favourable, and the propitious omens were found in the first victims. Accordingly, the haruspices gave this answer:—That, by this war, the boundaries of the Roman empire would be enlarged; and that victory and triumph were portended. When this answer was reported, the senate, having their minds now freed from every religious scruple, ordered this question to be proposed to the people: “Was it their will, and did they order, that war should be undertaken against king Antiochus, and all who should join his party?” And that, if that order passed, then the consuls were, if they thought proper, to lay the business entire before the senate. Publius Cornelius got the order passed; and then the senate decreed, that the consuls should cast lots for the provinces of Italy and Greece; that he, to whose lot Greece fell, should, in addition to the number of soldiers enlisted and raised from the allies by Quintius for that province, pursuant to a decree of the senate, take under his command that army, which, in the preceding year, Marcus Bæbius, prætor, had, by order of the senate, carried over to Macedonia. Permission was also granted him, to receive succours from the allies, out of Italy, if circumstances should so require, provided their number did not exceed five thousand. It was resolved, that Lucius Quintius, consul of the former year, should be commissioned as lieutenant-general in that war. The other consul, to whom Italy fell, was ordered to carry on the war with the Boians, with whichever he should choose of the two armies commanded by the consuls of the last year; and to send the other to Rome; and these were ordered to be the city legions, and ready to march to whatever place the senate should direct.

II. Things being thus adjusted in the senate, excepting the assignment of his particular province to each of the magistrates, the consuls were ordered to cast lots. Greece fell to Acilius, Italy to Cornelius. The lot of each being now determined, the senate passed a decree, that “inasmuch as the Roman people had ordered war to be declared against king Antiochus, and those who were under his government, the consuls should command a supplication to be performed, on account of that business; and that Manius Acilius, consul, should vow the great games to Jupiter, and offerings at all the shrines.” This vow was made by the consul in these words, which were dictated by Publius Licinius, chief pontiff: “If the war, which the people has ordered to be undertaken against king Antiochus, shall be concluded agreeably to the wishes of the senate and people of Rome, then, O Jupiter, the Roman people will, through ten successive days, exhibit the great games in honour of thee, and offerings shall be presented at all the shrines, of such value as the senate shall direct. Whatever magistrate shall celebrate those games, and at whatever time and place, let the celebration be deemed proper, and the offerings rightly and duly made.” The two consuls then proclaimed a supplication for two days. When the consuls had determined their provinces by lots, the prætors, likewise, immediately cast lots for theirs. The two civil jurisdictions fell to Marcus Junius Brutus; Bruttium, to Aulus Cornelius Mammula; Sicily, to Marcus Æmilius Lepidus; Sardinia, to Lucius Oppius Salinator: the fleet, to Caius Livius Salinator; and farther Spain, to Lucius Æmilius Paullus. The troops for these were settled thus:—to Aulus Cornelius were assigned the new soldiers, raised last year by Lucius Quintius, consul, pursuant to the senate’s decree; and he was ordered to defend the whole coast near Tarentum and Brundusium. Lucius Æmilius Paullus was directed to take with him into farther Spain, (to fill up the numbers of the army, which he was to receive from Marcus Fulvius, pro-prætor,) three thousand new raised foot, and three hundred horse, of whom two-thirds should be Latine allies, and the other third Roman citizens. An equal reinforcement was sent to hither Spain, to Caius Flaminius, who was continued in command. Marcus Æmilius Lepidus was ordered to receive both the province and army from Lucius Valerius, whom he was to succeed, and, if he thought proper, to retain Lucius Valerius, as proprætor, in the province, which he was to divide with him in such a manner, that one division should reach from Agrigentum to Pachynum, and the other from Pachynum to Tyndarium, the sea-coasts whereof Lucius Valerius was to protect with a fleet of twenty ships of war. The same prætor received a charge to levy two tenths of corn, and to take care that it should be carried to the coast, and thence conveyed into Greece. Lucius Oppius was likewise commanded to levy a second tenth in Sardinia; but with directions that it should be transported, not into Greece, but to Rome. Caius Livius, the prætor, whose lot was the command of the fleet, was ordered to sail directly to Greece with thirty ships, which were ready, and to receive the other fleet from Atilius. The prætor Marcus Junius was commissioned to refit and arm the old ships which were in the dock-yards; and, for the manning of these, to enlist the sons of freemen as seamen.

III. Commissaries were sent into Africa, three to Carthage, and a like number to Numidia, to procure corn to be carried into Greece; for which the Roman people were to pay the value. And so particularly attentive was the state to the making of every preparation and provision necessary for the carrying on of this war, that the consul, Publius Cornelius, published an edict, that “no senator, nor any who had the privilege of giving an opinion in the senate, nor any of the inferior magistrates, should go so far from the city of Rome as that they could not return the same day; and that not more than five of the senators should be absent at the same time.” The exertions of the prætor, Caius Livius, in fitting out the fleet, were for some time retarded by a dispute which arose with the maritime colonies. For, when he insisted on their manning the ships, they appealed to the tribunes of the people, by whom the cause was referred to the senate. The senate, without one dissenting voice, resolved, that those colonies were not entitled to exemption from the sea-service. The colonies which disputed this point with the prætor were, Ostia, Fregenæ, Castrumnovum, Pyrgi, Antium, Tarracina, Minturnæ, and Sinuessa. The consul, Manius Acilius, then, by direction of the senate, consulted the college of heralds, “whether a declaration of war should be made to Antiochus in person, or whether it would be sufficient to declare it at some of his garrison towns; whether they directed a separate declaration against the Ætolians, and whether their alliance and friendship ought not to be renounced before war was declared.” The heralds answered, that “they had given their judgment before, when they were consulted respecting Philip, that it was of no consequence whether the declaration were made to himself in person, or at one of his garrisons. That, in their opinion, friendship had been already renounced; because, after their ambassadors had so often demanded restitution, the Ætolians had not thought proper to make either restitution or apology. That these, by their own act, had made a declaration of war against themselves, when they seized, by force, Demetrias, a city in alliance with Rome; when they laid siege to Chalcis by land and sea; and brought king Antiochus into Europe, to make war on the Romans.” Every preparatory measure being now completed, the consul Manius Acilius issued an edict, that “the soldiers enlisted or raised from among the allies by Titus Quintius, and who were under orders to go with him to his province; as, likewise, the military tribunes of the first and third legions, should assemble at Brundusium, on the ides of May.” He himself, on the fifth before the nones of May, set out from the city in his military robe of command. The prætors, likewise, departed for their respective provinces.

IV. A little before this time, ambassadors came to Rome from the two kings, Philip of Macedonia, and Ptolemy of Egypt, offering aid of men, money, and corn, towards the support of the war. From Ptolemy was brought a thousand pounds weight of gold, and twenty thousand pounds weight of silver. None of this was accepted. Thanks were returned to the kings. Both of them offered to come, with their whole force, into Ætolia. Ptolemy was excused from that trouble; and Philip’s ambassadors were answered, that the senate and people of Rome would consider it as a kindness if he lent his assistance to the consul Manius Acilius. Ambassadors came, likewise, from the Carthaginians, and from king Masinissa. The Carthaginians made an offer of sending a thousand pecks of wheat, and five hundred thousand of barley to the army, and half that quantity to Rome, which they requested the Romans to accept from them as a present. They also offered to fit out a fleet at their own expense, and to give in, immediately, the whole amount of the annual tribute-money which they were bound to pay for many years to come. The ambassadors of Masinissa promised, that their king should send five hundred thousand pecks of wheat, and three hundred thousand of barley, to the army in Greece, and three hundred thousand of wheat, and two hundred and fifty thousand of barley, to Rome; also five hundred horse, and twenty elephants, to the consul Acilius. The answer given to both, with regard to the corn, was, that the Roman people would make use of it, provided they would receive payment for the same. With regard to the fleet offered by the Carthaginians, no more was accepted than such ships as they owed by treaty; and, as to the money, they were told, that none would be taken before the regular days of payment.

V. While affairs at Rome proceeded in this manner, Antiochus, during the winter season at Chalcis, endeavoured to bring over several of the states by ambassadors sent among them; while many of their own accord sent deputies to him; as the Epirots, by the general voice of the nation, and the Eleans from Peloponnesus. The Eleans requested aid against the Achæans; for they supposed, that, since the war had been declared against Antiochus contrary to their judgment, the Achæans would first turn their arms against them. One thousand foot were sent to them, under the command of Euphanes, a Cretan. The embassy of the Epirots showed no mark whatever of a liberal or candid disposition. They wished to ingratiate themselves with the king; but, at the same time, to avoid giving cause of displeasure to the Romans. They requested him, “not hastily, to make them a party in the dispute, exposed, as they were, opposite to Italy, and in the front of Greece, where they must necessarily undergo the first assaults of the Romans. If he himself, with his land and sea-forces, could take charge of Epirus, the inhabitants would joyfully receive him in all their ports and cities. But if circumstances allowed him not to do that, then they earnestly entreated him not to subject them, naked and defenceless, to the arms of the Romans.” Their intention in sending him this message evidently was, that if he declined going into Epirus, which they rather supposed would be the case, they stood clear of all blame with regard to the Romans, while they sufficiently recommended themselves to the king by their willingness to receive him on his coming; and that, on the other hand, if he should come, even then they were not without hopes of being pardoned by the Romans, for having yielded to the strength of a prince who was in the heart of their country, without waiting for succour from them, who were so far distant. To this evasive embassy, as he did not readily think of a proper answer, he replied, that he would send ambassadors to confer upon such matters as were of common concernment both to him and them.

VI. Antiochus went himself into Bœotia, where the ostensible causes held out, for the public resentment to the Romans were those already mentioned: the death of Brachyllas, and the attack made by Quintius on Coronea, on account of the massacre of the Roman soldiers; while the real ones were, that the former excellent policy of that nation, with respect both to public and private concerns, had, for several geerations, been on the decline; and that great numbers were in such circumstances, that they could not long subsist without some change in affairs. Through multitudes of the principal Bœotians, who every where flocked out to meet him, he arrived at Thebes. There, notwithstanding that he had (both at Delium, by the attack made on the Roman troops, and also at Chalcis) already commenced hostilities, by enterprises of neither a trifling nor of a dubious nature, yet in a general council of the nation, he delivered a speech of the same import with that which he delivered in the first conference at Chalcis, and that used by his ambassadors in the council of the Achæans; that “what he required of them was, to form a league of friendship with him, not to declare war against the Romans.” But not a man among them was ignorant of his meaning. However, a decree, disguised under a slight covering of words, was passed in his favour against the Romans. After securing this nation also on his side, he returned to Chalcis; and, having despatched letters summoning the chief Ætolians to meet him at Demetrias, that he might deliberate with them on the general plan of operations, he went thither by sea. Amynander, likewise, was called from Athamania to the consultation; and Hannibal, who for a long time before, had not been asked to attend, was present at this assembly. The subject of their deliberation was, the mode of conduct proper to be pursued towards the Thessalian nation; and every one present was of opinion, that it was necessary to obtain their concurrence. The only points on which opinions differed were, that some thought the attempt ought to be made immediately; while others judged it better to defer it for the winter season, which was then about half spent, until the beginning of spring. Some advised to send ambassadors; others, that the king should go at the head of all his forces, and, if they hesitated, terrify them into compliance.

VII. Although the present debate turned chiefly on these points, Hannibal, being called on by name to give his opinion, led the king, and those who were present, into the consideration of the general conduct of the war, by a speech to this effect:—“If I had been employed in your councils since we came first into Greece, when you were consulting about Eubœa, the Achæans, and Bœotia, I would have offered the same advice which I shall offer you this day, when your thoughts are employed about the Thessalians. My opinion is, that, above all things, Philip and the Macedonians should, by some means or other, be engaged to act as confederates in this war. For, as to Eubœa, as well as the Bœotians and Thessalians, is it not perfectly clear, that, having no strength of their own, they will ever court the power that is present; and will make use of the same fear, which governs their councils, as an argument for obtaining pardon? That, as soon as they shall see a Roman army in Greece they will change sides, and attach themselves to that government, to which they have been accustomed? Nor are they to blame, if, when the Romans were at so great a distance, they did not choose to try your force, and that of your army, who were on the spot. How much more advisable, therefore, and more advantageous would it be, to unite Philip to us, than these; as, if he once embarks in the cause, he will have no room for retreat, and as he will bring with him such a force, as will not only be an accession to a power at war with Rome, but was able, lately, of itself, to withstand the Romans? With such an ally, (I wish to speak without offence,) how could I harbour a doubt about the issue? When I should see the very persons who enabled the Romans to overcome Philip, now ready to act against them? The Ætolians, who, as all agree, conquered Philip, will fight in conjunction with Philip against the Romans. Amynander and the Athamanian nation, who, next to the Ætolians, performed the greatest services in that war, will stand on our side. The Macedonian, at the time when you remained inactive, sustained the whole burden of the war. Now, you and he, two of the greatest kings, will, with the force of Asia and Europe, wage war against one state; which, to say nothing of my own contests with them, either prosperous or adverse, was certainly, in the memory of our fathers, unequal to a dispute with a single king of Epirus; what then, I say, must it be in competition with you two? But it may be asked, what circumstances, induce me to believe that Philip may be brought to an union with us? First, common utility; which is the strongest cement of union; and next, my reliance, Ætolians, on your veracity. For Thoas, your ambassador, among the other arguments which he used to urge, for the purpose of drawing Antiochus into Greece, always laid particular stress on this assertion; that Philip expressed extreme indignation at being reduced to the condition of a slave under the appearance of conditions of peace; comparing the king’s anger to that of a wild beast chained, or shut up, and wishing to break the bars that confined it. Now, if his temper of mind is such, let us loose his chains, let us break these bars, that he may vent, upon the common foe, this anger so long pent up. But should our embassy fail of producing any effect on him, let us then take care, that if we cannot unite him to ourselves, he may not be united to our enemies. Your son, Seleucus, is at Lysimachia; and if, with the army which he has there, he shall pass through Thrace, and once begin to make depredations on the nearest parts of Macedonia, he will effectually divert Philip from carrying aid to the Romans, and will oblige him to endeavour, in the first place, to protect his own dominions. Thus much respecting Philip. With regard to the general plan of the war, you have, from the beginning, been acquainted with my sentiments; and if my advice had been listened to, the Romans would not now hear that Chalcis in Eubœa was taken, and a fort on the Euripus reduced; but that Etruria, and the whole coast of Liguria and Cisalpine Gaul, were in a blaze of war; and, what would strike more terror into them thau all, that Hannibal was in Italy. Even as matters stand at present, I recommend it to you, to call home all your land and sea forces; let store-ships with provisions follow the fleet: for, as we are here too few for the exigences of the war, so are we too many for the scanty supplies of necessaries. When you shall have collected together the whole of your force, you will divide the fleet, and keep one division stationed at Corcyra, that the Romans may not have a clear and safe passage; and the other you will send to the coast of Italy, opposite Sardinia and Africa; while you yourself, with all the land forces, will proceed to the territory of Byllium. In this position you will hold the command of all Greece; you will give the Romans reason to think, that you intend to sail over to Italy; and you will be in readiness so to do, if occasion require. This is my advice: and though I may not be the most skilful in every kind of wartare, yet surely I must be allowed to have learned, in a long series of both good and bad fortune, how to wage war against the Romans. For the execution of the measures which I have advised, I offer you my most faithful and zealous endeavours. Whatever plan you shall prefer, may the gods grant it their approbation.”

VIII. Such, nearly, was the counsel given by Hannibal, which the hearers commended indeed at the time, but never carried into effect. For not one article of it was executed, except the sending Polyxenidas to bring over the fleet and army from Asia. Ambassadors were sent to Larissa, to the diet of the Thessalians. The Ætolians and Amynander appointed a day for the assembling of their troops at Pheræ, and the king, with his forces, came thither immediately. While he waited there for Amynander and the Ætolians, he sent Philip, the Megalopolitan, with two thousand men, to collect the bones of the Macedonians round Cynoscephalæ, where had been fought the battle which decided the war with king Philip; being advised to this, either in order to gain favour with the Macedonians, and draw their displeasure on the king for having left his soldiers unburied: or having of himself, through the spirit of vain-glory incident to kings, conceived such a design,—splendid, indeed, in appearance, but really insignificant. There is a mount there formed of the bones which had been scattered about, and were then collected into one heap. Although this step procured him no thanks from the Macedonians, yet it excited the heaviest displeasure of Philip; in consequence of which, he, who had hitherto intended to regulate his counsels by the fortune of events, now sent instantly a messenger to the proprætor, Marcus Bæbius, to inform him that “Antiochus had made an irruption into Thessaly; and to request of Bæbius, if he thought proper, to move out of his winter-quarters; which if he did, he himself would advance to meet him, that they might consider together what was proper to be done.”

IX. While Antiochus lay encamped near Pheræ, where the Ætolians and Amynander had joined him, ambassadors came to him from Larissa, desiring to know on account of what acts or words of theirs, he had made war on the Thessalians; at the same time requesting him to withdraw his army; and, if he had conceived any reason of disagreement, to discuss it amicably by commissioners. In the mean time, they sent five hundred soldiers, under the command of Hippolochus, to re-inforce Pheræ; but these, being debarred of access by the king’s troops, who blocked up all the roads, retired to Scotussa. The king answered the Larissan ambassadors in mild terms, that “he came into their country, not with a design of making war, but of protecting and establishing the liberty of the Thessalians.” He sent a person to make a similar declaration to the people of Pheræ, who, without giving him any answer, sent to the king, in quality of ambassador, Pausanias, the first magistrate of their state. He offered remonstrances of a similar kind with those which had been urged in behalf of the people of Chalcis, at the first conference, on the streight of the Euripus, as the cases were similar, and he even proceeded to a greater degree of boldness; on which the king desired that they would consider seriously, before they adopted a resolution, which, while they were over-cautious and provident of futurity, would give them immediate cause of repentance; and then dismissed him. When the Pheræans were acquainted with the result of this embassy, without the smallest hesitation, they determined to endure whatever the fortune of war might bring on them, rather than violate their engagements with the Romans. They accordingly exerted their utmost efforts to provide for the defence of the place, while the king, on his part, resolved to assail the walls on every side at once; and considering, what was evidently the case, that it depended on the fate of this city, the first which he had besieged, whether he should for the future be despised, or dreaded, by the whole nation of the Thessalians, he put in practice, every where, all possible means of striking them with terror. The first fury of the assault they supported with great firmness; but in some time, great numbers of their men being either slain or wounded, their resolution began to fail. However, they were soon so far reanimated by the rebukes of their leaders, as to resolve on persevering in their resistance; and having abandoned the exterior circle of the wall, for the defence of which their numbers were now insufficient, they withdrew to the interior part of the city, round which had been raised a fortification of less extent. At last, being overcome by distresses of every kind, and fearing that, if they were taken by storm, they might meet no mercy from the conqueror, they capitulated. The king then lost no time; but, while the alarm was fresh, sent four thousand men against Scotussa, which surrendered without delay, the garrison taking warning from the recent example of those in Pheræ; who, notwithstanding their obstinate refusal at first, were at length compelled by sufferings to submit. Together with the town, Hippolochus and the Larissan garrison were yielded to him, all of whom he dismissed unhurt; hoping that such behaviour would operate powerfully towards conciliating the esteem of the Larissans.

X. Having accomplished all this within the space of ten days after his arrival at Pheræ, he marched, with his whole force, to Cranon, which submitted on his first approach. He then took Cypæra and Metropolis, and the forts in their neighbourhood; and now every town, in all that tract, was in his power, except Atrax and Gyrton. He next resolved to lay siege to Larissa, for he hoped that (either through dread inspired by the storming of the other towns, or in consideration of his kindness in dismissing the troops of their garrison, or being led by the example of so many cities surrendering themselves,) they would now lay aside their obstinacy. Having ordered the elephants to advance in front of the battalions, for the purpose of striking terror, he approached the city with his army in order of battle; which had such an effect on a great number of the Larissans, that they became irresolute and perplexed, between their fears of the enemy at their gates, and their respect for their distant allies. Meantime, Amynander, with the Athamanian troops, seized on Pellinæus, while Menippus, with three thousand Ætolian foot and two hundred horse, marched into Perrhæbia, where he took Mallæa and Cyretia by assault, and ravaged the lands of Tripolis. After executing these enterprises with despatch, they marched back to Larissa, where they joined the king, just when he was holding a council on the method of proceeding with regard to that place. On this occasion there were opposite opinions: for some thought that force should be applied; that there was no time to be lost, but that the walls should be immediately attacked with works and machines on all sides at once; especially as the city stood in a plain, the entrances open, and the approaches every where level. While others represented at one time the strength of the city, greater beyond comparison than that of Pheræ; at another, the approach of the winter season, unfit for any operation of war, much more so for besieging and assaulting cities. While the king’s judgment hung in suspense between hope and fear, his courage was raised by ambassadors happening to arrive just at the time from Pharsalus, to make surrender of the same. In the meantime Marcus Bæbius had a meeting with Philip in Dassaretia, and, in conformity to their joint opinion, sent Appius Claudius to re-inforce Larissa, who, making long marches through Macedonia, arrived at that summit of the mountains which overhang Gonni. The town of Gonni is twenty miles distant from Larissa, standing at the opening of the valley called Tempe. Here, by enlarging the extent of his camp beyond what his numbers required, and kindling more fires than were necessary, he imposed on the enemy the opinion which he wished, that the whole Roman army was there, and king Philip along with them. Antiochus, therefore, pretending the near approach of winter as his motive, staid but one day longer, then withdrew from Larissa, and returned to Demetrias. The Ætolians and Athamanians retired to their respective countries. Appius, although he saw that, by the siege being raised, the purpose of his commission was fulfilled, yet resolved to go down to Larissa, to strengthen the resolution of the allies against future contingences. Thus the Larissans enjoyed a twofold happiness, from the departure of the enemy out of their country, and from seeing a Roman garrison in their city.

XI. Antiochus went from Demetrias to Chalcis; where he became captivated with a young woman, daughter of Cleoptolemus. Her father was unwilling to enter into a connexion which might probably involve him in difficulties, until at length, by messages, and afterwards by personal importunities, he gained his consent; and then he celebrated his nuptials in the same manner as if it were a time of profound peace. Forgetting the two important undertakings in which he was engaged,—the war with Rome, and the liberating of Greece,—he banished every thought of business from his mind, and spent the remainder of winter in feasting and carousals; and when fatigued, rather than cloyed, with these, in sleep. The same spirit of dissipation seized all his officers, who commanded in the several winter-quarters, particularly those stationed in Bœotia, and even the common men abandoned themselves to the same indulgences; not one of whom ever put on his armour, or kept watch or guard, or did any part of the duty or business of a soldier. This was carried to such a length, that when, in the beginning of spring, the king came through Phocis to Cheronæa, where he had appointed the general assembly of all the troops, he perceived at once that the discipline of the army during the winter had not been more rigid than that of their commander. He ordered Alexander, an Acarnanian, and Menippus, a Macedonian, to lead his forces thence to Stratum, in Ætolia; and he himself, after offering sacrifice to Apollo at Delphi, proceeded to Naupactum. After holding a council of the chiefs of Ætolia; he went by the road which leads by Chalcis and Lysimachia to Stratum, to meet his army which was coming along the Malian bay. Mnesilochus, a man of distinction among the Acarnanians, being bribed by many presents, not only laboured himself to dispose that nation in favour of the king, but had brought to a concurrence in the design, their prætor, Clytus, who was at the time invested with the highest authority. This latter, finding that the people of Leucas, the capital of Acarnania, could not be easily prevailed on to violate their former engagements, because they were afraid of the Roman fleets, one under Atilius, and another at Cephallenia, practised an artifice against them. He observed in the council, that the inland parts of Acarnania should be guarded from danger, and that all who were able to bear arms ought to march out to Medio and Thurium, to prevent those places from being seized by Antiochus, or the Ætolians; on which some said, that there was no occasion to call out all the people in that hasty manner, for a body of five hundred men would be sufficient for the purpose. Having got this number of soldiers at his disposal, he placed three hundred in garrison at Medio, and two hundred at Thurium, with the design that they should fall into the hands of the king, and serve hereafter as hostages.

XII. At this time, ambassadors from the king came to Medio, whose proposal being heard, the assembly began to consider what answer to give: when some advised to adhere to the alliance with Rome, and others, not to reject the friendship of the king; but Clitus offered an opinion, which seemed to take a middle course between the other two, and which was therefore adopted. It was, that ambassadors would be sent to the king, to request of him to allow the people of Medio to deliberate on a subject of such great importance in a general assembly of the Acarnanians. Care was taken that this embassy should be composed of Mnesilochus, and some others of his faction, who, sending a private message to the king to bring up his army, wasted time on purpose, so that they had scarcely set out, when Antiochus appeared in the territory, and presently at the gates of the city; and, while those who were not concerned in the plot, were all in hurry and confusion, and hastily called the young men to arms, he was conducted into the place by Clitus and Mnesilochus. One party of the citizens now joined him through inclination, and those who were of different sentiments were compelled by fear to attend him. He then calmed their apprehensions by a discourse full of mildness; and his clemency being reported abroad, several of the states of Acarnania, in hopes of meeting the same treatment, went over to his side. From Medio he went to Thurium, whither he had sent on before him the same Mnesilochus, and his colleagues in the embassy. But the detection of the treachery practised at Medio rendered the Thurians more cautious, not more timid. They answered him explicitly, that they would form no new alliance without the approbation of the Romans; they then shut their gates, and posted soldiers on the walls. Most seasonably for confirming the resolution of the Acarnanians, Cneius Octavius, being sent by Quintus, and having received a party of men and a few ships from Aulus Postumius, whom Atilius had appointed his lieutenant to command at Cephallenia, arrived at Leucas, and filled the allies with the strongest hopes; assuring them, that the consul Manius Acilius had already crossed the sea with his legions, and that the Roman forces were encamped in Thessaly. As the season of the year, which was by this time favourable for sailing, strengthened the credibility of this report, the king, after placing a garrison in Medio, and some other towns of Acarnania, retired from Thurium, and taking his route through the cities of Ætolia and Phocis, returned to Chalcis.

XIII. Marcus Bæbius and king Philip, after the meeting which they had in the winter in Dassaretia, when they sent Appius Claudius into Thessaly to raise the siege of Larissa, had returned to winter quarters, the season not being sufficiently advanced for entering on action, but now, in the beginning of spring, they united their forces, and marched into Thessaly. Antiochus was then in Acarnania. As soon as they entered that country, Philip laid siege to Mallæa, in the territory of Perrhæbia, and Bæbius, to Phacium. This town of Phacium he took almost at the first attempt, and then reduced Phæstus with as little delay. After this, he retired to Atrax; and having seized on Cyretiæ and Phricium, and placed garrisons in the places which he had reduced, he again joined Philip, who was carrying on the siege of Mallæa. On the arrival of the Roman army, the garrison, either awed by its strength, or hoping for pardon, surrendered themselves, and the combined forces marched, in one body, to recover the towns which had been seized by the Athamanians. These were Æginium, Ericinum, Gomphi, Silana, Tricca, Melibæa, and Phaloria. Then they invested Pellinæum, where Philip of Megalopolis was in garrison, with five hundred foot and forty horse; but before they made an assault, they sent a person to warn Philip, not to expose himself to the last extremities; to which he answered, with much confidence, that he could entrust himself either to the Romans or the Thessalians, but never would put himself in the power of the Macedonian. The confederate commanders now saw that they must have recourse to force, and thought that Limnæa might be attacked at the same time; it was therefore agreed, that the king should go against Limnæa, while Bæbius staid to carry on the siege of Pellinæum.

XIV. It happened that, just at this time, the consul, Manius Acilius, having crossed the sea with twenty thousand foot, two thousand horse, and fifteen elephants, ordered some military tribunes, chosen for the purpose, to lead the infantry to Larissa, and he himself with the cavalry came to Limnæa, to Philip. Immediately on the consul’s arrival, the town capitulated, and the king’s garrison, together with the Athamanians, were delivered up. From Limnæa the consul went to Pellinæum. Here the Athamanians surrendered first, and afterwards Philip of Megalopolis. King Philip, happening to meet the latter as he was coming out from the town, ordered his attendants, in derision, to salute him with the title of king; and he himself, coming up to him, with a sneer, highly unbecoming his own exalted station, accosted him by the name of brother. He was brought before the consul, who ordered him to be kept in confinement, and soon after sent him to Rome in chains. All the rest of the Athamanians, together with the soldiers of king Antiochus, who had been in garrison in the towns which surrendered about that time, were delivered over to Philip. They amounted to three thousand men. The consul went thence to Larissa, in order to hold a consultation on the general plan of operations; and, on his way, was met by ambassadors from Pieria and Metropolis, with the surrender of those cities. Philip treated the captured, particularly the Athamanians, with great kindness, in expectation of gaining, through them, the favour of their countrymen; and having hence conceived hopes of getting Athamania into his possession, he first sent forward the prisoners to their respective states, and then marched his army thither. The representations given by these of the king’s clemency and generosity towards them, operated strongly on the minds of the people; and Amynander, who, by his presence, had retained many in obedience, through the respect paid to his dignity, began now to dread that he might be delivered up to Philip, who had been long his professed enemy, or to the Romans, who were justly incensed against him for his late defection. He therefore, with his wife and children, quitted the kingdom, and retired to Ambracia. Thus all Athamania came under the authority and dominion of Philip. The consul delayed a few days at Larissa, for the purpose chiefly of refreshing the horses, which, by the voyage first, and marching afterwards, had been much harassed and fatigued; and when he had renewed the vigour of his army by a moderate share of rest, he marched to Cranon. On his way, Pharsalus, Scotussa, and Pheræ were surrendered to him, together with the garrisons placed in them by Antiochus. He asked these men, whether any of them chose to remain with him; and one thousand having declared themselves willing, he gave them to Philip; the rest he sent back, unarmed, to Demetrias. After this he took Proerna, and the forts adjacent; and then marched forwards toward the Malian bay. When he drew near to the pass on which Thaumaci is situated, all the young men of that place took arms, and, quitting the town, placed themselves in ambush in the woods adjoining the roads, and thence, with the advantage of higher ground, made attacks on the Roman troops as they marched. The consul first sent people to talk with them, and warn them to desist from such a mad proceeding; but, finding that they persisted in their undertaking, he sent round a tribune, with two companies of soldiers, to cut off the retreat of the men in arms, and took possession of the defenceless city. On this, the parties in ambush, hearing from behind the shouts occasioned by that event, fled homeward from all parts of the woods, but were intercepted and cut to pieces. From Thaumaci the consul came, on the second day, to the riven Sperchius, and, sending out parties, laid waste the country of the Hypatæans.

XV. During these transactions, Antiochus was at Chalcis, and now, perceiving that he had gained nothing from Greece to recompense his trouble, except pleasing winter-quarters and a disgraceful marriage, he warmly blamed Thoas, and the fallacious promises of the Ætolians, while he admired Hannibal as a man endowed not only with wisdom, but with a kind of prophetic skill, which had enabled him to foretel all that had come to pass. However, that he might not contribute to the failure of his inconsiderate enterprise by his own inactivity, he sent requisitions to the Ætolians, to arm all their young men, and assemble in a body. He went himself immediately into their country, at the head of about ten thousand foot, (the number having been filled up out of the troops which had come after him from Asia,) and five hundred horse. Their assembly on this occasion was far less numerous than ever before, none attending but the chiefs with a few of their vassals. These affirmed that they had, with the utmost diligence, tried every method to bring into the field as great a number as possible out of their respective states, but had not been able, either by argument, persuasion, or authority, to overcome the general aversion to the service. Being disappointed thus on all sides, both by his own people, who delayed in Asia, and by his allies, who did not fulfil those engagements by which they had prevailed on him to comply with their invitation, the king retired beyond the pass of Thermopylæ. A range of mountains here divides Greece in the same manner as Italy is divided by the ridge of the Appennines. Outside the streight of Thermopylæ, towards the north, lie Epirus, Perrhæbia, Magnesia, Thessaly, the Achæan Phthiothis, and the Malian bay; on the inside, towards the south, the greater part of Ætolia, Acarnania, Phocis, Locris, Bœotia, and the adjacent island of Eubœa, the territory of Attica, which stretches out like a promontory into the sea, and behind that, the Peloponnesus. This range of mountains, which extends from Leucas and the sea on the west, through Ætolia, to the opposite sea on the east, is so closely covered with thickets and craggy rocks, that, not to speak of an army, even persons lightly equipped for travelling, can with difficulty find paths through which they can pass. The hills at the eastern extremity are called Œta, and the highest of them Callidromus, in a valley, at the foot of which, reaching to the Malian bay, is a passage not broader than sixty paces. This is the only military road, by which an army can be led, even supposing no opposition. The place is, therefore, called Pylæ, the gate; and by some, on account of a warm spring, rising just at the entrance of it, Thermopylæ. It is rendered famous by the glorious stand made there by a party of Lacedæmonians against the Persians, and by their still more glorious death.

XVI. With a very inferior portion of spirit, Antiochus now pitched his camp within the inclosures of this pass, the difficulties of which he increased by raising fortifications, and when he had completely strengthened every part with a double rampart and trench, and, wherever it seemed requisite, with a wall formed of the stones which lay scattered about in abundance, being very confident that the Roman army would never attempt to force a passage there, he sent away one-half of the four thousand Ætolians, the number that had joined him, to garrison Heraclea, which stood opposite the entrance of the defile, and the other half to Hypata; for he concluded, that the consul would undoubtedly attack Heraclea, and he received accounts from many hands, of depredations committed on the country round Hypata. The consul, after ravaging the lands of Hypata first, and then those of Heraclea, in both which places the Ætolian detachments proved useless, encamped opposite to the king, in the very entrance of the pass, near the warm springs; both parties of the Ætolians shutting themselves up in Heraclea. Antiochus, who, before he saw the enemy, thought every spot perfectly well fortified, and secured by guards, now began to apprehend, that the Romans might discover some paths among the hills above, through which they could make their way; for he had heard that the Lacedæmonians formerly had been surrounded in that manner by the Persians, and Philip lately by the Romans themselves. He therefore despatched a messenger to the Ætolians at Heraclea, desiring them to afford him so much assistance, at least in the war, as to seize and secure the tops of the hills, so as to put it out of the power of the Romans to pass them. The delivery of this message raised a dissension among the Ætolians: some insisted that they ought to obey the king’s orders, and go where he desired; others that they ought to lie still at Heraclea, and wait the issue, be it what it might; for if the king should be defeated by the consul, their forces would be fresh, and in readiness to carry succour to their own states in the neighbourhood; and if he were victorious, they could pursue the Romans, while scattered in their flight. Each party not only adhered positively to its own plan, but even carried it into execution; two thousand lay still at Heraclea; and two thousand, divided into three parties, took possession of the summits called Callidromus, Rhoduntia, and Tichiuns.

XVII. When the consul saw that the heights were possessed by the Ætolians, he sent against those posts two men of consular rank, who acted as lieutenants-general, with two thousand chosen troops;—Lucius Valerius Flaccus against Rhoduntia and Tichiuns, and Marcus Porcius Cato against Callidromus. Then, before he led on his forces against the enemy, he called them to an assembly, employing a short exhortation to this effect: “Soldiers, I see that the greater part of you, who are present, of all ranks, are men who served in this same province, under the conduct and auspices of Titus Quintius. I therefore wish to remind you, that, in the Macedonian war, the pass at the river Aous was much more difficult than this before us. For this is only a gate, a single passage, formed as it were by nature; every other in the whole tract, between the two seas, being utterly impracticable. In the former case, there were stronger fortifications, and more advantageously situated. The enemy’s army was both more numerous, and composed of very superior men: for they were Macedonians, Thracians and Illyrians,—people remarkable for the ferocity of their courage; your present opponents are Syrians, and Asiatic Greeks, the most unsteady of men, and born slaves. The commander, there, was a king of extraordinary warlike abilities, improved by practice from his early youth, in wars against his neighbours, the Thracians and Illyrians, and all the adjoining nations. The king, with whom we have now to deal, is one, who, (to say nothing of his former life, after coming over from Asia into Europe to make war on the Roman people,) has, during the whole length of the winter, accomplished no more memorable exploit, than the taking a wife, to gratify his amorous inclinations, out of a private house, and a family obscure even among its neighbours: and now, this newly-married man. after indulging in the luxury of nuptial feasts, comes out to fight. His chief reliance was on the strength of the Ætolians,—a nation of all others, the most faithless and ungrateful, as you have formerly experienced, and as Antiochus now experiences. For they neither joined him with the great numbers that were promised, nor could they be kept in the field; and besides, they are now in a state of dissension among themselves. Although they demanded to be intrusted with the defence of Hypata and Heraclea, yet they defended neither; but one half of them fled to the tops of the mountains, while the others shut themselves up in Heraclea. The king himself, plainly confessing, that so far from daring to meet us in battle on the level plain, he durst not even encamp in open ground, has abandoned all that tract in front, which he boasted of having taken from us and Philip, and has hid himself behind the rocks, not even appearing in the opening of the pass, as it is said the Lacedæmonians did formerly, but drawing back his camp within the streight. Does not this demonstrate just the same degree of fear as if he had shut himself up within the walls of a city to stand a siege? But neither shall the streights protect Antiochus, nor the hills which they have seized, the Ætolians. Sufficient care and precaution has been used on every quarter, that you shall have nothing to contend with in the fight, but the enemy himself. On your parts, you have to consider, that you are not fighting merely for the liberty of Greece; although, were that all, it would be an achievement highly meritorious to deliver that country now from Antiochus and the Ætolians, which you formerly delivered from Philip; and that the wealth in the king’s camp will not be the whole prize of your labour; but that the great collection of stores, daily expected from Ephesus, will likewise become your prey; and also, that you will open a way for the Roman power into Asia, and Syria, and all the most opulent realms to the extremity of the East. What then must be the consequence, but that, from Gades to the Red Sea, we shall have no limit but the ocean, which encircles the whole orb of the earth; and that all mankind shall regard the Roman name with a degree of veneration next to that which they pay to the divinities? For the attainment of prizes of such magnitude, be ready to exert a spirit adequate to the occasion, that, to-morrow, with the aid of the gods, we may decide the matter in the field.”

XVIII. After this discourse he dismissed the soldiers, who, before they went to their repast, got ready their armour and weapons. At the first dawn, the signal of battle being displayed, the consul formed his troops with a narrow front, adapted to the nature and the straitness of the ground. When the king saw the enemy’s standards in motion, he likewise drew out his forces. He placed in the van, before the rampart, a part of his light-infantry; and behind them, as a support, close to the fortifications, the main strength of his Macedonians, whom they call Sarissophori, spearmen. On the left wing of these, at the foot of the mountain, he posted a body of javelin-bearers, archers, and slingers; that from the higher ground they might annoy the naked flank of the enemy: and on the right of the Macedonians, to the extremity of the works, where the deep morasses and quicksands, stretching thence to the sea, render the place impassable, the elephants with their usual guard in the rear of them, the cavalry; and then, with a moderate interval between, the rest of his forces as a second line. The Macedonians, posted before the rampart, for some time easily withstood the efforts which the Romans made every where to force a passage; for they received great assistance from those who poured down from the higher ground a shower of leaden balls from their slings, and of arrows, and javelins, all together. But afterwards, the enemy pressing on with greater and now irresistible force, they were obliged to give ground, and, filing off from the rear, retire within the fortification. Here, by extending their spears before them, they formed as it were a second rampart, for the rampart itself was of such a moderate height, that while its defenders enjoyed the advantage of the higher ground, they, at the same time, by the length of their spears, had the enemy within reach underneath. Many of the assailants, inconsiderately approaching the work, were run through the body; and they must either have abandoned the attempt and retreated, or have lost very great numbers, had not Marcus Porcius come from the summit of Callidromus, whence he had dislodged the Ætolians, after killing the greater part of them. These he had surprised, quite unprepared, and mostly asleep, and now he appeared on the hill which overlooked the camp. Flaccus had not met the same good fortune at Tichiuns and Rhoduntia; having failed in his attempts to approach those fastnesses.

XIX. The Macedonians, and others, in the king’s camp, as long as, on account of the distance, they could distinguish nothing more than a body of men in motion, thought they were the Ætolians, who, on seeing the fight, were coming to their aid. But when, on a nearer view, they knew the standards and arms, and thence discovered their mistake, they were all instantly seized with such a panic, that they threw down their arms and fled. The pursuit was somewhat retarded by the fortifications, and by the narrowness of the valley, through which the troops had to pass, and, above all, by the elephants being on the rear of the flying enemy, so that it was with difficulty that the infantry could make their way. This, indeed, the cavalry could by no means do, their horses being so frightened, that they threw one another into greater confusion than would be occasioned by a battle. The plundering of the camp, also, caused a considerable delay. But, notwithstanding all this, the Romans pursued the enemy that day as far as Scarphia, killing and taking on the way great numbers both of men and horses, and also killing such of the elephants as they could not secure; and then they returned to their post. This had been attacked, during the time of the action, by the Ætolians quartered at Heraclea; but the enterprise, which certainly showed no want of boldness, was not attended with any success. The consul, at the third watch of the following night, sent forward his cavalry in pursuit of the enemy; and, as soon as day appeared, set out at the head of the legions. The king had got far before him, for he fled with the utmost speed, and never halted until he came to Elatia. There he first endeavoured to collect the scattered remains of his army; and then with a very small body of half-armed men, he continued his retreat to Chalcis. The Roman cavalry did not overtake the king himself at Elatia; but they cut off a great part of his soldiers, who either halted through weariness, or wandered out of the way through mistake, as they fled without guides through unknown roads, so that, out of the whole army, not one escaped, except five hundred, who kept close about the king; and even of the ten thousand men, whom, on the authority of Polybius, we have mentioned as brought over by the king from Asia, a very trifling number got off. But what shall we say to the account given by Valerius Antias, that there were in the king’s army sixty thousand men, of whom forty thousand fell, and above five thousand were taken, with two hundred and thirty military standards? Of the Romans were slain in the action itself an hundred and fifty; and of the party that defended the camp against the assault of the Ætolians, not more than fifty.

XX. As the consul marched through Phocis and Bœotia, the revolted states, conscious of their demerits, and dreading lest they should be exposed as enemics to the ravages of the soldiers, presented themselves at the gates of their cities, with the badges of suppliants; but the army proceeded, during the whole time, just as if they were in the country of friends, without offering violence of any sort, until they reached the territory of Coronea. Here a statue of king Antiochus, standing in the temple of Minerva Itonia, kindled such violent resentment, that permission was given to the soldiers to plunder the surrounding lands. But the reflection quickly occurred, that, as the statue had been erected by a general vote of all the Bœotian states, it was unreasonable to resent it on the single district of Coronea. The soldiers were therefore immediately recalled, and the depredations stopped. The Bœotians were only reprimanded for their ungrateful behaviour to the Romans in return for great obligations, so recently conferred. At the very time when the battle was fought, ten ships belonging to the king, with their commander Isidorus, lay at anchor near Thronium, in the Malian bay. To them Alexander of Acarnania, being grievously wounded, made his escape, and gave an account of the unfortunate issue of the battle; on which the fleet, alarmed at the immediate danger, sailed away in haste to Cenæus in Eubœa. There Alexander died, and was buried. Three other ships, which came from Asia to the same port, on hearing the disaster which had befallen the army, returned to Ephesus. Isidorus sailed over from Cæneus to Demetrias, supposing that the king might perhaps have directed his flight thither. About this time, Aulus Atilius, commander of the Roman fleet, intercepted a large convoy of provisions going to the king, just as they had passed the streight at the island of Andros; some of the ships he sunk, and took many others. Those who were in the rear tacked about and steered back to Asia. Atilius, with the captured vessels in his train, sailed back to Piræeus, his former station, and distributed a vast quantity of corn among the Athenians, and the other allies in that quarter.

XXI. Antiochus, quitting Chalcis before the consul arrived there, first sailed to Tenus, and thence passed over to Ephesus. When the consul came to Chalcis, the gates were open to receive him; for Aristoteles, who commanded for the king, on hearing of his approach, had withdrawn from the city. The rest of the cities of Eubœa also submitted without opposition; and peace being restored all over the island, within the space of a few days, without inflicting punishment on any; the army, which had acquired much higher praise for moderation after victory, than even for the attainment of it, marched back to Thermopylæ. From this place, the consul despatched Marcus Cato to Rome, that the senate and people might learn what had passed from unquestionable authority. He set sail from Creusa, a sea-port belonging to the Thespians, seated at the bottom of the Corinthian gulf, and steered to Petræ in Achaia. From Petræ, he coasted along the shores of Ætolia and Acarnania, as far as Corcyra, and thence he passed over to Hydruntum in Italy. Proceeding hence, with rapid expedition, by land, he arrived on the fifth day at Rome. Having come into the city before day, he went on, directly from the gate, to Marcus Junius, the prætor, who, at the first dawn, assembled the senate. Here, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, who had been despatched by the consul several days before Cato, and on his arrival had heard that the latter had outstripped him, and was then in the senate, came in, just as he was giving a recital of the transactions. The two lieutenants-general were then, by order of the senate, conducted to the assembly of the people, where they gave the same account, as in the senate, of the services performed in Ætolia. Hereupon a decree was passed, that a supplication, of three days’ continuance, should be performed; and that the prætor should offer sacrifice to such of the gods as his judgment should direct, with forty victims of the larger kinds. About the same time, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, who, two years before, had gone into farther Spain, in the office of prætor, went through the city in ovation. He carried in the procession an hundred and thirty thousand silver denariuses, and, besides the coin, twelve thousand pounds weight of silver, and an hundred and twenty-seven pounds weight of gold.

XXII. The consul Acilius sent on, from Thermopylæ, a message to the Ætolians in Heraclea, warning them, “then at least, after the experience which they had of the emptiness of the king’s professions, to return to a proper way of thinking; and, by surrendering Heraclea, to endeavour to procure, from the senate, a pardon for their past madness, or error, if they rather chose so to call it;” and he observed that “other Grecian states also had, during the present war, revolted from the Romans, to whom they were under the highest obligations, but that, inasmuch as, after the flight of the king, whose presence had inspired that confidence which led them astray from their duty, they had not added obstinacy to their other crimes, they were re-admitted into friendship. In like manner, although the Ætolians had not followed the king’s lead, but had invited him, and had been principals in the war, not auxiliaries; nevertheless, if they could prevail on themselves to show a proper sense of their misconduct, they might still ensure their safety.” Their answer showed nothing like a pacific disposition; wherefore, seeing that the business must be determined by force of arms, and that, notwithstanding the defeat of the king, the war of Ætolia was as far from a conclusion as ever, Acilius led up his army from Thermopylæ to Heraclea, and, on the same day, rode on horseback entirely round the walls, in order to discover the strength of the city. Heraclea is situated at the foot of mount Oeta; the town itself is in the plain, but has a citadel overlooking it, which stands on an eminence of considerable height, terminated on all sides by precipices. Having examined every part which he wished to see, the consul determined to make the assault in four places at once. On the side next the river Asophus, where is also the Gymnasium, he gave the direction of the works to Lucius Valerius. He assigned to Tiberius Sempronius Longus, the attack of a part of the suburbs, which was as thickly inhabited as the city itself. He appointed Marcus Bæbius to act on the side opposite the Malian bay, where the access was far from easy; and Appius Claudius, on the side next to another rivulet, called Melas, the black, opposite to the temple of Diana. These exerted themselves with such vigorous emulation, that within a few days the towers, rams, and other machines used in the besieging of towns, were all completed. The lands round Heraclea, naturally marshy, and abounding with tall trees, furnished timber in abundance for every kind of work; and then, as the Ætolians had fled into the city, the deserted suburbs supplied not only beams and boards, but also bricks and mortar, and stones of every size for all their various occasions.

XXIII. The Romans carried on their approaches by means of works more than of personal exertions; the Ætolians maintained their defence by dint of arms. For when the walls were shaken by the ram, they did not, as is usual, intercept and turn aside the strokes by the help of nooses formed on ropes, but sallied out in large armed bodies, with parties carrying fire, in order to burn the machines. They had likewise arched passages through the parapet, for the purpose of making sallies; and when they built up the wall anew, in the room of any part that was demolished, they left a great number of these sally ports, that they might rush out in many places at once. In several days, at the beginning, while their strength was unimpaired, they carried on this practice in numerous parties, and with much spirit; but then, both their numbers and spirit daily decreased. For though they had a multiplicity of difficulties to struggle with, what above all things utterly consumed their vigour, was the want of sleep, as the Romans, having plenty of men, relieved each other regularly in their posts; while among the Ætolians, their numbers being small, the same persons were obliged to toil on without intermission. During a space of twenty-four days, they were kept day and night in one continued course of unremitting exertion, against the attacks carried on by the enemy in four different quarters at once; so that they never had an hour’s respite from action. When the consul, from computing the time, and from the reports of deserters, judged that the Ætolians were thoroughly fatigued, he adopted the following plan. At midnight he gave the signal of retreat, and drawing off all his men at once from the assault, kept them quiet in the camp until the third hour of the next day. The attacks were then renewed, and continued until midnight, when they ceased, until the third hour of the day following. The Ætolians imagined that the Romans suspended the attack from the same cause by which they felt themselves distressed,—excessive fatigue. As soon, therefore, as the signal of retreat was given to the Romans, as if themselves were thereby recalled from duty, every one gladly retired from his post, nor did they again appear in arms on the walls before the third hour of the day.

XXIV. The consul having put a stop to the assault at midnight, renewed it on three of the sides, at the fourth watch, with the utmost vigour; ordering Tiberius Sempronius, on the fourth, to keep his party alert, and ready to obey his signal; for he concluded assuredly, that, in the tumult by night, the enemy would all run to those quarters where they heard the shouts. Of the Ætolians, such as had gone to rest, with difficulty roused their bodies from sleep, exhausted, as they were, with fatigue and watching; and such as were still awake, ran, in the dark, to the places where they heard the noise of fighting. Meanwhile the Romans endeavoured to climb over the ruins of the walls, through the breaches; in others, strove to scale the walls with ladders; while the Ætolians hastened to defend the parts attacked. In one quarter, where the buildings stood outside the city, there was neither attack nor defence; but a party stood ready, waiting for the signal to make an attack, but there was none within to oppose them. The day now began to dawn, and the consul gave the signal; on which the party, without any opposition, made their way into the town; some through breaches, others scaling the walls where they were entire. As soon as the Ætolians heard them raise the shout, which denoted the place being taken, they every where forsook their posts, and fled into the citadel. The victors sacked the city; the consul having given permission, not for the sake of gratifying resentment or animosity, but that the soldiers, after having been restrained from plunder in so many captured cities, might at last, in some one place, enjoy the fruits of victory. About mid-day he recalled the troops; and, dividing them into two parts, ordered one to be led round by the foot of the mountain to a rock, which was of equal height with the citadel, and seemed as if it had been broken off from it, leaving a hollow between; but the summits of these eminences are so nearly contiguous, that weapons may be thrown into the citadel from their tops. With the other half of the troops the consul intended to march up from the city to the citadel, as soon as he should receive a signal from those who were to mount the rock on the farther side. The Ætolians in the citadel could not support the shout of the party which had seized the rock, and the consequent attack of the Romans from the city; for their courage was now broken, and the place was by no means in a condition to hold out a siege of any continuance; the women, children, and great numbers of other helpless people, being crowded together in a fort, which was scarce capable of containing, much less of affording protection to, such a multitude. On the first assault, therefore, they laid down their arms, and submitted. Among the rest was delivered up Damocritus, chief magistrate of the Ætolians, who at the beginning of the war, when Titus Quintius asked for a copy of the decree, passed by the Ætolians for inviting Antiochus, told him, that “in Italy, when the Ætolians were encamped there, it should be delivered to him.” This presumptuous insolence of his enhanced the satisfaction which the victors felt at his being put into their hands.

XXV. At the same time, while the Romans were employed in the reduction of Heraclea, Philip, by concert, besieged Lamia. He had had an interview with the consul, as he was returning from Bœotia, at Thermopylæ, whither he came to congratulate him and the Roman people on their successes, and to apologize for his not having taken an active part in the war, being prevented by sickness; and then they went from thence, by different routes, to lay siege to the two cities at once. The distance between these places is about seven miles; and as Lamia stands on high ground, and has an open prospect on that side particularly, the distance seems very short, and every thing that passes can be seen from thence. The Romans and Macedonians, with all the emulation of competitors for a prize, employed the utmost exertions, both night and day, either in the works or in fighting; but the Macedonians encountered greater difficulty, on this account, that the Romans made their approaches by mounds, covered galleries, and other works, which were all above ground; whereas the Macedonians worked under ground by mines, and, in that stony soil, often met a flinty rock, which iron could not penetrate. The king, seeing that little progress could be made in that way, endeavoured, by reasoning with the principal inhabitants, to prevail on them to surrender the place; for he was fully persuaded, that if Heraclea should be taken first, the Lamians would then choose to surrender to the Romans rather than to him; and that the consul would take to himself the merit of relieving them from a siege Nor was he mistaken in that opinion; for no sooner was Heraclea reduced, than a message came to him to raise the siege; because “it was more reasonable that the Roman soldiers, who had fought the Ætolians in the field, should reap the fruits of the victory.” Thus was Lamia relieved, and the misfortune of a neighbouring city proved the means of its escaping a like disaster.

XXVI. A few days before the capture of Heraclea, the Ætolians, having assembled a council at Hypata, sent ambassadors to Antiochus, among whom was Thoas, who had visited him before in the same capacity. Their instructions were, in the first place, to request the king again to assemble his land and marine forces, and come into Greece; and, in the next place, if it should be inconvenient to him to leave home, then to send them supplies of men and money. They were to remind him, that “it concerned his dignity and his honour, not to abandon his allies; and it likewise concerned the safety of his kingdom not to leave the Romans at full leisure, after ruining the nation of the Ætolians, to carry their whole force into Asia.” Their remonstrances were well founded, and therefore made the deeper impression on the king; in consequence of which, he immediately supplied the ambassadors with the money requisite for the exigences of the war, and assured them that he would send them succours both of troops and ships. He kept with him Thoas, who was not unwilling to stay, as he hoped that his presence might accelerate the performance of the king’s promises.

XXVII. But the loss of Heraclea entirely broke the spirits of the Ætolians; insomuch, that within a few days after they had sent ambassadors into Asia for the purpose of renewing the war, and inviting the king, they threw aside all thoughts of fighting, and despatched deputies to the consul to sue for peace. When these began to speak, the consul, interrupting them, said, that he had other business to attend to at present; and, ordering them to return to Hypata, granted them a truce for ten days, sending with them Lucius Valerius Flaccus, to whom, he desired, whatever business they intended to have proposed to himself might be communicated, with any other that they thought proper. On their arrival at Hypata, the chiefs of the Ætolians held a consultation, at which Flaccus was present, on the method to be used in treating with the consul. They showed an inclination to begin with setting forth the ancient treaties, and the services which they had performed to the Roman people; on which Flaccus desired them to “speak no more of treaties, which they themselves had violated and annulled.” He told them, that “they might expect more advantage from an acknowledgment of their fault, and submissive entreaty. For their hopes of safety rested not on the merits of their cause, but on the clemency of the Roman people. That, if they acted in a suppliant manner, he would himself be a solicitor in their favour, both with the consul and with the senate at Rome; for thither also they must send ambassadors.” This appeared to all the only way to safety: “to submit themselves entirely to the faith of the Romans. For, in that case, the latter would be ashamed to do injury to suppliants; while themselves would, nevertheless, retain the power of consulting their own interest, should fortune offer any thing more advantageous.”

XXVIII. When they came into the consul’s presence, Phæneas, who was at the head of the embassy, made a long speech, in which he endeavoured, by a variety of pathetic representations, to mitigate the wrath of the conqueror; and he concluded with saying, that “the Ætolians surrendered themselves, and all belonging to them, to the faith of the Roman people.” The consul, on hearing this, said, “Ætolians, consider well whether you will yield on these terms:” and then Phæneas produced the decree, in which the conditions were expressly mentioned. “Since then,” said the consul, “you submit in this manner, I demand that, without delay, you deliver up to me Dicæarchus your countryman, Menetas the Epirot,” who had with an armed force, entered Naupactum, and compelled the inhabitants to abandon the cause of Rome, “and also Amynander, with the Athamanian chiefs, by whose advice you revolted from us.” Phæneas, scarcely waiting until the Roman had done speaking, answered,—“We surrendered ourselves, not into slavery, but to your faith; and I take it for granted, that, from not being sufficiently acquainted with us, you fall into the mistake of commanding what is inconsistent with the practice of the Greeks.” “Nor, in truth,” replied the consul, “do I much concern myself, at present, what the Ætolians may think conformable to the practice of the Greeks; while I, conformably to the practice of the Romans, exercise authority over men, who just now surrendered themselves by a decree of their own, and were, before that, conquered by my arms. Wherefore, unless my commands are quickly complied with, I order that you be put in chains!” At the same time he ordered chains to be brought forth, and the lictors to surround the ambassadors. This effectually subdued the arrogance of Phæneas, and the other Ætolians; and, at length, they became sensible of their situation. Phæneas then said, that “as to himself and his countrymen there present, they knew that his commands must be obeyed: but it was necessary that a council of the Ætolians should meet, to pass decrees accordingly; and that, for that purpose, he requested a suspension of arms for ten days.” At the intercession of Flaccus this was granted, and the Ætolians returned to Hypata. When Phæneas related here, in the select council, called Apocleti, the orders which they had received, and the treatment which they had narrowly escaped; although the melancholy condition to which they were reduced, drew forth the deepest lamentations from the members present, nevertheless they were of opinion, that the conqueror must be obeyed, and that the Ætolians should be summoned, from all their towns, to a general assembly.

XXIX. But when the assembled multitude heard the same account, they were so highly exasperated, both by the harshness of the order, and the indignity offered, that, even if they had been in a pacific temper before, the violent impulse of anger which they then felt, would have been sufficient to rouse them to war. There occurred, beside, the difficulty of executing the orders, for, “how was it possible for them, for instance, to deliver up king Amynander?” It happened also, that a favourable prospect seemed to open to them; for Nicander, returning from king Antiochus at that juncture, filled the minds of the people with unfounded assurances, that immense preparations for war were going on both by land and sea. This man, after finishing the business of his embassy, set out on his return to Ætolia; and, on the twelfth day after he embarked, reached Phalara, on the Malian bay. Having conveyed thence, to Lamia, the money that he had brought, he, with a few light troops, directed, in the evening, his course towards Hypata, by known paths, through the country which lay between the Roman and Macedonian camps. Here he fell in with an advanced guard of the Macedonians, and was conducted to the king, who had not yet risen from dinner. Philip, being told of his coming, received him as a guest, not an enemy; desired him to take a seat, and a share of the entertainment; and afterwards, when he dismissed the rest, detained him alone, and told him, that he had nothing to fear for himself. He censured severely the conduct of the Ætolians, in bringing, first the Romans, and afterwards Antiochus, into Greece; designs which originated in a want of judgment, and always fell heavy on their own heads. But “he would forget,” he said, “all past transactions, which it was easier to blame than to amend; nor would he act in such a manner as to appear to insult their misfortunes. On the other hand, it would become the Ætolians to lay aside, at length, their animosity towards him; and it would become Nicander himself, in his private capacity, to remember that day, on which he was to be indebted to him for his preservation.” He then gave him an escort to a place of safety; and Nicander arrived at Hypata, while his countrymen were consulting about the peace with Rome.

XXX. Manius Acilius having sold, or given to the soldiers, the booty found near Heraclea, and having learned that the councils adopted at Hypata were not of a pacific nature, but that the Ætolians had hastily assembled at Naupactum, with intention to make a stand there against all their adversaries, sent forward Appius Claudius, with four thousand men, to seize the tops of the hills, where the passes were difficult; and he himself, ascending mount Oeta, offered sacrifice to Hercules in the spot called Pyra, because there the mortal part of that demi-god was burned. He then set out with the main body of the army, and marched all the rest of the way with tolerable ease and expedition. But when they came to Corax, a very high mountain between Callipolis and Naupactum, great numbers of the beasts of burden, together with their loads, tumbled down the precipices, by which many of the men were hurt. This clearly showed an extraordinary degree of negligence in the enemy, who had not secured the pass by a guard, and which must have greatly incommoded the Romans; for, even as the case was, the army suffered considerably. Hence he marched down to Naupactum; and having erected a fort against the citadel, he invested the other parts of the city, dividing his forces according to the situation of the walls. Nor was this siege likely to prove less difficult and laborious than that of Heraclea.

XXXI. At the same time, the Achæans laid siege to Messene, in Peloponnesus, because it refused to become a member of their body: for the two states of Messene and Elis were unconnected with the Achæan confederacy, and favoured the designs of the Ætolians. However the Eleans, after Antiochus had been driven out of Greece, answered the deputies, sent by the Achæans, with more moderation: that “when the king’s troops were removed, they would consider what part they should take.” But the Messenians had dismissed the deputies without an answer, and prepared for war. Alarmed, afterwards, at the danger of their situation, when they saw the enemy ravaging their country without control, and pitching their camp almost at their gates, they sent deputies to Chalcis, to Titus Quintius, the author of their liberty, to acquaint him, that “the Messenians were willing, both to open their gates, and surrender their city to the Romans, but not to the Achæans.” On hearing this, Quintius immediately set out, and despatched from Megalopolis a messenger to Diophanes, prætor of the Achæans, requiring him to draw off his army instantly from Messene, and to come to him. Diophanes obeyed the order; raising the siege, he hastened forward himself before the army and met Quintius near Andania, a small town between Megalopolis and Messene. When he began to explain the reasons for commencing the siege, Quintius, gently reproving him for undertaking a business of that importance without consulting him, ordered him to disband his forces, and not to disturb a peace which had been established on terms highly beneficial to all. He commanded the Messenians to recal the exiles, and to unite themselves to the confederacy of the Achæans; and if there were any particulars to which they chose to object, or any precautions judged requisite against future contingencies, they might apply to him at Corinth. He then gave directions to Diophanes, to convene immediately a general council of the Achæans, that he might settle some business with them.

XXXII. In this assembly, he complained of their having acquired possession of the Island of Zacynthus by unfair means, and demanded that it should be restored to the Romans. Zacynthus had formerly belonged to Philip, king of Macedonia, and he had made it over to Amynander, in requital of his having given him leave to march an army, through Athamania, into the upper part of Ætolia, on that expedition wherein he reduced the Ætolians to despair, and compelled them to sue for peace. Amynander gave the government of the island to Philip, the Megalopolitan; and afterwards, during the war in which he acted in conjunction with Antiochus against the Romans, having called out Philip to a command in the field, he sent as his successor, Hierocles, of Agrigentum. This man, after the defeat of Antiochus at Thermopylæ, and the expulsion of Amynander from Athamania by Philip, sent emissaries of his own accord to Diophanes, prætor of the Achæans; and having bargained for a sum money, put the Achæans in possession of the island. This acquisition, made during the war, the Romans claimed as their own; for they said, that “it was not for Diphanes and the Achæans, that the consul Manius Acilius, and the Roman legions, fought at Thermopylæ.” Diophanes, in answer, sometimes apologized for himself and his nation; sometimes insisted on the justice of the proceeding. But several of the Achæans testified that they had, from the beginning, disapproved of that business, and they now blamed the obstinacy of the prætor. Pursuant to their advice, a decree was made, that the affair should be left entirely to the disposal of Titus Quintius. As Quintius was severe to such as made opposition, so, when complied with, he was easily appeased. Laying aside, therefore, every thing stern in his voice and looks, he said,—“If, Achæans, I thought the possession of that island advantageous to you, I would be the first to advise the senate and people of Rome to leave it in your hands. But as I see that a tortoise, when collected within its natural covering, is safe against blows of any kind, and whenever it thrusts out any of its members, it feels whatever it has thus uncovered, weak and liable to every injury, so you, Achæans, being inclosed on all sides by the sea, can easily unite among yourselves, and maintain by that union all that is comprehended within the limits of Peloponnesus; but whenever, through ambition of enlarging your possessions, you overstep these limits, then all that you hold beyond them is naked, and exposed to every attack.” The whole assembly declaring their assent, and Diophanes not daring to give farther opposition, Zacynthus was ceded to the Romans.

XXXIII. When the consul was on his march to Naupactum, king Philip proposed, that if it was agreeable to him, he would, in the mean time, retake those cities that had revolted from their alliance with Rome. Having obtained permission so to do, he, about this time, marched his army to Demetrias, where he knew that great distraction prevailed: for the garrison, being destitute of all hope of succour since they were abandoned by Antiochus, and having no reliance on the Ætolians, daily and nightly expected the arrival of Philip or the Romans, whom they had most reason to dread, as these were more justly incensed against them. There was, in the place, an irregular multitude of the king’s soldiers, a few of whom had been at first stationed there as a garrison, but the greater part had fled thither after the defeat of his army, most of them without arms, and without either strength or courage sufficient to sustain a siege. Wherefore, on Philip’s sending on messengers, to offer them hopes of favourable terms, they answered, that their gates were open for the king. On his first entrance, several of the chiefs left the city; Eurylochus killed himself. The soldiers of Antiochus, in conformity to a stipulation, were escorted, through Macedonia and Thrace, by a body of Macedonians, and conducted to Lysimachia. There were, also, a few ships at Demetrias, under the command of Isidorus, which, together with their commander, were dismissed. Philip then reduced Dolopia, Aperantia, and several cities of Perrhæbia.

XXXIV. While Philip was thus employed, Titus Quintius, after receiving from the Achæan council the cession of Zacynthus, crossed over to Naupactum, which had stood a siege of near two months, but was now reduced to a desperate condition: and it was supposed, that if it should be taken by storm, the whole nation of the Ætolians would be sunk thereby in utter destruction. But, although he had good reason to be angry with the Ætolians, from the recollection, that they alone had attempted to depreciate his merits, when he was giving liberty to Greece; and had refused to pay any regard to his advice, when he endeavoured, by forewarning them of the events which had since occurred, to deter them from their mad undertaking: nevertheless, thinking it particularly incumbent on him, who had asserted the freedom of the country, to prevent any of its states from being entirely subverted, he first walked about near the walls, that he might be easily known by the Ætolians. He was quickly distinguished by the first advanced guards, and the news spread from rank to rank, that Quintius was there. On this, the people from all sides ran to the walls, and eagerly stretching out their hands, all in one joint cry, besought Quintius, by name, to assist and save them. Although he was much affected by these entreaties, yet for that time he made signs with his hand, that they were to expect no assistance from him. However, when he met the consul, he accosted him thus:—“Manius Acilius, are you unapprised of what is passing; or do you know it, and think it immaterial to the interest of the commonwealth?” These words raising the consul’s curiosity, he requested him to explain what he meant. Quintius then said,—“Do you not see that, since the defeat of Antiochus, you have been wasting time in besieging two cities, though the year of your command is near expiring; but that Philip, who never faced the enemy, or even saw their standards, has annexed to his dominions such a number, not only of cities, but of nations,--Athamania, Perrhæbia, Aperantia, Dolopia? But, surely, we are not so deeply interested in diminishing the strength and resources of the Ætolians, as in hindering those of Philip from being augmented beyond measure; and in you, and your soldiers, not having yet gained, to reward your victory, as many towns as Philip has gained Grecian states.”

XXXV. The consul assented to the justness of his remarks, but was ashamed to let himself be foiled in his attempt, and to raise the siege. At length, the matter was left entirely to the management of Quintius. He went again to that part of the wall, whence the Ætolians had called to him a little before, and on their entreating him now, with still greater earnestness, to take compassion on the nation of the Ætolians, he desired that some of them might come out to him. Accordingly, Phæneas himself, with some others of the principal men, instantly came, and threw themselves at his feet. He then said,—“Your condition causes me to restrain my resentment and my reproofs. The events which I foretold, have come to pass, and you have not even so much consolation left, as the reflection, that you have not deserved what has fallen upon you. Nevertheless, since fate has, in some manner, destined me to the office of cherishing the interests of Greece, I will not cease to show kindness, even to the unthankful. Send a suppliant embassy to the consul, and let them petition him for a suspension of hostilities, for so long a time as will allow you to send ambassadors to Rome, to surrender yourselves to the will of the senate. I will intercede, and plead in your favour with the consul.” They did as Quintius directed; nor did the consul reject their application. He granted them a truce for a certain time, until an account might be brought from Rome of the result of their embassy; and then, raising the siege, he sent his army into Phocis. The consul, with Titus Quintius, crossed over thence to Ægium, to confer with the council of the Achæans, where the business of the Eleans was introduced, and also a proposal of restoring the Lacedæmonian exiles. But neither was carried into execution, because the Achæans chose to reserve to themselves the merit of effecting the latter; and the Eleans preferred being united to the Achæan confederacy by a voluntary act of their own, rather than through the mediation of the Romans. Ambassadors came hither to the consul from the Epirots, who, it was well known, had not fulfilled with sincerity the engagements to which they were bound by the treaty of alliance. Although they had not furnished Antiochus with any soldiers, yet they were charged with having assisted him with money; and they did not disavow the having sent ambassadors to him. They requested that they might be permitted to continue on the former footing of friendship. To which the consul answered, that “he did not yet know whether he was to consider them as friends or foes. The senate must be the judge of that matter. He would therefore take no step in the business, but leave it to be determined at Rome; and for that purpose he granted them a truce of ninety days.” When the Epirots, who were sent to Rome, addressed the senate, they rather enumerated hostile acts which they had not committed, than cleared themselves of those laid to their charge; and they received an answer of such a kind, as showed that they had rather obtained pardon than proved their innocence. About the same time ambassadors from king Philip were introduced to the senate, and presented his congratulations on their late successes. They asked leave to sacrifice in the capitol, and to deposit an offering of gold in the temple of Jupiter supremely good and great. This was granted by the senate, and they presented a golden crown of an hundred pounds weight. The senate not only answered the ambassadors with kindness, but gave them Demetrius, Philip’s son, who was at Rome as an hostage, to be conducted home to his father.—Such was the conclusion of the war waged in Greece by the consul Manius Acilius against Antiochus.

XXXVI. The other consul, Publius Cornclius Scipio, to whose lot the province of Gaul had fallen, before he set out to take the field against the Boians, demanded of the senate, by a decree, to order him money for the exhibition of games which, when acting as proprætor in Spain, he had vowed at a critical time of a battle. His demand was deemed unprecedented and unreasonable, and they therefore voted, that “whatever games he had vowed, on his own single judgment, without consulting the senate, he should celebrate out of the spoils, if he had reserved any for the purpose; otherwise, at his own expense.” Accordingly, Publius Cornelius exhibited those games through the space of ten days. About this time, the temple of the great Idæan Mother was dedicated; which deity, on her being brought from Asia, in the consulate of Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed Africanus, and Publius Licinius, the above-mentioned Publius Cornelius had conducted from the sea-side to the Palatine. In pursuance of a decree of the senate, Marcus Livius and Caius Claudius, censors, in the consulate of Marcus Cornelius and Publius Sempronius, had contracted with builders to erect the goddess’s temple; and, thirteen years after that, it was dedicated by Marcus Junius Brutus, and games were celebrated on occasion of its dedication: in which, according to the account of Valerius Antias, dramatic entertainments were, for the first time, introduced into the Megalesian games. Likewise, Caius Licinius Lucullus, being appointed duumvir, dedicated the temple of Youth in the great Circus. This temple had been vowed sixteen years before by Marcus Livius, consul, on the day whereon he cut off Hasdrubal and his army; and the same person, when censor, in the consulate of Marcus Cornelius and Publius Sempronius, had contracted for the building of it. Games were also exhibited on occasion of this consecration, and every thing was performed with the greater degree of religious zeal, on account of the impending war with Antiochus.

