§42.56.1sub idem tempus et C. Lucretius praetor, qui navibus praeerat ad Cephallaniam, M. Lucretio fratre cum classe super Maleum Chalcidem iusso petere, ipse triremem conscendit, sinum Corinthium petens ad praeoccupandas in Boeotia res.
At about the same time, the praetor Gaius Lucretius, who was in command of the fleet near Cephallenia, having ordered his brother Marcus Lucretius to head for Chalcis with the fleet around Cape Malea, himself boarded a trireme, heading for the Corinthian Gulf to preoccupy the affairs in Boeotia.
§42.56.2tardior ei navigatio propter infirmitatem corporis fuit.
His voyage was somewhat slow because of the weakness of his body.
§42.56.3M. Lucretius, Chalcidem adveniens, cum a P. Lentulo Haliartum oppugnari audisset, nuntium, praetoris verbis qui abscedere eum inde iuberet, misit.
Marcus Lucretius, on arriving at Chalcis, when he heard that Haliartus was being besieged by Publius Lentulus, sent a messenger to order him, in the name of the praetor, to withdraw from there.
§42.56.4Boeotorum iuventute, quae pars cum Romanis stabat, eam rem adgressus legatus a moenibus abscessit.
The lieutenant, who had undertaken that operation with the youth of the Boeotians, a part of whom stood with the Romans, withdrew from the walls.
§42.56.5haec soluta obsidio locum alteri novae obsidioni dedit; namque extemplo M. Lueretius cum exercitu navali, decem milibus armatorum, ad hoc duobus milibus regiorum, qui sub Athenaeo erant, Haliartum circumsedit; parantibusque iam oppugnare supervenit a Creusa praetor.
This raised siege gave place to another new siege; for immediately Marcus Lucretius, with the naval force consisting of ten thousand armed men, and in addition two thousand of the king's troops who were under Athenaeus, besieged Haliartus; and as they were already preparing to attack, the praetor arrived from Creusa.
§42.56.6ad idem fere tempus et ab sociis naves Chalcidem convenerunt, duae Punicae quinqueremes, duae ab Heraclea ex Ponto triremes, quattuor Chalcedone, totidem Samo, tum quinque Rhodiae quadriremes.
At about the same time, ships from the allies also assembled at Chalcis: two Punic quinqueremes, two triremes from Heraclea in Pontus, four from Chalcedon, the same number from Samos, and then five Rhodian quadriremes.
§42.56.7has praetor, quia nusquam erat maritumum bellum, remisit sociis. et Q. Marcius Chalcidem navibus venit, Alope Pthiotica capta, Larisa, quae Cremaste dicitur, oppugnata.
The praetor sent these back to the allies because there was no maritime war anywhere; and Quintus Marcius came with ships to Chalcis, having captured Alope in Phthiotis and besieged Larisa, which is called Cremaste.
§42.56.8cum hic status in Boeotia esset, Perseus, cum ad Sycurium, sicut ante dictum est, stativa haberet, frumento undique circa ex agris convecto, §42.56.9ad vastandum Pheraeorum agrum misit, ratus ad invandas sociorum urbes longius a castris abstractos deprehendi Romanos posse.
While this was the state of affairs in Boeotia, Perseus, since he had his permanent camp at Sycurium, as has been said before, having gathered grain from the fields all around on every side, sent to lay waste the territory of the Pheraeans, thinking that the Romans, drawn too far away from their camp to help the cities of their allies, could be caught off guard.
§42.56.10quos cum eo tumultu nihil motos animadvertisset, praedam quidem praeterquam hominum — pecora autem maxume omnis generis fuere — divisit ad epulandum militibus.
When he noticed that they were not at all moved by that disturbance, he distributed the booty, except for human beings — which consisted mostly of cattle of every kind — to the soldiers for feasting.