Vegetius: EPITOMA REI MILITARIS LIBRI IIII

Primus liber electionem edocet iuniorum, ex quibus locis uel quales milites probandi sint aut quibus armorum exercitiis imbuendi. Secundus liber ueteris militiae continet morem, ad quem pedestris institui possit exercitus. Tertius liber omnia artium genera, quae terrestri proelio necessaria uidentur, exponit.

The first book instructs the selection of the younger men, from what places and of what sort soldiers ought to be approved, and with what exercises of arms they are to be imbued. The second book contains the custom of the old soldiery, according to which an infantry army can be instituted. The third book sets forth all the kinds of arts which seem necessary for a land battle.

Quartus liber uniuersas machinas, quibus uel obpugnantur ciuitates uel defenduntur, enumerat; naualis quoque belli praecepta subnectit.

The Fourth book enumerates all the machines by which cities are either assailed or defended; it also subjoins the precepts of naval war.

(In omni autem proelio non tam multitudo et uirtus indocta quam ars et exercitium solent praestare uictoriam.)

(In every battle, however, not so much the multitude and untaught valor as art and training are wont to bestow victory.)

I. Romanos omnes gentes sola armorum exercitatione uicisse.
II. Ex quibus regionibus tirones legendi sint.
III.

1. The Romans conquered all nations by the exercise of arms alone.
2. From which regions recruits are to be chosen.
3.

Utrum ex agris an ex urbibus utiliores sint tirones.
IIII. Cuius aetatis tirones probandi sint.

Whether recruits from the fields or from the cities are more useful.
4. Of what age recruits are to be approved.

V. Qua statura iuniores probandi sint.
VI. Ex uultu et positione corporis agnosci in eligendo qui meliores possint esse tirones.
VII.

5. By what stature the younger men ought to be approved.
6. From the countenance and the position of the body to recognize, in choosing, who might be able to be better recruits.
7.

Cuius artis tirones uel eligendi sint uel respuendi.
VIII. Quando tirones signandi sint.

By what art the recruits are to be either selected or rejected.
8. When recruits are to be signed up.

VIIII. Ad gradum militarem et cursum et saltum exercendos tirones.
X. Ad usum natandi exercendos tirones.

9. For training tyros in the military step, and in running and jumping.
10. For training tyros in the use of swimming.

XI. Quemadmodum ad scuta uiminea uel ad palos antiqui exercebant tirones.
XII. Non caesim sed punctim ferire docendos tirones.

11. How the ancients exercised the tyros at wicker shields or at stakes.
12. The tyros must be taught to strike not with a cut but with a thrust.

XIII. Armaturam docendos tirones.
XIIII.

13. Recruits to be taught weapons-drill.
14.

Tirones exercendos ad missibilia iacenda.
XV. Sagittis diligenter tirones inbuendos.
XVI.

Tyros are to be exercised for throwing missiles.
15. Tyros must be diligently imbued with arrows.
16.

Ad iactandos lapides fundis exercendos tirones.
XVII. De exercitio plumbatarum.

Recruits to be trained with slings for hurling stones.
17. On the exercise of plumbatae (lead-weighted darts).

XVIII. Quemadmodum ad ascendendos equos tirones exercendi sint.
XVIIII.

18. How recruits are to be trained for mounting horses.
19.

Ad portandum pondus exercendos tirones.
XX. Quo armorum genere usi sint antiqui.
XXI.

For the bearing of weight the tyros are to be exercised.
20. Of what kind of arms the ancients made use.
21.

De munitione castrorum.
XXII. In qualibus locis constituenda sint castra.

On the fortification of camps.
22. In what kinds of places camps ought to be established.

XXIII. Quali specie castra delinianda sint.
XXIIII.

23. In what form the camp ought to be delineated.
24.

Quo genere munienda sint castra.
XXV. Quemadmodum munienda sint castra, cum hostis immineat.

By what method the camps are to be fortified.
25. In what manner the camps are to be fortified, when the enemy is imminent.

XXVI. Quemadmodum exerceantur tirones, ut in acie ordines et interualla custodiant.
XXVII.

26. How the recruits are to be exercised, so that in the battle-line they may keep ranks and intervals.
27.

Quantum spatium ire ac redire debeant uel quotiens in mense exerceri, cum educuntur milites ambulatum.
(XXVIII. De adhortatione rei militaris Romanaeque uirtutis.)

What distance they ought to go and return, or how often in a month they should be exercised, when the soldiers are led out to march.
(28. On the exhortation of the military art and Roman virtus.)

Antiquis temporibus mos fuit bonarum artium studia mandare litteris atque in libros redacta offerre principibus, quia neque recte aliquid inchoatur, nisi post Deum fauerit imperator, neque quemquam magis decet uel meliora scire uel plura quam principem, cuius doctrina omnibus potest prodesse subiectis. Quod Octauianum Augustum ac bonos dehinc principes libenter habuisse frequentibus declaratur exemplis. Sic regnantium testimoniis crebuit eloquentia, dum non culpatur audacia.

In ancient times it was the custom to commit the pursuits of the good arts to letters and, once brought into books, to offer them to princes, because nothing is rightly begun unless, after God, the emperor has favored it, nor does it befit anyone more to know either better things or more things than the prince, whose doctrine can profit all his subjects. This is shown by frequent examples: Octavian Augustus, and thereafter good princes, gladly welcomed it. Thus, by the testimonies of those reigning, eloquence grew, while audacity is not blamed.

Hac ego imitatione conpulsus dum considero clementiam uestram ausibus litterarum magis ignoscere posse quam ceteros, tanto inferiorem me antiquis scriptoribus esse uix sensi licet in hoc opusculo nec uerborum concinnitas sit necessaria nec acumen ingenii, sed labor diligens ac fidelis, ut, quae apud diuersos historicos uel armorum disciplinam docentes dispersa et inuoluta celantur, pro utilitate Romana proferantur in medium. De dilectu igitur atque exercitatione tironum per quosdam gradus et titulos antiquam consuetudinem conamur ostendere; non quo tibi, imperator inuicte, ista uideantur incognita, sed ut, quae sponte pro reipublicae salute disponis, agnoscas olim custodisse Romani imperii conditores et in hoc paruo libello, quicquid de maximis rebus semperque necessariis requirendum credis, inuenias.

Compelled by this imitation, while I consider that your clemency can pardon the audacities of letters more than others, I scarcely felt myself to be so much inferior to the ancient writers, although in this little work neither the concinnity of words is necessary nor the acumen of genius, but diligent and faithful labor, so that the things which among various historians or those teaching the discipline of arms are concealed, dispersed and entangled, may be brought forth into the midst for Roman utility. Therefore, concerning the levy and the training of tyros through certain grades and titles, we strive to show the ancient custom; not that these things seem unknown to you, unconquered emperor, but that you may recognize that the founders of the Roman empire once kept those very things which you of your own accord arrange for the safety of the republic, and that in this small little book you may find whatever you deem should be inquired concerning matters of the greatest and ever-necessary importance.

I. Nulla enim alia re uidemus populum Romanum orbem subegisse terrarum nisi armorum exercitio, disciplina castrorum usuque militiae. Quid enim aduersus Gallorum multitudinem paucitas Romana ualuisset? Quid aduersus Germanorum proceritatem breuitas potuisset audere?

1. For we see that the Roman people subdued the world by no other thing than the exercise of arms, the discipline of the camps, and the practice of military service. For what would Roman paucity have availed against the multitude of the Gauls? What could shortness have dared against the height of the Germans?

Hispanos quidem non tantum numero sed et uiribus corporum nostris praestitisse manifestum est; Afrorum dolis atque diuitiis semper impares fuimus; Graecorum artibus prudentiaque nos uinci nemo dubitauit. Sed aduersus omnia profuit tironem sollerter eligere, ius, ut ita dixerim, armorum docere, cotidiano exercitio roborare, quaecumque euenire in acie atque proeliis possunt, omnia in campestri meditatione praenoscere, seuere in desides uindicare. Scientia enim rei bellicae dimicandi nutrit audaciam: nemo facere metuit quod se bene didicisse confidit.

It is evident that the Spaniards have surpassed our men not only in number but also in the strengths of their bodies; we have always been unequal to the Africans in stratagems and in riches; no one has doubted that we are conquered by the arts and prudence of the Greeks. But against all these it has availed to select the recruit skillfully, to teach the law, so to speak, of arms, to strengthen him by daily exercise, to pre-know in campestral meditation all the things that can occur in the battle-line and in combats, to punish the slothful with severity. For the science of war—of fighting—nourishes audacity: no one fears to do what he trusts he has learned well.

