after the cities, to the number of nearly seventy, were pillaged, their walls were demolished. The whole booty was sold, and, of the sum raised by it, each of the horse had about one mina, four hundred denarii, and each of the foot about half a mina, two hundred denarii.

After Paulus Æmilius, contrary to his natural disposition, which was gentle and humane, had caused this decree to be put in execution, he advanced to the sea at the city of Oricum. Some days after, Anicius, having assembled the remainder of the Epirots and Acarnanians, ordered the principal persons of them, whose cause had been reserved for the judgment of the senate, to follow him into Italy.

Paulus Æmilius, having arrived at the mouth of the Tiber, entered that river in the galley of king Perseus, which had sixteen benches of oars, and wherein was displayed, not only the arms which had been taken, but all the rich stuffs and finest carpets of purple found among the booty. All the Romans who came out to meet that galley, accompanied it in crowds upon the side of the river, and seemed to give the proconsul an anticipation of the honours of the triumph he had so well deserved. But the soldiery, who had looked with a greedy eye upon the immense treasures of the king, and had not had all the share of them they had promised themselves, retained a warm resentment upon that account, and were very ill satisfied with Paulus Emilius. They openly reproached him with having treated them with too much rigour and authority, and seemed determined to refuse him the honour of a triumph by their suffrages. The soldiers called that general's exactitude, in point of discipline, rigour; and their discontent, occasioned by their avarice, threw a false gloss upon the excellent qualities of Paulus Æmilius; to whom, however, they were obliged to do justice in their hearts, by acknowledging the superiority of his merit in every thing.*

After some debates, a triumph was granted him. Never had any thing been so magnificent. It continued three days successively. I do not enter in this place into a particular account of it; that seems foreign to the Grecian History. One single cup of massy gold, which Paulus Æmilius had caused to be made, and weighed ten talents, was valued for the gold only at one talent. It was adorned with jewels, and consecrated to Jupiter Capitolinus.

Besides these rich spoils and treasures, which were carried in pomp, was seen the chariot of Perseus, with his arms, and upon his arms, his royal diadem. At some distance followed his children, with their governors, preceptors, and all the officers of their hosusehold, who, shedding tears, held out their hands to the people, and taught those little captives to do the same, and to endeavour, by their supplications and prayers, to move them in their favour. There were two sons and a daughter, who were incapable of comprehending the greatness of their calamity, from the tenderness of their years; a circumstance which still more excited compassion. All eyes were fixed upon them, while their father was scarcely regarded, and, in the midst of the public joy, the people could not refrain from tears at so mournful a sight.

King Perseus walked after his children and all their train, wrapt in a mourning cloak. His air and behaviour seemed to argue, that the excess of his misfortunes had turned his brain. He was followed by a troop of his friends and courtiers, who, hanging down their heads and weeping, with their eyes always fixed upon him, sufficiently explained to the spectators, that, little affected with their own misfortunes, they were sensible solely to those of their king.

It is said, that Perseus sent to desire Paulus Æmilius not to exhibit him as a spectacle to the Romans, and to spare him the indignity of being led in triumph. Paulus Æmilius replied coldly, "The favour he asks of me is in his own power, he can procure it for himself." He reproached, in those few words, his cow

* Liv. 1. xlv. a. 35-40. Plut. in Paul. Emil. p. 271.

The talent weighed sixty pounds.

ardice and excessive love of life, which the pagans thought incumbent on them to sacrifice generously in such conjunctures. They did not know that it is never lawful to attempt one's own life. But Perseus was not prevented by that consideration.

Paulus Æmilius, seated in a superb chariot, and magnificently adorned, closed the march. He had his two sons on each side of him.

Whatever compassion he had for the misfortunes of Perseus, and however inclined he might be to serve him, all he could do for him, was to have him removed from the public prison to a more commodious place. Himself and his son Alexander were carried, by order of the senate, to Alba, where he was guarded, and supplied with money, furniture, and people to serve him. Most authors agree, that he occasioned his own death by abstaining from food. He had reigned eleven years. Macedonia was not reduced into a province till some years afterwards.

Cn. Octavius and L. Anicius were also granted the honour of a triumph; the first for his naval victories, and the other for that which he had gained in Illyria.

