History of Rome (Complete)

by Livy

The king advised them to consider their position most carefully lest they should adopt a policy which, whilst they were cautiously providing against future contingencies, might give them immediate cause for regret, and with this advice he dismissed their envoy.

Antiochus was all this time at Chalcis, having at last discovered that he had gained nothing from Greece beyond a pleasant winter at Chalcis and a disreputable marriage.

Their cheers on occupying the height and the attack of the other division from the city were too much for the Aetolians, utterly broken as their courage was and with no preparation for standing a siege in the citadel, which could hardly contain, much less protect, the women and children and the other non-combatants who had crowded there. So at the first assault they laid down their arms and surrendered. Amongst them was Damocritus, the first magistrate of Aetolia. At the beginning of the war he had told T. Quinctius, on his request for a copy of the decree inviting Antiochus, that be would give it him in Italy when the Aetolians were encamped there. This piece of arrogance made his surrender all the more pleasing to the victors.

When they appeared before the consul, Phaeneas, the head of the deputation, made a long speech, adapted in various ways to mitigate the victor’s wrath, and concluded by saying that the Aetolians committed themselves and all that they had to the honour and good faith of the people of Rome. When the consul heard that he said, “Be quite sure that these are the terms on which you surrender.” Phaeneas showed him the decree in which they were expressly stated. “Since then,” he replied, “you do make this complete surrender, I require you to give up at once Dicaearchus, your fellow-citizen, and Menestus the Epirote” - he was the man who introduced a body of troops into Naupactus and drove the citizens into revolt - “and Amynander and the Athamanian leaders who persuaded you to revolt from us.” Phaeneas hardly allowed the Roman to finish his sentence before he replied: “We have not surrendered ourselves into slavery, but to your protection and good faith, and I am quite sure that it is because you do not know us that you lay upon us commands which are opposed to the usage of the Greeks.” To this the consul retorted: “No, I do not trouble myself much as to what the Aetolians consider the usage of the Greeks as long as I follow the usage of the Romans and impose my commands on those who, after being vanquished by force of arms, have just surrendered by their own formal decree. If, then, my command is not promptly obeyed, I shall at once order you to be thrown into irons.”

The army felt more confident and hopeful and marched away in high spirits, to find everything prepared for them in Macedonia. On their arrival the king received them in royal state and accompanied them on their march. He displayed great tact and refinement, qualities which recommended him to Africanus, who, singularly distinguished as he was in other respects, did not object to politeness and courtesy if they were not accompanied by effeminacy.

[37.11]A soldier out of Antiochus’ army happened to come to Samos on private business. He was arrested as a spy and brought before the commandant at Panhormus. When questioned as to what was going on at Ephesus, either through fear or acting as traitor to his countrymen he disclosed everything,

The news of the victory followed by the appearance of the Rhodians caused much rejoicing amongst the Romans; it was quite evident that if the Rhodians were relieved from that cause of anxiety they would make all the seas in that part of the world safe.

[37.35]A full council assembled to hear what he had to say. The purport of his speech was as follows: “Many embassies have passed to and fro on the question of peace, and have been fruitless; I entertain strong hopes of gaining it from the very fact that those negotiators gained nothing. For the difficulty in former discussions was the position of Smyrna, Lampsacus, Alexandra Troas and the European city of Lysimachia. Of these Lysimachia has already been evacuated by the king, so that you cannot say that he holds anything in Europe. He is prepared to give up those which are in Asia, and any others in his dominions which the Romans wish to claim on the ground that they are on the side of Rome. He is also prepared to pay half the cost of the war.” These were the proposed conditions of peace. In the rest of his speech he advised the council to remember the uncertainty of human affairs, to make a moderate use of their own good fortune, and not treat the misfortunes of others oppressively. Let them limit their dominion to Europe, even that was an immense empire; it was easier to extend it by single acquisitions than to hold it together in its entirety. If, however, they wanted to annex some part of Asia, provided it was defined by clearly ascertained boundaries, the king would, for the sake of peace and concord, allow his own sense of moderation and equity to give way before the Roman greed for territory. These arguments in favour of peace, which the speaker thought so convinci...

