I. In the city of Mantinea there was a citizen named Kleander, of one
of the first families, and of great influence. Nevertheless he was so
unfortunate as to be forced to leave his native city, and take refuge
in Megalopolis, to which he was chiefly attracted by Kraugis, the
father of Philopœmen, a man eminent in every respect, and an especial
private friend of Kleander. While Kraugis lived, Kleander wanted for
nothing, and after his death endeavoured to repay the debt which he
owed him by devoting himself to the education of his orphan son, just
as Homer tells us that Achilles was nurtured by the exile Phœnix. The
child, who always was of a noble and commanding spirit, grew under his
care into a youth of great promise. As he came near to manhood Ekdemus
and Megalophanes, two citizens of Megalopolis, took charge of his
education. These men had studied in the Academy with Arkesilaus, and
more than any others brought the lessons of philosophy to bear upon
politics and the daily affairs of life. They freed their own country
of the despot Aristodemus by secretly contriving his assassination,
drove out the despot Nikokles from Sikyon, with the help of Aratus,
and, at the request of the people of Kyrene, whose state was a prey to
revolution, they went to that country and restored order and respect
for the laws. They themselves, however, reckoned their most important
work to have been the education of Philopœmen, because by bringing him
up in the precepts of true philosophy they made him a benefactor to
all Greece. And truly Greece loved him exceedingly, as the last great
man born of her old age, after so many great and famous men of former
times. A Roman speaking in his praise called him the last of the
Greeks, as though he thought that Greece had never after him produced
any son worthy of herself.
II. His appearance was not repulsive, as some think; for we can see
the statue of him which exists at Delphi at this day. The mistake of
his Megarian hostess seems to have arisen from his good-nature and
simplicity. She, when she heard that the commander-in-chief of the
Achæans was coming to her house, was in a great state of excitement
about the preparation of dinner, her husband happening to be away.
Meanwhile, Philopœmen entered, dressed in a coarse cloak, and she,
supposing him to be a servant sent on in advance, ordered him to help
her to get things ready. He at once threw off his cloak and began to
split up firewood. While he was thus engaged his friend the master of
the house came in, and seeing him, said, "What is this that you are
doing, Philopœmen?" "Why," answered he in the Doric dialect, "I am
suffering for my ugly face." Titus, also, when jesting upon his bodily
shape, said, "Philopœmen, what fine hands and legs you have; but you
have no belly," as indeed he had a very small waist. However, the jest
was directed more against his power, for though he had plenty of good
infantry and cavalry he was frequently in great distress for money to
pay them. These are the common anecdotes which are current about
Philopœmen.
III. His love of distinction was not entirely unmixed with feelings of
rivalry and passion. He desired to emulate the fame of Epameinondas,
but though he imitated that great man in energy, good sense, and
contempt of money, yet he was unable in political struggles to
maintain his calm unruffled good-nature, but was often betrayed by his
fiery temper into sallies more befitting a soldier than a statesman.
Indeed, from a child he had always been fond of war, and eagerly
devoted himself to soldier-like exercises, such as fighting in
complete armour and riding on horseback. He was thought to be a good
wrestler, and was invited by his friends to contend with them in that
sport, but he asked them whether the practice would not impair his
efficiency as a soldier, when they answered truly that the body and
the life of an athlete differs from that of a soldier in every
respect, more particularly in diet and exercise. The athlete takes
long sleep, frequent meals, regular exercise and intervals of rest,
being likely to be put out of condition by the least change of his
accustomed routine, while the life of a soldier makes him accustomed
to all kinds of change and diversity of life, especially to enduring
hunger and want of sleep. On learning this Philopœmen not only himself
avoided wrestling and ridiculed it, but when he was in command of an
army took every means in his power to bring every kind of athletic
exercise into contempt, as likely to unfit the best men's bodies for
the most important struggles in battle.