XXXVII. At the beginning of the year in which those transactions passed, after Manius Acilius had gone to open the campaign, and while the other consul, Publius Cornelius, yet remained in Rome, two tame oxen, it is said, climbed up by ladders on the titles of a house in the Carinæ. The haruspices ordered them to be burned alive, and their ashes to be thrown into the Tiber. It was reported, that several showers of stones had fallen at Tarracina and Amiternum; that, at Minturnæ, the temple of Jupiter, and the shops round the Forum, were struck by lightning; that, at Vulturnum, in the mouth of the river, two ships were struck by lightning, and burnt to ashes. On occasion of these prodigies, the decemvirs, being ordered by a decree of the senate to consult the Sibylline books, declared, that “a fast ought to be instituted in honour of Ceres, and the same observed every fifth year; that the nine days’ worship ought to be solemnized, and a supplication for one day; and that, when employed in the supplication, the people should wear garlands on their heads; also, that the consul Publius Cornelius should sacrifice to such deities, and with such victims, as the decemvirs should direct.” When he had used every means to avert the wrath of the gods, by duly fulfilling vows, and expiating prodigies, the consul went to his province; and, ordering the proconsul Cneius Domitius to disband his army, and go home to Rome, he marched his own legions into the territory of the Boians.

XXXVIII. Nearly at the same time, the Ligurians, having collected an army under the sanction of their devoting law, made an unexpected attack, in the night, on the camp of the proconsul Quintus Minucius. Minucius kept his troops, until daylight, drawn up within the rampart, and watchful to prevent the enemy from scaling any part of the fortifications. At the first light, he made a sally by two gates at once: but the Ligurians did not, as he had expected, give way to his first onset; on the contrary, they maintained a dubious contest for more than two hours. At last, as supplies of troops continually came out from the camp, and fresh men took the places of those who were wearied in the fight, the Ligurians, who besides other hardships, felt a great loss of strength from the want of sleep, after a severe struggle betook themselves to flight. Above four thousand of the enemy were killed; the Romans and allies lost not quite three hundred. About two months after this, the consul Publius Cornelius fought a pitched battle with the army of the Boians with extraordinary success. Valerius Antias affirms, that twenty-eight thousand of the enemy were slain, and three thousand four hundred taken, with an hundred and twenty-four military standards, one thousand two hundred and thirty horses, and two hundred and forty seven wagons; and that of the conquerors, there fell one thousand four hundred and eighty-four. Though we may not entirely credit this writer with respect to the numbers, as he always exaggerates most extravagantly, yet it is certain that the victory on this occasion was very complete; because the enemy’s camp was taken, while immediately after the battle, the Boians surrendered themselves; and because a supplication was decreed by the senate on account of it, and victims of the greater kinds were sacrificed.

XXXIX. The consul Publius Cornelius, having received hostages from the Boians, punished them so far as to appropriate almost one half of their lands for the use of the Roman people, and into which they might afterwards, if they chose, send colonies. Then, returning home in full confidence of a triumph, he dismissed his troops, and ordered them to attend on the day of his rejoicing at Rome. The next day after his arrival, he held a meeting of the senate, in the temple of Bellona; and, after recounting his services, demanded permission to ride through the city in triumph. Publius Sempronius Blæsus, tribune of the people, advised, that “the honour of a triumph should not be refused to Scipio, but postponed. Wars of the Ligurians,” he said, “were always united with wars of the Gauls; for these nations lying so near, sent mutual assistance to each other. If Publius Scipio, after subduing the Boians in battle, had either gone himself, with his victorious army, into the country of the Ligurians, or sent a part of his forces to Quintus Minucius, who was detained there, now the third year, by a war, of which the issue was still uncertain, that with the Ligurians might have been brought to an end: instead of which, he had, in order to procure a full attendance on his triumph, brought home the troops, who might have performed most material services to the state; and might do so still, if the senate thought proper, by deferring this token of victory, to redeem the omission occasioned by haste to obtain distinction. If they would order the consul to return with his legions into his province, and to give his assistance towards subduing the Ligurians, (for, unless these were reduced under the dominion and jurisdiction of the Roman people, neither would the Boians ever remain quiet,) there must be either peace or war with both. When the Ligurians should be subdued, Publius Cornelius, in quality of proconsul, might triumph, a few months later, as had been the case of many, who did not attain that honour until the expiration of their office.”

XL. To this the consul answered, that “neither had the province of Liguria fallen to his lot, nor had he waged war with the Ligurians, nor did he demand a triumph over them. He confidently hoped, that in a short time, Quintus Minucius, after completing their reduction, would demand and obtain a well deserved triumph. For his part, he demanded that note of celebrity from having vanquished the Boian Gauls, whom he had driven out of their camp; of whose whole nation he had received an absolute submission within two days after the fight; and from whom he had brought home hostages to secure peace in future. But there was another circumstance, of much greater magnitude: he had slain in battle so great a number of Gauls, that no commander, before him, could say that he ever met in the field so many thousands, at least of the Boians. Out of fifty thousand men, more than one half were killed; and many thousands made prisoners; so that the Boians had now remaining only old men and boys. Could it, then, be a matter of surprise to any one, that a victorious army, which had not left one enemy in the province, should come to Rome to attend the triumph of their consul? And if the senate should choose to employ the services of these troops in another province also,—of the two kinds of treatment, which, could it be supposed, would make them enter on a new course of danger and fatigue with the greater alacrity; the paying them the reward of their former toils and dangers without defalcation; or, the sending them away, with the shadow instead of the substance, after their first hopes had terminated in disappointment? As to what concerned himself personally, he had acquired a stock of glory sufficient for his whole life, on that day, when the senate adjudged him to be the best man in the state, and commissioned him to give a reception to the Idæan Mother. With this inscription, (though neither consulship nor triumph were added,) the statue of Publius Scipio Nasica would be sufficiently honoured and dignified.” The senate not only gave their unanimous vote for the solicited honour, but by their influence prevailed on the tribune to desist from his intention of protesting against it. Publius Cornelius, consul, triumphed over the Boians. In this procession he carried, on Gallic wagons, arms, standards, and spoils of all sorts; the brazen utensils of the Gauls; and, together with the prisoners of distinction, he led a train of captured horses. He deposited in the treasury a thousand four hundred and seventy golden chains; and besides these, two hundred and forty-five pounds weight of gold; two thousand three hundred and forty pounds weight of silver, some unwrought, and some formed in vessels of the Gallic fashion, not without beauty; and two hundred and thirty-three thousand denariuses. To the soldiers, who followed his chariot, he distributed three hundred and twenty-five asses each, double to a centurion, triple to a horseman. Next day, he summoned an assembly, and after expatiating on his own services and the ill-treatment shown him by the tribune, who wanted to entangle him in a war which did not belong to him, in order to defraud him of the fruits of his success, he absolved the soldiers of their oath, and discharged them.

XLI. While this passed in Italy, Antiochus was at Ephesus, devested of all concern respecting the war with Rome, as supposing that the Romans had no intention of coming into Asia; into which state of security he was lulled by the erroneous opinions or the flattering representations of the greater part of his friends. Hannibal alone, whose judgment was, at that time, the most highly respected by the king, declared, that “he rather wondered the Romans were not already in Asia, than entertained a doubt of their coming. The passage was easier from Greece to Asia, than from Italy to Greece, and Antiochus was a much more inviting object than the Ætolians. For the Roman wars were not less powerful on sea, than on land. Their fleet had long been at Malea, and he had heard that a reinforcement of ships and a new commander had lately come from Italy, with intent to enter on action. He therefore advised Antiochus not to form to himself vain hopes of peace. He must necessarily in a short time maintain a contest with the Romans both by sea and land; in Asia, and for Asia itself; and must either wrest the power out of hands that grasped at the empire of the world, or lose his own dominions.” Hannibal seemed to be the only person who had judgment to foresee, and sincerity to foretel, what was to happen. The king, therefore, with the ships which were in readiness, sailed to the Chersonesus, in order to secure the places there with garrisons, lest the Romans should happen to come by land. He left orders with Polyxenidas to fit out the rest of the fleet, and put to sea; and sent out advice-boats among the islands to procure intelligence of every thing that was passing.

XLII. When Caius Livius, commander of the Roman fleet, sailed with fifty decked ships from Rome, he went to Neapolis, where he had appointed the rendezvous of the undecked ships, which were due by treaty from the allies on that coast; and thence he proceeded to Sicily, where, as he sailed through the streight beyond Messana, he was joined by six Carthaginian ships, sent to his assistance; and then, having collected the vessels due from the Rhegians, Locrians, and other allies, who were bound by the same conditions, he purified the fleet at Lacinium, and put forth into the open sea. On his arrival at Corcyra, which was the first Grecian country where he touched, inquiring about the state of the war, (for the commotions in Greece were not yet entirely composed,) and about the Roman fleet, he was told, that the consul and the king were posted at the pass of Thermopylæ, and that the fleet lay at Pyræeus: on which, judging expedition necessary on every account, he sailed directly forward to Peloponnesus. Having on his passage ravaged Samos and Zacynthus, because they favoured the party of the Ætolians, he bent his course to Malea: and, meeting very favourable weather, arrived in a few days at Pyræeus, where he joined the old fleet. At Scyllæum he was met by king Eumenes, with three ships, who had long hesitated at Ægina whether he should go home to defend his own kingdom, on hearing that Antiochus was preparing both marine and land forces at Ephesus; or whether he should unite himself inseparably to the Romans, on whose destiny his own depended. Aulus Atilius, having delivered to his successor twenty-five decked ships, left Pyræeus, and sailed for Rome. Livius, with eighty-one beaked ships, beside many others of inferior rates, some of which were open and furnished with beaks, others without beaks, fit for advice boats, crossed over to Delos.

XLIII. At this time, the consul Acilius was engaged in the siege of Naupactum. Livius was detained several days at Delos by contrary winds, for that tract among the Cyclades, which are separated in some places by larger streights, in others by smaller, is remarkably subject to storms. Polyxenidas, receiving intelligence from his scout-ships, which he had stationed in various places, that the Roman fleet lay at Delos, sent off an express to the king, who, quitting the business in which he was employed in Hellespontus, and taking with him all the ships of war, returned to Ephesus with all possible speed, and instantly called a council, to determine whether he should risk an engagement at sea. Polyxenidas affirmed, that “it was particularly requisite so to do, before the fleet of Eumenes and the Rhodian ships should join the Romans; in which case, even, they would scarcely be inferior in number, and in every other particular would have a great superiority, by reason of the agility of their vessels, and a variety of favourable circumstances. For the Roman ships, being unskilfully constructed, were slow in their motions, and, besides that, as they were coming to an enemy’s coast, they would be heavily laden with provisions: whereas their own, leaving none but friends in all the countries round, would have nothing on board but men and arms. They would, also, have a great advantage in their knowledge of the sea, of the adjacent lands, and of the winds; of all which the Romans, being ignorant, would find themselves much distressed.” Every one was convinced by his arguments, especially as the same person who gave the advice, was also to carry it into execution. Two days only were passed in making preparations: and on the third, setting sail with an hundred ships, of which seventy had decks, and the rest were open, but all of the smaller rates, they steered their course to Phocæa. The king, as he did not intend to be present in the naval combat, on hearing that the Roman fleet was approaching, withdrew to Magnesia, near Sipylus, to collect his land-forces, while his ships proceeded to Cyssus, a port of Erythræa, where it was supposed they might with more convenience wait for the enemy. The Romans, as soon as the north wind, which had held for several days, ceased, sailed from Delos to Phanæ, a port in Chios, opposite the Ægian sea. They afterwards brought round the fleet to the city of Chios, and having taken in provisions there, sailed over to Phocæa. Eumenes, who had gone to join his fleet at Elæa, returned a few days after, with twenty-four decked ships, and a greater number of open ones, to Phocæa, where he found the Romans, who were fitting and preparing themselves for a sea-fight. The fleet, which now consisted of an hundred and five decked ships, and about fifty open ones, on setting sail, was for some time driven forcibly towards the land, by a north wind blowing across its course. The ships were thereby obliged to go, for the most part singly, one after another, in a thin line; afterwards, when the violence of the wind abated, they endeavoured to stretch over to the harbour of Corycus, beyond Cyssus.

XLIV. When Polyxenidas heard that the enemy were approaching, rejoiced at an opportunity of engaging them, he drew out the left squadron towards the open sea; at the same time ordering the commanders of the ships to extend the right division towards the land; and then advanced to the fight, with his fleet in a regular line of battle a-head. The Roman commander, on seeing this, furled his sails, lowered his masts, and, at the same time adjusting his rigging, waited for the ships which were coming up. There were now about thirty in the line; and in order that his left squadron might form a front in like direction, he hoisted his top-sails, and stretched out into the deep, ordering the others to push forward, between him and the land, against the right squadron of the enemy. Eumenes brought up the rear; who, as soon as he saw the bustle of taking down the rigging begin, likewise led on his division with all possible speed. All their ships were by this time in sight; two Carthaginians, however, which advanced before the Romans, were attacked by three belonging to the king. As the numbers were unequal, two of the king’s ships fell upon one, and, in the first place, swept away the oars from both its sides; the armed mariners then boarded, and killing some of the crew, and driving others into the sea, took the ship. The one which had engaged in an equal contest, on seeing her companion taken, lest she should be surrounded by the three, fled back to the fleet. Livius, fired with indignation, bore down against the enemy. The two which had overpowered the Carthaginian ship, in hopes of the same success against this one, advanced to the attack, on which he ordered the rowers on both sides to plunge their oars in the water, in order to hold the ship steady, and to throw grappling irons into the enemy’s vessels as they came up. Having, by these means, rendered the business something like a fight on land, he desired his men to act with the courage of Romans, and to consider that their adversaries were the slaves of a king. Accordingly, this single ship now defeated and captured the two, with more ease than the two had before taken one. By this time the entire fleets were engaged and intermixed with each other. Eumenes, who had come up last, and after the battle was begun, when he saw the left squadron of the enemy thrown into disorder by Livius, directed his own attack against their right, where the contest was yet equal.

XLV. In a short time, the left squadron began to fly: for Polyxenidas, perceiving that he was evidently overmatched with respect to the bravery of the men, hoisted his top-sails, and got away; and, quickly after those who were engaged with Eumenes near the land, did the same. The Romans and Eumenes pursued with much perseverance, as long as the rowers were able to hold out, and they had any prospect of annoying the rear of the enemy: but, finding that the latter, by reason of the lightness and fleetness of their ships, baffled every effort that could be made by their’s loaded as they were with provisions, they at length desisted, having taken thirteen ships, together with the soldiers and rowers, and sunk ten. Of the Roman fleet, only the one Carthaginian ship, which, at the beginning of the action, had been attacked by two, was lost Polyxenidas continued his flight, until he got into the harbour of Ephesus. The Romans staid, during the remainder of that day, in the port from which the king’s fleet had sailed out, and, on the day following, proceeded in the pursuit. About midway, they were met by twenty-five Rhodian decked ships, commanded by Pausistratus; and, in conjunction with these, followed the runaways to Ephesus, where they stood for some time, in order of battle, before the mouth of the harbour. Having thus extorted from the enemy a full confession of their being defeated, the Romans sent home the Rhodians and Eumenes, and steered their course to Chios. When they had passed Phænicus, a port of Erythræa, they cast anchor for the night; and, proceeding next day to the island, came up to the city itself. After halting here a few days, for the purpose chiefly of refreshing the rowers, they sailed over to Phocæa. Here they left four quinqueremes for the defence of the city, while the rest of the fleet proceeded to Canæ, where, as the winter now approached, the ships were hauled on shore, and surrounded with a trench and rampart. At the close of the year, the elections were held at Rome, in which were chosen consuls, Lucius Cornelius Scipio and Caius Lælius, from whom all men expected the conclusion of the war with Antiochus. Next day were elected prætors, Marcus Tuccius, Lucius Aurunculeius; Cneius Fulvius, Lucius Æmilius, Publius Junius, and Caius Atinius Labeo.

BOOK XXXVII.

Lucius Cornelius Scipio, consul, accompanied by his brother. Publius Scipio Africanus, sent into Asia against Antiochus, the first Roman who ever led an army thither Æmilius Regillus, aided by the Rhodians defeats Antiochus’s fleet at Myonnesus. The son of Scipio Africanus, taken prisoner by Antiochus is sent back to his father. Marcus Acilius Glabrio, having driven Antiochus out of Greece, triumphs over him and the Ætolians. Lucius Cornelius Scipio, assisted by Eumenes, king of Pergamus. vanquishes Antiochus; grants him peace, on condition of his evacuating all the countries on the hither side of Mount Taurus Lands and cities given to Eumenes, to reqite his assistance in the conquest of Antiochus also to the Rhodians, on the like account. A new colony established, called the Bononian. Æmilius Regillus triumphs on account of his naval victory. Lucius Cornelius Scipio obtains the surname of Asiaticus.

Y. R 562 B. C 190.I.On the commencement of the consulship of Lucius Cornelius Scipio and Caius Lælius, the first business introduced in the senate, after the concerns of religion, was that of the Ætolians, whose ambassadors were importunate to have it brought on, because the period of the truce granted them was short; and they were seconded by Titus Quintius, who had, by this time, come home from Greece to Rome. The Ætolians, as they rested their hopes on the compassion of the senate, more than on the merits of their cause, acted the parts of suppliants, humbly representing their former services, as a counterbalance to their late misbehaviour. While present, they were teazed by all the senators with questions tending to draw from them a confession of guilt rather than information; and, after they were ordered to withdraw, they became the subject of a warm dispute. Resentment had more power in their case than compassion; for the senate were incensed against them, not merely as enemies, but as an uncivilized and unsocial race. After a debate, which lasted several days, it was at last resolved, that peace should neither be granted nor refused. The option was given them of two conditions; either to submit themselves absolutely to the disposal of the senate, or to pay one thousand talents, and have no other allies or enemies than those who were such to Rome. They wished to have the extent of that power defined, which the senate was to exercise over them, but received no positive answer. They were, therefore, dismissed, without having concluded any treaty of peace, and were ordered to quit the city that very day, and Italy within fifteen days. The next business proceeded on was, the appointing the provinces of the consuls. Both of these wished for Greece. Lælius had a powerful interest in the senate; and when an order was passed there, that the consuls should either cast lots for the provinces, or settle them between themselves, he observed, that they would act more judiciously in leaving that matter to the wisdom of the senators, than to the decision of lots. To this Scipio answered, that he would take advice how he ought to act. He consulted his brother only, who desired him to leave it, with confidence, to the senate: and then he answered his colleague that he would do as was recommended. This mode of proceeding was either perfectly new; or, if there had been any precedent, it was of so old a date, that all memory of it was lost; a warm debate was therefore expected, on its being proposed to the senate. But Publius Scipio Africanus offering, that “if they decreed that province to his brother, Lucius Scipio, he would go along with him, as his lieutenant-general;” his proposal was received with universal approbation, and put an end to all dispute. The senate were well pleased to make the trial, whether king Antiochus should receive more effectual aid from the vanquished Hannibal, or the Roman consul and legions from his conqueror Africanus; and they almost unanimously voted Greece to Scipio, and Italy to Lælius. The prætors then cast lots for their provinces: Lucius Aurunculeius obtained the city jurisdiction, Cneius Fulvius the foreign; Lucius Æmilius Regillus, the fleet; Publius Junius Brutus, Tuscany, Marcus Tuccius, Apulia and Bruttium; and Caius Atinius, Sicily.

II. Orders were then issued, that the consul to whom the province of Greece had been decreed, should, in addition to the army which he was to receive from Manius Acilius, and which consisted of two legions, have a reinforcement of three thousand Roman foot, and one hundred horse; and of the Latine confederates, five thousand foot, and two hundred horse: and it was farther ordered, that if, when he arrived in his province, he should judge it conducive to the public interest, he should be at liberty to carry over the army into Asia. To the other consul was decreed an army entirely new; two Roman legions, and of the Latine confederates fifteen thousand foot, and six hundred horse. Quintus Minucius was ordered to remove his forces out of Liguria, (which province, according to his letters, was entirely reduced, the whole nation having submitted,) into the country of the Boians, and to give up the command to Publius Cornelius, proconsul. The two city legions, enlisted the year before, were brought home from the country taken from the Boians, and assigned to Marcus Tuccius, prætor, together with fifteen thousand foot, and six hundred horse, of the Latine confederates, for the defence of Apulia and Bruttium. Aulus Cornelius, a prætor of the preceding year, who had the command of an army in Bruttium, received an order, that, if the consul judged it proper, he should transport his legions into Ætolia, and give them to Manius Acilius, provided the latter was inclined to remain there; but if Acilius wished to come to Rome, that then Aulus Cornelius should stay in Ætolia with that army. It was resolved that Caius Atinius Labeo should receive from Marcus Æmilius the province of Sicily, and the army there; and should if he deemed it proper, enlist in the province itself two thousand foot and one hundred horse, to fill up deficiencies. Publius Junius Brutus was ordered to raise a new army for Tuscany, consisting of one Roman legion, and ten thousand Latine foot, and four hundred horse. Lucius Æmilius was ordered to receive from Marcus Junius, prætor of the former year, twenty ships of war, with their crews, and himself to enlist one thousand marines and two thousand foot soldiers, with which ships and soldiers he was to sail to Asia; and receive the command of the fleet from Caius Livius. The present governors of the two Spains, and of Sardinia, were continued in command, and ordered to keep the same armies. Sicily and Sardinia were, this year, assessed in two-tenths of their corn. All the corn from Sicily was ordered to be carried into Ætolia, to the army there; of that to be collected from Sardinia, one half to Rome, and the other half into Ætolia, for the same use as the corn from Sicily.

III. It was judged proper, that, previous to the departure of the consuls for their provinces, the prodigies which had occurred should be expiated under the direction of the pontiffs. The temple of Juno Lucina at Rome was struck by lightning in such a manner, that the ceiling and the folding-doors were much damaged. At Puteoli, several parts of the wall, and a gate, were struck by lightning, and two men killed. It was clearly proved, that, at Nursia, in the midst of a calm, a tempest suddenly burst forth; and there also two men of free condition were killed. The Tusculans reported, that a shower of earth fell in their country; and the Reatines, that a mule brought forth young in their’s. Expiations were performed for all these, and the Latine festival was celebrated a second time, because the flesh-meat due to the Laurentians had not been given them. There was also a supplication made on account of those portents, the decemvirs giving directions from the books to which of the gods it should be performed. Ten free-born youths, and ten virgins, all of whom had their fathers and mothers living, were employed in that ceremony; and the decemvirs sacrificed in the night young cattle not weaned from the dam. Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, before he left the city, erected an arch on the hill of the capitol, facing the road that leads up to the temple, adorned it with seven gilded statues, and two horses, and placed two marble cisterns in the front of the arch. About this time forty-three of the principal Ætolians, among whom were Damocritus and his brother, were brought to Rome by two cohorts, sent by Manius Acilius, and were thrown into the prison called Lautumiæ, or the quarry; the cohorts were ordered, by the consul Lucius Cornelius, to return to the army. Ambassadors came from Ptolemy and Cleopatra, king and queen of Egypt, congratulating the Romans on their consul Manius Acilius having driven king Antiochus out of Greece, and advising that he should carry over his army into Asia. For “all places, not only in Asia, but also in Syria, were filled with consternation; and that the king and queen of Egypt would hold themselves in readiness to act as the senate should direct.” Thanks were returned to the king and queen, and presents were ordered to be made to the ambassadors, four thousand asses to each.

IV. The consul Lucius Cornelius, having finished what was necessary to be done at Rome, gave public notice, in an assembly of the people, that the soldiers, whom himself had enlisted for supplying deficiencies, and those who were in Bruttium with Aulus Cornelius, proprætor, should all meet him at Brundusium on the Ides of July. He likewise appointed three lieutenants-general; Sextus Digitius, Lucius Apustius, and Caius Fabricius Luscinus; who were to bring together ships from all parts of the sea-coast to Brundusium: and now every thing being ready, he set out from the city in his military robe of state. No less than five thousand volunteers of the Romans and allies, who had served out the legal term, under the command of Publius Africanus, attended Cornelius at his departure, and offered their services. Lucius Æmilius Regillus, who commanded the fleet, set out likewise at the same time. Just at the time when the consul went to join the army, during the celebration of the Apollinarian games, on the fifth of the Ides of July, though the sky was serene, the light was obscured in the middle of the day by the moon passing over the orb of the sun. Lucius Aurunculeius was commissioned by the senate to build thirty quinqueremes and twenty triremes, in consequence of a report prevailing, that Antiochus, since the engagement at sea, was fitting out a much larger fleet. When the Ætolians learned from their ambassadors, who returned from Rome, that there was no prospect of peace, notwithstanding that their whole sea-coast, opposite to Peloponnesus, was ravaged by the Achæans, yet, regarding the danger impending more than their losses, they seized on mount Corax, in order to shut up the pass against the Romans; for they had no doubt of their returning in the beginning of spring, and renewing the siege of Naupactum. Acilius, who knew that this was expected, judged it more advisable to undertake an enterprise that was not foreseen, and to lay siege to Lamia; for the garrison had been reduced by Philip almost to a state of desperation; and at present, from the very circumstance of their not apprehending any such attempt, they might probably be surprised and overpowered. Marching from Elatia, he formed his first encampment in the enemy’s country on the banks of the river Sperchius, and decamping thence in the night, he at break of day made a general assault on the town.

V. In consequence of the unexpectedness of the affair, great consternation and tumult ensued; yet the besieged fought with greater resolution than any one could suppose them capable of under such a sudden alarm, and the women brought weapons of every kind, and stones to the walls; so that, although scaling-ladders were raised in various places, yet, for that day, they maintained the defence of the place. About mid-day Acilius gave the signal of retreat, and drew off his men to their camp. After their strength was repaired by food and rest, before he dismissed the meeting in the Prætorium, he gave them notice, “to be ready, under arms, before day; and that they were not to return to their tents until the city should be taken.” Next day, at the same hour as before he began the assault again, in a greater number of places; and, as not only the strength, but also the weapons, and above all, the courage of the garrison began to fail, he made himself master of the town in the space of a few hours. One-half of the spoil found there, he sold; the other he gave to the soldiers; and then he held a council, to determine what he should next undertake. No one approved of going against Naupactum, while the pass at Corax was occupied by the Ætolians. But, not to lie in idleness, or, by his supineness, to allow the Ætolians that state of peace which they could not obtain from the senate, Acilius resolved to besiege Amphissa; and he led his army thither from Heraclea by Oeta. Having encamped under the walls, he proceeded against the place, not by general assault, as at Lamia, but by regular approaches. The ram was brought up to the walls in many places at once; and though these were shaken by it, yet the townsmen never endeavoured to provide or contrive any sort of defence against attacks of that kind; but placing all their hopes in their arms and daring courage, by frequent sallies they much annoyed not only the advanced guards of the Romans, but even those who were employed at the works and machines.

VI. There were now many breaches made, when the consul received intelligence that his successor, having landed his army at Apollonia, was coming at the head of thirteen thousand foot and five hundred horse. He had lately arrived at the Malian bay, and sent a message to Hypata, demanding the surrender of the city; but the inhabitants answered, that they would do nothing without a decree of the general council of Ætolia: on which, unwilling to be detained in the siege of Hypata, while that of Amphissa was still unfinished, he sent on his brother Africanus before him, and marched himself towards Amphissa. A little before their arrival, the townspeople abandoned the city, for it was now for the most part stripped of its walls; and they, one and all, armed and unarmed, retired into the citadel which they deemed an impregnable fortress. The consul pitched his camp at the distance of about six miles from the town; and thither came ambassadors from the Athenians, addressing, first, Publius Scipio, who preceded the main body as before mentioned, and afterwards the consul with earnest supplications in favour of the Ætolians. They received a milder answer from Africanus, who wished for an honourable pretext for relinquishing the Ætolian war, than they had from Rome. He was desirous of directing his views towards Asia and king Antiochus, and had recommended to the Athenians to persuade, not the Romans only, but the Ætolians likewise, to prefer peace to war. Pursuant to the advice of the Athenians, a numerous embassy of the Ætolians came speedily from Hypata, and the discourse of Africanus, whom they addressed first, augmented their hopes of peace; for he mentioned, that “many nations and states, first in Spain, and afterwards in Africa, had surrendered themselves to him; and that, in all of them he had left greater monuments of clemency and kindness than of military prowess.” The business seemed to be concluded, when the consul, on being applied to, repeated the very same answer with which they had been so much dismayed by the senate. The Ætolians, thunderstruck at this, as if they had never heard it before, (for they now perceived that no good was likely to arise, either from the Athenian embassy, or the favourable reply of Africanus,) observed, that they wished to consult their countrymen on the affair.

VII. They then returned to Hypata, where the council was utterly at a loss what course to take; for they had no means of paying the thousand talents: and, in case of an unconditional submission, they dreaded being subjected to bodily severities. They, therefore, ordered the same ambassadors to return to the consul and Africanus, and to request, that if they meant, in reality, to grant them peace, and not merely to amuse them with a prospect of it, frustrating the hopes of the wretched, they would either remit some part of the money required to be paid, or order that their persons might be exempted in the terms of the surrender. The consul could not be prevailed on to make any change; and that embassy, also, was dismissed without effect. The Athenian ambassadors accompanied them, with Echedemus, their principal. These,—while the Ætolians, after so many repulses, were sunk into total dejection, and deplored with unavailing lamentations, the hard fate of their nation,—revived once more their hopes, by advising them to request a suspension of arms for six months, in order that they might send an embassy to Rome. He urged, that “the delay could add nothing to their present calamities, which were already severe in the extreme; but that, if time were gained, many fortuitous events might occur, and lighten the distresses they then laboured under.” Agreeably to this advice of Echedemus, the same ambassadors were sent again; who, making their first application to Publius Scipio, obtained, through him, from the consul, a suspension of arms for the time they desired. The siege of Amphissa was then raised; Marcus Acilius gave up the command of the army to the consul, and left the province; and the consul returned from Amphissa into Thessaly, with intention to pass through Macedonia and Thrace into Asia. Here Africanus said to his brother, Lucius Scipio, “I agree with you in approving the rout, which you have chosen. But the whole matter rests on the inclinations of Philip; for if he is faithful to our government he will afford us a passage, and provisions and every thing requisite to the maintenance and convenience of an army on a long march. But if he should fail in this, you will find no safety in any part of Thrace. In my opinion, therefore, the king’s disposition ought in the first place to be discovered: and the best method to discover it, will be, to let the person sent approach him suddenly, and see how he is employed when not expecting any such visit.” They chose for this purpose, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, a young man, remarkable for his activity beyond all the youth of the time; by means of relays of horses, and travelling with almost incredible expedition, he made good the journey from Amphissa, whence he was despatched, to Pella, on the third day. The king was sitting at a banquet, and had drank freely of wine; which circumstance of his indulging such relaxation of mind, removed all suspicion of any intention of changing his measures. His guest was, for the present, kindly entertained; and next day, he saw plenty of provisions, already prepared for the army, bridges made over rivers, and roads formed where the ground was difficult to be passed. As he was bringing back this intelligence, with the same speed which he had used in coming, he met the consul at Thaumaci. The army, in high spirits at finding their hopes thus confirmed and augmented, advanced into Macedonia, where every thing was ready for their accommodation. On their arrival, the king received them with royal magnificence, and accompanied them on their march. He showed a great deal of pleasantry and good humour, which recommended him much to Africanus, who, with all the extraordinary endowments that he possessed, was not averse from mirth when confined within the bounds of decency. Philip then escorted them, not only through Macedonia, but through Thrace also; furnishing them with every accommodation, until they arrived at the Hellespont.

VIII. Antiochus, after the sea-fight at Corycus, being left at liberty during the whole winter, to carry on his preparations by land and water, employed his principal attention on the refitting of his ships, lest he should be entirely excluded from the sea. He reflected that “he had been defeated, when the Rhodian fleet was absent, but if that fleet were present in an engagement, (and the Rhodians would certainly take care not to be dilatory a second time,) he required a vast number of ships, to set him on an equality with the fleet of the enemy, considering the strength and size of their vessels.” For this reason, he sent Hannibal into Syria, to bring in the Phœnician navy, and gave orders to Polyxenidas, that, the more unsuccessful he had been before, the more diligence he should now exert, in repairing the ships which he had, and procuring others. He himself passed the winter in Phrygia, calling in auxiliaries from every quarter. He even sent for that purpose to Gallogræcia. The people of that country were then more warlike, than at present, retaining the Gallic spirit, as the generation which had emigrated thither was not yet extinct. He left his son Seleucus with an army in Ætolia, to keep in obedience the maritime cities, which were solicited to revolt, on one side, by Eumenes, from Pergamus, on the other, by the Romans from Phocœa and Erythræ. The Roman fleet, as mentioned before, wintered at Canæ: thither, about the middle of the season, came king Eumenes, with two thousand foot and one hundred horse. He affirmed, that vast quantities of spoil might be brought off from the enemy’s country round Thyatira; and, by his persuasions, prevailed on Livius to send with him five thousand soldiers. This party within a few days carried off an immense booty.

IX. Meanwhile, a sedition broke out at Phocæa, in consequence of the endeavours used by some, to bring over the multitude to the party of Antiochus. The people were distressed by the ships wintering there: they were distressed by a tax imposed, for they were ordered to furnish five hundred gowns and five hundred tunicks; and they were further distressed by a scarcity of corn, which obliged the Roman garrison and ships to leave the place. The faction, which laboured in their assemblies to draw the commonalty over to Antiochus, was now freed from all apprehension: the senate, and higher ranks, were disposed to adhere to the alliance with Rome, but the advisers of a revolt had greater influence with the multitude. The Rhodians, sensible of having been too tardy the year before, were therefore the earlier in their proceedings now; and, at the vernal æquinox, they sent the same Pausistratus, commander of the fleet with thirty-six ships. At this time, Livius with thirty ships, and seven quadriremes, which king Eumenes had brought with him, was on his passage from Canæ to the Hellespont, in order to prepare every thing necessary for the transportation of the army, which he expected to come by land. He first put into the harbour, called the Achæan; whence, going up to Ilium, he offered sacrifice to Minerva, and gave a kind reception to several embassies from the states in the neighbourhood; from Eælus, Dardanus, and Rhetæum, who came to surrender their respective states to him. Then he sailed to the entrance of the Hellespont; and, leaving ten ships stationed opposite to Abydus, he crossed over to Europe, with the rest of the fleet, to attack Sestos. As the troops were advancing up to the walls, they were met, first, by a number of the priests of Cybele, using extravagant gestures, and clad in the dress worn on their solemn processions. These said, that, “by order of the Mother of the gods, they, the immediate servants of the goddess, were come to pray the Roman commander to spare the walls and the city.” No violence was offered to any of them, and, presently, the whole senate, and the magistrates, came out to surrender the place. The fleet then sailed over to Abydus; where, on sounding the temper of the inhabitants, in conferences, and finding no disposition to peaceful measures, they prepared themselves for a siege.

X. While these transactions passed at the Hellespont, Polyxenidas, the commander of the king’s fleet, an exile from Rhodes, having heard that the ships of his countrymen had sailed from home, and that Pausistratus, who commanded them had, in a public speech, uttered several haughty and contemptuous expressions respecting him, conceived the most violent jealousy against him in particular, and studied nothing else, night or day, but how, by deeds, to refute his arrogant words. He sent a person, who was known to him, to say, that, “if allowed, he was ready to perform an eminent service to Pausistratus, and to his native country: and that Pausistratus might restore him to the same.” Pausistratus, in surprise, asked by what means such things could be effected; and, at the other’s request, pledged his faith, that he would either concur in the execution of the design, or bury it in silence. The emissary then told him, that “Polxyenidas would deliver into his hands, either the whole of the king’s fleet, or the greater part of it; and that in return for so great a service, he stipulated for nothing more, than being allowed to return to his native country.” The proposal was of such magnitude, as made him neither implicitly credit, nor at once reject it. He sailed to Panormus, in the Samian territory, and halted there, in order to examine thoroughly the business proposed to him. Several messengers passed between them, nor was Pausistratus satisfied of the other’s sincerity, until, in the presence of his messenger, Polxyenidas wrote, with his own hand an engagement, that he would perform all that he had promised, and sent the tablets sealed with his own seal. By such a pledge as this, he thought he had acquired a kind of absolute dominion over the plotter; for that “he who lived under a king would never act so absurdly, as to give evidence of guilt against himself, attested by his own signature.” The method of conducting the pretended plot was then settled: Polyxenidas said, that “he would neglect every kind of preparation; that he would not keep any considerable numbers on board, either of rowers or mariners; that he would haul up, on land, some of the ships, under pretence of refitting them; would send away others into the neighbouring ports, and keep a few at sea before the harbour of Ephesus, which, if circumstances made it necessary to come out, he would expose to a battle.” The negligence, which Pausistratus was told Polyxenidas would use in his fleet, he himself immediately practised. Part of his ships he sent to Halicarnassus to bring provisions, another part to the city of Samos, while he himself waited at Panormus, that he might be ready to make an attack, when he should receive the signal from the traitor. Polyxenidas continued to encourage his mistake by counterfeiting neglect; hauled up some ships, and, as if he intended to haul up others, put the docks in repair; he did not call the rowers from their winterquarters to Ephesus, but assembled them secretly at Magnesia.

XI. It happened, that one of Antiochus’s soldiers, having come to Samos on some business of his own, was seized as a spy, and brought to Panormus to Pausistratus. This man, moved either by fear or treachery towards his countrymen, on being asked, what was doing at Ephesus, laid open every particular: that the fleet lay in harbour fully equipped, and ready for sea; that all the rowers had been sent to Magnesia; that very few of the ships had been hauled on land; that the docks were shut, and that never was greater diligence employed in conducting the business of the fleet. But the mind of Pausistratus was so prepossessed, by misplaced confidence, and vain hopes, that he gave no credit to this account. Polyxenidas, having fully adjusted all his measures, called in the rowers from Magnesia, launched hastily the ships that were in dock, and letting the next day pass, not so much because he had any preparations to make, as because he was unwilling that the fleet should be seen going to sea, set sail after sun-set, with seventy decked ships, but, the wind being contrary, put into the harbour of Pygela before day appeared. After lying by there, during the day, for the same reason as before, he passed over, in the night, to the nearest part of the Samian territory. From this place, he detached one Nicander, an archpirate, at the head of a squadron of five decked ships, with orders to sail to Palinurus, and thence to lead his armed men, by the shortest road, through the fields toward Panormus, and so to come behind the enemy. In the meantime, himself, with his fleet in two divisions, in order that it might command the mouth of the harbour on both sides, proceeded to Panormus. This event, so utterly unexpected, at first, confounded Pausistratus; but, being an experienced warrior, he quickly recollected his spirits, and judging that it would be easier to repel the enemy from the land than on sea, he marched his armed forces, in two bodies, to the promontories, which, by their heads projecting into the deep, formed the harbour; for he thought that he should be able, with ease, to effect his purpose, by the discharges of weapons from both sides. The sight of Nicander on the land quite disconcerted this design; he, therefore, suddenly changed his plan, and ordered all to go on board the ships. This produced the greatest dismay and confusion, among both soldiers and sailors, who, seeing themselves inclosed by the enemy, on land and sea at once, hurried on board like men running away. The only method of saving the fleet, that occurred to Pausistratus, was, to force through the narrow entrance of the port, and push out into the open sea. As soon, therefore, as he saw his men embarked, ordering the rest to follow, he himself led the way, and, with the utmost exertions of his oars, pressed to the mouth of the harbour. Just as his ship was clearing the entrance, Polyxenidas, with three quinqueremes, surrounded it. The vessel, shattered by their beaks, sunk; the crew were overwhelmed with weapons, and, among them, Pausistratus, fighting gallantly, was slain. Of the rest of the ships, some were taken outside of the harbour, some within, and others by Nicander, while they were putting off from the shore. Only five Rhodian, and two Coan ships, effected an escape; making a passage for themselves through the thick of the enemy, by the terror of blazing flames; for they carried before them, on two poles projecting from their prows, a great quantity of fire contained in iron vessels. Some Erythræan triremes, which were coming to their assistance, met the Rhodian ships flying, not far from Samos, and therefore steered away to the Hellespont to join the Romans. About the same time, Seleucus got possession of Phocæ, which was betrayed by the guards admitting him by one of the gates. Cyme, with the other cities on that coast, were induced by their fears to join him.

XII. During these transactions in Ætolia, Abydus endured a siege of several days, a garrison of the king’s troops defending the walls; but then, all growing weary, and Philotas himself, the commander of the garrison, giving his permission, the magistrates entered into a treaty with Livius, about the terms of a capitulation. The business was protracted for some time, as they could not agree whether the king’s troops should march out with their arms, or without them. While this negociation was depending, news arrived of the defeat of the Rhodians; in consequence of which, the whole matter was dropped, when on the point of being concluded. For Livius, fearing lest Polyxenidas, elated by his recent success in such an important enterprise, might surprise the fleet which lay at Canæ, instantly abandoned the siege of Abydus, and the guard of the Hellespont, and drew out the ships that were in dock at Canæ. Eumenes came, at this time, to Elea. Livius, with the whole fleet, which had been joined by two triremes of Mitylene, sailed to Phocæa; but, having learned that this place was held by a strong garrison of the king’s troops, and that Seleucus was encamped at no great distance, he ravaged the sea-coast, hastily conveying on board the booty, which consisted chiefly of men, and waiting only until Eumenes, with his fleet, came up, bent his course to Samos. Among the Rhodians, the news of their misfortune excited, at first, both consternation, and the greatest grief, at the same time. For, besides the loss of their ships and soldiers, the whole flower of their youth had perished, many young men of distinction having embarked in the expedition, led, among other motives, principally, by the character of Pausistratus, which was, deservedly, very high among his countrymen. Afterwards, when they reflected, that they had been circumvented by treachery, and that, of all men, a countryman of their own had been the perpetrator, their grief was converted into anger. Immediately they sent out ten ships, and in a few days, ten more, giving the command of the whole to Eudamus; who, though far inferior to Pausistratus, in warlike qualifications, would yet they supposed, prove a more cautious leader, as he was not of so high a spirit. The Romans, and king Eumenes, put in with their fleet, first, at Erythræa; and staying there one night, they, next day reached Corycus, a promontory in Teios. They intended to pass over hence, to the nearest part of the Samian territory; but, not waiting for the rising of the sun, from which the pilots could learn the state of the weather, they exposed themselves to a storm, which deprived them of the power of directing their course. About the middle of the passage, the wind changed from north-east to north, and they found themselves tossed about on the sea, which rolled in very tremendous billows.

XIII. Polyxenidas, taking it for granted that the enemy would go to Samos to join the Rhodian fleet, set sail from Ephesus, and halted, first, at Myonnesus, from whence he crossed over to the island of Macris; in order that, when the enemy’s fleet should sail by, he might attack, with advantage, either any ships that straggled from the main body, or the rear of the fleet itself. When he saw the same dispersed by the storm, he thought this a good opportunity to attack it; but, in a little time, the wind increased, and raised the waves to such a height, that he could not possibly come up with them: he therefore steered to the island of Æthalia, that, from thence, he might, next day, fall on the ships as they made for Samos, from the main sea. A small number of Roman vessels, just as it grew dark, got into a desert harbour on the Samian coast; the rest, after being tossed about all night, ran into the same harbour in the morning. Having learned here, from the country people, that the enemy’s fleet lay at Æthalia, they held a consultation whether they should attack them immediately, or wait for that of the Rhodians. Their determination was to postpone the attack, and they sailed away to Corycus, whence they had come. Polyxenidas, also, having kept his station for some time, without effecting any thing, sailed home to Ephesus. On this, the Roman ships, having the sea now clear of the enemy, sailed to Samos; where, a few days after, they were joined by the fleet from Rhodes, and, to show that they had only waited for this, they immediately sailed away to Ephesus, resolved either to fight the enemy, or, in case they should decline a battle, to extort from them a confession of fear, which would have the best effect on the minds of the states of Asia. They lay for some time opposite the entrance of the harbour, with the fleet formed in a line abreast, but none came out against them; on which they divided: and while one part lay at anchor, before the mouth of the harbour, the other landed a body of soldiers. These made depredations over a great extent of the country, and, as they were conveying to the ships the great booty which they had seized, Andronichus, a Macedonian, who was in garrison at Ephesus, sallied out on them, when they came near the walls, stripped them of the greatest part of their plunder, and drove them down to the shore to their ships. On the day following, the Romans laid an ambuscade about the middle of the way, and marched in a body to the city, in order to entice the Macedonians out of the gates; but these were deterred from coming out, and the Romans returned to their ships. As the enemy thus avoided fighting, either on land or sea, the fleet sailed back to Samos, whence it came. The prætor then detached two Rhodian triremes, and two belonging to the Italian allies, under the command of Epicrates, a Rhodian, to guard the streight of Cephallenia, which was infested with piracies by Hybristas, a Lacedæmonian, at the head of a band of young Cephallenians, so that the passage was shut against the convoys from Italy.

XIV. Epicratus met, at Piræeus, Lucius Æmilius Regillus, who was on his way to take the command of the fleet. On hearing of the defeat of the Rhodians, as he had only two quinqueremes, he carried back with him, to Asia, Epicrates and his four ships. He was attended also by some undecked vessels of the Athenians. He crossed the Ægean sea to Chios, to which place came, in the middle of the night, Timasicrates, a Rhodian, with two quadriremes from Samos, and, being presented to Æmilius, he told him, that he was despatched for the purpose of convoying him in safety, because the king’s ships, by frequent excursions from the Hellespont, and Abydus, rendered the sea on that coast dangerous to transports. In his passage from Chios to Samos, Æmilius was met by two Rhodian quadriremes, sent by Livius to attend him, and by king Eumenes with two quinqueremes. On his arrival at Samos, as soon as he had received the command of the fleet from Livius, and duly performed the usual sacrifices, he called a council. Here, Caius Livius, whose opinion was first asked, said, that “no one could give advice, with more sincerity than he, who recommended to another, what himself would do, in the same case. That his intention had been, to have sailed with the whole fleet to Ephesus; to have taken with him ships of burden, heavily laden with ballast, and to have sunk them in the entrance of the harbour. That the passage might be shut up, in this manner, with little difficulty; because the mouth of it was like a river, long and narrow, and full of shoals. By this expedient, he would have cut off the enemy’s communication with the sea, and rendered their fleet useless.”

XV. This plan was not approved of by any of the council. King Eumenes asked, “Whether, when, by sinking the ships, they should have barred the pass to the sea, their own fleet would be at liberty to go away and succour their allies, and infuse terror in their enemies; or whether they might not, nevertheless, be obliged to block up the port with their whole force? For, if they should withdraw, who could doubt that the enemy would weigh up the hulks that were sunk, and open the port with less labour than it had cost to shut it? But if, after all, they were to remain there, what advantage would accrue from the harbour being closed? Nay, on the contrary, the enemy enjoying a safe haven, and an opulent city, furnished, at the same time, with every thing from Asia, would pass the summer at their ease, while the Romans, exposed in the open sea to winds and waves, and in want of every accommodation, must continue on guard, without intermission; and might more properly be said to be, themselves, tied down, and hindered from doing any thing that ought to be done, than to keep the enemy shut up.” Eudamus, commander of the Rhodian fleet, rather showed his disapprobation of the plan proposed, than recommended any himself. Epicrates, the Rhodian, advised, “not to think of Ephesus for the present, but to send a part of the fleet to Lycia, and bring Patara, the metropolis of that nation, into a treaty of alliance. This would conduce to two important purposes: first, the Rhodians, by peace being established in the countries opposite to their island, would be at liberty to apply the whole of their strength to the war against Antiochus; and then the fleet which the enemy were fitting out in Lycia, would be blocked up, and prevented from joining Polyxenidas.” This plan was the most approved of. Nevertheless, it was determined that Regillus should sail, with the entire fleet, to the harbour of Ephesus, to strike terror into the enemy.

XVI. Caius Livius was sent to Lycia, with two Roman quinqueremes, four Rhodian quadriremes, and two open vessels of Smyrna; being ordered to proceed, first, to Rhodes, and to communicate all his designs to the government there. The states, which he passed in his way, Miletus, Myndus, Halicarnassus, Cnidus, and Cous, cheerfully obeyed his orders. When he came to Rhodes, he explained to the persons in authority, the business on which he was sent, and, at the same time, desired their opinion. They all approved the design; and gave him three quadriremes, in addition to his squadron; and with these he set sail for Patara. The wind, being favourable at first, carried them very near the city, and they were in hopes of effecting something by surprise; but this suddenly veering, they had to labour in a very heavy sea. However, by dint of rowing, they reached the land, but there was no safe anchorage there, nor could they ride in the road, as the sea was rough, and night was coming on. They therefore sailed past the city, to the port of Phellus, which was not quite two miles distant, and which afforded shelter from the violence of the waves, but was overlooked by high cliffs; and these the townspeople, joined by the king’s troops in garrison there, immediately seized. Livius, though the landing-place was rugged and difficult, sent against them a party of the auxiliaries, composed of Issæans, and light infantry of Smyrna. These, (as long as the business was carried on with missile weapons, and in slight attacks on the few who were there at first, and which was rather a skirmish than a battle,) supported the contest sufficiently well. But greater numbers flocking thither from the city, and, at length, the whole multitude poured out, which made Livius fear, not only that the auxiliaries might be cut off, but that the ships would be in danger lying so near the land. In consequence he led out to the engagement, not only the soldiers, but the marines, and even the crowd of rowers, armed with such weapons as each could find. After all, however, the fight was doubtful; and, besides a considerable number of soldiers, Lucius Apustius fell in this disorderly combat. At last the Lycians were routed, and driven within their gates; and the Romans, victorious, but not without loss of blood, returned to their ships. They then proceeded to the gulf of Telonessus, which washes Caria on one side, and Lycia on the other, where all thoughts of any farther attempt on Patara were laid aside, the Rhodians were sent home, and Livius, sailing along the coast of Asia, crossed over to Greece, that he might have a meeting with the Scipios, who were at that time in Thessaly, and then take his passage to Italy.

XVII. Æmilius, although himself had been driven off from Ephesus by a storm, and had returned to Samos, without effecting any thing, yet hearing that the expedition to Lycia was dropped, and that Livius had gone to Italy, he thought the miscarriage of the attempt on Patra disgraceful, and accordingly resolved to go thither, and attack the city with his utmost force. Having sailed past Miletus, and the rest of the coast of the allies, he made a descent in the bay of Bargyllæ, with design to reduce Jassus. The city was held by a garrison of the king’s troops, and the Romans made hostile depredations on all the country round. He then sent persons to confer with the magistrates, and principal inhabitants, and sound their dispositions; but, being told by them, that nothing was in their power, he advanced to lay siege to the city. There were, with the Romans, some exiles from Jassus, who, in a body earnestly importuned the Rhodians “not to suffer an unoffending city, which was both their neighbour, and connected with them in consanguinity, to be ruined. They themselves, were banished for no other cause than their faithful attachment to the Romans; and those, who remained in the place, were held in subjection by the same force by which they had been expelled. The people of Jassus had all but one wish, to escape from a state of slavery under the king.” The Rhodians, moved by their entreaties, and calling in the assistance of king Eumenes, represented, at the same time, their own connexions with them, and also the unfortunate condition of the city, which was kept in bondage by the king’s garrison; and by these means prevailed on Æmilius to drop the siege. Departing hence, and coasting along the shore of Asia, where every other place was favourably disposed, he arrived at Loryma, a port opposite to Rhodes. Here, the military tribunes, in their meeting at the Prætorium, began, at first, in private conversation, to make observations, which afterwards reached the ears of Æmilius, that the fleet was going off to a distance from Ephesus, from the war which concerned themselves; so that the enemy, being left behind, without control, might safely make whatever attempts they pleased, against so many states of the allies, in their neighbourhood. Æmilius felt the justness of these remarks, and calling the Rhodians to him, asked them, whether the whole fleet could lie in the harbour of Patara; to which they answered in the negative. Furnished with this excuse for laying aside the design, he sailed back to Samos.

XVIII. In the mean time Seleucus, son of Antiochus, who had kept his army in Ætolia, through the whole of the winter, employing it, partly, in succouring his allies, partly in ravaging the lands of those whom he could not seduce to his side, resolved to make an incursion on the territory of king Eumenes, while he, at a great distance from home, was assisting the Romans and Rhodians, in attacks on the maritime parts of Lycia. He advanced, as an enemy, first, to Elæa, but soon laid aside the design of besieging it; and, having wasted the country, in a hostile manner, he led his army to lay siege to Pergamus, the capital, and the principal fortress of the kingdom. Attalus, at first, placing advanced guards outside the city, and sending out parties of cavalry and light infantry, acted an offensive, rather than a defensive part. But, after some time, having discovered, in slight skirmishes, that he was not a match for the enemy, in any respect, he drew back his men within the fortifications, and then the siege was formed. About this time, Antiochus leaving Apamea, with a vast army compounded of various nations, encamped, first, at Sardis, and afterwards took post at a small distance from the camp of Seleucus, at the head of the river Caicus. The most formidable part of his force was a body of four thousand Gauls, whom he had procured for hire: these, with a few others intermixed, he detached, with orders to waste utterly the country about Pergamus. When news of these transactions arrived at Samos, Eumenes, being thus recalled by a war in his own dominions, sailed with his fleet to Elæa; and finding there, in readiness, some light troops of horse and foot, he took them for an escort, and proceeded directly to Pergamus, before the enemy could be apprised of his arrival, or take any steps to intercept him. The garrison now began again to sally out, and skirmish; but Eumenes, evidently avoided risking a decisive engagement. In a few days after, the combined fleet of the Romans and Rhodians came from Samos to Elæa, to support the king. When Antiochus was informed that these had landed troops at Elæa, and that so many fleets were assembled in one harbour, and at the same time, heard that the consul, with his army, was already in Macedonia, and was making the necessary preparations for his passage over the Hellespont, he judged that now was the time for negociation, before he should be pressed on sea and land at once; and with this view he chose for his camp a rising ground opposite to Elæa. Leaving there all the infantry, with his cavalry, amounting to six thousand, he went down into the plains which lay under the walls of the town, having despatched a herald to Æmilius, to acquaint him that he wished to treat of peace.

XIX. Æmilius sent to Pergamus for Eumenes, and, desiring the Rhodians to be present, held a council on the message. The Rhodians were not averse from a pacification; but Eumenes affirmed, that “they could not treat of peace, at such a juncture; nor could a business of the kind be concluded. For,” said he “how can we, shut up as we are, within our walls, and besieged, with honour accept terms of peace? Or who will deem such treaty valid, which we shall conclude, without the presence of the consul, without a vote of the senate, and without an order of the Roman people? For, let me ask, supposing the matter concluded by you, would you immediately go home to Italy, and carry away your fleet and army, or would you wait to know the consul’s determination on the case; what the senate should decree, or the people order? It is plain then, that you must stay in Asia, that your troops must be led back to the quarters, where they wintered, and, without having any thing to do against the enemy, exhaust the allies by their consumption of provisions; and then, if it seem fit to those, who have the power of determining, we must begin the whole war anew. Whereas, if the present vigorous proceedings suffer no obstruction from delay, we may, with the will of the gods, bring it to a conclusion before the winter.” His opinion was approved; and the answer given to Antiochus was, that no treaty of peace could be admitted before the arrival of the consul. Antiochus, frustrated in this scheme for putting an end to the war, ravaged, first, the territory of Elæa, then that of Pergamus; and, leaving there his son Seleucus, marched in a hostile manner, to Adramytteum, whence he proceeded to an opulent tract of country called the Plain of Thebes, a city celebrated in one of Homer’s poems; and in no other place in Asia did the king’s soldiers find such a plenty of booty. Æmilius and Eumenes also, sailing round with the fleet, came to Adramytteum, to protect the city.

XX. It happened, just at this time, that ten thousand foot and one hundred horse, all under the command of Diophanes, arrived from Achaia at Elæa, who, on landing, were conducted in the night into Pergamus, by persons sent for the purpose, by Attalus. They were all veterans, well skilled in war; and their commander was a disciple of Philopæmen’s the most consummate general among the Greeks, in that age. They set apart two days to give rest to the men and horses, and, at the same time, to view the posts of the enemy, and to learn at what places, and what times, they advanced and retired. The king’s troops, generally, approached to the foot of the hill, on which the town stands, so that their detachments could plunder all the country behind, at will, for not a man ever sallied out, even to throw darts, from a distance against their guards. When the garrison once became so dispirited as to confine themselves within the walls, the king’s troops conceived a great contempt of them, and thence, fell into a carelessness on their part. The greater number did not keep their horses either saddled or bridled, while few remained under arms, and in the ranks; the rest slipping away, were scattered all over the plain, some diverting themselves with youthful sports and tricks, others eating in the shade, and some even stretched on the ground asleep. When Diophanes observed all these particulars, which the high situation of Pergamus enabled him to do fully; he ordered his men to take arms and to be ready at a particular gate. He himself went to Attalus, and told him that he had a mind to try his fortune against the enemy’s advanced guards. Attalus gave consent, but not without reluctance, as he saw that one hundred horse must fight against three hundred, one thousand foot against four thousand. Diophanes then marched by the gate, and took post at a small distance from the enemy’s guard, waiting his opportunity. On one side, the people in Pergamus thought that he was actuated by madness rather than by courage; and, on the other, the enemy, after observing his party for a short time, and seeing no movement among them, were not in any degree roused from their supineness, but even ridiculed the smallness of the number. Diophanes, for a long time, kept his men quiet, as if they had been brought out merely for the purpose of looking about them; but, as soon as he perceived that the enemy had quitted their ranks, ordering the infantry to follow, as fast as they could, he himself, with his own troop led the way at the head of the cavalry, and pushing on, with all possible speed, made a sudden charge on the enemy’s party, while a shout was raised by every horseman and footman at once. Not the men only so attacked, were terrified, but the horses also; insomuch that they broke their collars, and caused great confusion and tumult throughout. A few of the horses, indeed, stood unaffrighted; but even these the troopers could not easily saddle, or bridle, or mount; for the Achæans struck much greater terror than would be supposed from so small a party of horse. But now the infantry, in due order and preparation, assailed the enemy, dispersed through their own negligence, and almost half asleep: and slaughter and flight ensued in every part of the plain. Diophanes pursued the runaways as far as he could with safety, and then returned into garrison, after acquiring very great honour to the Achæan nation; for the whole affair had been seen from the walls of Pergamus, by the men, and even by the women.

XXI. Next day, the enemy’s guard, in more regular and orderly condition, pitched their camp five hundred paces farther from the city, and the Achæans marched out at nearly the same time as before, and to the same place. During many hours, both parties stood, attentively watching each other, in continual expectation of an immediate attack. At the approach of sunset, the usual time of their returning to the main camp, the king’s troops, forming together in a body, began to retire. Diophanes did not stir until they were out of sight; and then he rushed on their rear guard with the same vehemence as before, and again excited such dismay and confusion, that, though the hindmost were put to the sword, not one of them halted, or thought of fighting; so that they were driven into their camp in confusion, and scarcely observing any order in their march. These daring exertions of the Achæans obliged Seleucus to decamp, and quit the territory of Pergamus. Antiochus, having learned that the Romans and Eumenes were come to protect Adramytteum, made no attempt on that city, but ravaged the country adjoining. He afterwards reduced Peræa, a colony of Mityleneans; while Cotton, Corylenus, Aphrodisias, and Crene, were all taken at the first assault. He then returned through Thyatira to Sardis. Seleucus remained on the sea-coast, keeping the favourers of one party in fear, and protecting those of the other. The Roman fleet, with Eumenes and the Rhodians, retired, first to Mitylene, and then to Elæa, whence they had set out. On their way to Phocæa they put in at an island called Bachius, near the city of Phocæa; and, though they had formerly spared the temples and statues, with which kind of decorations the island abounded in an extraordinary degree, yet they now pillaged them all, and then passed over to the city. They commenced the attack of it on three different sides, according to a plan concerted; but soon perceiving that it could not be taken by scalade and assault, without regular works, and learning that a reinforcement of three thousand soldiers, sent by Antiochus, had got into the city, they immediately broke up the siege, and the fleet retired to the island, without having effected any thing more than the devastation of the enemy’s country in the neighbourhood.

XXII. Here it was resolved that Eumenes should return home, and make every necessary preparation for the passage of the consul, and his army, over the Hellespont; and that the Roman and Rhodian fleets should sail back to Samos, and remain stationed there, to prevent any attempt being made by Polyxenidas. Accordingly the king returned to Elæa, the Romans and Rhodians to Samos. There, Marcus Æmilius, brother to the prætor, died. When his obsequies were performed, the Rhodians, on a report that a fleet was on its way from Syria, sailed away, with thirteen of their own ships, one Coan, and one Cnidian quinquereme, to Rhodes, where they were to lie. Two days before the arrival of Eudamus, and the fleet from Samos, another fleet of thirteen ships, under the command of Pamhiladas, had been sent out against the same Syrian fleet, and taking with them four ships, which had been left to protect Caria, they relieved Dædala, and several other fortresses of Peræa, which were besieged by the king’s troops. It was determined that Eudamus should put to sea directly, and an addition of six undecked ships was made to his fleet. He accordingly set sail; and, using all possible expedition, overtook the first squadron at a port called Megiste, from whence they proceeded in one body, to Phaselis, resolving to wait there for the enemy.

XXIII. Phaselis stands on the confines of Lycia and Pamphylia; it projects far into the sea, and is the first land seen by persons coming from Cilicia to Rhodes, and, from hence, ships can be seen at a great distance. For this reason, chiefly, this place was made choice of, that they might lie directly in the way of the enemy’s fleet. But an event took place, which they did not foresee; for, in consequence of the unwholesomeness of the place, and of the season of the year, it being now the middle of summer, diseases began to spread with violence, particularly among the rowers. The fear of this pestilential malady made them quit the place; and, sailing by the Pamphylian bay, they put into port at the river Eurymedon, where they learned, from the people of Aspendæ, that the enemy were then at Sida. The king’s fleet had been the slower in its passage, by reason of the unfavourable wind, called the Etesian; that being the time when it blows periodically from the north-west. The Rhodians had thirty-two quadriremes, and four triremes. In the king’s fleet were thirty-seven ships of the larger rates; among which were three of seven, and four of six banks of oars; and besides these, ten triremes. Both fleets, at the dawn of the next day, moved out of port, as resolved to come to an immediate engagement; and, as soon as the Rhodians passed the promontory, that stretches into the deep from Sida, they descried the enemy, and were descried by them. The left squadron of the king’s fleet, which was on the outside next the main sea, was commanded by Hannibal, the right by Apollonius, one of the nobles, and they had their ships already formed in a line, ahead. The Rhodians approached in a long line ahead, also. Eudamus, in the commander’s ship, led the van; Chariclitus brought up the rear; and Pamphilidas commanded the centre division. When Eudamis saw the enemy’s line formed, and ready for battle, he pushed out towards the main, ordering the ships that followed, to form, regularly, as they came up, in a line of battle. This caused some confusion, at first; for he had not stretched out to the main far enough to give room for all the ships to come into a line between him and the land, while himself was so impatient, as, with only five ships, to engage with Hannibal; the rest, having received orders to form their line, did not come up. The rear division had no room left for it, next to the land, and while they were in disorder the fight was already begun, on the right, against Hannibal.

XXIV. But the goodness of their ships, and the expertness of their men in nautical business, quickly freed the Rhodians from all embarrasment. They pushed out, hastily towards the main; by which means each made room, next the land, for the one immediately behind; and when any made a stroke with its beak against a ship of the enemy, it either shattered its prow, or swept off its oars; or, passing by it, in the clear space between the vessels, made an attack on its stern. One of the king’s seven-banked ships, being sunk, with one stroke, by a Rhodian vessel of much smaller size, dispirited his fleet in a very great degree, insomuch that their right squadron gave evident indications of an intention to fly. Hannibal, in the open sea, pressed Eudamus hard, by means, chiefly, of his superior number of ships; for, in every other respect, Eudamus had greatly the advantage; and he would have surrounded and overpowered him, had not the signal, for a dispersed fleet collecting together again, been displayed from the commander’s ship. On which, all the ships which had been victorious in the left squadron, hastened up to succour their friends. This made Hannibal himself, with all his division, betake themselves to flight, while the Rhodians could not pursue, because their rowers, being most of them sick, were, therefore, the sooner wearied. While lying to, to take refreshment, Eudamus, observing the enemy towing, by means of their open vessels, several damaged and crippled ships, with more than twenty that were going off unhurt, commanded silence, from the castle of the commander’s ship, and then called out, “Arise, and feast your eyes with an extraordinary sight.” They all started up, and perceiving the disorderly flight of the enemy, cried out, almost with one voice, that they ought to pursue. Eudamus’s ship was bulged in many places; he, therefore, ordered Pamphilidas and Chariclitus to pursue as far as they should think it safe. They, accordingly, pursued for a considerable time; but, seeing Hannibal make-in close to the land, fearing to be wind-bound on an enemy’s coast, they steered back to Eudamus, and with difficulty towed to Phaselis, a captured seven-banked ship, which had been damaged in the beginning of the engagement. They then sailed home to Rhodes, not so much exulting in their victory, as blaming one another, for not, when it was in their power, having sunk or taken the whole of the enemy’s fleet. Hannibal was so disheartened by the loss of this one battle, that, notwithstanding their departure, he durst not sail along the coast of Lycia, though he wished to join the king’s main fleet, as soon as possible. That he might not effect this junction without opposition, the Rhodians sent Chariclitus, with twenty ships, to Patara, and the harbour of Megiste. They, then, ordered Eudamus, with seven of the largest vessels, belonging to the fleet which he had commanded, to rejoin the Romans at Samos, and to endeavour, by every argument, and by all his influence, to prevail on the Romans to besiege Patara.

XXV. Great was the joy felt by the Romans; first, on receiving the news of the victory, and, afterwards, on the arrival of the Rhodians: and, there was abundant reason to believe, that, if these were freed from care, they would render the seas in that part of the world safe. But, as Antiochus had marched out of Sardis, they could not allow them to quit the guard of Ionia and Æolia, lest the maritime cities should be crushed by his arms. However, they sent Pamphilidas, with four decked ships, to join the fleet which was at Patara. Antiochus not only collected aids from the circumjacent states, but also, sent ambassadors to Prusias, king of Bithynia, with a letter, in which he represented, in strong colours, the evil designs of the Romans in coming into Asia. “Their intentions were,” he said, “to abolish all kingly governments; so that there should be no empire in any part of the world. They had already reduced Philip and Nabis; and they were now falling on him. Thus the conflagration would spread, without interruption, from one to another, as each lay nearest to the one last ruined, until it envoloped them all. From him there was but one step to Bithynia, now that Eumenes had submitted to voluntary servitude.” This letter made a strong impression on Prusias; but he was convinced of such a suspicion being groundless, by a letter from the consul, Scipio; and still more so, by one from his brother Africanus, who, besides urging the invariable practice of the Roman people, of augmenting by every honourable addition, the grandeur of kings in alliance with them, demonstrated, by instances taken from his own family, that it was the interest of Prusias to court their friendship. “The petty chieftains in Spain,” he said, “and who had been received into alliance, he had left kings. Masinissa he had not only reestablished in his father’s kingdom, but had put him in possession of that of Syphax, by whom he had been formerly dethroned: so that he was, at the present, not only by far the most powerful of all the kings in Africa, but equal, both in dignity and strength, to any monarch in any part of the world. Philip and Nabis, avowed enemies, were conquered in war by Titus Quintius; nevertheless, they were left in possession of their kingdoms. Philip even had the tribute remitted to him last year, and his son, who was an hostage, restored. Through the indulgence of the Roman commanders, he had also got possession of several states beyond the boundaries of Macedonia. As to Nabis, he might have remained in the same honourable rank, had not, first, his own madness, and, afterwards, the treachery of the Ætolians, brought him to ruin.” But what contributed, more than all, to fix the king’s resolution, was, that Caius Livius, who had commanded the fleet as prætor, came to him ambassador from Rome. Livius showed him, how much better reason the Romans had to expect success than Antiochus; and how much more scrupulously, and constantly, they would maintain a friendship once formed.

XXVI. Antiochus, having lost all prospect of an alliance with Prusias, went from Sardis to Ephesus, to review the fleet, which was fitted out, and lay there ready, for several months past; to which he now gave attention, rather because he saw it impossible, with his land forces, to make any stand against the Roman army, and the two Scipios, its commanders, than that his naval force, by itself, had ever been successful, in any trial that he had made of it, or afforded at this juncture, any great or well-grounded expectation. Yet there were at the time some circumstances which flattered his hopes; for he had heard, that a large portion of the Rhodian fleet was at Patara, and that king Eumenes had gone to the Hellespont, with all his ships, to meet the consul. Besides,—the destruction of the Rhodian fleet at Samos, under circumstances in which it had been artfully entangled, helped to inspire some degree of confidence. Buoyed up by these considerations, he sent Polyxenidas with orders to try, at all events, the fortune of a naval engagement; while he himself marched his land forces to Notium. This town, which belongs to Colophon, stands close to the sea, at the distance of about two miles from Old Colophon. He wished to get this city into his power, because it was so near to Ephesus that nothing could be done there, on sea or land, that was not open to the view of the Colophonians, and through them, instantly known to the Romans; and he had no doubt that the latter, on hearing of the siege, would bring their fleet from Samos to the relief of an ally, which would give Polyxenidas an opportunity of coming to action. He therefore laid regular siege to the city, making his approaches at the same time on the two sides next the sea; in both places, advancing his engines and mounds to the wall, and bringing up the rams under covered galleries. The Colophonians, terrified at the dangers threatening them, sent envoys to Lucius Æmilius, at Samos, imploring the protection of the prætor and people of Rome. Æmilius, thinking nothing more improbable, than that Polyxenidas, whom he had twice challenged, in vain, to fight, should ever offer him battle, was, for some time past uneasy at lying so long inactive at Samos; and he considered it as dishonourable, that the fleet of Eumenes should assist the consul in conveying the legions into Asia, while himself should be confined to one particular spot, and assisting Colophon under a siege, without knowing what would be the issue. Eudamus, the Rhodian, (who had before prevailed upon him to stay at Samos, when he wished to go to the Hellespont,) with all the other officers, pressed him to comply, representing “how much more eligible it would be, either to relieve confederates from a siege, or to vanquish that fleet which he had vanquished before; in a word, to drive the enemy entirely away, than to abandon allies to destruction, leave Antiochus master of Asia, by sea and land, and, deserting that share of the war which properly belonged to him, to sail for the Hellespont, when the fleet of Eumenes was sufficient for that station.”

