§38.32.1id ubi legati ad Achaeos rettulerunt, omnium civitatium, quae eius concilii erant, consensu bellum Lacedaemoniis indictum est.
When the ambassadors reported this to the Achaeans, war was declared against the Lacedaemonians with the consensus of all the states that belonged to that council.
ne extemplo gereretur, §38.32.2hiems impediit; incursionibus tamen parvis, latrocinii magis quam belli modo, non terra tantum sed etiam navibus a mari fines eorum vastati.
Lest it should be carried on immediately, the winter prevented it; nevertheless, by small incursions, more in the manner of robbery than of war, their territory was laid waste not only by land but also by ships from the sea.
§38.32.3hic tumultus consulem Peloponnesum adduxit, iussuque eius Elin concilio indicto Lacedaemonii ad disceptandum acciti.
This disturbance brought the consul to the Peloponnesus, and by his order an assembly was summoned to Elis, and the Lacedaemonians were called to discuss the matter.
§38.32.4magna ibi non disceptatio modo sed altercatio fuit, cui consul, cum alia satis ambitiose partem utramque fovendo incerta respondisset, una denuntiatione, ut bello abstinerent, donec Romam ad senatum legatos misissent, finem imposuit.
There was not only great discussion there but also a violent altercation, to which the consul, although he had given vague answers to other matters, quite ambitiously favoring both sides, put an end by a single injunction: that they should abstain from war until they had sent ambassadors to the senate at Rome.
§38.32.5utrimque legatio missa Romam est.
An embassy was sent to Rome from both sides.
exules quoque Lacedaemoniorum suam causam legationemque Achaeis iniunxerunt.
The exiles of the Lacedaemonians also entrusted their cause and embassy to the Achaeans.
§38.32.6Diophanet et Lycortas, Megalopolitani ambo, principes legationis Achaeorum fuerunt, qui, dissidentes in re publica, tum quoque minime inter se convenientis orationes habuerunt.
Diophanes and Lycortas, both of Megalopolis, were the leaders of the Achaean embassy, who, disagreeing on public affairs, then also delivered speeches that were by no means consistent with each other.
§38.32.7Diophanes senatui disceptationem omnium rerum permittebat: eos optime controversias inter Achaeos ac Lacedaemonios finituros esse; §38.32.8Lycortas ex praeceptis Philopoemenis postulabat, ut Achaeis ex foedere ac legibus suis, quae decressent, agere liceret, libertatemque sibi illibatam, cuius ipsi auctores. §38.32.9essent, praestarent.
Diophanes submitted the decision of all matters to the senate, asserting that they would best put an end to the disputes between the Achaeans and the Lacedaemonians; Lycortas, in accordance with the instructions of Philopoemen, demanded that the Achaeans be permitted to act according to the treaty and their own laws regarding what they had decreed, and that they should preserve their freedom unimpaired, of which they themselves had been the authors.
magnae auctoritatis apud Romanos tum gens Achaeorum erat; novari tamen nihil de Lacedaemoniis placebat.
At that time, the Achaean nation was of great authority among the Romans; nevertheless, it was pleased that nothing should be changed concerning the Lacedaemonians.
ceterum responsum ita perplexum fuit, ut et Achaei sibi de Lacedaemone permissum acciperent, §38.32.10et Lacedaemonii non omnia concessa iis interpretarentur.
But the response was so perplexed that both the Achaeans took it as if full power over Lacedaemon had been granted to them, and the Lacedaemonians did not interpret that everything had been conceded to them.
hac potestate immodice Achaei ac superbe usi sunt.
The Achaeans used this power immoderately and arrogantly.
Philopoemeni continuatur magistratus.
The magistracy of Philopoemen was continued.