Génesis del equipo militar romano

8/14/2019 Gnesis del equipo militar romano

1/7

The Genesis of Rome's Military Equipment

Author(s): Eugene S. McCartneyReviewed work(s):Source: The Classical Weekly, Vol. 6, No. 10 (Dec. 21, 1912), pp. 74-79Published by: Classical Association of the Atlantic StatesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4386664.Accessed: 28/10/2011 14:01

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Classical Association of the Atlantic Statesis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access

to The Classical Weekly.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=classaashttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4386664?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4386664?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=classaas


2/7

74 THE CLASSICAL WEEKLYAntony with the passage in Plutarch which Shakes-pere was adapting, and then asks:

Upon this showing, which seems to be the moreoriginal, Shakespeare, or the biographer of Chae-ronea? And if Shakespeare and his age could drawsuch inspiration from Plutarch at two or three re-moves, wlhy has Plutarch disappeared from the circleof humnanestudies to-day-that Plutarch who laterfructified the genius of a modern educator, Rous-seau? Moreover, Plutarch is himself but a late andrelatively unoriginal Greek. The ultimate sourcesof vital ideas, of 'philosophia', lie far behind him.

Professor Cooper then reminds us that repeatedlysome portion of a modern author is almost unin-telligible unless we are familiar with the Greek orthe Latin image he has in mind. So, he argues,Shelley's picture of himself in Adonais, 289-295,and the voluptuous nature of the hero in Words-worth's poem Ruth mean little to the reader whoknows nothing of the suffering wanderer Dionysus,or has not learned that the panther and the dolphinare the classic companions of Dionysus in his joy.

One might go on to multiply examples endlessly.The truth is, English literature from the time ofChaucer, far from being original in the ordinary ac-ceptation of the word, is derivative to an extentundreamed of by the layman; and though the im-mediate sources of inspiration are often French andSpanish, more often, perhaps, Italian, the chief im-mediate source of most of the ideas of our poets hasbeen Latin-and the ultimate source is Greek. Allroads lead to Rome, is as true of English as of themodern Continental literatures; and a thousandroads lead back from Rome to Greece. Accordingly,the one great model of English prose is Cicero,whose model was Demosthenes; and the great writ-ers of English prose from Milton to Burke, andfrom Burke to Newman, have been familiar witheither or both. And the two chief wells whenceEnglish poets have drawn their notions of poeticstyle, as well as their mythological allusions, havebeen Virgil and Ovid-Virgil, who takes his inspi-ration from Homer, and Ovid who collected andarranged pretty much all that is known of Graeco-Roman mythology. To an age that is eager for anyshort cut whatsoever to the intelligent reading ofour English poets, I would say that a hundred hoursdevoted to Ovid and Virgil, even read in transla-tions, would be worth thousands of hours spentupon most of the books in the list adopted for'Entrance English'. Of the mythological allusions inShakespeare "for which a definite source can beassigned, it will be found that an overwhelming ma-jority are directly due to Ovid, while the remainder,with few exceptions, are from Virgil". So says acompetent investigator; and he adds: "A man fa-miliar with these two authors, and with no others,would be able to make all the mythological allusionscontained in the undisputed works of Shakespeare,barring some few exceptions"-which we may hereneglect.But we are not at present advocating a short cutto the interpretation of modern authors; if we were,it would be time to say something about the nec-essity of studying the English Bible before at-tempting to read authors who knew it by heart, andwho use its thought and language as a common pos-session of the reading public. What we are advocat-i:,g is a short cut to that inner substance of the

Greek classics, that 'sophia', which the Greeks es-pecially loved, that leaven which has diffused itself,by way of Rome, throughout all modern literatures.There is but one short cut to the substance of Greek,and that way lies through the letters which enfoldit. They are not dead, and they do not kill. Theeternal spirit which inhabits those letters imparts itslife to them, and makes them beautiful. Therereally is no arguing about the nmatter; only thosewho know that spirit, incarnate in those letters, arein a position to speak of the value of either in asystem of education. Emhphatically mtu,t we addthat those who have dabbled in Greek, and have notloved it, or do not now love it, are not in a positionto speak on the subject; nor are those who neverhad an opportunity of studying it. But the latterclass at least may attend to the words of a teacherof English when he says: In nine cases out of ten,the undergraduates who think the best thoughts andexpress them in the best way, and who utter right-eous judgment when they examine the standard mod-ern authors, are those who have studied, or arestudying, Greek and Latin. "A great London editortold me", observes Goldwin Smith in his Reminis-cences, "that the only members of his staff whowrote in good form from the beginning had prac-tised Latin verse". C. K.THE GENESIS OF ROME'S MILITARY EQUIP-MENT1

