Roman History

(Incomplete)

Titus Livius

BOOK XXXIII.

Titus Quinctius Flamininus, proconsul, gains a decisive victory over Philip at Cynoscephalae. Caius Sempronius Tuditanus, praetor, cut off by the Celtiberians. Death of Attalus, at Pergamus. Peace granted to Philip, and liberty to Greece. Lucius Furius Purpureo and Marcus Claudius Marcellus, consuls, subdue the Boian and Insubrian Gauls. Triumph of Marcellus. Hannibal, alarmed at an embassy from Rome concerning him, flies to Antiochus, king of Syria, who was preparing to make war on the Romans.

1. Such were the occurrences of the winter. In the beginning of spring, Quinctius, having summoned Attalus to Elatia, and being anxious to bring under his authority the nation of the Boeotians, who had until then been wavering in their dispositions, marched through Phocis, and pitched his camp at the distance of five miles from Thebes, the capital of Boeotia. Next day, attended by one company of soldiers, and by Attalus, together with the ambassadors, who had come to him in great numbers from all quarters, he proceeded towards the city, having ordered the spearmen of two legions, being two thousand men, to follow him at the distance of a mile. About midway, Antiphilus, praetor of the Boeotians, met him: the rest of the people stood on the walls, watching the arrival of the king and the Roman general. Few arms and few soldiers appeared around them -- the hollow roads, and the valleys concealing from view the spearmen, who followed at a distance. When Quinctius drew near the city, he slackened his pace, as if with intention to salute the multitude, who came out to meet him; but the real motive of his delaying was, that the spearmen might come up.

The townsmen pushed forward, in a crowd, before the lictors, not perceiving the band of soldiers who were following them close, until they arrived at the general's quarters. Then, supposing the city betrayed and taken, through the treachery of Antiphilus, their praetor, they were all struck with astonishment and dismay. It was now evident that no room was left to the Boeotians for a free discussion of measures in the assembly, which was summoned for the following day. However, they concealed their grief, which it would have been both vain and unsafe to have discovered.

2. When the assembly met, Attalus first rose to speak, and he began his discourse with a recital of the kindnesses conferred by his ancestors and himself on the Greeks in general, and on the Boeotians in particular. But, being now too old and infirm to bear the exertion of speaking in public, he lost his voice and fell; and for some time, while they were carrying him to his apartments, (for he was deprived of the use of one half of his limbs,) the proceedings of the assembly were for a short time suspended. Then Aristaenus spoke on the part of the Achaeans, and was listened to with the greater attention, because he recommended to the Boeotians no other measures than those which he had recommended to the Achaeans. A few words were added by Quinctius, extolling the good faith rather than the arms and power of the Romans.

A resolution was then proposed, by Dicaearchus of Plataea, for forming a treaty of friendship with the Roman people, which was read; and no one daring to offer any opposition, it was received and passed by the suffrages of all the states of Boeotia. When the assembly broke up, Quinctius made no longer stay at Thebes than the sudden accident to Attalus made necessary. When it appeared that the force of the disorder had not brought the king's life into any immediate danger, but had only occasioned a weakness in his limbs, he left him there, to use the necessary means for recovery, and returned to Elatia, from whence he had come. Having now brought the Boeotians, as formerly the Achaeans, to join in the confederacy, while all places were left behind him in a state of tranquillity and safety, he bent his whole attention towards Philip, and the remaining business of the war.

3. Philip, on his part, as his ambassadors had brought no hopes of peace from Rome, resolved, as soon as spring began, to levy soldiers through every town in his dominions: but he found a great scarcity of young men; for successive wars, through several generations, had very much exhausted the Macedonians, and, even in the course of his own reign great numbers had fallen, in the naval engagements with the Rhodians and Attalus, and in those on land with the Romans. Mere youths, therefore, from the age of sixteen, were enlisted; and even those who had served out their time, provided they had any remains of strength, were recalled to their standards. Having, by these means, filled up the numbers of his army about the vernal equinox, he drew together all his forces to Dius: he encamped them there in a fixed post; and, exercising the soldiers every day, waited for the enemy. About the same time Quinctius left Elatia, and came by Thronium and Scarphea to Thermopylae.

There he held an assembly of the Aetolians, which had been summoned to meet at Heraclea, to determine with what number of auxiliaries they should follow the Roman general to the war. On the third day, having learned the determination of the allies, he proceeded from Heraclea to Xyniae; and, pitching his camp on the confines between the Aenians and Thessalians, waited for the Aetolian auxiliaries. The Aetolians occasioned no delay. Six hundred foot and four hundred horse, under the command of Phaeneas, speedily joined him; and then Quinctius, to show plainly what he had waited for, immediately decamped. On passing into the country of Phthiotis, he was joined by five hundred Cretans of Gortynium, whose commander was Cydantes, with three hundred Apollonians, armed nearly in the same manner; and not long after, by Amynander, with one thousand two hundred Athamanian foot.

4. Philip, being informed of the departure of the Romans from Elatia, and considering that, on the approaching contest, his kingdom was at hazard, thought it advisable to make an encouraging speech to his soldiers; in which, after he had expatiated on many topics often alluded to before, respecting the virtues of their ancestors, and the military fame of the Macedonians, he touched particularly on those considerations which at the time threw the greatest damp on their spirits, and on those by which they might be animated to some degree of confidence. To the defeat thrice suffered at the narrow passes near the river Aous, by the phalanx of the Macedonians, he opposed the repulse given by main force to the Romans at Atrax: and even with respect to the former case, when they had not maintained possession of the pass leading into Epirus, he said, "the first fault was to be imputed to those who had been negligent in keeping the guards; and the second, to the light infantry and mercenaries in the time of the engagement; but that, as to the phalanx of the Macedonians, it had stood firm on that occasion; and would for ever remain invincible, on equal ground, and in regular fight."

This body consisted of sixteen thousand men, the prime strength of the army, and of the kingdom. Besides these, he had two thousand targeteers, called Peltastae; of Thracians, and Illyrians of the tribe called Trallians, the like number of two thousand; and of hired auxiliaries, collected out of various nations, about one thousand; and two thousand horse. With this force the king waited for the enemy. The Romans had nearly an equal number; in cavalry alone they had a superiority, by the addition of the Aetolians.

5. Quinctius, having decamped to Thebes in Phthiotis, and having received encouragement to hope that the city would be betrayed to him by Timon, a leading man in the state, came up close to the walls with only a small number of cavalry and some light infantry. So entirely were his expectations disappointed, that he was not only obliged to maintain a fight with the enemy who sallied out against him, but would have incurred a fearful conflict had not both infantry and cavalry been called out hastily from the camp, and come up in time. Not meeting with that success which he had too inconsiderately expected, he desisted from any further attempt to take the city at present. He had received certain information of the king being in Thessaly; but as he had not yet discovered into what part of it he had come, he sent his soldiers round the country, with orders to cut timber and prepare palisades.

Both Macedonians and Greeks had palisades; but the latter had not adopted the most convenient mode of using them, either with respect to carriage, or for the purpose of strengthening their fortifications. They cut trees both too large and too full of branches for a soldier to carry easily along with his arms: and after they had fenced their camp with a line of these, the demolition of their palisade was no difficult matter; for the trunks of large trees appearing to view, with great intervals between them, and the numerous and strong shoots affording the hand a good hold, two, or at most three young men, uniting their efforts, used to pull out one tree, which, being removed, a breach was opened as wide as a gate, and there was nothing at hand with which it could be stopped up. But the Romans cut light stakes, mostly of one fork, with three, or at the most four branches; so that a soldier, with his arms slung at his back, can conveniently carry several of them together; and then they stick them down so closely, and interweave the branches in such a manner, that it cannot be seen to what main stem any branch belongs; besides which, the boughs are so sharp, and wrought so intimately with each other, as to leave no room for a hand to be thrust between; consequently an enemy cannot lay hold of any thing capable of being dragged out, or, if that could be done, could he draw out the branches thus intertwined, and which mutually bind each other. And even if, by accident, one should be pulled out, it leaves but a small opening, which is very easily filled up.

6. Next day Quinctius, causing his men to carry palisades with them, that they might be ready to encamp on any spot, marched forward a short way, and took post about six miles from Pherae; whence he sent scouts to discover in what part of Thessaly the king was, and what appeared to be his intention. Philip was then near Larissa, and as soon as he learnt that the Roman general had removed from Thebes, being equally impatient for a decisive engagement, he proceeded towards the enemy, and pitched his camp about four miles from Pherae. On the day following, some light troops went out from both camps, to seize on certain hills, which over looked the city. When, nearly at equal distance from summit which was intended to be seized, they came within sight of each other, they halted; and sending messengers to their respective camps for directions, how they were to proceed on this unexpected meeting with the enemy, waited their return in quiet. For that day, they were recalled to their camps, without having commenced any engagement.

On the following day, there was a battle between the cavalry, near the same hills, in which the Aetolians bore no small part; and in which the king's troops were defeated, and driven into their camp. Both parties were greatly impeded in the action, by the ground being thickly planted with trees; by the gardens, of which there were many in a place so near the city; and by the roads being enclosed between walls, and in some places shut up. The commanders, therefore, were equally desirous of removing out of that quarter; and, as if by a preconcerted scheme, they both directed their route to Scotussa: Philip with the hope of getting a supply of corn there; the Roman intending to get before the enemy and destroy the crops. The armies marched the whole day without having sight of each other in any place, the view being intercepted by a continued range of hills between them. The Romans encamped at Eretria, in Phthiotis; Philip, on the river Onchestus. But though Philip lay at Melambius, in the territory of Scotussa, and Quinctius near Thetidium, in Pharsalia, neither party knew with any certainty where his antagonist was. On the third day, there first fell a violent rain, which was succeeded by darkness equal to that of night, and this confined the Romans to their camp, through fear of an ambuscade.

7. Philip, intent on hastening his march, and in no degree deterred by the clouds, which after the rain lowered over the face of the country, ordered his troops to march: and yet so thick a fog had obscured the day, that neither the standard-bearers could see the road, nor the soldiers the standards; so that all, led blindly by the shouts of uncertain guides, fell into disorder, like men wandering by night. When they had passed over the hills called Cynoscephalae, where they set a strong guard of foot and horse, they pitched their camp. Although the Roman general staid at Thetidium, yet he detached troops of horse and one thousand foot, to find out where the enemy lay; warning them, however, to beware of ambuscades, which the darkness of the day would cover, even in an open country. When these arrived at the hills, where the enemy's guard was posted, struck with mutual fear, both parties stood, as if deprived of the power of motion. They then sent back messengers to their respective commanders; and when the first surprise subsided, they proceeded to action without more delay.

The fight was begun by small advanced parties; and afterwards the numbers of the combatants were increased by reinforcements of men, who supported those who gave way. In this contest the Romans, being far inferior to their adversaries, sent message after message to the general, that they were being overpowered; on which he hastily sent five hundred horse and two thousand foot, mostly Aetolians, under the command of two military tribunes, who relieved them, and restored the fight. The Macedonians, distressed in turn by this change of fortune, sent to beg succor from their king; but as, on account of the general darkness from the fog, he had expected nothing less, on that day, than a battle, and had therefore sent a great number of men, of every kind, to forage, he was, for a considerable time, in great perplexity, and unable to form a resolution. Subsequently, as the messengers still continued to urge him, and the covering of clouds was now removed from the tops of the mountains, and the Macedonian party was in view, having been driven up to the highest summit, and trusting for safety rather to the nature of the ground than to their arms, he thought it necessary, at all events, to hazard the whole, in order to prevent the loss of a part, for want of support; and, accordingly, he sent up Athenagoras, general of the mercenary soldiers, with all the auxiliaries, except the Thracians, joined by the Macedonian and Thessalian cavalry.

On their arrival, the Romans were forced from the top of the hill, and did not face about until they came to the level plain. The principal support which saved them from being driven down in disorderly flight, was the Aetolian horsemen. The Aetolians were then by far the best cavalry in Greece; in infantry, they were surpassed by some of their neighbors.

8. This affair was represented as more successful than the advantage gained in the battle could warrant; for people came, one after another, and calling out that the Romans were flying in a panic; so that, though reluctant and hesitating declaring it a rash proceeding, and that he liked not either place or the time, yet he was prevailed upon to draw out his whole force to battle. The Roman general did the same, induced by necessity, rather than by the favorableness of the occasion. Leaving the right wing as a reserve, having the elephants posted in front, he, with the left, and all the right infantry, advanced against the enemy; at the same time reminding his men, that "they were going to fight the same Macedonians whom they had fought in the passes of Epirus, fenced, as they were, with mountains and rivers, and whom, after conquering the natural difficulties of the ground, they had dislodged and vanquished; the same, whom they had before defeated under the command of Publius Sulpicius, when they opposed their passage to Eordaea. That the kingdom of Macedonia had been hitherto supported by its reputation, not by real strength; and that even that reputation had, at length, vanished."

Quinctius soon reached his troops, who stood in the bottom of the valley; and they, on the arrival of their general and the army, renewed the fight, and, making a vigorous onset, compelled the enemy again to turn their backs. Philip, with the targeteers, and the right wing of infantry, (the main strength of the Macedonian army, called by them the phalanx,) advanced at a quick pace, having ordered Nicanor, one of his courtiers, to bring up the rest of his forces with all speed. At first, on reaching the top of the hill, from a few arms and bodies lying there, he perceived that there had been an engagement on the spot, and that the Romans had been repulsed from it. When he likewise saw the fight now going on close to the enemy's works, he was elated with excessive delight; but presently, observing his men flying back, and that the panic was on the other side, he was much embarrassed, and hesitated for some time, whether he should cause his troops to retire into the camp.

Then, as the enemy approached, he was sensible that his party, besides the losses which they suffered as they fled, must be entirely lost, if not speedily succored; and as, by this time, even a retreat would be unsafe, he found himself compelled to put all to hazard, before he was joined by the other division of his forces. He placed the cavalry and light infantry that had been engaged, on the right wing; and ordered the targeteers, and the phalanx of Macedonians, to lay aside their spears, which their great length rendered unserviceable, and to manage the business with their swords: at the same time, that his line might not be easily broken, he lessened the extent of the front one half, and doubled the files within so that it might be deeper than it was broad. He ordered them also to close their files, so that man might join with man and arms with arms.

9. Quinctius, having received among the standards and ranks those who had been engaged with the enemy, gave the signal by sound of trumpet. It is said, that such a shout was raised, as was seldom heard at the beginning of any battle; for it happened, that both armies shouted at once; not only the troops then engaged, but also the reserves, and those who were just then coming into the field. The king, fighting from the higher ground, had the better on the right wing, by means chiefly of the advantage of situation. On the left, all was disorder and confusion; particularly when that division of the phalanx, which had marched in the rear, was coming up. The center stood intent on the fight as on a spectacle which in no way concerned them. The phalanx, just arrived (a column rather than a line of battle, and fitter for a march than for a fight,) had scarcely mounted the top of the hill: before these could form, Quinctius, though he saw his men in the left wing giving way, charged the enemy furiously, first driving on the elephants against them, for he judged that one part being routed would draw the rest after.

The affair was no longer doubtful. The Macedonians, repelled by the first shock of the elephants, instantly turned their backs; and the rest, as had been foreseen, followed them in their retreat. Then, one of the military tribunes, forming his design in the instant, took with him twenty companies of men; left that part of the army which was evidently victorious; and making a small circuit, fell on the rear of the enemy's right wing. Any army whatever, thus charged from the rear, must have been thrown into confusion. But to that confusion which under such circumstances would be common to all armies, there was in this case an additional cause. The phalanx of the Macedonians, being heavy, could not readily face about; nor would they have been suffered to do it by their adversaries in front, who, although they gave way to them a little before, on this new occasion pressed them vigorously. Besides, they lay under another inconvenience in respect of the ground; for, by pursuing the retreating enemy down the face of the hill, they had left the top to the party who came round on their rear. Thus attacked on both sides, they were exposed for some time to great slaughter, and then betook themselves to flight, most of them throwing away their arms.

10. Philip, with a small party of horse and foot, ascended a hill somewhat higher than the rest, to take a view of the situation of his troops on the left. Then, when he saw them flying in confusion, and all the hills around glittering with Roman standards and arms, he withdrew from the field. Ouinctius, as he was pressing on the retreating enemy, observed the Macedonians suddenly raising up their spears, and not knowing what they meant thereby, he ordered the troops to halt. Then, on being told that this was the practice of the Macedonians when surrendering themselves prisoners, he was disposed to spare the vanquished; but the troops, not being apprised, either of the enemy having ceased fighting, or of the general's intention, made a charge on them, and the foremost having been cut down, the rest dispersed themselves and fled. Philip hastened in disorderly flight to Tempe, and there halted one day at Gonni, to pick up any who might have survived the battle.

The victorious Romans rushed into the Macedonian camp with hopes of spoil, but found it, for the most part, plundered already by the Aetolians. Eight thousand of the enemy were killed on that day, five thousand taken. Of the victors, about seven hundred fell. If any credit is to be attached to Valerius Antias, who on every occasion exaggerates numbers enormously, the killed of the enemy on that day amounted to forty thousand; the prisoners taken, (in which article the deviation from truth is less extravagant,) to five thousand seven hundred, with two hundred and forty-nine military standards. Claudius also asserts that thirty-two thousand of the enemy were slain, and four thousand three hundred taken. We have not given entire credit, even to the smallest of those numbers, but have followed Polybius, a safe authority with respect to all the Roman affairs, but especially those which were transacted in Greece.

11. Philip having collected, after the flight, such as, having been scattered by the various chances of the battle, had followed his steps, and having sent people to Larissa to burn the records of the kingdom, lest they should fall into the hands of the enemy, retired into Macedonia. Quinctius set up to sale a part of the prisoners and booty, and part he bestowed on the soldiers; and then proceeded to Larissa, without having yet received any certain intelligence to what quarter Philip had betaken himself, or what were his designs. To this place came a herald from the king, apparently to obtain a truce, until those who had fallen in battle should be removed and buried, but in reality to request permission to send ambassadors. Both were obtained from the Roman general; who, besides, added this message to the king, "not to be too much dejected." This expression gave much offense, particularly to the Aetolians, who were become very assuming, and who complained, that "the general was quite altered by success. Before the battle, he was accustomed to transact all business, whether great or small, in concert with the allies; but they had, now, no share in any of his counsels; he conducted all affairs entirely by his own judgment; and was even seeking an occasion of ingratiating himself personally with Philip, in order that, after the Aetolians had labored through all hardships and difficulties of the war, the Roman might assume to himself all the merit and all the fruits of a peace." Certain it is, that he had treated them with less respect than formerly, but they did not know why they were thus slighted. They imagined that he was actuated by an expectation of presents from the king, though he was of a spirit incapable of yielding to any such passion of the mind; but he was, with good reason, displeased at the Aetolians, on account of their insatiable greediness for plunder, and of their arrogance in assuming to themselves the honor of the victory--a claim so ill founded, as to offend the ears of all. Besides, he foresaw that, if Philip were removed out of the way, and the strength of the kingdom of Macedonia entirely broken, the Aetolians would necessarily be regarded as the masters of Greece. For these reasons, he intentionally did many things to lessen their importance and reputation in the judgment of the other states.

12. A truce for fifteen days was granted to the Macedonians, and a conference with the king himself appointed. Before the day arrived on which this was to be held, the Roman general called a council of the allies, and desired their opinions respecting the terms of peace, proper to be prescribed. Amynander, king of Athamania, delivered his opinion in a few words; that "the conditions of peace ought to be adjusted in such a manner, as that Greece might have sufficient power, even without the interference of the Romans, to maintain the peace, and also its own liberty." The address of the Aetolians was more harsh; for after a few introductory observations on the justice and propriety of the Roman general's conduct, in communicating his plans of peace to those who had acted with him as allies in the war, they insisted, "that he was utterly mistaken, if he supposed that he could leave the peace with the Romans, or the liberty of Greece, on a permanent footing, unless Philip was either put to death or banished from his kingdom; both which he could easily accomplish, if he chose to pursue his present success." Quinctius, in reply, said, that "the Aetolians, in giving such advice, attended not either to the maxims of the Roman policy, or to the consistency of their own conduct. For, in all the former councils and conferences, wherein the conditions of peace were discussed, they never once urged the pushing of the war to the utter ruin of the Macedonian: and, as to the Romans, besides that they had, from the earliest periods, observed the maxim of sparing the vanquished, they had lately given a signal proof of their clemency in the peace granted to Hannibal and the Carthaginians. But, not to insist on the case of the Carthaginians, how often had the confederates met Philip himself in conference, yet that it had never been urged that he should resign his kingdom: and, because he had been defeated in battle, was that a reason that their animosity should become implacable? Against an armed foe, men ought to engage with hostile resentment; towards the vanquished, the loftiest spirit was ever the most merciful. The kings of Macedonia were thought to be dangerous to the liberty of Greece. Suppose that kingdom and nation extirpated, the Thracians, Illyrians, and in time the Gauls, (nations unsubjugated and savage,) would pour themselves into Macedonia first, and then into Greece. That they should not, by removing inconveniences which lay nearest, open a passage to others greater and more grievous." Here he was interrupted by Phaeneas, praetor of the Aetolians, who solemnly declared, that "if Philip escaped now, he would soon raise a new and more dangerous war." On which Quinctius said,--"Cease wrangling, when you ought to deliberate. The king shall be bound down by such conditions as will not leave it in his power to raise a war."

13. The convention was then adjourned; and next day, the king came to the pass at the entrance of Tempe, the place appointed for a conference; and the third day following was fixed for introducing him to a full assembly of the Romans and allies. On this occasion Philip, with great prudence, intentionally avoided the mention of any of those conditions, without which peace could not be obtained, rather than suffer them to be extorted after discussion; and declared, that he was ready to comply with all the articles which, in the former conference, were either prescribed by the Romans or demanded by the allies; and to leave all other matters to the determination of the senate. Although he seemed to have hereby precluded every objection, even from the most inveterate of his enemies, yet, all the rest remaining silent, Phaeneas, the Aetolian, said to him,--"What! Philip, do you at last restore to us Pharsalus and Larissa, with Cremaste, Echinus, and Thebes in Phthiotis?" On Philip answering, that "he would give no obstruction to their retaking the possession of them," a dispute arose between the Roman general and the Aetolians about Thebes; for Quinctius affirmed, that it became the property of the Roman people by the laws of war; because when, before the commencement of hostilities, he marched his army thither, and invited the inhabitants to friendship, they, although at full liberty to renounce the king's party, yet preferred an alliance with Philip to one with Rome. Phaeneas alleged, that, in consideration of their being confederates in the war, it was reasonable, that whatever the Aetolians possessed before it began, should be restored; and that, besides, there was, in the first treaty, a provisional clause of that purport, by which the spoils of war, of every kind that could be carried or driven, were to belong to the Romans; and that the lands and captured cities should fall to the Aetolians. "Yourselves," replied Quinctius, "annulled the conditions of that treaty, at the time when ye deserted us, and made peace with Philip; but supposing it still remained in force, yet that clause could affect only captured cities. Now, the states of Thessaly submitted to us by a voluntary act of their own."--These words were heard by their allies with universal approbation; but to the Aetolians they were both highly displeasing at the present, and proved afterwards the cause of a war, and of many great disasters attending it. The terms settled with Philip were, that he should give his son Demetrius, and some of his friends, as hostages; should pay two hundred talents and send ambassadors to Rome, respecting the other articles: for which purpose there should be a cessation of arms for four months. An engagement was entered into, that, in case the senate should refuse to conclude a treaty, his money and hostages should be returned to Philip. It is said, that one of the principal reasons which made the Roman general wish to expedite the conclusion of a peace, was, that he had received certain information of Antiochus intending to commence hostilities, and to pass over into Europe.

14. About the same time, and, as some writers say, on the same day, the Achaeans defeated Androsthenes, the king's commander, in a general engagement near Corinth. Philip, intending to use this city as a citadel, to awe the states of Greece, had invited the principal inhabitants to a conference, under pretense of agreeing with them as to the number of horsemen which the Corinthians could supply towards the war, and these he detained as hostages. Besides the force already there, consisting of five hundred Macedonians and eight hundred auxiliaries of various kinds, he had sent thither one thousand Macedonians, one thousand two hundred Illyrians, and of Thracians and Cretans (for these served in both the opposite armies) eight hundred. To these were added Botians, Thessalians, and Acarnanians, to the amount of one thousand, all carrying bucklers; with as many of the young Corinthians themselves, as filled up the number of six thousand men under arms,--a force which inspired Androsthenes with a confident wish to decide the matter in the field. Nicostratus, praetor of the Achaeans, was at Sicyon, with two thousand foot and one hundred horse; but seeing himself so inferior, both in the number and kind of troops, he did not go outside the walls: the king's forces, in various excursions, were ravaging the lands of Pellene, Phliasus, and Cleone. At last, reproaching the enemy with cowardice, they passed over into the territory of Sicyon, and, sailing round Achaia, laid waste the whole coast. As the enemy, while thus employed, spread themselves about too widely and too carelessly, (the usual consequence of too much confidence,) Nicostratus conceived hopes of attacking them by surprise. He therefore sent secret directions to all the neighboring states, as to what day, and what number from each state, should assemble in arms at Apelaurus, a place in the territory of Stymphalia. All being in readiness at the time appointed, he marched thence immediately; and, without the knowledge of any one as to what he was contemplating, came by night through the territory of the Phliasians to Cleone. He had with him five thousand foot, of whom * * * * * * were light-armed, and three hundred horse; with this force he waited there, having dispatched scouts to watch on what quarter the enemy should make their irregular inroads.

15. Androsthenes, utterly ignorant of all these proceedings, set out from Corinth, and encamped on the Nemea, a river running between the confines of Corinth and Sicyon. Here, dismissing one half of his troops, he divided the remainder into three parts, and ordered all the cavalry of each part to march in separate divisions, and ravage, at the same time, the territories of Pellene, Sicyon, and Phlius. Accordingly, the three divisions set out by different roads. As soon as Nicostratus received intelligence of this at Cleone, he instantly sent forward a numerous detachment of mercenaries, to seize a pass at the entrance into the territory of Corinth; and he himself quickly followed, with his troops in two columns, the cavalry proceeding before the head of each, as advanced guards. In one column marched the mercenary soldiers and light infantry; in the other, the shield-bearers of the Achaeans and other states, who composed the principal strength of the army. Both infantry and cavalry were now within a small distance of the camp, and some of the Thracians had attacked parties of the enemy, who were straggling and scattered over the country, when the sudden alarm reached their tents. The commander was thrown into the utmost perplexity; for, having never had a sight of the Achaeans, except occasionally on the hills before Sicyon, when they did not venture to come down into the plains, he had never imagined that they would come so far as Cleone. He ordered the stragglers to be recalled by sound of trumpet; commanded the soldiers to take arms with all haste; and, marching out of the gate at the head of thin battalions, drew up his line on the bank of the river. His other troops, having scarcely had time to be collected and formed, did not withstand the enemy's first onset; the Macedonians had surrounded their standards in by far the greatest numbers, and now kept the prospect of victory a long time doubtful. At length, being left exposed by the flight of the rest, and pressed by two bodies of the enemy on different sides, by the light infantry on their flank, and by the shield-bearers and targeteers in front, and seeing victory declare against them, they at first gave ground; soon after, being vigorously pushed, they turned their backs; and most of them, throwing away their arms and having lost all hope of defending their camp, made the best of their way to Corinth. Nicostratus sent the mercenaries in pursuit of these; and the auxiliary Thracians against the party employed in ravaging the lands of Sicyon: occasioned great carnage in both instances, greater almost than occurred in the battle itself. Of those who had been ravaging Pellene and Phlius, some, returning to their camp, ignorant of all that had happened, and without any regular order, fell in with the advanced guards of the enemy, where they expected their own. Others, from the bustle which they perceived, suspecting what was really the case, fled and dispersed themselves in such a manner, that, as they wandered up and down, they were cut off by the very peasants. There fell, on that day, one thousand five hundred: three hundred were made prisoners. All Achaia was thus relieved from their great alarm.

16. Before the battle at Cynoscephalae, Lucius Quinctius had invited to Corcyra some chiefs of the Acarnanians, the only state in Greece which had continued to maintain its alliance with the Macedonians; and there made some kind of scheme for a change of measures. Two causes, principally, had retained them in friendship with the king: one was a principle of honor, natural to that nation; the other, their fear and hatred of the Aetolians. A general assembly was summoned to meet at Leucas; but neither did all the states of Acarnania come thither, nor were those who did attend agreed in opinion. However, the magistrates and leading men prevailed so far, as to get a decree passed, thus privately, for joining in alliance with the Romans. This gave great offense to those who had not been present; and, in this ferment of the nation, Androcles and Echedemus, two men of distinction among the Acarnanians, being commissioned by Philip, had influence enough in the assembly, not only to obtain the repeal of the decree for an alliance with Rome, but also the condemnation, on a charge of treason, of Archesilaus and Bianor, both men of the first rank in Acarnania, who had been the advisers of that measure; and to deprive Zeuxidas, the praetor, of his office, for having put it to the vote. The persons condemned took a course apparently desperate, but successful in the issue: for, while their friends advised them to yield to the necessity of the occasion, and withdraw to Corcyra, to the Romans, they resolved to present themselves to the multitude; and either, by that act, to mollify their resentment, or endure whatever might befall them. When they had introduced themselves into a full assembly, at first, a murmur arose, expressive of surprise; but presently silence took place, partly from respect to their former dignity, partly from commiseration of their present situation. Having been also permitted the liberty of speaking, at first they addressed the assembly in a suppliant manner; but, in the progress of their discourse, when they came to refute the charges made against them, they spoke with that degree of confidence which innocence inspires. At last, they even ventured to utter some complaints, and to charge the proceedings against them with injustice and cruelty; and this had such an effect on the minds of all present, that, with one consent, they annulled all the decrees passed against them. Nevertheless, they came to a resolution, to renounce the friendship of the Romans, and return to the alliance with Philip.

17. These decrees were passed at Leucas, the capital of Acarnania, the place where all the states usually met in council. As soon, therefore, as the news of this sudden change reached the lieutenant-general Flamininus, in Corcyra, he instantly set sail with the fleet for Leucas; and coming to an anchor at a place called Heraeus, advanced thence towards the walls with every kind of machine used in the attacking of cities; supposing that the first appearance of danger might bend the minds of the inhabitants to submission. But seeing no prospect of effecting any thing, except by force, he began to erect towers and sheds, and to bring up the battering-rams to the walls. The whole of Acarnania, being situated between Aetolia and Epirus, faces towards the west and the Sicilian sea. Leucadia, now an island, separated from Acarnania by a shallow strait which was dug by the hand, was then a peninsula, united on its eastern side to Acarnania by a narrow isthmus: this isthmus was about five hundred paces in length, and in breadth not above one hundred and twenty. At the entrance of this narrow neck stands Leucas, stretching up part of a hill which faces the east and Acarnania: the lower part of the town is level, lying along the sea, which divides Leucadia from Acarnania. Thus it lies open to attacks, both from the sea and from the land; for the channel is more like a marsh than a sea, and all the adjacent ground is solid enough to render the construction of works easy. In many places, therefore, at once the walls fell down, either undermined, or demolished by the ram. But the spirit of the besieged was as invincible as the town itself was favorably situated for the besiegers: night and day they employed themselves busily in repairing the shattered parts of the wall; and, stopping up the breaches that were made, fought the enemy with great spirit, and showed a wish to defend the walls by their arms rather than themselves by the walls. And they would certainly have protracted the siege to a length unexpected by the Romans, had not some exiles of Italian birth, who resided in Leucas, admitted a band of soldiers into the citadel: notwithstanding which, when those troops ran down from the higher ground with great tumult and uproar, the Leucadians, drawing up in a body in the forum, withstood them for a considerable time in regular fight. Meanwhile the walls were scaled in many places; and the besiegers, climbing over the rubbish, entered the town through the breaches. And now the lieutenant-general himself surrounded the combatants with a powerful force. Being thus hemmed in, many were slain, the rest laid down their arms and surrendered to the conqueror. In a few days after, on hearing of the battle at Cynoscephalae, all the states of Acarnania made their submission to the lieutenant-general.

18. About this time, fortune, depressing the same party in every quarter at once, the Rhodians, in order to recover from Phillip the tract on the continent called Peraea, which had been in possession of their ancestors, sent thither their praetor, Pausistratus, with eight hundred Achaean foot, and about one thousand nine hundred men, made up of auxiliaries of various nations. These were Gauls, Nisuetans, Pisuetans, Tamians Areans from Africa, and Laodiceans from Asia. With this force Pausistratus seized by surprise Tendeba, in the territory of Stratonice, a place exceedingly convenient for his purpose, without the knowledge of the king's troops who had held it. A reinforcement of one thousand Achaean foot and one hundred horse, called out for the same expedition, came up at the very time, under a commander called Theoxenus. Dinocrates, the king's general, with design to recover the fort, marched his army first to Tendeba, and then to another fort called Astragon, which also stood in the territory of Stratonice. Then, calling in all the garrisons, which were scattered in many different places, and the Thessalian auxiliaries from Stratonice itself, he led them on to Alabanda, where the enemy lay. The Rhodians were no way averse from a battle, and the camps being pitched near each other both parties immediately came into the field. Dinocrates placed five hundred Macedonians on his right wing, and the Agrians on his left; the center he formed of the troops which he had drawn together out of the garrisons of the forts; these were mostly Carians; and he covered the flanks with the cavalry, and the Cretan and Thracian auxiliaries. The Rhodians had on the right wing the Achaeans; on the left mercenary soldiers; and in the center a chosen band of infantry, a body of auxiliaries composed of troops of various nations. The cavalry and what light infantry they had, were posted on the wings. During that day both armies remained on the banks of a rivulet, which ran between them, and, after discharging a few javelins, they retired into their camps. Next day, being drawn up in the same order, they fought a more important battle than could have been expected, considering the numbers engaged; for there were not more than three thousand infantry on each side, and about one hundred horse: but they were not only on an equality with respect to numbers, and the kind of arms which they used, but they also fought with equal spirit and equal hopes. First, the Achaeans crossing the rivulet, made an attack on the Agrians; then the whole line passed the river, almost at full speed. The fight continued doubtful a long time: the Achaeans, one thousand in number, drove back the four hundred from their position. Then the left wing giving way, all exerted themselves against the right. On the Macedonians no impression could be made, so long as their phalanx preserved its order, each man clinging as it were to another: but when, in consequence of their flank being left exposed, they endeavored to turn their spears against the enemy, who were advancing upon that side, they immediately broke their ranks. This first caused disorder among themselves; they then turned their backs, and at last, throwing away their arms, and flying with precipitation, made the best of their way to Bargylii. To the same place Dinocrates also made his escape. The Rhodians continued the pursuit as long as the day lasted, and then retired to their camp. There is every reason to believe, that, if the victors had proceeded with speed to Stratonice, that city would have been gained without a contest; but the opportunity for effecting this was neglected, and the time wasted in taking possession of the forts and villages in Peraea. In the mean time, the courage of the troops in garrison at Stratonice revived; and shortly after, Dinocrates, with the troops which had escaped from the battle, came into the town, which, after that, was besieged and assaulted without effect; nor could it be reduced until a long time after that, when Antiochus took it. Such were the events that took place in Thessaly, in Achaia, and in Asia, all about the same time.

