into Greece, the other, conscious of having infringed the treaty of amity with Rome, by injuries offered to its allies, might unite himself with him.  Nicander excited Philip, by arguments somewhat similar; and he had more copious matter for discourse, as the king had been degraded from a more elevated state than the tyrant, and more possessions also had been taken from him.  In addition to this, he introduced the ancient renown of the Macedonian kings, and the whole world pervaded by the victorious marches of that nation.  “The plan which he proposed,” he said, “was free from any danger, either in the commencement or in the issue.  For he did not advise that Philip should stir until Antiochus should have come into Greece with an army; and, considering that, without the aid of Antiochus, he had maintained a war so long against the combined forces of the Romans and Aetolians, with what possible force could the Romans withstand him, when joined by Antiochus, and supported by the aid of the Aetolians, who, on the former occasion, were more dangerous enemies than the Romans?” He added the circumstance of Hannibal being general; “a man born a foe to the Romans, who had slain greater numbers, both of their commanders and soldiers, than were left surviving.”  Such were the representations of Nicander to Philip.  Dicaearchus addressed other arguments to Antiochus.  In the first place, he told him, that “the spoils of Philip belonged to the Romans, but the victory over him to the Aetolians; that none other than the Aetolians had afforded to the Romans admittance into Greece, and that the same people supplied them with the strength which enabled them to conquer.”  He next set forth the numerous forces, both horse and foot, which they were willing to furnish to Antiochus, for the purpose of the war; what quarters they would assign to his land armament, what harbours for his naval forces.  He then asserted whatever falsehoods he pleased, respecting Philip and Nabis; that “both were ready to recommence hostilities, and would greedily lay hold on the first opportunity of recovering what they had lost in war.”  Thus did the Aetolians labour, in every part of the world, to stir up war against the Romans.  The kings, however, either took no steps in it or took them too late.

13.  Nabis immediately despatched emissaries through all the towns on the coast, to sow dissensions among the inhabitants:  some of the men in power he brought over to his party by presents; others, who more firmly adhered to the alliance with Rome, he put to death.  The charge of protecting all the Lacedaemonians on the coast, had been committed by Titus Quinctius to the Achaeans; they therefore instantly sent ambassadors to the tyrant, to remind him of his treaty with the Romans, and to warn him against violating a peace which he had so earnestly sued for.  They also sent succours to Gythium which he had already besieged, and ambassadors to Rome to make known these transactions.  King Antiochus having, this winter,