The History of Rome Volume III Part 15

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 hors.e.m.e.n, went out thither, conducted by the commissioners Quintus Naevius, Marcus Minucius, and Marcus Furius Cra.s.sipes. Fifteen acres of ground were a.s.signed to each footman, double that quant.i.ty 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 rumours of impending hostility, and, consequently, the anxiety of the senate, daily increased. They therefore set about adjusting the provinces of the magistrates elect, in order that they might 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 a.s.signed 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 pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sertions, 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 circ.u.mstances 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 honour 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 p.r.o.ne 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 sh.o.r.e 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 pa.s.sed 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 princ.i.p.al Magnetians from Demetrias, met him.

Being greatly gratified by their numerous appearance, he carried his fleet the next day into the harbour of their city. At a small distance from the town he landed his forces, which consisted of ten thousand foot, five hundred horse, and six elephants; a force scarcely sufficient to take possession of Greece 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 pa.s.sed a decree, inviting him into their country. The king had already left Demetrias, (for he knew that such a decree was to be pa.s.sed,) 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 a.s.sembly. 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 amba.s.sadors, 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 fulfil the hopes of those, whose expectations seemed at present to be disappointed. For as soon as the season of the year rendered navigation safe, he would cover all Greece with arms, men, and horses, and all its coasts with fleets. He would spare neither expense, nor labour, nor danger, until he should remove the Roman yoke from their necks, and render Greece really free, and the 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 embarra.s.s their preparations for war, with the view that, through the tediousness of the proceedings, the king's vigour might be relaxed and the Romans gain time to put themselves in readiness. That they had abundant proof from experience, after so many emba.s.sies 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 pet.i.tion 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 t.i.tle 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 harbour, the magistrates and other chief men of Chalcis came out before their gate.

A small number from each side met to confer together. The 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 pretence 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 a.s.sertor 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 amba.s.sadors of Antiochus and the Aetolians were admitted to an audience of the council at Aegium, in the presence of t.i.tus Quinctius. The amba.s.sador 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 h.e.l.lespont 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 harbours in Greece were capable of containing them; the right squadron was composed of Sidonians and Tyrians; the left of Aradians and Sidetians, from Pamphylia.--nations which none others had ever equalled, either in courage, or skill in sea affairs. Then, as to money, and other requisites for the support of war, it was needless for him to speak.

They themselves knew, that the kingdoms of Asia had always abounded in gold. The Romans, therefore, had not now to deal with Philip, or with Hannibal; the one a princ.i.p.al 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, amba.s.sador 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 ingrat.i.tude, and upbraiding them, as being indebted to the valour 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 defence, 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 a.s.semblies 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 amba.s.sadors, 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 amba.s.sadors. By the false representations made by both parties, and boasts of strength which neither possessed, they mutually puffed up each other; and were themselves puffed up with vain expectations: one party talking of Philip being vanquished by them, the Romans being protected by their valour, and the rest of what you have just heard; and that you, and the other states and nations, would follow their party. The king, on the other side, boasting of clouds of hors.e.m.e.n 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 armour, and mult.i.tudinous 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 succours 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 endeavours, 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 princ.i.p.al adviser of a revolt, being publicly charged therewith by one Leon, was condemned and driven into exile. Thus, from the Achaeans also, the emba.s.sy 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 pa.s.sage 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 pa.s.ses were blocked up by the enemy, he quitted the road to Aulis, and turned away to Delium, with intent to pa.s.s over thence to Euboea.

51. Delium is a temple of Apollo, standing over the sea five miles distant from Tanagra; and the pa.s.sage 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 a.s.sault, 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 x.x.xVI.

_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 a.s.suming the administration, were ordered by the senate, before they settled any thing respecting their provinces, to perform sacrifices, with victims of the greater kinds, at all the shrines, where the Lectisternium was usually celebrated for the greater part of the year; and to offer prayers, that the business which the state had in contemplation, concerning a new war, might terminate prosperously and happily for the senate and people of Rome.

At every one of those sacrifices, appearances were favourable, and the propitious omens were found in the first victims. Accordingly, the 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 superst.i.tious 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 pa.s.sed, then the consuls were, if they thought proper, to lay the business entire before the senate.

