After the Roman commander's speech others were asked to express their views. The Athenian delegate began by expressing the utmost gratitude for the services which the Romans had rendered to Greece. He pointed out that they h ven assistance against Philip in answer to most pressing ap but their offer of help against Nabis was purely spontaneous, and he expressed strong indignation against remarks which some had made who had tried to belittle these great services afid thrown out dark hints about the future when they ought rather to have expressed their grateful acknowledgments for the past. It’ was obvious that this was a hit at the Aetolians, and Alexander, their foremost citizen, replied with a bitter attack upon the Athenians, who, he said, had in old days been the first champions of liberty and were now betraying the common cause and trying to curry favour for themselves. He then protested against the action of the Achaeans in first fighting under Philip's banner and then, when his fortunes declined, turning renegades and after capturing Corinth scheming to get possession of Argos. The Aetolians, he declared, were the first to oppose Philip, they had always been allies of Rome, and though it was laid down in the treaty that after Philip was conquered their cities and territories should be restored, they were fraudulently kept out of Echinus and Pharsalus. He accused the Romans of hypocrisy, for after their ostentatious and empty‘proclamation of liberty to Greece they were holding Chalcis and Demetrias with their garrisons, although while Philip hesitated to withdraw his garrisons from those cities they were always protesting that as long as Demetrias, Chalcis and Corinth were held by him Greece could never be free. And now they were putting forward Argos and Nabis as an excuse for keeping their armies in Greece. Let them carry their armies back to Italy, the Aetolians would guarantee that Nabis would withdraw his garrison from Argos either voluntarily or for a considerati on, otherwise they would forcibly compel him to submit to the will of a united Greece.