IV. On leaving his schoolmasters he took part in the incursion made by
his fellow citizens into the Laconian territory for the purpose of
plunder. In these raids it was his wont always to be first in the
attack, and last in the retreat. In time of peace he would exercise
his body, and make it both swift and strong, either by hunting or by
tilling the ground. He possessed a fine estate about twenty furlongs
from the city: to this he would walk after his morning or evening
meal, and sleep there on any bed he could find, like one of the farm
labourers. Then he would rise early, help the vine-dressers or
cattle-herds to do their work, and, returning to town, take part in
public business. The profits arising from the plunder gained in the
forays he used to spend on horses, arms, and the redeeming of
captives, while he endeavoured to increase his income by the skilful
cultivation of his farm, considering the most just way of making
money, and his strict duty to be, so to manage his fortune as to avoid
the temptation of wronging others. He used to listen to conversation
and to read treatises upon philosophy, yet not all, but only those
which he thought would teach him to be virtuous. He also devoted much
time to reading those passages of Homer which stir up and excite manly
courage, His other reading consisted chiefly of Evangelus's treatise
on military tactics, and of the history of Alexander the Great; but he
always thought that reading, unless it led to action, was a useless
waste of time. In his studies of tactics he used to disregard the
diagrams in the books and consider what could be done in the field
itself, observing the slopes and inequalities of the ground, the
direction of brooks and water-courses, and the effect which they would
have upon a body of troops advancing in line or in column. These
reflections he was wont to make during his walks, and to exercise the
minds of his companions by questions about them; for he devoted his
whole mind to the study of military matters, regarding war as the
widest arena for the display of virtue, utterly despising those who
were not soldiers, as useless members of society.
V. When he was thirty years old Kleomenes, the king of the
Lacedæmonians, made a night attack upon Megalopolis, forced his way
through the guard on the wall and reached the market-place. Philopœmen
came to the rescue, but was not able to dislodge the enemy, although
he assaulted them with the greatest spirit. However, he gained time
for the citizens to leave the town, while he bore the whole brunt of
the attack of Kleomenes, so that at last he had great difficulty in
extricating himself, as he had lost his horse and was wounded. The
citizens of Megalopolis escaped to Messene, whither Kleomenes sent to
offer them their town and territory again. Philopœmen, when he saw his
fellow-citizens eager to embrace this offer, restrained them from
accepting it by pointing out that Kleomenes did not really offer them
their city back again, but meant to get the citizens as well into his
power, in order to be able to hold it more securely for the future;
because he could not remain there guarding naked walls and empty
houses, but would be compelled to leave them and go his way. By these
arguments he withheld the Megalopolitans from coming to terms, but
gave Kleomenes a pretext for destroying a great part of the city, and
carrying away a great booty from it.
VI. When King Antigonus some time after this joined the Achæan forces
in a campaign against Kleomenes, they came upon his army
advantageously posted so as to command the defiles near Sellasia.
Philopœmen was among the cavalry that day with his fellow-citizens,
and next to him were posted the Illyrians, numerous and warlike, who
covered the flank of the allies. Their orders were to remain in
reserve until they saw a red flag raised upon a pike by king
Antigonus on the other wing. The generals of the allies attacked the
Lacedæmonians with the Illyrian troops, but Eukleides, the brother of
Kleomenes, perceiving that by this movement the foot were completely
severed from the horse, sent the swiftest of his light-armed troops to
outflank them and cut them off. When this was done, and the Illyrians
were thrown into great disorder, Philopœmen saw that the cavalry could
charge the Lacedæmonian light troops with great effect, and pointed
this out to Antigonus's generals. Meeting with a scornful refusal, as
his reputation was not yet sufficiently great to warrant his
suggesting such a manœuvre, he collected his own fellow-countrymen and
charged with them alone. At the first onset he threw the light-armed
troops into confusion, and presently routed them with great slaughter.
Wishing to encourage the allies and to come more quickly to blows with
the retreating enemy, he dismounted, and with great difficulty,
encumbered by his heavy horseman's cuirass and accoutrements, pursued
over a rough piece of ground full of water-courses and precipitous
rocks. While struggling over these obstacles he was struck through
both thighs by a javelin with a strap attached to it, a wound which
was not dangerous, though the javelin struck him with such force as to
drive the iron head quite through. This wound for the time rendered
him helpless, as it bound both his legs as if with a chain, while the
strap made it hard to pull the javelin out again through the wound. As
his friends hesitated, not knowing what to do, while the battle now at
its height, excited his courage, and made him long to take part in it,
he violently strained one leg forward and the other back, so as to
break the javelin in the middle, after which the pieces were pulled
out. Being thus set free, he drew his sword, ran through the first of
the combatants and attacked the enemy, animating all his men and
setting them on fire with emulation. After the victory was won
Antigonus enquired of the Macedonians why the cavalry had charged
without orders. They answered that they were forced to charge against
their will by a young citizen of Megalopolis, who attacked on his own
account. Antigonus smiled, and answered, "That young man acted like a
veteran commander."