Sometimes when our cohort of Caesar studentsbecomes drowsy with the endless task of mutilatingdatives and ablatives and subjunctives, and it seemsas if the sable goddess of sleep were destined todescend upon the helpless victims, a digression bythe dux tironum is often found to be the best restora-tive. This paper on Roman arms is the outgrowthof one of several digressiontes, prepared to serve thesame purpose as side-trips, in which one finds nmuchpleasure, when on an extended tour.Were a text needed for my remarks, it would beclhosen from Ovid Met. 4. 428: Fas est et ab hostedoceri, 'it is meet and proper to be taught even byan enemy'.

The Roman has been regarded as conservative.So he was, in general. But, when it came tocutlery, whatever conservatism he had in his systemquickly trickled out of the incision made by asuperior spear or sword. For inistance, the deadlythrust of the short Spanish gladius was to theRoman an all-convincing argumentum ad hominteintthat his national weapons were antiquated.The equipment of the legionary soldier of Caesar'sday was indeed a composite of the best weapons ofmany tribes and nations, tested by several centuriesof experience.A typical legionary soldier, in full panoply of war,was equipped with cassis, lorica, ocreae, pilum,scutum, and gladius. In these caparisons there areseveral stratifications, each stratum having its ownstory to tell.The lowest stratum of which we hear contained

a This paper was read at the Sixth Annual Meeting ofThe Classical Association of the Atlantic States, at Phila-delphia, May 3, 1912.


3/7

THE CLASSICAL WEEKLY 75square shields. Diodorus calls attention to this in-teresting piece of antiquarian lore in at least twoplaces. As it is very doubtful whether the swordwas known at all to the early inhabitants of Italy,the shield was probably used against missile weapons,such as the arrow and the spear. Indeed, there wasfound in Alba Longa a spear-head of great antiquity,lending peculiar appositeness to this rather than thesword as Jove's favorite weapon. The Roman lovedthe clashing of broad-sword and of shield, and onemight have expected to find the gladius in the handsof their Jove, supremely great.To this period, too, it seems safe to assign thegalea, but it was then only a hunter's cap, galeaveuiatoria, of fur or hide, impressed into militaryservice.

In the first hand-to-hand conflicts, however, it ishardly probable that the Romans could have usedanything but a knife, since, as we may infer fromDiodorus, it was a novel experience for the Romansto see troops fighting in regular ranks.The next stratum is the Etruscan; perhaps it wouldnot be amiss to call it the Graeco-Etruscan. TheEtruscans in the infancy of their civilization werealready settled in Etruria; there they developed andattained prosperity and commercial importance.Holding Northern Italy from sea to sea, they natu-rally came into contact with the Greeks far earlierthan did the pastoral settlement on the Palatine, lo-cated, as it was, on the western side of the peninsula.Etrtiscan monuments of a very early date representwarriors fully accoutered, with crested helmet, breast-plate, greaves, shield, spear, and sword. Nothingwould be more natural than for the Roman to adoptthis equipment. Being of a practical turn of mind,he would certainly learn much from the first ad-versaries he met of a civilization higher than hisown. As a matter of fact, we have literary evidencesubstantiating this view.Cassis, as Isidore informs us (Origines 18.14), is anEtruscan word. The helmet probably made its ad-vent with the word itself. Balteus, 'belt', is like-wise an Etruscan term.

