The pilum was a javelin used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was about 2 metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 millimetres in diameter and 60 centimetres long with a pyramidal head; the shank was joined to the wooden shaft by either a flat tang. The total weight of a pilum was between 2 and 5 pounds, with the versions produced during the earlier Republic era being heavier than those produced in the Empire era; the weapon had a hard pyramidal tip but the shank was sometimes made of softer iron. Some believe that this softness would cause the shank to bend after impact, rendering the weapon useless to the enemy. Others believe that the pilum was not meant to bend after impact, but bending came from improper handling/removal of the weapon when it was stuck in an object. If the pilum struck a shield it might embed itself, the bending of the shank would force the enemy to discard their shield as unusable without removing the pilum, which would be time consuming. If the shank did not bend, the pyramidal tip still made it difficult to pull out.

However, there were many cases where the whole shank was hardened, making the pilum more suitable as a close quarters melee weapon, while rendering it usable by enemy soldiers. Although the bending of the pilum's shank is seen to be an integral part of the weapon's design and as an intentional feature, there is little evidence to suggest this; the most found artifacts suggest that the pilum was constructed to use the weight of the weapon to cause damage, most to be able to impale through armour and reach the enemy soldier's body. The combination of the weapon's weight and the aforementioned pyramidal tip, allowed the pilum to be a formidable armour-piercing weapon; because the weapon was meant to be used against armour and use its mass, as opposed to its speed, to cause damage, the bending of the shank seems to be a beneficial result of its intended use, to pierce through layers of armour. That the pilum needed to pierce layers of armour necessitated a lengthy shank, prone to bending. In one work, M.

C. Bishop wrote that the momentum of the pilum caused the shank to bend upon impact, although unintended, this proved to be a useful characteristic of the weapon. However, a newer work by M. C. Bishop states that the pilum is "unlikely to bend under their own weight when thrown and striking a target or ground" - rather, it is human intervention, responsible in some way, and that Caesar's writings should be interpreted as the pila bent when soldiers tried to remove them. Since the pyramidal tip of a pilum was wider than the rest of the shank, once it penetrated a shield, it left behind a hole larger than the rest of the shank, it could move through the shield with little resistance, stabbing the soldier behind; the length of the shank and its depth of penetration made it hard to pull out of a shield if it failed to bend. If the bearer of the shield was charging and a pilum penetrated the shield, the end of the heavy shaft of the pilum would hit the ground, holding the shield in place. On some pila there was a spike on the end of the shaft.

Pila were divided into two models: light. Pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted by a lead ball to increase penetrative power but archeological specimens of this design variant are not so far known. Recent experiments have shown pila to have a range of 33 metres, although the effective range is up to 15–20 m; the earliest known examples of the heavy version of the pila have barbed heads and their tangs have a figure-eight shape. The pilum is capable of being used and was used as a melee weapon in close quarters combat; this includes pictorial depictions from the Tropaeum Traiani monument, descriptions of Caesar's troops using javelins as pikes against the Gauls in Caesar's Gallic War, Book VII, descriptions of Caesar's men using javelins to stab at Pompey's cavalry in Life of Caesar by Plutarch. The angon was a similar weapon used in late post-Roman times; the origin of the pilum's design is a matter of contention. Arguments have been put forth which favour the design to be from ancient Italian tribes or from the Iberian peninsula.

Considering that there are two versions of the pilum, it may be possible that the Roman pilum had, as ancestors, two different weapons from different cultural groups. The two weapon designs may have coalesced into the form of the typical Roman pilum, as it is known today. Legionaries of the late republic and early empire carried two pila, with one sometimes being lighter than the other. Standard tactics called for Roman soldiers to throw one of them at the enemy, just before charging to engage with the gladius; the effect of the pila throw was to disrupt the enemy formation by attrition and by causing gaps to appear in its protective shield wall. Pila could be used in hand-to-hand combat. Additionally, pila could be employed as a barrier against cavalry charges; some pila had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a melee weapon, but it does not appear that

Torment is the second novel in the Fallen series written by Lauren Kate. It is a young adult, paranormal romance published in 2010 under Delacorte Press, it continues the story of Lucinda Price, cursed by being reincarnated every 17 years after involving herself in a romantic relationship with a fallen angel named Daniel. Something seems to be different during this lifetime, Daniel is determined to keep Luce safe from hostile forces while he teams up with other angels and demons in an eighteen-day long truce, he installs Luce at the prestigious Shoreline school in Northern California, where she meets a number of nephilim students who have yet to choose between good and evil. Luce is frustrated by Daniel's unwillingness to be honest with her and is determined to discover the truth on her own; the book still revolves around the concept of religion, fallen angels and reincarnation with the introduction of shadow travel. Most reviews were just favorable, rating 3.9/5 in Goodreads, 3/5 in Common Sense Media and 8.7/10 in Fantasy Book Review.

