Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 45
Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D., Ed.

44. In that year the consuls merely ravaged the fields of the Ligurians, since the enemy never led out their forces. Without accomplishing anything worthy of note, the consuls returned to Rome to attend to the election of their successors, and on the first day of the elections, declared Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Gaius Sulpicius Gallus elected as consuls. On the next day there were elected as [p. 405]praetors Lucius Julius, Lucius Apuleius Saturninus,¹ Aulus Licinius Nerva, Publius Rutilius Calvus, Publius Quinctilius Varus, and Marcus Fonteius. [2] The provinces appointed for these praetors were the two city magistracies, the two Spains,² Sicily, and Sardinia.

[3] There was an intercalation in this year; the day after the Terminalia was the first day of the intercalary month.³ An augur died this year, Gaius Claudius; in his place, the augurs chose Titus Quinctius Flamininus. The flamen of Quirinus, Quintus Fabius Pictor,⁴ also died.

In this year King Prusias came to Rome with his son [4] Nicomedes. Entering the city with a large train, he proceeded from the gate to the Forum and the judgment-seat of Quintus Cassius the [5] praetor. A crowd gathered from all sides; Prusias announced that he had come to bring greetings to the gods who inhabited the city of Rome, and to the senate and the Roman People, and to congratulate them on their victory over King Perseus and King Gentius, and on the extension of their empire by placing the Macedonians and Illyrians under their [6] sway. When the praetor offered to call a session of the senate for him on that very day, if he pleased, Prusias asked for a two-day interval, during which he might visit the temples of the gods, the city, and his friends and [7] guest-friends. There was assigned to him as escort Lucius Cornelius Scipio the quaestor, who had also [p. 407]been sent to Capua to meet him; and a house was⁵ rented for him, where he and his suite might be well entertained.

[8] On the third day following, he approached the senate; he offered congratulations on the victory; he recited his services in the war; and he requested permission to fulfill a vow of ten full-grown victims at Rome in the Capitol and one at Praeneste to Fortune. This vow, he said, was for the victory of Rome; and he asked that the alliance with him should be renewed, and that the land taken from King Antiochus, which had been assigned to no one by the Roman People and was being held by Galatians, should be given to [9] him. Last of all, he placed his son Nicomedes under the protection of the senate.

He was aided by the good-will of all those who had been commanders in [10] Macedonia. Consequently all but one of his requests were granted; as to the land, the answer was that envoys would be sent to look the matter over; if this land belonged to the Roman People and had been assigned to no one, they would consider Prusias most worthy of receiving it as a [11] gift; if, on the other hand, it was shown not to have belonged to Antiochus, and therefore not to have come into the possession of the Roman People, or that it had been presented to the Galatians, then Prusias must pardon the Roman People, if they were unwilling to wrong anyone in the process of making him a [12] present. A gift, said the senate, could not be pleasing even to the recipient, if he knew that the giver would take it away again whenever he [13] pleased. The senate accepted the commission to protect his son Nicomedes. How great was the care with which [p. 409]the Roman People guarded the sons of kings was⁶ shown, said the senate, by the case of Ptolemy, King of [14] Egypt.

With this answer, Prusias was dismissed. Gifts were ordered given him of a value of . . .⁷ sesterces, and silver vessels of fifty pounds' [15] weight. It was also voted to give to Prince Nicomedes gifts to the same amount as had been given to Masgaba, the son of King Masinissa. It was further voted that the victims and other requisites for sacrifice should be furnished at public expense to the king, just as to Roman magistrates, whether he wished to sacrifice at Rome or [16] Praeneste. Also twenty war-vessels from the fleet at Brundisium were to be assigned to his [17] use; until the king should reach the fleet presented to him, Lucius Cornelius Scipio was to escort him uninterruptedly, and to provide for the expenses of the king and his suite, until he boarded ship.

They say that the king was wonderfully pleased with this expression of good-will toward himself on the part of the Roman [18] People. He refused to have gifts bought for himself, but instructed his son to accept the gift of the Roman People. Such is the account of Prusias given by Roman [19] writers. Polybius reports⁸ that this king was unworthy of the dignity of so high a title; that he was accustomed to meet envoys with his head shaved, while he wore a freedman's cap and called himself the freedman of the Roman People, giving this as his reason for wearing the emblem of this [20] class. Polybius further says that when Prusias entered the senate-house at Rome, he fell down and kissed the threshold of the [p. 411]senatehouse, hailed the senate as his saviour-gods,⁹ and¹⁰ indulged in further speech which conveyed more disgrace to himself than honour to his hearers.

[21] After remaining in the vicinity of Rome no more than thirty days, he set out for his kingdom, and . . .¹¹ the war under way between Eumenes and the Galatians.