We are told, furthermore, that the Romans ex-changed those square shields of which mention hasbeen made for arms of Etruscan type. It musthave taken but a glance for the practical Roman tosee that the graceful round shield of bronze, easilyhandled and readily balanced, was far more effec-tive in checking the over-familiarity of his foe-man's missles than was his own clumsy angulardevice. The Greek writers of Roman affairs, rec-ognizing that it was the Greek type of shield whichwas tranismitted to Rome through Etruria, natur-ally apply to it the term 'Argolic'.In this connection a passage in Dennis, Cities andCemeteries of Etruria I.268, is interesting. In re-counting discoveries in the Etruscan city Bomarzo,he declares that

The most remarkable article in bronze here foundis a circular shield, about three feet in diameter,with a lance thrust in it, and its lining of wood,and braces of leather still remaining, after thelapse of more than two thousand years. . . . itwas found suspended from the wall, near the sarco-phagus of its owner, and the rest of his armourlying there with it-his embossed helmet, and hisgreaves of bronze, and his wooden-hilted sword ofsteel.Furthermore, the thunder-bolt device, so conspic-uous on the shield, could have come only from theland of the Thunder Calendar and of the nine thun-der gods.The Roman of old did not even blow his ownhorn, for numerous allusions attest the Etruscanextraction of the tuba. The most striking accounttells how it was invented on a piratical expeditionto sound the recall in windy weather.Finally, as we shall see later, it was from theEtruscans that the Roman derived his ideas offighting in ranks, and so began the evolution of thelegion.Having found among the Etruscans the genesisof almost the entire equipment of the legionarysoldier we shall now present the various strata inthe evolution of the individual pieces of armor.There is no indication of the kind of sword inuse in the Servian organization, but it was probablyof bronze and resembled that of the Etruscans.To the merits of the Gallic sword, which hefound extreme difficulty in parrying, the Romanwas introduced during the invasion of the Gauls.To Livy (22. 46.5) we are indebted for the infor-mation that it was unusually long, without a point,and adapted to slashing, not thrusting. This typecontinued in use till the Second Punic War.In the battle of Cannae, the Romans formed alasting attachment for the short Spanish broad-sword. This type was pointed and intended forthrusting rather than for a sweeping blow. A fterthe Spaniards had demonstrated the advantages oftheir article, the Romans, as we learn from Poly-bius, were not slow in discarding the weapons oftheir fathers and in adopting the Spanish model.This was essentially the kind carried by Caesar'smen in Gaul.In more modern times we have an instance ofthe vanquished resorting to the weapons of thevictors. It is said that the Battle of the Standardwas the first engagement in which the Englishpeasantry used the long-bow, taking the hint, per-haps, from the carnage wrought by the Normanarrows at the Battle of Hastings.In the gallant days of Romulus, the old Argiveshield, according to the story of Plutarch (Romulus

2I), was exchanged for the long Sabine scutum, thequasi-cylindrical type in which a soldier's bodycould safely nestle.Livy (8.8.3) tells us that the clipeus was entirelydispensed with and that the use of the scutum be-


4/7

76 THE CLASSICAL WEEKLYcame general when the custom of paying the Romansoldier was inaugurated.Yet there is a persistent tradition that the Romansimported their style of shield from the Samnites.This story is found in Pliny, the Book-Worm,Athenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius.When we turn to Livy, however (9.40.2-3), we learnthat the Samnite shield was broad at the breastand shoulders, then tapered gradually like a wedgeto the feet, whereas the scutumtt s oblong, as theGreek epithet Ovpe6s, 'door-shaped', applied to it,shows,

The Samnites had recourse to the tapering shieldmnobilitatis causa, 'to facilitate handling', whichleads one to conclude that it was not the originaltype in use among them, but a special adaptation,in fact, a new style, designed especially for re-ceptions held in honor of the Romans.Possibly both Sabine and Samnite assisted in theevolution of the Roman type of scutum1X.This con-clusion dovetails very neatly with the account ofDiodorus, who, in speaking of the adoption of theclipeus, says that a plurality of nations furnishedthe model for the style of scutumii n use in his ownday.There are several other types of shields. Ofthese, the parmia or parnmulawas introduced fromthe land of the Bruttii, while tradition says thatthe pelta was invented by the Illyrici.The pilum would seem to be an evolution of thehasta, though it is almost as difficult to date the

change as to tell when a sapling becomes a tree.Festus explains the term 'Samnite' as 'spearman',from the Greek aacvLov. Indeed Strabo seemsrather provoked that any other etymology shouldbe suggested. In somewhat similar fashion, theRomans associated the term Quirites with curis,the Sabine word for hasta. Even if these explana-tions be merely instances of popular etymology,they show nevertheless that the hasta was th-eweapon par excellence of ancient Latium and Sam-nium.Servius (on Aen. 1.292) feels aggrieved at theattempts to identify the Roman pilunm with the

