almost all agree that the aemilii were one of the ancient and patricianhouses in rome； and those authors who affirm that king numa was pupilto pythagoras tell us that the first who gave name to his posteritywas mamercus, the son of pythagoras, who, for his grace and addressin speaking, was called aemilius. most of this race that have risenthrough their merit to reputation also enjoyed good fortune： and eventhe misfortune to lucius paulus at the battle of cannae gave testimonyto his wisdom and valour. for not being able to persuade his colleaguenot to hazard the battle, he, though against his judgment, joinedwith him in the contest, but was no companion in his flight： on thecontrary, when he that was so resolute to engage deserted him in themidst of danger he kept the field and died fighting. this aemiliushad a daughter named aemilia, who was married to scipio the great,and a son paulus, who is the subject of my present history.
in his early manhood, which fell at a time when rome was flourishingwith illustrious characters, he was distinguished for not attachinghimself to the studies usual with the young men of mark of that age,nor treading the same paths to fame. for he did not practise oratorywith a view to pleading causes, nor would he stoop to salute, embrace,and entertain the vulgar, which were the usual insinuating arts bywhich many grew popular. not that he was incapable of either, buthe chose to purchase a much more lasting glory by his valour, justice,and integrity, and in these virtues he soon oustripped all his equals.
the first honourable office he aspired to was that of aedile, whichhe carried against twelve competitors of such merit that all of themin process of time were consuls. being afterwards chosen into thenumber of priests called augurs, appointed amongst the romans to observeand register divinations made by the flight of birds or prodigiesin the air, he so carefully studied the ancient customs of his country,and so thoroughly understood the religion of his ancestors, that thisoffice which was before only esteemed a title of honour and merelyupon that account sought after, by this means rose to the rank ofone of the highest arts, and gave a confirmation to the correctnessof the definition, which some philosophers have given of religion,that it is the science of worshipping the gods. when he performedany part of his duty, he did it with great skill and utmost care,making it, when he was engaged in it, his only business, not omittingany one ceremony, or adding the least circumstance, but always insisting,with his companions of the same order, even on points that might seeminconsiderable, and urging upon them, that though they might thinkthe deity was easily pacified, and ready to forgive faults of inadvertency,yet any such laxity was a very dangerous thing for a commonwealthto allow； because no man ever began the disturbance of his country'speace by a notorious breach of its laws； and those who are carelessin trifles give a precedent for remissness in important duties. norwas he less severe in requiring and observing the ancient roman disciplinein military affairs； not endeavouring, when he had the command, toingratiate himself with his soldiers by popular flattery, though thiscustom prevailed at that time amongst many, who, by favour and gentlenessto those that were under them in their first employment, sought tobe promoted to a second； but, by instructing them in the laws of militarydiscipline with the same care and exactness a priest would use inteaching ceremonies and dreadful mysteries, and by severity to suchas transgressed and contemned those laws, he maintained his countryin its former greatness, esteeming victory over enemies itself butas an accessory to the proper training and disciplining of the citizens.
whilst the romans were engaged in war with antiochus the great, againstwhom their most experienced commanders were employed, there aroseanother war in the west, and they were all up in arms in spain. thitherthey sent aemilius, in the quality of praetor, not with six axes,which number other praetors were accustomed to have carried beforethem, but with twelve； so that in his praetorship he was honouredwith the dignity of a consul. he twice overcame the barbarians inbattle, thirty thousand of whom were slain： successes chiefly to beascribed to the wisdom and conduct of the commander, who by his greatskill in choosing the advantage of the ground, and making the onsetat the passage of a river, gave his soldiers an easy victory. havingmade himself master of two hundred and fifty cities, whose inhabitantsvoluntarily yielded, and bound themselves by oath to fidelity, heleft the province in peace, and returned to rome, not enriching himselfa drachma by the war. and, indeed, in general, he was but remiss inmaking money； though he always lived freely and generously on whathe had, which was so far from being excessive, that after his deaththere was barely enough left to answer his wife's dowry.
his first wife was papiria, the daughter of maso, who had formerlybeen consul. with her he lived a considerable time in wedlock, andthen divorced her, though she had made him the father of noble children；being mother of the renowned scipio and fabius maximus. the reasonof this separation has not come to our knowledge； but there seemsto be a truth conveyed in the account of another roman's being divorcedfrom his wife, which may be applicable here. this person being highlyblamed by his friends, who demanded, was she not chaste？ was she notfair？ was she not fruitful？ holding out his shoe, asked them, whetherit was not new？ and well made？ yet, added he, none of you can tellwhere it pinches me. certain it is, that great and open faults haveoften led to no separation； while mere petty repeated annoyances,arising from unpleasantness or incongruity of character, have beenthe occasion of such estrangement as to make it impossible for manand wife to live together with any content.
aemilius, having thus put away papiria, married a second wife, bywhom he had two sons, whom he brought up in his own house, transferringthe two former into the greatest and the most noble families of rome.the elder was adopted into the house of fabius maximus, who was fivetimes consul； the younger by the son of scipio africanus, his cousin-german,and was by him named scipio.
of the daughters of aemilius, one was married to the son of cato,the other to aelius tubero, a most worthy man, and the one roman whobest succeeded in combining liberal habits with poverty. for therewere sixteen near relations, all of them of the family of the aelii,possessed of but one farm, which sufficed them all, whilst one smallhouse, or rather cottage, contained them, their numerous offspring,and their wives； amongst whom was the daughter of our aemilius, who,although her father had been twice consul, and had twice triumphed,was not ashamed of her husband's poverty, but proud of his virtuethat kept him poor. far otherwise it is with the brothers and relationsof this age, who, unless whole tracts of land, or at least walls andrivers, part their inheritances, and keep them at a distance, nevercease from mutual quarrels. history suggests a variety of good counselof this sort, by the way, to those who desire to learn and improve.
to proceed： aemilius, being chosen consul, waged war with the ligurians,or ligustines, a people near the alps. they were a bold and warlikenation, and their neighbourhood to the romans had begun to give themskill in the arts of war. they occupy the further parts of italy endingunder the alps, and those parts of the alps themselves which are washedby the tuscan sea and face toward africa, mingled there with gaulsand iberians of the coast. besides, at that time they had turned theirthoughts to the seas and sailing as far as the pillars of herculesin light vessels fitted for that purpose, robbed and destroyed allthat trafficked in those parts. they, with an army of forty thousand,waited the coming of aemilius, who brought with him not above eightthousand, so that the enemy was five to one when they engaged； yethe vanquished and put them to flight, forcing them to retire intotheir walled towns, and in this condition offered them fair conditionsof accommodation； it being the policy of the romans not utterly todestroy the ligurians, because they were a sort of guard and bulwarkagainst the frequent attempts of the gauls to overrun italy. trustingwholly therefore to aemilius, they delivered up their towns and shippinginto his hands. he, at the utmost, razed only the fortifications anddelivered their towns to them again, but took away all their shippingwith him, leaving them no vessels bigger than those of three oars,and set at liberty great numbers of prisoners they had taken bothby sea and land, strangers as well as romans. these were the actsmost worthy of remark in his first consulship.
afterwards he frequently intimated his desire of being a second timeconsul, and was once candidate； but meeting with a repulse and beingpassed by, he gave up all thought of it, and devoted himself to hisduties as augur, and to the education of his children, whom he notonly brought up, as he himself had been, in the roman and ancientdiscipline, but also with unusual zeal in that of greece. to thispurpose he not only procured masters to teach them grammar, logic,and rhetoric, but had for them also preceptors in modelling and drawing,managers of horses and dogs, and instructors in field sports, allfrom greece. and, if he was not hindered by public affairs, he himselfwould be with them at their studies, and see them perform their exercises,being the most affectionate father in rome.
