Chapter XXVI: Book XLV (2)

19. Among the many embassies from kings, nations, and states, Attalus, the brother of Eumenes, attracted the general attention in a very particular manner; for he was received by those who had served along with him in the late war, with even greater demonstration of kindness than if Eumenes had come in person. Two reasons, both, apparently, highly honourable, had induced him to come; one to offer congratulations, which were quite proper, in the case of a victory to which he himself had contributed; the other to complain of disturbances raised by the Gauls, and of a defeat received, by which his brother’s kingdom was endangered. But he had, also, secret hopes of honours and rewards from the senate, which he could scarcely receive without infringing on his duty to his brother. There were among the Romans some evil advisers, who were working on his ambition by promises. They told him, that “the general opinion concerning Attalus and Eumenes was, that one was a steady friend to the Romans, and that the other was not a faithful ally either to them or to Perseus. That it was not easy to determine whether the requests that he might make for himself, or those against his brother, were more likely to be obtained from the senate; so entirely were all disposed to gratify the one, and to grant nothing to the other.” As the event proved, Attalus was one of those who would have coveted all that hope can promise to itself, had not the prudent admonitions of one friend put a curb on those passions, which were growing wanton through prosperity. He had, in his retinue, a physician, called Stratius sent to Rome by Eumenes, who distrusted Attalus, for the purpose of watching over his conduct, and giving him faithful advice, if he should perceive him swerve from his allegiance. This man, although he had to address ears already prepossessed, and a mind already biassed, yet, by addressing him at judiciously selected times, restored the thing to its proper state, even after it had become almost desperate. He said that “different kingdoms grew into power by different means: that their kingdom being lately formed, and unsupported by any long-established strength, was upheld solely by the concord of the brothers; for, while one bore the title and the ornament which distinguishes the head of a sovereign, each of the brothers was considered as a king. As to Attalus, in particular, being the next in years, was there any man who did not consider him as king? and that, not only because they perceived his present power to be great, but because there was not a doubt but he must ascend the throne, in a very short time, in consequence of the age and infirmity of Eumenes, who had no legitimate issue” (for he had not at this time acknowledged the son who afterwards reigned). “To what purpose, then, employ violence, to attain what must come to him presently without any exertions on his part? Besides, a new storm had fallen on the kingdom, from the insurrection of the Gauls, which could scarcely be resisted by the most perfect harmony and union of the brothers. But if to a foreign war domestic dissensions were added, the evil could not be checked; nor would he effect any thing else than preventing his brother from dying on the throne, and depriving himself of the hope of ascending it. If both modes of acting were honourable,—either to preserve the kingdom for his brother, or to take it from him,—yet the honour that would result to him from the preservation of the kingdom, since it was united to brotherly love, would be the greater. The latter indeed, would be detestable, and bordering nearly on parricide; what room, then, could there be for deliberation? For, whether did he mean to demand a share of the kingdom, or to seize the whole? If he would demand a share, then both, by the separation of their strength, would be rendered feeble, and exposed to injuries of every kind; if the whole, would he then require his elder brother, reduced to a private station, at his time of life and labouring under such bodily infirmities, to live in exile, and die in such a wretched state. For, not to mention the catastrophes of undutiful brothers recorded in stories, the fate of Perseus seemed a striking instance, who, prostrated at the feet of a victorious enemy, laid down, in the temple of the Samothracians, before the gods, who, as it were, demanded satisfaction for his crimes, the crown which he had seized after the death of his brother.” “Those very men,” he continued, “who not through friendship for him, but enmity to Eumenes, had instigated him to the adoption of such measures, would praise his affection and firmness, if he preserved to the last his allegiance to his brother.”

20. These arguments prevailed in the mind of Attalus. Therefore, on being introduced to the senate, he congratulated them on their success, and made mention of his own services during the war, and those of his brother, whatever he had performed; of the defection of the Gauls, which had lately happened, and which had caused violent commotions; and he entreated that they should send ambassadors to those people, by whose authority they should be summoned to desist. After delivering these messages respecting the general interest of the state, he requested a grant of Ænus and Maronea to himself. Having thus disappointed the hopes of those who expected that he, after arraigning his brother’s conduct, would solicit a partition of the kingdom, he retired from the senate-house. Seldom on other occasions was either a king or private person heard with such a degree of favour and approbation by all; during his stay he received presents and honours of every description, and they treated him similarly at his departure. Of the many embassies which came from Greece and Asia, that of the Rhodians engaged the greatest share of the public attention. At first they appeared in white, the colour which was most becoming to persons congratulating others, for had they worn mourning, they might seem to be lamenting the misfortunes of Perseus. Afterwards the senate being consulted by the consul, Marcus Junius, (the ambassadors standing in the Comitium,) whether they should grant them lodgings, entertainments, and an audience of the senate they voted that no duty of hospitality was due to them. When the consul came out of the senate-house, after the Rhodians had told him that they were come to congratulate the Romans on their late success, and to clear their state of the charges made against it, and requested an audience of the senate, he returned this answer, that “it was the custom of the Romans both to grant audience in their senate, and to perform other acts of kindness and hospitality to their friends and allies; but that the Rhodians had not deserved in that war to be ranked in the number of friends or allies.” On hearing this, they all prostrated themselves on the ground, beseeching the consul and all present not to think it right that new and false imputations should operate more powerfully to their prejudice, than their long course of services, which they had themselves witnessed. They immediately assumed a mourning dress, and going round to the houses of the principal men, supplicated with prayers and tears that their cause might be heard before they were condemned.

