one directly after another How they stood Polybius shewes describing the same battaile He saith that Scipio ordered the Hastati and their ensignes first of all the rest and in front and gaue interuals to their maniples behinde them the Principes not against the interuals of the Hastati as the Roman manner was but behinde them in a right line because of the multitude of the Enemies Elephants and lastly the Triarij On the wing of the left flanke he ranged C. Lelius with the Italian Horse vnder him on the right Massanissa and all the Numidian Horse which he commanded The interuals of the first Ensignes that is of the Hastati he filled with the bodies of light armed commanding them first to vndertake the fight and in case they were not able to withstand the affront of the the enemy or of the Elephants he willed them to retire some that could preuent the rest with speed through the direct interuals of the maniples to thereare of the army other that were in a manner surprised to the flankes neere the Ensignes This ordering of Maniples one directly after another so termed and described by Polybius Appian calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which notwithstanding if truly examined cannot according to the Grecian practise come within the compasse of that name For the Grecians as I said drew their Companies seuerally each into a file and laying foure or fiue or six or more of them together made a body the depth whereof much exceeded the length or breadth the front being of 4. 5. or 6. men in ranke the depth of 100 whereas the Romans as appeareth by Polybius kept their ordinary manner of embattelling sauing that they placed their principes not against the interuals of the Hastati as their custome was but directly behinde the Maniples of the Hastati to the end the Elephants of the Carthaginians might haue an empty and void lane as it were to passe through their whole Army As for the Roman Maniples they consisted of two parts ioyned together which they called Ordines and euery Ordo contained 60 men commanded by a Captaine so that the Maniple had in it 120 men and two Captaines or Centurions These 120 men being digested into files containing 10 men a peece for that was the length of file and the depth of the Maniple make 12 files which stood one by another ranged in front not stretched one after another in depth But because the Maniples of the Hastati principes and the Triarij stood directly one after another therefore Appian called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 either out of the ignorance of the manner of embattelling amongst the Romans or else because the Grecians in their writings reduced the order of the Roman embattelling vnto their owne vsage So they called a Tribune of the Roman Army a Chiliarch albeit a Chiliarch amongst the Grecians and a Tribune amongst the Romans differ very much as I haue noted vpon the ninth Chapter of Aelian the manner of embattailing of the Army of Acilius Glabrio a Roman Consull in the streights of Thermopyle commeth neerer vnto the Greekish forme Appian describeth it thus Antiochus hauing fortified the streights of Thermopyle with a double wall and drawne forth his army ordâ—â—ly for fight to make good the place against Acilius Acilius diuided his troopes into three parts and giuing one part to Cato toâ—laccus â—laccus the one to make his passage on the one side of the Hils the other on the other himselfe led the ordinary way against Antiochus and framing of his owneâ— part 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which manner of embattelling alone saith Appian seruetâ— for streight wayes â—e pushed on and forced his Enemy to retire gained his Campe. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here mentioned are no other then the Orthie-phalange which Aelian hath set downe in this Chapter namely hauing one Maniple or if the streight permitted not a Maniple of 12 files to march entirely in front one Ordo consisting of six files to aduance the rest following in the same â—inde as the fashion is of the right induction remembred by Aelian hereafter in his 36 Chapter Now albeit that forme come neerer to the Graecian forme yet it is not the same the one filling the way with the Maniple or Ordo as it fell our in the same figure that it stands in the field the other changing the order of the field drawing the Company out into one file and ioyning other Companies with it in front as many as the way would receiue So that the Grecian had too in depth of the body the Roman but 10. We are not to pretermit that albeit Acilius vsed this forme to dislodge 〈…〉 from the Hâ—ll yet he trusted not to it alone but diuiding his 〈…〉 into three parts he caused two of them to march vp the hils on both sides himselfe on the midst to the end that one part might â—aine the height ouer 〈…〉 head and so make him forsake his ground Thus farre of the vse of these two 〈…〉 of Phalanges or battailes it remaineth to shew how one of them may be transsormed into another The next proceeding Chapter teacheth that out of doublings of Rankes the length of the battell ariseth as the depth out of doubling of files I haue shewed the manner of both in my notes vpon the 8 and 29 Chapter And this manner is easie in a single Company or in a small Army In great Bodies it hath no great vse let the Example be of a Phalangarchy which is the fourth part of a fourefold Phalange and containeth 256 files Double the files once you shall 128 files and 32 men in depth and but 3 foot distance in ranke The second