Ab urbe condita

My natural love of my children and that proof of courage which from a false sense of honour you

have given, move me to take your part, but since either the consuls' authority must be vindicated by your death or forever abrogated by letting you go unpunished, I would believe that even you yourself, if there is a drop of my blood in your veins, will not shrink from restoring by your punishment the military discipline which has been weakened by your misconduct.

Go, lictor, bind him to the stake.” All were paralysed by such a ruthless order; they felt as if the axe was directed against each of them; fear rather than discipline kept them motionless.

For some moments they stood transfixed in silence, then suddenly, when they saw the blood pouring from his severed neck, their voices rose in unrestrained and angry complaint; they spared neither laments nor curses.

The body of the youth covered with his spoils was cremated on a pyre erected outside the rampart, with all the funeral honours that the soldiers' devotion could pay. “Manlian orders” were not only regarded with horror for the time, but were looked upon as setting a frightful precedent for the future.

The terrible severity of the punishment, however, made the soldiers more obedient to their general, and not only did it lead to greater attention being paid to the pickets and sentry duties and the ordering of the outposts, but when they went

into battle for the final contest, this severity proved to be of the greatest service.

The battle was exactly like one fought in a civil war; there was nothing in the Latin army different from the Roman except their courage. At[*](Changes in the Roman Military System.) first the Romans used the large round shield called the clipeus, afterwards, when the soldiers received pay, the smaller oblong shield called the scutum was adopted.

The phalanx formation, similar to the Macedonian of the earlier days, was abandoned in favour of the distribution into companies (manipuli); the rear portion being broken up into smaller divisions.

The foremost line consisted of the hastati, formed into fifteen companies, drawn up at a short distance from each other.

These were called the lightarmed companies, as whilst one-third carried a long spear (hasta and short iron javelins, the remainder carried shields. This front line consisted of youths in the first bloom of manhood just old enough for service.

Behind them were stationed an equal number of companies, called principes, made up of men in the full vigour of life, all carrying shields and furnished with superior weapons. This body of thirty companies were called the antepilani.

Behind them were the standards under which were stationed fifteen companies, which were divided into three sections called vexillae, the first section in each was called the pilus, and they consisted of 180 men to every standard (vexillum). The first vexillum was followed by the triarii, veterans of proved courage; the second by the rorarii, or “skirmishers,” younger men and less distinguished; the third by the accensi, who were least to be depended upon, and were therefore placed in the rearmost line.

When the battle formation of the army was completed, the hastati were the first to engage. If they failed to repulse the enemy, they slowly retired through the intervals between the companies of the principes who then took up the fight, the hastati following in their rear.

The triarii, meantime, were resting on one knee under their standards, their shields over their shoulders and their spears planted on the ground with the points upwards, giving them the appearance of a bristling palisade.

If the principes were also unsuccessful, they slowly retired to the triarii, which has given rise to the proverbial saying, when people are in great difficulty “matters have come down to the triarii.”

When the triarii had admitted the hastati and principes through the intervals separating their companies, they rose from their kneeling posture