Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 44.24

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[1]

At the same time, identical messages, suggested by the state of affairs, were sent both to Eumenes and to Antiochus, as follows: by nature a free state and a king were things hostile to each other; the Roman people attacked kings one by one, and —an unjust state of affairs —assailed kings with the help of kings;

[2] Perseus' father had been overcome with the aid of Attalus;

[3] with Eumenes helping, and to a certain extent Perseus' father Philip as well, Antiochus had been assailed ¹ ; now both Eumenes and Prusias were in arms against Perseus;

[4] if the kingdom of Macedonia were out of the way, next would come Asia Minor, which the Romans had already made their own to some extent under pretext of freeing communities, and after Asia Minor, Syria.

[5] Already Prusias was being given a position above Eumenes, already Antiochus, though victorious, was being barred from Egypt, his prize of war.

[6] Perseus bade each king, on considering these facts, to take such steps that either he might force the Romans to make peace with Perseus, or if Rome persevered in an unjust war might regard the Romans as the common enemy of all kings.

[7] The message to Antiochus was open; to Eumenes the envoy was sent under guise of ransoming prisoners, but in fact certain more secret matters were under discussion, which for the time being embarrassed Eumenes, who was already an object of hatred and suspicion to the Romans, with false and more serious charges;

[8] for he was already regarded as a traitor and almost an enemy, while the two kings with grasping hands vied with each other in guile and greed. ²

[9] There was a Cretan, Cydas, one of Eumenes' henchmen. He had held conversations, first at Amphipolis with a certain Chimarus, a fellow-countryman who was serving in Perseus' army, then later at Demetrias, beneath the very walls of the city, once with a certain Menecrates and again with Antimachus, both of whom were officers of the king. ³

[10] Herophon also, who was then sent by Perseus, had similarly undertaken two previous missions to Eumenes.

[11] These conversations were secret, and the missions caused bad rumours, but there was no knowledge of what had been discussed or upon what the kings had agreed. The actual state of affairs, however, was as follows.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 44.24 focus

[1] eodem tempore et ad Eumenen et ad Antiochum communia mandata, quae subicere condicio rerum poterat: natura inimica inter se esse liberam civitatem et regem, singulos populum Romanum adgredi et, quod indignum sit, regum viribus reges oppugnare.

[2]

[3] Attalo adiutore patrem suum oppressum; Eumene adiuvante et quadam ex parte etiam Philippo, patre suo, Antiochum oppugnatum; in se nunc et Eumenen et Prusian armatos esse.

[4] si Macedoniae regnum sublatum foret, proxumam Asiam esse, quam iam ex parte sub specie liberandi civitates suam fecerint, deinde Syriam.

[5] iam Prusiam Eumeni honore praeferri, iam Antiochum victorem ab Aegypto, praemio belli, arceri.

[6] haec cogitantem providere iubebat, ut aut ad pacem secum faciendam conpelleret Romanos aut perseverantes in bello iniusto communes duceret omnium regum hostes.

[7] ad Antiochum aperta mandata erant; ad Eumenen per speciem captivorum redimendorum missus legatus erat; re vera occultiora quaedam agebantur, quae in praesentia invisum quidem et suspectum Romanis Eumenen falsis gravioribusque criminibus onerarunt; proditor enim ac prope hostis habitus,

[8] dum inter se duo reges captantes fraude et avaritia certant.

[9] Cydas erat Cretensis, ex intimis Eumenis. hic prius ad Amphipolim cum Chimaro quodam populari suo, militante apud Persea, inde postea ad Demetriadem semel cum Menecrate quodam, iterum cum Antimacho, regiis ducibus, sub ipsis moenibus urbis conlocutus fuerat.

[10] Herophon quoque, qui tum missus est, duabus ad eundem Eumenen iam ante legationibus functus erat.

[11] quae conloquia occulta et legationes infames quidem erant, sed, quid actum esset quidve inter reges convenisset, ignorabatur. res autem ita sese habuit.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 44.24 focus

[1]

eodem tempore et ad Eumenen et ad Antiochum communia mandata, quae subicere condicio rerum poterat: natura inimica inter se esse liberam civitatem et regem.