21. Marcus Juventius Thalna, the prætor who had the jurisdiction between natives and foreigners, stimulated the public resentment against the Rhodians, and promulgated a bill, that “war should be declared against the Rhodians, and that the people should choose one of the magistrates of the present year, who should be sent with a fleet to carry on that war;” with the hope that he himself should be the person chosen. Two of the plebeian tribunes, Marcus Antonius and Marcus Pomponius, opposed this proceeding. But the prætor, on his part, commenced the business in an unprecedented and pernicious manner; for without first consulting the senate, and without acquainting the consuls, of his own sole judgment he proposed to the people the question, “was it their will and order that war should be declared against the Rhodians?” whereas, ever until then, the senate was first consulted concerning the war, and then the business was laid before the people. On the other side, the plebeian tribunes _opposed this proceeding_; although it was a received rule that no tribune should protest against a proposal, until opportunity was given to private citizens to argue for and against it; in consequence of which it had often happened that some, who had avowed no intention of protesting, having discovered defects in the law from the discourses of those who opposed it, on that account did protest; and some who came avowedly to protest, abstained from it, being convinced by the arguments of those who spoke in favour of the law. On this occasion the prætor and tribunes vied with each other in doing every thing out of time. _While the tribunes blamed the hasty proceeding of the prætor, they imitated the example by protesting before their time. The only pretence they alleged for it was, the necessity for adjourning the entire deliberation concerning the Rhodians until the return of the general and the ten commissioners from Macedon, who, after most carefully weighing the matter according to the communications received in their letters and tablets, were likely to give certain information relative to the feelings which each state had borne towards Perseus or the Romans. But when the prætor, nevertheless, persisted in his determination, the matter came to this, that Antonius, the tribune of the commons, after bringing the ambassadors before the people, dragged down from the rostrum Thalna, who was attempting to ascend it contrary to his wishes, and was beginning to address the people, and gave the Rhodians an opportunity of speaking before the general assembly. But although the violent and, impetuous attempt of the prætor had been defeated by corresponding firmness on the part of the tribune, still anxiety did not as yet leave the minds of the Rhodians; for the senators bore them a most unfriendly feeling; so that the Rhodians were relieved from the impending evil for the present, rather than completely rescued from it. Therefore, when a meeting of the senate was granted to them, after requesting it for a long time and frequently, on their introduction by the consul they lay at first for a long time with their persons prostrated on the ground; afterwards, when the consul raised them up and ordered them to speak, Astymedes, whose appearance was most calculated to excite pity, spoke to the following effect: “Conscript fathers, this grief and degradation of allies, who enjoyed your friendship a short time ago, cannot fail to be pitied even by those who are irritated against us; and how much more justly will compassion enter your minds, if you will but consider the hard conditions under which we this day, in your presence, plead the cause of our state, already almost condemned. Others are accused prior to their condemnation; nor do they suffer punishment until their guilt is ascertained._

22. “Whether we Rhodians have transgressed, or not is yet doubtful; meanwhile we suffer punishments and disgraces of all sorts. In former times, when we visited Rome, after the conquest of Carthage, after the defeat of Philip, and after that of Antiochus, we _were escorted_ from a mansion furnished us by the public, into the senate-house, to present our congratulations to you, conscript fathers, and, from the senate-house to the Capitol, carrying offerings to your gods. But now, from a vile and filthy inn, scarcely gaining a reception for our money, treated as enemies, and forbid to lodge within the city, we come in this squalid dress to the Roman senate-house: we, Rhodians, on whom a short time ago you bestowed the provinces of Lycia and Caria; on whom you conferred the most ample rewards and honours. You order even the Macedonians and Illyrians, as we hear, to be free; though they were in servitude before they waged war with you: (nor do we envy the good fortune of any; on the contrary, we acknowledge therein the usual clemency of the Roman people.) But will you convert, from allies into enemies, the Rhodians, who were guilty of nothing more than remaining neutral during the war? You are in truth the same Romans, who boast that your wars are successful because they are just; who glory not so much in the issue of them, in that you conquer, as in the commencement of them, because you do not undertake them without a just cause. The attack on Messana, in Sicily, made the Carthaginians your enemies. The siege of Athens, and attempt to reduce Greece to slavery, together with the assistance of men and money given to Hannibal, led to hostilities with Philip. Antiochus, on the invitation of the Ætolians, your enemies, came over in person with a fleet from Asia to Greece; and by seizing Demetrias, Chalcis, and the pass of Thermopylæ, endeavoured to dispossess you of empire. The motives to your war with Perseus were his attacks on your allies, and his putting to death the princes and leading members of certain states. But, if we are doomed to ruin, to what motive will our misfortune be ascribed? I do not yet separate the cause of the state from that of our countrymen, Polyaratus and Dino, with others, whom we have brought hither in order to deliver them into your hands. But supposing every one of us were equally guilty, I ask what was our crime with respect to the late war? We favoured the interest of Perseus; and we have supported that prince against you in like manner as, in the wars of Antiochus and Philip, we supported you against those kings. Now, in what manner we are accustomed to assist our allies, and with what vigour to conduct wars, ask Caius Livius and Lucius Æmilius Regillus, who commanded your fleets on the coasts of Asia. Your ships never fought a battle without us. We, with our own fleet, fought one engagement at Samos and a second on the coast of Pamphylia, against that distinguished commander, Hannibal. The victory, which we gained in the latter, was the more glorious to us because, although we lost a great part of our navy and the flower of our youth in the unsuccessful action at Samos, we were not deterred from venturing again to give battle to the king’s fleet on its return from Syria. These matters I have mentioned not out of ostentation, (that would ill become our present situation,) but to remind you in what way the Rhodians assist their allies.

