Pyrrhus advanced, and encamped in the plain between the cities of Pandosia and Heraclea, and having notice the Romans were near, and lay on the other side of the river Siris, he rode up to take a view of them, and seeing their order, the appointment of the watches, their method and the general form of their encampment, he was amazed, and addressing one of his friends next to him: “This order,” said he, “Megacles, of the barbarians, is not at all barbarian in character; we shall see presently what they can do”; and growing a little more thoughtful of the event, resolved to expect the arriving of the confederate troops.
Description of the lead-up to the battle of Heraclea, from Plutarch’s Life of Pyrrhus (75 CE), trans. John Dryden, available at The Internet Classics Archive. (via nbr)
