ever, two circumstances occurring in the conduct of this battle, the
like of which never happened before, and seldom since, namely, that to
give steadiness to the minds of their soldiers, and render them obedient
to the word of command and resolute to fight, one of the consuls put
himself, and the other his son, to death.

The equality which Titus Livius declares to have prevailed in these two
armies, arose from this, that having long served together they used the
same language, discipline, and arms; that in disposing their men for
battle they followed the same system; and that the divisions and
officers of their armies bore the same names. It was necessary,
therefore, that as they were of equal strength and valour, something
extraordinary should take place to render the courage of the one army
more stubborn and unflinching than that of the other, it being on this
stubbornness, as I have already said, that victory depends. For while
this temper is maintained in the minds of the combatants they will never
turn their backs on their foe. And that it might endure longer in the
minds of the Romans than of the Latins, partly chance, and partly the
valour of the consuls caused it to fall out that Torquatus slew his son,
and Decius died by his own hand.

In pointing out this equality of strength, Titus Livius takes occasion
to explain the whole system followed by the Romans in the ordering of
their armies and in disposing them for battle; and as he has treated the
subject at length, I need not go over the same ground, and shall touch
only on what I judge in it most to deserve attention, but, being
overlooked by all the captains of our times, has led to disorder in many
armies and in many battles.

From this passage of Titus Livius, then, we learn that the Roman army
had three principal divisions, or battalions as we might now call them,
of which they named the first _hastati_, the second _principes_, and the
third _triarii_, to each of which cavalry were attached. In arraying an
army for battle they set the _hastati_ in front. Directly behind them,
in the second rank, they placed the _principes_; and in the third rank
of the same column, the _triarii_. The cavalry of each of these three
divisions they disposed to the right and left of the division to which
it belonged; and to these companies of horse, from their form and
position, they gave the name wings (_alae_), from their appearing like
the two wings of the main body of t