Whilst the king was bathing, he was informed of the enemy's approach. That news alarmed him terribly. Uncertain what plan to pursue, and changing every moment his resolution, he cried out, and lamented his being conquered without fighting. He recalled the two officers, to whom he had confided the defence of the passes; sent the gilt a statues at Dium on board his fleet, lest they should fall into the hands of the Romans; gave orders that his treasures, which were laid up at Pella, should be thrown into the sea, and all his gallies at Thessalonica burnt. For himself, he retired to Pydna.

The consul had brought the army to a place from whence it was impossible to disengage himself without the enemy's permission. The only passage for him was through two forests; by the one he might penetrate through the vallies of Tempe into Thessaly, and by the other, beyond Dium, enter further into Macedonia; and both these important posts were possessed by strong garrisons, whom the king had placed there. So that if Perseus had only staid ten days without taking fright, it had been impossible for the Romans to have entered Thessaly by Tempe, and the consul would have had no pass by which provisions could be conveyed to him; for the ways through Tempe are bordered by such vast precipices, that the eye could scarce sustain the view of them without dazzling. The king's troops guarded this pass at four several places, of which the last was so narrow, that ten men, well armed, could alone have defended the entrance. The Romans, therefore, not being able either to receive provisions by the narrow passes of Tempe, nor to get through them, must have been obliged to regain the mountains, from whence they came down, which was become impracticable, the enemy having possessed themselves of the eminences. The only choice they had left was to open their way into Macedonia, through their enemies, to Dium; which would have been no less difficult, if the gods, says Livy, had not deprived Perseus of prudence and counsel for in making a fossé with intrenchments in a very narrow defile, at the foot of Mount Olympus, he would absolutely have shut them out, and stopped them short. But in the blindness into which his fear had thrown the king, he neither saw nor put in execution any of the various means in his power to save himself, but left all the passes of his kingdom open and unguarded, and took refuge at Pydna with precipitation.

The consul perceived aright, that he owed his safety to a These were the statues of the horse-soldiers killed in passing the Granicus, which Alexander had caused to be made by Lysippus and to be set up in Dium. Quod nisi di mentem regi ademissent, ipsum ingentis difficultas erat.

Liv.

the king's timidity and imprudence. He ordered the prætor Lucretius, who was at Larissa, to seize the posts bordering upon Tempe, which Perseus had abandoned, in order to secure a retreat in case of accident; and sent Popilius to take a view of the passes in the way to Dium. When he was informed that the ways were open and unguarded, he marched thither in two days, and encamped his army near the temple of Jupiter, in the neighbourhood, to prevent its being plundered. Having entered the city, which was full of magnificent buildings, and well fortified, he was exceedingly surprised that the king had abandoned it so easily. He continued his march, and made himself master of several places, almost without any resistance. But the further he advanced, the less provisions he found, and the more the dearth increased; which obliged him to return to Dium. He was also reduced to quit that city, and retire to Phila, where the prætor Lucretius had informed him he might find provisions in abundance. His quitting Dium suggested to Perseus, that it was now time to recover by his courage what he had lost by his fear. He repossessed himself therefore of that city, and soon repaired its ruins. Popilius, on his side, besieged and took Heraclea, which was only a quarter of a league distance from Phila.

Perseus, having recovered his fright, and resumed his spirits, would have been very glad that his orders to throw his treasures at Pella into the sea, and burn all his ships at Thessalonica, had not been executed. Andronicus, to whom he had given the latter order, had delayed obeying it, to give time for the repentance which might soon follow that command, as in deed it happened. Nicias, with less precaution, had thrown all the money he found at Pella into the sea. But his fault was soon repaired by divers, who brought up almost the whole money from the bottom of the sea. To reward their services, the king caused them all to be put to death secretly, as well as Andronicus and Nicias: so much was he ashamed of the abject terror to which he had abandoned himself, that he could not bear to have any witnesses or traces of it in being.

Several expeditions passed on both sides by sea and land, which were neither of much consequence nor importance.

a When Polybius returned from his embassy into Peloponnesus, Appius's letter, in which he demanded five thousand men, had been received there. Some time after, the council which was assembled at Sicyon, to deliberate upon that affair, gave Polybius great perplexity. Not to execute the order he had received from Marcius, had been an inex

a Polyb regat. Ixxviii.

cusable fault. On the other side, it was dangerous to refuse the Romans the troops they might have occasion for, and of which the Achæans were in no want. To extricate themselves in so delicate a conjuncture, they had recourse to the decree of the Roman senate, that prohibited their paying any regard to the letters of the generals, unless an order of the senate was annexed to them, which Appius had not sent with his. It was his opinion, therefore, that before any thing was sent to Appius, it was necessary to inform the consul of his demand, and to wait for his decision upon it. By that means, Polybius saved the Achæans an expense which would have amounted to more than an hundred and twenty thousand crowns.

