Andrifcus, or Philip,

recovers Macedon.

for the advantage of the inhabitants of this kingdom. The Macedonians dwelling at Rome had intereft enough to prevent any harsh measures from being taken with their countrymen; this intereft they were at great pains to cultivate, attending the funeral of their conqueror, Æmilius, with all imaginable marks of forrow and concern, and applying themselves afterwards to Scipio his fon, furnamed Africanus. Him they owned the protector of their nation, and publicly folicited the fenate that he might be fent into Macedonia to compromise the difturbances in that country. But the affairs of the republic in Spain being involved in confufion, Scipio defired to be fent thither, as conceiving it would be more for his country's fervice, though he was very fenfible of the affection borne him by the Macedonians, and would most willingly, at any other time, have gone thither to repair the breaches which had been made in his father's fettlement of the affairs of that people. Andrifcus, when he firft arrived in Thrace, depended rather on the charity of the inhabitants, and efpecially of their petty princes, than on any pretenfions of being their lawful fovereign. However, by often repeating his ftory, by fhewing them the encroachments which were daily made on their neighbours, and by explaining the methods whereby one king was employed to ruin another, and thereby reduced to circumftances which rendered him unfit to defend himself; he begat in the minds of the Thracians fuch fufpicions, and kindled in their bofoms fuch an ambition of being once more independent, that at first he had fome attendants, which foon after grew into a little court, and at length he was permitted to raise an army; which he boldly led down into Macedon, and there began publicly to affert his title to the crown. Some places he reduced by force, others fubmitted through fear; moft were willing to lay hold of any pretext to rid themselves of their new mafters, and to retrieve their ancient conftitution, the lofs of which had rendered it the more defirable. Such as were in poffeffion of power, and confequently dependent on the Romans, endeavoured to make refiftance; but it proved even feebler than Andrifcus or Philip could have expected Such as had been moft forward to fupport these men in their authority for the fake of reaping rewards, which it was only in their power to give, were the first to defert them, in order to rejoin authority again; and thus Macedonia was reduced by one who called himself the fon of Perses, in almost as short a time as Perfes himself had loft it. Nay,

fo

fo full was he of that courage which fuccefs ufually infpires, that, not content with Macedon, he began to meditate an invafion on the adjoining provinces, as well to gratify his own ambition, as to support the hopes and spirits of his new fubjects ".

fica fent into

Greece.

The Romans, on hearing of this extraordinary event, were Scipio Na at a loss how to act; they had no army in these parts; they had reafon to believe that the Greeks would not raise an army in favour of those who had treated them but very indifferently. However, they fent Scipio Nafica, with other legates, rather to dispose the minds of the people in Greece to remain fteady to the Roman interest, than to perform any service against the new king of Macedon, whom the Romans qualified with the name of Pfeudo-Philippus, i. e. the Sham Philip. Scipio and his colleagues found things in quite another ftate than they expected. For Andrifcus, or Philip, was much more powerful than he had been thought at Rome; and the Achæans, contrary to all expectation, laying afide former jealoufies and fufpicions, appeared ready to fide with the Romans, and to do whatever they required. Scipio, as he poffeffed great abilities, fo he was alfo naturally just, temperate, and courteous, in the highest degree; these good qualities fupplied the place of an army, and rendered him more formidable to the enemies of the republic, than a perfon of a contrary difpofition would have been, attended by legions. The first thing he did was fully to inform the fenate of what had happened in Greece: that the difturbance in Macedon was not a fudden tumultuary infurrection,, but that the people for the moft part had not only willingly, but joyfully received this pretended Philip, not fo much because he ftyled himself the son of Perses, as on account of his declaring he would expel the Romans, and give liberty to all Greece. When Scipio had dispatched these advices, he applied himself to the dif charge of his commiffion; he vifited the principal cities. of Greece, harangued the people in their general affemblies, heard all their remonftrances patiently, excufed fome things, admitted others, promifed the redress of all; by which arts he drew every city to furnish a certain quota of troops, and joming thefe with a confiderable body of auxiliaries railed by the Achæans, he at last entered Theffaly, where he immediately stopped the progrefs of Andrifcus or Philip; retook fuch of the cities

W

Epitom. Liv. lib. xlix. 1. Patérc. lib. i. L. Flor. lib. ii.

as he had garrifoned, and in the end compelled him with his army to retire into Macedon *.

The prætor At Rome, as foon as the difpatches from Scipio arrived, Juventius and it was perceived that the affair in Macedonia was bedefeated come very ferious, the prætor P. Juventius Thalna, and and flain. Q. Cœlius, were fent with a great army to reduce the rebels. It quickly appeared, that an able general was capable of doing more without an army, than a rash officer with very numerous forces. Juventius was a man of fire and fpirit, ambitious of performing great things, but altogether void of that coolness and difcretion which are fo effential to the character of a warrior, He made all imaginable hafte to enter Macedonia, and, as if his prefence only would have finished the war, advanced as fast as the army was able to march, towards Andrifcus. This Pfeudo-Philippus having notice of the manner in which the prætor Juventius behaved, and that he spoke of the Macedonian with great contempt, as a theatrical prince, who by putting on royal robes, had qualified himfelf to be led in triumph, was encouraged to attack him without delay. Accordingly when the two armies approached each other, he offered battle, which the prætor did not decline, and the Roman army was totally defeated, the prætor Juventius, and Q. Coelius, being flain; if the night had not interpofed, and afforded the remains of the army time to retreat, there would not have been a man left. The furvivors quitted Macedon with precipitation; whereas Philip purfuing the blow he had ftruck, not only reduced the whole kingdom to his obedience, but alfo opened a paffage into Theffaly, which he again united to his dominions, feeming now to be effectually feated on the throne, as having expelled his mortal enemies, and having a numerous and victorious army ready to undertake any thing at his command y.

