OCR Text |
Show ne --S The fift Bookeof thefir(ipart Cwar.6.6.0 yetmade good countenanceto the Romans, forfeares It waSa pretty tricke; wherewith M4. Lucretivs,the RomanA dinirals brother,ferued him, forthis his.counterfeit good wil. This king had foureand fiftic thips, riding inthe hauen of Dyrrachium, vacertaine to what purpofe:all which Lwcretiastooke away after avery kind fort;making thew to beleeue,That for none other end thanto ferue the Romans, their good friend Gentiashad fent thitherthis fleet. But whatfoeuer Gemtiws thought inthe beginning; he foolifhly loft both his kingdome & himfelfe,in the end of this warre; by offering, rather than giving, his helpe to Perfexs, With none other company than what hee brought ouer thefea, Licinivs cameinto Theffalie : fo tyred with a painefull iourney, through the mountainous Country ofA-10 thamania,whichfteod in his way from Epirus;thatif Perféns had been ready,attending his defcent into the Plaines,the Romansmutt needs hauetaken.a great overthrow. Hee refrefhed him felfe and his wearied armie,by the riuer Peneus ; where he encamped,attending his auxiliaries, that came in as faft.as they could. It wasnot any flender helpe, thatcould enable him to. deale with Perfeas, Therefore he refolued, to abide where hee then was, and keepe histrenches, vatill his numbers were {ufficiently increafed: con- tenting himfelfe inthe meane while, to have gotten quiet entrance into ,the country. The land of Theffaliesin which thefe two armies lay,was betteraffected to the Romans, than any part of Greece befides:as hauing beene freed by them from amore heauy yoke of bondage to the Macedonian,whenthere was littleho pe or expectation of{uch abe: 2 nefit. It was generallyrich,fruitful, and aboundingin all things needful! tomans|ife. Tn the midft of it,but fomewhat moreto the Eaft,was that beautifull valley of Tempe,fo exceedingly full ofall delights,that the name wasoften vfedat large,to fignifie the moft pleafant and goodly places. Thisvalley ofit felfe was not great : but adding toit thofe huge mountaines Ofla & Olympus (famousin Poefie)with their Spurres or Branches, by whichit was onail fides enclofed, it occupied the better part of Theffalie. Aad this way were the Romansto enter inte Macedon;valeffe they would make an hungryiour- ney,thorow the country of the Daffaretians,asin the former warre with Philip, they had long,in vaine, attempted to doe, Prr/eus therefore had no fmalladuantage,by being mafter ofthe ftreights leading into Tempe : thoughfarregreater he might haue had, ifby 3° mi{-{pending-of time he had not loft it.For if in defending the ragged paflages of theie mountaines,he were ableto put the Romans often tothe worfe;yea to winne vponthent (fora while)euery yeeremore than other,bothin firength and reputation iqueftionleffe he might haue done farre greaterthings,had hefeized vponthe ftreights of Aons,which his father once kept, and defendedall the Couatrey behind rhe mountaines of Pindus. Surely not without extremedifficultie, muft che Romans haue eithertravelled by land, with all their carriages andimpediments, throughplaces wherein.was no reliefe to bee found; or elfe haue committed theirarmices, and all things thereto needefull, vato the mercie of Seas that were very dangerous; ifhee would-have fought other way ; : ; : Los 4 40 into Macedon, than through the heart of Greece: vponneither of which courfes they oncedeuifed, notwithftanding any trouble which they- found. in this prefent watre. Itmay perhaps bee faid, tharthe Greekes, and others; whom the King muft haueleft on his backe, would haue made himvnable to defend any places too far from his o-ne home. Burthey were all, excepting the Theffalians, .better affeéted nowto him, than theyhad bintohis fatherinthe former warre. ‘The Aitolians), vpon whom the Athamanians depended, grewinto fufpition with the Romans (as wee thall finde anon) cuen as fooneas they met with Perféws.-The Boeotians,. how politikely focuct Martins had wrought with them,aduentured them{elues defperately in the Macedontan quarrell : what would they haue done,ifheeat firft had donchis beft 2. The Rhodi- 50 ans, Illyrians, yeaand Eumenes himfelfe, after a while beganto wauer, when they {aw things goc better with Perfeas, than they had expeéted. So that. ifin ftead of difcouraging his friends, by {ying bafely for peace ; he had raifed theirhopes,by anybraue pct ormance in the beginning;and encreafed.the number ofhis wel-willers,.yea & bought downewith money(as hemight haue done)fome ofhis enemies,and among the™, Eutmenes,whooffered'for good recompence,to forget his broken head:then might tuc Red mans perhaps haue bin compelled to forfake their imperious patronage oucr cores be renderthe liberty,by them giucn,entire., which otherwife_was but imaginary: ° _ encfit ofthis war,fince it was hoped forafterwards,might withgreater reafon ha ‘ expected Cuar:6.