Polybius, Histories

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Eumenes and Pharnaces

When the Roman legates arrived and urged the putting

The Roman legates arrive and undertake to negotiate.

an end to the war, Eumenes and Ariarathes professed to be ready to obey; but begged the Romans to bring them, if possible, to an interview with Pharnaces, that they might see fully from what was said in their own presence how faithless and cruel a man Pharnaces was; and, if this proved to be impossible, to take a fair and impartial view of the controversy and decide it themselves. The legates replied that they would do everything that was in their power and was consistent with honour; but they required the kings to remove their army from the country: for it was inconsistent that, when they were there with proposals for a peace, operations of war should be going on and mutual acts of hostility be committed. Eumenes and his ally yielded to this representation, and immediately marched off in the direction of Galatia. The Roman legates then visited Pharnaces, and first demanded that he should meet Eumenes and Ariarathes in a conference, as that would be the surest way of settling the affair; but when he expressed repugnance to that measure, and absolutely refused to do so, the Romans at once perceived that he plainly thought himself in the wrong, and distrusted his own cause; but, being anxious in any and every way to put an end to the war, they continued to press him until he consented to send plenipotentiaries to the coast, to conclude a peace on such terms as the legates might command.

The negotiation fails.

When these plenipotentiaries, the Roman legates, and Eumenes and Ariarathes met, the latter showed themselves ready to consent to any proposal for the sake of concluding a peace. But the envoys of Pharnaces disputed every point, and did not hold even to what they had once accepted, but continually brought forward some fresh demand, and altered their mind again and again. The Roman legates, therefore, quickly came to the conclusion that they were wasting their labour, as Pharnaces could not be induced to consent to the pacification. The conference accordingly having come to nothing, and the Roman legates having left Pergamum, and the envoys of Pharnaces having gone home, the war went on, Eumenes and his allies proceeding in their preparations for it.

The Rhodians engaged in putting down a rising of the Lycians. See Bk. 22, ch. 5.

Meanwhile, however, the Rhodians earnestly requested Eumenes to help them; and he accordingly set out in great haste to carry on a war against the Lycians. . . .