and the Macedonians.]delayed for several days, not meeting in battle
array but conducting skirmishes and sallies of the light-armed troops
and the horse. The Romans, for their part, were eager to join battle
with all speed: their force was a strong one, they had little provision,
and consequently would often go up to the foe's palisade. Philip, on the
other hand, was weaker in point of armed followers, but his supply of
provisions was better than theirs because his own country was close by;
so he waited, expecting that they would become exhausted without a
conflict, and if he had possessed self-control he certainly would have
accomplished something. As it was, he acquired a contempt for the
Romans, thinking that they feared him because they had transferred their
camp to a certain spot from which they could get food better: he
thereupon attacked them unexpectedly while they were engaged in
plundering and managed to kill a few. Galba on perceiving this made a
sortie from the camp, fell upon him while off his guard, and slew many
more in return. Philip, in view of his defeat and the further fact that
he was wounded, no longer held his position but after a truce of some
days for the taking up and burial of the corpses withdrew the first part
of the night. Galba, however, did not follow him up; he was short of
provisions, he did not know the country, and particularly he was
ignorant of his adversary's strength; he was also afraid that if he
advanced inconsiderately he might come to grief. For these reasons he
was unwilling to proceed farther, but retired to Apollonia.
During this same time Apustius with the Rhodians and with Attalus
cruised about and subjugated many of the islands [lacuna] (Paris
Fragment, p. 464. Zonaras, 9, 15. Cp. Livy, 31:21 ff.)
4. The Insubres were thrown into confusion. For Hamilcar, a
Carthaginian, who had made a campaign with Mago and remained secretly in
those regions, after a term of quiet, during which he was satisfied
merely to elude discovery, as soon as the Macedonian war broke out,
caused the Gauls to revolt from the Romans; then in company with the
rebels he made an expedition against the Ligurians and won over some of
them. Later they had a battle with the prætor Lucius Furius, were
defeated, and sent envoys asking peace. This the Ligurians obtained;
then others [lacuna] [Five fragmentary lines.] (Paris Fragment, p. 465.
Zonaras, 9, 15.)
5[lacuna]. he thought he ought to be granted a triumph, and many
arguments were presented on both sides. Some, especially in view of the
malignity of Aurelius, eagerly furthered his cause and magnified his
victory, using many illustrations. Others declared he had contended with
the help of the consular army and had no individual and independent
appointment, and furthermore they even demanded an accounting from him
because he had not carried out his instructions. However, he won his
point. And he in that place [lacuna] before Aurelius [lacuna] Vermis
[lacuna] from the [lacuna] (Paris Fragment, p. 465. Cp. Livy, 31:47 ff.)
[Frag. LVIII]
[Sidenote: B.C. 197 (_a.u._ 557)] ¶ Philip after his defeat sent heralds
to Flamininus. The latter, however eagerly he coveted Macedonia and
desired the fullest results from his good fortune of the moment,
nevertheless made a truce. The cause lay in the fear that, if Philip
were out of the way, the Greeks might recover their ancient spirit and
no longer pay them court, that the Ætolians, already filled with great
boasting because they had contributed the largest share to the victory,
might become more vexatious to them, and that Antiochus might, as was
reported, come to Europe and form an alliance with Philip. (Ursinus, p.
381. Zonaras, 9, 16.)
[Frag. LIX]
[Sidenote: B.C. 192 (_a.u._ 562)] 1. ¶ Antiochus and his generals were
ruined beforehand; for by his general indolence and his passion for a
certain girl he had drifted into luxurious living and had at the same
time rendered the rest unfit for warfare. (Valesius, p. 609. Zonaras, 9,
19.)
[Sidenote: B.C. 190 (_a.u._ 564)] 2. ¶ Seleucus [Footnote: Probably an
error of the excerptor, for Antiochus himself.] the son of Antiochus
captured the son of Africanus, who was sailing across from Greece, and
had given him the kindest treatment. Although his father many times
requested the privilege of ransoming him, his captor refused, yet did
him no harm: on the contrary, he showed him every honor and finally,
though he failed of securing peace, released him without ransom.
(Valesius, p. 609. Zonaras, 9, 20.)
[Frag. LX]
[Sidenote: B.C. 189 (_a.u._ 565)] ¶ Many were jealous of the Scipios
because the two brothers of excellent stock and trained in virtue had
accomplished all that has been related and had secured such titles. That
these victors could not be charged with wrongdoing is made plain by my
former statements and was shown still more conclusively on the occasion
of the confiscation of the property of Asiaticus,--which was found to
consist merely of his original inheritance,--or again by the retirement
of Africanus to Liternum and the security that he enjoyed there to the
end of his life. At first he did appear in court, [Footnote: Political
enemies of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus summoned him to court on
trumped-up charges.] thinking that he would be saved by the genuineness
of his good behavior. (Valesius, p. 609. Zonaras, 9, 20.)
[Frag. LXI]
¶ The Romans, when they had had a taste of Asiatic luxury and had
spent some time in the possessions of the vanquished amid the
abundance of spoils and the license granted by success in arms,
rapidly came to emulate their prodigality and ere long to trample
under foot their ancestral traditions. Thus this terrible influence,
arising from that source, fell also upon the city. (Valesius, p. 609.)
