§13τούτων δὴ τῶν πρέσβεων Γναῖος ἡγούμενος ἠξίου τὸν Ἀντίοχον Πτολεμαίῳ μέν, ὄντι Ῥωμαίων φίλῳ, συγχωρεῖν ἄρχειν ὅσων ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῷ κατέλιπε, τὰς δʼ ἐν Ἀσίᾳ πόλεις, ὧν Φίλιππος ὁ Μακεδὼν ἦρχεν, αὐτονόμους ἐᾶν· οὐ γὰρ εἶναι δίκαιον Ἀντίοχον κρατεῖν ὧν Φίλιππον ἀφείλοντο Ῥωμαῖοι.
Gnaeus, who was the leader of these ambassadors, demanded of Antiochus that he should concede to Ptolemy, who was a friend of the Romans, the rule of all that his father had left to him, and that he should leave the cities in Asia, which Philip of Macedon used to rule, autonomous; for it was not right that Antiochus should hold those things which the Romans had taken away from Philip.
ὅλως δʼ ἀπορεῖν ἔφη τί τοσοῦτον στόλον ὁ Ἀντίοχος καὶ τοσαύτην στρατιὰν ἄγων ἄνωθεν ἐκ Μήδων ἔλθοι τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, ἔς τε τὴν Εὐρώπην ἐσβάλοι, καὶ πόλεις ἐν αὐτῇ κατασκευάζοιτο, καὶ Θρᾴκην ὑπάγοιτο, εἰ μὴ ταῦτά ἐστιν ἑτέρου πολέμου θεμέλια.
In general, he said he was at a loss to know why Antiochus, bringing so great a fleet and so great an army from far away in Media, had come to the sea of Asia, and had invaded Europe, and was building cities in it, and bringing Thrace under subjection, unless these things were the foundations of another war.
ὁ δʼ ἀπεκρίνατο Θρᾴκην μέν, τῶν προγόνων αὑτοῦ γενομένην τε καὶ διʼ ἀσχολίας ἐκπεσοῦσαν, αὐτὸς ἐπὶ σχολῆς ὢν ἀναλαμβάνειν, καὶ Λυσιμάχειαν ἐγείρειν οἰκητήριον Σελεύκῳ τῷ παιδὶ εἶναι, τὰς δʼ ἐν Ἀσίᾳ πόλεις αὐτονόμους ἐάσειν, εἰ τὴν χάριν οὐ Ῥωμαίοις ἀλλʼ ἑαυτῷ μέλλοιεν ἕξειν.
But he replied that, as for Thrace, which had belonged to his ancestors and had been lost through preoccupation, he himself, being now at leisure, was recovering it, and was rebuilding Lysimachia to be a dwelling-place for his son Seleucus; and that he would leave the cities in Asia autonomous, if they were going to owe the gratitude not to the Romans but to himself.
Πτολεμαίῳ δʼ,
ἔφη,
καὶ συγγενής εἰμι καὶ ὅσον οὔπω καὶ κηδεστὴς ἔσομαι, καὶ χάριν ὑμῖν αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖν παρασκευάσω.
"And as for Ptolemy," he said, "I am both a relative and, all but now, shall be his kinsman by marriage, and I will make him acknowledge gratitude to you.
ἀπορῶ δὲ κἀγὼ τίνι Ῥωμαῖοι δικαίῳ τὴν Ἀσίαν πολυπραγμονοῦσιν, ἐμοῦ τὴν Ἰταλίαν οὐ πολυπραγμονοῦντος. §14οὕτω μὲν ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων ἄπρακτοι διεκρίθησαν, ἀπορρηγνύντες ἤδη τὰς ἀπειλὰς ἐς τὸ φανερώτερον·
But I too wonder by what right the Romans are meddling in Asia, when I am not meddling in Italy." Thus they parted from one another without accomplishment, now laying bare their threats more openly.
λόγου δὲ καὶ δόξης ἐμπεσούσης ὅτι Πτολεμαῖος ὁ φιλοπάτωρ ἀποθάνοι, κατὰ σπουδὴν ὁ Ἀντίοχος ἀπῄει ὡς Αἴγυπτον ἔρημον ἄρχοντος ἁρπασόμενος.
When a rumor and belief spread that Ptolemy Philopator had died, Antiochus departed in haste as if to seize Egypt, which was destitute of a ruler.
καὶ αὐτῷ κατὰ Ἔφεσον Ἀννίβας ὁ Καρχηδόνιος συμβάλλει, φεύγων τὴν πατρίδα διʼ ἐχθρῶν διαβολάς, οἳ Ῥωμαίοις αὐτὸν ἔφασκον εἶναι δύσερίν τε καὶ φιλοπόλεμον καὶ οὔποτε εἰρηνεύειν δυνάμενον.
Near Ephesus, Hannibal the Carthaginian met him, fleeing his homeland because of the slanders of his enemies, who told the Romans that he was quarrelsome and war-loving and never able to remain at peace.
τότε δʼ ἦν ὅτε Καρχηδόνιοι Ῥωμαίοις ὑπήκουον ἔνσπονδοι.
