§32.38.1Philippus, cum acie decernendum videret et undique ad se contrahendas vires, maxime de Achaiae urbibus, §32.38.2regionis ab se diversae, et magis tamen de Argis quam de Corintho sollicitus, optimum ratus Nabidi eam Lacedaemoniorum tyranno velut fiduciariam dare, ut victori sibi restitueret, si quid adversi accidisset, ipse haberet, Philocli, qui Corintho Argisque praeerat, scribit, ut tyrannum ipse conveniret.
Philip, seeing that he must decide the issue in the field and draw his forces together from all sides, and being anxious especially about the cities of Achaea, a region remote from him, and yet more anxious about Argos than Corinth, thought it best to give it to Nabis, the tyrant of the Lacedaemonians, as if in trust, so that Nabis should restore it to him if he were victorious, but if any adversity should happen, he should keep it himself; and he wrote to Philocles, who was in command of Corinth and Argos, to meet the tyrant in person.
§32.38.3Philocles, praeterquam quod iam veniebat cum munere, adicit, ad pignus futurae regi cum tyranno amicitiae, filias suas regem Nabidis filiis matrimonio coniungere velle.
Philocles, besides the fact that he was already coming with a gift, added, as a pledge of future friendship between the king and the tyrant, that the king wished to join his daughters in marriage to the sons of Nabis.
§32.38.4tyrannus primo negare aliter urbem eam se accepturum, nisi Argivorum ipsorum decreto accersitus ad auxilium urbis esset, §32.38.5deinde, ut frequenti contione non aspernatos modo sed abominatos etiam nomen tyranni audivit, causam se spoliandi eos nactum ratus tradere, ubi vellet, urbem Philoclen iussit.
At first, the tyrant refused to accept the city in any other way, unless he should be summoned to the aid of the city by a decree of the Argives themselves; but afterwards, when he heard that in a crowded assembly they had not only scorned but even execrated the name of the tyrant, thinking that he had found a pretext for plundering them, he ordered Philocles to hand over the city whenever he wished.
§32.38.6nocte ignaris omnibus acceptus in urbem est tyrannus; prima luce occupata omnia superiora loca portaeque clausae.
By night, while everyone was ignorant of it, the tyrant was admitted into the city; at dawn, all the high places were occupied and the gates were closed.
§32.38.7paucis principum inter primum tumultum elapsis, eorum absentium direptae fortunae; praesentibus aurum atque argentum ablatum, pecuniae imperatae ingentes.
When a few of the leading men had escaped during the first tumult, the fortunes of those who were absent were plundered; from those who remained, gold and silver were taken away, and huge sums of money were demanded.
§32.38.8qui non cunctanter contulere, sine contumelia et laceratione corporum dimissi; quos occulere aut retrahere aliquid suspicio fuit, in servilem modum lacerati atque extorti.
Those who contributed without hesitation were dismissed without insult or bodily injury; those who were suspected of hiding or keeping back anything were tortured and racked after the manner of slaves.
§32.38.9contione inde advocata rogationes promulgavit, unam de tabulis novis, alteram de agro viritim dividendo, duas faces novantibus res ad plebem in optimates accendendam.
Then, having called an assembly, he promulgated proposals, one for the cancellation of debts, the other for the distribution of land to individuals—two torches for those seeking revolution to inflame the plebeians against the optimates.