[Frag. LXII]
¶ Gracchus was thoroughly a man of the people and a very fluent public
speaker, but his disposition was very different from Cato's. Although
he had an enmity of long standing against the Scipios, he would not
endure what was taking place but spoke in defence of Africanus, who
was accused while absent, and exerted himself to prevent any smirch
from attaching to that leader; and he prevented the imprisonment of
Asiaticus. Consequently the Scipios, too, relinquished their hatred of
him and made a family alliance, Africanus bestowing upon him his own
daughter. (Valesius, p. 610.)
[Frag. LXIII]
[Sidenote: B.C. 187 (_a.u._ 567)] ¶ Some youths who had insulted the
Carthaginian envoys that had come to Rome were sent to Carthage and
delivered up to the people; they received no injury, however, at the
hands of the citizens and were released. (Ursinus, p. 381.)
[Frag. LXIV]
[Sidenote: B.C. 183 (_a.u._ 571)] ¶ He himself [i.e. Hannibal] died by
drinking poison near Bithynia, in a certain place called Libyssa by
name; though he thought to die in Libyssa his own proper country. For an
oracle had once been written down for Hannibal to the following effect:
"A Libyssan clod shall hide the form of Hannibal." Later the Roman
Emperor Severus, being of Libyan birth, interred in a tomb of white
marble this man, the general Hannibal. (Tzetzes. Hist. 1, 798-805. Cp.
Zonaras, 9, 21.)
[Frag. LXV]
[Sidenote: B.C. 169 (_a.u._ 585)] 1. ¶ Perseus hoped to eject the Romans
from Greece completely, but through his excessive and inopportune
parsimony and the consequent contempt of his allies he became weak once
more. When Roman influence was declining slightly and his own was
increasing, he was filled with scorn and thought he had no further need
of his allies, but believed that either they would assist him free of
cost or he could prevail by himself. Hence he paid neither Eumenes nor
Gentius the money that he had promised, thinking that they must have
reasons of their own strong enough to insure hostility towards the
Romans. These princes, therefore, and the Thrasians--they, too, were not
receiving their full pay--became indifferent; and Perseus fell into such
depths of despair again as actually to sue for peace. (Valesius, p. 610.
Zonaras, 9, 22.)
2. ¶ Perseus sued for peace at the hands of the Romans, and would have
obtained it but for the presence in his embassy of the Rhodians, who
joined it through fear that a rival to the Romans might be annihilated.
Their language had none of the moderation which petitioners should
employ, and they talked as if they were not so much asking peace for
Perseus as bestowing it, and adopted a generally haughty tone: finally
they threatened those who should be responsible for their failing to
come to a satisfactory agreement by saying that they would fight on the
opposite side. They had previously been somewhat under the ban of Roman
suspicion, but after this many more hard things were said of them and
they prevented Perseus from obtaining peace. (Ursinus, p. 382. Zonaras,
9, 22.)
[Sidenote: B.C. 168 (_a.u._ 586)]3. ¶ When Perseus was in the temple at
Samothrace, a demand was made upon him for the surrender of one Evander,
of Cretan stock, a most faithful follower who had assisted him in many
schemes against the Romans and had helped to concoct the plot carried
out at Delphi against Eumenes. The prince, fearing that he might declare
all the intrigues to which he had been privy, did not deliver him but
secretly slew him and spread abroad the report that he had made way with
himself in advance. The associates of Perseus, fearing his treachery
and blood-guiltiness, then began to desert his standard. (Valesius, p.
610. Zonaras, 9, 23.)
4. ¶ Perseus allowed himself [Footnote: Cp. Livy, XLV, 6.] to be found,
and upon his being brought to Amphipolis Paulus accorded him no harsh
treatment by deed or word, but on the contrary made way for him when he
approached, entertained him in various ways and had him sit at his
table, keeping him, meanwhile, although a prisoner, unconfined and
showing him every courtesy. (Valesius, p. 613. Zonaras, 9, 23.)
[Frag. LXVI]
¶ Paulus was not only good at generalship but most inaccessible to
bribes. Of this the following is proof. Though he had at that time
entered for a second term upon the consulship and had gained possession
of untold spoils, he continued to live in so great indigence that when
he died the dowry was with difficulty paid back to his wife. Such was
the nature of the man and such were his deeds. The only thing regarded
as a blemish that attaches to his character is his turning over the
possessions [of the Epirots?] to his soldiers for pillage: for the rest,
he showed himself a man not devoid of charm and temperate in good
fortune, who was seen to be extremely lucky and at the same time full of
wise counsel in dealing with the enemy. As an illustration: he was not
cowardly or heedless in waging war against Perseus, but afterward did
not assume a pompous or boastful air toward him. (Valesius, p. 613.
Zonaras, 9, 24.)
[Frag. LXVII]
1. ¶ The Rhodians, who formerly had possessed a vast amount of
self-esteem, thinking that they, too, ranked as conquerors of Philip and
Antiochus, and were stronger than the Romans, fell into such depths of
terror as to despatch an ambassador to Antiochus, king of Syria, and
summon Popilius, in whose presence they condemned all those opposed to
the Roman policy and then sent such as were arrested to punishment.
