§42.11.1Attalum, regis Eumenis fratrem, legatum venisse Romam Valerius Antias his consulibus scribit ad deferenda de Perseo crimina indicandosque apparatus belli.
Valerius Antias writes that under these consuls Attalus, the brother of King Eumenes, came to Rome as an envoy to report the accusations against Perseus and to reveal his preparations for war.
plurium annales, et quibus credidisse malis, ipsum Eumenem venisse tradunt. §42.11.2Eumenes igitur ut Romam venit, exceptus cum tanto honore, quantum non meritis tantum eius, sed beneficiis etiam suis, ingentia quae in eum congesta erant, existimabant deberi, a praetore in senatum est introductus. §42.11.3causam veniendi sibi Romam fuisse dixit praeter cupiditatem videndi deos hominesque, quorum beneficio in ea fortuna esset, supra quam ne optare quidem auderet, etiam ut coram moneret senatum, ut Persei conatis obviam iret. §42.11.4orsus inde a Philippi consiliis necem Demetri filii rettulit, adversantis Romano bello; Bastarnarum gentem excitam sedibus suis, quorum auxiliis fretus in Italiam transiret. §42.11.5haec secum volutantem in animo, oppressum fato, regnum ei reliquisse, quem infestissimum esse sensisset Romanis.
The annals of the majority of writers, and those whom one would prefer to believe, relate that Eumenes himself came. Therefore, when Eumenes arrived at Rome, having been received with as much honor as they thought was due not only to his own merits but also to their own favors, which, being immense, had been heaped upon him, he was introduced into the senate by the praetor. He said that the reason for his coming to Rome, besides the desire to see the gods and men by whose favor he was in that state of fortune—beyond which he would not have dared even to wish—was also that he might warn the senate in person to oppose the endeavors of Perseus. Beginning from that point, from the plans of Philip, he related the death of his son Demetrius, who was opposed to war with Rome, and that the nation of the Bastarnae had been stirred up from their dwellings, relying on whose aid Philip was to cross into Italy. While revolving these things in his mind, Philip, having been overcome by fate, left his kingdom to him whom he had perceived to be most hostile to the Romans.
itaque Persea hereditarium a patre relictum bellum et simul cum imperio traditum, iamiam proximum alere ac fovere omnibus consiliis. §42.11.6florere praeterea iuventute, quam stirpem longa pax ediderit, florere opibus regni, florere etiam aetate. quae cum corporis robore ac viribus vigeat, animum esse inveteratum diutina arte atque usu belli. §42.11.7iam inde a puero patris contubernio Romanis quoque bellis, non finitumis tantum adsuetum, missum a patre in expeditiones multas variasque. §42.11.8iam ex quo ipse accepisset regnum, multa, quae non vi, non dolo Philippus omnia expertus potuisset moliri, admirando rerum successu tenuisse. §42.11.9accessisse ad vires eam, quae longo tempore multis magnisque meritis pareretur, auctoritatem.
And so Perseus was now nurturing and fostering by every design a war left as an inheritance from his father and handed down together with the empire, a war now most imminent. Moreover, he was strong in his youth, a generation which a long peace had produced, strong in the wealth of the kingdom, and strong also in his age; and while this was vigorous with bodily strength and power, his mind was seasoned by long-standing art and practice of war. Indeed, from his boyhood, by sharing his father's tent, he had been accustomed not only to wars with neighbors but also to those with the Romans, and had been sent by his father on many and varied expeditions. And now, since he himself had received the kingdom, he had secured with admirable success many things which Philip, though he had tried all means, had been unable to accomplish either by force or by guile. To his strength there had been added that authority which is acquired over a long time by many and great services.