11. The vestals were bound by a vow of perpetual vir. ginity, and a violation of this oath was cruelly punished. The unfortunate offender was buried alive in a vault constructed beneath the Fo'rum by the elder Tarquin. The terror of such a dreadful fate had the desired effect; there were only eighteen instances of incontinence among the vestals during the space of a thousand years. 12. The mixture of religion with civil polity gave permanence and stability to the Roman institutions; notwithstanding all the changes and revolutions in the government, the old forms were preserved; and thus, though the city was taken by Porsenna, and burned by the Gauls, the Roman constitution survived the ruin, and was again restored to its pristine vigour. 13. The Romans always adopted the gods of the conquered nations, and, consequently, when their empire became very extensive, the number of deities was absurdly excessive, and the variety of religious worship perfectly ridiculous. The rulers of the world wanted the taste and ingenuity of the lively Greeks, who accommodated every religious system to their own, and from some real or fancied resemblance, identified the gods of Olympus with those of other nations. The Romans never used this process of assimilation, and, consequently, introduced so much ccafusion into their mythology, that philosophers rejected the entire system. This circumstance greatly facilitated the progress of Christianity, whose beautiful simplicity furnished a powerful contrast to the confused and cumbrous mass of divinities, worshipped in the time of the emperors. Questions for Examination. 1. How did the religion of the Romans differ from that of the Greeks: 2. Was the Roman religion connected with the government? 3. How was the right of taking the auspices abused? 4. Who were the augurs? 5. From what did the augurs take omens? 6. What were the forms used in taking auspices? 7. Who were the aruspices? 8. What other priests had the Romans? 9. What was the duty of the vestal virgins? 10. Did the vestals enjoy great privileges? 11. How were the vestals punished for breach of their vows? 12. Why was the Roman constitution very permanent? 13. Whence arose the confusion in the religious system of the Romans CHAPTER VII. THE ROMAN ARMY AND NAVY. Is the soldier found In the riot and waste which he spreads around? 3. Mer'cenary, adj. serving for hire. 6. Evolu'tions, s. wheeling a line of LORD L. GOWER.. 23. Ave'rted, v. turned aside. Mag'nitude, s. greatness, large size. 1. Ir has been frequently remarked by ancient writers, that the strength of a free state consists in its infantry; and also, that when the infantry in a state becomes more valuable than the cavalry, the power of the aristocracy must be diminished, and equal rights can no longer be withheld from the people. The employment of mercenary soldiers in modern times renders these observations no longer applicable, but in the military states of antiquity, where the citizens themselves served as soldiers, there are innumerable examples of this mutual connexion between political and military systems. It is further illustrated in the history of the middle ages, for we can unquestionably trace the origin of free institutions in Europe to the time when the hardy infantry of the commons were first found able to resist the charges of the brilliant chivalry of the nobles. 2. Rome was from the very commencement a military state: as with the Spartans, all their civil institutions had a direct reference to warlike affairs; their public assemblies were marshalled like armies; the order of their line of battle was regulated by the distinction of classes in civil society. It is, therefore, natural to conclude, that the tactics of the Roman armies underwent important changes when the revolutions mentioned in the preceding chapters were effected, though we cannot trace the alterations with precision, because no historians appeared until the military system of the Romans had been brought to perfection. 3. The strength of the Tuscans consisted principally in their cavalry; and if we judge from the importance attri buted to the equestrian rank in the earliest ages, we may suppose that the early Romans esteemed this force equally valuable. It was to Servius Tullius, the great patron of the commonalty, that the Romans were indebted for the formation of a body of infantry, which, after the lapse of centuries, received so many improvements, that it became invincible. 4. The ancient battle array of the Greeks was the phalanx: the troops were drawn up in close column, the best armed being in front. The improvements made in this system of tactics by Philip are recorded in Grecian history; they chiefly consisted in making the evolutions of the entire body more manageable, and counteracting the difficulties which attended the motions of this cumbrous mass. 5. The Romans originally used the phalanx; and the lines were formed according to the classes determined by the centuries. Those who were sufficiently wealthy to purchase a full suit of armour, formed the front ranks; those who could only purchase a portion of the defensive weapons, filled the centre; and the rear was formed by the poorer classes, who scarcely required any armour, being protected by the lines in front. From this explanation, it is easy to see why in the constitution of the centuries by Servius Tullius, the first class were perfectly covered with mail, the second had helmets and breast-plates but no protection for the body, the third, neither a coat of mail, nor greaves. 