FLAMININUS. 403

secret enmity to the Romans, and now suggested to him, by way of a cause and pretext of war, that he came to bring the Greeks liberty. When, indeed, they never wanted it less, as they were free already, but, in lack of really honorable grounds, he was instructed to emj^loy these lofty professions. The Romans, in the interim, in great apprehensioa of I'evolutions and I'evolt in Greece, and of his great reputation for military strength, despatched the consul Manius Acilius to take the charge of the war, and Titus, as his lieutenant, out of regard to the Greeks ; some of whom he no sooner saw, but he confirmed them in the Roman interests ; others, who began to falter, like a timely physician, by the use of the strong remedy of their own affection for himself, he was able to arrest in the first stage of the disease, before they had committed themselves to any great error. Some few there were whom the iEtolians were beforehand with, and had so wholly perverted that he could do no good with them ; yet these, however angry and exasperated before, he saved and protected when the engagement was over. For Antiochus, receiving a defeat at Thermopyl*, not only fled the field, but hoisted sail instantly for Asia. Manius, the consul, himself invaded and besieged a part of the ^tolians, while king Philip had permission to reduce the rest. Thus while, for instance, the Dolopes and Mag- netians on the one hand, the Athamanes and Aperantians on the other, were ransacked by the Macedonians, and while Manius laid Heraclea waste, and besieged Naupac- tus, then in the ^tolians' hands, Titus, still with a com- passionate care for Greece, sailed across from Peloponne- sus to the consul ; and began first of all to chide him, that the victory should be owing alone to his arms, and yet he should suffer Philip to bear away the prize and profit of the war, and sit wreaking his anger upon a Bingle town, whilst the Macedonians overran several na-