§15.1ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀγαπώμενος καὶ τιμώμενος ἐκπρεπῶς ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις φιλότιμον ὄντα τὸν Τίτον ἡσυχῇ παρελύπει.
Being extraordinarily loved and honored for these things by the Greeks in the theaters, he quietly vexed Titus, who was ambitious for honor.
καὶ γὰρ ὡς Ῥωμαίων ὕπατος ἀνδρὸς Ἀρκάδος ἠξίου θαυμάζεσθαι μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, καὶ ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις ὑπερβάλλειν οὐ παρὰ μικρὸν ἡγεῖτο, διʼ ἑνὸς κηρύγματος ἐλευθερώσας τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ὅση Φιλίππῳ καὶ Μακεδόσιν ἐδούλευσεν.
For Titus, as a Roman consul, thought he deserved to be admired more by the Achaeans than an Arcadian man, and believed that he far surpassed him in benefits, having by a single proclamation set free all Greece that had been enslaved to Philip and the Macedonians.
§15.2ἐκ δὲ τούτου καταλύεται μὲν ὁ Τίτος τῷ Νάβιδι τὸν πόλεμον, ἀποθνῄσκει δὲ ὁ Νάβις ὑπὸ Αἰτωλῶν δολοφονηθείς, τεταραγμένης δὲ τῆς Σπάρτης ὁ Φιλοποίμην ἁρπάσας τὸν καιρὸν ἐπιπίπτει μετὰ δυνάμεως, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἀκόντων, τοὺς δὲ συμπείσας προσηγάγετο καὶ μετεκόμισεν εἰς τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς τὴν πόλιν.
After this, Titus brought the war with Nabis to an end, and Nabis died having been assassinated by the Aetolians. When Sparta was in confusion, Philopoemen, seizing the opportunity, fell upon them with a force, and bringing some over against their will and others by persuasion, he annexed the city to the Achaeans.
§15.3οὗ γενομένου θαυμαστῶς μὲν εὐδοκίμησε παρὰ τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς, προσκτησάμενος αὐτοῖς ἀξίωμα πόλεως τηλικαύτης καὶ δύναμιν οὐ γὰρ ἦν μικρὸν Ἀχαΐας μέρος γενέσθαι τὴν Σπάρτην, ἀνέλαβε δὲ καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων τοὺς ἀρίστους, φύλακα τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἐκεῖνον ἐλπίσαντας ἕξειν.
When this was accomplished, he won marvelous prestige among the Achaeans, having acquired for them the dignity and power of so great a city—for it was no small thing for Sparta to become a part of Achaea—and he also won over the best of the Lacedaemonians, who hoped to have him as a guardian of their liberty.
§15.4διὸ καὶ τὴν Νάβιδος οἰκίαν καὶ οὐσίαν ἐξαργυρισθεῖσαν καὶ γενομένην εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν ταλάντων ἐψηφίσαντο δωρεὰν αὐτῷ δοῦναι, πρεσβείαν ὑπὲρ τούτων πέμψαντες.
Therefore, they voted to give him as a gift the house and property of Nabis, which had been converted into money and amounted to one hundred and twenty talents, and they sent an embassy for this purpose.
ἔνθα δὴ καὶ διεφάνη καθαρῶς ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀνὴρ οὐ δοκῶν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὢν ἄριστος, πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἐβούλετο τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν ἀνδρὶ τοιούτῳ διαλέγεσθαι περὶ δωροδοκίας, ἀλλὰ δεδοικότες καὶ ἀναδυόμενοι προεβάλοντο τὸν ξένον αὐτοῦ Τιμόλαον.
There indeed that man was clearly shown to be not only seeming, but actually the best. For first of all, none of the Spartans wished to speak to such a man about a bribe, but fearing and shrinking from it, they put forward his guest-friend Timolaus.
§15.5ἔπειτα δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ Τιμόλαος, ὡς ἦλθεν εἰς Μεγάλην πόλιν, ἑστιαθεὶς παρὰ τῷ Φιλοποίμενι καὶ τὴν σεμνότητα τῆς ὁμιλίας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀφέλειαν τῆς διαίτης καὶ τὸ ἦθος ἐγγύθεν οὐδαμῇ προσιτὸν οὐδὲ εὐάλωτον ὑπὸ χρημάτων κατανοήσας, ἀπεσιώπησε περὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς, ἑτέραν δέ τινα πρόφασιν τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁδοῦ ποιησάμενος ᾤχετο ἀπιών.
Then Timolaus himself, when he came to Megalopolis, having been entertained at the house of Philopoemen, and having observed from close at hand the dignity of his conversation, the simplicity of his life, and his character which was in no way accessible or vulnerable to money, kept silent about the gift, and making some other pretext for his journey to him, he went away.
καὶ πάλιν ἐκ δευτέρου πεμφθείς ταὐτὸν ἔπαθε.
And being sent again for a second time, he suffered the same thing.
§15.6τρίτῃ δὲ ὁδῷ μόλις ἐντυχὼν ἐδήλωσε τὴν προθυμίαν τῆς πόλεως, ὁ δὲ Φιλοποίμην ἡδέως ἀκούσας ἧκεν αὐτὸς εἰς Λακεδαίμονα, καὶ συνεβούλευσεν αὐτοῖς μὴ τοὺς φίλους καὶ ἀγαθοὺς δεκάζειν, ὧν προῖκα τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔξεστιν ἀπολαύειν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς πονηροὺς καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ καταστασιάζοντας ὠνεῖσθαι καὶ διαφθείρειν, ἵνα τῷ λαβεῖν ἐπιστομισθέντες ἧττον ἐνοχλοῖεν αὐτοῖς βέλτιον γὰρ εἶναι τῶν ἐχθρῶν παραιρεῖσθαι τὴν παρρησίαν ἢ τῶν φίλων, οὕτως μὲν ἦν πρὸς χρήματα λαμπρός.
On his third journey, having with difficulty met him, he made known the goodwill of the city. Philopoemen, having heard this gladly, came himself to Lacedaemon, and advised them not to bribe their friends and good men, whose virtue they could enjoy for nothing, but to buy and corrupt the wicked who caused factions in the assembly against the city, so that, being muzzled by receiving bribes, they might trouble them less; for he said it was better to take away the freedom of speech of enemies than of friends. So illustrious was he in respect to money.