Etenim in certamine bellorum exercitata paucitas ad uictoriam promptior est, rudis et indocta multitudo exposita semper ad caedem.

For indeed, in the contest of wars, a trained paucity is readier for victory, while a raw and untaught multitude is always exposed to slaughter.

II. Rerum ordo deposcit, ut, ex quibus prouinciis uel nationibus tirones legendi sint, prima parte tractetur. Constat quidem in omnibus locis et ignauos et strenuos nasci. Sed tamen et gens gentem praecedit in bello et plaga caeli ad robur non tantum corporum sed etiam animorum plurimum ualet; quo loco ea, quae a doctissimis hominibus conprobata sunt, non omittamus.

2. The order of things demands that, from which provinces or nations tyros are to be chosen, be treated in the first part. It is established indeed that in all places both the ignoble and the strenuous are born. Yet both one nation outstrips another in war, and the climate (the zone of the sky) avails very much for robustness not only of bodies but also of minds; at which point let us not omit those things which have been approved by the most learned men.

Omnes nationes, quae uicinae sunt soli, nimio calore siccitas, amplius quidem sapere, sed minus habere sanguinis dicunt ac propterea constantiam ac fiduciam comminus non habere pugnandi, quia metuunt uulnera qui exiguum sanguinem se habere nouerunt. Contra septentrionales populi, remoti a solis ardoribus, inconsultiores quidem, sed tamen largo sanguine redundantes, sunt ad bella promptissimi. Tirones igitur de temperatioribus legendi sunt plagis, quibus et copia sanguinis suppetat ad uulnerum mortisque contemptum et non possit deesse prudentia, quae et modestiam seruat in castris et non parum prodest in dimicatione consiliis.

All nations that are neighbors to the sun, dried out by excessive heat, are said indeed to be wiser, but to have less blood, and therefore not to have constancy and confidence for fighting at close quarters, because those who know that they have scant blood fear wounds. By contrast, the septentrional peoples, removed from the sun’s ardors, are indeed more incautious, yet overflowing with copious blood, and are most prompt for wars. Therefore recruits ought to be levied from the more temperate zones, for whom both a supply of blood suffices for contempt of wounds and of death, and prudence cannot be lacking, which both preserves modesty (discipline) in the camp and is not a little advantageous in the struggle by counsels.

III. Sequitur, ut, utrum de agris an de urbibus utilior tiro sit, requiramus. De qua parte numquam credo potuisse dubitari aptiorem armis rusticam plebem, quae sub diuo t in labore nutritur, solis patiens, umbrae neglens, balnearum nescia, deliciarum ignara, simplicis animi, paruo contenta, duratis ad omnem laborum tolerantiam membris, cui gestare ferrum, fossam ducere, onus ferre consuetudo de rure est.

3. It follows that we inquire whether a tyro from the fields or from the cities is more useful. On which point I believe it could never have been doubted that the rustic populace is more apt for arms, which is nourished under the open sky and in toil, enduring of the sun, neglectful of shade, ignorant of baths, unacquainted with delights, of a simple spirit, content with little, with limbs hardened to every endurance of labors, to whom to carry iron, to dig a trench, to bear a burden is a habit from the countryside.

Interdum tamen necessitas exigit etiam urbanos ad arma conpelli, qui ubi nomen dedere militiae, primum laborare, decurrere, portare pondus et solem pulueremque ferre condiscant, parco uictu utantur et rustico, interdum sub diuo interdum sub papilionibus commerentur. Tunc demum ad usum erudiantur armorum, et, si longior expeditio emergit, in agrariis plurimum detinendi sunt proculque habendi a ciuitatis inlecebris, ut eo modo et corporibus eorum robur accedat et animis. Nec infitiandum est post urbem conditam Romanos ex ciuitate profectos semper ad bellum; sed tunc nullis deliciis frangebantur, (sudorem cursu et campestri exercitio collectum iuuentus natans abluebat in Tiberi) idem bellator, idem agricola, genera tantum mutabat armorum; quod usque adeo uerum est, ut aranti Quinctio Cincinnato dictaturam constet oblatam.

Sometimes, however, necessity demands that even townsmen be compelled to arms; and when they have given their name to the militia, let them first learn to labor, to run (drill), to carry weight, and to bear sun and dust; let them use a sparing and rustic diet, and let them sometimes do their time under the open sky, sometimes under the pavilions. Then at length let them be instructed to the use of arms; and, if a longer expedition arises, they must be detained for the most part in the fields and kept far from the allurements of the city, so that in that way strength may be added both to their bodies and to their spirits. Nor must it be denied that, after the City was founded, the Romans always set out to war from the city; but then they were broken by no delights (the youth, swimming, washed off in the Tiber the sweat gathered by running and field exercise); the same man was warrior and farmer, he only changed the kinds of arms—which is so true that it is established the dictatorship was offered to Quinctius Cincinnatus while he was plowing.

Ex agris ergo subplendum robur praecipue uidetur exercitus; nescio quomodo enim minus mortem timet qui minus deliciarum nouit in uita.

Therefore, from the fields the robustness of the army seems chiefly to be replenished; for somehow he fears death less who has known fewer delights in life.

IIII. Nunc, qua aetate milites legi conueniat, exploremus. Et quidem, si antiqua consuetudo seruanda est, incipientem puberatem ad dilectum cogendam nullus ignorat; non enim tantum celerius sed etiam perfectius inbuuntur quae discuntur a pueris.

4. Now, at what age it is fitting that soldiers be enrolled, let us explore. And indeed, if the ancient custom is to be preserved, no one is ignorant that those at the onset of puberty must be compelled to the levy; for the things that are learned in boyhood are imbued not only more swiftly but also more perfectly.

Deinde militaris alacritas, saltus et cursus ante temptandus est, quam corpus aetate pigrescat. Uelocitas enim est quae percepto exercitio strenuum efficit bellatorem. Adulescentes legendi sunt, sicut ait Sallustius 'Iam simul ac iuuentus belli patiens erat, in castris per laborem usum militiae discebat.' Melius enim est, ut exercitatus iuuenis causetur aetatem nondum aduenisse pugnandi, quam doleat praeterisse.

Then military alacrity, leaps and running ought to be tried beforehand, before the body grows sluggish with age. For it is speed (velocity) that, once training has been received, makes a strenuous warrior. Young men are to be chosen, as Sallust says: 'Now as soon as the youth was enduring of war, in the camps through labor he learned the use of soldiery.' For it is better that an exercised youth plead that the age for fighting has not yet arrived, than to grieve that it has passed.

Habeat etiam spatium uniuersa discendi. Neque enim parua aut leuis ars uideatur armorum, siue equitem siue peditem sagittarium uelis inbuere siue scutatum, armaturae numeros omnes omnesque gestus docere, ne locum deserat, ne ordines turbet, ut missile et destinato ictu et magnis uiribus iaciat, ut fossam ducere, sudes scienter figere nouerit, tractare scutum et obliquis ictibus uenientia tela deflectere, plagam prudenter uitare, audacter inferre. Huic taliter insituto tironi pugnare aduersum quoslibet hostes in acie formido non erit sed uoluptas.

Let there also be time for learning the whole. For let the art of arms not seem small or light, whether you wish to imbue a horseman or a foot-soldier archer, or a shield-bearer; to teach all the details of armament and all the movements: that he not abandon his place, not disturb the ranks; that he may hurl the missile with an aimed stroke and with great force; that he may know how to draw a trench, to set stakes skillfully; to handle the shield and, with slanting blows, to deflect the missiles that come; prudently to avoid a stroke, boldly to deliver it. For a tyro thus instructed, to fight against any enemies in the battle line will be not fear but delight.

V. Proceritatem tironum ad incommam scio semper exactam, ita ut VI pedum uel certe V et X unciarum inter alares equites uel in primis legionum cohortibus probarentur. Sed tunc erat amplior multitudo, et plures militiam sequebantur aramatam; necdum enim ciuilis pars florentiorem abducebat iuuentutem. Si ergo necessitas exigit, non tam staturae rationem conuenit habere quam uirium.

5. I know the tallness of recruits was always exacted to the measure, such that men of 6 feet, or at any rate of 5 and 10 inches, were approved among the alar cavalry or in the first cohorts of the legions. But then the multitude was larger, and more followed armed military service; for the civil part was not yet drawing away the more flourishing youth. If therefore necessity demands, it is fitting to have regard not so much to stature as to strength.

