After Phaeneas, the strategus of the Aetolians, had spoken thus, Alexander called the Isian, a man considered to be a practical statesman and an able speaker,
took part in the debate and said that Philip neither sincerely desired peace at present nor did he make war bravely when he had to do so, but that in assemblies and conferences he laid traps and watched for opportunities and behaved as if he were at war, but in war itself adopted an unfair and very ungenerous course.
For instead of meeting his enemies face to face he used to flee before them, burning and sacking cities, and by this course of conduct though beaten he spoilt the prizes of the victors.
Not this but quite the reverse had been the object of the former kings of Macedon; for they used to fight constantly with each other in the field but very seldom destroyed or ruined cities.
This was evident to everybody from the war that Alexander waged against Darius in Asia, and from that long dispute of his successors in which they all took up arms against Antigonus for the mastery of Asia;
and their successors again down to Pyrrhus had acted on the same principle; they had always been ready to give battle to each other in the open field and had done all in their power to overcome each other by force of arms, but they had spared cities, so that whoever conquered might be supreme in them and be honoured by his subjects.
But while destroying the objects of war, to leave war itself untouched was madness and very strong madness. And this was just what Philip was now doing.
For when he was hurrying back from the pass in Epirus he destroyed more cities in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Thessaly&groupId=1028&placeId=1816">Thessaly</a>, though he was the friend and ally of the Thessalians, than any of their enemies had ever destroyed.
After adding much more to the same effect, he finally argued as follows.
He asked Philip why, when <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Lysimachia&groupId=719&placeId=1319">Lysimachia</a> was a member of the Aetolian League and was in charge of a military governor sent by them, he had expelled the latter and placed a garrison of his own in the city;
and why had he sold into slavery the people of Cius, also a member of the Aetolian League, when he himself was on friendly terms with the Aetolians? On what pretext did he now retain possession of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Echinus&groupId=553&placeId=1036">Echinus</a>, Phthian Thebes, <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Pharsalus&groupId=880&placeId=1587">Pharsalus</a>, and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Larisa&groupId=669&placeId=1225">Larisa</a>?
Walbank Commentary