30.  Although Nabis had been greatly alarmed at the first arrival of the Roman fleet, and the surrender of the towns on the sea-coast, yet, as long as Gythium was held by his troops he had quieted his apprehensions with that scanty hope; but when he heard that Gythium, too, was given up to the Romans, and saw that he had no room for any kind of hope on the land, where every place round was in the hands of the enemy, and that he was totally excluded from the sea, he considered that he must yield to fortune.  He first sent a messenger into the Roman camp, to learn whether permission would be given to send ambassadors.  This being consented to, Pythagoras came to the general, with no other commission than to propose a conference between that commander and the tyrant.  A council was summoned on the proposal, and every one present agreeing in opinion that a conference should be granted, a time and place were appointed.  They came, with moderate escorts, to some hills in the interjacent ground; and leaving their cohorts there, in posts open to the view of both parties, they went down to the place of meeting; Nabis attended by a select party of his body-guards; Quinctius by his brother, king Eumenes, Sosilaus, the Rhodian, Aristaenus, praetor of the Achaeans, and a few military tribunes.

31.  Then the tyrant, having the choice given him either to speak first or to listen, began thus:  “Titus Quinctius, and you who are present, if I could collect from my own reflections the reason of your having either declared or actually made war against me, I should have waited in silence the issue of my destiny.  But in the present state of things, I could not repress my desire of knowing, before I am ruined, the cause for which my ruin is resolved on.  And in truth, if you were such men as the Carthaginians are represented to be,—­men who considered the obligation of faith, pledged in alliances, as in no degree sacred, I should not wonder if you were the less scrupulous with respect to your conduct towards me.  But, instead of that, when I look at you, I perceive that you are Romans:  men who allow treaties to be the most solemn of religious acts, and faith, pledged therein, the strongest of human ties.  Then, when I look back at myself, I am confident I am one who, as a member of the community, am, in common with the rest of the Lacedaemonians, included in a treaty subsisting with you, of very ancient date; and likewise have, lately, during the war with Philip, concluded anew, in my own name, a personal friendship and alliance with you.  But it appears I have violated and cancelled that treaty, by holding possession of the city of Argos.  In what manner shall I defend this?  By the consideration of the fact, or of the time.  The consideration of the fact furnishes me with a twofold defence:  for, in the first place, in consequence of an invitation from the inhabitants themselves, and of their voluntary act of surrender, I accepted the possession of that