(Et ipso Homero teste non fallitur, qui Tydeum minorem quidem corpore sed fortiroem armis fuisse significat.)

(And, with Homer himself as witness, one is not mistaken, who indicates that Tydeus was indeed smaller in body but stronger in arms.)

VI. Sed qui dilectum acturus est uehementer intendat, ut ex uultu, ex oculis, ex omni conformatione membrorum eos eligat, qui implere ualeant bellatores. Namque non tantum in hominibus sed etiam in equis et canibus uirtus multis declaratur indiciis, sicut doctissimorum hominum disciplina conprehendit (; quod etiam in apibus Mantuanus auctor dicit esse seruandum
    'Nam duo sunt genera, hic melior, insignis et ore
    Et rutilis clarus squamis, ille horridus alter
    Desidia latamque trahens inglorius aluum').
Sit ergo adulescens Martio operi deputandus uigilantibus oculis, erecta ceruice, lato pectore, umeris musculosis, ualentibus brachiis, digitis longioribusm uentre modicus, exilior clunibus, suris et pedibus non superflua carne distentis sed neruorum duritia collectis. Cum haec in tirone signa deprehenderis, proceritatem non magno opere desideres.

6. But let him who is going to conduct the levy apply himself vehemently, so that from the face, from the eyes, from the entire conformation of the limbs he may choose those who can make good as warriors. For prowess is declared by many indices not only in men but also in horses and dogs, as the disciplina of the most learned men comprehends (; which also in bees the Mantuan author says must be observed
    'For there are two kinds: this one better, distinguished also in countenance
    and bright with ruddy scales; that other rough,
    dragging with sloth a broad inglorious belly').
Therefore let the youth to be deputed to the work of Mars be of vigilant eyes, with neck erect, broad chest, muscular shoulders, strong arms, longer fingers, moderate in belly, slimmer in the buttocks, with calves and feet not distended by superfluous flesh but compacted by the hardness of sinews. When you have detected these signs in a recruit, do not very much desire tallness.

Utilius est enim fortes milites esse quam grandes.

For it is more useful that soldiers be strong rather than tall.

VII. Sequitur, ut, cuius artis uel eligendi uel penitus repudiandi sint milites, indagemus. Piscatores aucupes dulciarios linteones omnesque, qui aliquid tractasse uidebuntur ad gynacea pertinens, longe arbitror pellendos a castris; fabros ferrarios carpentarios, macellarios et ceruorum aprorumque uenatores conuenit sociare militiae.

7. It follows that we should inquire of what craft soldiers ought to be, either for choosing or for utterly rejecting. Fishermen, fowlers, confectioners, linen-workers, and all who seem to have handled anything pertaining to the gynaecea, I judge should be driven far from the camp; but iron-smiths, carpenters, butchers, and hunters of stags and of boars, it is fitting to associate with the soldiery.

Et hoc est in quo totius reipublicae salus uertitur, ut tirones non tantum corporibus sed etiam animis praestantissimi diligantur; uires regni et Romani nominis fundamentum in prima dilectus examinatione consistunt. Nec leue hoc putetur officium aut passim quibuscumque mandandum; quod apud ueteres inter tam uaria genera uirtutum in Sertorio praecipue constat esse laudatum. Iuuentus enim, cui defensio prouinciarum, cui bellorum est committenda fortuna, et genere, si copia suppetat, et moribus debet excellere.

And this is that on which the safety of the whole republic turns: that recruits be chosen as most preeminent not only in bodies but also in minds; the strength of the kingdom and the foundation of the Roman name consist in the first examination of the levy. Nor let this office be thought light or to be entrusted indiscriminately to whomever; which among the ancients, amid so various kinds of virtues, is agreed to have been especially praised in Sertorius. For the youth, to whom the defense of the provinces, to whom the fortune of wars is to be committed, ought to excel both in birth, if plenty be at hand, and in morals.

Honestas enim idoneum militem reddit, uerecundia, dum prohibet fugere, facit esse uictorem. Quid enim prodest, si exerceatur ignauus, si pluribus stipendiis moretur in castris? Numquam exercitus proficit tempore, cuius in probandis tironibus claudicarit electio.

For honorableness renders a soldier fit; modesty, while it forbids him to flee, makes him a victor. For what does it profit, if a coward is exercised, if he lingers in the camp through many stipends? An army never makes progress with time, whose election limps in the proving of tyros.

Et quantum usu experimentisque cognouimus, hinc tot ubique ab hostibus inlatae sunt clades, dum longa pax militem incuriosius legit, dum honestiores quique ciuilia sectantur officia, dum indicti possessoribus tirones per gratiam aut dissimulationem probantium tales sociantur armis, quales domini habere fastidiunt. A magnis ergo uiris magnaque diligentia idoneos eligi conuenit iuniores.

And as much as we have learned by use and experiments, from this have come so many disasters everywhere inflicted by enemies: while a long peace chooses the soldier more carelessly; while the more honorable each pursue civil offices; while recruits imposed upon landholders, through the favor or the dissimulation of the approvers, are associated with the arms—the sort whom their masters disdain to have. Therefore, by great men and with great diligence, it is fitting that suitable younger men be chosen.

VIII. Sed non statim punctis signorum scribendus est tiro dilectus, uerum ante exercitio pertemptandus, ut, utrum uere tanto operi aptus sit, possit agnosci. Et uelocitas in illo requiranda uidetur et robur, et utrum armorum disciplinam ediscere ualeat, utrum habeat confidentiam militarem.

8. But the chosen recruit is not to be written down at once on the muster-rolls of the standards, but rather must first be thoroughly tested by exercise, so that it may be recognized whether he is truly suited to so great a work. And velocity and robustness are to be required in him, and whether he is able to learn by heart the discipline of arms, whether he has military confidence.

Plerique enim, quamuis non improbabiles uideantur in specie, tamen experimentis conprobantur indigni. Repudiandi ergo minus utiles et in locum eorum strenuissimi subrogandi sunt. In omni enim conflictu non tam prodest multitudo quam uirtus.

For many, although they may seem not unworthy in appearance, are nevertheless by trials proved unworthy. Therefore the less useful are to be repudiated, and in their place the most strenuous are to be subrogated. For in every conflict it is not so much the multitude as valor that profits.

Signatis itaque tironibus per cotidiana exercitia armorum est demonstranda doctrina. Sed huius rei usum dissimulatio longae securitatis aboleuit. Quem inuenias, qui docere possit quod ipse non didicit?

Therefore, once the recruits have been signed/enrolled, the doctrine of arms must be demonstrated through daily exercises. But the use/practice of this the dissimulation of long security has abolished. Whom will you find who can teach what he himself has not learned?

De historiis ergo uel libris nobis antiqua consuetudo repetenda est. Sed illi res gestas et euentas tantum scripsere bellorum, ista, quae nunc quaerimus, tamquam nota linquentes. Lacedaemonii quidem et Athenienses aliique Graecorum in libros rettulere conplura quae tactica uocant; sed nos disciplinam militarem populi Romani debemus inquirere, qui ex paruissimis finibus imperium suum paene solis regionibus et mundi ipsius fine distendit.

Therefore, from histories or from books the ancient custom must be resumed by us. But those men wrote only the deeds accomplished and the outcomes of wars, leaving these matters which we now seek as though well-known. The Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, indeed, and other Greeks set down in books many things which they call tactics; but we ought to inquire into the military discipline of the Roman people, who from the very smallest borders stretched their imperium almost to the regions of the sun and to the end of the world itself.

Haec necessitas conpulit euolutis auctoribus ea me in hoc opusculo fidelissime dicere, quae Cato ille Censorius de disciplina militari scripsit, quae Cornelius Celsus, quae Frontinus perstringenda duxerunt, quae Paternus diligentissimus iuris militaris adsertor in libros redegit, quae Augusti et Traiani Hadrianique constitutionibus cauta sunt. Nihil enim mihi auctoritatis adsumo sed horum, quos supra rettuli, quae dispersa sunt, uelut in ordinem epitomata conscribo.

This necessity has compelled me, the authors having been read through, to say in this opuscule most faithfully the things which that Cato the Censor wrote concerning military discipline, which Cornelius Celsus, which Frontinus judged to be briefly to be touched upon, which Paternus, the most diligent assertor of military law, reduced into books, which have been safeguarded by the constitutions of Augustus and of Trajan and of Hadrian. For I assume no authority to myself, but of these, whom I have set forth above, the things that are scattered I compose, as though epitomized into order.