doubling bringeth forth 64 files and as many men in depth but the distance betwixt ranke and ranke is but a foot and a halfe Beyond this doubling you cannot proceede for beside the confusion of places of officers which are in number aboue 250 in a Phalangarchy the interuals betwixt man and man will not conueniently allow aboue two doublings your open order betwixt man and man wherein they stand at first giueth but six foot The first doubling takes away three foot from euery internall the second leaueth but a soot and halfe And considering that when the battell is closed for fight the neerest distance betwixt ranke and ranke ought to be no lesse then three foot in regard of handling of weapons as I haue shewed before out of Polybius The second doubling albeit it yeeldeth roome from the bodies of Souldiers to stand in yet it takes away the halfe of this distance but the third doubling allowing but 3 quarters of a foot for each man to stand in giueth not so much ground as his body will possesse So is it likewise of Ranks which will not suffer aboue two doublings fit for vse Aelians file is of â—6 men double your rankes once your file will containe no more then eight men and
euery man shall haue three foot distance from other in ranke double them twice the file hath but foure men and euery mans distance in ranke is no more then a foot and halfe which as it is allowable in close order so admitteth it no third dou 〈…〉 wherein the space betwixt man and man cannot exceed three quarters of a foot As therefore the second doubling of ranks in a Phalangarchy albeit it extend the front of the battell leaueth yet too small a depth to the Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile it containing no more then foure men in depth so the doubling of files twice fitteth not the Orthiophalange or Herse as hauing 64 in depth and as many in length which number neither holdeth proportion of the depth manifold to the length of the Orthiophalange or Herse nor yet by reason of the length hath conueniency to apply it selfe to streight waies a thing that containeth the principall vse of that manner of battaile which was the cause that antiquity vsed another course If the march were to be made out of a Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile they framed a Herse by putting forth out of the right or left wing first one Tetratchy or other body which might march whole according to the largenesse of the ways and after it followed from the same wing the rest of the Army in the same kinde If contrariwise a Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile were to be framed out of an Orthiophalange or a Herse they caused the body which had the vaunt to stand firme and the rest following to sleeue vp by it on the right or left hand till they all came to an euen front Xenophon sheweth the manner in a Company whose words are these in English Then he Cyrus the elder beheld another Captaine leading his Company from the river side to dinner one souldier following another in a single file who when hee thought â—it commanded the second and third and fourth file to sleeue vp and make an euen front with the first the file-leaders being new in front hee commanded the halfe files to double the front so that new the Decadarches or leaders of halfe files stood in front Againe when it seemed good he commanded the quarter files to double the front so the Pempedarches or leaders of the quarter of files led vp and the files marched on being diuided into foure parts When they were come vnto the Tent doore hee commanded the first file to single out againe and to enter in and the second to follow it single in the reare and so the third and fourth till all were within the Tent. To cleare these words of Xenophon It is to be vnderstood that the Company or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here mentioned consisted of 100 men and was diuided into foure files or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 each file containing twenty foure men The file had fiue Officers the file leader the Decadarch two Pempedarchs and the bringer vp At the head of the file stood the file-leader and behinde him directly fiue men next after them stood the first Pempedarch and fiue men that followed him in the middest of the file that is after the Pempedarch and his fiue was placed the Decadarch who â—ed the hinder most halfe file and after him fiue men more Lastly the second Pempedarch and fiue more after him the last of which was the bringer vp Now when Xenophon saith that the whole Company followed by one or file wise he meaneth that the foure files were cast into one file and followed one another in a right line and by that meanes had 100 in depth and but one in front To bring it therefore to conuenient length from this depth the Captaine commanded the first file leader to make Alte or to stand and the second file leader with his file to aduance and to sleeue vp on the left hand and to front with the first file leader and so both files to stand euen fronted in open order The like he commanded the third and fourth file to doe so that the foure files being laid one to another and fronting equally the front or length of the body had foure men the depth 24. Then because he held this depth disproporcionable to the length in so small a body he againe enlarged the front by doubling commanding the halfe files to double their front The Decadarchs hereupon marched vp to the front and ranked with the file leaders and the halfe files following them ranked