§31.2.1ὅτι Δημήτριος ὁ τοῦ Σελεύκου πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον κατεχόμενος ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ κατὰ τὴν ὁμηρείαν πάλαι μὲν ἐδόκει παρὰ τὸ δίκαιον κατέχεσθαι· §31.2.2δοθῆναι γὰρ ὑπὸ Σελεύκου τοῦ πατρὸς τῆς ἐκείνου πίστεως ἕνεκεν, Ἀντιόχου δὲ μετειληφότος τὴν βασιλείαν οὐκ ὀφείλειν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐκείνου τέκνων ὁμηρεύειν.
That Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who had already been held for a long time in Rome as a hostage, had long seemed to be held contrary to justice; for he had been given by his father Seleucus for the sake of his pledge of loyalty, and now that Antiochus had succeeded to the kingdom, he ought not to remain a hostage for the sake of that man's children.
§31.2.3οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν πρὸ τοῦ χρόνον ἦγε τὴν ἡσυχίαν, καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τὴν ἀδυναμίαν· ἦν γὰρ ἔτι παῖς·
Nevertheless, in the time before this, he kept quiet, and especially because of his inability, for he was still a child.
§31.2.4τότε δὲ τὴν ἀκμαιοτάτην ἔχων ἡλικίαν ἐποιήσατο λόγους, εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον, ἀξιῶν καὶ παρακαλῶν κατάγειν αὑτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλείαν· καθήκειν γὰρ αὑτῷ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς Ἀντιόχου τέκνοις τὴν ἀρχήν.
But at that time, being in the very prime of his age, he made a speech, having entered the Senate, requesting and entreating that they should restore him to his kingdom; for he argued that the sovereignty belonged to him rather than to the children of Antiochus.
§31.2.5διαθεμένου δὲ καὶ πλείονας λόγους αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν προειρημένην ὑπόθεσιν καὶ μάλιστα προσδραμόντος ἐν τῷ λέγειν, διότι συμβαίνει καὶ πατρίδα καὶ τροφὸν τὴν Ῥώμην ὑπάρχειν αὐτῷ, καὶ τοὺς μὲν υἱοὺς τῶν ἐκ τοῦ συνεδρίου σύμπαντας ἀδελφῶν ἔχειν διάθεσιν, τοὺς δὲ βουλευτὰς πατέρων διὰ τὸ παραγενέσθαι μὲν ἔτι νήπιος, τότε δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ὑπάρχειν ἐτῶν εἴκοσι καὶ τριῶν, §31.2.6ἐνετρέποντο μὲν ἅπαντες ἀκούοντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, κοινῇ γε μὴν ἔδοξε τῇ συγκλήτῳ τὸν μὲν Δημήτριον κατασχεῖν, τῷ δὲ καταλελειμμένῳ παιδὶ συγκατασκευάζειν τὴν ἀρχήν.
And when he had set forth more arguments on the aforesaid subject, and especially rushed forward in his speech, because it happened that Rome was both his fatherland and nurse, and that he regarded all the sons of those in the council as brothers, and the senators themselves as fathers, because he had arrived when he was still an infant, and was at that time twenty-three years of age, all who heard him felt a sense of shame within themselves, yet the Senate resolved in common to keep Demetrius, and to help secure the sovereignty for the child who had been left behind.
τοῦτο δʼ ἐποίησεν, §31.2.7ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ὑπιδομένη τὴν ἀκμὴν τοῦ Δημητρίου, μᾶλλον δὲ κρίνασα συμφέρειν τοῖς σφετέροις πράγμασι τὴν νεότητα καὶ τὴν ἀδυναμίαν τοῦ παιδὸς τοῦ διαδεδεγμένου τὴν βασιλείαν.
And it did this, as it seems to me, because it was suspicious of the prime of Demetrius, or rather because it judged that the youth and weakness of the child who had succeeded to the kingdom were more advantageous to their own interests.
§31.2.8ἐγένετο δὲ τοῦτο δῆλον ἐκ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα συμβάντων.
And this became clear from what happened afterwards.
§31.2.9εὐθέως γὰρ καταστήσαντες πρεσβευτὰς τοὺς περὶ Γνάιον Ὀκτάουιον καὶ Σπόριον Λοκρήτιον καὶ Λεύκιον Αὐρήλιον ἐξέπεμψαν, τοὺς διοικήσοντας τὰ κατὰ τὴν βασιλείαν, §31.2.10ὡς αὐτὴ προῃρεῖτο διὰ τὸ μηδένα τὸν ἐμποδὼν στησόμενον εἶναι τοῖς ἐπιταττομένοις, τοῦ μὲν βασιλέως παιδὸς ὄντος, τῶν δὲ προεστώτων ἀσμενιζόντων ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ παραδεδόσθαι τὰ πράγματα τῷ Δημητρίῳ· μάλιστα γὰρ τοῦτο προσεδόκων.
For they immediately appointed and dispatched Gnaeus Octavius, Spurius Lucretius, and Lucius Aurelius and their party as ambassadors, to administer the affairs of the kingdom, just as the Senate itself preferred, because there would be no one to stand in the way of what was commanded, since the king was a child, and those in power welcomed the fact that the state affairs had not been handed over to Demetrius; for they expected this above all.
§31.2.11οἱ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὸν Γνάιον ἐξώρμησαν, ἔχοντες ἐντολὰς πρῶτον μὲν τὰς ναῦς τὰς καταφράκτους διαπρῆσαι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς ἐλέφαντας νευροκοπῆσαι καὶ καθόλου λυμήνασθαι τὴν βασίλειον δύναμιν.
Gnaeus and his party, therefore, set out, having orders first to burn the decked ships, and after that to hamstring the elephants, and in general to damage the royal power.
§31.2.12προσενετείλαντο δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἐπισκέψασθαι· συνέβαινε γὰρ τοὺς Μακεδόνας ἀήθεις ὄντας δημοκρατικῆς καὶ συνεδριακῆς πολιτείας στασιάζειν πρὸς αὑτούς.
And they also gave them additional instructions to inspect the affairs of Macedonia; for it happened that the Macedonians, being unaccustomed to a democratic and representative constitution, were in a state of faction among themselves.
§31.2.13ἔδει δὲ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Γνάιον καὶ τὰ περὶ τοὺς Γαλάτας καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ἀριαράθου βασιλείαν ἐποπτεῦσαι.
And Gnaeus and his colleagues had also to inspect the affairs of the Galatians and those of the kingdom of Ariarathes.
§31.2.14μετὰ δέ τινα χρόνον αὐτοῖς ἐπαπεστάλη γράμματα παρὰ τῆς συγκλήτου καὶ τοὺς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ βασιλεῖς διαλῦσαι κατὰ δύναμιν. —
And after some time, letters were additionally sent to them by the Senate, to reconcile as far as possible the kings in Alexandria. —