23. “When Philip and Antiochus were subdued, we received from you very ample rewards. If the fortune of Perseus were such as yours now is by the favour of the gods and your own courage, and we were to go into Macedon, to the victorious king, to demand rewards from him, what merit should we have to plead? Is it that he was aided by us with money or corn; with land or sea forces? Had we defended his garrison? where had we, either under his generals or by ourselves? If he should inquire where were our soldiers or ships acting in concert with his; what answer could we give? Perhaps we might be pleading our cause before him, if successful, as we are now, before you. All that we have gained by sending ambassadors to both, to mediate a peace, is, that we received no thanks from either party, and incurred from one of them accusations and danger. Perseus, indeed, might justly object to us what you cannot, conscript fathers, that at the commencement of the war we sent ambassadors to Rome, promising supplies of all sorts requisite for the war, and engaging to be ready, as in former wars, with our docks, our arms, and our men. It was your fault that we did not perform this, since you, whatever was the reason, rejected our assistance on that occasion. We have, therefore, neither acted in any instance as enemies, nor been deficient in the duty of well-affected allies; but we were prevented by you from performing it. What then shall we say? Rhodians, has there been nothing said or done in your country which you disapprove of, and at which the Roman people would be justly offended? Henceforth I do not mean to defend what has been done, (I am not so weak,) but to distinguish the cause of the public from the guilt of private men. For there is no nation whatever that has not, generally, some ill-disposed members, and always an ignorant populace. I have heard, that even among the Romans there have been men who worked themselves into power by courting the multitude; that the plebeians sometimes seceded from you, and that the government was not always in your hands. If it were possible for this to happen in a state so well constituted, who can wonder at there being some among us, who, out of a wish to gain the king’s friendship, led our commons astray by bad advice? Yet they effected nothing more than our remaining inactive, without infringing on our duty. I shall not pass by that, which has been made the heaviest charge against our state during the war. We sent ambassadors at the same time to you and Perseus, to mediate a peace; and that unfortunate design was, by a furious orator, as we afterwards heard, rendered foolish to the last degree; for it is ascertained that he spoke in such a manner as Caius Popilius, the Roman ambassador, should have spoken, when you sent him to the two kings, Antiochus and Ptolemy, to induce them to cease from hostilities. But still, whether this conduct is to be called arrogance or folly, it was the same towards Perseus as towards you. States, as well as individuals, have their different characters; some are violent, others daring, others timid; some addicted to wine, others more particularly to women. Fame says that the Athenian nation was quick and bold, beyond its strength, in beginning an enterprise; and that the Lacedæmonian was dilatory and backward in entering upon business, even when confident of success. I cannot deny that Asia, throughout its whole extent, produces men too much inclined to vanity, and that the speech of even the Rhodians is too much tinctured with vain-glory, because we seem to have the pre-eminence above the neighbouring states; and that, too, owing not so much to our strength as to the marks of honour and esteem conferred on us by you. That embassy received on the spot sufficient reproof for its immediate misconduct, when it was dismissed with so severe an answer. But, if the disgrace which we then suffered was too trifling, surely the present mournful and suppliant embassy would be a sufficient expiation for an embassy even more insolent than that was. Irritable men hate arrogance; men of sense despise it, particularly if shown in words; more especially, if it be shown by an inferior towards a superior; but no one has ever yet thought it deserving of capital punishment. There was, in truth, danger lest the Rhodians should contemn the Romans! Some men have spoken, even of the gods, in terms too presumptuous; yet we have never heard of any one being struck with thunder on that account.