The Ilians did their utmost to show by their words and deeds the pride they felt in the Romans as their descendants, and the Romans were delighted at visiting their original home.

The chariots were driven off the field, and now that this silly show was got rid of the signal was given, and both sides closed in a regular battle.

“Out of all those things which are in the power of the immortal gods we have these which they have vouchsafed to give us. Our self-control and moderation, which depend upon strength of mind, we have kept unchanged in every turn of fortune, and we keep them so today; prosperity has not elated them, adversity has not depressed them.

As he shook the walls with the battering-rams and sheared off the parapet by scythe blades fixed on long poles the defenders were dismayed at the sight and at the terrific noise of the blows delivered by the rams, but when they saw that the walls were still standing, their courage revived and they hammered the rams by means of swing beams with heavy masses of lead, large stones and stout beams of wood; they dragged with iron grapples the poles with the scythe blades inside the walls and broke off the blades.

To avert the danger of the wall being undermined and a way into the city being thrown open, they began to run a trench inside the wall in the direction of the place covered with vineae. When they had excavated as low as the bottom of the secret passage would probably be, they remained perfectly silent, and by placing their ears against different places in the side of the trench they caught the sound of the enemy diggers. As soon as they heard this they broke through straight into the tunnel. There was no difficulty in doing this, for they quickly found themselves in an open space where the wall had been underpinned with timber props by the enemy.1 As the trench and tunnel now opened into one another the two parties of diggers commenced a fight with their digging tools. Very soon armed bodies came up on both sides and an underground battle began in the dark. The besieged closed up the tunnel in one place by stretching a screen of goats’ hair across and improvising barricades, and they adopted a novel device against the enemy which was small but effective. A hole was bored through the bottom of a cask in which an iron pipe was inserted. and an iron cover perforated with several holes was prepared to fit the other end. The cask was then filled with light feathers, the cover fastened on, and through the holes some long spears - the so-called “sarissae” - were inserted to keep off the enemy. The cask was now placed with its head towards the tunnel and a light was placed amongst...

We Romans are familiar with Gaulish tumults and know how they come to nothing. Once in the old days when our ancestors met them for the first time, they fled from them at the Alia; from that time for the last 200 years they have routed and slain them like so many herds of cattle, and almost more triumphs have been won over the Gauls than over the rest of the world put together.

“The Macedonians who occupy Alexandria, Seleucia, Babylonia and their other colonies throughout the world, have degenerated into Syrians and Parthians and Egyptians. Massilia, situated amongst Gauls, has contracted something of the temperament of its neighbours. How much of the rough and stern discipline of Sparta has survived amongst the Tarentines? Everything grows most vigorously in its own home; when planted in an alien soil its nature changes and it deteriorates into that from which it gets its subsistence.

After becoming hardened and savage by all they had to go through, they have found a home in a land which makes them fat with bountiful supplies of every kind. All the ferocity which they brought with them has been tamed by a most fertile soil, a most genial climate and the gentle character of the people amongst whom they have settled. You, sons of Mars, believe me, will have to be on your guard against the attractions of Asia and shun them from the very first; such power have the pleasures of other lands to weaken and destroy your energies, so easily can the habits and practices of the people round you affect you.

As the struggle went on, however, it became anything but equal; the shields of the Gauls though long were not broad enough to cover their bodies, and being flat also afforded poor protection. Moreover, they had no weapons but their swords, and as they could not come to close quarters these were useless. They tried to make use of stones, but as they had not got any ready, they had to use what each man in his hurry and confusion could lay hands on, and unaccustomed as they were to these weapons, they could not make them more effective by either skill or strength. On all sides they were being hit by the arrows and leaden bullets and javelins which they were powerless to ward off; blinded by rage and fear they did not see what they were to do, and they found themselves engaged in the kind of fighting for which they were least fitted. In close fighting where they can receive and inflict wounds in turn, their fury stimulates their courage; so when they are being wounded by missiles flung from a distance by an unseen foe and there is no one against whom they can make a blind rush, they dash recklessly against their own comrades like wild beasts that have been speared. Their practice of always fighting naked makes their wounds more visible, and their bodies are white and fleshy as they never strip except in battle. Consequently more blood flowed from them, the open gashes appeared more horrible, and the whiteness of their bodies showed up the stain of the dark blood. Open wounds, ...

