1.1. Publius Cornelius Scipio, the son of Gnaeus, and Manius Acilius Glabrio were inaugurated consuls, and were directed by the Fathers, before they took up the question of provinces, to perform sacrifices with full-grown victims at all the shrines at which the lectisternium was customarily celebrated throughout the greater part of the year, and to offer prayer that what the senate had in mind regarding the new war might turn out well and successfully for the senate and the Roman people.
1.1. P. Cornelium Cn. filium Scipionem et M’. Acilium Glabrionem consules inito magistratu patres, priusquam de provinciis agerent, res divinas facere maioribus hostiis iusserunt in omnibus fanis, in quibus lectisternium maiorem partem anni fieri solet, precarique, quod senatus de novo bello in animo haberet, ut ea res senatui populoque Romano bene atque feliciter eveniret.
1.3. All these sacrifices were favourable and good omens were obtained from the first victims, and the interpretation of the haruspices was this, that in this war the boundaries of the Roman people were being enlarged and that victory and a triumph were foreshadowed.
1.3. ea omnia sacrificia laeta fuerunt, primisque hostiis perlitatum est, et ita haruspices responderunt, eo bello terminos populi Romani propagari, victoriam ac triumphum ostendi.
1.4. When this had been reported, the Fathers, their minds freed of religious scruples, directed that the question be proposed to the assembly, whether they wished and ordered war to be entered upon with King Antiochus and those who had followed his path;
1.4. haec cum renuntiata essent, solutis religione animis patres rogationem ad populum ferri iusserunt, vellent iuberentne cum Antiocho rege, quique eius sectam secuti essent bellum iniri;
1.5. if this motion should be adopted, then, if the consuls saw fit, they should lay the whole question before the senate.
1.5. si ea perlata rogatio esset, tum, si ita videretur consulibus, rem integram ad senatum referrent.
1.6. Publius Cornelius carried the motion; the senate then decreed that the consuls should cast lots for the provinces of Italy and Greece; the one to whom Greece should be allotted was instructed, in addition to that number of troops which the consul Lucius Quinctius had enlisted or levied for service in that province in accordance with the action of the senate, to take over the army which Marcus Baebius the praetor had the year before transported to Macedonia with the authorization of the senate;
1.6. P. Cornelius eam rogationem pertulit; tum senatus decrevit, ut consules Italiam et Graeciam provincias sortirentur, cui Graecia evenisset, ut praeter eum numerum militum, quem L. Quinctius consul in eam provinciam ex auctoritate senatus scripsisset imperassetve, ut eum exercitum acciperet, quem M.
1.7. he was permitted also, if the situation required it, to accept from the allies outside of Italy for auxiliaries not to exceed five thousand men.
1.7. Baebius praetor anno priore ex senatus consulto in Macedoniam traiecisset;
1.8. It was the senate's pleasure that Lucius Quinctius, the consul of the preceding year, should be taken to this war as a lieutenant.
1.8. et extra Italiam permissum, ut, si res postulasset, auxilia ab sociis ne supra quinque milium numerum acciperet. L. Quinctium superioris anni consulem legari ad id bellum placuit.
1.9. The other consul, to whom Italy should have fallen as a province, was ordered to carry on war with the Boii, using whichever he preferred of the two armies which the preceding consuls had had, and to send the other. to Rome, and that these, as reserve legions, should be ready to move wherever the senate should direct.
1.9. alter consul, cui Italia provincia evenisset, cum Bois iussus bellum gerere utro exercitu mallet ex duobus, quos superiores consules habuissent, alterum ut mitteret Romanam, eaeque urbanae legiones essent paratae quo senatus censuisset.
2.1. These decrees having been enacted in the senate, and it being up to this time uncertain which province would be assigned to which consul; it was then at length decided that the consuls should cast lots.
2.1. his ita in senatu intento ad id, quae cuius provincia foret, decretis, tum demum sortiri consules placuit. Acilio Graecia, Cornelio Italia evenit.
2.2. To Acilius fell Greece, to Cornelius Italy. The drawing being concluded, a decree of the senate was then passed that, since the Roman people had at that time ordered that there be war with King Antiochus and those who were under his authority, the consuls should proclaim a period of prayer for the success of this undertaking, and that the consul Manius Acilius should vow the great games to Jupiter and gifts at all the banquet-tables of the gods.
2.2. certa deinde sorte senatus consultum factum est, quod populus Romanus eo tempore duellum iussisset esse cum rege Antiocho quique sub imperio eius essent, ut eius rei causa supplicationem imperarent consules, utique M’. Acilius consul ludos magnos Iovi voveret et dona ad omnia pulvinaria.
2.3. This vow, at the dictation of Publius Licinius the high priest, the consul made-in the following form: “If the war which the people has ordered to be undertaken with King Antiochus shall have been finished to the satisfaction of the senate and the Roman people, then in your honour, Jupiter, the Roman people will perform the Great ” “Games for ten consecutive days and gifts will be offered at all the banquet-tables, of whatever value the senate shall determine.
2.3. id votum in haec verba praeeunte P. Licinio pontifice maximo consul nuncupavit: “si duellum, quod cum rege Antiocho sumi populus iussit, id ex sententia senatus populique Romani confectum erit, tum tibi, Iuppiter, populus Romanus ludos magnos dies decem continuos faciet, donaque ad omnia pulvinaria dabuntur de pecunia, quantam senatus decreverit.
2.5. Whatever magistrate shall celebrate these games, at whatever time and place, let these games be regarded as duly celebrated and the gifts as duly offered.”