XXVII. They, accordingly, set sail from Samos in quest of provisions, their stock being consumed, with an intention to pass over to Chios. Samos served as a granary to the Romans, and thither all the storeships, sent from Rome, directed their course. When they had sailed round from the city, to the back of the island, which looks northward towards Chios and Erythræ, and were preparing to cross over, the prætor received a letter informing him, that a vast quantity of corn had arrived at Chios, from Italy; but that the vessels, laden with wine, were detained by storms. At the same time accounts were received, that the people of Teios had furnished large supplies of provisions to the king’s fleet, and had promised five thousand vessels of wine. On this the prætor, immediately, changed his course, and steered away to Teios, resolved either to make use of the provisions prepared for the enemy, with the consent of the inhabitants, or to treat them as foes. As the ships were making up to the land, about fifteen vessels appeared in sight near Myonnesus. The prætor, at first, thought that these belonged to the king’s fleet, and sailed in pursuit of them; but it appeared afterwards, that they were a squadron of pirates. They had ravaged the sea-coast of Chios, and were returning with booty of every kind, when, on seeing the fleet approaching from the main sea, they betook themselves to flight. They had much the advantage, both in point of swiftness, as being lighter, and constructed for the purpose, and also in being nearer the land; so that before Æmilius could overtake them, they made their escape to Myonnesus; while he, unacquainted with the place, followed in expectation of forcing their ships out of the harbour. Myonnesus is a promontory between Teios and Samos. It consists of a hill rising from a pretty large base to a sharp top, in shape of an obelisk. From the land, the access to it is by a narrow path; towards the sea it is terminated by cliffs, undermined by the waves, so that in some places, the superimpending rocks project beyond the vessels that lie at anchor. The ships not daring to approach lest they should be exposed to the weapons of the pirates, who stood above on the cliffs, wasted the day to no purpose. At length, a little before nightfall, they gave over the attempt, and retired, and next day, reached Teios. Here, the prætor, after mooring in the port, at the back of the city, called by the inhabitants Geræsticum, sent out the soldiers to ravage the adjacent ports.

XXVIII. The Teians, as these ravages passed under their eyes, sent deputies to the Roman commander, carrying fillets, and other badges of suppliants, who assured him, that their state was innocent of any hostile word or deed against the Romans. But he strongly charged them with “having assisted the enemy’s fleet with provisions, and with having promised a supply of wine to Polyxenidas.” He farther told them, that “if they would furnish the same supplies to the Roman fleet, he would recal his troops from plundering; otherwise, they should be treated as enemies.” When the deputies carried back this distressing answer, the people were summoned to an assembly, by the magistrates, to consult on the measures proper to be taken. It happened that Polyxenidas, who had sailed with the king’s fleet from Colophon, having heard that the Romans had left Samos and pursued the pirates to Myonnesus; that they were ravaging the lands of the Teians, and that their fleet lay in the harbour of Geræsticum, cast anchor, just at this time, in a retired harbour of an island called Macris, opposite to Myonnesus. Lying so near, he easily discovered the motions of the enemy; and, at first, entertained strong hopes of vanquishing the Roman fleet here, in like manner as he had vanquished the Rhodian at Samos; by securing, with a proper force, both sides of the harbour’s mouth. Nor was the place in its nature unlike to that at Samos: by the promontories advancing their points towards each other, the harbour is inclosed in such a manner, that two ships can scarcely go out together. Polyxenidas intended to seize this narrow pass in the night; and, while ten ships stood at each of the promontories, to attack, from the right and left, both sides of the enemy’s fleet sailing out; to land the armed men out of the rest of the fleet, as he had done at Panormus, and by that means to overpower the Roman, on land and sea, at once. His plan would probably have succeeded to his wish, had not the Romans, on the Teians promising to comply with their demands, judged it more convenient for receiving the provisions, to remove the fleet into the inner port in front of the city. It is said, also, that Eudamus, the Rhodian, had pointed out the fault of the outer harbour, on occasion of two ships happening to entangle their oars together, so as to break them, in the narrow entrance. Among other motives, the consideration of the danger to be apprehended from the land, as Antiochus lay encamped at no great distance, inclined the prætor to change his station.

XXIX. When the fleet was brought round to the city, as they had not the least notion of the enemy being so near, both soldiers and sailors went on shore to divide the provisions, and the wine particularly, among the ships; when, about mid-day, a peasant happened to be brought before the prætor, who told him, that the enemy’s fleet was lying at the island of Macris these two days; and that, a little while ago, some of them were observed to be in motion, as if preparing to sail. Greatly alarmed at this unexpected event, the prætor ordered the trumpets to sound, to call in such as might have straggled into the country, and sent the tribunes into the city, to hasten the soldiers and sailors on board. The confusion was not less than if the place were on fire, or taken by an enemy; some running to call out the men; others hurrying to the ships, while the orders of the officers were confounded by irregular shouts, intermixed and heightened by the clangor of the trumpets, until at length the crowd collected at the ships. Here scarcely could each know his own ship, or make his way through the tumult; and the disorder would probably have been productive of much mischief, on land and sea, if the commanders had not exerted themselves quickly. Æmilius, in the commander’s ship, sailed out, first, into the main; where receiving the rest; he put each into its own place, so as to form a line abreast: and Eudamus with the Rhodian fleet, waited at the shore, that the men might be embarked without confusion, and that every ship, as soon as ready, might leave the harbour. By these means, the foremost division formed under the eye of the prætor, while the rear was brought up by the Rhodians; and then, the whole line, in as regular order as if within sight of the foe, advanced into the open sea. They were between Myonnesus and the promontory of Corycus when they first got sight of the enemy. The king’s fleet, which was coming in a long line, with only two vessels abreast, then formed themselves in order of battle, stretching out their left division so far, as that it might inclose the right of the Romans. When Eudamus, who commanded in the rear, perceived that the Romans could not form an equal front, but were just on the point of being surrounded, he pushed up his ships. They were Rhodians, by far the fastest sailers of any in the fleet; and, having filled up the deficiency in the extent of the line, he opposed his own ship to the commander’s, on board of which was Polyxenidas.

XXX. The fleets were, by this time, engaged in every part. The Romans fought eighty ships, of which twenty-two were Rhodian. The enemy’s fleet consisted of eighty-eight ships, and they had of the largest rates, three of six, and two of seven banks. In the strength of the vessels, and valour of the soldiers, the Romans had, greatly, the advantage of the king’s party; as had the Rhodians in the activity of their vessels, the skill of the pilots, and the dexterity of the rowers: yet the enemy was chiefly terrified by those that carried fires before them; and what was the sole cause of their preservation when they were surrounded at Panormus, proved here the principal means of victory to the Romans. For the king’s ships, through fear of the fire, turned aside, and to avoid at the same time encountering the enemy’s prow with their own; so that they could not strike their antagonist with the beaks, but exposed the side of their ships to his strokes; and, if any did venture an encounter, it was immediately overspread with the fire that was poured in; while the men were more hurried and disordered by their efforts to quench the flames, than by fighting. However, the bravery of the soldiers, as is generally the case, was what chiefly availed in deciding the fate of the battle. For the Romans, having broke through the centre of the enemy’s line, tacked about and fell upon the rear of the division which was engaged with the Rhodians; and, in an instant of time, both Antiochus’s centre division, and the ships on the left, were sunk. The squadron on the right, which was still entire, was terrified rather by the disaster of their friends, than any immediate danger threatening themselves; but, when they saw the others surrounded, and Polyxenidas’s ship deserting its associates, and sailing away, they quickly hoisted their top-sails, and betook themselves to flight, having a favourable wind for making Ephesus. They lost, in that battle, forty-two ships; of which thirteen struck, and fell into the hands of the Romans; the rest were burned or sunk. Two Roman ships were so shattered that they foundered, and several were much damaged. One Rhodian vessel was taken by an extraordinary casualty; for, on its striking a Sidonian ship with its beak, its anchor, thrown out by the force of the shock, caught fast hold of the other’s prow with its fluke, as if it were a grappling iron thrown in. Great confusion ensuing, the Rhodians, who wished to disengage themselves, pulled back, by which means its cable being dragged forcibly, and at the same time entangled with the oars, swept off the whole set on one side. The vessel, thus crippled, became the prize of the very ship which it had wounded with its beak and grappled. Such was the issue of the sea-fight at Myonnesus.

XXXI. Antiochus was much dismayed at this defeat, and on finding himself driven from the sea; despairing therefore of being able to defend distant posts, he commanded the garrison to be withdrawn from Lysimachia, lest it should be overpowered by the Romans. This was ill-judged, as events afterwards proved. For it would have been easy for him, not only to defend Lysimachia from the first attack of the Romans, but to have protracted the siege through the whole winter, and, by thus prolonging the time, to have reduced the besiegers to the extremity of want; while he might, in the mean time have tried every opportunity that offered for effecting an accommodation. But, after the defeat at sea, he not only gave up Lysimachia, but even raised the siege of Colophon, and retired to Sardis. Here, bending all his thoughts to one single object, that of meeting the enemy in the field, he sent into Cappadocia, to Ariarathes, to request assistance, and to every other place within his power, to collect forces. Æmilius Regillus after his victory at sea, proceeded to Ephesus, drew up his ships before the harbour, and, having extorted from the enemy a final acknowledgment of their having surrendered the dominion of the sea, sailed to Chios, whither he intended to have gone, before the sea-fight happened. As soon as he had refitted the ships that had been damaged in the battle, he sent off Lucius Æmilius Scaurus, with thirty others, to the Hellespont, to carry over the army; and decorating the Rhodian vessels with naval spoils, and allowing them a part of the booty, he ordered them to return home. The Rhodians spiritedly resolved to do business first. They therefore proceeded to assist in transporting the consul’s forces, and when they had completed that service, they returned to Rhodes. The Roman fleet sailed from Chios to Phocæa. This city stands at the bottom of a bay, and is of an oblong shape. The wall encompasses a space of two miles and a half in length, and then contracts on both sides into a narrow wedge-like form, which place they call Lampter, or the light-house. The breadth, here, is one thousand two hundred paces, and a tongue of land stretching out about a mile toward the sea, divides the bay nearly in the middle, as if with a line, and, where it is connected with the main land, by a narrow isthmus; so as to form two very safe harbours, one on each side. The one that fronts the south is called Naustathmos, the station for ships, from the circumstance of its being capable of containing a vast number; the other is close to Lampter.

XXXII. The Roman fleet, having taken possession of these harbours, where they rode in perfect safety, the prætor thought proper, before he attempted the fortifications, either by scalade or works, to send persons to sound the disposition of the magistrates and principal people in the place; but finding them obstinate, he formed two attacks, which he carried on at the same time. In the part against which one attack was directed, the houses were few, the temples of the gods occupying a great deal of the ground. In this place he first brought up his rams, and began to batter the wall and towers; and when the multitude, within, ran thither to defend that spot, the battering rams were applied in the other quarter. The walls now began to fall in both places; on which the Romans made an assault, scrambling over the ruins as they fell, while others of them attempted to scale the parts that were standing; but the townsmen made such an obstinate resistance, as plainly showed, that they had a firmer dependence on their arms and courage, than on their fortifications. The prætor, therefore, seeing the danger which awaited his men, was obliged to sound a retreat; the more especially as they were now become so furious through rage and despair, as to expose themselves rashly. Although the fighting ceased, yet the besieged did not, even then, think of rest; but all hastened, from every quarter, to strengthen the walls, and to raise new ones in the place of those that had been demolished. While they were busily employed in this manner, Quintus Antonius came to them, with a message from the prætor. After blaming them for their obstinacy, he assured them, that “the Romans were more anxious than they were themselves to prevent the siege being carried to the ruin of the city. If they would desist from their madness, Æmilius would allow them to capitulate on the same terms on which they formerly surrendered to Caius Livius.” On hearing this, they desired five days’ time to deliberate; during which they sent to learn whether they might hope for succour from Antiochus; and having received an answer, by their deputies, that it was not in his power to relieve them, they opened their gates on the single condition of not being ill-treated. When the troops were marching into the city, and the prætor had proclaimed that it was his pleasure that the surrendered townsmen should be spared, there arose an universal clamour, that it was shameful “to suffer the Phocæans, who had never been faithful to any alliance, and had always been bitter in enmity, to escape with impunity.” After which words, as if a signal had been given by the prætor, they ran, in parties, every way, to plunder the city. Æmilius, at first, endeavoured to stop them; calling them back, and telling them, that “towns taken by storm, and not such as surrendered, were to be plundered; and that, even with regard to the former, the determination lay with the commander, not with the soldiers.” But rage and avarice were too strong for his authority; wherefore, despatching heralds, through all parts of the city, he ordered, that all persons of free conditions should come to him in the Forum, to avoid ill-treatment; and in every particular, as far as he was able, he fulfilled his promise to them. He restored to them their city, their lands, and their laws; and, as the winter now approached, he chose the harbour of Phocæa for the station of his fleet until spring.

XXXIII. About the same time, as the consul was marching along the frontiers of the Ænians and Maronites, he received the news of the victory over the king’s fleet at Myonnesus; and of Lysimachia being evacuated by the garrison. This latter event gave much more satisfaction than even the success at sea; especially, when, arriving at that city, which was replenished with stores of every kind, as if purposely laid in for the reception of the army, the troops found comfortable accommodation; a place in the besieging of which they had expected to meet with extreme want and hardship. There they halted a few days, to give time for the coming up of the baggage, and of the sick; for many, overcome by diseases, or the length of the way, had been left behind in all the forts of Thrace. When all had joined, they began again their march through the Chersonese, and arrived at the Hellespont; where, every thing requisite for their passage having been previously got ready, by the care of king Eumenes, they crossed over, without opposition or confusion, as if to friendly shores, and the ships put in at several different places. This raised, to a high degree, the spirits of the Romans, who saw the passage into Asia left open to them; for they had always supposed that they could not accomplish it without a violent contest. They afterwards remained encamped, a considerable time at the Hellespont; this happening to be the time of the festival wherein the sacred bucklers are carried about, during which it is not allowed to march. The same festival had occasioned Publius Scipio’s being separated from the army; for he was bound by a duty more particularly incumbent on him, as being one of the Salian priests; himself therefore caused some further delay.

XXXIV. In the mean time an ambassador came from Antiochus to the camp,—Heraclides, a Byzantian, with a commission to treat of peace. His hopes of obtaining it were greatly encouraged by the dilatory proceeding of the Romans; for he had imagined, that, as soon as they set foot in Asia, they would have advanced rapidly against the king. He resolved, however, not to address himself to the consul until he had first applied to Publius Scipio, having received instructions to that purpose, from the king. Indeed his highest expectations were from Scipio, because his greatness of soul, and the fullness of his glory, naturally tended to produce a placable temper. Beside, all the world knew how he had behaved during a flow of success, both in Spain and afterwards in Africa, and also, and more especially, because his son was then a prisoner with Antiochus. Where, and when, and by what accident, he became a prisoner, are points, like very many others, not ascertained among writers. Some say, that in the beginning of the war, as he was going from Chalcis to Oreum, he was intercepted by some of the king’s ships; others, that after the army came into Asia, he was sent with a troop of Fregellans, to Antiochus’s camp, to gain intelligence; that, on the cavalry sallying out against him, he retreated, and having fallen from his horse, in the confusion, he was, together with two horsemen, overpowered, and thus conducted to the king. In one particular all are agreed; that, if peace had still subsisted with the Romans, and likewise a personal friendship between the king and the Scipios, the young man could not have been treated and distinguished with greater generosity and kindness than he met with. The ambassador, for these reasons, waited the arrival of Publius Scipio; and, as soon as he came, applied to the consul, requesting his permission to lay before him the business with which he was charged.

XXXV. A full council being assembled, audience was given to the ambassador, who said, that “notwithstanding many embassies about peace had already been sent, backwards and forwards, without producing any effect, yet he conceived strong hopes of obtaining it from the very circumstance of the former delegates having obtained nothing. For the objects of contention in those discussions were Smyrna and Lampsacus, the Trojan Alexandria, and Lysimachia in Europe. Of these, the king had already ceded Lysimachia, that it might not be said that he possessed any thing in Europe; and those cities which lay in Asia he was now ready to deliver up, as well as any others, which the Romans, in consideration of having joined their party, might wish to render independent of the king’s government. The king was also willing to pay to the Roman people half of the charges of the war.” These were the conditions proposed. In the rest of his discourse he exhorted them to “consider the instability of human affairs; to use with moderation the advantages afforded by their own situation, and not to bear too hard on that of others; to be content with the empire of Europe; that in itself was immense. It was an easier matter to make acquisitions, one after another, than to retain them when acquired. But, if their wishes were so unbounded as not to be satisfied, without taking away part of Asia also, if they would define it by indisputable limits, the king, for the sake of peace and harmony, would willingly suffer his own moderate temper to be overcome by the insatiableness of the Romans.” These concessions, which appeared to the ambassador of great moment towards obtaining a peace, the Romans deemed trifling. They thought it reasonable, that “the king should defray the whole expense occasioned by the war; because it was, through his fault, that it was begun. And that, not only Iona, and Æolia, ought to be evacuated by the king’s troops; but as all Greece had been set free, so all the cities of that nation, in Asia, should also be free, which could no other way be effected, than by Antiochus relinquishing the possession of that part of Asia, on the hither side of Mount Taurus.”

XXXVI. The ambassador, perceiving that no reasonable terms were to be obtained from the council, made a separate application to Publius Scipio, as he had been ordered: and, to prevail on him to favour his cause, told him, first, that the king would restore him his son, without a ransom; and then, as ignorant of the disposition of Scipio, as he was of the Roman manners, he promised an immense weight of gold, and, excepting the title of king, an absolute partnership in the sovereignty, if, through his means, he should obtain a peace. To which Scipio answered, “I am the less surprised at your ignorance of the Roman character in general, and of mine, to whom you have been sent, when I see that you are unacquainted with the situation, even of the person from whom you come. You ought to have kept Lysimachia, to prevent our entering the Chersonese, or to have opposed us at the Hellespont, to hinder our passing into Asia, if you meant to ask peace from us, as from people solicitous about the issue of the war. But, after leaving the passage into Asia open, and receiving not only a bridle, but also a yoke, how can you pretend to negociate on a footing of equality, and when you know that you must submit to orders? I shall consider my son as the greatest gift that the king’s munificence can confer; any other instances of it, I trust in the gods, my circumstances will never need, my mind certainly never will. For such an act of generosity to me, he shall find me grateful if, for a personal favour, he will accept a personal return of gratitude. In my public capacity, I will neither accept from him, nor give him any thing. All that is in my power at present, to give him, is sincere advice. Go then, and desire him, in my name, to cease hostilities, and to refuse no terms of peace.” This counsel had no effect on the king, who thought that no chance of war could make his condition worse, since terms were dictated to him already, as if he were totally vanquished. Laying aside, therefore, for the present, all farther mention of peace, he turned his whole attention to the preparations for war.

XXXVII. The consul, having made the necessary preparations for the execution of his designs, quitted the post where he lay, and marched, first, to Dardanus, and then, to Rhæteum; from both which places the people came out in crowds to meet him. He then advanced to Troy, and having pitched his camp in the plain, under the walls, went up to the city, and into the citadel, where he offered sacrifice to Minerva, the tutelar deity of the place. The Trojans, by every act and expression of respect, showed themselves proud of the Romans being descended from them, while the Romans testified their happiness in having sprung from that origin. The army, marching thence, arrived, on the sixth day, at the source of the river Caicus. Here they were joined by king Eumenes. He had, at first, endeavoured to bring back his fleet, from the Hellespont, to Elæa, for the winter; but, being prevented, during many days, by contrary winds from passing the promontory of Lectos, and unwilling to be absent at the commencement of operations, he landed, and came, with a small body of men, by the shortest road to the Roman camp. From the camp he was sent home to Pergamus, to hasten supplies of provisions; and, as soon as he had delivered the corn, to the persons appointed by the consul, he returned to the camp, which remained on the same spot. The plan now adopted was, to have provision prepared sufficient for a great many days, and to march, directly, against the enemy before the winter should come on to stop them. The king’s camp was near Thyatira, and Antiochus hearing there that Publius Scipio had fallen sick, and was conveyed to Elæa, sent ambassadors to conduct his son to him. As this present was highly grateful to the mind of the father, so was the satisfaction which it gave no less salutary to his body. After long indulging his rapture, in the embraces of his son, at length he said to the ambassadors, “Tell the king, that I return him thanks; that, at present, I can make him no other requital, than my advice; which is not to come to an engagement until he shall have heard that I have rejoined the army.” Although an army of seventy thousand foot and more than twelve thousand horse, inspired Antiochus at times with confidence, to hope for a favourable issue of a battle; yet, moved by the advice of so great a man as Scipio, in whom, when he considered the uncertainty of the events of war, he placed his greatest hope for safety, in any kind of fortune that might befall him, he retired beyond the river Phrigius, and pitched his camp near Magnesia of Sipylus. However, and lest, while he wished to prolong the time, the Romans might attempt his works, he drew round it a fosse six cubits deep and twelve broad; and on the outside, a double rampart, raising, on the inside bank, a wall flanked with towers at small distances, by means of which it was easy to hinder the enemy from passing the moat.

XXXVIII. The consul, thinking that the king was still in the neighbourhood of Thyatira, marched five days without halting, until he came down into the Hyrcanian plains. Then hearing of his departure, he followed his tracts, and encamped on the hither side of the river Phrigius, at the distance of four miles from his post. Here, a body of about one thousand horse, the greatest part of whom were Gallogrecians, the rest Dahans, and archers on horseback, of other nations intermixed, passing the river with great fury, made an attack on the advanced Roman guards, who, being unprepared, were at first, thrown into disorder. But, as the dispute was maintained, notwithstanding, and as the Romans, (who could easily be reinforced from their camp lying so near,) increased in strength, the king’s troops becoming weary, and unable to withstand superior numbers, endeavoured to retreat; but, before they could reach the river, very many were killed, on the bank, by the enemy pressing on their rear. For two days after, all remained quiet, neither party passing the river. On the third, the Romans passed it with their whole force, and encamped at the distance of about two miles and a half from the enemy. While they were laying out and fortifying the camp, a body of the king’s troops, consisting of three thousand chosen horse and foot approached with great rapidity and violence. The party on guard, though much inferior in number, (being only two thousand,) without calling off any of the soldiers from the fortifying of the camp, sustained the combat with equal success at first, and, in the progress of it, repulsed the enemy, killing one hundred, and taking about the same number. For the four ensuing days, both armies stood in order of battle, before their respective camps. On the fifth, the Romans advanced into the middle of the plain, but Antiochus did not stir; so that his rear was not so far as one thousand feet from his rampart.

XXXIX. Æmilius, seeing him unwilling to fight, called a council next day, and asked their opinion, “how he ought to act if Antiochus would not give him an opportunity of engaging. For the winter was at hand, and he must either keep the soldiers in camp, or, if they chose to retire to winter quarters, defer the business of the war until summer.” The Romans never entertained a more contemptuous opinion of any people. The whole assembly therefore, called on him to lead on immediately, and make use of the present ardour of the troops, who, as if the business were not to fight against so many thousands but to slaughter an equal number of cattle, were ready to force their way, through trenches and ramparts, into the camp, if the enemy would not come out to battle. Cneius Domitius was then sent to discover the nature of the ground, by which they were to march, and on what side they could best approach the enemy’s rampart. On his returning, with a full account of every particular, it was resolved that the camp should next day be moved nearer to the enemy. On the third day, the standards were carried forward into the middle of the plain, and the troops began to form their line. Antiochus now thought it would be wrong to defer matters longer lest, by declining a battle, he should damp the courage of his men, and add to the confidence of the enemy. He, therefore, drew out his forces, advancing only so far as to show that he was willing to come to an engagement. The Roman line was nearly uniform throughout in respect both of men and armour. There were two Roman legions, and two brigades of allies and Latines each containing five thousand four hundred men. The Romans formed the centre, the Latines the wings. The spearmen composed the first line, the first-rank men the second, and the veterans closed the rear. Besides this regular body, the consul formed, on the right of it, and in a straight line with it, the auxiliary troops of Eumenes, intermixed with Achæan targeteers, making about three thousand foot; beyond these he posted somewhat less than three thousand horse, of which, eight hundred belonged to Eumenes; all the rest of the cavalry was Roman: and, in the extremity of the line, he placed bodies of Trallians and Cretans, equal in number, each making up five hundred men. His left wing did not need such supports, because it was flanked by a river with steep banks. However, four troops of horse were posted there. This was the whole amount of the Roman force. Two thousand Macedonians and Thracians, who had, of their own accord, accompanied the army, were left to guard the camp. Sixteen elephants were placed behind the veterans in reserve; for besides, that they were not supposed capable of withstanding the great number of the king’s elephants, no less than fifty-four, the African elephants are not able to cope with an equal number of Indians, being inferior to them both in size, and in steadiness of courage.

XL. The king’s line was more chequered with troops of many nations, dissimilar both in their persons, and armour. There was a body of sixteen thousand men armed after the manner of the Macedonians, which they called a phalanx. This formed the centre, had five hundred men in front, and was divided into ten parts, which parts were separated by two elephants placed between each two; its depth, from the front, was thirty-two ranks. This was the main strength of the king’s army, and it exhibited a formidable sight, both in the other particulars of its appearance, and in the elephants, towering so high above the heads of the soldiers. They were of huge bulk, and were rendered more terrific by the caparisons of their foreheads and crests, and the towers fixed on their backs; four armed men stood on each tower, besides the managers of the beasts. On the right of the phalanx, were placed five hundred Gallogrecian horsemen, to whom were joined three thousand horsemen, clad in complete armour, whom they call cataphracti, or mailed. To these were added a brigade of near a thousand horse, which body they called agema. They were Medes, all picked men, with a mixture of horsemen from many other nations in that part of the world. Adjoining these, a body of sixteen elephants was placed in reserve. On the same side, a little farther on towards the wing, was the royal cohort; these were called Argyraspides, from the kind of armour which they wore. Next to these, stood one thousand two hundred Dahan bowmen on horseback; then, three thousand light-infantry, nearly half Cretans and half Trallians; adjoining these, two thousand five hundred Mysian archers, and the flank of the whole was covered by four thousand Cyrtæan slingers, and Elymæan archers, intermixed. Next to the left flank of the phalanx, stood one thousand five hundred Gallogrecian horse, and two thousand Cappadocian sent by king Ariarathes, wearing the same kind of armour; then, auxiliaries of all kinds, mixed together, two thousand seven hundred; then, three thousand mailed horsemen: then, one thousand other horsemen, being a royal cohort, equipped, with lighter coverings, for themselves and their horses, but, in other respects, not unlike the rest: they were mostly Syrians, with a mixture of Phrygians and Lydians. In the front of this body of cavalry, were the chariots, armed with scythes, and a kind of camels, called dromedaries. These were rode by Arabian archers, who carried thin swords four cubits long, that they might be able to reach the enemy from so great a height. Then followed another multitude, like that in the right wing,—first, Tarentines; then, two thousand five hundred Gallogrecian horsemen; then, one thousand new Cretans, and one thousand five hundred Carians and Cilicians, armed in the same manner; then, an equal number of Trallians, with three thousand targeteers, Pisidians, Pamphylians and Lycians; then came brigades of Cyrtæans and Elymæans, equal to those posted in the right wing, and sixteen, elephants, standing at a small distance. The king himself took post in the right wing, the command of the left he gave to his son Seleucus, and Antipater, the son of his brother; that of the centre to Minio, Zeuxis, and Philip, the master of the elephants.

XLI. A morning fog, which, as the day advanced, rose up in clouds, spread a general darkness; and the moisture, issuing from it, and coming from the southward, wetted every thing. This circumstance, which was scarcely any inconvenience to the Romans, was of extreme prejudice to the king’s troops. For the line of the Romans was of a moderate length, and the obscuring of the light did not hinder their seeing every part of it; they were, besides, mostly heavy armed troops, so that the fog had no tendency to blunt their swords and javelins. But the king’s line was so very extensive, that, from the centre of it, the wings could not be seen, much less could those at the extremities see one another; and then, the moisture relaxed the strings of their bows, their slings, and the thongs of their javelins. Besides, the armed chariots, by means of which Antiochus had trusted utterly to disorder the enemy’s line, turned the terror of their operations on their owners. The manner in which they were armed was this; from the yoke, on both sides of the pole, they had tenscythes, each of a cubit in length, standing out like horns, to transfix any thing that they met; at each extremity of the yoke, two scythes projected, one on a line with the yoke, the other on its lower side, pointing to the ground; the former to cut through any thing that might come within its reach on the side, the other to catch such as fell, or endeavoured to go under it. At each extremity of the axle of the wheels, two knives were fastened, in the same manner The chariots, thus armed, if they had been placed in the rear, or between the ranks, must have been driven through his own ranks; the king, therefore, as already mentioned, placed them in front. Eumenes, seeing this, and being not unexperienced in such kind of fight; knowing, likewise, that those machines might prove as dangerous to their employers, as to their antagonists, if means were used to frighten the horses, rather than a regular attack, ordered the Cretan bowmen, and slingers, and javelin-bearers, with some troops of horse, not in a body, but scattering themselves as widely as possible, to rush forwards, and pour weapons on them from all sides at once. This storm, as it were, partly, by the wounds made by the missile weapons, thrown from every quarter, and, partly, by the discordant shouts raised, so terrified the horses, that, immediately, as if unbridled, they galloped about at random. The light infantry, the lightly accoutred slingers, and the active Cretans, quickly evaded their encounter. The horsemen, following them, increased the tumult and the terror of the horses and camels at the same time, while the crowd of followers redoubled their shouts. By these means, the chariots were driven out of the ground between the two lines. When this empty piece of parade was removed, both parties gave the signal, and advanced to a regular engagement.

XLII. But these chariots, thus ineffective against the enemy, soon proved the cause of great mischief to the army of the king. For the troops posted next behind, being terrified at the wild disorder of the horses, betook themselves to flight, leaving all exposed, as far as to the post of the mailed horsemen: and even these, when the Romans, after dispersing the reserves, approached, did not sustain their first onset. Some fled, and others, being delayed by the weight of their coverings and armour, were put to the sword. The whole left wing then gave way, and the auxiliaries, posted between the cavalry and the phalanx, being thrown into confusion, the terror spread even to the centre. Here the ranks were broken, by the flying soldiers rushing in between them, while the same cause deprived the men of the use of their long spears, called by the Macedonians, sarissas. While they were in this disorder, the Roman legions, advancing, discharged their javelins among them. Even the elephants, standing in the way, did not deter the Roman soldiers, who had learned, by experience in the African wars, both to evade the onset of the animal, and, getting at one side of it, either to ply it with darts, or, if they could come near enough, to wound its sinews with their swords. The front of the centre was now almost cut to pieces, and the reserve being surrounded, was attacked on the rear, when the Romans perceived their troops in another quarter flying, and heard shouts of dismay almost close to their camp. For Antiochus, who commanded on the right wing, having observed that the enemy, relying on the river for security, had placed no reserve there, except four troops of horse, and that these, keeping close to the infantry, left an open space on the bank of the river, made a charge on them, with a body of auxiliaries and mailed horsemen. He not only attacked them in front, but, going round the extremity of their line, near the river, pressed them in flank also; until, having routed the cavalry first and then the infantry, he made them fly with precipitation to their camp.

XLIII. The camp was commanded by Marcus Æmilius, a military tribune, son of Marcus Lepidus, who, in a few years after, became chief pontiff. On seeing the troops flying, he went out with his whole guard, to meet them. He ordered them, first, to halt, and then to return to the fight; at the same time upbraiding them with cowardice. He then proceeded to threats,—that if they did not obey his orders, they would rush blindly on their own destruction. At last, he gave orders to his own men, to kill the foremost of the runaways, and with their swords to drive the crowd, that followed, back to their station. The greater fear now overcame the less. Compelled by the danger on either side, they first halted, and then marched, as commanded to meet the enemy. Æmilius, with his guard, consisting of two thousand men of distinguished valour, gave a vigorous check to the furious pursuit of Antiochus. At the same time, Attalus, the brother of Eumenes, having, from the right wing, where the left of the enemy had been routed, at the beginning of the engagement, observed the flight of his friends on the left, and the tumult near the camp, came up seasonably with two hundred horse. When Antiochus saw those men renewing the fight, whom, but just before, he had seen running away, and another large body advancing from the camp, with a third from the line, he turned about his horse and fled. The Romans, thus victorious in both wings, advanced over heaps of slain, which were most numerous in the centre, where the strength of the bravest men and the heavy armour had prevented flight, and proceeded to rifle the camp. The horsemen of Eumenes, first, and then the rest of the cavalry, pursued the enemy through all parts of the plain, and killed the hindmost as they overtook them. But the fugitives were exposed to more severe distress by the chariots, elephants and camels intermixed, and by their own disorderly haste; for, after they once broke their ranks, they rushed, as if blind, one upon another, and were trodden to death by their numerous beasts. In the camp also there was great slaughter committed, rather greater than even in the field: for the first that quitted it, in general, directed their flight to the camp. The guard, encouraged by the great number of these, defended their works with the more obstinacy. The Romans having been stopped at the gates and rampart, which they had expected to master at the first push, when they did, at length, break through, were led by rage to make the more dreadful carnage.

XLIV. According to the accounts given by historians, there were killed, on that day, fifty thousand foot and four thousand horse; taken one thousand four hundred, with fifteen elephants and their managers. Of the Romans, many were wounded, but no more than three hundred foot and twenty-four horsemen killed; and of the troops of Eumenes twenty-five. That day the victors, after plundering the enemy’s camp, returned with great store of booty to their own On the day following, they stripped the bodies of the slain, and collected the prisoners. Ambassadors came from Thyatira and Magnesia, near Sipylus, with a surrender of those cities. Antiochus fled, with very few attendants, but greater numbers, collecting about him on the road, he arrived at Sardis, with a numerous body of soldiers, about the middle of the night, and hearing there that his son Seleucus, and several of his friends, had gone on to Apamea, he likewise, at the fourth watch, set out for that city, with his wife and daughter, having committed to Zeno the command of the city, and the government of Lydia to Timon; but the townspeople disregarding both these, and the soldiers who were in the citadel, agreed to send deputies to the consul.

XLV. About this time deputies came from Tralles, from Magnesia on the Mæander, and from Ephesus, to surrender those cities. Polyxenidas had quitted Ephesus, as soon as he heard of the battle; and, sailing with the fleet as far as Patara, in Lycia, where, through fear of the Rhodian fleet stationed at Megiste, he landed, and, with a small retinue, pursued his journey, by land, into Syria. The several states of Asia submitted themselves to the disposal of the consul, and to the dominion of the Roman people. He was now at Sardis, whither Publius Scipio came from Elæa, as soon as he was able to endure the fatigue of travelling. Shortly after, arrived a herald from Antiochus, who solicited, through Publius Scipio, and obtained from the consul, permission for the king to send ambassadors. In a few days time, Zeuxis, who had been governor of Lydia, and Antipater the king’s nephew, arrived in that character. These, having first had a meeting with Eumenes, whom they expected to find most averse from peace, on account of old disputes, and seeing him better disposed to a reconciliation than either they or the king had hoped, addressed themselves then to Publius Scipio, and, through him, to the consul. At their request, a full council was assembled to hear the business of their commission, when Zeuxis spoke to this effect: “Romans, we are not prepared to make any proposal from ourselves; but rather desire to know, from you, by what atonements we can expiate the error of our king, and obtain pardon and peace from our conquerors. You have ever displayed the greatest magnanimity, in pardoning vanquished kings and nations, and ought you not to show a much greater, and more placable spirit, after your late victory, which has made you masters of the whole world? You ought, now, like deities, laying aside all disputes with mortal beings, to protect and spare the human race.” It had been determined, before the ambassadors came, what answer should be given them; and it was agreed that Africanus should deliver it. He is said to have spoken thus: “Of those things that are in the gift of the immortal gods, we Romans possess as much as the gods have been pleased to bestow. Our spirit, which is in the direction of our own mind, is the same to-day, that it has always been, in every state of fortune; prosperity has never elated, nor adversity depressed it. Of the truth of this, (to omit other instances,) I might produce your friend Hannibal as a convincing proof; but I can appeal to yourselves. After we had passed the Hellespont; before we saw the king’s camp or his army; when the chance of war was open to both, and the issue uncertain; on your proposing to treat of peace we offered you terms, at a time when we were, both of us, on a footing of equality; and the very same terms we offer you now, when we are victorious and you vanquished. Resign all pretensions in Europe, and cede that part of Asia, which lies on this side of Mount Taurus. Then, towards the expenses of the war, ye shall pay fifteen thousand talents of Eubæa; five hundred immediately, two thousand five hundred when the senate and people of Rome shall have ratified the peace, and one thousand, annually, for twelve years after. It is likewise thought fit, that four hundred talents be paid to Eumenes, and the quantity of corn remaining unpaid, of what was due to his father. When we shall have settled these articles, it will be a kind of assurance to us of your performance of them, if you give twenty hostages, such as we shall choose. But never can we be properly satisfied, that the Roman people will enjoy peace on the side of that country in which Hannibal shall be. Him, therefore, we demand, above all. Ye shall also deliver up Thoas, the Ætolian, the fomenter of the Ætolian war, who armed you against us by the assurances of their support, and them by assurances of yours; and, together with him, Mnesilochus, the Acarnanian, and Philo, and Eubulidas, of Chalcis. The king will now make peace under worse circumstances, on his side, because he makes it later than he might have done. If he now causes any delay, let him consider, that it is more difficult to pull down the majesty of kings, from the highest to the middle stage, than it is to precipitate it from the middle to the lowest.” The king’s instructions to his ambassadors were, to accede to any terms of peace. It was settled, therefore, that ambassadors should be sent to Rome. The consul distributed his army in winter quarters at Magnesia on the Mæander, Tralles, and Ephesus. In a few days after, the king brought the hostages to Ephesus to the consul; and also the ambassadors who were to go to Rome, arrived. Eumenes set out for Rome at the same time with the king’s ambassadors, and they were followed by embassies from all the states of Asia.

XLVI. During the time of these transactions in Asia, two proconsuls arrived, almost together, at Rome, from their provinces, with hopes of triumphing: Quintus Minucius, from Liguria, and Manius Acilius, from Ætolia. After hearing recitals of their services, the senate refused a triumph to Minucius, but, with great cheerfulness, decreed one to Acilius, and he rode through the city in triumph over king Antiochus and the Ætolians. In the procession were carried, two hundred and thirty military ensigns; of unwrought silver, three thousand pounds weight; of coin, one hundred and thirteen thousand Attic tetradrachms; and two hundred and forty-eight thousand cistophoruses; of chased silver vessels, a great number, and of great weight. He bore also, the king’s plate, furniture, and splendid wardrobe; golden crowns, presents from the allied states, forty-five, with spoils of all kinds. He led thirty-six prisoners of distinction, officers in the armies of the king, and of Ætolians. Damocritus, the Ætolian general, a short time before, escaped out of prison in the night; but, being overtaken by the guards on the bank of the Tiber, he stabbed himself with a sword before he was seized. Nothing was wanted but the soldiers, to follow the general’s chariot; in every other respect the triumph was magnificent, both in the grandeur of the procession, and the splendour of his exploits. The joy, however, was much damped by melancholy news from Spain:—that the army, under the command of Lucius Æmilius, proconsul, had been defeated in a battle with the Lacitanians, at the town of Lycon, in the country of the Vastitans; that six thousand of the Romans were killed; and that the rest, being driven in a panic within their rampart, found it difficult to defend the camp, and had retreated, by long marches, as if flying, into a friendly country. Such were the accounts from Spain. From Gaul, Lucius Aurunculeius, prætor, introduced to the senate deputies from Placentia and Cremona, who represented those colonies as distressed by the want of inhabitants; some having been carried off by the casualties of war, others by sickness; and several weary of the neighbourhood of the Gauls, having removed from them. On this, the senate decreed, that “Caius Lælius, the consul, if he thought proper, should enrol six thousand families, to be distributed and settled at the before mentioned places; and that Lucius Aurunculeius, prætor, should appoint commissioners to conduct them.” Accordingly, Marcus Atilius Serranus, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, son of Publius, and Lucius Valerius Tappus, son of Caius, were named to that office.

XLVII. Not long after, as the time of the consular elections drew nigh, the consul, Caius Lælius, came home to Rome, from Gaul. He not only enrolled the colonists, ordered by the decree of senate, passed in his absence, as a supplement to Cremona and Placentia, but proposed,—and, on his recommendation, the senate voted,—that two new colonies should be established in the lands which had belonged to the Boians. At the same time arrived a letter from the prætor, Lucius Æmilius, containing an account of the sea fight at Myonnesus, and of the consul, Lucius Scipio, having transported his army into Asia. A supplication for one day was decreed, on account of the naval victory, and another, for a second day, to implore the gods, that, as the Roman army had then, for the first time, pitched a camp in Asia, that event might, in the issue, prove prosperous and happy. The consul was ordered to sacrifice twenty of the greater victims, on occasion of each supplication. The election of consuls was then held, and was attended with a strong contest. One of the candidates, Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, lay under general censure, for having, in order to sue for the office, left his province of Sicily without asking leave of the senate. The other candidates were Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, Cneius Manlius Vulso, and Marcus Valerius Messala. Fulvius alone was elected consul, the rest not having gained a majority of the centuries; and, the next day, rejecting Lepidus (for Messala had declined) he declared Cneius Manlius his colleague. Then were chosen prætors, two of the name of Quintus Fabius Labeo, and Pictor; the latter of whom had, in that year, been inaugurated flamen quirinalis, Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus, Spurius Postumius Albinus, Lucius Plautius Hypsæus, and Lucius Bæbius Dives.

Y. R. 563.
189.XLVIII. Valerius Antias says, that at the time when Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and Cneius Manlius Vulso came into the consulship, a rumour prevailed strongly at Rome, and was received, as almost certain, that the consul, Lucius Scipio, and, with him, Publius Africanus, had been invited by the king to a conference, under pretence of restoring young Scipio; that they were both seized, and that, when their leaders were thus made prisoners, the enemy’s army was immediately led up to the Roman camp; that this was stormed, and the forces entirely cut off; that, in consequence of this, the Ætolians had taken courage, and refused to obey orders; and that several of their principal men had gone into Macedonia, Dardania, and Thrace, to hire auxiliaries, that Aulus Terentius Varro, and Marcus Claudius Lepidus, had been sent by Aulus Cornelius, proprætor, from Ætolia, to carry this intelligence to Rome. To this story he adds, that the Ætolian ambassadors being asked in the senate, among other questions, from whom they had received the account of the Roman generals being made prisoners in Asia by king Antiochus, and the army being cut off, answered, that they had the information from their own ambassadors who were with the consul. As I do not find that any other writer mentions this rumour, I neither take upon myself to affirm the account as true, nor yet to pass it by as groundless.

XLIX. When the Ætolian ambassadors were brought to an audience of the senate, although their cause and their circumstances, rather required that they should confess, and humbly seek pardon for their crime, or error, yet they began with enumerating their services to the Roman people; and, in an upbraiding kind of manner, talked of their own bravery, in the war with Philip, so as to give very general offence by the insolence of their discourse. The effect of their thus recalling to people’s minds old matters which had been forgotten, was, that the senators recollected many more injuries than services done by the Ætolians; and that, when they stood in need of compassion, they provoked anger and hatred. They were asked by one senator, whether they submitted themselves to the disposal of the Roman people; then, by another, whether they would have the same allies and enemies as the Roman people: but they gave no answer; on which they were ordered to withdraw. The whole senate, then, almost with one voice, cried out, that “the Ætolians were still entirely devoted to Antiochus; and that they were supported solely by their expectations from him. Wherefore the war ought to be carried on against such open enemies, and their haughty spirits tamed.” Another circumstance which helped to inflame the resentment of the senate, was that in the very moment of soliciting peace from the Romans, they were making war on Dolopia and Athamania. A decree of the senate was made, on the motion of Manius Acilius, who had defeated Antiochus and the Ætolians, that, “the Ætolian ambassadors should be ordered to leave the city that day, and to quit Italy within fifteen days.” Aulus Terentius Varro was appointed to escort them on the road, and notice was given to them, that, “if any ambassadors from the Ætolians should thence forward come to Rome, without the permission of the general commanding in that province, and without being accompanied by a Roman deputy, all such would be treated as enemies.”—In this manner were the Ætolians dismissed.

L. The consuls then consulted the senate on the distribution of the provinces; and it was resolved, that they should cast lots for Ætolia and Asia. To him, to whose lot Asia should fall, was assigned the army, then under Lucius Scipio; and, to recruit its numbers, four thousand Roman foot, and two hundred horse, and, of the allies and Latines, eight thousand foot, and four hundred horse: with which force he was to carry on the war with Antiochus. To the other consul was decreed, the army in Ætolia; and he was allowed to raise, for a reinforcement, the same number of natives and allies, allotted to his colleague. He was, likewise, ordered to equip, and take with him, the ships that had been fitted out the year before; and not only to wage war with the Ætolians, but also to pass over into the island of Cephallenia. He was farther directed, if he could do it without injury to the public service, to come home to Rome to hold the elections; for, besides replacing the annual magistrates, it was resolved, that censors also should be created; and if any particular business should detain him, he was, then, to acquaint the senate, that he could not attend at the time of the elections. Ætolia fell, by lot, to Marcus Fulvius; Asia to Cneius Manlius. The prætors then cast lots, and Spurius Postumius Albinus obtained the city, and foreign jurisdiction. Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus, Sicily; Quintus Fabius Pictor, the flamen quirinalis, Sardinia; Quintus Fabius Labeo, the fleet; Lucius Plautius Hypsæus, hither Spain; Lucius Bæbius Dives, farther Spain. For Sicily, was allotted one legion, with the squadron then in the province; and the prætor was ordered to levy, on the Sicilians, two-tenths of the corn; one of which he was to send into Asia, the other into Ætolia. It was also ordered, that the same impost should be collected in Sardinia, and the corn sent to the same armies as the Sicilian corn. A reinforcement was given to Lucius Bæbius, for Spain, of one thousand Roman foot and fifty horse, with six thousand Latine foot and two hundred horse. To Plautius Hypsæus, for the hither Spain, were assigned one thousand Roman foot, and two thousand Latines, with two hundred horse; so that, with these supplies, each of the two Spains should have a legion. Of the magistrates of the preceding year, Caius Lælius was continued in command, for a year, with his present army, as was Publius Junius, proprætor in Etruria, with the forces then in the province, and Marcus Tuccius, prætor in Bruttium and Apulia.

LI. Before the prætors went into their provinces, a dispute arose between Publius Licinius, chief pontiff, and Quintus Fabius Pictor, flamen quirinalis; such as had happened, in the time of their fathers, between Lucius Metellus, and Postumius Albinus. Metellus, who was chief pontiff at the time, had detained, for the performance of the business of religion, Albinus, who was consul, and was setting out, with his colleague, Caius Lutatius, to the fleet at Sicily; and now, Publius Licinius detained the prætor Fabius, from going to Sardinia. The matter was agitated in very warm debates, both in the senate and before the commons: authoritative commands were issued on both sides; pledges seized to secure appearance, fines imposed, applications made to the tribunes, and appeals to the people. At last, considerations of religion prevailed, and the flamen obeyed the order of the pontiff; whereupon, the fines were remitted, by order of the people. The prætor, thus bereft of his province, resolved to abdicate his office, but was deterred by the authority of the senate, who decreed, that he should hold the civil jurisdiction between natives and foreigners. The levies being finished in a few days, (for the soldiers to be enlisted were not many,) the consuls and prætors repaired to their provinces. There was spread, at this time, an unauthenticated report, the author of which, no one knew, of the transactions that had passed in Asia; and, in a few days after, certain information, and a letter from the general, arrived at Rome. The satisfaction which this occasioned was great, not so much because of any apprehensions, entertained of late,—(for Antiochus, since his defeat at Ætolia, was no longer an object of dread,) as because of the opinion which had been formerly conceived; for when this war was first begun, he was considered as a very formidable enemy, both on account of his own strength, and of his having Hannibal to direct the business of the war. The senate, however, made no change in the plan of sending the consul into Asia; nor did they lessen the force intended for that province, because they feared that they might be engaged in a war with the Gauls settled in that country.

LII. In a short time after, Marcus Aurelius Cotta, deputy from Lucius Scipio, also ambassadors from king Eumenes, Antiochus, with others from Rhodes, arrived at Rome. Cotta, first, in the senate, and then, by their order, in the assembly of the people, gave a narrative of the services performed in Asia. On which a decree was passed, ordering a supplication, of three days continuance, and that forty victims of the greater kinds should be offered on the occasion. Then audience was given, first, to Eumenes. After briefly returning thanks to the senate, for having relieved him and his brother from a siege, and protecting his kingdom from the unjust attacks of Antiochus; and then, congratulating them on the success of their arms, by sea and land, whereby they had utterly routed Antiochus, driven him out of his camp, and expelled him, first, from Europe, and then from all Asia, on this side of Mount Taurus; he added, that with respect to his services, he wished them to be learned from their own generals and their own deputies, rather than from his mouth. All were pleased with his discourse, and desired him to lay aside his modesty so far, as to tell frankly what recompense he thought himself deserving of from the senate and people of Rome: assuring him, that “the senate were inclined to act with greater zeal, and more abundant liberality, if possible, than even his deserts demanded.” To this the king answered, that “had others offered him a choice of rewards, and allowed him the privilege of consulting the Roman senate, he would have applied to that most august body for their advice; that he might not appear to have wanted either moderation in his wishes, or modesty in his requests. But now, when they themselves were the donors, it was much more proper that their munificence, towards him and his brothers, should be regulated by their own judgment.” The senate, not discouraged by this answer, still urged him to speak; and, after a long contest, of kindness on one side, and reservation on the other, Eumenes, with a degree of complaisance as insuperable as it was equal in both parties, withdrew from the senate-house. The senate persisted in their resolution, and said, that “it was idle to suppose that the king was unable to inform them of the objects of his hopes, and of his views in coming. He best knew what would be suitable to his own dominions. He was much better acquainted with Asia than were the senate. They ought, therefore, to call him back, and insist on his explaining his wishes and sentiments.”

LIII. The king being brought back, by the prætor, and desired to speak freely, began thus: “Conscript Fathers, I should have persevered in declining to speak, but that I knew you would presently call in the Rhodian ambassadors, and that when they had been heard, I must, of necessity, have spoken. And my task therein will be the more difficult as their demands will be of such a nature, that, so far from appearing to contain any thing detrimental to me, they will not even seem to have any immediate connection with their own interest. For they will plead the cause of the Grecian states, and allege, that they ought to be set free; which point being gained, is it not plain to every one, that they will alienate from us not only those states which shall be liberated, but likewise those that have been tributary to us since the earliest times; and that, after having bound them under so great an obligation, they will keep them under the denomination of allies, in reality subject to their government, and entirely at their disposal. Now while they are aspiring to such a height of power, they will pretend that the business no ways concerns themselves; they will only say, that it is becoming of you, and conformable to your past conduct. It will be proper, therefore, to be on your guard, lest you be deceived by such specious arguments, and lest by an unfair distribution, you not only depress some of your allies too much, while you exalt others beyond measure, but, also, put those, who bore arms against you, in a better state than your friends. As to what regards myself, in other cases, I should rather wish it to be thought I had yielded somewhat of the full extent of my right, than that I had kept up too obstinate a struggle to maintain it; but, in a contest of friendship and good-will towards you, and of the respect to be paid to you, I cannot, with any patience, bear to be outdone. Friendship with you was the principal inheritance that I received from my father; who, of all the inhabitants of Asia and Greece, was the first who formed a league of amity with you; and this he maintained, with constant and invariable fidelity, to the last hour of his life. Nor did he demonstrate, merely, a faithful and kind inclination towards you, but took an active part in all the wars which you waged in Greece, whether on land or sea; he supplied you with all kinds of provisions in such a manner, that not one of your allies could vie with him in any respect; and, finally, while he was exhorting the Bœotians to alliance with you, in the middle of his discourse, he was struck by a fit, and expired soon after. In his steps I have trod; and though I could not surpass the warmth of his wishes, and the zeal with which he cultivated your friendship,—for these could not be exceeded, yet—fortune, the times, Antiochus, and the war waged in Asia, afforded me occasions of outdoing him in real acts, in meritorious and expensive services. Antiochus, king of Asia, and of a part of Europe, offered me his daughter in marriage; offered to restore immediately the states that had revolted from us, and gave great hopes of enlarging my dominions, if I would have joined him in the war against Rome. I will not boast, as of a matter of merit, that I was guilty of no trespass against you; but I will rather mention those instances of conduct which are worthy of the very early friendship between our house and you. I gave your commanders such succours of land and sea forces, that not one of your allies can stand in competition with me. I supplied them with provisions for both services: in all the naval engagements, fought in various places, I took my share, and I never was sparing of my labour or danger. What, among all the calamities of war, is the most grievous, I underwent a siege; being shut up in Pergamus, in the utmost danger both of my kingdom and of my life. When this was raised, notwithstanding that Antiochus was encamped on one side of the capital of my dominions, and Seleucus on another, regardless of my own affairs, I went with my whole fleet to the Hellespont, to meet your consul, Lucius Scipio, and to assist in transporting his army. From the time that the army came over into Asia, I never quitted the consul; no Roman soldier was more regular in his attendance in your camp than I and my brothers. No expedition, no battle of cavalry was undertaken without me. In the field. I took that post, and I maintained that ground, which the consul’s pleasure allotted to me. I do not intend, Conscript Fathers, to say who can compare his services, during that war, to mine. There is not one of all those nations, or kings, you hold in high esteem, with whom I do not set myself on a level. Masinissa was your enemy before he became your ally; nor did he, while his kingdom flourished, come to your aid at the head of his troops; but dethroned, exiled, and stripped of all his forces, he fled for refuge to your camp with one troop of horse. Nevertheless, because he faithfully and diligently adhered to your cause in Africa, against Syphax and the Carthaginians, you not only restored him to the throne of his father, but, by adding to his own domain, the most opulent part of the kingdom of Syphax, rendered him the most potent of all the kings in Africa. What reward then, and what honour do we deserve at your hands, who have never been foes, but always allies? My father, myself, my brothers, have carried arms in your cause by sea and land, not only in Asia, but in countries remote from our home; in Peloponnesus, in Bœotia, in Ætolia, during the wars with Philip, and Antiochus, and the Ætolians. It may be asked me, What then are your demands? Conscript Fathers, since I must comply with what I perceive is your desire, and explain my wishes: if you have removed Antiochus beyond the mountains of Taurus with the intention of holding those countries yourselves, I wish for no other people to settle near me, no other neighbours than you; nor do I expect that any other event could give greater safety and stability to my government. But, if your purpose is to retire hence, and withdraw your armies, I may venture to affirm, that not one of you allies is more deserving than I am of possessing what you have acquired. But then it will be a glorious act to liberate states from bondage. I agree that it will, provided they have committed nothing hostile against you. But, if they took part with Antiochus, is it not much more becoming your wisdom and equity, to consult the interest of your well-deserving friends, than that of your enemies.”

LIV. The senate was well pleased with the king’s discourse, and plainly manifested a disposition to act, in every particular, with liberality, and an earnest desire to gratify him. An embassy from Smyrna was next introduced, because some of the Rhodian ambassadors were not present, but this was quickly despatched. The Smyrnæans were very highly commended for having resolved to endure the last extremities rather than surrender to the king. The Rhodians were next introduced. The chief of their embassy, after taking a view of the early periods of their friendship with the Roman people, and displaying the merits of the Rhodians in the war with Philip, and, afterwards, in that with Antiochus, proceeded thus: “Conscript Fathers, there is nothing in the whole course of our business that gives us more trouble and uneasiness than having a debate with Eumenes; with whom alone, of all the kings in the world, each of us, as individuals, and what weighs more with us, our state, as a community, is closely connected in friendship. But, Conscript Fathers, not our own inclinations disunite us, but the nature of things, whose sway is all-powerful, according to which, we being free ourselves, plead the cause of other men’s freedom; while kings wish to have all things subservient, and subject to their will. Yet, however that matter may be, we are more embarrassed by our respect towards the king, than either by any intricacy in the subject of debate, or any perplexity which it seems likely to occasion in your deliberations. For if you could make no honourable requital to the king, your friend and ally, who has merited highly in this very war, and the rewarding of whose services is now under your consideration, by any other means than by delivering free states into his power, you might, then indeed, find it hard to determine between the sending away your friend, the king, without an honourable requital, and the departing from your own established practice; tarnishing, now, by the servitude of so many states, the glory which you acquired in the war with Philip. But, from this necessity of retrenching, either from your grateful intentions towards your friend, or from your own glory, fortune completely frees you. For through the bounty of the gods, your victory is not more glorious than it is rich, so that it can easily acquit you of that debt. Lycaonia, and both the Phrygias, with Pisidia, the Chersonese, and the adjoining parts of Europe, are all in your power; and any one of these, added to Eumenes’ possessions, would more than double his dominions; but, if they were all conferred upon him, they would set him on a level with the greatest of kings. You have it, therefore, in your power to enrich your allies with the prizes of the war; and, at the same time to adhere to your established mode of conduct, by keeping in mind what motive you assigned as your cause of war, first against Philip, now against Antiochus; what line of conduct you pursued after your conquest of Philip; what is now desired and expected from you, not so much because you have done it before, as because it is suitable to your character to do it. For, what to some is both a specious and an honourable incitement for taking arms, is not so to others. Some go to war to get possession of land, some of villages, some of towns, some of ports, and some of the sea-coast. Such things you never coveted, when you had them not; and you cannot covet them now, when the whole world is under your dominion. You ever fought for the exaltation of your dignity and glory, in the sight of the whole human race, who, for a long time past, have revered your name and empire next to that of the immortal gods. What was arduous in the pursuit and acquisition, may, perhaps, prove more difficult to be maintained. You have undertaken to deliver out of bondage under kings, a nation the most ancient and most highly distinguished, both by the fame of its exploits, and by universal praise for politeness and learning; and the whole of it, having been received under your care and protection, has a claim on you for your patronage for ever. The cities, standing on the original soil, are not more Grecian than their colonies, which formerly migrated thence into Asia; nor has change of country changed either their race or manners. Every state among us has ventured to maintain a dutiful contest with its parents and founders, vying with them in every virtue and valuable qualification. Most of you have visited the cities in Greece, and those in Asia. We acknowledge an inferiority in no other respect, than in our being farther distant from you. The Massilians, (whom, if the nature implanted, as it were, in the disposition of their country, could have been overcome, the many barbarous tribes, surrounding them, would, by this time, have rendered as savage as themselves,) are, as we hear, deservedly held in as high esteem by you as if they were inhabitants of the very heart of Greece. For they have preserved not only the sound of the language, the mode of dress, and the habit; but, what is more material than any thing else, the manners, the laws, and a mind pure and untainted by contagion from their neighbours. The boundary of your empire, at present, is Mount Taurus. Nothing within that line ought to be thought remote. To whatever extent your arms have reached, let the emanations of your justice, from this centre, reach to the same length. Let barbarians, with whom the commands of masters have always served instead of laws, have kings, as it is their wish; but Greeks, in whatever condition fortune assigns them, carry spirits like your own. They too, in former times supported empire by their internal strength. They now pray that empire may remain to eternity, where it is lodged at present. They are well pleased at their liberty being protected by your arms, since they are unable to protect it by their own. But it is objected, that some of their states sided with Antiochus. So did others, before, with Philip; so did the Tarentines with Pyrrhus. Not to enumerate other nations, Carthage enjoys liberty and its own laws. Consider, Conscript Fathers, how much you owe to this precedent set by yourselves. You will surely be disposed to refuse to the ambition of Eumenes, what you refused to your own most just resentment. With what brave and faithful exertions, we, Rhodians, have assisted you, both in this late war, and in all the wars that you have waged in that part of the world, we leave to your own judgment. We, now, in peace, offer you such advice, that if you conform to it, all the world will judge, that your use of the victory redounds more to the splendour of your glory than the victory itself.” Their arguments seemed well adapted to the Roman grandeur.

LV. After the Rhodians, the ambassadors of Antiochus were called. These, after the common practice of petitioners for pardon, ackowledged the king’s error, and besought the Conscript Fathers to “let their deliberations be directed rather by their own clemency, than by the misconduct of the king, who had suffered punishment fully sufficient; in fine, to ratify, by their authority, the terms of the peace granted by their general Lucius Scipio.” The senate voted, that the peace should be observed; and the people, a few days after, passed an order to the same purpose. The treaty was concluded in the capitol with Antipater, chief of the embassy, and nephew of king Antiochus. Then audience was given to the other embassies from Asia, to all of whom was returned the same answer, that “the senate, in conformity to the usage of their ancestors, would send ten ambassadors to examine and adjust the affairs of Asia. That the outline of the arrangement was to be this: that the places on the hither side of Mount Taurus, which had been within the limits of the realm of Antiochus, should be assigned to Eumenes, expecting Lycia and Caria, as far as the river Mæander; and that these last mentioned should become the property of the Rhodians. The other states of Asia, which had been tributary to Attalus, should likewise pay tribute to Eumenes; and such as had been tributary to Antiochus, should be free and independent.” The ten ambassadors appointed were Quintus Minucius Rufus, Lucius Furius Purpureo, Quintus Minucius Thermus, Appius Claudius Nero, Cneius Cornelius Merula, Marcus Junius Brutus, Lucius Aurunculeius, Lucius Æmilius Paulus, Publius Cornelius Lentulus, and Publius Ælius Tubero.

LVI. These were commissioned, with full powers, to determine all points, that required investigation on the spot. The general plan the senate settled thus: That “all Lycaonia, both the Phrygias, and Mysia, the royal forests, and Lydia, and Ionia, excepting those towns which had been free on the day whereon the battle was fought with Antiochus, and excepting, by name, Magnesia at Sipylus; then the city of Caria, called also Hydrela, and the territory of Hydrela, stretching towards Phrygia, and the forts and villages on the river Mæander, and likewise the towns, excepting such as had been free before the war, and excepting, by name, Telmissus, and the fort of Telmissium, and the lands which had belonged to Ptolemy of Telmissus; all these should be given to king Eumenes. Lycia was assigned to the Rhodians, excepting the same Telmissus, and the fort of Telmissium, with the lands which had belonged to Ptolemy of Telmissus; these were withheld from both Eumenes and the Rhodians. To the latter was given also that part of Caria which lies beyond the river Mæander nearest to the island of Rhodes, with its towns, villages, forts, and lands, extending to Pisidia, excepting those towns which had been in a state of freedom on the day before that of the battle with Antiochus.” The Rhodians, after returning thanks for these favours, mentioned the city of Soli in Cilicia, “the inhabitants of which,” they said, “as well as themselves, derived their origin from Argos; and, in consequences of this relation, a brotherly affection subsisted between the two states. They, therefore, requested the senate, as an extraordinary favour, to exempt that city from subjection to the king.” The ambassadors of Antiochus were called in, and the matter was proposed to them, but their consent could not be obtained; Antipater appealing to the treaty, in opposition to which, the Rhodians were striving to become masters, not only of the city of Soli, but of all Cilicia, and to pass beyond the summits of Taurus. The Rhodians were called again before the senate, and the Fathers, after acquainting them how earnestly the king’s ambassadors opposed the measure, added, that “if the Rhodians were of opinion that the affair was particularly interesting to the dignity of their state, they would use every means to overcome the obstinacy of the ambassadors.” Hereupon the Rhodians, with greater warmth than before, testified their gratitude, and declared, that they would rather give way to the arrogance of Antipater, than afford any reason for disturbing the peace. So no change was made with respect to Soli.

LVII. During the time of these transactions, intelligence was brought, by messengers from Marseilles, that Lucius Bæbius, the prætor, on his way into his province of Spain, had been surrounded by the Ligurians, great part of his retinue slain, and himself wounded; that he had made his escape, without his lictors, and with but few attendants, to Marseilles, and in three days after expired. The senate, on hearing of this misfortune, decreed, that Publius Junius Brutus, who was proprætor in Etruria, should leave the command of the province and army to a lieutenant-general, and go himself into farther Spain, which must be his province. This decree, accompanied with a letter, the prætor, Spurius Postumius, sent into Etruria, and Publius Junius Brutus, the proprætor, set out accordingty. But long before the new governor’s arrival in that province, Lucius Æmilius Paulus, who afterwards, with great glory, conquered king Perseus, though his efforts had been unsuccessful the year before, hastily collected a body of troops, and fought a pitched battle with the Lusitanians. The enemy were routed, and put to flight; eighteen thousand were killed, three thousand three hundred taken, and their camp stormed. This victory contributed much to tranquillize affairs in Spain. During the same year, on the third day before the calends of January, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Marcus Atilius Serranus, and Lucius Valerius Tappus, triumvirs, pursuant to a decree of senate, settled a Latine colony at Bononia. The number of the settlers was three thousand men. Seventy acres were given to each horseman, fifty to each of the other colonists. The land had been taken from the Boian Gauls, who had formerly expelled the Tuscans.

LVIII. There were many candidates for the censorship this year, all of them men of illustrious characters; and this business, as if it were not in itself sufficient to excite dispute, gave rise to another contest of a much more violent nature. The candidates were Titus Quintius Flamininus, Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of Cneius, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Marcus Porcius Cato, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, and Manius Acilius Glabrio, who had defeated Antiochus and the Ætolians at Thermopylæ. The general favour inclined chiefly to this last; because he had been liberal of his largesses, and had thereby attached great numbers to his interest. As it was a severe mortification to so many of the nobility to see a new man preferred so far before them, Publius Sempronius Gracchus, and Caius Sempronius Rutilus, plebeian tribunes, commenced a prosecution against him, on a charge, that he had neither exhibited in his triumph, nor lodged in the treasury, a large part of the royal treasure, and of the booty taken in the camp of Antiochus. The depositions of the lieutenants-general and military tribunes varied. Beyond all the other witnesses Marcus Cato was remarkable; but the deference due to his assertions, from the constant tenor of his life, was greatly impaired by the circumstance of his being himself a candidate. On being examined, he affirmed, that he had not observed, in the triumph, the gold and silver vessels which on the taking of the camp, he had seen among the other spoils of the king. At last, Glabrio declared, that he declined the election, and that chiefly with the view of reflecting discredit on Cato. Men of noble families resented the matter in silence, but he, a competitor, (whose pretensions to nobility were no higher than his own,) endeavoured to counterwork him by perjury, so atrocious, that no fine could be adequate to its guilt. The penalty which his prosecutors proposed to have inflicted was an hundred thousand asses; and this point was twice argued, but, at a third hearing, as the accused had declined the election, and the people were unwilling to vote about the fine, the tribunes, also dropped the business. The censors elected were, Titus Quintius Flamininus and Marcus Claudius Marcellus.

LIX. At the same time, Lucius Æmilius Regillus, who: at the head of the Roman fleet, had defeated that of king Antiochus, had audience of the senate in the temple of Apollo, outside the city; and, after hearing the recital of his services; his numerous engagements with the enemy; how many of their ships he had sunk and taken, they unanimously voted him a naval triumph. He triumphed on the calends of February. In this procession were carried forty-nine golden crowns; but the quantity of money was not near so great as might be expected in a triumph over a king, being only thirty-four thousand seven hundred Attic tetradrachms, and one hundred and thirty-one thousand three hundred cistophoruses . Supplications were then performed, by order of the senate, in consideration of the successful services to the state, achieved in Spain by Lucius Æmilius Paulus. Not long after, Lucius Scipio arrived at the city; and, that he might be equal to his brother in point of a surname, he chose to be called Asiaticus. He recited his services before both the senate and a general assembly. There were some who imagained that the war he had conducted was magnified in the representation beyond its real importance; for it was terminated entirely by one memorable engagement; and that, of the glory acquired there, a share was due to those who conquered before at Thermopylæ. But, to any person judging impartially, it must appear that the fight at Thermopylæ was with the Ætolians, rather than with the king. For how small a portion of his own strength did Antiochus employ in that battle? whereas, in the other, in Asia, the strength of the whole Asiatic continent stood combined; for he had collected auxiliaries of all nations from the remotest quarters of the east. With good reason, therefore, the greatest possible honours were paid to the immortal gods, for having rendered a most important victory easy in the acquisition; and a triumph was decreed to the commander. He triumphed in the intercalary month, the day before the calends of March; but his triumph, though in the magnificence of the procession, superior to that of his brother Africanus, yet when we recollect the exploits on which they were grounded, and estimate the dangers and difficulties surmounted, it was no more to be compared to it, than one general to the other, or Antiochus, as a captain, to Hannibal. He carried, in his triumph, military standards two hundred and thirty-four; models of towns, one hundred and thirty-four; elephants’ teeth one thousand two hundred and twenty; crowns of gold, two hundred and twenty-four; pounds weight of silver, one hundred and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and twenty; Attic tetradrachms, two hundred and twenty-four thousand; cistophoruses, three hundred and thirty-one thousand and seventy; gold pieces called Philippics, one hundred and forty thousand; silver vases, all engraved, to the amount of one thousand four hundred and twenty-four pounds weight; of golden vases, one thousand and twenty-four pounds weight; and of the king’s generals, governors, and principal courtiers, thirty-two, were led before his chariot. He gave to his soldiers twenty-five denariuses each; double to a centurion, triple to a horseman: and after the triumph, their pay and allowance of corn were doubled. He had already doubled them after the battle in Asia. His triumph was celebrated about a year after the expiration of his consulship.

LX. Cneius Manlius, consul, arrived in Asia, and Quintus Fabius Labeo, prætor, at the fleet, nearly at the same time. The consul did not want reasons for employing his arms against the Gauls; but, at sea, since the final defeat of Antiochus, all was quiet. Fabius, therefore, turned his thoughts to consider what employment he should undertake, that he might not appear to have held a province where nothing was to be done; and he could discover no better plan than to sail over to the island of Crete. The Cydonians were engaged in war against the Gortynians and Gnossians, and it was reported, that there were a great number of Roman and other Italian captives, in slavery, in various parts of the island. Having sailed with the fleet from Ephesus, as soon as he touched the shore of Crete, he despatched orders to all the states to cease from hostilities, and each of them to search for the captives in its own cities and territory, and bring them to him; also, to send ambassadors to him, to treat of matters which equally concerned the Romans and Cretans. The Cretans took little notice of his message. Excepting the Gortynians, none of them restored the captives. Valerius Antias writes, that there were restored out of the whole island, no less than four thousand captives, in consequence of the fears excited by his threats of a war; and that this was deemed a sufficient reason for Fabius obtaining from the senate a naval triumph, although he performed no other business. From Crete he returned to Ephesus, and despatched thence three ships to the coast of Thrace, with orders to remove the garrisons of Antiochus from Ænos and Maronea, that these cities might be left at liberty.

BOOK XXXVIII.

Marcus Fulvius, consul, receives the surrender of Ambracia, in Epirus, subdues Cephallenia; grants peace to the Ætolians. His colleague, Manlius, subdues the Gallogrecians, Tolistoboians, Tectosagians, and Trocmians. A census held, in which the number of Roman citizens is found to amount to two hundred and fifty-eight thousand three hundred and twenty-eight. Treaty of friendship with Ariarathes, King of Cappadocia. Manlius triumphs over the Gallogrecians. Scipio Africanus, prosecuted by the plebeian tribunes, on a charge of embezzling the public money, goes into voluntary exile at Liternum. Whether he died there, or at Rome, is uncertain, monuments to his memory being erected in both places. Scipio Asiaticus, charged with the like crime, convicted, and ordered to prison, is enlarged by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, hitherto at enmity with him. His property being found unequal to the discharge of his fine, his friends raise it by contribution amongst themselves, which he refuses.