VII. Philopœmen, as may be supposed, gained great glory by this
action. Antigonus was eager to obtain his services, and offered him a
command and high pay, but he excused himself, knowing that his temper
would not endure to be under the orders of another man. Still, as he
could not be idle, he sailed for Crete to serve a campaign there, in
order to gain experience of war. He spent a considerable time there,
living amongst warlike, sober, and temperate men, and returned to the
Achæans with so great a reputation that they at once put him in
command of the knights. These horsemen, he found, were in the habit of
using any chance horses they could pick up when required for a
campaign, while in many cases they did not serve in person, but sent
substitutes. They were entirely without discipline or bravery, while
all this was passed over unnoticed by their commanders, because the
knights were the most influential men among the Achæans, and were able
to promote or degrade whom they pleased. Philopœmen, however, could
not allow this state of things to continue. He went round to each of
the cities of the Achæan League, and by personally appealing to the
young men's sense of honour, by punishment where it was necessary, and
by careful training, exercises, and contests among them before as many
spectators as possible, in a short time produced great efficiency and
military spirit. He made them quick at manœuvring in squadrons, and in
wheeling round and managing their horses, which is so valuable a
quality in cavalry soldiers, and taught the whole body to move with
ease at the will of one man. Once during a severe battle with the
Eleans and Ætolians on the banks of the river Larissa, Damophantus,
the commander of the Elean horse, rode furiously to attack Philopœmen.
He awaited Damophantus's onset, and with his spear thrust him from his
saddle. When he fell the Eleans at once turned and fled, to the great
glory of Philopœmen, who had proved himself as brave as the youngest
and as skilful as the oldest soldier, equally able to fight or to
command.
VIII. The Achæan League was first organised by Aratus, who formed its
scattered and despicable cities into a noble and truly Greek
commonwealth; then, as in running streams, when first a few small
stones resist the flow of the water, soon much more is brought down by
the stream and lodged against them until a firm ground is formed; so
did the Achæans, by assisting some of the neighbouring cities and
freeing them from despots, and by uniting and incorporating others
with themselves, endeavour to combine the whole of Peloponnesus into
one single state, at a time when Greece was especially weak, having
lost all cohesion, each city relying solely on itself. While Aratus
lived they depended much on the Macedonians, courting first Ptolemy,
then Antigonus and Philip, who all were constantly interfering in the
affairs of Greece. But when Philopœmen came to command they already
felt themselves a match for the most powerful states, and no longer
paid their court to foreign patrons. Aratus, who was no soldier, had
effected most of his successes by suave diplomacy and personal
friendship with foreign princes, as we have written in his Life: but
Philopœmen, a brave and vigorous, and, what is more, an eminently
successful commander in his first essays, greatly raised the spirit
and the strength of the Achæans, by making them confident of victory
under his leadership.
IX. His first task was to alter the military equipment and arms of the
Achæans. They had hitherto used light shields, too narrow to protect
the body, and spears much smaller than the long Macedonian pike. This
light armament rendered them effective as skirmishers, but unable to
hold their own in close fighting. Their order of battle, too, was
loose and without cohesion, having neither the projecting pikes nor
the serried shields of the Macedonian phalanx, in consequence of which
they were easily thrust aside and routed. Philopœmen pointed this out
to them, and persuaded them to adopt the heavy shield and pike in
place of their light arms, to accoutre themselves with helmet,
corslet, and greaves, and to endeavour to move in a steady unbroken
mass instead of in a loose irregular skirmishing order. When he had
induced them to put on complete armour he raised their spirit by
telling them that they would be unconquerable, while he also effected
a most wholesome change in their luxurious habits of life. It was
impossible entirely to do away with their long-standing passion for
fine purple robes and tapestry, rich banquets, and furniture: but he
directed this love of finery to useful purposes, and soon brought them
all to retrench their private expenditure, and to take a pride in the
splendour of their military equipments. Their plate was sent to the
crucible, and employed to gild corslets, shields, and caparisons;
their public places were full of young men training chargers or
exercising themselves in arms, while the women were busy fitting
plumes to helmets, and ornamenting buff coats and military cloaks. The
sight of all this activity roused up their courage, and made them
eager for battle. In all other cases too much care for outward show
and display leads to effeminacy and luxury, because the pleasure which
our senses receive from these things blunt our better judgment, but in
military matters this is not so, for a splendid appearance under arms
