Demetrius, ambassadors would be sent to see that everything was being
done in accordance with the will of the Senate, and at the same time to
inform the king that he owed this grace to his son Demetrius.” Such was
the arrangement come to on this part of the business.
[Sidenote: The ambassadors of Eumenes complain that Philip has not
evacuated Thrace.]
+3.+ The next to enter the Senate were the ambassadors of king Eumenes,
who denounced Philip on account of the assistance sent to Prusias, and
concerning his actions in Thrace, alleging that even at that moment he
had not withdrawn his garrisons from the cities. But upon Philocles
showing his wish to offer a defence on these points, as having been
formerly charged with a mission to Prusias, and being now sent to
the Senate to represent Philip on this business, the Senate, without
listening very long to his speech, answered that “With regard to
Thrace, unless the legates found everything there settled in accordance
with its will, and all the cities restored to the entire control of
Eumenes, the Senate would be unable any longer to allow it to pass, or
to submit to being continually disobeyed.”
[Sidenote: The high honour paid to Demetrius at Rome, and its fatal
result.]
Though the ill-feeling between the Romans and Philip was becoming
serious, a check was put to it for the time by the presence of
Demetrius. And yet this young prince’s mission to Rome proved
eventually no slight link in the chain of events which led to the final
ruin of his house. For the Senate, by thus making much of Demetrius,
somewhat turned the young man’s head, and at the same time gravely
annoyed Perseus and the king, by making them feel that the kindness
they received from the Romans was not for their own sakes, but for
that of Demetrius. And T. Quintius Flamininus contributed not a little
to the same result by taking the young prince aside and communicating
with him in confidence. For he flattered him by suggesting that the
Romans meant before long to invest him with the kingdom; while he
irritated Philip and Perseus by sending a letter ordering the king
to send Demetrius to Rome again, with as many friends of the highest
character as possible. It was, in fact, by taking advantage of these
circumstances that Perseus shortly afterwards induced his father to
consent to the death of Demetrius. But I shall relate that event in
detail later on.
[Sidenote: The four Spartan embassies. 1. Lysis, for the men banished
by Nabis. 2. Areus and Alcibiades.]
[Sidenote: 3. Serippus.]
[Sidenote: 4. Chaeron, for the recent exiles.]
[Sidenote: Decision of the IIIviri.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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