§18.45.1τούτου δὲ τοῦ δόγματος διαδοθέντος εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πάντες εὐθαρσεῖς ἦσαν καὶ περιχαρεῖς, μόνοι δʼ Αἰτωλοί, δυσχεραίνοντες ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ τυγχάνειν ὧν ἤλπιζον, κατελάλουν τὸ δόγμα, φάσκοντες οὐ πραγμάτων, ἀλλὰ γραμμάτων μόνον ἔχειν αὐτὸ διάθεσιν.
When this decree was publicized among the Greeks, all the others were encouraged and overjoyed; but the Aetolians alone, displeased at not obtaining what they hoped for, defamed the decree, asserting that it had the character of mere words rather than facts.
§18.45.2καί τινας ἐλάμβανον πιθανότητας ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐγγράπτων πρὸς τὸ διασείειν τοὺς ἀκούοντας τοιαύτας.
And they drew from the text itself certain plausible arguments of the following kind to shake the confidence of their hearers.
§18.45.3ἔφασκον γὰρ εἶναι δύο γνώμας ἐν τῷ δόγματι περὶ τῶν ὑπὸ Φιλίππου φρουρουμένων πόλεων, τὴν μὲν μίαν ἐπιτάττουσαν ἐξάγειν τὰς φρουρὰς τὸν Φίλιππον, τὰς δὲ πόλεις παραδιδόναι Ῥωμαίοις, τὴν δʼ ἑτέραν ἐξάγοντα τὰς φρουρὰς ἐλευθεροῦν τὰς πόλεις.
For they asserted that there were two provisions in the decree regarding the cities garrisoned by Philip: one ordering Philip to withdraw his garrisons and hand over the cities to the Romans, and the other ordering him to withdraw his garrisons and set the cities free.
§18.45.4τὰς μὲν οὖν ἐλευθερουμένας ἐπʼ ὀνόματος δηλοῦσθαι, ταύτας δʼ εἶναι τὰς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν, τὰς δὲ παραδιδομένας Ῥωμαίοις φανερὸν ὅτι τὰς κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην. εἶναι δὲ ταύτας Ὠρεόν, §18.45.5Ἐρέτριαν, Χαλκίδα, Δημητριάδα, Κόρινθον.
Those to be set free, they said, were designated by name, and these were the cities in Asia, while those to be handed over to the Romans were clearly those in Europe; and these latter were Oreus, Eretria, Chalcis, Demetrias, and Corinth.
§18.45.6ἐκ δὲ τούτων εὐθεώρητον ὑπάρχειν πᾶσιν ὅτι μεταλαμβάνουσι τὰς Ἑλληνικὰς πέδας παρὰ Φιλίππου Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ γίνεται μεθάρμοσις δεσποτῶν, οὐκ ἐλευθέρωσις τῶν Ἑλλήνων.
From this, they argued, it was easy for everyone to see that the Romans were receiving "the fetters of Greece" from Philip, and that there was a change of masters, not the liberation of the Greeks.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὑπʼ Αἰτωλῶν ἐλέγετο κατακόρως.
These things, then, were repeatedly said by the Aetolians.
§18.45.7ὁ δὲ Τίτος ὁρμήσας ἐκ τῆς Ἐλατείας μετὰ τῶν δέκα καὶ κατάρας εἰς τὴν Ἀντίκυραν, παραυτίκα διέπλευσεν εἰς τὸν Κόρινθον, κἀκεῖ παραγενόμενος συνήδρευε μετὰ τούτων καὶ διελάμβανε περὶ τῶν ὅλων.
But Titus, having set out from Elateia with the ten commissioners and put in at Anticyra, immediately sailed across to Corinth, and upon arriving there, held a council with them and deliberated on the whole situation.
§18.45.8πλεοναζούσης δὲ τῆς τῶν Αἰτωλῶν διαβολῆς καὶ πιστευομένης παρʼ ἐνίοις, πολλοὺς καὶ ποικίλους ἠναγκάζετο ποιεῖσθαι λόγους ὁ Τίτος ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ, §18.45.9διδάσκων ὡς εἴπερ βούλονται καὶ τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων εὔκλειαν ὁλόκληρον περιποιήσασθαι, καὶ καθόλου πιστευθῆναι παρὰ πᾶσι διότι καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποιήσαντο διάβασιν οὐ τοῦ συμφέροντος ἕνεκεν, ἀλλὰ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας, ἐκχωρητέον εἴη πάντων τῶν τόπων καὶ πάσας ἐλευθερωτέον τὰς πόλεις τὰς νῦν ὑπὸ Φιλίππου φρουρουμένας.
As the slander of the Aetolians was spreading and gaining belief among some, Titus was compelled to make many and various arguments in the council, showing that if they wished both to win the reputation of the Greeks unimpaired and to be believed by all in general that they had made their original crossing not for self-interest but for the freedom of the Greeks, they must withdraw from all places and free all the cities now garrisoned by Philip.
§18.45.10ταύτην δὲ συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι τὴν ἀπορίαν ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ διὰ τὸ περὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ προδιειλῆφθαι καὶ ῥητὰς ἔχειν τοὺς δέκα παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου τὰς ἐντολάς, περὶ δὲ Χαλκίδος καὶ Κορίνθου καὶ Δημητριάδος ἐπιτροπὴν αὐτοῖς δεδόσθαι διὰ τὸν Ἀντίοχον, ἵνα βλέποντες πρὸς τοὺς καιροὺς βουλεύωνται περὶ τῶν προειρημένων πόλεων κατὰ τὰς αὑτῶν προαιρέσεις· §18.45.11ὁ γὰρ προειρημένος βασιλεὺς δῆλος ἦν ἐπέχων πάλαι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην πράγμασιν.
This difficulty arose in the council because, while concerning other matters decisions had been made in advance in Rome and the ten had explicit instructions from the Senate, regarding Chalcis, Corinth, and Demetrias, discretionary power had been given to them on account of Antiochus, so that, looking to the circumstances, they might deliberate on the aforementioned cities according to their own judgment; for the aforementioned king had long been clearly keeping an eye on the affairs of Europe.
§18.45.12οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν Κόρινθον ὁ Τίτος ἔπεισε τὸ συνέδριον ἐλευθεροῦν παραχρῆμα καὶ τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἐγχειρίζειν διὰ τὰς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁμολογίας, τὸν δʼ Ἀκροκόρινθον καὶ Δημητριάδα καὶ Χαλκίδα παρακατέσχεν.
Nevertheless, Titus persuaded the council to free Corinth immediately and hand it over to the Achaeans in accordance with their original agreement, but he retained Acrocorinth, Demetrias, and Chalcis.