IX. Primis ergo meditationum auspiciis tirones militarem edocendi sunt gradum. Nihil enim magis in itinere uel in acie custodiendum est, quam ut omnes milites incedendi ordinem seruent. Quod aliter non potest fieri, nisi assiduo exercitio ambulare celeriter et aequaliter discant.

9. Therefore, at the first auspices of the meditations, the recruits must be taught the military step. For nothing in a march or in the battle line must be more guarded than that all soldiers keep the order of advancing. Which cannot be done otherwise, unless by assiduous exercise they learn to walk quickly and evenly.

Periculum enim ab hostibus semper grauissimum sustinet diuisus et inordinatus exercitus. Militari ergo gradu XX milia passuum horis quinque dumtaxat aestiuis conficienda sunt. Pleno autem gradu, qui citatior est, totidem horis XXIIII milia peragenda sunt.

For the peril from enemies is always most grave for an army divided and disordered. Therefore, at the military pace, 20 miles must be completed in only five summer hours. But at the full pace, which is swifter, in the same number of hours, 24 miles are to be covered.

Quicquid addideris, iam cursus est, cuius spatium non potest definiri. Sed et cursu praecipue adsuefaciendi sunt iuniores, ut maiore impetu in hostem procurrant, ut loca oportuna celeriter, cum usus aduenerit, occupent uel aduersariis idem facere uolentibus praeoccupent, ut ad explorandum alacriter pergant, alacrius redeant, ut fugientium facilius terga conprehendant. Ad saltum etiam, quo uel fossae transiliuntur uel inpediens aliqua altitudo superatur, exercendus est miles, ut, cum eiusmodi difficultates euenerint, possint sine labore transire.

Whatever you add is already a run, the span of which cannot be defined. But the younger men must especially be habituated to running as well, so that with greater impetus they may run forward against the enemy, so that they may swiftly seize opportune positions when necessity has arrived, or preoccupy them when adversaries wish to do the same, so that they may proceed briskly to reconnoiter, and return more briskly, so that they may more easily seize the backs of the fleeing. For leaping also, by which either ditches are leapt over or some impeding height is surmounted, the soldier must be exercised, so that, when difficulties of such a kind occur, they may be able to cross without labor.

Praeterea in ipso conflictu ac dimicatione telorum bellator cum cursu saltuque ueniens aduersarii praestingit oculos mentemque deterret priusque plagam infligit, quam ille ad cauendum uel ad resistendum certe se praeparet. De exercitio Gnei Pompei Magni Sallustius memorat 'cum alacribus saltu, cum uelocibus cursu, cum ualidis uecte certabat'. Neque enim ille aliter potuisset par esse Sertorio, nisi seque et milites frequentibus exercitiis praeparasset ad proelia.

Moreover, in the very conflict and contest of missiles, the warrior, coming with running and with a leap, dazzles the adversary’s eyes and frightens his mind, and inflicts the blow sooner than that man prepares himself either to guard against it or to resist. Of the exercise of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus Sallust records, 'he contended with the brisk in leap, with the swift in running, with the strong with the pole.' For he could not otherwise have been a match for Sertorius, unless he had prepared both himself and the soldiers for battles by frequent exercises.

X. Natandi usum aestiuis mensibus omnis aequaliter debet tiro condiscere. Non enim semper pontibus flumina transeuntur, sed et cedens et insequens natare cogitur frequenter exercitus. Saepe repentinis imbribus uel niuibus solent exundare torrentes, et ignorantia non solum ab hoste, sed etiam ab ipsis aquis discrimen incurrit.

10. The practice of swimming in the summer months every recruit alike ought to learn. For rivers are not always crossed by bridges, but both in retreat and in pursuit the army is frequently compelled to swim. Often by sudden showers or snows the torrents are wont to overflow, and through ignorance one incurs peril not only from the enemy, but also from the waters themselves.

Ideoque Romani ueteres, quos tot bella et continuata pericula ad omnem rei militaris erudiuerant artem, campum Martium uicinum Tiberi delegerunt, in quo iuuentus post exercitium armorum sudorem pulueremque dilueret ac lassitudinem cursus natandi labore deponeret. Non solum autem pedites sed et equites ipsosque equos uel lixas, quos galiarios uocant, ad natandum exercere percommodum est, ne quid imperitis, cum necessitas incumbit, eueniat.

Therefore the ancient Romans, whom so many wars and continuous perils had trained to every art of the military art, chose the Campus Martius near the Tiber, where the youth, after the exercise of arms, might wash off sweat and dust and lay aside the weariness of running by the labor of swimming. Moreover, it is very expedient to train not only the foot-soldiers but also the cavalrymen, and even the horses, and the lixas (camp-servants), whom they call “galiarii,” for swimming, lest anything befall the unskilled when necessity presses.

XI. Antiqui, sicut inuenitur in libris, hoc genere exercuere tirones. Scuta de uimine in modum cratium conrotundata texebant, ita ut duplum pondus cratis haberet, quam scutum publicum habere consueuit. Idemque clauas ligneas dupli aeque ponderis pro gladiis tironibus dabant.

11. The ancients, as is found in the books, trained recruits by this method. They wove shields out of wicker, rounded in the manner of hurdles, so that the wickerwork had double the weight which a public shield is accustomed to have. And they likewise gave the recruits wooden clubs of equally double weight in place of swords.

Eoque modo non tantum mane sed etiam post meridiem exercebantur ad palos. Palorum enim usus non solum militibus sed etiam gladiatoribus plurimum prodest. Nec umquam aut harena aut campus inuictum armis uirum probauit, nisi qui diligenter exercitatus docebatur ad palum.

And in this manner they were trained at the posts not only in the morning but also in the afternoon. For the use of posts profits very greatly not only soldiers but even gladiators. Nor did either the arena or the field ever prove a man unconquered in arms, unless he who had been diligently exercised was taught at the post.

A singulis autem tironibus singuli pali defigebantur in terram, ita ut nutare non possent et sex pedibus eminerent. Contra illum palum tamquam contra aduersarium tiro cum crate illa et claua uelut cum gladio se exercebat et scuto, ut nunc quasi caput aut faciem peteret, nunc a lateribus minaretur, interdum contenderet poplites et crura succidere, recederet adsultaret insiliret, quasi praesentem aduersarium, sic palum omni impetu, omni bellandi arte temptaret. In qua meditatione seruabatur illa cautela, ut ita tiro ad inferendum uulnus insurgeret, ne qua parte ipse pateret ad plagam.

But to each recruit individually, individual stakes were fixed in the ground, so that they could not sway and stood out six feet high. Against that stake, as against an adversary, the recruit trained himself with that wickerwork shield and a club, as if with sword and shield: now, as it were, he would aim at the head or face; now he would menace from the sides; sometimes he would strive to hamstring and cut down the legs; he would fall back, make a leap, spring in—just as if an adversary were present, so he would test the stake with every impetus, with every art of warring. In which practice this caution was observed: that the recruit should rise up to deliver a wound in such a way that he himself should not in any part be exposed to a blow.

XII. Praeterea non caesim sed punctim ferire discebant. Nam caesim pugnantes non solum facile uicere sed etiam derisere Romani.

12. Furthermore, they learned to strike not by slashing (caesim) but by thrusting (punctim). For those fighting by slashing, the Romans not only easily conquered but even derided them.

Caesa enim, quouis impetu ueniat, non frequenter interficit, cum et armis uitalia defendantur et ossibus; at contra puncta duas uncias adacta mortalis est; necesse est enim, ut uitalia penetret quicquid inmergitur. Deinde, dum caesa infertur, brachium dextrum latusque nudatur; puncta autem tecto corpore infertur et aduersarium sauciat, antequam uideat. Ideoque ad dimicandum hoc praecipue genere usos constat esse Romanos; dupli autem ponderis illa cratis et claua ideo dabantur, ut, cum uera et leuiora tiro arma sumpsisset, uelut grauiore pondere liberatus securior alacriorque pugnaret.

For a slash, at whatever impetus it comes, does not frequently kill, since the vitals are defended both by armor and by bones; but contrariwise a thrust driven in two inches is mortal; for it is necessary that whatever is immersed penetrates the vitals. Then, while a slash is being delivered, the right arm and the side are laid bare; but a thrust is delivered with the body covered and wounds the adversary before he sees it. And so it is agreed that the Romans used this kind especially for fighting; and that wicker shield and club of double weight were therefore given, so that, when the tyro had taken up true and lighter arms, as if freed from the heavier weight, he might fight more secure and more alacritous.