§.6. of the Fi/tory ofthe World, expected arifirtt; from greater aduantages.. But as.a-fearefull companic running from their enemies, till fomeriver {tay their flight; are there compelled by mecre de{perati+ onto doe {uchacts, as done,while thebattell lafted,would hauewonthe viGory: fofell trout with Per/eas. In fecking to auoid the dangerofthat warre,whereofhe fhould haue foughtthe honoutshe left his friends that would haue ftoodby,him, & gaue them caufe to pronide for their owneifafety: yet being ouertaken by neceffitie, hee chofe-rather to {et his!backe to the mountaines of Tempe,& defend himfelfwithhis proper forces.than to.bedriuen into {uch miferi¢e,as was ineuitable,ifhe gaue little further ground; What was performed by him orthe Romans, all the while that hee kepthis footing.in Theflae 1 lie,it is hard to fhew particularly, forthat the hiftoryiofthofe things is mucly perifhed, Wherefore we muft:be contented with the fumme. The Conful hauing no defireto fight} vntill fuchtime asall his forces were artiued ; kept within his trenches,lay ftill encamped by the River ofPeneus,abourthreemiles from Lariffa. That which perfwaded the Conful to protraathe time, did contrariwife incite the King,to put the matter vato ahaftytriall. Wherefore he inuited rhe R omanes into the field ; by wafting the land ofthe Pherwans their confederates. Finding them patientofthis indignitie she grew boldto aduenture even yntotheir trenches : out of which iftheyiffued,itwas:likely,that his aduantage in horfe would makethe vidory his owne. Athiscomming they weretroubled ; fortharit wasfudden: yet nojway-terri- 20 fied ; as knowing themfeltesto be fafely lodged. ‘They fentouta few of King Eumenes his horfe,and withthemfome light armed foot,to entertaine'skirmith, The Caprtaine, and fome other ofthefé.wereflaine: but no matter of importancedone; fot that neither Licinius,nor Eamenes,found it reafonableto hazzardbatrell. Thus dayafter day,a while together, Per/ens continued offering battaile: which theyftill refufed. Hereby his bolds neffe much increafed; and much more his reputation: to the griefe of thofe who being fo farrecome tomakea Conqueft, could illdigeft the fhame,that, fell' vpon them by their enduring-thefe! brauadoes. The Towne of Sycurium, where Per/eus then lay, was twelue miles fromthe Romanes: neither was there any conuenient wateting inthat long march, whichvfedtotake vp foure houres of the morning |; but; hee 3¢ Was fine ro bring water along with'himincarts, that hismen mightnot bee both weas ry.andthirfty whenthey cametofight. For remedy ofthefe inconueniences, hee found ontalodging, feuen miles neerer'to the enemy :-whomhee vifited the next day by the Sunnerifing; His comming at fuchanvonfuall houre,, filled the Campe with tumult : in fo much as thoughhe brought with himonelyhis horfe and light armature,that were vnfit toaffaile thetrenches,yet the Conful thoughtit-neceffarie, and refolued to giue checke to his pride. Wherefore hee fentfooith his brother..C. Licinius, King Eamenes, Attalas;and many braue Captaines, with all his powerof horfe, his Velites, md allthereftof his light armature,to trie their fortune; hee himfelfe remaining, in . ie Cainpe, withhis Legions.in readinefle. The honour ofthis poosping,Waatie Mace ~ lc nian Kings; for he obtained the victory in a manner entire(though the he ians iin agoodretrait) withlittle loffe of his owne., But he difcouered his serakt cere nig hts bis, owne (Re ms y hearkening,as Pritices commonly doe, to counfaile giuen by mei affau! ethe ineabope a per. For whereas the Romans werein great feare left he fhould was mee Oe mn the firft newes ot his fuccefle, his Phalanx tothat purpofe,vpon tooke it for founc ac atts ie " bythe Captaines, though ynfent for: he neuertheleffemoderatehis vidtor Ys Py wick indeed was timorous and bafe,To worke warily, aod or silent if Meanesit was faid,that either he fhouldget honeft conditions of peace waren mi fo gond his like,that was Certainlyit fortune. many, companions ofhis altthe hopeand courageof his friends. Yet had it generat yaniihes eee e eben i pes the more, an the fs vs oRoman Campe,his friends would haue beene rsh eee oo . , alk Wt » What elfe did hee;than proclaime vato Roneef 03 sien good nor bad fogund fhould keep himfrom yeclding tothe uer they wouldbepleafed to accept him? Atthis time the joy o . Sor ~ See te mit none ofthefe confiderations. Hee had flaine of i 2 0 _ ni vendiontic foot. The Romane a Oe shoe biietsenbe chests eewemet horfe an than twenty no more his owne tRe ofprifoners thonfand:lofing a t g being much doubted thae haar : iitbein eanineffeandieand feare Cr uinef ofhea i ampe, after this difafter,wasfull |