2.5. quisquis magistratus eos ludos quando ubique faxit, hi ludi recte facti donaque data recte sunto.” supplicatio inde ab duobus consulibus edicta per biduum fuit.
2.6. Then the period of prayer was proclaimed by both consuls, to continue for two days. The consuls having drawn for their provinces, the praetors too at once cast lots. Marcus Junius Brutus received the two jurisdictions, Aulus Cornelius Mammula the Brutti, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Sicily, Lucius Oppius Salinator Sardinia, Gaius Livius Salinator the fleet, Lucius Aemilius Paulus Farther Spain.
2.6. consulibus sortitis provincias extemplo et praetores sortiti sunt. M. Iunio Bruto iurisdictio utraque evenit, A. Cornelio Mammulae Bruttii, M. Aemilio Lepido Sicilia, L. Oppio Salinatori Sardinia, C. Livio Salinatori classis, L. Aemilio Paulo Hispania ulterior.
2.7. Troops were assigned to them thus: to Aulus Cornelius were given the new troops raised the year before by Lucius Quinctius the consul under the decree of the senate, and he was ordered to defend the whole coast in the vicinity of Tarentum and Brundisium.
2.7. his ita exercitus decreti: A. Cornelio novi milites, conscripti priore anno ex senatus consulto a L. Quinctio consule, dati sunt, iussusque tueri omnem oram circa Tarentum Brundisiumque.
2.8. To Lucius Aemilius Paulus, for service in Farther Spain, authority was given to raise, in addition to the army which he was to take over from Marcus Fulvius the proconsul, three thousand new infantry and three hundred cavalry, on this basis, that two-thirds should be allies of the Latin confederacy and one-third Roman citizens.
2.8. L. Aemilio Paulo in ulteriorem Hispaniam, praeter eum exercitum, quem a M. Fulvio proconsule accepturus esset, decretum est, ut novorum militum tria milia duceret et trecentos equites, ita ut in iis duae partes socium Latini nominis, tertia civium Romanorum esset.
2.9. The same reinforcement was sent to Gaius Flaminius, whose imperium was prolonged, for Nearer Spain.
2.9. idem supplementi ad C. Flaminium, cui imperium prorogabatur, in Hispaniam citeriorem est missum.
2.10. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was directed to take over both province and army from Lucius Valerius, whom he was to succeed;
2.10. M. Aemilius Lepidus ab L. Valerio, cui successurus esset, simul provinciam exercitumque accipere iussus;
2.11. if he desired, he should keep Lucius Valerius in the province as propraetor and should divide the province in such a way that one part should extend from Agrigentum to Pachynum, the other from Pachynum to Tyndareus; this coast Lucius Valerius was to guard with twenty warships.
2.11. L. Valerium, si ita videretur, pro praetore in provincia retinere et provinciam ita dividere, ut una ab Agrigento ad Pachynum esset, altera a Pachyno Tyndareum; eam maritimam oram L. Valerius viginti navibus longis custodiret.
2.12. The same praetor was instructed to requisition two tithes of grain; he was to see to its collection on the coast and its transportation to Greece.
2.12. eidem praetori mandatum, ut duas decumas frumenti exigeret; id ad mare comportandum devehendumque in Graeciam curaret.
2.13. The same order was given to Lucius Oppius regarding collecting a second tithe in Sardinia; this grain, however, they wished transported not to Greece but to Rome.
2.13. idem L. Oppio de alteris decumis exigendis in Sardinia imperatum; ceterum non in Graeciam sed Romam id frumentum portari placere.
2.14. Gaius Livius the praetor, to whom the fleet had been allotted, was instructed to prepare thirty ships and cross to Greece at the earliest opportunity and to take over the fleet from Atilius.
2.14. C. Livius praetor, cui classis evenerat, triginta navibus paratis traicere in Graeciam primo quoque tempore iussus, et ab Atilio naves accipere.
2.15. The refitting and equipping of the old ships which were in the yards was assigned to Marcus Junius the praetor, and the enrolment of freedmen as naval allies.
2.15. veteres naves, quae in navalibus erant, ut reficeret et armaret, M. Iunio praetori negotium datum est, et in eam classem socios navales libertinos legeret.
3.1. Commissioners were sent to Africa, three each to the Carthaginians and to Numidia, to solicit grain to be shipped to Greece, for which the Roman people would pay.
3.1. legati terni in Africam ad Carthaginienses et in Numidiam ad frumentum rogandum, quod in Graeciam portaretur, missi, pro quo pretium solveret populus Romanus.
3.2. And so absorbed was the state in the preparation and provision for this war that Publius Cornelius the consul issued an edict to the effect that, of those who were senators and those who had the right to vote in the senate and those who held the lesser offices, no one should be so far distant from the city of Rome that he could not return the same day, and that five senators should not be away from Rome at one time. In his zealous collection of a fleet Gaius Livius was delayed for a while by a dispute which arose with the colonists on the coast.
3.2. adeoque in apparatum curamque eius belli civitas intenta fuit, ut P. Cornelius consul ediceret, qui senatores essent quibusque in senatu sententiam dicere liceret, quique minores magistratus essent, ne quis eorum longius ab urbe Roma abiret, quam unde eo die redire posset, neve uno tempore quinque senatores ab urbe Roma abessent.
3.4. For when they were drafted for naval service they appealed to the tribunes of the people; by them they were referred to the senate.
3.4. in comparanda impigre classe C. Livium praetorem contentio orta cum colonis maritimis paulisper tenuit.
3.5. With such unanimity that all the members to a man agreed, the senate voted that no exemptions from naval service should be granted to these colonists.