24. “What charge then remains, of which we are to acquit ourselves, since there has been no hostile act on our part, and the insolent language of an ambassador, though grating to the ear, has not deserved the ruin of a state. Conscript fathers, I hear that the estimate of the penalty for our secret wishes has become the subject of your conversation. Some assert that we favoured the king, and therefore that we should be punished with war; others, that we did indeed wish him success, but ought not, on that account, to suffer the penalty of war, since it has not been so instituted either by the practice or laws of any state, that if any one should wish an enemy to perish, he should be condemned, provided that he did nothing towards effecting his wishes. We feel, indeed, grateful to those who absolve us from the punishment, though not from the crime; but we lay down this law for ourselves: if we all entertained the wishes of which we are accused, we will then make no distinction between the will and the deed: let us all be punished. If some of our people in power favoured you, and others the king, I do not demand, that for the sake of us who were on your side, the favourers of the king may be saved; but I deprecate our perishing through them. You are not more inveterate against them than is our state itself; and most of them, when they ascertained this, fled, or put themselves to death, the others have been condemned by us, and they will soon be in your power, conscript fathers. The rest of us Rhodians, as we have merited no thanks during the war, so neither have we deserved punishment. Let the accumulation of our former services atone for our present dereliction of duty. You have recently waged war with three kings: let not the circumstance of our having been inactive in one of these wars, be more injurious to us than our having fought on your side in the other two has served us. Consider Philip, Antiochus, and Perseus, as you would three votes; two of them acquit us; one, although it would be unfavourable, is nevertheless doubtful. If they were to sit in judgment over us, we would be condemned. Conscript fathers, you are to decide, whether Rhodes is to continue on the earth or to be utterly destroyed. You are not deliberating concerning war, conscript fathers, for though it is in your power to declare war, it is not in your power to wage it, as not a single Rhodian will take up arms against you. If you persist in your anger, we will beg time from you, until we carry home an account of this unhappy embassy. We will then, every free person of all the Rhodians, both men and women, with all our wealth, embark in ships, and leaving the seats of our tutelar deities, both public and private, repair to Rome, where, heaping together in the Comitium, at the door of your senate-house, all our gold and silver, all the public and private property that we possess, we will submit our persons, and those of our wives and children, to your disposal; that, whatever we are to suffer, we may suffer here. Let our city be sacked and burned far away from our view. The Romans may pass a judgment, that the Rhodians are enemies; but we have also a right, in some degree, to judge ourselves; and we never will judge ourselves your enemies, nor do one hostile act, should we even suffer extreme calamities.”

25. After so mournful a speech, they all prostrated themselves again, and as supplicants, held out olive branches; but at length they were raised, and withdrew from the senate-house. They then began to ask the opinions of the senators. The most inveterate against the Rhodians were those, who as consuls, prætors, or lieutenant-generals, had been engaged in the war with Macedon. Marcus Porcius Cato was the principal supporter of their cause, who, though naturally austere, acted his part as a senator, on this occasion, with much mildness and lenity. I will not introduce here a specimen of his copious eloquence, by relating what he said: his speech is extant, and is comprised in the fifth book of his Antiquities. The answer given to the Rhodians was, that “they should neither be declared enemies, nor any longer remain in alliance with Rome.” At the head of this embassy were Philocrates and Astymedes. They determined that half their number, with Philocrates, should carry home to Rhodes an account of their proceedings; and that the other half, with Astymedes, should remain at Rome, that they might be acquainted with what passed, and inform their countrymen. For the present, they were commanded to remove their governors out of Lycia and Caria, before a certain day. This intelligence was announced at Rhodes; and although it was galling in itself, yet as the Rhodians were relieved from the dread of a greater evil, for they had feared a war, the announcement created joy. They therefore immediately voted a present, amounting in value to twenty thousand pieces of gold, and deputed Theætetus, the commander of their fleet, on that embassy. They wished to procure an alliance with the Romans; but, in such a manner, as that no order of the people should pass concerning it, nor any thing be committed to writing; for in either of these cases, if they failed in succeeding, there would be greater disgrace in the refusal. The admiral of the fleet was empowered, singly, to negotiate that business, if he could effect it without any law being brought forward at Rome on the subject; for, during a considerable length of time, they had maintained a friendship with the Romans, in such a manner as not to bind themselves by a treaty of alliance, for no other reason than that they might neither preclude the kings from all hope of their assistance, if any of them should need it, nor themselves from a participation of the advantages which might accrue from the good fortune and liberality of the said kings. At this time, however, an alliance seemed particularly desirable, not to render them more secure from others, (for excepting the Romans, they feared none,) but to make them less suspected by the Romans themselves. About this time, the Caunians revolted from them, and the Mylasensians seized on the towns of the Euromensians. The spirit of their community was not so totally broken as to hinder their perceiving, that, if Lycia and Caria were taken from them by the Romans, their other provinces would either assert their own freedom by a revolt, or be seized on by their neighbours; and that they themselves would then be shut up in a small island; within the shores of a barren country, which could by no means maintain the numerous people in so large a city. They therefore sent out with all speed, a body of troops, and reduced the Caunians to obedience, though they had received succours from Cybara: and afterwards defeated in a battle at Orthosia the Mylassians and Alabandians, who, having seized the province of Euroma, had marched against them with their allied forces.