a In the mean time arrived at Rome ambassadors from Prusias, king of Bithynia, and also from the Rhodians, in favour of Perseus. The former expressed themselves very modestly, declaring that Prusias had constantly adhered to the Roman party, and should continue to do so during the war; but that having promised Perseus to employ his good offices in his behalf with the Romans, in order to obtain a peace, he desired, if it were possible, that they would grant him that favour, and make such use of his mediation as they should think convenient. The language of the Rhodians was very different. After having set forth, in a lofty style, the services they had done the Roman people, and ascribed to themselves the greatest share in the victories they had obtaired, and especially in that over Antiochus, they added, that whilst the peace subsisted between the Macedonians and Romans, they had negotiated a treaty of alliance with Perseus; that they had suspended it against their will, and without any subject of complaint against the king, because it had pleased the Romans to engage them on their side; that during the three years which this war had continued, they had suffered many inconveniences from it; that their trade by sea being interrupted, the island found itself in great straits, from the reduction of its revenues, and other advantages arising from commerce; that being no longer able to support such considerable losses, they had sent ambassadors into Macedonia, to king Perseus, to inform him that the Rhodians thought it necessary that he should make peace with the Romans, and that they were also sent to Rome to make the same declaration; that if either of the parties refused to accede to so reasonable a proposal, the Rhodians should know what they had to do.

It is easy to judge in what manner so vain and presumptuous a discourse was received. Some historians tell us, that all the answer that was given to it was, to order a decree of

a Liv. l. xliv. n. 14-16.

the senate, whereby the Carians and Lycians were declared free, to be read in their presence. This was touching them to the quick, and mortifying them in the most sensible part, for they pretended to an authority over both those nations. Others say, the senate answered in few words, that the disposition of the Rhodians, and their secret intrigues with Perseus, had been long known at Rome; that when the Roman people should have conquered him, of which they expected advice every day, they should know in their turn what they had to do, and should then treat their allies according to their respective merits. They made the ambassadors, however, the usual presents.

The consul Q. Marcius's letter was then read, in which he gave an account of the manner he had entered Macedomia, after having suffered incredible difficulties in passing a very narrow defile. He added, that by the wise precaution of the prætor, he had sufficient provisions for the whole winter; having received from the Epirots twenty thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley, for which it was necessary to pay their ambassadors then at Rome: that it was also necessary to send him clothes for the soldiers; that he wanted two hundred horses, especially from Numidia, because there were none of that kind in the country where he was. All these articles were exactly and immediately executed.

After this, they gave audience to Onesimus, a Macedonian nobleman. He had always advised the king to maintain peace; and putting him in mind that his father Philip, to the last day of his life, had caused his treaty with the Rōmans to be constantly read to him twice every day, he had admonished him to do as much, if not with the same regularity, at least from time to time. Not being able to dissuade him from the war, he had begun to withdraw himself from his councils, under different pretexts, that he might not be witness to the resolutions taken in them, which he could not approve. At length, seeing himself become suspected, and tacitly considered as a traitor, he had taken refuge amongst the Romans, and had been of great service to the consul. Having made this relation to the senate, they gave him a very favourable reception, and provided magnificently for his

subsistence.

SECT. IV.

Emilius's celebrated victory near the city of Pydna. Perseus taken prisoner with all his children.

a The time for the comitia, or assemblies for the election of a A. M. 3836. Ant. J. C. 16s, Fáy. 1 xliv. m. 17. Plut. in Paul. Emil. §' 259,260.

consuls at Rome, approaching, all the world were anxious to know upon whom so important a choice would fall, and nothing else was talked of in all conversations. They were not satisfied with the consuls who had been employed for three years against Perseus, and had very ill sustained the honour of the Roman name. They called to mind the famous victories formerly obtained over his father Philip, who had been obliged to sue for peace; over Antiochus, who was driven beyond Mount Taurus, and forced to pay a great tribute; and, what was still more considerable, over Hannibal, the greatest general that had ever appeared as their enemy,or perhaps in the world, whom they had reduced to quit Italy after a war of more than sixteen years' continuance, and conquered in his own country, almost under the very walls of Carthage. The formidable preparations made by Perseus, and some advantages gained by him in the former campaigns, augmented the apprehension of the Romans. They plainly discerned that it was no time to confer the command of the armies by faction or favour, and that it was necessary to choose a general for his wisdom, valour, and experience; in a word, one capable of conducting so important a war as that now upon their hands.

All the world cast their eyes upon Paulus Æmilius. There are times when distinguished merit unites the vioces of the public; and nothing is more grateful than such a judgment, founded upon the knowledge of a man's past services, the army's opinion of his capacity, and the state's pressing occasion for his valour and conduct. Paulus Æmilius was near sixty years old; but age, without impairing his faculties in the least, had rather improved them with maturity of wisdom and judgment; more necessary in a general than even valour and bravery. He had been consul thirteen years before, and had acquired general esteem during his administration. But the people repaid his services with ingratitude, having refused to raise him again to the same dignity, though he had solicited it with sufficient ardour. For several years he had led a private and retired life, solely employed in the education of his children, in which no father ever succeeded better, nor was more gloriously rewarded for his care. All his relations, all his friends, urged him to comply with the people's wishes in taking upon him the consulship: but believing himself no longer capable of commanding, he avoided appearing in public, kept himself at home, and shunned honours with as much solicitude as others generally pursue them. However, when he saw the people assemble every morning in crowds before his door, that they summoned him to the forum, and exclaimed highly against his obstinate refusal to serve his country, he acceded at last to their re