XVI. When Diophanes, the commander-in-chief of the Achæans, endeavoured to punish the Lacedæmonians for a change in their policy, and they by their resistance threw the whole of Peloponnesus into confusion, Philopœmen tried to act as mediator, and to soothe the anger of Diophanes, pointing out to him that at a time when the Romans and king Antiochus with enormous forces were about to make Greece their battle ground, a general ought to direct all his thoughts to their movements, and to avoid any internal disturbance, willingly accepting any apologies from those who did wrong. But as Diophanes took no notice of him, but together with Flamininus invaded Laconia, Philopœmen, disregarding the exact letter of the law, performed a most spirited and noble action. He hurried to Sparta, and, though only a private man, shut its gates in the faces of the commander-in-chief of the Achæans and of the Roman consul, put an end to the revolutionary movement there, and prevailed upon the city to rejoin the Achæan league. Some time afterwards however, we are told by Polybius that Philopœmen, when commander-in-chief, having some quarrel with the Lacedæmonians, restored the exiles to the city, and put to death eighty, or, according to Aristokrates, three hundred and fifty Spartans. He also pulled down the walls of Sparta, and annexed a large portion of its territory to Megalopolis, while he forced all those persons who had been created citizens of Sparta under the rule of the despots to leave the city and proceed to Achæa, except three hundred. These, because they refused to obey him and leave Lacedæmon he sold for slaves, and with the money, as a wanton insult, built a public portico in Megalopolis. Moreover, in his wrath against the Lacedæmonians, he did them a most cruel wrong, for he abolished the Lycurgean system of education and forced them to educate their children like those of the Achæans, because he saw that they never would be humble-minded as long as they lived under the discipline of Lycurgus. Thus was the haughty city of Sparta brought so low by its misfortunes as to permit Philopœmen to cut, as it were, its very sinews, and render it tame and crushed. Afterwards, however, the citizens obtained permission from Rome to retire from the Achæan confederation, upon which they restored their original constitution as far as their great disasters permitted.
XVII. When the Romans were fighting king Antiochus in Greece, Philopœmen was in a private station, but, seeing Antiochus lying idly at Chalkis, wasting his time in unseasonable courtships and weddings, while his Syrian troops, in great disorder and without officers to control them, were scattered through the various Greek cities, living in riotous debauchery, he was vexed at not being elected commander in chief, and said that he envied the Romans their victory. "I," said he, "if I had been in command, would have cut off the whole of Antiochus's army in the taverns."
After the defeat of Antiochus the Romans began to tighten their hold upon Greece, and to absorb the Achæan league. Many of the popular leaders took their side, and the growing power of Rome was fated by the divine blessing before long to become absolute in Greece. Philopœmen, like a skilful pilot, struggling against a rough sea, was often compelled to yield and give way for a time, yet as he was utterly opposed to the Romans he did his best to induce the most influential men to defend the liberties of Greece. Aristænetus of Megapolis, a man of great influence with the Achæans, who urged them in the public assembly not to oppose or to thwart the Romans in anything, was listened to by Philopœmen for some time in silence, until at length he was moved to exclaim, "My good sir, why be in such a hurry to behold the end of Greece?" When Manius the Roman consul had conquered Antiochus, he begged the Achæans to permit the Lacedæmonian exiles to return. Titus Flamininus seconded this request, but Philopœmen opposed it; not because he had any quarrel with the exiles, but because he wished their restoration to be effected by himself and the Achæans, of their own free will, not as a favour to Flamininus and the Romans. Afterwards, when commander-in-chief, he himself restored them. Thus did his high spirit make him impatient of control and authority.
XVIII. When he was in his seventieth year, and eighth term of office as commander-in-chief, he might reasonably expect to finish not only his year of office, but also the rest of his life in peace; for just as in human bodies as their strength wastes away the violence of their diseases abates, so in the Greek states as their power failed their quarrels gradually ceased. However some Nemesis overtook him, as it does a too successful athlete just at the termination of his course. It is said that when some persons in society were praising a man who was thought to be a good general, Philopœmen said, "How can you think that man worth consideration, who was taken by his enemy alive."
A few days after this Deinokrates of Messene, a personal enemy of Philopœmen, and one who was generally disliked because of his wicked and licentious life, caused Messene to revolt from the Achæan league, and was announced to be marching upon a village named Kolonis. Philopœmen was at this time lying ill with a fever in the city of Argos, but on hearing this he proceeded at once to Megalopolis, a distance of four hundred furlongs, in one day. From that city he set out straightway with a body of cavalry, composed of the noblest citizens, but mostly very young men, who were proud to serve as volunteers under Philopœmen. They rode into the Messenian territory, met Deinokrates near the hill of Evander, and put him to flight. However as the Messenian frontier patrol of five hundred men suddenly came up, the defeated body rallied again, and Philopœmen, fearing to be surrounded, and wishing to be careful of the lives of his men, retired into mountainous ground, himself protecting the rear, making frequent charges, and drawing the whole attack of the enemy upon himself. They did not dare to encounter him personally, but clamoured and wheeled about at a distance. In his eagerness to save each one of his young soldiers he ventured forward so often, to cover their retreat, that at last he found himself alone in the midst of his enemies. None of them dared to meet him, but pelted him with stones and darts from a distance, so that he was with difficulty able to guide his horse over the rocky and precipitous ground, and fatigued the animal greatly.
