38. When Marcius and Atilius went up to Gitanæ, a town of Epirus, about ten miles from the sea, a council of Epirotes being held there, they were listened to with universal approbation; and they sent thence four hundred young men of that country to Orestæ, to protect those whom they had freed from the dominion of the Macedonians. From this place they proceeded into Ætolia; where, having waited a few days, until a prætor was chosen, in the room of one who had died, and the election having fallen on Lyciscus, who was well known to be a friend to the interest of the Romans, they passed over into Thessaly. The envoys of the Acarnanians and the exiles of the Bœotians came thither. The Acarnanians had orders to represent that “whatever offences they had been guilty of towards the Romans, first in the war with Philip, and afterwards in that with Antiochus, in consequence of being misled by the professions of those kings, they had found an opportunity to expiate. Since in spite of their demerits they had experienced the clemency of the Roman people, so they would now, by their endeavours to merit favour, make trial of its generosity.” The Bœotians were upbraided with having united themselves in alliance with Perseus; but they threw the blame on Ismenias, the leader of a party, and alleged, that “several states were drawn into that measure, contrary to their own judgment:” to which Marcius replied, that “this would appear, as they intended to give to every one of the states the power of judging for itself.” The council of the Thessalians was held at Larissa. There too the Thessalians had a wide field for giving thanks to the Romans for the blessing of liberty conferred on them; and the ambassadors, because they had been vigorously assisted by the Thessalians in the wars with Philip and Antiochus. The feelings of the assembly were acted on by this mutual acknowledgment of favours to such a degree that they voted every measure which the Romans wished. Soon after this meeting, ambassadors arrived from king Perseus, chiefly through reliance on a connexion of hospitality subsisting between him and Marcius, which had existed between their fathers. The ambassadors began by reminding him of this bond of amity, and then requested him to give the king an opportunity of conferring with him. Marcius answered, that “he had received from his father the same account of the friendship and hospitable connexion between him and Philip; and the consideration of that connexion induced him to undertake the present embassy. That he would not have so long delayed giving the king a meeting, could it have been done without inconvenience; and that now he and his colleague would, as soon as it should be in their power, come to the river Peneus, where the passage was from Omolium to Dium; messengers being previously sent to announce it to the king.”