40.21
To
prevent his soldiers from becoming demoralised through inaction, and at the
same time to remove any suspicion of his meditating a war with Rome, Philip
ordered his army to assemble at Stobi in Paeonia, and from there he led them
into Maedica. He had been seized with a great desire to ascend the crest of
Mt. Haemus, as he shared the common belief that the Pontus and the
Hadriatic, the Hister and the Alps could all be seen from that point, and he
believed that this prospect before his eyes would in no small measure serve
to guide his plans in a war with Rome. He questioned those who knew the
country about the ascent of Haemus, and all agreed that was impossible for
an army, and extremely difficult even for a small lightly equipped force. His
younger son he had decided not to take with him, and in order to lessen his
disappointment, he engaged in familiar conversation with him and asked him,
after putting before him the difficulties of the march, whether he thought he
ought to go on or abandon the enterprise. If, however, he went on, he said,
he could not forget the example of Antigonus, who, whilst tossing about in a
violent storm and all his family in the ship with him, is reported to have given
his children a precept for themselves to remember and to hand on to
posterity, namely, that no one should expose himself to danger when
accompanied by the whole of his family. Mindful of that precept Philip said
that he would not expose both his sons to the chances of accident in what he
proposed to do, and as he was taking his older son with him, he should send
his younger son back to Macedonia as the stay of his hopes and the guardian
of his kingdom. Demetrius was quite aware that the reason for his being sent
back was that he might not be present at the council of war when Philip
consulted his staff, whilst the various localities were lying in view, as to the
quickest route to the Hadriatic, and the future conduct of the war. He was
bound not only to obey his father's order but to show his approval of it, lest
a reluctant compliance might arouse suspicions. To guarantee the safety of
his journey to Macedonia, Didas, one of the royal officers who was governor
of Paeonia, received orders to escort him with a small force. This man, also,
Perseus had drawn into the conspiracy against his brother, as he had most of
his father's friends, after it had become clear to everyone to which of the two
sons the king's sympathies pointed as the heir to the throne. Didas'
instructions were for the time being to insinuate himself by every kind of
obsequiousness into Demetrius' confidence and intimacy so as to be able to
draw out all his secrets and ascertain his hidden sentiments. So Demetrius
departed amidst greater danger from his escort than if he had travelled alone.