this was the time, in public matters, when the romans were engagedin war with perseus, king of the macedonians, and great complaintswere made of their commanders, who, either through their want of skillor courage, were conducting matters so shamefully, that they did lesshurt to the enemy than they received from him. they that not longbefore had forced antiochus the great to quit the rest of asia, toretire beyond mount taurus, and confine himself to syria, glad tobuy his peace with fifteen thousand talents； they that not long sincehad vanquished king philip in thessaly, and freed the greeks fromthe macedonian yoke； nay, had overcome hannibal himself, who far surpassedall kings in daring and power- thought it scorn that perseus shouldthink himself an enemy fit to match the romans, and to be able towage war with them so long on equal terms, with the remainder onlyof his father's routed forces； not being aware that philip after hisdefeat had greatly improved both the strength and discipline of themacedonian army. to make which appear, i shall briefly recount thestory from the beginning.
antigonus, the most powerful amongst the captains and successors ofalexander, having obtained for himself and his posterity the titleof king, had a son named demetrius, father to antigonus, called gonatas,and he had a son demetrius, who, reigning some short time, died andleft a young son called philip. the chief men of macedon, fearinggreat confusion might arise in his minority, called in antigonus,cousin-german to the late king, and married him to the widow, themother of philip. at first they only styled him regent and general,but when they found by experience that he governed the kingdom withmoderation and to general advantage, gave him the title of king. thiswas he that was surnamed doson, as if he was a great promiser anda bad performer. to him succeeded philip, who in his youth gave greathopes of equalling the best of kings, and that he one day would restoremacedon to its former state and dignity, and prove himself the oneman able to check the power of the romans, now rising and extendingover the whole world. but, being vanquished in a pitched battle bytitus flaminius near scotussa, his resolution failed, and he yieldedhimself and all that he had to the mercy of the romans, well contentedthat he could escape with paying a small tribute. yet afterwards,recollecting himself, he bore it with great impatience, and thoughhe lived rather like a slave that was pleased with ease, than a manof sense and courage, whilst he held his kingdom at the pleasure ofhis conquerors； which made him turn his whole mind to war, and preparehimself with as much cunning and privacy as possible. to this end,he left his cities on the high roads and sea-coast ungarrisoned, andalmost desolate, that they might seem inconsiderable； in the meantime,collecting large forces up the country, and furnishing his inlandposts, strongholds, and towns, with arms, money, and men fit for service,he thus provided himself for war, and yet kept his preparations close.he had in his armoury arms for thirty thousand men； in granaries,in places of strength, eight millions of bushels of corn, and as muchready money as would defray the charge of maintaining ten thousandmercenary soldiers for ten years in defence of the country. but beforehe could put these things into motion, and carry his designs intoeffect, he died for griefs and anguish of mind, being sensible hehad put his innocent son demetrius to death, upon the calumnies ofone that was far more guilty. perseus, his son that survived, inheritedhis hatred to the romans as well as his kingdom, but was incompetentto carry out his designs, through want of courage and the viciousnessof a character in which, among faults and diseases of various sorts,covetousness bore the chief place. there is a statement also of hisnot being true-born； that the wife of king philip took him from hismother, gnathaenion （a woman of argos, that earned her living as aseamstress）, as soon as he was born, and passed him upon her husbandas her own. and this might be the chief cause of his contriving thedeath of demetrius, as he might well fear that, so long as there wasa lawful successor in the family, there was no security that his spuriousbirth might not be revealed.
notwithstanding all this, and though his spirit was so mean and temperso sordid, yet trusting to the strength of his resources, he engagedin a war with the romans, and for a long time maintained it； repulsingand even vanquishing some generals of consular dignity, and some greatarmies and fleets. he routed publius licinius, who was the first thatinvaded macedonia, in a cavalry battle, slew twenty-five hundred practicedsoldiers, and took six hundred prisoners； and surprising their fleetas they rode at anchor before orens he took twenty ships of burdenwith all their lading, sunk the rest that were freighted with corn,and, besides this, made himself master of four galleys with five banksof oars. he fought a second battle with hostilius, a consular officer,as he was making his way into the country at elimiae, and forced himto retreat； and, when he afterwards by stealth designed an invasionthrough thessaly challenged him to fight, which the other feared toaccept. nay more, to show his contempt to the romans, and that hewanted employment, as a war by the by, he made an expedition againstthe dardanians, in which he slew ten thousand of those barbarian people,and brought a great spoil away. he privately, moreover, solicitedthe gauls （also called basternae）, a warlike nation and famous forhorsemen, dwelling near the danube； and incited the illyrians, bythe means of genthius their king, to join with him in the war. itwas also reported that the barbarians, allured by promise of rewards,were to make an irruption into italy, through the lower gaul by theshore of the adriatic sea.
the romans, being advertised of these things, thought it necessaryno longer to choose their commanders by favour or solicitation, butof their own motion to select a general of wisdom and capacity forthe management of great affairs. and such was paulus aemilius, advancedin years, being nearly threescore, yet vigorous in his own person,and rich in valiant sons and sons-in-law, besides a great number ofinfluential relations and friends, all of whom joined in urging himto yield to the desires of the people, who called him to the consulship.he at first manifested some shyness of the people and withdrew himselffrom their importunity, professing reluctance to hold office； but,when they daily came to his doors, urging him to come forth to theplace of election, and pressing him with noise and clamour, he accededto their request. when he appeared amongst the candidates, it didnot look as if it were to sue for the consulship, but to bring victoryand success, that he came down into the campus； they all receivedhim there with such hopes and such gladness, unanimously choosinghim a second time consul； nor would they suffer the lots to be cast,as was usual, to determine which province should fall to his share,but immediately decreed him the command of the macedonian war. itis told, that when he had been proclaimed general against perseus,and was honourably accompanied home by great numbers of people, hefound his daughter tertia, a very little girl, weeping, and takingher to him asked her why she was crying. she, catching him about theneck and kissing him, said, "o father, do you not know that perseusis dead？" meaning a little dog of that name that was brought up inthe house with her； to which aemilius replied, "good fortune, my daughter；i embrace the omen." this cicero, the orator, relates in his bookon divination.
it was the custom for such as were chosen consuls, from a stage designedfor such purposes, to address the people, and return them thanks fortheir favour. aemilius, therefore, having gathered an assembly, spokeand said that he sued for the first consulship, because he himselfstood in need of such honour； but for the second, because they wanteda general； upon which account he thought there was no thanks due：if they judged they could manage the war by any other to more advantage,he would willingly yield up his charge； but, if they confided in him,they were not to make themselves his colleagues in his office, orraise reports, and criticize his actions, but, without talking, supplyhim with means and assistance necessary to the carrying on of thewar； for if they proposed to command their own commander they wouldrender this expedition more ridiculous than the former. by this speechhe inspired great reverence for him amongst the citizens and greatexpectations of future success； all were well pleased that they hadpassed by such as sought to be preferred by flattery, and fixed upona commander endued with wisdom and courage to tell them the truth.so entirely did the people of rome, that they might rule, and becomemasters of the world, yield obedience and service to reason and superiorvirtue.