Andrifeus, or Philip, proves a tyrant.

The Carthaginians fent ambaffadors to congratulate Philip on this victory, and to engage him in an alliance for reducing the exorbitant power of the Romans, whe were on the point of beginning the third Punic war. The Macedonian received thefe minifters very graciously, and made them promifes of affiftance, which he might have fulfilled by an invafion of Greece, and thereby making a diverfion, which would confequently have weakened the Romans. But he was intoxicated by profperity, and gave

x Diodor. Sicul. Excerpt. lib. xxvi. Florus, lib. ii. cap. 14. V. Patercul. lib. i. cap. 11. y Liv. ubi fupra. Dion. Flor. Patercul. ubi fupra.

himself up to the vices of his nature, which he had hitherto concealed. The Romans he thought no more of; and instead of conciliating the affections of his people, he began to play the tyrant with all the wantonnefs of defpotic power. He foon discovered all the ill qualities which never fail to render men odious, and he purfued every one of thefe as eagerly as if it had been his only darling vice. His pride was intolerable; he was fufpicious to fuch a degree, that imprudence was a capital crime, and circumfpect conduct an indication of treafon; his cruelty was fo great, that he spared none whom he either difliked, or whom he conceived to diflike him and his proceedings; he was fo rapaciously covetous, that he searched all corners of the kingdom for money, and wherever he found it, feized it without compunction; urging the care of the public fafety as a pretext for public rapine: in fhort, from the moment he gained the fovereign authority, he acted as if he defigned nothing lefs than to retain it. Yet the Macedonians bore all with invincible patience, and shewed themselves infinitely more loyal to this Philip, than he was true to himself. The reafon of their forbearance is obvious; they hoped for a fucceffor, whofe government might be milder, and were willing to fuffer any hardship, fo they might once more become an independent people 2. When the news of the defeat and death of P. Juventius Defeats was known at Rome, Q. Caecilius Metellus was imme- Metellus, diately named to fupply his place, and troops were with all imaginable care tranfported into Macedon. Thither alfo the new prætor speedily repaired, and the king found himself on a fudden under a neceflity of fighting once more for his life and crown. He fhewed on this occafion the only good quality he had, unconquerable courage; a quality defirable in all princes, and peculiarly reverenced by the Macedonians. He quickly affembled his forces, and, to prevent the Romans from plundering the adjacent country, encamped under the walls of Pydna, where he expected the prætor. Metellus, understanding Philip's refolution, marched with the Roman army, and encamped oppofite him. Thus far both generals feemed to act with prudence and military skill. The king of Macedon, however, quickly betrayed an extraordinary confidence in his fortune, and his forces. Metellus was ftrongeft in horse, Philip ventured on an engagement with cavalry only, and though the Macedonians were inferior in number,

z Diod. Sic. Excerpt. lib. xxvi. Liv. Flor. & Pater. ubi fupra.

by whom he is defeated, and forced to Shelter him

felf among the Thra cians.

Returns with a

powerful army, but is again

defeated.

and not fo well armed, yet, after a long and obftinate difpute, they gained the victory, and compelled the Romans to retire into their camp with fome confufion. This fuccefs completed the king's deftruction; for understanding immediately after, that the allies of the Romans were about to attack his conquefts in Theffaly, he sent thither a great detachment from his army. Metellus apprised of this step, attacked him now he had weakened his forces, and after an obftinate and bloody battle, totally routed him, infomuch, that not being able to collect out of his broken army troops enough to keep the field, he was forced to fly to his old friends the Thracians. Thefe people, whom we fo often find branded by the Greek writers with the name of Barbarians, were neither deterred by his present adverfity, nor by the ill ufe he had made of his former profperity, from receiving him with open arms, and giving him all the affiftance in their power, infomuch that in a very short space he was enabled to enter Macedonia again with a numerous army, which encreafed daily, and which, if he had managed prudently, would have enabled him to protract the war, to the great inconvenience of the Romans.

His conduct was the very reverfe of what it ought to have been. Forgetting his late misfortunes, and breathing nothing but a vehement ambition of again becoming master of Macedonia, and all its dependencies, he marched directly to fight Metellus, and in a fecond battle met the fame ill fate which had attended him before. In these two engagements he loft twenty-five thousand men killed upon the fpot; fo that he found it abfolutely impoffible to raise a third army in defence of his pretenfions. Confulting therefore his own safety, he fled to Byzas, a petty prince of Thrace, who at firft received him very kindly, but when he saw clearly that he should draw upon himself the vengeance of the Romans, he delivered up Andrifcus to Metellus, who now hoped that he had put a full end to the troubles in this country: but it presently appeared that the Macedonians were not so easily subdued; for immediately there ftarted up a new pretender to the pretender regal dignity, who called himself Alexander, and boasted Aarts up. that he too was the fon of Perfes.

Is deliver ed up to the

Romans.

A new

He fet up his ftandard in the first region of Macedonia, that is, in the country bordering upon Thrace, and very quickly reduced under his obedience the whole territory between the rivers Strymon and Neffus. But Attalus king of Pergamus, who had affifted Metellus with a fleet, remaining