increases men's courage; as Homer tells us that Achilles, when his new
arms were brought to him, was at once excited by a vehement desire to
make use of them. The youth, thus equipped, were incessantly exercised
and practised in their new manœuvres, which they performed with
zealous goodwill, being delighted with the close formation of the
phalanx, which seemed as though it could never be broken. They soon
began to move with ease in their heavy armour, priding themselves upon
its splendour, and longing to prove its value in battle against their
enemies. The Achæans at this time were at war with Machanidas the
despot of Lacedæmon, who had immense resources at his disposal, and
menaced the whole of Peloponnesus. As soon as news came that he had
invaded Arcadia and had reached Mantinea, Philopœmen with his army
marched rapidly to attack him. Both sides drew up their forces near
the city of Mantinea, and both brought into the field not only nearly
all their own countrymen, but also large bodies of foreign mercenary
troops. Machanidas began the battle by a charge of his mercenaries,
who routed the Tarentines and other light troops of the Achæans, but
then instead of moving at once to attack and overwhelm their main
body, hurried away in pursuit, leaving the Achæan phalanx standing
untouched. Philopœmen made light of the disaster which had happened
to the light troops, and, perceiving the fault which the enemy had
committed in leaving their heavy infantry unprotected, so that he had
an open plain over which to march against them, disregarded those
Lacedæmonians who were pursuing his own auxiliaries, and bore straight
down upon their main body, which he took in flank, without any cavalry
to protect it, or any general to give it orders, as the men did not
expect to be attacked, and imagined that the victory was already won
when they saw Machanidas so eager in the pursuit. Philopœmen broke and
routed them with great slaughter, four thousand men being said to have
perished, and then turned to encounter Machanidas, who was returning
with his mercenaries, and found his retreat cut off. A deep and wide
watercourse here divided the two leaders, the one of whom endeavoured
to pass it and escape, while the other tried to prevent this. They
looked no longer like two generals, but the despot seemed more like
some savage beast driven to bay by Philopœmen, that mighty hunter. At
length the despot spurred his horse, a fiery animal, to attempt the
leap. The horse gained the other bank with its fore feet, and was
struggling up it, when Simias and Polyænus, the constant companions
and aides-de-camp of Philopœmen, rode to attack him with levelled
lances. Philopœmen, however, came up with Machanidas before them.
Seeing that the despot's horse was rearing its head so as to protect
its master's body, he turned his own horse a little to one side, and,
seizing his lance firmly with both hands, drove it through his body
and cast him from his horse. It is in this posture that Philopœmen is
represented in the statue at Delphi, which was placed there by the
Achæans in token of their admiration of his courage and conduct on
that day.
XI. It is said that when the Greeks were assembled at the Nemean
Games, Philopœmen, who had been elected commander-in-chief for the
second time, and not long before had won his victory at Mantinea,
being at leisure during the festival displayed his phalanx to the
Greeks, with the troops drawn up in their serried array, and
manœuvring with quickness and precision. Afterwards, while the
musicians were contending for the prize in the theatre he entered it
accompanied by his young soldiers in their military cloaks and purple
uniform, all of them strong men in the prime of life, showing a modest
respect for their general, combined with a martial bearing due to
their many brave feats of arms. Just as they came into the theatre
Pylades the musician began to recite the 'Persians' of Timotheus
"He wrought for Greece a noble work of freedom"
in a loud voice and with suitable solemnity. At this, all the
spectators turned their eyes upon Philopœmen and broke into joyous
applause, remembering the ancient glories of Greece, and feeling such
confidence in him as almost to recover the ancient spirit of their
nation.
XII. But just as horses like their accustomed rider, and if another
mounts them are scared and unmanageable, so the power of the Achæans
become feeble under any other general than Philopœmen. When they saw
him, the whole army rejoiced, and were filled with cheerful
confidence, well knowing that he was the only one of their generals
before whom the enemy always fled, terrified by his name, as, indeed,
appeared by their acts. For Philip king of Macedon, thinking that if
Philopœmen were put out of the way, the Achæans would become subject
to himself as they were before, sent men privately to Argos to
assassinate him: but his plot was disclosed, and he became an object
of universal hatred to the Greeks. The Bœotians too, when they were
besieging Megara and were expecting shortly to take it, retreated in
such hot haste that they actually left their scaling ladders planted
against the walls, in consequence of a rumour, which proved a false
one, that Philopœmen was coming to raise the siege and was close at
hand. When Nabis, who became despot over the Lacedæmonians after
Machanidas, by a sudden attack captured the town of Messene,
Philopœmen was not holding any office, but was a mere private citizen.
