man who has been all his
life a follower and dependent of one of Alexander's inferior
generals--a man who has scarcely been able to maintain himself in his
own dominions--who could not retain even a small and insignificant
part of Macedon which he had conquered, but was driven ignominiously
from it; and who comes into Italy now rather as a refugee than a
conqueror--an adventurer who seeks power here because he can not
sustain himself at home! I warn you not to expect that you can gain
any thing by making such a peace with him as he proposes. Such a
peace makes no atonement for the past, and it offers no security for
the future. On the contrary, it will open the door to other invaders,
who will come, encouraged by Pyrrhus's success, and emboldened by the
contempt which they will feel for you in allowing yourselves to be
thus braved and insulted with impunity."

The effect of this speech on the senate was to produce a unanimous
determination to carry on the war. Cineas was accordingly dismissed
with this answer: that the Romans would listen to no propositions for
peace while Pyrrhus remained in Italy. If he would withdraw from the
country altogether, and retire to his own proper dominions, they would
then listen to any proposals that he might make for a treaty of
alliance and amity. So long, however, as he remained on Italian
ground, they would make no terms with him whatever, though he should
gain a thousand victories, but would wage war upon him to the last
extremity.

Cineas returned to the camp of Pyrrhus, bearing this reply. He
communicated also to Pyrrhus a great deal of information in respect to
the government and the people of Rome, the extent of the population,
and the wealth and resources of the city; for while he had been
engaged in conducting his negotiations, he had made every exertion to
obtain intelligence on all these points, and he had been a very
attentive and sagacious observer of all that he had seen. The account
which he gave was very little calculated to encourage Pyrrhus in his
future hopes and expectations. The people of Rome, Cineas said, were
far more numerous than he had before supposed. They had now already on
foot an army twice as large as the one which Pyrrhus had defeated, and
multitudes besides were still left in the city, of a suitable age for
enlisting, sufficient to form even larger armies still. The prospect,
in a word, was very far from such as to promise Pyrrhus an easy
victory.