that aemilius, setting forward to the war, by a prosperous voyageand successful journey, arrived with speed and safety at his campi attribute to good fortune； but, when i see how the war under hiscommand was brought to a happy issue, partly by his own daring boldness,partly by his good counsel, partly by the ready administration ofhis friends, partly by his presence of mind and skill to embrace themost proper advice in the extremity of danger, i cannot ascribe anyof his remarkable and famous actions （as i can those of other commanders）to his so much celebrated good fortune； unless you will say that thecovetousness of perseus was the good fortune of aemilius. the truthis, perseus' fear of spending his money was the destruction and utterruin of all those splendid and great preparations with which the macedonianswere in high hopes to carry on the war with success. for there cameat his request ten thousand horsemen of the basternae, and as manyfoot, who were to keep pace with them, and supply their places incase of failure； all of them professed soldiers, men skilled neitherin tilling of land, nor in navigation of ships, nor able to get theirliving by grazing, but whose only business and single art and tradeit was to fight and conquer all that resisted them. when these cameinto the district of maedica, and encamped and mixed with the king'ssoldiers, being men of great stature, admirable at their exercises,great boasters, and loud in their threats against their enemies, theygave new courage to the macedonians, who were ready to think the romanswould not be able to confront them, but would be struck with terrorat their looks and motions, they were so strange and so formidableto behold. when perseus had thus encouraged his men, and elevatedthem with these great hopes, as soon as a thousand gold pieces weredemanded for each captain, he was so amazed and beside himself atthe vastness of the amount, that out of mere stinginess he drew backand let himself lose their assistance, as if he had been some steward,not the enemy of the romans, and would have to give an exact accountof the expenses of the war to those with whom he waged it. nay, whenhe had his foes as tutors, to instruct him what he had to do, who,besides their other preparations, had a hundred thousand men drawntogether and in readiness for their service； yet he that was to engageagainst so considerable a force, and in a war that was maintainingsuch numbers as this, nevertheless doled out his money, and put sealson his bags, and was as fearful of touching it, as if it had belongedto some one else. and all this was done by one, not descended fromlydians or phoenicians, but who could pretend to some share of thevirtues of alexander and philip, whom he was allied to by birth； menwho conquered the world by judging that empire was to be purchasedby money, not money by empire. certainly it became a proverb, thatnot philip, but his gold, took the cities of greece. and alexander,when he undertook his expedition against the indians, and found hismacedonians encumbered and appear to march heavily with their persianspoils, first set fire to his own carriages, and thence persuadedthe rest to imitate his example, that thus freed they might proceedto the war without hindrance. whereas perseus, abounding in wealth,would not preserve himself, his children, and his kingdom, at theexpense of a small part of his treasure； but chose rather to be carriedaway with numbers of his subjects with the name of the wealthy captive,and show the romans what great riches he had husbanded and preservedfor them. for he not only played false with the gauls, and sent themaway, but also, after alluring genthius, king of the illyrians, bythe hopes of three hundred talents, to assist him in the war, he causedthe money to be counted out in the presence of his messengers, andto be sealed up. upon which genthius, thinking himself possessed ofwhat he desired, committed a wicked and shameful act： he seized andimprisoned the ambassadors sent to him from the romans. whence perseus,concluding that there was no need of money to make genthius an enemyto the romans, but that he had given a lasting earnest of his enmity,and by his flagrant injustice sufficiently involved himself in thewar, defrauded the unfortunate king of his three hundred talents,and without any concern beheld him, his wife, and children, in a shorttime after, carried out of their kingdom, as from their nest, by luciusanicius, who was sent against him with an army.
aemilius, coming against such an adversary, made light indeed of him,but admired his preparation and power. for he had four thousand horse,and not much fewer than forty thousand full-armed foot of the phalanx；and planting himself along the seaside, at the foot of mount olympus,in ground with no access on any side, and on all sides fortified withfences and bulwarks of wood, remained in great security, thinkingby delay and expense to weary out aemilius. but he, in the meantime,busy in thought, weighed all counsels and all means of attack, andperceiving his soldiers, from their former want of discipline, tobe impatient of delay, and ready on all occasions to teach their generalhis duty, rebuked them, and bade them not meddle with what was nottheir concern, but only take care that they and their arms were inreadiness, and to use their swords like romans when their commandershould think fit to employ them. further, he ordered that the sentinelsby night should watch without javelins, that thus they might be morecareful and surer to resist sleep, having no arms to defend themselvesagainst any attacks of an enemy.
what most annoyed the army was the want of water； for only a little,and that foul, flowed out, or rather came by drops from a spring adjoiningthe sea； but aemilius, considering that he was at the foot of thehigh and woody mountain olympus, and conjecturing by the flourishinggrowth of the trees that there were springs that had their courseunderground, dug a great many holes and wells along the foot of themountain, which were presently filled with pure water escaping fromits confinement into the vacuum they afforded. although there aresome, indeed, who deny that there are reservoirs of water lying readyprovided out of sight, in the places from whence springs flow, andthat when they appear, they merely issue and run out； on the contrary,they say, they are then formed and come into existence for the firsttime, by the liquefaction of the surrounding matter； and that thischange is caused by density and cold, when the moist vapour, by beingclosely pressed together, becomes fluid. as women's breasts are notlike vessels full of milk always prepared and ready to flow from them；but their nourishment being changed in their breasts, is there mademilk, and from thence is pressed out. in like manner, places of theearth that are cold and full of springs, do not contain any hiddenwaters or receptacles which are capable, as from a source always readyand furnished, of supplying all the brooks and deep rivers； but bycompressing and condensing the vapours and air they turn them intothat substance. and thus places that are dug open, flow by that pressure,and afford the more water （as the breasts of women do milk by theirbeing sucked）, the vapour thus moistening and becoming fluid； whereasground that remains idle and undug is not capable of producing anywater, whilst it wants the motion which is the cause of liquefaction.but those that assert this opinion give occasion to the doubtful toargue, that on the same ground there should be no blood in livingcreatures, but that it must be formed by the wound, some sort of spiritor flesh being changed into a liquid and flowing matter. moreover,they are refuted by the fact that men who dig mines, either in siegesor for metals, meet with rivers, which are not collected by littleand little （as must necessarily be, if they had their being at thevery instant the earth was opened）, but break out at once with violence；and upon the cutting through a rock, there often gush out great quantitiesof water, which then as suddenly cease. but of this enough.
aemilius lay still for some days, and it is said that there were nevertwo great armies so nigh that enjoyed so much quiet. when he had triedand considered all things, he was informed that there was yet onepassage left unguarded, through perrhaebia by the temple of apolloand the rock. gathering, therefore, more hope from the place beingleft defenceless than fear from the roughness and difficulty of thepassage, he proposed it for consultation. amongst those that werepresent at the council, scipio, surnamed nasica, son-in-law to scipioafricanus, who afterwards was so powerful in the senate-house, wasthe first that offered himself to command those that should be sentto encompass the enemy. next to him, fabius maximus, eldest son ofaemilius, although yet very young, offered himself with great zeal.aemilius, rejoicing, gave them, not so many as polybius states, but,as nasica himself tells us in a brief letter which he wrote to oneof the kings with an account of the expedition, three thousand italiansthat were not romans, and his left wing consisting of five thousand.taking with him, besides these, one hundred and twenty horsemen, andtwo hundred thracians and cretans intermixed that harpalus had sent,he began his journey towards the sea, and encamped near the templeof hercules, as if he designed to embark, and so to sail round andenviron the enemy. but when the soldiers had supped and it was dark,he made the captains acquainted with his real intentions, and marchingall night in the opposite directions away from the sea, till he cameunder the temple of apollo, there rested his army. at this place mountolympus rises in height more than ten furlongs, as appears by theepigram made by the man that measured it：-
"the summit of olympus, at the site where stands apollo's temple, has a height of full ten furlongs by the line, and more, ten furlongs, and one hundred feet, less four. eumelus's son, xenagoras, reached the place. adieu, o king, and do thy pilgrim grace."
it is allowed, say the geometricians, that no mountain in height orsea in depth exceeds ten furlongs, and yet it seems probable thatxenagoras did not take his admeasurement carelessly, but accordingto the rules of art, and with instruments for the purpose. here itwas that nasica passed the night.
a cretan deserted, who fled to the enemy during the march, discoveredto perseus the design which the romans had to encompass him： for he,seeing that aemilius lay still, had not suspected any such attempt.he was startled at the news, yet did not put his army in motion, butsent ten thousand mercenary soldiers, and two thousand macedonians,under command of milo, with order to hasten and possess themselvesof the passes. polybius relates that the romans found these men asleepwhen they attacked them； but nasica says there was a sharp and severeconflict on the top of the mountain, that he himself encountered amercenary thracian, pierced him through with his javelin, and slewhim； and that the enemy being forced to retreat, milo stripped tohis coat and fled shamefully without his armour, while he followedwithout danger, and conveyed the whole army down into the country.
