er
falling into the decemvir's hands. The _decemviri_ all perished, either
in prison or in banishment.

The consuls and all the chief magistrates, except the censors and the
tribunes of the people, were preceded in public by a certain number,
according to their rank of office, called lictors, each bearing on his
shoulders as the insignia of office, the _fasces_ and _securis_, which
were a bundle of rods, with an axe in the centre of one end; but the
lictors in attendance on an inferior magistrate, carried the _fasces_
only, without the axe, to denote that he was not possessed of the power
of capital punishments.

They opened a way through the crowd for the consul, saying words like
these--"_cedite, Consul venit_," or "_date viam Consuli_." It was their
duty also to inflict punishment on the condemned.

CHAPTER XVII.

_Of Military Affairs._

According to the Roman constitution, every free-born citizen was a
soldier, and bound to serve if called upon, in the armies of the state
at any period, from the age of seventeen to forty-six.

When the Romans thought themselves injured by any nation, they sent one
or more of the priests, called _feciales_, to demand redress, and if it
was not immediately given, thirty-three days were granted to consider
the matter, after which war might be justly declared; then the feciales
again went to their confines, and having thrown a bloody spear into
them, formally declared war against that nation.

The levy of the troops, the encampment, and much of the civil
discipline, as well as the temporary command of the army, was intrusted
to the military tribunes, six of whom were appointed to each legion.

During the early period of the republic, the standing army in time of
peace usually consisted of only four legions, two of which were
commanded by each consul, and they were relieved by new levies every
year, the soldiers then serving without any pay beyond their mere
subsistence. But this number was afterwards greatly augmented, and the
inconvenience of raw troops having been experienced, a fixed stipend in
money was allowed to the men, and they were constantly retained in the
service.

The legion usually consisted of three hundred horse, and three thousand
foot: the different kinds of infantry which composed it were three, the
_hastati_, _principes_, and _triarii_. The first were so called because
they fought with spears: they consisted of young men in the flower of
life, and