Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

EXERCITUS. EXERCITUS. 505
came so intolerable that Otho, to satisfy all par- rest took rank in like manner in regular order,
ties, granted to the centurions a fixed sum out of each containing three maniples. The first maniple
the imperial exchequer as a compensation for these in each cohort may have been considered as repreemoluments; and his example, in this respect, was senting Triarii according to the ancient arrangefollowed by the most worthy of his successors. ment, the second maniple in each cohort as repee(Tac. Hist. i. 46; comp. i. 17.) Even the tribunes senting Principes, the third as representing Hastat.
appear to have derived perquisites, called stella- If this hypothesis be admitted, the Prisnipilss,
turae, from the rations of the soldiers, and these, whom we find mentioned down to a very late date,
although for a time strictly prohibited, were was, under the new system, the first centurion of
eventually recognised as lawful. (Spartian. Hadi. the first maniple of the first cohort, and as such had
10; Spartian. Pescenn. Nig. 3; Lamprid. Atex. as formerly the charge of the eagle-; thus also,
&kev. 1,5; Cod. 12. tit. 38. s. 12; Cod. Theod. 7. when Caesar says (B. C. iii. 64), " Hoe casu
tit. 4. s. 28.) aquila conservatur omnibus primae cohortis centuIt will be seen from Polybius that of the two rionibus interfectis praeter principem priorem," he
centurions in each maniple the one first chosen must intend to designate the first centurion of the
took the command of the right division (6 juel second maniple of the first cohort, who would at
7rpCor0S aiPEOeLS hyes'at'roO 6Et1tov tEpovs T'sr full length have been denominated priemus princeps
Crrelpas), the other of the left. The century to prior; in like manner, " Cretensi bello octave2.
the right was considered as the first century of the pIrincipens ducit " (Ep. ad Brut. i. 8) will denote
maniple, and its commander took precedence pro- the second maniple of the eighth cohort, " Q.
bably with the title Prior, his companion to the left Fulginius ex primo lsastato legionis XIV. qui
being called Posterior, the priores in each of the propter eximiam virtutem ex inferioribus ordinibus
three divisions of Triarii, Principes, and Hastati in eum locumn pervenerat" (Caes. B. C. i. 46), and
being the ten centurions first chosen. (Polyb. vi. " Cum signifer primi hastati signum non posset
24.) So long as these divisions were recognised, movere loco " (Cic. le Div. i. 35), the third maniple
all the centurions -of the Triarii appear to have of the first cohort.
ranked before those of the Principes, and all the That great differences of rank existed among the
centurions of the Principes before those of the centurions is evident from the phrases primores
1 —astati. Moreover, since the maniples were centurionurn (Liv. xxvi. 5), primi ordines (i. e. chief
numbered in each division from 1 to 10, there was centurions, Caes. B. C. vi. 6), as opposed to infeiprobably a regular progression from the first cen- riores ordlines (Caes. B. C. i. 46), and infimi ordlines
turion of the first maniple down to the second (Ibid. ii. 35); and that promotion fiom a lower
centurion of the tenth maniple. to a higher grade frequently took place, is evident
The first centurion of the first maniple of the from the career of Ligustinus as detailed by himTriarii, originally named (Liv. vii. 41) Centuzrio self (Liv. xlii. 34), of Scaeva, who was raised "ab
Primus, and afterwards Centerio Prinzipili, or octavis ordinibus ad primum pilum" (Caes. B. C.
simply Primipilsus, occupied a very conspicuous iii. 53) for his gallant conduct at Dyrrhachium,
position. He stood next in rank to the Tribuni and from many other passages of which it will hle
mnilitum; he had a seat in the military council sufficient to quote one from Caesar (B. G'. vi. 42):
(Polyb. vi. 24); to his charge was committed the "Centuriones quorum nonnulli ex inSfriorins ordieagle of the legion, whence he is sometimes styled nibus reliquarum legionumn virtutis causa in supeA quilifer (Val. Max. i. 6. ~ 11; Tac. Hist. iii. 22; riores erant orclines humius legionis traducti;" but
D)ionys. x. 36), and, under the empire at least, his we are ignorant whether in ordinary cases this
office was very lucrative (locupletern aquilam, Juv. promotion proceeded regularly, or was conducted
xiv. 197; Mart. i. 32, vi. 58). according to any fixed principle. While on the
A series of terms connected with these arrange- one hand we should be led to infer that there was
ments are furnished by the narrative which Sp. some regular progression, from such observations as
Ligustinus gives of his own career in the 34th " Erant in ea legione fortissimi viri centuriones
chapter of the 42d Book of Livy. Hle thus qui jms primis ordinibus cCppropinquarent" (Caes.
enumerates the -various steps of his promotion: B. C. v. 44), and while it is probable that such
" Mihi T. Quinctius Flamiiinus decumums ordinein was actually the case when the legion became perIhastatusn adsig navit... me imperator dignum ju- manent, so on the other hand it is difficult to see
dicavit culi priszm hastatsum prioris centuriae ad- how promotion could have been systematic during
signaret... a M'. Acilio mihi primus?princeps the long period when the legions were disbanded
prioris centuriae est adsignatus.. quater intra annually, since the choice of the centurion depended
paucos annos primumn pilumn duxi." The gradual entirely upon the discretion of the tribunes subject
ascent from the ranks being to the post of cen- to the control of the general, who was himself
turion: 1. In the tenth maniple of the Hastati. 2. changed from year to year, so that those who served
In the first century of the first maniple of the Has- together in one season might be in different legions
tati. 3. In the first century of the first maniple of and different countries the next. Nor was it lnthe Principes. 4. In the first century of the first constitutional for a centurion who had commanded
maniple of the Triarii. one of the higher companies to be called upon subBut even after the distinction between Hastati, sequently to fill lower stations: this was not
Principes, and Triarii was altogether abolished, common, as we perceive from a case in which
and they were all blended together in the cohorts, strenuous resistance was offered by twenty-three
the same nomenclature with regard to the centuries centurions " qui primos piles duxerant " to enrolling
and their commanders was retained, although it is unless their former rank was guaranteed to them
by no means easy to perceive how it was applied. (Liv. xlii. 32, 33), but this resistance was overcome,
The cohorts being numbered firom to 10, and and it was held, that the consul ought not to be
the first cohort having unquestionably the prece- prevented from assigning that post to any individual
dence over the others, we many suppose that the in which his services were likely to prove most