Cotys, king of Thrace, sent to demand his son, who had been confined in prison, after having been led in triumph. He excused himself for his attachment to the party of Perseus, and offered a great ransom for the prisoner. The senate, without receiving his excuses, replied, that having more regard to his ancient services than his late fault, they would send back his son, but without accepting any ransom; that the favours conferred by the Roman people were free and voluntary, and that they chose rather to leave the price of them to the gratitude and affection of those they obliged, than to be paid immediately for them.

ARTICLE II.

THIS article includes the space of something more than twenty years, from the defeat of Perseus, to the taking and destruction of Corinth by Mummius, at which time Greece was reduced into a Roman province.

SECTION I.-ATTALUS COMES TO ROME TO CONGRATULATE THE ROMANS ON

THEIR SUCCESS IN MACEDONIA.

AMONG the different embassies from kings and states, which came to Rome after the victory over Perseus, Attalus, the brother of Eumenes, drew upon him, more than all others, the eyes and attention of the Romans. The ravages committed by the Asiatic Gauls in the kingdom of Pergamus, had laid Attalus under the necessity of going to Rome, to implore the republic's aid against those barbarians. Another still more specious reason had obliged him to make that voyage. It was necessary to congratulate the Romans on their last victory, and to receive the applauses he deserved for the part he had taken in the war against Perseus, and for having shared with them in all the dangers of it. He was received at Rome with all the marks of honour and amity that a prince could expect, who had proved, in the army in Macedonia, a constant and determined attachment to the Romans. He had a most honourable reception, and made his entrance into the city, attended by a very numerous train.*

All these honours, the real cause of which he did not perceive, made him conceive thoughts and hopes, which perhaps would never have entered into his mind, if they had not been suggested to him. The greatest part of the Romans had no longer any esteem or affection for Eumenes. His secret negotiations with Perseus, of which they had been apprized, made them believe that that prince had never been sincerely on their side, and that he only waited an opportunity to declare against them. Full of this prejudice, some of the * A. M. 3837. Ant. J. C. 167. Polyb. Legat. xciii. Liv. 1. xlv. n. 19, 20. VOL. IV. 13

most distinguished Romans, in their private conversations with Attalus, advised him not to mention the business on which his brother had sent him to treat, but to speak solely of what related to himself. They gave him to understand, that the senate, to whom Eumenes was become suspected, and even odious, from his having appeared to waver between Perseus and the Romans, had thoughts of depriving him of part of his kingdom, and to give it to himself, upon whom they could rely as an assured friend, incapable of changing. We may perceive here the maxims of the Roman policy; and these detached lines may serve to unveil it upon other occasions, when more attentive to conceal itself.

The temptation was strong to a prince, who, without doubt, did not want ambition, and who was not of a character to reject snch pleasing hopes, when they presented themselves to him without being solicited. He listened therefore to these discourses and this proposal, with some degree of attention, because they came from some of the principal persons of Rome, whose wisdom he esteemed, and whose probity he respected. The affair went so far, that he promised them to demand in the senate, that part of his brother's kingdom should be given to him.

Attalus had a physician in his train, called Stratius, whom Eumenes, suspecting his brother, had sent with him to Rome, to have an eye upon his conduct, and to recall him to his duty by good counsel, if he should happen to depart from it. Stratius had wit and penetration, and his manners were very insinuating, and well adapted to persuasion. Having either discovered, or learned from Attalus himself, the design that had been instilled into him, he took advantage of some favourable moments to open himself to him. He represented, that the kingdom of Pergamus, weak of itself, and but very lately established, had subsisted, and been improved, solely by the union and good understanding of the brothers who possessed it: that only one of them, indeed, enjoyed the name of king, and wore the diadem; but that they all reigned in effect that Eumenes, having no male issue, (for the son he had afterwards, and who succeeded him, was not then in being,) he could leave his throne only to his next brother: that his right to the succession of the kingdom was therefore incontestible; and that, considering the age and infirmities of Eumenes, the time for such succession could not be very remote. And wherefore then should he anticipate and hasten, by a violent and criminal undertaking, what would soon happen in a just and natural manner? Did he desire to divide the kingdom, with his brother, or to deprive him of it entirely? If he had only a part of it, both of them, weakened by such division, and exposed to the enterprises of their neighbours, might be equally undone in the end: that if he proposed to reign alone, what would become of his elder brother? Would he reduce him to live as a private person, or send him, at his years, into banishment? or, in a word, would he cause him to be put to death? that he did not doubt, but such thoughts must give him horror: that not to speak of the fabulous accounts of the tragical effects of fraternal discord, the recent example of Perseus might remind him of them: that that unfortunate prince, who had torn the sceptre from his brother, by shedding his blood, pursued by the divine vengeance, had lately laid down the same sceptre at the feet of a victor, in the temple of Samothracia, and in a manner before the eyes, and by the order of the gods, who preside there, the witnesses and avengers of his guilt. That he was assured, the very persons who, less out of friendship for him than illwill for Eumenes, gave him at present such pernicious counsels, would be the first to praise his tender and constant affection for his brother, if he continued faithfully attached to him to the last. Stratius added the extreme danger to which Attalus would expose the kingdom of Pergamus in the present conjuncture, when the Gauls were preparing to invade it.

