The phrase "running the gauntlet" is used figuratively today to mean enduring a series of punishments or tests. It derives from the Roman form of military execution known as fustuarium, in which a soldier found guilty of laxity(ゆるいこと、弛緩、怠慢)was cudgeled(こん棒で殴る)to death by his comrades. In some later traditions, the condemned(罪人)was forced to pass between two rows of armed soldiers and pardoned if he managed to exit the other side.