Carrie R. Wheadon of Common Sense Media said, "This book is romance purgatory -- stuck and going nowhere. Oh sure, Lauren Kate had a good thing going in the first book -- that is, if you liked Twilight at all and wished the vampires had wings instead." While Book, Nerd & Critic said, "This book was just incredible. Once you reach a certain high in the book, you just can't stop reading! With twice the amount of drama, suspense and passion as the last book..." Torment debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List, remaining at that position through the week of October 17, 2010. Like its predecessor, the book has been translated in more than 30 languages. After the dramatic events of Fallen and Daniel make an eighteen-day truce to protect Luce from the Outcasts. Luce is hidden at a school where both humans and Nephilim attended. Luce finds out more about her past lives with the help of two Nephilim friends: Shelby, Luce's roommate, Miles, whose affection for Luce causes her to doubt her relationship with Daniel.

Daniel will do anything to protect her, which includes forcing her to stay at Shoreline to keep Luce safe. Discovering some of her past lives, Luce realizes how their love hurt the thousands of families she once lived with. During her time in Shoreline, Luce's division between angels and demons becomes blurry when she discovers that Daniel and Cam are fighting side by side. At times, Daniel visits her to try to make her feel happier about her situation, she finds out he had a fling with Shelby many years ago. At one time, when Daniel comes to visit her, he sees Miles kiss Luce on a window sill, she finds out that not only the Elders want her, but that the Outcasts - beings who are neither angels nor demons - want to capture her. Luce's parents have a Thanksgiving party, when her parents go out the Outcasts arrive in Luce's backyard to fight the angels. Luce finds out that Miles has feelings for her, as he can replicate a person, but only if he loves them. Luce is stressed from the violence and decides to find out more about her past lives by jumping through one of the shadows, leaving everybody behind her.

Leaving her past and into her future and Daniel, her true love, follows her. Lucinda'Luce' PriceDaniel sends Luce to a new school in California called Shoreline, where, as he said, she will be safe. Luce doesn't know safe from what -, something she will only discover through history, she is now hungry to find out about her past lives. As the story evolves, Luce shows a deep resentment to Daniel. If they had never met in another past life to begin with, she could have had a normal life without having to die and be reborn every 17 years; these feelings will come in conflict with the love she still feels for Daniel, while developing feelings for Miles which she feels guilty for. The feeling of resentment towards Daniel is due to the fact that she doesn't understand anything, why she jumps through an announcer towards the end, in order to learn about her past lives and her love for Daniel. Daniel GrigoriDaniel is a fallen angel, in Torment he is Luce's boyfriend, he is forced to leave Luce in Shoreline.

He makes a covenant, or rather a truce, of 18 days with Cam, so they can hunt those who want to hurt Luce together. Despite the fact that he is not meant to see Luce as it draws too much attention, he still finds a way to get near her. However, every time results in an argument between the pair as Luce grows impatient with the fact that Daniel cannot tell her anything. Cameron'Cam' BrielCam is a fallen angel, he makes a pact with Daniel for 18 days so that both could hunt outcasts sent by the elders who are trying to kill Luce. He doesn't have a huge role in this book, but he does show a more caring side as he helps protect Luce from getting killed when she is lured off campus and starts to seem more protective over her. Arriane AlterArriane is another fallen angel, from Daniel's side. After rescuing Luce and Miles from a revealing moment gone wrong, she decides to stay in Shoreline, from on, to keep an eye on Luce. Like Cam, she doesn't have a huge role in the book but she turns up at a convenient time and sort of clues Luce in a little bit without revealing too much.

She tries persuading Luce to stick with Daniel. Roland SparksHe is another fallen angel, from Cam's side. In Torment, he will transfer and study at Shoreline to oversee Luce better. Still friendly and popular as ever. Mary Margaret'Molly' ZaneFallen angel on Cam's side, she says. Gabrielle GivensGabbe is a fallen angel

Minuscule 511, ε 342, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on paper. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century. Scrivener labelled it by number 497; the manuscript is lacunose, marginalia are complete. It was adapted for liturgical use; the codex contains the complete text of the four Gospels on 337 paper leaves with some lacunae. All lacunae were supplemented by a hand, it is written in one column per 19-21 lines per page. The text is divided according to the κεφαλαια, whose numbers are given at the margin, the τιτλοι at the top of the pages. There is a division according to the Ammonian Sections, with references Eusebian Canons, it contains prolegomena to Luke, the Eusebian Canon tables, tables of the κεφαλαια are placed before each Gospel, lectionary markings at the margin, subscriptions to Mark and picture in Matthew. The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the Byzantine text-type. Hermann von Soden included it to the textual family Kr. Aland placed it in Category V.

According to the Claremont Profile Method it represents Kr in Luke 1 and belongs to the textual cluster 147. In Luke 10 and Luke 20 it creates cluster with 1442; the manuscript is dated by the INTF to the 13th century. In 1727 the manuscript came from Constantinople to England and was presented to archbishop of Canterbury, William Wake, together with minuscules 73, 74, 506-520. Wake presented it to the Christ Church College in Oxford. C. R. Gregory saw it in 1883; the manuscript was added to the list of New Testament minuscule manuscripts by F. H. A. Scrivener and C. R. Gregory. Gregory saw it in 1883, it is housed at the Christ Church in Oxford. List of New Testament minuscules Biblical manuscript Textual criticism Gregory, Caspar René. Textkritik des Neuen Testamentes. 1. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung. Pp. 197–198