The wife of a chief named Orgiagon, a woman of exceptional beauty, was with other captives in the custody of a centurion who was notorious even amongst soldiers for his licentiousness and greed. At first he made improper proposals to her, but finding that she treated them with abhorrence, he took advantage of her servile condition and violated her. Then, to assuage her anger and shame at the outrage, he held out hopes to her of returning to her friends, but not as a lover would have done without ransom. He stipulated for a certain weight of gold, and to prevent his men from knowing anything about it, he allowed her to choose one of the prisoners and send a message by him to her friends. A spot by the river was fixed upon where not more than two of her friends were to come with the gold on the following night and receive her. There happened to be amongst the prisoners one of her own slaves, and this man was conducted by the centurion beyond the ramparts as soon as it was dark. The following night two of her friends and the centurion with his captive met at the place. Whilst they were showing him the gold, which amounted to an Attic talent - the sum agreed upon - the woman speaking in her own language ordered them to draw their swords and cut off the centurion’s head while he was counting out the gold. Wrapping up the murdered man’s head in her robe, she took it to her husband, who had fled home from Olympus. Before embracing him she flung down the head at his feet, and whil...

Envy, senators, is blind and knows no other method than that of disparaging merit and soiling its honours and rewards.

All discussion and even recollection of this dispute were lost in the outbreak of a more serious controversy with a greater and more distinguished man. We are told on the authority of Valerius Antias that the two Petillii instituted proceedings against P. Scipio Africanus. Men put different interpretations on this according to their various dispositions. Some blamed, not the tribunes only, but the whole body of citizens, for letting such a thing be possible; the two greatest cities in the world, they said, had proved themselves, almost at the same time, ungrateful to their foremost men. Rome was the more ungrateful of the two, for whilst Carthage after her defeat drove the defeated Hannibal into exile, Rome would banish the victorious Scipio in the hour of her victory. Others again took the ground that no single citizen should stand on such an eminence that he could not be required to answer according to law. Nothing contributed more towards maintaining liberty for all than the power of putting the most powerful citizen on his trial. What business, it was asked - not to mention the supreme interests of the State - could be entrusted to any man, if he had not to render an account for it? If a man cannot submit to laws which are the same for all, no force which may be employed against him is unlawful.

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was one of the tribunes. He was a political opponent of Scipio, and had forbidden his colleagues to add his name to their resolution. It was generally expected that he would give a more severe sentence, but he drew up a resolution in the following terms: “Since L. Scipio has pleaded illness as the reason for his brother’s absence, I hold that to be sufficient excuse, and will not allow P. Scipio to be put on his trial before his return to Rome; even then, if he appeals to me, I will support him in any effort to avoid a trial. Scipio has by the common consent of gods and men attained such a lofty position through his own acts and the honours which the Roman people have conferred upon him, that for him to stand beneath the Rostra as a defendant, and have to listen to the insults of young men, would be a greater ignominy for the people of Rome than for him.”

After the Assembly broke up, a meeting of the senate was held. Here a most hearty vote of thanks to Tiberius Gracchus was passed by the whole order, especially the men of consular rank and the elder senators, for having placed the interests of the State before his own private feelings, and the Petillii were taunted with wanting to shine by darkening another’s reputation and enrich themselves by a triumph over Africanus. After this nothing more was said about proceedings against Scipio.