[2] singulos populum Romanum adgredi et, quod indignum sit, ¹ regum viribus reges oppugnare.

[3] Attalo adiutore patrem suum oppressum; Eumene adiuvante et quadam ex parte etiam Philippo, patre suo, Antiochum oppugnatum; in se nunc et Eumenen et Prusian armatos esse.

[4] si Macedoniae regnum sublatum foret, proximam Asiam esse, quam iam ex parte sub specie liberandi civitates ² suam fecerint, deinde Syriam.

[5] iam Prusiam Eumeni honore praeferri, iam Antiochum victorem ab Aegypto, praemio belli, ³ arceri.

[6] haec cogitantem providere iubebat, ut aut ad pacem secum faciendam compelleret Romanos aut perseverantes in bello iniusto communes duceret omnium regum hostes.

[7] ad Antiochum aperta mandata erant; ad Eumenen per speciem captivorum redimendorum missus legatus erat; re ⁴ vera occultiora quaedam agebantur, quae in praesentia invisum quidem et suspectum Romanis Eumenen falsis gravioribusque criminibus onerarunt; ⁵

[8] proditor ⁶ enim ac prope hostis habitus, dum inter se duo reges captantes fraude et avaritia certant. Cydas erat Cretensis, ex intimis Eumenis.

[9] Hic prius ad Amphipolim cum Chimaro quodam populari suo, militante apud Persea, inde postea ad Demetriadem semel cum Menecrate quodam, iterum cum Antimacho, ⁷ regiis ducibus, sub ipsis moenibus urbis conlocutus fuerat.

[10] Herophon⁸ quoque, qui tum missus est, duabus ad eundem Eumenen iam ante legationibus functus erat.

[11] quae conloquia occulta et legationes infames quidem erant, sed quid actum esset quidve inter reges convenisset, ignorabatur. res autem ita sese habuit.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 44.24 focus

[1]

eodem tempore ad Eumenen et ad Antiochum communia mandata, quae subicere condicio rerum poterat:

[2] natura inimica inter se esse liberam civitatem et regem. singulos populum ¹ Romanum adgredi et, quod indignius sit, regum viribus reges oppugnare.

[3] Attalo adiutore patrem suum oppressum; Eumene adiuvante et quadam ex parte etiam Philippo patre suo Antiochum oppugnatum; in se nunc et Eumenen et Prusiam armatos esse.

[4] si Macedoniae regnum sublatum foret, proxumam Asiam esse, quam iam ex parte sub specie liberandi civitates suam fecerint, deinde Syriam.

[5] iam Prusiam Eumeni honore praeferri, iam Antiochum victorem praemio belli, Aegypto arceri.

[6] haec cogitantem providere iubebat, ut aut ad pacem secum faciendam conpelleret Romanos, aut perseverantes in bello iniusto communes duceret omnium regum hostes.

[7] ad Antiochum aperta mandata erant; ad Eumenen per speciem captivorum redimendorum missus legatus ² erat; re vera occultiora quaedam agebantur, quae in praesentia invisum quidem et suspectum Romanis Eumenen falsis gravioribus ; proditor enim ac prope hostis habitus,

[8] dum inter se duo reges captantes fraude et avaritia certant.

[10] Herophon quoque, qui tum missus est, duabus ad eundem Eumenen iam ante legationibus functus erat.

[11] quae conloquia occulta et legationes infames quidem erant, sed quid actum esset quidve inter reges convenisset, ignorabatur. res autem ita sese habuit.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 44.24 focus

[1]

At this time Perseus sent to Eumenes and Antiochus, a common message, which the state of affairs seemed to suggest; that

a free state, and a king, were, in their natures, hostile to each other.

[2]

That the Roman people were accustomed to attack kings singly; and, what was more shameful, to conquer them, by the power of other kings.

