part of his men prisoners so as Metellus was driuen to leuie his siege with dishonor The Spaniards being within Pauie made a salie out vpon Iohn Medices and foiled his guard To haue reuenge herof Iohn Medices laid a double ambush the one in ditches neere the town and the other further of The Spaniards spared not to make another saly out and when they had chased those good fellows a good way they perceiued the ambush a far off wherwith they began to retire But their way was cut off by the other ambush that was laid neerer the town insomuch that finding themselues assailed both waies at once they had no meane to saue themselues but were all put to the sword CHAP. XIX Of the taking of Towns THere are diuerse manners of taking of towns either by force or by policy We will treat here of policies and onely of some such policies as the men of old time haue vsed For new be daily deuised the which I ouerpasse with silence because it were vnmeet for me to giue counsell to such as haue bin at them and seene them and haue inuented and practised them Sometime great speed and suddain comming vnlooked for giue occasion of the taking of a towne as it did to Demetrius at the citie of Athens which had receiued the garrison of Ptolomie whom Demetrius was desirous to expulse to the intent that Ptolomie shuld not pruaile against him in so great a citie Wherfore he rowed thither so swiftly with his gallies that he was seene there ere his comming was heard of Insomuch that Ptolomies garison supposing they had bin Ptolomies gallies went out to receiue them But perceiuing too late what they were they had no way to defend thēselues for Demetrus was come within the hauen the entrance whereof he had found wide open And to bring his enterprise the easilier to passe he made proclamation by the sound of a trumpet that his father Antigonus had sent him to deliuer the Athenians from all garrisons and to set them free the which thing caused the Athenians to turn vnto him to yeeld him the town so as the garrison was put away and they were set at libertie Nicias intending to lay siege to Siracuse sent a man of Catana thither as a spie to tell them that if they would take the campe of the Athenians vnawares they should come with all their power towards Catana at a certain day that he appointed because the Athenians would for the most part of the time be within the citie wherein there were a number of natural citizens which fauoring the affairs of Siracuse were determined to seaze the gates of the citie as soone as they perceiued the Siracusanes to approch and at the same time to set fire vpon the ships of the Athenians and there were a great sort of the towns men of that confederacie who did but wait for the day houre of their comming By this policie he made the Siracusanes to come out into the fields with al their power so as they left their citie vtterly empty he in the mean season departing frō Catana with al their fleet took the hauen of Siracuse at his ease and chose a place to plant his camp in where his enemies could not indomage him The Athenians hauing secret conference with some of the citie Megara ceised one of the gates afore dailight by the which the citisens were woont to take in a Brigantine which they sent a nights to scoure the sea afore day brought it in again vpō a chariot within the inclosure of the wals which went frō the city to Nisey where was their hauē which was the cause that the gate could not be shut so soone but that the Athenians ceised it and mounted vpon their wals giuing a push to take their citie But the garrison of the Peloponnesians arriued there in that instant who had beene a sufficient impediment to the Athenians if the Athenians had not bethought them to make proclamation by the sound of a trumpet That al the Megarians which would yeeld themselues to the Athenians and lay away their weapons should be saued Which thing whē the Peloponnesians heard fearing least all the townesmen had bin of that confederacie they forthwith forsooke the sea and saued themselues at Nisey Alcibiades tooke the citie Celibrie in Hellespont by intelligence with some of the citizens but not without some perill of his owne person yea and to his confusion if he had not remedied the matter quickly He should haue bin neere the citie by a certaine houre and for his watchword a burning cresset should haue bin put vp about midnight But they that were within were constrained to put vp their token afore the houre for feare of one of the confederacie who repented him of his doing Which token when Alcibiades perceiued although he had not his troopes readie yet would he not let slip the occasion but taking with him thirtie men and appointing his troopes to follow him with all speed possible ran streight to the walles There was he receiued and the gate opened vnto him whereinto he entered with his 30. men and 20. others that came by chance But they were no sooner entred but they heard the townsmen cōming in arms against them so as there was no likelihood that he should haue escaped if he taried there On the otherside he was loth to flee and leaue the taking of the towne Wherfore he aduised himself vpon the sudden to cause silence to be made by the sound of a trumpet and when the noise was appeased he made it to be proclaimed that the Celibramians should not take weapon against the Athenians This did somewhat cool those that were desirous to fight because they doubted least all the armie of the Athenians had bin alreadie within the citie And so as they were parlying the rest of his armie came in by means whereof he became master of the towne Also he vsed another policie to get Bizance which is now called Constantinople For lying in siege afore the citie he had secret intelligence with two of the towne which had promised to betray it vnto him To bring this enterprise to passe he made a shew to leuie his siege and to go his way into Ionie with great diligence for some that had made an insurrection there And in verie deed he departed in the open day with all his gallies but the same night he returned back againe and comming on land with his men that were best armed approched near the wals without making any noise And he had appointed the rest of his men that were in the ships that in the meane while they should with all speed row into the hauen and there make as great noise as they could to the intent that the Bizantines should draw thitherward In which meane time he himselfe by the helpe of his intelligencers entred the citie and woon it howbeit not without fighting As Robert of Artois besieged Vannes
he caused an assault to be giuen in three places at once and the assault endured all the day long At night euery man retired and the French men put off their armor to rest and refresh themselues But Robert of Artois suffred not his men to vnarme them but onely to rest them a litle and to eat and drinke Afterward hauing set his three battels in order he began the assault againe in two places commanding the third battell to stand still vntill it were time to depart and because it was night the assailants had kindled so great fires that they which waked on the sudden went right whether soeuer they saw the fires without attending any commaundement of the captain and without putting themselues in order During the time that euery mans hands were full the third battel chose another part of the town vnfurnished of warders and there setting vp store of ladders did so much that they entred the citie and put the whole garrison of Vannes to flight The earle of Derby perceiuing that he could not win the citie of Naunts by assault vsed this policy by the aduice of one Alexander of Chaumount a Gascoin In the morning he made countenance to dissodge leauing onely a hundred men behind vnder the leading of the lord Wentworth telling thē what they shuld do And in a couert vally not far from the towne he laid a stale The men of Naunts ran with 400 men vpon the 100 who retiring to the passage drew the Frenchmen into the ambush And when they were passed one companie went right to the towne and took the gates which they found open for the Frenchmen thought them to haue beene their owne men and they that issued out were inclosed both afore and behind and vtterly ouerthrown The Seneschal of Beauquere vnderstanding that great store of rother beasts should passe by the towne of Athenie sent threescore men to driue them and in the mean while lay in ambush himselfe neere the towne The Englishmen with the more part of the garrison of the towne ran to the rescue so farre that they fell into the ambush who chased the Englishmen so lustily that they defeated them euery chone and therwithall went streight