Aemilius Paulus   

He had in his armoury arms for thirty thousand men; in granaries,
in places of strength, eight millions of bushels of corn, and as much
ready money as would defray the charge of maintaining ten thousand
mercenary soldiers for ten years in defence of the country. But before
he could put these things into motion, and carry his designs into
effect, he died for griefs and anguish of mind, being sensible he
had put his innocent son Demetrius to death, upon the calumnies of
one that was far more guilty. Perseus, his son that survived, inherited
his hatred to the Romans as well as his kingdom, but was incompetent
to carry out his designs, through want of courage and the viciousness
of a character in which, among faults and diseases of various sorts,
covetousness bore the chief place. There is a statement also of his
not being true-born; that the wife of King Philip took him from his
mother, Gnathaenion (a woman of Argos, that earned her living as a
seamstress), as soon as he was born, and passed him upon her husband
as her own. And this might be the chief cause of his contriving the
death of Demetrius, as he might well fear that, so long as there was
a lawful successor in the family, there was no security that his spurious
birth might not be revealed.
Notwithstanding all this, and though his spirit was so mean and temper
so sordid, yet trusting to the strength of his resources, he engaged
in a war with the Romans, and for a long time maintained it; repulsing
and even vanquishing some generals of consular dignity, and some great
armies and fleets. He routed Publius Licinius, who was the first that
invaded Macedonia, in a cavalry battle, slew twenty-five hundred practiced
soldiers, and took six hundred prisoners; and surprising their fleet
as they rode at anchor before Orens he took twenty ships of burden
with all their lading, sunk the rest that were freighted with corn,
and, besides this, made himself master of four galleys with five banks
of oars. He fought a second battle with Hostilius, a consular officer,
as he was making his way into the country at Elimiae, and forced him
to retreat; and, when he afterwards by stealth designed an invasion
through Thessaly challenged him to fight, which the other feared to
accept. Nay more, to show his contempt to the Romans, and that he
wanted employment, as a war by the by, he made an expedition against
the Dardanians, in which he slew ten thousand of those barbarian people,
and brought a great spoil away. He privately, moreover, solicited
the Gauls (also called Basternae), a warlike nation and famous for
horsemen, dwelling near the Danube; and incited the Illyrians, by
the means of Genthius their king, to join with him in the war. It
was also reported that the barbarians, allured by promise of rewards,
were to make an irruption into Italy, through the lower Gaul by the
shore of the Adriatic Sea.
The Romans, being advertised of these things, thought it necessary
no longer to choose their commanders by favour or solicitation, but
of their own motion to select a general of wisdom and capacity for
the management of great affairs. And such was Paulus Aemilius, advanced
in years, being nearly threescore, yet vigorous in his own person,
and rich in valiant sons and sons-in-law, besides a great number of
influential relations and friends, all of whom joined in urging him
to yield to the desires of the people, who called him to the consulship.
He at first manifested some shyness of the people and withdrew himself
from their importunity, professing reluctance to hold office; but,
when they daily came to his doors, urging him to come forth to the
place of election, and pressing him with noise and clamour, he acceded
to their request. When he appeared amongst the candidates, it did
not look as if it were to sue for the consulship, but to bring victory
and success, that he came down into the Campus; they all received
him there with such hopes and such gladness, unanimously choosing
him a second time consul; nor would they suffer the lots to be cast,
as was usual, to determine which province should fall to his share,
but immediately decreed him the command of the Macedonian war. It
is told, that when he had been proclaimed general against Perseus,
and was honourably accompanied home by great numbers of people, he