§17.1ἦσαν δὲ καὶ παρά τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων τιμαὶ πρέπουσαι, καὶ τὸ τὰς τιμὰς ἀληθινὰς ποιοῦν, εὔνοια θαυμαστὴ διʼ ἐπιείκειαν ἤθους, καὶ γὰρ εἴ τισιν ἐκ πραγμάτων ἢ φιλοτιμίας ἕνεκα, καθάπερ Φιλοποίμενι καὶ πάλιν Διοφάνει στρατηγοῦντι τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, προσέκρουσεν, οὐκ ἦν βαρὺς οὐδʼ εἰς ἔργα διατείνων ὁ θυμός, ἀλλʼ ἐν λόγῳ παρρησίαν τινὰ πολιτικὴν ἔχοντι παυόμενος.
There were also suitable honors from the other Greeks, and, what made those honors genuine, a wonderful goodwill due to his gentleness of character. For indeed, if he clashed with some either because of circumstances or due to rivalry, as with Philopoemen, and again with Diophanes when he was general of the Achaeans, his anger was not heavy nor did it extend to deeds, but ceased with speech that had a certain political frankness.
§17.2πικρὸς μὲν οὖν οὐδενί, πολλοῖς δὲ ὀξὺς ἐδόκει καὶ κοῦφος εἶναι τὴν φύσιν, ἄλλως δὲ συγγενέσθαι πάντων ἥδιστος καὶ εἰπεῖν ἐπίχαρις μετὰ δεινότητος.
While he seemed bitter to no one, to many he seemed to be quick-tempered and light in nature, but otherwise most pleasant of all to associate with, and graceful in speech, yet with cleverness.
Ἀχαιούς μὲν γὰρ σφετεριζομένους τὴν Ζακυνθίων νῆσον ἀποτρέπων ἔφη κινδυνεύσειν, ἂν ὥσπερ αἱ χελῶναι πορρωτέρω τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς Πελοποννήσου προτείνωσι·
For instance, when trying to deter the Achaeans from appropriating the island of Zacynthos, he said they would run a risk if, like tortoises, they should stretch their head out further from the Peloponnesus.
Φιλίππου δέ, ὁπηνίκα περὶ σπονδῶν καὶ εἰρήνης τὸ πρῶτον εἰς λόγους συνῄεσαν, εἰπόντος μετὰ πολλῶν ἥκειν ἐκεῖνον, αὑτὸν δὲ μόνον, ὑπολαβὼν ὁ Τίτος,
αὑτὸν γὰρ,
ἔφη,
μόνον ἐποίησας ἀποκτείνας τοὺς φίλους καὶ συγγενεῖς. §17.3ἐπεὶ δὲ Δεινοκράτης ὁ Μεσσήνιος ἐν Ῥώμῃ παρά πότον μεθυσθεὶς ὠρχήσατο λαβὼν ἱμάτιον γυναικεῖον, τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ τὸν Τίτον ἠξίου βοηθεῖν αὐτῷ διανοουμένῳ τὴν Μεσσήνην ἀφιστάναι τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, ταῦτα μὲν ἔφη σκέψεσθαι, θαυμάζειν δὲ ἐκεῖνον, εἰ τηλικαύταις ἐπικεχειρηκὼς πράξεσιν ὀρχεῖσθαι δύναται παρά πότον καὶ ᾄδειν.
And when Philip, at the time they first met for parleys concerning a treaty and peace, said that he had come with many, but he (Titus) was alone, Titus replied, "For you," he said, "have made yourself alone by killing your friends and kinsmen." When Deinocrates the Messenian, having got drunk at a drinking party in Rome, danced after putting on a woman's garment, and on the next day asked Titus to help him, since he was planning to revolt Messene from the Achaeans, Titus said he would consider these matters, but that he wondered at him, if, having undertaken such great enterprises, he was able to dance and sing at a drinking party.
§17.4πρὸς δὲ τοὺς Ἀχαιούς τῶν παρά Ἀντιόχου πρέσβεων πλῆθος τι τῆς βασιλικῆς στρατιᾶς καταλεγόντων καὶ καταριθμουμένων πολλὰς προσηγορίας, ὁ Τίτος ἔφη δειπνοῦντος αὐτοῦ παρά τῷ ξένῳ καὶ μεμφομένου τὸ πλῆθος τῶν κρεῶν καὶ θαυμάζοντος πόθεν οὕτω ποικίλης ἀγορᾶς εὐπόρησεν, εἰπεῖν τὸν ξένον, ὡς ὕεια πάντα ἐστί τῇ σκευασίᾳ, διαφέροντα καὶ τοῖς ἡδύσμασι.
And to the Achaeans, when the ambassadors from Antiochus were listing a great multitude of the royal army and enumerating many titles, Titus said that when he was dining with his host, and was criticizing the quantity of meats and wondering where he had obtained such a varied supply, his host said that they were all pork, differing only in the cooking and the seasonings.
§17.5μὴ τοίνυν,
ἔφη,
μηδὲ ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀχαιοὶ, θαυμάζετε τὴν Ἀντιόχου δύναμιν λογχοφόρους καὶ ξυστοφόρους καὶ πεζεταίρους ἀκούοντες πάντες γὰρ οὗτοι Σύροι εἰσίν ὁπλαρίοις διαφέροντες.
"Therefore," he said, "do not you either, men of Achaea, wonder at Antiochus' army when you hear of 'spear-bearers' and 'lance-bearers' and 'foot-companions'; for all of these are Syrians, differing only in their weapons."