Attalus was the first to speak in the council. He began by recounting the services which he had rendered to Greece as a whole and in particular to the Boeotians.But he was too old and infirm to stand the strain of public speaking, and suddenly· became silent and fell down. Whilst they were removing the king, who had lost the use of one side, the proceedings were suspended. Aristaenus, the chief magistrate of the Achaeans, was the next to speak, and he spoke with all the more weight because he gave the Boeotians the same advice which he had given to the Achaeans. Quinctius himself added a few remarks, in which he dwelt more upon the good faith of the Romans and their sense of honour than upon their arms and resources. Dicaearchus of Plataea next brought forward a motion in favour of alliance with Rome. When its terms had been recited no one ventured to oppose it, consequently it was passed by the unanimous vote of the cities of Boeotia. After the council broke up Quinctius only stayed in Thebes as long as Attalus' sudden attack made it necessary, and as soon as he saw that there was no immediate danger to life but only powerlessness in the limbs, he left him to undergo the necessary treatment and returned to Elatia. The Boeotians, like the Achaeans before them, were thus admitted as allies, and as he was leaving everything behind in peaceful security, he was able to devote all his thoughts to Philip and the means of bringing the war to a close.