Y. R. 563.
189.I.While the war raged in Asia, Ætolia was not free from commotions, which took their rise from the nation of the Athamanians. At that period, since the expulsion of Amynander, Athamania was kept in subjection by royal garrisons, under governors appointed by Philip, who, by their haughty and overbearing conduct in command, had made the people regret the loss of Amynander. Amynander, then in exile in Ætolia, from the letters of his friends, which discovered the condition of Athamania, conceived hopes of recovering his throne, and sent persons to Argithea, the metropolis, to inform the principal men, that, if they were sufficiently assured of the inclinations of their countrymen, he would obtain succours from the Ætolians, and come into Athamania with the select council of that nation, and their prætor, Nicandor. Finding that they were ready for any undertaking, he gave them notice, from time to time, of the day on which he would enter Athamania at the head of an army. Four persons, at first, conspired against the Macedonian garrison; then each of these associated with himself six assistants, for the execution of the business; but, afterwards, thinking it unsafe to rely upon so small a number, which was rather calculated for the concealment, than for the execution of the design, they took in a number of associates, equal to the former. Being thus increased to fifty-two, they divided themselves into four parties, one of which repaired to Heraclea, another to Tetraphylia, where the royal treasure used to be kept, a third to Theudoria, and the fourth to Argithea. It was agreed, that they should at first appear in the Forum publicly, without any bustle, as if they had come about their own ordinary concerns; and then, on a certain day, raise the whole populace, so as to dislodge the Macedonian garrisons from the citadels. At the appointed time, Amynander appeared on the frontiers with a thousand Ætolians, when, as had been concerted, the Macedonian garrisons were driven from the four places at once: while letters were despatched to the other cities, calling on them to rescue themselves from the exorbitant tyranny of Philip, and to reinstate their hereditary and lawful prince. Accordingly, the Macedonians were, every where, expelled. The town of Theium, (in consequence of the letters being intercepted by Teno, commander of the garrison, and of the citadel being occupied by the king’s troops,) stood a siege of a few days, and then surrendered, as the rest had done, to Amynander, who had now all Athamania in his power, except the fort of Athenæum, on the borders of Macedonia.

II. When Philip heard of the defection of Athamania, he set out, at the head of six thousand men, and proceded, with the utmost speed, to Gomphi. There he left the greater part of his force, as they would not have been equal to such long marches, and went forward, with two thousand, to Athenæum, the only place of which his troops had kept the possession. From some trials, which he made on the nearest places, he clearly perceived, that all the rest of the country was hostile to him; returning, therefore, to Gomphi, he brought the whole of his army into Athamania. He then sent Zeno, at the head of one thousand foot, with orders to seize on Ethopia, which stands advantageously for commanding Argithea; and, as soon as he understood that his party were in possession of that post, he himself followed, and encamped near the temple of Acræan Jupiter. Here he was detained one whole day, by a tremendous storm; and, on the next, marched on towards Argithea. The troops had but just begun to move, when they immediately descried the Athamanians, hastening to the hills which overlooked the road. On the sight of these, the foremost battalions halted, fear and confusion spread through the whole army, and every one began to consider what might have been the consequence, if the troops had gone down into the vallies commanded by those cliffs. The king, who wished, if his men would follow him, to push on rapidly through the defile, was obliged, by the confusion that prevailed among them, to call back the foremost, and return by the same road by which he came. The Athamanians, for some time, followed at a distance, without making any attempt; but, being joined by the Ætolians, they left these to harass the rear, while themselves pressed forward on both flanks. Some of them, by taking a shorter way, through known paths, got before the enemy, and seized the passes; and with such dismay were the Macedonians struck, that they repassed the river in a manner more like a hasty flight, than a regular march, leaving behind many of their men and arms. Here the pursuit ended, and the Macedonians, without farther injury, returned to Gomphi, and from thence into Macedonia. The Athamanians and Ætolians ran together, from all sides, to Ethopia, to crush Zeno and his thousand Macedonians; who having little dependence on that post, removed to a hill, which was higher and steeper on all sides. But the Athamanians, making their way up, in several places, soon dislodged them; and, while they were dispersed, and unable to find the road, through a pathless and unknown country, covered with rocks, slew many, and made many prisoners. Great numbers, in their panic, tumbled down the precipices; and a very few, with Zeno, effected their escape to the king. They were afterwards allowed liberty to bury the dead; for which purpose a suspension of arms was agreed to.

III. Amynander, on recovering possession of his kingdom, sent ambassadors, both to the senate at Rome, and to the Scipios in Asia, who, since the grand battle with Antiochus, resided at Ephesus. He requested a treaty of amity, apologized for having had recourse to the Ætolians, for the recovery of his hereditary dominions, and made many charges against Philip. The Ætolians from Athamania proceeded into Amphilochia, and, with the consent of the greater part of the inhabitants, reduced that nation under their power and dominion. After the recovery of Amphilochia, for it had formerly belonged to the Ætolians, they passed on, with hopes of equal success, into Aperantia, which for the most part, surrendered likewise to the Ætolians without a contest. The Dolopians had never been subject to the Ætolians, but they were to Philip. These, at first, ran to arms; but when they where informed of the Amphilochians taking part with the Ætolians, of Philip’s flight out of Athamania, and the destruction of his detachment, they also revolted from Philip to the Ætolians. While these latter flattered themselves with being sufficiently secured against the Macedonians, as being screened on all sides by those states, they received the news of Antiochus being defeated in Asia, by the Romans; and, in a short time after their ambassadors came home from Rome; not only without any prospect of peace, but also with intelligence, that the consul, Fulvius, with his army, had already crossed the sea. Dismayed at these accounts, they first sent ambassadors to solicit Rhodes and Athens, hoping, through the influence of those states, that their petitions, lately rejected, might meet with a more favourable reception from the senate. They then despatched some of the chief men of their nation to Rome, to try the issue of their last hope, as they had taken no kind of precaution, to avert the war, until the enemy was almost within sight. Marcus Fulvius, having brought over his army to Apollonia, was, at this time, consulting with the Epirot chiefs, where he should commence his operations. These recommended it to him to attack Ambracia, which had lately united itself to Ætolia; alleging, that, “in case the Ætolians should come to its relief, there were open plains around it, to fight in; and that if they should avoid a battle, there would be no great difficulty in the siege, as there were at hand abundant materials for raising mounds and other works, while the Aretho, a navigable river, affording an easy conveyance of every thing requisite, flowed by the walls; besides, the summer was just approaching, the fittest season for the enterprise.” By these arguments they persuaded him to march on, through Epirus.

IV. When the consul came to Ambracia, he perceived that the siege would be a work of no small difficulty. Ambracia stands at the foot of a rocky hill, called by the natives Perranthe: the city, where the wall faces the plain and the river, is situated towards the west; the citadel, which is seated on the hill, towards the east. The river Aretho, which rises in Acarnania, falls here into a gulf of the sea, called the Ambracian, from the name of the adjacent city. Besides the place being strengthened, on one side, by the river, and on another by hills, it was defended by a firm wall, extending in circuit somewhat more than three miles, on the side opposite the plain. Fulvius formed two camps, at a short distance from each other, with one fort on the high ground opposite to the citadel; all which he intended to join together by a rampart and trench, in such a manner as to leave no passage for the besieged to go out of the city; or for any reinforcement to get in. The Ætolians, on the report of Ambracia being besieged, were, by this time assembled at Stratum, in obedience to an edict of their prætor, Nicander. At first they intended to have marched hence, with their whole force, to raise the siege; but when they heard that the place was already, in a great measure, surrounded with works, and that the Epirots were encamped on level ground, on the other side of the river, they resolved to divide their forces. Eupolemus, with one thousand light troops, marching to Ambracia, made his way into the city, through openings, where the works were not yet joined. Nicander’s first plan was, to have attacked the camp of the Epirots, in the night, with the rest of the troops, as it would not be easy for them to receive succour from the Romans, the river running between. This enterprise he, afterwards, judged too hazardous, lest the Romans might happen to discover it, and cut off his retreat. Being deterred by these considerations from the prosecution of that design, he marched away to ravage the country of Acarnania.

V. The consul, having completed his works for the circumvallation of the city, and likewise those which were to be brought forward to the walls, formed five attacks, at once, against the place; three, at equal distances from each other, he directed against the quarter which they called Pyrrheum; to which, as it lay next the plain, the approach was the easier; one opposite to the temple of Æsculapius, and one against the citadel. The battlements were at one post battered with rams, and at another tore down with poles, armed at the end with hooks. At first, the formidable appearance of the works, and the shocks given to the walls, attended with a dreadful noise, filled the townsmen with terror and dismay: but as, beyond their hopes, these still stood, they again resumed courage, and, by means of cranes, threw down upon the battering rams weighty masses of lead, or stone, or beams of timber. Catching, likewise, the armed poles with iron grapples, they drew them within the walls, and broke off the hooks; while, by sallies, both in the night against the watchguards, and, in the day, against the advanced posts, they kept the besiegers in a state of continual alarm. While affairs at Ambracia were in this state, the Ætolians, having returned from ravaging Acarnania, to Stratum, their prætor, Nicander, conceived hopes of raising the siege, by a bold effort. He sent a person, called Nicodamus, accompanied by five hundred Ætolians, with orders to get into Ambracia, having fixed on a certain night, and even on the hour, when, from within the city, they were to assault the works of the enemy, opposite to the Pyrrheum, while himself should alrm the Roman camp. His opinion was, that, in consequence of the tumult in both places at once, and of darkness augmenting the enemy’s fears, he might be able to effect something of importance. Nicodamus, during the dead of the night, (having escaped the notice of some of the parties on watch, and broken through others,) without halting, passed the intrenchment, and made his way into the city; which gave the besieged new hopes, and courage for any enterprise. As soon as the appointed time arrived, according to concert, he made a sudden assault on the works; but the attempt, though formidable at first, produced no great effect, there being no attack made from without: for the prætor of the Ætolians had either been deterred by fear, or had judged it more advisable to carry succours to Amphilochia, which had been lately reduced, and was now very vigorously besieged by Philip’s son Perseus, sent by his father to recover both that and Dolopia.

VI. The Romans, as has been mentioned, carried on their works against the Pyrrheum in three different places, all which works the Ætolians assaulted at once, but not with like weapons, or like force. Some advanced with burning torches, others carrying tow and pitch, and firebrands, so that their whole band appeared in a blaze of fire. Their first assault cut off many of the men on guard; but when the shout and uproar reached the camp, and the signal was given by the consul, the troops took arms, and poured out of all the gates to succour their friends. In one place, the contest was carried on with fire and sword; from the other two, the Ætolians retired with disappointment, after essaying, rather than supporting a fight; while the whole brunt of the battle fell on the one quarter with great fury. Here the two commanders, Eupolemus and Nicodamus, in their different posts, encouraged their men, and animated them with hope nearly certain, that Nicander would, according to his agreement, come up speedily and attack the enemy’s rear. This expectation, for some time, supported their courage in the fight; but, at last, as they did not receive the concerted signal from their friends, and saw the number of their enemies continually increasing, they slackened their efforts, considering themselves as deserted; and, in a short time, finally abandoned the attempt, when they could scarcely retreat with safety. They were obliged to fly into the city, after having burned a part of the works, however, and killed a much greater number than they lost. If the affair had been conducted according to the plan concerted, there was no reason to doubt, but one part, at least, of the works might have been stormed with great havoc of the Romans. The Ambracians, and the Ætolians who were within, not only renounced the enterprise of that night, but, supposing themselves betrayed by their friends, became much less spirited. None of them any longer sallied out, as before, against the enemy’s posts, but standing on the walls and towers, fought without danger.

VII. Perseus, on hearing of the approach of the Ætolians, raised the siege of the city in which he was employed; and, having done nothing more than ravage the country, quitted Amphilochia, and returned into Macedonia. The Ætolians, too, were called away by devastations committed on their coasts. Pleuratus, king of the Illyrians, entered the Corinthian gulf with sixty barks, and being joined by the ships of the Achæans lying at Patræ, wasted the maritime parts of Ætolia. Against these were sent one thousand Ætolians, who, to whatever place the fleet steered round, by taking shorter roads, across the winding of the coasts, were ready there to oppose them. The Romans at Ambracia, by the battering of their rams in many places at once, laid open a great part of the city; but, nevertheless, were unable to penetrate into the heart of it. For no sooner was a part of the wall demolished, than a new one was raised in its place, while the armed men, standing on the ruins, formed a kind of bulwark. The consul, therefore, finding that he made no progress by open force, resolved to form a secret mine, covering the ground first with his machines. For a long time his workmen, though employed both night and day, not only in digging but also in carrying away the earth, escaped the observation of the enemy. A heap of it, however, rising suddenly, gave the townsmen the first intimation of what was going on, and, terrified, lest the wall should be already undermined, and a passage opened into the city, they drew a trench within, opposite to the work that was covered with machines. This they sunk as deep as the bottom of the mine could well be; then, keeping profound silence, they applied their ears to several different places, to catch the sound of the miners employed. No sooner was this heard, than they opened a way directly towards them, which did not require much labour, for they came in a short time to where the wall was supported with props by the enemy. The works joining here, and the passage being open, from the trench to the mine, the parties began to fight in the dark under ground; the miners with the tools which they had used in the works, but they were soon supported by armed men. The warmth, however, of this contest soon abated; for the besieged had it in their power, whenever they pleased, to stop the passage, sometimes by stretching strong hair-cloths across it, sometimes by hastily placing doors in the way of their antagonists. They also played off against those in the mine a contrivance of an unusual kind, which required no great labour. They took a large vessel, and bored a hole in its bottom of a moderate size; in this they fixed an iron pipe, and put over the vessel a cover also of iron, perforated in many places: this vessel they filled with small feathers; and, turning the mouth of it towards the mine, through the holes in the covering, projected those long spears, which they call sarissas, to keep off the enemy. Then they put a small spark of fire among the feathers, which they kindled by blowing with a smith’s bellows, inserted into the end of the pipe, and by this means filled the whole mine with smoke, which was not only thick, but so offensive, from the nauseous stench of the burnt feathers, that it was scarcely possible for any one to remain in the way of it.

VIII. While such was the situation of affairs at Ambracia,—Phæneas and Damoteles came to the consul, as ambassadors from the Ætolians, invested with full powers by a decree of the general assembly of that nation. For when their prætor saw, on one side, Ambracia besieged; on another, the sea-coast infested by the enemy’s ships; on a third, Amphilocia and Dolopia ravaged by the Macedonians, and that the Ætolians were incapable of resisting the three enemies at once, he summoned a council, and demanded the judgment of the chiefs on the measures to be pursued. The opinions of all tended to one point: that “peace must be obtained on as easy terms as possible. Having undertaken the war, relying on the support of Antiochus, now that Antiochus had been vanquished on land and sea, and driven beyond the mountains of Taurus, indeed, almost out of the world, what hope remained of their being able to support it? Let Phæneas and Damoteles act to the best of their judgment, for the service of the Ætolians, in their present circumstances. But what room for counsel, what option had fortune left them?” The ambassadors, despatched with these instructions, besought the consul to “have mercy on the city, and to take compassion on a nation, once acknowledged as an ally; and, since, driven to desperation, they would not say, by ill-treatment, but undoubtedly by their sufferings The Ætolians,” they said, “had not in Antiochus’ war, deserved a larger share of punishment, than they had of reward, in that against Philip; and as, in the last-mentioned case, the compensation made to them was not very liberal, neither ought their penalties now to be excessive.” To this the consul answered, that “the Ætolians had often, indeed, sued for peace, but never with sincere intentions. Let them, in soliciting peace, imitate Antiochus, whom they had drawn into the war. He had ceded, not the few cities, whose liberty was the ground of the dispute, but an opulent kingdom, all Asia, on this side Mount Taurus. That he (the consul) would not listen to any overtures whatever from the Ætolians, until they laid down their arms. They must, in the first place, deliver up these, and all their horses; and then pay one thousand talents to the Roman people; half of which sum must be laid down immediately, if they wished for peace. To these articles he would add, in the treaty, that they must have the same allies, and the same enemies, as the Roman people.”

IX. The ambassadors, considering these terms as very unreasonable, and knowing the changeful tempers of their countrymen, made no reply, but returned home, that they might again, before any thing was concluded, receive the instructions of the prætor and council. They were received with clamour, and reproaches, for protracting the business; and commanded to bring with them a peace of some kind or other. But as they were going back to Ambracia, they were caught in an ambuscade, laid, near the road, by the Acarnanians, with whom they were at war, and carried to Tyrrheum, into confinement. This accident delayed the conclusion of a peace. The ambassadors of the Athenians and Rhodians, who had come to mediate in their favour, were now with the consul; and Amynander also, king of Athamania, having obtained a safe conduct, came into the Roman camp, being more concerned for the city of Ambracia, where he had spent the greatest part of his exile, than for the nation of the Ætolians. When the consul was informed by them of the accident which had befallen the ambassadors, he ordered them to be brought from Tyrrheum; and, on their arrival, the negociations for peace were opened. Amynander, as that was his principal object, laboured assiduously to persuade the Ambracians to a capitulation. But, finding that he could not accomplish this, by coming under the walls, and conferring with their chiefs, he, at last, with the consul’s permission, went into the city; where, partly by arguments, partly by entreaties, he prevailed on them to surrender themselves to the Romans. The Ætolians received also great assistance from the consul’s uterine brother, Caius Valerius, the son of Lævinus, the first who had made a treaty of alliance with that nation. The Ambracians, having first stipulated that they might send away the auxiliary Ætolians in safety, opened their gates. The conditions then prescribed to the Ætolians were, that “they should pay five hundred Euboic talents, two hundred at present, and three hundred at six equal annual payments; that they should deliver up to the Romans the prisoners and deserters; that they should not claim jurisdiction over any city, which, since the first coming of Titus Quintius into Greece, had either been taken by the arms of the Romans, or voluntarily entered into alliance with them; and that the island of Cephallenia should not be included in the treaty.” Although these terms were more moderate than they themselves had expected, yet the Ætolians begged permission to lay them before the council, and their request was granted. The council spent some time in debating about the cities, which, having been once members of their state, they could not, without pain, bear to have torn off, as it were, from their body. However, they unanimously voted that the terms of peace should be accepted. The Ambracians presented the consul with a golden crown of one hundred and fifty pounds weight. The brazen and marble statues with which Ambracia was more richly decorated than any other city in that country, as having been the royal residence of Pyrrhus, were all removed and carried away; but nothing else was injured, or even touched.

X. The consul, marching into the interior parts of Ætolia, encamped at Amphilochian Argos, twenty-two miles from Ambracia. Here, at length, the Ætolian ambassadors, whose delay had surprised the consul, arrived. When they informed him that the council had approved the terms of peace, he ordered them to go to Rome to the senate; gave permission for the Athenian and Rhodian mediators to go with them; appointed his brother, Caius Valerius, to accompany them, and then himself passed over to Cephallenia. The ambassadors found the ears and minds of all the principal people at Rome prepossessed by charges made against them by Philip, who had complained, both by ambassadors, and by letters, that Dolopia, Amphilocia, and Athamania, had been forcibly taken from him; that his garrison, and at last, even his son Perseus, had been driven out of Amphilochia; and these accusations had predisposed the senate to refuse to listen to their entreaties. The Athamanians and Rhodians were, nevertheless, heard with attention. One of the Athenian ambassadors, Leon, son of Icesias, is said to have even affected them much by his eloquence. Making use of a common simile, and comparing the multitude of the Ætolians to a calm sea, when it comes to be ruffled by the winds, he said, that “as long as they faithfully adhered to the alliance with Rome, they rested in the calm state natural to the nation; but that, when Thoas and Dicæarchus began to blow from Asia, Menetas and Damocritus from Europe, then was raised that storm which dashed them on Antiochus as on a rock.”

XI. The Ætolians, after long suspense and uncertainty, at length prevailed to have articles of peace concluded. They were these:—“The Ætolian nation, without fraud or deceit, shall maintain the empire and majesty of the Roman people: they shall not suffer to pass through their territories, nor, in any manner whatever, aid nor assist any army that shall march against the allies and friends of the Romans: they shall have the same enemies as the Roman people; and they shall bear arms against them, and take a share in their wars: they shall deliver up the deserters, fugitives, and prisoners, to the Romans and their allies, excepting such as, having been prisoners before, and returned home, were afterwards captured; and also such as at the time of their being taken, were enemies to Rome, while the Ætolians acted in conjunction with the Romans. The others shall be delivered up without reserve, to the magistrates of Corcyra, within one hundred days; and such as cannot now be found, as soon as they shall be discovered. They shall give forty hostages to be chosen by the Roman consul, none younger than twelve years nor older than forty: neither the prætor, nor the general of the horse, nor the public secretary, shall be an hostage; nor any person who has before been an hostage in the hands of the Romans. Cephallenia not to be included in these articles.” With respect to the sum of money which they were to pay, and the mode of payment, no alteration was made in the arrangement settled by the consul. If they chose to give gold instead of silver, it was agreed that they might do so, provided that one piece of gold should be deemed equivalent to ten of silver of the same weight. “Whatever cities, whatever lands, whatever men have been formerly under the jurisdiction of the Ætolians, and have, either in the consulate of Titus Quintius and Publius Ælius, or since their consulate, either been subdued by the arms of the Roman people, or that made a voluntary submission to them, the Ætolians are not to reclaim. The Œnians, with their city and lands, are to belong to the Acarnanians.” On these conditions was the treaty concluded with the Ætolians.

XII. During the same summer, and even at the very time, when the consul Marcus Fulvius was thus employed in Ætolia, the other consul, Cneius Manlius, carried on war in Gallogræcia; the progress of which I shall now relate. At the first opening of spring he came to Ephesus, and having received the command of the army from Lucius Scipio, and purified the troops, he made an harangue to the soldiers, in which he praised their bravery in having completely conquered Antiochus in a single battle. He then encouraged them to undertake, with spirit, a new war against the Gauls, who had supported him as auxiliaries; and were, besides, of such untractable tempers, that the removing of that monarch beyond the mountains of Taurus would answer no purpose, unless the power of the Gauls were reduced. He then spoke briefly of himself in terms neither ill-grounded nor extravagant. They listened to his discourse with much satisfaction, and universally applauded it; for, considering the Gauls as having been a part of the strength of Antiochus, they thought, that, since that king had been vanquished, the forces of that people, by themselves, would be an easy conquest. The absence of Eumenes, who was then at Rome, seemed, to the consul, an unseasonable circumstance, as he was well acquainted with the nature of the country and of the inhabitants; and also, as his own interest must make him wish to crush the power of the Gauls. He therefore sent for his brother Attalus, from Pergamus, whom he persuaded to join in undertaking the war; and who, having promised his assistance, and that of his countrymen, was sent home to make the necessary preparations. A few days after, the consul began his march from Ephesus, and at Magnesia, Attalus met him, with one thousand foot and two hundred horse, having ordered his brother Athenæus to follow with the rest of the troops, committing the care of Pergamus to persons whom he knew to be faithful to his brother, and to his government. The consul highly commended the young prince, and advancing with all his forces, encamped on the bank of the Mæander; for that river not being fordable, it was necessary to collect shipping for carrying over the army.

XIII. Having passed the Mæander, they came to Hiera Come. In this place there is a magnificent temple, and oracle of Apollo, where responses are said to be given in not inelegant verses. From hence, in two days march, they reached the river Harpasus; whither came ambassadors from the Alabandians, intreating the consul, either by his authority or his arms, to compel a fort, which had lately revolted from them, to return to its former allegiance. At the same place he was joined by Athenæus, the brother of Eumenes, and Attalus, with Leusus, a Cretan, and Corragos, a Macedonian commander. They brought with them, of various nations, one thousand foot and three hundred horse. The consul detached a military tribune, with a small party, who retook the fort by assault, and restored it to the Alabandians. He did not himself quit his route, but went on to Antiochia, on the Mæander, where he pitched his camp. The source of this river rises in Celænæ, which city was formerly the metropolis of Phrygia. The inhabitants, afterwards, removed to a spot not far distant from old Celænæ, which new city they called Apamea, the name of the wife of king Seleucus. The river Marsyas, also, rising at a little distance from the head of the Mæander, falls into the latter river, and the general opinion is, that at Celænæ happened the contest between Marsyas and Apollo in playing on the flute. The Mæander, springing up in the highest part of the citadel of Celænæ, runs down through the middle of the city, then through Caria, afterwards through Ionia, and empties itself into a bay which lies between Priene and Miletus. Seleucus, son of Antiochus, came into the consul’s camp, at Antiochia, to furnish corn for the troops, in conformity to the treaty with Scipio. Here a small dispute arose, concerning the auxiliary troops of Attalus; for Seleucus affirmed, that the engagement of Antiochus went no farther than the supplying of corn to the Roman soldiers. This difference was soon terminated by the firmness of the consul, who sent a tribune, with orders that the Roman soldiers should receive none, until the auxiliaries, under Attalus, should have received their share. From hence the army advanced to Gordiutichos, as it is called; from which place it marched, in three days, to Tabæ. This city stands on the confines of Pisidia, on the side opposite the Pamphylian sea. Before the strength of that country was reduced, its inhabitants had been remarkable, as valiant warriors; and even on this occasion, their horsemen, sallying out on the Roman troops, caused, by their first onset, no small confusion; but soon finding themselves overmatched both in number and bravery, they fled into the city, on which the townsmen, begging pardon for their transgressions, offered to surrender the place. They were ordered to pay twenty-five talents of silver, and ten thousand bushels of wheat; and on these terms their surrender was accepted.

XIV. On the third day after their leaving this place, the army reached the river Chaos, and proceeding thence, took the city of Eriza at the first assault. They then came to Thabusios, a fort standing on the bank of the river Indus, so called from an Indian thrown into it from an elephant. They were now not far from Cibyra, yet no embassy appeared from Moagetes, the tyrant of that state; a man, whose conduct, in every circumstance, was branded with infidelity and injustice. The consul, in order to learn his intentions, sent forward Caius Helvius, with four thousand foot and five hundred horse. When this party entered his frontiers, they were met by ambassadors, who declared that Moagetes was willing to submit to their orders; intreated Helvius to pass through the country without hostilities, and to restrain his soldiers from plundering it; bringing with them, in lieu of a golden crown, fifteen talents. Helvius promised to protect their territory, and ordered the ambassadors to go on to the consul, who, on the same message being delivered by them, answered, “We, Romans, see no sign of the tyrant having any good will towards us; and we are decidedly of opinion, that such is his character, that we ought rather to think of punishing than of contracting friendship with him.” Struck with astonishment at such a reception, the ambassadors confined their request to his acceptance of the fifteen talents, with permission for their master to come before him, and vindicate his conduct. Having obtained the consul’s leave, the tyrant came, next day, into the camp. His dress and retinue were in a style scarcely becoming a private person of moderate fortune; while his discourse was humble and incoherent, tending to diminish the idea of his wealth, being filled with complaints of his own poverty, and that of the cities in his state. He had under his dominion, (beside Cibyra,) Syleum, and the city called Alimne. Out of these he promised, (but in such a manner as if he were diffident of his ability to accomplish it, by stripping himself and his subjects,) to raise twenty-five talents. “This,” said the consul, “is not to be endured. Was it not enough that you should endeavour to impose upon us by your ambassadors, but you must now come in person to persist in the falsehood. What! twenty-five talents will exhaust your dominions! If, within three days, you do not pay down five hundred talents, expect to see your lands wasted, and your city besieged.” Although terrified by this menace, yet he persisted obstinately in his plea of poverty; gradually advancing, however, with sordid reluctance, (sometimes cavilling, sometimes recurring to prayers and counterfeit tears,) he was brought to agree to the payment of one hundred talents, to which were added ten thousand bushels of corn. All this was done within six days.

XV. From Cibyra the army was led through the territory of the Sendians, and, after crossing the river Caular encamped. Next day they marched along the side of the lake of Caralis, and passed the night at Mandropolis. As they advanced to the next city, Lagos, the inhabitants fled through fear. The place being deserted, yet filled with abundance of every thing, was pillaged by the soldiers. They next day proceeded by the head of the river Lysis, to the river Cobulatus. At this time the Termessians were besieging the citadel of the Isiondians, after having taken the city. The besieged, destitute of every other hope of relief, sent ambassadors to the consul, imploring succour; adding, that, “being shut up in the citadel, with their wives and children, they were in daily expectation of perishing, either by the sword or famine.” The consul was well pleased at an occasion offering for turning aside to Pamphylia. His approach raised the siege of Isionda. He granted peace to Termessus on receiving fifty talents; and, likewise, to the Aspendians, and other states of Pamphylia. In his return out of that country he pitched his camp, the first day, at the river Taurus, and the second at Come Xyline, as they call it. Departing from which, he proceeded, by uninterrupted marches to the city of Cormasa. The next city was Darsa, which he found abandoned by the inhabitants through fear, but plentifully stored with every thing useful. As he marched thence along the morasses, he was met by ambassadors from Lysinoe, with the surrender of that state. He then came into the Sagalassenian territory, rich and abounding in every kind of production. The inhabitants are Pisidians, the best soldiers, by far, of any in that part of the world. This circumstance, together with the fertility of their soil, the multitude of their people, and the situation of their city, which is stronger than most others, gave them boldness. Manlius, as no embassy attended him on the frontiers, sent a party to ravage the country; which overcame their obstinacy, as they saw their effects carried and driven away. They then sent ambassadors: and on their agreeing to pay fifty talents, with twenty thousand bushels of wheat and twenty thousand of barley, they obtained peace. The consul then marched to the source of the Obrima, and encamped at a village called Comi Aporidos. Hither Seleucus came, next day, from Apamea; to which place the sick, and the useless baggage, were sent; and the army being furnished with guides by Seleucus, and marching that day into the plain of Metropolis, advanced on the day following, to Diniæ in Phrygia, and thence to Synnas; all the towns on every side being deserted by the inhabitants through fear. The spoil of these overloaded the army, and retarded its motion so much that it scarcely marched five miles in a whole day; when it reached the town called Old Beudi. Next day it encamped at Anabura; on the following, at the source of the Alander, and on the third at Abassus, where it lay for several days, being now arrived at the borders of the Tolistoboians.

XVI. These Gauls, in a very numerous body, quitting their native country, under the conduct of Brennus, either through hopes of plunder, or in consequence of a scarcity of land; and, thinking that no nation through which they were to pass would be a match for them in arms; made their way into Dardania. There a dissension arose, and twenty thousand of them under the chieftains Leonorius and Lutarius, separating from Brennus, turned their route to Thrace. As they went along, they fought with such as resisted them, imposed a tribute on such as sued for peace, and, arriving at Byzantium, held possession for a long time, of the cities in that quarter, laying the coast of the Propontis under contribution. They were afterwards seized by a desire of passing over into Asia, from the accounts which they heard, in its neighbourhood, of the great fruitfulness of its lands; and, having taken Lysimachia by treachery, and possessed themselves of the whole Chersonesus by force of arms, they went down to the Hellespont. When they there beheld Asia on the other side of a narrow streight, their wishes to pass into it were much more highly inflamed, and they despatched envoys to Antipater, governor of that coast, to adjust matters relating to their passage. But this business being protracted to a greater length than they expected, a new quarrel broke out between their chieftains; in consequence of which, Leonorius, with the greater part of the people, went back to Byzantium, whence they came; and Lutarius, having taken from some Macedonians, (sent by Antipater as spies, under the pretext of an embassy,) two decked ships and three barks, employed these in carrying over one division after another, by day or by night, until, within a few days, he had transported his whole army. Not long after, Leonorius, with the assistance of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, passed over from Byzantium. The Gauls then reunited their forces, and assisted Nicomedes in a war which he was carrying on against Zybæa, who held possession of a part of Bithynia. By their assistance chiefly, Zybœa was subdued, and the whole of Bithynia reduced under the dominion of Nicomedes. Then leaving Bithynia, they advanced into Asia; and although, of their twenty thousand men, not more than ten carried arms, yet such a degree of terror did they strike into all the natives, dwelling on this side of Taurus, that those which they visited, and those which they did not visit, the remotest as well as the nearest, submitted to their authority. At length, as there were three tribes of them, the Tolistoboians, the Trocmians, and the Tectosagians, they made a division of Asia into three provinces, according to which the contributions imposed upon them were to be paid to each of their states respectively. The coast of the Hellespont was assigned to the Trocmians; Ionia and Æolia were allotted to the Tolistoboians, and the inland parts of Asia to the Tectosagians. They levied tribute throughout every part of Asia, but chose their own residence on the banks of the river Halys; and so great was the terror of their name, their numbers, too, increasing by a rapid population, that at last even the kings of Syria did not refuse to pay them tribute. The first of all the inhabitants of Asia, who ventured a refusal, was Attalus, the father of king Eumenes; and, beyond the expectation of all, fortune favoured his bold resolution. He defeated them in a pitched battle: yet he did not so effectually break their spirits, as to make them give up their pretensions to empire. Their power continued the same until the war between Antiochus and the Romans, and, even then, after Antiochus was expelled the country, they still entertained a hope, that, as they lived remote from the sea, the Roman army would not come so far.

XVII. As the troops were about to act against this enemy, so terrible to all in that part of the world, the consul, calling them to an assembly, spoke to this effect: “It is not unknown to me, that, of all the nations inhabiting Asia, the Gauls have the highest reputation as soldiers. A fierce nation, after overrunning the face of the earth with its arms, has fixed its abode in the midst of a race of men the gentlest in the world. Their tall persons, their long red hair, their vast shields, and swords of enormous length, their songs also, when they are advancing to action, their yells and dances, and the horrid clashing of their armour, while they brandish their shields in a peculiar manner, practised in their original country; all these are circumstances calculated to strike terror. But let Greeks and Phrygians, and Carians, who are unaccustomed to, and unacquainted with these things, be frightened by such; the Romans, long acquainted with Gallic tumults, have learned the emptiness of their parade. Once, indeed, in an early period, they defeated our ancestors at the Allia. Ever since that time, for, now, two hundred years, the Romans drive them before them in dismay, and kill them like cattle; there have, indeed, been more triumphs celebrated over the Gauls, than over almost all the rest of the world. It is now well known by experience, that if you sustain their first onset, which they make with fiery eagerness and blind fury, their limbs are unnerved with sweat and fatigue; their arms flag; and, though you should not employ a weapon on them, the sun, dust, and thirst, sink their inervate bodies, and their no less inervate minds. We have tried them, not only with our legions against theirs, but in single combat, man to man. Titus Manlius and Marcus Valerius have demonstrated how far Roman valour surpasses Gallic fury. Marcus Manlius singly, thrust back the Gauls who were mounting the capitol in a body. Our forefathers had to deal with genuine native Gauls; but they are now degenerate, a mongrel race, and, in reality, what they are named, Gallogrecians; just as is the case of vegetables; the seeds not being so efficacious for preserving their original constitution, as the properties of the soil and climate in which they may be reared, when changed, are towards altering it. The Macedonians who settled at Alexandria in Egypt, or in Seleucia, or Babylonia, or in any other of their colonies scattered over the world, have sunk into Syrians, Parthians, or Egyptians. Marseilles, by being situated in the midst of Gauls, has contracted somewhat of the disposition of its adjoining neighbours. What trace do the Tarentines retain of the hardy rugged discipline of Sparta? Every thing that grows in its own natural soil attains the greater perfection; whatever is planted in a foreign land, by a gradual change in its nature, degenerates into a similitude to that which affords it nurture. You will therefore fight with men of the like description as those whom you have already vanquished and cut to pieces; those Phrygians encumbered with Gallic armour, in the battle with Antiochus. I fear that they will not oppose us sufficiently so as that we may acquire honour from our victory. King Attalus often routed and put them to flight. Brutes retain for a time, when taken, their natural ferocity; but, after being long fed by the hands of men, they grow tame. Think ye, then, that Nature does not act in the same manner, in softening the savage tempers of men? Do you believe these to be of the same kind that their fathers and grandfathers were? Driven from home by want of land, they marched along the craggy coast of Illyricum; then fought their way, against the fiercest nations, through the whole length of Pæonia and Thrace, and took possession of these countries. After being hardened, yet soured, by so great hardships, they gained admittance here; a territory capable of glutting them with an abundance of every thing desirable. By the very great fertility of the soil, the very great mildness of the climate, and the gentle dispositions of the neighbouring nations, all that barbarous fierceness, which they brought with them, has been quite molified. As for you, who are sons of Mars, believe me, you ought, from the very beginning, to guard against, and shun, above all things, the enticing delights of Asia; so great is the power of those foreign pleasures in extinguishing the vigour of the mind, so strong the contagion from the relaxed discipline and manners of the people about you. One thing has happened fortunately; that though they will not bring against you a degree of strength by any means equal to what they formerly possessed; yet they still retain a character among the Greeks equal to what they had at their first coming: consequently, you will acquire by subduing them, as high renown among the allies for military prowess, as if they had kept up to their ancient standard of courage.”

XVIII. He then dismissed the assembly; and, having despatched ambassadors to Epossognatus, (who alone, of all the petty princes, had remained in friendship with Eumenes, and refused to assist Antiochus against the Romans,) proceeded on his march. He came, the first day, to the river Alander, and the next, to a village called Tyscos. Here he was met by ambassadors from the Oroandians, begging to be admitted into friendship. He ordered them to pay two hundred talents; and, on their requesting liberty to report that matter at home, gave them permission. He then led the army to Plitendos, and, proceeding thence, encamped at Alyatti. The persons sent to Epossognatus returned to him here, and with them ambassadors from that chieftain, who intreated him not to make war on the Tolistoboians, for that Epossognatus himself would go among that people and persuade them to submission. This request of the prince was complied with. The army then marched through the country called Axylos, which name was given from the nature of the place, being entirely destitute not only of timber, but even of brambles, or any species of fire-wood. The inhabitants, instead of wood, use cow-dung. While the Romans were encamped at Cuballum, a fort of Gallogræcia, a party of the enemy’s cavalry appeared, advancing with great fury. And they not only disordered, by their sudden charge, the advanced guards of the Romans, but killed several of the men. No sooner, however, did the uproar reach the camp, than the Roman cavalry, pouring out hastily by all the gates, routed and dispersed the Gauls, killing many as they fled. The consul, now perceiving that he had reached the enemy’s country, took care, for the future, to explore the ground through which his route led, and to keep a proper guard on his rear. Having, by continued marches, arrived at the river Sangarius, he set about constructing a bridge, no passable ford being any where found. The Sangarius, running from the mountain of Adoreos, through Phrygia, joins the river Thymbris at the confines of Bithynia. After doubling its quantity of water by this junction, it proceeds, in a more copious stream, through Bithynia, and empties itself into the Euxine sea. Yet it is not so remarkable for the size of its current, as for the vast quantity of fish which it supplies to the people in its vicinity. When the bridge was finished, and the army had passed the river, as they were marching along the bank, they were met by the Gallic priests of the Great Mother, from Pessinus with the symbols of their office; who, in rhymes, which they chaunted as if they were inspired, foretold, that the goddess would grant the Romans a safe passage, success in the war, and the empire over that country. The consul, saying that he embraced the omen, pitched his camp on that very spot. On the following day, he arrived at Gordium. This town, though not very large, is a celebrated and well-frequented mart, exceeding, in that respect, most other inland places. It has the advantage of three seas, nearly equidistant from it; that at Hellespontus, that at Sinope, and that on the opposite coast of Cilicia. It is also contiguous to the borders of many and great nations, the commerce of which, mutual convenience caused to centre, principally, in this place. The Romans found the town deserted by the inhabitants through fear, yet at the same time filled with plenty of every thing. While they halted here, ambassadors came from Epossognatus, with information, that “he had applied to the petty princes of the Gauls, but could not bring them to reason; that they were removing in crowds from the villages and lands in the open country; and, with their wives and children, carrying and driving whatever could be carried or driven, were going to mount Olympus, where they hoped to defend themselves by their arms and the nature of the ground.”

XIX. Deputies from the Oroandians brought, afterwards, more particular intelligence: that “the state of the Tolistoboians had seized mount Olympus, but that the Tectosagians, taking a different route, were gone to another mountain, called Magaba; and that the Trocmians, leaving their wives and children in charge with the Tectosagians, had resolved to carry their armed force to the assistance of the Tolistoboians.” The chieftains of the three states, at that time, were Ortiagon, Combolomarus, and Gaulotus; and their principal reason for choosing this mode of conducting the war, was, that, as they had possession of the highest mountains in that part of the world, and had conveyed thither stores of every kind, sufficient for their consumption during a long time, they thought that the enemy would be wearied out by the tediousness of the enterprise: being fully persuaded, “that they would never venture to climb over places so steep and uneven: that if such an attempt should be made, a small number would be able to repulse and drive them down, and that they never could bring themselves to sit inactive, at the foot of bleak mountains, exposed to cold and hunger.” Although the height of their posts was, in itself, a strong defence, yet they drew, besides, a trench and other fortifications round the summits which they occupied. The least part of their care was employed in providing a stock of missile weapons; for they trusted that the rocky ground itself would furnish stones in abundance.

XX. The consul, having foreseen that his men could not come to a close engagement, in the attack of the enemy’s posts, had prepared an immense quantity of javelins, light-infantry spears, arrows, balls of lead, and small stones, fit to be thrown with slings. Furnished with this stock of missile weapons, he marched towards mount Olympus, and encamped within five miles of it. Next day, accompanied by Attalus, he advanced, with an escort of four hundred horse, to examine the nature of the mountain, and situation of the camp of the Gauls; but a party of the enemy’s cavalry, double in number to his, sallying out, obliged them to retire. He even lost some men in the retreat, and had more wounded. On the third day he went to make his observations, at the head of all his cavalry; and none of the enemy coming out beyond their fortifications, he rode round the mountain with safety. He saw that, on the south side, the hills were composed of earth, and rose to a certain height, with a gentle slope, but that, on the north, there was nothing but steep and almost perpendicular cliffs. He found, too, that there were but three ways by which the troops could ascend; one at the middle of the mountain, where the ground was earthy, and two others, both very difficult, one on the southeast, and the other on the northwest. After taking a full view of all these places, he pitched his camp, that day, close to the foot of the mountain. On the day following, after offering sacrifice, in which the first victims afforded the desired omens, he advanced against the enemy with his army in three divisions. He himself, with the greatest part of the forces, marched up where the mountain afforded the easiest ascent. He ordered his brother, Lucius Manlius, to mount on the southeast side, as far as the ground allowed him to ascend with safety; but, if he should meet such precipices as he could not surmount without danger, then, not to contend with the unfavourable nature of the place, or attempt to conquer obstacles insuperable, but to come sloping across the mountain towards him, and join the body under his command; and he directed Caius Helvius, with the third division, to march round, leisurely, by the foot of the mountain, and to climb the hill on the northeast. The auxiliary troops of Attalus he distributed equally among the three divisions, ordering the young prince to accompany them himself. The cavalry and elephants he left in the plain, at the foot of the hills, charging the commanding officers, to watch attentively every thing that should happen, and to be expeditious in bringing succour wherever circumstances should require.

XXI. The Gauls, (thoroughly satisfied that the ground on their two flanks was impassable,) in order to secure, by arms, the ascent on the south side, sent about four thousand soldiers to keep possession of a hill which hung over the road, at the distance of near a mile from their camp; hoping that this would serve as a fortress, to stop the enemy’s progress. On seeing this, the Romans prepared for the fight. The light-infantry advanced, at a small distance, in the front of the line; and, of Attalus’s troops, the Cretan archers and slingers, the Trallians and Thracians. The battalions of infantry, as the ground was steep, marched at a slow pace, holding their shields before them, merely to ward off missile weapons, for there was no likelihood of a close engagement. As soon as they came within reach, the fight commenced with the missile weapons, and continued for a short time equal; the Gauls having the advantage in situation, the Romans in variety and plenty of weapons. But, as the contest advanced, this equality was soon lost: the Gauls carried long shields but too narrow for the breadth of their bodies; and even these were flat, and therefore afforded but a bad defence. Besides, in a little time they had nothing left but swords, which, as the enemy did not come close, were useless. They had only stones to throw, and those not of a proper size, as they had laid in no store of such, but used whatever each, in his hurry and confusion, found next at hand; and then, being unused to this manner of fighting, they did not know how to aid the blow with either skill or strength. At the same time every part was assailed with arrows, leaden balls, and darts; the approach of which they could not perceive, and scarcely conscious, indeed, of what they were doing, so blinded were they by rage and fear together; while they found themselves engaged in a kind of fight, for which they were utterly unqualified. When closed with an enemy, and where they can receive and give wounds in turn, rage inflames their courage; but when they are wounded at a distance, with light weapons from unknown hands, and have no object on which they can vent their intemperate fury, like wounded wild beasts, they rush forward at random, and often upon their own party. Their wounds made the greater show, because they always fight naked. Their bodies are plump,—consequently the blood flowed in the greater quantity,—and their skins white, being never stripped except in battle. Thus the cuts appeared the more shocking, while the whiteness of their skins made the black stains of the blood more conspicuous. But they were not much affected by open wounds. Sometimes they even cut the skin, when the wound was more broad than deep, thinking that in this condition they fought with the greater glory. But when the point of an arrow, or a ball, sinking deep in the flesh tormented them, and while, notwithstanding all their endeavours to extract it, the weapon could not be got out, then they fell into fits of phrenzy and shame, at being destroyed by so small a hurt; and dashing themselves on the ground, lay scattered over the place. Some rushing against the enemy were overwhelmed with darts; and, when any of them came near, they were cut to pieces by the light-infantry. A soldier of this description carries a shield three feet long, and, in his right hand, javelins, which he throws at a distance. He has at his side a Spanish sword, which, when he has occasion to fight close, he draws, and shifts the spears into his left hand. There were few of the Gauls now left; and these, seeing themselves overpowered by the light-infantry, and the battalions of the legions advancing, fled in confusion to the camp; which, by this time, was full of tumult and dismay, as the women, children, and others, unfit to bear arms, were all crowded together there. The hills, thus abandoned by the enemy, were seized by the victorious Romans.

XXII. At this juncture, Lucius Manlius and Caius Helvius, having marched up as high as the sloping hills allowed them to do, and, indeed, to insuperable steeps, turned towards that side of the mountain, where, only, the ascent was practicable; and began, as if by concert, to follow the consul’s party at moderate distances, being driven by necessity to adopt the plan, now, which would have been the best at the beginning. For in such disadvantageous ground reserves have often been of the utmost use; as, should the first line happen to be repulsed, the second may both cover their retreat, and succeed to their place in the fight. The consul, as soon as the vanguard of the legions reached the hills taken by the light infantry, ordered the troops to halt, and take breath; at the same time he showed them the bodies of the Gauls spread about the hills, asking them, “Since the light troops had fought such a battle, what might be expected from the legions, from a regular army, and from the spirit of the bravest soldiers? They ought certainly to take the camp into which the enemy had been driven, especially, now, that they were in dismay.” He then sent forward the light-infantry, who, while the army halted, had employed even that time to good purpose in collecting missiles from about the hills, that they might have a sufficient stock for the occasion. They now approached the camp. The Gauls, not confiding in the strength of their works, had posted themselves, in arms, on the outside of the rampart. The Romans assailed them with a shower of weapons of every sort; and, as they stood thick, the less apt was any to fall without effect. They were driven in an instant within their trenches, leaving only strong guards at the entrances of the gates. Against the crowd that fled into the camp a vast quantity of missile weapons were discharged, and the shouts, intermixed with lamentations of the women and children, showed that great numbers were wounded. The first line of the legions hurled their javelins against the guards posted at the gates; however, these, in general, were not wounded, but most of them, having their shields pierced through, were entangled and fastened together, nor did they longer withstand the attack.

XXIII. The gates being now open, the Gauls, in order to escape the conquerors, fled out of the camp to all quarters. They rushed on, without looking before them, where there were roads, and where there were none: no craggy cliffs, nor even perpendicular rocks, stopped them, for they now feared nothing but the enemy. Great numbers, therefore, falling down precipices of vast height, were either maimed or killed. The consul, taking possession of the camp, restrained the soldiers from plundering it; ordering all to pursue with their utmost speed, to press on the enemy, and to increase their present panic. The other party, under Lucius Manlius, now came up. These he did not suffer to enter the camp, but sent them forward in the pursuit, and whom he followed shortly after, committing the guard of the prisoners to some military tribunes: for he hoped, from their present consternation, that he might by exertion put an entire end to the war. After the consul’s departure, Caius Helvius arrived, with the third division. It was not in his power to prevent their sacking the camp; and, by one of fortune’s most unjust dispensations, the booty fell into the hands of men who had not had any concern in the action. The cavalry stood for a long time ignorant of the fight, and of the success of their army. At last, they also, as far as their horses could climb up the hills, pursued the Gauls, (who were now dispersed round the foot of the mountain, killing and taking many. The number of the slain could not easily be ascertained, on account of the windings of the hills, among which they were pursued. Many likewise fell from impassable cliffs, into cavities of prodigious depth; others were killed in the woods and thickets. Claudius, who mentions two battles on Mount Olympus, asserts, that forty thousand fell in them; yet Valerius Antias, who is generally addicted to great exaggeration in point of numbers, says, not more than ten thousand. That the number of prisoners amounted to forty thousand there is no doubt, because the Gauls had dragged along with them a crowd of people of all descriptions and of all ages, like men removing to another country, rather than going out to war. The consul collected in one heap, and burned, the arms of the enemy: he then ordered all to bring together the rest of the booty, and selling that portion which was to be applied to the use of the public, distributed the remainder among the soldiers, taking care that the shares should be as just as possible. He likewise commended them in public assemblies, and conferred presents according to the deserts of each; distinguishing Attalus above all others, with the general approbation of all. For not only by his courage and activity in undergoing dangers and fatigue, but also by the modesty of his deportment, that young prince had rendered himself eminently conspicuous.

XXIV. The war with the Tectosagians remained still to be begun. The consul, marching against them, arrived, on the third day, at Ancyra, a city remarkable in those parts, from which the enemy were but a little more than ten miles distant. While he lay encamped here, a memorable action was performed by a female. Among many other captives, was the wife of the Gallic chieftain, Ortiagon, a woman of exquisite beauty. The commander of the guards was a centurion, avaricious and lustful, as soldiers often are. He, first, endeavoured to learn her sentiments; but, finding that she abhorred the thought of voluntary prostitution, he employed violence. Afterwards, in order to make some atonement for the injury and insult, he gave her hopes of liberty to return to her friends; but even this he would not grant, without a compensation. He stipulated for a certain weight of gold, but, being unwilling that his countrymen should be privy to the business, gave her leave to send away any one of the prisoners, whom she chose, with a message to her friends. He appointed a spot near the river, to which two of this woman’s friends, and not more were to come with the gold in the night following, and to receive her from his hands. It happened that, among the prisoners, under the same guard, was a servant of her own: he was employed as the messenger, and the centurion, as soon as it grew dark, conveyed him beyond the advanced posts. Her friends came to the place at the appointed time, as did the centurion with his prisoner. Here, on their producing the gold, which amounted to an Attic talent, for that was the sum demanded, in her own language, she ordered them to draw their swords, and kill the centurion, while he was weighing the gold. After he was slain, she caused his head to be cut off, and wrapping it up in her garment, carried it to her husband Ortiagon, who had fled home from Olympus. Before she would embrace him, she threw down the centurion’s head at his feet; and, on his asking, with astonishment, whose head it was, and what was the meaning of such a proceeding, so unaccountable in a female, she acknowledged to her husband the injury committed on her person, and the vengeance she had taken for the forcible violation of her chastity. It is said, that, she maintained to the last, by the purity and strictness of her life, the glory of this achievement, so honourable to her sex.

XXV. The Tectosagians sent envoys to the consul at Ancyra, intreating him not to decamp, until he had held a conference with their kings; adding, that they preferred peace, on any conditions, to war. The time was fixed for the next day and the place, a spot which seemed the most central between the camp of the Gauls and Ancyra. The consul came thither, at the appointed hour, with a guard of five hundred horse, but, seeing none of the Gauls there, he returned into his camp: after which the same envoys came again, with an apology, that their kings could not come, being prevented by religious considerations; but, that the principal men of the nation would attend, and that the business might be as well transacted by them. To which the consul answered, that he would send Attalus on his part. To this meeting both parties came, Attalus, attended by an escort of three hundred horse, when a conversation ensued respecting the terms of peace; but, as this could not be finally concluded without the presence of the commanders in chief, it was agreed, that the consul and the kings should meet in the same place on the following day. The intention of the Gauls in postponing matters, was, first, to waste time, that they might remove their effects, so as not to be encumbered in case of danger, and also their wives and children, to the other side of the river Halys; and, secondly, to favour a plot which they were forming against the consul, while he should harbour no suspicion of treachery during the conference. They chose for this purpose, one thousand horsemen of approved intrepidity: and their plan would have taken effect, had not fortune exerted herself in favour of the law of nations, which they plotted to violate. The Roman parties, who went out for forage and wood, were led towards that quarter where the conference was to be held; for the tribunes judged that to be the safest course, as they would have the consul’s escort, and himself, as a guard between them and the enemy. However, they posted another guard of their own, of six hundred horse, nearer to the camp. The consul, being assured by Attalus that the kings would come, and that the business might be concluded, set out from his camp with the same attendants as before. When he had advanced about five miles, and was near the place appointed, he saw, on a sudden, the Gauls coming on with hostile fury, as fast as their horses could gallop. He halted, and ordering his horsemen to make ready their arms, and their courage, received the enemy’s first charge with firmness, and kept his ground. At length, overpowered by numbers, he began to retreat leisurely, without disturbing the order of the troops, but, at last, the danger of delay appearing greater than any advantage to be derived from keeping their ranks, they all fled in hurry and disorder. The Gauls, seeing them disperse, pursued eagerly, and killed several, and a great part of them would have been cut off, had not the six hundred horse, the guard of the foragers, come up to meet them. These, on hearing, at a distance, the shout of dismay, raised by their friends, made ready their weapons and horses, and, with their vigour fresh, renewed the fight after it had become desperate. The fortune of the battle, therefore, was instantly reversed, and dismay retorted on the victors. At the first charge the Gauls were routed; at the same time the foragers from the fields ran together towards the spot, so that wherever the fugitives turned they met an enemy. Thus, they could not retreat with either ease or safety, especially as the Romans pursued on fresh horses, while theirs were fatigued. Few therefore escaped; yet not one was taken; the far greater part paid their lives as a forfeit for having violated the faith of a conference. The whole army of the Romans, with minds burning with rage, marched up next day, close to the enemy.

XXVI. The consul, resolved that no particular should escape his knowledge, spent two days in examining the nature of the mountain with his own eyes. On the third day, after taking the auspices, and then offering sacrifice, he formed his troops in four divisions, that two might go with him up the middle of the mountain, while the other two should march, one on each side, against the wings of the Gauls. The main strength of the enemy, the Tectosagians and Trocmians, amounting to fifty thousand men, formed the centre of their line. The cavalry, about ten thousand men, being dismounted, (their horses being useless among the uneven rocks,) were placed on the right wing, and the Cappadocians of Ariarathes, with the auxiliary troops of Morzes, making up near four thousand, on the left. The consul, as he had done before, at Mount Olympus, placed his light troops in the van, taking care that they should have ready at hand the same abundance of weapons of every sort. When they approached the enemy, all circumstances, on both sides, were the same as in the former battle, excepting that the spirits of the Romans were elated by their success, and those of the Gauls depressed; because, though themselves had not been defeated, yet they considered, as their own, the overthrow of people of their own race. The battle, therefore, commencing under like circumstances, had the same issue. The cloud, as it were, of light weapons that were thrown, overwhelmed the army of the enemy; and, as none of them dared to come forward, for fear of exposing all parts of their bodies open to the blows, so while they stood still, the closer they were together the more wounds they received, as the assailants had the better mark to aim at. The consul now judged, that, as they were already disordered, if he should once let them see the standards of the legions, they would all instantly turn about and fly; receiving, therefore, the light-infantry, and the rest of the irregulars, between the ranks he ordered the line to advance.

XXVII. The Gauls, discouraged by reflecting on the defeat of the Tolistoboians, and distressed by carrying weapons sticking in their flesh, fatigued also by long standing, were not able to support even the first shout and onset of the Romans. Their flight was directed towards their camp; but few of them entered within the trenches; the greater part, passing by on the right and left, fled whichever way each man’s giddy haste carried him. The conquerors followed, cutting off the hindmost; but then, through greediness for booty, they stopped in the camp, and not one of them continued the pursuit. The Gauls in the wings stood some time longer, because it was later when the Romans reached them; but fled at the first discharge of weapons. The consul, as he could not draw off the men who had got into the camp for plunder, sent forward those who had been in the wings to pursue the enemy. They, accordingly, followed them a considerable way; yet, in the pursuit, for there was no fight, they killed not more than eight thousand men: the rest crossed the river Halys. A great part of the Romans lodged that night in the enemy’s camp; the rest the consul led back to his own. Next day, he took a review of the prisoners, and of the booty, the quantity of which was as great as might be expected to have been heaped together by a nation most greedy of rapine, after holding possession by force of arms, of all the country on this side Mount Taurus, during a space of many years. The Gauls, after this dispersion, re-assembled in one place, a great part of them being wounded or unarmed; and as all were destitute of every kind of property, they sent deputies to the consul, to supplicate for peace. Manlius ordered them to attend him at Ephesus; and, being in haste to quit those cold regions, in the vicinity of Mount Taurus, it being now the middle of autumn, he led back his victorious army into winter-quarters on the sea coast.

XXVIII. During the time of those transactions in Asia, the other provinces were in a state of tranquillity. At Rome, the censors, Titus Quintius Flamininus, and Marcus Claudius Marcellus, read over the roll of the senate; Publius Scipio Africanus was, a third time, declared prince of the senate, and only four members were struck out, none of whom had held any curule office. In their review of the knights, also, the censors acted with great mildness. They contracted for the erection of a building in the Æquimælium, on the Capitoline mount, and for paving, with flint, a road from the Capuan gate to the temple of Mars. The Campanians, having requested the directions of the senate, respecting the place where their census should be held, an order passed, that it should be performed at Rome. Extraordinary quantities of rain fell this year; twelve times the Tiber overflowed the field of Mars, and the lower parts of the city. The war with the Gauls in Asia, having been brought to a conclusion by the consul, Cneius Manlius, the other consul, Marcus Fulvius, as the Ætolians were now completely reduced, passed over to Cephallenia, and sent messengers round the states of the island, to inquire whether they chose to submit to the Romans, or to try the fortune of war. Fear operated so strongly on them all, that they did not refuse to surrender. They gave the number of hostages demanded, which was proportioned to the abilities of a weak people; the Nesians, Cranians, Pallenians, and Samæans, giving twenty each. Peace had, now, beyond what could have been hoped for, begun to diffuse its benign influence through Cephallenia, when one state, the Samæans, from what motive is uncertain, suddenly broke out in opposition. They said, that as their city was commodiously situated, they were afraid that the Romans would compel them to remove from it. But whether they conceived this in their own minds, and under the impulse of a groundless fear, disturbed the general quiet, or whether such a project had been mentioned in conversation among the Romans, and reported to them, has not been discovered; thus much is certain, that after having given hostages, they suddenly shut their gates, and could not be prevailed upon to relinquish their design, even by the prayers of their friends, whom the consul sent to the walls, to try how far they might be influenced by compassion for their parents and countrymen. As their answers showed nothing of a pacific disposition, siege was laid to the city. The consul had a sufficient store of engines and machines, which had been brought over from Ambracia; and the works necessary to be formed were executed by the soldiers with great diligence. The rams were therefore brought forward in two places, and began to batter the walls.

XXIX. The townsmen omitted nothing that could serve to obstruct the works, or the motions of the besiegers. But the two methods of defence, which they found most effectual, were, first the raising always, instead of a part of the wall that was demolished, a new wall of equal strength on the inside; and the other, making sudden sallies, at one time, against the enemy’s works, at another, against his advanced guards; and in those attacks, they generally got the better. The only means of confining them, that could be contrived, seems of no great consequence; it was, however, this,—the bringing one hundred slingers from Ægium, Pacræ, and Dymæ. These men, according to the customary practice of that nation, were exercised from their childhood, in throwing with a sling, into the open sea, the round pebbles which, mixed with sand, generally cover the shores; and by this means they acquired such a degree of dexterity, as to cast weapons of that sort to a greater distance, with surer aim, and more powerful effect, than even the Balearian slingers. Besides, their sling does not consist merely of a single strap, like the Balearic, and that of other nations, but the receptacle of the bullet is three-fold, and made firm by several seams, that it may not, by the yielding of the strap in the act of throwing, be let fly at random, but that, lying here steady, while whirled about, it may be discharged as if sent from the string of a bow. Being accustomed to drive their bullets through circular marks of small circumference, placed at a great distance, they not only hit the enemy’s heads, but any part of their face that they aimed at. These slings checked the Samæans from sallying either so frequently, or so boldly; insomuch that they would, sometimes, from the walls, beseech the Achæans to retire for a while, and be quiet spectators of their fight with the Roman guards. Samæ supported a siege of four months. At last, as some of their small number were daily killed or wounded, and the survivors were, through continual fatigues, greatly reduced both in strength and spirits, the Romans, one night, scaling the wall of the citadel, which they call Cyatides, made their way into the Forum. The Samæans, on discovering that a part of the city was taken, fled, with their wives and children into the greater citadel; but submitting next day, they were all sold as slaves, and their city was plundered.

XXX. As soon as he had settled the affairs of Cephallenia, the consul, leaving a garrison in Samæ, sailed over to Peloponnesus, where his presence had been often solicited for a long time past, chiefly by the Ægians and Lacedæmonians. From the first institution of the Achæan council, the assemblies of the nation had been held at Ægium, whether out of respect to the dignity of the city, or on account of the commodiousness of its situation. This usage Philopœmen first attempted to subvert in that year, and determined to introduce an ordinance, that these should be held in every one of the cities, which were members of the Achæan union, in rotation; and a little before the arrival of the consul, when the Demiurguses, who are the chief magistrates in the states, summoned the representatives to Ægium, Philopœmen, then prætor, by proclamation, appointed their meeting at Argos. As it was apparent that, in general, all would repair to the latter place, the consul likewise, though he favoured the cause of the Ægians, went thither, but after the matter had been debated, seeing that the opposite party was likely to succeed, he declined being farther concerned. The Lacedæmonians, then, drew his attention to their disputes. Their state was kept in constant uneasiness, principally by the exiles, of whom great numbers resided in the maritime forts, on the coast of Laconia, all which had been taken from the Lacedæmonians. At this the latter were deeply chagrined, as they wished to enjoy free access to the sea, if they should have occasion to send ambassadors to Rome, or any other place: and, at the same time, to possess some mart and repository for foreign merchandise, for their necessary demands. They, therefore, attacked in the night, a maritime village, called Las, and seized it by surprise. The inhabitants, and the exiles residing in the place, were terrified, at first, by the sudden assault; but, afterwards, collecting in a body, before day, after a slight contest, they drove back the Lacedæmonians. A general alarm, nevertheless, spread over the whole coast, and all the forts and villages, with the exiles resident there, united in sending a common embassy to the Achæans.

XXXI. The prætor, Philopœmen,—(who, from the beginning, had ever been a friend to the cause of the exiles, and had always advised the Achæans to reduce the power and influence of the Lacedæmonians,)—on the request of the ambassadors, gave them an audience of the council. There, on a motion made by him, a decree was passed, that, “whereas Titus Quintius and the Romans had committed their forts and villages, on the coast of Laconia, to the protection and guardianship of the Achæans; and whereas, according to treaty, the Lacedæmonians ought to leave them unmolested; notwithstanding which, the village of Las had been attacked by them, and bloodshed committed therein; therefore, unless the authors and abettors of this outrage were delivered up to the Achæans, they would consider it as a violation of the treaty.” To demand those persons, ambassadors were instantly despatched to Lacedæmon. This authoritative injunction appeared to the Lacedæmonians so haughty and insolent, that, if their state had been in its ancient condition, they would undoubtedly have flown to arms. What distracted them most of all was, the fear, lest, if by obeying the first mandates they once received the yoke, Philopœmen, pursuant to a scheme which he had long had in contemplation, should put the exiles in possession of Lacedæmon. Enraged, therefore, to madness, they put to death thirty men of the faction which had held some correspondence with Philopœmen and the exiles, passed a decree, renouncing all alliance with the Achæans, ordering ambassadors to be sent immediately to Cephallenia to surrender Lacedæmon to the consul, Marcus Fulvius, beseeching him to come into Peloponnesus and to receive Lacedæmon under the protection and dominion of the Roman people.

XXXII. When the Achæan ambassadors returned with an account of these proceedings, war was declared against the Lacedæmonians, by an unanimous vote of all the states of the confederacy; and nothing, but the winter, prevented its being commenced immediately. However, they detached several small parties, not only by land, but by sea, which, making incursions more like freebooters than regular troops, laid waste the Lacedæmonian frontiers. This commotion brought the consul into Peloponnesus, and, by his order, a council was summoned at Elis; the Lacedæmonians being called on to attend, and to plead their own cause. The debates there were violent, and proceeded even to altercation. But the consul, who, in other respects acted in a very conciliatory manner, and who gave no explicit opinion, put an end to the dispute by one decisive order, that they should desist from hostilities, until they sent ambassadors to Rome, to the senate. Both parties sent ambassadors accordingly. The Lacedæmonian exiles, also, authorised the Achæans to act in their cause, and negociate on their behalf. Diophanes and Lycortas, both of them Megalopolitans, were at the head of the Achæan embassy; and, as they were of different sentiments with regard to public affairs at home, so their discourses on the occasion were of quite different tendencies. Diophanes proposed to leave the determination of every point entirely to the senate, “who,” he said, “would best decide the controversies between the Achæans and Lacedæmonians;” while Lycortas, according to the instructions of Philopœmen, required, that the senate should permit the Achæans to execute their own decrees, made conformable to treaty, and their own laws; and to possess, uninfringed, the liberty which themselves had bestowed. The Achæan nation was, at that time, in high esteem with the Romans; yet it was resolved, that no alteration should be made respecting the Lacedæmonians; but the answer given was so obscure, that, while the Achæans understood that they were left at liberty to act as they pleased toward Lacedæmon, the Lacedæmonians construed it, as not conveying any such licence.

XXXIII. The use which the Achæans made of this power was immoderate and tyrannical. They continued Philopœmen in office, who, in the beginning of spring, collecting an army, encamped in the territory of the Lacedæmonians, and thence sent ambassadors to insist on their delivering up the authors of the insurrection; promising, that if they complied, their state should remain in peace, and that those persons should not suffer any punishment, without a previous trial. The rest were held silent by their fears; but the persons demanded by name, declared, that they would voluntarily go, provided they received assurance from the ambassadors, that they should be safe from violence until their cause were heard. Several other men, of illustrious characters, went along with them; both from a wish to aid those private individuals, and because they thought their cause concerned the public interest. The Achæans had never before brought the Lacedæmonian exiles into the country, because they knew that nothing would so much disgust the people: but now, the vanguard of almost their whole army was composed of them. When the Lacedæmonians came to the gate of the camp, these met them in a body, and, first, began to provoke them with ill language; a wrangle then ensuing, and their passions being inflamed, the most furious of the exiles made an attack on the Lacedæmonians. While these appealed to the gods, and the faith of the ambassadors; and while the ambassadors and the prætor, driving back the crowd, protected the Lacedæmonians, and kept off some who were already binding them in chains,—the multitude, roused by the tumult, gathered about them in prodigious numbers. The Achæans, at first, ran thither to see what was doing; but then, the exiles, with loud clamours, complained of the sufferings that they had undergone, implored assistance, and at the same time insisted, that “such another opportunity, if they neglected this, could never be hoped for; that these men had been the means of rendering useless the treaties, solemnly ratified in the capitol, at Olympia; and in the citadel of Athens; and that before their hands should be tied up by a new treaty, they ought to punish the guilty.” By these expressions, all were inflamed, so that on one man calling out, to fall on, the whole crowd attacked them with stones; and seventeen persons, who, during the disturbance, had been put in chains, were killed. The next day, sixty-three, whom the prætor had protected from violence, not because he wished them safe, but because he was unwilling that they should perish, before they were tried, were taken into custody, brought before an enraged multitude, and after addressing a few words to such prejudiced ears, they were all condemned and executed.

XXXIV. After this terrible example had been made, to humble the Lacedæmonians, orders were sent to them, first that they should demolish their walls: then, that all the foreign auxiliaries, who had served for pay under the tyrants, should quit the Laconian territories; then, that the slaves, whom the tyrants had set free, who amounted to a great multitude, should depart, before a certain day, after which, should any remain in the country, the Achæans were authorised to seize, sell, and carry them away. That they should abrogate the laws and institutions of Lycurgus, and adopt those of the Achæans, by which, all would become one body, and concord would be established among them. They obeyed none of these injunctions more willingly, than that of demolishing the walls; nor suffered any with more reluctance, than the giving up of the exiles. A decree for their restoration was made at Tegea, in a general council of the Achæans; where, an account being brought, that the foreign auxiliaries had been sent away, and that the newly-registered Lacedæmonians, (so they called the slaves enfranchised by the tyrants) had left the city and dispersed through the country, it was resolved, that, before the army was disbanded, the prætor should go with some light troops, and, seizing that description of people, sell them as spoil. Great numbers were accordingly seized, and sold; and with the money, arising from the sale, a portico at Megalopolis, which the Lacedæmonians had demolished, was rebuilt, with the approbation of the Achæans. The lands of Belbinis, of which the Lacedæmonian tyrants had unjustly kept possession, were also restored to that state, according to an old decree of the Achæans, made in the reign of Philip, son of Amyntas. The state of Lacedæmon having, by these means, lost the sinews of its strength, remained long in subjection to the Achæans; but nothing hurt it so materially as the abolition of the discipline of Lycurgus, in the practice of which they had continued during seven hundred years.

XXXV. After the sitting of the council, wherein the debate between the Achæans and Lacedæmonians was held in presence of the consul, as the year was near expiring, Marcus Fulvius went home to Rome to hold the elections. The consuls elected were, Marcus Valerius Messala, and Caius Livius Salinator, having, this year, procured the rejection of his enemy, Marcus Æmilius Lepidus. Then were elected prætors, Quintus Marcius Philippus, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Caius Stertinius, Caius Atinius, Publius Claudius Pulcher, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus. When the elections were finished, it was resolved that the consul, Marcus Fulvius, should return into his province to the army, and that he, and his colleague, Cneius Manlius, should be continued in command for a year. In this year, in pursuance of directions from the decemvirs, a statue of Hercules was set up in his temple, and a gilded chariot with six horses, in the capitol, by Publius Cornelius. The inscription mentioned, that Publius Cornelius, consul, made the offering. The curule ædiles, also, Publius Claudius and Servius Sulpicius Galba, dedicated twelve gilded shields, out of money raised by fines on corn merchants, for raising the market by hoarding the grain. And Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, plebeian ædile, having prosecuted to conviction one malefactor, (for the ædiles prosecuted separately) dedicated two gilded statues. His colleague, Aulus Cæcilius, did not convict any one. The Roman games were exhibited entire, thrice; the plebeian, five times. Marcus Valerius Messala, and Caius Livius Salinator, entering into office on the ides of March, proposed to the senate’s consideration the state of the commonwealth, the provinces, and the armies. With respect to Ætolia and Asia no alteration was made. The provinces assigned to the consuls, were, to one, Pisæ, where he was to act against the Ligurians; to the other, Gaul. They were ordered to cast lots, for these, or to settle the matter between themselves, to levy new armies two legions for each; and to raise, of the Latine allies, fifteen thousand foot, and twelve hundred horse. Liguria fell, by lot, to Messala; Gaul, to Salinator. The prætors then cast lots, and the city jurisdiction fell to Marcus Claudius; the foreign to Publius Claudius; Sicily to Quintus Marcius; Sardinia, to Caius Stertinius; hither Spain, to Lucius Manlius; farther Spain, to Caius Antinius.

