Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

EXERCITUS.

EXERCITTJS.

cavalry twice or thrice as numerous, and the
whole were divided equally between the two
consular armies. Each consul named twelve
superior officers, who were termed Praefecti
Sociorum, and corresponded to the legionary
tribunes. A selection was then made of the
best men, to the extent of one-fifth of the
infantry and one-third of the cavalry ; these
were formed into a separate corps under the
name of cxtraordinarii, and on the march
and in the camp were always near the person
of the consul. The remainder were divided
into two equal portions, and were styled
respectively the Dextera Ala and the Sinistra
Ala [Ala].—Agmen or Line of March. The
Extraordinarii Peditcs led the van followed
by the right wing of the infantry of the allies
and the baggage of these two divisions ; next
came one of the Roman legions with its bag-
gage following ; next the other Roman legion
with its own baggage, and that of the left
wing of the allies, who brought up the rear.
The different corps of cavalry sometimes fol-
lowed immediately behind the infantry to
which they were attached, sometimes rode on
the flanks of the beasts of burden, at once
protecting them and preventing them from
straggling. Generally, when advancing
through a country in which it was necessary
to guard against a sudden onset, the troops,
instead of proceeding in a loose straggling
column, were kept together in close compact
bodies ready to act in any direction at a
moment's warning, and hence an army under
these circumstances was said agmine quad-
rato incedere. Some doubt exists with re-
gard to the force of the term Agmen Pilatum
as di-tinguished from Agmen Quadratum.
Varr.0 defines the agmen pilatum as a com-
pact body marching without beasts of bur-
then. Where the phrase occurs in poetry, it
probably denotes merely " columns bristling
with spears." To the preceding particulars
from Polybius, the following may be added.

1, The levy (delectus.) According to the
principles of the constitution, none were
enrolled in the legion, except freeborn citi-
zens (ingenui) above the age of 17, and
under the age of 60, possessing not less than
4000 asses : but in times of peculiar diffi-
culty, these conditions were not insisted
upon. In such times all formalities were
dispensed with, and every man capable of
bearing arms was summoned to join in ward-
ing off the threatened danger, a force raised
under such circumstances being termed sabi-
tarius s. tumultuarius exercitus. If citizens
between the ages of 17 and 46 did not appear
and answer to their names, they might be
punished in various ways,—by fine, by im-
prisonment, by stripes, by confiscation of

their property, and even, in extreme cases,
by being sold as slaves. At the same time,
causes might be alleged which were recog-
nised as forming a legitimate ground for ex-
emption (vacatio justa militiae). Thus, all
who had served for the full peiiod of 20
years were relieved from further service,
although they might still be within the regu-
lar age ; and so, in like manner, when they
were afflicted by any grievous malady, or
disabled by any personal defect, or engaged
in any sacred or civil offices which requited
their constant attendance; but these and
similar pleas, although sustained under ordi-
nary circumstances, might be rendered void
by a decree of the senate " ne vacationes
valerent." While those who had served for
the stipulated period were entitled to immu-
nity for the future, even although within the
legal age, and were styled Emeriti, so on the
other hand, it appears from some passages in
the classics, that persons who had not com-
pleted their regular term within the usual
limits, might be forced, if required, to serve
between the ages of 45 and 50. Towards
the close of the republic, and under the em-
pire, when the legions became permanent,
the soldier who had served his full time re-
ceived a regular discharge (missio), together
with a bounty (praemiutn) in money or an
allotment of land. The jurists distinguish
three kinds of discharge :—1. Mitsio honesta,
granted for length of service. 2. Missio
causaria, in consequence of bad health. 3.
Missio ignominiosa, when a man was drum-
med out for bad conduct. It frequently
happened that emeriti were induced to con-
tinue in the ranks, either from attachment to
the person of the general, or from hopes of
profit or promotion, and were then called
veterani, or when they joined an army, in
consequence of a special invitation, erocati.

2. The division of the legion into Cohortes,
Manipuli, Centuriae, Signa,Ordines, Contuber-
nia.—(i.) Cohortes. Polybius takes no notice
of the Cohort, a division of the legion often
mentioned in the Roman writers. When the
soldiers of the legion were classified as Ve
lites, Hastati, Principes and Triarii, the co»
hort contained one maniple of each of the
three latter denominations, together with
their complement of Velites, so that when
the legion contained 4000, each cohort would
consist of 60 Triarii, 120 Principes, 120
Hastati, and 100 Velites, in all 400 men.
The number of cohorts in a legion being
always 10, and the cohorts, during the
republic, being all equal to each other, the
strength of the cohort varied from time to
time with the strength of the legion, and
thus at different periods ranged between the