any conflict mentioned in this histori••: but he
still used it as a necessary instrument to set vertue
on foot, and the onely meanes to stir up alacritie.
Or if it happened that his men were at any time
discouraged by disaster or crosse accident, as they
were at Gergobia, and at the two overthrows he
had at Dyrrachium, he never would adventure
to give battell untill he had incouraged them a∣gain,
and confirmed their minds in valour and
resolution. But this age hath put on so scornfull
a humour, that it cannot hear a speech in this key,
sound it never so gravely, without scoffing and
derision: and on the other side discontinuance
of so necessarie a part hath bred at length such an
inutilent pudorem in our chief Commanders, that
they had rather lose the gain of a great advan∣tage,
then buy it with words to be delivered in
publick.
THE SECOND OBSERVATION.
IN this Chapter we may further observe the vio∣lence
of the Roman pile, which being a heavie
deadly weapon, could hardly be frustrated with
any resistance, and in that respect was very pro∣per
and effectuall against a Phalanx, or any o∣ther
thick and close battell, or wheresoever else
stroke was certain, or could hardly deceive
the aime of the caster: for in such encounters it so
galled the enemy, that they were neither able to
keep their order, nor answer the assault with a re∣sisting
counterbuffe. By which it appeareth that
the onely remedie against the Pile was to make
the ranks thin; allowing to every souldier a
large podisme or place to stand in, that so the
stroke might of it self fall without hurt, or by
fore-sight be prevented; as it shall plainly appear
by the sequele of this historie, which I will not o∣mit
to note, as the places shall offer themselves to
the examination of this discourse.
But as touching the Pile, which is so often men∣tioned
in the Roman historie, Polybius descri∣beth
it in this manner; A Pile, saith he, is a casting
weapon, the staffe whereof is almost three cubits
long, and it hath palmarem diametrum, a
hand-breadth in thickness. The staves were
armed with a head of iron, equall in length to
the staffe it self: But in that sort, that half the head
was fastened up to the middle of the staffe, with
plates of iron, like the head of a Halbert; and the
other half stuck out at the end of the staffe like
a pike, containing a fingers breadth in thick∣nesse,
and so decreasing lesse and lesse upto the
point, which was barbed. This head was so slen∣der
toward the points, that the weight of the staffe
would bend it as it stuck, as appeareth in this
battel of the Helvetians. This weapon was pecu∣liar
to the Romans, and was called Pilum, as Varro
noteth, of Pilum a Pestell, quod Hostes feriret ut
pilum. Lipsius finding that Palmarem diame∣trum
was too great a thicknesse to be managed
by any mans hand, interpreteth it to be four
inches in circuit, if the staffe were either round or
square, for they had of both sorts, and so he maketh
it very manageable; but nothing answerable to the
description given by Polybius, either informe
or weight.
Patricius in his Paralleli maketh the staffe to
have Palmarem diametrum in the butt end, but
the rest of the staffe he maketh to decrease taper∣wise,
unto the head of iron, where it hath the
thicknesse of a mans finger; and so it answereth
both in form and weight to a Pestell, as may be
seen by the figure, and I take it to be the meaning
of Polybius. Patricius in that place setteth down
four discommodities of the Pile. First, a furious
and hot-spirited enemie will easily prevent the
darting of the Pile, with a nimble and speedy
close. And so we read that in the battell which
Caesar had with Ariovistus, the Germans came
so violently upn them, that the souldiers cast
away their piles and betook them to their swords.
And likewise in that worthy battell between
Catiline and Marcus Petreius, they cast away
their piles on either part. The second discommo∣dity
was, that the piles being so heavy could not
be cast any distance, but were only serviceable
at hand. Thirdly, they could not be cast with a∣ny
aime, or as they say, point-blank. And lastly,
the souldiers were to take advantage of ground
backward when they threw them: which might
easily disorder their troups, if they were not very
well experienced.
THE THIRD OBSERVATION.
THe last thing which I observe in this speciali∣ty
is, that the legionary souldiers had no other
offensive weapon but one pile or two at the most,
and their swords. By which it may be gathered
that all their victories came by buckling at handy-blowes;
for they came alwayes so near before
they cast their pile, that they left themselves no
more time then might conveniently serve them
to draw their swords: neither would their Arms
of defence, which was compleat, besides a large
target which they carried on their left arm, suffer
them to make any long pursuit, or continued
chase, whensoever a light-armed enemy did make
any speedy retreat; as will more plainly appear
by that which followeth.