XIII. Praeterea illo exercitii genere, quod armaturam uocant et a campidoctoribus traditur, inbuendus est tiro; qui usus uel ex parte seruatur. Constat enim etiam nunc in omnibus proeliis armaturas melius pugnare quam ceteros.

13. Moreover, in that kind of exercise which they call armatura and which is handed down by the camp-doctors, the tyro must be imbued; which practice is preserved even in part. For it is agreed that even now in all battles the armatura-men fight better than the others.

Ex quo intelligi debet, quantum exercitatus miles inexercitato sit melior, cum armaturae utcumque eruditi reliquos contubernales suos bellandi arte praecedant. Ita autem seuere apud maiores exercitii disciplina seruata est, ut et doctores armorum duplis remunerarentur annonis et milites, qui parum in illa prolusione profecerant, pro frumento hordeum cogerentur accipere, nec ante eis in tritico redderetur annona, quam sub praesentia praefecti legionis, tribunorum uel principiorum experimentis datis ostendissent se omnia, quae erant in militari arte, conplere. Nihil enim neque firmius neque felicius neque laudabilius est republica, in qua abundant milites eruditi.

From this it ought to be understood how much a well‑exercised soldier is better than an unexercised one, since men of the “armatura,” trained somehow or other, outstrip their fellow tent‑mates in the art of warring. And so strictly was the discipline of exercise maintained among the ancients that the teachers of arms were remunerated with double rations, and the soldiers who had made little progress in that preliminary bout were compelled to receive barley in place of grain, nor was the ration in wheat restored to them before, in the presence of the prefect of the legion, the tribunes, or the principal officers, with tests having been given, they had shown that they accomplished everything that belonged to the military art. For nothing is either firmer, or more felicitous, or more laudable than a commonwealth in which trained soldiers abound.

Non enim uestium nitor uel auri argenti gemmarumque copiae hostes aut ad reuerentiam nostram aut ad gratiam inclinant, sed solo terrore subiguntur armorum. Deinde in aliis rebus, sicut ait Cato, si quid erratum est, potest postmodum corrigi; proeliorum delicta emendationem non recipiunt, cum poena statim sequatur errorem; nam aut confestim pereunt qui ignaue imperiteque pugnauerint aut in fugam uersi uictoribus ultra pares esse non audent.

For it is not the splendor of garments nor the abundance of gold, silver, and gems that inclines enemies either to our reverence or to favor, but by the sheer terror of arms alone they are subdued. Next, in other matters, as Cato says, if anything has gone astray, it can afterward be corrected; the faults of battles do not admit amendment, since punishment immediately follows the error; for either those who have fought cowardly and unskillfully perish forthwith, or, turned to flight, they no longer dare to be a match for the victors.

XIIII. Sed ad inceptum reuertor. Tiro, qui cum claua exercetur ad palum, hastilia quoque ponderis grauioris, quam uera futura sunt iacula, aduersum illum palum tamquam aduersum hominem iactare conpellitur.

14. But I return to the undertaking begun. The tyro, who is exercised with a club at the stake, is also compelled to hurl javelin-shafts of heavier weight than the real javelins will be, against that stake as if against a man.

In qua re armorum doctor adtendit, ut magnis uiribus hastile contorqueat, ut destinato ictu uel in palum uel iuxta dirigat missile. Eo enim exercitio et lacertis robur adcrescit et iaculandi peritia atque usus adquiritur.

In this matter the instructor of arms sees to it that he hurl the shaft with great force and a twist, that with a destined blow he direct the missile either into the stake or close by. For by that exercise both strength in the upper arms increases, and the skill and practice of javelin-throwing are acquired.

XV. Sed prope tertia uel quarta pars iuniorum, quae aptir potuerit reperiri, arcubus ligneis sagittisque lusoriis illos ipsos exercenda est semper ad palos. Et doctores ad hanc rem artifices eligendi, et maior adhibenda sollertia, ut arcum scienter teneant, ut fortitor inpleant, ut sinistra fixa sit, ut dextra cum ratione ducatur, ut ad illud, quod feriundum est, oculus pariter animusque consentiat, ut, siue in equo siue in terra, rectum sagittare doceantur. Quam artem et disci opus est diligenter et cotidiano usu exercitioque seruari.

15. But nearly a third or a fourth part of the juniors, who can be found more apt, must themselves be exercised always at the stakes with wooden bows and play-arrows. And teachers for this matter must be chosen as artificers, and greater skill must be applied, so that they may hold the bow knowingly, so that they may draw it more strongly, so that the left hand be fixed, so that the right be guided with reason, so that to that which is to be struck the eye and the mind alike may consent, so that, whether on horseback or on the ground, they may be taught to shoot straight. Which art there is need both to be learned diligently and to be maintained by daily use and exercise.

Quantum autem utiliitatis boni sagittarii in proeliis habeant, et Cato in libris de disciplina militari euidenter ostendit, et Claudius pluribus iaculatoribus institutis atque perdoctis hostem, cui prius inpar fuerat, superauit. Africanus quidem Scipio, cum aduersum Numantinos, qui exercitus populi Romani sub iugum miserant, esset acie certaturus, aliter se superiorem futurum esse non credidit, nisi in omnibus centuriis lectos sagittarios miscuisset.

However, how much utility good archers have in battles both Cato clearly showed in the books on military discipline, and Claudius, after instituting and thoroughly instructing a greater number of javelin-throwers, overcame the enemy to whom he had previously been unequal. Scipio Africanus, indeed, when he was about to contend in battle-array against the Numantines, who had sent the armies of the Roman people under the yoke, did not believe he would be superior otherwise, unless he had mixed select archers into all the centuries.

XVI. Ad lapides uero uel manibus uel fundis iaciendos exerceri diligenter conuenit iuniores. Fundarum usum primi Balearium insularum habitatores et inuenisse et ita perite exercuisse dicuntur, ut matres paruos filios nullum cibum contingere sinerent, nisi quem ex funda destinato lapide percussissent.

16. Indeed, it is fitting that the juniors be diligently exercised in throwing stones, either by hand or with slings. The first inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are said both to have invented the use of slings and to have practiced it so expertly that mothers allowed their small sons to touch no food, except what they had struck from the sling with an aimed stone.

Saepe enim aduersum bellatores cassidibus catafractis (loricis) que munitos teretes lapides de funda uel fustibalo destinati sagittis sunt omnibus grauiores, cum membris integris letale tamen uulnus importent et sine inuidia sanguinis hostis lapidis ictu intereat. In omnibus autem ueterum proeliis funditores militasse nullus ignorat. Quae res ideo ab uniuersis tironibus frequenti exercitio discenda est, quia fundam portare nullus est labor.

For often, against fighting men fortified with helmets and cataphract cuirasses (breastplates), the smooth stones sent from a sling or a staff-sling, directed, are heavier than all arrows, since, with the limbs remaining intact, they nonetheless import a lethal wound, and without the odium of blood the enemy perishes by the blow of the stone. In all the battles of the ancients, moreover, no one is unaware that slingers served as soldiers. Which thing, therefore, is to be learned by all recruits with frequent exercise, because to carry a sling is no labor.

Et interdum euenit, ut in lapidosis locis conflictus habeatur, ut mons sit aliquis defendendus aut collis, ut ab obpugnatione castellorum siue ciuitatum lapidibus barbari fundisque pellendi sint.

And sometimes it happens that in stony places a conflict is engaged, that some mountain or hill is to be defended, and that from the oppugnation of fortresses or of cities the barbarians must be driven off by stones and slings.

XVII. Plumbatarum quoque exercitatio, quos mattiobarbulos uocant, est tradenda iunioribus. Nam in Illyrico dudum duae legiones fuerunt, quae sena milia militum habuerunt, quae, quod his telis scienter utebantur et fortiter, Mattiobarbuli uocabantur.

17. The exercise of the plumbatae, which they call mattiobarbuli, is also to be handed down to the younger men. For in Illyricum long ago there were two legions, which had six thousand soldiers apiece, which, because they used these missiles skillfully and bravely, were called the Mattiobarbuli.

Per hos longo tempore strenuissime constat omnia bella confecta, usque eo, ut Diocletianus et Maximianus, cum ad imperium peruenissent, pro merito uirtutis hos Mattiobarbulos Iouianos atque Herculianos censuerint appellandos eosque cunctis legionibus praetulisse doceantur. Quinos autem mattiobarbulos insertos scutis portare consuerunt, quos si oportune milites iactent, prope sagittariorum scutati imitari uidentur officium. Nam hostes equosque consauciant, priusquam non modo ad manum sed ad ictum missibilium potuerit perueniri.