Sabellian veru, and, as proudly as Quintilian saysSatura tota nostra est, he asserts pilum propi-ie esthasta Romtana, 'the pilum is characteristically Ro-man, just as the gaesutmits Gallic and the sarissa isMacedonian'.Lucan, too (Phars. i.i), thought of the pilum astypically Roman. With such a tradition currentamong the Romans, one sees that his brief line,'Eagles matched with eagles, pila arrayed 'gainstpita', was the most impressive way of indicatingcivil war.The first distinctly Roman application of thespear- may be assigned to the period of the early

Gallic invasions. In order to offset the length and

weight of the Gallic gladius in the encounters subse-quent to the sack of Rome, Camillus taught histroops how to use the long hasta (bicrs /caKp6s) inhand-to-hand encounters, and to employ it tobreak the blows of the heavy swords of their op-ponents.

The next formal notice that it was time for theRoman to lengthen and strengthen his spear wasprobably served in the first engagemrents of thephalanx of Pyrrhus with the legion. The lighterweapon of the Romans failed to parry the lungeof the long menacing Macedonian sarissa (graveiaculum1X).A recent writer1 has shown that the pilum, i.e. athrusting-spear which could be used as a missilealso, closely resembles the Iberian phalarica, and tothe stirring times following the onset upon Sagun-tum he dates the introduction of the pilum as such.What struck Livy as distinctive in the phalaricawere the three feet of threatening iron tipping thewooden shaft, and the greater penetrating powerresulting therefrom. The more extensive use ofmetal seems to be the contribution of the Iberiansin the evolution of the spear, and this addition theywere enabled to make through their unusual skillin iron-working.To the fertility of Marius's brain was due an-other innovation in the pilum. One of the two ironpins joining the metal end with the wooden shaftwas replaced by wood, thus weakening the weaponto such an extent that it was wrenched out of shapeby the impact upon the shield. Caesar accomplishedthe same purpose by using soft iron for the endof the missile. The efficacy of the latter improve-ment is seen in the engagement with the Helvetii,where the metal yielded and clinched tightly to-gether several of the enemy's shields. The devicehad the additional merit of preventing the returnof the weapons with the compliments of the foe. .With so many incrustations in its development,one does not wonder that the origin of the pilumis somewhat obscure. The assigning of its inven-tion to this or to that nation would seem to indi-cate merely the various strata in its evolution fromthe light hasta to the deadly weapon of Caesar's day.Primitive protection for the head consisted, as wehave already stated, of hide and fur. Indeed Pro-pertius attributes to Romulus a galea lupina, a head-dress of wolf skin.Head-gear was provided for in the Servian or-ganization, yet, as long as the Romans were fightingmen of their own size, they probably did not em-phasize this method of defence. But when they metthe six-foot Gauls, towering over them by head andshoulders, and slashing wildly like woodmen fellingtrees, the Romans began to bethink themselves.

1 A Schulten, Der Ursprung des Pilums, Rheinisches Museum, 1911, pp. 573 if.


5/7

THE CLASSICAL WEEKLY 77Camillus 'caused head-pieces entirely of iron to bemade for most of his men, smoothing and polishingthe outside, that the enemy's swords, lighting uponthem, might either glide off or be broken'. Thishead-piece was the cassis, which, as we have seen,is in all probability Etruscan in origin.The cassis, being of iron, was rather uncomfort-able. Indeed, the degenerate soldiers of the Empiredispensed with it at times and entered battle depil-eated.

The purpose of the crista was the same as thatof head-gear of more recent date, to add cubits tothe stature and to command respect. But, saysLivy, it is not crests that inflict wounds.The lorica, or breast-plate, was brought intoLatium from Etruria, if one may judge from theevidence of the monuments. Varro (L.L 5.1I6) issponsor for the statement that the Gauls were thefirst to hammer out a coat of chain mail, loricahamiata.A description of the equipment of the legionarysoldier would not be complete without reference tohis method of transporting his personal baggage.To enable his troops to carry with greater facilitytheir sixty pounds of sarciniae Marius devised aforked stick over which the burden dangled in amanner suggesting a horseman astride his mount.The contrivances were dubbed 'Marian mules' inthe sermo castrensis, and the expression was soonapplied to the troops themselves. Sculptures onTrajan's column aptly illustrate the method ofcarrying baggage.In tracing the evolution of the Roman equipment,one cannot disregard the Samnite stratum, thoughwhat is contained therein is not at all clear. Sallustinforms us that the Romans derived their armafrom the Samnites, but we do not know how to in-terpret his statement. That it meant somethingdistinctive is certain, since the term 'Samnites' wasapplied to a certain class of gladiators. The ob-long shield is very prominent on many monuments.It will be recalled that the tradition of the Samniteorigin of the scutumn is reaffirmed several times.In addition to this, the Samnites were regarded as