Publius Cornelius got the order pa.s.sed; 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 succours from the allies, out of Italy, if circ.u.mstances 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 a.s.signment 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 pa.s.sed 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 honour of thee, and offerings shall be presented at all the shrines, of such value as the senate shall direct. Whatever magistrate shall celebrate those games, and at whatever time and place, let the celebration be deemed proper, and the offerings rightly and duly made." The two consuls then proclaimed a supplication for two days. When the consuls had determined their provinces by 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 a.s.signed 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 r.e.t.a.r.ded 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 ent.i.tled 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 amba.s.sadors had so often demanded rest.i.tution, the Aetolians had not thought proper to make either rest.i.tution 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 t.i.tus 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 a.s.semble at Brundusium, on the ides of May.[1]" He himself, on the fifth before the nones of May,[2] set out from the city in his military robe of command. At the same time the praetors, likewise, departed for their respective provinces.

[Footnote 1: 15th May.]

[Footnote 2: 3rd May.]

4. A little before this time, amba.s.sadors 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 amba.s.sadors were answered, that the senate and people of Rome would consider it as a kindness if he should lend his a.s.sistance to the consul, Manius Acilius. Amba.s.sadors came, likewise from the Carthaginians, and from king Masinissa. The Carthaginians made an offer of sending a thousand pecks[1] of wheat, and five hundred thousand of barley to the army, and half that quant.i.ty 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 amba.s.sadors 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.

[Footnote 1: Here is, doubtless, some word dropped in the original; so small a quant.i.ty could never have been deemed an object for one powerful state to offer to another. Commentators suppose it to have been _one hundred_ thousand.]

5. While these things were occurring at Rome, Antiochus, during the winter season at Chalcis, endeavoured to bring over several of the states by amba.s.sadors 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 emba.s.sy 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 a.s.saults 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 circ.u.mstances allowed him not to do that, then they earnestly entreated him not to subject them, naked and defenceless, to the arms of the Romans." Their intention in sending him this message evidently was, that if he declined going into Epirus, which they rather supposed would be the case, they 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 succour from them, who were so far distant. To this so evasive emba.s.sy, as he did not readily think of a proper answer, he replied, that he would send amba.s.sadors 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 ma.s.sacre 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 circ.u.mstances, that they could not long subsist without some change in affairs. Through mult.i.tudes of the princ.i.p.al 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 amba.s.sadors 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 pa.s.sed in his favour against the Romans. After securing this nation also on his side, he returned to Chalcis; and, having despatched letters, summoning the chief 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 a.s.sembly. 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 amba.s.sadors 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 partic.i.p.ation 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 offence,) how could I harbour 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 compet.i.tion with you two? But it may be asked. What circ.u.mstances 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 amba.s.sador, 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 emba.s.sy 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 pa.s.s 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 pa.s.sage; 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 skilful 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 endeavours. Whatever plan you shall consider the best, may the G.o.ds 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. Amba.s.sadors were sent to Larissa, to the diet of the Thessalians. The Aetolians and Amynander appointed a day for the a.s.sembling 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 irruption 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, amba.s.sadors 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 amba.s.sadors 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 amba.s.sador, 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 emba.s.sy, without the smallest hesitation they determined to endure whatever the fortune of war might bring on them, rather than violate their engagements with the Romans. They accordingly exerted their utmost efforts to provide for the defence of their city; while the king, on his part, resolved to a.s.sail 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 a.s.sault 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 behaviour would operate powerfully towards conciliating the esteem of the Larissans.

10. Having accomplished all this within the s.p.a.ce 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 a.s.sault, 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 a.s.saulting cities. While the king's judgment was in suspense between hope and fear, his courage was raised by amba.s.sadors 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 Da.s.saretia; 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 armour, 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 a.s.sembly 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 laboured 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, practised an artifice against them. He observed in the council, that the inland parts of Acarnania should be guarded from danger, and that all who were able to bear arms ought to march out to Medio and Thurium, to prevent those places from being seized by Antiochus, or the 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, amba.s.sadors from the king came to Medio, whose proposal being heard, the a.s.sembly 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 c.l.i.tus offered an opinion, which seemed to take a middle course between the other two, and which was therefore adopted. It was, that amba.s.sadors 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 a.s.sembly of the Acarnanians. Mnasilochus, and some others of his faction, were studiously included in this emba.s.sy; who, sending private messengers to desire the king to bring up his army, wasted time on purpose; so that the amba.s.sadors 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 c.l.i.tus 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 emba.s.sy. 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; a.s.suring 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 favourable 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 Da.s.saretia, 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 a.s.sault, they sent messengers to warn Philip not to expose himself to the last extremities; to which he answered, with much confidence, that he could intrust 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