He could not prevail upon Lysippus, who was commander-in-chief of the
Achæans, to go to assist the Messenians, because the latter said that
the city must be lost if the enemy were inside the walls. Hereupon
Philopœmen went himself to the rescue with the men of his own city,
who did not delay for any formal vote to empower him to do so, but
followed him because he was born to command. When Nabis heard of his
approach he would not await his coming, but although he was in
possession of the city he marched out by the opposite gate with all
speed, thinking that he would be fortunate if he reached home safe, as
indeed he did. Thus was Messene delivered.
XIII. All these exploits of Philopœmen are without doubt glorious to
him; but he was much blamed for going a second time to Crete at the
request of the people of Gortyna, to act as their general, leaving his
own country to be attacked by Nabis, because he avoided the war at
home to gather unseasonable laurels abroad. Indeed, the citizens of
Megalopolis were so hard pressed at that period as to be forced to
live entirely within their walls, and grow corn in the very streets,
as they were quite cut off from their fields by the enemy, who was
encamped before the gates. Philopœmen, by his remaining beyond seas at
this time acting as general for the Cretans, gave his enemies an
opportunity of charging him with dishonourably shirking the war at
home. Some, however, said that since the Achæans had chosen other men
generals, Philopœmen, who had no office to fill, had a right to use
his leisure in acting as general to the people of Gortyna when they
begged him to do so. Indeed, his nature abhorred rest, and he desired
his courage and generalship to be in constant action, like everything
else belonging to him. This is clearly shown by his saying about king
Ptolemy. When some one praised that prince for carefully training his
army and exercising himself under arms every day, Philopœmen answered,
"Who can admire a king of Ptolemy's age who is still practising and
not performing." However, the citizens of Megalopolis were much vexed
by his conduct, which they considered to be that of a traitor, and
would have banished him had they not been restrained by the whole body
of the Achæans. They sent the general Aristænetus to Megalopolis, who,
although he was politically opposed to Philopœmen, would not allow
sentence of banishment to be passed against him. After this
Philopœmen, being treated with neglect and indifference by his
fellow-citizens, induced many of the outlying villages to rebel
against the city, telling them to say that they were not originally
made subject to it, and he himself openly took their part against his
own city when the matter was referred to the general council of the
Achæan league. But these things happened afterwards. At the time of
which we speak he carried on war in Crete with the Gortynians, not in
a simple straightforward manner, as one would expect a Peloponnesian,
and especially an Arcadian would do, but he adopted the Cretan
character, and by using all their subtle devices and ambushes against
themselves, proved that such contrivances are but child's play when
tried against a truly experienced general.
XIV. Returning to Peloponnesus with a great reputation from his Cretan
successes, he found Philip beaten by Titus Quintius, and Nabis at war
both with the Romans and the Achæans. He was at once elected general
to attack Nabis, and in a sea fight suffered the same misfortune as
Epameinondas, that is to say, he effected much less at sea than was
expected of a man of his courage and reputation.
Indeed some writers tell us that Epameinondas was unwilling that his
countrymen should taste the advantages of the sea, and fearing that,
as Plato says, they might from steady soldiers be transformed into
licentious wandering sailors, purposely returned from the coast of
Asia Minor and the islands without having effected anything.
Philopœmen, imagining that his knowledge of war on land would enable
him to fight equally well at sea, learned by experience how greatly
practice assists men's courage, and how much their strength is
increased by being trained to use it. Not only was he worsted in a
sea-fight through inexperience, but having selected an old ship, which
had once been a famous vessel, but now was forty years old, she leaked
so much as to endanger the lives of those on board. After the action,
finding that the enemy despised him, as though his ships had been
entirely driven from the sea, and that they were ostentatiously
besieging Gythium, he sailed straightway thither and found them quite
unprepared, and with their discipline relaxed in consequence of their
victory. He landed his men at night, burned the enemy's tents, and
slew many of them. A few days afterwards, being surprised by Nabis in
a mountainous spot, while all the Achæans gave themselves up for lost,
despairing of extricating themselves from such a difficult position,
Philopœmen, after a short survey of the country, proved that strategy
is the greatest of military qualities. He quietly and steadily changed
his front, manœuvred his army out of its disadvantageous position,
attacked the enemy, and completely routed them. Perceiving that the
fugitives did not make for the city, but scattered themselves all over
the country, which was hilly and wooded, full of torrents and
precipices, and impassable for cavalry, he made no pursuit, but
encamped before dark. As he conjectured that the enemy after their
rout would straggle back into the city by twos and threes under cover
of the darkness, he concealed many of the Achæans, armed with daggers,
in the rough ground near the city. By this stratagem Nabis's force
suffered great losses, for as they did not retreat in a body, but each
man as best he could, they fell into their foemen's hands at the city
gate like birds into a snare.