with the front-halfe files man to man Now was the front eight in length the flanke or depth twelue To enlarge againe the front and to make the length exceede the depth he commanded the quarter-files to double the front hereupon the Pempedarchs aduanced marching vp with their quarter files after them till they fronted with the file leaders and Decadarchs and each man of the quarter files ranked with the rest so that the front came to be of 16 men in length the flanke six men in depth and each man in ranke had a foot and halfe distance in file six foot And thus the Company from one file as it were from an Orthiophalange or Herse was formed into a long body somewhat resembling a Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile To reduce it againe to an Orthiophalange or Herse the Captaine at the entry into the Tent where the whole Company was lodged together first directed the first file to march out namely by the file leader with his fiue then the first Pempedarch with his fiue after him the Decadarch with his fiue lastly the second Pempedarch with his fiue which drawing out of the Officers one after another in depth with the parts of the file Commanded by them immediately brought the file to the iust depth of 24. This being done the second file followed the first in like order and the third the second last of al came the fourth and this was the manner of changing one forme into another and albeit the example be but of a Company yet is the reason all one in a Phalange or battaile for as a company is compacted of many files so is a phalange of diuers companies and as one file in the example before was led after another filewise so is or may one company or other body be led after another making thereby an Orthiophalange or Herse and as one file aduanced to front with another to the intent to alter the forme of the Orthiophalange so must the bodies or companies sleeue vp one by another to make a plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile yet want there not Examples in the Greeke History of turning the Orthiophalange or Herse into a plagiophalange or broad fronted battaile and by consequence the plagiophalange into an Orthiophalange Cherisophus in the returne of the 10000 Grecians that followed Cyrus the yonger into Persia had the leading of the Vant-gard all the way He in his march in Armenia perceiuing the Chalybes Taochians and Phasians had taken
a battaile and to behold a direct space betwixt files and rankes For that is the grace and beauty as I may terme it of a Phalange ordered for fight This proportion cannot be maintayned without obseruing distance curiously Open order is sixe foot both in ranke and file betwixt man and man euery way If then any souldier in file gather vp to his leader and stand at distance of three foot it is manifest that his ranke is thereby disturbed and made vneuen although the file continue streight Contrariwise if he beare himselfe out of his place three foot toward either of his side-men by this meanes he disordereth his file and maketh it crooked This fault if it were committed by many a generall disorder would follow in the body and therefore Aelian well aduiseth to keepe the first distances especially till you be commanded to the second or third distance which will often fall out in the foure motions Of which Facing is the first and the words of direction in it are these as before in Aelian 12 Face to the Pike That is Face to the tight hand For the pike was alwayes borne in the right hand 14 Face to the Target The Pike-men in the Macedonian army bore targets on their left armes or on the left side so that facing to the target is all one with the word of command Face to the left hand 16 Face about to the pike or target That is face about to the right or left hand But where hee addeth moue a little further he signifieth that the direction is not fully accomplished and he would haue the souldiers continue their motion till their faces were fully come about to the reare and then hee willeth them to stand so because they haue gayned their place These facings here expressed by Aelian are of the whole body Other facings of the parts he hath not set downe which notwithstanding are oftentimes of great vse For say the enemy charge in front and reare your front must continue as it did but the word for the reare is Halfe files face about to the right or left hand If the enemy charge you on both flankes then is the word of command Halfe rankes face to the right halft to the left hand If in front and one flanke the front standeth firme and the word for the flanke that is charged is Halfe rankes of the right or left flanke Face to the hand named If in front and both flankes the front is to stand firme and both the flanks to face to the enemy And this is done in a hollow square or Plesium and the word is Flankes face one to the right the other to the left hand If on all sides or round about it is as before for the flankes but for the reare The reare face about to the right or left hand Now in Countermarch of the reare the ranke of file-leaders is oftentimes commanded to face about to the right or left hand In countermarch of the front the ranke of bringers vp must doe the like as wee shall see in Countermarch Doubling is the second motion vsed in battaile the precept of it in this in Aelian 18 Double your depth The word in our exercise for this motion is Double your files because files measure the depth of the battaile or rankes measure the length This doubling is made many wayes The first