42.62
The
Romans without quitting the river moved their camp into a safer position.
Whilst they were there Misagenes the Numidian came in with 1000 cavalry,
the same number of infantry and 22 elephants. The king was holding a
council to decide upon the future conduct of the war, and as his exultation
over his victory had cooled down, some of his friends ventured to give him
advice. They argued that it would be better for him to take advantage of his
good fortune by securing an honourable peace than to buoy himself up with
idle hopes and so expose himself to chances that might be irrevocable. To set
a measure to one's prosperity and not to place too much confidence in the
smiling fortune of the hour is the part of a wise man who has achieved a
deserved success. Let him send men to the consul with powers to make fresh
proposals for peace on the same terms on which his father Philip had
accepted peace from the victorious T. Quinctius. There could be no grander
close to the war than the late memorable battle and no surer grounds for
hopes of a lasting peace than those which would make the Romans,
disheartened as they were by their defeat, ready to come to terms. If the
Romans should then, with their inbred stubbornness, reject fair terms, gods
and men would alike bear witness to the moderation of Perseus and the
invincible arrogance of the Romans.
The king never disliked advice of this character, and this policy was
approved by the majority of the council. The deputation to the consul were
received in audience in a full council. They asked for peace, and promised
that Perseus would give the Romans the amount of tribute which had been
agreed upon with his father. Such were their instructions. In the discussion
which followed on their withdrawal Roman firmness won the day. It was the
custom in those days to wear the look of prosperity in adverse
circumstances, and to curb and restrain the feelings in a time of prosperity.
The reply decided upon was that peace would be granted only on the
condition that the king placed himself entirely in the hands of the senate and
allowed it the unrestricted right of determining his future and that of
Macedonia. When the report of the deputation became known, those who
were unacquainted with the Roman character regarded it as an astounding
exhibition of obstinacy and any further allusion to peace was generally
forbidden. Those, they said, who spurn the peace now offered will soon
come to ask for it. It was this very obstinacy that Perseus was afraid of; he
looked upon it as due to a confidence in their strength, and on the chance of
being able to purchase peace at a price, persisted in his attempts to bribe the
consul by constantly increasing the sum offered. As the consul adhered to his
first reply Perseus despaired of peace and returned to Sycurium, prepared to
face the hazards of war once more.
