42.52
It was
six-and-twenty years since the peace which Philip sought had been
vouchsafed to him. During all that time Macedonia had been undisturbed and
a new generation had grown up, ripe for military service, and in the small
wars with their Thracian neighbours, which exercised rather than exhausted
them, they had been constantly trained and disciplined. The prospect of a
war with Rome, which had during the whole period been cherished by Philip
and then by Perseus, had led to everything being in a state of readiness and
efficiency. The army performed a few movements, not as regular maneuvers,
but simply in order to avoid the appearance of only standing under arms.
Perseus then called them, armed as they were, to stand round on parade, and
ascended the tribunal with his two sons by his side; the elder one, Philip, his
brother by birth, his son by adoption, the younger one, Alexander, his son by
birth. He exhorted his soldiers to show their courage in the war, and
enumerated the injuries which the Romans had inflicted on his father and on
himself. His father had been compelled by all the indignities he had suffered
to resume hostilities; in the midst of his preparations he had been struck
down by fate. The Romans sent envoys to him (Perseus) to open
negotiations and at the same time sent soldiers to occupy the cities of
Greece. Then the winter was wasted over a conference, ostensibly to bring
about a peaceful settlement, but really to give them time to make their
preparations. Now the consul was coming with two Roman legions, each
with its complement of 300 cavalry and contingents furnished by the allies of
about the same strength. Even if the troops sent by Eumenes and Masinissa
were counted in, there would not be more than 7000 infantry and 2000
cavalry. The king proceeded: "You have heard what the strength of the
enemy is; now look at your own army, its superiority in numbers and in the
quality of the soldiers as compared with the raw conscripts hastily embodied
for this war, soldiers who have from their boyhood been trained in the school
of war, disciplined and hardened by so many campaigns. Lydians, Phrygians
and Numidians are furnishing troops for the Romans; we have on our side
the Thracians, and the most warlike of all nations the Gauls. Their arms are
just what each poverty-stricken soldier has provided himself with; you
Macedonians are supplied from the royal arsenal with arms manufactured
through all those years under my father's direction and at his cost. Their
supplies will have to be brought from a distance and will be exposed to all
the chances and accidents of the sea; we have for ten years been storing up
money and corn in addition to the revenue from the mines. Everything which
has been provided by the kindness of heaven or by the care and forethought
of their king, the Macedonians have in full and overflowing measure. You
must have the courage which your ancestors had when after subjugating the
whole of Europe they crossed over to Asia and opened up by their arms an
unknown world, and never ceased to conquer until they were hemmed in by
the purple ocean and there was nothing more to conquer. Ay, but now it is
not for the remotest shores of India but for the possession of Macedonia that
Fortune has called us to this contest. When the Romans were at war with my
father they put forward the specious pretext that they were liberating
Greece, now they are openly aiming at the enslavement of Macedonia in
order that Rome may have no monarch on its borders, no nation glorious in
war retaining possession of its arms. These must be surrendered to your
haughty and domineering masters, and your king and kingdom as well, if you
are willing to lay aside all thoughts of war and execute their commands."