19. Philip was informed that the Dardanians, in contempt of the power of his kingdom, shaken as at that time it was, had passed the frontiers, and were spreading devastation through the upper parts of Macedonia: on which, though he was hard pressed in almost every quarter of the globe, fortune on all occasions defeating his measures and those of his friends, yet, thinking it more intolerable than death to be expelled from the possession of Macedonia, he made hasty levies through the cities of his dominions; and, with six thousand foot and five hundred horse, defeated the enemy by a surprise near Stobi in Paeonia. Great numbers were killed in the fight, and greater numbers of those who were scattered about in quest of plunder. As to such as found a road open for flight, without having even tried the chance of an engagement, they hastened back to their own country. After this enterprise executed with a degree of success beyond what he met in the rest of his attempts, and which raised the drooping courage of his people, he retired to Thessalonica. Seasonable as was the termination of the Punic war, in extricating the Romans from the danger of a quarrel with Philip, the recent triumph over Philip happened still more opportunely, when Antiochus, in Syria, was already making preparations for hostilities. For besides that it was easier to wage war against them separately than if both had combined their forces together, Spain had a little before this time, risen in arms in great commotion Antiochus, though he had in the preceding summer reduced under his power all the states in Coele-Syria belonging to Ptolemy, and retired into winter quarters at Antioch, yet allowed himself no relaxation from the exertions of the summer. For resolving to exert the whole strength of his kingdom, he collected a most powerful force, both naval and military; and in the beginning of spring, sending forward by land his two sons, Ardues and Mithridates, at the head of the army, with orders to wait for him at Sardis, he himself set out by sea with a fleet of one hundred decked ships, besides two hundred lighter vessels, barks and fly-boats, designing to attempt the reduction of all the cities under the dominion of Ptolemy along the whole coast of Caria and Cilicia; and, at the same time, to aid Philip with an army and ships, for as yet that war had not been brought to a conclusion.

20. The Rhodians, out of a faithful attachment to the Roman people, and an affection for the whole race of the Greeks have performed many honorable exploits, both on land and sea: but never was their gallantry more eminently conspicuous than on this occasion, when, nowise dismayed at the formidable magnitude of the impending war, they sent ambassadors to tell the king, that he should not double the tribute of Cheledoniae, which is a promontory of Cilicia, rendered famous by an ancient treaty between the Athenians and the king of Persia; that if he did not confine his fleet and army to that boundary, they would meet him there and oppose not out of any ill will, but because they would not suffice to join Philip and obstruct the Romans, who were resisting liberty to Greece. At this time Antiochus was pushing the siege of Coracesium with his works; for, after he had possession of Zephyrium, Solae, Aphrodisias, and Corycus; and doubling Anemurium, another promontory of Cilicia, had taken Selinus; when all these, and the other fortresses on that coast, had, either through fear or inclination, submitted without resistance, Coracesium shut its gates, and gave him a delay which he did not expect. Here an audience was given to the ambassadors of the Rhodians, and although the purport of their embassy was such as might kindle passion in the breast of a king, yet he stifled his resentment, and answered, that "he would send ambassadors to Rhodes, and would give them instructions to renew the old treaties, made by him and his predecessors, with that state; and to assure them, that they need not be alarmed at his approach; that it would involve no injury or fraud either to them or their allies; for that he was not about to violate the friendship subsisting between himself and the Romans, both his own late embassy to that people, and the senate's answers and decrees, so honorable to him, were a sufficient evidence." Just at that time his ambassadors happened to have returned from Rome, where they had been heard and dismissed with courtesy, as the juncture required; the event of the war with Philip being yet uncertain. While the king's ambassadors were haranguing to the above purpose, in an assembly of the people at Rhodes, a courier arrived with an account of the battle at Cynoscephalae having finally decided the fate of the war. Having received this intelligence, the Rhodians, now freed from all apprehensions of danger from Philip, resolved to oppose Antiochus with their fleet. Nor did they neglect another object that required their attention; the protection of the freedom of the cities in alliance with Ptolemy, which were threatened with war by Antiochus. For, some they assisted with men, others by forewarning them of the enemy's designs; by which means they enabled the Cauneans, Mindians, Halicarnassians, and Samians to preserve their liberty. It were needless to attempt enumerating all the transactions as they occurred in that quarter, when I am scarcely equal to the task of recounting those which immediately concern the war in which Rome was engaged.

21. At this time king Attalus, having fallen sick at Thebes, had been carried thence to Pergamus, died at the age of seventy-one after he had reigned forty-four years. To this man fortune had given nothing which could inspire hopes of a throne except riches. By a prudent, and, at the same time, a splendid use of these, he begat, in himself first, and then in others, an opinion, that he was not undeserving of a crown. Afterwards, having in one battle utterly defeated the Gauls, which nation was then the more terrible to Asia, as having but lately made its appearance there, he assumed the title of king, and ever after exhibited a spirit equal to the dignity of that name. He governed his subjects with the most perfect justice, and observed an unvarying fidelity towards his allies; gentle and bountiful to his friends; affectionate to his wife and four sons, who survived him; and he left his government established on such solid and firm foundations, that the possession of it descended to the third generation. While this was the posture of affairs in Asia, Greece, and Macedonia, the war with Philip being scarcely ended, and the peace certainly not yet perfected, a desperate insurrection took place in the Farther Spain. Marcus Helvius was governor of that province. He informed the senate by letter, that "two chieftains, Colca and Luscinus, were in arms; that Colca was joined by seventeen towns, and Luscinus by the powerful cities of Carmo and Bardo; and that the people of the whole sea-coast, who had not yet manifested their disposition, were ready to rise on the first motion of their neighbors." On this letter being read by Marcus Sergius, city praetor, the senate decreed, that, as soon as the election of praetors should be finished, the one to whose lot the government of Spain fell should, without delay, consult the senate respecting the commotions in that province.

22. About the same time the consuls came home to Rome, and, on their holding a meeting of the senate in the temple of Bellona, and demanding a triumph, in consideration of their successes in the war, Caius Atinius Labeo, and Caius Ursanius, plebeian tribunes, insisted that "the consuls should propose their claims of a triumph separately, for they would not suffer the question to be put on both jointly, lest equal honors might be conferred where the merits were unequal." Minucius urged, that they had both been appointed to the government of one province, Italy; and that, through the course of their administration, his colleague and himself had been united in sentiments and in counsels; to which Cornelius added, that, when the Boians were passing the Po, to assist the Insubrians and Caenomanians against him, they were forced to return to defend their own country, from his colleague ravaging their towns and lands. In reply the tribunes acknowledged, that the services performed in the war by Cornelius were so great, that "no more doubt could be entertained respecting his triumph than respecting the ascribing of glory to the immortal gods." Nevertheless they insisted, that "neither he nor any other member of the community should possess such power and influence as to be able, after obtaining the honor that was due to himself, to bestow the same distinction on a colleague, who immodestly demanded what he had not deserved. The exploits of Quintus Minucius in Liguria were trifling skirmishes, scarcely deserving mention; and in Gaul he had lost great numbers of soldiers." They mentioned even military tribunes, Titus Juvencius and Cneius Labeo, of the fourth legion, the plebeian tribune's brother, who had fallen in unsuccessful conflict, together with many other brave men, both citizens and allies: and they asserted, that "pretended surrenders of a few towns and villages, fabricated for the occasion, had been made, without any pledge of fidelity being taken." These altercations between the consuls and tribunes lasted two days: at last the consuls, overcome by the obstinacy of the tribunes, proposed their claims separately.

23. To Cneius Cornelius a triumph was unanimously decreed: and the inhabitants of Placentia and Cremona added to the applause bestowed on the consul, by returning him thanks, and mentioning, to his honor, that they had been delivered by him from a siege; and that very many of them, when in the hands of the enemy, had been rescued from captivity. Quintus Minucius just tried how the proposal of his claim would be received, and finding the whole senate averse from it, declared, that by the authority of his office of consul, and pursuant to the example of many illustrious men, he would triumph on the Alban mount. Caius Cornelius, being yet in office, triumphed over the Insubrian and Caenomanian Gauls. He produced a great number of military standards, and earned in the procession abundance of Gallic spoils in captured chariots. Many Gauls of distinction were led before his chariot, and along with them, some writers say, Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general. But what, more than all, attracted the eyes of the public, was a crowd of Cremonian and Placentian colonists, with caps of liberty on their heads, following his chariot. He carried in his triumph two hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred asses, and of silver denarii, stamped with a chariot, seventy-nine thousand. He distributed to each of his soldiers seventy asses, to a horseman and a centurion double that sum. Quintus Minucius, consul, triumphed on the Alban mount, over the Ligurian and Boian Gauls. Although this triumph was less respectable, in regard to the place and the fame of his exploits, and because all knew the expense was not issued from the treasury; yet, in regard of the number of standards, chariots, and spoils, it was nearly equal to the other. The amount of the money also was nearly equal. Two hundred and fifty-four thousand asses were conveyed to the treasury, and of silver denarii, stamped with a chariot, fifty-three thousand two hundred. He likewise gave to the soldiers, horsemen, and centurions, severally, the same sums that his colleague had given.

24. After the triumph, the election of consuls came on. The persons chosen were Lucius Furius Purpureo and Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Next day, the following were elected praetors; Quintus Fabius Buteo, Tiberius Sempronius Longus, Quintus Minucius Thermus, Manius Acilius Glabrio, Lucius Apustius Fullo, and Caius Laelius. Toward the close of this year, a letter came from Titus Quinctius, with information that he had fought a pitched battle with Philip in Thessaly, and that the army of the enemy had been routed and put to flight. This letter was read by Sergius, the praetor, first in the senate, and then, by the direction of the fathers, in a general assembly; and supplications of five days' continuance were decreed on account of those successes. Soon after arrived the ambassadors, both from Titus Quinctius and from the king. The Macedonians were conducted out of the city to the Villa Publica, where lodgings and every other accommodation were provided for them, and an audience of the senate was given them in the temple of Bellona. Not many words passed; for the Macedonians declared, that whatever terms the senate should prescribe, the king was ready to comply with them. It was decreed, that, conformably to ancient practice, ten ambassadors should be appointed, and that, in council with them, the general, Titus Quinctius, should grant terms of peace to Philip; and a clause was added, that, in the number of these ambassadors, should be Publius Sulpicius and Publius Villius, who in their consulship had held the province of Macedonia. On the same day the inhabitants of Oossa having presented a petition, praying that the number of their colonists might be enlarged; an order was accordingly passed, that one thousand should be added to the list, with a provision, that no persons should be admitted into that number who, at any time since the consulate of Publius Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius, had been partisans of the enemy.

25. This year the Roman games were exhibited in the circus, and on the stage, by the curule aediles, Publius Cornelius Scipio and Cneius Manlius Vulso, with an unusual degree of splendor, and were beheld with the greater delight, in consequence of the late successes in war. They were thrice repeated entire, and the plebeian games seven times. These were exhibited by Manius Acilius Glabrio and Caius Laelius, who also, out of the money arising from fines, erected three brazen statues, to Ceres, Liber, and Libera. Lucius Furius and Marcus Claudius Marcellus, having entered on the consulship, when the distribution of the provinces came to be agitated, and the senate appeared disposed to vote Italy the province of both, exerted themselves to get that of Macedonia put to the lot along with Italy. Marcellus, who of the two was the more eager for that province, by assertions that the peace was merely a feigned and delusive one, and that, if the army were withdrawn thence, the king would renew the war, caused some perplexity in the minds of the senate. The consuls would probably have carried the point, had not Quintus Marcius Rex and Caius Antinius Labeo, plebeian tribunes, declared, that they would enter their protest, unless they were allowed, before any further proceeding, to take the sense of the people, whether it was their will and order that peace be concluded with Philip. This question was put to the people in the Capitol, and every one of the thirty-five tribes voted on the affirmative side. The public found the greater reason to rejoice at the ratification of the peace with Macedonia, as melancholy news was brought from Spain; and a letter was made public, announcing that "the proconsul, Caius Sempronius Tuditanus, had been defeated in battle in the Hither Spain; that his army had been utterly routed and dispersed, and several men of distinction slain in the fight. That Tuditanus, having been grievously wounded, and carried out of the field, expired soon after." Italy was decreed the province of both consuls, in which they were to employ the same legions which the preceding consuls had; and they were to raise four new legions, two for the city, and two to be in readiness to be sent whithersoever the senate should direct. Titus Quinctius Flamininus was ordered to continue in the government of his province, with the army of two legions, then on the spot. The former prolongation of his command was deemed sufficient.

26. The praetors then cast lots for their provinces. Lucius Apustius Fullo obtained the city jurisdiction; Manius Acilius Glabrio, that between natives and foreigners; Quintus Fabius Buteo, Farther Spain; Quintus Minucius Thermus, Hither Spain; Caius Laelius, Sicily; Tiberius Sempronius Longus, Sardinia. To Quintus Fabius Buteo and Quintus Minucius, to whom the government of the two Spains had fallen, it was decreed, that the consuls, out of the four legions raised by them, should give one each whichever they thought fit, together with four thousand foot and three hundred horse of the allies and Latin confederates; and those praetors were ordered to repair to their provinces at the earliest possible time. This war in Spain broke out in the fifth year after the former had been ended, together with the Punic war. The Spaniards now, for the first time, had taken arms in their own name, unconnected with any Carthaginian army or general. Before the consuls stirred from the city, however, they were ordered, as usual, to expiate the reported prodigies. Publius Villius, a Roman knight, on the road to Sabinia, had been killed by lightning, together with his horse. The temple of Feronia, in the Capenatian district, had been struck by lightning. At the temple of Moneta, the shafts of two spears had taken fire and burned. A wolf, coming in through the Esquiline gate, and running through the most frequented part of the city, down into the forum, passed thence through the Tuscan and Maelian streets; and scarcely receiving a stroke, made its escape out of the Capenian gate. These prodigies were expiated with victims of the larger kinds.

27. About the same time Cneius Cornelius Lentulus, who had held the government of Hither Spain before Sempronius Tuditanus, entered the city in ovation, pursuant to a decree of the senate, and carried in the procession one thousand five hundred and fifteen pounds' weight of gold, twenty thousand of silver; and in coin, thirty-four thousand five hundred and fifty denarii. Lucius Stretinius, from the Farther Spain, without making any pretensions to a triumph, carried into the treasury fifty thousand pounds' weight of silver; and out of the spoils taken, built two arches in the cattle-market, at the fronts of the temple of Fortune and Mother Matuta, and one in the great Circus; and on these arches placed gilded statues. These were the principal occurrences during the winter. At this time Quinctius was in winter quarters at Elatia. Among many requests, made to him by the allies, was that of the Boeotians, namely, that their countrymen, who had served in the army with Philip, might be restored to them. With this Quinctius readily complied; not because he thought them very deserving, but that, as king Antiochus was already suspected, he judged it advisable to conciliate every state in favor of the Roman interest. It quickly appeared how very little gratitude existed among the Boeotians; for they not only sent persons to give thanks to Philip for the restoration of their fellows, as if that favor had been conferred on them by him, and not by Quinctius and the Romans; but, at the next election, raised to the office of Boeotarch a man named Brachyllas, for no other reason than because he had been commander of the Boeotians serving in the army of Philip; passing by Zeuxippus, Pisistratus, and the others, who had promoted the alliance with Rome. These men were both offended at the present and alarmed about the future consequences: for if such things were done when a Roman army lay almost at their gates, what would become of them when the Romans should have gone away to Italy, and Philip, from a situation so near, should support his own associates, and vent his resentment on those who had been of the opposite party?

28. It was resolved, while they had the Roman army near at hand, to take off Brachyllas, who was the principal leader of the faction which favored the king; and they chose an opportunity for the deed, when, after having been at a public feast, he was returning to his house inebriated, and accompanied by some of his debauched companions, who, for the sake of merriment, had been admitted to the crowded entertainment. He was surrounded and assassinated by six men, of whom three were Italians and three Aetolians. His companions fled, crying out for help; and a great uproar ensued among the people, who ran up and down, through all parts of the city, with lights; but the assassins made their escape through the nearest gate. At the first dawn, a full assembly was called together in the theatre, by the voice of a crier, as if in consequence of a previous appointment. Many openly clamored that Brachyllas was killed by those detestable wretches who accompanied him; but their private conjectures pointed to Zeuxippus, as author of the murder. It was resolved, however, that those who had been in company with him should be seized and examined in their presence. While they were under examination, Zeuxippus, with his usual composure, came into the assembly, for the purpose of averting the charge from himself; yet said, that people were mistaken in supposing that so daring a murder was the act of such effeminate wretches as those who were charged with it, urging many plausible arguments to the same purpose. By which behavior he led several to believe, that, if he were conscious of guilt, he would never have presented himself before the multitude, or, without being challenged by any, have made any mention of the murder. Others were convinced that he intended, by thus unblushingly exposing himself to the charge, to throw off all suspicion from himself. Soon after, those men who were innocent were put to the torture; and, taking the universal opinion as having the effect of evidence, they named Zeuxippus and Pisistratus; but they produced no proof to show that they knew any thing of the matter. Zeuxippus, however, accompanied by a man named Stratonidas, fled by night to Tanagra; alarmed by his own conscience rather than by the assertion of men who were privy to no one circumstance of the affair. Pisistratus, despising the informers, remained at Thebes. A slave of Zeuxippus had carried messages backwards and forwards, and had been entrusted with the management of the whole business. From this man Pisistratus dreaded a discovery; and by that very dread forced him, against his will, to make one. He sent a letter to Zeuxippus, desiring him to "put out of the way the slave who was privy to their crime; for he did not believe him as well qualified for the concealment of the fact as he was for the perpetration of it." He ordered the bearer of this letter to deliver it to Zeuxippus as soon as possible; but he, not finding an opportunity of meeting him, put it into the hands of the very slave in question, whom he believed to be the most faithful to his master of any; and added, that it came from Pisistratus respecting a matter of the utmost consequence to Zeuxippus. Struck by consciousness of guilt, the slave after promising to deliver the letter, immediately opened it; and, on reading the contents, fled in a fright to Thebes and laid the information before the magistrate. Zeuxippus, alarmed by the flight of his slave, withdrew to Athens, where he thought he might live in exile with greater safety. Pisistratus, after being examined several times by torture, was put to death.

29. This murder exasperated the Thebans, and all the Boeotians, to the most rancorous animosity against the Romans, for they considered that Zeuxippus, one of the first men of the nation, had not been party to such a crime without the instigation of the Roman general. To recommence a war, they had neither strength nor a leader; but they had recourse to private massacres, as being next to war, and cut off many of the soldiers, some as they came to lodge in their houses, others as they wandered about their winter quarters, or were on leave of absence for various purposes. Some were killed on the roads by parties lying in wait in lurking-places; others were seduced and carried away to inns, which were left uninhabited, and there put to death. At last they committed these crimes, not merely out of hatred, but likewise from a desire of booty; for the soldiers on furlough generally carried money in their purses for the purpose of trading. At first a few at a time, afterwards greater numbers used to be missed, until all Boeotia became notorious for those practices, and a soldier went beyond the bounds of the camp with more timidity than into an enemy's country. Quinctius then sent deputies round the states, to make inquiry concerning the murders committed. The greatest number of murders were found to have been committed about the lake called Copais; there the bodies were dug out of the mud, and drawn up out of the marsh, having had earthen jars or stones tied to them, so as to be dragged to the bottom by the weight. Many deeds of this sort were discovered to have been perpetrated at Acrphia and Coronea. Quinctius at first insisted that the persons guilty should be given up to him, and that, for five hundred soldiers, (for so many had been cut off,) the Botians should pay five hundred talents. Neither of these requisitions being complied with, and the states only making verbal apologies, declaring, that none of those acts had been authorized by the public; Quinctius first sent ambassadors to Athens and Achaia, to satisfy the allies, that the war which he was about to make on the Botians was conformable to justice and piety; and then, ordering Publius Claudius to march with one-half of the troops to Acrphia, he himself, with the remainder, invested Coronea; and these two bodies' marching by different roads from Elatia, laid waste all the country through which they passed. The Botians, dismayed by these losses, while every place was filled with fugitives, and while the terror became universal, sent ambassadors to the camp; and as these were refused admittance, the Achaeans and Athenians came to their assistance. The Achaeans had the greater influence as intercessors; inasmuch as they were resolved, in case they could not procure peace for the Botians, to join them in the war. Through the mediation of the Achaeans, however, the Botians obtained admission and an audience of the Roman general; who, ordering them to deliver up the guilty, and to pay thirty talents as a fine, granted them peace, and raised the siege.

30. A few days after this, the ten ambassadors arrived from Rome, in pursuance of whose counsel, peace was granted to Philip on the following conditions: "That all the Grecian states, as well those in Asia as those in Europe, should enjoy liberty, and their own laws: That from such of them as had been in the possession of Philip, he should withdraw his garrisons, particularly from the following places in Asia; Euromus, Pedasi, Bargylii, Iassus, Myrina, Abydus; and from Thasus and Perinthus, for it was determined that these likewise should be free: That with respect to the freedom of Cius, Quinctius should write to Prusias, king of Bithynia, the resolutions of the senate, and of the ten ambassadors: That Philip should return to the Romans the prisoners and deserters, and deliver up all his decked ships, excepting five and the royal galley,--of a size almost unmanageable, being moved by sixteen banks of oars: That he should not keep more than five hundred soldiers, nor any elephant: That he should not wage war beyond the bounds of Macedonia without permission from the senate: That he should pay to the Roman people one thousand talents: one half at present, the other by instalments, within ten years." Valerius Antias writes, that there was imposed on him an annual tribute of four thousand pounds' weight of silver, for ten years, and an immediate payment of twenty thousand pounds' weight. The same author says that an article was expressly inserted, that he should not make war on Eumenes, Attalus's son, who had lately come to the throne. For the performance of these conditions hostages were received, among whom was Demetrius, Philip's son. Valerius Antias adds, that the island of Aegina, and the elephants, were given as a present to Attalus, who was absent; to the Rhodians, Stratonice, and other cities of Caria which had been in the possession of Philip; and to the Athenians, the islands of Paros, Imbros, Delos, and Scyros.

31. While all the other states of Greece expressed their approbation of these terms of peace, the Aetolians alone, in private murmurs, made severe strictures on the determination of the ten ambassadors. They said, "it consisted merely of an empty piece of writing varnished over with a fallacious appearance of liberty. For why should some cities be put into the hands of the Romans without being named, while others were particularized, and ordered to be enfranchised without such consignment; unless the intent was, that those in Asia, which, from their distant situation, were more secure from danger, should be free; but those in Greece, not being even mentioned by name, should be made their property: Corinth, Chalcis, and Oreum; with Eretria, and Demetrias." Nor was this charge entirely without foundation: for there was some hesitation with respect to Corinth, Chalcis, and Demetrias; because, in the decree of the senate in pursuance of which the ten ambassadors had been sent from Rome, all Greece and Asia, except these three, were expressly ordered to be set at liberty; but, with regard to these, ambassadors were instructed, that, whatever measures the exigencies of the state might render expedient, they should determine to pursue in conformity to the public good and their own honor. King Antiochus was one of whom they did not doubt that, so soon as he was satisfied that his forces were adequate, he would cross over into Europe; and they were unwilling to let these cities, the possession of which would be so advantageous to him, lie open to his occupation. Quinctius, with the ten ambassadors, sailed from Elatia to Anticyra, and thence to Corinth. Here the plans they had laid down respecting the liberation of Greece were discussed for about three days in a council of the ten ambassadors. Quinctius frequently urged, that "every part of Greece ought to be set at liberty, if they wished to refute the cavils of the Aetolians; if they wished, that sincere affection and respect for the Roman nation should be universally entertained; or if they wished to convince the world that they had crossed the sea with the design of liberating Greece, and not of transferring the sovereignty of it from Philip to themselves." The Macedonians alleged nothing in opposition to the arguments made use of in favor of the freedom of the cities; but "they thought it safer for those cities themselves that they should remain, for a time, under the protection of Roman garrisons, than be obliged to receive Antiochus for a master in the room of Philip." Their final determination was, that "Corinth be restored to the Achaeans, but that a Roman garrison should continue in the citadel; and that Chalcis and Demetrias be retained, until their apprehensions respecting Antiochus should cease."

32. The stated solemnity of the Isthmian games was at hand. These have ever been attended by very numerous meetings, as well on account of the universal fondness entertained by this nation for exhibitions of skill in arts of every kind, as well as of contests in strength and swiftness of foot; as also, because of the convenience of the locality, which furnishes commercial advantages of all kinds by its two opposite seas, and by which it had obtained the character of a rendezvous for all the population of Asia and Greece. But on this occasion, all were led thither not only for their ordinary purposes, but by an eager curiosity to learn what was thenceforward to be the state of Greece, and what their own condition; while many at the same time not only formed opinions within themselves but uttered their conjectures in conversation. Scarcely any supposed that the Romans, victorious as they were, would withdraw from the whole of Greece. They took their seats, as spectators; and a herald, preceded by a trumpeter, according to custom, advanced into the center of the theatre, where notice of the commencement of the games is usually made, in a solemn form of words. Silence being commanded by sound of trumpet, he uttered aloud the following proclamation: THE SENATE AND PEOPLE OF ROME, AND TITUS QUINCTIUS, THEIR GENERAL, HAVING SUBDUED KING PHILIP AND THE MACEDONIANS, DO HEREBY ORDER, THAT THE FOLLOWING STATES BE FREE, INDEPENDENT, AND RULED BY THEIR OWN LAWS: THE CORINTHIANS, PHOCIANS, AND ALL THE LOCRIANS; THE ISLAND OF EUBOEA, AND THE MAGNESIANS; THE THESSALIANS, PERRHAEBIANS, AND THE ACHAEANS OF PHTHIOTIS. He then read a list of all the states which had been under subjection to king Philip. The joy occasioned by hearing these words of the herald was so great, that the people's minds were unable to conceive the matter at once. Scarcely could they believe that they had heard them; and they looked at each other, marvelling as at the empty illusion of a dream. Each inquired of his neighbors about what immediately concerned himself, altogether distrusting the evidence of his own ears. As everyone desired not only to hear, but to see the messenger of liberty, the herald was called out again; and he again repeated the proclamation. When they were thus assured of the reality of the joyful tidings, they raised such a shout, and clapping of hands, and repeated them so often, as clearly to show that of all blessings none is more grateful to the multitude than liberty. The games were then proceeded through with hurry; for neither the thoughts nor eyes of any attended to the exhibitions, so entirely had the single passion of joy pre-occupied their minds, as to exclude the sense of all other pleasures.

33. But, when the games were finished, every one eagerly passed towards the Roman general; so that by the crowd rushing to one spot, all wishing to come near him, and to touch his right hand, and throwing garlands and ribbons, he was in some degree of danger. He was then about thirty-three years of age; and besides the vigor of youth, the grateful sensations excited by so eminent a harvest of glory, increased his strength. Nor was the general exultation exhausted in the presence of all the assembly, but, through the space of many days, was continually revived by sentiments and expressions of gratitude. "There was a nation in the world," they said, "which, at its own expense, with its own labor, and at its own risk, waged wars for the liberty of others. And this was performed, not merely for contiguous states, or near neighbors, or for countries that made parts of the same continent; but they even crossed the seas for the purpose, that no unlawful power should subsist on the face of the whole earth; but that justice, right, and law should every where have sovereign sway. By one sentence, pronounced by a herald all the cities of Greece and Asia had been set at liberty. To have conceived hopes of this, argued a daring spirit; to have carried it into effect, was a proof of the most consummate bravery and good fortune."

34. Quinctius and the ten ambassadors then gave audience to the embassies of the several kings, nations, and states. First of all, the ambassadors of king Antiochus were called. Their proceedings, here, were nearly the same as at Rome; a mere display of words unsupported by facts. But the answer given them was not ambiguous as formerly, during the uncertainty of affairs, and while Philip was unsubdued; for the king was required in express terms to evacuate the cities of Asia, which had been in possession either of Philip or Ptolemy; not to meddle with the free cities, or ever take arms against them, and to be in a state of peace and equality with all the cities of Greece wherever they might be. Above all it was insisted on, that he should neither come himself into Europe, nor transport an army thither. The king's ambassadors being dismissed, a general convention of the nations and states was immediately held; and the business was dispatched with the greater expedition, because the resolutions of the ten ambassadors mentioned the several states by name. To the people of Orestis, a district of Macedonia, in consideration of their having been the first who came over from the side of the king, their own laws were granted. The Magnesians, Perrhaebians, and Dolopians were likewise declared free. To the nation of the Thessalians, besides the enjoyment of liberty, the Achaean part of Phthiotis was granted, excepting Phthiotian Thebes and Pharsalus. The Aetolians, demanding that Pharsalus and Leucas should be restored to them in conformity to the treaty, were referred to the senate: but the council united to these, by authority of a decree, Phocis and Locris, places which had formerly been annexed to them. Corinth, Triphylia, and Heraea, another city of Peloponnesus, were restored to the Achaeans. The ten ambassadors were inclined to give Oreum and Eretria to king Eumenes, son of Attalus; but Quinctius dissenting, the matter came under the determination of the senate, and the senate declared those cities free; adding to them Carystus. Lycus and Parthinia, Illyrian states, each of which had been under subjection to Philip, were given to Pleuratus. Amynander was ordered to retain possession of the forts, which he had taken from Philip during the war.

35. When the convention broke up, the ten ambassadors, dividing the business among them, set out by different routes to give liberty to the several cities within their respective districts. Publius Lentulus went to Bargylii; Lucius Stertinius, to Hephaestia, Thasus, and the cities of Thrace; Publius Villius and Lucius Terentius to king Antiochus; and Cneius Cornelius to Philip. The last of these, after executing his commission with respect to smaller matters, asked Philip, whether he was disposed to listen to advice, not only useful but highly salutary. To which the king answered that he was, and would give him thanks besides, if he mentioned any thing conducive to his advantage. He then earnestly recommended to him, since he had obtained peace with the Romans, to send ambassadors to Rome to solicit their alliance and friendship; lest, in case of Antiochus pursuing any hostile measure, he might be suspected of having lain in wait and seized the opportunity of the times for reviving hostilities. This meeting with Philip was at Tempe in Thessaly; and on his answering that he would send ambassadors without delay, Cornelius proceeded to Thermopylae, where all the states of Greece are accustomed to meet in general assembly on certain stated days. This is called the Pylaic assembly. Here he admonished the Aetolians, in particular, constantly and firmly to cultivate the friendship of the Roman people; but some of the principal of these interrupted him with complaints, that the disposition of the Romans towards their nation was not the same since the victory, that it had been during the war; while others censured them with greater boldness, and in a reproachful manner asserted, that "without the aid of the Aetolians, the Romans could neither have conquered Philip, nor even have made good their passage into Greece." To such discourses the Roman forbore giving an answer, lest the matter might end in an altercation, and only said, that if they sent ambassadors to Rome, every thing that was reasonable would be granted to them. Accordingly, they passed a decree for such mission, agreeably to his direction.--In this manner was the war with Philip concluded.

36. While these transactions passed in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia, a conspiracy among the slaves had well nigh made Etruria an hostile province. To examine into and suppress this, Manius Acilius the praetor, whose province was the administration of justice between natives and foreigners, was sent at the head of one of the two city legions. A number of them, who were by this time formed in a body, he reduced by force of arms, killing and taking many. Some, who had been the ringleaders of the conspiracy, he scourged with rods and then crucified; some he returned to their masters. The consuls repaired to their provinces. Just as Marcellus entered the frontiers of the Boians, and while his men were fatigued with marching the whole length of the day, and as he was pitching his camp on a rising ground, Corolam, a chieftain of the Boians, attacked him with a very numerous force, and slew three thousand of his men: several persons of distinction fell in that tumultuary engagement; amongst others, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Marcus Junius Silanus, praefects of the allies; and Aulus Ogulnius and Publius Claudius, military tribunes in the second legion. The Romans, not withstanding, had courage enough to finish the fortification of their camp, and to defend it, in spite of an assault made on it by the enemy, elated by their success in the field. Marcellus remained for some time in the same post, until he could tend the wounded, and revive the spirits of his men after such a disheartening blow. The Boians, a nation remarkably impatient of delay, and quickly disgusted at a state of inaction, separated, and withdrew to their several forts and villages. Marcellus then, suddenly crossing the Po, led his legions into the territory of Comum, where the Insubrians, after rousing the people of the country to arms, lay encamped. The fierce Boian Gauls attacked him on his march, and they first onset was so vigorous, as to make a considerable impression on his van. On perceiving which, and fearing lest, if his men once gave way, they would be dislodged, he brought up a cohort of Marsians against the enemy, and ordered every troop of the Latin cavalry to charge them. The first and second charges of these having checked the enemy in their furious attack, the other troops in the Roman line, resuming courage, advanced briskly on the foe. The Gauls no longer maintained the contest, but turned their backs and fled in confusion. Valerius Antias relates, that in that battle above forty thousand men were killed, five hundred and seven military standards taken, with four hundred and thirty-two chariots, and a great number of gold chains, one of which, of great weight, Claudius says, was deposited as an offering to Jupiter, in his temple in the Capitol. The camp of the Gauls was taken and plundered the same day; and the town of Comum was reduced in a few days after. In a little time, twenty-eight forts came over to the consul. There is a doubt among writers, whether the consul led his legions first against the Boians, or against the Insubrians; so as to determine, whether the successful battle obliterated the disgrace of the defeat, or whether the victory obtained at Comum was tarnished by the disaster incurred among the Boii.

37. Soon after those matters had passed with such variety of fortune, Lucius Furius Purpureo, the other consul, came into the country of the Boians, through the Sappinian tribe. He proceeded almost to the fort of Mutilus, when, beginning to apprehend that he might be enclosed between the Boians and Ligurians, he marched back by the road by which he came; and, making a long circuit, through an open and therefore safe country, arrived at the camp of his colleague. After this junction of their forces, they overran the territory of the Boians, spreading devastation as far as the city of Felsina. This city, with the other fortresses, and almost all the Boians, excepting only the young men who kept arms in their hands for the sake of plunder, and had at that time withdrawn into remote woods, made submission. The army was then led away against the Ligurians. The Boians thought that the Romans, as they were supposed to be at a great distance, would be the more careless in keeping their army together, and thereby afford an opportunity of attacking them unawares: with this expectation, they followed them by secret paths through the forests. They did not overtake them: and therefore, passing the Po suddenly in ships, they ravaged all the country of the Laevans and Libuans; whence, as they were returning with the spoil of the country, they fell in with the Roman army on the borders of Liguria. A battle was begun with more speed, and with greater fury, than if the parties had met with their minds prepared, and at an appointed time and place. On this occasion it appeared to what degree of violence anger can stimulate men; for the Romans fought with such a desire of slaughter, rather than of victory, that they scarcely left one of the enemy to carry the news of their defeat. On account of these successes, when the letters of the consuls were brought to Rome, a supplication for three days was decreed. Soon after, Marcellus came to Rome, and had a triumph decreed him by an unanimous vote of the senate. He triumphed, while in office, over the Insubrians and Comans. The prospect of a triumph over the Boians he left to his colleague, because his own arms had been unfortunate in that country; those of his colleague, successful. Large quantities of spoils, taken from the enemy, were carried in the procession in captured chariots, and many military standards; also, three hundred and twenty thousand asses of brass, two hundred and thirty-four thousand of silver denarii, stamped with a chariot. Eighty asses were bestowed on each foot soldier, and thrice that value on each horseman and centurion.