fine spearmen, and some scholars have thought thatthe pilum also came from Samnium. It seems, in-deed, very probable that the Samnites were the'chopping block' on which the Romans tested themerits of the recently organized manipular legion.Niebuhr, however, attaches but little importanceto the words of Sallust, and Mommsen is doubtfulwith regard to the Samnite origin of the shield,chiefly because of the Greek character of the wordscutunm.The legion, the perfect fighting machine of im-perial days is, of course, no phoenix-like growth, butthe result of centuries of evolution. Its institutionhas been ascribed by Varro (L. L. 5.89) and Plu-

tarch (Rom. I3) to Romulus. The adventurers,however, who were enrolled under the founder ofRoma Aeterna could not have been highly organized.Significant is the statement of Athenaeus that theRomans derived the idea of the oraaca ,.kdx7, 'fight-ing in ranks', from the Tyrrheni, or Etruscans, whoadvanced to the attack in phalanx formation.The inference seems to be that the Romans hadpreviously fought more or less in skirmish fashion,each man for himself, and that then they learned forthe first time the value of concentrating in bodiesand acting in cooperation.After the primitive period, the next Polyphemusstride forward is the Servian phalanx, which closelyresembled the Doric in equipment as well as in ar-rangement. "The Spartans", says Professor Bots-ford (History of Greece, 33), "perhaps as early asthe 8th century B.C., invented the phalanx. ...The new system commended itself to all intelligentGreeks and soon found its way to their colonies inItaly and in Sicily. Thence, one of the Tarquins,whom we shall call Servius, adopted it for his ownstate".

The compact character of the Servian phalanx isshown by Livy's comparison of it (8.8.3) to thephalanx of the Macedonians. The heavy arrange-ment was resolved later into the manipular legion,which was instituted by Camillus, as Weissenbornthinks (see his note on Livy 8.8.4), in order tobreak the onset of the Gauls by allowing freshtroops to advance between the contestants in thefront line. The defects in the newer and lighterorder of battle were revealed and remedied, in allprobability, during the long wars with the Samnites.The genius of Marius w4s responsible for stillanother innovation. In order to eliminate *the in-tervals in the loosely organized manipular legion,he replaced the old arrangement by three lines ofcohorts, thus preventing an enemy from forcing hisway into the open spaces.One of the distinctive features of the legion wasits array of signa. In the days of Romulus therewas carried as a standard a wisp of straw, attachedto a pole. No one ventures to deny the Romans thehonor of originality in this device. Before the daysof Marius, however, this make-shift was replacedby the eagle, the wolf, the horse, the boar, and theminotaur-the last, according to the naive Festus,because the plans of the general should be not lessbewildering than the labyrinthine home of the mino-taur. Marius was responsible for the exaltation ofthe bird of Jove to his high position as the signumof the legion. In recounting the event, Pliny (H. N.IO.I6-17) dwells on the pugnacious qualities of theprince of raptores.Dennis believes that the eagle came ultimatelyfrom the East. He cites a statement of Dionysiusof Halicarnassus to the effect that there was brought


6/7

THE CLASSICAL WEEKLYfrom Etruria, amongst some insignia resemblingthose of the Lydian and the Persian monarchs, aneagle surmounted on a scepter.

More convincing, however, is the explanation thatthese ensigns date back to a time when the ancientLatins represented their gods in the guise of ani-mals, the eagle typifying Jupiter, the wolf Mars, theboar Quirinus, the minotaur Jupiter Feretrius (thegod of offensive war), the horse Jupiter Stator(the god of defensive war).Before the end of the Empire, the animal king-dom was represented on Roman standards in num-bers sufficient to gladden the heart of a Noah, for,as Rome's dominion widened, her soldiers cameinto contact with savage tribes and nations whichdisplayed for the divine animals under whose con-duct they marched the same veneration that theearly Romans manifested for the beasts alreadymentioned.

