Ὠρώπιοι δὲ καὶ ὠφελείας σφίσιν οὐ γενομένης τῆς παρὰ Ἀχαιῶν, ὅμως ὑπὸ Μεναλκίδα τὰ χρήματα ἐξεπράχθησαν· ὁ δὲ ὡς τὸ δωροδόκημα εἶχεν ἐν χειρί, ἐποιεῖτο συμφορὰν εἰ καὶ Καλλικράτει μεταδώσει τῶν λημμάτων. τὰ μὲν δὴ πρῶτα ἀναβολαῖς καὶ ἀπάταις ἐχρῆτο ἐς τὴν δόσιν, μετὰ δὲ οὐ πολὺ ἐτόλμησεν ἀποστερεῖν ἐκ τοῦ εὐθέος.
βεβαιοῖ δὴ τὸ λεγόμενον ὡς ἄρʼ ἦν καὶ πῦρ ἐς πλέον ἄλλου πυρὸς καῖον καὶ λύκος ἀγριώτερος λύκων ἄλλων καὶ ὠκύτερος ἱέραξ ἱέρακος πέτεσθαι, εἴγε καὶ Καλλικράτην ἀνοσιώτατον τῶν τότε Μεναλκίδας ὑπερῆρεν ἀπιστίᾳ, Καλλικράτην, ὃς ἐλάσσων παντοίου λήμματος καὶ ἐπὶ οὐδενὶ οἰκείῳ κέρδει πόλει τῇ Ἀθηναίων ἀπηχθημένος παυσάμενον τῆς ἀρχῆς Μεναλκίδαν ἐδίωκεν ἐν τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς θανάτου δίκην· πρεσβεῦσαί τε γὰρ Ἀχαιῶν ἐναντία ἔφασκεν αὐτὸν ἐς Ῥώμην καὶ ἐς τὰ μάλιστα γενέσθαι πρόθυμον ἐξελέσθαι τὴν Σπάρτην συνεδρίου τοῦ Ἀχαιῶν.
ἐνταῦθα ὡς ἀφικνεῖτο ἐς πᾶν ὁ Μεναλκίδας κινδύνου, μεταδίδωσι τάλαντα τρία τῶν ἐξ Ὠρωποῦ Μεγαλοπολίτῃ Διαίῳ. ἐγεγόνει δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἀρχῆς διάδοχος τῆς Ἀχαιῶν ὁ Δίαιος· τότε δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λήμματος προθυμούμενος ἔμελλε Μεναλκίδᾳ καὶ ἀκόντων Ἀχαιῶν σωτηρίαν παρέξειν. Ἀχαιοὶ δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τῇ ἀφέσει τοῦ Μεναλκίδα ἰδίᾳ τε ἕκαστος καὶ ἐν κοινῷ Δίαιον ἐποιοῦντο ἐν αἰτίᾳ· Δίαιος δὲ σφᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐς αὐτὸν ἐγκλημάτων μετῆγεν ἐς πραγμάτων ἐλπίδα μειζόνων, προφάσει χρώμενος τοιᾷδε ἐς τὴν ἀπάτην.
Λακεδαιμόνιοι περὶ ἀμφισβητησίμου χώρας καταφεύγουσιν ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων βουλήν· καταφεύγουσι δὲ αὐτοῖς προεῖπεν ἡ βουλὴ δικάζεσθαι τὰ ἄλλα πλὴν ψυχῆς ἐν συνεδρίῳ τῷ Ἀχαιῶν. ἡ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἀπεκρίνατο· Δίαιος δὲ οὐ τὸν ὄντα ἔλεγεν Ἀχαιοῖς λόγον, ψυχαγωγῶν δὲ αὐτοὺς ἔφασκε παρὰ τῆς Ῥωμαίων σφίσιν ἐφεῖσθαι βουλῆς καὶ θάνατον ἀνδρὸς καταγνῶναι τῶν ἐκ Σπάρτης.