XXXVI. The dispositions made, respecting the armies, were these. It was ordered, that the legions, which had served under Caius Lælius, should be removed out of Gaul into Bruttium, and put under the command of Marcus Tuccius, proprætor; that the army, which was in Sicily, should be disbanded, and the fleet, which was there, brought home to Rome, by Marcus Sempronius, proprætor. For the Spains, were decreed the legions then in those provinces, one for each; with orders, that each of the two prætors should levy, from among the allies, to recruit their numbers, three thousand foot and two hundred horse, which they were to carry with them. Before the new magistrates set out for their provinces, a supplication, of three days’ continuance, was ordered by the college of decemvirs, to be performed in every street, on account of a darkness having overspread the sky, between the third and fourth hours of the day; and the nine days’ solemnity was proclaimed, on account of a shower of stones having fallen on the Aventine. As the censors obliged the Campanians, pursuant to the decree of the senate, made last year, to pass the general survey at Rome, (for, before that, it had not been fixed where they should be surveyed,) they petitioned, that they might be allowed to take in marriage, women who were citizens of Rome, and that any who had, heretofore, married such, might retain them; and, likewise, that children born of such marriages, before that day, might be deemed legitimate, and entitled to inherit; both which requests were complied with. Caius Valerius Tappus, a plebeian tribune, proposed an order of the people concerning the towns of Formiæ, Fundi, and Arpinum, that they should be invested with the right of voting, for, hitherto, they had been members of the state without that right. Against this proposal four plebeian tribunes entered a protest, because it was not made under the direction of the senate; but, being informed, that the power of imparting that privilege to any persons belonged to the people, and not to the senate, they desisted from their opposition. An order was passed, that the Formians and Fundans should vote in the Æmilian tribe, and the Arpinians in the Cornelian; and in these tribes they were then, for the first time, rated in the census, in pursuance of the order of the people proposed by Valerius. Marcus Claudius Marcellus, censor, having got the better of Titus Quintius, in the lots, closed the lustrum. The number of citizens rated, was two hundred fifty-eight thousand, three hundred and eight. When the survey was finished, the consuls set out for their provinces.

XXXVII. During the winter wherein this passed at Rome, Cneius Manlius, at first, while consul, and afterwards, when proconsul, was attended, in his winter quarters in Asia, by embassies from all the nations and states on this side of mount Taurus; and although the conquest of Antiochus was more splendid and glorious to the Romans, than that of the Gauls, yet the latter gave greater joy to the allies than the former. Subjection to the king had been more tolerable to them, than the neighbourhood of these fierce and savage barbarians; of whom they were in daily apprehension, added to the uncertainty, where the storm of their depredations might fall. Having, therefore, obtained liberty, by the expulsion of Antiochus, and permanent peace by the conquest of the Gauls, they brought, not only, congratulations, but also golden crowns, in proportion to the ability of each. Ambassadors, also, came from Antiochus, and from the Gauls themselves, to receive the conditions of peace; and from Ariarathes, king of Cappadocia, to solicit pardon, and make atonement, by money, for his crime, in assisting Antiochus with troops. He was fined two hundred talents. The Gauls were answered, that when king Eumenes arrived, he would settle the conditions. The embassies of the several states were dismissed with kind answers, and with their minds much more at ease than when they arrived. The ambassadors of Antiochus were ordered to bring the money and the corn, due by the treaty concluded with Lucius Scipio, into Pamphilia, whither the consul intended to go with his forces. In the beginning of the next spring, after performing the ceremony of purifying the army, he began his march, and on the eighth day, arrived at Apamea. There he rested three days; and, on the third day, after his departure from that place, arrived in Pamphilia, whither he had ordered the king’s ambassadors to repair with stipulated supplies. Here he received two thousand five hundred talents of silver, which he sent to Apamea, the corn he distributed to the army. Thence he marched to Perga, the only place in the country still held by a garrison of the king’s troops. On his approach, the governor of the town went out to meet him, and requested thirty days time, that he might consult Antiochus about the surrender of the city. The time was granted, and on the expiration of it, the city was surrendered. From Perga, he detached his brother, Lucius Manlius, with four thousand men, to exact from the Oroandians the remainder of the money which they had promised; and, ordering the ambassadors of Antiochus to follow, he led back his army to Apamea, having heard that king Eumenes, and the ten ambassadors from Rome, were arrived at Ephesus.

XXXVIII. Here, with the concurrence, of the ten ambassadors, a treaty was concluded with Antiochus, and written in nearly the following words: “There shall be friendship between king Antiochus and the Roman people, on these terms and conditions. He shall not suffer any army, intended to act against the Roman people, or their allies, to pass through his own kingdom, or the territory of any state under his dominion, nor supply it with provisions, nor give any other assistance. The Romans and their allies, are to observe the same conduct toward Antiochus, and those under his government. It shall not be lawful for Antiochus to wage war with the inhabitants of the islands, or to pass over into Europe. He shall evacuate the cities, lands, villages and forts, on this side of mount Taurus, as far as the river Halys; and from the foot of Taurus to the summit, where are the confines of Lycaonia. He shall not remove any arms out of any of the evacuated towns, lands or forts; and if any have been removed, he shall replace them, as before. He shall not receive any soldier, or other person, from king Eumenes. If any natives of those cities, which are hereby separated from his kingdom, are now with Antiochus, or within the bounds of his realms, they shall all return to Apamea, before a certain day, hereafter to be appointed. Such of the natives of Antiochus’s kingdom, as are now with the Romans and their allies, shall have liberty to depart, or to stay. All their slaves, whether fugitives or taken in war, likewise all free-born persons, whether prisoners or deserters, he shall redeliver to the Romans and their allies. He shall give up all his elephants, and not procure others. He shall also surrender his ships of war, and their stores; and shall not keep more than ten light trading vessels, none of which are to be worked with more than thirty oars, nor a galley of one tier of oars, for the purpose of an offensive war; nor shall any ship of his come on this side of the promontories, Calycadnus and Sarpedon, except it shall be a ship carrying money, tribute, ambassadors, or hostages. King Antiochus shall not hire soldiers out of those nations which are under the dominion of the Roman people, nor even receive volunteers. All houses and buildings, within the limits of Antiochus’s kingdom, and which were belonging to the Rhodians and their allies, the Rhodians and their allies shall hold, on the same footing as they did before the war. If any sums of money are due to them, they shall have a right to enforce payment; likewise, if any of their property has been taken away, they shall have a right to search for, discover, and reclaim it. If any of the cities, which ought to be surrendered, are held by people to whom Antiochus gave them, he shall remove the garrisons, and take care that the surrender be properly executed. He shall pay, within twelve years, by equal annual payments, twelve thousand talents of silver, of the proper Attic standard, the talent to weigh not less than eighty Roman pounds; and five hundred and forty thousand pecks of wheat. He shall pay to king Eumenes, within five years three hundred and fifty talents; and, for the corn due, according to his own valuation, one hundred and twenty-seven talents He shall deliver to the Romans twenty hostages, and change them every third year; none of which are to be younger than eighteen, or older than forty-five years. If any of the allies of the Roman people shall make war on Antiochus, he shall be at liberty to repel force by force, provided he does not keep possession of any city, either by right of arms, or by admitting it into a treaty of amity. Whatever controversies may arise between him and them, shall be decided by arbitration, according to the rules of equity; or, if it shall be the choice of both parties, by arms.” A clause was added to this treaty, about delivering up Hannibal, the Carthaginian; Thoas, the Ætolian; Mnasimachus, the Acananian; and the Chalcidians, Eubolis and Philo; and another, that if the parties should, afterwards, agree to add, to expunge, or alter any of the above articles, it might be done without impeachment to the validity of the treaty.

XXXIX. The consul swore to the observance of this treaty, and sent Quintus Minucius Thermus, and Lucius Manlius, who happened to return just at that time from Oroanda, to require the oath of the king. At the same time he wrote to Quintus Fabius Labeo, commander of the fleet, to sail, without delay, to Patara, to burn and destroy the king’s ships that lay there. Sailing, accordingly, from Ephesus, he burned, or otherwise destroyed, fifty decked ships; and, in the same voyage, took Telmessus, the inhabitants being terrified by his sudden appearance. Then, having ordered those whom he left at Ephesus to follow him, he passed on from Lycia, through the islands, to Greece. At Athens he waited a few days, until the ships from Ephesus came to Piræus, and then he brought home the whole fleet to Italy. Cneius Manlius having, among other matters to be given up by Antiochus, received his elephants, gave them all as a present to Eumenes. He then admitted to a hearing the representations of the several states, many of which were in an unsettled condition, in consequence of the changes that had taken place. King Ariarathes, through the mediation of Eumenes, to whom he had lately betrothed his daughter, obtained a remission of half the fine imposed upon him, and was received into friendship. After hearing what the respective nations had to say in their own behalf, the ten ambassadors made different arrangements, with respect to the difference of their cases. Such as had been tributary to king Antiochus, and had sided with the Romans, they rendered independent; and such as had taken part with Antiochus, or had been tributary to king Attalus, all these they ordered to pay tribute to Eumenes. To the Colophonians, living in Notium, the Cymæans, and Milasenians, whom they specified by name, they granted independence; to the Clazomenians the same, besides bestowing on them the island of Drymusa. To the Milesians, they restored what was called the sacred lands. They added to the territory of the Trojans, Rhœteum and Gergithus, not so much in consideration of any recent merits of theirs, as out of respect to their own origin. The same motive procured liberty to Dardanus. To the Chians, also, the Smyrnæans and Erythræans, they granted lands, in consideration of the singular fidelity which they had shown during the war, treating them, in every instance, with particular distinction. To the Phocæans they restored the territory which they had enjoyed before the war, and the privilege of being governed by their own ancient laws. They confirmed to the Rhodians, the grants mentioned in the former decree. Lycia and Caria were assigned to them, as far as the river Mæander, excepting Telmissus. To king Eumenes they gave, in Europe, the Chersonese and Lysimachia, with the forts, towns, and lands thereof, bounded as when held by Antiochus; and, in Asia, both the Phrygias, the one on the Hellespont, and the other called the Greater, restoring to him Mysia, which had been taken by king Prusias, and also Lycaonia, and Milyas, and Lydia, and, by express mention, the cities of Tralles and Ephesus, and Telmissus. A dispute arising between Eumenes and Antiochus’s ambassadors, concerning Pamphylia, because part of it lay on the hither side, and part beyond Taurus, the matter was referred wholly to the senate.

XL. When these treaties and grants were concluded, Manlius, with the ten ambassadors, and all his army, marched to the Hellespont, whither he had ordered the petty princes of the Gauls to come: and, there he prescribed the terms on which they should maintain peace with Eumenes, and warned them to put an end to the practice of rambling in arms, and to confine themselves within the bounds of their own territories. Then, having collected ships from all parts of the coast, and Eumenes’s fleet also being brought thither from Elæ by Athenæus, that king’s brother, he transported all his forces into Europe. Proceeding through the Chersonese, by short marches, the army being heavily encumbered with booty of every sort, he halted at Lysimachia, in order that he might have the beasts of burthen as fresh and vigorous as might be, when he should enter Thrace, the march through which was generally considered with terror. On the day of his leaving Lysimachia, he came to the river called Melas, and thence, next day, to Cypsela. The road, about ten miles from Cypsela, he found obstructed by woods, narrow, and broken. On account of these difficulties he divided the army into two parts; and, ordering one to advance in front, and the other at a considerable distance, to cover the rear, he placed between them the baggage, consisting of wagons with the public money, and other booty of great value. As they marched in this order through the defile, a body of Thracians, not more in number than ten thousand, composed of four states, the Astians, Cænians, Maduatians, and Cœleans, posted themselves on both sides of the road at the narrowest part. Many were of opinion, that this was done at the treacherous instigation of Philip, king of Macedonia, as he knew that the Romans were to return through Thrace, and that they carried with them a large quantity of money. The general himself was in the van, anxious about the disadvantages to which his men were exposed from the nature of the place. The Thracians did not stir until the troops passed by; but, when they saw that the foremost division had got clear of the narrow pass, and that the rear division was not yet drawing near, they rushed upon the baggage, and, having killed the guards, some rifled the wagons, while others led off the horses under their loads. When the shout reached those on the rear, who just then entered the pass, and, afterwards, those in the van, they ran together from both extremities to the centre, and an irregular sort of fight commenced, in many different places at once. The booty was the great occasion of slaughter to the Thracians; for, besides, being encumbered with burthens, most of them had thrown away their arms, that they might be at liberty to seize the prey; while on the other side, the Romans laboured under great disadvantages from the nature of the place, as the barbarians, acquainted with every path, made their attacks with advantage, and, sometimes came, unperceived through the hollow glens. The loads too, and the wagons, lying incommodiously for one party or the other, as chance directed, were great obstructions to their movements; and, here, the plunderer, there, the defender of the booty, fell. The fortune of the fight was variable, according as the ground was favourable to this party or that, and according to the spirit of the combatants, and their numbers; on both sides, however, great numbers fell. The night, at length approaching, the Thracians retired from the fight, not for the purpose of avoiding wounds or death, but because they had gotten enough of booty.

XLI. The first division of the Romans encamped beyond the pass, in open ground, round the temple of Bendis; the other division remained in the middle of the defile, to guard the baggage, which they surrounded with a double rampart. Next day having carefully examined the ground, they rejoined the first. In that battle, although part of the baggage was lost, while a great part of the attendants, and many of the soldiers perished, (the fight having been carried on through almost the whole extent of the defile,) yet the heaviest loss sustained was in the death of Quintus Minucius Thermus, a brave and gallant officer. The army arrived, that day, at the Hebrus, and thence passed through the country of the Ænians, by the temple of Apollo, which the natives call Zerynthium. At a place called Tempyra, they came to another defile as rugged and uneven, as the former, but, as there were no woods near, it afforded no means for an ambuscade. Hither assembled another tribe of Thracians, called Thrausians, with the same hope of plunder; but, as the Romans were enabled by the nakedness of the vallies, to descry them at a distance, posted on each side of the road, they were less alarmed and confused; for, although they were obliged to fight on disadvantageous ground, yet it was in a regular battle, in the open field, and a fair encounter. Advancing in close order, with the war shout, and falling on the enemy, they soon drove them off the ground, and the sequel was flight and slaughter; for the narrow passes, in which the enemy had trusted for safety, actually impeded their escape. The Romans, after this success, encamped at a village of the Maronites, called Sare. Next day marching through an open country, they reached the plain of Priate, where they halted three days, to receive supplies of corn, partly from the country of the Maronites, who made a voluntary contribution, and, partly, from their own ships, which attended them with stores of every kind. From this post, they had one day’s march to Apollonia, whence they proceeded through the territory of Abdera to Neapolis. This march through the Grecian colonies, the troops performed in security. During the remainder, and in the midst of the Thracians, they were all free from attacks, yet never free from apprehensions, night or day, until they arrived in Macedonia. This same army, when it proceeded by the same route under Scipio, had found the Thracians more peaceable, for no other reason, than because it had not then such a quantity of booty to tempt them: although Claudius writes, that, even on that occasion, a body of fifteen thousand Thracians opposed Mutines, the Numidian, who had advanced to explore the country. He had with him four hundred Numidian horsemen, and a few elephants. Mutines’s son, with one hundred and fifty chosen horsemen broke through the middle of the enemy; and, presently, when Mutines, placing his elephants in the centre, and the horse on the wings, had begun to engage the enemy, he fell furiously on their rear, which attack of the cavalry so disordered the Thracians, that they did not come near the main body of infantry. Cneius Manlius conducted his army, through Macedonia, into Thessaly; and, having proceeded through Epirus to Apollonia, passed the winter there, for people had not yet learned so far to despise the sea of that season, as to venture on the passage.

XLII. The year had almost expired, when the consul, Marcus Valerius, came from Liguria to Rome to elect new magistrates; although he had not performed in his province any important business, that could afford a reasonable excuse for coming later than usual to the elections. The assembly for choosing consuls was held on the twelfth day before the calends of March, and the two elected were, Marcus Æmilius Lepidus and Caius Flaminius. The following day, were elected prætors. Appius Claudius Pulcher, Servius Sulpicius Galba, Quintus Terentius Culleo, Lucius Terentius Massa, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, and Marcus Furius Crassipes. When the elections were concluded, the consul proposed to the senate, the appointment of the provinces for the prætors: two were decreed to the administration of justice in Rome; two out of Italy—Sicily and Sardinia: and two in Italy—Tarentum and Gaul; with orders that the prætors should immediately cast lots, and before their commencement in office. To Servius Sulpicius, fell the city jurisdiction; to Quintus Terentius, the foreign; Lucius Terentius obtained Sicily; Quintus Fulvius, Sardinia; Appius Claudius, Tarentum; and Marcus Furius, Gaul. In that year, Lucius Minucius Myrtilus, and Lucius Manlius, being charged with having beaten the Carthaginian ambassadors, were, by order of Marcus Claudius, city prætor, delivered up by heralds to the ambassadors, and carried to Carthage.Y. R. 565.
187. Reports prevailed of great preparations for war being made in Liguria, and of their growing every day more formidable. When therefore, the new consuls proposed to the consideration of the senate, the state of the commonwealth, and the appointing of their provinces, the senate voted that Liguria should be the province of both the consuls. To this vote the consul, Lepidus, objected, asserting that “it would be highly indecorous to shut up the consuls among the vallies of Liguria, while Marcus Fulvius and Cneius Manlius reigned, a second year, one in Europe, the other in Asia, as if substituted in the room of Philip and Antiochus. If it was resolved to keep armies in those countries, it was more fitting that they should be commanded by consuls, than by private persons, who made their circuits, with all the terrors of war, among nations against whom war had not been declared; trafficking peace for money. If armies were necessary for the security of those provinces, in the same manner as Lucius Scipio, consul, had succeeded Marcus Acilius, consul; and as Marcus Fulvius and Cneius Manlius succeeded Lucius Scipio, so ought Caius Livius and Marcus Valerius, consuls, to have succeeded Fulvius and Manlius. But, unquestionably, at this time, after the Ætolian war had been concluded, Asia taken from Antiochus, and the Gauls subdued,—either the consuls ought to be sent to the consular armies, or the legions ought to be brought home, and restored to the commonwealth.” Notwithstanding these arguments, the senate persisted in their vote, that Liguria should be the province of both the consuls; but they ordered, that Manlius and Fulvius should leave their provinces, withdraw the troops, and come home to Rome.

XLIII. There subsisted a quarrel between Marcus Fulvius and the consul Æmilius; the latter complaining particularly, that, through the intrigues of Fulvius, he had been kept back from obtaining the consulship two years. In order, therefore, to exasperate the minds of the public against him, he introduced to the senate ambassadors from Ambracia, whom he had previously instructed in the charges they were to make against him. These complained, that “when they were in a state of peace, after they had obeyed the commands of former consuls, and were ready to show the same obedience to Marcus Fulvius, war had been made on them. That, first their lands were ravaged; and then, their city terrified by denunciations of plundering and slaughter, that their fears might compel them to shut their gates. They were then besieged and assaulted, while all the severities, ever practised in war, were inflicted on them, in murders, burnings, the sacking and demolishing of their city. Their wives and children were dragged away into slavery; their goods taken from them; and what shocked them more than all, their temples were despoiled of their ornaments, the images of their gods, nay, the gods themselves, were torn from their mansions, and carried away; so that the Ambracians had no object of worship left, nothing to which they could address their prayers and supplications, but naked walls and pillars.” While they were making these complaints, the consul, as had been agreed, by asking questions leading to farther charges, drew them on as if against their inclination, to the mention of other matters. Their representations moved the senators; but the other consul, Caius Flaminius, took up the cause of Marcus Fulvius. “The Ambracians,” he said, “had set out in an old course, now long out of use. In this manner Marcus Marcellus had been accused by the Syracusans; and Quintus Fulvius by the Campanians. Why might not the senate as well allow accusations to be so brought, against Titus Quintius by king Philip; against Manius Acilius and Lucius Scipio, by Antiochus; against Cneius Manlius, by the Gauls; and against Fulvius himself by the Ætolians and the states of Cephallenia? Do you think, Conscript fathers, that the besieging and taking Ambracia, the removing thence the statues and ornaments, and the other proceedings, usual on the capture of cities will be denied, either by me, on behalf of Marcus Fulvius, or by Marcus Fulvius himself, who intends to demand a triumph from you for those very services, and to carry before his chariot, those statues, the removal of which is charged as criminal, together with the other spoils of that city, at the same time inscribing on the pillars of his house, Ambracia captured? There is no kind of pretence for their separating themselves from the Ætolians; the cause of the Ambracians, and of the Ætolians is the same. Let, therefore, my colleague either vent his malice in some other case; or, if he is determined to proceed in this, let him detain his Ambracians until Fulvius comes home. I will not suffer any determination, concerning either the Ambracians or Ætolians, to pass in the absence of Marcus Fulvius.”

XLIV. Æmilius, inveighing against the artful malignity of his adversary as being notorious to all, affirmed, that he would spin out the time by affected delays, so as not to return to Rome during the present consulate. Two days were wasted in this dispute, and it was apparent that while Flaminius was present, no decision of the cause could be procured. Æmilius, therefore, laid hold of an opportunity, when Flaminius happening to fall sick, was absent, and on his proposing the motion, the senate decreed, that “the Ambracians should have all their effects restored, should enjoy liberty, and the benefit of their own laws, and should levy what duties they might think proper on goods conveyed by land or sea, provided that the Romans and the Latine confederates should be exempted therefrom. That with respect to the statues, and other ornaments, carried away from their sacred buildings, as alleged in their complaint, their order was, that immediately, on the return of Marcus Fulvius to Rome, the business should be laid before the college of pontiffs, and their directions obeyed.” Nor was the consul content with this; but, afterwards, in a thin meeting, he procured a clause to be added to the decree, “that it did not appear that Ambracia was taken by force.” A supplication, of three days’ continuance, was then performed for the health of the people, on account of a grievous pestilence which desolated the city and country. The Latine festival was afterwards celebrated, when the consuls, being acquitted of these religious duties, and having finished their levies, (for both of them chose to employ new soldiers,) set out for their provinces, where they disbanded all the old troops.

XLV. Shortly after the departure of the consuls, Cneius Manlius, proconsul, arrived at Rome. Servius Sulpicius, prætor, assembled the senate in the temple of Bellona, to give him audience; when, after enumerating the services which he had performed, he demanded that, in consideration thereof, public thanks should be offered to the immortal gods, and permission be granted to himself, to ride through the city in triumph. This was opposed by the greater number of the ten ambassadors, who had been in the province along with him; and particularly by Lucius Furius Purpureo, and Lucius Æmilius Paulus.Y. R. 567.
183. They represented, that “they had been appointed plenipotentiaries, in conjunction with Manlius, to make peace with Antiochus, and to conclude a treaty, on the preliminary articles settled with Lucius Scipio. That Cneius Manlius laboured, to the utmost of his power, to obstruct the conclusion of this peace, and to draw Antiochus into an ambuscade: but that he (Antiochus,) having discovered the treacherous designs of the consul, though frequently tempted by proposals of a conference, was so far from consenting to the meeting, that he avoided even the sight of him. So eager was the wish of Manlius to cross Taurus, that he was with difficulty restrained by the ten ambassadors, who besought him not to expose himself, voluntarily, to the curse denounced in the Sibylline verses against such as should pass those fatal limits. Nevertheless, he marched his army thither, and encamped almost on the very summit where the waters take opposite directions. As he could find no sort of pretence for hostilities, the king’s subjects being perfectly quiet, he led round his army to the Gallogrecians, and, without any decree of the senate, or order of the people, commenced a war against that nation. Did ever any general, before, presume to act, in like manner, on his own judgment? The latest wars were those with Antiochus, with Philip, and with Hannibal and the Carthaginians; concerning all these the senate had passed its decrees, the people their orders; several embassies were previously sent; restitution demanded, and, finally, heralds were sent to proclaim war. Now Cneius Manlius,” said they, “has any one of these proceedings been observed in the present case? Has it been a war of the Roman people, or a predatory expedition of your own contrivance? But, did even thus much content you? Did you lead your army against those, whom you had chosen to consider as enemies, by the direct course; or did you ramble through every deflection of the roads; stopping, wherever they were divided, in order that, to whatever side Eumenes’s brother, Attalus should turn his route, the consul, as an auxiliary in his pay, might follow with a Roman army? In a word, did you not ransack every recess and corner of Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Phrygia; levying contributions from the tyrants and peasants in those remote regions? For what had you to do with the Oroandians, what with other states equally inoffensive?

XLVI. “But to consider, in itself, this war, on the merit of which you ask a triumph: in what manner did you conduct it? Did you fight on equal ground, and at the time of your own choosing? Indeed there is some propriety in your requiring that thanks be returned to the immortal gods; first, because they did not ordain that the army should undergo the penalty deserved by the temerity of its commander, in commencing a war unjustifiable by any law of nations; and next, because they gave us, for antagonists, brutes and not men. Do not suppose that the name only of the Gallogrecians is corrupted: their bodies, and their minds have been long so. Had they been such Gauls as those, whom we have a thousand times encountered in Italy, with various success, do you think it probable, from the conduct of our commander, that one of us would have returned to tell the story? Two battles were fought, twice he advanced against them, by most dangerous paths, bringing his army into a valley beneath, and almost under the feet of the enemy; so that if they had never discharged a weapon, they might, from the advantage of the higher ground, have overwhelmed us. What, then, was the consequence? Great is the fortune of the Roman people; great and terrible its name! By the recent downfal of Hannibal, Philip, and Antiochus, the Gauls were, in a manner, thunder-struck. Bulky as their bodies were, they were dismayed, and put to flight, by slings and arrows; not a sword was blooded in battle during the Gallic war. Like flocks of birds, they flew away at the very sound of our missile weapons. But, indeed, when we, the same army, were on our return, and happened to fall in with a party of Thracian robbers, (as if fortune meant to teach us what the issue would have been, had we been opposed by men,) we, I say, were beaten, routed and stripped of our baggage. Among many brave soldiers fell Quintus Minucius Thermus, whose death was a much greater loss, than if Cneius Manlius, to whose rashness the misfortune was owing, had perished. An army, carrying home the spoils of king Antiochus, being scattered in three places; the vanguard in one, the rear in another, and the baggage in a third, hid itself for a night among bushes, in the retirements of wild beasts. Is a triumph demanded for such exploits as these? Although no disaster and disgrace had been suffered in Thrace, over what enemies would you triumph? Is it over those against whom the Roman senate or people had commissioned you to fight? On this ground, indeed, a triumph was granted to Lucius Scipio; to Manius Acilius, over king Antiochus; to Titus Quintius, over king Philip; and to Publius Africanus, over Hannibal, the Carthaginians, and Syphax. Now, after the senate had voted a declaration of war, the following points, trifling as they appear, were nevertheless attended to:—To whom the declaration ought to be made; whether, to the kings in person; or, whether making it at some of their garrisons, were sufficient. Do you wish, then, that all these rites should be disregarded and profaned? That the laws of the heralds be abrogated? That there should be no heralds? Let religion, (the gods pardon the expression,) be thrown aside; retain not a thought of the gods. Do you, also, judge it fit that the senate should not be consulted concerning war? That the people should not be asked, whether they choose and order war to be made on the Gauls? On a late occasion, the consuls, certainly, wished for the provinces of Greece and Asia; yet, when the senate persisted in assigning Liguria as their province, they obeyed its commands. They will, therefore, if successful in the war, justly demand a triumph from you, Conscript Fathers, under whose authority they carried it on.”

XLVII. Such were the arguments of Furius and Æmilius. Manlius, as we are told, replied in nearly the following manner: “Conscript fathers, formerly the tribunes of the people, were accustomed to oppose generals demanding a triumph. I am thankful to the present tribunes for paying so much regard either to me, or to the greatness of my services, as not only to show, by their silence, their approbation of my pretensions to that honour, but likewise for having declared themselves ready, if there were occasion, to make a motion to that purpose. It is my lot, it seems, to be opposed by some of the ten ambassadors, the actual council which our ancestors assigned to generals for the purpose of arranging their conquests, and proclaiming their victories. They who forbid me to mount the triumphal chariot, who would pluck from my head the crown of glory, are Lucius Furius and Lucius Æmilius, the persons whom, if the tribunes had opposed my triumph, I should have cited as witnesses to bear testimony to my services. Conscript Fathers, be assured, I envy no man’s honours; but, on a late occasion, when the tribunes of the people, brave and active men, objected to the triumph of Quintus Fabius Labeo, you interposed your authority, and forced them to desist. Fabius enjoyed a triumph; although, if his adversaries were to be believed, he never even saw an enemy. Whereas I, who fought so many pitched battles with one hundred thousand of your fiercest enemies; who killed or made prisoners more than forty thousand who stormed two of their camps; who left all the countries on this side of the summits of Taurus, in greater tranquillity than is enjoyed by the country of Italy, am not only defrauded of a triumph, but obliged, like a criminal, to plead my cause before you, Conscript Fathers, against charges advanced by my own council of ambassadors. Conscript Fathers, their charge, as you perceive, is two-fold: for they assert, that I ought not to have waged war with the Gauls; and, that my conduct in the war was rash and imprudent. The Gauls were not enemies; but, though they were peaceable, and obedient to orders, you committed hostilities against them. You are well acquainted with the savage fierceness of the Gallic nation in general, and with their most inveterate hatred to the Roman name, but you are not to apply the same character to that part of them who reside in those countries. Exclude the infamous and odious character of the whole nation, and judge of these Gauls, separately, and by themselves. I wish king Eumenes, I wish all the states of Asia were present, and that you heard their complaints, rather than my charges against them. Send ambassadors round all the cities of Asia, and ask whether they were relieved from more grievous servitude by the removal of Antiochus beyond the summits of Taurus, or by the conquest of the Gauls. Let them tell you how often their territories were ravaged, how often their property, and their people, were carried off as prey; while, scarcely ever allowed to ransom any prisoners, they heard of nothing but human victims slain, and their children offered up in sacrifice. Let me inform you, that your allies paid tribute to these Gauls; and, though delivered now by you, from the yoke of Antiochus, must still have continued to pay it, if I had lain inactive. The farther Antiochus was removed, the more licentiously would the Gauls have domineered in Asia; and all the countries on this side of Taurus you would have annexed to their empire, not to your own.

XLVIII. “But, allowing all this to be true, say they, the Gauls formerly sacked Delphos, the common oracle, to which all mankind resort, and the central point of the globe of the earth; yet the Roman people did not, on that account, make war against them. I really thought, that there was some distinction to be made between that period when Greece and Asia were not yet under your jurisdiction and dominion, and the present, when you have made Mount Taurus the boundary of the Roman empire; when you grant liberty and independence to the states of that country; when you augment the territories of some; amerce others in a part of their lands; impose tribute, add too, diminish, give, and take away, kingdoms, and deem it your business to take care that they enjoy peace both on land and sea. You thought the liberty of Asia incomplete, unless Antiochus withdrew his garrisons, which lay quiet in their citadels; and can you think, that, if the armies of the Gauls roamed about without control, the grants which you made to king Eumenes would be secure, or the liberty of the states entire? But why do I reason thus? as if I had not found the Gauls enemies, but made them such! I appeal to you, Lucius Scipio, whose bravery and good fortune, I prayed to the immortal gods to grant me, when I succeeded you in the command; and I prayed not in vain: and to you, Publius Scipio, who held, both with your brother, the consul, and with the army, the commission of a lieutenant-general, and the dignity of a colleague: were the legions of the Gauls, to your knowledge, in the army of Antiochus? Did you see them in his line of battle, posted in both wings; for there was his main strength? Did you fight them as declared enemies? Did you kill them? Did you carry off their spoils? Yet the senate had decreed, and the people ordered, war against Antiochus, not against the Gauls. But I take for granted, that their decree and order, included, at the same time, all those who should fight under his banner; so that, excepting Antiochus, with whom Scipio had negociated a peace, and with whom, specifying him by name, you had directed a treaty to be concluded, every one who had borne arms, on the side of Antiochus, against us, were our enemies. In this light I was to consider all the Gauls, as well as several petty princes and tyrants; nevertheless, I made peace with the rest, after compelling them to atone for their transgressions, as the dignity of your empire required. I made trial, at the same time, of the temper of the Gauls, whether they could be reclaimed from their natural ferocity; but, perceiving them untractable and implacable, I then judged it necessary to chastise them by force of arms.

XLIX. “Having fully refuted the charge respecting the undertaking of the war, I am now to account for my conduct in the prosecution of it. On this head, indeed, I should perfectly confide in the merits of my cause, though I were pleading, not before a Roman, but before a Carthaginian senate, who are said to crucify their commanders, if they act, even with success, on wrong plans. But in such a state as this, which, in the commencement and progress of every undertaking, makes application to the gods to prompt them rightly, so that malicious calumnies may not prevail; and which, in the established form, when it decrees a supplication or triumph, uses these words:—‘For having conducted the business of the public successfully and fortunately;’. If I should be unwilling, if I should think it presumptuous and arrogant to boast of my own bravery, and if I should demand, in consideration of my own good fortune, and that of my army, in having vanquished so great a nation, without any loss of men, that thanks should be given to the immortal gods, and that I should ascend the capitol in triumph, from whence I took my departure, with vows duly offered;—would you refuse this to me, would you refuse acknowledgments to the immortal gods? Yes; for I fought on unfavourable ground. Tell me, then, on what more favourable ground could I have fought, when the enemy had seized on a mountain, and kept themselves in a strong post. Surely, if I wished to conquer them, I must go where they were, What if they had a town on the same spot, and kept within the walls: surely they must be attacked. Did Manlius Acilius fight Antiochus, at Thermopylæ, on favourable ground? Did not Titus Quintius dislodge Philip when he was posted in the same manner, on the tops of mountains, over the river Aous? Truly I cannot yet discover what idea they have formed to themselves, or wish you to form, of the enemy. If they are considered as being degenerate and softened by the pleasures of Asia, what danger was there in advancing against them, even on unfavourable ground? If formidable, both for fierceness of courage, and strength of body, do you refuse a triumph to victories so honourable? Conscript Fathers, such is the perverted vision of envy, that it is only capable of depreciating merit, and poisoning its honours and rewards. Pardon me, I beseech you, Conscript Fathers, for detaining you with too long a discourse, forced from me, not by any desire of blazoning my own merits, but by the necessity of exculpating myself from the imputations brought against me. Was it, let me ask, in my power to alter the face of the country throughout Thrace, to turn narrow defiles into open ground, steep precipices into level plains, woods into fields; to prevent a band of Thracian robbers from lurking in those concealments which they were acquainted with; that none of our packages should be snatched away, none of our loaded horses, out of so large a train, led off, that not one should be wounded; and that the brave and active Lucius Minucius should not die of his wound? On this mischance, by which we unfortunately lost so valuable a citizen, those men declaim profusely. That the enemy attacked us in a dangerous pass, where every advantage of ground was against us; that our two divisions, the front and the rear, were, at once, surrounding the army of the barbarians, while they were employed about our baggage; that we killed and took prisoners many thousands on that day; and, in a few days after, many more:—Do they imagine that these facts can be kept from your knowledge, by their passing them over in silence, although the whole army can testify the truth of what I assert? If I had never drawn a sword in Asia, if I had never seen an enemy there, yet, by the two battles fought in Thrace, I had merited a triumph. But I shall say no more on the subject; and shall only request, and, I trust, obtain, your pardon, Conscript Fathers, for having trespassed longer upon your patience than I could have wished to do.”

L. The charges would have been judged valid, notwithstanding this defence, had not the dispute been drawn out to a late hour; for the senate, when it adjourned, appeared in a disposition to refuse the triumph. Next day the relations and friends of Cneius Manlius exerted their utmost efforts in his behalf. The votes were led by the opinion of the elder senators, who asserted, that there was no instance on record of a commander who had subdued the enemy, completed the business of his province, and brought home his army, entering the city as a private citizen, without honours, and without the chariot and laurel. The sense of this impropriety got the better of their prejudices against him, and a great majority voted for his triumph. All mention and thought of this matter was soon banished by a greater contest, which was set on foot against a more illustrious personage. The two Petillii, as Valerius Antias writes, instituted a prosecution against Publius Scipio Africanus. This proceeding was variously construed, according to people’s different dispositions; some blamed not the plebeian tribunes, but the public in general, that could suffer such a process to be carried on. They observed, that “the two greatest states in the world proved, nearly at the same time, ungrateful to their chief commanders: but Rome the more ungrateful of the two, because Carthage was subdued when she sent the vanquished Hannibal into exile; whereas Rome, when victorious, was for banishing Africanus, who procured her the victory.” Others asserted, that “no one citizen ought to stand so high above the rest, as not to be made answerable to the laws for his conduct; for nothing contributed so much towards maintaining the equipoise of liberty, as that the most powerful might be brought to trial. For how could any charge, especially the administration of government, be safely intrusted to any man, if he were not liable to be called to an account? If there were any who could not endure an equality of rights, against such, force might justly be employed.” Such were the common topics of conversation, until the day of trial came. Never was either any other person, or Scipio himself, when consul or censor, escorted to the Forum by more numerous multitudes of all kinds, than he was on that day, when he appeared to answer to the charge against him. When ordered to make his defence, without taking any notice of the facts laid to his charge, he delivered a speech, in which he set forth his own exploits in such splendid terms, that it was universally agreed, that no man’s praises had been ever represented either to more advantage, or with more truth. For he spoke with the same ardent spirit, and powerful genius, which had ever animated his conduct in discharging the duties of his office: nor did his speech excite any disgust in the hearers; as it arose from the peril of his situation, not from motives of ostentation.

LI. The plebeian tribunes, in order to procure credit to their present accusations, introduced the old imputations of his luxurious style of living in his winter-quarters at Syracuse, and the tumult raised by Pleminius at Locri. They then brought forward against him the charge of receiving money; which they grounded on suspicions, not on proofs. They alleged, that “his son, being taken prisoner, was restored without ransom; and that, in every other instance Antiochus paid his court to him, as if peace and war with Rome were at his sole disposal. He had acted towards the consul, in his province, as dictator, not as lieutenant-general; nor had he gone thither with any other view than to propagate in Greece and Asia, and among all the kings and nations eastward, the same opinion which, at the same time, prevailed in Spain, Gaul, Sicily, and Africa, that he alone was the head and pillar of the Roman empire; that a state, which was mistress of the world, lay sheltered under the shade of Scipio; and that his nods were equivalent to decrees of the senate, and orders of the people.” Finding him invulnerable against all attacks upon his honour, they assailed him with the shafts of envy. The pleading having lasted till night, the trial was adjourned to another day. When that came, the tribunes took their seat in the rostrum at the dawn of day. The accused being summoned, came, with a numerous train of friends and dependants, through the middle of the assembly, to the rostrum, and silence being made, he said,—“Tribunes of the people, and you, Romans: This day is the anniversary, on which I fought a pitched battle, in Africa, with Hannibal and the Carthaginians, and found good fortune and success. As therefore, it is but decent that a stop be put, for this day, to litigation and wrangling, I will immediately go to the capitol, there to return my acknowledgments to Jupiter supremely good and great; to Juno, Minerva, and the other deities presiding over the capitol and citadel, and will give them thanks, for having, on this day, and at many other times, endowed me both with the will and ability to perform extraordinary services to the commonwealth. Such of you, also, Romans, as can conveniently come with me, and beseech the gods that you may have commanders like myself; since, from my seventeenth year to old age, you have always anticipated my years with honours, and I, your honours, with services.” Accordingly, he went up from the rostrum to the capitol; and, at the same time, the whole assembly turned about and followed him, insomuch, that at last even the clerks and messengers left the tribunes, not one remaining, except the slaves who attended them, and the crier, whose office it was to summon those who were under prosecution. Scipio, attended by the whole body of the Roman people, went around all the temples of the gods, not only in the capitol, but throughout the whole city. This day afforded more ample testimony of the favour of the public, and a clearer estimate of his real greatness, than that on which he rode through Rome in triumph over king Syphax and the Carthaginians.

LII. It was, however, the last day that shone with lustre on Publius Scipio. For, as he could foresee nothing but the prosecutions of envy, and continual disputes with the tribunes, before the time to which the hearing of the cause was adjourned, he retired to Liternum, with a fixed determination not to attend the trial. His natural temper and spirit were so lofty, and he had been habituated to such an elevated course of fortune, that he did not know how to act the part of an accused person, or stoop to the humble deportment of such a state. When the day came, on his not appearing, he was called by the crier, and Lucius Scipio offered as an excuse, that his absence was caused by sickness. This excuse, the tribunes, who were the prosecutors, would not admit, but insisted, that his not coming to answer the charges against him, was owing to the same arrogance with which he had left the trial, the tribunes of the people, and the general assembly; and, dragging after him, like prisoners, the very men whom he had robbed of the right of passing sentence on him, together with their freedom of suffrage, had exhibited a triumph over the Roman people, and made a secession, the same day, from the tribunes to the capitol. “You have, therefore,” said they, “the due reward of that thoughtless conduct. You are, yourselves, forsaken by him, under whose lead and direction you forsook us. And so much is the Roman spirit daily on the decline, that although, seventeen years ago, when he was at the head of an army and fleet, we had resolution enough to send plebeian tribunes and an ædile into Sicily to take him into custody, and bring him home to Rome; yet we dare not now, when he is a private citizen, send to compel him to come from his country-seat to stand his trial.” Lucius Scipio appealing to the tribunes of the commons, they came to this determination, that, “as sickness had been pleaded in his excuse, it was their judgment that this excuse should be admitted, and that their colleagues should adjourn the hearing of the cause.”

LIII. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was, at that time, a plebeian tribune, and between him and Publius Scipio there was an enmity subsisting. He had forbidden his name to be subscribed to the determination of his colleague, and every one expected from him a sentence more severe, when he pronounced his judgment thus: that, “Inasmuch as Lucius Scipio had pleaded sickness in excuse for his brother, that plea appeared to him to be sufficient: that he would not suffer any farther proceeding against Publius Scipio until he should return to Rome; and even then, if he appealed to him, he would support him in refusing to abide a trial: that Publius Scipio, by his great achievements, by the honours received from the Roman people, by the joint consent of gods and men, had risen to such a height of dignity, that were he to stand as a criminal, under the rostrum, and be obliged to listen to the opprobrious language of youthful petulence, it would reflect more disgrace on the Romans than on him.” He added, with much indignation, “Shall Scipio, the celebrated conqueror of Africa, stand at the feet of you, tribunes? Was it for this he defeated and routed, in Spain, four of the most distinguished generals of the Carthaginians, and their four armies? Was it for this he took Syphax prisoner, conquered Hannibal, made Carthage tributary to you, and removed Antiochus beyond mount Taurus; (in the glory of which, by the way, Lucius Scipio was associated with his brother as partner,) that he should crouch under two Petillii? that they should gain the palm of victory over Publius Africanus? Will men of illustrious characters, never, through their own merits, or through public honours, arrive at a safe and inviolable sanctuary, where their old age may repose, if not revered, at least secure from injury?” Both his determination, and his subsequent discourse, made a deep impression, not only on the rest of the assembly but even on the prosecutors; who said, that they would consider further what might be consistent with their rights and duties. As soon as the assembly of the people broke up, the senate met, and there the warmest thanks were bestowed by the whole body, especially by the consular and elder members, on Tiberius Gracchus, for having consulted the public good in preference to private animosity; while the severest reproaches were thrown on the Petillii, for having attempted to bring themselves into notice by exciting the displeasure of the public against Africanus, and for seeking to gather spoils from a triumph over him. After that, Africanus was no more mentioned. He passed the remainder of his life at Liternum, without a wish to revisit the city; and it is said, that when he was dying, he ordered his body to be buried at his own country-seat, and his monument to be erected there, that even his funeral should not be performed in his ungrateful country. He was a man of eminent merit; but that merit was more conspicuous in affairs of war, than in those of peace. The former part of his life was more illustrious than the latter; because, in his early years, he was continually employed in military commands; as he advanced to old age, the lustre of his conduct was somewhat faded, as occasions did not occur to call forth the exercise of his talents. His second consulship, even if we add to it the censorship, was far from being equally brilliant with the first. Nor can we compare with it his commission in Asia, rendered useless by want of health, and clouded by the misfortune of his son, and the necessity which it brought him under, after his return, of either undergoing a trial, or withdrawing himself from that and his country together. However, he enjoyed, alone, the distinguished honour of putting an end to the Carthaginian war, by far the most difficult and dangerous one which the Roman state was ever engaged in.

LIV. The death of Africanus increased the courage of his enemies, the chief of whom was Marcus Porcius Cato, who, even during his life, allowed himself to sneer at his splendid character. It was thought, that it was he who instigated the Petillii both to commence the action against Africanus, and to propose an order respecting him after his death. The motion for the order was made in these words: “Romans, is it your will to order, with respect to the money taken, carried off, and collected from king Antiochus, and those under his government, and with respect to such part thereof as has not been accounted for to the public, that Servius Sulpicius, the city prætor, shall ask the senate, which of the present prætors they will appoint to hold an inquiry concerning those matters?” This motion was, at first, objected to by Quintus and Lucius Mummius, who declared, as their opinion, that according to the practice always hitherto observed, the senate should make the inquiry concerning money unaccounted for to the public. The Petillii, in opposition, represented the great influence, the sovereign power, which the Scipios possessed in the senate. Lucius Furius Purpureo, a senator of consular rank, who had been one of the ten ambassadors in Asia, was of opinion that the inquiry ought to be carried to a wider extent; not only as to the money taken from Antiochus, but to what had been taken from other kings and nations. This blow he aimed at his enemy, Cneius Manlius. Lucius Scipio, who, as every one knew, was arguing rather in favour of himself, than against the order, stood forward to oppose it. He complained heavily of such a motion being brought on after the death of his brother, Publius Africanus, the bravest and most illustrious of men. For, “it had not been deemed sufficient that no panegyric was pronounced from the rostrum, on Africanus after his death, but accusations of misconduct were also exhibited against him. The Carthaginians had been content with the banishment of Hannibal, but the Roman people would not be satisfied even with the death of Publius Scipio, unless, after he was laid in his grave, his character were mangled, and his brother also sacrificed, another victim to envy.” Marcus Cato supported the motion in a speech on the money of king Antiochus, which is still extant; and, by his influence, prevailed on the Mummii, the two tribunes, to drop their opposition to the order. On their withdrawing their intended protest, every one of the tribes voted in favour of the motion.

LV. Servius Sulpicius then put the question to the senate, whom they would appoint, according to the Petillian order of the people, to hold the inquiry; and they appointed Quintus Terentius Culleo. This prætor was so warmly attached to the Cornelian family, that according to the account of those writers who say that Publius Scipio died and was buried at Rome, (for that too is asserted,) he had walked at his funeral before the bier with a cap of liberty on his head, as he had done before at his triumph; and that, at the Capuan gate, he gave wine and honey to those who attended the obsequies, to show his gratitude for having been recovered by Scipio, among other captives, out of the hands of the enemy in Africa; while others say, he was so great an enemy to that family, that, on account of his known animosity, the faction that supported the proceedings against the Scipios, singled out him, particularly, to hold the inquiry. However that may be, whether he was too favourable, or too much the contrary, before him, Lucius Scipio was immediately arraigned. At the same time, charges were presented and received, against his lieutenants-general, the two Hostilius Catos, Aulus, and Lucius; and his quæstor, Caius Furius Aculeo: and, that it might seem as if every one had been infected with the contagion of peculation, against his two secretaries and crier, Lucius Hostilius. The secretaries and the crier were acquitted before Scipio was tried. Scipio, and Aulus Hostilius, lieutenant-general, and Caius Furius, were convicted, and judgment was pronounced, that, “as bribes, for granting more favourable terms of peace to Antiochus, Scipio had received, over and above what he brought into the treasury, six thousand pounds weight of gold, and four hundred and eighty of silver; Aulus Hostilius, eighty pounds of gold, and four hundred and three of silver; and Furius, the quæstor, one hundred and thirty of gold, and two hundred of silver.” These sums of gold and silver I find mentioned by Antias. As to what regards Lucius Scipio, I suspect some mistake of the transcriber, rather than a falsehood of the historian, respecting the amount of the gold and silver. For it is more probable that the weight of silver was greater than that of gold, and that the fine was laid at four millions, than at twenty-four millions of sesterces. And this I am the more inclined to believe, as it is recorded, that particulars of that sum being demanded from Publius Scipio himself, in the senate, he desired his brother Lucius to bring the book which contained them, and which he took and tore to pieces before their eyes, at the same time expressing indignation at being called to an account for four millions, after he had brought two hundred millions into the treasury. From the same magnanimity of spirit, when the quæstors would not venture to bring money out of the coffers contrary to law, he demanded the keys of the treasury, declaring that he would open it, as he had caused it to be shut.

LVI. There were so many contradictory accounts respecting the latter part, particularly, of Scipio’s life; of his trial, death, funeral, and sepulchre, that I cannot determine which tradition or which writings I ought to credit. Writers do not agree as to his accuser; some affirming that Marcus Nævius, others, that the Petillii instituted the prosecution: neither are they agreed as to the time when it was carried on, nor the year in which he died, nor the place, nor where he was buried. Some assert, that he died and was buried at Rome; others, at Liturnum; and in both places memorials of him are shown. For at Liternum, there was a monument, and on it stood his statue, which was lately seen lying on the ground, where it had been thrown down by a storm. At Rome is likewise a monument of the Scipios, and outside the Capuan gate, are three statues, two of which are said to be those of Publius and Lucius Scipio, and the third that of the poet Quintus Ennius. Nor do these differences subsist between historians only; the speeches attributed to Publius Scipio and Tiberius Gracchus, if they really are theirs, differ widely from one another. In the title of Publius Scipio’s speech is the name of Marcus Nævius, plebeian tribune: but in the speech itself, the prosecutor is not named, it only calls him sometimes a knave, sometimes a trifler. Even the speech of Gracchus makes no mention of the Petilliuses accusing Africanus, or of the prosecution carried on against him. The whole story must be framed after another model, to make it consistent with the speech of Gracchus; and those writers must be followed who affirm, that, at the time when Lucius Scipio was impeached, and convicted of having taken money from the king, Africanus was a lieutenant-general in Etruria; whence, on hearing of this misfortune, throwing up his commission, he hastened to Rome, proceeding straight from the gate to the forum. Being told that Lucius had been ordered into confinement, he drove away the officer from his person; and, on the tribunes attempting to detain him, laid violent hands on them, showing more affection towards his brother than regard for the laws. Of these acts, Gracchus himself complained, saying, that the tribunitian power was illegally annulled; and at last, when he promises support to Lucius Scipio, he adds, that the precedent would be the more tolerable, if both the tribunitian authority and the state appeared to be overpowered by a tribune of the commons, than if by a private citizen. But while he loaded him with reproaches for this single instance of intemperate violence, while he charged him with having degenerated so far from himself, he displayed his long-established praises for moderation, and government of his passions, in such strong terms, as to make ample amends for the present reprehension. For he said, that Scipio formerly rebuked the people severely for their intention of making him perpetual consul and dictator; that he hindered statues to be erected to him in the comitium, in the rostrum, in the senate-house, in the capitol, in the chapel of Jupiter’s temple; and that he prevented a decree being passed, ordering his image, in a triumphal habit, to be brought in procession out of the temple of Jupiter supremely good and great. Such particulars as these, even if inserted in a professed panegyric, would demonstrate an uncommon greatness of mind, in restraining honours conformably to the temper of a constitution founded on an equality of rights; but, here, they are acknowledged by an enemy, and at the very time that he was employed in censuring him.

LVII. It is universally agreed, that the younger of Scipio’s two daughters was married to this Gracchus; for the elder was, undoubtedly, disposed of, by her father, to Publius Cornelius Nasica. But it is not so certain, whether she was both betrothed and married after her father’s death, or whether we are to credit those accounts which say, that when the officers were taking Scipio to prison, and no other of the tribunes interfered to protect him, Gracchus swore, that “the same enmity, which he had entertained against the Scipios, still subsisted; and that he did not, by any act of his, seek to gain their favour. But that having seen Publius Africanus leading the kings and generals of enemies to prison, he would never suffer his brother to be led to the same place.” They add, that the senators, happening to sup that day in the capitol, rose up together, and requested of Africanus, before the company departed, to contract his daughter to Gracchus: that the contract was accordingly executed in due form, in the presence of this assembly; and that Scipio, on his return home, told his wife Æmilia, that he had concluded a match for her younger daughter. That she, feeling her female pride hurt, expressed some resentment on not having been consulted in the disposal of their common child, and added, that, even were he giving her to Tiberius Gracchus, her mother ought not to be kept in ignorance of his intention; to which Scipio, rejoiced at her judgment concurring so entirely with his own, replied, that Gracchus was the man he had betrothed her to. These circumstances respecting so great a captain, though variously represented both in traditionary and written relation, I thought not fit to be passed over in silence.

LVIII. On the proceedings being finished by the prætor Quintus Terentius, Hostilius and Furius were condemned, and gave securities the same day to the city quæstors. Scipio insisted, that all the money received by him, was in the treasury, and that he had not in his possession any thing whatsoever belonging to the public; on which he was ordered to prison. Publius Scipio Nasica then appealed to the tribunes, and made a speech fraught with just encomiums, not only on the Cornelian family in general, but on his own branch of it in particular. “His father,” he said, “and the father of Publius Africanus, and Lucius Scipio who was now ordered to prison, were Cneius and Publius Scipio, men of the most illustrious characters; who by their conduct in war through a long course of years, against many commanders and many armies of the Carthaginians and Spaniards, highly enhanced the reputation of the Roman name in the land of Spain; and that, not only by their military exploits, but also by exhibiting to the nations of that country shining examples of Roman moderation and fidelity; both, at last, meeting their death in the service of the Roman people. Although their descendants might have contented themselves with supporting the glory derived from them, yet Publius Africanus so far surpassed his father’s renown, as to occasion a belief that he was not born of the human race, but was of divine extraction. As to Lucius Scipio, the person then concerned, (to pass over his exploits in Spain and in Africa, while he acted as lieutenant-general to his brother,) on his being elected consul, so high did he stand in the estimation of the senate, that they thought proper to assign to him the province of Asia, and the war with Antiochus, by a special order, without leaving it to the decision of the lots; while, in that of his brother, after having been honoured with two consulships, the censorship, and a triumph, he thought fit to attend him into Asia in quality of lieutenant-general. There, that the great and splendid character of the lieutenant might not eclipse the fame of the consul, it so happened, that, on the day when Lucius Scipio conquered Antiochus in a pitched battle at Magnesia, Publius Scipio was absent, at the distance of several days’ journey, being detained by sickness at Elæa. The army of the enemy, on that occasion, was not inferior to that of Hannibal, when the battle was fought with him in Africa; and the same Hannibal, who was commander-in-chief in the Carthaginian war, was one, among many other generals then present, on the king’s side. The war indeed was so conducted, that no one could throw blame even on fortune. A ground of accusation is sought for in the peace, and people say that it was sold. This charge is as applicable to the ten ambassadors, in pursuance of whose counsel the peace was concluded. Some of the ten ambassadors had even stood forth as accusers of Cneius Manlius, yet their charges were so far from gaining credit, that they did not produce even a delay of his triumph.

LIX. “But, truly, the very articles of the peace afford grounds of suspicion respecting Scipio, as being too favourable to Antiochus. For his entire kingdom has been left to him; although conquered, he retains possession of every thing that belonged to him before the war; and though he had an immense quantity of gold and silver, none of it has been applied to the use of the public: all has been converted to private purposes. Now, was there not a larger quantity of gold and silver carried before the eyes of the public in the triumph of Lucius Scipio, then in ten other triumphs taken together? Why need I speak of the extent of the kingdom of Antiochus, or mention his having been in possession of all Asia, and the adjoining parts of Europe? Every body knows what a large portion of the surface of the earth that is, which stretches from Mount Taurus quite to the Ægean sea; what a number, not only of cities, but of nations, it comprehends, and that this tract, as far as the summit of the said mount, more than thirty days’ journey in length, and ten in breadth, from one sea to the other,—has been taken from Antiochus, and who is thereby removed to the most distant corner of the world? Now, if peace had been granted him without any pecuniary consideration, could more have been taken from him? Macedonia was left to Philip, after he was conquered; Lacedæmon to Nabis; yet Quintius was never accused on that account. The reason was, that he had not Africanus for a brother, whose high renown ought to have been serviceable to Lucius Scipio: but instead of that, envy of his merit had done him injury. The sentence mentioned a quantity of gold and silver being conveyed to the house of Lucius Scipio, greater than could be raised from the sale of his whole property. Where, then, was all this royal treasure; where the value of so many estates received? Surely in a house, not exhausted by extravagance, this new accumulation of wealth ought to appear. But what cannot be levied out of his effects, the enemies of Lucius Scipio will exact from his person, and from his very flesh, by vexatious persecution and insult; by shutting up a man of his illustrous character in a prison, among thieves and robbers; forcing him to breathe his last in a dungeon and in darkness, and then throwing his naked corpse before the prison-door. Such proceedings will reflect more disgrace on the city of Rome, than they will on the Cornelian family.”

LX. In answer to this, the prætor, Terentius, read the Petillian order of the people, the decree of the senate, and the judgment pronounced against Lucius Scipio; and declared, that unless the money adjudged were paid into the public treasury, he had no other step to take, than to order the person convicted, to be taken into custody, and carried to prison. The tribunes retired to confer together, and, in a short time after, Caius Fannius, in behalf of himself and all his colleagues, except Gracchus, declared, that the tribunes would not interfere with the prætor, to hinder his making use of his power. Tiberius Gracchus pronounced his determination thus: that “he would not protest against the prætor’s levying the sum adjudged out of the effects of Lucius Scipio: but that Lucius Scipio, who had subdued the most powerful king in the world, had extended the empire of the Roman people to the utmost limits of the earth, had bound under obligations to the Roman people king Eumenes, the Rhodians, and so many other states of Asia, and had led in triumph so many generals of the enemies, should lie in prison, among the enemies of the Roman people, and in chains, he never would suffer; and therefore he ordered him to be discharged.” This decision was heard with such approbation, so happy were the people at seeing Lucius Scipio at liberty, that it could hardly be supposed that the sentence had been passed in the same community. The prætor then sent the quæstors to take possession of Lucius Scipio’s property, for the use of the public. But so far from any trace appearing of money received from the king, the sale did not produce near as much as the sum in which he was fined. So large a contribution was made for Lucius Scipio by his relations, friends and dependants, that, if he had accepted it, he would have been much richer than before this misfortune; but he would receive nothing. Such things as were necessary for his family occasions, were purchased for him at the sale by his nearest relations, and the public hatred, which had been pointed against the Scipios, reverted on the prætor, his assessors, and the accusers.

BOOK XXXIX.

Marcus Æmilius, consul, having subdued the Ligurians, makes a new road from Placentra to Arminium, where it joins the Flaminian way, Luxury introduced by the troops who had served in Asia. All the Ligurians, on the hither side of the Apennine, completely subdued. The Bacchanahan rites, borrowed from the Greeks, and celebrated by night, cause great alarm; are investigated by the consul: suppressed, and many of those concerned in them punished. Lucius Quintius Flaminius expelled the senate, by the censors, for flagitious conduct. Scipio dies at Liternum. Hannibal poisons himself, to avoid being given up to the Romans by Prusias, king of Bithynia. Philopœmen, the famous Achæan general, put to death by the Messemans. Successful operations against the Celtiberians. Another Macedonian war, causes and origin of it

Y. R. 565.
187.I.While these transactions passed at Rome, (if they are to be dated in this year,) both the consuls were employed in the war with the Ligurians. This people, seemed in some measure, intended by nature for the purpose of preserving military discipline among the Romans, by its opposition to their arms during the intervals between important wars; nor was any province better calculated to form a soldier to active valour. For as to Asia, from the enticing pleasures of its cities, the abundance of every production, both of land and sea, the unwarlike temper of its inhabitants, and the wealth of its princes, how much soever it might enrich the Roman armies, it contributed nothing towards the improvement of their courage. Under the command of Cneius Manlius, particularly, the troops were suffered to run into idleness and licentiousness. The consequence of which was, that, meeting in Thrace a passage somewhat more difficult, and an enemy of rather more vigour than they had been accustomed to, they suffered a repulse with severe loss. Whereas in Liguria, there was every circumstance that could invigorate the courage of soldiers; the face of the country mountainous and rugged, so that even the taking possession of unoccupied posts, and much more the dislodging of an enemy already in possession, was attended with much labour; the roads hilly, narrow, and exposed to danger from ambuscades; the enemy light, active, and brisk in their motions, so as to allow no rest or remissness, at any season, or in any place; a number of strong forts, necessarily to be attacked, with much toil and danger; and the country so poor, as to constrain the soldier to a sparing mode of living, while it afforded but a small share of booty. Accordingly, no suttler followed the army, no long train of baggage horses extended its line of march, nothing was to be seen but arms, and men who had no other hope but in their arms. Nor did those people ever cease to afford either subject, or cause, for hostilities; for, their own country being infertile, they made frequent incursions on the territories of their neighbours; ever avoiding, however, an engagement that might effectually disable them.

II. The consul, Caius Flaminius, after frequently defeating the Frinian Ligurians in their own country, received the submission of that tribe, and ordered them to deliver up their arms; but, having acted dishonestly in the delivery of them, and being reproved for their behaviour, they abandoned their villages, and fled to the mountain called Auginus, whither the consul immediately followed them. At his approach a part of the enemy again betook themselves to flight; and, running with precipitate haste, the greatest part without arms, over pathless tracts and rocky precipices, they got away, beyond the Apennine; the rest, who remained in the camp, were surrounded and reduced by assault. The legions were then led over the Apennine, where the enemy, assisted by the height of the mountain, where they had posted themselves, at first, stood on their defence, but, in a little time submitted. A more careful search was now made for their arms, which were all taken from them. The army, next, marched against the Apuan tribe of Ligurians, who, by their inroads, had infested the territories of Pisa and Bononia to such a degree, that the inhabitants could not till their grounds. These the consul entirely subdued, and thereby restored peace to the neighbourhood. Having now secured the province against any disturbance from an enemy, that he might not keep the soldiers in a state of idleness, he made a road from Bononia to Anetium. The other consul, Marcus Æmilius, ravaged with fire and sword the lands of the Ligurians, together with their villages that stood in the plains, while the inhabitants remained posted on two mountains, Ballista and Suismontius. He then attacked these, harassed them for some time, and, at last, compelled them to come to a regular engagement, in which he utterly defeated them. During the fight he vowed a temple to Diana. Having now reduced all on the hither side of the Apennine, he marched against those on the other side of that mountain; among whom were the Brinian tribe; which had not been attacked by Flaminius. Æmilius subdued them all, stripped them of their arms, and obliged the multitude to come down from the mountains into the plains. Peace being thus established in Liguria, he led his army into the Gallic territory, and drew a road from Placentia to Ariminum, to meet that made by Flaminius. During the last engagement, when he fought a pitched battle with the Ligurians, he vowed a temple to imperial Juno. Such were the transactions of this year in Liguria.

III. In Gaul, the prætor, Marcus Furius, seeking a pretext for war in the midst of peace, deprived the Cænomanians of their arms, although no charge of guilt had been proved against them. Of this they complained to the senate at Rome, and were by them referred to the consul Æmilius, whom the senate authorised to examine into and determine the cause. After a strong contest with the prætor it was decided in favour of the Cænomanians; their arms were restored, and the prætor was ordered to quit the province. The senate afterwards gave audience to envoys of the Latine confederates, who had come, in great numbers, from all parts of Latium. They complained, that a great multitude of their citizens had removed to Rome, and had been assessed there in the survey; on which a commission was given to Quintus Terentius Culleo, the prætor, to make inquiry after such persons, and on the allies proving that those persons, themselves, or their fathers, had been rated in the surveys of their states in the censorship of Caius Claudius and Marcus Livius, or at some time subsequent to their censorship, he was ordered to compel all such to return to the several states wherein they had been so rated. In consequence of this inquiry, twelve thousand Latines returned home; so much was the city, even at that early period, burdened by an influx of foreigners.

IV. Before the consuls came home to Rome, Marcus Fulvius, proconsul, returned from Ætolia. He, as usual, recited to the senate, in the temple of Apollo, the services which he had performed in Ætolia and Cephallenia, and then requested of the Fathers, that, in consideration of his having conducted the business of the public with good fortune and success, they would be pleased to order public thanks to be offered to the immortal gods, and to decree a triumph to him. Marcus Abutius, a plebeian tribune, gave notice, that, if any thing were determined on that subject, before the arrival of Marcus Æmilius, he would enter his protest: for “the consul intended to oppose that measure; and, at his setting out for his province, had given him a charge to keep the discussion of it open until he should come home. Fulvius,” he said, “would lose nothing by this, but time; for, notwithstanding the presence of his consul, the senate would determine according to its own judgment.” Fulvius replied, that, “even if people did not know that there was a quarrel subsisting between him and Marcus Æmilius, or with what overbearing, and in some measure, tyrannical rancour, that man prosecuted his enmity; yet it would be insufferable, that the absence of the consul should both obstruct the worship of the immortal gods, and delay a triumph due to merit; that a commander, after performing signal services, and his victorious army with its booty and prisoners, should remain outside the gates, until a consul, who purposely delayed abroad, should be pleased to return to Rome. But, in the present case, when the animosity between him and the consul was most notorious, what fair dealing could be expected from a man who procured clandestinely, in a thin house, and lodged in the treasury, a decree of senate, that ‘it did not appear that Ambracia was taken by force:’ a town which was attacked with mounds and engines; where, after the works were burned, others were constructed anew; where a fight was carried on for fifteen days, both above and under ground; where, from the first dawn, when the soldiers mounted the walls, the battle lasted until night, and was for a great part of the time, doubtful; and where more than three thousand of the enemy were killed? Then again, what a malicious misrepresentation did he make to the pontiffs, of the temples of the immortal gods being plundered in a captured city? If it were allowable that Rome should be decorated with the ornaments of Syracuse, and other conquered places, then must Ambracia be the single instance, of a captured city exempted from the laws of war. For his part, he besought the Conscript Fathers, and requested the tribunes, not to suffer him to become a subject of derision to an enemy who had acted, all along, with the most overbearing arrogance.”

V. Every one present felt the force of what he urged, and some intreated the tribune to desist, while others sharply reproved his conduct. But what affected him most, was a speech of his colleague, Tiberius Gracchus, who said, that “for a man in office to prosecute even his own quarrels, was an example of no good tendency; but, that a tribune of the people should take upon himself to be a solicitor in the quarrel of another, was infamous, and highly unworthy of the power and sacred laws of the order to which he belonged. It was right, that every one should love or hate others, approve or disapprove of measures, according to the dictates of their own judgment; but not that a tribune should depend on the look or nod of another man, veer about at the movements of another’s will, and make himself a tool to his displeasure; remember a private charge, committed to him by Marcus Æmilius, and forget that the tribuneship was a public charge, committed to him by the Roman people, for the aiding and maintaining the liberty of private citizens, not to aggrandize the arbitrary power of a consul. His colleague did not seem to consider, that this circumstance would be recorded and handed down to posterity; that, of two plebeian tribunes of the same college, one sacrificed his own resentment to the public good, the other accepted the employment of prosecuting the resentment of another man.” Overcome by these severe rebukes the tribune withdrew from the meeting, and Servius Sulpicius, the prætor, having put the question, a triumph was voted to Marcus Fulvius. He returned thanks to the Conscript Fathers; and then mentioned, that, “on the day of his taking Ambracia, he had vowed to celebrate the great games in honour of Jupiter supremely good and great; that a contribution for that purpose had been made to him by the several states, amounting to one hundred and ten pounds weight of gold; and he requested them to order that sum to be set apart, out of the money which he was to deposit in the treasury, after his triumph.” The senate ordered the college of pontiffs to be consulted, whether it were necessary that the whole of that sum should be expended on the games; and the pontiffs having answered, that the amount of the expense was a point in which religion was no wise concerned, the senate gave permission to Fulvius to expend as much as he thought proper, provided it did not exceed eighty thousand sesterces. He, at first, intended to celebrate his triumph in the month of January; but, hearing that the consul Æmilius,—in consequence of a letter from the tribune Abutius, acquainting him with his declining to protest, was coming in person to Rome, to hinder his triumph, but had been obliged by sickness to halt on the road, he hastened the time of the celebration, lest he should have more contests about it than he had met in the war. He triumphed over the Ætolians and Cephallenia on the tenth day before the calends of January. There were carried, before his chariot, golden crowns to the amount of one hundred and twelve pounds weight; of silver, eighty-three thousand pounds; of gold, two hundred and forty-three thousand; of Attic tetradrachms, one hundred and eighteen thousand; of the coin called Philippics, twelve thousand four hundred and twenty-two; brazen statues, two hundred and eighty-five; marble statues, two hundred and thirty; arms, weapons, and other spoils in great quantities: besides these, catapultas, ballistas, and engines of every kind; and in the procession were led twenty-seven commanders, some Ætolian, some Cephallenian, with others belonging to king Antiochus. Before he rode into the city, in the Flaminian circus, he honoured great numbers of tribunes, præfects, horsemen, centurions, both Romans and allies, with military presents; to each of the soldiers he distributed out of the booty twenty-five denariuses, double to a centurion, triple to a horseman.

Y. R. 566.
186.VI. The time of the election of consuls now approached; and as Marcus Æmilius, to whose lot that business had fallen, could not attend, Caius Flaminius came home to Rome. He elected consuls, Spurius Postumius Albinus, and Quintius Marcus Philippus. Then were chosen prætors,—Titus Mænius, Publius Cornelius Sulla, Caius Calpurnius Piso, Marcus Licinius Lucullus, Caius Aurelius Scaurus, and Lucius Quintius Crispinus. At the close of the year, after the magistrates were appointed, on the third day before the nones of March, Cneius Manlius Vulso triumphed over the Gauls inhabiting Asia. The reason of his deferring his triumph so long was, to avoid standing a trial under the Petillian law, during the prætorship of Quintus Terentius Culleo; and the being involved in the ill consequences of the sentence passed on Lucius Scipio, especially, as the judges would be more disposed to severity against him than against Scipio; because the latter had strictly maintained military discipline, whereas he, his successor, had ruined it, by tolerating licentiousness of every kind. Nor were the facts, which were reported to have happened in the province, the only things that disgraced his character. The circumstances which his soldiers every day exhibited to the eyes of the public were even more scandalous: for by this army returning from Asia was the origin of foreign luxury imported into the city. These men first brought to Rome gilded couches, rich tapestry, with hangings and other works of the loom; and, what were then deemed magnificent furniture, single-footed tables and buffets. At entertainments, likewise, were introduced players on the harp and timbrel, with buffoons for the diversion of the guests. Their meats also began to be prepared with greater care and cost; while the cook, whom the ancients considered as the meanest of their slaves both in estimation and use, became highly valuable. Nevertheless, these instances of extravagance, as they were then deemed, were no more than the seeds of that luxury which was afterwards to spring up.