after this event, perseus, now grown fearful, and fallen from hishopes, removed his camp in all haste； he was under the necessity eitherto stop before pydna, and there run the hazard of a battle, or dispersehis army into cities, and there expect the event of the war, which,having once made its way into his country, could not be driven outwithout great slaughter and bloodshed. but perseus, being told byhis friends that he was much superior in number, and that men fightingin the defence of their wives and children must needs feel all themore courage, especially when all was done in the sight of their king,who himself was engaged in equal danger, was thus again encouraged；and, pitching his camp, prepared himself to fight, viewed the country,and gave out the commands, as if he designed to set upon the romansas soon as they approached. the place was a field fit for the actionof a phalanx, which requires smooth standing and even ground, andalso had divers little hills, one joining another, fit for the motionswhether in retreat or advance of light troops and skirmishers. throughthe middle ran the rivers aeson and leucus, which though not verydeep, it being the latter end of summer, yet were likely enough togive the romans some trouble.
as soon as aemilius had rejoined nasica, he advanced in battle arrayagainst the enemy； but when he found how they were drawn up, and thenumber of their forces, he regarded them with admiration and surprise,and halted, considering within himself. the young commanders, eagerto fight, riding along by his side, pressed him not to delay, andmost of all nasica, flushed with his late success on olympus. to whomaemilius answered with a smile： "so would i do were i of your age；but many victories have taught me the ways in which men are defeated,and forbid me to engage soldiers weary with a long march against anarmy drawn up and prepared for battle."
then he gave command that the front of his army, and such as werein sight of the enemy, should form as if ready to engage, and thosein the rear should cast up the trenches and fortify the camp； so thatthe hindmost in succession wheeling off by degrees and withdrawing,their whole order was insensibly broken up, and the army encampedwithout noise or trouble.
when it was night, and, supper being over, all were turning to sleepand rest, on a sudden the moon, which was then at full and high inthe heavens, grew dark, and by degrees losing her light, passed throughvarious colours, and at length was totally eclipsed. the romans, accordingto their custom, clattering brass pans and lifting up fire-brandsand torches into the air, invoked the return of her light； the macedoniansbehaved far otherwise： terror and amazement seized their whole army,and a rumour crept by degrees into their camp that this eclipse portendedeven that of their king. aemilius was no novice in these things, norwas ignorant of the nature of the seeming irregularities of eclipses-that in a certain revolution of time, the moon in her course entersthe shadow of the earth and is there obscured, till, passing the regionof darkness, she is again enlightened by the sun. yet being a devoutman, a religious observer of sacrifices and the art of divination,as soon as he perceived the moon beginning to regain her former lustre,he offered up to her eleven heifers. at the break of day he sacrificedas many as twenty in succession to hercules, without any token thathis offering was accepted； but at the one-and-twentieth, the signspromised victory to defenders. he then vowed a hecatomb and solemnsports to hercules, and commanded his captains to make ready for battle,staying only till the sun should decline and come round to the west,lest, being in their faces in the morning, it should dazzle the eyesof his soldiers. thus he whiled away the time in his tent, which wasopen towards the plain where his enemies were encamped.
when it grew towards evening, some tell us, aemilius himself useda stratagem to induce the enemy to begin the fight； that he turnedloose a horse without a bridle, and sent some of the romans to catchhim, upon whose following the beast the battle began. others relatethat the thracians, under the command of one alexander, set upon theroman beasts of burden that were bringing forage to the camp； thatto oppose these, a party of seven hundred ligurians were immediatelydetached； and that, relief coming still from both armies, the mainbodies at last engaged. aemilius, like a wise pilot, foreseeing bythe present waves and motion of the armies the greatness of the followingstorm, came out of his tent, went through the legions, and encouragedhis soldiers. nasica, in the meantime, who had ridden out to the skirmishers,saw the whole force of the enemy on the point of engaging. first marchedthe thracians, who, he himself tells us, inspired him with most terror；they were of great stature, with bright and glittering shields andblack frocks under them, their legs armed with greaves, and they brandished,as they moved, straight and heavily-ironed spears over their rightshoulders. next the thracians marched the mercenary soldiers, armedafter different fashions； with these paeonians were mingled. thesewere succeeded by a third division, of picked men, native macedonians,the choicest for courage and strength, in the prime of life, gleamingwith gilt armour and scarlet coats. as these were taking their placesthey were followed from the camp by the troops in phalanx called thebrazen shields, so that the whole plain seemed alive with the flashingof steel and the glistening of brass； and the hills also with theirshouts, as they cheered each other on. in this order they marched,and with such boldness and speed, that those that were first slaindied at but two furlongs distance from the roman camp.
the battle being begun, aemilius came in and found that the foremostof the macedonians had already fixed the ends of their spears intothe shields of his romans, so that it was impossible to come nearthem with their swords. when he saw this, and observed that the restof the macedonians took the targets that hung on their left shoulders,and brought them round before them, and all at once stooped theirpikes against their enemies' shields, and considered the great strengthof this wall of shields, and the formidable appearance of a frontthus bristling with arms, he was seized with amazement and alarm；nothing he had ever seen before had been equal to it； and in aftertimeshe frequently used to speak both of the sight and of his own sensations.these, however, he dissembled, and rode through his army without eitherbreastplate or helmet, with a serene and cheerful countenance.
on the contrary, as polybius relates, no sooner was the battle begun,but the macedonian king basely withdrew to the city pydna, under apretence of sacrificing to hercules； a god that is not wont to regardthe faint offerings of cowards, or to fulfil unsanctioned vows. fortruly it can hardly be a thing that heaven would sanction, that hethat never shoots should carry away the prize； he triumph that slinksfrom the battle； he that takes no pains meet with success, or thewicked man prosper. but to aemilius's petitions the god listened；he prayed for victory with his sword in his hand, and fought whileentreating divine assistance.
a certain posidonius, who has at some length written a history ofperseus, and professes to have lived at the time, and to have beenhimself engaged in these events, denies that perseus left the fieldeither through fear or pretence of sacrificing, but that, the veryday before the fight, he received a kick from a horse on his thigh；that though very much disabled, and dissuaded by all his friends,he commanded one of his riding-horses to be brought, and entered thefield unarmed； that amongst an infinite number of darts that flewabout on all sides, one of iron lighted on him, and though not withthe point, yet by a glance struck him with such force on his leftside that it tore his clothes and so bruised his flesh that the markremained a long time after. this is what posidonius says in defenceof perseus.
the romans not being able to make a breach in the phalanx, one salius,a commander of the pelignians, snatched the ensign of his companyand threw it amongst the enemies； on seeing which, the pelignians（as amongst the italians it is always thought the greatest breachof honour to abandon a standard） rushed with great violence towardsthe place, where the conflict grew very fierce and the slaughter terribleon both sides. for these endeavoured to cut the spears asunder withtheir swords, or to beat them back with their shields, or put themby with their hands； and, on the other side, the macedonians heldtheir long sarissas in both hands, and pierced those that came intheir way quite through their armour, no shield or corslet being ableto resist the force of that weapon. the pelignians and marrucinianswere thrown headlong to the ground, having without consideration,with mere animal fury, rushed upon a certain death. their first ranksbeing slain, those that were behind were forced to give back； it cannotbe said they fled, but they retreated towards mount olocrus. when,aemilius saw this, posidonius relates, he rent his clothes, some ofhis men being ready to fly, and the rest not willing to engage witha phalanx into which they could not hope to make any entrance- a sortof palisade, as it were, impregnable and unapproachable, with itsclose array of long spears everywhere meeting the assailant. nevertheless,the unequalness of the ground would not permit a widely extended frontto be so exactly drawn up as to have their shields everywhere joined；and aemilius perceived that there were a great many interstices andbreaches in the macedonian phalanx, as it usually happens in all greatarmies, according to the different efforts of the combatants, whoin one part press forward with eagerness, and in another are forcedto fall back. taking, therefore, this occasion, with all speed hebroke up his men into their cohorts, and gave them order to fall intothe intervals and openings of the enemy's body, and not to make onegeneral attack upon them all, but to engage, as they were divided,in several partial battles. these commands aemilius gave to his captains,and they to their soldiers； and no sooner had they entered the spacesand separated their enemies, but they charged them, some on theirsides where they were naked and exposed, and others, making a circuit,behind； and thus destroyed the force of the phalanx, which consistsin common action and close union. and now, come to fight man to man,or in small parties, the macedonians smote in vain upon firm and longshields with their little swords, whilst their slight bucklers werenot able to sustain the weight and force of the roman swords, whichpierced through all their armour to their bodies； they turned, infine, and fled.