forth to the towne the which they tooke by assault for want of men to resist them Lucullus purposing to take the Mitelenians by policie besieged them with maine force Then suddenle in the open day and in the sight of the townes-men he mounted vpon the sea and rowed towards the citie Elea. But in the night he returned back sectetly and without making any noyse couched himselfe in ambush neere the towne The Mitilenians doubting nothing went out vnaduisedly and without order the next morning and without standing vpon their gard went to rifle the campe of the Romanes But Lucullus stepping out suddenly vpon them tooke a great number of them prisoners and slue about fiue hundred that stoode at defence and wan about six thousand slaues Fredericke vsed another policie to get Saminimat It happened that he had receiued a great losse before Parma where his armie was ouerthrowne and he was faine to take the way of Tuscan for to returne into his realme of Naples There was no likelihood that he minded thē of Saminimat that had plaid the traitors and rebels against him neither was he determined to rest there But to compasse them without great paine or studie he dissembled their treason and chose a number of his best most couragious and most loyall soldiers whom he caused to be chained together as if they had bin prisoners The which being done he caused his mules to be loden with a great sort of hampers full of all kind of armor and artillerie and couered them with the same sumpterclothes wherwith the sumpters of his chamber were woont to be couered These prisoners so made at the instant he sent vnto Saminimato with Peter of the Vineyard his steward of houshold secretarie and chauncelor who had the whole gouernment thereof and was a prisoner in deed accompanied with messengers of credence which should declare vnto the inhabitants of the towne that the emperour hauing not a more loyall towne seut them those prisoners men of importance and his preciousest stuffe with them praying them to keepe them carefully till his returne because that being now on his way into his kingdome of Naples he would not be troubled with such baggage The men of Saminimato seeing the emperour in armes round about them made good countenance notwithstanding that they mistrusted thēselues to be bewraid and thereupon shewing themselues verie obedient receiued all the traine with good cheere causing them all to come into the citie When the souldiers of Fredericke saw their conuenient time they cast off their chaines which were disposed in such sort as they might vnlinke them when they list and out of hand taking them to their weapons wan the gates whereat they let in the emperour Fredericks armie so that the towne was yeelded to his obeysance The Slauonians vsed another policie to take another town There approched a certaine of them to the wals so few in shew as were not sufficient to take the towne and yet did they incontinently giue an assault They that were within beholding the small number of them ran out vpon them folowed beating them a good way off from the towne And when they were a sufficient farnesse the residue shewed themselues behind them and slue a great sort of them so as they could not recouer into the citie againe Then the Slauonians comming to the assault entered at ease because there were none but the citizens left to defend the towne The king of Portugall perceiuing how the Britons that were within Feroll in Castile made often salies out laid fiftie men in ambush and a three daies after went with a few men and skirmished hard at the barriers of the towne The Britons failed not to come out against him and pursued the Portugals so hard that they tooke about fiue and twentie of them and were fain to open the barriers wide to let in the prisoners and to let out those that pursued them At length they that lay in ambush riding as fast as they could right to the barriers and making themselues masters of them entred mingled with the Britons into the towne The men of Capua being desirous to receiue the Imperials into the citie and to expulse the Frenchmen willed the Imperials to lay themselues in ambush neere the towne and when they knew them to be laid they would persuade the Frenchmen to make a rode out of the citie to fetch vittels afore they were more straitly besieged The Frenchmen perceiuing their reason to be apparant went out to do so But when they came backe againe they found the gates shut and vnderstood that the Capuans had receiued the Imperials in at another gate Sertorius vsed an other policie to win the Characitanians which did nothing but rob him and
spoile him and mocke him without feare because they retired themselues into rocks and caues that could not be come vnto He considered that right against their caues there was a light clay that fell to dust like sand the which the northwind blowing full into their caues did ordinarily carie vp that in dust and driue it into their dens When Sertorius had detected this in himselfe and vnderstood by the inhabitants of the countrie therabouts that the like was don customably he commaunded his men to gather togither a great quantitie of that light earth and thereof to make a huge mount right against their caues When this great mount was finished he made his horsmen trot vp and down on it and anon the wind taking the dust as soone as it was raised from the ground caried it full into their caues striking it right into the eies and eielids of them Wherby their eies were stopped and their caue was filled with a hote and sultrie aire Insomuch that being not able to take breath but with great paine they submitted themselues the third day after to his discretion When a man hath taken a citie it is not enough to enter into it and to sacke it except he set a good guard at the gates for feare of afterclaps as befell to the Castilians in Spaine who with the helpe of the Grisenians rebelled against the Romans for their ill vsing of them and slue a good sort of them As soone as Sertorius heard the vprore by and by he gat him out of the towne with a few of his men and assembling togither such as were escaped returned againe to the towne and finding the gate still open whereat the Grisenians were entered in he slipped in also and setting a good gard at the gates in which point the Grisenians had ouershot themselues and in other parts of the towne did put all to the sword that were of yeares to weare armour Then apparelled he his soldiers in the apparell and armour of those whom he had slain and went in that maner to the citie of the Grisenians from whence those came by whom they were surprised by night The Grisenians thinking at the sight of their owne furniture that they had beene their owne men opened them their gates and went out to meet them as their friends whom they thought to haue dispatched their matters verie well So the Romans slue a great number hard at the gates of their citie and the rest yeelding themselues to the mercie of Sertorius were by him sold. At such time as the prince of Orenge sacked the citie of Rome Guy Ranâ—on came to the gates with his light horses and eight hundred harquâ—buzers thinking to haue gone in to defend it but when he vnderstood those newes he retired backe Many were of opinion that considering the disorder of the Imperials if he had entered in by the castell which was vngarded he might haue done some notable feat or at leastwise he had deliuered the Pope But as it is commonly said little woteth a man what is done in his enemies host and it had bin a great hazard to haue put himself in daunger with so few men against so great a number of enemies Bellisarius perceiuing that he could not win Panormus by land made his ships to come into the hauen Then hauing manned certaine small vessels with crossebowes he made them to mount vp into the tpps the which were highâ—r than the wall and from those small ships to shoot incessantly at the townsmen whom they saw lie open insomuch that the townesmen seeing themselues so greatly annoyed by them were faine to yeeld the towne to Bellisarius The Lord of Estourney surprised the towne of Audenard in this maner He laid foure hundred chosen men in ambush neere the gate of Graundmount Then sent he two chariots laden with prouision and foure souldiers apparelled like carters to driue the chariots wel armed vnder their apparell who feigning them selues to come out of Henault caused the great gate to be opened vnto them Now when they came vpon the bridge they staied and plucked out the taypinnes that held the traces The warders being offended at their long tarying tooke the horses by the heads to make them go but the chariots abode behind because the horses were