Caecilius In the Achaean Assembly
Having thus finished their deliberations, the assembly
broke up and the people separated to their
several cities. But subsequently, while the
(Nemean) games were in course of celebration,
Quintus Caecilius arrived from Macedonia, on his way back
from the embassy which he had been conducting to Philip.
Aristaenus having called a meeting of the league magistrates in
Argos, Quintus attended and upbraided them for having exceeded justice in the harshness and severity with which they had
treated the Lacedaemonians, and urged them strongly to repair
the error. Aristaenus said not a word, showing clearly by his
silence that he disapproved of what had been done and agreed
with the words of Caecilius. But Diophanes of Megalopolis,
who was more of a soldier than a statesman, stood up to speak,
and so far from offering any defence of the Achaeans, suggested
to Caecilius, from hostility to Philopoemen, another charge that
might be brought against them. For he said that "the Lacedaemonians were not the only people who had been badly treated;
the Messenians had been so also." There were as a fact some
controversies going on among the Messenians, in regard to the
decree of Flamininus concerning the exiles, and the execution of it by Philopoemen: and Caecilius, thinking that he
now had a party among the Achaeans themselves of the same
opinion as himself, expressed still greater anger at the hesitation on the part of the assembled magistrates in obeying his
orders. However, when Philopoemen, Lycortas, and Archon
argued long and elaborately to prove that what had been done
at Sparta was right, and advantageous to the Lacedaemonians
themselves more than to any one else, and that it was impossible
to disturb any existing arrangements without violating justice
to man and piety to the gods, they came to the decision that
they would maintain them, and give an answer to that
effect to the Roman legate. Seeing what the disposition of
the magistrates was, Caecilius demanded that the public
assembly should be summoned, to which the Achaean magistrates demanded to see the instructions which he had from the
Senate on these points: and when he gave no answer to this
demand, they said that they would not summon the assembly
for him, as their laws forbade them to do so unless a man
brought written instructions from the Senate, stating the subject
on which they were to summon it. Caecilius was so angry at
this uncompromising opposition to his orders, that he refused
to receive his answer from the magistrates, and so departed
without any answer at all. The Achaeans laid the blame
both of the former visit of Marcus Fulvius and the present
one of Caecilius on Aristaenus and Diophanes, on the ground
that they had invited them on account of their political opposition to Philopoemen; and accordingly the general public felt
a certain suspicion of these two men. Such was the state of
the—Peloponnese. . . .