XV. Philopœmen gained so much glory by these exploits, and was so much
honoured by the Greeks wherever he appeared in public, that he roused
the jealousy of Flamininus, who thought that he, a consul of Rome, was
worthier of respect than a mere Arcadian, while he had moreover done
much more for Greece, having by one proclamation restored those
liberties of which Philip and his Macedonians had deprived it.
Flamininus put an end to the war with Nabis, who was shortly
afterwards assassinated by the Ætolians. As this event threw Sparta
into disorder, Philopœmen seized the opportunity, marched thither with
an army, and partly by persuasion, partly by force, prevailed upon the
city to join the Achæan league. This wonderfully raised his fame
throughout Greece, that he should have won over so famous and powerful
a city, for Sparta formed a most important member of the league. He
also gained the good will of the Lacedæmonian nobles, who hoped that
he would protect their newly-won liberty. They sold the house and
property of Nabis, and decreed that the money, amounting to a hundred
and twenty talents, should be presented to him by a deputation. On
this occasion Philopœmen showed himself to be a man of real virtue.
At the interview none of the Spartans liked to propose to him to
receive the money, but they excused themselves, and made his own
especial friend Timolaus undertake to do this. Timolaus, however, when
he reached Megalopolis, and living in the house of Philopœmen had an
opportunity of observing the noble simplicity of his character and his
lofty integrity, in the familiar intercourse of private life, dared
not mention the bribe, but gave some other excuse for his visit and
returned home. He was sent a second time, with the same result. On a
third visit he with great hesitation broached the subject. Philopœmen
listened to him without anger, and sent him back to the Spartans with
the advice that they should not corrupt their friends, whose services
they could obtain gratis, but keep their money to bribe those who
endeavoured to countermine their city in the public assembly of the
Achæan league, as, if muzzled in this way, they would cease to oppose
them. It was better, he added, to restrain the freedom of speech of
their enemies than that of their friends. So uncorrupt was he, and
inaccessible to bribes.
XVI. When Diophanes, the commander-in-chief of the Achæans,
endeavoured to punish the Lacedæmonians for a change in their policy,
and they by their resistance threw the whole of Peloponnesus into
confusion, Philopœmen tried to act as mediator, and to soothe the
anger of Diophanes, pointing out to him that at a time when the Romans
and king Antiochus with enormous forces were about to make Greece
their battle ground, a general ought to direct all his thoughts to
their movements, and to avoid any internal disturbance, willingly
accepting any apologies from those who did wrong. But as Diophanes
took no notice of him, but together with Flamininus invaded Laconia,
Philopœmen, disregarding the exact letter of the law, performed a most
spirited and noble action. He hurried to Sparta, and, though only a
private man, shut its gates in the faces of the commander-in-chief of
the Achæans and of the Roman consul, put an end to the revolutionary
movement there, and prevailed upon the city to rejoin the Achæan
league. Some time afterwards however, we are told by Polybius that
Philopœmen, when commander-in-chief, having some quarrel with the
Lacedæmonians, restored the exiles to the city, and put to death
eighty, or, according to Aristokrates, three hundred and fifty
Spartans. He also pulled down the walls of Sparta, and annexed a large
portion of its territory to Megalopolis, while he forced all those
persons who had been created citizens of Sparta under the rule of the
despots to leave the city and proceed to Achæa, except three hundred.
These, because they refused to obey him and leave Lacedæmon he sold
for slaves, and with the money, as a wanton insult, built a public
portico in Megalopolis. Moreover, in his wrath against the
Lacedæmonians, he did them a most cruel wrong, for he abolished the
Lycurgean system of education and forced them to educate their
children like those of the Achæans, because he saw that they never
would be humble-minded as long as they lived under the discipline of
Lycurgus. Thus was the haughty city of Sparta brought so low by its
misfortunes as to permit Philopœmen to cut, as it were, its very
sinews, and render it tame and crushed. Afterwards, however, the
citizens obtained permission from Rome to retire from the Achæan
confederation, upon which they restored their original constitution as
far as their great disasters permitted.