38. During that year, king Antiochus, after having spent the winter at Ephesus, took measures for reducing, under his dominion, all the cities of Asia, which had formerly been members of the empire. As to the rest, being either situated in plains, or having neither walls, arms, nor men in whom they could confide, he supposed they would, without difficulty, receive the yoke. But Smyrna and Lampsacus openly asserted their independence: yet there was a danger that if what they claimed were conceded to these, the rest of the cities in Aetolia and Ionia would follow the example of Smyrna; and those on the Hellespont that of Lampsacus. Wherefore he sent an army from Ephesus to invest Smyrna; and ordered the troops, which were at Abydos, to leave there only a small garrison, and to go and lay siege to Lampsacus. Nor did he only alarm them by an exhibition of force. By sending ambassadors, to make gentle remonstrances, and reprove the rashness and obstinacy of their conduct, he endeavored to give them hopes that they might soon obtain the object of their wishes; but not until it should appear clearly, both to themselves and to all the world, that they had gained their liberty through the kindness of the king, and not by any violent efforts of their own. In answer to which, they said, that "Antiochus ought neither to be surprised nor displeased, if they did not very patiently suffer the establishment of their liberty to be deferred to a distant period." He himself, with his fleet, set sail from Ephesus in the beginning of spring, and steered towards the Hellespont. His army he transported to Madytus, a city in the Chersonese, and there joined his land and sea forces together. The inhabitants having shut their gates, he surrounded the walls with his troops; and when he was just bringing up his machines to the walls, a capitulation was entered into. This diffused such fear through the inhabitants of Sestus and the other cities of the Chersonese, as induced them to submit. He then came, with the whole of his united forces, by land and sea, to Lysimachia; which finding deserted, and almost buried in ruins, (for the Thracians had, a few years before, taken, sacked, and burned it,) he conceived a wish to rebuild a city so celebrated, and so commodiously situated. Accordingly, extending his care to every object at once, he set about repairing the walls and houses, ransomed some of the Lysimachians who were in captivity, sought out and brought home others, who had fled and dispersed themselves through the Chersonese and Hellespontus, enrolled new colonists, whom he invited by prospects of advantages, and used every means to repeople it fully. At the same time, that all fear of the Thracians might be removed, he went, in person, with one half of the land forces, to lay waste the nearest provinces of Thrace; leaving the other half, and all the crews of the ships, employed in the repairs of the city.

39. About this time Lucius Cornelius, who had been commissioned by the senate to accommodate the differences between the kings Antiochus and Ptolemy, stopped at Selymbria; and, of the ten ambassadors, Publius Lentulus from Bargylii, and Publius Villius and Lucius Terentius from Thasus, came to Lysimachia. Hither came, likewise, Lucius Cornelius from Selymbria, and a few days after Antiochus from Thrace. His first meeting with the ambassadors, and an invitation which he afterwards gave them, were friendly and hospitable; but when the business entrusted to them and the present state of Asia, came to be treated of, the minds of both parties were exasperated. The Romans did not scruple to declare, that every one of his proceedings, from the time when he set sail from Syria, was displeasing to the senate; and they required restitution to be made, to Ptolemy, of all the cities which had been under his dominion. "For, as to what related to the cities which had been in the possession of Philip, and which Antiochus, taking advantage of a season when Philip's attention was turned to the war with Rome, had seized into his own hands, it would surely be an intolerable hardship, if the Romans were to have undergone such toils and dangers, on land and sea, for so many years, and Antiochus to appropriate to himself the prizes of the war. But, though his coming into Asia might be passed over unnoticed by the Romans, as a matter not pertaining to them, yet when he proceeded so far as to pass over into Europe with all his land and naval forces, how much was this short of open war with the Romans? Doubtless, had he even passed into Italy, he would deny that intention. But the Romans would not wait to give him an opportunity of doing so."

40. To this the king replied, that "he wondered how it was, that the Romans were in the habit of diligently inquiring what ought to be done by king Antiochus; but never considered how far they themselves ought to advance on land or sea. Asia was no concernment of the Romans, in any shape; nor had they any more right to inquire what Antiochus did in Asia, than Antiochus had to inquire what the Roman people did in Italy. With respect to Ptolemy, from whom they complained that cities had been taken, there was a friendly connection subsisting between him and Ptolemy, and he was taking measures to effect speedily a connection of affinity also; neither had he sought to acquire any spoils from the misfortunes of Philip, nor had he come into Europe against the Romans, [but to recover the cities and lands of the Chersonese, which, having been the property of Lysimachus], he considered as part of his own dominion; because, when Lysimachus was subdued, all things belonging to him became, by the right of conquest, the property of Seleucus. That, at times, when his predecessors were occupied by cares of different kinds, Ptolemy first, and afterwards Philip, usurping the rights of others, possessed themselves of several of these places, but who could doubt that the Chersonese and the nearest parts of Thrace belonged to Lysimachus? To restore these to their ancient state, was the intent of his coming, and to build Lysimachia anew, (it having been destroyed by an inroad of the Thracians,) in order that his son, Seleucus, might have it for the seat of his empire."

41. These disputes had been carried on for several days, when a rumor reached them, but without any sufficiently certain authority, that Ptolemy was dead; which prevented the conferences coming to any issue: for both parties made a secret of their having heard it; and Lucius Cornelius, who was charged with the embassy to the two kings, Antiochus and Ptolemy, requested to be allowed a short space of time, in which he could have a meeting with the latter; because he wished to arrive in Egypt before any change of measures should take place in consequence of the new succession to the crown: while Antiochus believed that Egypt would be his own, if at that time he should take possession of it. Wherefore, having dismissed the Romans, and left his son Seleucus, with the land forces, to finish the rebuilding of Lysimachia, as he had intended to do, he sailed, with his whole fleet, to Ephesus; sent ambassadors to Quinctius to treat with him about an alliance, assuring him that the king would attempt no innovations, and then, coasting along the shore of Asia, proceeded to Lycia. Having learned at Patarae that Ptolemy was living, he dropped the design of sailing to Egypt, but nevertheless steered towards Cyprus; and, when he had passed the promontory of Chelidonium, was detained some little time in Pamphylia, near the river Eurymedon, by a mutiny among his rowers. When he had sailed thence as far as the headlands, as they are called, of Sarus, such a dreadful storm arose as almost buried him and his whole fleet in the deep. Many ships were broken to pieces, and many cast on shore; many swallowed so entirely in the sea, that not one man of their crews escaped to land. Great numbers of his men perished on this occasion; not only persons of mean rank, rowers and soldiers, but even of his particular friends in high stations. When he had collected the relics of the general wreck, being in no capacity of making an attempt on Cyprus, he returned to Seleucia, with a far less numerous force than he had set out with. Here he ordered the ships to be hauled ashore, for the winter was now at hand, and proceeded to Antioch, where he intended to pass the winter.--In this posture stood the affairs of the kings.

42. At Rome, in this year, for the first time, were created offices called triumviri epulones [regulators of feasts of the gods]; these were Caius Licinius Lucullus, who, as tribune, had proposed the law for their creation, Publius Manlius, and Publius Porcius Laeca. These triumvirs, as well as the pontiffs, were allowed by law the privilege of wearing the purple-bordered gown. The body of the pontiffs had this year a warm dispute with the city quaestors, Quintus Fabius Labeo and Lucius Aurelius. Money was wanted; an order having been passed for making the last payment to private persons of that which had been raised for the support of the war; and the quaestors demanded it from the augurs and pontiffs, because they had not contributed their share while the war subsisted. The priests in vain appealed to the tribunes; and the contribution was exacted for every year in which they had not paid. During the same year two pontiffs died, and others were substituted in their room: Marcus Marcellus, the consul, in the room of Caius Sempronius Tuditanus, who had been a praetor in Spain; and Lucius Valerius, in the room of Marcus Cornelius Cethegus. An augur also, Quintius Fabius Maximus, died very young, before he had attained to any public office; but no augur was appointed in his place during that year. The consular election was then held by the consul Marcellus. The persons chosen were, Lucius Valerius Flaccus and Marcus Porcius Cato. Then were elected praetors, Caius Fabricius Luscinus, Caius Atinius Labeo, Cneius Manlius Vulso, Appius Claudius Nero, Publius Manlius, and Publius Porcius Laeca. The curule aediles, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and Caius Flaminius, made a distribution to the people of one million pecks of wheat, at the price of two asses. This corn the Sicilians had brought to Rome, out of respect to Caius Flaminius and his father; and he gave share of the credit to his colleague. The Roman games were solemnized with magnificence, and exhibited thrice entire. The plebeian aediles, Cneius Domitius Aenobarbus and Caius Scribonius, chief curio, brought many farmers of the public pastures to trial before the people. Three of these were convicted; and out of the money accruing from fines imposed on them, they built a temple of Faunus in the island. The plebeian games were exhibited for two days, and there was a feast on occasion of the games.

43. Lucius Valerius Flaccus and Marcus Porcius, on the ides of March, the day of their entering into office, consulted the senate respecting the provinces; who resolved, that "whereas the war in Spain was grown so formidable, as to require a consular army and commander; it was their opinion, therefore, that the consuls should either settle between themselves, or cast lots, for Hither Spain and Italy as their provinces. That he to whom Spain fell should carry with him two legions, five thousand of the Latin confederates, and five hundred horse; together with a fleet of twenty ships of war. That the other consul should raise two legions; for these would be sufficient to maintain tranquillity in the province of Gaul, as the spirits of the Insubrians and Boians had been broken the year before." The lots gave Spain to Cato, and Italy to Valerius. The praetors then cast lots for their provinces: to Caius Fabricius Luscinus fell the city jurisdiction; Caius Atinius Labeo obtained the foreign; Cneius Manlius Vulso, Sicily; Appius Claudius Nero, Farther Spain; Publius Porcius Laeca, Pisa, in order that he might be at the back of the Ligurians; and Publius Manlius was sent into Hither Spain, as an assistant to the consul. Quinctius was continued in command for the year, as apprehensions were entertained, not only of Antiochus and the Aetolians, but likewise of Nabis, tyrant of Lacedaemon; and it was ordered that he should have two legions, for which, if there was any necessity for a further supply, the consuls were ordered to raise recruits, and send them into Macedonia. Appius Claudius was permitted to raise, in addition to the legion which Quintius Fabius had commanded, two thousand foot and two hundred horse. The like number of new-raised foot and horse was assigned to Publius Manlius for Hither Spain; and the legion was given to him which had been under the command of Minucius, the praetor. To Publius Porcius Laeca, for Etruria, near Pisa, were decreed two thousand foot and five hundred horse, out of the army in Gaul. Sempronius Longus was continued in command in Sardinia.

44. The provinces being thus distributed, the consuls, before their departure from the city, were ordered, in accordance with a decree of the pontiffs, to proclaim a sacred spring, which Aulus Cornelius Mammula, praetor, had vowed in pursuance of a vote of the senate, and an order of the people, in the consulate of Cneius Servilius and Caius Flaminius. It was celebrated twenty-one years after the vow had been made. About the same time, Caius Claudius Pulcher, son of Appius, was chosen and inaugurated into the office of augur, in the room of Quintus Fabius Maximus, who died the year before. While people, in general, wondered that, though Spain had arisen in arms, they were neglecting the war, a letter was brought from Quintus Minucius, announcing "that he had fought a pitched battle with the Spanish generals, Budar and Besasis, near the town of Tura, and had gained the victory: that twelve thousand of the enemy were slain; their general, Budar, taken; and the rest routed and dispersed." After the reading of this letter less alarm prevailed with respect to Spain, where a very formidable war had been apprehended. The whole anxiety of the public was directed towards king Antiochus, especially after the arrival of the ten ambassadors. These, after relating the proceedings with Philip, and the conditions on which peace had been granted him, gave information, that "there still subsisted a war of no less magnitude to be waged with Antiochus; that he had come over into Europe with a very numerous fleet and a powerful army; that, had not a delusive prospect of an opportunity of invading Egypt, raised by a more delusive rumor, diverted him to another quarter, all Greece would have quickly been involved in the flames of war. Nor would even the Aetolians remain quiet, a race as well restless by nature as full of anger against the Romans. That, besides, there was another evil, of a most dangerous nature, lurking in the bowels of Greece: Nabis, tyrant at present of Lacedaemon, but who would soon if suffered, become tyrant of all Greece, equalling in avarice and cruelty all the tyrants most remarkable in history. For, if he were allowed to keep possession of Argos, which served as a citadel commanding the Peloponnesus, when the Roman armies should be brought home to Italy, Greece would have been in vain delivered out of bondage to Philip; because, instead of that king, who, supposing no other difference, resided at a distance, she would have for a master, a tyrant, close to her side."

45. On this intelligence being received from men of such respectable authority, and who had, besides, examined into all the matters which were reported, the senate, although they deemed the business relating to Antiochus the more important, yet, as the king had, for some reason or other, gone home into Syria, they thought that the affair respecting the tyrant ought to be more promptly attended to. After debating, for a long time, whether they should judge the grounds which they had at present sufficient whereon a declaration of war should be decreed, or whether they should empower Titus Quinctius to act, in the case respecting Nabis the Lacedaemonian, in such manner as he should judge conducive to the public interest; they left it in his hands. For they thought the business of such a nature, that whether expedited or delayed, it could not very materially affect the general interest of the Roman people. It was deemed more important to endeavor to discover what line of conduct Hannibal and the Carthaginians would pursue, in case of a war breaking out with Antiochus. Persons of the faction which opposed Hannibal wrote continually to their several friends, among the principal men in Rome, that "messages and letters were sent by Hannibal to Antiochus, and that envoys came secretly from the king to him. That, as some wild beasts can never be tamed, so the disposition of this man was irreclaimable and implacable. That he sometimes complained, that the state was debilitated by ease and indolence, and lulled by sloth into a lethargy, from which nothing could rouse it but the sound of arms." These accounts were deemed probable, when people recollected the former war, which had not more been carried on than at first set on foot by the efforts of that single man. Besides, he had by a recent act provoked the resentment of many men in power.

46. The order of judges possessed, at that time, absolute power in Carthage; and this was owing chiefly to their holding the office during life. The property, character, and life of every man was in their disposal. He who incurred the displeasure of one of that order, found an enemy in every one of them; nor were accusers wanting in a court where the justices were disposed to condemn. While they were in possession of this despotism, (for they did not exercise their exorbitant power constitutionally,) Hannibal was elected praetor and he summoned the quaestor before him. The quaestor disregarded the summons, for he was of the opposite faction; and besides, as the practice was that, after the quaestorship men were advanced into the order of judges, the most powerful of all, he already assumed a spirit suited to the powers which he was shortly to possess. Hannibal, highly offended hereat, sent an officer to apprehend the quaestor; and, bringing him forth into an assembly of the people, he made heavy charges not against him alone, but on the whole order of judges; in consequence of whose arrogance and power neither the magistracy nor the laws availed any thing. Then perceiving that his discourse was with willing ears attended to, and that the conduct of those men was incompatible with the freedom of the lowest classes, he proposed a law, and procured it to be enacted, that the "judges should be elected annually; and that no person should hold the office two years successively." But, whatever degree of favor he acquired among the commons by this proceeding, he roused, in a great part of the nobility, an equal degree of resentment. To this he added another act, which, while it was for the advantage of the people, provoked personal enmity against himself. The public revenues were partly wasted through neglect, partly embezzled, and divided among some leading men and magistrates; insomuch, that there was not money sufficient for the regular annual payment of the tribute to the Romans, so that private persons seemed to be threatened with a heavy tax.

47. When Hannibal had informed himself of the amount of the revenues arising from taxes and port duties, for what purposes they were issued from the treasury, what proportion of them was consumed by the ordinary expenses of the state, and how much was alienated by embezzlement; he asserted in an assembly of the people, that if payment were enforced of the residuary funds, the taxes might be remitted to the subjects; and that the state would still be rich enough to pay the tribute to the Romans: which assertion he proved to be true. But now those persons who, for several years past, had maintained themselves by plundering the public, were greatly enraged; as if this were ravishing from them their own property, and not as dragging out of their hands their ill-gotten spoil. Accordingly, they instigated the Romans against Hannibal, who were seeking a pretext for indulging their hatred against him. A strenuous opposition was, however, for a long time made to this by Scipio Africanus, who thought it highly unbecoming the dignity of the Roman people to make themselves a party in the animosities and charges against Hannibal; to interpose the public authority among factions of the Carthaginians, not deeming it sufficient to have conquered that commander in the field, but to become as it were his prosecutors in a judicial process, and preferring an action against him. Yet at length the point was carried, that an embassy should be sent to Carthage to represent to the senate there, that Hannibal, in concert with king Antiochus, was forming plans for kindling a war. Three ambassadors were sent, Caius Servilius, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, and Quintus Terentius Culleo. These, when they had arrived at Carthage, by the advice of Hannibal's enemies, ordered, that any who inquired the cause of their coming should be told, that they came to determine the disputes subsisting between the Carthaginians and Masinissa, king of Numidia; and this was generally believed. But Hannibal was not ignorant that he was the sole object aimed at by the Romans; and that, though they had granted peace to the Carthaginians, their war against him, individually, remained irreconcilable. He therefore determined to give way to fortune and the times; and having already made every preparation for flight, he showed himself that day in the forum, in order to guard against suspicion; and, as soon as it grew dark, went in his common dress to one of the gates, with his two attendants, who knew nothing of his intention.

48. Finding horses in readiness at a spot where he had ordered, he traversed by night a district which the Africans denominated Byzacium, and arrived, in the morning of the following day, at a castle of his own between Acholla and Thapsus. There a ship, ready fitted out and furnished with rowers, took him on board. In this manner did Hannibal leave Africa, lamenting the misfortunes of his country oftener than his own. He sailed over, the same day, to the island of Cercina, where he found in the port a number of merchant ships, belonging to the Phoenicians, with their cargoes; and on landing was surrounded by a concourse of people, who came to pay their respects to him; on which he gave orders that, in answer to any inquiries, it should be said that he had been sent as ambassador to Tyre. Fearing, however, lest some of these ships might sail in the night to Thapsus or Adrumetum, and carry information of his having been seen at Cercina, he ordered a sacrifice to be prepared, and the masters of the ships, with the merchants, to be invited to the entertainment, and that the sails and yards should be collected out of the ships to form a shade on shore for the company at supper, as it happened to be the middle of summer. The feast of the day was as sumptuous, and well attended, as the time and circumstances allowed; and the entertainment was prolonged, with plenty of wine, until late in the night. As soon as Hannibal saw an opportunity of escaping the notice of those who were in the harbor, he set sail. The rest were fast asleep, nor was it early, next day, when they arose from their sleep, full of the illness of intoxication; and then, when it was too late, they set about replacing the sails in the ships, and fitting up the rigging, which employed several hours. At Carthage, those who were accustomed to visit Hannibal met in a crowd, at the porch of his house; and when it was publicly known that he was not to be found, the whole multitude assembled in the forum, eager to gain intelligence of the man who was considered as the first in the state. Some surmised that he had fled, as the case was; others, that he had been put to death through the treachery of the Romans; and there was visible in the expression of their countenances, that variety which might naturally be expected in a state divided into factions, whereof each supported a different interest. At length intelligence was brought, that he had been seen at Cercina.

49. The Roman ambassadors represented to the council, that "proof had been laid before the senate at Rome, that formerly king Philip had been moved, principally by the instigation of Hannibal, to make war on the Roman people; and that lately, Hannibal had, besides, sent letters and messages to king Antiochus, that he had entered into plans for driving Carthage to revolt, and that he had now gone no whither but to king Antiochus. That he was a man who would never be content, until he had excited war in every part of the globe. That such conduct ought not to be suffered to pass with impunity, if the Carthaginians wished to convince the Roman people that none of those things were done with their consent, or with the approbation of the state." The Carthaginians answered, that they were ready to do whatever the Romans required them.

Hannibal, after a prosperous voyage, arrived at Tyre; where, as a man illustrated by every description of honors, he was received by those founders of Carthage, as if in a second native country, and here he staid a few days. He then sailed to Antioch; where, hearing that the king had already left the place, he procured an interview with his son, who was celebrating the solemnity of the games at Daphne, and who treated him with much kindness; after which, he set sail without delay. At Ephesus, he overtook the king, who was still hesitating in his mind, and undetermined respecting a war with Rome: but the arrival of Hannibal proved an incentive of no small efficacy to the prosecution of that design. At the same time, the inclinations of the Aetolians also were alienated from the Roman alliance in consequence of the senate having referred to Quinctius their ambassadors, who demanded Pharsalus and Leucas, and some other cities, in conformity with the first treaty.

BOOK XXXIV.

The Oppian law, respecting the dress of the women, after much debate, repealed, notwithstanding it was strenuously supported by Marcus Porcius Cato, the consul. The consul's successes in Spain. Titus Quinctius Flamininus finishes the war with the Lacedaemonians and the tyrant Nabis; makes peace with them, and restores liberty to Argos. Separate seats at the public games, for the first time, appointed for the senator. Colonies sent forth. Marcus Porcius Cato triumphs on account of his successes in Spain. Further successes in Spain against the Boians and Insubrian Gauls. Titus Quinctius Flamininus, having subdued Philip, king of Macedonia, and Nabis, the Lacedaemonian tyrant, and restored all Greece to freedom, triumphs for three days. Carthaginian ambassadors bring intelligence of the hostile designs of Antiochus and Hannibal.

1. Amid the serious concerns of important wars, either scarcely brought to a close or impending, an incident intervened, trivial indeed to be mentioned, but which, through the zeal of the parties concerned, issued in a violent contest. Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius, plebeian tribunes, proposed to the people the repealing of the Oppian law. This law, which had been introduced by Caius Oppias, plebeian tribune, in the consulate of Quintus Fabius and Tiberius Sempronius, during the heat of the Punic war, enacted that "no woman should possess more than half an ounce of gold, or wear a garment of various colors, or ride in a carriage drawn by horses, in a city, or any town, or any place nearer thereto than one mile; except on occasion of some public religious solemnity." Marcus and Publius Junius Brutus, plebeian tribunes, supported the Oppian law, and declared, that they would never suffer it to be repealed; while many of the nobility stood forth to argue for and against the motion proposed. The Capitol was filled with crowds, who favored or opposed the law; nor could the matrons be kept at home, either by advice or shame, nor even by the commands of their husbands; but beset every street and pass in the city, beseeching the men as they went down to the forum, that in the present flourishing state of the commonwealth, when the private fortune of all was daily increasing they would suffer the women to have their former ornaments of dress restored. This throng of women increased daily, for they arrived even from the country towns and villages; and they had at length the boldness to come up to the consuls, praetors, and magistrates, to urge their request. One of the consuls, however, they found especially inexorable--Marcus Porcius Cato, who, in support of the law proposed to be repealed, spoke to this effect:--

2. "If, Romans, every individual among us had made it a rule to maintain the prerogative and authority of a husband with respect to his own wife, we should have less trouble with the whole sex. But now, our privileges, overpowered at home by female contumacy, are, even here in the forum, spurned and trodden under foot; and because we are unable to withstand each separately, we now dread their collective body. I was accustomed to think it a fabulous and fictitious tale, that, in a certain island, the whole race of males was utterly extirpated by a conspiracy of the women. But the utmost danger may be apprehended equally from either sex, if you suffer cabals, assemblies, and secret consultations to be held: scarcely, indeed, can I determine, in my own mind, whether the act itself, or the precedent that it affords, is of more pernicious tendency. The latter of these more particularly concerns us consuls, and the other magistrates: the former, yourselves, my fellow-citizens. For, whether the measure proposed to your consideration be profitable to the state or not, is to be determined by you, who are about to go to the vote. As to the outrageous behavior of these women, whether it be merely an act of their own, or owing to your instigations, Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius, it unquestionably implies culpable conduct in magistrates. I know not whether it reflects greater disgrace on you, tribunes, or on the consuls: on you certainly, if you have, on the present occasion, brought these women hither for the purpose of raising tribunitian seditions; on us, if we suffer laws to be imposed on us by a secession of women, as was done formerly by that of the common people. It was not without painful emotions of shame, that I, just now, made my way into the forum through the midst of a band of women. Had I not been restrained by respect for the modesty and dignity of some individuals among them, rather than of the whole number, and been unwilling that they should be seen rebuked by a consul, I should have said to them, 'What sort of practice is this, of running out into public, besetting the streets, and addressing other women's husbands? Could not each have made the same request to her husband at home? Are your blandishments more seducing in public than in private; and with other women's husbands, than with your own? Although if the modesty of matrons confined them within the limits of their own rights, it did not become you, even at home, to concern yourselves about what laws might be passed or repealed here.' Our ancestors thought it not proper that women should perform any, even private business, without a director; but that they should be ever under the control of parents, brothers, or husbands. We, it seems, suffer them, now, to interfere in the management of state affairs, and to introduce themselves into the forum, into general assemblies, and into assemblies of election. For, what are they doing, at this moment, in your streets and lanes? What, but arguing, some in support of the motion of the plebeian tribunes; others, for the repeal of the law? Will you give the reins to their intractable nature, and their uncontrolled passions, and then expect that themselves should set bounds to their licentiousness, when you have failed to do so? This is the smallest of the injunctions laid on them by usage or the laws, all which women bear with impatience: they long for liberty; or rather, to speak the truth, for unbounded freedom in every particular. For what will they not attempt, if they now come off victorious?

3. "Recollect all the institutions respecting the sex, by which our forefathers restrained their undue freedom, and by which they subjected them to their husbands; and yet, even with the help of all these restrictions, you can scarcely keep them within bounds. If, then, you suffer them to throw these off one by one, to tear them all asunder, and, at last, to be set on an equal footing with yourselves, can you imagine that they will be any longer tolerable by you? The moment they have arrived at an equality with you, they will have become your superiors. But, forsooth, they only object to any new law being made against them: they mean to deprecate, not justice, but severity. Nay, their wish is, that a law which you have admitted, established by your suffrages, and confirmed by the practice and experience of so many years to be beneficial, should now be repealed; that is, that, by abolishing one law, you should weaken all the rest. No law perfectly suits the convenience of every member of the community: the only consideration is, whether, upon the whole, it be profitable to the greater part. If because a law proves obnoxious to a private individual, that circumstance should destroy and sweep it away, to what purpose is it for the community to enact general laws, which those, with reference to whom they were passed, could presently repeal? I should like, however, to hear what this important affair is which has induced the matrons thus to run out into public in this excited manner, scarcely restraining from pushing into the forum and the assembly of the people. Is it to solicit that their parents, their husbands, children, and brothers may be ransomed from captivity under Hannibal? By no means: and far be ever from the commonwealth so unfortunate a situation. Yet, even when such was the case, you refused this to their prayers. But it is not duty, nor solicitude for their friends; it is religion that has collected them together. They are about to receive the Idaean Mother, coming out of Phrygia from Pessinus! What motive, that even common decency will allow to be mentioned, is pretended for this female insurrection? Why, say they, that we may shine in gold and purple; that, both on festal and common days, we may ride through the city in our chariots, triumphing over vanquished and abrogated law, after having captured and wrested from you your suffrages; and that there may be no bounds to our expenses and our luxury.

4. "Often have you heard me complain of the profuse expenses of the women--often of those of the men; and that not only of men in private stations, but of the magistrates: and that the state was endangered by two opposite vices, luxury and avarice; those pests, which have been the ruin of all great empires. These I dread the more, as the circumstances of the commonwealth grow daily more prosperous and happy; as the empire increases; as we have now passed over into Greece and Asia, places abounding with every kind of temptation that can inflame the passions; and as we have begun to handle even royal treasures: so much the more do I fear that these matters will bring us into captivity, rather than we them. Believe me, those statues from Syracuse were brought into this city with hostile effect. I already hear too many commending and admiring the decorations of Athens and Corinth, and ridiculing the earthen images of our Roman gods that stand on the fronts of their temples. For my part I prefer these gods,--propitious as they are, and I hope will continue to be, if we allow them to remain in their own mansions. In the memory of our fathers, Pyrrhus, by his ambassador Cineas, made trial of the dispositions, not only of our men, but of our women also, by offers of presents: at that time the Oppian law, for restraining female luxury, had not been made; and yet not one woman accepted a present. What, think you, was the reason? That for which our ancestors made no provision by law on this subject: there was no luxury existing which needed to be restrained. As diseases must necessarily be known before their remedies, so passions come into being before the laws which prescribe limits to them. What called forth the Licinian law, restricting estates to five hundred acres, but the unbounded desire for enlarging estates? What the Cincian law, concerning gifts and presents, but that the plebeians had become vassals and tributaries to the senate? It is not therefore in any degree surprising, that no want of the Oppian law, or of any other, to limit the expenses of the women, was felt at that time, when they refused to receive gold and purple that was thrown in their way, and offered to their acceptance. If Cineas were now to go round the city with his presents, he would find numbers of women standing in the public streets to receive them. There are some passions, the causes or motives of which I can no way account for. For that that should not be lawful for you which is permitted to another, may perhaps naturally excite some degree of shame or indignation; yet, when the dress of all is alike, why should any one of you fear, lest she should not be an object of observation? Of all kinds of shame, the worst, surely, is the being ashamed of frugality or of poverty; but the law relieves you with regard to both; since that which you have not it is unlawful for you to possess. This equalization, says the rich matron, is the very thing that I cannot endure. Why do not I make a figure, distinguished with gold and purple? Why is the poverty of others concealed under this cover of a law, so that it should be thought that, if the law permitted, they would have such things as they are not now able to procure? Romans, do you wish to excite among your wives an emulation of this sort, that the rich should wish to have what no other can have; and that the poor, lest they should be despised as such should extend their expenses beyond their means? Be assured, that when a woman once begins to be ashamed of what she ought not to be ashamed of, she will not be ashamed of what she ought. She who can, will purchase out of her own purse; she who cannot, will ask her husband. Unhappy is the husband, both he who complies with the request, and he who does not; for what he will not give himself, he will see given by another. Now, they openly solicit favors from other women's husbands; and, what is more, solicit a law and votes. From some they obtain them; although, with regard to yourself, your property, or your children, they would be inexorable. So soon as the law shall cease to limit the expenses of your wife, you yourself will never be able to do so. Do not suppose that the matter will hereafter be in the same state in which it was before the law was made on the subject. It is safer that a wicked man should even never be accused, than that he should be acquitted; and luxury, if it had never been meddled with, would be more tolerable than it will be, now, like a wild beast, irritated by having been chained, and then let loose. My opinion is, that the Oppian law ought, on no account, to be repealed. Whatever determination you may come to, I pray all the gods to prosper it."

5. After him the plebeian tribunes, who had declared their intention of protesting, added a few words to the same purport. Then Lucius Valerius spoke thus in support of the measure which he himself had introduced:--"If private persons only had stood forth to argue for and against the proposition which we have submitted to your consideration, I for my part, thinking enough to have been said on both sides, would have waited in silence for your determination. But since a person of most respectable judgment, the consul, Marcus Porcius, has reprobated our motion, not only by the influence of his opinion, which, had he said nothing, would carry very great weight, but also in a long and careful discourse, it becomes necessary to say a few words in answer. He has spent more words in rebuking the matrons, than in arguing against the measure proposed; and even went so far as to mention a doubt, whether the matrons had committed the conduct which he censured in them spontaneously or at our instigation. I shall defend the measure, not ourselves: for the consul threw out those insinuations against us, rather for argument's sake than as a serious charge. He has made use of the terms cabal and sedition; and, sometimes, secession of the women: because the matrons had requested of you, in the public streets, that, in this time of peace, when the commonwealth is flourishing and happy, you would repeal a law that was made against them during a war, and in times of distress. I know that these and other similar strong expressions, for the purpose of exaggeration, are easily found; and, mild as Marcus Cato is in his disposition, yet in his speeches he is not only vehement, but sometimes even austere. What new thing, let me ask, have the matrons done in coming out into public in a body on an occasion which nearly concerns themselves? Have they never before appeared in public? I will turn over your own Antiquities, and quote them against you. Hear, now how often they have done the same, and always to the advantage of the public. In the earliest period of our history, even in the reign of Romulus, when the Capitol had been taken by the Sabines, and a pitched battle was fought in the forum, was not the fight stopped by the interposition of the matrons between the two armies? When, after the expulsion of the kings, the legions of the Volscians, under the command of Marcius Coriolanus, were encamped at the fifth stone, did not the matrons turn away that army, which would have overwhelmed this city? Again, when Rome was taken by the Gauls, whence was the city ransomed? Did not the matrons, by unanimous agreement, bring their gold into the public treasury? In the late war, not to go back to remote antiquity, when there was a want of money, did not the funds of the widows supply the treasury? And when even new gods were invited hither to the relief of our distressed affairs, did not the matrons go out in a body to the sea-shore to receive the Idaean Mother? The cases, you will say, are dissimilar. It is not my purpose to produce similar instances; it is sufficient that I clear these women of having done any thing new. Now, what nobody wondered at their doing in cases which concerned all in common, both men and women, can we wonder at their doing in a case peculiarly affecting themselves? But what have they done? We have proud ears, truly, if, though masters disdain not the prayers of slaves, we are offended at being asked a favor by honorable women.

6. "I come now to the question in debate, with respect to which the consul's argument is twofold: for, first, he is displeased at the thought of any law whatever being repealed; and then, particularly, of that law which was made to restrain female luxury. His former argument, in support of the laws in general, appeared highly becoming of a consul; and that on the latter, against luxury, was quite conformable to the rigid strictness of his morals. There is, therefore, a danger lest, unless I shall show what, on each subject, was inconclusive, you may probably be led away by error. For while I acknowledge, that of those laws which are instituted, not for any particular time, but for eternity, on account of their perpetual utility, not one ought to be repealed; unless either experience evince it to be useless, or some state of the public affairs render it so; I see, at the same time, that those laws which particular seasons have required, are mortal, (if I may use the term,) and changeable with the times. Those made in peace are generally repealed by war; those made in war, by peace; as in the management of a ship, some implements are useful in good weather, others in bad. As these two kinds are thus distinct in their nature, of which kind does that law appear to be which we now propose to repeal? Is it an ancient law of the kings, coeval with the city itself? Or, what is next to that, was it written in the twelve tables by the decemvirs, appointed to form a code of laws? Is it one, without which our ancestors thought that the honor of the female sex could not be preserved? and, therefore, have we also reason to fear, that, together with it, we should repeal the modesty and chastity of our females? Now, is there a man among you who does not know that this is a new law, passed not more than twenty years ago, in the consulate of Quintus Fabius and Tiberius Sempronius? And as, without it, our matrons sustained, for such a number of years, the most virtuous characters, what danger is there of their abandoning themselves to luxury on its being repealed? For, if that law had been passed for the purpose of setting a limit to the passions of the sex, there would be reason to fear lest the repeal of it might operate as an incitement to them. But the real reason of its being passed, the time itself will show Hannibal was then in Italy, victorious at Cannae: he already held possession of Tarentum, of Arpi, of Capua, and seemed ready to bring up his army to the city of Rome. Our allies had deserted us. We had neither soldiers to fill up the legions, nor seamen to man the fleet, nor money in the treasury. Slaves, who were to be employed as soldiers, were purchased on condition of their price being paid to the owners at the end of the war. The farmers of the revenues had declared, that they would contract to supply corn and other matters, which the exigencies of the war required, to be paid for at the same time. We gave up our slaves to the oar, in numbers proportioned to our properties, and paid them out of our own incomes. All our gold and silver, in imitation of the example given by the senators, we dedicated to the use of the public. Widows and minors lodged their money in the treasury. It was provided by law that we should not keep in our houses more than a certain quantity of wrought gold or silver, or more than a certain sum of coined silver or brass. At such a time as this, were the matrons so eagerly engaged in luxury and dress, that the Oppian law was requisite to repress such practices; when the senate, because the sacrifice of Ceres had been omitted, in consequence of all the matrons being in mourning, ordered the mourning to end in thirty days? Who does not clearly see, that the poverty and distress of the state, requiring that every private person's money should be converted to the use of the public, enacted that law, with intent that it should remain in force so long only as the cause of enacting the law should remain? For if all the decrees of the senate and orders of the people, which were then made to answer the necessities of the times, are to be of perpetual obligation, why do we refund their money to private persons? Why do we contract for public works for ready money? Why are not slaves brought to serve in the army? Why do not we, private subjects, supply rowers as we did then?

