The Fractured Phalanx

[Paralus]

The author I have in mind regarding the sarissa as a possible anti-elephant device is a modern one...

In which case one can only think that he / she relies on the Curtius line and / or the actions of Ptolemy at Camels Fort. Again, neither would strongly imply a lengthening of the sarissa.

Elsewhere, the comments on real killers being 'silent but deadly' puts me in mind of the characterization of Spartan troops in the classical period as advancing slowly and in silence save for their pipes, contrasting with the noisy rush of other Greeks. It's easy to see how the Spartans held others in distain as being full of "false courage," while their own composure unsettled foes in that it signaled an intent not to engage in any sort of 'sporting contest,' but rather to commit cold-blooded murder.

Yes, Thucydides noted that of the Spartans at Mantinea if I recall. More important, I suppose, is the intent. Many will have marched into a battle because they were "conscripted" or otherwise compelled to be there; others were a coldly and dangerously different kettle of fish. Plutarch's phrase describing the argyrapsides as "falling upon them (Antigonus' Macedonians) in a rage" comes to mind.