loosned Then the warders perceiuing themselues to be deceiued began to strike the carters who defended themselues so well that they slue two of the warders In the meane while the lord of Estourney hauing good leysure to approch came at the instant and tooke the gate whereby he became master of the town If they that enterprised to take the citie of Turin in the yeare 1542 had so vnyoked their oxen or turned a chariot within the gate the towne had bin lost For it was saued alonely by the letting downe of the portcullis which stopped a ten or twelue hundred men that came in good array while those that were entred into the town in chariots couered with hay were fighting at the gate and at the place The citie of Ortingas was taken after that maner Peter of Auchun who lay in garrison at Lourd sent in the moneth of May two good souldiers apparelled like seruingmen to seeke masters in the towne They had not beene long there but they were prouided of marchantmen whom they serued so well that their seruice was verie well liked About the middest of August a faire was kept in that towne wherevnto many marchant strangers resorted Now while the townesmen bought and sould and made good cheere Peter of Auchun went out about midnight and laid himself in ambush vvithin a vvood neere the towne hauing sent six men afore vvith two scaling ladders vvhereby they entred secretly into the towne by the helpe of the two souldiers while their masters was drinking As soone as they were entred the two soldiers brought theÌ„ to the gate where was the bodie of the gard ready to set forward assoon as they should whistle theÌ„ Herewithal the two seruing meÌ„ knocked at the gate telling the warders that their master had sent them for good wine The warders knowing them opened the gate and suddenly at a vvatchword the other six souldiers came running thither and slue the warders This being done they tooke the keyes of the gate and did let downe the bridge so softly that no man perceiued it As soone as the bridge was downe they began to sound a blast of deceit whereat Peter of Auchun and his companie set forward tooke the bridge and made himselfe master of the towne To famish the citie of Athens Lisander vsed this deuise After he had ouercome the Athenians by sea he determined to lay siege to Athens But afore the doing thereof he went with his fleet to all the sea-townes where he commaunded vpon paine of death that as many Athenians as were there should get them home to Athens which thing he did vpoÌ„ a policy to pester them vp close togither within the wals
not be all of one mind and moreouer there would alwaies be some one or other that would attempt to controle the rest which thing would breed dissention among them and finally the ruine of the State And therfore he was of opinion that of all the kinds of gouernment ther was not a better than the Monarchie The which aduise of his all the rest of the princes followed Of a verie truth we see that neither the State of Aristocracie nor the State of Democracie haue atteined to like greatnesse as kingdoms haue sauing onely Rome for the largenesse of empire and Venice for continuance of time For as for Lacedemon and Athens their dominions extended but a little way notwithstanding that the one of them made their power to be seene in the lesser Asia and the other became terrible to the Persians But aboue all other the popular gouernment is most vnweeldie because it is full of ignorance and confusednesse of people whose nature as said Bellifarius is to moue by rage rather than by reason and who as saith Guicciardine grounding themselues vpon deceitfull and vaine hopes being furious in their dealings when danger is far off and quite out of courage when peril doth approch are not in any wise to be ruled or restrained And as Philip of Nauar was wont to say there is not any certain stay in a coÌ„munaltie for that cause he would not trust the Parisians nor come within their citie what shew of good will soeuer they were able to make persuading himselfe that he could not be in sufficient suretie among so great a number of people of so diuers humors Which thing the Senat of Rome considering chose rather to giue their people Tribunes than to giue vnto them the reines of authoritie without a magistrat For although the power of the tribunes was ouer-great yet thought they it better than the ouer-vehement and boistrous power of the people who become more tractable when they haue a head than when they be without one For a head considereth the danger but the people cast no perill at all The popular gouernment is hard to be dealt with for it is a beast with many heads which doth good vnto them that would it euill and requite euill to them that doe it good As the Athenians did to Miltiades whom in recompence of the good which he had done them in deliuering them from a dangerous siege and in vanquishing ten hundred thousand Persians himselfe hauing but ten thousand men they amerced at a great fine keeping him in prison till he had fully paid it and finally banished him out of the country They did as much to Themistocles Aristides Alcibiades and other good captaines of their citie whereof anon after ensued their owne decay We know how Iames of Arteuill gouerned the people of Gaunt in his time and what power and authoritie he had ouer them and how he was beloued of all and yet neuerthelesse they put him to death vpon a small suspition and would not so much as heare his reasons They did as much to Iohn Boulle one of their captains because that without cause and without likelihood they had wrongfully surmised of him that he had brought them into an ambush vpon secret compact with the earle of Flaunders and he was not permitted to shew his reasons and excuses For without hearing him they drew him out of his lodging into the street and there hewed him into small peeces euerie man carying away a peece that could come by it Therefore Demosthenes who was banished Athens as others had been considering how Athens was dedicated to Minerua said O Pallas what meanest thou to enterteine so wicked and foule beasts as a night-owle a dragon and a popular gouernment for vnto Pallas were these things dedicated And Aristides the best man of life that euer was in Athens vpbraided the Athenians with their rashnesse who had condemned him for excecuting his charge faithfully in not suffering the common treasure to be robbed spoiled and had had him in great loue and estimation when he winked at the pilfries which he saw committed as though he had then worthily faithfully discharged his duty For a multitude is hard to be ruled and other counsel is there none with them than such as they bring of theÌ„selues misconceiued misvnderstood misiudged by passions neither is there any thing so vnequall in a common-weale as that is which they call equalitie of persons All is there equall and euen sauing their minds which are as farre at oddes as may be And yet notwithstanding because things goe by the number of voices without weighing them otherwise they passe alwaies with the most number that is to say with the foolishest opinion By reason whereof Anacharsus said that in the citie of Athens wise men propounded matters and fooles iudged of them And Phocion whâ—neuer agreed in opinion with the common people hauing in open assembly deliuered an opinion that was liked of the whole multitude insomuch that all the standers-by yeelded to his aduise turned himselfe to his friends and asked them whether some fond thing had not escaped him in his speech vnawares As touching the common-weale of Rome albeit that the Romanes had conquered the whole world by battell yetnotwithstanding they were oftentimes ill gouerned for all their good policie For after that the kings were once expulsed the citie was neuer without quarels some while against the ten coÌ„missioners another while the people against the Senat and the Senat against the people one while against the tribunes and another while against the consuls and nothing did euer vphold and maintaine the citie so much and so long as the forreigne wars which caused them to compound their quarrels at home without the doing wherof they could neuer haue continued for as soone as they had any vacation from forreigne warres by and by they lost their libertie and found from that time forth that the opinion of Scipio Nasica was grounded vpon great reason when he would not that Carthage should haue been destroyed that it might haue kept Rome stil in hir rigoâ—t wirs for in very deed their couetousnesse and ambition bred cruell dissentions among them which in the end did bring the ouerthrow of their State And therefore I will not say but that disagreements are often times necessarie in a house a kingdome or a coimmon-weale and that as Onomademus said after the rebellon of the Island Chios it is not behooffull to make cleane riddance of ell enemies for feare least there should be dissention among friends I am fully persuaded it is not amisse to suffer some enemies to spight one another as well for the reason aforementioned as also for that the enemies by their crossing one another doe discouer their owne lewdnesse couetousnesse and ambition to the benefit of the prince and of the common-weale and yet notwithstanding are afraid to doe euil least men should espie their doings and