οἱ μὲν δὴ δικάζειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ἠξίουν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑκάστου ψυχῆς, Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ οὔτε ἀληθῆ συνεχώρουν Δίαιον λέγειν καὶ ἀνάγειν ἤθελον ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων βουλήν. Ἀχαιοὶ δὲ ἀντελαμβάνοντο αὖθις ἄλλου λόγου, πόλεις ὅσαι τελοῦσιν ἐς Ἀχαιοὺς μηδεμίαν ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς καθεστηκέναι κυρίαν ἄνευ τοῦ κοινοῦ τοῦ Ἀχαιῶν παρὰ Ῥωμαίους ἰδίᾳ πρεσβείαν ἀποστέλλειν.
πόλεμός τε δὴ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀμφισβητημάτων τούτων Ἀχαιοῖς καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις ἤρχετο καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι συνιέντες οὐκ ἀξιόμαχοι πρὸς Ἀχαιοὺς εἶναι πρεσβείαις ἐχρῶντο πρὸς τὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδίᾳ πρὸς τὸν Δίαιον λόγοις. αἱ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ αἱ πόλεις ἐποιοῦντο τὰς ἀποκρίσεις, οὔ σφισιν ἔξοδον ἐπαγγέλλοντος στρατηγοῦ παρακούειν εἶναι νόμον· Δίαιος γὰρ ἦρχε τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ ἔφασκεν οὐ τῇ Σπάρτῃ, τοῖς δὲ ταράσσουσιν αὐτὴν πολεμήσων ἀφίξεσθαι.
ἐρομένων δὲ τῶν γερόντων ὁπόσους ἡγοῖτο ἀδικεῖν, ἐσπέμπει σφίσι τεσσάρων ὀνόματα ἀνδρῶν καὶ εἴκοσι πρωτευόντων τὰ πάντα ἐν Σπάρτῃ. ἐνταῦθα Ἀγασισθένους ἐνίκησε γνώμη δοκίμου καὶ τὰ πρότερα ὄντος, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς παραινέσεως ταύτης προελθόντος καὶ ἐς πλέον δόξης· ὃς τοὺς ἄνδρας τούτους ἐκέλευσεν ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος ἐθελοντὰς φεύγειν μηδὲ αὐτοῦ μένοντας ἐργάσασθαι τῇ Σπάρτῃ πόλεμον, φυγόντας δὲ ἐς Ῥώμην καταχθήσεσθαι σφᾶς οὐ μετὰ πολὺ ἔφασκεν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων.
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀπελθόντες ὑπήγοντο ὑπὸ Σπαρτιατῶν ἐς δικαστήριον τῷ λόγῳ καὶ ἀποθανεῖν ἦσαν κατεγνωσμένοι· ἀπεστάλησαν δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ Ἀχαιῶν Καλλικράτης ἐς Ῥώμην καὶ Δίαιος τοῖς φεύγουσιν ἐκ Σπάρτης ἀντιδικήσοντες ἐπὶ τῆς βουλῆς. καὶ αὐτῶν ὁ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν Καλλικράτης τελευτᾷ νόσῳ, οὐδὲ οἶδα εἰ ἀφικόμενος ἐς Ῥώμην ὠφέλησεν ἄν τι Ἀχαιοὺς ἢ κακῶν σφισιν ἐγένετο μειζόνων ἀρχή· Δίαιος δὲ ἐς ἀντιλογίαν Μεναλκίδᾳ καταστὰς ἐπὶ τῆς βουλῆς πολλὰ μὲν εἶπε, τὰ δὲ ἤκουσεν οὐ σὺν κόσμῳ.
καί σφισιν ἀπεκρίνατο ἡ βουλὴ ἀποστέλλειν πρέσβεις, οἳ κρινοῦσιν ὅσα Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ Ἀχαιοῖς διάφορα ἦν ἐς ἀλλήλους. καὶ τοῖς ἐκ Ῥώμης πρέσβεσι σχολαιτέρα πως ἐγίνετο ἡ ὁδός, ὥστε ἐξαπατᾶν ὑπῆρχεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς Διαίῳ τε Ἀχαιοὺς καὶ Μεναλκίδᾳ Λακεδαιμονίους· τοὺς μὲν δὴ παρῆγεν ὁ Δίαιος ὡς τὰ πάντα ἕπεσθαι Λακεδαιμόνιοί σφισιν ὑπὸ τῆς Ῥωμαίων βουλῆς εἰσιν ἐγνωσμένοι, Λακεδαιμονίους δὲ ὁ Μεναλκίδας ἠπάτα παντελῶς τοῦ συνεδρεύειν ἐς τὸ Ἀχαϊκὸν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων αὐτοὺς ἀπηλλάχθαι.
