The ancient Britons had a method of adapting hooks or scythes in the axle-tree of their war-chariots, which made great havoc among their enemies. The chariot armed thus was, according to Pomponius Meta, called Covinus; and it was not peculiar to them, being also used by the Gauls. Their horses were nimble, and well managed, and the charioteers singularly expert in Managing them. Caesar affirms they could stop them at full flight, check, and turn them in the smallest compass; that they could run out on the pole, rise on the narness, and then with the utmost expedition regain the chariot.
Such are some of the more simple military arms known in the earlier stages of society, which all, ex cepting two, were employed by human strength alone. But, on considering those projected by combinations of the mechanical powers, or the chemical production of permanently elastic fluids, we shall, at a single glance, comprehend the amazing influence which the more re condite invention of mankind must have excited in the mode of conducting warfare. Our limits preclude us from entering on a description of all the different im plements contrived by men for accomplishing the speedy destruction of their own species, and therefore we shall touch but slightly on a few of the most noted, or those whose structure has presented difficulties to antiqua rians. Vegetius, in treating of the means by which besieged troops may defend themselves, says it is usu ally done by balistre, onagri, scorpiones, arcubalistcc, fus tibali, sagittarii, fundx. " The balista," he continues, " is distended by cords, and the longer its arms are, the farther will it discharge darts ; which, if well tempered, and skilfully directed, will penetrate whatever they strike. The onager projects stones, heavy in propor tion to the size and thickness of the cords employed in it, for the larger these are, the more will its operations resemble the effect of a thunderbolt. No machines are of greater power than the onager and balista. Scorpions, now denominated hand-balistx, (manu-balistx) are so called from inflicting deadly wounds with small sharp darts. It would be superfluous to speak of cross-bows, fustibali, and fundx, as they are now in common use. Not only horses and men, but even the warlike engines of an enemy, are destroyed by the more ponderous stones thrown by the onager." Several of these wea pons have been confounded with each other. Ammi anus Marcellinus, describing the scorpion, uses these words: ScorJzionis quell' appellant nunc hujus forma est. Isidorus, in a chapter De Sagittis, says,— Scorpio est sagitta venenata, arcu -'eel tormentis excussa quad dum ad hominem venerit, virus qua figit infundit uncle et scorpio nonzen acccpit. Thus, notwithstanding the expressions of so eminent an author as Marcellinus, the moderns, on comparing the descriptions of Vitru vius and others, have concluded that the scorpion was nothing but a cross-bow of great dimensions, mounted on a frame, and adapted for discharging arrows only. The balista and catapulta narrowly resembled each other; the latter discharged arrows, the former both stones and arrows. It is difficult to convey an adequate idea of their structure by words alone ; but we may re mark, that the operation of these machines was produ ced by the untwisting of cords which had been forced into a strong degree of tension. Let us suppose that a bundle of cords, consisting of several folds, is stretched between the roof and the floor of an apartment. If a
beam, or lever, is inserted among these cords in the middle, and the end of the long arm made to describe a circle, by bringing it round several times in a hori zontal direction, the cords will become extremely dis tended, and on removing the power applied to the ends of the lever, it will return with great violence and ve locity. It is on the force with which the end of the lever returns that the principle of the balista and cata pulta depends. A frame contained two upright parcels of cords, at some distance asunder: a beam, or lever, was inserted in the centre of each parcel, the relative position of which, with respect to one another, was such, that had the two short arms of the lever been produced, they would have met and formed a very large angle, at the point of union. The two long arms were connected by a cord at the extremity; and this was the situation of the machine when at rest. On applying a strong power to the centre of the connecting cord, and draw ing it out like a bow-string, it brought the two ends of the lever nearer each other, while the tension of the perpendicular bundles of ropes was, by this means, in creased. The centre of the connecting cord was put over a trigger, as in a cross-bow, until the missile wea pon could be adapted. Therefore the machine may now be considered as nearly equivalent to two halves of a bow, not joined together in the middle; and if the le vers were not absolutely inflexible, they would form a curve. The missile weapons were projected by means which we may here conceive analogous to those dis charging arrows from a cross-bow. Catapultas were of different sizes, though only two were adopted in prac tice; one called the trispithamal, from discharging ar rows three spans long; the other tricubital, from dis charging those of three cubits, or six spans in length. As the balista projected large stones as well as arrows, it had several bow cords to force them forward, laterally applied to each other. In addition to the machines of this description, acting with a horizontal motion, Father Daniel, and the commentators on Vegetius, seem to think there was a catapulta, or balista, which, by the perpendicular motion of one arm, or lever, was employed for discharging darts. The power of such machines must have been very great. According to Athenxus, there was a catapulta only a foot long, (probably mean ing a foot in the lever,) which threw an arrow half a mile. The balista threw great beams of wood, lances twelve cubits long, and stones weighing three hundred and sixty pounds Polybius speaks of stones thrown at vessels to prevent them from entering into port. Jose phus affirms, that they beat down the battlements and corners of towers, and overthrew whole files of soldiers, even to the rear rank. Particular care was to be used in constructing these machines, to select cords of such materials as would, from their tension, produce the greatest effect. The guts or sinews of animals, and the hair of women, were especially preferred. Vitruvius, on this subject, observes, Nanzque fiunt in capitibus fo ramina, per qziorum spatia contenduntur, capillo maxime nzuliebri vet n try° funes, qui magnitudine ponderis lapidis quern debet ea balista inittere ratione gravitatis pro portione sumuntur: quemaelmodum catapultis de longi tudinibus sagittarum. A balista throwing stones of an hundred weight was called centenaria.