is when the euen files that is the 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. file fall into the odde As if the doubling be to the right hand the right hand corner-file standeth firme and is the first after doubling the third is the second file the fifth the third and so the rest of the odde files in order But the manner is that the leaders of the second file fall directly behind the leader of the first file and the second man of the second file behind the second man of the first and so the rest of those two files The same order is for the rest of the euen files when they double the odde files And the word is Double your files to the right or left hand Another manner is when halfe the body of files conueyes it selfe into the spaces oâ— the other halfe of the body be it to the right or left hand according to direction giuen so that the first ranke of the halfe body which is to moue fals into the space next after the first ranke of the halfe body that standeth and so the rest of the rankes of the halfe body that moueth and the word is Halfe the body double your files to the right or left hand Another is when files are doubled by a countermarch As if the second file of the right or left hand as it is appointed countermarch and the leader of that file place himselfe behind the bringer vp of the corner file to that hand to which the doubling is to be made and so the rest of the files of euen number behinde those of odde number as the second behind the first the fourth behind the third the sixt behind the fifth and so the rest The word is Double your files by countermarch to the right or left hand The next word in Aelian is Double your length That is double your rankes or front For as I before noted the rankes make the length of the battaile which likewise is many wayes done The first is when the rankes of euen appellation as the 2. 4. 6. 8. c. fall out into the spaces of the odde namely into the spaces of the 1. 3. 5. 7. c. which stand before them and place themselues euen with them in ranke The word is Double your rankes to the right or left hand Another way is when the bringers-vp their halfe files following them by countermarch aduance vp to the front and place themselues in the spaces betwixt the file-leaders to the hand appointed and the rest of the ranks accordingly namely the ninth ranke in the spaces of the second the eight in the spaces of the third the seuenth in the fourth the sixth in the spaces of the fifth And the word is Bringers vp double your front by countermarch to the right or left hand Another is when the reare-halfe-files one halfe face to the right the other to the left hand and diuiding themselues march out till they bee past the flankes of the standing halfe-files Then facing to the front sleeue vp and front with the standing halfe-files Then the word is Reare halfe-files double your front by diuision to the right and left hand Another way is when the reare-halfe-files vndiuided face to the hand appointed and being beyond the flanke of the rest of the body face to the front and sleeue vp and ioyne in front with the standing halfe-files The word is Reare-halfe-files enter double your front to the right or left hand It is to be obserued that in all these motions of doubling rankes or front the souldiers are to returne after
Enemy If the Enemy come sodainely vpon vs he must direct himselfe either against our front or our reare or our flankes If against our front we neede no other motion then that whereby we may strengthen our front which is vsually done by doubling of rankes we march for the most part in a herse in which forme there cannot come many hands to fight and that is the reason why it is accounted the weakest forme to ioyne with the Enemy Doubling of rankes helpeth that defect and bringeth as many hands to fight as the proportion of forces will allow If against the reare and time streight you not and your battell be in open order you haue the vse of countermarch which bringeth the best hands to fight for the File-leaders are esteemed the flower of the Army your battaile being in order or close order you are to wheele it about to your right or left Cap. 32. The action of wheeling Cap. 32. The manner of wheeling The first posture Closing of files Closing of rankes forward The Front Cap 33 Os Cloinges Closing to the middesâ— The front after closing yâ— right action Closing to yâ— left â—and Closing to yâ— right â—and The Front before closing The Front of yâ— battaile before closing hand and so to oppose the front against the Enemy But in both these motions the caution of Aelian is that the Enemy surprize you not whilest you are in the a 〈…〉 ion of countermarch or wheeling lest taking his aduantage hee charge you being in disorder Therefore if he come so neere that you haue no liberty to countermarch or wheele your onely refuge is to face about to the right or left hand for so he shall not be able to giue vpon your backe If the enemy appeare vpon any flanke countermarch of the Front will not auaile much lesse doubling against the flanke of ranks or files but you must either wheele your Front to the flanke or if you haue not time enough so to doe you are to face your battell to that hand The vse of these motions hath been handled in their seuerall Chapters more at large Of the Signes of Direction which are to be giuin to the Army and of their seuerall kindes CHAP. XXXV 1 WE are to acquaint our Forces both Foot and Horse perfectly with the 2 voice and perfectly with 3 visible signes that whatsoeuer