3.5. nam cum cogerentur in classem, tribunos plebi appellarunt; ab iis ad senatum reiecti sunt. senatus ita, ut ad unum omnes consentirent, decrevit vacationem rei navalis eis colonis non esse.
3.6. Ostia, Fregenae, Castrum Novum, Pyrgi, Antium, Terracina, Minturnae and Sinuessa were the colonies which disputed with the praetor over exemptions. Then the consul Manius Acilius, with the authorization of the senate, laid the question before the college of fetials whether the declaration of war should be delivered to King Antiochus himself directly or whether it sufficed that it be proclaimed at some of his military stations; and also whether they ordered the war to be formally announced to the Aetolians independently, and whether the alliance and friendship with them should be formally broken off before the declaration of war.
3.6. Ostia et Fregenae et Castrum Novum et Pyrgi et Antium et Tarracina et Minturnae et Sinuessa fuerunt, quae cum praetore de vacatione certarunt. consul deinde M’. Acilius ex senatus consulto ad collegium fetialium rettulit, ipsine utique regi Antiocho indiceretur bellum, an satis esset ad praesidium aliquod eius nuntiari;
3.8. The fetials replied that they had already earlier decided, when they were consulted regarding Philip, that it made no difference whether the declaration was delivered to him in person or at a military post;
3.8. et num Aetolis quoque separatim indici iuberent bellum, et num prius societas et amicitia eis renuntianda esset quam bellum indicendum.
3.9. the friendship seemed to be already broken off since they had voted that restitution had not been made after ambassadors had so often demanded it nor fair satisfaction given; the Aetolians had taken the initiative in declaring war upon them when they had seized Demetrias, a city belonging to the allies, by violence, had proceeded to invest Chalcis by land and sea, and had invited King Antiochus to Europe to make war upon the
3.9. fetiales responderunt, iam ante sese, cum de Philippo consulerentur, decrevisse nihil referre, ipsi coram an ad praesidium nuntiaretur; amicitiam renuntiatam videri, cum legatis totiens repetentibus res nec reddi nec satisfieri aequum censuissent;
3.11. Roman people. All arrangements having been satisfactorily made, the consul Manius Acilius issued an edict to the soldiers whom Lucius Quinctius had enlisted and those whom he had requisitioned from the allies of the Latin confederacy, whom he was to take with him to his province, and to the military tribunes of the first and the third legions, that they should all assemble at Brundisium on the Ides of May. He himself left the City in uniform on the fifth day before the Nones of May.
3.11. Aetolos ultro sibi bellum indixisse, cum Demetriadem, sociorum urbem, per vim occupassent, Chalcidem terra marique oppugnatum issent, regem Antiochum in Europam ad bellum populo Romano inferendum traduxissent.
3.13. About the same time the praetors too set out for their provinces. About the same time ambassadors arrived in Rome from two kings, Philip and Ptolemy, King of Egypt; Philip promised aid and money and grain for the war; from Ptolemy also was brought the sum of a thousand pounds of gold and twenty thousand pounds of silver. None of these gifts was accepted; thanks were expressed to the kings, and when each of them promised to come with all his forces to Aetolia and participate in the war, Ptolemy was excused from this;
3.13. omnibus iam satis comparatis M'. Acilius consul edixit, ut quos L. Quinctius milites conscripsisset et quos sociis nominique Latino imperasset, quos secum in provinciam ire oporteret, et tribuni militum legionis primae et tertiae, ut ii omnes Brundisium idibus Mais convenirent. ipse a. d. quintum nonas Maias paludatus urbe egressus est. per eosdem dies et praetores in provincias profecti sunt. sub idem tempus legati ab duobus regibus, Philippo et Ptolomaeo, [Aegypti rege,] Romam venerunt, Philippo pollicente ad bellum auxilia et pecuniam et frumentum; ab Ptolomaeo etiam mille pondo auri, viginti milia pondo argenti adlata. nihil eius acceptum;
4.3. to the ambassadors of Philip the answer was given that it would be acceptable to the senate and the Roman people if he did not fail the consul Manius Acilius.
4.3. gratiae regibus actae; et cum uterque se cum omnibus copiis in Aetoliam venturum belloque interfuturum polliceretur, Ptolomaeo id remissum;
4.4. Ambassadors also came from the Carthaginians and King Masinissa. The Carthaginians promised five hundred thousand modii of wheat and five hundred thousand modii of barley, and offered to transport half of it to Rome;
4.4. Philippi legatis responsum gratum eum senatui populoque Romano facturum, si M'. Acilio consuli non defuisset. item ab Carthaginiensibus et Masinissa rege legati venerunt. Carthaginienses tritici modium … milia, hordei quingenta ad exercitum, dimidium eius Romam apportaturos polliciti:
4.6. they begged the Romans to accept it as a gift from them and they said that they would prepare a fleet at their own expense and would pay at once in a lump sum the tribute which they owed in successive instalments over a term of years. The ambassadors of Masinissa promised that the king would send five hundred thousand modii of wheat and three hundred thousand of barley to Greece for the army, three hundred thousand modii of wheat and two hundred fifty thousand of barley to Rome, and five hundred cavalry and twenty elephants to Manius Acilius the consul.
4.6. id ut ab se munus Romani acciperent, petere sese, et classem [suorum] suo sumptu comparaturos, et stipendium, quod pluribus pensionibus in multos annos deberent, praesens omne daturos; Masinissae legati quingenta milia modium tritici, trecenta hordei ad exercitum in Graeciam, Romam trecenta milia modium tritici, ducenta quinquaginta hordei, equites quingentos, elephantos viginti regem ad M'. Acilium consulem missurum.