7. "Shall, then, every other class of people, every individual, feel the improvement in the condition of the state; and shall our wives alone reap none of the fruits of the public peace and tranquillity? Shall we men have the use of purple, wearing the purple-bordered gown in magistracies and priests' offices? Shall our children wear gowns bordered with purple? Shall we allow the privilege of wearing the toga praetexta to the magistrates of the colonies and borough towns, and to the very lowest of them here at Rome, the superintendents of the streets; and not only of wearing such an ornament of distinction while alive, but of being buried with it when dead; and shall we interdict the use of purple to women alone? And when you, the husband, may wear purple in your great coat, will you not suffer your wife to have a purple mantle? Shall your horse be more splendidly caparisoned than your wife is clothed? But with respect to purple, which will be worn out and consumed, I can see an unjust, indeed, but still a sort of reason, for parsimony; but with respect to gold, in which, excepting the price of the workmanship, there is no waste, what objection can there be? It rather serves as a reserve fund for both public and private exigencies, as you have already experienced. He says there will be no emulation between individuals, when no one is possessed of it. But, in truth, it will be a source of grief and indignation to all, when they see those ornaments allowed to the wives of the Latin confederates of which they themselves have been deprived; when they see those riding through the city in their carriages, and decorated with gold and purple, while they are obliged to follow on foot, as if the seat of empire were in the country of the others, not in their own. This would hurt the feelings even of men, and what do you think must be its effect on those of weak women, whom even trifles can disturb? Neither offices of state, nor of the priesthood, nor triumphs, nor badges of distinction, nor military presents, nor spoils, can fall to their share. Elegance of appearance, and ornaments, and dress, these are the women's badges of distinction; in these they delight and glory; these our ancestors called the women's world. What else do they lay aside when in mourning, except their gold and purple? And what else do they resume when the mourning is over? How do they distinguish themselves on occasion of public thanksgivings and supplications, but by adding unusual splendor of dress? But then, (it may be said,) if you repeal the Oppian law, should you choose to prohibit any of those particulars which the law at present prohibits, you will not have it in your power; your daughters, wives, and even the sisters of some, will be less under control. The bondage of women is never shaken off without the loss of their friends; and they themselves look with horror on that freedom which is purchased with the condition of the widow or the orphan. Their wish is, that their dress should be under your regulation, not under that of the law; and it ought to be your wish to hold them in control and guardianship, not in bondage; and to prefer the title of father or husband to that of master. The consul just now made use of some invidious terms, calling it a female sedition and secession; because, I suppose, there is danger of their seizing the sacred mount, as formerly the angry plebeians did; or the Aventine. Their feeble nature must submit to whatever you think proper to enjoin; and, the greater power you possess, the more moderate ought you to be in the exercise of your authority."

8. Although all these considerations had been urged against the motion and in its favor, the women next day poured out into public in much greater numbers, and in a body beset the doors of the tribunes who had protested against the measure of their colleagues; nor did they retire until this intervention was withdrawn. There was then no further doubt but that every one of the tribes would vote for the repeal of the law. Thus was this law annulled, in the twentieth year after it had been made. The consul Marcus Porcius, as soon as the Oppian law was abolished, sailed immediately, with twenty-five ships of war, of which five belonged to the allies, to the port of Luna, where he ordered the troops to assemble; and having sent an edict along the sea-coast, to collect ships of every description, at his departure from Luna he left orders that they should follow him to the harbor of Pyrenaeus, as he intended to proceed thence against the enemy with his collective fleet. They accordingly, after sailing by the Ligurian mountains and the Gallic bay, congregated together on the day appointed. From thence they went to Rhoda, and forcibly dislodged a garrison of Spaniards that were in that fortress. From Rhoda they proceeded with a favorable wind to Emporiae, and there landed all the forces, excepting the crews of the ships.

9. At that time, as at present, Emporiae consisted of two towns, separated by a wall. One was inhabited by Greeks from Phocaea, whence the Massilians also derive their origin; the other by Spaniards. The Greek town, being open towards the sea, had but a small extent of wall, not above four hundred paces in circuit; but the Spanish town, being farther back from the sea, had a wall three thousand paces in circumference. A third kind of inhabitants was added by the deified Caesar settling a Roman colony there, after the final defeat of the sons of Pompey. At present they are all incorporated in one mass; the Spaniards first, and, at length, the Greeks; having been adopted into the Roman citizenship. Whoever had, at that period, observed the Greeks exposed on one side to the open sea, and on the other to the Spaniards, a fierce and warlike race, would have wondered by what cause they were preserved. Deficient in strength, they guarded against danger by regular discipline; of which, among even more powerful people, the best preservative is fear. That part of the wall which faced the country, they kept strongly fortified, having but one gate, at which some one of the magistrates was continually on guard. During the night, a third part of the citizens kept watch on the walls, posting their watches, and going their rounds, not merely from the force of custom, or in compliance with the law, but with as much vigilance as if an enemy were at their gates. They never admitted any Spaniard into the city, nor did they go outside the walls without precaution. The passage to the sea was open to every one: but, through the gate, next to the Spanish town, none ever passed, but in a large body; these were generally the third division, which had watched on the walls the preceding night. The cause of their going out was this: the Spaniards, ignorant of maritime affairs, were fond of trafficking with them, and glad of an opportunity of purchasing, for their own use, the foreign goods, which the others imported in their ships; and, at the same time, of finding a market for the produce of their lands. The desire of this mutual intercourse caused the Spanish town to be freely open to the Greeks. They were thus the more protected as being sheltered under the friendship of the Romans, which they cultivated with as much cordial zeal, though not possessed of equal resources, as the Massilians. On this account they received the consul, and his army, with kindness and cordiality. Cato staid there a few days, until he could learn what force the enemy had, and where they lay; and, not to be idle during even that short delay, he spent the whole time in exercising his men. It happened to be the season of the year when the Spaniards had the corn in their barns. He therefore ordered the purveyors not to purchase any corn, and sent them home to Rome, saying, that the war would maintain itself. Then, setting out from Emporiae, he laid waste the lands of the enemy with fire and sword, spreading terror and flight through the whole country.

10. At the same time, as Marcus Helvius was going home from Farther Spain, with an escort of six thousand men, given him by the praetor, Appius Claudius, the Celtiberians, with a very numerous force, met him near the city of Illiturgi. Valerius says, that they had twenty thousand effective men; that twelve thousand of them were killed, the town of Illiturgi taken, and all the adult males put to the sword. Helvius, soon after, arrived at the camp of Cato; and as the region was now free from enemies, he sent back the escort to Farther Spain, and proceeded to Rome, where, on account of his successful services, he entered the city with an ovation. He carried into the treasury, of silver bullion, fourteen thousand pounds' weight; of coined, seventeen thousand and twenty-three denarii; and Oscan [Spanish city near a silver mine] denarii, one hundred and twenty thousand four hundred and thirty-eight. The reason for which the senate refused him a triumph was, because he fought under the auspices, and in the province, of another. He had returned, moreover, two years after the expiration of his office, because after he had resigned the government of the province to Quintus Minucius, he was detained there during the succeeding year, by a severe and tedious sickness he therefore entered the city in ovation, only two months before his successor, Quintus Minucius, enjoyed a triumph. The latter also brought into the treasury thirty-four thousand eight hundred pounds' weight of silver, seventy-eight thousand denarii, and of Oscan denarii two hundred and seventy-eight thousand.

11. Meanwhile, in Spain, the consul lay encamped at a small distance from Emporiae. Thither came three ambassadors from Bilistages, chieftain of the Ilergetians, one of whom was his son, representing, that "their fortresses were besieged and that they had no hopes of being able to hold out, unless the Roman troops came to their assistance. Three thousand men," they said, "would be sufficient;" and they added, that, "if such a force came to their aid, the enemy would not keep their ground." To this the consul answered, that "he was truly concerned for their danger and their fears; but that he had by no means so great an amount of forces, as that, while there lay in his neighborhood such a powerful force of the enemy, with whom he daily expected a general engagement, he could safely diminish his strength by dividing his troops." The ambassadors, on hearing this, threw themselves at the consul's feet, and with tears conjured him "not to forsake them at such a perilous juncture. For, if rejected by the Romans, to whom could they apply? They had no other allies, no other hope on earth. They might have escaped the present hazard, if they had consented to forfeit their faith, and to conspire with the rest; but no menaces, no appearances of danger, had been able to shake their constancy, because they hoped to find in the Romans abundant succor and support. If there was no further prospect of this, if it was refused them by the consul, they called gods and men to witness, that reluctantly and under compulsion they must change sides, to avoid such sufferings as the Saguntines had undergone; and that they would perish together with the other states of Spain, rather than alone."

12. They were thus dismissed on that day without any positive answer. During the following night, the consul's thoughts were greatly perplexed and divided. He was unwilling to abandon these allies, yet equally so to diminish his army, which might either oblige him to decline a battle, or occasion danger in an engagement. He was firmly resolved, however, not to lessen his forces, lest he should in the mean time suffer some disgrace from the enemy; and therefore he judged it expedient, instead of real succor, to hold out hopes to the allies. For he considered that, in many cases, but especially in war, mere appearances have had all the effect of realities; and that a person, under a firm persuasion that he can command resources, virtually has them; that by that very confidence he was insured in his hopes and efforts. Next day he told the ambassadors, that "although he was afraid to lend a part of his forces to others, and so to weaken his own, yet that he was giving more attention to their circumstances and danger than to his own." He then gave orders to the third part of the soldiers of every cohort, to make haste and prepare victuals, which they were to carry with them on board ships, and that the vessels should be got in readiness against the third day. He desired two of the ambassadors to carry an account of these proceedings to Bilistages and the Ilergetians; but, by kind treatment and presents, he prevailed on the chieftain's son to remain with him. The ambassadors did not leave the place until they saw the troops embarked on board the ships; then reporting this at home as a matter of certainty, they spread, not only among their own people, but likewise among the enemy, a confident assurance of the approach of Roman succors.

13. The consul, when a specious appearance had been sufficiently exhibited, ordered the soldiers to be recalled from the ships; and, as the season of the year now approached when it would be proper to enter on action, he pitched a winter camp at the distance of three miles from Emporiae. From this post he frequently led out his troops to ravage the enemy's country; sometimes to one quarter, sometimes to another, as opportunity offered, leaving only a small guard in the camp. They generally began their march in the night, that they might proceed as far as possible from the camp, and surprise the enemy unawares; and this practice disciplined the new-raised soldiers, and great numbers of the enemy were cut off; so that they no longer dared to venture beyond the walls of their forts. When he had made himself thoroughly acquainted with the temper of the enemy, and of his own men, he ordered the tribunes and the praefects, with all the horsemen and centurions, to be called together, and addressed them thus: "The time is arrived, which you have often wished for, when you might have an opportunity of displaying your valor. Hitherto you have waged war rather as marauders than as regular troops; you shall now meet your enemies hand to hand, in regular fight. Henceforward you will have it in your power, instead of pillaging country places, to exhaust the treasures of cities. Our fathers, at a time when the Carthaginians had in Spain both commanders and armies, and had themselves neither commander nor soldiers there, nevertheless insisted on its being an article of treaty, that the river Iberus should be the boundary of their empire. Now, when two praetors of the Romans, when a consul, and three armies are employed in Spain, and, for near ten years past, no Carthaginian has been in either of its provinces, yet we have lost that empire on the hither side of the Iberus. This it is your duty to recover by your valor and arms; and to compel this nation, which is in a state rather of giddy insurrection than of steady warfare, to receive again the yoke which it has shaken off." After thus generally exhorting them, he gave notice, that he intended to march by night to the enemy's camp; and then dismissed them to take refreshment.

14. At midnight, after having given his attention to the auspices, he began his march, that he might take possession of such ground as he chose, before the enemy should observe him. Having led his troops beyond their camp, he formed them in order of battle, and at the first light sent three cohorts close to their very ramparts. The barbarians, surprised at the Romans appearing on their rear, ran hastily to arms. In the mean time, the consul observed to his men, "Soldiers, you have no room for hope, but in your own courage; and I have, purposely, taken care that it should be so. The enemy are between us and our camp; behind us is an enemy's country. What is most honorable, is likewise safest; namely, to place all our hopes in our own valor." He then ordered the cohorts to retreat, in order to draw out the barbarians by the appearance of flight. Every thing happened as he had expected. The enemy, thinking that the Romans retired through fear, rushed out of the gate, and filled the whole space between their own camp and the line of their adversaries. While they were hastily marshalling their troops, the consul, who had all his in readiness, and in regular array, attacked them when in disorder. He caused the cavalry from both wings to advance first to the charge: but those on the right were immediately repulsed, and, retiring in disorder, spread confusion among the infantry also. On seeing this, the consul ordered two chosen cohorts to march round the right flank of the enemy, and show themselves on their rear, before the two lines of infantry could close. The alarm which this gave the enemy, which had been thrown to a disadvantage by the cowardice of the Roman horse, restored the fight to an equality. But such a panic had taken possession of both the cavalry and infantry of the right wing, that the consul laid hold of several with his own hand, and turned them about with their faces to the enemy. As long as the fight was carried on with missile weapons, success was doubtful; and on the right wing, where the disorder and flight had first began, the Romans with difficulty kept their ground. On their left wing, the barbarians were both hard pressed in in front; and looked back, with timidity, at the cohorts that threatened their rear. But when, after discharging their iron darts and large javelins, they drew their swords, the battle, in a manner, began anew. They were no longer wounded by random blows from a distance, but, closing foot to foot, placed all their hope in courage and strength.

15. When the consul's men were now spent with fatigue, he reanimated their courage by bringing up into the fight some subsidiary cohorts from the second line. These formed a new front, and being fresh themselves, and with fresh weapons attacking the wearied enemy in the form of a wedge, by a furious onset they first forced their way through them; and then, when they were once broken, scattered them and put them to flight. They returned towards their camp across the fields with all the speed they could make. When Cato saw the rout become general, he rode back to the second legion, which had been posted in reserve, and ordered the standards to be borne before it, and that it should advance in quick motion, and attack the camp of the enemy. If any of them, through too much eagerness, pushed forward beyond his rank, he himself rode up and struck them with his javelin, and also ordered the tribunes and centurions to chastise them. By this time the camp of the enemy was attacked, though the Romans were kept off from the works by stones, poles, and weapons of every sort. But, on the arrival of the fresh legion, the assailants assumed new courage, and the enemy fought with redoubled fury in defense of their rampart. The consul attentively examined every place himself, that he might break in at that quarter where he saw the weakest resistance. At a gate on the left, he observed that the guard was thin, and thither he led the first-rank men and spearmen of the second legion. The party posted at the gate were not able to withstand their assault; while the rest, seeing the enemy within the rampart, abandoned the defense of the camp, and threw away their standards and arms. Great numbers were killed at the gates, being stopped in the narrow passages by the throng of their own men; and the soldiers of the second legion cut off the hindmost, while the rest were plundering the camp. According to the account of Valerius Antias, there were above forty thousand of the enemy killed on that day. Cato himself, who was certainly no disparager of his own merits, says that a great many were killed, but he specifies no number.

16. The conduct of Cato on that day is judged deserving of commendation in three particulars. First, in leading round his army so far from his camp and fleet, as to fight the battle in the very middle of the enemy, that his men might look for no safety but in their courage. Secondly, in throwing the cohorts on the enemy's rear. Thirdly, in ordering the second legion, when all the rest were disordered by the eagerness of their pursuit, to advance at a full pace to the gate of the camp, in compact and regular order under their standards. He delayed not to improve his victory; but having sounded a retreat, and brought back his men laden with spoil, he allowed them a few hours of the night for rest; and then led them out to ravage the country. They spread their depredations the wider, as the enemy were dispersed in their flight; and this circumstance, no less than the defeat of the preceding day, obliged the Spaniards of Emporiae, and those of their neighborhood, to make a submission. Many also, belonging to other states, who had made their escape to Emporiae, surrendered; all of whom the consul received with kindness, and after refreshing them with victuals and wine, dismissed to their several homes. He quickly decamped thence, and wherever the army proceeded on its march, he was met by ambassadors, surrendering their respective states; so that, by the time when he arrived at Tarraco, all Spain on this side of the Ebro was in a state of perfect subjection; and the Roman prisoners, and those of their allies and the Latin confederates, who by various chances had fallen into the hands of the enemies in Spain, were brought back by the barbarians, as an offering to the consul. A rumor afterwards spread abroad, that Cato intended to lead his army into Turditania; and it was given out, with equal falsehood, that he meant to proceed to the remote inhabitants of the mountains. On this groundless, unauthenticated report, seven forts of the Bergistans revolted; but the Roman, marching thither, reduced them to subjection without any battle worthy of narration. Not very long after, when the consul returned to Tarraco, and before he removed to any other place, the same persons revolted again. They were again subdued; but, on this second reduction, met not the same mild treatment; they were all sold by auction, that they might not any oftener disturb the peace.

17. In the mean time, the praetor, Publius Manlius, having received the army from Quintius Minucius, whom he had succeeded, and joined to it the old army of Appius Claudius Nero, from Farther Spain, marched into Turditania. Of all the Spaniards, the Turditanians are reckoned the least warlike; nevertheless, relying on their great numbers, they went to oppose the march of the Romans. The cavalry, having been sent forward, at once broke their line; and with the infantry there was hardly any conflict. The veteran soldiers, well acquainted with the enemy and their manner of fighting, effectually decided the battle. This engagement, however, did not terminate the war. The Turdulans hired ten thousand Celtiberians, and prepared to carry on the war with foreign troops. The consul, meanwhile, alarmed at the rebellion of the Bergistans, and suspecting that the other states would act in like manner when occasion offered, took away their arms from all the Spaniards on this side of the Iberus; which proceeding affected them so deeply, that many laid violent hands on themselves; this fierce race considering that, without arms, life was of no value. When this was reported to the consul, he summoned before him the senators of every one of the states, to whom he spoke thus: "It is not more our interest than it is your own, that you should not rebel; since your insurrections have, hitherto, always drawn more mi fortune on the Spaniards than labor on the Roman armies. To prevent such things happening in future, I know but one method, which is, to put it out of your power to rebel. I wish to effect this in the gentlest way, and that you would assist me therein with your advice. I will follow none with greater pleasure than what yourselves shall offer." They all remaining silent, he told them that he would give them a few days' time to consider the matter. When, on being called together, even in the second meeting, they uttered not a word, in one day he razed the walls of all their fortresses; and marching against those who had not yet submitted, he received in every country, as he passed through, the submission of all the neighboring states. Segestica alone, an important and opulent city, he reduced by works and engines.

18. Cato had greater difficulties to surmount, in subduing the enemy, than had those commanders who came first into Spain; for this reason, that the Spaniards, through disgust at the Carthaginian government, came over to their side; whereas he had the task of enforcing their submission to slavery, in a manner, after they had been in full enjoyment of liberty. Besides, he found the whole province in a state of commotion; insomuch, that some were in arms, and others were compelled to join in the revolt by being besieged, nor would they have been able to hold out any longer if they had not received timely succor. But so vigorous was the spirit and capacity of the consul, that there was no kind of business, whether great or small, which he did not himself attend to and perform; and he not only planned and ordered, but generally executed in person such measures as were expedient; nor did he practice a more strict and rigorous discipline over any one than over himself. In spare diet, watching, and labor, he vied with the meanest of his soldiers; nor, excepting the honor of his post, and the command, had he any peculiar distinction above the rest of the army.

19. The Celtiberians, summoned forth by the enemy for hire, as above mentioned, rendered the war in Turditania more difficult to the praetor, Publius Manlius. The consul, therefore, in compliance with a letter from the praetor, led his legions thither. The Celtiberians and Turditanians were lying in separate camps at the approach of the Romans, who began immediately to skirmish with the Turditanians, making attacks on their advanced guards; and they constantly came off victorious from every engagement, however rashly undertaken. The consul ordered some military tribunes to enter into a conference with the Celtiberians, and to offer them their choice of three proposals: first, to come over, if they wished it, to the Romans, and receive double the pay for which they had agreed with the Turditanians: the second, to depart to their own homes, on receiving assurance, under the sanction of the public faith, that it should not operate to their injury that they had joined the enemies of the Romans: the third was, that, if they were absolutely determined on war, they should appoint a day and place to decide the matter with him by arms. The Celtiberians desired a day's time for consideration; and an assembly was held, but in great confusion, from the Turditanians mingling in it, so that no resolution could be come to. Although it was uncertain whether there was to be war or peace with the Celtiberians, the Romans, nevertheless, just as though the latter were determined on, brought provisions from the lands and forts of the enemy, and soon ventured to go within their fortifications, relying on private truces, as they would on a common intercourse established by authority. When the consul found that he could not entice the enemy to a battle, he first led out a number of cohorts, lightly accoutred, in regular order, to ravage a part of the country which was yet unhurt; then hearing that all the baggage of the Celtiberians was deposited at Saguntia, he proceeded thither to attack that town, but was unable, notwithstanding, to provoke them to stir. Paying, therefore, his own troops and those of Minucius, he left the bulk of his army in the praetor's camp, and, with seven cohorts, returned to the Iberus.

20. With that small force he took several towns. The Sidetonians, Ausetanians, and Suessetanians came over to his side. The Lacetanians, a remote and wild nation, still remained in arms; partly through their natural ferocity, and partly through consciousness of guilt, in having laid waste, by sudden incursions, the country of the allies, while the consul and his army were employed in the war with the Turditanians. He therefore marched to attack their capital, not only with the Roman cohorts, but also with the troops of the allies, who were justly incensed against them. The town was stretched out into considerable length, but had not proportionable breadth. At the distance of about four hundred paces from it he halted, and leaving there a party composed of chosen cohorts, he charged them not to stir from that spot until he himself should come to them; and then he led round the rest of the men to the farther side of the town. The greater part of his auxiliary troops were Suessetanians, and these he ordered to advance and assault the wall. The Lacetanians, knowing their arms and standards, and remembering how often they had themselves, with impunity, committed every kind of outrage and insult in their territory, how often defeated and routed them in pitched battles, hastily threw open a gate, and all, in one body, rushed out against them. The Suessetanians scarcely stood their shout, much less their onset; and the consul, on seeing this happen, just as he had foreseen, galloped back under the enemy's wall to his cohorts, brought them up quickly to that part of the city where all was silence and solitude, in consequence of the Lacetanians having sallied out on the Suessetanians, and took possession of every part of it before the Lacetanians returned; who, having nothing now left but their arms, soon surrendered themselves also.

21. The conqueror marched thence, without delay, to the fort of Vergium. This was, almost entirely, a receptacle of robbers and plunderers, and thence incursions were made on the peaceable parts of the province. One of the principal inhabitants deserted out of the place to the consul, and endeavored to excuse himself and his countrymen; alleging, that "the management of affairs was not in their hands; for the robbers, having gained admittance, had reduced the fort entirely under their own power." The consul ordered him to return home, and pretend some plausible reason for having been absent; and then, "when he should see him advancing to the walls, and the robbers intent on defending the city, to seize the citadel with such men as favored his party." This was executed according to his directions. The double alarm, from the Romans scaling the walls in front, and the citadel being seized on their rear, at once entirely confounded the barbarians. The consul, having taken possession of the place, ordered, that those who had secured the citadel should, with their relations, be set at liberty, and enjoy their property, the rest of the natives he commanded the quaestor to sell; and he put the robbers to death. Having restored quiet in the province, he settled the iron and silver mines on such a footing, that they produced a large revenue; and, in consequence of the regulations then made, the province daily increased in riches. On account of these services performed in Spain, the senate decreed a supplication for three days.

22. During this summer, the other consul, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, fought a pitched battle with a body of the Boians in Gaul, near the forest of Litanae, and gained a complete victory. Eight thousand of the Gauls are said to have been slain; the rest, desisting from further opposition, retired quietly to their several villages and lands. During the remainder of the summer, the consul kept his army near the Po, at Placentia and Cremona, and repaired the buildings in these cities which had been demolished in the war. While the affairs of Italy and Spain were in this posture, Titus Quinctius had spent the winter in Greece, in such a manner, that excepting the Aetolians, who neither had gained rewards of victory adequate to their hopes, nor were capable of being long contented with a state of quiet, all Greece, being in full enjoyment of the blessings of peace and liberty, were highly pleased with their present state; and they admired not more the Roman general's bravery in arms, than his temperance, justice, and moderation in victory. And now a decree of the senate was brought to him, containing a denunciation of war against Nabis the Lacedaemonian. On reading it, Quinctius summoned a convention of deputies from all the allied states, to be held, on a certain day, at Corinth. Whither when many persons of the first rank came together, from all quarters, forming a very full assembly, from which even the Aetolians were not absent, he addressed them in this manner:--"The Romans and Greeks, in the war which they waged against Philip, were united in affections and councils, and they had each no less their separate reasons for entering into it. For he had violated friendship with the Romans; first by aiding our enemies, the Carthaginians; and then by attacking our allies here: and, towards you, his conduct was such, that even if we had been willing to forget our own injuries, those offered by him to you would have constituted a sufficient occasion of war. But the business to be considered this day has relation wholly to yourselves: for the subject which I propose to your consideration is, whether you choose to suffer Argos, which, as you know, has been seized by Nabis, to remain under his dominion; or whether you judge it reasonable, that a city of such high reputation and antiquity, seated in the center of Greece, should be restored to liberty, and placed in the same state with the rest of the cities of Peloponnesus and of Greece. This question, as you see, merely respects yourselves; it concerns not the Romans in any decree, excepting so far as the one city being left in subjection to tyranny hinders their glory, in having liberated Greece, from being full and complete. If, however, you are not moved by regard for that city, nor by the example, nor by the danger of the contagion of that evil spreading wider, we, for our parts, shall rest content. On this subject I desire your opinions, resolved to abide by whatever the majority of you shall determine."

23. After the address of the Roman general, the several deputies proceeded to give their opinions. The ambassador of the Athenians extolled, to the utmost of his power, and expressed the greatest gratitude for the kindness of the Romans towards Greece, "in having, when applied to for assistance, brought them succors against Philip; and now, without being applied to, voluntarily offering assistance against the tyrant Nabis." He at the same time severely censured the conduct of some, who, in their discourses, "depreciated those kindnesses, and propagated evil surmises of the future, when it would better become them rather to return thanks for the past." It was evident that this was pointed at the Aetolians: wherefore Alexander, deputy of that nation, having first inveighed against the Athenians, who, having formerly been the most strenuous supporters of liberty, now betrayed the general cause, for the sake of recommending themselves by flattery. He then complained that "the Achaeans, formerly soldiers of Philip, and lately, on the decline of his fortune, deserters from him, had regained possession of Corinth, and were so acting as that they might acquire Argos; while the Aetolians, who had first opposed their arms to Philip, who had always been allies of the Romans, and who had stipulated by treaty, that, on the Macedonian being conquered, the lands and cities should be theirs, were defrauded of Echinus and Pharsalus." He charged the Romans with insincerity, because, "while they put forth empty professions of establishing liberty, they held possession of Demetrias and Chalcis by their garrisons; though, when Philip hesitated to withdraw his garrisons from those places, they always urged against him that the Grecians would never be free while Demetrias, Chalcis, and Corinth were in the hands of the others. And, lastly, that they named Argos and Nabis merely as a pretext for remaining in Greece, and keeping their armies there. Let them carry away their legions to Italy; and the Aetolians were ready to undertake, either that Nabis should voluntarily withdraw his forces from Argos, on terms; or they would compel him by force of arms to comply with the unanimous judgment of Greece."

24. This arrogant speech called up, first, Aristaenus, praetor of the Achaeans, who said:--"Forbid it, Jupiter, supremely good and great, and imperial Juno, the tutelar deity of Argos, that that city should be staked as a prize between the Lacedaemonian tyrant and the Aetolian plunderers, under such unhappy circumstances, that its being retaken by you should be productive of more calamitous consequences than its capture by him. Titus Quinctius, the sea lying between us, does not secure us from those robbers; what then will become of us, should they procure themselves a stronghold in the center of Peloponnesus? They have nothing Grecian but the language, as they have nothing human but the shape. They live under customs and rites more brutally savage than any barbarians, nay, than wild beasts themselves. Wherefore, Romans, we beseech you, not only to recover Argos from Nabis, but also to establish the affairs of Greece on such a footing, as to leave these countries adequately secured from the robberies of the Aetolians." The rest concurring in these censures on the Aetolians, the Roman general said, that "he had himself intended to have answered them, but that he perceived all so highly incensed against those people, that the general resentment required rather to be appeased than irritated. Satisfied, therefore, with the sentiments entertained of the Romans, and of the Aetolians, he would simply put this question: What was the general opinion concerning war with Nabis, in case of his refusing to restore Argos to the Achaeans?" When all had pronounced for war, he recommended to them, to send in their shares of auxiliary troops, each state in proportion to its ability. He even sent an ambassador to the Aetolians; rather to make them disclose their sentiments, which was the actual result, than with any hope of obtaining their concurrence. He gave orders to the military tribunes, to bring up the army from Elatia. To the ambassadors of Antiochus, who, at this time, proposed to treat of an alliance, he answered, that "he could say nothing on the subject in the absence of the ten ambassadors. They must go to Rome, and apply to the senate."

25. As soon as the troops arrived from Elatia, Quinctius set out to lead them towards Argos. When near Cleonae he was met by the praetor, Aristaenus, with ten thousand Achaean foot and one thousand horse; and having joined forces, they pitched their camp at a small distance from thence. Next day they marched down into the plains of Argos, and fixed their post about four miles from that city. The commander of the Lacedaemonian garrison was Pythagoras, the tyrant's son-in-law, and his wife's brother; who, on the approach of the Romans, posted strong guards in both the citadels, for Argos has two, and in every other place that was commodious for defense, or exposed to danger. But, while thus employed, he could by no means dissemble the dread inspired by the approach of the Romans; and, to the alarm from abroad, was added an insurrection within. There was an Argive, named Damocles, a youth of more spirit than prudence, who held conversations, with proper persons, on a design of expelling the garrison; at first, with the precaution of imposing an oath, but afterwards, through his eager desire to add strength to the conspiracy, he estimated people's sincerity with too little caution. While he was in conference with his accomplices, an officer, sent by the commander of the garrison, summoned him to appear before him, and he perceived that his design was betrayed; on which, exhorting the conspirators, who were present, to take arms with him, rather than be tortured to death, he went on with a few companions towards the forum, crying out to all who wished the preservation of the state, to follow him as the vindicator and author of their liberty. He could prevail on none to join him; for they saw no prospect of any attainable advantage, and much less any sufficiently powerful support. While he exclaimed in this manner, the Lacedaemonians surrounded him and his party, and put them to death. Many others were afterwards seized, the greater part of whom were executed, and the remaining few thrown into prison. During the following night, great numbers, letting themselves down from the walls by ropes, came over to the Romans.

26. As these men affirmed, that if the Roman army had been at the gates, this commotion would not have ended without effect; and that, if the camp was brought nearer, the Argives would not remain inactive; Quinctius sent some horsemen and infantry, lightly accoutred, who, meeting at the Cylarabis, a place of exercise, less than three hundred paces from the city, a party of Lacedaemonians, who sallied out of a gate, engaged them, and, without much difficulty, drove them back into the town; and the Roman general encamped on the very spot where the battle had been fought. There he passed one day, on the look-out if any new commotion might arise; but perceiving that the inhabitants were quite depressed by fear, he called a council concerning the besieging of Argos. All the deputies of Greece, except Aristaenus, were of one opinion, that, as that city was the sole object of the war, with it the war should commence. This was by no means agreeable to Quinctius; but he listened, with evident marks of approbation, to Aristaenus, arguing in opposition to the joint opinion of all the rest; while he himself added, that "as the war was undertaken in favor of the Argives, against the tyrant, what could be less proper than to leave the enemy in quiet, and lay siege to Argos? For his part, he was resolved to point his arms against the main object of the war, Lacedaemon and the tyrant." He then dismissed the meeting, and sent out light-armed cohorts to collect forage. Whatever was ripe in the adjacent country, they reaped, and brought together; and what was green they trod down and destroyed, that the enemy might not subsequently get it. He then proceeded over Mount Parthenius, and, passing by Tegaea, encamped on the third day at Caryae; where he waited for the auxiliary troops of the allies, before he entered the enemy's territory. Fifteen hundred Macedonians came from Philip, and four hundred horsemen of the Thessalians; and now the Roman general had no occasion to wait for more auxiliaries, having abundance; but he was obliged to stop for supplies of provisions, which he had ordered the neighboring cities to furnish. He was joined also by a powerful naval force; Lucius Quinctius had already come from Leucas, with forty ships; eighteen ships of war had arrived from the Rhodians; and king Eumenes was cruising among the Cyclades, with ten decked ships, thirty barks, and smaller vessels of various sorts. Of the Lacedaemonians themselves, also, a great many, who had been driven from home by the cruelty of the tyrants, came into the Roman camp, in hopes of being reinstated in their country; for the number was very great of those who had been banished by the several despots, during many generations since they first got Lacedaemon into their power. The principal person among the exiles was Agesipolis, to whom the sovereignty of Lacedaemon belonged in right of his birth; but who had been driven out when an infant by Lycurgus, after the death of Cleomenes, who was the first tyrant of Lacedaemon.

27. Although Nabis was enclosed between such powerful armaments on land and sea, and, on a comparative view of his own and his enemy's strength, could scarcely conceive any degree of hope; yet he did not desist from the war, but brought, from Crete, a thousand chosen young men of that country in addition to a thousand whom he had before; he had, besides, under arms, three thousand mercenary soldiers, and ten thousand of his countrymen, with the peasants, who belonged to the fortresses. He fortified the city with a ditch and rampart; and lest any intestine commotion should arise, curbed the people's spirits by fear, punishing them with extreme severity, as he could not hope for good wishes towards a tyrant. As he had his suspicions respecting some of the citizens, he drew out all his forces to a field called Dromos, (the course,) and ordered the Lacedaemonians to be called to an assembly without their arms. He then formed a line of armed men round the place where they were assembled, observing briefly, "that he ought to be excused, if, at such a juncture, he feared and guarded against every thing that might happen; and that, if the present state of affairs subjected any to suspicion, it was their advantage to be prevented from attempting any design, rather than to be punished for attempting it: he therefore intended," he said, "to keep certain persons in custody, until the storm, which then threatened, should have passed over; and would discharge them as soon as the enemy should have been driven away, from whom the danger would be less, when proper precaution was taken against internal treachery." He then ordered the names of about eighty of the principal young men to be called over, and as each answered to his name, he put them in custody. On the night following, they were all put to death. Some of the Helotes, a race of rustics, who have been feudal vassals even from the earliest times, being charged with an intention to desert, they were driven with stripes through all the streets, and put to death. The terror which this excited so confounded the multitude, as to deter them from all attempts to effect a revolution. He kept his forces within the fortifications, knowing that he was not a match for the enemy in the field; and, besides, he was afraid to leave the city, while all men's minds were in a state of such suspense and uncertainty.

