§34.33.1sub haec Aristaenus nunc monere Nabim, nunc etiam orare, ut, dum liceret dum occasio esset, sibi ac fortunis suis consuleret; §34.33.2referre deinde nominatim tyrannos civitatium finitimarum coepit, qui deposito imperio restitutaque libertate suis non tutam modo sed etiam honoratam inter civis senectutem egissent. §34.33.3his dictis in vicem auditisque nox prope diremit colloquium.
Upon this, Aristaenus now advised, now even entreated Nabis that, while it was allowed and while there was an opportunity, he should consult for himself and his fortunes; then he began to mention by name the tyrants of the neighboring states, who, having laid down their power and restored liberty to their people, had spent an old age among their citizens that was not only safe but also honored. When these things had been said and heard in turn, the night almost broke off the conference.
postero die Nabis Argis se cedere ac deducere praesidium, quando ita Romanis placeret, et captivos et perfugas redditurum dixit; §34.33.4aliud si quid postularent, scriptum ut ederent petiit, ut deliberare cum amicis posset. §34.33.5ita et tyranno tempus datum ad consultandum est, et Quinctius sociorum etiam principibus adhibitis habuit consilium. §34.33.6maximae partis sententia erat perseverandum in bello esse et tollendum tyrannum; numquam aliter tutam libertatem Graeciae fore; §34.33.7satius multo fuisse non moveri bellum adversus eum quam omitti motum; §34.33.8et ipsum velut comprobata dominatione firmiorem futurum auctore iniusti imperii adsumpto populo Romano et exemplo multos in aliis civitatibus ad insidiandum libertati civium suorum incitaturum.
On the following day, Nabis said that he would withdraw from Argos and lead away his garrison, since it so pleased the Romans, and that he would restore both the captives and the deserters; if they demanded anything else, he requested that they should produce it in writing, so that he might be able to deliberate with his friends. Thus time was given to the tyrant to deliberate, and Quinctius also, having summoned the leaders of the allies, held a council. The opinion of the greatest part was that they should persevere in the war and remove the tyrant; that otherwise the liberty of Greece would never be secure; that it would have been much better not to have started the war against him than to abandon it once started; and that he himself, as if his domination were approved, would become stronger by having adopted the Roman people as the author of his unjust rule, and by this example would incite many in other states to plot against the liberty of their citizens. The mind of the general himself was more inclined to peace.
§34.33.9ipsius imperatoris animus ad pacem inclinatior erat. videbat enim compulso intra moenia hoste nihil praeter obsidionem restare, eam autem ancipitem fore et diuturnam; §34.33.10non enim Gytheum, quod ipsum tamen traditum, non expugnatum esset, sed Lacedaemonem, validissimam urbem viris armisque, oppugnaturos. §34.33.11unam spem fuisse, si qua admoventibus exercitum dissensio inter ipsos ac seditio excitari posset; cum signa portis prope inferri cernerent, neminem se movisse. §34.33.12adiciebat et cum Antiocho infidam pacem Villium legatum inde redeuntem nuntiare; multo maioribus quam ante terrestribus navalibusque copiis in Europam eum transisse. §34.33.13si occupasset obsidio Lacedaemonis exercitum, quibus aliis copiis adversus regem tam validum ac potentem bellum gesturos? §34.33.14haec propalam dicebat; illa tacita suberat cura, ne novus consul Graeciam provinciam sortiretur et inchoata belli victoria successori tradenda esset.
For he saw that, the enemy being forced within the walls, nothing remained except a siege, and that this would be hazardous and long-lasting; for they would not be besieging Gytheum, which itself, however, had been surrendered, not taken by storm, but Lacedaemon, a city most powerful in men and arms. The only hope had been if any dissension and sedition could be excited among them as they advanced the army; yet when they saw the standards almost carried to the gates, no one had moved. He added also that the envoy Villius, returning from there, reported an untrustworthy peace with Antiochus; and that he had crossed into Europe with much larger land and naval forces than before. If the siege of Lacedaemon should occupy the army, with what other forces would they wage war against a king so strong and powerful? These things he said openly; but there was a hidden anxiety within, lest a new consul should obtain Greece as his province by lot, and the victory of the war, though only begun, would have to be handed over to his successor.