The horror of this deed fanned afresh the flames of hatred against the king. Curses were everywhere heaped upon him and upon his children, and the dire imprecations soon reached the ears of all the gods, so that they drove him into murderous cruelty against his own flesh and blood. [2] Perseus saw that his brother Demetrius was growing more every day in popularity and influence with the mass of his nation and in favour with the Romans, and he felt that no hope remained to him of winning the crown except through the perpetration of a crime, and to its accomplishment he now devoted all his thoughts. [3] He did not think himself strong enough to carry out the purpose which he was hatching in his weak and unmanly mind, and he began to sound his father's friends one by one, dropping dark and dubious hints in his talks with them. [4] Some of them made it appear at first as though they rejected anything of the kind, because they hoped more from Demetrius. [5] But as Philip's bitterness against the Romans, which Perseus encouraged and Demetrius did his utmost to check, became more pronounced every day, they foresaw the ruin of the youth who was taking no precautions against his brother's intrigues. So they at last decided to help on what must inevitably happen and advance the hopes of the stronger by taking the side of Perseus. [6] They left other measures to be carried out at a fitting time, for the present they determined to use all their endeavours to inflame the king against the Romans and induce him to expedite the warlike plans which he was already contemplating. [7] To aggravate the suspicions against Demetrius, they used to bring up the subject of the Romans in their conversations with him. Some would run down their national character and institutions, others spoke lightly of their military achievements, others scoffed at the appearance of the City, its lack of adornment in both public and private buildings, whilst others, again, spoke contemptuously of different public men. [8] The young man, thrown off his guard by his devotion to the name of Rome and his opposition to his brother, defended them in every way, and thus made himself an object of suspicion to his father and laid himself open to charges of disloyalty. [9] The result was that his father excluded him from all consultations on matters relating to Rome and took Perseus entirely into his confidence, discussing these subjects with him day and night. [10] The envoys whom he had sent to the Bastarnae to summon assistance had returned and brought back with them some young nobles, amongst them some of royal blood. One of these promised to give his sister in marriage to Philip's son, and the king was quite elated at the prospect of an alliance with that nation. Perseus, on this, said to him, "What advantage is there in that? [11] Little protection will there be in foreign support, compared with the danger of domestic treason. [12] We have in our midst a spy, I do not want to call him a traitor; ever since he was a hostage in Rome, the Romans possess his heart and soul, though they have given us back his body. [13] The eyes of almost all Macedonia are turned towards him; they are fully persuaded that they will have none else as king but the one whom the Romans give them." The distempered mind of the old king was made still more uneasy by these words, [14??] which he took more seriously than appeared from his looks.
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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