Philip and the Aetolians Discuss Peace
By using such arguments he found no difficulty in
firing Philip's ambition: as was natural, I think, considering
that he was but a youthful monarch, who had as yet been
successful in all his undertakings, and was in any case of a
singularly daring character; and considering too that he was
sprung from a family which above all families has somehow a
tendency to aim at universal monarchy.
At the moment then, as I said, Philip communicated the
news conveyed by the letter to Demetrius alone; and afterwards summoning a council of his friends consulted them on
the subject of making peace with the Aetolians. And when
even Aratus professed no disinclination to the measure, on the
ground that they would be making peace as conquerors, the
king without waiting for the ambassadors, who were officially
engaged in negotiating its terms, sent Cleonicus of
Naupactus
at once to Aetolia, whom he found still awaiting the meeting
of the Achaean league after his captivity;
1 while he himself,
taking his ships and land force from
Corinth, came with it to
Aegium. Thence he advanced as far as Lasion and took the
Tower in Perippia, and pretended, in order to avoid appearing
too eager for the conclusion of the war, that he was meditating
an invasion of
Elis.
A peace congress summoned. |
By this time Cleonicus
had been backwards and forwards two or three
times; and as the Aetolians begged that he
would meet them personally in conference, he assented; and
abandoning all warlike measures, he sent couriers to the allied
cities, bidding their commissioners to sit in the conference
with him and take part in the discussion of the terms of
peace: and then crossed over with his army
and encamped near
Panormus, which is a
harbour of the
Peloponnese, and lies exactly
opposite
Naupactus.
There he waited for the commissioners
from the allies, and employed the time required for their
assembling in sailing to
Zacynthus, and settling on his own
authority the affairs of the island; and having done so he
sailed back to
Panormus.