is fitting may be executed and done as occasion shall require 4 Some things also are to be denounced by the Trumpet for so all directions will be fully accomplished and sort to a desired effect 5 The signes therefore which are deliuered by voice are most euident and cleere if they haue no impediment 6 But the most certaine and least tumultuous signes are such as are presented to the eye if they be not obscured The voice sometime cannot bee heard by reason of the clashing of â—rmour or trampling or neying of Horses or tumult of carriage or noise and confused sound of the multitude The visible signes also become many waies vncertaine by thicknesse of ayre by dust by raine or snow or sun-shine or else through ground that is vneuen or ful of trees or of turnings And sometimes it will not be easie to find out signes for all vses occasions eftsoones presenting new matter to which a man is not accustomed yet can it not so fall out that either by voice or by signall we should not giue sure and certaine direction NOTES 1 THe ordinary motions in a Phalange are all represented by Aelian Now commeth hee to speake of Signes which direct and are meanes of effecting all these motions and without which the Army is no Army but remains a body vngouernable and may aptly be resembled to a Shippe that hath no rudder For as a Ship in a tempest is driuen by all windes tossed by waues throwne euery way vpon rockes vpon sands vpon dangerous shoares that is not guided by the Master who standeth and moueth at the helme So an Army not directed by signes and forecast of the General is carried away through ignorance and violence of affection sometimes of anger sometimes offeare sometimes of reuenge and other vnbridled desires and breaketh or else falleth into confusion through disorder working little against the enemy may rather giuing him meanes of a certaine victory The shippe is like the Army the Generall like the Master the words of Direction like the Rudder guiding all and euery motion of the Army For the Army being a body of many heads whereof euery one hath a seuerall sense hangeth together not by the naturall coherence and knitting of one member to another but by artificiall ioyning of man to man file to file body to body whereby it is gathered together into one Masse and figured into many members and ioynts and ruled not by the reason and iudgement of it selfe but by the reason and vnderstanding of the Generall So that no man is to demand why this or that is commanded but is to execute it alone for this Cause because it is commanded The Generall then being to Command and direct the actions of the whole Army ought to finde out meanes to speake and discourse with them all at once in such a language as it were that all may vnderstand at once For the occurrence of warre being oftentimes sudden and once slipt by irrecouerable require sudden meanes of speedy direction that nothing fall out so vnlooked for but the Army may haue notice how to preuent and auoid or else to turne it to their most aduantage the rather because in warre safety and life come in question in losse of which no pardon of negligence can be admitted And seeing there are two principall sences of aduertisement the eare the one the other the eye the eare to heare all manner of sounds the eye to discerne all manner of colours and shapes it hath been the witty inuentions so antient Generals to informe their Armies by the one and by the other by the eye when there was no vse of the eare by the eare when the eye could not be informed The true obseruation and vse of these signes auaile much in warre Vegetius saith that nothing profiteth more to victory then to obey the admonition of signes Former experience hath taught that the neglect or error of signes hath brought in great inconueniences and quite ouerthrowne the enterprises in hand Polybius remembreth it in Aratus the elder a Generall of the Achaeans Cratus saith hee the Generall of the Achaeans seeking to get the Cyâ—ethian City by a plot agreed with those of his party within the Citie vpon a certain time to come by night to the riuer that runneth by Cynethe there refreshing and staying his Army a while and that those within taking their time should send about mid-day out of the gate secretly one of their companions to stand in a cloake by a hill appointed which was not farre from the Citie to giue aduertisement to Aratus to
directions Doe what you are commanded with silence keepe your places euery man follow your colours And in another place he writeth thus When your Army goeth out to ioyne with the enemy there ought to be a deepe silence For that both preserueth the Army from disorder and also maketh the directions of the Commanders to be heard with more attention And againe thus There ought to be as much silence as may be in the Army and if the bringers vp of any file heare but a whispering of their fellowes in the file they are to pricke the parties with the points of their pikes and so to redresse the fault Alexander when he was returning from the Countrey of the Taulantians into which he had made an inrode found his way beset with enemies and being to cast his Army into a forme of battaile to fight he first commanded an absolute silence and then proceeded to other directions And for the effect of silence our owne story hath a memorable example of the Army of Edward the fourth in Barnet field As for the silence here prescribed by Aelian it extendeth not onely to exercise and fight but oftentimes to the marching of an Army and to the