[244] Spears—Hastas. "A hasta pura, that is a spear without iron, was anciently the reward of a soldier the first time that he conquered in battle, Serv. ad Virg. Aen. vi. 760; it was afterward given to one who had struck down an enemy in a sally or skirmish, Lips. ad Polyb. de Milit. Rom. v.17." Burnouf.
[245] A banner—Vexillum. "Standards were also military rewards. Vopiscus relates that ten hastae purae, and four standards of two colors, were presented to Aurelian. Suetonius (Aug. 25) says that Agrippa was presented by Augustus, after his naval victory, with a standard of the color of the sea. These standards therefore, were not, as Badius Ascensius thinks, always taken from the enemy; though this was sometimes the case, as appears from Sil. Ital. x.v. 261:
Tunc hasta viris, tunc martia cuique
Vexilla, ut meritum, et praedae libamina, dantur." Burnouf.
[246] Caparisons—Phaleras. "Sil. Ital. xv. 255:
Phaleris hic pectora fulget: Hic torque aurato circumdat bellica collae.
Juvenal, xv. 60:
Ut laeti phaleris omnes et torquibus omnes.
These passages show that phalerae, a name for the ornaments of horses, were also decorations of men; but they differed from the torques, or collars, in this respect, that the phalerae hung down over the breast, and the torques only encircled the neck. See Lips. ad Polyb. de Milit. Rom. v. 17." Burnouf.
[247] Valor—Virtutem. "The Greeks, those illustrious instructors of the world, had not been able to preserve their liberty; their learning therefore had not added to their valor. Virtus, in this passage, is evidently fortitudo bellica, which, in the opinion of Marius, was the only virtue." Burnouf. See Plutarch, Vit. Mar. c. 2.
[248] To be vigilant at my post—Praesidia agitare. Or "to keep guard at my post." "Praesidia agitare signifies nothing more than to protect a party of foragers or the baggage, or to keep guard round a besieged city." Vortius.