How unworthy was it of the Romans to kindle and blow up the fire of discord in this manner between brothers! Of what value must a sincere, prudent

195 and disinterested friend appear at such a time? What an advantage is it for a prince to give those who approach him, the liberty of speaking freely and without reserve to him, and of being known by them in that light? The wise remonstrances of Stratius had their effect upon Attalus. That prince, having been introduced into the senate, without speaking against his brother, or demanding a division of the kingdom of Pergamus, contented himself with congratulating the senate, in the name of Eumenes and his brothers, upon the victory gained in Macedonia. He modestly displayed the zeal and affection with which he had served in the war against Perseus. He desired, that they would send ambassadors to check the insolence of the Gauls, and to reduce them to their former state; and concluded with requesting that the investiture of Enus and Maronæa, cities of Thrace, might be given to him, which places had been conquered by Philip, father of Perseus, and the possession disputed with him by Eumenes.

The senate, imagining that Attalus would demand another audience, in order to speak in particular of his pretensions upon part of his brother's dominions, promised beforehand to send ambassadors according to his demand, and made the prince the usual presents. They promised besides to put him in possession of the two cities as he desired. But when it was known that he had left Rome, the senate, offended at finding that he had done nothing they expected from him, and not being able to be revenged upon him in any other manner, revoked the promise they had made him; and before the prince was out of Italy, declared Enus and Maronæa free and independent cities. They sent, however, an embassy to the Gauls, at the head of which was P. Licinius; but with very different instructions from those demanded by Attalus. The Roman policy took off the mask entirely at this time, and showed an aspect very unlike the frankness and probity of their ancestors.

The senate some days after gave audience to the Rhodians, which made a great noise.* They at first refused to hear them, as having rendered themselves unworthy of that honour by their conduct, and even a declaration of war against them was talked of. Rhodes, alarmed at this, sent two new deputies. Having obtained admittance to the senate with great difficulty, they appeared there as supplicants, dressed in mourning-habits, and with their faces bathed in tears. Astymedes spoke, and with a voice interrupted with sighs, took upon him the defence of his unfortunate country. He took great care not to show at first his desire to justify it. He knew that it had justly incurred the anger of the Roman people; he confessed its faults; he called to mind the indiscreet embassy, which the insolent pride of the orator who spoke, had rendered still more criminal; but he begged the senate to make some difference between the entire body of the nation, and a few private persons disavowed by them, and whom they were ready to deliver up. He represented, that there was no republic nor city, that did not include some bad members. That after all, there were no other crimes objected to them than words; foolish indeed, rash, extravagant, which he confessed to be the characteristics and failings of his nation, but such as wise persons seldom lay much stress upon, or punish with exceeding rigour, no more than Jupiter aims his thunders at all who speak with little respect of his divinity. "But said he, "the neutrality observed by us in the late war, is looked upon as a certain proof of our enmity in regard to you. Is there a tribunal in the world, wherein the intention, when without effect, is punished as the action itself. But let your severity be carried to that excess, the punishment can only fall on those who have had this intention, and then the majority of us are innocent. Admitting even that this neutrality and inaction make us all criminal, ought the real services we have rendered you, in the two preceding wars, to be deemed as nothing, and will they not cover the omission imputed to us in the last? Let

Polyb. Legat. xciii-xcix. c. et. civ. Liv. I. xiv. n. 20-25.

