§40.56.1Perseus certior factus omnia detecta esse, potentior quidem erat, quam ut fugam necessariam duceret: tantum ut procul abesset, §40.56.2curabat, interim velut ab incendio flagrantis irae, dum Philippus viveret, se defensurus.
Perseus, having been informed that everything was uncovered, was indeed too powerful to deem flight necessary; he only took care to keep at a distance, intending in the meantime to protect himself as if from the fire of burning wrath as long as Philip lived.
is spe potiundi ad poenam corporis eius amissa, quod reliquum erat, id studere, ne super impunitatem etiam praemio sceleris frueretur.
The latter, having lost the hope of getting hold of his person for punishment, was eager for what remained: namely, that he should not, in addition to impunity, also enjoy the reward of his crime.
§40.56.3Antigonum igitur appellat, cui et palam facti parricidii gratia obnoxius erat, et nequaquam pudendum aut paenitendum eum regem Macedonibus propter recentem patrui Antigoni gloriam fore censebat.
Therefore, he called upon Antigonus, to whom he was indebted on account of the disclosure of the parricide, and whom he thought would be by no means a king for whom the Macedonians would feel shame or regret, because of the recent glory of his uncle Antigonus.
§40.56.4“quando in eam fortunam veni,” inquit “Antigone, ut orbitas mihi, quam alii detestantur parentes, optabilis esse debeat, regnum, quod a patruo tuo forti, non solum fideli, tutela eius custoditum et auctum etiam accepi, id tibi tradere in animo est.
"Since I have come to such a fortune, Antigonus," he said, "that childlessness, which other parents detest, must be desirable to me, it is my intention to hand over to you the kingdom, which I received after it had been guarded and even increased by the guardianship of your brave, and not only faithful, uncle.
§40.56.5te unum habeo, quem dignum regno iudicem.
I have you alone whom I judge worthy of the kingdom.
si neminem haberem, perire et exstingui id mallem quam Perseo scelestae fraudis praemium esse.
If I had no one, I would prefer that it perish and be extinguished rather than be a reward for Perseus for his wicked fraud.
§40.56.6Demetrium excitatum ab inferis restitutumque credam mihi, si te, qui morti innocentis, qui meo infelici errori unus illacrimasti, in locum eius substitutum relinquam. ” §40.56.7ab hoc sermone omni genere honoris producere eum non destitit.
I shall believe that Demetrius has been raised from the dead and restored to me, if I leave you, who alone wept for the death of the innocent youth and for my unhappy error, substituted in his place." From this conversation onward, he did not cease to bring him forward with every kind of honor.
cum in Thracia Perseus abesset, circumire Macedoniae urbes principibusque Antigonum commendare; et si vita longior suppetisset, haud dubium fuit, quin eum in possessione regni relicturus fuerit.
While Perseus was away in Thrace, he went around the cities of Macedonia and recommended Antigonus to the leading men; and if a longer life had been granted to him, there was no doubt that he would have left him in possession of the kingdom.
§40.56.8ab Demetriade profectus Thessalonicae plurimum temporis moratus fuerat.
Having set out from Demetrias, he had stayed a very long time at Thessalonica.
inde cum Amphipolim venisset, gravi morbo est implicitus.
When he had come from there to Amphipolis, he was seized with a severe illness.
§40.56.9sed animo tamen aegrum magis fuisse quam corpore constat; curisque et vlgiliis, cum identidem species et umbrae insontis interempti filii agitarent, exstinctum esse cum diris exsecrationibus alterius.
But it is well known that he was sicker in mind than in body, and that, worn out by anxieties and sleeplessness, while the phantom and shade of his innocent, murdered son repeatedly haunted him, he died with dire curses upon the other.
§40.56.10tamen admoveri potuisset Antigonus, si aut affuisset aut statim palam facta esset mors regis.
Nevertheless, Antigonus could have been brought forward if he had either been present or if the death of the king had been made public immediately.
§40.56.11medicus Calligenes, qui curationi praeerat, non exspectata morte regis, a primis desperationis notis nuntios per dispositos equos, ita ut convenerat, misit ad Perseum, et mortem regis in adventum eius omnes, qui extra regiam erant, celavit.
The physician Calligenes, who was in charge of the treatment, not waiting for the death of the king, at the first signs of hopelessness, sent messengers to Perseus by means of stationed horses, as had been agreed upon, and concealed the death of the king from everyone who was outside the palace until his arrival.