red severely the conduct of the Aetolians,
in bringing, first the Romans, and afterwards Antiochus, into Greece;
designs which originated in a want of judgment, and always recoiled
on their own heads. But "he would forget," he said, "all past
transactions, which it was easier to blame than to amend; nor would he
act in such a manner as to appear to insult their misfortunes. On the
other hand, it would become the Aetolians to lay aside, at length,
their animosity towards him; and it would become Nicander himself,
in his private capacity, to remember that day, on which he had been
preserved by him." Having then appointed persons to escort him to a
place of safety, Nicander arrived at Hypata, while his countrymen were
consulting about the peace with Rome.

30. Manius Acilius having sold, or given to the soldiers, the booty
found near Heraclea, and having learned that the counsels adopted
at Hypata were not of a pacific nature, but that the Aetolians had
hastily assembled at Naupactum, with intention to make a stand there
against the whole brunt of the war, sent forward Appius Claudius, with
four thousand men, to seize the heights of the mountains, where the
passes were difficult; and he himself, ascending Mount Oeta, offered
sacrifices to Hercules, in the spot called Pyra,[1] because there the
mortal part of the demi-god was burned. He then set out with the main
body of the army, and marched all the rest of the way with tolerable
ease and expedition. But when they came to Corax, a very high mountain
between Callipolis and Naupactum, great numbers of the beasts of
burden, together with their loads, tumbled down the precipices, and
many of the men were hurt. This clearly showed with how negligent an
enemy they had to do, who had not secured so difficult a pass by a
guard, and so blocked up the passage; for, even as the case was, the
army suffered considerably. Hence he marched down to Naupactum; and
having erected a fort against the citadel, he invested the other parts
of the city, dividing his forces according to the situation of the
walls. Nor was the siege likely to prove less difficult and laborious
than that of Heraclea.

[Footnote 1: The funeral pile.]

31. At the same time, the Achaeans laid siege to Messene, in
Peloponnesus, because it refused to become a member of their body: for
the two states of Messene and Elis were unconnected with the Achaean
confederacy, and sympathized with the Aetolians. However, the Elea