[Footnote 32: Publius Sulpicius Galba.]
[Footnote 33: Publius Villius Tappulus. _Cf_. Livy xxxi. _sqq_.]
[Footnote 34: The following is the account given of the Macedonian
phalanx by Polybius:--
"It is easy then to demonstrate by many reasons, that, while the
phalanx retains its proper form and full power of action, no force is
able to stand against it in front, or to support the violence of its
attack. When the ranks are closed in order to engage, each soldier, as
he stands in his arms, occupies a space of three feet. The spears in
their most ancient form, contained seventeen cubits in length. But,
for the sake of rendering them more commodious in action, they have
since been reduced to fourteen. Of these, four cubits are contained
between the part which the soldier grasps in his hands, and the lower
end of the spear behind, which serves as a counterpoise to the part
that is extended before him; and the length of this last part from the
body of the soldier, when the spear is pushed forwards with both hands
against the enemy, is by consequence ten cubits. From hence it
follows, that when the phalanx is closed in its proper form, and every
soldier pressed within the necessary distance with respect to the man
that is before him and upon his side, the spears of the fifth rank are
extended to the length of two cubits, and those of the second, third,
and fourth to a still greater length, beyond the foremost rank. The
manner in which the men are crowded together in this method is marked
by Homer in the following lines:
"'Shield stuck to shield, to helmet helmet join'd,
And man to man; and at each nod that bow'd,
High waving on their heads the glittering cones,
Rattl'd the hair-crown'd casques, so thick they stood.'
Homer, _Il_. xiii., 131.
"This description is not less exact than beautiful. It is manifest,
then, that five several spears, differing each from the other in the
length of two cubits, are extended before every man in the foremost
rank. And when it is considered likewise, that the phalanx is formed
by sixteen in depth, it will be easy to conceive, what must be the
weight and violence of the entire body, and how great the force of its
attack. In the ranks, indeed, that are behind the fifth, the spears
cannot reach so far as to be employed against the enemy. In these
ranks, therefore, the soldiers, instead of extending their spears
forwards, rest them upon the shoulders of the men that are before
them, with their points slanting upwards; and in this manner they form
a kind of rampart which covers their heads, and secures them against
those darts which may be carried in their flight beyond the first
ranks, and fall upon those that are behind. But when the whole body
advances to charge the enemy, even the hindmost ranks are of no small
use and moment. For as they press continually upon those that are
before them, they add by their weight alone great force to the attack,
and deprive also the foremost ranks of the power of drawing themselves
backwards or retreating. Such, then, is the disposition of the
phalanx, with regard both to the whole and the several parts. Let us
now consider the arms, and the order of battle, of the Romans; that we
may see by the comparison in what respects they are different from
those of the Macedonians.
"To each of the Roman soldiers, as he stands in arms, is allotted the
same space likewise of three feet. But as every soldier in the time of
action is constantly in motion, being forced to shift his shield
continually, that he may cover any part of his body against which a
stroke is aimed, and so vary the position of his sword, so as either
to push, or to make a falling stroke, there must also be a distance of
three feet, the least that can be allowed for performing these motions
with advantage, between each soldier and the man that stands next to
him, both upon his side and behind him. In charging, therefore,
against the phalanx, every single Roman, as he has two Macedonians
opposite to him, has also ten spears, which he is forced to encounter.
But it is not possible for a single man to cut down these spears with
his sword, before they can take their effect, against him. Nor is it
easy on the other hand to force his way through them. For the men that
are behind add no weight to the pressure, nor any strength to the
swords of those that are in the foremost rank. It will be easy,
therefore, to conceive, that, while the phalanx retains its own proper
position and strength, no troops, as I before observed, can ever
support the attack of it in front."