In Etruria, the bull served as a standard. It isnot strange that Taurus should be worshipped bysome nation in the Italian peninsula, since Italiameans 'the land of bulls'. Among the Gauls theboar was venerated, among the Dacians, Sarmates,and Parthians the dragon. In the East especiallyzoolatry was practised, and, under the influence ofOriental and zodiacal cults, many other figures ofanimals found resting places on Roman standards.

Diodorus (i.86) gives an account, which seems tobe aetiological, of the origin of animal ensigns. TheEgyptians, says he, after suffering several disastersthrough confusion in the ranks, began to use suchinsignia and so averted further loss. They refrainedfrom killing these animals and the custom was, inconsequence, transformed into a cult.

In poliorcetics, the Romans early in their careertook lessons from the Etruscans. The city of Veii,for exanmple, was fortified with walls, high andstrong, and furnished with all manner of weapons,both offensive and defensive, and we can well be-lieve that the Roman profited by this objectivemethod of instruction.

His finishing school in siege-craft, as in so manyother things, the Roman found among Hellenicpeoples. From the Greeks, says Athenaeus, theRomans acquired their knowledge of the machinesused in beleaguering, and, what is more important,surpassed their teachers. Diodorus gives us similarinformation, to the effect that the Romans learnedfrom the Greeks how to shake walls. He does notforget the important postscript that the Romanslater compelled the cities of their teachers to dotheir bidding.

Much of this knowledge the Romans undoubtedlyassimilated during the three-year siege of Syracuse.The invaders viewed with open-mouthed astonish-ment the wonderful machines devised for the pro-tection of this city.The terms catapulta, ballista, tribolus sufficiently

attest their Greek origin, while the aries, testudo,scorpio, and the like were also ferried across theAdriatic.As the knowlege of poliorcetics widened and thetendency to resort to sieges increased, the Romanswere compelled to give to their encampment greaterattention than when they were on the march. Theymust have profited by their ten years' experience atVeii.Their ideas of castrametation were largely the re-sult of their good common sense, but they alsolearned much from foreign nations. Pyrrhus re-connoitering the Roman position on the -other sideof the Siris is struck with admiration. Turningto his companion, he exclaims, "This is not thebarbarian arrangement of barbarians" (see Plutarch,Pyrrhus i6).Later in the year, after the Red King had takeniflight, the Romans gained possession of one of hiscamps near Beneventum, and carefully noted thearrangement. Using that as a model, they havegradually evolved, says Frontinus, the method invogue to-day. Frontinus (4.I4) states further thatpreviously detachments had been isolated, and thatPyrrhus was the first to encamp an entire armybehind the same rampart. In view of Veii, this,statement seems extravagant.Livy, however (35.I4.8), confirms part of the ac-count. He represents Hannibal as placing Pyrrhussecond only to Alexander because it was he whofirst showed how to measure out a camp, and be-

cause no commander displayed finer discernment inthe selection of sites and in the disposition ofguards. However much the chapter in Frontinusmay be discounted, there is still a considerableresiduum left, and we cannot doubt that Romelearned much from Pyrrhus about ordering hercamp.In choosing a site for an encampment, it wasnecessary to have abundant pasturage and goodwater for the animals; for, unlike business enter-prises, military ventures cannot hope to succeedwithout well watered stock.Let us now see how the Romlans fared in Neptune'srealm. By the time of the First Punic War, thepolicy of adopting the superior equipment of foreignnations was thoroughly ingrained in the Romancharacter, as is shown by the following incident.A Carthaginian embassy, in a final effort to avoidan exhausting war, told them it was foolhardy toisolate a land force without support from ships."Why", said they, "you will soon be afraid to washyour hands in the Mediterranean "The Romans retorted that they would take a fewlessons from the Carthaginians, for Roman pupilsalways ended by excelling their teachers. Familiarto all is the story that Polybius tells of the Romansusing a wrecked Carthaginian quinquereme as amodel, and, while the ships were building, having


7/7

THE CLASSICALWEEKLY 79gangs of men, seated high and dry, going throughthe motions of rowing.

The corvus, or crow, an arrangement like a draw-bridge, having attached to its end a sharp-pointedinstrument like a baker's pestle, was an inventiondistinctly Roman. According to Polybius, the ideawas suggested to Duilius by one of his seamen. Itcaused as much consternation off Mylae as did theYankee Cheese-box in Hampton Roads at a muchlater date.