4.9. Regarding the grain, the answer was given both that the Roman people would use the grain if they would accept pay for it; the Carthaginians were released from their promise about the fleet, except with respect to the ships which -they owed under the treaty; as to the money also, the reply was that they would accept none before it was due.
4.9. de frumento utrisque responsum, ita usurum eo populum Romanum, si pretium acciperent; de classe Carthaginiensibus remissum, praeterquam si quid navium ex foedere deberent; de pecunia item responsum, nullam ante diem accepturos.
5.1. While this was going on at Rome, Antiochus at Chalcis, not to waste the winter in idleness, sometimes was himself stirring up the minds of the states by sending embassies, sometimes was receiving delegations voluntarily sent to him, as, for instance, the Epirotes, who came with the unanimous approval of the people, and the men of Elis from the Peloponnesus.
5.1. cum haec Romae agebantur, Chalcide Antiochus, ne cessaret per hibernorum tempus, partim ipse sollicitabat civitatium animos mittendis legatis, partim ultro ad eum veniebant, sicut Epirotae communi gentis consensu et Elei e Peloponneso venerunt.
5.2. The Elei were asking aid against the Achaeans, who, they thought, would attack their city first after declaring a war on Antiochus of which the Elei disapproved.
5.2. Elei auxilium adversus Achaeos petebant, quos post bellum non ex sua sententia indictum Antiocho primum civitati suae arma illaturos credebant.
5.3. A thousand infantry were sent to them under command of Euphanes the Cretan. The embassy of the Epirotes showed no outspoken and plain inclination to either side; they were trying to curry favour with the king, meanwhile avoiding giving any offence to the Romans.
5.3. mille iis pedites cum duce Cretensi Euphane sunt missi. Epirotarum legatio erat minime in partem ullam liberi aut simplicis animi; apud regem gratiam initam volebant cum eo, ut caverent, ne quid offenderent Romanos.
5.4. For they asked that he should not heedlessly involve them in the affair, being placed face to face with Italy, in the forefront of Greece and fated to receive the first attacks of the Romans.
5.4. petebant enim, ne se temere in causam deduceret, expositos adversus Italiam pro omni Graecia et primos impetus Romanorum excepturos;
5.5. But if he himself could stand guard over Epirus with his armies and fleets, all the Epirotes would eagerly receive him in cities and harbours alike; if he could not, they begged that he should not make them, naked and unarmed, bear the brunt of the Roman war.
5.5. sed si ipse posset terrestribus navalibusque copiis praesidere Epiro, cupide eum omnis Epirotas et urbibus et portibus suis accepturos; si id non posset, deprecari, ne se nudos atque inermes Romano bello obiceret.
5.6. It was clear that the object of the embassy was that either, if, as they rather believed, he kept away from Epirus, they might not be committed to anything in the eyes of the Roman armies, though they had well established their position with the king, since they had been ready to receive him if he came, or, if he did come, that thus there would be the hope of pardon from the Romans because, not expecting from them aid which was so far away, they had yielded to the might of the king who was so close at hand.
5.6. hac legatione id agi apparebat, ut sive, quod magis credebant, abstinuisset Epiro, integra sibi omnia apud exercitus Romanos essent, conciliata satis apud regem gratia, quod accepturi fuissent venientem, sive venisset, sic quoque spes veniae ab Romanis foret, quod non expectato longinquo ab se auxilio praesentis viribus succubuissent.
5.8. Since there was no sufficiently obvious reply to such an equivocal proposal, he said that he would send ambassadors to them to confer with them concerning the questions which pertained to them and himself alike.
5.8. huic tam perplexae legationi quia non satis in promptu erat, quid responderet, legatos se missurum ad eos dixit, qui de iis, quae ad illos seque communiter pertinerent, loquerentur.
6.1. He himself proceeded to Boeotia, which had as apparent causes for anger at the Romans those occurrences which I mentioned before, the murder of Brachyllas and the campaign carried on by Quinctius at Coronea by reason of the slaughtering of the Roman soldiers, while in fact the discipline in which that people was once eminent, in public and private, had for many years now been degenerating, and the condition of many was such that it could not last without a change of circumstances.
6.1. in Boeotiam ipse profectus est, causas in speciem irae adversus Romanos eas, quas ante dixi, habentem, Brachylli necem et bellum a Quinctio Coroneae propter Romanorum militum caedes illatum, re vera per multa iam saecula publice privatimque labante egregia quondam disciplina gentis et multorum eo statu, qui diuturnus esse sine mutatione rerum non posset.
6.3. With the chiefs of Boeotia coming out in crowds to meet him, he arrived in Thebes. There in the council of the people, although he had, both by the attack made on the Roman garrison at Delium and by the capture of Chalcis, acts which were neither unimportant nor uncertain, engaged in war, he nevertheless began the same speech that he had used in the first conference at Chalcis and that he had delivered through his delegates in the council of the Achaeans, to wit, that he asked that they make a treaty of friendship with him, not that they declare war on the Romans.
6.3. obviam effusis undique Boeotiae principibus Thebas venit. ibi in concilio gentis, quamquam et ad Delium impetu in praesidium Romanum facto et ad Chalcidem commiserat nec parvis nec dubiis principiis bellum, tamen eandem orationem exorsus, qua in colloquio primo ad Chalcidem quaque per legatos in concilio Achaeorum usus erat, ut amicitiam secum institui, non bellum indici Romanis postularet.
6.5. No one was deceived as to what was going on; nevertheless, a decree was passed, under a cloak of mild verbiage, in favour of the king and against the Romans.