VII. Cneius Manlius carried in the triumph two hundred golden crowns of twelve pounds weight; two hundred and twenty thousand pounds weight of silver; two thousand two hundred and three of gold; one hundred and twenty-seven thousand Attic tetra-drachms; two hundred and fifty thousand cistophoruses; sixteen thousand three hundred and twenty golden Philippics; together with abundance of Gallic arms and spoils in chariots. Fifty-two generals of the enemy were led before his car. He distributed to each of his soldiers forty-two denariuses, and double to a centurion; to the foot soldiers double pay, the horsemen triple. Great numbers of all ranks, whom he had distinguished by gifts, accompanied him. The verses thrown out by the soldiers were of such a kind, as plainly indicated, that their commander had been indulgent to them, and courted their affections. It was indeed evident that the triumph was beheld with a greater degree of favour by the troops than by the citizens. The friends of Manlius, however, were able to acquire for him the regard of the people also; for they procured the passing of a decree of the senate, ordering, that “such part of the money contributed to the public funds by the people, for the pay of the forces, as was not yet repaid, should be discharged out of that which had been carried in the procession to the treasury.” Accordingly the city prætors, with care and fidelity, paid twenty-five denariuses and a half for each thousand asses. About this time two military tribunes arrived from the two Spains, with letters from Caius Atinius, and Lucius Manlius, who governed those provinces. These letters contained information, that the Celtiberians and Lusitanians were in arms, and ravaging the territories of the allies; the senate, however, deferred all consideration of that business until the new magistrates should come into office. This year, during the celebration of the Roman games exhibited by Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Aulus Postumius Albinus, a pole in the circus, being loosely set in the ground, fell on the statue of Pollentia, and threw it down. The senate moved by such an incident, as it respected religion, voted that one day should be added to the celebration of the games, that two new statues should be set up instead of the one, and that one of them should be gilded. The plebeian games were likewise repeated for one day, by the ædiles Caius Sempronius Blæsus and Marcus Furius Luscus.

VIII. The consuls of the following year, Spurius Postumius Albinus and Quintus Marcius Philippus, were diverted from the care of armies and wars, and provinces, to the punishing of an intestine conspiracy. On the prætors casting lots for their provinces, Titus Mænius obtained the city jurisdiction; Marcus Licinius Lucullus, that between citizens and foreigners; Caius Aurelius Scaurus, Sardinia; Publius Cornelius Sulla, Sicily; Lucius Quintius Crispinus, hither Spain; Caius Calpurnius Piso, farther Spain; the employment decreed to both the consuls was the making inquisition concerning clandestine meetings. A Greek of mean condition, came, first, into Etruria, not with one of the many trades which his nation, of all others the most skilful in embellishing the mind and body, has introduced among us, but a low operator in sacrifices, and a soothsayer: nor was he to be ranked with those who, publicly professing to give instruction for hire, make use of open rites and ceremonies, to imbue men’s minds with religious terrors, but a teacher of secret mysteries. These mysterious rites were, at first imparted to a few, but afterwards communicated to great numbers, both men and women. To their religious performances were added the pleasures of wine and feasting, to allure the greater number of proselytes. When wine, lascivious discourse, night, and the mingling of sexes had extinguished every sentiment of modesty, then debaucheries of every kind began to be practised, as every person found at hand that sort of enjoyment to which he was disposed by the passion most prevalent in his nature. Nor were they confined to one species of vice, the promiscuous intercourse of free-born men and of women; but from this store-house of villiany proceeded false witnesses, counterfeit seals, false evidences, and pretended discoveries. In the same place, too, were perpetrated secret murders; so that, in some cases, even the bodies could not even be found for burial. Many of their audacious deeds were brought about by treachery, but most of them by force, and this force was concealed by loud shouting, and the noise of drums and cymbals, so that none of the cries uttered by the persons suffering violation or murder could be heard abroad.

IX. The infection of this mischief, like that of a pestilence, spread from Etruria to Rome; where, the size of the city affording greater room for such evils, and more means of concealment, it remained some time undiscovered; but information of it was at length brought to the consul, Postumius, in the following manner. One Publius Æbutius, whose father had held equestrian rank in the army, was left an orphan, and, his guardians dying, he was educated under the eye of his mother Duronia, and his stepfather Titus Sempronius Rutilus. Duronia was entirely devoted to her husband; and Sempronius having managed the guardianship in such a manner that he could not give an account of the property, wished that his ward should be either made away with, or bound to compliance with his will by some strong tie. The Bacchanalian rites presented themselves to his view, as the surest way to effect the ruin of the youth. His mother told him, that, “during his sickness, she had made a vow for him, that if he should recover, she would initiate him among the Bacchanalians; that being, through the kindness of the gods, bound by this vow, she wished now to fulfil it; that it was necessary he should preserve chastity for ten days, and on the tenth, after he should have supped and washed himself, she would conduct him into the place of worship.” There was a freedwoman called Hispala Facenia a noted courtezan, but deserving of a better lot than that of the occupation to which she had been accustomed when very young, and a slave, and by which she had maintained herself since her manumission. As they lived in the same neighbourhood, an intimacy subsisted between her and Æbutius, which was far from being injurious either to the young man’s character or property; for she had conceived a passion for him, and had voluntarily sought his acquaintance; and as his supplies from his friends were scanty, he was supported by the generosity of this woman. Nay, to such a length did her affection carry her, that on the death of her patron, being without a protector, she petitioned the tribunes and prætor for a guardian, and, making her will, constituted Æbutius her sole heir.

X. As such pledges of mutual love subsisted, and as neither kept any thing secret from the other, the young man, jokingly, bid her not be surprised if he separated himself from her for a few nights; as, “on account of a religious duty, to discharge a vow made for his health, he intended to be initiated among the Bacchanalians.” On hearing this, the woman, greatly alarmed, cried out, “May the gods forbid!” affirming that “it would be better, both for him and her, to lose their lives, than that he should do such a thing:” she then imprecated curses, vengeance, and destruction, on the head of those that had advised him to such a step. Æbutius, surprised both at her expressions, and at the violence of her alarm, bid her refrain from curses, for “it was his mother who ordered him to do so, with the approbation of his stepfather.” “Then,” said she, “your stepfather (for perhaps it is not allowable to censure your mother) is in haste to destroy, by that act, your chastity, your character, your hopes, and your life.” This increasing his surprise, he begged of her to explain herself. On which, after imploring the favour and pardon of the gods and goddesses, if, compelled by her regard for him, she disclosed what ought not to be revealed, she told him, that “when in service, she had gone into that place of worship as an attendant on her mistress; but that, since she had obtained her liberty, she had never once gone near it: that she knew it to be the receptacle of all kinds of debaucheries; that it was well known, that, for two years past, no one older than twenty had been initiated there. When any person was introduced, he was delivered as a victim to the priests, who led him away to a place resounding with shouts, the sound of music, and the beating of cymbals and drums, lest his cries, while suffering forcible violation, should be heard abroad.” She then intreated and besought him to put an end to that matter in some way or other; and not to plunge himself into a situation, where he must first suffer, and afterwards commit, every thing that was abominable. Nor did she quit him until the young man gave her his promise to keep himself clear of those rites.

XI. When he came home, on his mother’s mention of the ceremonies which were to be performed on that day, and on the several following days, he told her, that he would not perform any of them, nor did he intend to be initiated. His stepfather was present at this discourse. Immediately the woman, with great heat, observed, that “he could not debar himself of the company of Hispala for ten nights; that he was so fascinated by the caresses of that serpent, as to retain no respect for his relatives, or even the gods themselves.” Loading him with reproaches, they drove him out of the house, assisted by four slaves. The youth on this repaired to his aunt Æbutia, told her the reason of his being turned out by his mother, and next day, by her advice, gave information of the affair to the consul Postumius, in private. The consul dismissed him, with an order to come again on the third day following. In the mean time, he inquired of his mother-in-law, Sulpicia, a woman of respectable character, “whether she knew an old matron called Æbutia, who lived on the Aventine hill?” Sulpicia said, “she knew her well, and that Æbutia was a woman of virtue; one whose character was marked with the modesty and simplicity of ancient times.” He then requested she might be summoned thither, as he had a particular reason for desiring some conversation with her. Æbutia, on receiving the message, came to Sulpicia’s house, and the consul, soon after, coming in, as if by accident, introduced a conversation about Æbutius, her brother’s son. On this she burst into tears, and lamented the unhappy lot of the youth; “who, after being defrauded by persons who should the rather have been his protectors, was, at that time, obliged to take up his residence with her, being driven out of doors by his mother, for no other reason but because he had refused to be initiated in certain mysteries of lewdness, as they were said to be.”

XII. The consul, on receiving this information respecting Æbutius, was of opinion that no suspicion could be entertained of his testimony. Taking leave, therefore, of Æbutia, he requested his mother-in-law to send again to the Aventine, for Hispala, a freedwoman, not unknown in that neighbourhood; for that he wanted to question her also. When Hispala received Sulpicia’s message, she was not a little alarmed at being sent for by a woman of such high rank and respectable character, and could not conjecture the cause; but, afterwards, when she saw the lictors in the porch, the multitude of Posthumia’s attendants, and afterwards himself, she was very near fainting. The consul led her into a retired part of the house, and, in the presence of his mother-in law, told her, that “she need not be uneasy, if she could resolve to speak the truth; and of this, either Sulpicia, a matron whose character she must know, or himself, would give her full assurance.” He then desired her to give him an account of all that was done by the Bacchanalians, in their nocturnal orgies, in the grove of Simila. The woman, on hearing this, was seized with such terror, and trembling of all her limbs, that, for a long time, she was unable to speak; but recovering, at length, she said, that “when she was very young, and a slave, she had been initiated, together with her mistress; but for several years past, since she had obtained her liberty, she knew nothing of what was done there.” The consul commended her, so far, as not having denied that she was initiated, but charged her to explain all the rest with the same sincerity; and on her persisting to affirm, that she knew nothing farther, he told her, that “she must not expect to meet the same tenderness, or pardon, if she should be convicted by another person, and one who had made a voluntary confession; that there was such a person, who had heard the whole from her, and had given him a full account of it.” The woman, now convinced that it must certainly be Æbutius who had discovered the secret, threw herself at Sulpicia’s feet, and, at first, began to beseech her, “not to let the private conversation of a freedwoman with her lover be made not only a serious business, but even capital charge;” declaring that, “she had spoken of such things merely to frighten him, and not because she knew any thing of the kind.” On this, Posthumius growing angry, said, “she seemed to imagine that she was wrangling with her gallant Æbutius, and not that she was speaking in the house of a most respectable matron, and to a consul.” Sulpicia endeavoured to dispel her terrors, and while she encouraged her to speak out, at the same time pacified her son-in-law’s anger. At length she took courage, and, after severe remarks on the perfidy of Æbutius, in making such a return for the extraordinary kindness shown to him in that very instance, she declared, that “she stood in great dread of the gods, whose secret mysteries she was to divulge; and also of men, who, should she be seized as an informer, would certainly put her to death. Therefore, she entreated this favour of Sulpicia, and likewise of the consul, that they would send her out of Italy, so that she might pass the remainder of her life in safety.” The consul desired she would fear nothing; assuring her, it should be his care that she might live securely in Rome.

XIII. Hispala then gave a full account of the origin of the mysteries. “At first,” she said, “the rites were performed by women. No man used to be admitted. They had three stated days in the year on which persons were initiated among the Bacchanalians, in the day time. The matrons used to be appointed priestesses, successively in their turn. Paculla Minia, a Campanian, when priestess, made an alteration in every particular, under pretence of having been so directed by the gods. For she first introduced men, who were her own sons, Minucius and Herennius, both surnamed Cerrinius; changed the time of celebration, from day to night; and, instead of three days in the year, appointed five days of initiation, in each month. When the rites were thus made common, and men were intermixed with women, the night encouraging licentious freedom, there was nothing wicked, nothing flagitious, that had not been practised among them. There were more frequent pollutions of men, with each other, than with women. If any showed an uncommon degree of reluctance, in submitting to dishonour, or of disinclination to the commission of vice, they were held as victims, and sacrificed. To think nothing unlawful, was the grand maxim of their religion. The men, as if bereft of reason, uttered predictions, with frantic contortions of their bodies; the women, in the habit of Bacchantes, with their hair dishevelled, and carrying blazing torches, ran down to the Tiber; where, dipping their torches in the water, they drew them up again with the flame unextinguished, being composed of native sulphur and charcoal. They said, that men were carried off by the gods, when, after being fettered, they were dragged into secret caves. These were such as refused to take the oath of the society, or to associate in their crimes. or to submit to defilement. Their number was exceedingly great, enough almost to compose a state in themselves, and among them were many men and women of noble families. During the last two years, it had been a rule, that no person above the age of twenty should be initiated; for they sought for people of such age as made them more liable to suffer deception and personal abuse.” When she had finished this recital, she again fell at the consul’s knees, and repeated the same entreaties, that she might be sent out of the country. Posthumius requested Sulpicia to clear some part of the house, into which Hispala might remove; accordingly, an apartment was assigned her in the upper part of it, of which the stairs, opening into the street, were stopped up, and the entrance made from the inner court. Thither all Fecenia’s effects were immediately removed, and her domestics sent for. Æbutius, also, was ordered to remove to the house of one of the consul’s dependents.

XIV. Having thus secured the informers, Posthumius represented the affair to the senate. When he laid before them the whole, in order, the information offered to him at first, and the discoveries gained by his inquiries afterwards, the senators were struck with great consternation; not only on the public account, lest such conspiracies, and nightly meetings, might be productive of secret treachery and mischief, but, likewise, on account of their own particular families, lest some of their relations might be involved in this infamous affair. They voted, however, that thanks should be given to the consul, for having investigated the matter, with singular diligence, and without exciting any alarm. They then passed an order, out of the common course, that the consuls should hold an inquisition extraordinary, concerning the Bacchanals and their nocturnal orgies; should take care that the informers, Æbutius and Fecenia, might suffer no injury on that account; and that they should invite other informers in the matter, by offering rewards. They ordered, that the officials in those rites, whether men or women, should, wherever found, be delivered over to the power of the consuls; and also that proclamation should be made, in the city of Rome, and published through all Italy, that “no persons initiated in the Bacchanalian rites should presume to come together or assemble on account of those rites, or to perform any such kind of worship;” and, above all, that search should be made for those who had assembled, or conspired, for the above named purpose, or for any other flagitious practices. These were the decrees of the senate. The consuls directed the curule ædiles to make strict inquiry after all the priests of those mysteries, and to keep such as they could apprehend in custody until their trial; they at the same time charged the plebeian ædiles to take care that no religious ceremonies should be performed in private. The capital triumvirs were ordered to post watches in proper places of the city, and to use vigilance to prevent any meetings by night. In order likewise to guard against fires, five assistants were joined to the triumvirs, so that each might have the charge of the buildings in his own separate district, on both sides the Tiber.

XV. After despatching these officers to their several employments, the consuls mounted the rostrum; and, having summoned an assembly of the people, one of the consuls, when he had finished the solemn form of prayer usually pronounced by the magistrates, before they address the people, proceeded thus: “Romans, in no former assembly was this solemn supplication to the gods more proper or even more necessary; as it serves to remind you, that these are the deities whom the wisdom of your forefathers pointed out as the objects of your worship, veneration, and prayers; and not those which, after infatuating men’s minds with corrupt and foreign modes of religion, drive them, as if goaded by the furies, to the indulgence of every lust, and the commission of every vice. I am in doubt as to what I should conceal, or how far I ought to speak out; for I dread, lest, if I leave you ignorant of any particular, I should give room for carelessness, or, if I disclose the whole, that I should too much awaken your fears. Whatever I shall say, be assured, that it is less than the magnitude and atrociousness of the affair would justify; though it may be sufficient to set us properly on our guard. That the Bacchanalian rites have subsisted, for some time past, in every country in Italy, and are, at present, performed in many parts of this city also, I am sure you must have been informed, not only by report, but by the nightly noises, and horrid yells, that resound from every part; but still you are ignorant of the nature of that business. Part of you think it is some kind of worship of the gods; others, some allowable sport and amusement, and that whatever it may be, it concerns but a few. As to what regards the number, if I tell you that there are many thousands, and without order, you must necessarily be terrified to excess, unless I farther acquaint you who and what sort of persons they are. First, then, a great part of them are women, and this was the source of the evil; the rest are males, but nearly resembling women, actors and pathicks, in the vilest lewdness; night revellers, hurried on, by wine, noise of instruments, and clamours, to a degree of mad enthusiasm. The conspiracy, as yet, has no strength; but it has abundant means of acquiring strength, for its numbers increase daily. Your ancestors would not allow that you should ever assemble, without some good reason; that is, either when the standard was erected on the Janiculum, and the army led out on occasion of elections; or when the tribunes proclaimed a meeting of the commons, or some of the magistrates summoned you to it. And they judged it necessary, that, wherever a multitude was, there should be a lawful governor of that multitude present. Of what kind, do you suppose, are the meetings of these people? In the first place, being held in the night, and, in the next, being composed promiscuously of men and women? If you knew at what ages the males are initiated, not only your compassionate feelings, but your modesty, would be shocked. Romans, can you think youths initiated, under such oaths as theirs, are fit to be made soldiers? That wretches, brought out of that temple of obscenity, should be trusted with arms? Shall these, contaminated with their own foul debaucheries, and those of others, be the champions for the chastity of your wives and children?

XVI. “But the mischief were less, if they were only effeminated by their practices; of that the disgrace would chiefly affect themselves; if they refrained their hands from outrage, and their thoughts from fraud. But never was there in the state an evil of so great magnitude, or one that extended to so many persons, and comprehended so many acts of wickedness. Whatever deeds of villainy have, of late, been committed, through lust; whatever, through fraud; whatever, through violence; they have, all, be assured, proceeded from that association alone. They have not yet perpetrated all the crimes for which they combined. The impious assembly, at present, confines itself to outrages on private citizens; because it has not yet acquired force sufficient to crush the commonwealth: but the evil increases and spreads daily; it is already too great to find employment among the private ranks of life, and aims its views at the body of the state. Unless you take timely precautions, Romans, their nightly assembly may become as large as this, held in open day, and legally summoned by a consul. At this present moment, they dread your collected body; but, in a short time, when you shall have separated, and retired to your several dwellings, they will again come together. They will hold a consultation on the means of their own safety, and, at the same time, of your destruction. Thus united, they will cause terror to every one. You, therefore, ought to pray, that all your kindred may have behaved with wisdom and prudence; and if lust, if madness, has dragged any of them into that abyss, to consider such a person as the relation of those with whom he conspired for the perpetration of every wickedness, and not as one of your own. I am not quite free from anxiety, lest some, even of yourselves, may have erred through mistake; for nothing is more apt to deceive, by specious appearances, than false religion. When the authority of the gods is held out, as a pretext, to cover vice, we become fearful, lest, in punishing the crimes of men, we may violate some divine right connected therewith. But from any scruple of that sort, you are entirely freed, by numberless decisions of the pontiffs, decrees of the senate, and answers of the Aruspices. How often, in the ages of our fathers, was it given in charge to the magistrates, to prohibit the performance of any foreign religious rites; to banish strolling sacrificers and soothsayers from the forum, the circus, and the city; to search for, and burn, books of divination; and to abolish every mode of sacrificing that was not conformable to the Roman practice? For they, who had a thorough knowledge of every divine and human law, maintained that nothing tended so strongly to the subversion of religion, as foreign sacrifices. Thus much I thought necessary to mention to you beforehand, that no vain scruple might disturb your minds when you should see us demolishing the places, resorted to by the Bacchanalians, and dispersing their impious assemblies. In doing this, we shall be favoured and approved by the gods; who, being incensed at the profanations offered to their majesty, by those people’s lusts and crimes, have drawn forth their proceedings from hidden darkness, into the open light; and who have directed them to be exposed, not that they may escape with impunity, but in order that they may be punished and suppressed. The senate have commissioned me and my colleague, to hold an inquisition extraordinary, concerning that affair. What is requisite to be done by ourselves, in person, we will do with energy. The charge of posting watches through the city, during the night, we have committed to the inferior magistrates; and, for your parts, it is incumbent on you, according to the several duties assigned you, and in the several places where you will be placed, to execute vigorously whatever orders you shall receive; and to use your best endeavours, that no danger or tumult may arise, from the treachery of the party involved in the guilt.”

XVII. They then ordered the decrees of the senate to be read, and published a reward for any discoverer, who should bring any of the guilty before them, or give information against any of the absent, adding that “if any person accused should fly, they would limit a certain day, upon which, if he did not obey their summons, and appear to answer, they would condemn him without waiting for his return; and if any one should be charged, who was out of Italy, they would allow him a longer time to come and make his defence.” They then issued an edict, that “no person whatever should presume to buy or sell any thing, for the purpose of leaving the country or to receive or conceal any such; nor, by any means, aid or abet any persons about to migrate.” On the assembly being dismissed, great terror spread throughout the city; nor was it confined merely within the walls or to the Roman territory, for in every quarter of Italy, the people, on being informed by letters from their friends of the decree of the senate, of what passed in the assembly, and of the edict of the consuls, began to be much alarmed. During the night, which succeeded the day in which the affair was made public, great numbers, attempting to fly, were seized and brought back, by the triumvirs, who had posted guards at all the gates; and informations were lodged against many, some of whom, both men and women, put themselves to death. It was said, that above seven thousand of both sexes had been sworn into the association; but it appeared, that the heads of the conspiracy, were two Catinii, Marcus and Lucius, citizens of Rome; Lucius Opiturnius, a Faliscian; and Minius Cerrinius, a Campanian: that from these proceeded all their criminal practices, and that these were the chief priests and founders of the sect. Care was taken that they should be apprehended, as soon as possible. They were brought before the consuls, and, confessing their guilt, saved them the trouble of a long and formal trial.

XVIII. But so great were the numbers that fled that many people suffered severely thereby, in their lawsuits and their substance; insomuch that the prætors, Titus Mænius and Marcus Licinius were obliged, under the direction of the senate, to adjourn their courts for thirty days, until the inquiries should be finished by the consuls. As the persons, against whom charges were brought, did not appear to answer, nor could be found in Rome, it became necessary for the consuls to make a circuit of the country towns, and there to make their inquisitions, and hold the trials. Those who, as it appeared, had been only initiated, repeating after the priest, and in the most solemn form, the prescribed imprecations, but who had not, themselves committed, or compelled others to commit, any of those acts, to which they were bound by the oath,—all such they left in prison. But those who had forcibly committed personal defilements, or murders, or were stained with the guilt of false evidence, counterfeit seals, forged wills, or other frauds, all these they punished with death. A greater number were executed than thrown into prison; indeed, the multitude of men and women who suffered in both ways, was very considerable. The consuls delivered the women, who were condemned, to their relations, or to those in whose direction they were, that they might inflict the punishment in private; but if there did not appear any proper person of the kind, to execute the sentence, they were punished in public. A charge was then given to demolish all the places where the Bacchanalians had held their meetings; first, in Rome, and then throughout all Italy; excepting those, wherein should be found some ancient altar, or consecrated statue. With regard to the future, the senate passed a decree, “prohibiting the performance of any the like rites in Rome, or in Italy:” and ordering that, “in case any person should believe some such kind of worship incumbent on him, and necessary; and that he could not, without offence to religion, and incurring guilt, omit it, he should represent this to the city prætor, and the prætor should lay the business before the senate. If permission were granted by the senate, when not less than one hundred members were present, then those rites might be performed, provided that no more than five persons should be present, at the sacrifice, and that they should have no common stock of money, nor any president of the ceremonies, nor priest.”

XIX. Another decree, connected with this, was then made, on a motion of the consul, Quintus Marcius, that “the business respecting the persons who had served the consuls as informers should be proposed to the senate, when Spurius Postumius should have finished his inquiries, and returned to Rome.” They voted, that Minius Cerrinius, the Campanian, should be sent to Ardea, to be kept in custody there; and that a caution should be given to the magistrates of that city, to guard him with more than ordinary care, so as to prevent not only his escaping, but his laying violent hands on himself. Spurius Postumius soon came to Rome, and, on his proposing the question, concerning the reward to be given to Publius Æbutius and Hispala Fecenia, for their services in discovering the proceedings of the Bacchanalians, the senate passed a vote, that “the city quæstors should give to each of them, out of the public treasury, one hundred thousand asses; and that the consuls should desire the plebeian tribunes to propose to the commons, as soon as convenient, that Publius Æbutius should be deemed to have served out his time in the army, that he should not be compelled to military duty, nor should any censor assign him a horse at the public charge.” They voted also, that “Hispala Fecenia should enjoy the privileges of alienating her property by gift, or deed; of marrying out of her rank, and of choosing a guardian, as if a husband had conferred them by will; that she should be at liberty to wed a man of honourable birth, and that such person, marrying her, should not thereby incur any disgrace or disparagement; and that the consuls, then in office, and their successors, should take care that no injury should be offered to Hispala, but that she might live in safety. That it was the opinion, and desire, of the senate, that all these things should be so ordered.”—All these particulars were proposed to the commons, and executed, according to the vote of the senate; the consuls at the same time being authorised to determine respecting the impunity, and rewards of the other informers.

XX. Quintus Marcius, having completed the inquiries in his district, prepared, at length, to proceed into the province of Liguria, for the service of which he received a supply of three thousand Roman foot and one hundred and fifty horse, with five thousand Latine foot, and two hundred horse. The same province, and the same numbers of horse and foot, had been voted to his colleague, and they received the armies, which, during the preceding year, the consuls, Caius Flaminius and Marcus Æmilius, had commanded. They were, also, ordered by a decree of the senate, to raise two new legions, and they demanded from the allies and Latines twenty thousand foot, and one thousand three hundred horse; besides all which, they levied three thousand Roman foot, and two hundred horse, all which troops, except the legions, were ordered to march into Spain, to re-inforce the army employed there. The consuls, therefore, while themselves were kept busy, in holding the inquisitions, had delegated to Titus Mænius the charge of enlisting the troops. When the trials were finished, Quintus Marcius, first marched against the Apuan Ligurians. While he pursued these into very remote fastnesses, which had always served them as lurking places and receptacles, he was surrounded in a dangerous defile, inclosed by eminences, which were occupied by the enemy. Here four thousand soldiers fell, and three standards of the second legion, with eleven ensigns of the Latine allies, were taken; abundance of arms were likewise lost, being thrown away by the men, because they impeded their flight through the woody paths. The Ligurians ceased to pursue, sooner than the Romans to fly. As soon as the consul had effected his escape out of the enemy’s territories, he disbanded the troops, in the country of their friends, in order to conceal the greatness of the loss sustained. But he could not obliterate all memorial of his misconduct; for the pass, where the Ligurians put him to flight, has gotten the name of the Marcian pass.

XXI. Before the public received an account of this affair from Liguria, a letter from Spain was read to them, which produced a mixture of joy and grief. Caius Atinius, who, two years before, had gone to that province, in quality of prætor, fought, in the territory of Asta, a pitched battle with the Lusitanians, in which six thousand of the enemy were killed, the rest routed, driven from the field, and their camp taken. He then marched, at the head of the legions to attack the town of Asta, which he took, with little more trouble than he met at the camp; but, approaching the wall too carelessly, he received a wound, of which he died a few days after. On reading a letter, acquainting them with the proprætor’s death, the senate voted, that a courier should be sent to overtake the prætor, Caius Calpurnius, at the port of Luna, and inform him, that it was the will of the senate, that he should hasten his journey, lest the province should be without a governor. The courier reached Luna, on the fourth day, but Calpurnius had set out some days before. In hither Spain, Lucius Manlius Acidinus, who had come into that province at the same time when Caius Atinius came into his, fought a battle with the Celtiberians, in which neither party could claim the victory, farther than this, that the Celtiberians retreated, during the following night, and left the Romans at liberty to bury their dead, and collect the spoils. In a few days after, the Celtiberians, with a more numerous force, attacked the Romans, near the town of Calaguris. Writers have not mentioned the cause that rendered them weaker after their numbers were increased, but they were defeated in the battle; twelve thousand of their men were killed, more than two thousand taken, their camp falling into the hands of the Romans; and it is probable, if the conqueror’s career had not been stopped, by the arrival of his successor, he would have reduced Celtiberia to entire subjection. Both the new prætors drew off their armies into winter quarters.

XXII. About the time when the news of these transactions in Spain arrived at Rome, the games called Taurilia were celebrated, during two days, on a religious account. Then Marcus Fulvius exhibited games, which he had vowed in the Ætolian war, and which lasted ten days. Many artists, out of respect to him, came from Greece on the occasion; and now, for the first time, the Romans were entertained with contests of wrestlers; they were also presented with a hunt of lions and panthers; the shows being exhibited in a manner, that fell but little short of the abundance and variety of the present age. The nine days’ solemnity was then performed, showers of stones having fallen, for three days, in Picenum; and fires from heaven, had, as was said, in various places, slightly burned the clothes of many persons. By order of the pontiffs, a supplication, of one day’s continuance, was added on account of the temple of Ops, in the capitol, being struck by lightning. The consul sacrificed victims, of the larger kinds, and purified the city. At the same time, an account was brought from Umbria, of an hermaphrodite, twelve years old, being found there. This was deemed a prodigy of direful import, and orders were given, that it should be removed instantly out of the Roman territories, and put to death. During this year, a body of transalpine Gauls came into Venetia, without committing depredation or hostility, and pitched on a spot, for building a town, not far from that where Aquileia now stands. Ambassadors were sent from Rome, over the Alps, on this business, who were told, that “the state had given those people no authority to quit it, nor did their countrymen know what they were doing in Italy.” About this time Lucius Scipio celebrated games, which, he said, he had vowed during the war with Antiochus; they lasted ten days, and the expense was defrayed by a contribution made to him, for the purpose, by the kings and states of Asia. Valerius Antias asserts, that, after his condemnation, and the sale of his effects, he was sent into Asia, to adjust disputes between the kings Antiochus and Eumenes; where he received these contributions for those games, and collected artists. Although he had made no mention of them, on the conclusion of the war, in which he said they had been vowed. On his return from this embassy, however, he introduced the subject in the senate.

XXIII. As the year was, now, drawing to a conclusion, Quintus Marcius, then abroad, was soon to go out of office Spurius Postumius, after having conducted the inquisitions, with the utmost care and propriety, held the elections.Y. R. 567
185 Appius Claudius Pulcher and Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus were chosen consuls. Next day were elected prætors, Publius Cornelius Cethegus, Aulus Postumius Albinus, Caius Afranius Stellio, Caius Atilius Serranus, Lucius Postumius Tempsanus, and Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Towards the close of the year, the consul, Spurius Postumius, reported, that in travelling along the coasts of Italy, for the purpose of holding the inquisitions, he found two colonies deserted, Sipontum, on the upper sea, and Buxentum on the lower; on which, in pursuance of a decree of the senate, Titus Mænius, city prætor, constituted Lucius Scribonus Libo, Marcus Tuccius, and Cneius Bebius Tamphilus, commissioners for conducting colonists thither. The war, at this time apprehended, with king Perseus and the Macedonians, owed not its origin either to Perseus himself, nor to the causes to which it has been generally attributed. The original idea of it was conceived by Philip, and, if he had lived some time longer, he would himself have entered on the prosecution of it. In the conditions imposed on him, when he was vanquished, there was one particular that chagrined him more than all the rest: this was, his being deprived, by the senate, of the liberty of wreaking his vengeance on such of the Macedonians as had revolted from him, in the course of the war; although, from Quintius having left that point undetermined, when he was adjusting the articles of pacification, he had entertained some hopes of being indulged in it. Afterwards, on the defeat of Antiochus, at Thermopylæ, the armies separated, and the consul Acilius carried on the siege of Heraclea, while Philip besieged Lamia. As soon as Heraclea was taken, however, Philip was ordered to retire from the walls of Lamia, and the town was surrendered to the Romans; this also gave him great offence. The consul, indeed, in some measure, soothed his resentment; for, when he was hastening to Naupactum, where the Ætolians had re-assembled, after their flight, he gave Philip permission to make war on Amynander and Athamania; and to annex to his dominions the cities which the Ætolians had taken from the Thessalians. Without much difficulty, he expelled Amynander from Athamania, and got possession of several cities. He also reduced under his dominion, the city of Demetrias, a place of great strength, and convenient in every respect; with the whole of the Magnesian state. Afterwards, finding that several cities in Thrace, through an abuse of the liberty which they had lately acquired, and to which they had not been accustomed, were distracted by dissensions among their leading men, he, by uniting himself to the parties that were worsted in their disputes with their countrymen, made himself master of them all.

XXIV. By these means the king’s displeasure was silenced for the present: but he never abandoned the project of collecting such a force during peace, as would enable him to maintain a war, whenever fortune should offer an occasion. He augmented the revenues of his kingdom, not only out of the produce of the lands, and the port duties, but, also, by setting men to work again in old mines, which had been neglected, and opening new ones in many places. Then, (in order to restore the country to its former degree of population, which had been diminished by the calamities of war, besides compelling every one to marry and educate children, he transplanted a great multitude of Thracians into Macedonia, and, during a long suspension of arms, he employed the utmost assiduity in augmenting, by every possible means, the strength of his kingdom. Causes afterwards occurred, which served to revive his resentment against the Romans. Complaints were made by the Thessalians and Perrhæbians, of his holding possession of their towns, and, by ambassadors from king Eumenes, of his having forcibly seized the cities of Thrace, and transplanted great numbers of their people into Macedonia. These had been received in such a manner as plainly evinced that they were not thought unworthy of attention. What made the greatest impression on the senate, was, their having been informed, that Philip aimed at the possession of Ænus and Maronea; as to the Thessalians, they regarded them less. Ambassadors came, likewise, from the Athamanians, informing,—not that their frontiers were encroached on, or part of their territory taken,—but that all Athamania had been brought under the dominion and jurisdiction of the king. Exiles from Maronea also appeared, who had been expelled by the king’s troops, for having supported the cause of liberty; who reported, that not only Maronea, but Ænus too, was held in subjection by him. Ambassadors came from Philip to defend his conduct, asserting, that, in all these cases, nothing had been done without permission from the Roman commanders. That “the states of the Thessalians, Perrhæbians, and Magnesians, and the nation of the Athamanians, with Amynander, had all been engaged in the same cause with the Ætolians. That after the expulsion of king Antiochus, the consul, being himself busy in reducing the towns of Ætolia, had named Philip to subdue those states, and they remained subject to him in consequence of their being conquered by his arms.” The senate, unwilling to come to any decision in the king’s absence, sent Quintus Cæcilius Metellus, Marcus Bæbius Tamphilus, and Tiberius Sempronius, ambassadors to adjust those disputes. Previous to their arrival, a convention of all those states, who had disputes with the king, was summoned to meet at Tempe in Thessaly.

XXV. There, when all were seated, (the Roman ambassadors, in the character of arbitrators, the Thessalians, Perrhæbians, and Athamanians, professedly as accusers, and Philip as defendant,) the heads of the embassies, according to their several tempers, their favour, or their hatred towards the king, spoke, some with acrimony, others with mildness. There was a dispute concerning Philippopolis, Trica, Phaloria, Eurymenæ, and the other towns in their neighbourhood. The point in controversy was, whether these towns were the property of the Thessalians, forcibly taken from them, and held by the Ætolians, (for from these it was acknowledged that Philip had received them,) or whether they were originally belonging to the Ætolians: Acilius having granted them to the king, on the condition that “they had been the property of the Ætolians; and that their siding with the Ætolians had been voluntary, and not the effect of compulsion and force.” The question in regard to the towns of the Perrhæbians and Magnesians, turned on the same points; for the Ætolians, by holding possession of them occasionally, had introduced confusion with respect to the real proprietors of them all. To these particulars, which were matter of discussion, the Thessalians added complaints, that, “if these towns were now restored to them, they would come into their hands in a state of desolation, and depopulated; for besides the loss of inhabitants, through the casualties of war, Philip had carried away five hundred of their young men of the first rank into Macedonia, where he employed them in servile offices, unbecoming their birth; and had taken pains to render useless whatever he should be compelled to restore to the Thessalians. That Thebes in Phthiotis was the only sea-port they had, which, formerly, produced much profit and advantage to the inhabitants of Thessaly; but, that Philip, having collected there a number of ships of burthen, made them steer their course past Thebes to Demetrias; by which means, he turned thither the whole commerce by sea. That he did not now scruple to offer violence, even to ambassadors, who, by the law of nations, are every where held inviolable, but had laid an ambush for theirs who were going to Titus Quintius. In consequence of these proceedings, the Thessalians were all seized with such dread, that not one of them, even in their own states, or in the general assemblies of the nation, ventured to open his lips. For the Romans, the defenders of their liberty, were far distant; and a severe master close at their side, debarring them from the kindness of those their allies. If speech were not free, what else could be said to be so: at present, they confided, so far, in the protection of the ambassadors, as to utter their groans, rather than words; but, unless the Romans would apply some remedy to abate both the fears of the Greeks bordering on Macedonia, and the arrogance of Philip, his having been conquered, and their being set at liberty, would prove utterly fruitless. Like a stubborn, unmanageable horse, he required to be checked with a strong bridle.” These bitter expressions were used by the last speakers among them; those who spoke before having endeavoured, by mildness, to mitigate his resentment; requesting him, “to make allowances for people pleading in defence of their liberty; to lay aside the harshness of a master, and in the course of his conduct, show himself a friend and ally; to imitate the Roman people, who wished to unite their allies to them by the ties of affection, rather than of fear.” When the Thessalians had finished, the Perrhæbians pleaded that Gonnocondylos, to which Philip had given the name of Olympias, belonged to Perrhæbia, and ought to be restored to them; and the same demand was made with respect to Malœa, and Ericinium. The Athamanians claimed a restoration of liberty, with the forts Athenæus and Pœtneus.

XXVI. Philip, that he might maintain the appearance of an accuser, rather than of a defendant, began his discourse also with complaints. He alleged, that “the Thessalians had taken by force of arms, Menclais in Dolopia, a town belonging to his dominions; likewise Petra in Pieria, by the same Thessalians, and the Perrhæbians; that they had reduced, under their government, Xyniæ, which unquestionably belonged to Ætolia, and had, without any colour of justice, subjected to the jurisdiction of the Thessalians, Parachelois, in the territory of Athamania. As to the charges brought against him, concerning an ambush laid for ambassadors, and of sea-ports being frequented or deserted, the one was quite ridiculous, (as if he were to account for what harbours merchants or sailors should frequent;) and the other, the constant tenor of his conduct refuted. During a number of years, ambassadors had never ceased carrying complaints against him, sometimes to the Roman generals, at others to Rome to the senate, though none of them had ever been injured, even in words. They said, indeed, that an ambush was once laid for some who were going to Quintius, but they are silent in regard to consequences. It was evident, that the authors sought for groundless imputations, because they had none to offer that were founded in truth.” He said, that “the Thessalians, insolently and wantonly, abused the indulgence of the Roman people, too greedily drinking as it were, strong draughts of liberty after a long thirst; and thus, in the manner of slaves lately set free, made trial of their voices and tongues, and prided themselves in invectives and railings against their masters.” Then, hurried on by passion, he added, that “his sun had not set yet;” which expression, not only the Thessalians, but the Romans also, took as a menace to themselves, and a murmur of displeasure followed his words. When this at length ceased, he proceeded to answer the ambassadors of the Perrhæbians and Athamanians. He observed, “the cases of the cities of which they had spoken were the same. The consul Acilius and the Romans gave them to him, when they were the property of enemies. If the donors chose to resume what they had given, he knew he must submit, but in that case they would, for the gratification of inconstant and unprofitable allies, do injury to a more useful and more faithful friend. For no favour produced less permanent gratitude than the gift of liberty, especially among people who were ready to make a bad use of it.” After hearing all parties, the ambassadors pronounced their judgment, that “the Macedonian garrisons should be withdrawn from the cities in question, and that the kingdom of Macedonia should be limited within its ancient boundaries. That, with regard to the injuries complained of by the several parties, in order to decide the controversies between those states and the Macedonians, it would be requisite to institute a regular judicial inquiry into their several rights.”

XXVII. This determination gave grievous offence to the king, and the ambassadors proceeded thence to Thessalonice, to give a hearing to the business concerning the cities of Thrace. Here the ambassadors of Eumenes said, that “if the Romans wished that Ænus and Maronea, should be independent, the king had nothing more to say, than to recommend it to them to leave those people free in fact, though not in words; nor to suffer their kindness to be intercepted by another. But, if they had not so much concern for the cities in Thrace, it was much more reasonable, that places which had been under the dominion of Antiochus, and were become the prize of victory, should be granted to Eumenes, than to Philip; and that, either an account of his father Attalus’s deserts in the war, waged by the Roman people against Philip himself, or on account of his own, in sharing all the toils and dangers on land and sea, during the war with Antiochus. Besides, he had the previous judgment of the ten ambassadors to that purpose; who, when they granted the Chersonesus and Lysimachia, surely yielded, at the same time, Ænus and Maronea; which even from the proximity of situation were but a sort of appendages to the larger gift. For, as to Philip, what merits towards the Roman people, or what right of dominion could he plead for having put garrisons into those places, which were at so great a distance from the borders of Macedonia? They then desired, that the Romans would order the Maronites to be called, from whom they would receive more positive information of the condition of those cities.” The Maronite ambassadors, being called in, declared, that “not in one spot of the city, as was usually the case, but in every quarter of it, there was a party of the king’s troops, so that Maronea was full of Macedonians; in consequence of which, the party that showed themselves disposed to humour the king, domineered over the rest; they alone had liberty of speaking either in the senate, or assemblies of the people. All posts of eminence they assumed to themselves, or conferred on whom they thought proper. Persons of the best characters, and who had a regard for liberty and for the laws, were either expelled their country; or obliged to sit down in silence, deprived of all share in the public honours, and exposed to insolence.” They added also a few words respecting their right to the frontier places, affirming, that “Quintus Fabius Labeo, when he was in that country, had fixed as a boundary line to Philip, the old royal road leading to Paroreia, in Thrace, which in no place leads towards the sea; and that Philip afterwards drew a new one in another direction, in order to comprehend the cities and lands of the Maronites.”

XXVIII. Philip, in his reply, took quite another course than when answering the Thessalians and Perrhæbians, and spoke to the following effect:—“I dispute not now with the Maronites, or with Eumenes, but with you yourselves, Romans, from whom, as it would seem, I am not to expect any justice. The cities of Macedonia, which had revolted from me during a suspension of arms, I wished to have been restored to me; not that they would have made any great accession to my dominions, because the towns are small in themselves, and, besides, are situated on the extremities of the frontiers; but because the example was of consequence towards retaining the rest of the Macedonians, in their allegiance. This was refused me. In the Ætolian war, I was ordered, by the consul Manius Acilius to lay seige to Lamia, and when I had there undergone a long course of fatigue in fighting and constructing works, and was on the point of mounting the walls, the consul recalled me when the city was almost in my possession, forcing me to draw off my troops. As some consolation for his hard treatment, I received permission to seize on some forts rather than cities, of Thessaly, Perrhæbia, and Athamania. Of these also, Quintus Cæcilius has deprived me. The ambassadors of Eumenes, just now, took for granted, it seems, that whatever belonged to Antiochus would more properly be given to Eumenes than to me. My judgment of the matter is widely different. For, not on the Romans proving victorious, but on their engaging in the war, Eumenes’ continuance on his throne depended. The obligation, therefore, lies on his side, not on yours, whereas, so far were any part of my dominions from being in danger, that, when Antiochus voluntarily offered to purchase my alliance, with three thousand talents and fifty decked ships, guaranteeing to me all the cities of Greece, of which I had heretofore been in possession, I rejected that offer. I avowed myself his enemy, even before Manius Acilius brought over an army into Greece. In conjunction with that consul, I supported whatever share of the war he gave me in charge. To serve the succeeding consul, Lucius Scipio, when he proposed leading his army by land, to the Hellespont, besides giving him a passage through my dominions, I also made roads for him, built bridges, supplied him with provisions, and convoying him, not only through Macedonia, but likewise through Thrace; where, besides other business, I had the task of keeping the barbarians quiet. In requital of this zealous, not to call it meritorious, conduct towards you, whether would it be proper in you, Romans, to grant me some addition to my dominions by acts of generosity, or to ravish from me what I possessed, either in my own right, or through your kindness? The cities of Macedonia, which you acknowledge to have belonged to my kingdom, are not restored. Eumenes comes to plunder me as he would Antiochus, and covers his most shameless and groundless chicanery, under the decree of the ten ambassadors, the very circumstance that completely refutes and convicts him. For is it not expressly and plainly set down in that writing, that the Chersonese and Lysimachia are granted to Eumenes; and is there any mention therein of Ænus, Maronea, and the cities of Thrace? That which he did not dare ever to ask from them, shall he obtain from you, as if under their grant? Much depends on the character in which you choose to consider me. If you are resolved to persecute me as a foe, proceed to act as you have begun: but, if you have any consideration of me, as a king in friendship and alliance with you, I must intreat you not to judge me deserving of such injurious treatment.”

XXXIX. The king’s discourse made a considerable impression on the ambassadors; they therefore left the matter in suspense by this indecisive resolution, that “if the cities in question were granted to Eumenes by the decree of the ten ambassadors, they would make no alteration. If Philip subdued them in war, he should by the laws of war, hold them as the prize of victory. If neither were the case, then their judgment was, that the decision should be referred to the senate; and in order that every particular might be open for deliberation, the garrisons in those cities should be withdrawn.” These causes, among others of less weight, aleniated the regard of Philip from the Romans, so that in all appearance the war was not set on foot by his son Perseus for any fresh causes, but rather was, for these causes, bequeathed by the father to the son. At Rome there was hitherto no suspicion of a war with Macedonia. Lucius Manlius, proconsul, had by this time come home from Spain. He demanded a triumph from the senate assembled in the temple of Bellona, and his demand was justified by the greatness of his exploits, but contradicted by precedent; for it was a rule established by ancient practice, that no commander, who had not brought home his troops, should triumph, unless he had delivered up the province to his successor, in a state of thorough subjection and tranquillity. However, the senate took a middle course, and ordered that Manlius should enter the city in ovation. He carried in the procession fifty-two golden crowns, one hundred and twenty-two pounds weight of gold, with sixteen thousand three hundred pounds of silver; giving public notice, in the senate, that his quæstor, Quintus Fabius, was bringing ten thousand pounds weight of silver, and eighty of gold, which he intended to carry likewise to the treasury. During that year there was a formidable insurrection of the slaves in Apulia. Lucius Postumius, prætor, governed the province of Tarentum, who conducted with much severity, inquiries into a conspiracy of peasants, who had infested the roads and public pastures with robberies. Of these, he passed sentence on no less than seven thousand; many of whom made their escape, and many were punished. The consuls, after being long detained in the city by the levies, set out at length for their provinces.

XXX. This year Caius Calpurnius and Lucius Quintius, the two prætors in Spain, drew their troops out of winter quarters, early in spring, and making a junction of them in Bæturia, for they were resolved to proceed in the operations of the campaign with united zeal and harmony, advanced into Carpetania, where the enemy’s camp lay. At a small distance from the towns of Hippo and Toletum, a fight began between the foraging parties; and as reinforcements came up on both sides, from the camps, the entire armies were, by degrees drawn out into the field. In this irregular kind of battle, the advantage of the ground and the manner of fighting were in favour of the enemy. The two Roman armies were routed, and driven into their camp; but the enemy did not pursue the advantage, which the others fears afforded them. The Roman prætors, lest their camp should be attacked next day, gave orders, without noise for decamping, and led away their army in the dead of the following night. At the first dawn, the Spaniards came up to the rampart in battle array, and finding, beyond their expectation, that the camp was deserted, marched in, and made prey of whatever had in the hurry and confusion been first left behind; and then, returning to their own station, remained quiet for several days. Of the Romans and allies, there were killed in the battle and the pursuit, five thousand men, out of whose spoils the enemy furnished themselves with arms. They then advanced to the river Tagus. All the intermediate time, the Roman prætors employed in collecting aid from the allied Spanish states, and recovering the spirits of their men from the dismay occasioned by their defeat. When they judged their strength sufficient, and found themselves called on by the soldiers, to lead them against the enemy, that they might blot out their former disgrace, they took post at the distance of twelve miles from the river Tagus; but decamping thence at the third watch, and marching in order of battle, reached the bank of the river at the break of day. The enemy’s camp was on a hill at the other side of the river. Having discovered two fords, Calpurnius immediately led his army across through that on the left. All this time, the enemy continued motionless, surprised at the sudden arrival of the Romans, and busy in consultations, when they might have greatly distressed the troops during their hurry and confusion in passing the river. The Romans brought all over even to their baggage, which they threw together in a heap. Seeing the enemy, at length, begin to move, and having no time for fortifying a camp, they formed their line of battle, placing in the centre, the fifth legion, serving under Calpurnius, and the eighth under Quintius, which composed the principal strength of their army. From hence, all the way to the enemy’s camp, they had an open plain, where there could be no danger of ambush.

XXXI. When the Spaniards saw the two bodies of Romans, on their side of the river, they resolved to fall upon them before they should unite and put themselves in order: rushing therefore suddenly out of the camp, they advanced to battle at full speed. The fight in the beginning, was urged with great fury; the Spaniards being elated by their late success, and the Roman soldiery inflamed to rage by a discomfiture to which they were unaccustomed. The centre, consisting of two legions of the greatest bravery, fought with the utmost vigour. The enemy, seeing that they could not be forced from their ground by any other means, resolved to make their attack in form of a wedge; and this body, becoming continually more numerous and more compact, pressed hard on them. When the prætor, Calpurnius, perceived the distress of this part of his line, he hastily despatched two lieutenants-general, Titus Quintilius Varus and Lucius Juventius Thalna, to animate the courage of the two legions, who were ordered to say, that “all hopes of victory, and of retaining possession of Spain depended entirely on them. If they should give ground, not a man in that whole army would ever see Italy, no, nor even the farther bank of the Tagus.” He himself at the head of the cavalry of the two legions, making a small circuit charged the flank of the wedge, which was pressing upon his centre. Quintius, likewise, with his cavalry, charged the enemy on the other flank; but the horsemen of Calpurnius fought with far greater spirit, while the prætor himself exceeded all others. He was the first that struck down one of the enemy, and he pushed in among the troops, in the centre, in such a manner, that it was hard to distinguish to which side he belonged. Thus the horse were animated by the extraordinary valour of the prætor, and the infantry by that of the horse. The foremost centurions, seeing the prætor in the midst of the enemy’s weapons, were struck with shame. They all, therefore, earnestly pressed the standard bearers, urging them to carry forward the ensigns, and the soldiers to follow with speed. All set up the shout a-new, and made an attack as violent as if they were rushing down a hill. Like a flood, therefore, they broke and bore down the enemy in dismay, nor was it possible to withstand them, pouring in one after another. The Spaniards, flying to their camp, were pursued by the cavalry, who, mixing in the crowd of the runaways, penetrated into it. Here the fight was renewed, by the troops left to guard the same, and the Roman horsemen were obliged to dismount. While they were engaged, the fifth legion came up, with the rest of the troops. The Spaniards were cut to pieces, in all parts of the camp; not more than four thousand men making their escape. Of these, about three thousand, who kept their arms, took post on a mountain, at a small distance, and one thousand, who were in general but half armed, dispersed through the country. This army of the enemy had contained thirty-five thousand men, of whom that very small number survived the battle. One hundred and thirty-three standards were taken. Of the Romans and allies, a few more than six hundred fell; and, of the provincial auxiliaries, about one hundred and fifty. The loss of five military tribunes, and a few Roman horsemen, was the only circumstance that made the victory appear to have been dearly earned. The army lodged in the enemy’s camp, as they had not had time to fortify one of their own. Next day, Calpurnius, in an assembly, commended the behaviour of the cavalry, making them presents of horse furniture, and declaring publicly, that through their bravery principally, the enemy had been defeated, and their camp stormed and taken. Quintius, likewise gave chains and clasps to his men. A great many centurions also, of both the armies, received gratuities, especially those who were in the centre.

XXXII. The consuls, as soon as they had finished the levies, and other business necessary to be done at Rome, led the army into their province, Liguria. Sempronius, marching from Pisæ against the Apuan Ligurians, ravaged their lands, and burned their villages and forts, until he opened that difficult country, as far as the river Macra, and the harbour of Luna. The enemy posted themselves on a mountain, which had, from old times, served their forefathers as a retreat; but the difficulty of access, here also, was overcome, and they were dislodged by force. The good conduct and success of Appius Claudius against the Ingaunian tribe, was not inferior to that of his colleague, for he defeated them in several battles. He also stormed six of their towns, in which he made a vast number of prisoners, beheading forty-three of the chief promoters of the war. The time of the elections now drew near; but Claudius came home to Rome sooner than Sempronius, to whom the business of presiding at the elections had been allotted, because his brother, Publius Claudius, stood candidate for the consulship. His competitors, of patrician rank, were Lucius Æmilius, Quintus Fabius Labeo, and Servius Sulpicius Galba, who had been candidates before, and now renewed their suit, for the honour of which they had been disappointed, and which was the more justly due to them, as it had been refused before. Besides, as it was not lawful that more than one patrician should be appointed, this made the competition, being four, still more obstinate. Claudius was the only new one. The plebeian candidates likewise were men in high esteem. Lucius Porcius, Quintus Terentius Culleo, and Cneius Bæbius Tamphilus; these too had been disappointed, but had cherished hopes of attaining the honour at some future time. The general opinion was, that Quintus Fabius Labeo and Lucius Porcius Licinus would be the successful persons; but Claudius, the consul, unattended by his lictors, canvassed with his brother, through all parts of the Forum, notwithstanding the loud remonstrances of his opponents, and the greater part of the senate, who insisted that, “he ought to remember the duty of a consul of the Roman people, in preference to that of the brother of Publius Claudius. To sit on his tribunal, content himself with presiding, and remain a silent spectator of the business.” Yet nothing could restrain his immederate zeal. The election was, also, several times, interrupted by contentions between the plebeian tribunes, some of whom struggled hard in opposition to the consul, and others in support of the cause which he favoured. At last, Appius conquered all opposition, so as to set aside Fabius, and bring in his brother. Thus was Publius Claudius Pulcher elected consul, beyond his own, and indeed the general expectation. Lucius Porcius Licinus carried his election also. The contest, among the plebeian candidates, was decently conducted and not with intemperate violence, like that of Claudius. Then was held the election of prætors, in which were chosen, Caius Decimius Flavus, Publius Sempronius Longus, Publius Cornelius Cethegus, Quintus Nævius Matho, Caius Sempronius Blæsus, and Aulus Terentius Varro. Such were the occurrences at home and abroad, of this year, during the consulate of Appius Claudius and Marcus Sempronius.

Y R. 568.
184.XXXIII. In the beginning of the following year, (Publius Claudius and Lucius Porcius being consuls,) Quintus Cæcilius, Marcus Bæbius, and Tiberius Sempronius, who had been sent to adjust the matters in dispute between the kings, Philip and Eumenes, and the states of the Thessalians, came home, and gave an account of the execution of their commission. They also introduced to the senate ambassadors from those kings and states. On this occasion, the same arguments were repeated by all parties, which had been urged before the ambassadors in Greece. The senate then decreed, that a new embassy, with Appius Claudius at its head, should be sent into Macedonia and Greece, to know whether the several states had been restored to the Rhodians, Thessalians, and Perrhæbians. They were, farther, instructed to take care, that the garrisons should be withdrawn from Ænus and Maronea, and that all the sea-coast of Thrace should be made free and independent of Philip and the Macedonians. They were ordered, also, to go to Peloponnesus, where the former ambassadors had, at their departure, left affairs in a more unsettled state, than they would have been, if they had not come thither. For, besides other matters, they were even sent away without an answer by the Achæan council, nor were they allowed an audience. On this subject, Quintus Cæcilius made a heavy complaint. At the same time the Lacedæmonians deplored the demolition of their walls, the carrying off their poor people into Achaia, the selling of them there and the depriving them of the laws of Lycurgus, by which the nation had been supported unto that time. On this the Achaians, endeavouring chiefly to apologize for having refused a meeting of the council, recited a law which enacted, that a council should not be summoned, except on business of peace or war, or when ambassadors should come from the senate with letters or written instructions. That this kind of excuse should not be made in future, the senate observed to them, that they ought in prosperity, to take care that Roman ambassadors should at all times have an opportunity of applying to their council; in like manner as the senate always gave them audience, at any time when they wished it.

XXXVI. After those ambassadors had received their answers, Philip, being informed that he must yield up the states, and evacuate the towns in question, was highly enraged against all, yet vented his fury on the Maronites in particular. He gave a charge to Onomastus, who had the command of the sea-coast, to put to death the leaders of the opposite party. This man employed a person called Cassander, a partizan of the king’s who had resided a long time in Maronea, and he, introducing a body of Thracians by night, put the inhabitants to the sword, as if the city had been taken by storm. When the Roman ambassadors complained of his acting with such cruelty towards the innocent Maronites, and with such presumption towards the Roman people, in killing, as enemies, those very persons to whom the senate had adjudged the restoration of liberty, he averred that “none of those matters concerned him, or any one belonging to him; that they had quarrelled among themselves, and fought, because some wished to bring over their state to his side, others to that of Eumenes. That the truth of this might be readily ascertained; and they had only to ask the Maronites themselves.” For he was confident, that, while they were all under the impression of terror, since the late massacre, not one of them would dare to utter a word against him. Appius said, that “this would be looking for obscurity in a case already clear. But if he wished to remove the guilt from himself, let him send Onomastus and Cassander, the actors in that business, to Rome, that the senate might examine them.” At first, these words so entirely disconcerted the king, that neither his colour, nor his looks, remained unchanged; then, after some time, having collected his thoughts, he replied, that “he would send Cassander, who had been in Maronea, if it was their desire: but, as to Onomastus, how could that matter affect him, who so far from being in Maronea, was not even near it?” He was more careful of Onomastus, as a more valued friend, yet he dreaded him much more lest he might make discoveries. He had, in person, however, conversed with him on the subject, and he had confided in him as an agent in many similar transactions. Cassander is supposed to have been taken off, that the truth might not be divulged,—being poisoned by persons sent to escort him through Epirus to the sea-coast.

XXXV. The ambassadors quitted the conference in a manner which plainly showed that they were not at all pleased with any thing that had passed; and Philip, with a full resolution to have recourse again to arms. But his strength being, as yet, insufficient for that purpose, he resolved, in order to procure delay, to send his younger son Demetrius to Rome, to clear him from the above-named charges; and, at the same time, to deprecate the wrath of the senate. Philip had strong expectations that the young man himself, having, while an hostage at Rome, exhibited proofs of a princely disposition, would have a good deal of influence now. Meanwhile, under the pretence of carrying succour to the Byzantians, but, in reality, with design to strike terror into the chieftains of the Thracians, he marched into their country, utterly defeated them in an engagement, in which he took their commander, Amadocus, prisoner, and then returned to Macedonia, having first despatched emissaries to persuade the barbarians, living near the Danube, to make an irruption into Italy. The Roman ambassadors, who had been ordered to go from Macedonia into Achaia, were expected daily in Peloponnesus: and, in order that the Achæans might settle their plans of conduct towards them beforehand, their prætor, Lycortas, summoned a general council. Here the affair of the Lacedæmonians was taken into consideration. It was observed, that “from enemies they were turned accusers: and there was reason to fear, lest they should prove more formidable, after having been conquered, than when they had arms in their hands: for, in the war, the Achæans had the Romans as allies in their cause; now, the same Romans were more favourable to the Lacedæmonians than to the Achæans. Even Areus and Alcibiades, both restored from exile, through the kindness of the Achæans, had undertaken an embassy to Rome, in prejudice to a nation to which they were so much obliged; and had spoken against it, with so much animosity, that people might suppose they had been banished from their country, instead of being restored to it.” A general clamour arose, requiring him to put the question on each of them by name; and as every thing was directed by passion, not by reason, they were condemned to die. In a few days after this, the Roman ambassadors arrived, and a council was summoned to meet them at Clitor, in Arcadia.

XXXVI. Before any business was entered on, the Achæans received an alarming proof, how little impartiality they were likely to experience in the proceedings on this cause, when they saw in company with the ambassadors, Areus and Alcibiades, whom, in their last council, they had condemned to death; yet none of them dared to utter a word. Appius acquainted them, that the senate was much displeased at those matters, of which the Lacedæmonians made complaint before them; “first, the massacre at Compasium of those who, in obedience to the summons of Philopœmen, came to stand a trial; then, after such barbarity, the having demolished the walls of that famous city, having abrogated its laws, of the greatest antiquity, and abolished the discipline of Lycurgus, so famed throughout the world.” After Appius had spoken to this effect, Lycortas, both because he was prætor, and because he was of the faction of Philopœmen, the adviser of all that was done at Lacedæmon, answered him thus: “Appius Claudius, it is a harder task on us to plead before you, than we had lately, before the senate at Rome; for then we had to answer the accusations of the Lacedæmonians, but now, we stand accused by yourselves, before whom our cause is to be heard. But to this disadvantage of situation we submit with this hope, that you will hear us with the temper of a judge, laying aside the character of an advocate, in which you, just now, appeared. For my part, at least, though the matters of which the Lacedæmonians complained formerly, in this place, before Quintus Cæcilius, and afterwards at Rome, have been just recapitulated by you, yet I shall consider myself as answering not to you, but before you, to them. You charge us with the murder of those men, who, being called out by the prætor Philopœmen, to trial, were put to death. This I think a charge of such a nature, that it ought not to be advanced against us, either by you, Romans, or by any in your presence; and I will tell you why. One of the articles in the treaty which you signed is, that the Lacedæmonians should not intermeddle with the cities on the coast. At the time, when they took arms, assaulted, in the night, and seized on those towns, with which they had been forbidden to interfere; if, I say, Titus Quintius, if a Roman army had been in Peloponnesus, as formerly the captured and oppressed inhabitants would surely have fled to them for relief. As you were at a great distance, to whom else would they fly, but to us, your allies, whom they had seen at a former time bringing aid to Gythium; whom they had seen, in conjunction with you, besieging Lacedæmon on their account? In your stead, therefore, we undertook a just and rightful war. Other men approve this step, and even the Lacedæmonians cannot censure it; the gods themselves, also, by giving us the victory, have shown their approbation of it; how then, can acts, done under the laws of war, be, by any means, made matter of civil disquisition? Of these acts, however, the greatest part nowise effect us. The summoning to trial, men, who had excited the populace to arms, who had stormed and plundered the towns on the coast, who had murdered the principal inhabitants, was our act; but, the putting them to death, when they were coming into the camp, was yours, Areus and Alcibiades, who now arraign us, and not ours. The Lacedæmonian exiles, and, among the rest, these two men, who were then in our camp, thinking the attack meant against them, as they had chosen the maritime towns for their residence, made an assault on those by whose means they had been banished, and who, they perceived with indignation, would not suffer them even to grow old in exile with safety. Lacedæmonians therefore, not Achæans, slew Lacedæmonians; nor is it of any consequence to dispute, whether they were slain justly or unjustly.

XXXVII. “But then, Achæans, the abolition of the laws and ancient discipline of Lycurgus, with the demolition of the walls,—these acts were unquestionably yours: now, how can both these charges be brought forward by the same persons, since the walls of Lacedæmon were built, not by Lycurgus, but a few years ago, for the purpose of subverting the discipline of that very man? The tyrants erected them lately, as a fortress and defence for themselves, not for the state; and, if Lycurgus should rise this day from the dead, he would rejoice at seeing them in ruins, and would say, that he now acknowledged his country, and ancient Sparta. You ought not to have waited for Philopœmen, or the Achæans; you should have removed and razed, with your own hands, every vestige of tyranny; for these were the foul scars, left on you by slavery. And as, during almost eight hundred years, while ye were without walls, ye were free, and, for some time, even chiefs of Greece; so, after being bound with walls, as with fetters, you were slaves for one hundred years. As to what concerns the abrogating their laws, I conceive that the tyrants took away the ancient laws of Lacedæmon, and that we did not deprive them of their own laws, which they did not possess, but gave them ours; nor did we neglect the interests of their state, when we made it a member of our council, and incorporated it with ourselves, so that the whole Peloponnesus should form one body, and one council. If, indeed, we had imposed on them laws, different from those under which we lived ourselves, in that case, I think they might complain of being treated unfairly, and consequently be displeased. I know, Appius Claudius, that the kind of discourse, which I have hitherto used, is not proper either for allies, addressing their allies, or for an independent nation; but, in truth, for slaves pleading before their masters. For, if the herald’s proclamation, in which you ordered the Achæans, in the first place, to be free, was any thing more than empty sound; if the treaty is valid, if the alliance and friendship is maintained on equal terms, why do not I inquire what you, Romans, did, on the taking of Capua, as well as that you demand an account of our conduct towards the Lacedæmonians, when we conquered them in war? Some persons were killed, suppose by us. What! did not you behead the Campanian senators? We demolished their walls: you not only destroyed the walls, but you took the city, and the lands. But you say, the Achæans enjoy, in appearance, a league on equal terms, but, in reality, a precarious state of freedom, while the Romans enjoy supreme power. I am sensible of it, Appius; and if I ought not, I do not remonstrate: but, I beseech you, let the difference between the Romans and Achæans be as great as it may, not to place people, who are foes to both, on an equal footing with us, your allies, or even on a better. For, as to setting them on an equality, that we ourselves have done, when we gave them our own laws, when we made them members of the Achæan council. Vanquished,—they are not content with what satisfies their conquerors; foes,—they demand more than allies enjoy. What we have ratified, by our oaths, what we have consecrated as inviolable, to eternal remembrance, by records engraved in stone, they want to abolish, and to load us with perjury. Romans, for you we have high respect; and, if such is your wish, dread also; but we more respect and dread the immortal gods.” He was heard with general approbation, and all declared, that he had spoken as became the dignity of his office; so that it was easily seen, that the Romans could not support their ascendancy, by gentle methods. Appius then said, that “he earnestly recommended it to the Achæans, to show a compliant temper, while it was in their power to act voluntarily, lest they might, presently, be obliged, by compulsion, to act against their wills.” These words inspired universal affliction, and effectually deterred them from refusing compliance. They only requested the Romans “to make such alterations, respecting the Lacedæmonians, as they should judge proper; and not involve the Achæans in the guilt of annulling what they had sanctioned with their oaths.” And then, nothing more was done than to reverse the sentence lately passed on Areus and Alcibiades.

XXXVIII. In the beginning of this year, when the business of assigning the provinces to the consuls and prætors was taken under consideration, at Rome, Liguria was decreed to the consuls, there being no war any where else. As to the prætors,—Caius Decimius Flavus obtained, by lot, the city jurisdiction; Publius Cornelius Cethegus, that between citizens and foreigners; Caius Sempronius Blæsus, Sicily; Quintus Nævius Matho, Sardinia, he had also the charge of making inquisition concerning poisons; Aulus Terentius Varro, hither Spain, and Publius Sempronius Longus, farther Spain. From the two latter provinces deputies arrived, about this time.—Lucius Juvencius Thalna, and Titus Quintilius Varus. These represented to the senate, that the formidable war of Spain had been brought to a fortunate conclusion: they therefore requested, that in consideration of such happy success, a thanksgiving should be performed to the immortal gods, and permission granted to the prætors to bring home the armies. The senate decreed a thanksgiving for two days, and ordered that the question, respecting the armies, should lie over, and be proposed when those, for the consuls and prætors, should be under consideration. A few days after this, they voted to the consuls, for Liguria, two legions each, which had been commanded by Appius Claudius and Marcus Sempronius. With regard to the armies in Spain, there was a warm contention between the new prætors and the friends of the absent ones, Calpurnius and Quintius. On each side were plebeian tribunes, and, on each, a consul. The former threatened, if the senate voted for bringing home the armies, to protest against their decree; the latter, that, if such a protest were made, they would not suffer any other business to proceed. At last the interest of the absent prætors was overpowered, and a decree of the senate passed, that “the prætors should enlist four thousand Roman foot, and four hundred horse; with five thousand foot, and five hundred horse of the Latine confederates; whom they should carry with them into Spain. That, when they should have divided these, between the legions, whatever number should then be in each legion, above five thousand foot and three hundred horse, should be discharged, beginning with those who had served out their number of campaigns, and proceeding to the rest, according to their respective merits, in the service under Calpurnius and Quintius.”

XXXIX. No sooner was this dispute ended, than another arose, in consequence of the death of a prætor, Caius Decimius. There stood candidates for his place, Cneius Sicinius and Lucius Pupius, who had been ædiles the year before; Caius Valerius, the flamen of Jupiter; and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, who, though he did not appear in the white gown, because he was curule ædile elect, yet pressed his suit with more warmth than any of them. The contest lay between the latter two. Fulvius at the beginning seemed to have an equal chance with the flamen, and afterwards surpassed him; on which, some of the plebeian tribunes insisted, that he ought not to be admitted a candidate, because one person could neither hold, nor administer, two offices, especially curule ones, at the same time; while others of them gave their opinion, that he ought to be exempted from the laws, in order that the people might have the power of electing prætor the person whom they wished. The consul, Lucius Porcius, was, from the beginning, inclined to refuse admitting him a candidate; and, afterwards, wishing to have the countenance of the senate in so doing, he called the members together, and told them, that “he desired their judgment in the case, where a curule ædile elect, without any colour of law, and setting a precedent insufferable in a free state, stood candidate for the prætorship; for his part, unless they determined otherwise, he intended to hold the election according to law.” The senate voted, that the consul, Lucius Porcius, should recommend to Quintus Fulvius, not to obstruct the assembly (soon to be held for substituting a prætor, in the room of Caius Decimius) from proceeding according to law. When the consul, in pursuance of this decree, applied to him on the subject, he answered, that “he would do nothing unworthy of himself,” by which indeterminate answer, he left room for people to interpret his intention, agreeably to their wish, and that he meant to submit to the direction of the senate. But, in the assembly, he urged his pretensions with more eagerness than ever; remonstrating, that the consul and the senate were forcibly depriving him of the kindness intended for him by the Roman people; exciting a clamour against a second post of honour being conferred on him; as if it were not manifest, that, when elected prætor, he must instantly abdicate the ædileship. The consul, seeing the candidate’s obstinacy increase, and the public favour incline to him more and more, dissolved the assembly, and summoned a meeting of the senate; where, in a full house, a vote was passed, that “inasmuch as the directions of the senate had produced no effect on Flaccus, the affair concerning him should be laid before the people.” A general assembly was, accordingly, summoned, and the consul made a full representation of the matter. Fulvius still remained inflexible. He returned thanks to the Roman people “for the great zeal which they had shown in their desire to make him prætor, as often as opportunity had been given them of declaring their sentiments;” and assured them, that “it was his resolution not to disappoint such instances of the attachment of his countrymen” This determined declaration increased the ardour of the people for his cause, to such a degree, that he would undoubtedly have been chosen prætor, if the consul had admitted him to stand. The tribunes maintained a violent altercation, both with their colleagues, and with the consul, until, at length, the senate passed a decree, that “whereas the obstinacy of Quintus Flaccus, and the ill-judged party zeal of many among the people, had prevented the assembly for filling the place of a prætor, from being held according to law. The senate therefore gave their judgment, that the present number of prætors was sufficient, that Publius Cornelius should hold both jurisdictions in the city, and celebrate the games of Apollo.”