Through these men, for a long time, it is agreed that all wars were most strenuously brought to completion, to such a point that Diocletian and Maximian, when they had come to the imperium, judged that, in accordance with the merit of their valor, these Mattiobarbuli should be called the Jovians and the Herculians, and they are recorded to have preferred them before all the legions. Moreover, they were accustomed to carry five Mattiobarbulus darts fitted into their shields; which, if the soldiers cast at the opportune moment, they seem almost to imitate the function of shield‑bearing archers. For they wound enemies and horses before it is possible to come not only to hand‑to‑hand combat but even to the striking‑distance of missiles.

XVIII. Non tantum autem a tironibus, sed etiam ab stipendiosis militibus salitio equorum districte est semper exacta. Quem usum usque ad hanc aetatem, licet iam cum dissimulatione, peruenisse manifestum est.

18. Not only, moreover, from recruits, but also from stipendiary soldiers, the vaulting onto horses has always been strictly exacted. It is manifest that this usage has come down to this age, although now with dissimulation.

Equi lignei hieme sub tecto, aestate ponebantur in campo; supra hos iuniores primo inermes, dum consuetudo proficeret, deinde armati cogebantur ascendere. Tantaque cura erat, ut non solum a dextris sed etiam a sinistris partibus et insilire et desilire condiscerent, euaginatos etiam gladios uel contos tenentes. Hoc item adsidua meditatione faciebant, scilicet ut in tumultu proelii sine mora ascenderent qui tam studiose exercebantur in pace.

Wooden horses were placed under a roof in winter, in summer in the field; upon these the younger men, at first unarmed, while habit was making progress, then armed, were compelled to mount. And so great was the care, that they learned thoroughly not only from the right-hand but also from the left-hand side both to leap on and to leap down, even while holding drawn swords or pikes. This likewise they did by assiduous practice, namely, that in the tumult of battle those who were so studiously exercised in peace might mount without delay.

XVIIII. Pondus quoque baiulare usque ad LX libras et iter facere gradu militari frequentissime cogendi sunt iuniores, quibus in arduis expeditionibus necessitas inminet annonam pariter et arma portandi. Nec hoc credatur esse difficile, si usus accesserit; nihil enim est, quod non adsidua meditatio facillimum reddat.

19. The younger men are to be very frequently compelled to carry as a burden up to 60 pounds of weight and to make the march at the military pace, for whom in arduous expeditions the necessity impends of carrying provisions and arms alike. Nor let this be believed to be difficult, if practice be added; for there is nothing that assiduous meditation does not render very easy.

(Quam rem antiquos milites factitauisse Uergilio ipso teste cognoscimus, qui ait
    'Non secus ac patriis acer Romanus in armis
     Iniusto sub fasce uiam cum carpit, et hosti
    Ante expectatum positis stat in agmine castris.')

(Which thing we know the ancient soldiers practiced habitually, with Virgil himself as witness, who says
    'Not otherwise than, in ancestral arms, the keen Roman,
    when under an unjust burden he takes the road, and against the enemy,
    before he is expected, with the camp pitched, he stands in the column.')

XX. Locus exigit, ut, quo armorum genere uel instruendi uel muniendi sint tirones, referre temptemus. Sed in hac parte antiqua penitus consuetudo deleta est; nam licet exemplo Gothorum et Alanorum Hunnorumque equitum arma profecerint, pedites constat esse nudatos. Ab urbe enim condita usque ad tempus diui Gratiani et catafractis et galeis muniebatur pedestris exercitus.

20. The place requires that we attempt to report by what kind of arms the recruits ought to be either equipped or fortified. But in this matter the ancient custom has been utterly effaced; for although, after the example of the Goths and Alans and the Huns, the horsemen have advanced in arms, it is agreed that the infantry have been stripped bare. For from the founding of the City down to the time of the deified Gratian, the infantry army was protected with catafracts and helmets.

Sed cum campestris exercitatio interueniente neglegentia desidiaque cessaret, grauia uideri arma coeperunt, quae raro milites induebant; itaque ab imperatore postulant primo catafractas, deinde cassides sedere refundere. Sic detectis pectoribus et capitibus congressi contra Gothos milites nostri multitudine sagittariorum saepe deleti sunt; nec post tot clades, quae usque ad tantarum urbium excidia peruenerunt, cuiquam curae fuit uel catafractas uel galeas pedestribus reddere. Ita fit, ut non de pugna sed de fuga cogitent qui in acie nudi exponuntur ad uulnera.

Soon as field exercise, with negligence and sloth intervening, ceased, the arms—which the soldiers rarely put on—began to seem heavy; and so they petition the emperor to let the catafracts first, then the casques, sit unused and be cast aside. Thus, with chests and heads uncovered, engaging against the Goths, our soldiers were often destroyed by the multitude of archers; nor, after so many disasters, which reached even to the destruction of so great cities, was it anyone’s care to restore either catafracts or helmets to the foot‑soldiers. Thus it comes about that those who are exposed naked in the battle line to wounds think not of fight but of flight.

Quid enim pedes sagittarius sine catafracta, sine galea, qui cum arcu scutum tenere non potest, faciat? Quid ipsi draconarii atque signiferi, qui sinistra manu hastas gubernant, in proelio facient, quorum et capita nuda constant et pectora? Sed grauis pediti lorica uidetur et galea fortasse raro meditanti, fortasse arma raro tractanti; ceterum cotidianus usus non laborat, etiam si onerosa gestauerit.

For what, indeed, is the infantry archer to do without a cuirass, without a helmet, who, when using the bow, cannot hold a shield? What will the draconarii themselves and the standard-bearers do in battle, who guide their spears with the left hand, whose heads and chests alike are bare? But the lorica seems heavy to the foot-soldier and the helmet—perhaps to one who rarely practices, perhaps to one who rarely handles arms; yet habitual daily use does not toil, even if he has worn something burdensome.

Sed illi, qui laborem in portandis ueteribus munimentis armorum ferre non possunt, detectis corporibus et uulnera sustinere coguntur et mortes et, quod est grauius, aut capi aut certe fuga rempublicam prodere. Sic dum exercitium laboremque declinant, cum maximo dedecore trucidantur ut pecudes. Unde enim apud antiquos murus dicebatur pedestris exercitus, nisi quod pilatae legiones praeter scuta etiam catafractis galeisque fulgebant?

Sed those who cannot bear the labor in carrying the old muniments of arms, with their bodies laid bare are compelled to endure wounds and deaths and, what is graver, either to be captured or at least by flight to betray the commonwealth. Thus, while they decline drill and toil, they are slaughtered like cattle with the greatest disgrace. For why was the infantry army among the ancients called a wall, if not because the spear-armed legions, besides their shields, also shone with catafracts and helmets?

usque eo, ut sagittarii sinistra brachia manicis munirentur, pedites autem scutati praeter catafractas et galeas etiam ferreas ocreas in dextris cruribus cogerentur accipere. Sic erant muniti illi, qui in prima acie pugnantes principes, in secunda hastati, in tertia triarii uocabantur. Sed triarii genibus positis solebant intra scuta subsidere, ne stantes uulnerarentur uenientibus telis et, cum necessitas postulasset, tamquam requieti uehementius inuaderent hostes, a quibus constat saepe factam esse uictoriam, cum hastati illi et qui priores steterant interissent.

to this point, that the sagittaries had their left forearms fortified with arm‑guards, but the shielded footmen, besides catafracts and helmets, were even compelled to take iron greaves on their right legs. Thus were equipped those who, fighting in the first battle‑line, were called principes, in the second hastati, in the third triarii. But the triarii, with knees set down, were accustomed to crouch within their shields, lest, standing, they be wounded by incoming missiles, and, whenever necessity demanded, as if rested, they would more vehemently assault the enemies, by whom it is agreed that victory was often achieved, when those hastati and those who had stood before had perished.

Erant tamen apud ueteres inter pedites qui dicebantur leuis armaturae, funditores et ferentarii, qui praecipue in cornibus locabantur et a quibus pugnandi sumebatur exordium; sed hi et uelocissimi et exercitatissimi legebantur; nec erant admodum multi, qui cedentes, si proelii necessitas conpulisset, inter principia legionum recipi solebant, ita ut acies inmota consisteret. Usque ad praesentem prope aetatem consuetudo permansit, ut omnes milites pilleis, quos Pannonicos uocabant, ex pellibus uterentur; quod propterea seruabatur, ne grauis galea uideretur in proelio homini, qui gestabat aliquid semper in capite. Missilibus autem quibus utebatur pedestris exercitus, pila uocabantur, ferro subtili trigono praefixa unciarum nouem siue pedali, quod in scuto fixum non possit abscidi et loricam scienter ac fortiter directum facile perrumpit, cuius generis apud nos iam rara sunt tela.