6.5. neminem, quid ageretur, fallebat; decretum tamen sub leni verborum praetextu pro rege adversus Romanos factum est.
6.6. Having won over this people also, he returned to Chalcis, sending in advance letters to summon to Demetrias the chiefs of the Aetolians, with whom he could take counsel regarding the general policy, and himself arrived there by boat on the day appointed for the conference.
6.6. hac quoque gente adiuncta Chalcidem regressus, praemissis inde litteris, ut Demetriadem convenirent principes Aetolorum, cum quibus de summa rerum deliberaret, navibus eo ad diem indictum concilio venit.
6.7. Amynander also, summoned from Athamania to take part in the deliberations, and Hannibal the Carthaginian, who for a long time past had not been called in, attended the council.
6.7. et Amynander, accitus ad consultandum ex Athamania, et Hannibal Poenus, iam diu non adhibitus, interfuit ei consilio.
6.8. The question for consideration had to de with the Thessalian people, whose intentions, as all who were present agreed, should be ascertained.
6.8. consultatum de Thessalorum gente est, quorum omnibus, qui aderant, voluntas temptanda videbatur.
6.9. In the matter of procedure there were different opinions, some favouring immediate action, others thinking that they should postpone doing anything from the winter, which was now half gone, to the beginning of spring, while some thought that ambassadors only should be sent and others that he should go with his entire force and terrorize them if they hesitated.
6.9. in eo modo diversae sententiae erant, quod alii extemplo agendum, alii ex hieme, quae tum ferme media erat, differendum in veris principium, et alii legatos tantummodo mittendos, alii cum omnibus copiis eundum censebant terrendosque metu, si cunctarentur.
7.1. Since the whole debate centred practically on this one question, Hannibal, appealed to by name for his opinion, turned the king and all who were present to the consideration of the war as a whole, by a speech of the following character:
7.1. cum circa hanc fere consultationem disceptatio omnis verteretur, Hannibal nominatim interrogatus sententiam in universi belli cogitationem regem atque eos, qui aderant, tali oratione avertit.
7.2. “If I had been invited to the council from the time we crossed to Greece, when the question concerned Euboea or the Achaeans or Boeotia, I should have expressed the same opinion as to-day when we are discussing the Thessalians.”
7.2. “si, ex quo traiecimus in Graeciam, adhibitus essem in consilium, cum de Euboea deque Achaeis et de Boeotia agebatur, eandem sententiam dixissem, quam hodie, cum de Thessalis agitur, dicam.
7.3. “Before anything else, I vote that Philip and the Macedonians be drawn, in any possible way, into a military alliance.”
7.3. ante omnia Philippum et Macedonas in societatem belli quacumque ratione censeo deducendos esse.
7.4. “For as to Euboea and the Boeotians and the Thessalians, who doubts that they, possessing no strength of their own, are ever fawning upon those who are close at hand, and will use the same fearfulness which they display in the council as a means of winning pardon, and that,” “as soon as they see the Roman army in Greece, they will turn back to their accustomed masters and that they will suffer no harm because, when the Romans were far away, they were unwilling to test, face to face, the strength of you and your army?”
7.4. nam quod ad Euboeam Boeotosque et Thessalos attinet, cui dubium est, quin, ut quibus nullae suae vires sint, praesentibus adulando semper, quem metum in consilio habeant, eodem ad impetrandam veniam utantur, simul ac Romanum exercitum in Graecia viderint, ad consuetum imperium se avertant, nec iis noxiae futurum sit, quod, cum Romani procul abessent, vim tuam praesentis exercitusque tui experiri noluerint?
7.6. “How much greater priority and preference should we give to allying ourselves with Philip rather than with them? He, if once he joins our cause, will have no choice left, and he can contribute that strength which will be not merely an additional resource for the Roman war, but one which by itself alone was able recently to withstand the Romans.”
7.6. quanto igitur prius potiusque est Philippum nobis coniungere quam hos? cui, si semel in causam descenderit, nihil integri futurum sit, quique eas vires adferat, quae non accessio tantum ad Romanum esse bellum, sed per se ipsae nuper sustinere potuerint Romanos.
7.7. “With this reinforcement —may I say so without offence —how can I doubt the result when I see that those very men with whose assistance the Romans prevailed over Philip will now be overwhelming the Romans themselves?”
7.7. hoc ego adiuncto—absit verbo invidia—qui dubitare de eventu possim, cum, quibus adversus Philippum valuerint Romani, iis nunc fore videam, ut ipsi oppugnentur?
7.8. “The Aetolians who, as all agree, defeated Philip, will fight with Philip against the Romans; Amynander and the nation of the Athamanes, whose services in ” “that war were the greatest after those of the Aetolians, will stand with us; Philip then, when you were inactive, bore the whole burden of the war;”
7.8. Aetoli, qui Philippum, quod inter omnes constat, vicerunt, cum Philippo adversus Romanos pugnabunt; Amynander atque Athamanum gens, quorum secundum Aetolos plurima fuit opera in eo bello, nobiscum stabunt;
7.10. “now you, the two mightiest kings of Asia and Europe, will wage war against one people which, not to speak of my own twofold experience, in the time of our fathers at least could not contend even against one king of Epirus —and how could he be compared with you? What cause, then, convinces me that Philip can be allied with us?”
7.10. Philippus tum te quieto totam molem sustinebat belli; nunc duo maximi reges Asiae Europaeque viribus adversus unum populum, ut meam utramque fortunam taceam, patrum certe aetate ne uni quidem Epirotarum regi parem—qui quid tandem erit vobiscum comparatus?
