The glory
of a man on earth can go no higher, and if he falls he rises
again, and comes sooner to that reward which is so much higher as
heaven is above the earth. To return to the Roman example: every
class was divided, as has been more than once shown, into
centuries, and every century was equally divided into youth and
elders; the youth for foreign service, and the elders for the
guard of the territory. In the first class were about eighteen
centuries of horse, being those which, by the institution of
Servius, were first called to the suffrage in the centurial
assemblies. But the delectus, or levy of an army, which is the
present business, proceeded, according to Polybius, in this
manner:
"Upon a war decreed, the Consuls elected four-and-twenty
military tribunes or colonels, whereof ten, being such as had
merited their tenth stipend, were younger officers. The tribunes
being chosen, the Consuls appointed a day to the tribes, when
those in them of military age were to appear at the capitol. The
day being come, and the youth assembled accordingly, the Consuls
ascended their tribunal, and the younger tribunes were straight
divided into four parts after this manner: four were assigned to
the first legion (a legion at the most consisted of 6,000 foot
and 300 horse), three to the second, four to the third, and three
to the fourth.
Pages:
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352