§33.12.1indutiae quindecim dierum datae hosti erant et cum ipso rege constitutum conloquium; cuius priusquam tempus veniret, in consilium advocavit socios; §33.12.2rettulit, quas leges pacis placeret dici.
A truce of fifteen days had been granted to the enemy, and an interview had been arranged with the king himself; before the time for this came, he summoned the allies to a council, and laid before them what terms of peace they would like to be proposed.
Amynander, Athamanum rex, paucis sententiam absolvit: ita componendam pacem esse, ut Graecia etiam absentibus Romanis satis potens tuendae simul pacis libertatisque esset.
Amynander, king of the Athamanians, expressed his opinion in a few words: that peace ought to be so established that Greece, even in the absence of the Romans, might be strong enough to preserve both peace and liberty at the same time.
§33.12.3Aetolorum asperior oratio fuit, qui pauca praefati recte atque ordine imperatorem Romanum facere, §33.12.4quod, quos belli socios habuisset, cum iis communicaret pacis consilia; falli autem eum tota re, si aut Romanis pacem aut Graeciae libertatem satis firmam se credat relicturum nisi Philippo aut occiso aut regno pulso; quae utraque proclivia esse, si fortuna uti vellet.
The speech of the Aetolians was harsher; having made a brief preface, they said that the Roman general was acting rightly and in order, in that he shared the plans of peace with those whom he had had as allies in the war; but that he was entirely mistaken in the whole matter if he believed that he would leave either a sufficiently firm peace to the Romans or liberty to Greece unless Philip were either killed or driven from his kingdom; both of which were easy to accomplish if he were willing to make use of his fortune.
§33.12.5ad haec Quinctius negare Aetolos aut moris Romanorum memorem aut sibi ipsis convenientem sententiam dixisse.
To this Quinctius replied that the Aetolians had expressed an opinion that was neither mindful of Roman custom nor consistent with themselves.
§33.12.6et illos prioribus omnibus conciliis conloquiisque de condictionibus pacis semper, §33.12.7non ut ad internecionem bellaretur, disseruisse et Romanos praeter vetustissimum morem victis parcendi praecipuum clementiae documentum dedisse pace Hannibali et Carthaginiensibus data.
For in all their previous councils and conferences, they had always discussed the conditions of peace, and had never argued that the war should be waged to the point of utter destruction, and that the Romans, besides their ancient custom of sparing the vanquished, had given a singular proof of clemency by granting peace to Hannibal and the Carthaginians.
§33.12.8omittere se Carthaginienses; cum Philippo ipso quotiens ventum in conloquium? nec umquam, ut cederet regno, actum esse.
He would pass over the Carthaginians; how many times had they come to a conference with Philip himself? And it had never been discussed that he should abdicate his kingdom.
§33.12.9an, quia victus proelio foret, inexpiabile bellum factum? cum armato hoste infestis animis concurri debere; adversus victos mitissimum quemque animum maximum habere.
Or had it become an inexpiable war because he had been defeated in battle? With an armed enemy one must fight with hostile minds; against the vanquished, the gentlest spirit is the greatest.
§33.12.10libertati Graeciae videri graves Macedonum reges; si regnum gensque tollatur, Thracas, Illyrios, Gallos deinde, gentes feras et indomitas, §33.12.11in Macedoniam se et in Graeciam effusuras.
The kings of the Macedonians seemed heavy to the liberty of Greece; but if the kingdom and the nation were removed, the Thracians, the Illyrians, and then the Gauls, wild and untamed nations, would pour themselves into Macedonia and into Greece.
ne proxima quaeque amoliendo maioribus gravioribusque aditum ad se facerent.
Let them not, by removing every nearest barrier, open the way to themselves for greater and more serious dangers.
§33.12.12interfanti deinde Phaeneae, praetori Aetolorum, testificantique, si elapsus eo tempore Philippus foret, mox gravius eum rebellaturum, “desistite tumultuari” inquit, “ubi consultandum est.
Then Phaeneas, the praetor of the Aetolians, interrupted and testified that if Philip escaped at that time, he would soon rebel more heavily; to which he said, "Cease to make a disturbance when we must deliberate.
§33.12.13non iis condictionibus inligabitur rex, ut movere bellum possit. ”
The king will not be bound by such terms that he will be able to start a war."