7.11. “First, the common profit, which is the firmest bond in an alliance; second, the assurances of you Aetolians. For your representative, Thoas here, among other reasons which he was wont to use to attract Antiochus to ” “Greece, continually made this assertion before all else, that Philip was enraged and that he found it hard to bear the laws of slavery imposed upon him under the guise of peace.
7.11. —geretis bellum. quae igitur res mihi fiduciam praebet coniungi nobis Philippum posse? una, communis utilitas, quae societatis maximum vinculum est; altera, auctores vos Aetoli.
7.12. Indeed in his speech he likened the king in his wrath to a wild beast chained or shut up and trying to break his bonds.” “If such is his temper, let us break his chains and tear away his bars, that he may let loose his long-restrained passion upon the common enemy. But if our embassy to him does not move him, let us at least, since we cannot unite him with ourselves, see to it that he does not make common cause with our foes.”
7.12. vester enim legatus hic Thoas inter cetera, quae ad exciendum in Graeciam Antiochum dicere est solitus, ante omnia hoc semper adfirmavit, fremere Philippum et aegre pati sub specie pacis leges servitutis sibi impositas. ille quidem ferae bestiae vinctae aut clausae et refringere claustra cupienti regis iram verbis aequabat. cuius si talis animus est, solvamus nos eius vincula et claustra refringamus, ut erumpere diu coercitam iram in hostes communes possit.
7.14. “Your son Seleucus is at Lysimachia; if with that army which he has with him he shall begin to move through Thrace and devastate the adjacent portions of Macedonia, he will easily turn Philip from sending aid to the Romans to the more important task of defending his own possessions.”
7.14. quod si nihil eum legatio nostra moverit, at nos, quoniam nobis eum adiungere non possumus, ne hostibus nostris ille adiungi possit, caveamus.
7.15. “As to Philip you have my views; even from the first you have not been ignorant of my opinion as to the strategy of the war as a whole.”
7.15. Seleucus filius tuus Lysimachiae est; qui si eo exercitu, quem secum habet, per Thraciam proxima Macedoniae coeperit depopulari, facile ab auxilio ferendo Romanis Philippum ad sua potissimum tuenda avertet.
7.16. “If I had been listened to then, the Romans would not now be hearing that Chalcis in Euboea was captured and a fort on the Euripus, but that Etruria and the coasts of Liguria and Cisalpine Gaul were aflame with war and —this is what they dread beyond everything else —that Hannibal is in Italy. Now too I vote that you summon all your forces on land and sea; — let cargo-boats follow-with supplies, for, as we are few here for the tasks of war, so we are too many in proportion to our shortage of supplies.”
7.16. de Philippo meam sententiam habes: de ratione universi belli quid sentirem, iam ab initio non ignorasti. quod si tum auditus forem, non in Euboea Chalcidem captam et castellum Euripi expugnatum Romani, sed Etruriam Ligurumque et Galliae Cisalpinae oram bello ardere, et, qui maximus iis terror est, Hannibalem in Italia esse audirent.
7.17. “When you have assembled all your strength, you will divide your fleet, keeping part on guard near Corcyra, that free and safe passage may not be open ” “to the Romans, and sending part across to the coast of Italy which faces Sardinia and Africa;”
7.17. nunc quoque accersas censeo omnis navalis terrestrisque copias; sequantur classem onerariae cum commeatibus: nam hic sicut ad belli munera pauci sumus, sic nimis multi pro inopia commeatum. cum omnis tuas contraxeris vires divisa classe partem Corcyrae in statione habebis, ne transitus Romanis liber ac tutus pateat, partem ad litus Italiae, quod Sardiniam Africamque spectat, traicies;
7.19. “you yourself will go ahead with all your armies to the territory of Bullis; thence you will stand guard over Greece and offer to the Romans the appearance of being about to cross, and, if the situation shall demand it, will actually cross.” “This is the advice I give, I who, though I am not well versed in every kind of war, with the Romans at least have learned to fight from my own successes and failures. For this same programme which I have advised I promise aid neither faithless nor reluctant.”
7.19. ipse cum omnibus terrestribus copiis in Bullinum agrum procedes; inde Graeciae praesidebis, et speciem Romanis traiecturum te praebens et, si res poposcerit, traiecturus. haec suadeo, qui ut non omnis peritissimus sim belli, cum Romanis certe bellare bonis malisque meis didici.
7.21. “May the gods approve that proposal which shall have seemed to you the best.” This was in purport the speech of Hannibal; those who were present applauded it for the moment rather than adopted it in actual decisions; for nothing of these things was done, save that he sent Polyxenidas to summon the fleet and troops from Asia.
7.21. in quae consilium dedi, in eadem nec infidelem nec segnem operam polliceor. dii approbent eam sententiam, quae tibi optima visa fuerit.” haec ferme Hannibalis oratio fuit; quam laudarunt magis in praesentia, qui aderant, quam rebus ipsis exsecuti sunt: nihil enim eorum factum est, nisi quod ad classem copiasque accersendas ex Asia Polyxenidam misit.
8.2. Ambassadors were sent to Larisa to the council of the Thessalians, and a day was fixed for the Aetolians and Amynander to hold the muster of the army at Pherae; the king also with his troops came with speed to the same place.
8.2. legati Larisam ad concilium Thessalorum sunt missi, et Aetolis Amynandroque dies ad conveniendum exercitui Pheras est dictus; eodem et rex cum suis copiis confestim venit.
