32.33
The
Roman commander thought it only right that the one who had asked for the
conference should begin the conversation, the king considered that the
discussion should be opened by the men who proposed terms of peace, not
by the one who was to accept them. Thereupon the Roman observed that
what he had to say would be quite simple and straightforward; he should
merely state those conditions without which peace would be impossible.
"The king must withdraw his garrisons from all the cities in Greece; the
prisoners and deserters must be handed back to the allies of Rome; those
places in Illyria which he had seized after the conclusion of peace in Epirus
must be restored to Rome; the cities which he had taken forcible possession
of after the death of Ptolemy Philopator must be given back to Ptolemy, the
king of Egypt. These," he said, "are my conditions and those of the people of
Rome, but it is right and proper that the demands of our allies should also be
heard." The representative of King Attalus demanded the restoration of the
ships and prisoners that had been taken in the sea-fight off Chius, and also
that the Nicephorium and the temple of Venus which the king had plundered
and desolated should be restored to their former condition. The Rhodians
demanded the cession of Peraea, a district on the mainland opposite their
island and formerly under their sway, and insisted upon the withdrawal of
Philip's garrisons from Iasos, Bargyliae and Euromus, as well as from Sestos
and Abydos on the Hellespont, the restoration of Perinthus to the Byzantines
with the re-establishment of their old political relations and the freedom of
all the markets and ports in Asia. Phaeneas, as representing the Aetolians,
demanded, almost in the same terms as the Romans, the evacuation of
Greece and the restoration of the cities which had formerly been under the
rule of the Aetolians.
He was followed by a leading Aetolian, named Alexander, who
was, for an Aetolian, an eloquent speaker. He had long remained silent, he
said, not because he thought that the conference would lead to any result,
but simply because he did not want to interrupt any of the speakers who
represented his allies. "Philip," he continued, "is not straightforward in
discussing terms of peace nor has he shown true courage in the way he has
conducted war. In negotiation he is deceitful and tricky, in war he does not
encounter his enemy on fair ground or fight a set battle. He keeps out of his
adversary's way, plunders and burns his cities, and when vanquished destroys
what should be the prizes of the victors. The former kings of Macedonia did
not behave in this way; they trusted to their battle-line, and spared the cities
as far as possible that their dominions might be all the richer. What sort of
policy is that of destroying the very things which a man is fighting to secure,
and leaving nothing for himself but the mere war? Last year Philip laid waste
more cities in Thessaly, though they belonged to his allies, than any enemy
that Thessaly ever had. Even from us Aetolians he has taken more cities
since he became our ally than he did while he was our enemy. He seized
Lysimachia after expelling the Aetolian garrison and its commandant; in the
same way he completely destroyed Cius, a member of our league. By similar
treachery he is now master of Thebes, Phthiae, Echinus. Larisa and
Pharsalus."