26. Whilst these events are occurring in Rhodes, different matters are going on in Macedon and Rome; in the mean time, in Illyria, Lucius Anicius, having reduced king Gentius under his power, as before mentioned, placed Gabinius over a garrison that he posted in Scodra, which had been the capital of the kingdom; and appointed Caius Licinius commander in Rhizon and Olcinium, which were towns very conveniently situated. Leaving these two in charge of Illyria, he marched with the rest of his forces into Epirus. Here, Phanota was the first place which submitted to him; the whole multitude, with fillets on their heads, coming out to meet him. Placing a garrison there, he went over into Molossis, all the towns of which province, except Passora, Tecmo, Phylace, and Horreum, having surrendered, he marched first against Passora. The two men of the greatest authority in that city, were Antinous and Theodotus, who were remarkable for their warm attachment to Perseus, and hatred to the Romans; the same individuals had instigated the whole nation to revolt from the Romans. These men, since they had no hope of pardon, owing to their consciousness of guilt, shut the gates, that they might be buried under the general ruin of their country, and exhorted the multitude to prefer death to slavery. No man dared to open his lips against men of such transcendent power. At last one Theodotus, a young man of distinction, (when his greater dread of the Romans had overpowered the lesser fear of his own leaders,) exclaimed, “What madness has seized you, to make the public accessory to the crimes of two individuals? I have often heard mention made of men who offered themselves to death for the sake of their country; but those are the first that were ever found, who required that their country should perish for them. Why not open our gates, and submit to that power to which the whole world has submitted?” As he spoke thus, the multitude followed him; on which Antinous and Theodotus rushed out on the advanced guards of the enemy, and freely exposing themselves to their weapons, were slain, and the city was surrendered to the Romans. Through a similar obstinacy in Cephalus, a man in power, the gates of Tecmo were shut: when he was put to death, Anicius received the surrender of the town. Neither Phylace nor Horreum stood a siege. Having thus reduced Epirus, Anicius distributed his troops in winter quarters, through the most convenient towns; and returning into Illyria, held a general convention at Scodra, where the five commissioners had arrived from Rome, and to which place he had summoned the principal men from all parts of the province. There, with advice of the council, he proclaimed from his tribunal, that “the senate and people of Rome granted freedom to the Illyrians; and that he would withdraw his garrisons from all their towns, citadels, and castles. That the Issensians and Taulantians, with the Pirustans, that were included among the Dassaretians, the Rhizonites, and the Olcinians, should not only enjoy liberty, but likewise an immunity from taxes; because when Gentius was in his full strength, they had revolted to the Romans. That the same exemption was granted to the Daorseans; because they forsook Caravantius, and came over with their arms to the Romans; and that the Scodrans, Dassaretians, Selepitans, and the rest of the Illyrians, should pay half the taxes which they had formerly paid to their king.” He then divided Illyria into three districts; he made the first division out of the people above mentioned, the second comprehended all the Labeatians, and the third the Agranonites, Rhizonites, and Olcinians, with the contiguous states. Having established this constitution in Illyria, he returned into Epirus, to his winter quarters at Passaro.

27. While these matters are passing in Illyria, Paullus, before the arrival of the ten commissioners, sent his son Quintus Maximus, who was by this time returned from Rome, to sack Agassæ and Æginium: Agassæ, because the inhabitants, after surrendering their city to the consul, and voluntarily soliciting an alliance with Rome, had revolted again to Perseus: the crime of the people of Æginium was of a late date; not giving credit to the report of the Romans being victorious, they had treated with hostile cruelty some soldiers who came into the city. He also detached Lucius Postumius to pillage the city of Ænia; because the inhabitants had continued in arms with more obstinacy than the neighbouring states. Autumn now drew nigh; at the commencement of this season, when he resolved to make a tour through Greece, in order to take a view of those curiosities, which, being celebrated by fame, are represented as greater than they really are when examined by the eye, he gave the command of his quarters to Caius Sulpicius Gallus, and, with a moderate retinue, began his journey, accompanied by his son Scipio, and Athenæus, king Eumenes’ brother, and directed his route through Thessaly to the famous oracle at Delphi; where he offered sacrifices to Apollo, and, in honour of his victory, destined for his own statues some unfinished columns in the vestibule, on which they had intended to place statues of king Perseus. He also visited the temple of Jupiter Trophonius at Lebadia; where, after viewing the mouth of the cave, through which people applying to the oracle descend, in order to obtain information from the gods, he sacrificed to Jupiter and Hercyna, who have a temple there; and then went down to Chalcis, to see the curiosities of the Euripus, and of the island of Eubœa, which is there united to the continent by a bridge. From Chalcis he passed by sea to Aulis, a port three miles distant, famous for having been formerly the station of Agamemnon’s fleet of one thousand ships, and distinguished also for the temple of Diana, in which that king of kings sought a passage for his fleet to Troy, by offering his daughter Iphigenia as a victim at the altar. Thence he came to Oropus, in Attica; where an ancient prophet is worshipped as a god, and has an old temple, rendered delightful by the surrounding springs and streams. He then went to Athens, which, though filled with only the decayed relics of ancient grandeur, still contained many things worthy of observation; the citadel, the port, the walls connecting Piræeus with the city; the dockyards, the monuments of illustrious generals, the statues of gods and men, alike remarkable for the variety of the materials and the ingenuity of the artists.