28. Quinctius, when all his preparations were now sufficiently made, decamped; and, on the second day, came to Sellasia, on the river Oenus, on the spot where it is said Antigonus, king of Macedonia, fought a pitched battle with Cleomenes, tyrant of Lacedaemon. Being told that the ascent from thence was difficult, and the passes narrow, he made a short circuit by the mountains, sending forward a party to make a road, and came, by a tolerably broad and open passage, to the river Eurotas, where it flows almost immediately under the walls of the city. Here, the tyrant's auxiliary troops attacked the Romans, while they were forming their camp, together with Quinctius himself, (who, with a division of cavalry and light troops, had advanced beyond the rest,) and threw them into a state of alarm and confusion; not expecting any thing of the kind, as no one had opposed them throughout their whole march, and they had passed, as it were, through a friendly territory. The disorder lasted a considerable time, the infantry calling for aid on the cavalry, and the cavalry on the infantry, each having but little confidence in himself. At length, the foremost ranks of the legions came up; and no sooner had the cohorts of the vanguard taken part in the fight, than those who had lately been an object of dread were driven back in terror into the city. The Romans, retiring so far from the wall as to be out of the reach of weapons, stood there for some time in battle-array; and then, none of the enemy coming out against them, retired to their camp. Next day Quinctius led on his army in regular order along the bank of the river, passed the city, to the foot of the mountain of Menelaus, the legionary cohorts marching in front, and the cavalry and light infantry bringing up the rear. Nabis kept his mercenary troops, on whom he placed his whole reliance, in readiness, and drawn up in a body, within the walls, intending to attack the rear of the enemy; and, as soon as the last of their troops passed by, these rushed out of the town, from several places at once, with as great fury as the day before. The rear was commanded by Appius Claudius, who having beforehand prepared his men to expect such an event, that it might not come upon them unawares, instantly made his troops face about, and presented an entire front to the enemy. A regular engagement, therefore, took place, as if two complete lines had encountered, and it lasted a considerable time; but at length Nabis's troops betook themselves to flight, which would have been attended with less dismay and danger, if they had not been closely pressed by the Achaeans, who were well acquainted with the ground. These made dreadful havoc, and dispersing them entirely, obliged the greater part to throw away their arms. Quinctius encamped near Amyclae; and afterwards, when he had utterly laid waste all the pleasant and thickly inhabited country round the city, not one of the enemy venturing out of the gates, he removed his camp to the river Eurotas. From thence he ravaged the valley lying under Taygetus, and the country reaching as far as the sea.

29. About the same time, Lucius Quinctius got possession of the towns on the sea-coast; of some, by their voluntary surrender; of others, by fear or force. Then, learning that the Lacedaemonians made Gythium the repository of all their naval stores, and that the Roman camp was at no great distance from the sea, he resolved to attack that town with his whole force. It was, at that time, a place of considerable strength; well furnished with great numbers of native inhabitants and settlers from other parts, and with every kind of warlike stores. Very seasonably for Quinctius, when commencing an enterprise of no easy nature, king Eumenes and the Rhodian fleet came to his assistance. The vast multitude of seamen, collected out of the three fleets, finished in a few days all the works requisite for the siege of a city so strongly fortified, both on the land side and on that next the sea. Covered galleries were soon brought up; the wall was undermined, and, at the same time, shaken with battering rams. By the frequent shocks given with these, one of the towers was thrown down, and, by its fall, the adjoining wall on each side was laid flat. The Romans, on this, attempted to force in, both on the side next the port, to which the approach was more level than to the rest, hoping to divert the enemy's attention from the more open passage, and, at the same time, to enter the breach caused by the falling of the wall. They were near effecting their design of penetrating into the town, when the assault was suspended by the prospect which was held out of the surrender of the city. This however, was subsequently dissipated. Dexagoridas and Gorgopas commanded there, with equal authority. Dexagoridas had sent to the Roman general a message that he would give up the city; and, after the time and the mode of proceeding had been agreed on, he was slain as a traitor by Gorgopas, and the defense of the city was maintained with redoubled vigor by this single commander. The further prosecution of the siege would have been much more difficult, had not Titus Quinctius arrived with a body of four thousand chosen men. He showed his army in order of battle, on the brow of a hill at a small distance from the city; and, on the other side, Lucius Quinctius plied the enemy hard with his engines, both on the quarter of the sea, and of the land; on which Gorgopas was compelled to adopt that proceeding, which, in the case of another, he had punished with death. After stipulating for liberty to carry away the soldiers whom he had there as a garrison, he surrendered the city to Quinctius. Previous to the surrender of Gythium, Pythagoras, who had been left as commander at Argos, having entrusted the defense of the city to Timocrates of Pellene, with a thousand mercenary soldiers, and two thousand Argives, came to Lacedaemon and joined Nabis.

30. Although Nabis had been greatly alarmed at the first arrival of the Roman fleet, and the surrender of the towns on the sea-coast, yet, as long as Gythium was held by his troops he had quieted his apprehensions with that scanty hope; but when he heard that Gythium, too, was given up to the Romans, and saw that he had no room for any kind of hope on the land, where every place round was in the hands of the enemy, and that he was totally excluded from the sea, he considered that he must yield to fortune. He first sent a messenger into the Roman camp, to learn whether permission would be given to send ambassadors. This being consented to, Pythagoras came to the general, with no other commission than to propose a conference between that commander and the tyrant. A council was summoned on the proposal, and every one present agreeing in opinion that a conference should be granted, a time and place were appointed. They came, with moderate escorts, to some hills in the interjacent ground; and leaving their cohorts there, in posts open to the view of both parties, they went down to the place of meeting; Nabis attended by a select party of his body-guards; Quinctius by his brother, king Eumenes, Sosilaus, the Rhodian, Aristaenus, praetor of the Achaeans, and a few military tribunes.

31. Then the tyrant, having the choice given him either to speak first or to listen, began thus: "Titus Quinctius, and you who are present, if I could collect from my own reflections the reason of your having either declared or actually made war against me, I should have waited in silence the issue of my destiny. But in the present state of things, I could not repress my desire of knowing, before I am ruined, the cause for which my ruin is resolved on. And in truth, if you were such men as the Carthaginians are represented to be,--men who considered the obligation of faith, pledged in alliances, as in no degree sacred, I should not wonder if you were the less scrupulous with respect to your conduct towards me. But, instead of that, when I look at you, I perceive that you are Romans: men who allow treaties to be the most solemn of religious acts, and faith, pledged therein, the strongest of human ties. Then, when I look back at myself, I am confident I am one who, as a member of the community, am, in common with the rest of the Lacedaemonians, included in a treaty subsisting with you, of very ancient date; and likewise have, lately, during the war with Philip, concluded anew, in my own name, a personal friendship and alliance with you. But it appears I have violated and cancelled that treaty, by holding possession of the city of Argos. In what manner shall I defend this? By the consideration of the fact, or of the time. The consideration of the fact furnishes me with a twofold defense: for, in the first place, in consequence of an invitation from the inhabitants themselves, and of their voluntary act of surrender, I accepted the possession of that city, and did not seize it by force. In the next place, I accepted it, when the city was in league with Philip, not in alliance with you. Then the consideration of the time acquits me, inasmuch as when I was in actual possession of Argos, the alliance was entered into between you and me, and you stipulated that I should send you aid against Philip, not that I should withdraw my garrison from that city. In this dispute, therefore, so far as it relates to Argos, I have unquestionably the advantage, both from the equity of the proceeding, as I gained possession of a city which belonged not to you, but to your enemy; and as I gained it by its own voluntary act, and not by forcible compulsion; and also from your own acknowledgment; since, in the articles of our alliance, you left Argos to me. But then, the name of tyrant, and my conduct, are strong objections against me: that I call forth slaves to a state of freedom; that I carry out the indigent part of the populace, and give them settlements in lands. With respect to the title by which I am styled, I can answer thus: That, let me be what I may, I am the same now that I was at the time when you yourself, Titus Quinctius, concluded an alliance with me. I remember, that I was then styled king by you; now, I see, I am called tyrant. If, therefore, I had since altered the style of my office, I might have an account to render of my fickleness: as you choose to alter it, that account should be rendered by you. As to what relates to the augmenting the number of the populace, by giving liberty to slaves, and the distribution of lands to the needy; on this head, too, I might defend myself by a reference to time: These measures, of what complexion soever they are, I had practiced before you formed friendship with me, and received my aid in the war against Philip. But, if I did these same things, at this moment, I would not say to you, how did I thereby injure you, or violate the friendship subsisting between us? but that, in so doing, I acted agreeably to the practice and institutions of my ancestors. Do not estimate what is done at Lacedaemon by the standard of your own laws and constitution. There is no necessity for comparing particular institutions: you are guided in your choice of a horseman, by the quantity of his property; in your choice of a foot soldier, by the quantity of his property; and your plan is, that a few should abound in wealth, and that the body of the people should be in subjection to them. Our lawgiver did not choose that the administration of government should be in the hands of a few, such as you call a senate; or that this or that order of citizens should have a superiority over the rest: but he considered that, by equalizing the property and dignity of all, he should multiply the number of those who were to bear arms for their country. I acknowledge that I have enlarged on these matters, beyond what consists with the conciseness customary with my countrymen, and that the sum of the whole might be comprised in few words: that, since I first commenced a friendship with you, I have given you no just cause to repent it."

32. The Roman general answered: "We never contracted any friendship or alliance with you, but with Pelops, the right and lawful king of Lacedaemon: whose authority, while the Carthaginian, Gallic, and other wars, succeeding one another, kept us constantly employed, the tyrants, who after him held Lacedaemon under forced subjection, usurped into their own hands, as did you also during the late war with Macedonia. For what could be less fitting, than that we, who were waging war against Philip, in favor of the liberty of Greece, should contract friendship with a tyrant, and a tyrant the most cruel and violent towards his subjects that ever existed? But, even supposing that you had not either seized or held Argos by iniquitous means, it would be incumbent on us, when we are giving liberty to all Greece, to reinstate Lacedaemon also in its ancient freedom, and the enjoyment of its own laws, which you just now spoke of, as if you were a rival of Lycurgus. Shall we take pains to make Philip's garrisons evacuate Tassus and Bargylii; and shall we leave Lacedaemon and Argos, those two most illustrious cities, formerly the lights of Greece, under your feet, that their continuance in bondage may tarnish our title of deliverers of Greece? But the Argives took part with Philip: we excuse you from taking any concern in that cause, so that you need not be angry with them on our behalf. We have received sufficient proof, that the guilt of that proceeding is chargeable on two only, or, at most, three persons, and not on the state; just, indeed, as in the case of the invitation given to you and to your army, and your reception into the citadel, not one step was taken by public authority. We know, that the Thessalians, Phocians, and Locrians, with unanimous consent, joined in espousing the cause of Philip; yet we have given liberty to them in common with the rest of Greece. How then can you suppose we shall conduct ourselves towards the Argives, who are acquitted of having publicly authorized misconduct? You said, that your inviting slaves to liberty, and the distribution of lands among the indigent, were objected to you as crimes; and crimes, surely, they are, of no small magnitude. But what are they in comparison with those atrocious deeds, that are daily perpetrated by you and your adherents, in continual succession? Show us a free assembly of the people, either at Argos or Lacedaemon, if you wish to hear a true recital of the crimes of the most abandoned tyranny. To omit all other instances of older date, what a massacre did your son-in-law, Pythagoras, make at Argos almost before my eyes! What another did you yourself perpetrate, when I was nearly within the confines of the Lacedaemonians! Now, give orders, that the persons whom you took out of the midst of an assembly, and committed to prison, after declaring, in the hearing of all your countrymen, that you would keep them in custody, be produced in their chains, that their wretched parents may know that those are alive, for whom, under a false impression, they are mourning. Well, but you say, though all these things were so, Romans, how do they concern you? Can you say this to the deliverers of Greece; to people who crossed the sea, and have maintained a war on sea and land, to effect its deliverance? Still you tell us, you have not directly violated the alliance, or the friendship established between us. How many instances must I produce of your having done so? But I will not go into long detail; I will bring the matter to a short issue. By what acts is friendship violated? Most effectually by these two: by treating our friends as foes; and by uniting yourself with our enemies. Each of these has been done by you. For Messene, which had been united to us in friendship, by one and the same bond of alliance with Lacedaemon, you, while professing yourself our ally, reduced to subjection by force of arms, though you knew it was in alliance with us; and you contracted with Philip, our professed enemy, not only an alliance, but even an affinity, through the intervention of his general, Philocles: and waging actual war against us, with your piratical ships, you made the sea round Malea unsafe, and you captured and slew more Roman citizens almost than Philip himself; and to our ships conveying provisions to our armies the coast of Macedonia itself was less dangerous, than the promontory of Malea. Cease, therefore, to vaunt your good faith, and the obligations of treaties; and, dropping a popular style of discourse, speak as a tyrant, and as an enemy."

33. Aristaenus then began, at first to advise, and afterwards even to beseech Nabis, while it was yet in his power, and he had the opportunity, to consider what was best for himself and his interests. He then mentioned the names of several tyrants in the neighboring states who had resigned their authority, and restored liberty to their people, and afterwards spent among their fellow citizens not only a secure but an honored old age. These observations having been reciprocally made and listened to, the approach of night broke up the conference. Next day Nabis said, that he was willing to cede Argos, and withdraw his garrison, since such was the desire of the Romans, and to deliver up the prisoners and deserters; and if they demanded any thing further, he requested that they would set it down in writing, that he might deliberate on it with his friends. Thus the tyrant gained time for consultation; and Quinctius also, on his part, called a council, to which he summoned the chiefs of the allies. The greatest part were of opinion, that "they ought to persevere in the war, and that the tyrant should be altogether got rid of; otherwise the liberty of Greece would never be secure. That it would have been much better never to have entered on the war than to drop it after it was begun; for this would be a kind of approbation of his tyrannical usurpation, and which would establish him more firmly, as giving the countenance of the Roman people to his ill-acquired authority, and that he would quickly spirit up many in other states to plot against the liberty of their countrymen." The wishes of the general himself tended rather to peace; for he saw that, as the enemy was shut up in the town, nothing remained but a siege, and that must be very tedious. For it was not Gythium that they must besiege, though even that place had been gained by capitulation, not by assault; but Lacedaemon, a city most powerful in men and arms. The only hope which they could have formed was, that, on the first approach of their army, dissensions and insurrections might have been raised within: but, though the standards had been seen to advance almost to the gates, not one person had stirred. To this he added, that "Villius the ambassador, returning from Antiochus, brought intelligence, that the peace was an unsound one; and that the king had come over into Europe with a much more powerful armament by sea and land than before. Now, if the army should be engaged in the siege of Lacedaemon, with what other forces could the war be maintained against a king of his great power and strength?" These arguments he urged openly; but beneath all this there lay a concealed anxiety lest one of the new consuls should be appointed to the province of Greece; and then the honor of terminating the war, in which he had proceeded so far, must be yielded to a successor.

34. Finding that he could not, by opposition, make any alteration in the sentiments of the allies, by pretending to go over to their opinion, he led them all into a concurrence in his plan. "Be it so," said he, "and may success attend us: let us lay siege to Lacedaemon, since that is your choice. However, as a business so slow in its progress, as you know the besieging of cities to be, very often wears out the patience of the besiegers sooner than that of the besieged, you ought at once to make up your minds to this, that we must pass the winter under the walls of Lacedaemon. If this delay involved only toil and danger, I would recommend to you to prepare your minds and bodies to support these. But, in the present case, vast expenses also will be requisite for the construction of works, for machines and engines, sufficient for the siege of so great a city, and for procuring stores of provisions for the winter to serve you and us: therefore, to prevent your being suddenly disconcerted, or shamefully deserting an enterprise which you had engaged in, I think it will be necessary for you to write home to your respective states, and learn what degree of spirit and of strength each possesses. Of auxiliary troops I have a sufficient number, and to spare; but the more numerous we are, the more numerous will be our wants. The country of the enemy has nothing left but the naked soil. Besides, the winter is at hand, which will render it difficult to convey what we may stand in need of from distant places." This speech first turned their thoughts to the domestic evils prevailing in their several states; the indolence of those who remained at home; the envy and misrepresentations to which those who were serving abroad were liable; that a state of freedom was a difficult one in which to procure unanimity; the want of public funds, and people's backwardness to contribute out of their private property. Their inclinations being thus suddenly changed, they gave full power to the general, to do whatever he judged conducive to the general interest of the Roman people and their allies.

35. Then Quinctius, consulting only his lieutenant-generals and military tribunes, drew up the following conditions on which peace should be made with the tyrant: "That there should be a suspension of arms for six months, between Nabis on one part, and the Romans, king Eumenes, and the Rhodians on the other. That Titus Quinctius and Nabis should immediately send ambassadors to Rome, in order that the peace might be ratified by authority of the senate. That, whatever day a written copy of these conditions should be delivered to Nabis, on that day should the armistice commence; and, within ten days after, his garrisons should be withdrawn from Argos, and all other towns in the territory of the Argives; all which towns should be entirely evacuated, restored to freedom, and delivered to the Romans. That no slave, whether belonging to the king, the public, or a private person, be removed out of any of them; and if any had been removed before, that they be faithfully restored to their owners. That he should return the ships, which he had taken from the maritime states; and should not have any other than two barks; and these to be navigated with no more than sixteen oars. That he should restore to all the states in alliance with the Roman people, the prisoners and deserters in his hands; and to the Messenians, all the effects that could be discovered, and which their possessors could own. That he should, likewise, restore to the exiled Lacedaemonians their children, and their wives, who chose to follow their husbands; provided that no woman should be obliged, against her will, to go with her husband into exile. That such of the mercenary soldiers of Nabis as had deserted him, and gone either to their own countries or to the Romans, should have all their effects faithfully returned to them. That he should hold possession of no city in the island of Crete; and that such as were then in his possession should be given up to the Romans. That he should not form any alliance, or wage war, with any of the Cretan states, or with any other. That he should withdraw all his garrisons from those cities, which he should give up, and which had put themselves, and their country, under the dominion and protection of the Roman people; and should take care that, in future, he should restrain both himself and his subjects from molesting them. That he should not build any town or fort in his own, or any other territory. That, to secure the performance of these conditions, he should give five hostages, such as the Roman general should choose, and among them his own son: and should pay, at present, one hundred talents of silver; and fifty talents, annually, for eight years."

36. These articles were put into writing, and sent into Lacedaemon, the camp having been removed, and brought nearer to the town. The tyrant saw nothing in them that gave him much satisfaction, excepting that, beyond his hopes, no mention had been made of bringing back the exiles. But what mortified him most of all, was, the depriving him of his shipping, and of the maritime towns: for the sea had been a source of great profit to him; his piratical vessels having continually infested the whole coast from the promontory of Malea. Besides, he found in the young men of those towns recruits for his army, who made by far the best of his soldiers. Though he discussed those conditions in private with his confidential friends, yet, as the ministers in the courts of kings, faithless in other respects, are particularly so with respect to the concealing of secrets, rumor soon made them all public. The public, in general, expressed not so great a disapprobation of the whole of the terms, as did individuals, of the articles particularly affecting themselves. Those who had the wives of the exiles in marriage, or had possessed themselves of any of their property, were provoked, as if they were to lose what was their own, and not to make restitution of what belonged to others. The slaves, who had been set at liberty by the tyrant, perceived plainly, not only that their enfranchisement would be annulled, but that their servitude would be much more severe than it had been before, when they should be again put under the power of their incensed masters. The mercenary soldiers were dissatisfied, because, in consequence of a peace, their pay would cease; and they knew also, that they could not return among their own countrymen, who detested not tyrants more than they did their abettors.

37. They at first spoke of these matters, in their circles, with murmurs of discontent; and afterwards, suddenly ran to arms. From which tumultuous proceeding, the tyrant perceived that the passions of the multitude were of themselves sufficiently inflamed, and immediately ordered a general assembly to be summoned. Here he explained to them the terms which the Romans strove to impose, to which he falsely added others, more severe and humiliating. While, on the mention of each particular, sometimes the whole assembly, sometimes different parties, raised a shout of disapprobation, he asked them, "What answer they wished him to give; or what they would have him do?" On which all, as it were with one voice, cried out, "To give no answer, to continue the war;" and they began, as is common with a multitude, every one to encourage the rest, to keep up their spirits, and cherish good hopes, observing, that "fortune favors the brave." Animated by these expressions, the tyrant assured them, that Antiochus, and the Aetolians, would come to their assistance; and that he had, in the mean time, resources abundantly sufficient for the maintenance of a siege. The very mention of peace had vanished from the minds of all, and unable to contain themselves longer in quiet, they ran out in parties against the advanced guards of the enemy. The sally of these few skirmishers, and the weapons which they threw, immediately removed all doubt from the Romans that the war was to continue. During the four following days, several slight encounters took place, at first without any decisive result; but, on the fifth day after, in a kind of regular engagement, the Lacedaemonians were beaten back into the town, in such a panic, that several Roman soldiers, pressing close on the rear of the fugitives, entered the city through open spaces, not secured with a wall, of which, at that time, there were several.

38. Then Quinctius, having, by this repulse, effectually checked the sallies of the enemy, and being fully convinced that he had now no alternative, but must besiege the city, sent persons to bring up all the marine forces from Gythium; and, in the mean time, rode himself, with some military tribunes, round the walls, to take a view of the situation of the place. In former times, Sparta had no wall; of late, the tyrants had built walls in the places where the ground Was open and level; but the higher places, and those more difficult of access, they secured by placing guards of soldiers instead of fortifications. When he had sufficiently examined every circumstance, having resolved on making a general assault, he surrounded the city with all his forces, the number of which, Romans and allies, horse and foot, naval and land forces, all together, amounted to fifty thousand men. Some brought scaling-ladders, some fire-brands, some other matters, wherewith they might not only assail the enemy, but strike terror. The orders were, that on raising the shout, all should advance at once, in order that the Lacedaemonians, being alarmed at the same time in every quarter, might be at a loss where, first, to make head, or whither to bring aid. The main force of his army he formed in three divisions, and ordered one to attack on the side of the Phoebeum, another on that of the Dictynneum, and the third near a place called Heptagoniae, all which are open places without walls. Though surrounded on all sides by such a violent alarm, the tyrant, at first, attentive to every sudden shout and hasty message, either ran up himself, or sent others, wherever the greatest danger pressed; but, afterwards, he was so stunned by the horror and confusion that prevailed all around, as to become incapable either of giving proper directions, or of hearing what was said, and to lose, not only his judgment, but almost his reason.

39. For some time the Lacedaemonians maintained their ground against the Romans, in the narrow passes; and three armies, on each side, fought, at one time, in different places. Afterwards, when the heat of the contest increased, the contest was, by no means, an equal one: for the Lacedaemonians fought with missile arms, against which the Roman soldiers, by means of their large shields, easily defended themselves, and many of their blows either missed, or were very weak; for, the narrowness of the place causing them to be closely crowded together, they neither had room to discharge their weapons with a previous run, which gives great force to them, nor clear and steady footing while they made their throw Of those, therefore, discharged against the front of the Romans, none pierced their bodies, few even their shields; but several were wounded by those who surrounded them from higher places. And presently, when they advanced a little, they were hurt unawares, both with javelins, and tiles also thrown from the tops of the houses. On this they raised their shields over their heads; and joining them so close together as to leave no room for injury from such random casts, or even for the insertion of a javelin, by a hand within reach, they pressed forward under cover of this tortoise fence. For some time the narrow streets, being thronged with a multitude of their own soldiers, and also of the enemy, considerably retarded the progress of the Romans; but when once, by gradually pushing back the enemy, they gained the wider streets of the city, the impetuosity of their attack could no longer be withstood. While the Lacedaemonians, having turned their backs, fled precipitately to the higher places, Nabis, being utterly confounded, as if the town were already taken, began to look about for a way to make his escape. Pythagoras, while in other respects he displayed the spirit and conduct of a general, was now the sole means of saving the city from being taken. For he ordered the buildings nearest to the wall to be set on fire; and these being instantly in a blaze, those who, on another occasion, would have brought help to extinguish the fire, now helping to increase it, the roofs tumbled on the Romans; and not only fragments of the tiles, but also the half-burned timber, reached the soldiers: the flames spread wide, and the smoke caused a degree of terror even greater than the danger. In consequence, the Romans who were without the city, and were just then making the principal attack, retired from the wall; and those who were within, fearing lest the fire, rising behind them, should put it out of their power to rejoin the rest of the army, began to retreat. Whereupon Quinctius, seeing how matters stood, ordered a general retreat to be sounded.--Thus, being at length recalled from a city which they had nearly taken, they returned to their camp.

40. Quinctius, conceiving greater hopes from the fears of the enemy than from the immediate effect of his operations, kept them in a continual alarm during the three succeeding days; sometimes harassing them with assaults, sometimes enclosing several places with works, so as to leave no passage open for flight. These menaces had such an effect on the tyrant that he again sent Pythagoras to solicit peace. Quinctius, at first, rejected him with disdain, ordering him to quit the camp; but afterwards, on his suppliant entreaties, and throwing himself at his feet, he admitted him to an audience. The purport of his discourse, at first, was, an offer of implicit submission to the will of the Romans; but this availed nothing, being considered as nugatory and indecisive. The business was, at length, brought to this issue, that a truce should be made on the conditions delivered in writing a few days before, and the money and hostages were accordingly received. While the tyrant was kept shut up by the siege, the Argives, receiving frequent accounts, one after another, that Lacedaemon was on the point of being taken, and having themselves resumed courage on the departure of Pythagoras, with the strongest part of his garrison, looked now with contempt on the small number remaining in the citadel; and, being headed by a person named Archippus, drove the garrison out. They gave Timocrates, of Pellene, leave to retire, with solemn assurance of sparing his life, in consideration of the mildness which he had shown in his government. In the midst of this rejoicing, Quinctius arrived, after having granted peace to the tyrant, dismissed Eumenes and the Rhodians from Lacedaemon, and sent back his brother, Lucius Quinctius, to the fleet.

41. The Nemaean games, the most celebrated of all the festivals, and their most splendid public spectacle, had been omitted, at the regular time, on account of the disasters of the war: the state now, in the fullness of their joy, ordered them to be celebrated on the arrival of the Roman general and his army; and appointed the general, himself, president of the games. There were many circumstances which heightened their happiness: their countrymen, whom Pythagoras, lately, and, before that, Nabis, had carried away, were brought home from Lacedaemon; those who on the discovery of the conspiracy by Pythagoras, and when the massacre was already begun, had fled from home, now returned; they saw their liberty restored, after a long interval, and beheld, in their city, the Romans, the authors of its restoration, whose only view, in making war on the tyrant, was the support of their interest. The freedom of the Argives was, also, solemnly announced, by the voice of a herald, on the very day of the Nemaean games. Whatever pleasure the Achaeans felt on Argos being reinstated in the general council of Achaia, it was, in a great measure, alloyed by Lacedaemon being left in slavery, and the tyrant close at their side. As to the Aetolians, they loudly railed at that measure in every meeting. They remarked, that "the war with Philip was not ended until he evacuated all the cities of Greece. But Lacedaemon was left to the tyrant, while the lawful king, who had been, at the time, in the Roman camp, and others, the noblest of the citizens, must live in exile: so that the Roman nation was become a partisan of Nabis in his tyranny." Quinctius led back his army to Elatia, whence he had set out to the Spartan war. Some writers say, that the tyrant's method of carrying on hostilities was not by sallies from the city, but that he encamped in the face of the Romans; and that, after he had declined fighting a long time, waiting for succors from the Aetolians, he was forced to come to an engagement, by an attack which the Romans made on his foragers, when, being defeated in that battle, and beaten out of his camp, he sued for peace, after fifteen thousand of his men had been killed, and more than four thousand made prisoners.

42. Nearly at the same time, arrived at Rome a letter from Titus Quinctius, with an account of his proceedings at Lacedaemon; and another, out of Spain, from Marcus Porcius, the consul; whereupon the senate decreed a supplication, for three days, in the name of each. The other consul, Lucius Valerius, as his province had remained quiet since the defeat of the Boians at the wood of Litana, came home to Rome to hold the elections. Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, a second time, and Tiberius Sempronius Longus, were elected consuls. The fathers of these two had been consuls in the first year of the second Punic war. The election of praetors was then held, and the choice fell on Publius Cornelius Scipio, two Cneius Corneliuses, Merenda and Blasio, Cneius Domitius Aenobarbus, Sextus Digitius, and Titus Juvencius Thalna. As soon as the elections were finished, the consul returned to his province. The inhabitants of Ferentinum, this year, laid claim to a privilege unheard of before; that Latins, giving in their names for a Roman colony, should be deemed citizens of Rome. Some colonists, who had given in their names for Puteoli, Salernum, and Buxentum, assumed, on that ground, the character of Roman citizens; but the senate determined that they were not.

43. In the beginning of the year, wherein Publius Scipio Africanus, a second time, and Tiberius Sempronius Longus were consuls, two ambassadors from the tyrant Nabis came to Rome. The senate gave them audience in the temple of Apollo, outside the city. They entreated that a peace might be concluded on the terms settled with Quinctius, and obtained their request. When the question was put concerning the provinces, the majority of the senate were of opinion, that as the wars in Spain and Macedonia were at an end, Italy should be the province of both the consuls; but Scipio contended that one consul was sufficient for Italy, and that Macedonia ought to be decreed to the other; that "there was every reason to apprehend a dangerous war with Antiochus, for he had already, of his own accord, come into Europe; and how did they suppose he would act in future, when he should be encouraged to a war, on one hand, by the Aetolians, avowed enemies of their state, and stimulated, on the other, by Hannibal, a general famous for his victories over the Romans?" While the consular provinces were in dispute, the praetors cast lots for theirs. The city jurisdiction fell to Cneius Domitius; the foreign, to Titus Juvencius: Farther Spain, to Publius Cornelius; Hither Spain, to Sextus Digitius; Sicily, to Cneius Cornelius Blasio; Sardinia, to Cneius Cornelius Merenda. It was resolved, that no new army should be sent into Macedonia, but that the one which was there should be brought home to Italy by Quinctius, and disbanded; that the army which was in Spain, under Marcus Porcius Cato, should likewise be disbanded; that Italy should be the province of both the consuls, and that they should raise two city legions; so that, after the disbanding of the armies, mentioned in the resolution of the senate, there should be in all eight Roman legions.

44. A sacred spring had been celebrated, in the preceding year, during the consulate of Marcus Porcius and Lucius Valerius; but Publius Licinius, one of the pontiffs, having made a report, first, to the college of pontiffs, and afterwards, under the sanction of the college, to the senate, that it had not been duly performed, they resolved, that it should be celebrated anew, under the direction of the pontiffs; and that the great games, vowed together with it, should be exhibited at the same expense which was customary; that the sacred spring should be deemed to comprehend all the cattle born between the calends of March and the day preceding the calends of May, in the year of the consulate of Publius Cornelius Scipio and Tiberius Sempronius Longus. Then followed the election of censors. Sextus Aelius Paetus, and Caius Cornelius Cethegus, being created censors, named as prince of the senate the consul Publius Scipio, whom the former censors likewise had appointed. They passed by only three senators in the whole, none of whom had enjoyed the honor of a curule office. They obtained, on another account, the highest degree of credit with that body; for, at the celebration of the Roman games, they ordered the curule aediles to set apart places for the senators, distinct from those of the people, whereas, hitherto, all the spectators used to sit promiscuously. Of the knights, also, very few were deprived of their horses; nor was severity shown towards any rank of men. The gallery of the temple of Liberty, and the Villa Publica, were repaired and enlarged by the same censors. The sacred spring, and the votive games, were celebrated, pursuant to the vow of Servius Sulpicius Galba, when consul. While every one's thoughts were engaged by the shows then exhibited, Quintus Pleminius, who, for the many crimes against gods and men committed by him at Locri, had been thrown into prison, procured men who were to set fire by night to several parts of the city at once, in order that, while the town was thrown into consternation by this nocturnal disturbance, the prison might be broken open. But this plot was disclosed by some of the accomplices, and the affair was laid before the senate. Pleminius was thrown into a lower dungeon, and there put to death.

45. In this year colonies of Roman citizens were settled at Puteoli, Vulturnum, and Liternum; three hundred men in each place. Colonies of Roman citizens were likewise established at Salernum and Buxentum. The lands allotted to them had formerly belonged to the Campanians. Tiberius Sempronius Longus, who was then consul, Marcus Servilius, and Quintus Minucius Thermus, were the triumviri who settled the colony. Other commissioners also, Decius Junius Brutus, Marcus Baebius Tamphilus, and Marcus Helvius, led a colony of Roman citizens to Sipontum, into a district which had belonged to the Arpinians. To Tempsa, likewise, and to Croto, colonies of Roman citizens were led out. The lands of Tempsa had been taken from the Bruttians, who had formerly expelled the Greeks from them. Croto was possessed by Greeks. In ordering these establishments, there were named, for Croto,--Cneius Octavius, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, and Caius Pletorius; for Tempsa,--Lucius Cornelius Merula, and Caius Salonius. Several prodigies were observed at Rome that year, and others reported, from other places. In the forum, comitium, and Capitol, drops of blood were seen, and several showers of earth fell, and the head of Vulcan was surrounded with a blaze of fire. It was reported that a stream of milk ran in the river at Interamna; that, in some reputable families at Ariminum, children were born without eyes and nose; and one, in the territory of Picenum, that had neither hands nor feet. These prodigies were expiated according to an order of the pontiffs; and the nine days' festival was celebrated, because the Hadrians had sent intelligence that a shower of stones had fallen in their fields.

46. In Gaul, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, proconsul, in a pitched battle near Mediolanum, completely overthrew the Insubrian Gauls, and the Boians; who, under the command of Dorulacus, had crossed the Po, to rouse the Insubrians to arms. Ten thousand of the enemy were slain. About this time his colleague, Marcus Porcius Cato, triumphed over Spain. He carried in the procession twenty-five thousand pounds' weight of unwrought silver, one hundred and three thousand silver denarii, five hundred and forty of Oscan silver, and one thousand four hundred pounds' weight of gold. Out of the booty, he distributed to each of his soldiers two hundred and seventy asses; and three times that amount to each horseman. Tiberius Sempronius, consul, proceeding to his province, led his legions, first, into the territory of the Boians. At this time Boiorix their chieftain, with his two brothers, after having drawn out the whole nation into the field to renew the war, pitched his camp in the open country, that it might be evident that he was prepared to fight in case the enemy should pass the frontiers. When the consul understood what a numerous force and what a degree of resolution the enemy had, he sent an express to his colleague, requesting him, "if he thought proper, to hasten to join him;" adding, that "he would act on the defensive, and defer engaging in battle, until his arrival." The same reason which made the consul wish to decline an action, induced the Gauls, whose spirits were raised by the backwardness of their antagonists, to bring it on as soon as possible, that they might finish the affair before the two consuls should unite their forces. However, during two days, they did nothing more than stand in readiness for battle, if any should come out against them. On the third, they advanced furiously to the rampart, and assaulted the camp on every side at once. The consul immediately ordered his men to take arms, and kept them quiet, under arms, for some time; both to add to the foolish confidence of the enemy, and to arrange his troops at the gates, through which each party was to sally out. The two legions were ordered to march by the two principal gates; but, in the very pass of the gates, the Gauls opposed them in such close bodies as to stop up the way. The fight was maintained a long time in these narrow passes; nor were their hands or swords much employed in the business, but pushing with their shields and bodies, they pressed against each other, the Romans struggling to force their standards beyond the gates, the Gauls, to break into the camp, or, at least, to hinder the Romans from issuing forth. However, neither party could make the least impression on the other, until Quintus Victorius, a first centurion, and Caius Atinius, a military tribune, the former of the second, the latter of the fourth legion, had taken a course often tried in desperate conflicts; snatching the standards from the officers who carried them, and throwing them among the enemy. In the struggle to recover the standards, the men of the second legion first made their way out of the gate.