the conflict was obstinate. and here marcus, the son of cato, andson-in-law of aemilius, whilst he showed all possible courage, letfall his sword. being a young man carefully brought up and disciplined,and, son of so renowned a father, bound to give proof of more thanordinary virtue, he thought his life but a burden, should he liveand permit his enemies to enjoy this spoil. he hurried hither andthither, and wherever he espied a friend or companion, declared hismisfortune, and begged their assistance； a considerable number ofbrave men being thus collected, with one accord they made their waythrough their fellows after their leader, and fell upon the enemy；whom after a sharp conflict, many wounds, and much slaughter, theyrepulsed, possessed the place that was now deserted and free, andset themselves to search for the sword, which at last they found coveredwith a great heap of arms and dead bodies. overjoyed with this success,they raised the song of triumph, and, with more eagerness than ever,charged the foes that yet remained firm and unbroken. in the end,three thousand of the chosen men, who kept their ground and foughtvaliantly to the last, were all cut in pieces, while the slaughterof such as fled was also very great. the plain and the lower partof the hills were filled with dead bodies, and the water of the riverleucus, which the romans did not pass till the next day after thebattle, was then mingled with blood. for it is said there fell morethan twenty-five thousand of the enemy； of the romans, as posidoniusrelates, a hundred； as nasica, only fourscore. this battle, thoughso great, was very quickly decided, it being three in the afternoonwhen they first engaged, and not four when the enemy was vanquished；the rest of the day was spent in pursuit of the fugitives, whom theyfollowed about thirteen or fourteen miles, so that it was far in thenight when they returned.
all the others were met by their servants with torches, and broughtback with joy and great triumph to their tents, which were set outwith lights, and decked with wreaths of ivy and laurel. but the generalhimself was in great grief. of the two sons that served under himin the war, the youngest was missing, whom he held most dear, andwhose courage and good qualities he perceived much to excel thoseof his brothers. bold and eager for distinction, and still a merechild in age, he concluded that he had perished, whilst for want ofexperience he had engaged himself too far amongst his enemies. hissorrow and fears became known to the army； the soldiers, quittingtheir suppers, ran about with lights, some to aemilius's tent, someout of the trenches, to seek him amongst such as were slain in thefirst onset. there was nothing but grief in the camp, and the plainwas filled with the cries of men calling out for scipio； for, fromhis very youth, he was an object of admiration； endowed above anyof his equals with the good qualities requisite either for commandor counsel. at length, when it was late, and they almost despaired,he returned from the pursuit with only two or three of his companionsall covered with the fresh blood of his enemies, having been, likesome dog of noble breed, carried away by the pleasure, greater thanhe could control, of his first victory. this was that scipio thatafterwards destroyed carthage and numantia, and was, without dispute,the first of the romans in merit, and had the greatest authority amongstthem. thus fortune, deferring her displeasure and jealousy of suchgreat success to some other time, let aemilius at present enjoy thisvictory, without any detraction or diminution.
as for perseus, from pydna he fled to pella with his cavalry, whichwas as yet almost entire. but when the foot came up with them, and,upbraiding them as cowards and traitors, tried to pull them off theirhorses, and fell to blows, perseus, fearing the tumult, forsook thecommon road, and, lest he should be known, pulled off his purple,and carried it before him, and took his crown in his hand and, thathe might the better converse with his friends, alighted from his horseand led him. of those that were about him, one stopped, pretendingto tie his shoe that was loose, another to water his horse, a thirdto drink himself； and thus lagging behind, by degrees left him, theyhaving not so much reason to fear their enemies as his cruelty； forhe, disordered by his misfortune, sought to clear himself by layingthe cause of the overthrow upon everybody else. he arrived at pellain the night, where euctus and eudaeus, two of his treasurers, cameto him, and, what with their reflecting on his former faults, andtheir free and ill-timed admonitions and counsels, so exasperatedhim, that he killed them both, stabbing them with his own dagger.after this, nobody stuck to him but evander the cretan, archedemusthe aetolian, and neon the boeotian. of the common soldiers therefollowed him only those from crete, not out of any good-will, butbecause they were as constant to his riches as the bees to their hive.for he carried a great treasure with him, out of which he had sufferedthem to take cups, bowls, and other vessels of silver and gold, tothe value of fifty talents. but when he was come to amphipolis, andafterwards to galepsus, and his fears were a little abated, he relapsedinto his old and constitutional disease of covetousness, and lamentedto his friends that he had, through inadvertency, allowed some goldplate which had belonged to alexander the great to go into the handsof the cretans, and besought those that had it, with tears in hiseyes, to exchange with him again for money. those that understoodhim thoroughly knew very well that he only played the cretan withthe cretans, but those that believed him, and restored what they had,were cheated； as he not only did not pay the money, but by craft gotthirty talents more of his friends into his hands （which in a shorttime after fell to the enemy）, and with them sailed to samothrace,and there fled to the temple of castor and pollux for refuge.
the macedonians were always accounted great lovers of their kings,but now, as if their chief prop was broken, they all gave way together,and submitted to aemilius, and in two days made him master of theirwhole country. this seems to confirm the opinion which ascribes whateverhe did to good fortune. the omen, also, that happened at amphipolishas a supernatural character. when he was. sacrificing there, andthe holy rites were just begun, on a sudden, lightning fell upon thealtar, set the wood on fire, and completed the immolation of the sacrifice.the most signal manifestation, however, of preternatural agency appearsin the story of the rumour of his success. for on the fourth day afterperseus was vanquished at pydna, whilst the people at rome were seeingthe horse-races, a report suddenly rose at the entrance of the theatrethat aemilius had defeated perseus in a great battle, and was reducingall macedonia under his power； and from thence it spread amongst thepeople, and created general joy, with shoutings and acclamations forthat whole day through the city. but when no certain author was foundof the news, and every one alike had taken it at random, it was abandonedfor the present and thought no more of, until, a few days after, certainintelligence came, and then the first was looked upon as no less thana miracle, having, under an appearance of fiction, contained whatwas real and true. it is reported also, that the news of the battlefought in italy, near the river sagra, was conveyed into peloponnesusthe same day, and of that at mycale against the medes, to plataea.when the romans had defeated the tarquins, who were combined withthe latins, a little after there were seen at rome two tall and comelymen, who professed to bring the news from the camp. they were conjecturedto be castor and pollux. the first man that spoke to them in the forum,near the fountain where they were cooling their horses, which wereall of a foam, expressed surprise at the report of the victory, when,it is said, they smiled, and gently touched his beard with their hands,the hair of which from being black was, on the spot, changed to yellow.this gave credit to what they said, and fixed the name of ahenobarbus,or brazen-beard, on the man. and a thing which happened in our owntime will make all these credible. for when antonius rebelled againstdomitian, and rome was in consternation, expecting great wars fromthe quarter of germany, all on a sudden, and nobody knows upon whataccount, the people spontaneously gave out a rumour of victory, andthe news ran current through the city, that antonius himself was slain,his whole army destroyed, and not so much as a part of it escaped；nay, this belief was so strong and positive, that many of the magistratesoffered up sacrifice. but when, at length, the author was sought for,and none was to be found, it vanished by degrees, every one shiftingit off from himself to another, and, at last, was lost in the numberlesscrowd, as in a vast ocean, and, having no solid ground to supportits credit, was in a short time not so much as named in the city.nevertheless, when domitian marched out with his forces to the war,he met with messengers and letters that gave him a relation of thevictory； and the rumour, it was found, had come the very day it wasgained, though the distance between the places was more than twenty-fivehundred miles. the truth of this no man of our time is ignorant of.
