40.23
This
man, as I stated above, was sent to escort Demetrius. The young prince was
incautious and angry, not without reason, at the way his relations treated
him. Didas humoured him and pretended to be indignant on his account, and
offered, unsolicited, to assist him in every way, and gave him his word of
honour to be true to him. In this way he succeeded in eliciting his secret
thoughts. Demetrius was meditating flight to the Romans and hoped to get
away safely across Paeonia. That the governor of this province should
further his project he regarded as a boon from heaven. This design was at
once betrayed to his brother, and on his advice communicated to his father.
A letter was sent to Philip while he was besieging Petra. On this, Heliodorus,
the leading man amongst the friends of Demetrius, was flung into prison and
orders were given to keep a secret watch on Demetrius. This more than
anything else made the king's journey to Macedonia a very melancholy one.
This new charge disturbed him greatly, but he felt that he ought to await the
return of those who had been sent to find out everything in Rome. For some
months he remained in suspense; at length his envoys returned after having
settled beforehand in Macedonia what report they should bring back from
Rome. In addition to all their other treachery, they handed to the king a
forged letter sealed with a counterfeit of T. Quinctius' seal. The letter
deprecated any harsh judgment of Demetrius, and stated that whatever
communication the young prince in his eagerness for the crown had had with
him, T. Quinctius, he was certain that he would do nothing to injure any of
his relatives, nor was the writer a man who could be thought to countenance
any unfilial conduct. This letter made Perseus' accusations appear more
credible. Heliodorus was at once submitted to torture and died without
implicating anyone.