47. These were now fighting on the outside of the rampart, the fourth legion still entangled in the gate, when a new alarm arose on the opposite side of the camp. The Gauls had broke in by the Quaestorian gate, and had slain the quaestor, Lucius Postumius, surnamed Tympanus, with Marcus Atinius and Publius Sempronius, praefects of the allies, who made an obstinate resistance; and also, near two hundred soldiers. The camp in that part had been taken, when a cohort of those who are called Extraordinaries, having been sent by the consul to defend the Quaestorian gate, killed some who had got within the rampart, drove out the rest, and opposed others who were attempting to break in. About the same time, the fourth legion, and two cohorts of Extraordinaries, burst out of the gate; and thus there were three battles, in different places, round the camp; while the various kinds of shouts raised by them, called off the attention of the combatants from their own immediate conflict to the uncertain casualties which threatened their friends. The battle was maintained until mid-day with equal strength, and with nearly equal hopes. At length, the fatigue and heat so far got the better of the soft relaxed bodies of the Gauls, who are incapable of enduring thirst, as to make most of them give up the fight; and the few who stood their ground, were attacked by the Romans, routed, and driven to their camp. The consul then gave the signal for retreat, on which the greater part retired; but some, eager to continue the fight, and hoping to get possession of the camp, pressed forward to the rampart, on which the Gauls, despising their small number, rushed out in a body. The Romans were then routed in turn, and compelled, by their own fear and dismay, to retreat to their camp, which they had refused to do at the command of their general. Thus now flight and now victory alternated on both sides. The Gauls, however, had eleven thousand killed, the Romans but five thousand. The Gauls retreated into the heart of their country, and the consul led his legions to Placentia. Some writers say, that Scipio, after joining his forces to those of his colleague, overran and plundered the country of the Boians and Ligurians, as far as the woods and marshes suffered him to proceed; others, that, without having effected any thing material, he returned to Rome to hold the elections.

48. Titus Quinctius passed the entire winter season of this year at Elatia, where he had established the winter quarters of his army, in adjusting political arrangements, and reversing the measures which had been introduced in the several states under the arbitrary domination of Philip and his deputies, who crushed the rights and liberties of others, in order to augment the power of those who formed a faction in their favor. Early in the spring he came to Corinth, where he had summoned a general convention. Ambassadors having attended from every one of the states, so as to form a numerous assembly, he addressed them in a long speech, in which, beginning from the first commencement of friendship between the Romans and the nation of the Greeks, he enumerated the proceedings of the commanders who had been in Macedonia before him, and likewise his own. His whole narration was heard with the warmest approbation, except when he came to make mention of Nabis; and then they expressed their opinion, that it was utterly inconsistent with the character of the deliverer of Greece to have left seated, in the center of one of its most respectable states, a tyrant, who was not only insupportable to his own country, but a terror to all the states in his neighborhood. Whereupon Quinctius, not unacquainted with this tendency of their feelings, freely acknowledged, that "if the business could have been accomplished without the entire destruction of Lacedaemon, no mention of peace with the tyrant ought ever to have been listened to; but that, when it was not possible to crush him otherwise than by the utter ruin of this most important city, it was judged more eligible to leave the tyrant in a state of debility, stripped of almost every kind of power to do injury to any, than to suffer the city, which must have perished in the very process of its delivery being effectuated, to sink under remedies too violent for it to support."

49. To the recital of matters past, he subjoined, that "his intention was to depart shortly for Italy, and to carry with him all his troops; that they should hear, within ten days, of the garrisons having evacuated Demetrias; and that Chalcis, the citadel of Corinth, should be before their own eyes evacuated to the Achaeans: that all the world might know whose habit it was to deceive, that of the Romans or the Aetolians, who had spread insinuations, that the cause of liberty had been unwisely entrusted to the Romans, and that they had only received as their masters the Romans in exchange for the Macedonians. But they were men who never scrupled what they either said or did. The rest of the nations he advised to form their estimate of friends from deeds, not from words; and to satisfy themselves whom they ought to trust, and against whom they ought to be on their guard; to use their liberty with moderation: for, when regulated by prudence, it was productive of happiness both to individuals and to states; but, when pushed to excess, it became not only obnoxious to others, but to the possessors of it themselves an unbridled and headstrong impulse. He recommended, that those at the head of affairs, and all the several ranks of men in each particular state, should cultivate harmony between themselves; and that all should direct their views to the general interest of the whole. For, while they acted in concert, no king or tyrant would be sufficiently powerful against them: but discord and dissension gave every advantage to those who might plot against them; as the party worsted in a domestic dispute generally join themselves with foreigners, rather than submit to a countryman of their own. He then exhorted them, as the arms of others had procured their liberty, and the good faith of foreigners had restored it to them, to apply now their own diligent care to the watching and guarding of it; that the Roman people might perceive that those on whom they had bestowed liberty were deserving of it, and that their kindness had not been ill placed."

50. On hearing these admonitions, such as parental tenderness might dictate, every one present shed tears of joy; and they affected his feelings to such a degree as to interrupt his discourse. For some time a confused noise prevailed, from those who were expressing their approbation of his words, and charging each other to treasure up those expressions in their minds and hearts, as if they had been uttered by an oracle. Then silence ensuing, he requested of them to make diligent search for such Roman citizens as were in servitude among them, and to send them into Thessaly to him, within two months; observing, that "it would not be honorable to themselves, that, in a land restored to liberty, its deliverers should remain in servitude." To this all exclaimed with acclamations that they returned him thanks on this account in addition to others, that they had been reminded of the discharge of a duty so indispensably incumbent on their gratitude. There was a vast number of these who had been made prisoners in the Punic war, and sold by Hannibal when their countrymen refused to ransom them. That they were very numerous, is proved by what Polybius says, that this business cost the Achaeans one hundred talents, though they had fixed the price to be paid for each captive, to the owner, so low as five hundred denarii. For, at that rate, there were one thousand two hundred in Achaia. Calculate now, in proportion to this, how many were probably in all Greece.

51. Before the convention broke up, they saw the garrison march down from the citadel of Corinth, proceed forward to the gate, and depart. The general followed them, accompanied by the whole assembly, who, with loud acclamations, blessed him as their preserver and deliverer. At length, taking leave of these, and dismissing them, he returned to Elatia by the same road through which he came. He thence sent Appius Claudius, lieutenant-general, with all the troops, ordering him to march through Thessaly and Epirus, and to wait for him at Oricum, whence he intended to embark the army for Italy. He also wrote to his brother, Lucius Quinctius, lieutenant-general, and commander of the fleet, to collect thither transport ships from all the coasts of Greece. He himself proceeded to Chalcis; and, after sending away the garrisons, not only from that city, but likewise from Oreum and Eretria, he held there a congress of the Euboean states, whom he reminded of the condition in which he had found their affairs, and of that in which he was leaving them; and then dismissed the assembly. He then proceeded to Demetrias, and removed the garrison. Accompanied by all the citizens, as at Corinth and Chalcis, he pursued his route into Thessaly, where the states were not only to be set at liberty, but also to be reduced from a state of utter anarchy and confusion into some tolerable order; for they had been thrown into confusion, not only through the faults of the times, and the violence and licentiousness of royalty, but also through the restless disposition of the nation, who, from the earliest times, even to our days, have never conducted any election, or assembly, or council, without dissensions and tumult. He chose both senators and judges, with regard, principally, to their property, and made that party the most powerful in the state to whom it was most important that all things should be tranquil and secure.

52. When he had completed these regulations in Thessaly, he went on, through Epirus, to Oricum, whence he intended to take his passage. From Oricum all the troops were transported to Brundusium. From this place to the city, they passed the whole length of Italy, in a manner, like a triumph; the captured effects which they brought with them forming a train as large as that of the troops themselves. When they arrived at Rome, the senate assembled outside the city, to receive from Quinctius a recital of his services; and, with high satisfaction, a well-merited triumph was decreed him. His triumph lasted three days. On the first day were carried in procession, armor, weapons, brazen and marble statues of which he had taken greater numbers from Philip than from the states of Greece. On the second, gold and silver wrought, unwrought, and coined. Of unwrought silver, there were eighteen thousand pounds' weight; and of wrought, two hundred and seventy thousand; consisting of many vessels of various sorts, most of them engraved, and several of exquisite workmanship; also a great many others made of brass; and besides these, ten shields of silver. The coined silver amounted to eighty-four thousand of the Attic coin, called Tetradrachmus, containing each of silver about the weight of four denarii. Of gold there were three thousand seven hundred and fourteen pounds, and one shield wholly of gold: and of the gold coin called Philippics, fourteen thousand five hundred and fourteen. On the third day were carried golden crowns, presented by the several states, in number one hundred and fourteen; then the victims. Before his chariot went many illustrious persons, captives and hostages, among whom were Demetrius, son of king Philip, and Armenes, a Lacedaemonian, son of the tyrant Nabis. Then Quinctius himself rode into the city, followed by a numerous body of soldiers, as the whole army had been brought home from the province. Among these he distributed two hundred and fifty asses to each footman, double to a centurion, triple to a horseman. Those who had been redeemed from captivity added to the grandeur of the procession, walking after him with their heads shaven.

53. In the latter part of this year Quintus Aelius Tubero, plebeian tribune, in pursuance of a decree of the senate, proposed to the people, and the people ordered, that "two Latin colonies should be settled, one in Bruttium, the other in the territory of Thurium." For making these settlements commissioners were appointed, who were to hold the office for three years; for Bruttium, Quintus Naevius, Marcus Minucius Rufus, and Marcus Furius Crassipes; and for the district of Thurium, Cneius Manlius, Quintus Aelius, and Lucius Apustius. The assemblies of election to these two appointments were held in the Capitol by Cneius Domitius, city praetor. Several temples were dedicated this year: one of Juno Sospita, in the herb market, vowed and contracted for four years before, in the time of the Gallic war, by Cneius Cornelius, consul; and the same person, now censor, performed the dedication. Another of Faunus, the building of which had been agreed for two years before, and a fund formed for it out of fines estreated by the aediles, Caius Scribonius and Cneius Domitius; the latter of whom, now city praetor, dedicated it. Quintus Marcius Ralla, constituted commissioner for the purpose, dedicated the temple of Fortuna Primigenia, on the Quirinal Hill. Publius Sempronius Sophus had vowed this temple ten years before, in the Punic war; and, being afterwards censor, had employed persons to build it. Caius Servilius, duumvir, also dedicated a temple of Jupiter, in the island. This had been vowed in the Gallic war, six years before, by Lucius Furius Purpureo, who afterwards, when consul, contracted for the building.--Such were the transactions of that year.

54. Publius Scipio came home from his province of Gaul to choose new consuls. The consular comitia were accordingly held, in which Lucius Cornelius Merula and Quintus Minucius Thermus were chosen. Next day were chosen praetors, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, Caius Scribonius, Marcus Valerius Messala, Lucius Porcius Licinus, and Caius Flaminius. The curule aediles of this year, Caius Atilius Serranus and Lucius Scribonius, first exhibited the Megalesian theatrical games. At the Roman games, celebrated by these aediles, the senators, for the first time, sat separate from the people, which, as every innovation usually does, gave occasion to various observations. Some considered this as "an honor, shown at length to that most respectable body, and which ought to have been done long before;" while others contended, that "every addition made to the grandeur of the senate was a diminution of the dignity of the people; and that all such distinctions as set the orders of the state at a distance from each other, were equally subversive of liberty and concord. During five hundred and fifty-eight years," they asserted, "all the spectators had sat promiscuously: what reason then had now occurred, on a sudden, that should make the senators disdain to have the commons intermixed with them in the theatre, or make the rich disdain the poor man as a fellow-spectator? It was an unprecedented gratification of pride and over-bearing vanity, never even desired, and never instituted, by the senate of any other nation." It is said, that even Africanus himself at last became sorry for having proposed that matter in his consulship: so difficult is it to bring people to approve of any alteration of ancient customs; they are always naturally disposed to adhere to old practices, except those which experience evidently condemns.

55. In the beginning of the year, which was the consulate of Lucius Cornelius and Quintus Minucius, such frequent reports of earthquakes were brought, that people grew weary, not only of the matter itself, but of the religious rites enjoined in consequence; for neither could the senate be convened, nor the business of the public be transacted, the consuls were so constantly employed in sacrifices and expiations. At last, the decemvirs were ordered to consult the books; and, in pursuance of their answer, a supplication was performed during three days. People offered prayers at all the shrines, with garlands on their heads; and an order was published, that all the persons belonging to one family should pay their worship together; and the consuls, by direction of the senate, published an edict, that, on any day whereon religious rites should be ordered, in consequence of the report of an earthquake, no person should report another earthquake on that day. Then the consuls first, and afterwards the praetors, cast lots for their provinces. Cornelius obtained Gaul; Minucius, Liguria; Caius Scribonius, the city jurisdiction; Marcus Valerius, the foreign; Lucius Cornelius, Sicily; Lucius Porcius, Sardinia; Caius Flaminius, Hither Spain; and Marcus Fulvius, Farther Spain.

56. While the consuls supposed that, for that year, they should have no employment of a military kind, a letter was brought from Marcus Cincius, who was commander at Pisae, announcing, that "twenty thousand armed Ligurians, in consequence of a conspiracy of that whole nation, formed in the meetings of their several districts, had first wasted the lands of Luna, and then, passing through the territory of Pisae, had overrun the whole sea-coast." In consequence of this intelligence, the consul Minucius, whose province Liguria was, by direction of the senate, mounted the rostrum, and published orders, that "the two legions, enlisted the year before, should, on the tenth day from that, attend him at Arretium;" and mentioned his intention of levying two legions for the city in their stead. He likewise gave notice to the magistrates and ambassadors of such of the allies, and of the Latin confederates, as were bound to furnish soldiers, to attend him in the Capitol. Of these he wrote out a list, amounting to fifteen thousand foot and five hundred horse, proportioning the contingent of each state to the number of its young men, and ordered those present to go directly from the spot to the gate of the city; and, in order to expedite the business, to proceed to raise the men. To Fulvius and Flaminius were assigned, to each three thousand Roman foot, and a reinforcement of one hundred horse, with five thousand foot of the Latin allies, and two hundred horse; and orders were given to those praetors, to disband the old troops immediately on their arrival in their provinces. Although great numbers of the soldiers belonging to the city legions had made application to the plebeian tribunes, to take cognizance of the cases of such men as claimed exemption from the service, on account either of having served out their time, or of bad health; yet a letter from Tiberius Sempronius banished all thoughts of such proceeding; for in this it was announced that "fifteen thousand of the Ligurians had come into the lands of Placentia, and wasted them with fire and sword, to the very walls of that city and the bank of the Po; and that the Boian nation were looking out for an occasion to rebel." In consequence of this information, the senate passed a vote, that "there was a Gallic tumult subsisting, and that it would be improper for the plebeian tribunes to take cognizance of the claims of the soldiers, so as to prevent their attending, pursuant to the proclamation;" and they added an order, that the Latin confederates, who had served in the army of Publius Cornelius and Tiberius Sempronius, and had been discharged by those consuls, should re-assemble, on whatever day and in whatever place of Etruria the consul Lucius Cornelius should appoint; and that the consul Lucius Cornelius, on his way to his province, should enlist, arm, and carry with him all such persons as he should think fit, in the several towns and countries through which he was to pass, and should have authority to discharge such of them, and at such times, as he might judge proper.

57. After the consuls had finished the levies, and were gone to their provinces, Titus Quinctius demanded, that "the senate should receive an account of the regulations which he in concert with the ten ambassadors, had settled; and, if they thought proper, ratify them by their authority." He told them, that "they would accomplish this the more easily, if they were first to give audience to the ambassadors, who had come from all parts of Greece, and a great part of Asia, and to those from the two kings." These embassies were introduced to the senate by the city praetor, Caius Scribonius, and all received kind answers. As the discussion of the affair with Antiochus required too much time, it was referred to the ten ambassadors, some of whom had conferred with the king in Asia, or at Lysimachia. Directions were given to Titus Quinctius, that, in conjunction with these, he should listen to the representations of the king's ambassadors, and should give them such answer as comported with the dignity and interest of the Roman people. At the head of the embassy were Menippus and Hegesianax; the former of whom said, that "he could not conceive what intricacy there was in the business of their embassy, as they came simply to ask friendship, and conclude an alliance. Now, there were three kinds of treaties, by which kings and states formed friendships with each other: one, when terms were dictated to a people vanquished in war; for after all their possessions have been surrendered to him who has proved superior in war, he has the sole power of judging and determining what portion of them the vanquished shall hold, and of what they shall be deprived. The second, when parties, equally matched in war, conclude a treaty of peace and friendship on terms of equality; for then demands are proposed and restitution made, reciprocally, in a convention; and if, in consequence of the war, confusion has arisen with respect to any parts of their properties, the matter is adjusted on the footing either of ancient right or of the mutual convenience of the parties. The third kind was, when parties who had never been foes, met to form a friendly union by a social treaty: these neither dictate nor receive terms, for that is the case between a victor and a party vanquished. As Antiochus came under this last description, he wondered, he said, that the Romans should think it becoming to dictate terms to him; as to which of the cities of Asia they chose should be free and independent, which should be tributary, and which of them the king's troops and the king himself should be prohibited to enter. That a peace of this kind might be ratified with Philip, who was their enemy, but not a treaty of alliance with Antiochus, their friend."

58. To this Quinctius answered: "Since you choose to deal methodically, and enumerate the several modes of contracting alliances, I also will lay down two conditions, without which you may tell your king, that there are no means of contracting any friendship with the Roman people. One, that, he does not choose that we should concern ourselves in the affairs of the cities in Asia, he must himself keep entirely out of Europe. The other, that if he does not confine himself within the limits of Asia, but passes over into Europe, the Romans will think themselves at full liberty to maintain the friendships which they have already formed with the states of Asia, and also to contract new ones." On this Hegesianax exclaimed, that "this proposition was unworthy to be listened to, as its tendency was to exclude Antiochus from the cities of Thrace and the Chersonese,--places which his great-grandfather, Seleucus, had acquired with great honor, after vanquishing Lysimachus in war and killing him in battle, and had left to his successors; and part of which, after they had been seized by the Thracians, Antiochus had, with equal honor, recovered by force of arms; as well as others which had been deserted,--as Lysimachia, for instance, he had repeopled, by calling home the inhabitants;--and several, which had been destroyed by fire, and buried in ruins, he had rebuilt at a vast expense. What kind of resemblance was there, then, in the cases of Antiochus being ejected from possessions so acquired and so recovered; and of the Romans refraining from intermeddling with Asia, which had never been theirs? Antiochus wished to obtain the friendship of the Romans; but so that its acquisition would be to his honor, and not to his shame." In reply to this, Quinctius said,--"Since we are deliberating on what would be honorable, and which, indeed with a people who held the first rank among the nations of the world, and with so great a king, ought to be the sole, or at least the primary object of regard; tell me, I pray you, which do you think more honorable, to wish to give liberty to all the Grecian cities in every part of the world; or to make them slaves and vassals? Since Antiochus thinks it conducive to his glory, to reduce to slavery those cities, which his great-grandfather held by the right of arms, but which his grandfather or father never occupied as their property while the Roman people, having undertaken the patronage of the liberty of the Greeks, deem it incumbent on their faith and constancy not to abandon it. As they have delivered Greece from Philip, so they have it in contemplation to deliver, from Antiochus, all the states of Asia which are of the Grecian race. For colonies were not sent into Aeolia and Ionia to be enslaved to kings; but with design to increase the population, and to propagate that ancient race in every part of the globe."

59. When Hegesianax hesitated, and could not deny, that the cause of liberty carried a more honorable semblance than that of slavery, Publius Sulpicius, who was the eldest of the ten ambassadors, said,--"Let us cut the matter short. Choose one of the two conditions clearly propounded just now by Quinctius; or deem it superfluous to negotiate about an alliance." But Menippus replied, "We neither will, nor can, accede to any proposition by which the dominions of Antiochus would be diminished." Next day, Quinctius brought into the senate-house all the ambassadors of Greece and Asia, in order that they might learn the dispositions entertained by the Roman people, and by Antiochus, towards the Grecian states. He then acquainted them with his own demands, and those of the king; and desired them to "assure their respective states, that the same disinterested zeal and courage, which the Roman people had displayed in defense of their liberty against the encroachments of Philip, they would, likewise, exert against those of Antiochus, if he should refuse to retire out of Europe." On this, Menippus earnestly besought Quinctius and the senate, "not to be hasty in forming their determination, which, in its effects, might disturb the peace of the whole world; to take time to themselves, and allow the king time for consideration; that, when informed of the conditions proposed, he would consider them, and either obtain some relaxation in the terms, or accede to them for the sake of peace." Accordingly, the business was deferred entire; and a resolution passed, that the same ambassadors should be sent to the king who had attended him at Lysimachia,--Publius Sulpicius, Publius Villius, and Publius Aelius.

60. Scarcely had these begun their journey, when ambassadors from Carthage brought information, that Antiochus was evidently preparing for war, and that Hannibal was employed in his service; which gave reason to fear, that a Punic war might break out at the same time. Hannibal, on leaving his own country, had gone to Antiochus, as was mentioned before, and was held by the king in high estimation, not so much for his other qualifications, as because, to a person who had long been revolving schemes for a war with Rome, there could not be any fitter participator of his counsels on such a subject. His opinion was always one and the same, that the war should be carried on in Italy: because "Italy would supply a foreign enemy both with men and provisions; but, if it were left in quiet, and the Roman people were allowed to employ the strength and forces of Italy, in making war beyond the limits of that country, no king or nation would be able to cope with them." He demanded, for himself, one hundred decked ships, ten thousand foot, and one thousand horse. "With this force," he said, "he would first repair to Africa; and he had confident hopes, that he should be able to prevail on the Carthaginians to revive hostilities. If they should hesitate, he would raise a war against the Romans in some part of Italy. That the king ought to cross over into Europe with all the rest of his force, and keep his army in some part of Greece; not to pass over immediately into Italy, but to be in readiness to do so; which would sufficiently conduce to the imposing character and the reported magnitude of the war."

61. When he had brought the king to agree in his opinion, he judged it necessary to predispose the minds of his countrymen to the same; but he durst not send a letter, lest it might, by some accident, be intercepted, and his plans by that means, be discovered. He had found at Ephesus a Tyrian called Aristo, and in several less important commissions, had discovered him to possess a good degree of ingenuity. This man he now loaded with presents and promises of rewards which were confirmed by the king himself, and sent him to Carthage with messages. He told him the names of the persons whom it was necessary that he should see, and furnished him with secret tokens, by which they would know, with certainty, that the messages came from him. On this Aristo's appearing at Carthage, the reason of his coming was not discovered by Hannibal's friends sooner than by his enemies. At first, the subject was bruited about in their circles and at their tables; and at last some persons declared in the senate that "the banishment of Hannibal answered no purpose, if while resident in another country, he was still able to propagate designs for changing the administration, and disturbing the quiet of the state by his intrigues. That a Tyrian stranger, named Aristo, had come with a commission from Hannibal and king Antiochus; that certain men daily held secret conferences with him, and were concocting that in private, the consequences of which would soon break out, to the ruin of the public." This produced a general outcry, that "Aristo ought to be summoned, and examined respecting the reason of his coming; and if he did not disclose it, to be sent to Rome, with ambassadors accompanying him: that they had already suffered enough of punishment in atonement of the headstrong rashness of one individual; that the faults of private citizens should be at their own risk, and the state should be preserved free, not only from guilt, but even from the suspicion of it." Aristo, being summoned, contended for his innocence; and urged, as his strongest defense, that he had brought no letter to any person whatever: but he gave no satisfactory reason for his coming, and was chiefly embarrassed by the fact which they urged, that he had conversed solely with men of the Barcine faction. A warm debate ensued; some earnestly pressing, that he should be immediately seized as a spy, and kept in custody; while others insisted, that there were not sufficient grounds for such violent measures; that "putting strangers into confinement, without reason, was a step that afforded a bad precedent; for that the same would happen to the Carthaginians at Tyre, and other marts, where they frequently traded." The question was adjourned on that day. Aristo practiced on the Carthaginians a Carthaginian artifice; for having early in the evening hung up a written tablet, in the most frequented place of the city, over the tribunal where the magistrates daily sat, he went on board his ship at the third watch, and fled. Next day, when the suffetes had taken their seats to administer justice, the tablet was observed, taken down, and read. Its contents were, that "Aristo came not with a private commission to any person, but with a public one to the elders;" by this name they called the senate. The imputation being thus thrown on the state, less pains were taken in searching into the suspicions harbored of a few individuals: however, it was determined, that ambassadors should be sent to Rome, to represent the affair to the consuls and the senate, and, at the same time, to complain of the injuries received from Masinissa.

62. When Masinissa observed that the Carthaginians were looked on with jealousy by others, and were full of dissensions among themselves; the nobles being suspected by the senate, on account of their conferences with Aristo, and the senate by the people, in consequence of the information given by the same Aristo, he thought that, at such a conjuncture, he might successfully encroach on their rights; and accordingly he laid waste their country along the sea-coast, and compelled several cities, which were tributary to the Carthaginians, to pay their taxes to him. This tract they call Emporia; it forms the shore of the lesser Syrtis, and has a fertile soil; one of its cities is Leptis, which paid a tribute to the Carthaginians of a talent a day. At this time, Masinissa not only ravaged that whole tract, but, with respect to a considerable part of it, disputed the right of possession with the Carthaginians; and when he learned that they were sending to Rome, both to justify their conduct, and, at the same time, to make complaints of him, he likewise sent ambassadors to Rome, to load them with suspicions, and to discuss the right to the taxes. The Carthaginians were heard first, and their account of the Tyrian stranger gave the senate no small uneasiness, as they dreaded being involved in war with Antiochus and the Carthaginians at the same time. What contributed chiefly to strengthen a suspicion of evil designs, was, that though they had resolved to seize Aristo, and send him to Rome, they had not placed a guard either on himself or his ship. Then began the controversy with the king's ambassadors, on the claims of the territory in dispute. The Carthaginians supported their cause by a boundary claim, urging that "It must belong to them, as being within the limits which Scipio, after conquering the country, had fixed as the boundaries which should be under Carthaginian rule; and also, by the acknowledgment of the king, who, when he was going in pursuit of Aphir, a fugitive from his kingdom, then hovering about Cyrene, with a party of Numidians, had solicited as a favor a passage through that very district, as being confessedly a part of the Carthaginian dominions." The Numidians insisted, "that they were guilty of misrepresentation with respect to the limits fixed by Scipio; and if a person chose to recur to the real origin of their property, what title had the Carthaginians to call any land in Africa their own: foreigners and strangers, to whom had been granted precariously, for the purpose of building a city, as much ground as they could encompass with the cuttings of a bull's hide? Whatever acquisitions they had made beyond Byrsa, their original settlement, they held by fraud and violence; for, in relation to the land in question, so far were they from being able to prove uninterrupted possession, from the time when it was first acquired, that they cannot even prove that they ever possessed it for any considerable time. As occasions offered, sometimes they, sometimes the kings of Numidia, had held the dominion of it; and the possession of it had always been held by the party which had the greatest armed force. They requested the senate to suffer the matter to remain on the same footing on which it stood before the Carthaginians became enemies to the Romans, or the king of Numidia their friend and ally; and not to interfere, so as to hinder whichever party was able, from keeping possession."--The senate resolved to tell the ambassadors of both parties, that they would send persons into Africa to determine the present controversy between the people of Carthage and the king. They accordingly sent Publius Scipio Africanus, Caius Cornelius Cethegus, and Marcus Minucius Rufus; who, after viewing the ground, and hearing what could be said on both sides, left every thing in suspense, their opinions inclining neither to one side nor the other. Whether they acted in this manner from their own judgment, or because they had been so instructed, is by no means so certain as it is, that as affairs were circumstanced, it was highly expedient to leave the dispute undecided: for, had the case been otherwise, Scipio alone, either from his own knowledge of the business, or the influence which he possessed, and to which he had a just claim on both parties, could, with a nod, have ended the controversy.

BOOK XXXV.

Publius Scipio Africanus sent as ambassador to Antiochus; has a conversation with Hannibal at Ephesus. Preparations of the Romans for war with Antiochus. Nabis, the tyrant of Lacedaemon, instigated by the Aetolians, makes war on the Achaeans; is put to death by a party of the Aetolians. The Aetolians, 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 Euboea. The Achaeans declare war against Antiochus and the Aetolians.

1. In the beginning of the same year, Sextus Digitius, praetor in the Hither Spain, fought with those states which, after the departure of Marcus Cato, had, in great numbers, recommenced hostilities, numerous battles, but none deserving of particular mention; and all so unfavorable 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, had not the other praetor, 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 praetorship. Afterwards, when propraetor, 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 toil of the march. Wherefore, though at the beginning they retained some vigor of body and spirits, and, at first, threw the Romans into disorder, yet, after some time, the fight became equal. In this critical situation the propraetor made a vow to celebrate games in honor of Jupiter, in case he should defeat and cut off the enemy. The Romans then made a more vigorous push, and the Lusitanians gave way, and, in a little time, turned their backs. As the victors pursued them briskly, no less than twelve thousand of them were slain, and five hundred and forty taken prisoners, most of whom were horsemen. There were taken, besides, a 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 quaestor to be sold, and the money produced by the sale was distributed among the soldiers.

2. At the time when these occurrences happened in Spain, Caius Flaminius, the praetor, had not yet set out from Rome: therefore these events, as well prosperous as adverse, were reported by himself and his friends in the strongest representations; and he labored 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 the decree of the senate, he might select from the whole number six 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 would conduct the war." But the elder part of the senate insisted, that "decrees of the senate were not to be passed in consequence of rumors fabricated by private persons for the gratification of magistrates; and that no intelligence should be deemed authentic except it were either written by the praetors, 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 praetor 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.

3. In Italy the war, commenced by the Ligurians, grew daily more formidable. They now invested Pisae, with an army of forty thousand men; for multitudes flocked to them continually, led by the reports of the war and the expectation of booty. The consul, Minucius, came to Arretium, on the day which he had fixed for the assembling of the troops. Thence he led them, in order of battle, towards Pisae; and though the enemy had removed their camp to the other side of the river, at a 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 other side of the river, about a mile from the enemy; and by slight skirmishes 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 so well known among themselves that they could rely on one another. 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; but, 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 to their forts and towns.

4. While the operations remained at a stand at Pisae, 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 took the field; the enemy refused to fight; and the Romans, when no one would come out against them, went out in parties to plunder, while the Boians chose to let their country be laid waste with impunity rather than venture an engagement in defense of it. When all places were completely ravaged with fire and sword, the consul quitted the enemy's lands, and marched towards Mutina, in a careless manner, as through a pacific population. The Boians, when they learned that the enemy 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 as they were not able to effect this with sufficient secrecy, 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. When intelligence was brought by them of the number and situation of the enemy, he ordered the baggage to be heaped together in the center, 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 valor alone.

5. The battle began about the second hour. The left brigade of the allies, and the Extraordinaries, fought in the first line, and were commanded by two lieutenant-generals 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 the signal was given. He ordered the two Minucii, Quintus and Publius, military tribunes, to lead off the cavalry on 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 ardor 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 vigor. 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 tempest of 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 with doubtful success." 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 oh 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 prefects of the allies, and two military tribunes of the second legion, Marcus Genucius and Marcus Marcius.

6. 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 Pisae, mentioned, that "the holding of the elections had fallen to his lot, but that affairs in Liguria were in so uncertain a position, that he could not depart thence 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 his war was decided) to return to Rome for 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 again and again whether it would not be more to the advantage of the republic, 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 Quintus 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 senators, had written, "that they might thank the fortune of the Roman people, and the bravery of the soldiers, that the affair had been successful. That the conduct of the consul had been the cause of a great many men being lost, and of the enemy's army, for the annihilation of which an opportunity had been offered, having made 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 discussion was accordingly adjourned to a fuller meeting.

7. Another concern also pressed upon them, namely, that the public was heavily distressed by usurious practices; and although avarice had been restricted by many laws respecting usury, yet a fraudulent course had been adopted--that of transferring the securities to subjects of some of the allied states, who were not bound by those laws, by which means usurers overwhelmed their debtors by unlimited interest. 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 the laws relative to money lent between Roman citizens and subjects of any of the allied states, or Latin confederacy, should be the same as those between 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, directed against incursions of robbers rather than of the enemy; and yet with various success, and not without the loss of some men. More important services were performed by Marcus Fulvius. He fought a pitched battle near the town of Toletum, against the Vaccaeans, Vectonians, and Celtiberians; routed and dispersed their combined forces, and took prisoner their king, Hilermus.

8. While this passed in Spain, the day of election was drawing near. Lucius Cornelius, therefore, the 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 they would at the same time decree a supplication and a triumph. 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 he present. He had expected, therefore, that the consul, who knew that the lieutenant-general had written something to his disadvantage, would, when he himself was obliged to come, have brought him with him to Rome; especially, as the command of the army would, with more propriety, have been committed to Tiberius Sempronius, who already possessed 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 he had alleged any thing untrue, be convicted of misrepresentation, until the truth should 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." When he, however, persisted with undiminished energy in putting the question, that a thanksgiving should be ordered, and himself allowed to ride into the city in triumph; the plebeian tribunes, Marcus and Caius Titinius, declared, that they would enter their protest, if the senate passed any decree on the subject.

9. In the preceding year, Sextus Aelius Paetus and Caius Cornelius Cethegus were created censors. Cornelius now closed the lustrum. The number of citizens rated was a 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; and some buildings near the Flumentan gate were even laid in ruins. The Coelimontan 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 settled on the temple of Mars; that they had been carefully collected, and burnt. On account of these prodigies, the decemvirs were ordered to consult the books; the nine days' festival was celebrated, a supplication proclaimed, and the city purified. At the same time, Marcus Porcius Cato dedicated a chapel to Maiden Victory, near the temple of Victory, two years after he had vowed it. During this year, a Latin colony was established in the Thurian territory by commissioners appointed for the purpose, Cneius Manlius Vulso, Lucius Apustius Fullo, and Quintus Aelius 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 extent of the land. 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.