behauior And as saith Plutarch in the life of Pompey the disagreement of two mightie citizens that are at variance among themselues vpholds the common weale in equall ballance like a staffe that is equallie charged at both the ends so as it cannot sway one way or other But come they once to ioine in one body to knit themselues together in one then it maketh so great an inclination or sway as no man can withsâ—and insomuch that in the end they turne all things vpside downe therfore vnto such as went about complaining that the quarrell enmitie of Caesar and Pompey had ouerthrowne the common-weale Cato said that they ouershot themselues very greatly in saying so because it was not their discord and enmitie but rather their friendship and good agreement that was the first and principall cause therof When Pope Iuly had made a league with the Venetians and the king of Arragon against the Frenchmen many men commended his dealing as wherby he meant to driue away the Frenchmen at the costs of the Spaniards in hope to driue away the Spaniards afterward when they had bin tired already by the Frenchmen But the best aduised sort found this counsell to be pernicious vnto Italy saying that sith it was the hard hap of Italy to haue both the ends thereof possessed by straungers it was better for the countrie to haue them both continue there still because that as long as the one king was able to weigh euen with the other those that were not yet entered into bondage should be able to maintaine their owne libertie than that the Italians should be at warres among themselues by means whereof so long as such warres continued the parties that were yet whole and sound should be torne in pieces by sacking burning and other miserable inconueniences and finally he that gained the goale would punish the whole country with the harder and irkesomer bondage That was the cause why Pope Clement turned to the French kings side bearing himselfe in hand that as long as the emperour and the king continued both in Italy the Apostolike sea should be vpheld by the power of either of theÌ„ and therfore he would not suffer the kingdome of Naples and the duchie of Millan to fall both into one hand Small dissentions forasmuch as they be intermingled both with perill and profit cannot ouerthrow a state but when the dissention is great and betweene great persons it maketh strange tragedies as did the dissentions betweene Marius and Silla Pompey and Caesar. For hauing once gained and drawne vnto them the whole citie of Rome and hauing weapon in hand and men of warre at commaundement they could hardly eschew that their discord should not procure the ruine of the state The enmitie that was betweene Aristides and Themistocles had like to haue ouerthrowne the state of Athens and when vpon a time they had nothing preuailed in an assembly by their quarelings Themistocles returning thence in a great rage said that the common-weale of Athens could not continue in good state vnlesse that he himselfe and Aristides were both cast downe The enuie that some citizens bare vnto Alcibiades was a cause of the destruction of Athens Likewise the state of Florence was in short time ouerthrowne by such partakings The Romanes in time of danger chose a dictator that had soueraign authoritie but he was not to continue any long time for feare least his ouer-great authoririe should turne into tyranny When Cicero was Consull there was giuen vnto him a greater authoritie than ordinarie in these words namelie That he should haue a speciall care of the common-weale that it incurred not any danger and this was at such time as they perceiued the conspiracie of Catilin to hang ouer their heads Cicero in this his time of authoritie did put many noble men of Rome to death being first atteinted and conuicted of high treason which thing he could not otherwise haue done The Senat perceiuing that the magistrats of Rome did not their duties and that all went to hauoke determined to chuse Pompey to be Consul alone to reforme the common-weale and of that mind also were Bibulus and the yonger Cato howbeit that they liked not of Pompeys behauior and trade of life saying it was much better to haue a Magistrat be what he be may than to haue none at all And this their vsing of the absolute maner of gouernment by one alone in the times of danger doth shew that they liked better of it and esteemed it to be better and more certaine than the maner of gouernment that was in Athens and that they abhorred not so much the thing it selfe as the name thereof Also Mithridates king of Pontus said That the Romanes hated their kings because they were such as they were ashamed of as namely Shepheards Bird-gazers Sooth-sayers Outlawes Bondmen and which was the fairest title of all Vain-glorious and Proud The Carthaginenses likewise had but one Generall captaine of warre whom they changed oftentimes Contrariwise the Athenians chose many captains at once to lead their forces of warre In respect whereof Alexander maruelled how the Athenians could find euery yeare ten captains seing that he himselfe in al his lands could find but one good captain which was Parmenio Also we see that common-weales haue not made so great conquests as Monarchies haue done except the common-weale of Rome which brought all kingdomes vnder the dominion thereof But for that one common-weale ye haue many kingdomes which haue had greater possessions and haue kept them a longer time As for example the kingdome of Assyria had mo Kingdomes and countries vnder the dominion thereof than euer had the citie of Rome The Romane empire lasted partly at Rome and partly at Constantinople about fifteene hundred yeares The Empire of Almaine which began vnder Otho the second about two hundred yeares after the coronation of Charlemaine hath continued vnto this day but yet in some things it sauoreth of the Aristocracie The kingdome of France hath endured about a twelue hundred yeares As for the dominion of Venice the gouernment wherof is an Aristocracie is the Paragon of all Common-weales in the world as which alonely may vant that it hath maintained his state the longest time of all others howbeit with such good lawes as were able to preserue it as they well shewed vnto one of their citizens whom they dispatched out of his life without speaking any word vnto him only because he was of authoritie and credit to appease a certaine sedition or mutinie among the men of warre in their citie And to say the truth the thing that ouerthrew the state of Rome was the ouer-great authoritie which they suffered their citizens to beare Now then as a good king is a right excellent thing so when he becommeth a tyrant he is as excessiue a mischiefe For the man that is set in that authoritie hath power ouer mens persons to dispose of them at his