but to proceed. cnaeus octavius, who was joined in command with aemilius,came to an anchor with his fleet under samothrace, where, out of respectto the gods, he permitted perseus to enjoy the benefit of refuge,but took care that he should not escape by sea. notwithstanding, perseussecretly persuaded oroandes of crete, master of a small vessel, toconvey him and his treasure away. he, however, playing the true cretan,took in the treasure, and bade him come, in the night, with his childrenand most necessary attendants, to the port by the temple of ceres；but, as soon as it was evening, set sail without him. it had beensad enough for perseus to be forced to let down himself, his wife,and children through a narrow window by a wall- people altogetherunaccustomed to hardship and flying； but that which drew a far saddersigh from his heart was, when he was told by a man, as he wanderedon the shore, that he had seen oroandes under sail in the main sea,it being now about daybreak. so, there being no hopes left of escaping,he fled back again to the wall, which he and his wife recovered, thoughthey were seen by the romans, before they could reach them. his childrenhe himself had delivered into the hands of ion, one that had beenhis favourite, but now proved his betrayer, and was the chief causethat forced him （beasts themselves will do so when their young onesare taken） to come and yield himself up to those that had them intheir power. his greatest confidence was in nasica, and it was forhim he called, but he not being there, he bewailed his misfortune,and, seeing there was no possible remedy, surrendered himself to octavius.and here, in particular, he made it manifest that he was possessedwith a vice more sordid than covetousness itself, namely, the fondnessof life； by which he deprived himself even of pity, the only thingthat fortune never takes away from the most wretched. he desired tobe brought to aemilius, who arose from his seat, and, accompaniedwith his friends, went to receive him, with tears in his eyes, asa great man fallen by the anger of the gods and his own ill-fortune；when perseus- the most shameful of sights- threw himself at his feet,embraced his knees, and uttered unmanly cries and petitions, suchas aemilius was not able to bear, nor would vouchsafe to hear： butlooking on him with a sad and angry countenance he said, "why, unhappyman, do you thus take pains to exonerate fortune of your heaviestcharge against her, by conduct that will make it seem that you arenot unjustly in calamity, and that it is not your present condition,but your former happiness, that was more than your deserts？ and whydepreciate also my victory, and make my conquests insignificant, byproving yourself a coward, and a foe beneath a roman？ distressed valourchallenges great respect, even from enemies； but cowardice, thoughnever so successful, from the romans has always met with scorn." yetfor all this he took him up, gave him his hand, and delivered himinto the custody of tubero. meantime, he himself carried his sons,his sons-in-law, and others of chief rank, especially of the youngersort, back with him into his tent, where for a long time he sat downwithout speaking one word, insomuch that they all wondered at him.at last, he began to discourse of fortune and human affairs. "is itmeet," said he, "for him that knows he is but man, in his greatestprosperity to pride himself, and be exalted at the conquest of a city,nation, or kingdom, and not rather well to weigh this change of fortune,in which all warriors may see an example of their common frailty,and learn a lesson that there is nothing durable or constant？ forwhat time can men select to think themselves secure, when that ofvictory itself forces us more than any to dread our own fortune？ anda very little consideration on the law of things, and how all arehurried round, and each man's station changed, will introduce sadnessin the midst of the greatest joy. or can you, when you see beforeyour eyes the succession of alexander himself, who arrived at theheight of power and ruled the greatest empire, in the short spaceof an hour trodden underfoot- when you behold a king, that was buteven now surrounded with so numerous an army, receiving nourishmentto support his life from the hands of his conquerors- can you, i say,believe there is any certainty in what we now possess whilst thereis such a thing as chance？ no, young men, cast off that vain prideand empty boast of victory； sit down with humility, looking alwaysfor what is yet to come, and the possible future reverses which thedivine displeasure may eventually make the end of our present happiness."it is said that aemilius, having spoken much more to the same purpose,dismissed the young men properly humbled, and with their vaingloryand insolence thoroughly chastened and curbed by his address.
when this was done, he put his army into garrisons, to refresh themselves,and went himself to visit greece, and to spend a short time in relaxationsequally honourable and humane. for as he passed, he eased the people'sgrievances, reformed their governments, and bestowed gifts upon them；to some corn, to others oil out of the king's storehouses, in which,they report, there were such vast quantities laid up, that receiversand petitioners were lacking before they could be exhausted. in delphihe found a great square pillar of white marble, designed for the pedestalof king perseus's golden statue, on which he commanded his own tobe placed, alleging that it was but just that the conquered shouldgive place to the conquerors. in olympia he is said to have utteredthe saying everybody has heard, that phidias had carved homer's jupiter.when the ten commissioners arrived from rome, he delivered up againto the macedonians their cities and country, granting them to liveat liberty, and according to their own laws, only paying the romansthe tribute of a hundred talents, double which sum they had been wontto pay to their kings. then he celebrated all manner of shows andgames, and sacrifices to the gods, and made great entertainments andfeasts； the charge of all which he liberally defrayed out of the king'streasury； and showed that he understood the ordering and placing ofhis guests, and how every man should be received, answerably to theirrank and quality, with such nice exactness, that the greeks were fullof wonder, finding the care of these matters of pleasure did not escapehim, and that though involved in such important business, he couldobserve correctness in these trifles. nor was it least gratifyingto him, that, amidst all the magnificent and splendid preparations,he himself was always the most grateful sight, and greatest pleasureto those he entertained. and he told those that seemed to wonder athis diligence, that there was the same spirit shown in marshalling,a banquet as an army； in rendering the one formidable to the enemy,the other acceptable to the guests. nor did men less praise his liberality,and the greatness of his soul, than his other virtues； for he wouldnot so much as see those great quantities of silver and gold, whichwere heaped together out of the king's palaces, but delivered themto the quaestors, to be put into the public treasury. he only permittedhis own sons, who were great lovers of learning, to take the king'sbooks； and when he distributed rewards due to extraordinary valour,he gave his son-in-law, aelius tubero, a bowl that weighed five pounds.this is that tubero we have already mentioned, who was one of sixteenrelations that lived together, and were all maintained out of onelittle farm； and it is said that this was the first plate that everentered the house of the aelii, brought thither as an honour and rewardof virtue； before this time, neither they nor their wives ever madeuse either of silver or gold.
having thus settled everything well, taking his leave of the greeks,and exhorting the macedonians, that, mindful of the liberty they hadreceived from the romans, they should endeavour to maintain it bytheir obedience to the laws, and concord amongst themselves, he departedfor epirus, having orders from the senate to give the soldiers thatfollowed him in the war against perseus the pillage of the citiesof that country. that he might set upon them all at once by surpriseand unawares, he summoned ten of the principal men out of each, whomhe commanded, on such an appointed day, to bring all the gold andsilver they had either in their private houses or temples； and, withevery one of these, as if it were for this very purpose, and undera pretence of searching for and receiving the gold, he sent a centurionand a guard of soldiers； who, the set day being come, rose all atonce, and at the very self-same time fell upon them, and proceededto ransack the cities； so that in one hour a hundred and fifty thousandpersons were made slaves, and threescore and ten cities sacked. yetwhat was given to each soldier, out of so vast a destruction and utterruin, amounted to no more than eleven drachmas； so that men couldonly shudder at the issue of a war, where the wealth of a whole nationthus divided turned to so little advantage and profit to each particularman.
