§2.46.1θεωρῶν γὰρ τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς ὁ προειρημένος ἀνὴρ τὸν μὲν πόλεμον τὸν πρὸς αὐτοὺς αἰσχυνομένους ἀναλαβεῖν ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ διὰ τὸ καὶ λίαν εἶναι προσφάτους τὰς ἐκ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν εὐεργεσίας περὶ τὸν Δημητριακὸν πόλεμον εἰς αὐτούς, §2.46.2συμβουλευομένους δὲ τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ φθονοῦντας τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὥστε Κλεομένους πεπραξικοπηκότος αὐτοὺς καὶ παρῃρημένου Τεγέαν, Μαντίνειαν, Ὀρχομενόν, τὰς Αἰτωλοῖς οὐ μόνον συμμαχίδας ὑπαρχούσας, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμπολιτευομένας τότε πόλεις, οὐχ οἷον ἀγανακτοῦντας ἐπὶ τούτοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ βεβαιοῦντας αὐτῷ τὴν παράληψιν, §2.46.3καὶ τοὺς πρότερον κατὰ τῶν μηδὲν ἀδικούντων πᾶσαν ἱκανὴν ποιουμένους πρόφασιν εἰς τὸ πολεμεῖν διὰ τὴν πλεονεξίαν τότε συνορῶν ἑκουσίως παρασπονδουμένους καὶ τὰς μεγίστας ἀπολλύντας πόλεις ἐθελοντὴν ἐφʼ ᾧ μόνον ἰδεῖν ἀξιόχρεων γενόμενον ἀνταγωνιστὴν Κλεομένη τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς, §2.46.4ἔγνω δεῖν εἰς ταῦτα βλέπων οὗτός τε καὶ πάντες ὁμοίως οἱ προεστῶτες τοῦ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πολιτεύματος πολέμου μὲν πρὸς μηδένα κατάρχειν, ἐνίστασθαι δὲ ταῖς τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐπιβολαῖς.
For the aforementioned man, seeing that the Aetolians were ashamed to openly wage war against them because the benefits from the Achaeans to them during the Demetrian War were very recent, but were consulting with the Lacedaemonians and envying the Achaeans to such a degree that, when Cleomenes had taken them by surprise and deprived them of Tegea, Mantinea, and Orchomenus—cities which not only were allies of the Aetolians but were also in political union with them at that time—they, so far from being indignant at this, actually confirmed his possession of them, and seeing that those who previously, out of greed, had made any pretext sufficient for making war against those who had done them no wrong, were now voluntarily allowing treaties with themselves to be violated and willingly losing their greatest cities, for the sole purpose of seeing Cleomenes become a formidable adversary to the Achaeans, looking to these things, he and likewise all the leaders of the Achaean state decided that they should not begin war against anyone, but should oppose the designs of the Lacedaemonians.
§2.46.5τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον ἐπὶ τούτων ἦσαν τῶν διαλήψεων· θεωροῦντες δὲ κατὰ τοὺς ἑξῆς χρόνους τὸν Κλεομένη θρασέως ἐποικοδομοῦντα μὲν τὸ καλούμενον Ἀθήναιον ἐν τῇ τῶν Μεγαλοπολιτῶν χώρᾳ, πρόδηλον δὲ καὶ πικρὸν ἀναδεικνύντα σφίσι πολέμιον ἑαυτόν, §2.46.6τότε δὴ συναθροίσαντες τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἔκριναν μετὰ τῆς βουλῆς ἀναλαμβάνειν φανερῶς τὴν πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἀπέχθειαν.
At first, then, they held these opinions; but when in the following period they saw Cleomenes boldly fortifying the so-called Athenaion in the territory of the Megalopolitans, and showing himself to be an open and bitter enemy to them, then indeed, having assembled the Achaeans, they decided with the council to openly take up hostility towards the Lacedaemonians.
§2.46.7ὁ μὲν οὖν Κλεομενικὸς προσαγορευθεὶς πόλεμος τοιαύτην ἔλαβε τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ κατὰ τούτους
So the war called the Cleomenic War had such a beginning and at this time.