lying opposite to their island, which from early times had been under their jurisdiction; and they required that “the garrisons should be withdrawn from Tassus, Bargylii, and Euroma, and from Sestus and Abydos on the Hellespont; that Perinthus should be restored to the Byzantians, in right of their ancient title, and that all the sea-port towns and harbours of Asia should be free.”  The Achaeans demanded the restoration of Corinth and Argos.  Phaeneas nearly repeated the demands made by the Romans, that the troops should withdraw out of Greece, and the Aetolians be put in possession of the cities which had formerly been under their dominion.  He was followed by Alexander, a man of eminence among the Aetolians, and, considering his country, not uneloquent.  He said, that “he had long kept silence, not because he expected that any business would be effected in that conference, but because he was unwilling to interrupt any of the allies in their discourse.”  He asserted, that “Philip was neither treating for peace with sincerity; and that he had never waged war with true courage, at any time:  that in negotiating, he was insidious and fradulent; while in war he never fought on equal ground, nor engaged in regular battles; but, skulking about, burned and pillaged towns, and, when worsted, destroyed the prizes of victory.  But not in that manner did the ancient kings of Macedon behave; they decided the fate of the war in the field, and spared the towns as far as they were able, in order to possess the more opulent empire.  For what sort of conduct was it, to destroy the objects for the possession of which the contest was waged, and thereby leave nothing to himself but fighting?  Philip had, in the last year, desolated more cities of his allies in Thessaly, than all the enemies that Thessaly ever had.  On the Aetolians themselves he had made greater depredations, when he was in alliance with them, than since he became their enemy.  He had seized on Lysimachia, after dislodging the praetor and garrison of the Aetolians.  Cius also, a city belonging to their government, he razed from the foundation.  With the same injustice he held possession of Thebes in Phthiotis, of Echinus, Larissa, and Pharsalus.”

34.  Philip, provoked by this discourse of Alexander, pushed his ship nearer to the land, that he might be the better heard, and began to speak with much violence, particularly against the Aetolians.  But Phaeneas, interrupting him, said that “the business depended not upon words; he must either conquer in war, or submit to his superiors.”  “That, indeed, is evident,” said Philip, “even to the blind,” reflecting on Phaeneas, who had a disorder in his eyes:  for he was naturally fonder of such pleasantries than became a king; and even in the midst of serious business, did not sufficiently restrain himself from ridicule.  He then began to express great indignation at the “Aetolians assuming as much importance as the Romans, and insisting on his evacuating Greece; people who could not even