Though the Oropians had received no assistance from the Achaeans, nevertheless Menalcidas extorted the money from them. But no sooner did he finger the bribe than he began to think it hard that he should have to go shares with Callicrates. At first he lied and procrastinated ; but soon he plucked up courage and flatly refused to give him a farthing. It is a true saying, that one flame is more devouring than another, one wolf fiercer than his fellows, and one hawk swifter than another on the wing, since in perfidy Menalcidas outdid Callicrates, the greatest villain of the age, a man who was never proof against a bribe. Having incurred the enmity of Athens without making a penny by the transaction, Callicrates, as soon as Menalcidas’ term of office was at end, arraigned him before the Achaeans on a capital charge, asserting that on an embassy to Rome Menalcidas had intrigued against the Achaeans, and had done his best to detach Sparta from the Achaean League. Being thus in great peril, Menalcidas gave three of the talents which he had got from Oropus to one Diaeus, of Megalopolis, who had succeeded him in office, and who, in consideration of the bribe, exerted himself successfully to save Menalcidas in the teeth of the Achaeans themselves. The blame of Menalcidas’ acquittal was laid by the Achaeans, one and all, at the door of Diaeus.
But he sought to divert their attention from the accusations against himself by stirring them up to fly at higher game. The pretext which he used to hoodwink them was as follows. The Lacedaemonians had appealed to the Roman Senate on a question of disputed territory, and in answer to their appeal the Senate had ordered them to submit all cases, except capital ones, to the judgment of the Achaean diet. This was the Senate’s answer; but Diaeus, instead of telling the Achaeans the truth, flattered their vanity by assuring them that the Senate had accorded them capital jurisdiction over the Spartans. So the Achaeans claimed the right of trying Lacedaemonians on capital charges; but the Lacedaemonians denied the truth of Diaeus’ statement, and desired to refer the question to the Roman Senate. The Achaeans then seized another pretext, affirming that none of the states which composed the League was entitled to send an embassy on its own account to Rome. These disputes led to a war between the Achaeans and Lacedaemonians. The latter, perceiving they were no match for their adversaries, sent embassies to the Achaean cities, and opened private negotiations with Diaeus. The cities all answered to the same effect, that they could not lawfully disobey their general if he ordered them to take the field. Now, Diaeus was general, and he gave out that he would turn his arms, not against Sparta herself, but against the troublers of her peace. When the Spartan senate inquired how many he thought guilty, he sent them the names of four-and-twenty of the first men in Sparta. On this the motion of Agasisthenes was put and carried ; and if the mover had been respected before, his reputation stood higher than ever for the advice he gave that day. He counselled the men who had been named to retire into voluntary exile, and not to draw down war on Sparta by staying where they were, adding that if they fled to Rome they would soon be restored by the Romans. In their absence they were nominally tried by the Spartans and sentenced to death. The Achaeans despatched Callicrates and Diaeus to Rome to plead against the Spartan exiles before the Senate. Callicrates fell sick, and died on the road ; but even if he had reached Rome, I doubt whether, instead of doing the Achaeans any good, he would not have landed them into a worse scrape than ever. Diaeus, however, stood up to Menalcidas in the Senate, and the language they used to each other was more copious than decent. The Senate answered that they would send commissioners to decide the differences between the Lacedaemonians and Achaeans. However, the commissioners journeyed so leisurely, that Diaeus had time once more to befool the Achaeans, and Menalcidas to hoodwink the Lacedaemonians. The former were deluded by Diaeus into believing that the Roman Senate had placed the Lacedaemonians completely under their control ; and the Lacedaemonians in their turn were deceived by Menalcidas into imagining that the Romans had relieved them from all connection with the Achaean League.
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