10. The year was now near a close, and with regard to the election of consuls, emulation was more fiercely kindled than 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, having performed great exploits; Lucius Quinctius Flamininus, who had commanded the fleet in Greece; and Cneius Manlius Vulso; these were the patricians. Then there were, of plebeian rank, Caius Laelius, Cneius Domitius, Caius Livius Salinator, and Manius Acilius. The eyes of all men were turned on Quinctius 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 splendor, the more obnoxious to envy. That of Quinctius was the most 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 effect of satiety, causes great characters to be less revered. He had been a second time consul after the final defeat of Hannibal, and also censor. All Quinctius's claims to the favor of the public were fresh and new; since his triumph, he had neither asked nor received anything 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." By these arguments 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 honorable testimony given by the senate, in his favour, when it adjudged him to be the best man in the state: and as such, appointed him to receive the Idaean Mother into the city, when she was brought from Pessinus. Lucius Quinctius 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 Laelius. Next day were elected praetors, Lucius Scribonius Libo, Marcus Fulvius Centumalus, Aulus Atilius Serranus, Marcus Baebius Tamphilus, Lucius Valerius Tappus, and Quintus Salonius Sarra. The aedileship of this year was highly distinguished, namely, that of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Aemilius Paulus. 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.

11. 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 preserved; 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: 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 carry assistance to their friends. The consul highly commended him, 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 galloped 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. They then set fire to the nearest village, 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.

12. But neither the Boians nor the Spaniards, with whom they had been at war during that year, were such bitter and inveterate foes to the Romans as the nation of the Aetolians. 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 create some agitation and disturbance; and, with this view, they summoned a general assembly at Naupactum. Here Thoas, their praetor, after complaining of the injurious behavior of the Romans, and the present state of Aetolia, and asserting, that "of all the nations and states of Greece, they had been most unhonored, 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 Dicaearchus, the praetor's brother, to Antiochus. To the Lacedaemonian tyrant Damocritus represented, that, "by the maritime cities being taken from him, his government was left enervated; for from them he had drawn his soldiers, as well as his ships and seamen. He was now pent up almost within the walls of his capital, while he saw the Achaeans domineering over the whole Peloponnesus. Never would he have another opportunity of recovering his rights, if he suffered the one that now offered to pass by. 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 excited 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 more possessions also had been taken from him. In addition to this, he introduced the ancient renown of the Macedonian kings, and the whole world pervaded by the victorious marches of that nation. "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 Aetolians, with what possible force could the Romans withstand him, when joined by Antiochus, and supported by the aid of the Aetolians, 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 representations of Nicander to Philip. Dicaearchus addressed other arguments to Antiochus. In the first place, he told him, that "the spoils of Philip belonged to the Romans, but the victory over him to the Aetolians; that none other than the Aetolians had afforded to the Romans 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 armament, what harbors for his naval forces. 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 Aetolians labor, in every part of the world, to stir up war against the Romans. The kings, however, either took no steps in it or took them too late.

13. Nabis immediately dispatched 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 Lacedaemonians on the coast, had been committed by Titus Quinctius to the Achaeans; 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 succors 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 Phoenicia, 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 Elaea, and thence went up to Pergamus, for the palace of Eumenes was there. Eumenes was very desirous of a war against Antiochus, for he thought that, if peace continued, a king so much superior in power would be a troublesome neighbor; 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 the Romans; 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.

14. 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, in order to sound his intentions, if possible, and to remove his apprehensions of danger threatening him from the Romans. No other business, indeed, of any kind was brought forward 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, "whom he thought the greatest captain?" and that he answered, "Alexander, king of Macedonia; because, with a small band, he defeated armies whose numbers were beyond reckoning; and because he had overrun the remotest regions, the merely visiting of which was a thing above human aspiration." 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 mankind to himself to such a degree, that the nations of Italy wished him, though a foreign prince, to hold the sovereignty among them, rather than the Roman people, who had so long possessed the dominion of that part of the world." On his proceeding to ask, "whom he esteemed the third?" Hannibal replied, "Myself, beyond doubt." On this Scipio laughed, and added, "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 all other commanders." This answer, turned with Punic dexterity, and conveying an unexpected kind of flattery, was highly grateful to Scipio, as it set him apart from the crowd of commanders, as one of incomparable eminence.

15. 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 Quinctius and the king's ambassadors. The news arriving of the death of Antiochus, the king's son, who, as just now mentioned, had been sent into Syria, broke off the conference. There was great mourning in the court, and excessive regret for this young man; for he had given such indications 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 more was his death a subject of suspicion, namely, that his father, thinking that his heir trod too closely on the heels of his own old age, had him taken off by poison, by some eunuchs, 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 honor. Nevertheless, an appearance of deep mourning was maintained in the court for several days; and the Roman ambassador, lest his presence at that inauspicious 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 color of grief, held secret consultations with a person called Minio, who was his principal favorite. 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 not only superiority from the merits of his cause, and that the demands of the Romans were highly unreasonable; but also, that he would prove the more powerful in war. As the king wished to avoid further 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 that purpose the ambassadors from Pergamus.

16. 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 praetor, 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 Aeolia. Conquered by his ancestors, they were subjected to tribute and taxes, and he only reclaims an ancient right. I would have you answer him on these heads, if you mean a fair discussion, and do not merely seek a pretense for war." Sulpicius answered, "Antiochus has acted with 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, nor 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, no one calling it 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 nothing was accomplished by us; 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?"

17. 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, and blended together the reasonable with the unreasonable, they changed the debate into a mere altercation. The ambassadors, therefore, without conceding or carrying any one point, returned to Rome just as they had come, leaving every thing in an undecided state. On their departure the king held a council, on the subject of a war with Rome, in which each spoke more violently than his predecessor; for every one thought, that the more bitterly he inveighed against the Romans, the greater share of favour he might expect to obtain. One animadverted upon 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, Lacedaemon, yet it seems to them a matter for indignation, that Smyrna and Lampsacus should yield obedience to Antiochus."--Others said, that "to so great a monarch, those cities were but a trivial ground of war, scarcely worth mention; but, that the beginning of unjust impositions was always made in the case of matters of little consequence; unless, indeed, it could be supposed, that the Persians, when they demanded earth and water from the Lacedaemonians, stood in need of a scrap of the land or a draught of the water. 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."

18. 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. And as being well skilled in the affairs of Greece, and not unacquainted with the Romans, he was admitted by the king into such a degree of intimacy, that he shared even in his secret councils. 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 Aetolians, who lived in the center 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 Lacedaemon: 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 in the case with wild beasts, confined by bars or chains,) for a long time past, he had been revolving the fiercest resentments 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."

19. Hannibal was not called to this consultation, having income suspected by the king, and not having subsequently been held in any honor, on account of his conferences with Villius, and he 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 having heard 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 are resources, 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 means of advancing their reputation otherwise than at my expense. 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 one else with whom to deliberate." This discourse not only affected the king much, but even reconciled him to Hannibal. They departed from the council with the resolution that the war should be undertaken.

20. At Rome, people in their conversations anticipated, indeed, Antiochus as an enemy, but they had hitherto prepared nothing for such a war but their expectations. 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. To the said consul, permission was given to levy two new legions, and twenty thousand foot, and nine hundred horse, among the allies and Latin 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 Latins, amounting to fifteen thousand foot and five hundred horse. Quintus Minucius was continued in command, with 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 duty of departing from Italy, whithersoever the senate should order, fell to Cneius Domitius; Gaul, and the holding the elections, to Lucius Quinctius. The praetors 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 Baebius Tamphilus, Hither Spain; and Marcus Atilius Serranus, Farther Spain. But the provinces of the two last were changed, first by a decree of the senate, which was afterwards confirmed by an order of the people. The fleet and Macedonia were assigned to Atilius; Bruttium to Baebius. Flaminius and Fulvius were continued in command in both the Hither and Farther Spain. To Baebius 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 Latin footmen, and a thousand Roman. The destination of these two praetors, 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.

21. The praetors, Fulvius and Scribonius, whose province was the administration of justice at Rome, were charged to provide a hundred quinqueremes, besides the fleet which Atilius was to command. Before the consul and praetors 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 Formiae 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 a great destruction of farm houses took place. Previous to the arrival of the consul, Lucius Quinctius, in his province Quintus Minucius fought a pitched battle with the Ligurians, in the territory of Pisae, slew nine thousand of the enemy, and putting the rest to flight, drove them within their works, which were assaulted and defended in an obstinate contest 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 found was the less, because the enemy frequently sent home the spoil taken in the country. Minucius, after this, allowed them no respite. From the territory of Pisae 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 of Etruria which the ravagers had sent home.

22. 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 Lacedaemonian tyrant, whom the Achaean ambassadors also represented as invading the sea-coast of Laconia, in breach of treaty,) Atilius, the praetor, 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 Ariminum, and Quinctius 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 siege, took Litabrum, a strong and opulent city, and made prisoner Corribilo, a powerful chieftain; and, in the other, Marcus Fulvius, the proconsul, fought two successful battles, with two armies of the enemy. He captured Vescelia and Holo, two towns belonging to the Spaniards, with many of their forts, and others spontaneously revolted 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 the Toletans, but he overthrew them in a general engagement, and having defeated the Vectonians, took Toletum by means of his works.

23. 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, which had not yet commenced. For although, through their ambassadors, they had, from time to time, made careful inquiries into every particular, yet rumors, 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 Aetolia, to send a fleet immediately into Sicily. The senate, therefore, though they had already dispatched the praetor, Atilius, with a squadron to Greece, yet, considering that not only a military force, but also the influence of reputation, would be necessary towards securing the attachment of the allies, they sent into Greece, in quality of ambassadors, Titus Quinctius, Caius Octavius, Cneius Servilius, and Publius Villius; at the same time ordering, in their decree, that Marcus Baebius 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, the praetor, 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 supreme authority. To this commission was appointed Lucius Oppius Salinator, who had been plebeian aedile the year before. They likewise determined, that the same praetor should write to his colleague, Lucius Valerius, that "there was reason to apprehend that the ships of king Antiochus would pass over from Aetolia 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, with which he might be able to defend that coast of his province which lay next to Greece." This enlistment the praetor carried on, not only from Sicily, but from the circumjacent islands; and strengthened all the towns on the coast which lay opposite to Greece with garrisons. To the rumors already current, the arrival of Attalus, the brother of Eumenes, added confirmation, for he brought intelligence that king Antiochus had crossed the Hellespont with his army, and that the Aetolians were putting themselves into such a posture, that by the time of his arrival they would be in arms. Thanks were given to Eumenes, in his absence, and to Attalus, who was present; and there were decreed to him free lodgings and every accommodation; that he should be presented with two horses, two suits of horsemen's armor, vases of silver to a hundred pounds' weight, and of gold to twenty pounds.

24. As one messenger after another brought intelligence 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 praetor, Marcus Fulvius, should instantly dispatch 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 lieutenant-generals, and return to Rome; and that, when on the road, he should send on before him an edict appointing the assemblies 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 honor 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 praetors, Lucius Aemilius Paulus, Marcus Aemilius 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 dispatched to Marcus Baebius to pass over, with all his forces, from Brundusium to Epirus, and to keep the army stationed near Apollonia; and Marcus Fulvius, city praetor, was commissioned to build fifty new quinqueremes.

25. Such were the precautions taken by the Roman people to guard against every attempt of Antiochus. At this time, Nabis did not procrastinate hostilities, but, with his utmost force, carried on the siege of Gythium; and, being incensed against the Achaeans, for having sent succors to the besieged, he ravaged their lands. The Achaeans would not venture 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 Quinctius 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 Quinctius, in which he recommended waiting for the Roman praetor and fleet, caused some hesitation. While some of the principal members persisted in their first opinion, and others argued 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 Philopoemen. He was praetor of Achaia 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 Achaeans, that their praetor, when he proposed a question concerning war, should not himself declare an opinion:" and then he desired them to "fix their determination among themselves as soon as possible;" assuring them, that "their praetor would faithfully and carefully carry their decrees into execution; and would use his best endeavors, that, as far as depended on human prudence, they should not repent either of peace or war." These words had more influence in inciting them to war, than if, by openly arguing in favour of it, he had betrayed an eager desire for the management of it. War was therefore unanimously resolved on: the time and mode of conducting it were left to the praetor without restriction. Philopoemen's own judgment, indeed, besides it being the opinion of Quinctius, pointed it out as best to wait for the Roman fleet, which might succor Gythium by sea; but fearing that the business would not endure delay, and that not only Gythium, but the party which had been sent to protect the city, would fall into the hands of the enemy, he drew out the ships of the Achaeans.

26. 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, at the same time, 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 the circumstance of his cutting off all supplies by sea. The praetor of the Achaeans, 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 ignorant even of all 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 Nicaea, the wife of Craterus, from Naupactum to Corinth. Led by the reputation of this ship, for it had formerly been reckoned a very famous vessel when in the king's fleet, he ordered it, though now quite rotten, and falling asunder through age, to be brought out from Aegium. The fleet sailed with this ship at its head, Tiso of Patrae, the commander, being on board it, when the ships of the Lacedaemonians 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 each could by means of its oars. Philopoemen himself made his escape in a light advice-boat, nor did he stop his flight until he arrived at Patrae. 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.

27. Nabis, being both elated by this adventure, and entertaining a confident hope 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 Pleiae, a place which commands both Leucae and Acriae, on the road by which the enemy's army seemed likely to advance. While his quarters were here, and 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 merely as a shelter,) Philopoemen, before he came within sight, resolved to surprise him by an attack of such a kind as he did not expect. He drew together some small ships in a remote creek, on the coast of the territory of Argos, and embarked on board them a body of light-armed 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 Pleiae, and while the sentinels were fast asleep, as being in no immediate apprehension, he 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. The enemy having been thus smitten with disaster, Philopoemen forthwith led on his forces to ravage the district of Tripolis, a part of the Lacedaemonian territory, lying next to the frontiers of the Megalopolitans, 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 Achaeans 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 Lacedaemon; for he considered that by this measure alone could the enemy be drawn off from the siege of Gythium. On entering the enemy's country, he encamped the first day at Caryae; and, on that very day, Gythium was taken. Ignorant of that event, Philopoemen advanced to the Barbosthenes, a mountain ten miles from Lacedaemon. On the other side, Nabis, after taking possession of Gythium, set out, at the head of a body of light troops, marched hastily by Lacedaemon, and seized on a place called the Camp of Pyrrhus, which post he did not doubt that the Achaeans intended to occupy. From thence he proceeded to meet the enemy. From the length of their train in consequence of the narrowness of the road, they spread over a space of almost five miles. The line was closed by the cavalry and the greatest part of the auxiliaries, because Philopoemen expected that the tyrant would attack him in the rear 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 pre-occupied; 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.

28. Philopoemen 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 he was making a journey to any place and 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 course ought he to adopt, 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 himself would 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; with what number and what kind of troops he should 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; how large a space he should enclose 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 thing 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, Philopoemen concealed, in a valley remote from the view of the enemy, as great a number of targeteers as the place was capable of hiding.

29. At break of day, the Cretan light infantry and the Tarentine horse began an engagement on the bank of the rivulet. Telemnastus, a Cretan, commanded his countrymen; Lycortas of Megalopolis, the cavalry. The enemies' 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 Philopoemen 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. The victory was no longer doubtful; 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 Philopoemen 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, in what apprehension he then was, he sent to him one of the auxiliary soldiers in the character of a deserter, to assure him positively, that the Achaeans had resolved to advance, next day, to the river Eurotas, which runs almost close to the walls, in order to intercept his way, so that the tyrant could have no retreat to the city when he required it, 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 entire credit, yet he afforded to one, 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.

30. When Philopoemen 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 afterwards, when the whole force of the Achaeans advanced 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 in advance. Immediately, the targeteers of the Achaeans assailed and plundered 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, each for himself, in different directions, into the woods which lay on each side of the road. In an instant of time, the way was stopped up with heaps of weapons, particularly spears, which, falling mostly with their points towards the pursuers, formed a kind of palisade across the road. Philopoemen ordered the auxiliaries to push forward, whenever they could, 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 sun-set, 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 a little 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 Pherae, the other towards the Barbosthenes: for he supposed, that through these the flying enemy would make their retreat. Nor was he mistaken in that opinion; for the Lacedaemonians, as long as any light remained, retreated through the center 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 in paths 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 there such numbers of them were killed and taken, that of the whole army scarcely a fourth part effected their escape. As the tyrant was now pent up within the city, Philopoemen employed the greatest part of thirty succeeding days in ravaging the lands of the Lacedaemonians; and then, after greatly reducing, and almost annihilating the strength of the tyrant, he returned home, while the Achaeans extolled him as equal in the glory of his services to the Roman general, and indeed, so far as regarded the war with Lacedaemon, even deemed him superior.

31. While the Achaeans and the tyrant were carrying on the war in this manner, the Roman ambassadors made a circuit through the cities of the allies; being anxious lest the Aetolians might seduce some of them to join the party of Antiochus. They took but little pains, in their applications to the Achaeans; 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 the Thessalians, in a full assembly, they directed their route to Demetrias, to which place a council of the Magnetians was summoned. There a more studied address required to be delivered; for a great many of the leading men were disaffected to the Romans, and entirely devoted to the interests of Antiochus and the Aetolians; because, at the time when accounts were received that Philip's son, who was a 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 also intended to restore Demetrias to him. 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 Aetolians. 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, to whom more importance attached, in all respects, than to 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 Aetolians 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 had been long acquainted." Their chief magistrate is styled Magnetarch. This office was then held by Eurylochus, who assuming confidence from this powerful 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 attempt and to hazard every thing; 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 at the nod of the Romans." Immediately after this expression there was a general murmur of dissent in the assembly; some of whom showed their approbation, others expressed indignation at his presumption, in uttering it. As to Quinctius, 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 interests of the Romans, with tears besought Quinctius, 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 Quinctius 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 frenzy they would sooner vent their fury on their own persons, than violate the friendship with Rome."

32. His entreaties were seconded by the prayers of the whole assembly; on which Eurylochus retired hastily from the council, and passing to the gate through private streets fled away into Aetolia. As to the Aetolians, they now gave plainer indications of their intention to revolt 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 from India; and, besides, that 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. And although the matter had almost come to a rupture, yet Quinctius thought it advisable, that some ambassadors of the allies should be present in that council, who might remind the Aetolians 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 their long-standing alliance with the Aetolians. Quinctius, therefore, requested of them to send ambassadors to the Panaetolic 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 best 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 Aetolians, 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 which stands by its own resources, and is not dependent on the will of another." The Athenians, who were permitted to deliver their sentiments next after the king's ambassadors, omitting all mention of Antiochus, reminded the Aetolians of their alliance with Rome, and the benefits conferred by Titus Quinctius on the whole body of Greece; and admonished them, "not inconsiderately to break off that connection by the undue precipitation of their counsels; 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 Quinctius, were within a small distance, it would be better, while all hostilities were as yet uncommenced, to discuss, in conference, any matters in dispute, than to rouse Europe and Asia to a dreadful war."

33. 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, Quinctius thought it desirable to go into Aetolia; 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 Aetolians, and that the Romans would be warranted in taking arms by justice, and, in a manner, by necessity." On arriving there, Quinctius, in his discourse to the council, began with the first formation of the alliance between the Romans and the Aetolians, and enumerated how many times the faith of the treaty had been violated by them. 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 Aetolians acted as marshals of the field; not without great disturbance to the affairs of the world, and to the utter ruin of Greece." 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, a decree was passed that Antiochus should be invited to vindicate the liberty of Greece, and decide the dispute between the Aetolians and the Romans. To the insolence of this decree, their praetor, Damocritus, added a personal affront: for on Quinctius 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 dispatch; 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 Aetolians and their magistrates.

34. Quinctius and the ambassadors returned to Corinth. The Aetolians, that they might appear to intend taking every step through Antiochus, and none directly of themselves, and, sitting inactive, to be waiting for the arrival of the king, though they did not, after the departure of the Romans, hold a council of the whole nation, yet endeavored, by their Apocleti, (a more confidential council, composed of persons selected from the rest,) to devise schemes for setting Greece in commotion. It was well known to them all, 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 not content with their position, wished for a general revolution. The Aetolians, at one day's sitting, formed a scheme, the very conception of which argued not only boldness, but impudence,--that of making themselves masters of Demetrias, Chalcis, and Lacedaemon. One of their principal men was sent to each of these places; Thoas to Chalcis, Alexamenus to Lacedaemon, Diodes to Demetrias. This last was assisted by the exile Eurylochus, whose flight, and the cause of it, have been mentioned above, because there was no other prospect of his restoration 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-minded 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 Aetolians 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 Aetolians.

35. At Lacedaemon, the city was not to be attempted by force, but the tyrant to be entrapped 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 Achaeans, they supposed that whoever took the first opportunity of killing him would engross the whole thanks of the Lacedaemonians. The pretense 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 praetor, in the select council of the nation, mentioned above, "not to suppose that they were sent to a war with the Achaeans; or even on other business, which any one might ascertain to himself 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, immediately on approaching him, filled him with 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 Aetolians were prepared to come to Lacedaemon 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 dwelling 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 labor 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 center. 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 Aetolians; 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, offering such advice as seemed most suitable; then to join his own troops in the right wing; and presently after, as if having given the orders which the occasion might require, 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, that deed is now to be dared and done which you were ordered to execute valiantly under my guidance. 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 prefer any scheme of his own to mine, let him rest assured that there is no return to his home for him." Horror seized them all, and they well remembered the charge which they had received at setting out. The tyrant 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 mean time he himself recollected his spirits, which had been discomposed by the meditation 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. 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 center, he expired.

36. Alexamenus, with all the Aetolians, hastened away, to seize on the palace. Nabis's life-guards were at first struck with horror, the act being perpetrated before their eyes; then, when they observed the Aetolian troops leaving the place, they gathered round the tyrant's body, where it was left, forming, instead of guardians of his life or avengers of his death, a mere group of spectators. Nor would any one have stirred, if Alexamenus had immediately called the people to an assembly, and, with his arms laid aside, there made a speech suitable to the occasion, and afterwards kept a good number of Aetolians in arms, without violence being offered to any one. 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 those who had committed it. The commander, shut up in the palace, wasted a day and a night in searching out the tyrant's treasures; and the Aetolians, as if they had stormed the city, of which they wished to be thought the deliverers, betook themselves to plunder. The insolence of their behavior, and at the same time contempt of their numbers, gave the Lacedaemonians courage to assemble in a body, when some said, that they ought to drive out the Aetolians, 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, as the director of their efforts. 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 Aetolians 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 Aetolians, who had collected together round the Chalciaecon, 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. Philopoemen, as soon as he heard of the murder of the tyrant, went to Lacedaemon, 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,) and united the Lacedaemonians to the confederacy of the Achaeans. To this they were the more easily persuaded, because, at that very juncture, Aulus Atilius happened to arrive at Gythium with twenty-four quinqueremes.

37. Meanwhile, Thoas, in his attempt on Chalcis, had by no means the same good fortune as Eurylochus had in getting possession of Demetrias; although, (by the intervention of Euthymidas, a man of considerable consequence, who, after the arrival of Titus Quinctius 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 as many as 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 Aulus and the Euripus, he might pass over from thence to Chalcis; to which place Thoas himself led the rest of his forces, marching mostly by night, and with all possible expedition.

38. Mictio and Xenoclides, who were now, since the banishment of Euthymidas, in possession of the supreme power, 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 applied their minds to the following plan. It happened that, at that very time, there was a solemn anniversary festival, celebrated at Eretria, in honor 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 Aetolians; that if they should possess Chalcis they would obtain possession of all Euboea: and to remind them, that they had found the Macedonians grievous masters, but that the Aetolians would be much more intolerable." The consideration of the Romans chiefly influenced those states, as they had lately experienced both their bravery in war, and their justice and liberality in success. Both states, therefore, armed, and sent the main strength of their young men. To these the people of Chalcis entrusted the defense of the walls, and they themselves, with their whole force, crossed the Euripus, and encamped at Salganea. From that place they dispatched, first a herald, and afterwards ambassadors, to ask the Aetolians, for what word or act of theirs, friends and allies came thus to invade them. Thoas, commander of the Aetolians, 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 to any one, nor in need of the protection of any." The ambassadors then withdrew from the meeting, and returned to their countrymen. Thoas and the Aetolians (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 Aetolians 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 from whence he had come.

39. Quinctius, having been 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, for the purpose of a garrison, and should go himself to Athens. Quinctius 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 favored his views might have some support at hand, he wrote to Eunomus, praetor of the Thessalians, to arm the youth; sending Villius forward to Demetrias, to sound the inclinations of the people: but not with a view 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 harbor, 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 harbor, 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 Quinctius. Villius, therefore, unable to effect any part of his business, went back to Quinctius, who dispatched orders to the Thessalian praetor, to lead his troops home, while himself returned with his ships to Corinth.

40. The affairs of Greece, blended with those of Rome, have carried me away, as it were, out of my course: not that they were in themselves deserving of a recital, but because they constituted the causes of the war with Antiochus. After the consular election, for thence I digressed, the consuls, Lucius Quinctius and Cneius Domitius, repaired to their provinces; Quinctius to Liguria, Domitius against the Boians. The Boians 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 Naevius, 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 causes of alarm happened at Rome, one of which continued long, but was less active than the other. An earthquake lasted through thirty-eight days; during all which time there was a total cessation of business, amidst 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 actual 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.

41. The year was now almost at an end, while the rumors 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 be all the more intent on duty. 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 Latin confederates, six thousand foot and four hundred horse. The consul, Lucius Quinctius, was ordered to levy these troops, that no delay might be occasioned, but that the new consul might be able to proceed immediately to any place which the senate should appoint. Concerning the provinces of the praetors, 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 Quinctius, to levy two new legions of Roman citizens, and of the allies and Latins twenty thousand foot and eight hundred horse. This army they assigned to the praetor 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 praetor 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, as private persons, by the curule aediles, 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 aediles built a portico on the outside of the Triple Gate, in the Carpenters' Square.

42. While the Romans were busily employed in preparing for a new war, Antiochus, on his part, was not idle. Three cities detained him some time, 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 behind (as enemies). A deliberation also respecting Hannibal occasioned him further delay. First, the open ships, which the king was to have sent with him to Africa, were slowly prepared, and afterwards a consultation was set on foot whether he ought to be sent at all, chiefly by Thoas the Aetolian; 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 was inviting him with their prayers, and that there would be a general rush to the shore, from which the people could catch a view of the royal fleet." He even had the audacity to attempt altering the king's judgment respecting Hannibal when it was nearly settled. For he alleged, that "the fleet 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, by which, as by a dowry, he was recommended to notice, it was too splendid for an officer acting under a king. 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 honor would be ascribed to Hannibal, and not to Antiochus. 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 scarcely bear subjection to his own country? That he had not so conducted himself from early youth, having embraced the empire of the globe in his hopes and aspirations, that in his old age he would be likely 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, they, probably, would be the destruction both of the giver and the receiver."

43. There are no dispositions more prone to envy than those of persons whose mental qualifications are inferior to their birth and rank in life; because they are indignant both at the merit and the possessions of another. 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 Aetolians, resolved to delay no longer his departure into Greece. 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, toe 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 harbor 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 alone, much less to sustain a war with Rome. The Aetolians, 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 Phalara 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 extravagant joy of the vulgar is testified.

44. When he came into the council he was introduced by Phaeneas, the praetor, 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 Aetolians 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 fulfill 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 labor, nor danger, until he should remove the Roman yoke from their necks, and render Greece really free, and the Aetolians the first among its states. That, together with the armies, stores of all kinds were to come from Asia. For the present the Aetolians ought to take care that his men might be properly supplied with corn, and other accommodations, at reasonable rates."

45. Having addressed them to this purport, and with universal approbation, the king withdrew. After his departure a warm debate ensued between two of the Aetolian chiefs, Phaeneas and Thoas. Phaeneas 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, voluntarily remit pretensions, which force and arms would never compel them to forego." Thoas, on the other hand, insisted, that "Phaeneas's motive was not a love of peace, but a wish to embarrass their preparations for war, with the view that, through the tediousness of the proceedings, the king's vigor 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 Quinctius 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 Aetolians, 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 distinguished men with whom he might deliberate on any business which he might think proper.--The council was then broken up, and all went home to their respective states.

46. Next day the king held a consultation with their select council, respecting the place from whence his operations should commence. They judged it best to make the first trial on Chalcis, which had lately been attempted in vain by the Aetolians; 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 Aetolian chiefs, going by another road, met at Cheronaea 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 Aetolian chiefs, crossed the Euripus in the ships. When he had advanced a little way from the harbor, the magistrates and other chief men of Chalcis came out before their gate. A small number from each side met to confer together. The Aetolians 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 that he had crossed into Europe not for the purpose of making war, but of vindicating the liberty of Greece; and of vindicating it in reality, not in words and pretense merely, as the Romans had done. Nothing could be more advantageous to the states of Greece than to embrace the alliance of both, as they would then be always secure against ill-treatment from either, under the guarantee and protection of the other. If they refuse to receive the king, they ought to consider what they would have immediately to suffer; 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 contained 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 Aetolians 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."

47. 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 come to them with a sufficient number of men to attempt any thing by force. At Demetrias he held another consultation with the Aetolians, 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 Botians, Achaeans, and Amynander, king of the Athamanians. The Boeotianan nation they believed to have been disaffected to the Romans, ever since the death of Brachyllas, and the consequences which followed it. Philopoemen, chief of the Achaeans, they supposed to hate, and be hated by, Quinctius, in consequence of a rivalship for fame in the war of Laconia. Amynander had married Apama, 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 Apama to his daughter; and when she was raised to distinction, by her marriage to the king, Philip, the elder of her brothers had followed her into Athamania. This man, who happened to be naturally vain, then Aetolians and Antiochus persuaded to hope (as he was really of the royal family) for the sovereignty 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.

48. In Achaia, the ambassadors of Antiochus and the Aetolians were admitted to an audience of the council at Aegium, in the presence of Titus Quinctius. The ambassador of Antiochus was heard prior to the Aetolians. He, with all that pomp and parade which is common among those who are maintained by the wealth 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 retreat. 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, Elymaeans, and Cadusians. "As to the naval forces, no harbors 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 from the remotest bounds of the East to give freedom to Greece, he did not demand any thing from the Achaeans, 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 Aetolians, 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 decision of the fortunes of others, without any hazard to their own interests. He afterwards was betrayed, by the intemperance of language, into invectives, sometimes against the Romans in general, sometimes against Quinctius himself in particular; charging them with ingratitude, and upbraiding them, as being indebted to the valor of the Aetolians, not only for the victory over Philip, but even for their preservation; for, "by their exertions, both Quinctius 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 defense, exposing his person to the weapons of the enemy."

49. To this Quinctius replied, that "Archidamus had calculated his discourse for the numerous auditors, rather than for the persons to whom it was particularly addressed. For the Achaeans very well knew, that the bold spirit of the Aetolians 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 Achaeans, 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 united Antiochus and the Aetolians, 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 valor, and the rest of what you have just heard; and that you, and the other states and nations, would follow their party. The king, on the other side, boasting of clouds of horsemen and footmen, and covering the seas with his fleets. The king," he added, "was 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. Having been kindly entertained by him at midsummer, when we wondered 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, which were so ostentatiously displayed a while ago; that those various kinds of armor, and multitudinous names of nations, never heard of before, Dahans, and Medes, and Caducians, and Elymaeans, are nothing more than Syrians, a race possessed of such grovelling souls, as to be much fitter for slaves than for soldiers. I wish, Achaeans, that I could exhibit to your view the rapid excursions of this mighty monarch from Demetrias; first, to Lamia, to the council of the Aetolians; then to Chalcis. You should behold, 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 Aetolians, 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 Aetolia, without having effected any thing, except indeed the taking a peep at Aulis and the Euripus. Both Antiochus had done wrong in trusting to the Aetolians, and the Aetolians in trusting to the king's vain boastings. For which reason, you ought the less to be deceived by them, and rather to confide in the tried and approved fidelity of the Romans. For, with respect to your not interfering in the war, which they recommend as your best course, nothing, in fact, can be more contrary to your interest: for then, without gaining thanks or esteem, you will become the prize of the conqueror."

50. He was thought to have replied to both by no means unsuitably; 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 Achaeans would regard, 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 Aetolians. They also, by the direction of Quinctius, sent immediate succors of five hundred men to Chalcis, and five hundred to the Piraeus; for affairs at Athens were in a state not far from a civil war, in consequence of the endeavors, used by some, to seduce the venal populace, by hopes of largesses, to take part with Antiochus. But at length Quinctius 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 Achaeans also, the embassy returned to the king with a discouraging answer. The Boeotians made no definitive reply; they only said, that "when Antiochus should come into Boeotia, they would then deliberate on the measures proper to be pursued." When Antiochus heard, that both the Achaeans 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 Aetolians, as many as could be collected in haste, out of those who were at Lamia. The five hundred Achaeans, 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 Hermaeus, the place of passage from Boeotia to the island of Euboea. They had with them Mictio, who had been sent from Chalcis to Quinctius, deputed to solicit that very 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 Euboea.

51. Delium is a temple of Apollo, standing over the sea five miles distant from Tanagra; and the passage thence, to the nearest part of Euboea, 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 Quinctius and the Romans, on account of the loss of their men, yet it seemed to add much 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 Aetolians, 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 easily gained his object, that the gates should be opened to him. Those who adhered to the Roman interest, on the approach of the king, withdrew from the city. The soldiers of the Achaeans, 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 Achaeans and Eumenes' soldiers first surrendered, on the terms of being allowed to retire in safety. The Romans defended the Euripus with more obstinacy. But even these, when they were completely invested both by land and sea, and saw the machines and engines prepared for an assault, sustained the siege no longer. The king, having thus got possession of the capital of Euboea, the other cities of the island did not even refuse to obey his authority; 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 conveniently situated.

BOOK XXXVI.

Manius Acilius Glabrio, the consul, aided by king Philip, defeats Antiochus at Thermopylae, and drives him out of Greece; reduces the Aetolians 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.

1. Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of Cneius, and Manius Acilius Glabrio, the 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 favorable, and the propitious omens were found in the first victims. Accordingly, the auspices 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 superstitious fears, 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 Quinctius for that province, pursuant to a decree of the senate, take under his command that army, which, in the preceding year, Marcus Baebius, praetor, had, by order of the senate, carried over to Macedonia. Permission was also granted him, to receive succors from the allies, out of Italy, if circumstances should so require, provided their number did not exceed five thousand. It was resolved, that Lucius Quinctius, consul of the former year, should be commissioned as a 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.

2. 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, at that time, 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, the 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 honor 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 lot, the praetors, likewise, immediately cast lots for theirs. The two civil jurisdictions fell to Marcus Junius Brutus; Bruttium, to Aulus Cornelius Mammula; Sicily, to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus; Sardinia, to Lucius Oppius Salinator; the fleet, to Caius Livius Salinator; and Farther Spain, to Lucius Aemilius Paullus. The troops for these were settled thus:--to Aulus Cornelius were assigned the new soldiers, raised last year by Lucius Quinctius, the consul, pursuant to the senate's decree; and he was ordered to defend the whole coast near Tarentum and Brundusium. Lucius Aemilius 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, propraetor,) three thousand new-raised foot and three hundred horse, of whom two-thirds should be Latin allies, and the other third Roman citizens. An equal reinforcement was sent to Hither Spain to Caius Flaminius, who was continued in command. Marcus Aemilius 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 propraetor, 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, and the sea-coasts whereof Lucius Valerius was to protect with a fleet of twenty ships of war. The same praetor 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 it was resolved that it should be transported, not into Greece, but to Rome. Caius Livius, the praetor, whose lot was the command of the fleet, was ordered to sail, at the earliest time possible, to Greece with thirty ships, which were ready, and to receive the other fleet from Atilius. The praetor, Marcus Junius, was commissioned to refit and arm the old ships which were in the dock-yards; and, for this fleet, to enlist the sons of freemen as crews.

