36.
Since the ambassador realized that he could obtain no fairness in the council, he tried privately —for such were his orders —to win over Publius Scipio.
[2]
First of all, he said that the king would restore to him his son without a ransom; then, ignorant of both the spirit of Scipio and the Roman tradition, he promised him a great sum of money and, with the single exception of the title of king, partnership in the entire kingdom if, through his aid, he succeeded in obtaining peace.
[3]
To this Scipio replied: “That you do not know the Romans [p. 395]as a race, that you do not know me, to whom you1 have been sent, I am less surprised to find since I see that you do not know the situation of the man from whom you come.
[4]
Lysimachia should have been held, to prevent our entering the Chersonesus, or resistance should have been offered at the Hellespont, to prevent our crossing into Asia, if you intended to ask peace from foes who were anxious about the outcome of the war;
[5]
but when we were given passage into Asia and when not only our reins but also our yoke was accepted, what debate is left on the basis of equity, when you are obliged to put up with our sovereignty?
[6]
Of the generous offers of the king, I accept the greatest, my son; as to the rest, I pray the gods that my estate will never need them; my soul, at any rate, will not need them.
[7]
In return for so great a gift to me, he will find me grateful to him if he desires private gratitude in return for a private kindness; in my public capacity I shall take nothing from him and give him nothing. What I can give him at this moment is my sincere advice.
[8]
Go, advise him in my words that he abandon the war and refuse no terms of peace.”2
[9]
His words had no effect upon the king, who thought that the gamble of war would be a safe one, since even now terms were declared to him as if he already had been defeated. Mention of peace was forgotten for the moment, and all his energy was devoted to preparation for war.3
1 B.C. 190
2 Livy has been at some pains to portray in this speech the incorruptible Roman, who will, while he accepts, allow not even the greatest private obligation to influence his public conduct. The rest of this narrative, save for this interpretation, is found in Polybius (XXI. xv).
3 Antiochus had now nothing to lose by fighting, since the terms of peace were already as severe as they were ever likely to be.
Livy. Books XXXV-XXXVII With An English Translation. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1935: published without copyright notice.
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