So Taurion made an intimate companion of Aratus, and gave him poison, not of a sharp and violent sort, but one of those which first induce gentle heats in the body, and a dull cough, and then little by little bring on consumption. The thing was not hidden from Aratus, but since it was no use for him to convict the criminal, he calmly and silently drank his cup of suffering to the dregs, as if his sickness had been of a common and familiar type.
Edition :
Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1926. 11.
Remark :
victim: Direct consequence: At first, Aratus only spits blood. topology: As Aratus dies in Aegium, we assume that he was also poisoned there. motive: Possibly Philip V ordered Taurion to poison Aratus, see Günther, L.-M., "Aratos.[2]", in: Der Neue Pauly. Herausgegeben von: Hubert Cancik,, Helmuth Schneider (Antike), Manfred Landfester (Rezeptions- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte). Brill Online, 2015. Reference: Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Hamburg. 15 January 2015 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/der-neue-pauly/aratos-e131340>. titel: Aratus' death is mentioned in 53.1.
