Note 1 — SCENE IN SCHOOL · AN EXERCISE IN COMPOSITION
Reading edition
A centurion commanded a company of about sixty men. He was a common soldier who had been promoted from the ranks for his courage and fighting qualities. The centurions were the real leaders of the men in battle. There were sixty of them in a legion. The centurion in the picture (p. 216) has in his hand a staff with a crook at one end, the symbol of his authority.