when aemilius had done this- an action perfectly contrary to his gentleand mild nature- he went down to oricus, where he embarked his armyfor italy. he sailed up the river tiber in the king's galley, thathad sixteen banks of oars, and was richly adorned with captured armsand with cloths of purple and scarlet； so that, the vessel rowingslowly against the stream, the romans that crowded on the shore tomeet him had a foretaste of his following triumph. but the soldiers,who had cast a covetous eye on the treasures of perseus, when theydid not obtain as much as they thought they deserved, were secretlyenraged and angry with aemilius for this, but openly complained thathe had been a severe and tyrannical commander over them； nor werethey ready to show their desire of his triumph. when servius galba,who was aemilius's enemy, though he commanded as tribune under him,understood this, he had the boldness plainly to affirm that a triumphwas not to be allowed him； and sowed various calumnies amongst thesoldiers, which yet further increased their ill-will. nay more, hedesired the tribunes of the people, because the four hours that wereremaining of the day could not suffice for the accusation, to lethim put it off till another. but when the tribunes commanded him tospeak then, if he had anything to say, he began a long oration, filledwith all manner of reproaches, in which he spent the remaining partof the time, and the tribunes, when it was dark, dismissed the assembly.the soldiers growing more vehement on this, thronged all to galba,and entering into a conspiracy, early in the morning beset the capitol,where the tribunes had appointed the following assembly to be held.
as soon as it was day it was put to the vote, and the first tribewas proceeding to refuse the triumph； and the news spread amongstthe people and to the senate. the people were indeed much grievedthat aemilius should meet with such ignominy； but this was only inwords, which had no effect. the chief of the senate exclaimed againstit as a base action, and excited one another to repress the boldnessand insolence of the soldiers, which would ere long become altogetherungovernable and violent, were they now permitted to deprive aemiliusof his triumph. forcing a passage through the crowd, they came upin great numbers, and desired the tribunes to defer polling till theyhad spoken what they had to say to the people. all things thus suspended,and silence being made, marcus servilius stood up, a man of consulardignity, and who had killed twenty-three of his enemies that had challengedhim in single combat. "it is now more than ever," said he, "clearto my mind how great a commander our aemilius paulus is, when i seehe was able to perform such famous and great exploits with an armyso full of sedition and baseness； nor can i sufficiently wonder, thata people that seemed to glory in the triumphs over illyrians and ligurians,should now through envy refuse to see the macedonian king led alive,and all the glory of philip and alexander, in captivity to the romanpower. for is it not a strange thing for you, who upon a slight rumourof victory that came by chance into the city, did offer sacrificesand put up your requests unto the gods that you might see the reportverified, now, when the general is returned with an undoubted conquest,to defraud the gods of honour, and yourselves of joy, as if you fearedto behold the greatness of his warlike deed, or were resolved to spareyour enemy？ and of the two, much better were it to put a stop to thetriumph, out of pity to him, than out of envy to your general； yetto such a height of power is malice arrived amongst you, that a manwithout one scar to show on his skin, that is smooth and sleek withease and homekeeping habits, will undertake to define the office andduties of a general before us, who with our own wounds have been taughthow to judge of the valour or the cowardice of commanders." and, atthe same time, putting aside his garment, he showed an infinite numberof scars upon his breast, and, turning about, he exposed some partsof his person which it is usual to conceal； and, addressing galba,said： "you deride me for these, in which i glory before my fellow-citizens,for it is in their service, in which i have ridden night and day,that i received them； but go collect the votes, whilst i follow after,and note the base and ungrateful, and such as choose rather to beflattered and courted than commanded by their general." it is saidthis speech so stopped the soldiers' mouths, and altered their minds,that all the tribes decreed a triumph for aemilius； which was performedafter this manner.
the people erected scaffolds in the forum, in the circuses, as theycall their buildings for horse-races, and in all other parts of thecity where they could best behold the show. the spectators were cladin white garments； all the temples were open, and full of garlandsand perfumes； the ways were cleared and kept open by numerous officers,who drove back all who crowded into or ran across the main avenue.this triumph lasted three days. on the first, which was scarcely longenough for the sight, were to be seen the statues, pictures, and colossalimages which were taken from the enemy, drawn upon two hundred andfifty chariots. on the second was carried in a great many wagons thefinest and richest armour of the macedonians, both of brass and steel,all newly polished and glittering the pieces of which were piled upand arranged purposely with the greatest art, so as to seem to betumbled in heaps carelessly and by chance： helmets were thrown uponshields, coats of mail upon greaves； cretan targets, and thracianbucklers and quivers of arrows, lay huddled amongst horses' bits,and through these there appeared the points of naked swords, intermixedwith long macedonian sarissas. all these arms were fastened togetherwith just so much looseness that they struck against one another asthey were drawn along, and made a harsh and alarming noise, so that,even as spoils of a conquered enemy, they could not be beheld withoutdread. after these wagons loaded with armour there followed threethousand men who carried the silver that was coined, in seven hundredand fifty vessels, each of which weighed three talents, and was carriedby four men. others brought silver bowls and goblets and cups, alldisposed in such order as to make the best show, and all curious aswell for their size as the solidity of their embossed work.
on the third day, early in the morning, first came the trumpeters,who did not sound as they were wont in a procession or solemn entry,but such a charge as the romans use when they encourage the soldiersto fight. next followed young men wearing frocks with ornamented borders,who led to the sacrifice a hundred and twenty stalled oxen, with theirhorns gilded, and their heads adorned with ribbons and garlands； andwith these were boys that carried basins for libation, of silver andgold. after this was brought the gold coin, which was divided intovessels that weighed three talents, like those that contained thesilver； they were in number seventy-seven. these were followed bythose that brought the consecrated bowl which aemilius had causedto be made, that weighed ten talents, and was set with precious stones.then were exposed to view the cups of antigonus and seleucus, andthose of the thericlean make, and all the gold plate that was usedat perseus's table. next to these came perseus's chariot, in whichhis armour was placed, and on that his diadem. and, after a littleintermission, the king's children were led captives, and with thema train of their attendants, masters, and teachers, all shedding tears,and stretching out hands to the spectators, and making the childrenthemselves also beg and entreat their compassion. there were two sonsand a daughter, whose tender age made them but little sensible ofthe greatness of their misery, which very insensibility of their conditionrendered it the more deplorable； insomuch that perseus himself wasscarcely regarded as he went along, whilst pity fixed the eyes ofthe romans upon the infants； and many of them could not forbear tears,and all beheld the sight with a mixture of sorrow and pleasure, untilthe children were passed.
after his children and their attendants came perseus himself, cladall in black, and wearing the boots of his country, and looking likeone altogether stunned and deprived of reason, through the greatnessof his misfortunes. next followed a great company of his friends andfamiliars, whose countenances were disfigured with grief, and wholet the spectators see, by their tears and their continual lookingupon perseus, that it was his fortune they so much lamented, and thatthey were regardless of their own. perseus sent to aemilius to entreatthat he might not be led in pomp, but be left out of the triumph；who, deriding, as was but just, his cowardice and fondness of life,sent him this answer, that as for that, it had been before, and wasnow, in his own power； giving him to understand that the disgracecould be avoided by death； which the faint-hearted man not havingthe spirit for, and made effeminate by i know not what hopes, allowedhimself to appear as a part of his own spoils. after these were carriedfour hundred crowns, all made of gold, sent from the cities by theirrespective deputations to aemilius, in honour of his victory. thenhe himself came, seated on a chariot magnificently adorned （a manwell worthy to be looked at, even without these ensigns of power）,dressed in a robe of purple, interwoven with gold, and holding a laurelbranch in his right hand. all the army, in like manner, with boughsof laurel in their hands, divided into their hands and companies,followed the chariot of their commander； some singing verses, accordingto the usual custom, mingled with raillery； others, songs of triumphand the praise of aemilius's deeds； who, indeed, was admired and accountedhappy by all men, and unenvied by every one that was good； exceptso far as it seems the province of some god to lessen that happinesswhich is too great and inordinate, and so to mingle the affairs ofhuman life that no one should be entirely free and exempt from calamities；but, as we read in homer, that those should think themselves trulyblessed whom fortune has given an equal share of good and evil.