28. After sacrificing to Minerva, the guardian of the citadel, he continued his journey, and on the second day arrived at Corinth. The city was then flourishing, as this visit was prior to its fall; the citadel too, and the isthmus, afforded admirable views; the former, within the walls, and towering up to an immense height, yet abounding with springs; and the latter, separating by a narrow neck two seas, which wash it on the east and west. He next visited the celebrated cities of Sicyon and Argos; then Epidaurus, which, though unequal to them in opulence, was yet remarkable for a famous temple of Esculapius, which, standing at five miles’ distance from the city, was at that time rich in offerings, which the sick had dedicated to that deity, as an acknowledgment for the remedies which restored them to health; but now, full of the traces of them only, whence they have been torn away. Thence he proceeded to Lacedæmon, renowned, not for magnificent works of art, but for its laws and discipline; and then, passing through Magalopolis, he went up to Olympia. Here, having taken a view of all things worthy of notice, and beholding Jupiter in a manner present before him, he was struck with the deepest reverence; therefore he ordered preparations to be made for a sacrifice, with more than usual magnificence, and as if he were going to make offerings in the Capitol; having made his circuit through Greece in such a manner as not to inquire into the sentiments which any one, either in his public or private capacity, entertained in the war against Perseus, lest he might disturb the minds of the allies with any kind of apprehensions. On his way back to Demetrias, a crowd of Ætolians, in mourning apparel, met him: on his expressing surprise, and asking the reason of this proceeding, he was told that five hundred and fifty of the chief of their countrymen had been put to death by Lyciscus and Tisippus, who surrounded their senate with Roman soldiers, sent by their commander Bæbius; that others had been driven into exile; and that the accusers were in possession of the goods of the killed and exiled. They were ordered to wait on him at Amphipolis; and then, having met Cneius Octavius at Demetrias, who informed him that the ten commissioners were landed, he laid aside all other business, and went to Apollonia to meet them. And when Perseus, owing to the negligence of his guard, had come hither to meet him from Amphipolis, (the distance is a day’s journey,) Æmilius spoke to him with great courtesy; but is said to have severely reprimanded Caius Sulpicius, when he reached the camp at Amphipolis; first, for allowing Perseus thus to ramble through the province, and next, for indulging the soldiers so far as to suffer them to strip the buildings on the city walls of the tiles, in order to cover their own winter huts. These tiles he ordered to be carried back the buildings to be repaired, and put in their former condition. He gave in charge to Aulus Postumius, Perseus, with his elder son Philip, and sent them into a place of confinement; his daughter and younger son he ordered to be brought from Samothrace to Amphipolis, and treated them with all possible kindness.

29. When the day arrived, on which he had ordered ten chiefs from each of the states to attend at Amphipolis, and all the writings wherever deposited, and the money belonging to the king, to be brought thither, he seated himself, with the ten commissioners, on his tribunal, while the whole multitude of the Macedonians surrounded him. Though they were inured to the government of a king, yet the strange tribunal presented a terrible appearance; the path that was cleared towards the prætor by the removal of the people, the herald, the sergeant, were all objects strange to their eyes and ears, and capable of inspiring awe in allies, much more in conquered enemies. Silence being proclaimed by the herald, Paullus declared in the Latin language the regulations adopted by the senate, and by himself with the advice of the council; and the prætor, Cneius Octavius, (for he too was present,) translated them into the Greek language, and read them aloud. First of all he ordered, that “the Macedonians should live free; possessing the same cities and lands as before; governed by their own laws, and creating annual magistrates; and that they should pay to the Roman people one-half of the taxes which they had paid to their kings. Next, that Macedon should be divided into four districts. That the division which should be deemed the first, should comprehend the lands between the rivers Strymon and Nessus: to this territory should be added the territory beyond the Nessus, towards the east, wherein Perseus had possessed villages, castles, or towns, excepting Ænus, Maronea, and Abdera; and the country beyond the Strymon, verging towards the west, including all Bisaltica, with Heraclea, which they call Sintice. That the second district should be the country enclosed by the river Strymon, on the east, where were excepted Sintice-Heraclea and Bisaltica, and by the river Axius on the west; to which should be added the Pœnians, who dwelt near the river Axius, and on its right bank. The third district comprised the territory bounded by the river Axius on the east, the Peneus on the west, and Mount Bora on the north. That to this division should be joined that tract of Pæonia, which stretches along the western side of the Axius; Edessa also, and Berœa, should be united to it. The fourth district was to consist of the country on the north of Mount Bora, touching Illyria on one side, and Epirus on the other. He then appointed the capitals of the districts in which the councils should be held: of the first district, Amphipolis; of the second, Thessalonica; of the third, Pella; and of the fourth, Pelagonia. In these he ordered that the councils of the several districts should be assembled, the public money deposited, and the magistrates elected.” He then gave notice, “that it was determined, that there should not be intermarriage, nor liberty to purchase lands or houses, out of the limits of their respective districts, that the mines of gold and silver must not be worked; but those of iron and copper might.” The tax imposed upon such persons as worked them, was one half of that which they had paid to the king. He likewise forbade the use of imported salt. To the Dardanians, who laid claim to Pæonia, because it had formerly been theirs, and was contiguous to their territory, he declared that, “he gave liberty to all who had been under subjection to Perseus.” After the refusal of Pæonia, he granted them liberty to purchase salt, and ordered that the third district should bring it down to Stobi, in Pæonia; and he fixed the price to be paid for it. He prohibited them from cutting ship timber themselves, or suffering others to cut it. To those districts which bordered on the barbarians, (and excepting the third, this was the case with them all,) he gave permission to keep armed forces on their frontiers.

