After collecting together the fugitives who had been scattered in the various stages of the battle and had followed him in his flight, Philip despatched men to burn his papers at Larisa, that they might not fall into the enemy's hands, and then retreated into Macedonia. [2] Quinctius sold some of the prisoners and a part of the booty and gave the rest to the soldiers, after which he proceeded to Larisa, not knowing for certain in what direction the king had gone or what movements he was contemplating. [3] Whilst he was there a herald arrived from the king ostensibly to ask for an armistice for the purpose of burying those who had fallen in the battle, but really to ask for permission to open negotiations for peace. [4] Both requests were granted by the Roman general, who also sent a message to the king bidding him not to lose heart. This gave great offence to the Aetolians, who were intensely mortified and said that the commander had been changed by his victory. [5] Before the battle, so they alleged, he used to consult his allies on all matters great and small, but now they were excluded from all his counsels; he was acting solely on his own judgment. [6] He was looking out for an opportunity of ingratiating himself personally with Philip so that after the Aetolians had borne the whole burden of the hardships and sufferings of the war the Roman might secure for himself all the credit and advantages of peace. [7] As a matter of fact Quinctius certainly did show the Aetolians less consideration, but they were quite ignorant of his reason for treating them with neglect. [8] They believed that he was looking for bribes from Philip, though he was a man who never yielded to the temptation of money; but it was not without good reason that he was disgusted with the Aetolians for their insatiable appetite for plunder and their arrogance in claiming for themselves the credit of the victory, a piece of vanity which offended all men's ears. [9] Besides, if Philip were out of the way and the kingdom of Macedonia hopelessly crushed he recognised that the Aetolians must be regarded as the dominant power in Greece. [10] Dictated by these considerations his conduct was deliberately designed to humiliate and belittle them in the eyes of Greece.
Livy. History of Rome. English Translation by. Rev. Canon Roberts. New York, New York. E. P. Dutton and Co. 1912. 1. Livy. History of Rome. English Translation. Rev. Canon Roberts. New York, New York. E. P. Dutton and Co. 1912. 2.
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