Ab urbe condita

When the triarii had admitted the hastati and principes through the intervals separating their companies, they rose from their kneeling posture

and instantly closing their companies up they blocked all passage through them and in one compact mass fell on the enemy as the last hope of the army.

The enemy who had followed up the others as though they had defeated them, saw with dread a now and larger army rising apparently out of the earth. There were generally four legions enrolled, consisting each of 5000 men, and 300 cavalry were assigned to each legion.

A force of equal size used to be supplied by the Latins, now, however, they were hostile to Rome. The two armies were drawn up in the same formation, and they knew that if the maniples kept their order they would have to

fight, not only vexilla with vexilla, hastati with hastati, principes with principes, but even centurion with Centurion.

There were amongst the triarii two centurions, one in each army —the Roman, possessing but little bodily strength but an energetic and experienced soldier, the Latin, a man of enormous strength and a splendid fighter —very well known to each other because they had always served in the same Company.

The Roman, distrusting his own strength, had obtained the consuls' permission before leaving Rome to choose his own sub-centurion to protect him from the man who was destined to be his enemy.

This youth, finding himself face to face with the Latin centurion, gained a victory over him.