[3]

Thus, his father was overpowered by the aid of Attalus; and by the assistance of Eumenes, and of his father Philip, in part, Antiochus had been vanquished; and now, both Eumenes and Prusias were armed against himself.

[4]

If the regal power should be abolished in Macedonia, the next, in their way, would be Asia, which they had already rendered, in part, their own, under the pretence of liberating the states; and next to that Syria.

[5]

Already Prusias was honoured by them, far beyond Eumenes; and already Antiochus, though victorious, was debarred from Egypt, the prize of his arms.

[6] He desired that each of them,

considering these matters seriously, should see that he either compelled the Romans to make peace with him, or, if they should persist in such an unjust war, he should regard them as the common enemies of all kings.

[7] The message to Antiochus was sent openly; the ambassador to Eumenes went under the pretence of ransoming prisoners. But some more secret business was transacted between them, which, in addition to the jealousy and distrust already conceived by the Romans against Eumenes, brought on him charges of a heavier nature.

[8] For they considered him as a traitor, and nearly as an enemy, while the two kings laboured to overreach each other in schemes of fraud and avarice.

[9] There was a Cretan, called Cydas, an intimate of Eumenes; this man had formerly conferred, at Amphipolis, with one Chimarus, a countryman of his own, serving in the army of Perseus; and he, afterwards, had had one interview with Menecrates, and another with Archidamus, officers of the king, at Demetrias, close under the wall of the town.

[10] Herophon, too, who was sent on that business, had, before that, executed two embassies to the same Eumenes.

[11] These furtive conferences and embassies were notorious; but what the subject of them was, or what agreement had taken place between the kings, remained a secret.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 44.24 focus

[1]

At the same time some considerations, suggested by the political conditions of the time, were submitted in common to Eumenes and Antiochus. Perseus reminded them that free commonwealths and monarchs are in the nature of things antagonistic.

[2] Rome was attacking them one by one, and what was still worse, kings were using their power against kings.

[3] His own father had been crushed by the help of Attalus; the attack on Antiochus had been made with the assistance of Eumenes and, to some extent, of his own father Philip; now Eumenes and Prusias were in arms against himself.

[4] If royalty were abolished in Macedonia, Asia would be the next. They had already become masters of some parts of it under the pretext of making the cities free.

[5] Then Syria's turn would come. Prusias was now held in higher honour than Eumenes, and Antiochus was kept out of the Egypt which he had conquered-the prize of war.

[6] He urged them to reflect on these things, and either insist upon the Romans making peace with him, or else regard those who persisted in carrying on an unjust war as the common enemies of all kings.

[7] The communication to Antiochus was sent openly, the emissary to Eumenes was sent ostensibly to arrange for the ransom of the prisoners.

[8] As a matter of fact, more clandestine negotiations were going on, which for the time aroused suspicion and ill-will against Eumenes amongst the Romans, and still graver, though unfounded, charges were made against him, for he was regarded as a traitor and a declared enemy.

[9] There was a Cretan called Cydas, an intimate friend of Eumenes. This man went with a certain Chimarus, a country man of his, who was serving under Perseus, to Amphipolis, then afterwards to Demetrias, where he held conversations under the actual walls of the city, first with Menecrates and then with Antimachus, both of them generals of Perseus.

[10] Hierophon also, who was the emissary on this occasion, had previously been on two missions to Eumenes.

[11] These secret missions and colloquies were notorious, but what had actually taken place, or what agreement had been come to between the monarchs, was not known. The facts were these.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. On Attalus, see above, XXIX. xii. 14 and XXXI. xiv; for Eumenes, XXXV. xiii; XXXVI. xliv; XXXVII. xli; for Philip, XXXVII. vii.

2. Polybius XXIX. 7-8 (Id) calls Eumenes

most unscrupulous

and Perseus

most miserly,

and says that Eumenes

was unable by his lack of scruple to get the best of Perseus' stinginess.

3. For the negotiations at Demetrias, see above, xiii. 9, where Antimachus only is mentioned on the Macedonian side.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 44.24

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

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