8.3. While he was waiting there for Amynander and the Aetolians, he sent Philip of Megalopolis with two thousand men to collect the bones of the Macedonians around Cynoscephalae, where the decisive battle with Philip was fought, whether he was prompted by Philip of Megalopolis, who was seeking for himself some recommendation to the people of the Macedonians and unpopularity for the king because he had left his soldiers unburied, or whether, with the native vanity of kings, he turned his thoughts to a plan attractive in appearance but useless in fact.
8.3. ubi dum opperitur Amynandrum atque Aetolos Philippum Megalopolitanum cum duobus milibus hominum ad legenda ossa Macedonum circa Cynoscephalas, ubi debellatum erat cum Philippo, misit, sive ab ipso, quaerente sibi commendationem ad Macedonum gentem et invidiam regi, quod insepultos milites reliquisset, monitus, sive ab insita regibus vanitate ad consilium specie amplum, re inane animo adiecto.
8.5. A burial mound was erected by gathering together the bones which were scattered everywhere, but among the Macedonians it caused no gratitude and in King Philip an immense resentment.
8.5. tumulus est in unum ossibus, quae passim strata erant, coacervatis factus, qui nullam gratiam ad Macedonas, odium ingens ad Philippum movit.
8.6. And so he, who up to that time had decided to take fortune as the guide to his policy, at once wrote to Marcus Baebius the propraetor to say that Antiochus had invaded Thessaly; if it seemed wise to Baebius he should move from winter quarters; he himself would come to meet him to consult what should be done.
8.6. itaque qui ad id tempus fortunam esset habiturus in consilio, is extemplo ad M. Baebium propraetorem misit, Antiochum in Thessaliam impetum fecisse, si videretur ei, moveret ex hibernis; se obviam processurum, ut, quid agendum esset, consultarent.
9.1. While Antiochus was in camp at Pherae, where the Aetolians and Amynander had joined him, ambassadors from Larisa came asking for what deed or word of the Thessalians he was assailing them with war, and likewise asking that he should withdraw his army and discuss with them through ambassadors whatever seemed to him worth considering.
9.1. Antiocho ad Pheras iam castra habenti, ubi coniunxerant ei se Aetoli et Amynander, legati ab Larisa venerunt quaerentes, quod ob factum dictumve Thessalorum bello lacesseret eos, simul orantes, ut remoto exercitu per legatos, si quid ei videretur, secum disceptaret.
9.3. At the same time they sent five hundred armed men under command of Hippolochus as a garrison for Pherae; they were prevented from entering, all the roads being now blocked by the king's forces, and retired to Scotusa.
9.3. eodem tempore quingentos armatos duce Hippolocho Pheras in praesidium miserunt; ii exclusi aditu, iam omnia itinera obsidentibus regiis, Scotusam se receperunt.
9.4. The king responded mildly to the ambassadors of the Larisaeans, that he had entered Thessaly not to make war but to defend and assure the liberty of the Thessalians.
9.4. legatis Larisaeorum rex clementer respondit, non belli faciendi sed tuendae et stabiliendae libertatis Thessalorum causa se Thessaliam intrasse.
9.5. A delegate was sent to conduct similar negotiations with the people of Pherae; giving him no answer, the Pheraeans themselves sent to the king Pausanias, their chief magistrate.
9.5. similia his, qui cum Pheraeis ageret, missus; cui nullo dato responso Pheraei ipsi legatum ad regem principem civitatis Pausaniam miserunt.
9.6. When he had with a good deal of vigour presented certain arguments not unlike those which, in a similar situation, had been used on behalf of the Chalcidians in the conference at the strait of Euripus, the king, bidding them again and again to ponder and not to adopt any plan of which, while being too cautious and thoughtful for the future, they would at once repent, dismissed him.
9.6. qui cum haud dissimilia iis, ut in causa pari, quae pro Chalcidensibus in colloquio ad Euripi fretum dicta erant, quaedam etiam ferocius egisset, rex etiam atque etiam deliberare eos iussos, ne id consilii caperent, cuius, dum in futurum nimis cauti et providi essent, extemplo paeniteret, dimisit.
9.8. When this mission was reported at Pherae, they did not even for a brief period doubt that they should, for the sake of their loyalty to the Romans, endure whatever the fortune of war might bring.
9.8. haec renuntiata Pheras legatio cum esset, ne paulum quidem dubitarunt, quin pro fide erga Romanos, quidquid fors belli tulisset, paterentur.
9.9. And so both the Pheraeans were preparing with all their might to defend their city and the king was attempting to assault the town from every side at once, and, since he clearly understood —for there was no question about it —that it depended on the fate of this city which he attacked first, whether he should thenceforth be either scorned or feared by the whole nation of the Thessalians, he brought every form of terror to bear from all sides upon the besieged.
9.9. itaque et vi summa ope parabant se ad urbem defendendam, et rex ab omni parte simul oppugnare moenia est adgressus et, ut qui satis intellegeret— neque enim dubium erat—in eventu eius urbis positum esse, quam primam adgressus esset, aut sperni deinde ab universa gente Thessalorum aut timeri se, omnem undique terrorem obsessis iniecit.
9.11. The first brunt of the attack they bore with sufficient resolution; then, when many of the defenders had fallen or were wounded, their courage began to fail.
9.11. primum impetum oppugnationis satis constanter sustinuerunt; deinde cum multi propugnantes caderent aut vulnerarentur, labare animi coeperunt.
9.12. Recalled then by the reproofs of their captains to persevere in their purpose, leaving the outer line of wall as their strength was now diminishing, they retired into the inner quarter of the city, which was surrounded by a rampart less long than the other; finally, overcome by their misfortunes and feeling that no quarter would be given by the conqueror if they were taken fighting, they surrendered. Then the king without delay, while the terror was still new, sent four thousand troops to Scotusa.