ordained that the moneth of Iune should be called the second May. Likewise when a certaine Pope might not make his enterance into Paris vpon a Thursday because of the vnconueniencie of the next day following whereby the rost-meat of the Persians should haue bin spared he ordained that the next day being Friday should bee called Thursday to wherevpon it came to passe that that weeke hath euer since bene called the weeke with the two Thursdaies Dion forbare not for all the eclipse of the moone to weigh vp his Anchors presently and to depart forthwith from Zacinth to goe to make warre vpon Dennis the tyrant of Sicill whome he draue out of Syracuse immediatly vpon his arriuall there Nothwithstanding to put away the superstition of his souldiers he brought them a soothsaier who said vnto theÌ„ My fellowes be of good chere and assure your selues that all shall goe very well with vs. For the God head sheweth vs to our sight that some one of the things which are now most glorious cleare bright shal be eclipsed and darkened now there is not at this time any thing more resplendant than the tyrannie of Dennis and therefore ye may well thinke that as soone as you be arriued in Sicilie ye shall deface the brightnes thereof When Pericles was readie to saile with fiftie vessels it happened that the sonne was eclipsed the which thing did put all his coÌ„panie in feare yea the pilot himselfe to wherefore Pericles seeing the Pilot sore dismaid did spread out his cloke and couer his eies with it demaunding of him whether he thought it did him any harme or no. The Pilot answered him no. Then sayd Pericles there is no difference betweene this and yonder eclips sauing that the body or thing that darkeneth the sunne is greater than my cloke that couereth thine eies The Arabian guides that had beguiled Crassus by leading him into a place where he and the greater part of all his armie were slaine intending to haue done as much to Cassius who had gotten himselfe into the citie of Carras and was purposed to depart thence the next morrow did what they could to persuade him to tarrie vntil the moone were passed out of the signe of the Scorpion which they affirmed to bee an vnluckie signe hoping to stay him by that superstition But he answered them that he feared much rather the signe of Sagittarius that is to say of the Bow-man or Archer because the Romans had lately afore ben curstly galled by the archers of the king of Parthia When Timoleon was readie to giue battell to the Carthaginenses by chance there came into his host certaine mulets loden with smallage the which thing the souldiers tooke for a foretoken of ill luck because it was the custom of those daies to bestrow the graues of dead folks with that hearbe But Timoleon inteÌ„ding to draw them from that superstition made his armie to stand still hauing declared diuers things to them according to the time he told them that the garland of honor offered it selfe vnto them afore victorie For among the Corinthians qd he such as win the prise at the gaming 's of Ischmus that are kept in their countrie are crowned with garlands of smallage And therwithal himself tooke of it and made him a garland the which he did put vpon his head and after him all the rest of the captains yea and euen the priuat souldiers also As Marcellus was about to shock with the Gauls of Lumbardie that were on the coast of Genoa his horse turned back for feare carried him away whether he would or no which thing helfearing least the Romans should take for a signe of ill lucke â—emed his horse to the left hand suddenly made him to turne head towards the enemie and euen presently therewithall worshipped the sunne as who would say his turning backe had not bene by chaunce but purposely to that intent because the Romanes vvere vvoont too make such returns when they worshipped their gods When Iulius Caesar was arriued in Affrike as he went out of his boat he fel to the grouÌ„d which thing some that vvere about him tooke for an euill signe But to turne it to the cleane contrarie I hold thee O Affrike quoth he as if he had done it of set purpose Edward king of England being landed in Constantine at a place called the Hogue S. Wast did no sooner set foot on ground but he fell downe and that so forcibly that his nose gushed out a bleeding vvhereat his lords that vvere about him counselled him to retire againe into his ship because of the euill signe But king Edward very nobly and readily answered It is a very good signe for mee for the land is desirous of me The soothsaiers counselled Iulius Caesar not to passe into Affrike afore vvinter yet letted he not to do it yea and vvith very happie successe When he pursued Scipio in Affrike because there vvas a brute in his camp that the Scipios could not be vanquished in that countrie he in derision of that superstitious opinion had in his armie a Scipio neither of vvealth not offâ—me nor of experience in fears of vvar to the end that his souldiers should be of the better courage knowing that Caesar had a Scipio as vvell as his enemies When Paulus Aemilius vvas readie to giue battell to Perses king of Macedonie the soothsaiers told him thâ—t by defending he should get the victorie and not otherwise To rid his armie of this feare he made an vnbrideled horse to be driuen towards the enemies sent certain Romans after him to catch him againe Anon the enemies ran out vpon the Romans and so began a fray Paulus Aemilius sent forth his men to defend them and thereupon began a skirmish whereupon ensued a battell wherein he wan the victorie according to the foresaieng of the soothsaiers The Romans kept a huge masse of gold and siluer in their treasurie and whensoeuer any was put in they cursed the man with very great ceremonies that should touch it saue only for maintainance of wars against the Gauls But yet for all that Iulius Caesar wanting monie to pay his men of war made no conscience to lay hand on it And to take away the superstition of the people and the feare of any curse that should come vpon the citie he told them he might iustly take it seeing he came from conquering the Gauls Sylla in a like case shewed himselfe to be neither superstitious nor yet religious For vpon a time when he wanted monie he tooke all that was in the temple of Apollo at Delphos and for the doing thereof hee sent a friend of his name Caphis but he was afraid to enter vpon the consecrated things and protested with salt tears that he did it against his will And when some of the standers by told him that they heard the sound of Apollos viall within the temple whether it were that he beleeued it to be
sauce than appetit And to haue grear pleasure of any thing whatsoeuer it be a man must taste of his contraie as of hunger to find meat sweet and of thirst to feele drinke pleasant after the example of Darius who drinking vp a glasse of water good God quoth he from how great a pleasure haue I bin barred heretofore Ptolomy in making a rode through the countrie of Aegypt happened to want wherewith to dine because his vittels followed him not insomuch that for the hunger that pinched him he was faine to eat a morsel of bread in a poor mans cottage saying he neuer ate better bread nor with better appetite Diogenes said It was a strange thing that wrestlers and singing-men despised their bellie and their pleasures the one to haue a good voice and the other to haue the stronger bodie and that for temperance sake no man regarded so to doe Isocrates in the exhortation which he giueth to Demonicus giueth this precept for temperance worthy to be noted Bethinke your selfe saith he to become temperat and staied in the things which you would esteeme vile and shameful if your mind were hild down in them as lucre wrath sensuality sorrow Now it wil be easie for you to haue stay of your selfe if you set your mind to the obtainment of the things that may increase your renowne and not your reuenues As touching anger you must vse no greater towards others than you would that others should vse towards you In the things that bring pleasure you shall easily temper your selfe if you consider what a shame it is for you to command your slaues and in the meane while your selfe to be a slaue vnto voluptuousnes Your sorrowes you shall be able to moderat by beholding the miseries of other men and by considering that you be a mortal man And aboue all you shall be stirred vp to do good if you consider that vpon that point dependeth pleasure For in the idle life which seeketh nothing but feasting and cheering the pleasantnes endeth forthwith togither with the pleasure but when a man intendeth to vertue and purposeth vpon a sobriety in al his life it giueth him a true ioy and a longlasting Therefore none other pleasure is to be fought than such as bringeth honor for the pleasure is noughtworth that is not matched with honor Alexander Seuerus said T hat an ill conditioned prince doth often spend his treasures in superfluity of apparrell curiosity of feasts which he needs for the maintenance of wars Againe he ware no gold nor precious stones saying that a prince ought not to measure himselfe by the things which couer the bodie but by the goodnesse and vertue of his mind Plutarch in the life of Philopemen saith that by superfluitie and sumptuousnesse in houshold-stuffe apparell and fare manie haue beene brought to seeke the delights that make nice and effeminate the courages of such as vse them because the tickling of the outward sense that is delighted with them doth by and by soften and loosen the stoutnes strength of the mind I say quoth Agapete to Iustinian that you are now rightly a king seeing that you can rule and gouerne your delights by wearing on your head the diadem of Temperance A king is lord of al but then specially when he ouerruleth himselfe and is not subiect to euil lusts but by help of reason wherthrough he ouerruleth the vnreasonable affections maketh himselfe lord and master by meanes of Temperance