Terentius, in reply, read the resolution carried by the Petillii, the decision of the senate and the sentence passed upon L. Scipio. He declared that unless the sum stated in the judgment were restored to the treasury, there was no other course open to him but to order him to be arrested and taken to prison. The tribunes retired for consultation and shortly afterwards C. Fannius, in the name of all his colleagues except Gracchus, declared that they would not intervene to prevent the praetor from exercising his authority. T. Gracchus gave his decision thus: He would not oppose the action of the praetor in recovering the sum in question from the sale of Lucius Scipio’s property, but that as to L. Scipio himself, a man who had conquered the most prosperous and wealthy monarch in the world; who had carried the dominion of Rome to the utmost limits of the world; who had bound King Eumenes, the Rhodians, and so many other cities in Asia under obligations to Rome; who had led first in triumph, and then to prison, so many enemy commanders - this man he would not allow to lie in prison and in chains amongst the enemies of Rome. He then ordered him to be released. His decision was greeted with such enthusiasm by those who heard it, and there was such general delight at the news of Scipio’s release, that it seemed hardly possible that these were the same people before whom the sentence against him had lately been pronounced.

While these incidents were occurring in Rome - if indeed they did occur in this year - both consuls were engaged in war with the Ligurians. That enemy seemed born to keep up the military discipline of the Romans in the intervals between the more important wars; no other field of operations did more to whet the soldiers’ courage. In Asia the pleasures of city life, the ample supply of luxuries furnished by land and sea, the effeminacy of the enemy, and the princely wealth had enriched the armies instead of making them more efficient.

But it was the speech of his colleague, Tiberius Gracchus, that produced the greatest effect. He said that for a man to use his official position as the instrument of his own personal animosities was in any case setting a bad precedent, but for a tribune of the plebs to become the agent of another man’s vindictiveness was a disgraceful proceeding quite unworthy of the power and inviolability of the college of tribunes. Each man ought to judge for himself whom to love and whom to hate, what actions to approve of and what to disapprove of; he must not wait upon another man’s look or nod, nor must he be driven hither and thither by the motives which sway another man’s mind. A tribune who becomes the tool of an angry consul and is careful to remember what M. Aemilius entrusted to him privately, forgets that the tribuneship was entrusted to him publicly by the people of Rome, and entrusted to him for the protection and liberty of private citizens, not for the defence of an autocratic consul. Albutius does not see that it will go down to posterity that of two members of the same college of tribunes one subordinated his private quarrels to the interests of the State, the other took up a quarrel which was not even a private one, but was entrusted to him by some one else.

He thought the judges would be even more hostile to him than they had been to Scipio owing to reports which had reached Rome of his allowing the soldiers every kind of licence and completely destroying the discipline which his predecessor Scipio had maintained. Nor were the stories of what had gone on in his province far away from men’s eyes the only things that discredited him. Still worse things were witnessed amongst his soldiers every day’ for it was through the army serving in Asia that the beginnings of foreign luxury were introduced into the City. These men brought into Rome for the first time, bronze couches, costly coverlets, tapestry, and other fabrics, and - what was at that time considered gorgeous furniture - pedestal tables and silver salvers. Banquets were made more attractive by the presence of girls who played on the harp and sang and danced, and by other forms of amusement, and the banquets themselves began to be prepared with greater care and expense. The cook whom the ancients regarded and treated as the lowest menial was rising in value, and what had been a servile office came to be looked upon as a fine art. Still what met the eye in those days was hardly the germ of the luxury that was coming.

What liberty was there, where there was no liberty of speech?

When the senate found that Demetrius could not explain things clearly and that they could get no definite information from him and saw that the youth was embarrassed and at a loss what to say, they ordered the question to be put to him whether he had received from his father any memorandum dealing with these matters. On his stating that he had received one, they thought by far the wisest course would be to have the king’s own replies to each point raised. They at once called for the book and allowed him to quote from it.

When Hannibal was informed that the king’s soldiers were in the vestibule, he tried to escape through a postern gate which afforded the most secret means of exit. He found that this too was closely watched and that guards were posted all round the place. Finally he called for the poison which he had long kept in readiness for such an emergency. “Let us,” he said, “relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man’s death. The victory which Flamininus will win over a defenceless fugitive will be neither great nor memorable; this day will show how vastly the moral of the Roman People has changed. Their fathers warned Pyrrhus, when he had an army in Italy, to beware of poison, and now they have sent a man of consular rank to persuade Prusias to murder his guest.” Then, invoking curses on Prusias and his realm and appealing to the gods who guard the rights of hospitality to punish his broken faith, he drained the cup. Such was the close of Hannibal’s life.