XL. No sooner was this election stopped by the prudence and firmness of the senate, than another ensued, with greater heat of contest; both because the subject was of greater importance, and the competitors more numerous, and more powerful. The censorship was contended for by the following candidates, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Publius Scipio, Lucius Scipio, Cneius Manlius Vulso, and Lucius Furius Purpureo, patricians; Marcus Porcius Cato, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus, plebeians But all of them, both plebeians and patricians, of the highest ranks, were left far behind by Marcus Porcius. So great were the powers of this man’s mind, that he seemed able to attain to any situation he aimed at. No one qualification for the management of business, either public or private, was wanting to him: being equally knowing in ordinary matters as in those of the state. Some have been advanced to the highest honours by their knowledge of the law, others by their eloquence, some by military renown; but this man’s genius was so versatile, and so well adapted to all things, that in whatever way engaged, it might be said, that nature formed him for that alone. In war, he was the most courageous, distinguishing himself highly in many remarkable battles; and, when he arrived at the highest posts, was likewise the most consummate commander. Then, in peace, if information were wanted in a case of law, he was the wisest counsellor; if a cause was to be pleaded, the most eloquent advocate. Nor was he one of those whose oratory was striking only during their own lives, without leaving after them any monument of it. On the contrary, his eloquence still lives, and will long live, consecrated to memory by writings of every kind. His orations are many, spoken for himself, for others, and against others, for he harassed his enemies, not only by supporting prosecutions against them, but by maintaining causes in opposition to them. Enmities in abundance gave him plenty of employment; nor was it easy to tell whether the nobility laboured harder to keep him down, or he to oppress the nobility. His temper, no doubt, was austere, his language bitter, and unboundedly free, but he was never ruled by his passions; his integrity was inflexible, and he looked with contempt on popularity and riches. In spare diet, in enduring toil and danger, his body and mind were like steel; so that even old age, which brings all things to dissolution, did not break his vigour. In his eighty sixth year he stood a trial, pleaded his own cause, and published his speech; and, in his ninetieth year, he brought Servius Galba to trial, before the people.

XLI. On this occasion, of standing for the censorship, the nobility, as they had done through the whole course of his life, endeavoured to obstruct his promotion. All the candidates, likewise, except Lucius Flaccus, who had been his colleague in the consulship, combined to disappoint him of the office, not merely with a view to their own success, in preference to him, or because it would grieve them to see a new man in it, but because from one who had received offence from most of them, and who wished to retaliate, they apprehended a harsh severity in his administration, that would endanger the reputations of many. For, even, while soliciting, he uttered frequent menaces, and upbraided them with endeavouring to exclude him, because they dreaded an impartial and courageous execution of the duty of censor; at the same time, giving his interest to Lucius Valerius. He said, that “he was the only colleague, in conjunction with whom he could correct modern profligacy, and re-establish the ancient morals.” People were so inflamed by such discourses, that, in spite of the opposition made by the nobility, they not only made Marcus Porcius censor, but gave him, for his colleague, Lucius Valerius Flaccus. Immediately after the election of censors, the consuls and prætors went abroad to their provinces, except Quintus Nævius, who was detained from going to Sardinia, for no less than four months, by inquisitions concerning poisonings, a great part of which he held out of the city, in the corporate towns and villages; for that method was judged the more eligible. If we are to credit Valerius Antias, he condemned two thousand men. Lucius Postumius, the prætor, to whose lot the province of Tarentum had fallen, made discovery of numerous conspiracies of the peasants, and, with great care, finished the remainder of the inquiries concerning the Bacchanalians. Many of these, who had not appeared on being summoned, or had deserted their bail, were then lurking in that part of Italy; some of them he sentenced to punishment, and others, he sent under a guard to the senate to Rome, where they were all committed to prison by Publius Cornelius.

XLII. In farther Spain, the Lusitanians being weakened by their losses in the late war, matters remained quiet. In hither Spain, Aulus Terentius took the town of Corbia, in Suessetania, after a regular siege, and sold the prisoners; after which, the troops had rest in their winter quarters, in that province also. The former prætors, Caius Calpurnius Piso, and Lucius Quintius came home to Rome, and the senate, with great cheerfulness, voted a triumph to both. Caius Calpurnius triumphed, first, over the Lusitanians and Celtiberians. He carried in procession eighty-three golden crowns, and twelve thousand pounds weight of silver. In a few days after, Lucius Quintius Crispinus triumphed over the same Lusitanians and Celtiberians, bearing in his triumph the same quantity of gold and silver. The censors, Marcus Porcius and Lucius Valerius, while the public were full of anxious curiosity blended with fear, made their survey of the senate; out of which they displaced seven members, one of them a man of consular rank, highly distinguished by nobility of birth and honourable employments,—Lucius Quintius Flamininus. It is mentioned, as a practice instituted in early times, that the censors should annex marks of censure to the names of such as they degraded from the senate. There are severe speeches of Cato, against those whom he either expelled the senate, or degraded from the equestrian rank, but by far the most so is that against Lucius Quintius. Had he spoken, in the character of prosecutor, previous to the censure, and not in that of censor after it, not even his brother Titus, if he were his colleague, could have suffered Quintius to remain in the senate. Among other charges, he objected to him, that he had, by hopes of extraordinary presents, prevailed on Philip, a Carthaginian and a catamite, to accompany him into his province of Gaul; that this youth, in order to enhance the merit of his complaisance to the consul, used frequently, in wanton squabbling, to upbraid him for having quitted Rome just before the show of gladiators. It happened, that while they were at a feast, and heated with wine, a message was brought into the place of entertainment, that a Boian, of high rank, had come as a deserter with his children, and wished to see the consul, that he might, in person, receive his assurance of protection. He was accordingly introduced into the tent, and began to address him through an interpreter: but while he was speaking, Quintius said to his catamite, “since you were deprived of the show of gladiators, have you a mind to see this Gaul dying?” The boy giving a sort of assent, between jest and earnest, the consul, drawing a sword that hung over his head, first struck the Gaul as he was speaking, and then, when he was running out, and imploring the faith of the Roman people, and of those present, ran him through the side.

XLIII. Valerius Antias, who never read Cato’s speech, and only gave credit to a tale published without authority, tells the story in another manner, but similar to this in lust and cruelty. He writes, that, at Placentia, the consul invited to an entertainment a woman of ill fame, with whom he was desperately enamoured. There, displaying his importance to this courtezan, he told her, among other matters, with what severity he had conducted the inquisitions, and how many he had then in prison, under sentence of death, whom he intended to behead. Then she, being next him on the couch, said, that having never seen any one beheaded, she was very desirous of seeing an execution; on which the indulgent lover ordered one of those wretches to be dragged to the spot, and there cut off his head. The deed of death, whether committed as the censor or as Valerius reports it, was barbarous and inhuman; that in the midst of feasting and cups, when it is customary to offer libations to the gods, and to pray for happiness, a human victim should be butchered, and the table stained with his blood, and this for the entertainment of an acknowledged wanton. In the latter part of Cato’s speech, he proposes to Quintius, that if he denied this fact, and the others of which he accused him, he should give security to abide a legal trial; but if he confessed them, could he suppose, he asked him, that any one would be sorry for his disgrace; the disgrace of him who, in the midst of a feast, being intoxicated with wine and lust, had sported with the blood of a human being.

XLIV. In the review of the knights, Lucius Scipio Asiaticus was degraded. In fixing the rates of taxation, also, the censor’s conduct was harsh and severe to all ranks of men. He ordered, that people should give account, upon oath, of women’s dress, and ornaments, and carriages, exceeding in value fifteen thousand asses; and that slaves, younger than twenty years, which, since the last survey, had been bought for ten thousand asses or more, should be estimated at ten times their value; and that, on all these articles, a tax should be laid of three denariuses for each thousand asses. Water, running or carried into any private building or field, the censors took away; and all buildings or sheds, in possession of private persons that projected into public ground, they demolished within thirty days. They then engaged contractors for executing national works, with the money decreed for that purpose,—for paving cisterns with stone, for cleansing the sewers and forming new ones on the Aventine, and in other quarters where hitherto there had been none. Then, dividing their tasks, Flaccus built a mole at Nepthunia, on the coast, and made a road through the Formian mountains. Cato purchased for the use of people two halls, the Mænian, and Titian, in the street Lauturniæ, and four shops, erecting on that ground a court of justice, which was called the Porcian. They farmed out the several branches of the revenue, at the highest prices; while they allowed very small profits for the services, on which the money was to be expended. But the senate, overcome by the prayers and lamentations of the publicans, ordered those bargains to be revoked, and new agreements to be made; on which the censors, by an edict, prohibited the persons, who had eluded the former contracts, from being concerned in the new ones, and farmed out all the same branches at prices very little reduced. This censorship was very remarkable, producing abundance of animosities; and drawing on Marcus Porcius, to whom all the harshness was attributed, much uneasiness during the remainder of his life. This year, two colonies were established, Potentia in Picenum, and Pisaurum in the Gallic territory. Six acres were given to each settler. The same commissioners had the ordering of both colonies, and the division of the lands.Y. R. 569.
183. Quintus Fabius Labeo, Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, and Quintus Fulvius Nobilior, the consuls of that year, performed nothing memorable, at home or abroad.

XLV. The consuls, elected for the ensuing year, were Marcus Claudius Marcellus, and Quintus Fabius Labeo. These, on the ides of March, the first day of their assuming the administration, proposed to the senate to determine their provinces, and those of the prætors. The prætors appointed, were Caius Valerius, flamen of Jupiter, who had been a candidate the year before, Spurius Posthumius Albinus, Publius Cornelius Sisenna, Lucius Pupius, Lucius Julius, and Cneius Sicinius. Liguria was ordered to be the province of the consuls, and the armies were assigned to them, which had been commanded by Publius Claudius and Marcus Porcius. The two Spains, without being put to the lot, were reserved for the prætors who held them the year before, and also their own armies. The prætors were ordered to regulate their casting lots, in such a manner, that the flamen of Jupiter should have one or other of the judicial employments in the city. The foreign jurisdiction fell to his lot, that between citizens to Cornelius Sisenna. Sicily was assigned to Spurius Posthumius, Apulia to Lucius Pupius, Gaul to Lucius Julius, Sardinia to Cneius Sicinius. Lucius Julius was ordered to hasten to his province, because some transalpine Gauls, as was mentioned before, having made their way through the forests into Italy, by an unknown road, were building a town in the country, now the district of Aquileia. The prætor received a charge to interrupt their proceedings, as far as possible, without having recourse to arms; and, if it should be necessary to stop them by force, to give information to the consuls, one of whom was, in that case, directed to march his legions against those Gauls. Towards the close of the preceding year, an assembly had been held for the purpose of electing an augur, in the room of Cneius Cornelius deceased, when Spurius Posthumius Albinus was chosen.

XLVI. In the beginning of this year, Publius Licinius Crassus, chief pontiff, died, in whose room was appointed Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus, and Caius Servilius Geminus was raised to the place of chief pontiff. On occasion of the funeral of Publius Licinius, a largess of flesh was distributed to the people, and one hundred and twenty pair of gladiators fought. The funeral games lasted three days, and, after the games, a public feast was given. During the feast, and while the couches were spread over the Forum, a storm came on with violent gusts of wind, which compelled most of the people to pitch tents in that place, which, on the weather clearing up, in a short time after, were removed. This occasioned a general remark, that they had fulfilled a prophecy, which soothsayers had pronounced, among the decrees of the fates, that, inevitably, tents would be pitched in the Forum. No sooner were they eased of the apprehensions, caused by this prophecy, than they were struck with new ones, by showers of blood falling for two days, in the area of Vulcan’s temple. The decemvirs, ordered a supplication for the expiation of the prodigy. Before the consuls set out for their provinces, they introduced the foreign embassies to an audience of the senate; and at no time was there in Rome such a number of people from countries beyond sea. For, as soon as it became generally known, through the nations bordering on Macedonia, that accusations and complaints against Philip were listened to by the Romans, with some degree of attention, and that many had profited by having complained; all those states, nations, and even individuals, on their own accounts, (for he was a troublesome neighbour to every one,) flocked to Rome, with hopes of obtaining either redress of their injuries, or, at least, the consolation of expressing their griefs. An embassy came, also, from king Eumenes with his brother Athenæus, to complain of the Macedonian in not withdrawing his garrisons out of Thrace; and, likewise on his sending succours into Bithynia, to Prusias, who was at war with Eumenes.

XLVII. To Demetrius, who was then very young, was assigned the task of speaking to their representations; and it was no easy matter to retain in memory, either all the particulars set forth, or what was proper to be said in reply. For the charges were not only numerous, but most of them exceedingly frivolous: of disputes about boundaries, of men forced away, and cattle driven off; of justice, either partially administered or refused; of sentences respecting property, founded either on force or influence. The senate perceived that Demetrius could not explain any of those matters distinctly, and that the information which they could obtain from him was not sufficiently clear; at the same time, the youth, through inexperience and bashfulness, was much embarrassed. They therefore ordered that he should be asked, whether he had received from his father any written instructions on those points; and on his answering that he had, they thought it the best and properest way to receive the answers of the king himself, on each particular head, and immediately called for the writing; but afterwards they gave him leave to read it to them himself. Here were his apologies on each several subject, concisely stated in a narrow compass, in some cases, that he had acted in conformity to the determinations of the ambassadors; in others, that the fault of not conforming to them, lay not in him, but actually in the persons themselves who accused him. He had interspersed, also, remonstrances on the injustice of those determinations, and the partiality that appeared when those matters were discussed before Quintus Cæcilius; as well as the indecent and unmerited insults thrown on him by all. The senate remarked on these tokens of his temper; nevertheless, on the young man apologizing for some things, and undertaking that others should be performed in the manner most agreeable to the senate, they ordered this answer to be given him, that “in no instance, was his father’s conduct either more proper, or more pleasing to the senate, than in his choosing, whatever the nature of those transactions might be, to send his excuses for them to the Romans, by his son Demetrius. That the senate could leave unnoticed, forget and put up with, many past matters, and believed also that they might place confidence in Demetrius; for, though they restored his person to his father, they still had his mind as an hostage, and were convinced that, as far as was compatible with his duty as a son, he was a friend to the Roman people. That, out of regard to him, they would send ambassadors into Macedonia, in order that if any thing which ought to have been done, was left undone, it might then be effected, but still without any vindictive retrospect to former omissions. That they would be glad if Philip also were sensible that he was indebted to his son Demetrius for the continuance of the good understanding between him and the Romans.

XLVIII. These honourable declarations, intended to add to the dignity of his character, proved to the young man the cause of immediate envy, and not of far distant ruin. The Lacedæmonians were next introduced, when many insignificant disputes were agitated. Those which might be deemed important were—whether the persons condemned by the Achæans, should be reinstated or not; whether others were justly put to death; and whether the Lacedæmonians should continue in the Achæan council, or as had formerly been the case, that a single state in Peloponnesus, should have separate independence. It was determined, that the condemned should be reinstated, and the sentences passed reversed; that Lacedæmon should continue in the Achæan council; and that this decree should be committed to writing, and signed by the Lacedæmonians and Achæans. Quintus Marcius was sent ambassador into Macedonia, with orders, likewise to take a view of the affairs of the allies in Peloponnesus; for there also disturbances still subsisted, in consequence of the old quarrels, and Messene had revolted from the Achæan confederacy. But if I were to trace out the cause and progress of this war, I should deviate from the resolution which I laid down, of not meddling with foreign transactions, farther than they are connected with the affairs of Rome.

XLIX. One event deserves to be mentioned: that, notwithstanding the Achæans had a superiority in the war, Philopœmen, their prætor, was taken prisoner, on his march to secure Corone, which the enemy meant to attack, being, with a small party of horse, surprised and overpowered in a dangerous defile. It is said, that he might have effected his own escape, by the aid of some Thracians and Cretans, who were with him, but was hindered by the shame of deserting his horsemen, the most distinguished youths in the nation, selected by himself, a short time before. In procuring these, an opportunity of getting clear of the narrow defile, while closing the rear, in person, and sustaining the assaults of the enemy,—his horse fell. By the shock of his fall, and the weight of his horse, which fell upon him, he was nearly killed on the spot; for he was now seventy years old, and his strength had been greatly impaired by a tedious illness, from which he had been just recovered. Lying thus on the ground, the enemy pouring on, secured him. Out of respect to his character, however, and from regard to his merit, they raised him up with as much care, as if it had been their own commander, took every pains to revive him, and carried him out of that remote valley into the road. Their joy was so great, and so unexpected, that they scarcely believed their own senses; however, some of them sent on messages to Messene, that the war was at end, for they were bringing Philopœmen prisoner. At first this seemed so incredible, that the messenger was deemed either a liar or a madman. Afterwards, when numbers came, one after another, all asserting the same, the matter was at length believed; and, before they well knew whether he was come near the city, every human being, freemen and slaves, with even women and children, poured out to enjoy the sight; insomuch that the multitude quite closed up the gate, all pushing eagerly forward, and seeming as if nothing but the testimony of their own eyes could convince them of so momentous an event. Those who conducted Philopœmen, made their way with difficulty through the crowd, so as to pass into the gate; but the rest of the way was quite shut up by the thick press of people; and, as the greatest part of these were excluded from the sight, they suddenly rushed into a theatre which was contiguous to the street, and all with one voice insisted, that he should be brought thither into the public view. The magistrates and leading men were afraid, that compassion for so great a man, on his being brought before them, would cause some disturbance; as many would be moved by respect for his former dignity, when they compared it with his present condition, and many, by the recollection of his transcendant merits; they therefore placed him, where he could be seen at a distance, and quickly after hurried him away out of the sight of the people, who were told by the prætor, Dinocrates, that the magistrates wanted to ask him some questions, on points that were material to the success of the war. Having carried him thence to the senate house, and called the senate together, they began a consultation on the measures to be pursued.

L. The evening came on while they were still at a loss, not only about other matters, but even about the place where he might be kept, with proper security, during the following night. They were quite confounded when they reflected on the greatness of his former fortune and merit; and they neither dared to undertake the guarding of him at their houses, nor thought it safe to trust the custody of him to any individual. At last, some persons reminded them of a public treasury, under ground, inclosed with hewn stone; into this place he was put down, in chains, and a huge stone was placed over it, with the help of a machine. After having thus determined to trust to the place rather than to any man, for his safe keeping, they waited with impatience for the following day, when the whole populace to a man, mindful of his former services to the state, declared their opinion, that they ought to spare him, and to seek through his means, some remedies for their present misfortunes. But the authors of the revolt, in whose hands was the management of affairs, held a secret consultation, in which it was unanimously resolved to put him to death; but whether they should do it speedily, or defer it, was for some time a matter of doubt. The party that wished his immediate execution at length prevailed, and a person was sent to him with poison. We are told, that on receiving the cup, he only asked if Lycortas, the other commander of the Achæans, and the horsemen, had escaped; and being told that they were safe, he said, “It is well,” and then, intrepidly drinking the contents of the cup, expired shortly after. The actors of this piece of cruelty, however, did not long rejoice at his death; for the Messenians were vanquished in the war, and compelled, by the positive demands of the Achæans, to deliver up the guilty into their hands. The bones of Philopœmen were restored, and his funeral was attended by the whole Achæan council, who heaped on him, not only every human, but even several divine honours. Historians, both Greek and Latine, entertain so high an idea of this man, that several of them have recorded, as a circumstance remarkably distinguishing this year, that three illustrious commanders died in it, Philopœmen, Hannibal, and Publius Scipio, placing him on an equal footing with the most consummate generals of the two most powerful nations.

LI. Titus Quintius Flamininus came ambassador to king Prusias, who had incurred the jealousy of the Romans, by entertaining Hannibal after the flight of Antiochus, and by making war on Eumenes. Soon after his arrival, among other discourse, he remonstrated with Prusias, on his giving protection to a person, who, of all men living, was the most inveterate enemy to the Roman nation; who had incited, first, his own country, and, afterwards, when its power was reduced, king Antiochus, to make war on Rome. In consequence of this, or of Prusias having himself a desire of gratifying Flamininus, and the Roman people, he conceived the design of killing Hannibal, or delivering him into their hands. Immediately after the first conference therefore with Flamininus a party of soldiers was sent to guard Hannibal’s house. The Carthaginian had always foreseen some such end of his life; for he knew the implacable hatred which the Romans bore him, and placed little confidence in the faith of kings. Besides, he had experienced the fickle temper of Prusias, and had, for some time, dreaded the arrival of Flamininus, as an event fatal to him. Surrounded, as he was, by dangers, on all sides, in order to have always some passage open for flight, he had made seven doors to his house, of which some were concealed, lest they might be invested by a guard. But the imperious government of kings suffers nothing to remain secret, which they choose to discover. The troops formed a circle of guards round the house in such a manner, that it was impossible to slip out. Hannibal, on being told, that some of the king’s soldiers were in the porch, endeavoured to escape through a back door, which was the most private, and whence the passage was least likely to be observed; but, perceiving that to be guarded, and every avenue round to be shut by a body of soldiers, he called for poison, which he had long kept in readiness against such an event; and said, “Let us release the Romans from their long anxiety, since they have not patience to wait for the death of an old man. Flamininus will gain no very great or memorable victory, over one unarmed and betrayed. What an alteration has taken place in the behaviour of the Roman people, this day affords abundant proof. Their fathers gave warning to Pyrrhus, their armed foe, then heading an army against them in Italy, to beware of poison. The present generation have sent an ambassador, of consular rank, to persuade Prusias villainously to murder his guest.” Then imprecating curses on the head of Prusias, and on his kingdom, and calling on the gods, the avengers of violated hospitality, to witness his breach of faith, he drank off the contents of the cup. In this manner did Hannibal end his life.

LII. Both Polybius and Rutilius say, that Scipio died in this year; but I do not agree either with them, or Valerius. Not with them, because I find that, in the censorship of Marcus Porcius and Lucius Valerius, the censor himself, Lucius Valerius, was chosen prince of the senate, which place had for the three preceding lustrums been held by Africanus; and, if he were alive, unless he had been displaced from the senate, which disgrace no one has recorded, another prince would not have been chosen in his room. The authority of Antias is refuted by the plebeian tribunate of Marcus Nævius, against whom there is extant a speech, signed by Publius Africanus. Now, this Marcus Nævius, in the register of the magistrates, appears to have been plebeian tribune, in the consulate of Publius Claudius and Lucius Porcius; but he entered on the tribuneship in the consulate of Appius Claudius and Marcus Sempronius, on the fourth day before the ides of December, from which time, to the ides of March, when Publius Claudius and Lucius Porcius become on the consuls, there are three months. Thus it appears that he was living in the tribunate of Marcus Nævius, and might have been prosecuted by him; but that he died, before the censorship of Lucius Valerius and Marcus Porcius. The deaths of the three most illustrious men of their respective nations have a similarity, not only in respect to the concurrence of the times, but in this circumstance also, that no one of them met a death, suitable to the splendour of his life. In the first place, neither of them died or was buried in his native soil. Hannibal and Philopœmen were taken off by poison; Hannibal breathed his last in exile, betrayed by his host; Philopœmen in captivity, in a prison, and in chains. Scipio, though neither banished, nor condemned, yet, under prosecution, and summoned as an absent criminal to a trial, at which he did not appear, passed sentence of voluntary exile, not only on himself, while alive, but, likewise, on his body, after death.

LIII. During these transactions in Peloponnesus, whence I digressed, the return of Demetrius, with the ambassadors, into Macedonia, affected people’s minds in various manners. The generality of the Macedonians, terrified by the apprehension of an impending war with the Romans, looked with the highest esteem on Demetrius, to whom they owed the continuance of peace; and, at the same time, destined him to the throne, after the demise of his father. They argued, that, “although he was younger than Perseus, yet he was born of a wife, and the other of a concubine; that the latter, born of a mother, who did not confine her favours to one man, had no likeness to any particular father, whereas the former had a striking resemblance of Philip. Besides it was probable, that the Romans would place him on the throne of his father, as Perseus had no pretensions to their favour.” Such was the conversation of people in general. As to Perseus, he was tortured with fear, lest his age alone might not sufficiently secure his interest, his brother having the advantage of him in every other particular; while Philip, himself, doubting his own ability of choosing which of them he should leave heir to his dominions, began to think that his younger son, encroached on him, more than he could wish. He was sometimes displeased at the numerous attendance of the Macedonians, round Demetrius, and chagrined at perceiving that there was a second court, during his own lifetime. The young prince, no doubt, came home with more lofty notions of himself, elated with the honours paid him by the senate, and their having conceded to him what they had refused to his father; insomuch that every mention of the Romans, whatever degree of respect it procured him from the rest of the Macedonians, created an equal degree of envy, not only in the breast of his brother, but also in that of his father; especially after the Roman ambassadors arrived, and the king was obliged to evacuate Thrace, to withdraw his garrisons, and to perform the other articles, either according to the decisions of the former ambassadors, or the late regulations made by the senate. But all this he did with great reluctance, and even with anguish of mind. His feelings of this sort were aggravated, by seeing his son more frequently in company with them, than with himself; nevertheless, to avoid giving any pretence for an immediate commencement of hostilities, he paid submissive attention to the Romans, in every thing; and, in order to turn away their thoughts, from a suspicion of any such designs, he led an army into the heart of Thrace, against the Odrysians, Dantheletians, and Bessians. He took the city of Philippopolis, after it was deserted by the inhabitants, who fled with their families to the tops of the nearest mountains; and, by wasting the country, reduced the barbarians living in the plains, to submission. Then, leaving a garrison in Philippopolis, which was soon after expelled by the Odrysians, he set about building a town in Deuriopus. This is a district of Pæonia, near the river Erigonus, which, flowing from Illyricum, through Pæonia falls into the river Axius. Not far from the old city of Stobæ he built his new one, which he ordered to be called Perseis, in honour of his elder son.

LIV. While these things passed in Macedonia, the consuls went to their provinces. Marcellus sent forward an express to Lucius Porcius, the proconsul, to lead up the legions, to the new town of the Gauls; which people, on the arrival of the consul, surrendered themselves. There were of these twelve thousand fighting men, most of whom had arms, which they had forced from the inhabitants: all which, to their great mortification, were taken from them, as was every thing else which they had either acquired by plundering in the country, or had brought along with them. On this, they sent ambassadors to Rome to complain of those proceedings, who being introduced to audience of the senate, by the prætor Caius Valerius, represented, that “in consequence of a redundancy of people in Gaul, they had been compelled, by the want of land, and indeed of every thing, to cross the Alps, in quest of a settlement. That, finding lands lying uncultivated, they had settled in the country without doing injury to any. They had, likewise, begun to build a town, which was a proof that they did not come with ill intentions. That some time ago, Marcus Claudius sent them a message, that unless they surrendered to him, he would march against them, and that preferring a certain though not very honourable, peace, to the uncertainties of war, they had thrown themselves on the protection of Rome, before they submitted to its power. That, in a short time after, being ordered to quit the country, they had intended to remove, without murmuring, to whatever part of the world they were able, and that, notwithstanding, their arms, and finally all the property which they had brought with them, were taken from them. They therefore besought the senate and people of Rome, not to treat harmless people, who had surrendered themselves, with greater severity, than they would enemies.” To this discourse the senate ordered the following answer to be given: That “on one hand, they had not acted properly in coming into Italy, and attempting to build a town, in the territory of others, without permission from any Roman magistrate commanding in that province; yet on the other hand, the senate did not approve of people who had surrendered, being stripped of their property. They would therefore appoint ambassadors, who should go with them to the consuls, and order all their effects to be restored, provided they returned to the place whence they came; and who should also proceed to the other side of the Alps, and give warning to the Gallic states, to keep their people at home. That the two countries were separated by those mountains, to be an almost insuperable barrier, which, whoever should pass in future, should meet no better fate than those who first showed them passable.” The ambassadors sent were, Lucius Furius Purpeureo, Quintus Minucius, Publius Manlius Acidinus. The Gauls on receiving restitution of all the effects, which had been justly their own, withdrew out of Italy.

LV. The transalpine states answered the Roman ambassadors, in terms of friendship and kindness. Their elders even found fault with the excessive lenity of the Roman people, in “suffering men to depart with impunity, who, without an order of their nation, left their home, attempted to seize on lands belonging to the Roman empire, and to build a town on them. They ought,” they said, “to have suffered severely for their inconsiderate conduct; and, as to the restoration of their effects, they expressed a fear, lest, in consequence of this too great tenderness, others might be encouraged to attempts of a like nature.” They not only entertained the ambassadors, but conferred considerable presents on them. The consul Marcus Claudius, when he had sent the Gauls out of his province, began to prepare for a war with the Istrians, and wrote to the senate, for permission to lead the legions into their country. The senate approved of the measure. They formed an intention of establishing a colony at Aquileia; but were some time divided in opinion, whether it should consist of Latines, or Roman citizens; at last however they passed a vote, in favour of a Latine settlement. The commissioners appointed for the purpose, were Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus. In the same year, colonies of Roman citizens were led out to Mutina, and Parma. Two thousand men were settled in each colony, on lands which lately belonged to the Boians, and formerly to the Tuscans; they received at Parma eight acres, at Mutina five each. These colonists were conducted by Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, Titus Æbutius Carus, and Lucius Quintius Crispinus. The colony of Saturnia, also, consisting of Roman citizens, was settled on the lands of Caletra, by Quintus Fabius Labeo, Caius Afranius Stellio, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who assigned to each man ten acres.

LVI. This year Aulus Terentius Varro, proprætor, fought some successful battles with the Celtiberians, near the river Iberus, in the territory of Auseta, reducing several towns, which they had fortified in that quarter. The farther Spain was quiet during the whole year, Publius Sempronius, the propærtor, being seized with a lingering disorder. In Liguria nothing extraordinary was performed by Quintus Fabius the consul. Marcus Marcellus being recalled out of Istria, to attend the elections, disbanded his army, and came home to Rome.Y. R. 570
182. He elected consuls Cneius Bæbius Tamphilus, and Lucius Æmilius Paulus. This latter had been curule ædile, along with Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, who, after two disappointments, was chosen consul, and from the time of whose consulate, this was the fifth year. Then were elected prætors, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, Marcus Valerius Lævinus, Publius Manlius a second time, Marcus Ogulnius Gallus, Lucius Cæcilius Denter, and Caius Terentius Istra. Towards the close of the year, a supplication was performed, on occasion of prodigies, for people were persuaded that it had rained blood for two days in the court of the temple of Concord; and an account was received, that, near the coast of Sicily, a new island rose out of the sea. Valerius Antias fixes the death of Hannibal in this year, and says, that besides Titus Quintius Flamininus, whose name is mentioned in this business, by all writers, Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, and Publius Scipio Nasica, were sent ambassadors to Prusias on that occasion.

BOOK XL.

Violent contests between Demetrius and Perseus, the sons of Philip, king of Macedonia In consequence of the intrigues and calumnies of Perseus, and the jealousy excited by Demetrius’s attachment to the Romans, the latter is put to death, by poison; by which means, after the death of Philip, Perseus obtains the crown. Successes of the Romans, under different commanders, against the Ligurians; and, in Spain, against the Celtiberians. The books of Numa Pompilius discovered, buried in a stone chest, under the Janiculum; burned by the prætor, by order of the senate. Philip discovers the villainous machinations of Perseus, determines to bring him to punishment, and to settle the crown upon Antigonus; dies, and is succeeded by Perseus.

Y. R. 570.
182I.At the commencement of the next year, the consuls and prætors settled the distribution of their provinces. For the consuls, there was no province to be decreed, except Liguria. The city jurisdiction fell to Marcus Ogulnius Gallus; the foreign, to Marcus Valerius; the hither Spain, to Marcus Fulvius Flaccus; the farther, to Publius Manlius; Sicily, to Lucius Cæcilius Denter; and Sardinia, to Caius Terentius Istra. The consuls were ordered to levy troops, for Quintus Fabius had writen from Liguria, that the Apuans seemed inclined to renew hostilities, and that there was reason to apprehend their making an irruption into the district of Pisæ. From Spain, also, intelligence was received, that the hither province was in arms; that the war still continued with the Celtiberians; and that, in the farther province, in consequence of the long sickness of the prætor, the discipline of the army was greatly relaxed, through inactivity and intemperance. For these reasons, it was decreed, that new armies should be raised; four legions for Liguria, each containing five thousand two hundred foot, and three hundred horse, and to these were added, of the Latines, fifteen thousand foot, and eight hundred horse. These were to complete the two consular armies. They were ordered, also, to enrol seven thousand foot and six hundred horse, of the allies and Latines, and to send them into Gaul to Marcus Marcellus, who, on the expiration of his consulship, was continued in command. For the Spains, also, there were raised to be sent into both provinces, four thousand foot and two hundred horse, of Roman citizens; and, of the allies, seven thousand foot, and three hundred horse. Quintus Fabius Labeo was continued in command, for the year, with the army that he then had in Liguria.

II. The spring of this year was remarkable for storms. On the day before the feast of Pales, a tremendous hurricane arose, and made shocking havoc in many places, both sacred and common. It threw down brazen statues in the capitol; tore away a gate from the temple of Luna, on the Aventine, and dashed it against the wall of the temple of Ceres: overturned other statues in the great circus, together with the pillars on which they stood; tore off several cupolas from the tops of temples, which it shattered to pieces, and scattered about. This storm was deemed a prodigy, and the aruspices ordered it to be expiated. At the same time, expiation was made for a mule, with three feet, being said to be foaled at Reate; and for a temple of Apollo at Formiæ, and another at Caieta, which were said to be struck by lightning. On account of these prodigies, twenty of the larger victims were sacrificed, and a supplication, of one day’s continuance was performed. About the same time information was brought, by a letter from Aulus Terentius, proprætor, that Publius Sempronius, after struggling with his disorder, for more than a year, died in the farther province: for which reason the prætors were ordered to make the more haste into Spain. The foreign embassies then had audience of the senate: and, first, those of the kings Eumenes and Pharnaces, and of the Rhodians, complaining of the sufferings of the inhabitants of Sinope. There came, also, at this time, ambassadors from Philip, and the Achæans, and Lacedæmonians, to whom the senate gave answers, after having, first, heard the report of Marcius, who had been sent to inspect the affairs of Greece and Macedonia. To the Asiatic kings, and the Rhodians, they answered, that they would send ambassadors to examine into those matters.

III. Marcius had increased their anxiety respecting Philip; for, though he acknowledged that the king had complied with the injunctions of the senate, he had yet done it in such a manner, as demonstrated that his compliance would last no longer than necessity required; nor was it difficult to see, that he intended to make another trial of the fortune of war, all his actions and words at the present having a tendency that way. In the first place, he removed almost the whole body of horsemen, with their families, from the maritime cities, into Emathia, as it is now called, formerly Pæonia, giving up those cities to be inhabited by Thracians and other barbarians: thinking that such kind of people would prove more faithful to him, in case of a war with Rome. This proceeding caused great discontent all over Macedonia; and of those, who, with their wives and children were obliged to leave their dwellings, few concealed their grief in silence; most of them, as they marched in bodies along the roads, letting their hatred get the better of their fears, uttered curses against the king. This disturbed his mind to such a degree, that he conceived suspicions of danger from every man, and from every place and season; and, at last, went so far as to declare openly, that he could not think himself safe, in any respect, without seizing and confining the sons of those whom he had destroyed, and sending them out of the world at different times.

IV. The cruelty of these proceedings, horrible in itself, was rendered still more so by the calamities of one particular family. Philip had, many years before, put to death Herodicus, a Thessalian of distinction; and afterwards his sons-in-law. His daughters, who were thus left widows, had each one son. The names of the women were Theoxena, and Archo. Theoxena, though courted by many, rejected every offer of marriage. Archo married a person called Poris, the first in dignity of the Ænean nation; and, after bearing him many children, died, leaving them all young. Theoxena then, in order that her sister’s children might be educated under her own inspection, married Poris, and, as if she herself had borne them all, treated her sister’s sons, and her own, with the same affectionate care. When she heard of the king’s order for seizing the children of the persons who had fallen by his tyranny, supposing that they would be subjected not only to the king’s lust, but to that of his guards, she formed a horrid project, and had the hardiness to declare, that she would kill them all with her own hand, rather than they should come into the power of Philip. Poris, shocked at the mention of such a dreadful deed, told her that he would carry them away to Athens, to some faithful friends, and would himself accompany them in their flight. They all went from Thessalonica to Æneas, to a stated sacrifice, which is performed there, yearly, with great solemnity, in honour of Æneas, the founder of the nation. After passing the day there, in the anniversary feast, about the third watch, when all were asleep, they embarked in a vessel ready prepared by Poris, as if intending to return to Thessalonica; but their design was to cross over to Eubæa. However, day-light overtook them, at a small distance from the land, where they were struggling in vain against a contrary wind, when the king’s officers, who commanded the garrison of the port, despatched an armed bark to bring back their ship, with a strict injunction not to return without it. When this vessel came near the other, Poris exerted every effort to animate the rowers and sailors, and, raising his hands towards heaven, supplicated the gods for succour. Meanwhile, the woman, with desperate fury recurring to the shocking design, which she had long premeditated, dissolved some poison, and produced swords; then, placing the cup before their eyes, and unsheathing the swords, said, “These are the ways to death,—our only refuge. Of these, let each take whichever he prefers; so shall you escape the tyranny of the king. Come, then, dear youths, let those of you who are the elder, first take the sword; or, if a slower death is your choice, the cup.” On one hand, the enemy were approaching fast; on the other, she, who urged them to despatch themselves, was instant; whereupon the young men, putting an end to their lives, some by the sword and some by the poison, were thrown, expiring, into the sea. Then, embracing her husband and companion in death, she plunged into the deep. The king’s people then took possession of the ship, in which they found not one of its owners.

V. The shocking circumstances of this transaction added fresh fuel to the flame of public resentment against the king, insomuch that most people imprecated curses on him and his children; which curses were heard by the gods, who soon after caused him to vent his cruelty on those of his own blood. For Perseus, perceiving that the popularity and high reputation of his brother Demetrius increased daily among the Macedonians; and also his interest with the Romans, saw no hope left to himself of obtaining the crown, except by some wicked device: he therefore bent all his thoughts to that one point. But, not thinking himself, alone, strong enough even for the dastardly project, which he meditated in his effeminate mind, he began to tamper with each of his father’s friends by dark hints and suggestions. At first, several of these showed an appearance of rejecting with aversion any such overtures, because they entertained higher expectations from Demetrius. Philip’s animosity to the Romans, however, increased every day,—an animosity which Perseus fomented; but which Demetrius laboured, with all his might, to assuage. They foresaw therefore the fatal end of the youth, who used no precaution against the base designs of his brother; and thinking it prudent not to oppose what they judged must happen, and to support the pretensions of the more powerful, they united themselves to Perseus. Other measures they deferred to be executed each in its season; for the present, they determined to use every means to inflame the king’s anger towards the Romans, and to urge him to resolve on war, to which he was of himself very much inclined. At the same time, in order to aggravate his suspicions of Demetrius, they made it a practice in conversation to speak contemptuously of the Romans; some depreciating their manners and institutions, some their military achievements, some the appearance of the city itself unadorned, without either public or private structures; and others, some particular individuals among their principal men. On these occasions, the unwary young prince, out of affection to the Roman nation, and warmth of opposition to his brother, strongly maintained their cause, and by this means rendered himself more suspected by his father, and more obnoxious to injurious insinuations. Philip, therefore, kept him a stranger to all his designs respecting the Romans; and bestowing his entire confidence on Perseus, held with him, daily and nightly, deliberations on that subject. It happened, that some persons, whom he had sent to the Bastarnians, to solicit aid, came home at this time, and brought with them several young men of distinction, and some of the royal family; one of whom promised his sister in marriage to Philip’s son, and the close connection with that nation greatly raised the king’s spirits. Hereupon, Perseus said, “What does that avail? Foreign aids do not give us security, proportioned to the danger that threatens us from domestic treachery. I am unwilling to call him traitor, but a spy we certainly have in our bosom, and who, since he was a hostage at Rome, though the people returned us his person, has left his heart in their possession. Almost every Macedonian looks up to him, supposing that they are to have no other king than one given by the Romans.” By such discourses, the old man’s mind, distempered in itself, was stimulated to passion, and these imputations sunk deeper in his mind, than appeared from his countenance.

VI. The time of the purification of the army now arrived. The ceremony is thus performed:—A dog being cut asunder in the middle, the head, with the fore part and the entrails, is laid on the right side of the road, and the hind part on the left. Between the parts of the victim, thus divided, the forces march under arms. In the front of the van, are carried the remarkable suits of armour of all the kings of Macedonia, from the remotest origin; next follows the king himself, with his children; then the royal cohort and body guards, and the rest of the national troops close the rear. On this occasion, the king was accompanied by his two sons, one on each side of him; Perseus being now in his thirtieth year, Demetrius five years younger; the former in the full strength of manhood, the latter in its bloom; a ripe progeny, capable of rendering their father happy, if sound wisdom had regulated their conduct. The custom was, that when the purification was finished, the troops performed their exercise; and then, being divided into two equal parties, engaged in representation of a battle. The young princes were appointed commanders in this mock engagement; not indeed mock engagement, as it should have been; for the encounter was, as if they were fighting for the throne: many wounds were given with the foils, nor was any thing but sharp weapons wanting to render it a regular battle. The party under Demetrius had a great superiority; and, while Perseus was vexed thereat, his judicious friends rejoiced; and said, that that very cirsumstance would afford grounds for the heavier charges against his brother.

VII. Each of the princes gave an entertainment that day to the party, who had exercised under his command. Perseus was invited to supper by Demetrius, but refused; however, cheerful hospitality, on such a festival day; and youthful mirth, led both to drink freely of wine. The conversation of either party turned on the incidents of the mock engagement, and jocular remarks were thrown on their antagonists, without sparing even the commanders themselves. To listen and catch such expressions, a spy was sent from among the guests of Perseus; but not conducting himself with sufficient caution, he was detected by some young men who happened to come out of the banqueting-room, and severely beaten. Demetrius, knowing nothing of this matter, said, “Why don’t we go and join in merriment with my brother, assuaging, by our openness and candour, any remains of his anger that may subsist since the fight?” All cried out at once, that they would attend him, except those who were afraid of immediate vengeance for having beaten the spy. These, however, being pressed by Demetrius to go with the rest, concealed swords under their clothes, with which they might defend themselves if any violence should be offered. In the case of domestic discord, nothing can be kept secret. Both houses were full of spies and traitors. An informer ran on before to Perseus and told him, that four armed young men were coming with Demetrius. Though he well knew the reason of their fears, (for he had heard of the beaten given to his guest,) yet, for the purpose of giving the matter a bad colour, he ordered his gate to be locked, and from the windows facing the street he called aloud to the revellers, and as if they were come to murder him, not to approach the house. Demetrius, flushed with wine, exclaimed loudly on being shut out. He then went home to his own feast, entirely ignorant of the meaning of this proceeding.

VIII. Next day, Perseus, as soon as he could be admitted to his father’s presence, went into the palace; and with a countenance expressive of great perturbation, stood silent, at a distance. Philip asked him, “if all was well, and what was the cause of that sadness?” He answered, “I must tell you, that it is but by mere accident, that I am now alive. My brother attacks us, not with secret treachery; he came last night to my house, with men in arms, to take away my life; and it was by shutting the doors, and keeping the walls between me and him, that I saved myself from his fury.” As these words filled his father with horror, mixed with wonder, he added, if you can prevail on yourself to listen to me, I will give you the clearest proof of the matter.” Philip replied that he would certainly listen to him, and ordered Demetrius to be instantly summoned. He then sent for two friends of advanced age, Lysimachus and Onomastus, (who never interfered in the disputes of the brothers, and who of late had but seldom appeared in the palace,) that he might have the assistance of their advice. In the interim, he walked about, by himself, revolving many things in his mind. On being told that his friends were arrived, he retired with them into an inner apartment, attended by two of his lifeguards; at the same time permitting each of his sons to bring in three persons unarmed. Here, having taken his seat, he said, “Surely I am the most unhappy of fathers, sitting here as judge, between my two sons, on a charge of fratricide, made by one of them against the other; so that I must find in my nearest relations, the foul stam either of falsehood, or of wicked violence. This long time, indeed, I have apprehended an impending storm, not only from your countenances, which showed no sign of brotherly affection, but from some expressions which I have overheard. But I sometimes cherished the hope, that the heat of your resentments would cool, and that your mutual suspicions might be cleared up; for I considered, that even enemies lay down their arms and become friends; and I trusted that you would some time or other recal the memory of your fraternal relation to each other, of the open freedom and intimacy that subsisted between you in your boyish days; and finally, of my instructions, which, I fear, I have fruitlessly poured into deaf ears. How often have I, in your hearing, mentioned, with abhorrence, examples of discord between brothers, and recounted the dreadful consequences of them, by which themselves, their offspring, their houses, and their kingdoms, have been utterly ruined. I have represented, on the other hand, more laudable examples; the social intercourse between the two kings of the Lacedæmonians, beneficial to themselves and to their country for many ages; and where the custom of every one arbitrarily seizing on power, was quite overturned. Then, the brothers, Eumenes and Attalus, having raised their dominions (once so low, that they were almost ashamed of the title of king,) to an equality with mine, or with those of Antiochus, or indeed of any monarch of this age, and principally by brotherly concord. Nor did I decline showing you examples even from among the Romans; some that had fallen under my own observation, others that I had heard: as Titus and Lucius Quintius, who carried on the war with me; the two Scipios, Publius and Lucius, who vanquished Antiochus, and their father and uncle, whose sociality, maintained through life, was not broken even by death. But neither could the wickedness of the former, attended by a suitable issue, deter you from your foolish quarrels; nor could the sound judgment and good fortune of the latter, bend you to wisdom. While I am alive, and in health, you have both of you, in your hopes and wishes, laid hold on the succession. You wish me to live just so long as that, surviving one, I should, by my death, make the other king without a competitor. You cannot endure to have either brother or father. You have no sense of affection, or duty; your insatiable passion for rule, alone, has taken up the place of all other feelings. Come, then, contaminate your father’s ears, contend with mutual accusations, as you soon will with the sword; speak out whatever you can with truth, or whatever you may choose to invent. My ears are now open; but, henceforward, will be shut against all secret charges of one against the other.” On his uttering these words, with furious passion, every one present burst into tears, and for a long time kept a sorrowful silence.

IX. At length Perseus spoke to this effect: “I ought then, it seems, to have opened my gate in the night, to have admitted those armed revellers, and held out my throat to their swords; since nothing less than the perpetration of the deed can gain belief, and since I, against whom a murderous plot was levelled, am accosted in the same language as if I were a robber and an assassin. It is not without reason, that people say that you have but one son, Demetrius; and that I am suppositious, and born of a concubine; for if I held in your breast the rank of a son, or the affection due to one, you would wreak your anger not on me, who, on detecting a plot against my life, make my complaint, but on him who was the author of it: nor would myself be, so cheap in your eyes, as that you should neither be moved by the danger which I have already undergone, nor by that to which I must be exposed in future, if the assassins are permitted to go unpunished. If therefore it be our doom to die in silence, let us only pray the gods, that the wicked design aimed at me may end with me; and that you be not wounded through my sides. But if, as nature itself dictates to people, encompassed with perils in a desert place, to implore aid from men whom they had never seen, so I, on finding a sword drawn against me, may be allowed to raise my voice. I beseech you then, by your own person, by the name of father, (and you long know which of us reveres that title most,) that you may hear me in the same manner, as you would if roused by calls and outcries, you had come up, when I was crying for help, and in the dead of night had found Demetrius, with armed men, in the porch of my house. What I should at that time, and in that case, have exclaimed against with terror, I now next day, lay before you in form of a complaint. Brother, it is long since you and I lived together on the terms of mutual hospitality; your chief wish is to be king; your hopes on that head meet obstacles in my age, in the law of nations, in the ancient practice of Macedonia, as well as in my father’s judgment. These you can surmount by no other means than by shedding my blood. To this end, you leave no scheme or effort untried. Hitherto, either my care or fortune has kept me from destruction. Yesterday, on occasion of the purification the military exercise and mock representation of a fight, you brought on almost a bloody battle; nor was I saved from death by any other means than by suffering myself and my party to be overcome. After this pretending brotherly sport, you wanted to drag me to your house to supper. Father, can you suppose I should have met there unarmed guests, when they came, in arms, to my house to drink with me? Do you think there would have been no danger in the night from their swords, when, before, they were near killing me with foils? Why, Demetrius did you come at that time of night; why, an enemy come to a person provoked; why with young men in arms? I did not dare to trust myself with you as a guest, and shall I admit you to drink with me, when you come surrounded with armed men? Father, if the gate had been open, you would at this moment bepreparing my funeral, instead of hearing my complaint. I do not as an accuser urge any thing for the purpose of aggravation; neither do I put together doubtful circumstances, in a train of artful arguments. For what can he say? Does he deny that he came to my gate with a large party, or that there were armed men with him? Send for the persons; I will name them. I know that they who dared to make this attempt, dare to do any thing; nevertheless, they will not dare to contradict what I say. If I brought before you any who had been caught within my doors, in arms, you would consider this as full proof; and you ought to consider those who make confession of what I have charged them with, in the same light, as if actually caught in the fact.

X. “Father! your curses should fall on the ambition for rule. Call up the furies, the avengers of the wrongs of brothers; but let not your curses be undiscriminating. Examine and distinguish between the plotter and the person plotted against, and pour them on the guilty head. Let him, who intended to kill a brother, feel the wrath of the gods, and of his father also; and let him, who was to have perished by a brother’s wickedness, find refuge in his father’s compassion and justice. For where else shall I seek refuge, who cannot find safety in the solemn purification of your army, in the exercise of the troops, in my own house, in a feast, nor in the night, which nature’s bounty granted to mankind for a season of repose. If I go to my brother, according to his invitation, I must die. If I admit my brother to a party of pleasure within my own gates, I must die. Neither by going, nor by staying, can I escape treacherous plots. Whither then shall I betake me? Father, your favour only have I ever courted, and that of the gods. I have not the Romans to fly to. They wish my destruction, because I grieve at the injuries which they have done to you; because I resent your being deprived of so many cities, so many nations, and but the other day, of the coast of Thrace. They have no hope that Macedonia will ever be their property, while either you or I are safe. But, if I should be taken off by the wickedness of my brother, and you by old age; or if even this should not be waited for, they know that both the king and kingdom of Macedonia will become theirs. If the Romans had left you any thing beyond the limits of Macedonia, I would suppose that I might there find shelter. But I have protection enough in the Macedonians. You were an eyewitness yesterday of the attack made on me by the soldiers. What did they want but pointed weapons, to complete the business. And what they wanted, in the day, my brother’s guests took to themselves in the night. Why need I mention the greater part of the nobles, who have placed all their hopes of wealth and preferment in the Romans, and in him, who can do every thing with the Romans? Nor, in truth, do they prefer him merely to me, his elder brother, but, in some measure, to yourself, his king and father. For he is the person, out of regard to whom the senate remitted to you the intended punishment, who now screens you from the Roman arms; who thinks it fit that your advanced age should be under obligation to, and under control of his youth. He is supported by the Romans, by all the cities liberated from your jurisdiction, by the Macedonians who are pleased at the peace with Rome. For me, where is there either hope or support of any kind, except in you, my father.

XI. “What do you suppose to be the intention of the letter sent to you lately by Titus Quintius, in which he not only says, that you acted wisely for your own interest in sending Demetrius to Rome, but also advises you to send him back again, with a greater number of ambassadors, and even the first men of Macedonia? Titus Quintius is now his counsellor, and master, in every thing. You, his father, he has renounced, and has substituted Quintius in your place. Rome is the principal place, where their secret plans are digested. When he desires you to send greater numbers, and the chief men of Macedonia, he is seeking assistance in their schemes. For those, who go thither, pure and uncorrupt, and satisfied that you are really their king, return tainted and infected by Roman poisons. Demetrius alone is every thing with them. They give him the title of king, even in his father’s lifetime. If I express my indignation at these things, I am charged with being ambitious for rule; not only by others, but, father, even by you. But this charge, if made against both, I do not admit; for whom do I disturb from his place, that I may succeed in his room? My father alone is before me; and that he may long be so, I beseech the gods. If I survive him, (and so may I survive him, as I shall deserve that himself may wish it,) I shall receive the crown, if my father devises it to me. He covets rule, and covets it with a criminal passion, who hastily over-leaps the order of age, of nature, of the Macedonian customs, and of the laws of nations. An elder brother stands in his way; to whom by right, and by the choice of his father, the succession belongs. Let us, he cries, put him out of the way. I shall not be the first that acquired a kingdom by killing a brother. My father being old, and left alone by his son’s death, will rather fear for himself, than revenge the death of his son. The Romans will rejoice, they will approve, they will support the act. Father, these prospects are uncertain, but they are not without grounds. For the matter stands thus: it is in your power to ward off danger ,by punishing those who took arms to kill me; but should their villainy succeed, it will not then be in your power to take vengeance for my death.”

XII. When Perseus ceased speaking, the eyes of all present were turned on Demetrius, as they expected from him an immediate reply: but he kept silence for a long time. It was evident that, drowned as he was in tears, he had not power to utter a word; but, at last, the necessity that called on him to speak, overcame his grief, and he expressed himself thus: “Father, all the aids of which persons accused could heretofore have availed themselves, my brother has taken from me, and converted to his own purpose. By his tears, counterfeited for the purpose of working another’s ruin, he has caused my real tears to be suspected by you. Although, ever since my return from Rome, he has employed himself night and day in plotting my destruction, and holding, for that end, secret consultations with his confederates, yet he now represents me in the character, not only of a conspirator, but of an open assassin and murderer. He terrifies you with his danger, in order to hasten through your means the ruin of an innocent brother. He asserts, that he has no place of refuge in the world, in order to cut off any remains of hope, which I might have, even in you. Circumvented, unsupported, and helpless as I am, he loads me with injurious imputations, respecting interest with foreigners, which, instead of proving useful, is detrimental to me. Then, with what unfair artifice does he act, in blending the charge of last night with invectives against the rest of my conduct; with design, on the one hand, by his representation of the tenor of my behaviour, in other particulars, to throw a colour of guilt on the former, the true nature of which you shall soon understand; and, on the other hand, to support the other groundless insinuations respecting my views, wishes, and designs by this latter, fictitious, fabricated story. He had, at the same time, a farther design; that his accusation might appear to be sudden and unpremediated, as if occasioned by sudden fright and disturbance in the night. But, Perseus, if I were a traitor against my father and his government; if I had formed connections with the Romans, or with others, enemies of my father, the tale of last night ought not to have been waited for; I ought to have been long ago brought to answer for my treason. And if the other charge were unfounded, and tended to discover your ill will towards me, rather than my guilt, it ought on the present day also, to be either omitted or postponed; in order that it might clearly appear, whether I plotted against you; or you, with indeed a strange and singular kind of hatred, against me. However, I will, as well as I am able, in my present unforeseen perturbation of mind, distinguish those matters, which you have confounded; and I will unveil the plot of the preceding evening, whether mine or yours. Perseus wishes it to be believed, that I had formed a design to take his life, with the view, it seems, that having removed the elder brother, to whom by the law of nations, by the custom of Macedonia, and likewise by your judgment, as he says the kingdom was to devolve, I the younger, should succeed in the room of him whom I had slain. What, then, can be the meaning of that other part of his speech, where he says, that I courted the favour of the Romans, and from my reliance on them, conceived hopes of the crown? For, if I believed that the Romans possessed such influence, that they could impose on Macedonia whatever king they pleased, and if I had such confidence in my interest with them, what need was there of fratricide? Could it be my wish to wear a diadem stained with a brother’s blood, or to become odious and execrable, in the eyes of those very people, with whom, whatever share of interest I might happen to have, was procured by either real, or at least, affected integrity of conduct? Can this be possible, I say, unless you believe that Titus Quintius, by whose counsels and advice you allege I am at present governed, though he lives on a footing of such cordial affection with his own brother, would recommend to me to murder mine? He has assembled together for me, not only the favour of the Romans, but the opinions of the Macedonians, and the concurring sentiments almost of all the gods, and of all mankind, by reason of all which he cannot believe that he would prove equal to me in the competition. Yet the same man accuses me of having, (while sensible of my inferiority to him in every mode of proceeding,) had recourse to an act of wickedness as my only resource. Are you satisfied, that the decision between us shall be made on this principle, that whichever feared lest the other should seem more worthy of the throne, shall be deemed guilty of designing his brother’s destruction?

XIII. “But let us examine the process of this accusation, in whatever manner it has been fabricated. He has arraigned me of attempting his life, in several different methods; and all these modes of attack he has brought within the compass of one day. I intended to kill him in the middle of the day; in the course of the exercises; and, in preference of all other days, on that of the purification. I intended, when I invited him to supper, to take him off by poison. I intended, when some armed persons followed me to join his party in their conviviality, to kill him with the sword. You see what sort of opportunities were chosen for this murder; those of sport, feasting, and revelling, and on what days, or on what sort of a day! On the day, in which the army was purified; in which, after the royal armour of all the former kings in Macedonia was carried in procession between the divided parts of the victim, when he and I, only, rode along with you, father, at your sides, and the body of the Macedonian troops followed. Now, even supposing that I had formerly been guilty of some crime, could I, after being purified and expiated in this sacred solemnity, at the very time when I was looking at the victim laid on each side of our road, revolve in my mind fratricide; could I have poisons and swords prepared against the feast? With what other sacred rights could I afterwards atone for the guilt of a mind thus contaminated with every kind of villainy? But his understanding is so blinded by eagerness to turn every thing into a crime, that he confounds one thing with another. For if, Perseus, I intended to take you off by poison, what could be more incongruous with my design, than to provoke you to rage by an obstinate contest and fight? Ought I to have given you reason to refuse, as you did, my invitation to supper? But when, in your anger, you had refused, whether ought I to have taken pains to pacify you, that I might find another opportunity, since I had got the poison ready, or to fly off at once to another plan of killing you with the sword, and on that same day, under pretence of feasting with you? If I thought that you declined supping with me, through fear for your life, how could I suppose that you would not, through the same fear, have declined admitting me to drink with you.

XIV. “Father, I have no cause to blush, that on a festival day, among companions of my own age, I should have indulged too freely in wine; and I wish you would inquire what cheerfulness and mirth prevailed, in yesterday’s entertainment, at my house, heightened too by our joy, perhaps a blameable one, for our party not having been worsted in the fight. My present misfortune, and my fears, have effectually dissipated the fumes of the liquor; but, if these had not intervened, we, the conspirators, would have been now lying fast asleep. If, Perseus, I designed to storm your house, and after taking it, to kill the owner, ought I not to have refrained from wine for that one day, and to have kept my soldiers sober? That I should not be the only one to defend my cause with excessive candour, my brother himself, not in the least inclined to malice or suspicion, says, I know nothing more, I charge them with nothing more, than that they came in arms to drink with me. If I should ask, how come you acquainted with that circumstance? you must necessarily acknowledge, either that my house was full of your spies, or that my companions took arms so openly, as that every one could know their purpose. Lest he should seem to argue, with an intention to aggravate guilt, he desires you to inquire from the persons, whom he would name, whether they had carried swords, in order that, in such a case, and respecting a fact which themselves confess, I might be deemed convicted. Why, Perseus, do you not rather desire inquiry to be made, whether they carried swords for the purpose of killing you? whether, by my directions and knowledge? for this is what you wish to be believed, and not what they will confess, and what is, indeed, notorious, that they carried them for the purpose of defending themselves. Whether they acted right or wrong, let them account for their own conduct. My cause, which is in no way affected by this act, you ought not to have blended with it; or you ought to have explained, whether we intended to attack you openly or secretly. If openly, why did we not all carry swords, and not those only who had beaten your spy? If privately, what was our plan? Were four to remain, when the banquet broke up, and I, your guest, had departed, in order to fall on you in your sleep? How would they have escaped detection, as being strangers, and belonging to me; and, above all, being liable to suspicion, on account of their having been in a quarrel a little before? And how were they to escape after having killed you? Was your house so weakly defended, as that it could be stormed by the aid of four swords.

XV. “Drop then, that fable of last night; and recur to what really grieves you, what kindles your envy. Say,—Why, Demetrius, is mention made any where of your mounting the throne? Why do you appear, to some, more worthy to succeed to your father’s dignity than I? Why do you disturb, with doubt and anxiety, my hopes which would be certain if you were not in being? These are the thoughts of Perseus, though he does not express them; these make him my enemy, these my accuser; these, my father, fill your house, these fill your kingdom with accusations and suspicions. But as I ought not now to hope for the crown, or perhaps ever to think of a competition for it, being, as I am, the younger brother, and it being your will that I should yield to the elder; so neither ought I, at any former time, or at the present, to act in such a manner, as to appear undeserving of having you for my father, and of all the other blessings of my life. That would be the consequence of vicious conduct in me, not of moderation, and of yielding to him, to whom the laws, divine and human, order me to give place. I am upbraided in regard to the Romans; and what ought to be deemed an honour, is turned into a crime. It was not at my request, that I was either delivered a hostage to the Romans, or sent ambassador to Rome. Being commissioned by you, I did not refuse to go. On both occasions, I conducted myself in such a manner, as to be no disgrace to you, to your kingdom, or to the Macedonian nation. You, therefore, father, have been the cause of my friendship with the Romans. As long as peace shall subsist between you and them, so long will I also continue in friendship with them; but, if war should arise, I, who have been there a hostage, and no unprofitable ambassador in my father’s behalf, will be their most determined enemy. Nor do I, this day, require, that the favour of the Romans should be any advantage to me; I only deprecate its being made detrimental. It neither commenced in war, nor is it meant to subsist in war. I was a pledge of peace; and, to procure a continuance of peace, I was sent ambassador. Let neither be esteemed an honour or a crime. Father, if I have been guilty of any undutiful behaviour towards you, or any criminal behaviour towards my brother, there is no punishment to which I will not submit without murmuring. If I am innocent, let me not, I beseech you, be destroyed by envy. My brother’s accusation, this day, is not the first that he has brought against me; but it is the first made openly, and is entirely undeserved by me. If my father were angry with me, it would become the elder brother to intercede for the younger, to obtain pardon for his youth and for his error; but, in the very person, from whom I ought to receive protection, in him I meet my ruin. From a feast, and intemperate drinking, I have been hurried, almost half asleep, to defend myself against a charge of fratricide. Without advocates, without patrons, I am compelled to plead my own cause. If I were to speak for another, I would have taken time to study and compose my discourse; though, in that case, I should run no other hazard than that of my reputation for abilities. But before I knew the reason of being summoned hither, I heard you in a paroxysm of passion, ordering me to account for my conduct and my brother accusing me. He employed, against me, a speech, long before prepared and studied; while I had no longer time for learning the nature of the case, than while the charges against me were recited. During that short space, whether should I listen to my accuser, or study a defence? Thunderstruck by the sudden and unthought-of calamity, I was scarcely capable of understanding what was alleged against me, much less of settling properly, in my mind, what defence I should make. What hope, indeed, could I have, if my judge were not my father; with whom, though my elder brother has the advantage of a larger share in his affection, yet surely, standing thus accused, I ought not to meet a less share of compassion. For my prayer is, that you would save me, for my sake, and for your own; he demands, that for his security, you should put me to death. In what manner, do you think, will he act, when you shall deliver the kingdom into his hands, who, even now, thinks it reasonable that he should be gratified with my blood?” While he was proceeding in this manner, his voice was stopped by a flood of tears. Philip ordered Perseus and Demetrius to withdraw; and after conferring a short time with his friends, declared, that “he could not, from a single hour’s discussion, form a definite judgment on the cause between them. This could only be done by a scrutiny into the conduct and manners of both, and a close observation of their words and actions, on all occasions, great and small.” From which it appeared clearly to every one, that the charge relating to the preceding night, was effectually refuted; but that Demetrius was viewed with jealously, as too closely connected with the Romans. Such were the seeds of a Macedonian war, which were sowed during the life-time of Philip, though they did not ripen into effect until the government fell into the hands of Perseus, with whom it was waged.

XVI. Both the consuls went into Liguria, at that time, the only consular province. Their successes there occasioned a supplication of one day to be decreed. About two thousand Ligurians came to the extreme borders of the Gallic province, where Marcellus lay encamped, and requested him to receive their submission. Marcellus ordered them to wait where they were, and sent a letter to the senate, desiring to know their pleasure. The senate ordered Marcus Ogulnius, prætor, to write back to Marcellus, that “it would have been more proper for the consuls, whose province it was, than for them, to have determined what, in this case, was for the public advantage. That, however, as the matter stood, it was their opinion, that the submission of the Ligurians should be received; that their arms should be taken from them, and sent to the consuls.” The prætors arrived at the same time, in Spain; Publius Manlius, in the farther province, which he had governed in his former prætorship, and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, in the hither one, where he received the command of the army from Terentius; the farther province, by the death of the proprætor, Publius Sempronius, having been left without a governor. While Fulvius Flaccus was besieging a town of the Spaniards, called Urbicua, he was attacked by the Celtiberians. Many severe actions were fought on the occasion, and many of the Romans killed and wounded. Nothing, however, could prevail on Fulvius to raise the siege; and, by perseverance, he carried his point. The Celtiberians, wearied out with so many battles, retired; and the city, having lost their assistance, was, within a few days after, taken and sacked, when the prætor bestowed the booty on the soldiers. Fulvius, after reducing this town, sent his forces into winter quarters; and Publius Manlius did the same, without having performed any thing worth mention: for all that he did was, to collect, into one body, the troops which had been scattered in various places. Such were the transactions of that summer in Spain. Terentius, who had come home from that province, entered the city in ovation. He carried in the procession nine thousand three hundred and twenty pounds weight of silver, eighty pounds weight of gold, and two golden crowns of the weight of sixty-seven pounds.

XVII. This year the Romans were arbitrators in a dispute, subsisting between the people of Carthage and king Masinissa, about a tract of ground. This ground, Gala, father of Masinissa, had taken from the Carthaginians. Syphax had expelled Gala, and, afterwards, from respect to his father-in-law, Hasdrubal, had made a present of it to the Carthaginians. In the present year, Masinissa had expelled the Carthaginians. This matter was debated before the Roman deputies, with no less violent heat than had animated the parties when engaged in the field. The Carthaginians reclaimed the ground, first, as having been the property of their ancestors; and next, on the title which they had derived from Syphax. Masinissa urged, that “he had retaken possession of it as part of his father’s kingdom, and held it under the law of nations; and that he had the advantage, both in the merits of his cause, and, in the present possession. That, in this discussion, he had no other fear, than lest the moderation of the Romans might operate to his loss, making them dread the appearance of any partiality to a king who was their friend and ally, in prejudice to the common enemy of him and them.” The deputies did not alter the right of possession, but remitted the cause entire to the senate at Rome. There was nothing done afterwards, in Liguria. The inhabitants, at first, retired into remote forests; and, afterwards, disbanding their army, separated, and went off to their several forts and villages. The consuls, too, wished to disband their forces, and wrote to the senate for orders; but the senate directed, that one of them should discharge his troops, and come to Rome to elect magistrates for the year; and that the other, with his legions, should pass the winter at Pisæ. A report prevailed, that the transalpine Gauls were arming their young men, and it was not known, on what quarter of Italy, that multitude would pour itself. The consuls settled the matter between them,—that Cneius Bæbius should go home to the elections; his brother, Marcus Bæbius, being a candidate for the consulship.

Y. R. 571.
181.XVIII. The assembly for the election of consuls was then held, and Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Marcus Bæbius Tamphilus were chosen. The prætors afterwards elected were, Quintus Fabius Maximus, Quintus Fabius Buteo, Caius Claudius Nero, Quintus Petillius Spurinus, Marcus Pinarius Posca, and Lucius Duronius. When the magistrates entered into office, the lots disposed of the provinces thus: to the consuls, Liguria, to Quintus Petillius, the city jurisdiction; to Quintus Fabius Maximus, the foreign; to Quintus Fabius Buteo, Gaul; to Caius Claudius Nero, Sicily; to Marcus Pinarius, Sardinia: and to Lucius Duronius, Apulia, to which was annexed Istria, information being received, from Tarentum and Brundusium, that the country on the sea-coasts was infested by foreign pirates. The Massilians made the same complaint, with regard to the ships of the Ligurians. The armies were then voted to the consuls, four Roman legions, each consisting of five thousand two hundred foot, and three hundred horse; and, of the allies and Latines, fifteen thousand foot, and eight hundred horse. In the two Spains, the prætors were continued in command, with the armies which they then had; and an augmentation was voted for them, amounting to three thousand Roman foot, with two hundred horse, and six thousand foot and three hundred horse, of the Latine confederates. Nor was the business of the fleet neglected. The consuls were ordered to constitute duumvirs for conducting it; and these were to man twenty ships, which they launched, with Roman citizens, who had been in servitude, only taking care that the officers should be men of free birth. The duumvirs, each at the head of ten ships, took separate parts of the sea coast under their protection, so that the promontory of Minerva formed the point of division between them; one was to defend the part on the right, as far as Marseilles; the other, that on the left, to the town of Barium.

XIX. Many alarming prodigies were seen at Rome this year, and others reported from abroad. A shower of blood fell in the courts of the temples of Vulcan and Concord, and the priests reported that spears moved in the hands of the statues, and that the image of Juno Sospita at Lanuvium shed tears. There was a pestilence in the country, in the market towns and villages; and so violent was it, in the city, that people could scarcely be found to bury the dead. These prodigies, and the mortality, alarmed the senate so much, that they ordered the consuls to sacrifice to such gods, as their judgment should direct, victims of the larger kinds, and that the decemvirs should consult the books. Pursuant to their direction, a supplication for one day was proclaimed, to be performed at every shrine in Rome; and they advised, besides, and the senate voted, and the consuls proclaimed, that there should be a supplication, and public worship, for three days, throughout all Italy. The pestilence raged with so great fury, that when, in consequence of the revolt of the Corsicans, and a war raised in Sardinia by the Ibians, an order was passed for raising, from among the Latines, eight thousand foot and three hundred horse, to be carried into Sardinia, with Pinarius the prætor;—the consuls returned a representation, that so great a number of men had died and so many were sick, in every place, that such a body of soldiers could not be collected. On this, the prætor was ordered to take from Cneius Bæbius, proconsul, who was in winter quarters at Pisæ, as many soldiers as would make up the deficiency, and then to sail to Sardinia. Lucius Duronius, the prætor, to whose lot Apulia had fallen, received also a charge to make inquiry concerning the Bacchanalians, for some remaining seeds of the evils, formerly excited by those people, had shown themselves there the year before. The inquiries, though commenced under the prætor, Lucius Pupius, had yet been brought to no issue; the senate therefore ordered the new prætor to cut up that evil by the roots, so that it should never spread again. The consuls, also, by direction of the senate, proposed to the people certain laws concerning canvassing for elections.