Campe as appeareth by the last example and by Leos precept in his eleuenth Chapter And yet this precept of silence is not inuiolably to be kept in an Army at all times for there is a time when the Souldiers ought to giue a generall shout and cry thorow the whole Army to the end to terrifie the aduerse battaile of the enemy and that time hath alwayes beene chosen and by all Nations obserued when the fight is presently to be vndergone I neede not bring instances thereof euery man knoweth it that is although but meanely acquainted with History It is termed in Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine clamor in English a shout of the whole Army the which being performed silence is to be restored in as strict manner a before And thus much of silence Now followeth the words of direction in Aelians last Chapter Of the words of direction CHAP. LIIII THus then are we to command 1 To your armes 2 Carriage away from the battaile 3 Be silent and marke your directions 4 Take vp your armes 5 Seperate your selues 6 Aduance your Pikes 7 File your selues 8 Ranke your selues 9 Looke to your leaders 10 Reare-Commander strengthen your file 11 Keepe your first distances 12 Face to the pike Moue a little further Stand so 13 As you were 14 Face to the Target Moue a little further Stand so 15 As you were 16 Face about to the pike 17 As you were 18 Double your depth 19 To your first posture 20 The Lacedemonian Countermarch 21 To your first posture 22 The Macedonian Countermarch 23 To your first posture 24 The Choraean Countermarch 25 To your first posture The precepts of the art Tacticks haue I deliuered vnto you most inuincible Caesar which I make no doubt will bring to the practice safety and victory ouer his enemies NOTES THese words of direction here set downe are rather to shew the manner of Command then to expresse the iust number of directions vsed in exercise yet doth Leo the Emperour transcribe some of them albeit not all out of Aelian and the last in Leo hath a mixture of two motions in one direction being deliuered in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in Latine translated by Sir Iohn Check Laconicum ad hasta 〈…〉 triuolue and may be thus englished wheele thrice the Lacedemonian Countermarch to the right hand wherein there is both wheeling and the Lace emonian Countermarch commanded at once a thing impossible to be performed For as in wheeling the whole battaile remaineth entire and moueth circlewise about the right ot left corner fileleader as about a Center So in a Countermarch Lacedemonian it is broken and beginneth to moue by seuerall ranks and continueth the motion in a direct line from the front to the reare and not in a circle But for the precepts of Aelian I purpose to explaine onely such as are vsed by the Souldiers and Commanders of our time And after taking of armes I hold this to be the first at lest when we begin to moue 6 Aduance your Pikes Pikes in ordering of a battaile must be first aduanced before any motion can be performed in as much as all other postures of the Pike doe hinder or else are vnfit for transmutations and variety of changes and from aduaneing the rest of pike-postures doe spring Ordering of the Pike was deuised to ease the Souldier standing still shouldering to ease him in matching aduancing to giue facility to the other postures and to finish them because they both begin and end in it 7 8. File and ranke your selues It is needlesse to note that no battaile can be without filing and ranking This we must vnderstand that the Captaine is to see whether the Souldiers be filed and ranked but the action it selfe pertaineth to the Souldiers who knowing their files and rankes are euery man to take their place accordingly for so ought it to be in true discipline of Warre 9 Looke to your Leader The file-leader is the life and giuer of forme vnto the file He is the life in that he moueth first and draweth the rest vnto the same motion he giueth the forme vnto it because it being nothing else but a right line his standing being the first point directeth the rest to follow lineally one after another In this precept therefore Looke to your Leader two things are commanded one that the rest of the file should obserue to moue and stand still as he doth the other that they should maintaine a straightnesse and rightnesse in length which is the forme of the file 10 Reare-commander order your file In the Greeke Edition of Aelian is read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is file-leader But in a Manuscript which I haue seene is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the bringer vp or reare-commander and so is it read in Leos Tacticks and I take it to be the true reading this command rather appertaining to the reare-Commander then to the file-leader for the file-leader being the foremost of the file and bearing his face out of the front how can he see whether the file that is behinde him be in right order or not The bringer-vp hath his face toward the whole file as it standeth out before him and therefore may easily discerne if any man be in disorder and reforme them that are the cause of the disorder In which respect it is euident that he is fitter for the command then the file-leader which is the cause that I haue translated the word of direction as before Reare-commander order your file 11 Keepe your first distances That is stand in your open order For in that distance is the exercise first legunne It is a seemely thing to see an euen proportion obserued in the motion of