ouer the lusts that bring all the world in subiection which thing those could well skill to do which haue had most estimation in the world Scipio was so temperat that in foure and fiftie yeeres which he liued he neither sold nor purchased nor builded and hauing rased two great cities namely Numance and Carthage yet he enriched not himselfe with the spoils of them insomuch that at his death he left behind him no more but three and thirtie pound of siluer and two pound of gold Paulus Aemilius had such stay of himself that he neuer tooke one penie of the treasure of Perseuâ— ne died richer than did Aristides Lysander and infinit other Greeks and Romans famous in histories and specially the Lacedemonians were trained vp in Temperance from their youth and taught to keepe themselues from being corrupted with monie as Herodotus reporteth of one Gorgo a little daughter of Cleomenes of the age of eight or nine yeeres In the presence of this little wench one Aristagoras intreated Cleomenes to do so much with the Lacedemonians as to cause them to send an armie into Asia promising to giue him ten talents for his labour when Cleomenes refused he offered him fiftie The pretie wench hearing that tooke her father aside and said vnto him My father if you get you not hence this guest will corrupt you Whereat Cleomenes departed presently without hearkning to Aristagoras any more The Temperance and staidnesse of Titus Quintius gate mo countries to the Romans than all their forces had done First of all after that he had woon the battell although his vittels followed him not yet made he his men of warre to march on still in such sort as they tooke not any thing in the countrie where they went notwithstanding that they found great abundance of goods the which his forbearing he found anon after how greatly it auailed him for as soon as he was come into Thessalie the cities yeelded themselues willingly vnto him and all the rest of the Greeks required nothing but to giue theÌ„selues vnto him Demetrius was subiect to his belly to women and yet in the time of warre he was as sober and chast as they that be naturally giuen thereunto rightly deeming that he could not ouercome his enemies vnlesse he were temperate But yet at length when he let himselfe loose to his pleasures the Macâ—doâ—â—â—ns draue him out saying that they were wearie of bearing armes and of fighting for his pleasures CHAP. XI That he that will dispatch his affaires well must be Sober I Said afore that Temperance is chiefly ouer the bellie and the priuie parts the tongue and choler Now must I speake in order of these foure sorts of Temperance and first of all I will speake of that which concerneth the bellie that is to say which concerneth eating and drinking the which we call Abstinence or Sobrietie the contrarie wherâ—of we call Gluttonie a foule and filthie vice specially in a Prince For as saith Mercurie Trismegistus It bereaâ—eth a man of all goodnesse whereas Sobrietie doth maruellouslie become him For Sobrietie withdraweth him not from his affaires for chearing and therewith it exempteth him from al diseases that often come of fulnesse through too much eating and drinking It preserueth a mans wit the clearer to iudge soundly of the matters that come afore him whereas he that hath vapours in his braine through too much meat that is cast into the stomacke cannot be so fit for the
that is within the mind heareth not that which is said without vnlesse it haue reason of it owne and such discretion of it selfe within as doth by and by set it selfe against the anger and suppresse it And that is the pallace which Homer in the first booke of his Iliads fameth to haue restrained Achilles from killing Agamemnon The second remedie is to retire frō the mischief aforehand as soone as a man perceyueth it cōming as they that be diseased with the falling sicknesse do withdraw themselues in due time for feare of falling into their disease afore companie The third remedie is to follow the counsel that Athenodorus gaue to Augustus which was to say ouer the whole alphabet or Apsie at our entring into choler to the end that that space of time may giue vs leasure to moderate our anger For the wise man saith Salomon delaieth his anger and it is a glorie vnto him to ouerpasse faults committed that is to let the offence passe and not to do as Darius did who being in an exceeding great rage against the Athenians for sacking the citie Sardus praied God that he might reuenge that iniurie and ordained that thrise euerie day when his meat was vpon the table one should say vnto him Sir remember the Athenians but rather as the Romans did who to shew that magistrats ought not to be angrie in hast tied the rods of their pretors vnto halberds to the intent that the delay which was made in the vntying of them should breake and appease the headines of the pretors wrath If the Pythagorians hapned to be angrie their custom was to touch one another in the hand afore they departed out of the place to the intent that they would not let their anger take place according to the precept of Saint Paule The fourth remedie is neuer to take vpon ones selfe the chastising of the partie that hath offended him but to put ouer the doing thereof to some other bodie as some philosophers haue don who praied their friends to chastise their bond-slaues saying That they themselues could not do it because they were too much moued with anger As for example Architas of Tarent who would not chastise his seruant because he was in anger with him Cicero in his Duties saith That a mā must be wel ware that he be not angry when he punisheth because anger neuer keepeth the meane that ought to be between too much and too little And magistrats ought to be like vnto lawes which punish men not for anger but for iustice The fift meane is to cōsider that we would be loth to be punished as we would punish others wherto agreeth the parable of the Receiuer in the Gospel who hauing obtained fauour for his debts at his masters hand yet neuertheles would needs play the tormētor towards a poore debter of his own By the which parable we be cōmanded to forgiue the wrongs that our neighbors do vnto vs as god forgiueth vs freely our misdeeds And for want of so doing we cānot haue grace at gods hand For thus saith Ecclesiasticus Doth man keepe anger against man and craue health of God If he that is a mortal man saith he do keepe anger and craue forgiuenes of God who shall forgiue him his sins Be mindfull of the feare of God and bear no anger to thy neighbor And in the 20. chap. Say not I will requite euill but wait thou the Lords leasure and he will deliuer thee Sixtly he must eschue all occasions of anger as Cotis king of Thrace did to whom one gaue verie faire and dilicate vessell but verie easie to be broken Cotis receiued the present willingly but he brake the vessels out of hand And being asked the cause he said he did it for feare least he should be angry with some other bodie for breaking them Seuenthly He must consider with himselfe the inconueniences that may come of anger seeing that as Ecclesiasticus saith Anger and wrath do shorten mens dayes Valentinian was so angrie at certaine ambassadours which brought him newes that misliked him that he brake a veine within his bodie whence the bloud issued so abundantly out at his mouth that he was immediatly choked with it Gaston earle of Fois had but one onely sonne against whom he was so outragiously fumish that the poore child died of it whereof the father repented him afterward at leysure as Froyssard reporteth at large in his hystorie As for manslaughters the most part of them come of choler Now to assure vs that manslaughter is detestable afore God we haue a precept in the ten Commaundements the which forbiddeth vs to kill Romulus called all manquelling Parricide because the one was villainous and detestable and the other was not tollerable Moyses appointed out fiue cities of refuge for them that had committed manslaughter so it were by chance and not vpon malice meaning that such as had their hands defiled with bloud should not be conuersant among other men Dauid being welbeloued of God and an earnest louer of God would haue builded him a temple but he was dissuaded from it by Nathan who had commaundement from God to bid him leaue the doing thereof to his sonne Salomon because his owne hands were defiled with the bloud of his enemies And as he himselfe saith in the fiue and fiftith Psalme Bloudie aud deceitfull men shal not liue out halfe their daies And we may say generally with Ecclasiasticus That a man full of anger kindleth strife and variance among friends and setteth enmitie among them that were at peace