We may trace a correspondence in the death of these three men, who were each the most illustrious of his nation, for not only did they die about the same time, but not one of the three ended his life in a way worthy of his splendid career. None of them died on his native soil or was buried there. Hannibal and Philopoemen were carried off by poison; Hannibal was an exile, and betrayed by his host, Philopoemen was a captive and died in prison and in chains. Though Scipio had not been banished or condemned to death, still, as he did not appear on the day fixed for his trial, though duly cited, he passed upon himself a sentence of banishment, not only for life but even after he was dead.

Perseus saw that his brother Demetrius was growing more every day in popularity and influence with the mass of his nation and in favour with the Romans, and he felt that no hope remained to him of winning the crown except through the perpetration of a crime, and to its accomplishment he now devoted all his thoughts. He did not think himself strong enough to carry out the purpose which he was hatching in his weak and unmanly mind, and he began to sound his father’s friends one by one, dropping dark and dubious hints in his talks with them. Some of them made it appear at first as though they rejected anything of the kind, because they hoped more from Demetrius. But as Philip’s bitterness against the Romans, which Perseus encouraged and Demetrius did his utmost to check, became more pronounced every day, they foresaw the ruin of the youth who was taking no precautions against his brother’s intrigues. So they at last decided to help on what must inevitably happen and advance the hopes of the stronger by taking the side of Perseus.

That common saying: ‘Friendships ought to be immortal, enmities mortal,’ has passed into a proverb because it is true.”

They requested permission to visit the Celtiberian camp and ask for help; if it were refused them they would take counsel among themselves. Gracchus gave them permission, and in a few days they returned, bringing with them ten more envoys. It was at the hour of noon, and the first request they made to the praetor was that he would order something to be given them to drink. After emptying the cups they asked for more, and the bystanders burst into peals of laughter at such boorishness and utter want of manners. Then the oldest amongst them spoke: “We have been sent,” he said, “by our nation to enquire on what it is that you rely in carrying your arms against us.” Gracchus told them that he relied upon his splendid army, and if they wanted to see it for themselves so that they might carry back a fuller account of it, he would give them the opportunity of doing so. He then sent word to the military tribunes to order the whole of the force, horse and foot, to equip themselves completely and practice their maneuvers under arms. After this exhibition the envoys were sent home, and they dissuaded their countrymen from sending any succour to the besieged city.

C. Claudius, fearing lest this success should rob him of his province and his army, went off post-haste to his province without offering the customary prayers, unattended by his lictors and in the dead of night, his colleague being the only one who was aware of his intention. His conduct after his arrival was more ill-advised even than the way in which he had started for his province. Addressing the assembled troops, he taunted Manlius with his flight from the camp, to the intense annoyance of the soldiers, since it was they who began the flight, and then he attacked M. Junius for associating himself with his colleague’s disgrace, and ended by ordering them both to quit the province. They promised that they would obey his order as soon as he had made his departure from the City in the traditional way, after the customary prayers in the Capitol, and attended by his lictors in their official dress. Claudius, beside himself with rage, called the official who was acting as quaestor to Manlius to bring fetters, and threatened to send both Manlius and Junius in chains to Rome. This officer also ignored the consul’s authority, and their determination not to obey was strengthened by the way the army supported their commanders and resented the conduct of Claudius. At last the consul, overborne by the insults and jeers of individual soldiers, and the ridicule (for they actually laughed at him) of the whole army, returned to Aquileia in the same vessel in which he had come.

Even then they had no thought of suing for peace; they made up their minds to murder their women and children, and that this horrid deed might be a spectacle to the enemy, they butchered them openly on the walls and then flung them down. Amidst the shrieks of the women and children and the unspeakable horrors of the massacre, the Romans surmounted the walls and entered the town. When the king heard the terrified cries of those who fled, and understood from the tumult that the place was taken, he stabbed himself that he might not be taken alive. The rest were either killed or made prisoners.

