heir attendants walked Perseus himself,
dressed in a dark-coloured cloak with country boots, seeming to be dazed
and stupefied by the greatness of his fall. A band of his friends and
associates followed him with grief-laden countenances, and, by their
constantly looking at Perseus, and weeping, gave the spectators the idea
that they bewailed his fate without taking any thought about their own.
However, Perseus had sent to Aemilius asking to be excused the walking
in procession; but he, as it seems in mockery of his cowardice and love
of life, answered, "That was formerly in his own hands, and is now if he
pleases." Meaning that death was preferable to dishonour; but the
dastard had not spirit enough for that, but buoyed up by some hope,
became a part of his own spoils.

After these were borne golden crowns, four hundred in number, which the
cities of Greece had sent to Aemilius with deputations, in recognition
of his success. Next he came himself, sitting in a splendid chariot, a
man worth looking upon even without his present grandeur, dressed in a
purple robe sprinkled with gold, and holding a branch of laurel in his
right hand. All the army was crowned with laurel and followed the car of
the general in military array, at one time singing and laughing over old
country songs, then raising in chorus the paean of victory and recital
of their deeds, to the glory of Aemilius, who was gazed upon and envied
by all, disliked by no good man. Yet it seems that some deity is charged
with tempering these great and excessive pieces of good fortune, and
skimming as it were the cream off human life, so that none may be
absolutely without his ills in this life; but as Homer says, they may
seem to fare best whose fortune partakes equally of good and evil.

XXXV. For he had four sons, two, as has been already related, adopted
into other families, Scipio and Fabius; and two others who were still
children, by his second wife, who lived in his own house. Of these, one
died five days before Aemilius's triumph, at the age of fourteen, and
the other, twelve years old, died three days after it; so that there was
no Roman that did not grieve for him, and all trembled at the cruelty of
fortune, which had burst into a house filled with joy and gladness, and
mingled tears and funeral dirges with the triumphal paeans and songs of
victory.

XXXVI. Yet Aemilius, rightly thinking that courage is as valuable in
supporting misfortunes as it is agains