This was at the time when the Carthaginians, under treaty, were subject to the Romans.
Ἀννίβαν μὲν δὴ διώνυμον ἐπὶ στρατηγίαις ὄντα ὁ Ἀντίοχος ὑπεδέχετο λαμπρῶς καὶ εἶχεν ἀμφʼ αὑτόν·
Antiochus received Hannibal, who was famous for his generalship, splendidly, and kept him about himself.
περὶ δὲ τὴν Λυκίαν Πτολεμαῖον περιεῖναι μαθὼν Αἰγύπτου μὲν ἀπέγνω, Κύπρον δʼ ἐλπίσας αἱρήσειν ἀντὶ Αἰγύπτου διέπλει κατὰ τάχος ἐπʼ αὐτήν.
But learning near Lycia that Ptolemy was still alive, he gave up hope of Egypt, and hoping to take Cyprus instead of Egypt, he sailed in haste toward it.
χειμῶνι δʼ ἀμφὶ τὸν Σάρον ποταμὸν συμπεσών, καὶ πολλὰς τῶν νεῶν ἀποβαλών, ἐνίας δʼ αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσι καὶ φίλοις, ἐς Σελεύκειαν τῆς Συρίας κατέπλευσε, καὶ τὸν στόλον κατεσκεύαζε πεπονημένον.
Having encountered a storm around the river Sarus, and having lost many of his ships, some indeed with their crews and friends, he sailed down to Seleucia in Syria, and repaired his damaged fleet.
γάμους τε τῶν παίδων ἔθυεν, Ἀντιόχου καὶ Λαοδίκης, ἀλλήλοις συναρμόζων.
He also celebrated the marriage of his children, Antiochus and Laodice, uniting them with one another.
§15ἤδη δὲ τὸν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον ἐγνωκὼς ἀποκαλύπτειν, ἐπιγαμίαις τοὺς ἐγγὺς βασιλέας προκατελάμβανε, καὶ Πτολεμαίῳ μὲν ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἔστελλε Κλεοπάτραν τὴν Σύραν ἐπίκλησιν, προῖκα Συρίαν τὴν κοίλην ἐπιδιδούς, ἣν αὐτὸς ἀφῄρητο τοῦ Πτολεμαίου, θεραπεύων ἤδη τὸ μειράκιον, ἵνʼ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ τῷ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἀτρεμῇ·
Having already resolved to make the war against the Romans open, he pre-secured the neighboring kings by marriage alliances. To Ptolemy in Egypt he sent Cleopatra, surnamed "the Syrian", giving as a dowry Coele-Syria, which he himself had taken away from Ptolemy, courting now the youth so that he might remain quiet during the war against the Romans.
Ἀντιοχίδα δʼ ἔπεμπεν Ἀριαράθῃ τῷ Καππαδοκῶν βασιλεῖ, καὶ τὴν ἔτι λοιπὴν Εὐμένει τῷ Περγάμου βασιλεῖ.
He sent Antiochis to Ariarathes, the king of the Cappadocians, and the remaining daughter to Eumenes, the king of Pergamum.
ὁ δέ (ἑώρα γὰρ αὐτὸν ἤδη Ῥωμαίοις τε πολεμησείοντα καὶ πρὸς τήνδε τὴν χρείαν τὸ κῆδος αὑτῷ συναπτόμενον) ἠρνήσατο, καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς Ἀττάλῳ τε καὶ Φιλεταίρῳ, θαυμάζουσιν ὅτι κῆδος βασιλέως τοσοῦδε καὶ γείτονος, αὐτοῦ τε κατάρχοντος καὶ δεομένου, παραιτοῖτο, ἐπεδείκνυ τὸν ἐσόμενον πόλεμον ἐν μὲν ἀρχῇ τι παρʼ ἀμφοῖν ἕξειν ἰσοπαλές, σὺν χρόνῳ δʼ ὑπεροίσειν τὰ Ῥωμαίων διʼ εὐψυχίαν καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν.
But Eumenes—for he saw that Antiochus was already desiring war against the Romans and was connecting the marriage alliance with him for this purpose—refused it. When his brothers, Attalus and Philetaerus, wondered why he rejected the alliance of so great a king and neighbor, who himself initiated and requested it, he demonstrated to them that the coming war would indeed in the beginning have something of an equal balance on both sides, but in time the cause of the Romans would prevail through their courage and endurance.
ἐγὼ δʼ,
ἔφη,
Ῥωμαίων μὲν ἐπικρατούντων βεβαίως τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς ἐμῆς ἄρξω, Ἀντιόχου δὲ νικῶντος ἐλπὶς μὲν ἀφαιρεθήσεσθαι πάντα πρὸς γείτονος, ἐλπὶς δὲ καὶ ἔχοντα βασιλεύσειν βασιλεύομενον ὑπʼ ἐκείνου.
"And as for me," he said, "if the Romans prevail, I shall rule over my own empire securely, but if Antiochus wins, there is a prospect of having everything taken away by a neighbor, and a prospect that even if I keep them, I shall rule being ruled over by him."