Neque moribus neque legibus ullius civitatis ita comparatum esse, ut siquis vellet inimicum perire, di aihil fecerit quo id fiat, capitis damnetur.-Liv.

Philip, Antiochus, and Perseus, bear witness in our cause. The voices of the two first will certainly be for us, and absolve us; and, for the third, at most, and in the severest sense, the sentence must appear doubtful and uncertain. Can you then, according to this state of the question, pass a fatal decree against Rhodes; for you are now on the point of deciding, whether it shall subsist any longer, or be entirely destroyed? You may declare war against us; but not a single Rhodian will take up arms against you. If you persist in your resentment, we demand time to go and report our deputation at Rhodes, and at that moment our whole city, men, women, and free persons, will embark, with all our estates and effects; we will abandon our household gods, as well public as private, and come to Rome, where, after we have thrown our gold and silver, and all we have, at your feet, we will deliver up ourselves, our wives, and our children, to your discretion. We will suffer here before your eyes, whatever you shall think fit to inflict upon us. If Rhodes is condemned to be plundered and set on fire, we shall, at least, spare ourselves the sight of that calamity. You may, by your resolves, declare yourselves our enemies; but there is a secret sense in the bottom of our hearts, that declares quite the contrary, and assures us, that whatever hostilities you may act against us, you will never find us otherwise than friends and servants."

After this discourse, the deputies prostrated themselves upon the earth, and held out their hands toward the senators, with olive branches in them, to demand peace. When they were withdrawn, by order of the senate, they proceeded to vote upon the affair. All who had served in Macedonia, in quality of consuls, prætors, or lieutenants, and who had most experienced their foolish pride and enmity to the Romans, were very much against them. M. Portius Cato, the celebrated censor, known by the severity of his character, which often rose to hardness of heart, was softened at this time in favour of the Rhodians, and spoke for them with great warmth and eloquence. Livy does not repeat his discourse, because it was then extant in a work of Cato's own, entitled De Originibus, wherein he had inserted his own orations.

The world has reason to regret the loss of so valuable a collection. Aulus Gellius* has preserved some fragments of this discourse of Cato's; by which it appears, that he made use of almost the same reasons with the ambassadors of Rhodes. I shall cite some passages of it at the bottom of the page, to assist the reader in knowing and distinguishing the manly and energetic style which characterized the Roman eloquence in those ancient times, when more attention was paid to the force of thoughts, than to the elegance of words.

Cato begins his discourse by representing to the Romans, that they ought not to abandon themselves to the extravagance of excessive joy. That prosperity generally excites pride and insolence. That he apprehends, in the present case, they may form resolutions which may draw some misfortune upon Rome, and cause the frivolous joy, to which they give themselves up, to vanish like a dream. "Adversity," says he, " in humbling the spirit, restores us to our reason, and teaches us what is necessary to be done. Prosperity, on the contrary, hurries us in a manner out of our way, by the joy it occasions, and makes us lose sight of the measures, which a calm situation of mind would enable us to discern and execute. It is therefore, fathers, I am absolutely of opinion, that we should defer the decision of this affair, till, having recovered from the violent emotions of our joy, we may be masters of ourselves, and capable of deliberating with more maturity." He adds, "that he indeed believes the Rhodians were far from desiring that the Romans should have conquered Perseus; but that they had such sentiments in common with all

*Liv. 1. vii. c. 5.

† Scio solere plerisque hominibus rebus secundis atque prolixis atque prosperis animum excellere, su perbiam atque ferociam augescere atque crescere: quod mihi nunc magnæ curæ est, quia hæc res tam se cunde processit, nequid in consulendo adversi evenia, quod nostras secundas res confutet, neve hæc læti tia nimis luxuriose eveniat. Adversæ res se domant, et docent quid opus sit facto; secundæ res lætitia transversum trudere solent a recte consulendo atque intelligendo. Quo majore opere edico suadeoque uti hæc res aliquot dies proferatur, dum ex tanto gaudio in polestatm nostram redeamus.