9.12. revocati deinde castigationibus principum ad perseverandum in proposito, relicto exteriore circulo muri, deficientibus iam copiis in interiorem partem urbis concesserunt, cui brevior orbis munitionis circumiectus erat; postremo victi malis, cum timerent, ne vi captis nulla apud victorem venia esset, dediderunt sese.
9.13. There was no delay there in surrendering when they considered the recent case of the Pheraeans, who had finally, conquered by their ills, done what they had at first tenaciously refused to do; with the city itself Hippolochus and the garrison of Larisaeans were surrendered. All were released without injury by the king, because this act, in the king's opinion, would have great weight in winning the sympathies of the Larisaeans.
9.13. nihil inde moratus rex quattuor milia armatorum, dum recens terror esset, Scotusam misit. nec ibi mora deditionis est facta cernentibus Pheraeorum recens exemplum, qui, quod pertinaciter primo abnuerant, malo domiti tandem fecissent: cum ipsa urbe Hippolochus Larisaeorumque deditum est praesidium. dimissi ab rege inviolati omnes, quod eam rem magni momenti futuram rex ad conciliandos Larisaeorum animos credebat.
10.1. All this was accomplished within ten days after his arrival at Pherae, and going to Crannon with his entire army he captured it as soon as he reached it.
10.1. intra decimum diem, quam Pheras venerat, his perfectis Crannonem profectus cum toto exercitu primo adventu cepit.
10.2. Then he took Cierium and Metropolis and the forts around them; and everything in that region except Atrax and Gyrto was in his power.
10.2. inde Cierium et Metropolim et iis circumiecta castella recepit; omniaque iam regionis eius praeter Atragem et Gyrtonem in potestate erant.
10.3. Then he decided to attack Larisa, thinking that either from the fear inspired by the capture of the other towns or by their gratitude at the release of their garrison or from the example of so many other states that had submitted they would not continue long in their stubborn resistance.
10.3. tunc adgredi Larisam constituit ratus vel terrore ceterarum expugnatarum vel beneficio praesidii dimissi vel exemplo tot civitatium dedentium sese non ultra in pertinacia mansuros.
10.4. Ordering the elephants to be driven before the standards to inspire fear, he marched up to the town in a hollow square, so that the thoughts of a great part of the Larisaeans wavered doubtfully between immediate fear of the enemy and respect for their distant allies.
10.4. elephantis agi ante signa terroris causa iussis quadrato agmine ad urbem incessit, ut incerti fluctuarentur animi magnae partis Larisacorum inter metum praesentem hostium et verecundiam absentium sociorum.
10.5. About the same time Amynander with all the youth of the Athamanes took possession of Pellinacium, and Menippus with three thousand Aetolian infantry and two hundred cavalry marched into Perrhaebia, took Malloea and Cyretiae by storm and laid waste the fields of Tripolis.
10.5. per eosdem dies Amynander cum Athamanum iuventute occupat Pellinaeum, et Menippus cum tribus milibus peditum Aetolorum et ducentis equitibus in Perrhaebiam profectus Malloeam et Cyretias vi cepit et depopulatus est agrum Tripolitanum.
10.6. Having done all this with speed, they returned to the king at Larisa; they arrived there while he was considering what he should do about Larisa.
10.6. his raptim peractis Larisam ad regem redeunt; consultanti, quidnam agendum de Larisa esset, supervenerunt.
10.7. There opinions turned different ways, some urging that they ought to employ force and not to delay assaulting with siege-works and artillery from all sides at once, upon the walls of a town lying in a plain open and level to approach from any direction, others reminding him now that the strength of this city was by no means to be compared with that of Pherae, now that it was winter and a time unsuited to all military operations and particularly to the siege and storming of cities.
10.7. ibi in diversum sententiae tendebant aliis vim adhibendam et non differendum censentibus, quin operibus ac machinis simul undique moenia adgrederetur urbis sitae in plano, aperto et campestri undique aditu, aliis nunc vires urbis nequaquam Pheris conferendae memorantibus, nunc hiemem et tempus anni nulli bellicae rei, minime obsidioni atque oppugnationi urbium aptum.
10.9. While the king was wavering between hope and fear, ambassadors from Pharsalus, who by chance had come-to surrender their city, gave him new courage.
10.9. incerto regi inter spem metumque legati a Pharsalo, qui ad dedendam urbem suam forte venerant, animos auxerunt.
10.10. In the meantime Marcus Baebius had met Philip in the country of the Dassaretii, and as a result of the agreement of the two he sent Appius Claudius to the defence of Larisa, and he came by forced marching through Macedonia to the ridge of mountains which lies above Gonni.
10.10. M. Baebius interim cum Philippo in Dassaretiis congressus Ap. Claudium ex communi consilio ad praesidium Larisae misit, qui per Macedoniam magnis itineribus in iugum montium, quod super Gonnos est, pervenit.
10.11. The town of Gonni is twenty miles from Larisa, situated at the very entrance to the defile which they call Tempe. When he had laid out a camp there too large in proportion to the size of his force and built more fires than were necessary for practical purposes, he created in the enemy the impression he had desired, that the whole Roman army with King Philip was there.
10.11. oppidum Gonni viginti milia ab Larisa abest, in ipsis faucibus saltus, quae Tempe appellantur, situm. ibi castra metatus latius quam pro copiis et plures quam quot satis in usum erant ignes cum accendisset, speciem, quam quaesierat, hosti fecit omnem ibi Romanum exercitum cum rege Philippo esse.