nd Caius Sulpicius Galba,
pontiffs, died this year; in their room were substituted Marcus
Aemilius Lepidus and Cneius Cornelius Scipio, as pontiffs.

8. The new consuls, Sextus Aelius Paetus and Titus Quinctius
Flamininus, on assuming the administration, convened the senate in
the Capitol, and the fathers decreed, that "the consuls should settle
between themselves or cast lots for the provinces, Macedonia and
Italy. That he to whom Macedonia fell should enlist, as a supplement
to the legions, three thousand Roman footmen and three hundred horse,
and also five thousand footmen and five hundred horsemen belonging to
the Latin confederacy." The army assigned to the other consul was to
consist entirely of newly-raised men. Lucius Lentulus, consul of
the preceding year, was continued in command, and was ordered not to
depart from the province, nor to remove the old army, until the consul
should arrive with the new legions. The consuls cast lots for the
provinces, and Italy fell to Aelius, Macedonia to Quintius. Of
the praetors, the lots gave to Lucius Cornelius Merula the city
jurisdiction; to Marcus Claudius, Sicily; to Marcus Porcius, Sardinia;
and to Caius Helvius, Gaul. The levying of troops was then begun, for
besides the consular armies, the praetors had been ordered also to
enlist men: for Marcellus, in Sicily, four thousand foot and three
hundred horse of the Latin confederates; for Cato, in Sardinia, three
thousand foot and two hundred horse of the same class of soldiers;
with directions, that both these praetors, on their arrival in their
provinces, should disband the veterans, both foot and horse. The
consuls then introduced to the senate ambassadors from king Attalus.
These, after representing that their king gave every assistance to the
Roman arms on land and sea, with his fleet and all his forces, and
had up to that day executed with zeal and obedience every order of
the consuls, added, that "they feared it would not be in his power to
continue so to do by reason of king Antiochus, for that Antiochus had
invaded the kingdom of Attalus, when destitute of protective forces
by sea and land. That Attalus, therefore, entreated the conscript
fathers, if they chose to employ his army and navy in the Macedonian
war, then to send a body of forces to protect his territories; or if
that were not agreeable, to allow him to go home to defend his own
possessions, with his fleet and troops." The following answer was
ordered