§39.50.1iam invesperascebat, et non modo cetera, sed ne in proximam quidem noctem ubi satis tuto custodiretur, expediebant.
It was already growing dark, and they were unable to prepare not to mention other things, but even a place where he could be guarded with sufficient safety for the coming night.
§39.50.2obstupuerant ad magnitudinem pristinae eius fortunae virtutisque, et neque ipsi domum recipere custodiendum audebant nec cuiquam uni custodiam eius satis credebant.
They were awed by the greatness of his former fortune and virtue, and neither dared to receive him into their own homes to be guarded, nor did they sufficiently trust the custody of him to any single person.
§39.50.3admonent deinde quidam esse thesaurum publicum sub terra, saxo quadrato saeptum.
Then some people reminded them that there was a public treasury underground, enclosed with squared stone.
eo vinctus demittitur, et saxum ingens, quo operitur, machina superimpositum est.
Bound as he was, he was let down into it, and a huge stone by which it was covered was placed over it by a machine.
§39.50.4ita loco potius quam homini cuiquam credendam custodiam rati, lucem insequentem exspectaverunt.
Thus thinking that the custody should be trusted to a place rather than to any man, they waited for the following day.
postero die multitudo quidem integra, §39.50.5memor pristinorum eius in civitatem meritorum, parcendum ac per eum remedia quaerenda esse praesentium malorum censebant:
On the next day, the entire multitude, indeed, mindful of his former services to the state, thought that he ought to be spared and that through him remedies for their present evils should be sought.
§39.50.6defectionis auctores, quorum in manu res publica erat, in secreto consultantes omnes ad necem eius consentiebant. sed utrum maturarent an differrent, ambigebatur.
On the other hand, the authors of the revolt, in whose hands the government was, consulting in secret, all agreed upon his death; but it was debated whether they should hasten it or defer it.
§39.50.7vicit pars avidior poenae, missusque qui venenum ferret.
The party more eager for punishment prevailed, and a messenger was sent to carry the poison.
accepto poculo nihil aliud locutum ferunt quam quaesisse, si incolumis Lycortas — is alter imperator Achaeorum erat — equitesque evasissent.
On receiving the cup, they say he said nothing else than to ask if Lycortas—who was the other general of the Achaeans—and the horsemen had escaped in safety.
§39.50.8postquam dictum est incolumes esse, “bene habet” inquit et poculo impavide exhausto haud ita multo post exspiravit.
After he was told that they were safe, he said, "It is well," and, having fearlessly drained the cup, expired not long after.
§39.50.9non diuturnum mortis eius gaudium auctoribus crudelitatis fuit.
The joy over his death was not long-lasting for the authors of the cruelty.
victa namque Messene bello exposcentibus Achaeis dedidit noxios, ossaque reddita Philopoemenis sunt, et sepultus ab universo Achaico est concilio, adeo omnibus humanis congestis honoribus, ut ne divinis quidem abstineretur.
For Messene, defeated in the war, surrendered the guilty ones at the demand of the Achaeans; and the bones of Philopoemen were restored and he was buried by the entire Achaean league, with all human honors so heaped upon him that not even divine ones were withheld.
§39.50.10ab scriptoribus rerum Graecis Latinisque tantum huic viro tribuitur, ut a quibusdam eorum, velut ad insignem notam huius anni, memoriae mandatum sit tres claros imperatores eo anno decessisse, Philopoemenem, Hannibalem, P. Scipionem:
So much tribute is paid to this man by Greek and Latin historians that it has been recorded by some of them, as if for a notable mark of this year, that three famous generals died in that year: Philopoemen, Hannibal, and P. Scipio.
§39.50.11adeo in aequo eum duarum potentissimarum gentium summis imperatoribus posuerunt.
So much did they place him on an equal footing with the supreme commanders of the two most powerful nations.