Whilst the new consuls were each sacrificing an ox to Jupiter on the day of their entering upon office, the victim which Q. Petilius was sacrificing was defective; there was no head to the liver visible. He reported this to the senate, and they ordered him to go on sacrificing until the victim gave a favourable omen.

While this business was being transacted in the senate, Cnaeus Cornelius was called out by an apparitor, and left the House. On his return he was visibly perturbed, and explained that the liver of the ox which he had sacrificed had disappeared. When the victimarius reported this to him he did not believe it, and he ordered the water in which the entrails were being boiled to be poured out from the cauldron. He saw every other portion of the victim complete, but in some unaccountable way the liver had been consumed. The senators were much alarmed at this ominous incident, and their alarm was intensified by the other consul’s statement that after the appearance of the defective liver he had sacrificed three oxen in succession without getting any favourable indication. The senate ordered them both to go on sacrificing until the omens were favourable.

Amongst the free nations and communities the common people were, as usual, almost to a man in favour of the worse side, and supported the king and the Macedonians.

The elder senators, however, and others who had not forgotten the moral standards of earlier days, said that they failed to recognise anything of the Roman character in these negotiations. “Our ancestors,” they said, “did not conduct their wars by lurking in ambush and making attacks at night, nor by feigning flight and then turning back upon the enemy when he was off his guard. They did not pride themselves on cunning more than on true courage, it was their custom to declare war before commencing it, sometimes even to give the enemy notice of the time and place where they would fight. This sense of honour made them warn Pyrrhus against his physician, who was plotting against his life, it made them hand over to the Faliscans as a prisoner the betrayer of their children. This is the true Roman spirit, there is nothing here of the cunning of the Carthaginians or the cleverness of the Greeks, who pride themselves more in deceiving an enemy than in overcoming him in fair fight. Occasionally more can be gained for the time being by craft than by courage, but it is only when you have forced your enemy to confess that he has been overcome not by cleverness nor by accident, but after a fair trial of strength where the rules of war are properly observed - it is only then that his spirit is broken and his defeat a lasting one.”

The Romans advanced little more than seven miles that day. Very little of this was done on their feet; their mode of progression was for the most part to roll down with their arms and the other things they had to carry in a most uncomfortable and painful manner; so much so indeed that even their general himself who was responsible for the expedition admitted that the entire army could have been annihilated by a small body of assailants.

When Perseus had recovered from his panic, he began to wish that his commands had not been obeyed, when in his hurry he ordered his treasure at Pella to be thrown into the sea and the naval arsenal at Thessalonica to be burnt. Andronicus, who had been sent for that purpose to Thessalonica, had delayed carrying out his orders and, as it happened, left the king time for repentance. Nicias was not so cautious and had thrown that part of the money which was lying at Phacus overboard, but the mistake proved to be not irremediable, for almost the whole was fished up by divers. The king was so ashamed of his fright that he ordered the divers to be secretly put to death, and the same fate overtook Andronicus and Nicias, in order that no one alive might know anything about his insane orders.

For it is a common experience, and I have noticed it especially in this war, that no one can be so indifferent to public opinion as not to find his courage and energy influenced by it. In all public places where people congregate, and actually - would you believe it! - in private parties, there are men who know who are leading the armies into Macedonia, where their camps ought to be placed, what strategical positions ought to be occupied, when and by what pass Macedonia ought to be entered, where the magazines are to be formed, by what mode of land and sea transport supplies are to be conveyed, when actions are to be fought, and when it is better to remain inactive. And they not only lay down what ought to be done, but when anything is done contrary to their opinion they arraign the consul as though he were being impeached before the Assembly. This greatly interferes with the successful prosecution of a war, for it is not everybody who can show such firmness and resolution in the teeth of hostile criticism as Fabius did; he preferred to have his authority weakened by the ignorance and caprice of the people rather than gain popularity by disservice to the State. I am not one of those who think that generals are not to be advised; on the contrary, the man who always acts on his own initiative shows, in my judgment, more arrogance than wisdom. How then does the case stand? Commanders ought first of all to get the advice of thoughtful and far-seeing men who have special experi...