30. These terms, announced on the first day of the convention, affected the minds of those who were present with very different emotions. Liberty being granted them beyond their expectation, and the annual tribute being lightened, gave them high satisfaction; but then, by the prohibition of a commercial intercourse between the districts, Macedon appeared dismembered, like an animal torn asunder into separate limbs, which stood in need of mutual aid from each other; so little did the Macedonians themselves know how great was the extent of their country, how aptly it was formed for a division and how content each part could be with its own resources. The first division contains the Bisaltians, men of the greatest courage (residing beyond the river Nessus, and on both sides of the Strymon); it has many peculiar productions of the vegetable kingdom, and mines also, and the advantages derived from the city of Amphipolis, which, standing just in the way, shuts up every passage into Macedonia from the east. The second division has two very remarkable cities, Thessalonica and Cassandria, and the country of Pallene, producing grain and fruits in abundance; its harbours at Torone and Mount Athos, (they call the latter the port of Ænea,) besides others, some of which are conveniently situated opposite Eubœa, and some upon the Hellespont, give it opportunities for maritime business. The third district has the celebrated cities of Edessa, Berœa, and Pella; and is partly inhabited by the Vettians, a warlike people; also by great numbers of Gauls and Illyrians, who are industrious husbandmen. The fourth district is occupied by the Eordæans, Lyncestans, and Pelagonians, to whom are joined Atintania, Stymphalis, and Elemiotis. All this tract is cold and rough, and unfavourable to tillage; it has men whose dispositions are like the land that they till. Their vicinity to the barbarians renders them more ferocious; for they at one time inure them to arms, and at another are in peace, and introduce their customs among them. Having separated the interests of the several districts of Macedon by this division, he declared that he would give them a constitution which should bind the Macedonians in general, when he was prepared to give them a body of laws also.

31. The Ætolians were then summoned to appear; in which trial the inquiry was directed to discover, rather, which party had favoured the Romans, and which the king, than which had done, and which suffered injury; for the murderers were absolved from guilt, and likewise the banishment of the exiles confirmed, and the death of the citizens overlooked. Aulus Bæbius alone was condemned for having lent Roman soldiers as agents in the butchery. This result in the case of the Ætolians puffed up the party which favoured the Romans to an intolerable degree of arrogance, throughout all the states and nations of Greece; and subjected all those, on whom the slightest suspicion of being in the king’s interest fell, to be trodden under their feet. Of the leading men in the states, there were three parties; two of which paying servile court either to the Romans, or the kings, sought to aggrandize themselves by enslaving their countries; while one, adopting a middle course, and struggling against both, stood up in support of their laws and liberty. Although the last had the greatest share of the affection of their countrymen, still they had the least interest among foreigners. The partisans of the Romans being elated by the success of their party, alone held the offices of magistracy, and alone were employed on embassies. Great numbers of these, coming from the diets of Peloponnesus, Bœotia, and other parts of Greece, filled the ears of the ten commissioners with insinuations, that “those who, through folly, had openly boasted of being friends and intimates of Perseus, were not the only persons who had favoured his cause; much greater numbers had done so in secret. That there was another party, who under pretence of supporting liberty, had, in the diets, advanced every measure contrary to the Romans; and that these nations would not continue faithful, unless the spirit of these parties was broken, and the influence of those, who had no other object than the advancement of the Roman power, was augmented and strengthened.” These persons, whose names were given in by this clique, were summoned by the general’s letter out of Ætolia, Acarnania, Epirus, and Bœotia, to follow him to Rome, and plead their cause. Two of the ten commissioners, Caius Claudius and Cneius Domitius, went to Achaia, that they might, on the spot, summon by proclamation the persons implicated. This was done for two reasons; one was because they believed that the Achæans would have greater spirit and confidence than the rest, and might disobey, and perhaps even endanger Callicrates, and other authors of the charges, and informers. The other reason for summoning them on the spot, was, that the commissioners had in their possession letters from the chief men of the other nations, which had been found among the king’s papers; but with regard to the Achæans the charges were not clear, because no letters of theirs had been discovered. When the Ætolians were dismissed, the Acarnanian nation was called in. No alteration was made in their situation, only Leucas was disunited from their council. Then making more extensive inquiries respecting those who had, publicly or privately, favoured the king, they extended their jurisdiction even into Asia, and sent Labeo to demolish Antissa, in the island of Lesbos, and to remove the inhabitants to Methymna; because they had received within their port, and supplied with provisions, Antenor, the commander of the king’s fleet, while cruising with his squadron on the coast of Lesbos. Two distinguished men were beheaded, Andronicus, son of Andronicus, an Ætolian, because, imitating his father, he had borne arms against the Roman people; and Neo, a Theban, by whose advice his countrymen had formed an alliance with Perseus.

