"On the other hand, without any question, if not impossible except under very rare circumstances, it certainly must always be most difficult to discover and to secure the possession of a piece of ground of sufficient extent, which possesses all the required qualifications and is absolutely free from every obstacle.

"What good service will the most perfect and the most powerful of phalanxes be able to accomplish, if the enemy instead of advancing upon it and closing with its array upon a singularly fortunate piece of ground, should break up his force into small yet strong parties, should spread himself over all the adjoining country, should ravage the towns, and lay waste the territories of friends and allies? The invincible corps, which would continue to be invincible only so long as it should hold its advantageous position, having already failed to protect its friends, would speedily cease to be able to secure its own safety.

"The enemy, master of the adjoining country, meeting none to resist him, would cut off every convoy; while the phalanx, if it should attempt any enterprise, would so seriously impair its own strength and solidity, that it would excite the derision of the enemy.

"But, again, grant that an attack is made on the phalanx in its own territory and on its own ground; even then, if the enemy should not concentrate his entire force and bring up the whole at one and the same time to the attack, or if at the moment of the combat he should draw off, and, avoiding the hostile shock, should retire once more, what will become of the redoubtable formation in phalanx ?

"It is easy," continues the ancient historian," to form an opinion on all these points, by observing the strategy of the Romans at the present day. Thus our argument is built up, not even on the most conclusive reasoning, but on facts that are still recent and fresh.

"The Romans do not employ all their troops to form a front equal to that of a phalanx; but, while they oppose one division of their force to the enemy, they always hold a second division in reserve.

'Again, whether the phalanx should break the line that is opposed to it in its front, or should itself be broken, it still maintains its own proper formation. But, if it should attempt either to follow up an advantage by pursuing any fugitives, or should it seek for itself safety in retreat or flight-in either of these cases, the solid formation of the phalanx, in which its strength and its consequent security consist, must in some degree be broken up, even if it be not altogether dissolved. Openings are made in the serried ranks, which the reserve of the enemy quickly discern, and upon them they deliver their attacks in flank, in rear, wherever there may be the slightest encouragement or any prospect of success.

"Finally, since it always is easy to turn aside from whatever would be for the advantage of the phalanx, while it is scarcely possible at any time to escape from everything which must act for its disadvantage, these considerations alone appear to be even more than sufficient to show how decidedly inferior the celebrated military formation of the Greeks was to that which was brought against it by the Romans.

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But, it must be added," Polybius continues, "that the troops who are under orders to join in the formation of a phalanx may be required to march to their rendezvous through every variety of country; they may have to encamp on their route, to take possession of advantageous positions for their haltingplaces, to besiege hostile towns, or to have their own encampments besieged; they may have to attack, or to resist the attack of an enemy, suddenly and unexpectedly, while on their march; and, in a word, they must be prepared to encounter and to surmount every contingency. These all are the chances of war; on them victory frequently depends,

and almost invariably they contribute to it in no slight degree. On all occasions such as these it is scarcely possible to bring the phalanx, as such, into action; or, if it were possible, it could act to but little, if to any advantage, in this irregular and desultory warfare. Not so with the Roman armies. All places, all times, all circumstances by their soldiers are regarded with equal satisfaction. Always in readiness for prompt and decided action, they cannot be embarrassed by any particular form or aspect of the hostile demonstration. Whether formed up in the ranks of the legions, or in small detachments, or in open skirmishing order, when man might be opposed to man, the soldiers of Rome are prepared, as they are qualified, to go gallantly into action.

"With an order of battle in which the combatants could act with such ease, such promptness, and such complete efficiency, it cannot be a matter for any surprise that the Romans in their enterprises easily and certainly triumphed over enemies, who had been trained and who fought under a system, at once so different and so inferior.

"I have felt constrained," concludes the historian, "to treat this subject thus at length, because at the present day it is common with the Greeks to assign the overthrow of the Macedonians to something which they would fain have to be esteemed as bordering upon the miraculous; and also because I am well aware that there are other persons besides Greeks who have yet to learn what is the true character of Roman warfare, and who consequently at present are unable to appreciate the vast superiority of the legion over the phalanx." 88

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CHAPTER V.

THE DECORATION OF ANCIENT ARMS AND ARMOUR.

AT all periods in the history of arms and armour the decorative arts have been invited by the armourer to take a part with him in the adornment and enrichment of his works; and, on the other hand, the great demand for the works of the armourer, and the high estimation in which they have universally been held, have acted as a powerful impulse to promote the best interests of the decorative arts. Some brief notice of the decoration of ancient arms and armour, accordingly, appears to be not only consistent with the general aim and purpose of these pages, but also of necessity to be comprehended within their range.

The corslet and cuirass of the Greeks sometimes show no other decoration than the bold flutings at their base, while at other times a rich foliage is introduced and expressed by effective outlines. Again, in other and more elaborate examples, the plastron or breastplate is divided by horizontal bands into several fields, which are covered with foliage and arabesques in relief. The uppermost field in these examples generally displays a Medusa's head.

Contrary to what might have been expected, it appears that the least decorated pieces of ancient Greek armour were the corslet and the shield, and that the greatest amount of ornamentation was lavished upon the helms and the greaves (cnemides). Fine and characteristic examples of greaves still exist in considerable numbers. They often are divided

by several bands that are set back one upon another, an arrangement which, with a very happy effect, imparts to the piece of armour a pervading curvature of form. Numerous figures of men and of animals, with scroll-work, executed in tolerably high relief, decorate each of these bands.

The decoration of the helm generally consists of figures of men and animals, which are executed in full relief for the crest, and on the sides of the bell of the head-piece are highly relieved also.

The shield, as it would seem, was generally adorned only with painted figures and other enrichments. A circular wreath of foliage, the leaves most in favour being those of either the laurel or the olive, or circles traced out with small studs or discs-these form borders; and the central figures and devices are either a tripod, or a serpent, or a head of Medusa, or some other object of a somewhat similar character. In Fig. 16 a Greek warrior is represented with his shield bordered, and charged with a serpent. We must keep in remembrance, however, that the Greek poets, as in the preeminently famous instance of the shield of Achilles (see page 25), have bequeathed to us descriptions of shields that possess far more scientific and elaborate ornamentation. If we suppose that the ancient monuments have preserved for our information only such examples of shield-decoration as were most prevalent and in general use, while the poets have written their brilliant descriptions of a few exceptional specimens of rare magnificence, it will not be difficult to reconcile these two distinct authorities. It does not follow, however, that in this matter of highly-enriched shields we

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