37.49
Upon
the appearance of the Aetolians before the senate, their own interest and the
situation in which they were placed demanded that they should make a full
admission of guilt and a humble request for pardon, whether for their error
or their crime. Instead of this they began by recounting the services they had
rendered to the Roman people and contrasting the courage they had
themselves shown in fighting against Philip with that of the Romans. This
insolence offended the ears of their audience, and their raking up old and
forgotten incidents reminded the senators how much more they had done to
injure Rome than to benefit her. Thus the men who needed compassion only
evoked irritation and anger. They were asked by one senator whether they
would place themselves at the disposal of the Roman people, by another
whether they would have the same friends and enemies as Rome, and on
their making no reply they were ordered to leave the House. The senate
were unanimous in insisting that as the Aetolians were still entirely on the
side of Antiochus and their aggressive temper depended solely on their hopes
of him, they were unmistakably enemies to Rome, and, as such, war must be
waged against them and their defiant spirit crushed. What made them still
more angry was the duplicity of the Aetolians in suing for peace whilst they
were actually carrying war into Dolopia and Athamania. Manius Acilius, the
conqueror of Antiochus and the Aetolians, proposed a resolution which the
senate adopted, namely that the envoys should be ordered to quit the City
that day and to leave Italy within a fortnight. A. Terentius Varro was sent to
escort them on the road, and they were warned that if any Aetolian delegates
went to Rome except with the permission of the Roman commander and
accompanied by a Roman officer, they would be treated as enemies. With
this warning they were dismissed.