A few days later he sent Gentius to Rome, together with his mother, his wife, his children and his brother, and also some of the principal men of Illyria. This is the only war the close of which was reported in Rome before they had heard that it had begun.

When an order was promulgated to all the troops at the same time, it was not distinctly heard by everybody, and in their uncertainty as to what had been said, some made additions for themselves and went beyond what had been ordered, while some did less than they were told to do. Then confused shouts arose throughout the column and the enemy knew the general’s intentions before they did. He therefore gave directions for the military tribunes to communicate the order privately to the first centurion of the legion and he was to notify what was to be done to each of the centurions, rank by rank, whether the order was to be transmitted from front to rear of the column or from rear to front.

He also forbade the sentinels to follow the new fashion of wearing their shields; a sentinel did not go into battle to make use of his arms; his duty was on becoming aware of the enemy’s approach to retire and call the rest to arms. They used to stand, wearing their helmets and holding their shields in front of them, and then, when they were tired, they leaned on their spears, rested their heads on the rim of their shields and went to sleep as they stood, so that the glitter of their armour made them visible to the enemy while they themselves saw nothing in front of them.

He reminded them that it was the duty of the commander alone to provide for the welfare of his army and to advise as to what ought to be done, sometimes alone and sometimes in consultation with those whom he has called into council. Those who were not called into council had no right to ventilate their own opinions either publicly or privately. It was the soldier’s duty to be careful about these three things: To keep his body as strong and agile as possible; to keep his arms in good order, and to have his food ready against any sudden order of his commander. All other matters, he must understand, are under the care of the gods and of his general. In an army where the soldiers take upon them to give advice and the general is swayed by the opinions of the multitude, there is no safety. He, as their commander, would do his duty and be on the watch to give them an opportunity of fighting a successful battle. It was not for them to ask what was going to happen, as soon as the signal was given, it was their duty to do all that a soldier could do.

He strongly advised the consul to attack the enemy while he had him in level and open country, and not to lose the proffered chance of victory. The consul was not at all offended at the frank admonition of so distinguished a youth. “Nasica,” he replied, “I, too, once felt as you do now, and one day you will feel as I do now. I have learnt, through the many accidents of war, when to fight and when to abstain from fighting. I have no time now, standing as I am at the head of the line, to explain to you why it is better to rest today. Ask me for my reasons some other time; for the time being you will be content to submit to the authority of a veteran commander.” The young man was silent; he was sure that his general saw some impediments in the way of a battle which were not apparent to him.

The consul Paulus Aemilius was, as I have already said, still in camp at Sirae, in the Odomantic country, when three persons of mean appearance brought him a letter from Perseus. On seeing the missive he is said to have shed tears over the fate that befalls men, for the man who a short time ago was not contented with his kingdom of Macedonia, but made an attack on the Dardanians and the Illyrians, and had called out the auxiliary levies of the Bastarnae - that man had now lost his army, was driven out of his kingdom a homeless wanderer into a small island where, as a suppliant, he was protected by the sanctity of the temple, not by any strength which he possessed. When, however, he read the salutation, “From King Perseus to the consul Paulus.” the man’s utter failure to realise his condition destroyed all feeling of compassion.

After crossing the river at Eleusis, about four miles from Alexandria, he was met by the Roman commissioners, to whom he gave a friendly greeting and held out his hand to Popilius. Popilius, however, placed in his hand the tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him first of all to read that. After reading it through he said he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do. Popilius, stern and imperious as ever, drew a circle round the king with the stick he was carrying and said, “Before you step out of that circle give me a reply to lay before the senate.” For a few moments he hesitated, astounded at such a peremptory order, and at last replied, “I will do what the senate thinks right.” Not till then did Popilius extend his hand to the king as to a friend and ally.

At last a certain Theodotus, a young man of noble birth, whose dread of the Romans proved stronger than his fear of his chiefs, exclaimed, “What madness possesses you that you should make the whole body of citizens accessories to the guilt of two men? I have often heard tell of men who have met death on behalf of their country; these are the first who have been found to think it right that their country should perish for their sake. Why do we not open our gates and accept the sovereignty which the whole world has accepted?”