Of anger come iniuries discords disagreements and oftentimes the vtter ouerthrowes of cities whereof princes repent them afterward or at leastwise are blamed for it as Philip was for Olinthus And when some maruelled at his power that he had so soone rased so great a citie one Agesipolis said It would behoue Philip to haue a longer time to build vp such another whereby he meant that it is a far more princely act to build cities than to ouerthrow them and to destroy them when they be builded The same anger doth oftentimes make manie to passe the edge of the sword euen after the field is woon yea and sometime euen those that had yeelded themselues to the mercie of the conquerours which thing Cicero forbiddeth in his Duties Agesilaus said He thought it a wonder that men tooke not those for traitors to God which do euill to poore folke that crie for mercie and beseech them for the honour of God to pardon them and that they punish them not more grieuously than the robbers of churches deeming well and wisely that mens liues are dearer than all the ornaments of temples and churches Lastly let him read hystories and consider the blame that hath lighted vpon irefull persons I wil not speake of Coriolane and others who through that onely vice haue defaced great vertues and misguided their affairs Nor of Alexander who
emperor was entered into Italie And this slacknesse of his saued the citie Padoa and a good part of the state of Venice And had the Venetians beene warriers and well prouided they had put king Lois to a plunge For they had as then no mo but him to deale with so that his league did him small seruice The duke of Burgoine should haue ioyned with the king of England to inuade the countrie of king Lois the eleuenth but he lingred so long at the siege of Nuis that the king of England was faine to returne and make peace as I haue said alreadie The league of the Spanish king and the Venetians against the Turke turned by and by into smoke by reason of distrust that rose betwixt them notwithstanding that the Turke was ouercome vpon the sea by the confederats at Lepanto Many times did the Italians and Spaniards ioyntly conspire to driue the Frenchmen out of Italie But one while the Spaniards departed from the confederacie another while the Pope shrunke backe and another while the Venetians fell in with vs which was a cause that we held our footing stil notwithstanding their leagues These examples with a hundred others which I leaue for briefnesse sake may warne vs that a puissant and well aduised prince shall neuer want means to disseuer such as confederat themselues against him CHAP. II. Of Gouernors sent into the frontiers of countries and whether they should be changed or suffered to continue still WHen a prince hath associated himselfe with his friends and neighbors to defend himselfe or to assaile his enemies It behoueth him to take order for his frontiers and to prouide himselfe of a good wise and valiant chieftaine to lie ordinarilie with a good number of souldiers in the prouince that is most subiect to the inuasion of enemies But here some man might demaund whether such a Gouernour or chieftaine ought neuer to be chaunged or whether he ought to be chaunged as the pretors proconsuls and presidents of prouinces were among the Romans I haue declared in the title of Iustice that the emperour Alexander Seuerus chaunged his officers oft and that Augustus altered not the custome of the Romans in sending senators into prouinces for a certaine time Aristotle in his bookes of Common-weale matters reproued the Candiots for suffering one of their magistrats whom they called Consuls to be perpetuall whereas they should haue beene shifted from time to time And it is not to be doubted but that that maner of dealing was verie behooffull in a Common-weale where euerie man lookes to beare office of honour which few should haue enioyed if the charge of gouernment should haue beene tied to one alone to occupie the place of many good citizens who could haue discharged the office as well as he And thereof would haue ensued a great inconuenience namely that an armie being gouerned ouerlong by one citizen would haue growne partiall in his behalfe and not haue acknowledged any other for their head than him vnder whom they had so long serued Moreouer the Generall or chiefe captaine of an armie that shall haue continued so long together in office would become so rich and increased in honour that he could not find in his heart to liue as meane citizen afterward Whervpon it would follow of necessitie that the citizens should fall to warre among themselues That was the cause that Silla and Marius found men at their deuotion whch durst maintaine their ambition against the welfare of the common-weale The prorogation of the fiue yeares which was giuen to Iulius Caesar for the gouerning of the Gauls and the ouer-great number of offices of honour that were bestowed vpon Pompey were the cause of the ruine of Rome For there was not in his time any goodly enterprise whereof he was not the executor And although there was great reason that the Senate should prorogue the consull Philoes authoritie before Palepolis and likewise of Lucullus Metellus without sending Pompey to be successor to the one and Marius to be successor to the other Yet had it beene better for the common-weale to haue forborne that gaine and to haue left the warre vnfinished than to haue suffered the seed of tyrannie to grow vp to the ouerthrow of the publike-weale And I maruell not that Epaminâ—ndas was put to his necke-verse for executing the Pretorship contrarie to the law but onely three moneths beyond his appointed tearme though in that while he finished the war that had bin begun and deliuered the Thebans from bondage For as on the one side the greatnesse of the benefit encountered the law so on the other side there was as an apparant breach of the law which might procure great preiudice in time to come Now in a free citie this ouer-great mightines is to be feared and therefore it is no wonder though Publicola was in good time redoubted of the Romans and compelled to shew that he ment to make himselfe equall with the meanest And in mine opinion the Ostracisme of Athens which afterward was mocked at for banishing a fellow that was nought worth was not without great reason For had not the excellent citizens beene brideled by exile they would at length haue growne so proud that they would haue made themselues kings and maisters of the citie as Pericles might well haue done if he had beene of an ambitious mind and as others did afterward that were meaner than he And therefore I make no doubt of it but that in common-weals there ought to be no such thing But in Monarchies where one alone commaundeth it is better to set a gouernor or viceroy that shall continue there all his life After that maner haue our kings done in Piemont with happie successe But if the people of the prouinces make any complaints of the couetousnesse of their Gouernour or of his extortion and great crueltie or if the prince doubt of his loyaltie in such cases the prince must reuoke him and send a new in his roome Consaluo was called home from Naples by the king of Aragon who was so iealous of him that he feared least he should abuse his authoritie and defeat him of the realme But if a Gouernour be not too full of vice it is much better that he continue still For he shall learne how to behaue himselfe towards the men of his prouince by acquainting himselfe long time with their humors And for his knowledge of the countrie he shall do goodlier exploits than a new lieutenant could do besids that he shall be more loued and regarded of the Souldiers with whom he shall haue spent his yong yeares CHAP. III. Of a Lieutenant-generall and that there behoueth no mo but one to commaund an armie FOrasmuch as a prince cannot be alway with his armie it behoueth him to choose some excellent captaine to haue the commaunding thereof Now it may be demanded whether it were better to appoint two or three to that charge or to be contented with