Nevertheless, among the ancients there were, among the infantry, those who were called light-armed, slingers and ferentarii (skirmishers), who were stationed especially on the wings, and from whom the beginning of fighting was taken; but these were chosen as both very swift and most well-trained; nor were they very many, who, when retreating, if the necessity of the battle had compelled it, were accustomed to be received among the front ranks of the legions, so that the battle line might stand unmoved. Down to almost the present age the custom remained that all soldiers used caps (pilei), which they called Pannonian, made from hides; this was maintained so that the helmet might not seem heavy in battle to a man who always bore something on his head. As for the missiles which the infantry army used, they were called pila, furnished with a fine three-angled iron head affixed of nine inches or a foot, which, once fixed in a shield, cannot be cut off, and, aimed skillfully and stoutly, easily breaks through a cuirass; missiles of this kind are now rare among us.

Barbari autem scutati pedites his praecipue utuntur, quas bebras uocant, et binas etiam ac ternas in proeliis portant. Sciendum praeterea, cum missilibus agitur, sinistros pedes in ante milites habere debere; ita enim uibrandis spiculis uehementior ictus est. Sed cum ad pila, ut apellant, uenitur et manu ad manum gladiis pugnatur, tunc dextros pedes in ante milites habere debent, ut et latera eorum subducantur ab hostibus, ne possint uulnus accipere et proximior dextra sit, quae plagam possit inferre.

Barbarian shield-bearing infantry, however, chiefly use those which they call “bebras,” and they carry even two and three of them in battles. It should moreover be known that, when it is a matter of missiles, soldiers ought to have the left foot in front; for thus, in brandishing the spicula, the stroke is more vehement. But when it comes to the pila, as they call them, and when they fight hand to hand with swords, then the soldiers ought to have the right foot in front, so that their sides are drawn away from the enemies, lest they be able to receive a wound, and so that the right hand is nearer, which can deliver a blow.

Instruendos igitur ac protegendos omni antiquo armorum genere constat esse tirones. Necesse est enim, ut dimicandi acriorem sumat audaciam qui munito capite uel pectore non timet uulnus.

Therefore it is agreed that the recruits are to be instructed and protected by every traditional kind of armament. For it is necessary that he who, with head or breast fortified, does not fear a wound, assumes a keener audacity for combat.

XXI. Castrorum quoque munitionem debet tiro condiscere; nihil enim neque tam salutare neque tam necessarium inuenitur in bello; quippe, si recte constituta sunt castra, ita intra uallum securi milites dies noctesque peragunt, etiam si hostis obsideat, quasi muratam ciuitatem uideantur secum ubique portare. Sed huius rei scientia prorsus intercidit; nemo enim iam diu ductis fossis praefixisque sudibus castra constituit.

21. The recruit ought also to learn thoroughly the fortification of camps; for nothing is found in war either so salutary or so necessary; indeed, if the camp has been rightly established, soldiers within the rampart pass days and nights secure, even if the enemy besiege, as if they seemed to carry with them everywhere a walled city. But the knowledge of this matter has altogether perished; for now no one for a long time sets up a camp with ditches drawn and stakes fixed in front.

Sic diurno uel nocturno superuentu equitum barbarorum multos exercitus scimus frequenter adflictos. Non solum autem considentes sine castris ista patiuntur, sed cum in acie casu aliquo coeperint cedere, munimenta castrorum, quo se recipiant, non habent et more animalium inulti cadunt, nec prius moriundi finis fit, quam hostibus uoluntas defuerit persequendi.

Thus by the diurnal or nocturnal arrival of barbarian horsemen we know many armies to have been frequently afflicted. Not only, moreover, do those sitting without camps suffer these things, but when in the battle line by some mishap they have begun to give way, they do not have the fortifications of a camp to which they might withdraw, and after the manner of animals they fall unavenged, nor is there an end of dying before the enemies’ will to pursue has failed.

XXII. Castra autem, praesertim hoste uicino, tuto semper facienda sunt loco, ut lignorum et pabuli et aquae suppetat copia, et, si diutius conmorandum sit, loci salubritas eligatur. Cauendum etiam, ne mons sit uicinus aut collis altior, qui ab aduersariis captus possit officere.

22. Camps, moreover, especially with the enemy neighboring, must always be made in a safe place, so that a supply of wood and fodder and water may be at hand; and, if it should be necessary to remain longer, the salubrity of the place should be chosen. Care must also be taken that there not be a neighboring mountain or a higher hill, which, if seized by adversaries, could hinder.

Considerandum, ne torrentibus inundari consueuerit campus et hoc casu uim patiatur exercitus. Pro numero autem militum uel inpedimentorum munienda sunt castra, ne maior multitudo constipetur in paruis neue paucitas in latioribus ultra quam oportet cogatur extendi.

It must be considered, lest the plain be wont to be inundated by torrents, and in this event the army suffer violence. Moreover, the camp must be fortified in proportion to the number of soldiers or the impedimenta, lest a larger multitude be cramped in narrow quarters, nor a small number be compelled to extend in broader ones beyond what is proper.

XXIII. Interdum autem quadrata, interdum trigona, interdum semirotunda prout loci qualitas aut necessitas postulauerit, castra facienda sunt. Porta autem, quae appelatur praetoria, aut orientem spectare debet aut illum locum, qui ad hostes respicit, aut, si iter agitur, illam partem debet adtendere, ad quam est profecturus exercitus, intra quam primae centuriae, hoc est cohortes, papiliones tendunt et dracones et signa constitutum.

23. Sometimes, however, square, sometimes triangular, sometimes semi‑round, as the quality of the place or necessity shall have demanded, the camp must be made. The gate, however, which is called the praetorian, ought either to face the east or that quarter which looks toward the enemy, or, if a march is being conducted, it ought to attend to that side toward which the army is going to set out; within it the first centuriae, that is, the cohorts, pitch their tents, and the dracones and the standards are set.

Decumana autem porta, quae apellatur, post praetorium est, per quam delinquentes milites educuntur ad poenam.

But the decuman gate, as it is called, is behind the praetorium, through which delinquent soldiers are led out to punishment.

XXIIII. Castrorum autem diuersa triplexque munitio est. Nam si nimia necessitas non premit, caespites circumciduntur e terra et ex his uelut murus instruitur, altus tribus pedibus supra terram, ita ut in ante sit fossa, de qua leuati sunt caespites; deinde tumultuaria fossa fit lata pedes nouem et alta pedes VII.

24. The fortification of a camp, moreover, is diverse and threefold. For if excessive necessity does not press, sods are cut from the earth and from these, as it were, a wall is constructed, three feet high above the ground, such that in front there is a ditch, from which the sods have been lifted; then an improvised ditch is made, nine feet wide and 7 feet deep.

Sed ubi uis acrior inminet hostium, tunc legitima fossa ambitum conuenit munire castrorum, ita ut XII pedes lata sit et alta sub linea, sicut appellant, pedes nouem. Supra autem saepibus hinc inde factis, quae de fossa leuata fuerit, terra congeritur et crescit in altum IIII pedes. Sic fit, ut sit XIII alta et XII lata; supra quam sudes de lignis fortissimis, quas milites portare consueuerunt, praefiguntur.

But when a keener force of enemies overhangs, then it is fitting to fortify the circuit of the camp with a “legitimate” ditch, such that it is 12 feet wide and, “up to the line,” as they call it, 9 feet deep. Above, with hurdles made on this side and that, the earth which has been lifted from the ditch is heaped up and rises in height 4 feet. Thus it comes to be 13 high and 12 wide; above which stakes of the stoutest woods, which the soldiers are accustomed to carry, are affixed in front.

Ad quod opus ligones rastra qualos aliaque utensilium genera habere conuenit semper in promptu.

For which work, it is proper to have mattocks, rakes, baskets, and other kinds of utensils always at the ready.

XXV. Sed facile est absentibus aduersariis castra munire, uerum, si hostis incumbat, tunc omnes equites et media pars peditum ad propulsandum impetum ordinantur in acie, reliqui post ipsos ductis fossis muniunt castra, et per praeconem indicatur, quae centuria prima, quae secunda, quae tertia opus omne conpleuerit. Post hoc a centurionibus fossa inspicitur ac mensuratur et uindicatur in eos, qui neglegentius fuerint operati.