aemilius had four sons, of whom scipio and fabius, as is already related,were adopted into other families； the other two, whom he had by asecond wife, and who were yet but young, he brought up in his ownhouse. one of these died at fourteen years of age, five days beforehis father's triumph, the other at twelve, three days after； so thatthere was no roman without a deep sense of his suffering, and whodid not shudder at the cruelty of fortune, that had not scrupled tobring so much sorrow into a house replenished with happiness, rejoicing,and sacrifices, and to intermingle tears and laments with songs ofvictory and triumph.
aemilius, however, reasoning justly that courage and resolution wasnot merely to resist armour and spears, but all the shocks of ill-fortune,so met and so adapted himself to these mingled and contrasting circumstances,as to outbalance the evil with the good, and his private concernswith those of the public； and thus did not allow anything either totake away from the grandeur, or sully the dignity of his victory.for as soon as he had buried the first of his sons （as we have alreadysaid）, he triumphed； and the second dying almost as soon as his triumphwas over, he gathered together an assembly of the people, and madean oration to them, not like a man that stood in need of comfort fromothers, but one that undertook to support his fellow-citizens in theirgrief for the sufferings he himself underwent.
"i," he said, "who never yet feared anything that was human, have,amongst such as were divine, always had a dread of fortune as faithlessand inconstant； and, for the very reason that in this war she hadbeen as a favourable gale in all my affairs, i still expected somechange and reflux of things. in one day i passed the ionian sea, andreached corcyra from brundisium； thence in five more i sacrificedat delphi, and in other five days came to my forces in macedonia,where, after i had finished the usual sacrifices for the purifyingof the army, i entered on my duties, and, in space of fifteen days,put an honourable period to the war. still retaining a jealousy offortune, even from the smooth current of my affairs, and seeing myselfsecure and free from the danger of any enemy, i chiefly dreaded thechange of the goddess at sea, whilst conveying home my victoriousarmy, vast spoils, and a captive king. nay, indeed, after i was returnedto you safe, and saw the city full of joy, congratulating, and sacrifices,yet still i distrusted, well knowing that fortune never conferredany great benefits that were unmixed and unattended with probabilitiesof reverse. nor could my mind, that was still as it were in labour,and always foreseeing something to befall this city, free itself fromthis fear, until this great misfortune befell me in my own family,and till, in the midst of those days set apart for triumph, i carriedtwo of the best sons, my only destined successors, one after anotherto their funerals. now, therefore, i am myself safe from danger, atleast as to what was my greatest care； and i trust and am verily persuadedthat for the time to come fortune will prove constant and harmlessunto you； since she has sufficiently wreaked her jealousy at our greatsuccess on me and mine, and has made the conqueror as marked an exampleof human instability as the captive whom he led in triumph, with thisonly difference, that perseus, though conquered, does yet enjoy hischildren, while the conqueror, aemilius, is deprived of his." thiswas the generous and magnanimous oration aemilius is said to havespoken to the people, from a heart truly sincere and free from allartifice.
although he very much pitied the condition of perseus, and studiedto befriend him in what he was able, yet he could procure no otherfavour than his removal from the common prison, the carcer, into amore cleanly and humane place of security, where, whilst he was guarded,it is said, he starved himself to death. others state his death tobe of the strangest and most unusual character： that the soldierswho were his guard, having conceived a spite and hatred against himfor some reason, and finding no other way to grieve and afflict him,kept him from sleep, took pains to disturb him when he was disposedto rest, and found out contrivances to keep him continually awake,by which means at length he was utterly worn out, and expired. twoof his children, also, died soon after him； the third, who was namedalexander, they say proved an exquisite artist in turning and gravingsmall figures, and learned so perfectly to speak and write the romanlanguage, that he became clerk to the magistrates, and behaved himselfin his office with great skill and conduct.
they ascribed to aemilius's conquest of macedonia this most acceptablebenefit to the people, that he brought so vast a quantity of moneyinto the public treasury, that they never paid any taxes, until hirtiusand pansa were consuls, which was in the first war between antonyand caesar. this also was peculiar and remarkable in aemilius, thatthough he was extremely beloved and honoured by the people, yet healways sided with the nobles； nor would he either say or do anythingto ingratiate himself with the multitude, but constantly adhered tothe nobility, in all political matters, which in aftertimes was castin scipio africanus's teeth by appius； these two being in their timethe most considerable men in the city, and standing in competitionfor the office of censor. the one had on his side the nobles and thesenate, to which party the appii were always attached； the other,although his own interest was great, yet made use of the favour andlove of the people. when, therefore, appius saw scipio come to themarket-place, surrounded with men of mean rank, and such as were butnewly made free, yet were very fit to manage a debate, to gather togetherthe rabble, and to carry whatsoever they designed by importunity andnoise, crying out with a loud voice： "groan now," said he, "o aemiliuspaulus, if you have knowledge in your grave of what is done above,that your son aspires to be censor, by the help of aemilius, the commoncrier, and licinius philonicus." scipio always had the goodwill ofthe people, because he was constantly heaping favours on them； butaemilius, although he still took part with the nobles, yet was asmuch the people's favourite as those who most sought popularity andused every art to obtain it. this they made manifest, when, amongstother dignities, they thought him worthy of the office of censor,a trust accounted most sacred and of great authority, as well in otherthings, as in the strict examination into men's lives. for the censorshad power to expel a senator, and enrol whom they judged most fitin his room, and to disgrace such young men as lived licentiously,by taking away their horses. besides this, they were to value andassess each man's estate, and register the number of the people. therewere numbered by aemilius 347,452 men. he declared marcus aemiliuslepidus first senator, who had already four times held that honour,and he removed from their office three of the senators of the leastnote. the same moderation he and his fellow-censor, marcius philippus,used at the muster of the knights.
whilst he was thus busy about many and weighty affairs he fell sickof a disease, which at first seemed hazardous； and although aftera while it proved without danger, yet was troublesome and difficultto be cured： so that by the advice of his physicians he sailed tovelia, in south italy, and there dwelt a long time near the sea, wherehe enjoyed all possible quietness. the romans, in the meanwhile, longedfor his return, and oftentimes by their expressions in the theatresgave public testimony of their great desire and impatience to seehim. when, therefore, the time drew nigh that a solemn sacrifice wasof necessity to be offered, and he found, as he thought, his bodystrong enough, he came back again to rome, and there performed theholy rites with the rest of the priests, the people in the meantimecrowding about him and congratulating his return. the next day hesacrificed again to the gods for his recovery； and, having finishedthe sacrifice, returned to his house and sat down to dinner, when,all on a sudden and when no change was expected, he fell into a fitof delirium, and, being quite deprived of his senses, the third dayafter ended a life in which he had wanted no manner of thing whichis thought to conduct to happiness. nay, his very funeral pomp hadsomething in it remarkable and to be admired, and his virtue was gracedwith the most solemn and happy rites at his burial； consisting, notin gold and ivory, or in the usual sumptuousness and splendour ofsuch preparations, but in the goodwill, honour, and love, not onlyof his fellow-citizens, but of his enemies themselves. for as manyspaniards, ligurians, and macedonians as happened to be present atthe solemnity, that were young and of vigorous bodies, took up thebier and carried it； whilst the more aged followed, called aemiliusthe benefactor and preserver of their countries. for not only at thetime of his conquest had he acted to all with kindness and clemency,but, through the whole course of his life, he continued to do themgood and look after their concerns, as if they had been his familiarsand relations. they report that the whole of his estate scarce amountedto three hundred and seventy thousand drachmas； to which he left histwo sons co-heirs； but scipio, who was the youngest, being adoptedinto the more wealthy family of africanus, gave it all to his brother.such are said to have been the life and manners of aemilius.
the end