3. 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 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 five senators should not be absent from the city at the same time." A dispute which arose with the maritime colonies, for some time retarded Caius Livius, the praetor, when actively engaged in fitting out the fleet. For, when they were impressed for 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 with the praetor on the subject of exemption were, Ostia, Fregenae, Castrumnovum, Pyrgi, Antium, Tarracina, Minturnae, 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 garrison town; whether they directed a separate declaration against the Aetolians, 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 Aetolians 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 Quinctius, 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. [May 15th]" He himself, on the fifth before the nones of May, [May 3rd] set out from the city in his military robe of command. At the same time the praetors, likewise, departed for their respective provinces.

4. 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 Aetolia. 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 should lend 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.

5. While these things were occurring at Rome, Antiochus, during the winter season at Chalcis, endeavored 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 Achaeans; for they supposed, that, since the war had been declared against Antiochus contrary to their judgment, the Achaeans 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 eagerly 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 defenseless, 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 were not implicated with relation to the Roman armies, 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 would have hopes of being pardoned by the Romans, for having yielded to the strength of a prince who was present among them, without waiting for succor from them, who were so far distant. To this so evasive embassy, as he did not readily think of a proper answer, he replied, that he would send ambassadors to them to confer upon such matters as were of common concernment both to him and them.

6. Antiochus went himself into Boeotia, holding out ostensibly those causes of resentment against the Romans which I have already mentioned,--the death of Brachyllas, and the attack made by Quinctius 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 generations, 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 Boeotians, 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 Achaeans; 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 dispatched letters, summoning the chief Aetolians to meet him at Demetrias, that he might deliberate with them on the general plan of operations, he came thither with his ships on the day appointed for the council. Amynander, likewise, was called from Athamania to the consultation; and Hannibal the Carthaginian, who, for a long time before, had not been asked to attend, was present at this assembly. The subject of their deliberation was in reference to the Thessalian nation; and every one present was of opinion, that their concurrence ought to be sought. 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 only; others, that the king should go at the head of all his forces, and if they hesitated, terrify them into compliance.

7. 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 Euboea, the Achaeans, and Boeotians, 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 brought into a participation in this war. For, as to Euboea, as well as the Boeotians and Thessalians, who can doubt 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 turn away 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 offense,) how could I harbor a doubt about the issue; when I should see the very persons through whom the Romans prevailed against Philip, now ready to act against them? The Aetolians, who, as all agree, conquered Philip, will fight in conjunction with Philip against the Romans. Amynander and the Athamanian nation, who, next to the Aetolians, performed the greatest services in that war, will stand on our side. Philip, 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 fortune 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 a union with us? First, common utility, which is the strongest cement of union; and next, you, Aetolians, are yourselves my informants. For Thoas, your ambassador, among the other arguments which he used to urge, for the purpose of drawing Antiochus into Greece, always above all things insisted upon this,--that Philip expressed extreme indignation that the conditions of servitude had been imposed on him 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, to the protection, in the first place, of his own dominions. Such is my opinion 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 Euboea 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 is to them the greatest cause of alarm, 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 storeships with provisions follow the fleet; for, as we are here too few for the exigencies 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 that part of the coast of Italy which is opposite Sardinia and Africa; while you yourselves, with all the land forces, will proceed to the territory of Bullium. 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 skillful in every kind of warfare, yet surely I must 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 promise you my most faithful and zealous endeavors. Whatever plan you shall consider the best, may the gods grant it their approbation."

8. Such, nearly, was the counsel given by Hannibal, which the hearers rather commended at the time, than actually executed. For not one article of it was carried into effect, 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 Aetolians and Amynander appointed a day for the assembling of their troops at Pherae, and the king with his forces came thither immediately. While he waited there for Amynander and the Aetolians, he sent Philip, the Megalopolitan, with two thousand men, to collect the bones of the Macedonians round Cynoscephalae, where the final battle had been fought 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 message to the propraetor, Marcus Baebius, that "Antiochus had made an eruption into Thessaly; that, if he thought proper, he should move out of his winter quarters, and that he himself would advance to meet him, that they might consider together what was proper to be done."

9. While Antiochus lay encamped near Pherae, where the Aetolians 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 that if there seemed to him any necessity for it he would discuss it with them by commissioners. In the mean time, they sent five hundred soldiers, under the command of Hippolochus, to Pherae, as a reinforcement; 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 Pherae; who, without giving him any answer, sent to the king, in the capacity 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 strait of the Euripus, as the cases were similar, and urged some with a greater degree of boldness; on which the king desired that they would consider seriously before they adopted a resolution, which, while they were overcautious and provident of futurity, would give them immediate cause of repentance, and then dismissed him. When the Pheraeans 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 defense of their city; 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. Having soon been so reanimated by the rebukes of their leaders, as to resolve on persevering in their resistance, and having abandoned the exterior circle of the wall, as their numbers now began to fail, they withdrew to the interior part of the city, round which had been raised a fortification of less extent. At last, being overcome by distress, 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, observing the recent example of those in Pherae; who, at length compelled by sufferings, had done that which at first they had obstinately refused. Together with the town, Hippolochus and the Larissan garrison were yielded to him, all of whom were dismissed uninjured by the king; who hoped that such behavior would operate powerfully towards conciliating the esteem of the Larissans.

10. Having accomplished all this within the space of ten days after his arrival at Pherae, he marched with his whole force to Cranon, which he took immediately on his arrival. He then took Cypaera and Metropolis, and the forts which lay around them; 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 thought 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 not continue longer in 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, on which the minds of a great number of the Larissans 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 Pellinaeus; while Menippus, with three thousand Aetolian foot and two hundred horse, marched into Perrhaebia, where he took Mallaea and Cyretiae by assault, and ravaged the lands of Tripolis. After executing these enterprises with despatch, they returned to the king at Larissa 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 Pherae; 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 was 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 their city. In the mean time Marcus Baebius had a meeting with Philip in Dassaretia; and, in conformity to their joint opinion, sent Appius Claudius to reinforce 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 laying out his camp more widely than 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 Aetolians 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 contingencies. Thus the Larissans enjoyed a twofold happiness, both because the enemy had departed from their country, and because they saw a Roman garrison within their city.

11. Antiochus went from Demetrias to Chalcis, where he became captivated with a young woman, daughter of Cleoptolemus. When he had plied her father, who was unwilling to connect himself with a condition in life involving such serious consequences, first by messages, and afterwards by personal importunities, and had at length gained his consent; 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 at once 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 the pleasures connected with wine; and then in sleep, produced rather by fatigue than by satiety with these things. The same spirit of dissipation seized all his officers who commanded in the several winter quarters, particularly those stationed in Boeotia, and even the common men abandoned themselves to the same indulgences; not one of whom ever put on his armor, or kept watch or guard, or did any part of the duty or business of a soldier. When, therefore, in the beginning of spring, the king came through Phocis to Chaeronea, where he had appointed the general assembly of all the troops, he perceived at once that the soldiers had spent the winter under discipline no more rigid than that of their commander. He ordered Alexander, an Acarnanian and Menippus, a Macedonian, to lead his forces thence to Stratum, in Aetolia; and he himself, after offering sacrifice to Apollo at Delphi, proceeded to Naupactum. After holding a council of the chiefs of Aetolia, he went by the road which leads by Chalcis and Lysimachia to Stratum, to meet his army, which was coming along the Malian bay. Here Mnasilochus, a man of distinction among the Acarnanians, being bribed by many presents, not only labored himself to dispose that nation in favour of the king, but had brought to a concurrence in the design their praetor, Clytus, who was at that time invested with the highest authority. This latter, finding that the people of Leucas, the capital of Acarnania, could not be easily seduced to defection, because they were afraid of the Roman fleets, one under Atilius, and another at Cephallenia, practiced 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 Aetolians; on which there were some who said, that there were no necessity for all the people to be called out 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.

12. At this time, ambassadors from the king came to Medio, whose proposal being heard, the assembly began to consider what answer should be returned to the king; 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 should 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. Mnasilochus, and some others of his faction, were studiously included in this embassy; who, sending private messengers to desire the king to bring up his army, wasted time on purpose; so that the ambassadors 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 Mnasilochus. 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 in the hope of experiencing his clemency, which was reported abroad, several of the states of Acarnania went over to his side. From Medio he went to Thurium, whither he had sent on before him the same Mnasilochus, and his colleagues in the embassy. But the detection of the treachery practised at Medio rendered the Thurians more cautious, but 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 Quinctius, 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 hope; assuring them, that the consul Manius Acilius had already crossed the sea with his legions, and that the Roman camp was in Thessaly. As the season of the year, which was by this time favorable for sailing, strengthened the credibility of this report, the king, after placing a garrison in Medio and borne other towns of Acarnania, retired from Thurium and returned through the cities of Aetolia and Phocis to Chalcis.

13. About the same time, Marcus Baebius 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 Mallaea, in the territory of Perrhaebia, and Baebius, to Phacium. This town of Phacium he took almost at the first attempt, and then reduced Phaestus with the same rapidity. After this, he retired to Atrax; and from thence having seized on Cyretiae and Eritium, and placed garrisons in the places which he had reduced, he again joined Philip, who was carrying on the siege of Mallaea. 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 Aeginium, Ericinum, Gomphi, Silana, Tricca, Meliboea, and Phaloria. Then they invested Pellinaeum, where Philip of Megalopolis was in garrison, with five hundred foot and forty horse; but before they made an assault, they sent messengers 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. When it appeared that recourse must be had to force, and that Limnaea might be attacked at the same time; it was agreed, that the king should go against Limnaea, while Baebius staid to carry on the siege of Pellinaeum.

14. 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 Limnaea, to Philip. Immediately on the consul's arrival a surrender was made without hesitation, and the king's garrison, together with the Athamanians, were delivered up. From Limnaea the consul went to Pellinaeum. 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, addressed him as Brother. Having been brought before the consul he was ordered to be kept in confinement, and soon after was sent 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 order that through them he might conciliate 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. These also, making mention of the king's clemency and generosity towards them, exerted a powerful influence on the minds of their fellow-countrymen; 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 vigor of his army by a moderate share of rest, he marched to Cranon. On his way, Pharsalus, Scotussa, and Pherae 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 began to march forwards toward the Malian bay. When he drew near to the pass on which Thaumaci is situated, all the young men of that place, having taken arms and quitted the town, placed themselves in ambush in the woods and roads, and thence, from the higher grounds, made attacks on the Roman troops as they marched. The consul first sent people to talk with them from a short distance, and deter them 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 defenseless city. The shouting on the capture of the city having been heard from behind, a great slaughter was made of those who had been in ambuscade, and who fled homewards from all parts of the woods. From Thaumaci the consul came, on the second day, to the river Spercheus; and, sending out parties, laid waste the country of the Hypataeans.

15. During these transactions, Antiochus was at Chalcis; and now, perceiving that he had gained nothing from Greece agreeable, except winter quarters and a disgraceful marriage at Chalcis, he warmly blamed Thoas, and the fallacious promises of the Aetolians; while he admired Hannibal, not only as a prudent man, but as the predicter of all those events which were then transpiring. However, that he might not still further defeat his inconsiderate enterprise by his own inactivity, he sent requisitions to the Aetolians, to arm all their young men, and assemble in a body at Lamia. He himself also immediately led thither 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 that they had not prevailed either by argument, persuasion, or authority, against those who declined the service. Being disappointed thus on all sides, both by his own people, who delayed in Asia, and by his allies, who did not fulfill those engagements by which they had prevailed on him to comply with their invitation, the king retired beyond the pass of Thermopylae. A range of mountains here divides Greece in the same manner as Italy is divided by the ridge of the Apennines. Outside the strait of Thermopylae, towards the north, lie Epirus, Perrhaebia, Magnesia, Thessaly, the Achaean Phthiotis, and the Malian bay; on the inside, towards the south, the greater part of Aetolia, Acarnania, Phocis, Locris, Boeotia, and the adjacent island of Euboea, 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 Aetolia 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 Oeta, 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 if it should not be opposed. The place is therefore called Pylae, the gate; and by some, on account of a warm spring, rising just at the entrance of it, Thermopylae. It is rendered famous by the memorable battle of the Lacedaemonians against the Persians, and by their still more glorious death.

16. With a very inferior portion of spirit, Antiochus now pitched his camp within the enclosures 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 Aetolians, 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, that all the districts round Hypata were being laid waste. The consul, after ravaging the lands of Hypata first, and then those of Heraclea, in both which places the Aetolian detachments proved useless, encamped opposite to the king, in the very entrance of the pass, near the warm springs; both parties of the Aetolians 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 Lacedaemonians formerly had been surrounded in that manner by the Persians, and Philip, lately, by the Romans themselves. He therefore dispatched a messenger to the Aetolians 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 that the Romans might not be able to pass them at any part. When this message was received, a dissension arose among the Aetolians: some insisted that they ought to obey the king's orders, and go; others, that they ought to lie still at Heraclea, and wait the issue, whatever it might be; for if the king should be defeated by the consul, their forces would be fresh, and in readiness to carry succor to their own states in the neighborhood; 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.

17. When the consul saw that the heights were possessed by the Aetolians, he sent against those posts two men of consular rank, who acted as lieutenant-generals, 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, and thus briefly addressed them: "Soldiers, I see that the greater part of you who were present, of all ranks, are men who served in this same province, under the conduct and auspices of Titus Quinctius. Now, 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 impassable. In the former case, there were stronger fortifications, and placed in more advantageous situations. The enemy's army was both more numerous, and composed of very superior men; for they were Macedonians, Thracians, and Illyrians,--all nations of the fiercest spirit; your present opponents are Syrians, and Asiatic Greeks, the most unsteady of men, and born for slavery. The commander, there, was a king of extraordinary warlike abilities, improved by practice from his early youth, in wars against his neighbors, the Thracians and Illyrians, and all the adjoining nations. But this man 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, for passion's sake, out of a private house, and a family obscure even among its neighbors; and now as a newly married man, surfeited as it were with nuptial feasts, comes out to fight. His chief reliance and strength was in the Aetolians,--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 numbers, nor could they be kept in the camp; and, besides, they are now in a state of dissension among themselves. Although they requested permission to defend 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 Lacedaemonians did formerly, but drawing back his camp completely within it. What difference is there, as a demonstration of fear, between this and his shutting himself up within the walls of a city to stand a siege? But neither shall the straits protect Antiochus, nor the hills which they have seized, the Aetolians. Sufficient care and precaution have 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 Aetolians, which you formerly delivered from Philip; and that the wealth in the king's camp will not be the whole prize of your labor; 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 in its embrace 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, prepare a spirit adequate to the occasion, that, to-morrow, with the aid of the gods, we may decide the matter in the field."

18. After this discourse he dismissed the soldiers, who, before they went to their repast, got ready their armor 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. 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 it afforded to its defenders a higher situation, they at the same time, by the length of their spears, had the enemy within reach underneath. Many, 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 Aetolians, 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.

19. Flaccus had not met the same good fortune at Tichiuns and Rhoduntia; having failed in his attempts to approach those fastnesses. 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 Aetolians, 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. Both the fortifications retarded the pursuers, and the narrowness of the valley through which the troops had to pass; and, above all, the circumstance that the elephants were on the rear of the enemy. These the infantry could with difficulty pass, and the cavalry could by no means do so, their horses being so frightened, that they threw one another into greater confusion than when in 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 Scarphea, killing and taking on the way great numbers both of men and horses, and also killing such of the elephants as they could not capture; and then they returned to their camp. This had been attacked, during the time of the action, by the Aetolians who were occupying Heraclea as a garrison, 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, as he did not halt in his precipitate flight until he came to Elatia. There having collected the survivors of the battle and the retreat, he, with a very small body of half-armed men, betook himself 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 if we are to believe Valerius Antias, who records 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 a hundred and fifty; and of the party that defended themselves against the assault of the Aetolians, not more than fifty.

20. As the consul was leading his army through Phocis and Boeotia, the revolted states, conscious of their defection, and dreading lest they should be exposed as enemies 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 their indignation, and permission was given to the soldiers to plunder the lands adjacent to the edifice. But the reflection quickly occurred, that, as the statue had been erected by a general vote of all the Boeotian states, it was unreasonable to resent it on the single district of Coronea. The soldiers were therefore immediately recalled, and the depredations stopped. The Boeotians were only reprimanded for their ungrateful behavior to the Romans in return for such great obligations, so recently conferred. At the very time of the battle, 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 Cenaeus in Euboea. 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 Cenaeus 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 strait at the island of Andros: some of the ships he sunk, and took many others. Those who were in the rear turned their course to Asia. Atilius, with the captured vessels in his train, sailed back to Piraeus, from whence he had set out, and distributed a vast quantity of corn among the Athenians and the other allies in that quarter.

21. Antiochus, quitting Chalcis before the arrival of the consul, sailed first 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 Euboea also submitted without opposition; and peace being restored all over the island within the space of a few days, without inflicting punishment on any city, the army, which had acquired much higher praise for moderation after victory, than even for the victory itself, was led back to Thermopylae. From this place, the consul dispatched Marcus Cato to Rome, that through him the senate and people might learn what had been achieved 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 Patrae, in Achaia. From Patrae, he coasted along the shores of Aetolia 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 praetor, who, at the first dawn, assembled the senate. Here, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, who had been dispatched 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 lieutenant-generals 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 Aetolia. Hereupon a supplication of three days' continuance was decreed, and that the praetor 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 praetor, entered the city in ovation. He carried in the procession a hundred and thirty thousand silver denarii, and besides the coin, twelve thousand pounds' weight of silver, and a hundred and twenty-seven pounds' weight of gold.

22. The consul Manius Acilius sent on, from Thermopylae, a message to the Aetolians in Heraclea, admonishing them, "then at least, after the experience which they had of the emptiness of the king's professions, to return to their senses; and, by surrendering Heraclea, to endeavor to procure from the senate a pardon for their past madness, or error: 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, in reliance upon whom they had departed from their duty, they had not added obstinacy to their misbehavior, they were re-admitted into friendship. In like manner, although the Aetolians had not followed in the steps of the king, but had invited him, and had been principals in the war, not auxiliaries; nevertheless, if they could bring themselves to repentance they might still insure their safety." As their answer to these suggestions showed nothing like a pacific disposition, and it was evident that the business must be determined by force of arms, and that, notwithstanding the defeat of the king, the war of Aetolia was as far from a conclusion as ever, Acilius removed his camp from Thermopylae to Heraclea; and on the same day rode on horseback entirely round the walls, in order to acquaint himself with the localities 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 attack in four places at once. On the side next the river Asopus, where is also the Gymnasium, he gave the direction of the works and the assault 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 Baebius to act on the side opposite the Malian bay, a part where the access was far from easy; and Appius Claudius on the side next to another rivulet, called Melas; opposite to the temple of Diana. By the vigorous emulation of these the towers, rams, and other machines used in the besieging of towns, were all completed within a few days. The lands round Heraclea, naturally marshy, and abounding with tall trees, furnished timber in abundance for every kind of work; and then, as the Aetolians 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.

23. The Romans carried on the assault upon this city by means of works more than by their arms; the Aetolians, on the contrary, maintained their defense 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, which they threw into the works. 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, that they might rush out upon the enemy from 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 afterwards in smaller numbers and more languidly. For though they had a multiplicity of difficulties to struggle with, what above all things utterly consumed their vigor was the want of sleep, as the Romans, having plenty of men, relieved each other regularly in their posts; while among the Aetolians, their numbers being small, the same persons had their strength consumed by unremitting labor night and day. During a space of twenty-four days, without any time being unemployed in the conflict, their toil was kept up against the attacks carried on by the enemy in four different quarters at once. When the consul, from computing the time, and from the reports of deserters, judged that the Aetolians 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 Aetolians 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.

24. 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 vigor; 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 whence the shouting was heard. Of the Aetolians, 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 endeavored some to climb over the ruins of the walls, through the breaches; others, to scale the walls with ladders; while the Aetolians hastened in all directions to defend the parts attacked. In one quarter, where the buildings stood outside the city, there was neither attack nor defense. 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 parts that had been battered, others scaling the walls where they were entire. As soon as the Aetolians 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 cities captured from the enemy, 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 the top of the other. With the other half of the troops the consul intended to march, up from the city to the citadel, and waited to receive a signal from those who were to mount the rock on the farther side. The Aetolians 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 Aetolians, who at the beginning of the war, when Titus Quinctius asked for a copy of the decree passed by the Aetolians for inviting Antiochus, told him, that, "in Italy, when the Aetolians were encamped there, it should be delivered to him." On account of this presumptuous insolence of his, his surrender was a matter of greater satisfaction to the victors.

25. At the same time, while the Romans were employed in the reduction of Heraclea, Philip, by concert, besieged Lamia. He had an interview with the consul, as he was returning from Boeotia, at Thermopylae, 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, particularly towards the region of Mount Oeta, 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 his undertaking succeeded but ill, endeavored, by conversations with the principal inhabitants, to prevail on the townspeople 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 desist from the assault; because "it was more reasonable that the Roman soldiers, who had fought the Aetolians in the field, should reap the fruits of the victory." Thus was Lamia relieved, and the misfortune of a neighboring city proved the means of its escaping a like disaster.

26. A few days before the capture of Heraclea, the Aetolians, having assembled a council at Hypata, sent ambassadors to Antiochus, among whom was Thoas, the same who had been sent on the former occasion. Their instructions were in the first place, to request the king again to assemble his land and marine forces and cross over into Greece; and, in the next place, if any circumstance should detain him, then to send them supplies of men and money. They were to remind him, that "it concerned his dignity and his honor, 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 Aetolians, to carry their whole force into Asia." What they said was true, and therefore made the deeper impression on the king; in consequence of which, he immediately supplied the ambassadors with the money requisite for the exigencies of the war, and assured them, that he would send them succors both of troops and ships. One of the ambassadors, namely, Thoas, he kept with him, by no means against his will, as he hoped that, being present, he might induce the performance of the king's promises.

27. But the loss of Heraclea entirely broke the spirits of the Aetolians; 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 warlike designs, and dispatched 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 Aetolians 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 addressing themselves wholly to 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 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."

28. When they came into the consul's presence, Phaeneas, who was at the head of the embassy, made a long speech, designed to mitigate the wrath of the conqueror by various considerations; and he concluded with saying, that "the Aetolians surrendered themselves, and all belonging to them, to the faith of the Roman people." The consul, on hearing this, said, "Aetolians, consider well whether you will yield on these terms:" and then Phaeneas 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 Dicaearchus your countryman, Menetas the Epirot," who had, with an armed force, entered Naupactum, and compelled the inhabitants to defection; "and also Amynander, with the Athamanian chiefs, by whose advice you revolted from us." Phaeneas, almost interrupting the Roman while he was 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 Aetolians 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 Phaeneas and the other Aetolians; and, at length, they became sensible of their situation. Phaeneas 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 Aetolians 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 on behalf of the Aetolians, this was granted, and they returned to Hypata. When Phaeneas related here, in the select council, called Apocleti, the orders which they had received, and the treatment which they had narrowly escaped; although the chiefs bemoaned their condition, nevertheless they were of opinion, that the conqueror must be obeyed, and that the Aetolians should be summoned, from all their towns, to a general assembly.

29. But when the assembled multitude heard the same account, their minds 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. Their rage was increased also by the difficulty of executing what was enjoined on them; for, "how was it possible for them, for instance, to deliver up king Amynander?" It happened, also, that a favorable 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 Aetolia; 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 toward 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, whose dinner guests had not yet separated. Philip, being told of his coming, received him as a guest, not an enemy; desired him to take a seat, and join 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 Aetolians, in bringing, first the Romans, and afterwards Antiochus, into Greece; designs which originated in a want of judgment, and always recoiled 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 Aetolians 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 had been preserved by him." Having then appointed persons to escort him to a place of safety, Nicander arrived at Hypata, while his countrymen were consulting about the peace with Rome.

30. Manius Acilius having sold, or given to the soldiers, the booty found near Heraclea, and having learned that the counsels adopted at Hypata were not of a pacific nature, but that the Aetolians had hastily assembled at Naupactum, with intention to make a stand there against the whole brunt of the war, sent forward Appius Claudius, with four thousand men, to seize the heights of the mountains, where the passes were difficult; and he himself, ascending Mount Oeta, offered sacrifices to Hercules, in the spot called Pyra [the funeral pile], because there the mortal part of the 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, and many of the men were hurt. This clearly showed with how negligent an enemy they had to do, who had not secured so difficult a pass by a guard, and so blocked up the passage; 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 the siege likely to prove less difficult and laborious than that of Heraclea.

31. At the same time, the Achaeans 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 Achaean confederacy, and sympathized with the Aetolians. However, the Eleans, after Antiochus had been driven out of Greece, answered the deputies, sent by the Achaeans, 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 their own situation, when they saw the enemy ravaging their country without control, and pitching their camp close to their city, they sent deputies to Chalcis, to Titus Quinctius, 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 Achaeans." On hearing this Quinctius immediately set out, and dispatched from Megalopolis a messenger to Diophanes, praetor of the Achaeans, 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 Quinctius near Andania, a small town between Megalopolis and Messene. When he began to explain the reasons for commencing the siege, Quinctius, 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 advantageously to all. He commanded the Messenians to recall the exiles, and to unite themselves to the confederacy of the Achaeans; and if there were any particulars to which they chose to object, or any precautions which they judged requisite for the future, they might apply to him at Corinth. He then gave directions to Diophanes, to convene immediately a general council of the Achaeans, that he might settle some business with them.

32. 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, on condition of his giving him leave to march an army through Athamania, into the upper part of Aetolia, on that expedition wherein he compelled the Aetolians with dejected spirits to sue for peace. Amynander gave the government of the island to Philip, the Megalopolitan; and afterwards, during the war in which he united himself with Antiochus against the Romans, having called out Philip to the duties of the campaign, he sent, as his successor, Hierocles, of Agrigentum. This man, after the flight of Antiochus from Thermopylae, and the expulsion of Amynander from Athamania by Philip, sent emissaries of his own accord to Diophanes, praetor of the Achaeans; and having bargained for a sum of money, delivered over the island to the Achaeans. This acquisition, made during the war, the Romans claimed as their own; for they said, that "it was not for Diophanes and the Achaeans that the consul Manius Acilius, and the Roman legions, fought at Thermopylae." Diophanes, in answer, sometimes apologized for himself and his nation; sometimes insisted on the justice of the proceeding. But several of the Achaeans testified that they had, from the beginning, disapproved of that business, and they now blamed the obstinacy of the praetor. Pursuant to their advice, a decree was made, that the affair should be left entirely to the disposal of Titus Quinctius. As Quinctius 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, Achaeans, I thought the possession of that island advantageous to you, I would be the first to advise the senate and people of Rome to permit you to hold it. 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 limbs, it feels whatever it has thus uncovered, weak and liable to every injury: so you, in like manner, Achaeans, being enclosed 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 further opposition, Zacynthus was ceded to the Romans.

33. 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, being well aware that great distraction prevailed there; for the garrison, being destitute of all hope of succor since they were abandoned by Antiochus, and having no reliance on the Aetolians, daily and nightly expected the arrival of Philip or the Romans, whom they had most reason to dread, as these were most 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 left 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 pardon being obtainable, 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 Perrhaebia.

34. While Philip was thus employed, Titus Quinctius, after receiving from the Achaean 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 Aetolians would be sunk thereby in utter destruction. But, although he was deservedly incensed against the Aetolians, from the recollection that they alone had attempted to depreciate his merits, when he was giving liberty to Greece; and had been in no degree influenced by his advice, when he endeavored, by forewarning them of the events, which had since occurred, to deter them from their mad undertaking: nevertheless, thinking it particularly his business to take care that none of the states of Greece which had been liberated by himself should be entirely subverted, he first walked about near the walls, that he might be easily known by the Aetolians. He was quickly distinguished by the first advanced guards, and the news spread from rank to rank that Quinctius 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 Quinctius by name, to assist and save them. Although he was much affected by these entreaties, yet for that time he made signs with his hands, that they were to expect no assistance from him. However, when he met the consul he accosted him thus:--"Manius Acilius, are you unapproved of what is passing; or do you know it, and think it immaterial to the interest of the commonwealth?" This inflamed the consul with curiosity, and he replied, "But explain what is your meaning." Quinctius 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, Perrhaebia, Aperantia, Dolopia? But, surely, we are not so deeply interested in diminishing the strength and resources of the Aetolians, 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."

35. The consul assented to these remarks, but a feeling of shame suggested itself to him--if he should abandon the siege with his purpose unaccomplished. At length the matter was left entirely to the management of Quinctius. He went again to that part of the wall whence the Aetolians 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 Aetolians, he desired that some of them might come out to him. Accordingly, Phaeneas 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 this reflection left you, that they have fallen upon you undeservedly. 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 intercessors 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 Quinctius directed; nor did the consul reject their application. He granted them a truce for a certain time, until the embassy might bring a reply from Rome; and then, raising the siege, he sent his army into Phocis. The consul, with Titus Quinctius, crossed over thence to Aegium, to confer with the council of the Achaeans about the Eleans, and also the restoration of the Lacedaemonian exiles. But neither was carried into execution, because the Achaeans chose to reserve to themselves the merit of effecting the latter; and the Eleans preferred being united to the Achaean 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 with honest fidelity maintained the alliance. Although they had not furnished Antiochus with any soldiers, yet they were charged with having assisted him with money; and they themselves did not disavow 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 such an answer that they seemed rather to have 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 a 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.

36. The other consul, Publius Cornelius Scipio, who had obtained by lot the province of Gaul, before he set out to the war which was to be waged against the Boians, demanded of the senate, by a decree, to order him money for the exhibition of games, which, when acting as propraetor 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 Idaean Mother was dedicated; which deity, on her being brought from Asia, in the consulate of Publius Cornelius Scipio, afterwards surnamed Africanus, and Publius Lucinius, 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 for the erection of the goddess's temple; and thirteen years after it had been so contracted for, 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 wherein 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.

37. 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 tiles of a house in the Carina. The aruspices 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 Minturnae, 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 honor 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 they should observe the supplication, with 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.

38. 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 other and still other troops came out from the camp, and fresh men took the place 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, 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 a 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 in such exaggeration no writer is more extravagant, 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. About the same time Marcus Fulvius Nobilior entered the city in ovation, returning from Farther Spain. He carried with him twelve thousand pounds of silver, one hundred and thirty thousand silver denarii, and one hundred and twenty-seven pounds of gold.

39. 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 triumph at Rome. The next day after his arrival, he held a meeting of the senate, in the temple of Bellona, when he detailed to them the services he had performed, and demanded to ride through the city in triumph. Publius Sempronius Blaesus, tribune of the people, advised, that "the honor 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 which was still undecided, 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 that which had been omitted through eager haste for a triumph. 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, after the precedent of many, who did not attain that honor until the expiration of their office."

40. 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 a triumph over the Boian Gauls, whom he had conquered in battle and 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, 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, which of the two kinds of treatment could it be supposed would make them enter on a new course of danger and another laborious enterprise with the greater alacrity; the paying them the reward of their former toils and dangers without defalcation; or, the sending them away, with the prospect, instead of the reality, when they had once been disappointed in their first expectation? 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 Idaean Mother. With this inscription (though neither consulship nor triumph were added) the statue of Publius Scipio Nasica would be sufficiently honored and dignified." The unanimous senate not only gave their vote for the triumph, but by their influence prevailed on the tribune to desist from his protest. Publius Cornelius, the 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-four thousand denarii. 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 way 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.

41. While this passed in Italy, Antiochus was at Ephesus divested of all concern respecting the war with Rome, as supposing that the Romans had no intention of coming into Asia; which state of security was occasioned 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 constituted a much more important object than the Aetolians. For the Roman arms 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 from those who grasped at the empire of the world, or lose his own dominions." He seemed to be the only person who could foresee, and honestly foretell, what was to happen. The king, therefore, with the ships which were equipped and in readiness, sailed to the Chersonesus, in order to strengthen 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.

42. 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 strait 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 all matters in Greece were not yet entirely settled,) and about the Roman fleet, he was told, that the consul and the king were posted at the pass of Thermopylae, and that the fleet lay at Piraeus: on which, judging expedition necessary on every account, he sailed directly forward to Peloponnesus. Having on his passage ravaged Samos and Zacynthus, because they favored the party of the Aetolians, he bent his course to Malea; and, meeting very favorable weather, arrived in a few days at Piraeus, where he joined the old fleet. At Scyllaeum he was met by king Eumenes, with three ships, who had long hesitated at Aegina 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, sailed from Piraeus for Rome. Livius, with eighty-one beaked ships, besides 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.

43. 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 straits, in others by smaller, is extremely subject to storms. Polyxenidas, receiving intelligence from his scout-ships, which were 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 no delay should be incurred; "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 auxiliary circumstances. For the Roman ships, being unskillfully 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. Moreover that their knowledge of the sea, of the adjacent lands, and of the winds, would be greatly in their favour; of all which the Romans being ignorant, would find themselves much distressed." In advising this plan he influenced all, 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 a hundred ships, of which seventy had decks, and the rest were open, but all of the smaller rates, they steered their course to Phocaea. 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 Erythraea, 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 Phanae, a port in Chios, opposite the Aegaean sea. They afterwards brought round the fleet to the city of Chios, and having taken in provisions there, sailed over to Phocaea. Eumenes, who had gone to join his fleet at Elaea, returned a few days after, with twenty-four decked ships, and a greater number of open ones, to Phocaea, where were the Romans, who were fitting and preparing themselves for a sea-fight. Then setting sail with a hundred and five decked ships, and about fifty open ones, they were 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 endeavored to stretch over to the harbor of Corycus, beyond Cyssus.

44. When intelligence was brought to Polyxenidas that the enemy were approaching, he rejoiced at an opportunity of engaging them, and 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. 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 brought up his ships with all possible speed. All their ships were by this time in sight; two Carthaginian vessels, however, which advanced before the Romans, came across 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 its defenders and throwing others into the sea, took the ship. The one which had engaged in an equal contest, on seeing her companion taken, before she could be surrounded by the three, fled back to the fleet. Livius, fired with indignation, bore down with the praetorian ship 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 bear in mind the courage of Romans, and not to regard the slaves of a king as men. 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.

45. In a short time a flight commenced, in the first instance, with the left squadron: for Polyxenidas, perceiving that he was evidently overmatched with respect to the bravery of the men, hoisted his top-sails, and betook himself to flight; and, quickly after, those who had 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 theirs, 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 harbor 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. In the midst of their course they were met by twenty-five Rhodian decked ships, under Pausistratus, the commander of the fleet, 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 harbor. Having thus extorted from the enemy a full confession of their being defeated, and having sent home the Rhodians and Eumenes, the Romans steered their course to Chios. When they had passed Phaenicus, a port of Erythraea, 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 Phocaea. Here they left four quinque remes for the defense of the city, and proceeded to Cannae, 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 Laelius, from whom all men expected the conclusion of the war with Antiochus. Next day were elected praetors, Marcus Tuccius, Lucius Aurunculeius, Cneius Fulvius, Lucius Aemilius, Publius Junius, and Caius Atinius Labeo.