32. This examination into foreign matters having intervened, the general assembly of the Macedonians was again summoned, and information was given them that “with regard to the government of Macedon, they must elect senators called by themselves Synedroi, by whose advice the republic should be directed.” Then was read a list of Macedonians of distinction, who, with their children above fifteen years of age, were ordered to go before him into Italy. This injunction, at first view cruel, appeared afterwards to the Macedonian populace to have been intended in favour of their freedom. For the persons named were Perseus’s friends and courtiers, the generals of his armies, and the commanders of his ships or garrisons; men accustomed to pay servile obedience to the king, and to domineer haughtily over others; some immoderately rich, others vying in expense with those to whom they were unequal in fortune, all living in regal pomp and luxury; in a word, none possessed of a disposition suited to a member of a commonwealth, and all incapable of paying due obedience to the laws, and of enjoying an equal participation of liberty. All, therefore, who had held any employment under the king, even those who had been upon the most trivial embassies, were ordered to leave Macedon and go into Italy; and the penalty of death was denounced against any who disobeyed the mandate. He framed laws for Macedon with such care, that he seemed to be giving them not to vanquished foes, but to allies who had merited well; laws so wise, that even experience (which is the only corrector of laws) could not find any fault in them after a long trial. Turning from serious business, he celebrated with great pomp at Amphipolis games, for which he had been making preparations for a long time, having sent people to the states and kings in Asia to give notice of the intended diversions, and in his late tour through Greece he had himself mentioned his design to the principal people. There came thither from every region in the world, multitudes of artists of every sort, skilled in such exhibitions, and vast numbers of wrestlers and noble horses; deputations also came with victims and every other mark of respect usually shown out of regard to gods or men, in great games of Greece. Hence it came to pass, that the people admired not only the magnificence, but likewise the skill displayed in the entertainments; in which kind of business the Romans were, at that time, quite inexperienced. Feasts were also provided for the ambassadors with the same degree of care and opulence. They made frequent mention of an expression of his, that to furnish out a feast, and to conduct games, seldom fell to the lot of him who knew how to conquer.

33. When the games of every kind were finished, he put the brazen shields on board the ships; the rest of the arms, being all collected together in a huge pile, the general himself, after praying to Mars, Minerva, mother Lua, and the other deities, to whom it is right and proper to dedicate the spoils of enemies, set fire to them with a torch, and then the military tribunes who stood round all threw fire on the same. It was remarkable, that, at such a general congress of Europe and Asia, where such multitudes were assembled, some to congratulate the victors, some to see the shows; and where such numerous bodies of land and naval forces were quartered, so great was the plenty of every thing, and so moderate the price of provisions, that presents of divers articles were made by the general to private persons, and states, and nations; not only for their present use, but even to carry home with them. The stage entertainments, the gymnastics, and the horse races, did not afford a more pleasing spectacle to the crowd which had assembled, than the Macedonian booty, which was all exposed to view, consisting of the ornaments of the palace at Pella, namely, statues, pictures, tapestry, and vases, formed of gold, silver, brass, and ivory, in so elaborate a manner, that they seemed intended not merely for present show, like the furniture of the palace of Alexandria but even for continual use. These were embarked in the fleet and given in charge to Cneius Octavius, to be carried to Rome. Paullus, after dismissing the ambassadors with great courtesy, crossed the Strymon, and encamped at the distance of a mile from Amphipolis; then resuming his march, he arrived on the fifth day at Pella. Having passed by that city, he halted for two days at a place called Spelæum, and detached his son Quintus Maximus and Publius Nasica, with half of the troops, to lay waste the country of the Illyrians, who had assisted Perseus in the war, ordering them to meet him at Oricum; then, taking the road to Epirus, on his fifteenth encampment, he reached the city of Passaro.