His age was no hindrance to him, because of his habit of constant exercise, but unluckily he was weak from his sickness, and wearied by his long journey, so as to feel faint. His horse at length stumbling threw him to the ground. He fell heavily on his head, and lay speechless for some time, so that his enemies thought that he was dead, and began to turn over his body and strip it. But when he raised his head and opened his eyes they fell upon him in a body, tied his hands behind his back, and led him away, jeering much at a man who never even dreamed that he could have been so triumphed over by Deinokrates.
XIX. The Messenians who were in the city, greatly excited at the news, assembled at the gates. When they saw Philopœmen dragged along and treated in a manner so unworthy of a man who had gained such glorious victories, most of them felt compassion for him, and were moved to tears as they reflected how uncertain a thing is human power. Thus gradually they expressed aloud their kindly feeling towards him, saying that his former benefits and the liberty which he bestowed upon them by driving out the despot Nabis, ought to be had in remembrance. There were some few, however, who in order to gain favour with Deinokrates, advised him to put Philopœmen to death by torture, pointing out that he was a dangerous enemy, and would be peculiarly exasperated against Deinokrates if he now were to regain his freedom after having been his captive and having been insulted by him. Finally they put him into what was called the Treasury, a subterranean chamber with no window or communication with the outward air, and no door even, but closed by a great stone. There they left him, putting the great stone over the entrance, and placing a guard of armed men round it.
Meanwhile the Achæan horsemen rallied from their flight, and as Philopœmen was nowhere to be seen, they thought that he must have fallen. They remained for a long while, searching for him, and reproaching themselves with having obtained dishonourable safety by abandoning to the enemy their leader, who had laid down his life for them. Afterwards they pushed forward, inquiring everywhere for him, and at length learned that he had been captured. They at once sent the news to the various cities of the Achæan league, who took the matter greatly to heart, determined to demand Philopœmen publicly from the Messenians, and prepared for a campaign on his behalf.
XX. While they were acting thus, Deinokrates feared that delay might save Philopœmen's life. Wishing therefore to be beforehand with the Achæans, as soon as night came on, and the greater part of the Messenians had retired, he opened the prison and sent into it a public slave with a draught of poison, ordering him to stand by Philopœmen until he had drunk it. Philopœmen was lying down wrapped in his cloak, not asleep, but full of trouble and distress of mind. When he saw the light and the slave with the poison standing beside him, he, with great difficulty on account of his weakness, raised himself into a sitting posture. He then took the cup into his hand, and inquired whether he knew anything about the knights, especially about one Lykortas. When the slave answered that most of them had escaped, he nodded his head, looked kindly upon him, and answered, "You tell me good news, if we are not all unfortunate." He uttered no other word, but drank the poison and laid down again. In his weak condition he was unable to offer any resistance to the operations of the drug, and died immediately.
XXI. When the Achæan cities heard of his death, they went into a general mourning for him. The men of military age assembled at Megalopolis without delay, chose Lykortas as their leader, invaded the Messenian territory, and ravaged it until the Messenians came to their senses and made terms with the Achæans. Deinokrates escaped his merited fate by suicide, as did those who had advised that Philopœmen should be put to death, while those who had advised that he should be tortured were themselves reserved for a death of torture by Lykortas. They burned his body and collected the ashes into an urn, not carelessly, but mingling a sort of triumphal pomp with his funeral procession. There one might see men crowned with garlands but weeping at the same time, and leading along his enemies in chains. The urn itself, which was scarcely to be seen for the garlands and ribbons with which it was covered, was carried by Polybius, the son of the Achæan commander-in-chief, accompanied by the noblest of the Achæans. The soldiers followed in complete armour, with caparisoned horses, not cast down, but yet too sad to feel any pride in their victory. As they passed through the towns and villages on their way the inhabitants came out as if to welcome him on his return from a successful campaign, laid their hands on his urn, and joined in the procession to Megalopolis. When here the old men, women, and children joined them, a wail of distress ran through the whole army for the unhappy city which was mourning for its hero, and which thought itself to have lost, by his death, the first place in Greece. He was buried with great honour, as we may well believe, and round his tomb the Messenian captives wore stoned to death. Many statues were made of him, and many honours voted to him by the Greek cities, which afterwards during that unfortunate time for Greece when Corinth was destroyed, a Roman proposed to destroy, accusing Philopœmen, as if he had been yet alive, of being always an enemy to the Romans. But after Polybius had answered this contemptible fellow, neither the consul Mummius nor his lieutenants would suffer him to deface and take away the honours done in memory of so famous and worthy a man, although he had frequently offered great opposition both to Flamininus and to Manius. They distinguished properly between honour and expediency, rightly thinking that men should reward those who benefit them, but that the brave should always be honoured by all brave men. Thus much have I to tell about Philopœmen.