XX. They next introduced the embassies to audience. And first, those of the kings Eumenes and Ariarathes, the Cappadocian; and Pharnaces, of Pontus. No farther answer was given to these, than that the senate would send persons to examine, and decide, their disputes. Ambassadors from the Lacedæmonian exiles, and from the Achæans, were next brought in. Hopes were given to the exiles, that the senate would write to the Achæans to procure their restoration. The Achæans gave an account, to the satisfaction of the senate, of the recovery of Messene, and the settlement of affairs there. From Philip, king of Macedonia, came two ambassadors also,—Philocles and Apelles; not on any business with the senate, but rather to pry into and inquire concerning the correspondence with the Romans, of which Perseus had accused Demetrius, and, particularly, into that with Titus Quintius, concerning the kingdom, to the supposed prejudice of his brother. The king had employed these men, believing them unbiassed in respect of either party; but they were accomplices and agents of Perseus, in his treacherous designs. Demetrius ignorant of all, except the villainous scheme of his brother, which had lately broke out, at first, neither utterly despaired, nor yet entertained much hope, of effecting a reconciliation with his father; but, afterwards, he trusted, less and less, every day, to Philip’s affection, having observed that he was closely beset by Perseus. Wherefore, not to increase the suspicions he laboured under, he used extreme circumspection, in all his words and actions, and carefully avoided all mention of, and communication with, the Romans; refraining even from receiving letters from them, as he knew that charges, of this nature, exasperated his father more than any thing else.

XXI. Philip, in order to prevent his troops from being enervated by inactivity, and, at the same time, to avert all suspicion of his harbouring any design of a war with Rome, ordered his army to assemble at Stobi, in Pæonia; and thence he led it on into Mædica. He had been seized with an earnest desire of ascending to the summit of Mount Hemus, for he gave credit to a vulgar opinion, that from thence could be seen at once the Pontic and Adriatic seas, the river Danube, and the Alps; and he thought that the having a view of all those places, would be of no small consequence towards forming his plans of a war with Rome. On inquiry, from people acquainted with the country, respecting this mount, he was told that there was no way by which an army could go up it; but that a small party, lightly accoutred, might, though with great difficulty, climb to the top. Then, wishing to soothe, with familiar discourse, his younger son, whom he had determined not to take with him, he, first, asked his opinion, “whether, as the difficulty of the journey was represented to be so great, he ought to persist in his design, or not?” He added, that, “if he should resolve to proceed, he could not forget the caution of Antigonus, respecting undertakings of that kind; who, having all his family on board the same ship with him, and being tossed about by a violent storm, was said to have advised his sons, to remember, and hand down to their children, this maxim: never, in cases of danger, to hazard themselves, and their whole family together. He would therefore attend to this warning, and not expose his two sons at once to those perils, which were represented to lie in his way; and as he meant to take his elder son with him, he would send back the younger into Macedonia, as a reserve to his hopes, and as guardian of the kingdom.” Demetrius perceived clearly that he was sent out of the way, that he might not be present at their deliberations, when, with the above mentioned places in their view, they should consult which were the shortest roads to the Adriatic sea and to Italy, and what was the general plan to be pursued in the war. He was obliged however not only to obey his father on the occasion, but to express his approbation of the measure, lest a reluctant obedience might beget suspicion. To secure his safety on the road to Macedonia, Didas, one of the king’s general officers, and governor of Pæonia, was ordered to escort him with a small party of men. This man had united with Perseus, in the conspiracy to ruin his brother, as had likewise most of his father’s friends, as soon as they discovered plainly from the bent of the king’s inclination, which of the two was to inherit the throne; and Perseus charged him on this occasion, to insinuate himself by every kind of obsequiousness into the most familiar communication with Demetrius, so as to draw from him all his secrets, and to pry into his hidden thoughts. The prince, therefore, set out with a guard, which exposed him to greater dangers than he would have had to encounter if he had gone alone.

XXII. Philip marched first into Mædica, then across the deserts, that lie between Mædica and Hemus; and, at length, on the evening of the seventh day, he reached the foot of the mountain. There he halted one day, to make choice of those who were to accompany him, and on the next, proceeded on his journey. At first, while they ascended the lower parts of the hills, the fatigue was moderate; but, as they advanced upwards, they found the ground more thickly covered with woods, and in many places impassable. They then came to a part where the way was shaded by the thickness of the trees, and the branches so interwoven with each other, that they could hardly see the sky; but when they had nearly reached the top, what is rarely seen in other places, the whole tract was covered with a thick fog, so as to render their advancing no less difficult than if it had been night. At last, on the third day, they arrived at the summit. On coming down, they said nothing to discountenance the vulgar opinion, being unwilling, I suppose, to expose the journey to ridicule, and not because it was there possible to see those seas, and mountains, and rivers, so widely distant from each other. They were all greatly fatigued by the difficulty of the way; and chiefly the king himself, whose great age rendered him less qualified for active exertions. After sacrificing to Jupiter and the sun, on two altars which he consecrated on the spot, he descended in two days, though the ascent had cost him three; for he was particularly afraid of the night air, for though the dog star was now risen, the cold was as intense as in winter. After struggling with numerous hardships, he found his camp in a condition not more pleasing, for, as it lay in a country inclosed on all sides by deserts, it laboured under extreme want of every thing. He halted therefore but one day, to refresh those who had attended him, and then hastened away into the country of the Dentheletians, with all the precipitation of flight. These were allies, but the Macedonians, to supply their own necessities, plundered their country, as if it belonged to an enemy, for they first pillaged the country houses, and afterwards several villages, overwhelming the king with shame, when he heard the cries of his allies, calling, in vain, on the gods who witnessed their league, and on himself, by name. Having carried off corn from hence, he marched back into Mædica, and laid siege to a town called Petra. He pitched his camp in a plain, and sent his son Perseus with a small party, to attack the city, from higher ground. The townsmen, pressed by danger on all sides, gave hostages, and, for the present, surrendered themselves; but as soon as the army retired, regardless of the hostages, they deserted the city, and fled into fastnesses and mountains. Philip returned to Macedonia, having exhausted his troops by every kind of fatigue, without effecting any purpose, and with his suspicions of his son augmented through the treachery of the governor Didas.

XXIII. This man being sent, as before mentioned, to escort Demetrius, had, by flattering discourses, and even expressing his own indignation at the treatment shown him, imposed on the open temper of the youth, who was too much off his guard, and justly incensed against his relations; and by a voluntary offer of his assistance in all his measures, and giving a solemn assurance of fidelity, he prevailed on him to disclose his secrets. Demetrius was meditating flight to Rome; and he thought himself indebted to the kindness of the gods for sending him such an assistant in that design as the governor of Pæonia;—through whose province he supposed he might make his escape. This scheme was immediately betrayed to his brother, and, by his direction, discovered to his father. The information was conveyed by letter to the king, while he was besieging Petra; and, in consequence of it, Herodotus, who was the most intimate friend of Demetrius, was taken into custody, and an order was given that Demetrius himself should be guarded, without his perceiving it. These occurrences, added to what had passed before, made the king return into Macedonia with his heart burthened with grief. He thought the present charges required attention; yet he resolved to wait the return of those, whom he had sent to Rome, to procure intelligence of every particular. After he had passed several months under this uneasiness and anxiety, the ambassadors, who had preconcerted, before they left Macedonia, what information they should bring home from Rome, at last arrived. Besides other grounds of accusation, they produced to the king a forged letter, sealed with a counterfeit seal of Titus Quintius. In this letter was a kind of interceding apology, that if the young prince, misled by the ambition of reigning, had offered some propositions to him on the subject, yet he was sure that “Demetrius would never attempt any thing against his relations; and that, for himself, he never could be supposed to recommend undutiful proceedings.” This letter was deemed a full confirmation of the charges made by Perseus; Herodotus was, therefore, immediately put to the rack, which he endured a long time, and died under the torture, without making any kind of discovery.

XXIV. Perseus now brought before his father a second formal accusation against Demetrius. His intention of flying through Pæonia was alleged against him, and his having bribed certain persons to accompany him on the journey; but, what bore hardest on him, was, the forged letter of Titus Quintius. There was, however, no severe sentence pronounced openly, it being rather chosen to take away his life by secret means, in the fear, lest the inflicting punishment on him might be the means of divulging their designs against the Romans. The king himself having occasion to go from Thessalonica to Demetrias, sent Demetrius, with the same attendant Didas, to Asterium in Pæonia, and Perseus to Amphipolis, to receive hostages from the Thracians, and is said, on parting with Didas, to have given him directions to put his son to death. Didas either intended to perform a sacrifice, or made a pretence of doing so, and Demetrius, being invited to be present at the solemnity, came from Asterium to Heraclea. There, as we are told, poison was given him at supper. The moment he had swallowed the draught, he was conscious of its deadly property: and being quickly after seized with violent pains, retired to a chamber, where he continued for some time in agony, complaining of the cruelty of his father, inveighing against the fratricide of Perseus, and the villainy of Didas. Then, one Thyrsis of Stubera, and one Alexander of Berœa, were sent in, who, covering his head and mouth, with blankets, suffocated him. In this manner perished that innocent youth, his enemies not even contenting themselves with a common kind of murder.

XXV. While these matters passed in Macedonia, Lucius Æmilius Paullus, being, on the expiration of his consulate, continued in command, led his army, early in spring, into the country of the Ingaunian Ligurians. He had no sooner pitched his camp in the enemy’s territory, than ambassadors came to him, under pretext of suing for peace, but, in reality, as spies. Paullus declared, that he would enter into no treaty whatever, unless they first surrendered: to this they did not object, but said, that it would require time to procure the consent of such a rude kind of people. For that purpose, a suspension of arms, for ten days, was granted; and then, they farther requested, that his men might not go beyond the mountains, for wood or forage, for that was the part of their lands which they had under tillage. This being complied with, they collected all their forces behind those mountains, which they had prevented the Romans from approaching; and, on a sudden, with a vast multitude, assaulted every gate of this camp at once. During that whole day, they prosecuted the attack with such vigour, that Paullus had not time to march out of the camp, nor room to draw out his troops: so that they were obliged to defend their camp, by standing so thick together, in the gates, as to stop the passage, rather than by fighting. The enemy, retiring a little before sunset, the general despatched two horsemen to Pisæ, to Cneius Bæbius, proconsul, with a letter, requesting him to come, with all speed, to his relief, as the Ligurians had besieged him, in the midst of a truce. Bæbius had given up his army to Marcus Pinarius, the prætor, who was going into Sardinia, but he informed the senate by letter that Lucius Æmilius was besieged by the Ligurians, and also wrote to Marcus Claudius Marcellus, whose province lay the nearest, that, if he thought proper, he should march his army out of Gaul into Liguria, and to the relief of Æmilius. These succours would have come too late. The Ligurians returned, next day, to the attack of the camp. Æmilius, who was aware of this, and who could have drawn out his army to meet them, yet kept his men within the lines, for he wished to protract the business until such time as Bæbius should come with his army from Pisæ.

XXVI. Bæbius’s letter caused a great alarm, and it was increased by this circumstance, that, in a few days after, Marcellus coming to Rome, having given up the command of the army to Fabius, banished all hope of a possibility of the forces, then in Gaul, being removed into Liguria; for hostilities had commenced with the Istrians, who obstructed the settlement of the colony of Aquileia; and, as Fabius had led his army thither, he could not quit that country, now that the war was begun. There was but one thing that could afford any hope of relief, and even that too slow for the exigency of the case,—this was, that the consuls might hasten their march into that province, and the senators earnestly pressed them to do so. But the consuls declared that they would not set out until the levies were completed, and that no indolence in them, but the violence of the epidemic sickness, was the cause of their delaying so long. However, they could not withstand the united wishes of the whole senate, in urging them to depart in the military habit, and to publish an order to the troops which they had enlisted, to assemble at Pisæ, on a certain day. Authority was given them to enlist soldiers for the occasion, on the road, and to take them with them. Orders were likewise issued to the prætors, Quintus Petillius, and Quintus Fabius, that Petillius should raise two tumultuary legions of Roman citizens, and compel every person under fifty years of age to enlist; and that Fabius should demand from the Latine allies, fifteen thousand foot, and eight hundred horse. Commanders were appointed to the fleet,—Caius Matienus, and Caius Lucretius, and ships were put in readiness for them. Matienus, whose station was at the Gallic bay, was ordered to lead his squadron, with all expedition, to the coast of Liguria, and to try if he could be of any service to Lucius Æmilius and his army.

XXVII. Æmilius, seeing no appearance of succour from any quarter, supposed that his couriers had been intercepted. He resolved, therefore, to wait no longer, but to make a trial of fortune by himself; and for this purpose, before the coming of the enemy, who now made their attacks with less briskness and vigour, he drew up his troops at the four gates, that, on a signal being given, they might sally out from all sides at once. To four independent cohorts of auxiliaries, he added two others, and gave the command to Marcus Valerius, lieutenant-general, with orders to make his sally by the prætorian gate. At the right gate of the first cohort he formed the spearmen of the first legion, placing the first rank men of the same legion in reserve; these bodies were commanded by Marcus Servilius, and Lucius Sulpicius, military tribunes. The third legion was drawn up opposite to the left gate of the first cohort, with this difference only, that here the first-rank men were posted in front, and the spearmen in reserve. Sextus Julius Cæsar, and Lucius Aurelius Cotta, military tribunes, had the command of this legion. Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, lieutenant-general, with the right wing of the allies, was posted at the quæstorian gate; and two cohorts, with the veterans of the two legions, were ordered to stay within to guard the camp. The general himself went round by all the gates, haranguing the troops and stimulating the soldiers, by every possible circumstance that he could mention; at one time declaiming against the treachery of the enemy, who after suing for peace, and obtaining a truce, had come during the very time of that truce, in violation of the law of nations, to attack his camp; at another, setting before them what a shame it was, that a Roman army should be besieged by Ligurians, people more properly styled robbers, than a regular enemy. “With what face,” continued he, “if you make your way hence, by the assistance of others, and not by your own valour, will any of you meet, I do not say those soldiers that conquered Hannibal, or Philip, or Antiochus, the greatest kings and generals of the present age, but those who often drove those very Ligurians before them, through pathless forests, and put them to the sword? What the Spaniards, the Gauls, the Macedonians, or Carthaginians, never dared to attempt, a Ligurian enemy dares: he marches up to the trenches of a Roman camp, besieges and assaults it; although, but a little while ago, they were glad to hide themselves, and lurk in the wilds of the forests, so that we were obliged to make diligent search before we could find them.” This was answered by a general clamour, that “the soldiers were not to be blamed, for they had not received any order to march out. Let him but give the order, and he should soon be convinced, that both the Romans and the Ligurians were the same that ever they were.”

XXVIII. There were two camps of the Ligurians on the hither side of the mountains, from which, on the former days, they had marched forward at sun-rise, all in order and regular array. On this day they did not take arms until they had made a full meal of food and wine; and then they came out in loose order, and regardless of their ranks, as expecting, with certainty, that the enemy would not venture out, beyond the rampart. As they were approaching, in this disorderly manner, the shout was raised by every one in the camp, at once, even by the suttlers and servants; and the Romans rushed out by all the gates at the same time. This event was so entirely unexpected by the Ligurians, that it confounded them, no less than if they had been caught in an ambush. For a short time, some appearance of a fight was maintained, and then followed an hasty flight, and a general slaughter of the fugitives. The cavalry, being ordered to mount their horses, and not to suffer any to escape, the enemy were driven, in the utmost confusion, to their camps, and soon beaten out of them also. Above fifteen thousand of the Ligurians were killed, and two thousand five hundred taken. In three days after the whole state of the Inguanian Ligurians gave hostages, and surrendered. The masters and crews of the ships, which had been employed in piracies, were carefully sought for, and thrown into prison; and thirty-two ships of that description were taken by Caius Matienus, on the Ligurian coast. Lucius Aurelius Cotta, and Caius Sulpicius Gallus, were sent to Rome with an account of these transactions, and with letters to the senate; they were ordered, at the same time, to request that, as the business of the province was finished, Lucius Æmilius might have permission to leave it, and to bring away his troops and disband them. The senate granted both, and decreed a supplication, at all the shrines, for three days; giving orders to the prætors that Petillius should discharge the city legions, that Fabius should excuse the allies, and Latines, from the levies, and that the city prætor should write to the consuls, that the senate thought proper that the occasional soldiers, enlisted on account of the sudden alarm, should be immediately discharged.

XXIX. The colony of Gravisca was established this year in a district of Etruria, formerly taken from the Tarquinians, and five acres of land were given to each settler. The commissioners who conducted it were Caius Calpurnius Piso, Publius Claudius Pulcher, and Caius Terentius Istra. The year was rendered remarkable by a drought, and a scarcity of the productions of the earth. Writers mention, that during the space of six months no rain fell. In the same year, some workmen, in the farm of Lucius Petillius, a notary, at the foot of the Janiculum, digging the ground deeper than usual, discovered two stone chests, about eight feet long and four broad, the covers of which were soldered with lead. Both the chests had inscriptions in Greek and Latine letters, one signifying that therein was buried Numa Pompilius, son of Pompo, and king of the Romans; the other, that therein were contained the books of Numa Pompilius. The owner of the ground having, by the advice of his friends, opened these chests, found the one, which according to its inscription contained the body of the king, perfectly empty, without any appearance of a human body or any thing else, having ever been in it; the whole being consumed by the decay of such a number of years. In the other were found two bundles, tied round with waxed cords, and each containing seven books, not only entire, but apparently quite fresh. Seven were in Latine, and related to the pontifical law; and seven in Greek, containing the doctrines of philosophy, such as might have been known in that age. Valerius Antias adds, that they contained the doctrines of Pythagoras, supporting, by this plausible fiction, the credit of the vulgar opinion, that Numa had been a disciple of Pythagoras. The books were read, first, by Petillius’s friends, who were present at the discovery; and, afterwards, by many others, until they came to be publicly spoken of. Then Quintus Petillius, the city prætor, having a desire to read them, borrowed them from Lucius Petillius, with whom he was familiarly acquainted; in consequence of Quintus Petillius having, when quæstor, chosen him, who was a notary, a decurio of horse. On reading the principal heads of the contents, he perceived that most of them had a tendency to undermine the established system of religious doctrines, and, thereupon, he told Lucius Petillius, that “he was determined to throw those books into the fire; but before he did so, he gave him leave, if he thought he had any right or title to demand the restitution of them, to make the trial, which would not give him the least offence.” The notary applied to the plebeian tribunes, and the tribunes referred the matter to the senate. The prætor declared, that he was ready to make oath, that those books ought not to be read or preserved; and the senate decreed, that “the prætor’s having offered his oath ought to be deemed sufficient evidence that those books should, without delay, be burned in the comitium, and that the owner should be paid for them such price as might be judged reasonable by the prætor Quintus Petillius, and the majority of the plebeian tribunes.” This the notary did not assent to. The books, however, were burned in the comitium, in the view of the people, the fire being made by the public servants, whose duty it was to assist at sacrifices.

XXX. A formidable war broke out this summer in the hither Spain, where the Celtiberians assembled such a force as they had hardly ever brought into the field before, amounting to no less than thirty-five thousand men. This province was governed by Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, who, on hearing that the Celtiberians were arming their young men, drew together all the succours he could procure from the allies. But he was still far inferior to the enemy in point of numbers. Early in spring, he marched his army into Carpetania, and fixed his camp close to the town of Æbura, in which he posted a small garrison. In a few days after the Celtiberians pitched their camp at the foot of a hill, about two miles from thence. When the Roman prætor was informed of their coming, he detached his brother, Marcus Fulvius, with two troops of the allied horse, to the enemy’s post, to take a view of them; ordering him to advance as near as possible to their rampart, so as to form a judgment of the size of the camp; and not to engage in fight, but to retreat if he should see the enemy’s cavalry coming out. He acted according to his instructions, and for several days there was nothing farther done than these two troops showing themselves, and then retreating when the enemy’s cavalry sallied from their tents. At length, the Celtiberians came out, with their entire force of horse and foot together, and drawing up in a line, posted themselves about midway between the two camps. The whole plain was level, and convenient for fighting, and here the Spaniards stood waiting for their enemy. The Roman general kept his men within the rampart, during four successive days, while the others constantly drew up theirs, and formed in the same place. The Romans never stirred; and from that time the Celtiberians, finding no opportunity of engaging, remained quiet in their camp; their cavalry only appearing as an advanced guard, to be ready in case of any movement being made by Fulvius. Both parties went for wood and forage behind their own camps, neither interrupting the other.

XXXI. When the Roman prætor thought that, by continuing inactive so many days, he had created in the Celtiberians a firm persuasion that he would not be first in any enterprise, he ordered Lucius Acilius, with the left wing of allies and six thousand provincial auxiliaries, to make the circuit of a mountain, behind the enemy; and as soon as he should hear the shout to pour down from thence on their camp. This party, to avoid being seen, set out in the night. At the dawn of day, Flaccus sent Caius Scribonius, a præfect of the allies, with the select horse of the left wing to the enemy’s rampart; when the Celtiberians, observing that they approached nearer, and were also more numerous than usual, made the whole body of their cavalry sally out against them, and gave orders to the infantry to follow. Scribonius, according to his instructions, nosooner heard the noise of the enemy’s cavalry than he wheeled about and retreated: on which they pursued with the more violence. First the cavalry, and in a short time the line of infantry, came up, confidently expecting that they should be able to assault the camp before night, and they advanced within five hundred paces of the rampart. Flaccus, therefore, thinking that they were now drawn far enough from their camp, to hinder them from giving it any succour, as he had his troops already formed within the works, burst out from three sides at once; and at the same time raised the shout, not only to inspire ardour for the fight, but also that it might be heard by the party on the mountain. Nor did these make any delay, but, according to their orders, poured down on the camp, where the guard consisted of only five hundred men, who were so terrified by the smallness of their numbers, the multitude of the assailants, and the unexpectedness of the affair, that the camp was taken almost without a dispute. Acilius set fire to that part of it which was most exposed to the view of the combatants.

XXXII. The Celtiberians in the rear of their line first observed the flames, and the news spread quickly through the whole army, that the camp was lost, being at that moment in a blaze, which filled them with dismay, while it gave fresh spirits to the Romans: for these now heard the shouts of victory raised by their friends, and saw the enemy’s camp on fire. The Celtiberians hesitated for some time, uncertain how to act; but when they considered that, in case of a defeat, they had no place of refuge, and that their only hope now lay in their arms, they renewed the combat afresh, with greater obstinacy. Their centre was pressed hard by the fifth legion; but their men advanced with more confidence against the left wing, where they saw that the Romans had posted the provincial auxiliaries, troops of their own kind. The left wing of the Romans was now in danger of being defeated, had not the seventh legion come to its support. At the same time, the troops left in garrison at Æbura came up during the heat of the battle, and Acilius closed on the enemy’s rear. Thus surrounded, the Celtiberians were, for a long time, cut off in great numbers, and at last the survivors betook themselves to flight. The cavalry, in two divisions, was sent in pursuit, and made great havoc. There were killed, of the enemy, on that day twenty-three thousand, and four thousand eight hundred were taken, with more than five hundred horses, and ninety-eight military ensigns. The victory was great, but not obtained without loss of blood. There fell of the two Roman legions, a few more than two hundred men; of the Latine confederates, eight hundred and thirty; and of the foreign auxiliaries, about two thousand four hundred. The prætor led back his victorious troops to their tents: but ordered Acilius to lodge in the camp which he had taken. Next day the spoils were collected, and presents bestowed, in public assembly, on such as had distinguished themselves by their bravery.

XXXIII. The wounded were then conveyed into the town of Æbura, and the legions marched through Carpetania, against Contrebia. The garrison there, on being invested, sent for succours to the Celtiberians; but these were long in coming, not because they were unwilling to give assistance but that after they had begun their march the roads were rendered impassable, and the rivers swelled by continued rains, so that their countrymen, despairing of assistance, capitulated. The same severe weather forced Flaccus to bring his whole army into the city. The Celtiberians, who were on their march, having heard nothing of the capitulation, when the rains abated, at last, passed the rivers, and came to Contrebia. When they saw no camp before the town, supposing, either, that it was removed to the other side, or that the enemy had retired, they came up towards the walls, in careless disorder; on which the Romans sallying out from two gates, attacked them before they could recover from their confusion, and effectually routed them. The same circumstance that disabled them from standing their ground and maintaining a fight,—their not having come in one body, or in a regular disposition, round their standards,—proved favourable to many in making their escape: for they scattered themselves widely over the whole plain, so that the Romans could no where inclose any considerable body of them. However, there were twelve thousand killed, and more than five thousand taken, with four hundred horses, and sixty-two military standards. The stragglers, flying homewards, turned back another body of Celtiberians, whom they met on the road, by informing them of the surrender of Contrebia, and their own defeat; whereupon they all immediately dispersed, and made the best of their way to their several villages and forts. Flaccus, leaving Contrebia, led his legions through Celtiberia, ravaging the country, and reducing a great number of their forts; in consequence of which the greater part of the nation surrendered themselves.

XXXIV. Such were the transactions of that year in the hither Spain. In the farther province, Manlius fought several successful battles with the Lusitanians. In the same year the Latine colony of Aquileia was established in the Gallic territory. Three thousand foot soldiers received each fifty acres, centurions an hundred, horsemen an hundred and forty. The commissioners who conducted the settlement were Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus. Two temples were dedicated, this year, one to Venus Erycina, at the Colline gate, the ceremony being performed by Lucius Porcius Licinus, duumvir, son of Lucius. This temple had been vowed, during the Ligurian war, by Lucius Porcius, consul. The other to Piety, in the herb-market. This was dedicated by Manius Acilius Glabrio, duumvir, who erected a gilded statue of his father Glabrio, the first of the kind that ever was seen in Italy. This was the person who vowed the temple, on the day whereon he gained the decisive victory over king Antiochus, at Thermopylæ, and who, likewise, had contracted for its being built, in pursuance of a decree of senate. At the same time, when these temples were consecrated, Lucius Æmilius Paullus, proconsul, triumphed over the Ingaunian Ligurians. He carried in the procession twenty-five golden crowns, but no other article of either gold or silver. Many Ligurian chiefs were led captives before his chariot, and he distributed to each of his soldiers three hundred asses. The reputation of this triumph was enhanced by the arrival of ambassadors from the Ligurians, begging that a perpetual peace might be established; and averring, that “the Ligurians had come to a resolution never again to take arms, on any occasion, except when commanded by the Roman people.” Quintus Fabius, prætor, by order of the senate, gave the Ligurians this answer; that “such kind of language was not new with the Ligurians; but it concerned chiefly their own interest that their disposition should be new, and conformable to their language. They must go to the consuls, and act as they should command; for the senate would never believe, from any other than the consuls, that the Ligurians were really and sincerely disposed to peace.” Peace however was made with that people. In Corsica, a battle was fought, in which the prætor, Marcus Pinarius, slew in the field two thousand of the islanders: by which loss they were compelled to give hostages, and an hundred thousand pounds of wax. The army was then carried over into Sardinia, and some successful battles were fought with the Illians, a nation, even at the present day, not in every particular friendly to us. In this year, an hundred hostages were restored to the Carthaginians, and the Roman people enabled them to live in peace, not only among themselves, but also with Masinissa, who at that time, with an armed force, held possession of the land in dispute.

Y. R. 572.
180.XXXV. The consuls had nothing to do in their province. Marcus Bæbius, being summoned home to Rome to preside at the elections, created consuls Aulus Postumius Albinus Luscus, and Caius Calpurnius Piso. Then were made prætors Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Lucius Postumius Albinus, Publius Cornelius Mammula, Titus Minucius Molliculus, Aulus Hostilius Mancinus, and Caius Mænius. All these entered into office on the ides of March. In the beginning of this year, (the consulate of Aulus Postumius Albinus and Caius Calpurnius Piso,) the consul, Aulus Postumius, introduced to an audience of the senate, a deputation, sent from the hither Spain, by Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, and composed of Lucius Minucius, lieutenant-general, and two military tribunes, Titus Mænius, and Lucius Terentius Massa. These, after informing the senate of the two victories gained, of the submission of Celtiberia, and of peace being re-established, and that there was no occasion either to send pay, as usual, or corn to the army, for that year, requested, first, that “on account of these successes a thanksgiving should be performed to the immortal gods, and, then, that leave should be given to Quintus Fulvius on his quitting the province, to bring home thence the army which had served under him, and many former prætors, with much bravery. They represented, that this measure, besides the propriety of it, was in some degree necessary, for the troops were so obstinately bent on it, that it did not seem possible to keep them longer in the province; but, if they were not called away, they would either leave it, without orders, or, if compulsory methods were employed to detain them, would break out into a dangerous mutiny.” The senate ordered, that Liguria should be the province of both the consuls. The prætors then cast lots for theirs. The city jurisdiction fell to Aulus Hostilius, the foreign, to Titus Minucius, Sicily, to Publius Cornelius; Sardinia, to Caius Mænius; farther Spain, to Lucius Postumius, and the hither, to Tiberius Sempronius. As this last was to succeed Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, and wished that the province might not be stripped of the veteran troops, he spoke thus: “Quintus Minucius, I demand of you, since you assert, in your report, that peace is re-established in the province,—is it your opinion, that the Celtiberians will always faithfully observe the treaty, so that the province may be kept in obedience without an army? If you cannot give us any assurance of that, or undertake to answer for the fidelity of the barbarians, but think that, at all events, there must be an army maintained there; I pray you, whether would you recommend to the senate to send a reinforcement into Spain, in order that those soldiers, only, who have served out their time, may be discharged, and the recruits mixed with the veterans, or to withdraw the veteran legions, and enlist new ones, in their place; and this, although the contempt entertained for such soldiers might rouse barbarians of more pacific tempers to a renewal of war? It would be a matter easier said than done, to reduce to complete subjection a province naturally fierce, and remarkable for its frequent renewals of hostility. A few states, as I am informed, who were awed, more than the rest, by the nearness of our winter quarters, have submitted to our authority and dominion; while those more remote are in arms. This being the case, Conscript Fathers, I now give notice before hand, that, with the army at present there, I will undertake to execute the business of the public; but, if Flaccus brings those legions home with him, I will choose some quiet part of the country for winter-quarters, and will not expose undisciplined soldiers to an enemy so remarkably ferocious.”

XXXVI. To these questions, the lieutenant-general answered, that “neither he nor any other could possibly divine what were the sentiments of the Celtiberians, or what they would be in future; therefore he could not deny that it would be proper to send an army among a barbarous people, who, though reduced to a state of quiet, were not yet sufficiently inured to subjection; but whether a new army or a veteran one might be requisite, was a question which he alone could answer, who knew, with what sincerity the Celtiberians would observe the peace; and who, at the same time, had assurance that the troops would remain quiet, if kept longer in the province. If a conjecture were to be formed of their intentions, either from their conversations with each other, or from the expressions with which they interrupted the general’s harangues, they had openly and loudly declared, that they would either keep their commander in the province, or come home with him to Italy.” This discussion, between the prætor and the lieutenant-general, was suspended, by the consuls introducing other matters; for they demanded, that the business of their own provinces might be adjusted before that of the prætor’s should be proceeded on. An army entirely new was decreed to the consuls: two Roman legions, with their proportion of cavalry; and of the Latine allies, the usual number, of fifteen thousand foot and eight hundred horse. With these forces, they were directed to make war on the Apuan Ligurians. Publius Cornelius and Marcus Bæbius were continued in command, and ordered to hold the government of the provinces until the consuls should arrive. They were then to disband their troops, and return to Rome. Next was taken into consideration the business of the army under Tiberius Sempronius. The consuls were ordered to enlist for him a new legion of five thousand two hundred foot, and four hundred horse; and also a thousand Roman foot and five hundred horse; and to command the allies of Latium to furnish seven thousand foot and three hundred horse. With this army, it was determined that Sempronius should go into the hither Spain. Permission was granted to Quintus Fulvius, with respect to all those soldiers, whether Romans or allies, who had been transported into Spain, previous to the consulate of Spurius Postumius and Quintus Marcius; and likewise to such as, after the junction of the reinforcements, should be found redundant in the two legions, above the number of ten thousand four hundred foot and six hundred horse; and in the Latine auxiliaries above twelve thousand foot and six hundred horse, and who had behaved with courage under Quintus Fulvius in the two battles with the Celtiberians,—these, if he thought proper, he might bring home. Thanksgivings for his successes were also decreed; and the rest of the prætors sent into their provinces. Quintus Fabius Buteo was continued in command in Gaul. It was resolved that eight legions should be employed, this year, besides the veteran army then in Liguria, which expected to be speedily disbanded; and even this number of men could with difficulty be made up, in consequence of the pestilence which continued, for the third year, to depopulate the city of Rome, and all Italy.

XXXVII. Tiberius Minucius, the prætor, died of this malady; and soon after Caius Calpurnius the consul, also many illustrious men of all ranks; so that at last it began to be considered as a prodigy. Caius Servilius, chief pontiff, was ordered to find out proper atonements for the wrath of the gods; the decemvirs to inspect the books, and the consul to vow offerings, and to present gilded statues, to Apollo, Æsculapius, and Health; all which he performed. The decemvirs proclaimed, on account of the sickness, a supplication of two days in the city; and in all the market-towns and villages; which supplication, every person, above the age of twelve years, performed, with garlands on their heads, and holding laurel in their hands. There had, also, crept into people’s minds, a suspicion of human villainy in regard to it, whereupon Caius Claudius, prætor, who had been substituted in the room of Tiberius Minucius, was commissioned, by a decree of senate, to make inquisition concerning acts of sorcery committed in the city, or within ten miles of it; and Caius Mænius was ordered to do the same, before he passed over to his province, Sardinia, in the market-towns and villages, beyond the tenth stone. The death of the consul created the strongest suspicions. It was reported, that he had been murdered by his wife Quarta Hostilia; and when her son Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, was proclaimed consul in the room of his step-father, the suspicions of the public, respecting the death of Piso, were greatly augmented: for witnesses appeared, who testified, that, after Albinus and Piso were declared consuls, in which election Flaccus had suffered a disappointment, his mother upbraided him with being refused the consulship, a third time, and then desired him to stand candidate again, saying, “she would take such measures that within two months he should be made consul.” This expression, verified by the event exactly corresponding with it, and, joined to many other evidences of the same tendency, appeared such strong proof, that Hostilia was condemned. In the spring of this year, the levies detained the new consuls at Rome; while the death of one of them, and the holding of the assembly to substitute another in his place, occasioned still farther delays. Publius Cornelius, and Marcus Bæbius, who in their consulate had done nothing worth mention, led their troops into the country of the Apuan Ligurians.

XXXVIII. The Ligurians had no thought of being attacked before the consuls arrived in the province. Being thus surprised, they surrendered to the number of twelve thousand men. Cornelius and Bæbius, having consulted the senate by letter, determined to bring them down from their mountains into a plain country, so far from home, that they should have no hope of a return; for they were convinced, that by no other means could a final end be put to the war in Liguria. There was a tract of land in Samnium, the public property of the Roman people, formerly occupied by the Taurasians, and hither they intended to transplant the Apuan Ligurians. Accordingly, they published an order, that this people should quit the mountains, with their wives and children, and bring all their effects along with them. The Ligurians made, by their ambassadors, many humble supplications that they might not be compelled to relinquish their native home, the soil in which they were born, and the tombs of their forefathers. They promised to give up their arms, and deliver hostages; but failing in all their solicitations, and being destitute of strength for the maintenance of a war they obeyed the order. Forty thousand men, of free condition, with their women and children, were transplanted at the expense of the public, and an hundred and fifty thousand sesterces were given them, to provide necessaries for their new habitations. Cornelius and Bæbius, who removed them were commissioned to divide and apportion the lands; but at their own request, the senate appointed five other commissioners to assist them with their advice. When they had finished this business, and brought home their veteran soldiers to Rome, the senate decreed them a triumph. These were the first, who ever triumphed, without having fought an enemy. Hostages only were led before their chariots; for there appeared not, in their triumphs, either spoils to be carried, or prisoners to be led captives, or money to be distributed to the soldiers.

XXXIX. With regard to the affairs of Spain; this year Fulvius, proprætor, as his successor did not come to the province at the usual time, drew out the troops from their winter quarters, and proceeded to lay waste the farther part of Celtiberia, whose inhabitants had not come in to make submission. But by this proceeding he rather provoked, than terrified the barbarians; so that, having collected secretly a body of forces, they beset the Manlian pass, through which they knew, with certainty, that the Roman army was to march. Gracchus had commissioned his colleague, Lucius Postumius Albinus, who was going to the farther Spain, to desire Quintus Fulvius to bring his forces to Tarraco, where he intended to discharge the veterans, to fill up the corps with the new supplies, and to put the whole army in complete order. The day also was mentioned to Flaccus, and that not very distant, on which his successor would arrive. On being informed of this new disposition, Flaccus was forced to drop the business which he had undertaken, and to lead away the troops, in haste, out of Celtiberia. The barbarians, unacquainted with the reason, and supposing that he had discovered their revolt, and secret assembling of an army, and that he was retreating through fear, exerted themselves, with greater confidence to secure the pass. The Roman army entered this defile, at the dawn of day, and imediately the enemy starting up, suddenly attacked it on two sides at once, Flaccus seeing this, took pains to quiet the confusion caused by the first alarm, by giving orders through the centurions, that every man should keep his post, in the order of march, and get ready his arms; then, collecting the baggage and beasts of burden, into one spot, partly by himself, partly by the help of the lieutenant-generals, and military tribunes, without any hurry or confusion, he formed his troops, as the time and place required. He put them in mind, that they were to engage with men “who had been twice reduced to submission; who had acquired an addition of wickedness and perfidy, but not of courage or spirit. That these people had put it in their power to make their return to their country glorious and splendid; for they would now carry home their swords reeking with the blood of the enemy, and spoils dropping the same.” The time allowed not more to be said, the enemy advanced upon them; the extemities of the wings were already engaged, and quickly after the entire lines.

XL. The battle was furious in every part, but the success various. The two legions fought with extraordinary bravery, nor were the two cohorts of the allies remiss; but the foreign auxiliaries were hard pressed, by men armed like themselves, and much better qualified for soldiers; nor were they able to maintain their ground. The Celtiberians perceiving, that, in a regular line, and in fair fighting, they were no match for the legions, made a push against them, in the form of a wedge, in which sort of attack they excel so much, that on whatever part they direct their assault, they never fail to make an impression. On this occasion, too, the legions were disordered, and the line was almost broken. When Flaccus observed this disorder, he rode up to the legionary cavalry, asking them, “Have we any support in you? Is the whole army to be lost?” Whereupon they called to him, from all sides, to “tell them what he wished to be done and that it should be instantly attempted.” “Double your troops,” he replied, “and charge the wedge, by which we are attacked; increase the force of your horses, by taking off their bridles; and then spur them on against the foe.” This expedient historians mention to have been often employed by the Roman cavalry with great advantage. They did as directed, pushing in full career, through that body, twice, forward and backward, breaking their spears to pieces, and making great havoc of the enemy. The Celtiberians, on this dispersion of their wedge, on which they had placed their whole reliance, were quite dismayed; and, almost giving over the fight, looked about for ways to escape. And now, when the allied horse saw this brilliant exploit of the Roman cavalry, they were so inflamed, by the example of their bravery, that, without waiting for orders, they made a charge on the enemy, while they were in confusion. The Celtiberians made no longer resistance; all fled in haste, and the Roman general, when he saw their backs, vowed a temple to Equestrian Fortune, and games in honour of Jupiter, supremely good and great. The fugitives, dispersing, were pursued with much slaughter, through the whole length of the pass. According to some historians, seventeen thousand of the enemy were killed on this occasion, and more than three thousand taken, with two hundred and seventy-seven military standards, and near one thousand one hundred horses. The victorious army pitched no camp on that day. This victory, however, was not gained without loss; four hundred and seventy-two Roman soldiers, one thousand and nineteen of the allies and Latines, with three thousand of the auxiliaries, perished. The Roman troops, having thus re-asserted their former renown, finished their march to Tarraco. The prætor, Tiberius Sempronius, who had arrived two days before, came out to meet Fulvius, on the road, and congratulate him on the important services which he had rendered to the commonwealth. They then, with perfect unanimity, settled what soldiers they should discharge, and what they should retain; and Fulvius, embarking the disbanded soldiers in the fleet, set sail for Rome, while Sempronius led the legions into Celtiberia.

XLI. Both the consuls led their armies into Liguria, but on different sides. Postumius, with the first and third legions, invested the mountains of Balista and Suismontium, and by securing the narrow passes leading thereto, with guards, cut off all supplies of provisions; by which means he reduced them to an entire obedience. Fulvius, with the second and fourth legions, marched from Pisæ against the Apuan Ligurians, and having received the submission of that part of them which inhabited the banks of the river Macra, he put them on board ships, to the number of seven thousand men, and sent them along the Etrurian coast to Neapolis, from whence they were conducted into Samnium, and had lands assigned them among their countrymen. Aulus Postumius cut down the vineyards, and burned the corn of the Ligurians of the mountains, until, by making them suffer all the calamities of war, he compelled them to surrender, and deliver up their arms. From thence, Postumius proceeded, by sea, to visit the coast of the Ingaunian, and Intemelian tribes. Before these consuls joined the army at Pisæ, it was under the command of Aulus Postumius, and a brother of Quintus Fulvius, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, who was military tribune of the second legion. The tribune, in his months of command, disbanded the legion, after obliging the centurions to swear, that they would carry the money in their hands to the treasury, and deliver it to the quæstors. When intelligence of this was brought to Aulus at Placentia, to which place he happened to have made an excursion, he set out with some light horsemen, in quest of the disbanded men; and such as he could overtake, he sharply rebuked, and brought back to Pisæ, and then sent information of the whole matter to the consul. He laid the business before the senate, who passed a decree, that Marcus Fulvius should be banished into that part of Spain, beyond new Carthage, and a letter was given him by the consul, to be carried into the farther part of Spain, to Publius Manlius. The soldiers were ordered to return to their standards; and it was decreed, that, as a mark of disgrace, that legion should, for that year, receive but half a year’s pay. The consul was likewise ordered to sell, as a slave, every soldier who should not return to the army, and to confiscate his goods.

XLII. Lucius Duronius, who had been prætor the year before, returned now, with ten ships, from Illyricum to Brundusium, and leaving the fleet in that harbour, came to Rome. In giving a recital of the services which he had performed in his province, he threw the blame of all the piracies committed by sea, on Gentius, king of Illyricum. “From his kingdom,” he said, “came all the ships that had ravaged the coast; that he had sent ambassadors on the subject, but they were not even allowed an audience of the king.” Some time before this, ambassadors had come to Rome from Gentius, who said, that “when the Romans came and desired audience of the king, he happened to be sick, in a remote part of his dominions; and that Gentius requested of the senate, not to give credit to the forged charges which his enemies made against him.” Duronius added, that many Roman citizens and Latine allies, suffered ill treatment in Gentius’s dominions; some of whom he held in confinement in Corcyra. An order was made, that all these should be brought to Rome; that the prætor, Caius Claudius, should inquire into that business, and that, until this were done, no answer should be given to the king or his ambassadors. Among many who were cut off by the pestilence this year, were several priests. Lucius Valerius Flaccus, a pontiff, died of it, and, in his room, was substituted Quintus Fabius Labeo. Publius Manlius, who had lately come home from the farther Spain, and was triumvir of religious feasts, died also, who was succeeded by Quintus Fulvius, son of Marcus, then a mere youth. The appointing of a king of the sacrifices, in the room of Cneius Cornelius Dolabella, gave rise to a dispute between Caius Servilius, chief pontiff, and Lucius Cornelius Dolabella, naval duumvir. The pontiff required, before he inaugurated him, that he should resign his commission, and, on his refusing this, the pontiff imposed a fine on the duumvir. The latter then appealed, and the affair was brought to trial before the people. After a majority of the tribes were called in to give their votes, and had ordered that the duumvir should comply with the requisition of the pontiff, and that on his resigning his commission the fine should be remitted, an unfavourable omen from the heavens, intervened, and broke off the proceedings of the assembly. After this the pontiffs were prevented, by religious scruples, from inaugurating Dolabella. They consecrated Publius Clælius Siculus as king of the sacrifices, who had been invested pontiff, in the second place. Towards the end of the year, Caius Servilius Geminus, the chief pontiff, also died; he was moreover decemvir of religious affairs. In his room, as pontiff, Quintus Fulvius Flaccus was nominated by the college, but the post of chief pontiff, though sought by many illustrious candidates, was conferred on Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, as was that of decemvir of religious affairs, vacant by the death of the same person, on Quintus Marcius Philipus. Spurius Postumius Albinus, an augur, died; and the augurs filled his place with Publius Scipio, son of Africanus. On the request of the people of Cumæ, leave was granted them to use the Latine language in their public business, and their auctioneers also, in selling goods.

XLIII. The Pisans, making an offer of grounds for the establishment of a Latine colony, received the thanks of the senate, and commissioners were appointed to conduct that business; these were Quintus Fabius Buteo, Marcus Pompilius Lænas, and Publius Pompilius Lænas. Caius Mænius, prætor, who, on his appointment to the government of Sardinia, had also received commission to make inquisition concerning practices of sorcery, in places more than ten miles distant from the city represented, in a letter, that “he had already passed sentence on three thousand people, and that still, in consequence of fresh discoveries, the business increased so much on his hands, that he must either drop the prosecution of the inquiries or give up the province.” Quintus Fulvius Flaccus returned from Spain, with a high reputation for his military exploits; and, while he waited without the city, in expectation of a triumph, was elected consul with Lucius Manlius Acidinus.Y. R. 573.
179. A few days after which, with the soldiers whom he had brought home, he rode into the city in triumph. He carried in the procession an hundred and twenty-four golden crowns, together with thirty-one pounds weight of gold, and of coined Oscan silver an hundred and seventy-three thousand two hundred pieces. He gave out of the booty, to each of the soldiers, fifty denariuses; double to a centurion; triple to a horseman; and the same sums to the Latine allies, with double pay to all. This year, for the first time, a law was proposed by Lucius Villius, plebeian tribune, ascertaining the ages at which men might sue for, and hold, the several offices in the state. Hence his family acquired the surname of Annalis.

XLIV. The Bæbian law, which ordered, that every second year the number of prætors elected should be four, and which had been overlooked for many years, was now observed; and the persons appointed were, Cneius Cornelius Scipio, Caius Valerius Lævinus, Quintus Mucius Scævola, and Publius Mucius Scævola, sons of Quintus. To the consuls, Quintus Fulvius and Lucius Manlius, was decreed the same province, as to the preceding ones, and the same number of forces, infantry, cavalry, citizens, and allies. In the two Spains, Tiberius Sempronius and Lucius Postumius were continued in command, with the same armies which they then had; and, to fill up their numbers, the consuls were ordered to enlist, of Romans three thousand foot and three hundred horse, and of the Latine allies five thousand foot and four hundred horse. The lots gave to Publius Mucius Scævola the city jurisdiction, and the business of the inquisitions concerning sorcery, in the city, and within ten miles of it; to Cneius Scipio the foreign jurisdiction; to Quintus Mucius Scævola, Sicily; and to Caius Valerius Lævinus, Sardinia. The consul, Quintus Fulvius before he meddled with the public business, declared, that “he intended to acquit both himself and the state of the obligation of fulfilling the vows which he had made; that, on the day of his last battle with the Celtiberians, he had vowed to perform games in honour of Jupiter supremely good and great, and to build a temple to Equestrian Fortune; and that the Spaniards had made a contribution of money for these purposes. A vote was passed that the games should be performed, and that duumvirs should be appointed to contract for the building of the temple: With regard to the expenses, a limitation was fixed that “no greater sum should be expended on the games than that which had been voted to Fulvius Nobilior, when he exhibited such on the conclusion of the Ætolian war; and that the consul should not, on account of these, send for, collect, or receive any thing, or act in any respect contrary to the decree of senate, passed concerning games in the consulate of Lucius Æmilius and Cneius Bæbius.” The senate qualified their vote in this manner, because Tiberius Sempronius, in his ædileship, had expended, on the like exhibitions, such enormous sums as were burthensome not only to the Latine allies and Italy, but even to the provinces abroad.

XLV. The winter of that year was rendered remarkably severe by great falls of snow, and storms of every kind; those kinds of trees which are susceptible of injury from cold, were entirely blighted; and its duration, also, was unusually long, so that the Latine festival, on the mount, was broken off soon after its commencement, by a hurricane coming on suddenly, and with irresistible fury; but it was celebrated afterwards, pursuant to an order of the pontiffs. The same storm also threw down many statues in the capitol, disfigured many buildings by lightning, as the temple of Jupiter at Tarracina, the white temple, and the Roman gate at Capua; and in many places the battlements of the walls were overthrown. Among the rest of these prodigies, an account was received from Reate, that a mule, with three feet, was foaled there! On account of those portents, the decemvirs were ordered to consult the books. They directed to what gods, and with how many victims, sacrifices should be performed; and that on account of the many places being struck by lightning, a supplication should be performed at the temple of Jupiter, of one day. Then the votive games of the consul Quintus Fulvius were exhibited with great magnificence, during ten days. Soon after, was held the election of censors, when Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, chief pontiff, and Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, who had triumphed over the Ætolians, were chosen. It was universally known, that a strong enmity subsisted between these two; for they had published it often, by many disputes in the senate, and in the assemblies of the people. When the election was ended, according to ancient custom, they seated themselves in curule chairs in the field, near the altar of Mars, when, in a few minutes, came up thither the principal senators, accompanied by the body of the citizens, among whom was Quintus Cæcilius Metellus, who spoke as follows:—

XLVI. “Censors, we are not unmindful that you have been just now invested, by the whole body of the Roman people, with authority to preside over the morals of the state, and that we ought to be admonished and ruled by you, not you by us. Nevertheless, it may not be improper to point out what all good men blame in you, or, at least, somewhat which they wish to see altered. When we look at you separately, Marcus Æmilius, Marcus Fulvius, we know not, in the whole state, any one person whom, if we were called back again to vote, we could wish to be preferred to you; but when we behold you both together, we cannot avoid fearing that you are but ill associated; and that the public may not reap as much advantage from your being exceedingly pleasing to every one of us, as prejudice, from your being displeasing one to another. You have, for many years past, harboured an enmity, violent in its degree, and detrimental to yourselves; and we justly fear, that from this day forward, it may prove more detrimental to us, and to the state, than it has been to you. As to the reasons, on which these our fears are founded, many observations, which might be made, will readily occur to yourselves; unless perhaps your implacable resentments have totally engrossed your minds. These resentments we all beseech you to terminate this day, in that sacred place, and to suffer persons, whom the Roman people have united by their suffrages, to be united through our means; and that you will, with unanimity and harmony, choose the senate, review the knights, perform the survey, and close the lustrum: and that when you utter those words, which make part of almost all your prayers, ‘that such a matter may prove prosperous and happy to me and my colleague,’ you will, truly and sincerely, wish it to prove so; and that you will act in such a manner, as that, whatever you beg from the immortal gods, we mortals also may be convinced, that you really desire it. Titus Tatius and Romulus, after having encountered, as enemies, in the middle of the forum, reigned with concord in the same city. Not only quarrels, but wars, are accommodated, and, from bitter foes, men frequently become faithful allies, nay, sometimes, countrymen. The Albans, after the demolition of Alba, were transplanted to Rome; the Latines, the Sabines, were admitted into the number of citizens. It is a common saying, and, because founded in truth, has become a proverb, that friendships ought to be immortal, but enmities mortal.” A universal roar of approbation was now heard; and presently after, the voices of every one present, all joining in the same request, interrupted his discourse. Then Æmilius, besides other complaints, represented, that through Fulvius’s intrigues, he had been twice disappointed of the consulship, when he had reason to think himself sure of obtaining it. On the other hand, Fulvius complained, that Æmilius sought every opportunity of injuring him; had instituted a prosecution against him, and obliged him to give surety to abide judgment, to his great discredit. Nevertheless, each of them intimated, that, if the other would do the same, he was ready to submit to the direction of such a number of the most respectable members of the state; and all present urgently repeating their request, they mutually pledged their right hands, and their honour, to dismiss and forget all animosity. The whole assembly expressed the highest applause of their behaviour; and then escorted them to the capitol, where both the attention paid to such a matter by the persons of the first consequence, and the compliance of the censors, were most warmly approved, and commended by the senate. The censors, then, demanded, that a sum of money should be assigned to them, which they might employ in public works; and the customs of one year were accordingly decreed to them.

XLVII. Meanwhile, in Spain, the proprætors, Lucius Postumius, and Tiberius Sempronius, settled between them, that Albinus should march through Lusitania, against the Vaccæans, and thence return into Celtiberia. Gracchus penetrated into the remotest parts of that province; because the commotions there were the most dangerous. First, he made an unexpected assault on the city of Munda, by night, and took it by storm; then, having received hostages, and placed a garrison in the town, he proceeded to attack their forts, and ravage the country with fire, until he arrived at another strong town, called by the natives Certima. While he was employed here, in advancing his works to the walls, deputies came out from the town, who spoke with all the simplicity of the earliest times, not dissembling their wishes to continue the war, if they could procure strength to support it.—For they requested permission to go into the camp of the Celtiberians, and solicit assistance from them, and said, that “if they did not obtain it, they would then consult their own interests, separately, without regard to them.” This being granted by Gracchus, they went accordingly, and, in a few days after, came back with ten ambassadors. They arrived about noon; and the first thing that they asked of the prætor was, that he would order some drink to be given them. After drinking off the first cups, they called for more, while all who were present could not refrain from laughing at a people so unpolished, so ignorant of every thing like civilized manners. Then the eldest of them said, “we have been sent by our nation to ask what it is that gives you so much confidence, that you should venture to come and make an attack on them?” To this question Gracchus answered, that “he came relying on an excellent army; which if they chose to see, in order to carry back certain information to their friends, he would give them an opportunity,” and then he ordered the military tribunes to draw up, in array, all the forces both horse and foot, and make them go through their exercise in arms. After this sight, the ambassadors were dismissed; and they gave such accounts, as deterred their people from attempting to succour the besieged city. The townsmen raised fires on the towers, which was the signal agreed on, but receiving no answer, and being thus disappointed in their only hope of relief, they capitulated. A contribution of two million four hundred thousand sesterces was imposed on them; and they were obliged to furnish forty horsemen, of the highest rank among them, not under the denomination of hostages, for they were ordered to serve as soldiers, but in reality to be pledges for their fidelity.

XLVIII. Gracchus then marched to the city of Alce, where lay the camp of the Celtiberians, from which the ambassadors had lately come. For some days, he harassed them with skirmishes, sending his light troops to charge their advanced guards; and then made more important attacks, in order to draw them from out their entrenchments. As soon as he perceived that his plan took effect, he gave orders to the præfects of the auxiliaries, that, after a short contest, they should suddenly turn their backs, as if overpowered by numbers, and fly, with all haste, to the camp; in the meantime, he himself drew up all his forces in order, within the rampart, at all the gates. It was not long until he saw his detachment flying towards him, as had been previously agreed, and the barbarians following, in a disorderly pursuit. This was exactly what he wanted; and his troops were formed in readiness to lay hold on the occasion. He therefore delayed no longer, than to leave the passage open for his party, which was flying, to get into the camp, and then, raising the shout, he caused them to rush out from all the gates at once. The enemy did not sustain the unexpected shock. They who came to assault his camp, could not even defend their own; for they were instantly routed, put to flight, driven in a panic within their trenches; and, at last, beaten out of them. In this action, nine thousand of the enemy were killed, and three hundred and twenty taken, with an hundred and twelve horses, and thirty-seven military ensigns. Of the Roman army there fell an hundred and nine.

XLIX. After this battle, Gracchus employed the legions in ravaging the country of Celtiberia. After he had spread depredations of every kind, to a vast extent, some states voluntarily, others, through fear, submitted to his yoke; so that within a few days, he received the submission of an hundred and three towns, besides having acquired an immense booty. He then marched to Alce, whence he came, and opened the siege of that city. The townsmen withstood the first assault; but when they afterwards found themselves attacked, not only by arms, but works also, they despaired of being able to defend the place, and retired into the citadel. After some time, they sent envoys, and surrendered themselves, and every thing belonging to them, to the Romans. The plunder here was very great. Many prisoners of distinction fell into the victor’s hands, among whom were two sons and a daughter of Turrus. This chieftain, who governed those tribes, was by far the most powerful of all the Spaniards. On hearing the disasters of his countrymen, he sent for a passport, and coming into the camp to Gracchus, asked him, first, “Whether the lives of himself and his subjects would be spared?” The prætor answered that they would; then he asked again, “Whether it would be allowed him to bear arms on the side of the Romans?” To this too Gracchus assented, on which he said, “I will follow you, then, against my old allies, since they have not thought proper to pay any regard to me.” From that time, he united himself to the Romans, and acted in their service, on many occasions, with great courage and fidelity

L. After this, Ergavia, a city of great power and opulence, terrified by the disasters of the surrounding states, opened its gates to the Romans. Some writers say, that the submissions of these towns were not made with sincerity; but that, whenever the legions were led away from any quarter of the country, the natives resumed their arms; and that the Roman general fought, afterwards, near Mount Caunus, a pitched battle with the Celtiberians, which was warmly contested, from break of day to the sixth hour, that many fell on both sides, and that the Romans had no strong proof of their gaining the victory, excepting that, next day, they offered battle, and the enemy refused to come out of their entrenchments: that they employed that whole day in collecting the spoils, and, on the day following, fought a more desperate battle, in which the Celtiberians were at length completely defeated, and their camp taken and plundered: that twenty-two thousand of the enemy were killed in the action, more than three hundred taken, with almost an equal number of horses, and seventy-two military standards: that this put an end to the war, and that the Celtiberians concluded a peace, with a real intention to keep it, and not with their former insincerity. They say also, that during the same summer Lucius Postumius fought two battles, in the farther Spain, with the Vaccæans, and gained complete victorics, killed thirty-five thousand men, and took their camp. It is, however, more probable, that he came into the province too late to assist greatly in that campaign.

LI. The censors reviewed the senate with cordial harmony. Marcus Æmilius Lepidus, the censor, who was likewise chief pontiff, was chosen head of the senate; three were expelled. Lepidus restored some who were struck out by his colleague. They then divided a part of the money assigned to them, and completed therewith the following works:—Lepidus built a mole at Tarracini, an unpopular work, because he had estates there, and brought into the account of the public expenditure, what ought to have been done at his own expense. He agreed with contractors for building a theatre near the temple of Apollo, and for embellishing the temple of Jupiter in the capitol, and the columns around it: he also removed from those columns the statues that stood incommodiously before them, and took down the shields and military ensigns of all sorts, which were hung upon them. Marcus Fulvius made contracts for more numerous and more useful works: a haven on the Tiber, and piers for a bridge across it; on which piers Publius Scipio Africanus and Lucius Mummius, censors, many years after, caused the arches to be erected; a court of justice behind the new bankers’ houses, and a fish-market, surrounded with shops, which he sold to private persons; also a forum and portico, on the outside of the gate Trigemina; another portico behind the dock-yard, and one at the temple of Hercules; also a temple of Apollo Medicus, behind that of Hope, on the bank of the Tiber. They had, besides, some of the money undivided, and out of this they jointly agreed to pay for water being brought to the city, and the raising of the necessary arches; but Marcus Licinius Crassus put a stop to this work, which he would not suffer to be brought through his grounds. They also established many port duties and customs, and took care that several public chapels, which were then occupied by private persons, should again be open to the people. They likewise made an alteration in the mode of voting; for, through all the regions, they divided the tribes according to the different ranks of men, and their several occupations and callings.

LII. One of the censors, Marcus Æmilius, petitioned the senate, that a sum of money should be voted to him for the celebration of games, on occasion of the dedication of the temples of Imperial Juno and Diana, which he had vowed eight years before, when employed in the Ligurian war. They accordingly voted twenty thousand asses. He dedicated those temples in the Flaminian circus; in which place he exhibited stage plays for three days, after the dedication of the temple of Juno, and two, after that of Diana, and for one day in the circus of Rome. He also dedicated a temple to the deities of the sea in the field of Mars. This had been vowed eleven years before, by Lucius Æmilius Regillus, in the sea-fight with the ships of king Antiochus. Over the gate of the temple was hung up a tablet with this inscription:missing text * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The same was placed over the gate of the temple of Jupiter, on the capitol.

LIII. Two days after the censors had reviewed the senate, the consul Quintus Fulvius marched against the Ligurians; and, making his way amid the mountains and difficult passes, fought a pitched battle with the enemy, and not only defeated them in the field, but took their camp the same day. Three thousand two hundred of the enemy, and all that tract of Liguria, surrendered to the conqueror. The consul brought down all those who surrendered, into the low lands, and posted guards on the mountains. His letters from that province quickly reached Rome; and a thanksgiving, of two days, was voted on account of his successes. The prætors, during this thanksgiving, sacrificed forty victims of the larger kinds. The other consul, Lucius Manlius, did nothing in Liguria worth recording. Some transalpine Gauls, to the number of three thousand, came over into Italy, without offering to commit hostilities of any kind, and petitioned the consul and senate for some land, proposing to live as became peaceable subjects, under the government of the Roman people But the senate ordered them to quit Italy, and enjoined the consul Quintus Fulvius to search after and punish those, who had been their advisers and leaders in passing the Alps.

LIV. This year died Philip, king of Macedonia, being worn out with age, and the grief which had continually preyed on him since the death of his son Demetrius. He spent the winter at Demetrias, in great anguish of mind, occasioned by the loss of his son, and by remorse for his own cruelty. He also received constant cause of disquiet from Perseus, who now considered himself, as did every one else, quite secure of the throne. Philip perceived that the eyes of all were turned from himself; in his old age, forsaken and desolate. Some only waited for his death to show their inclinations, while others did not even wait for that event. All this added to the bitterness of his sorrow; in which the only one who sympathized with him, was Antigonus, son of Echecrates, named after his uncle Antigonus, who had been guardian to Philip. He was a man of royal dignity, and famed for a remarkable battle which he fought against Cleomenes the Lacedæmonian. The Greeks called him the Guardian, to distinguish him from the other princes of that surname. His nephew Antigonus, of all the friends whom Philip had honoured with his favours, alone, remained uncorrupted; and this faithful attachment was the cause that Perseus, who had never been his friend, became now his open and most inveterate enemy. He plainly foresaw the great dangers which threatened him, in case of the succession of the crown coming to Perseus; and therefore, as soon as he perceived the king’s mind to be softened, and that he sometimes sighed with regret for the loss of Demetrius; that he sometimes listened to people conversing on the subject, and sometimes even introduced the mention of it, as of a proceeding too rashly executed, accompanying the lamentations of Antigonus with his own;—and, as the truth usually affords many traces of itself, he pursued these with the most zealous diligence, in order that the whole might be brought to light as speedily as possible. Of the agents employed in that business, those who were most generally supposed guilty, were Apelles and Philocles, who had gone ambassadors to Rome, and had brought the letter under the name of Flamininus, which had proved so ruinous to Demetrius. The common cry in the palace now was, that it was a forgery, contrived by the secretary, and that the seal was counterfeited.

LV. While this, however, was rather a matter of suspicion, than of certainty, Antigonus accidentally met Xychus, on whom he immediately laid hands, and brought to the palace; then, leaving him in custody of a guard, he went on to the apartment of Philip, to whom he said,—“From many conversations, I think I may conclude, that it would be highly satisfactory to you, to be able to learn the truth respecting your sons; which of the two was guilty of treachery, and plotting against the other. The only man in the world who can unravel this mystery is now in your power, Xychus. I met him by accident, and I have brought him to the palace; I entreat you to order him to be called into your presence.” On being brought in, he at first denied every thing, but with such irresolution, as showed that a slight application to his fears would readily extort the truth. Accordingly, he did not withstand the sight of the executioner and the instruments of torture, but disclosed the whole process of the villainy of the ambassadors, and the part which he himself had acted in it. Orders were instantly despatched to seize the ambassadors; and Philocles, who was in the town, was apprehended; but Apelles, who had been sent in pursuit of a person called Chærea, getting notice of the discovery made by Xychus, fled over into Italy. With respect to Philocles, no certain account has been published; some say, that, for a time, he boldly denied all knowledge of the matter; but that, when Xychus was confronted with him, he persisted no longer; others, that he even suffered the rack without confessing. Philip’s grief was hereby renewed and doubled, and he felt his unhappiness, with regard to his children press the heavier on him, because one of them was still alive.

LVI. When Perseus was told that all was discovered, being too powerful to think flight necessary, he only took care to keep out of the way, intending to guard himself, during the remainder of Philip’s life, from the flame, as it were of his burning resentment. His father, having now no hope of bringing him to punishment, resolved to take vengeance in the only way that was left him; and accordingly he employed all his endeavours to prevent his enjoying the prize his villainy aimed at. To this end, he addressed himself to Antigonus, to whom he was obliged for the full discovery of the fratricide; and whom he supposed the Macedonians, considering the fresh renown of his uncle Antigonus, would neither be ashamed nor displeased at having for their king. “Antigonus,” said he, “since I have been brought into such a situation, that the being childless, a state which other parents reckon a curse, would to me be a blessing, I am resolved to transfer to you the kingdom which I received from your uncle, and which his faithful and resolute guardianship not only preserved for me, but even enlarged. You are the only friend I have, whom I can judge worthy of the throne; and, if I had not one such, I should wish the regal dignity to perish and become extinct, rather than be a prize to the treacherous villainy of Perseus. I shall think Demetrius recalled from the dead, and restored to me, if I can leave in this place such a representative as you, who alone have wept for his innocent death, and for my unhappy error.” After this discourse he omitted no opportunity of promoting his interest, by conferring on him honours of every kind; and, as Perseus was absent in Thrace, he made a circuit round the cities of Macedonia, recommending Antigonus to the men of principal consequence: and, had he lived a little longer, he would undoubtedly have left him in possession of the throne. After leaving Demetrias, he staid longest at Thessalonica; and on going thence to Amphipolis, was there seized with a severe sickness. Yet it was evident that the disorder of his mind was greater than that of his body, and that the immediate causes of his death were his troubled thoughts and want of rest; for he was frequently thrown into violent agitation by a supposed apparition of his innocent, murdered son, and drew his last breath in dreadful imprecations on the other. Nevertheless, Antigonus might have been seated on the throne, if either he had been on the spot, or the death of Philip had been immediately divulged. But Caligenes, the physician, who had the care of the king in his sickness, as soon as he observed the first desperate symptoms, despatched the account to Perseus by couriers, who, according to a plan settled, had been previously disposed in convenient places; and until the prince arrived, he concealed the death of the king from all but those who were in the palace.

LVII. Perseus, therefore, by his sudden arrival, as people neither expected it, nor knew what had happened, crushed all thoughts of opposition, and siezed on the throne, the object of his wicked devices. The demise of Philip happened very seasonably for the purpose of gaining time, and collecting strength for the support of a war; for, in a few days after, the nation of the Bastarnians, in consequence of long solicitation, set out from their own country, with a large force of infantry and cavalry, and crossed the Danube. Antigonus and Cotto went forward, to carry intelligence of this to the king. Cotto was a Bastarnian of distinction, and Antigonus had been sent, much against his will, with this same Cotto, as ambassador, to persuade his countrymen to take arms. At a small distance from Amphipolis, common report first, and then authentic information, acquainted them with the king’s death; which event disconcerted the whole of their plan. The scheme had been settled in this manner:—Philip was to procure for the Bastarnians a safe passage through Thrace, and supplies of provisions; in order to be able to effect which, he had gained the confidence of the chieftains in that country by presents, and had pledged his faith, that they should march through it in a peaceable manner. It was proposed to exterminate the nation of the Dardanians, and to give settlements to the Bastarnians in their country: from which measure a double advantage was expected; as, in the first place, the Dardanians, a nation ever hostile to Macedonia, and watchful to take advantage of the misfortunes of its kings, would be removed out of the way; while the invaders might leave their wives and children in Dardania, and be sent to ravage Italy. It was concluded, that the road to the Adriatic sea and Italy was through the country of the Scordiscians, and that the army could not make its passage by any other way; that the Scordiscians would readily grant a passage to the Bastarnians, for they would have no dislike to people resembling themselves in language and manners, and would probably join them in an expedition, when they saw that their object was the plunder of a most opulent nation. The remainder of the plan was accommodated to every kind of event that might take place; for, in case of the Bastarnians being cut off by the Romans, still the removal of the Dardanians, the booty to be gained from the remains of the former, and the full possession of Dardania, would prove a great consolation. But if they should be successful; then, while the force of the Romans would be directed against the Bastarnians, the king might recover what he had lost in Greece. Such had been the designs of Philip.

LVIII. The Bastarnians at first marched through the country, without doing any mischief, according to the engagements of Cotto and Antigonus. But, on hearing the news of Philip’s death, the Thracians soon became troublesome to deal with, and the Bastarnians not content with what they could purchase; nor could they be kept in a body, so as not to go out of the road. In consequence, injuries were committed on both sides; and, from the daily multiplication of these, war at last blazed out. In the end, the Thracians, unable to withstand the great strength and numbers of the enemy, deserted their towns in the plains, and betook themselves to a high mountain, which they call Donuca. The Bastarnians in vain attempted to follow them. We are told that the Gauls, when plundering Delphi, were destroyed by a storm; so a like storm now discomfited the people, when they were approaching the summit of the mountain. They were not only overwhelmed with a deluge of rain, followed by prodigious thick showers of hail, and accompanied with tremendous noises in the sky, peals of thunder, and flashes of lightning, which dazzled their sight; but the thunderbolts, also, fell so thick on all sides, that they seemed to be aimed at their bodies; and not only the soldiers, but their officers also, were struck by them, and fell. They fled, therefore, precipitately; and hurrying along, without looking before them, tumbled down the high precipices of the rocks, while the Thracians, pursuing close, increased their dismay: but they themselves said, that the gods had put them to flight, and that the sky was falling on them. When, after their dispersion by the storm, as after a shipwreck, they returned (most of them half armed) to the camp whence they had set out, they held a consultation about their future proceedings; on which a disagreement ensued, some advising to return home, and others to push forward into Dardania. About thirty thousand men, under the command of Clondicus, proceeded thither; the rest marched back, by the same road through which they came, to the country beyond the Danube. Perscus, as soon as he got possession of the kingdom, ordered Antigonus to be put to death; and, until he could settle his affairs on a firm foundation, sent ambassadors to Rome, to renew the treaty concluded by his father, and to request the senate to give him the title of king. These were the transactions of that year in Macedonia.

LIX. The consul Quintus Fulvius triumphed over the Ligurians; but it was plain that he was indebted for this triumph to interest, rather than to the greatness of his exploits. He carried in the procession a vast quantity of arms, taken from the enemy, but no money; yet he distributed to each soldier three hundred asses; double to centurions, triple to horsemen. There was nothing in this triumph more remarkable, than that it happened to be celebrated on the same day of the year on which he had triumphed, after his prætorship, the year before.Y. R. 574.
178. After this, he proclaimed the assembly of election, in which were chosen consuls, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Aulus Manlius Vulso. Afterwards, when three prætors had been appointed, Publius Ælius Ligus, Titus Æbutius Carus, and Marcus Titinius, a storm interrupted the election; but on the following day, the fourth before the ides of March, the other three were elected, Marcus Titinius Curvus, Tiberius Claudius Nero, and Titus Fonteius Capito. The Roman games were repeated by the curule a diles, Cneius Servilius Cæpio, and Appius Claudius Cento, on account of the prodigies which had occurred. In the public Forum, during the celebration of a lectisternium, there was an earthquake. The heads of the gods who lay on the couches, turned away their faces, and the cloak and coverings placed on Jupiter fell off. It was also construed as a prodigy, that the olives on the table were gnawed by mice. For the expiation of these, nothing more was done than the re-celebration of the games.

end of vol. v.