25. But it is easy to fortify the camp when the adversaries are absent; however, if the enemy presses on, then all the cavalry and half of the infantry are arranged in the battle line to repel the assault, the rest behind them fortify the camp by digging ditches, and by the herald it is announced which century has completed the whole work first, which second, which third. After this the ditch is inspected and measured by the centurions, and penalty is exacted upon those who have worked more negligently.

Ad hunc ergo usum instituendus est tiro, ut, cum necessitas postulauerit, sine perturbatione et celeriter et caute castra possit munire.

For this use, therefore, the tyro is to be instituted, so that, when necessity has demanded it, he may be able to fortify the camp without perturbation, and swiftly and cautiously.

XXVI. Nihil magis prodesse constat in pugna, quam ut adsiduo exercitio milites in acie dispositos ordines seruent necubi contra quam expedit aut conglobant agmen aut laxent. Nam et constipati perdunt spatia pugnandi et sibi inuicem inpedimento sunt, et rariores atque interlucentes aditum perrumpendi hostibus praestant.

26. It is agreed that nothing profits more in battle than that, by assiduous exercise, the soldiers, disposed in the battle line, keep their ranks, lest anywhere, contrary to what is expedient, they either conglobate the column or loosen it. For when compressed they lose the spaces for fighting and are a hindrance to one another; and when they are sparser and interlucent, they furnish the enemy an access for breaking through.

Necesse est autem statim metu uniuersa confundi, si intercisa acie ad dimicantium terga hostis accesserit. Producendi ergo tirones sunt semper ad campum et secundum matriculae ordinem in aciem dirigendi, ita ut primo simplex et extenta sit acies, ne quos sinus, ne quas habeat curuaturas, ut aequali legitimoque spatio miles distet a milite. Tunc praecipiendum, ut subito duplicent aciem, ita ut in ipso impetu is, ad quem respondere solent, ordo seruetur.

It is necessary, however, that straightway through fear all things be confounded, if, the line having been cut, the enemy shall have come up to the backs of the combatants. Therefore recruits are always to be brought out to the field and, according to the order of the muster-roll, directed into the battle-line, in such a way that at first the line be simple and extended, that it have no bays, that it have no curvatures, so that with an equal and lawful interval soldier stand apart from soldier. Then it must be prescribed that they suddenly double the line, such that in the very impetus the order be kept to which they are wont to respond.

Tertio praecipiendum, ut quadratam aciem repente constituant, quo facto in trigonum, quem cuneum uocant, acies ipsa mutanda est. Quae ordinatio plurimum prodesse consueuit in bello. Iubetur etiam, it instruant orbes, quo genere, cum uis hostium interruperit aciem, resisti ab exercitatis militibus consueuit, ne omnis multitudo fundatur in fugam et graue discrimen immineat.

Thirdly, it must be prescribed that they suddenly set up a square battle-line; this having been done, the line itself must be changed into a triangle, which they call the wedge. This ordination has been accustomed to profit greatly in war. It is also ordered that they array orbs (rings), a kind of formation by which, when the force of the enemy has interrupted the line, resistance is accustomed to be made by well-exercised soldiers, lest the whole multitude be poured out into flight and a grave peril impend.

Haec si iuniores adsidua meditatione perceperint, facilius in ipsa dimicatione seruabunt.

If the younger men shall have grasped these things by assiduous meditation, they will more easily observe them in the very combat.

XXVII. Praeterea et uetus consuetudo permansit et diui Augusti atque Hadriani constitutionibus praecauetur, ut ter in mense tam equites quam pedites educantur ambulatum; hoc enim uerbo hoc exercitii genus nominant. Decem milia passuum armati instructique omnibus telis pedites militari gradu ire ac redire iubebantur in castra, ita ut aliquam itineris partem cursu alacriore conficerent.

27. Moreover both the old custom has persisted and it is provided for by the constitutions of the divine Augustus and Hadrian, that three times in a month both cavalrymen and infantry are led out for a walk; for by this word they designate this kind of exercise. Ten miles, armed and equipped with all weapons, the foot-soldiers were ordered to go and return to camp at the military pace, in such a way that they completed some part of the route at a brisker run.

Equites quoque diuisi per turmas armatique similiter tantum itineris peragebant, ita ut ad equestrem meditationem interdum sequantur interdum cedant et recursu quodam impetus reparent. Non solunt autem in campis, sed etiam in cliuosis et arduis locis et descendere et ascendere utraque acies cogebatur, ut nulla res, uel casu prorsus, pugnantibus posset accidere, quam non ante boni milites adsidua exrrcitatione didicissent.

Likewise the horsemen, divided into squadrons and armed similarly, accomplished as much of the march, such that for equestrian meditation they sometimes pursue and sometimes yield, and by a certain returning run they restore their impetus. Not only in the plains, moreover, but even in sloping and steep places, both battle-lines were compelled both to descend and to ascend, so that nothing, even by chance, could befall the combatants which good soldiers had not previously learned by assiduous exercise.

(XXVIII.) Haec fidei ac deuotionis intuiti, imperator inuicte, de uniuersis auctoribus, qui re militaris disciplinam litteris mandauerunt, in hunc libellum enucleata congessi, ut in dilectu atque exercitatione tironum si quis diligens uelit existere, ad antiquae uirtutis imitationem facile conroborare possit exercitum. Neque enim degenerauit in hominibus Martius calor nec effetae sunt terrae, quae Lacedaemonios, quae Athenienses, quae Marsos, quae Samnites, quae Pelignos, quae ipsos progenuere Romanos. Nonne Epiri armis plurimum aliquando ualuerunt?

(28.) Having had regard to these things of faith and devotion, invincible emperor, from all the authors who have consigned the discipline of the military art to letters, I have gathered the carefully-extracted points into this little book, so that in the levy and exercise of recruits, if anyone should wish to be diligent, he may be able easily to strengthen the army to the imitation of ancient virtue. For neither has the Martial heat in men degenerated nor are the lands effete which have begotten the Lacedaemonians, the Athenians, the Marsi, the Samnites, the Peligni, and the Romans themselves. Did not the Epirotes at one time prevail greatly by arms?

Nonne Macedones ac Thessali superatis Persis usque ad Indiam bellando penetrarunt? Dacos autem et Moesos et Thracas in tantum bellicosos semper fuisse manifestum est, ut ipsum Martem fabulae apud eos natum esse confirment, Longum est, si uniuersarum prouinciarum uires enumerare contendam, cum omnes in Romani imperii dicione consistant. Sed longae securitas pacis homines partim ad delectationem otii partim ad ciuilia transduxit officia.

Did not the Macedonians and the Thessalians, with the Persians overcome, penetrate by waging war as far as India? But that the Dacians and the Moesians and the Thracians have always been so bellicose is manifest, that their tales confirm that Mars himself was born among them. It would be a long task, if I should strive to enumerate the forces of all the provinces, since all stand under the jurisdiction of the Roman empire. But the long security of peace has transferred men partly to the delectation of leisure, partly to civil offices.

Ita cura exercitii militaris primo neglegentius agi, postea dissimulari, ad postremum olim in obliuionem perducta cognoscitur, nec aliquis hoc superiore aetate accidisse miretur, cum post primum Punicum bellum uiginti et quod excurrit annorum pax ita Romanos illos ubique uictores otio et armorum desuetudine eneruauerit, ut secundo Punico bello Hannibali pares esse non possent. Tot itaque consulibus, tot ducibus, tot exercitibus amissis, tunc demum ad uictoriam peruenerunt, cum usum exercitiumque militare condiscere potuerunt. Semper ergo legendi et exercendi sunt iuniores.

Thus the care of military exercise is at first handled more negligently, afterward is dissimulated, and at last is found to have been long ago brought into oblivion; nor let anyone marvel that this befell in the more recent age, since after the first Punic war a peace of twenty and a little over years so enervated those Romans—everywhere victors—by leisure and by desuetude of arms, that in the second Punic war they could not be equal to Hannibal. With so many consuls, so many leaders, so many armies lost, only then at length did they attain to victory, when they were able to learn thoroughly the use and military exercise. Therefore the juniors must always be levied and trained.

Uilius enim constat erudire armis suos quam alienos mercede conducere.

For it is cheaper, as is agreed, to instruct one’s own in arms than to hire foreigners as mercenaries.