To prevent his soldiers from becoming demoralised through inaction, and at the same time to remove any suspicion of his meditating a war with Rome, Philip ordered his army to assemble at Stobi in Paeonia, and from there he led them into Maedica. [2] He had been seized with a great desire to ascend the crest of Mt. Haemus, as he shared the common belief that the Pontus and the Hadriatic, the Hister and the Alps could all be seen from that point, and he believed that this prospect before his eyes would in no small measure serve to guide his plans in a war with Rome. [3] He questioned those who knew the country about the ascent of Haemus, and all agreed that was impossible for an army, and extremely difficult even for a small lightly equipped force. [4] His younger son he had decided not to take with him, and in order to lessen his disappointment, he engaged in familiar conversation with him and asked him, after putting before him the difficulties of the march, whether he thought he ought to go on or abandon the enterprise. [5] If, however, he went on, he said, he could not forget the example of Antigonus, who, whilst tossing about in a violent storm and all his family in the ship with him, is reported to have given his children a precept for themselves to remember and to hand on to posterity, namely, that no one should expose himself to danger when accompanied by the whole of his family. [6] Mindful of that precept Philip said that he would not expose both his sons to the chances of accident in what he proposed to do, and as he was taking his older son with him, he should send his younger son back to Macedonia as the stay of his hopes and the guardian of his kingdom. [7] Demetrius was quite aware that the reason for his being sent back was that he might not be present at the council of war when Philip consulted his staff, whilst the various localities were lying in view, as to the quickest route to the Hadriatic, and the future conduct of the war. [8] He was bound not only to obey his father's order but to show his approval of it, lest a reluctant compliance might arouse suspicions. [9] To guarantee the safety of his journey to Macedonia, Didas, one of the royal officers who was governor of Paeonia, received orders to escort him with a small force. [10] This man, also, Perseus had drawn into the conspiracy against his brother, as he had most of his father's friends, after it had become clear to everyone to which of the two sons the king's sympathies pointed as the heir to the throne. [11] Didas' instructions were for the time being to insinuate himself by every kind of obsequiousness into Demetrius' confidence and intimacy so as to be able to draw out all his secrets and ascertain his hidden sentiments. So Demetrius departed amidst greater danger from his escort than if he had travelled alone.
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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