6. The defects of this system are sufficiently obvious; an unexpected attack on the flanks, the breaking of the line by rugged and uneven ground, and a thousand similar accidents, exposed the unprotected portions of the army to destruction; besides, a line with files ten deep was necessarily slow in its movements and evolutions. Another and not less important defect was, that the whole should act together; and, consequently, there were few opportunities for the display of individual bravery. 7. It is not certainly known who was the great; commander that substituted the living body of the Roman legion for this inanimate mass; but there is some reason to believe that this wondrous improvement was effected by Camillus. Every legion was in itself an army; combining the advantages of every variety of weapon, with the absolute perfection of a military division. 8. The legion consisted of three lines or battalions; the Hasta'ti, the Principes, and the Tria'rii; there were besides two classes, which we may likewise call battalions, the Rorarii, or Veli'tes, consisting of light-armed troops; and the Accen'si, or supernumeraries, who were ready to supply the place of those that fell. Each of the two first battalions contained fifteen manipuli, consisting of sixty privates, commanded by two centurions, and having each a separate standard (vexillum) borne by one of the privates, called vexillarius; the manipuli in the other battalions were fewer in number, but contained a greater portion of men; so that in round numbers, 900 men may be allowed to each battalion, exclusive of officers. If the officers and the troop of 300 cavalry be taken into account, we shall find that the legion, as originally constituted, contained about five thousand men. The Romans, however, did not always ohserve these exact proportions, and the number of soldiers in a legion varied at different times of their history'. In the accompanying representation of legionaries fording a stream, it will be seen that the standards differed from each other in shape, and consequently that it was easy for a soldier to recognize the division to which he belonged. 9. A cohort was formed by taking a manipulus from This is virtually the same account as that given by Niebuhr, but be excludes the Accensi and cavalry from his computation, which brings down the amount to 3600 soldiers. each of the battalions; more frequently two manipuli were taken, and the cohort then contained six hundred men. The cavalry were divided into turma, consisting each of thirty men. 10. A battle was usually commenced by the light troops, who skirmished with missile weapons; the hasta'ti then advanced to the charge, and if defeated fell back on the prin'cipes; if the enemy proved still superior, the two front lines retired to the ranks of the tria'rii, which being composed of veteran troops, generally turned the scale. But this order was not always observed, the number of divisions in the legion made it extremely flexible, and the commander-in-chief could always adapt the form of his line to circumstances. 11. The levies of troops were made in the Cam'pus Mar'tius by the tribunes appointed to command the legions. The tribes which were to supply soldiers were determined by lot, and as each came forward, the tribunes in their turn selected such as seemed best fitted for war. Four legions were most commonly the number in an army. When the selected individuals had been enrolled as soldiers, one was chosen from each legion to take the military oath of obedience to the generals, the other soldiers swore in succession to observe the oath taken by their foreman. 12. Such was the sacredness of this obligation, that even in the midst of the political contests by which the city was distracted, the soldiers, though eager to secure the freedom of their country, would not attempt to gain it by mutiny against their commanders. On this account the senate frequently declared war, and ordered a levy, as an expedient to prevent the enactment of a popular law, and were of course opposed by the tribunes of the people. 13. There was no part of the Roman discipline more admirable than their form of encampment. No matter how fatigued the soldiers might be by a long march, or how harassed by a tedious battle, the camp was regularly measured out and fortified by a rampart and ditch, before any one sought sleep or refreshment. Careful watch was kept during the night, and frequent picquets sent out to guard against a surprise, and to see that the sentinels were vigilant. As the arrangement in every camp was the same, every soldier knew his exact position, and if an alarm occurred, could easily find the rallying point of his division. To this excellent system Polyb'ius attributes the superiority |