XVII. When the Romans were fighting king Antiochus in Greece,
Philopœmen was in a private station, but, seeing Antiochus lying idly
at Chalkis, wasting his time in unseasonable courtships and weddings,
while his Syrian troops, in great disorder and without officers to
control them, were scattered through the various Greek cities, living
in riotous debauchery, he was vexed at not being elected commander in
chief, and said that he envied the Romans their victory. "I," said he,
"if I had been in command, would have cut off the whole of Antiochus's
army in the taverns."
After the defeat of Antiochus the Romans began to tighten their hold
upon Greece, and to absorb the Achæan league. Many of the popular
leaders took their side, and the growing power of Rome was fated by
the divine blessing before long to become absolute in Greece.
Philopœmen, like a skilful pilot, struggling against a rough sea, was
often compelled to yield and give way for a time, yet as he was
utterly opposed to the Romans he did his best to induce the most
influential men to defend the liberties of Greece. Aristænetus of
Megapolis, a man of great influence with the Achæans, who urged them
in the public assembly not to oppose or to thwart the Romans in
anything, was listened to by Philopœmen for some time in silence,
until at length he was moved to exclaim, "My good sir, why be in such
a hurry to behold the end of Greece?" When Manius the Roman consul had
conquered Antiochus, he begged the Achæans to permit the Lacedæmonian
exiles to return. Titus Flamininus seconded this request, but
Philopœmen opposed it; not because he had any quarrel with the exiles,
but because he wished their restoration to be effected by himself and
the Achæans, of their own free will, not as a favour to Flamininus and
the Romans. Afterwards, when commander-in-chief, he himself restored
them. Thus did his high spirit make him impatient of control and
authority.
XVIII. When he was in his seventieth year, and eighth term of office
as commander-in-chief, he might reasonably expect to finish not only
his year of office, but also the rest of his life in peace; for just
as in human bodies as their strength wastes away the violence of their
diseases abates, so in the Greek states as their power failed their
quarrels gradually ceased. However some Nemesis overtook him, as it
does a too successful athlete just at the termination of his course.
It is said that when some persons in society were praising a man who
was thought to be a good general, Philopœmen said, "How can you think
that man worth consideration, who was taken by his enemy alive."
A few days after this Deinokrates of Messene, a personal enemy of
Philopœmen, and one who was generally disliked because of his wicked
and licentious life, caused Messene to revolt from the Achæan league,
and was announced to be marching upon a village named Kolonis.
Philopœmen was at this time lying ill with a fever in the city of
Argos, but on hearing this he proceeded at once to Megalopolis, a
distance of four hundred furlongs, in one day. From that city he set
out straightway with a body of cavalry, composed of the noblest
citizens, but mostly very young men, who were proud to serve as
volunteers under Philopœmen. They rode into the Messenian territory,
met Deinokrates near the hill of Evander, and put him to flight.
However as the Messenian frontier patrol of five hundred men suddenly
came up, the defeated body rallied again, and Philopœmen, fearing to
be surrounded, and wishing to be careful of the lives of his men,
retired into mountainous ground, himself protecting the rear, making
frequent charges, and drawing the whole attack of the enemy upon
himself. They did not dare to encounter him personally, but clamoured
and wheeled about at a distance. In his eagerness to save each one of
his young soldiers he ventured forward so often, to cover their
retreat, that at last he found himself alone in the midst of his
enemies. None of them dared to meet him, but pelted him with stones
and darts from a distance, so that he was with difficulty able to
guide his horse over the rocky and precipitous ground, and fatigued
the animal greatly.
His age was no hindrance to him, because of his habit of constant
exercise, but unluckily he was weak from his sickness, and wearied by
his long journey, so as to feel faint. His horse at length stumbling
threw him to the ground. He fell heavily on his head, and lay
speechless for some time, so that his enemies thought that he was
dead, and began to turn over his body and strip it. But when he raised
his head and opened his eyes they fell upon him in a body, tied his
hands behind his back, and led him away, jeering much at a man who
never even dreamed that he could have been so triumphed over by
Deinokrates.