The principal naval tactics of antiquity were ram-ming and sweeping the banks of oars. These man-ceuvres were employed extensively in the harborof Syracuse. The Roman ships were built especiallyfor ramming, but their crews do not seem to havebecome as adept at the other method as were theGreeks.

Last, but not least, comes discipline. In this, saysAthenaeus, the Romans patterned after the Spar-tans, but maintained it longer than did the inhabi-tants of Pelops's land.

During their early career, the Romans were will-ing to grace with *their presence many demon-strations by foreign nations of the superiority of thisor that weapon, but, being robust advocates ofreciprocity, they always turned round and demon-strated on the demonstrators. They did not allowthe foemen to meet them twice with better equip-ment.

In her infancy, Rome was not, politically speak-ing, more powerful than several of her neighbors.The germ of her future strength lay in a little acorncalled adaptability. The Children of Mars adjustedtheir equipment to the needs of the hour. It is theold, old story of 'progressives' versus 'standpatters',with the sequel inevitable.

Yes, Rome was indebted to many foreign nationsfor arms and tactics, but "the indomitable couragewas peculiarly her own". In virtus, call it 'sand', or'spunk', or 'grit', the Roman needed no instruction.

Athenaeus remarks very pertinently that, in theolden days, the Roman adopted from his foes what-ever was good, leaving the base, whereas now, sayshe, we are still learning from the enemy, but learn-ing his vices as well as his virtues.When Antisthenes was informed that one Is-menias was an excellent piper, he said: "It maybe so, but he is a wretched human being: otherwisehe could not have been so excellent a piper "If the "grandeur that was Rome" had consistedmerely of excellent, in fact, unsurpassed militaryequipment and tactics, then we should call the Ro-mans most wretched human beings. But since, inthe wake of Roman armies, there followed law andeducation and civilization, we can condone the ex-cellence of her martial equipment.

Thine, Roman, is the pilum:Roman, the sword is thine,The even trench, the bristling mound,

The legion's ordered line:And thine the wheels of triumph,Which with their laureled trainMove slowly up the shouting streetsTo Jove's eternal fane.UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. EUGENE S. MCCARTNEY.

CORRESPONDENCEWhile there have appeared in THE CLASSICAL

WEEKLY and The Classical Journal many excellentsuggestions of devices for making students feel thatthere is a real connection between Latin and thelife of to-day, none describes the plan I have pur-sued for several years.When my classes in beginners' Latin, girls aboutthirteen or fourteen years old, have acquired asufficient knowledge of vocabulary and pronuncia-tion, I teach them a simple Latin hymn. Whiie theLatin of the early Christian hymns may not beclassical, young students are not affected by thedifference; on the other hand, the likeness, both inmeter and in rhythm, to English hymns makes itmuch easier to learn the hymns than to masterclassical poems. The rhyme is particularly helpful.After the students are able to recite the hymns andto translate them, I have them taught to sing them.As I choose those which can be sung to Englishhymn tunes, I gain an additional connection betweenEnglish and Latin. I begin with the hymn Puernatus in Bethelehem, as it is simple and easilylearned. This is always sung by the Latin classesto the whole school just before Christmas.When the class is accustomed to memorizing therhymed verses, I take up the more difficult subjectof prose, and teach the Lord's prayer, the creed, andsome of the chants and psalms. The girls aretrained to sing these also. The sonorous roll of thegreat hymns and chants has been of much help inawakening an appreciation of the aesthetic value ofLatin.It takes very little time from the regular workto learn and recite a verse of a hymn or a psalm,and the gain is great in vocabulary and pronuncia-tion, and even more in general interest, as the girlsacquire an increasing fluency in what was at firstremote and difficult.I recently found a new means of linking thepast with the present. An article appeared in theNew York Times of November io, by LieutenantWagner, the war correspondent with the Balkanallies, describing a battle with the Turks in termsso like those Caesar uses, that my Caesar classrecognized at once my reason for reading it tothem, and readily found for themselves the pointsof resemblance. The impression produced was sostrong that I can recommend the use of this articleto every Latin teacher as an effective means ofarousing interest during a Caesar recitation.

ELIZABETH M. CARROLL.HEAD MISTRESS, ARUNDELL SCHOOL, BALTIMORE.

Documents

Génesis del equipo militar romano