began to fight with such fury that they
slew Manilius, and would have destroyed all the rest of the Roman
army, had not the prudence of one of the tribunes opened a way for the
Veientines to retreat. Here we see that so long as necessity compelled,
the Veientines fought most fiercely, but on finding a path opened
for escape, preferred flight to combat. On another occasion when
the Volscians and Equians passed with their armies across the Roman
frontier, the consuls were sent out to oppose them, and an engagement
ensued. It so happened that when the combat was at its height, the
army of the Volscians, commanded by Vectius Mescius, suddenly found
themselves shut in between their own camp, which a division of the
Romans had occupied, and the body of the Roman army; when seeing that
they must either perish or cut a way for themselves with their swords,
Vectius said to them, "_Come on, my men, here is no wall or rampart to
be scaled: we fight man with man; in valour we are their equals, and
necessity, that last and mightiest weapon, gives us the advantage._"
Here, then, necessity is spoken of by Titus Livius as _the last and
mightiest weapon_.

Camillus, the wisest and most prudent of all the Roman commanders, when
he had got within the town of Veii with his army, to make its surrender
easier and not to drive its inhabitants to desperation, called out to
his men, so that the Veientines might hear, to spare all whom they found
unarmed. Whereupon the defenders throwing away their weapons, the town
was taken almost without bloodshed. And this device was afterwards
followed by many other captains.

CHAPTER XIII.--_Whether we may trust more to a valiant Captain with a
weak Army, or to a valiant Army with a weak Captain._

Coriolanus being banished from Rome betook himself to the Volscians,
and when he had got together an army wherewith to avenge himself on his
countrymen, came back to Rome; yet, again withdrew, not constrained to
retire by the might of the Roman arms, but out of reverence for his
mother. From this incident, says Titus Livius, we may learn that the
spread of the Roman power was due more to the valour of her captains
than of her soldiers. For before this the Volscians had always been
routed, and only grew successful when Coriolanus became their captain.

But though Livius be of this opinion, there are many passages in his
history to show that the Roman soldiers, even when left without leaders,
often perfor