XIX. The Messenians who were in the city, greatly excited at the news,
assembled at the gates. When they saw Philopœmen dragged along and
treated in a manner so unworthy of a man who had gained such glorious
victories, most of them felt compassion for him, and were moved to
tears as they reflected how uncertain a thing is human power. Thus
gradually they expressed aloud their kindly feeling towards him,
saying that his former benefits and the liberty which he bestowed
upon them by driving out the despot Nabis, ought to be had in
remembrance. There were some few, however, who in order to gain favour
with Deinokrates, advised him to put Philopœmen to death by torture,
pointing out that he was a dangerous enemy, and would be peculiarly
exasperated against Deinokrates if he now were to regain his freedom
after having been his captive and having been insulted by him. Finally
they put him into what was called the Treasury, a subterranean chamber
with no window or communication with the outward air, and no door
even, but closed by a great stone. There they left him, putting the
great stone over the entrance, and placing a guard of armed men round
it.
Meanwhile the Achæan horsemen rallied from their flight, and as
Philopœmen was nowhere to be seen, they thought that he must have
fallen. They remained for a long while, searching for him, and
reproaching themselves with having obtained dishonourable safety by
abandoning to the enemy their leader, who had laid down his life for
them. Afterwards they pushed forward, inquiring everywhere for him,
and at length learned that he had been captured. They at once sent the
news to the various cities of the Achæan league, who took the matter
greatly to heart, determined to demand Philopœmen publicly from the
Messenians, and prepared for a campaign on his behalf.
XX. While they were acting thus, Deinokrates feared that delay might
save Philopœmen's life. Wishing therefore to be beforehand with the
Achæans, as soon as night came on, and the greater part of the
Messenians had retired, he opened the prison and sent into it a public
slave with a draught of poison, ordering him to stand by Philopœmen
until he had drunk it. Philopœmen was lying down wrapped in his cloak,
not asleep, but full of trouble and distress of mind. When he saw the
light and the slave with the poison standing beside him, he, with
great difficulty on account of his weakness, raised himself into a
sitting posture. He then took the cup into his hand, and inquired
whether he knew anything about the knights, especially about one
Lykortas. When the slave answered that most of them had escaped, he
nodded his head, looked kindly upon him, and answered, "You tell me
good news, if we are not all unfortunate." He uttered no other word,
but drank the poison and laid down again. In his weak condition he was
unable to offer any resistance to the operations of the drug, and died
immediately.
XXI. When the Achæan cities heard of his death, they went into a
general mourning for him. The men of military age assembled at
Megalopolis without delay, chose Lykortas as their leader, invaded the
Messenian territory, and ravaged it until the Messenians came to their
senses and made terms with the Achæans. Deinokrates escaped his
merited fate by suicide, as did those who had advised that Philopœmen
should be put to death, while those who had advised that he should be
tortured were themselves reserved for a death of torture by Lykortas.
They burned his body and collected the ashes into an urn, not
carelessly, but mingling a sort of triumphal pomp with his funeral
procession. There one might see men crowned with garlands but weeping
at the same time, and leading along his enemies in chains. The urn
itself, which was scarcely to be seen for the garlands and ribbons
with which it was covered, was carried by Polybius, the son of the
Achæan commander-in-chief, accompanied by the noblest of the Achæans.
The soldiers followed in complete armour, with caparisoned horses, not
cast down, but yet too sad to feel any pride in their victory. As they
passed through the towns and villages on their way the inhabitants
came out as if to welcome him on his return from a successful
campaign, laid their hands on his urn, and joined in the procession to
Megalopolis. When here the old men, women, and children joined them, a
wail of distress ran through the whole army for the unhappy city which
was mourning for its hero, and which thought itself to have lost, by
his death, the first place in Greece. He was buried with great honour,
as we may well believe, and round his tomb the Messenian captives wore
stoned to death. Many statues were made of him, and many honours voted
to him by the Greek cities, which afterwards during that unfortunate
time for Greece when Corinth was destroyed, a Roman proposed to
destroy, accusing Philopœmen, as if he had been yet alive, of being
always an enemy to the Romans. But after Polybius had answered this
contemptible fellow, neither the consul Mummius nor his lieutenants
would suffer him to deface and take away the honours done in memory of
so famous and worthy a man, although he had frequently offered great
opposition both to Flamininus and to Manius. They distinguished
properly between honour and expediency, rightly thinking that men
should reward those who benefit them, but that the brave should always
be honoured by all brave men. Thus much have I to tell about
Philopœmen.