imputation of cruelty toward those under condemnation, by the
great rewards they bestow on the valiant soldiers; and the
readiness of obeying their commanders is so great, that it is
very ornamental in peace; but when they come to a battle, the
whole army is but one body, so well coupled together are their
ranks, so sudden are their turnings about, so sharp their hearing
as to what orders are given them, so quick their sight of the
ensigns, and so nimble are their hands when they set to work;
whereby it comes to pass that what they do is done quickly, and
what they suffer they bear with the greatest patience. Nor can we
find any examples where they have been conquered in battle, when
they came to a close fight, either by the multitude of the
enemies, or by their stratagems, or by the difficulties in the
places they were in; no, nor by fortune neither, for their
victories have been surer to them than fortune could have granted
them. In a case, therefore, where counsel still goes before
action, and where, after taking the best advice, that advice is
followed by so active an army, what wonder is it that Euphrates
on the east, the ocean on the west, the most fertile regions of
Libya on the south, and the Danube and the Rhine on the north,
are the limits of this empire? One might well say that the Roman
possessions are not inferior to the Romans themselves.

8. This account I have given the reader, not so much with the
intention of commending the Romans, as of comforting those that
have been conquered by them, and for the deterring others from
attempting innovations under their government. This discourse of
the Roman military conduct may also perhaps be of use to such of
the curious as are ignorant of it, and yet have a mind to know
it. I return now from this digression.