Whilst this was, the state of thinLys in Ambracia. the ‘.J夕 ,Aetolians decided to open negotiations with the consul. In V 755 I* view of the fact that on one side Ambracia was undergoing a siege, on another the coast was being threatened by a hostile fleet, whilst on the third side Amphilochia and Dolopia were being harried by the Macedonians, and that the Aetolians were not strong enough to confront their various enemies collectively, the captain-general convened a meeting of the Aetolian League and consulted the national leaders as to what was to be done. They were unanimously of ?呼ion， that they must sue forD eace, on equal terms, if po ssible: muingy that. on any terms. ii they were 气J子一，甘 not intolerable. it was in reliance upon Antiochus, they said, that they had undertaken the war;now that Antiochus had been worsted both on land and sea and driven beyond the Taurus almost to the ends of the world, what hope was there of sustaining the war?Phaeneas and Damoteles must take such steps as they thought best in the interests of Aetolia, and consistent with their own honour, for what counsel, what choice had their fortunes left them? Furnished with these instructions, the envoys implored the consul to spare the city and to take pity on a nation which had once been an ally and had been driven to madness-they would not say by their wrongs, but at all events, by the wretched conditions under which they lived. The punishment they deserved for their share in the war with Antiochus ought not to outweigh the services they had rendered in the war against Philip. At that time no great gratitude had been shown them they ought not now to pay an excessive penalty. The consul told them in reply that the Aetolians had frequently asked for peace, but seldom with the honest intention of keeping it. They must follow the example of Antiochus whom they had dragged into the war. He had ceded not only those few cities whose libertv had been the cause of auarrel.but the whole of Asia on this side the Taurus- a rich and fertile realm. He, the consul, would not listen to any proposals unless the Aetolians laid down their arms. They must first give up their arms and all their horses;then they must pay iooo talents; half the sum to be paid down at once, if they wished to have peace. And in addition to these terms it must be stipulated in the treaty that they would have the same friends and the same enemies as Rome.2