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Roman Camp, at any rate in early days, was uniformly systematic, and was 

 carried out in general with so much care and laborious precision as to deserve the 

 name of a substantial structure, as if the toiling conquerors who designed it were 

 resolved that the places on which they planted their iJonderous footsteps even for 

 a single night, should not lightly pass out of their possession. One of the writers 

 of whom I have spoken, Josephus, says, that whenever the Romans entered an 

 enemy's country they did not attempt to fight until they had constructed a camp, 

 and that for this purpose they either chose a piece of level ground, or that if it 

 were not so naturally the}' levelled it ; that the camp was quadrangular in foim, 

 and that the army was accompanied by a number of workmen provided with tools 

 for the work of construction (Joseph. B. J. iii., 3, 1). I shall have occasion to re- 

 turn to Jose[)hus by and bye, but shall begin by endeavouring to give you a short 

 statement of the minute description of a Roman Camp in what I have called its 

 best days, viz., about l.'iO B.C., as given by Polybius (Book vi, 27 — 34). And first as 

 to the men who occupied the camp. I must remind j'ou that at this time and for 

 many years later, the Legion was divided into three portions who in battle array 

 were drawn up in three parallel lines, of which the one in front consisted of the 

 Hastati, the men of younger standing, armed with spears ; the second of men in 

 the full vigour of life, called Principes ; and the third, posted behind the others, 

 consisting of veteran soldiers, called from their position Triarii, who were half as 

 many in number as the Principes and Hastati respectively. In course of time the 

 armament of the soldiers underwent considerable change, new names came into 

 use, and the old ones, though not altogether disused, lost a great part of their 

 original signification. Besides these, the main strength of the Legion, there were 

 1,000 light-armed troops (Velites) attached to the other divisions, and a force of 

 cavalry. The number of men in the Legion varied at different times ; in the time 

 of Polybius it appears to have been 4,000, or sometimes 5,000, together with 300 

 cavalry (Po/i/b., vi, 20), but in later times the numbers were increased. In 

 addition to the Roman Legion there was a force of allies, of whom the infantry 

 were about equal in number to tho.se of the Legion, but having twice the number 

 of cavalry. Thus, when two legions with allies were to be encamped, the whole 

 number of men would amount in the time of Polybius to about 17,800 or 19,800. 

 Each legion, exclu.s!ve of the Velites, was divided into ten cohorts, each cohort 

 into three maniples (handfuls), and each maniple into two centuries, which, how- 

 ever, consisted not of iro, but of 70 to 80 men each. The Velites were distributed 

 throughout the cohorts in the proportion of 100 to each of them. Thus there 

 were altogether 30 maniples and 60 centuries, besides 10 troops of cavalry. The 

 allies were divided in like manner, but the number of their cavalry was double 

 that of the Legions, and out of these one-third was taken to serve as a special 

 corps. According to Polybius, a consular army under one consul consisted of 

 two legions with allies, and its camp was in shape an exact square. If two such 

 armies were combined under two consuls, the square became a parallelogram. 

 The camp was surmounted by a ditch and mound — vallum — (Polyb. vi., 32), and 

 between this and the tents there was on every side of the camp an open space 200 

 feet wide, affording room for movement of tlie soldiers, and of animals, for de- 