(Ursinus, p. 382. Zonaras, 9, 24.)
2. ¶ The same persons, though they had often sent envoys to them, as
frequently as they wanted anything, now ceased to bring to their
attention any of the former enterprises, but mentioned only those cases
which they could cite pertaining to services once rendered which might
be useful in diverting Roman ill-will. They were especially anxious at
this time to secure the title of Roman allies. Previously they had
refused to accept it. They had wished to inspire some fear in
Rome,--for, not being bound to friendship by any oath, they had power to
transfer their allegiance at any time,--and furthermore to be courted by
such states as from time to time might be engaged in war with that city.
But now they were looking to confirm the favor of the Romans and to the
consequent honor that was sure to be accorded to them by others.
(Ursinus, p. 382. Zonaras, 9, 24.)
[Frag. LXVIII]
¶ Prusias himself entered the senate-house at Rome and covered the
threshold with kisses. The senators he termed gods, and worshiped them.
Thus, then, he obtained an abundance of pity, though he had fought
against Attalus contrary to the Roman decision. It was said that at
home, too, whenever their envoys came to him, he worshiped them, calling
himself a freedman of the people, and often he would put on a slave's
cap. (Ursinus, p. 383. Zonaras, 9, 24.)
[Frag. LXIX]
[Sidenote: B.C. 149 (_a.u._ 605)] ¶ Scipio Africanus excelled in
planning out at leisure the requisite course, but excelled also in
discovering at a moment's notice what needed to be done, and knew how to
employ either method on the proper occasion. The duties that lay before
him he reviewed boldly but accomplished their fulfillment as if with
timidity. Therefore by his fearless detailed investigation he obtained
accurate knowledge of the fitting action in every emergency, and by his
good judgment in doubtful cases met these emergencies safely.
Consequently, if he was ever brought face to face with some need that
admitted of no deliberation,--as is wont to happen in the contradictions
of warfare and the turns of fortune--not even then did he miss the
proper course. Through accustoming himself to regard no happening as
unreasonable he was not unprepared for the assault of sudden events,
but through his incessant activity was able to meet the unexpected as if
he had forseen it long before. As a result he showed himself daring in
matters where he felt he was right, and ready to run risks where he felt
bold. In bodily frame he was strong as the best of the soldiers. This
led to one of his most remarkable characteristics: he would devise
movements that looked advantageous as if he were merely going to command
others, and at the time of action would execute them as if they had been
ordered by others. Besides not swerving from the ordinary paths of
rectitude, he kept faith scrupulously not only with the citizens and his
acquaintances, but with foreign and most hostile nations. This, too,
brought many individuals as well as many cities to his standard. He
never spoke or acted without due consideration or through anger or fear,
but as a result of the certainty of his calculations he was ready for
all chances: he had thought out practically all human possibilities; he
never did anything unexpected, but deliberated every matter beforehand,
according to its nature. Thus he perceived very easily the right course
to follow even before there was any necessity, and pursued it with
firmness.
These are the reasons, or chiefly these--I should mention also his
moderation and amiability--that he alone of men escaped the envy of his
peers, or of any one else. He chose to make himself like to his
inferiors, not better than his equals, weaker than greater men, and so
passed beyond the power of jealousy, which harasses only the noblest
men. (Valesius, p. 613. Zonaras, 9, 27.)
[Frag. LXX]
[Sidenote: B.C. 148 (_a.u._ 606)] Dio in Book 21: "Phameas, despairing
of the Carthaginian cause" [lacuna] (Bekker, Anecd. p. 124, 9a. Zonaras,
9, 27.)
[Frag. LXXI]
What age limit, pray, is imposed upon those who from their very boyhood
set their faces toward obtaining a right state of mind? What number of
years has been settled upon with reference to the fulfillment of duties?
Is it not true that all who enjoy an excellent nature and good fortune
both think and do in all things what is right from the very beginning,
whereas those who at this age of their life have little sense would
never subsequently grow more prudent, even if they should pass through
many years? A man may continue to improve upon his former condition as
he advances in age, but not one would turn out wise from being foolish,
or sensible from being silly. Do not, therefore, put the young into a
state of dejection through the idea that they are actually condemned to
a state of inability to perform their duties. On the contrary, you ought
to urge them to practice zealously the performance of all that they are
required to do, and to look for both honors and offices even before they
reach old age. By this course you will render their elders better,
too,--first, by confronting them with many competitors, and next by
making clear that you are going to establish not length of years but
innate excellence as the test in conferring positions of command upon
any citizens, even more than you do in the case of ordinary benefits.
[Footnote: These words would appear to be taken from the speech before
the senate of some such person as a tribune of the plebs, and to relate
either to the consulship of Scipio Æmilianus (B.C. 148) or to the
Spanish appointment of Scipio Africanus (B.C. 211), preferably the
former.] (Mai, p. 547, and also Excerpts from a Florentine MS. of John
of Antioch's _Parallela_. Cp. Zonaras, 9, 29.)