vncertaine chance of battell than to trust to the small hope of sauing themselues by flight and so standing resolute vpon that point they caried away the victorie The duke of Guelders finding a great power of the Brabanders comming vpon him was sore astonied for he saw that he must either fight thirtie to one or else shut vp himselfe in a citie To shut vp himselfe he was loth and therefore fully resoluing himselfe to abide the battell he fell to giuing charge vpon his enemies vnprouided who being taken with a lunatike feare fled away without striking a stroke Stillico went and charged suddenly vpon the Gothes as they were going into Gallia At the first they were astonished at the sudden and vnprouided onset but at length resoluing to abide the battel they not onely ouercame him but also returned into Italie by the countrie of Genes When Manfride gaue battell to the duke of Aniou the duke of Anious armie began to want food as well for the men as for their horses And in driuing off the time a while longer and in tarying for his men that were dispersed in diuerse places of his realme he had both made himselfe the stronger and also brought his enemie to extreme necessitie But in chusing rather to set vpon his enemies while they were wearie and ill at ease of the long iourney that they had made he found by experience that nothing is vnpossible to a conquerour for he lost the battell and died Carafa the countie of Mathalon would not beleeue the counsell of them that would haue had him to follow the French-men that drew toward Salerne and to haue cut off their vittails without fighting with them vnlesse they could take them in some place of aduauntage or to get betweene Salerne and their campe to keep them froÌ„ entring into the town to make them returne into the Basilicat because they waÌ„ted both vittels artillery But of a brauerie he would needs giue them battell because they were but few in number and for his labour he lost the field For the lord of Perfie attending him with resolution discomfited him Had he beene trained in the schoole of king Lewis the eleuenth he would haue learned that he which hath the profit of a warre hath also the honour therof When Ferdinand king of Naples began to reconquer the realme of Naples he was so ioyfull of his good fortune that in a brauerie he would needs giue battell to the Frenchmen contrarie to the aduice of a great captaine who counselled him to hold himselfe close within Seminara vntill he were more certainly aduertised of the intent and power of the Frenchmen telling him that the counsels which promise suretie in all things are honourable inough and that they which by a fond ouerlustinesse of courage do hinder the means whereby a matter should come to good issue are void of honour shamefull and miserable But this good counsell was ouercome by the worser so that he gaue the Frenchmen battell who woon the day to the great confusion of Ferdinand and of the Arragonians The Frisons being aduertised of the great preparations that the countie of Ostreuant made for warre against them met in counsell to consider what was best for them to do many gaue counsell to bid him battell at his first arriuall but Iues Iouire a man of personage as big as a giant and wonderfull valiant withall counselled them to watch the time and not to hazard their forces against stroÌ„ger than themselues saying That they had many good ditches and trenches which would disappoint horsmen wherein their enemies ouermatched them and that their footmen should soone be wearied and tired with the combersomnesse of their iourney and with the small store of vittails which they should find abrode in the country so as they might be rid of them for the burning of a dozen villages Yet notwithstanding they forbare not to giue battell and lost it The men of Liege would needs fight with the duke of Burgoins men who was entred with an armed host into their countrie and they did it against the counsell of the lord of Pâ—erandes who would haue them to win time of them and to put their men in garrison But he could not persuade the common people to do so and therfore they were all discomfited and left eight and twenty thousand men dead vpon the field Now must we a little see how we in France haue sped in that behalfe King Philip of Valois gaue battell to the Englishmen in his owne realme at a place called Cressye and was there ouercome King Iohn trusting in his own force chose rather to giue the Englishmen battel at Poictiers than to subdue them by famin and vnrest and he â—or his labour was taken prisoner but Charles the fift hauing taken another course and helping himselfe with the counsell of Fabius would neuer hazard his state vpon a battell by means wherof he ouermatched the Englishmen and did so much by his countenances that he tooke from them almost all Guien euen from vnder their nose and seazed vpon the towns and cities of the duke of Bretaine And when any man spake to the king of giuing battell his counsell would say thus vnto him Sir let them go they can neuer get your inheritance for smoke For when a storme commeth into a countrie it must in the end needs depart againe King Edward was wont to say of him That neuer any king did lesse put on armour nor euer any king did worke him more incuÌ„beraÌ„ce for he coÌ„quered Guien without battel And the king of England with two puissant armies leuied both at one time could do no more but wast and burne the country without winning so much as any one citie of account At the beginning of the wars of Peloponnesus Pericles chose rather to see the forraying and burning of the territorie of Athens than to go out of Athens to hazard a battel persuading himselfe that the delay of time would quaile the force of the Lacedemonians Fabius Maximus ouerthrew Hanniball more by not fighting than other captains had done by fighting with him At the first encounter of Trebia because Sempronius had giuen a foile to the Affricanes he was so puffed vp with that first skirmish that he thought al was wonne and that the want of a little hardinesse was the onely let that the warre was not brought to a full end contrarie to the opinion of Scipio his fellowcommissioner And so he lost the field Flaminius being vnmindfull of this losse would needs do the like and he also was serued with the same sauce Minutius striuing to follow their steps had ben vndone if Fabius had not ben as Varro was who by like headines was the death of fiftie thousand Romans at Cannaâ— A man may say that Marcellus wearied Hanniball in so many combats that he feit himselfe discomfited by winning but yet in the end Marcellus abode by it And although fortune began to turne her back
to shun the fire By reason vvherof the Venetians falling vpon those dismaied people defeated a great part of them and bending their artillerie vpon them tha◠fled killed a great number of them and so returned with a verie great bootie of horse and men The Plateians being streitly besieged by the Peloponnesians and hopelesse of all succour found this shift to get out of the towne The Peloponnesians had made a double wal about the citie Plateia one towards the towne to keepe them from comming out and the other along the side of the camp to keep the succours of the Athenians from going in which walles were distant sixteene foot asunder Betweene the two walles were the lodgings of thē that garded thē and at euery tenth battlement were towers that coupled the two wals together so as a man could not passe along the wall but he must go through those towers into the which those that kept the watch a nights withdrew themselues when it rained To compasse their determination the Athenians made skaling ladders full as high as the wals the heigth whereof they tooke by considering the thicknesse of the brickes whereof it was made numbering them from the top to the foot The townesmen therefore hauing gotten intelligence of the manner of the watch spied a night when it rained and the wind blew lowd and the moone shined not and came to the foot of the wall vnperceiued because of the darkenesse of the night and went seuerally by themselues one from another least the iustling of their harnesse togither should make any noise When they had set vp their ladders against the void spaces where they vnderstood that no man warded they that brought the ladders mounted vp first and after them the rest Now when a good sort of them were vp they that watched within the towers perceiued them by a crannie of one of the battlements that was cast downe in their comming vp Insomuch that at the first alarme all the campe came to the wall not knowing wherfore by reason of the night and the foule wether On the other side the Plateians that abode in the citie went out and assailed the walles in other places to busie their enemies heads who were all sore amazed what the matter should be so as neither they nor those that garded the towers stirred not out of their places Neuerthelesse they that had the charge to releiue the watch lighted vp beacons on the side towards Thebes to betoken the comming of enemies Which thing the townsmen perceiuing lighted vp a great sort of them vpon their walles also to the intent that their enemies should not know wherfore those fires were made and that their companions might saue themselues afore any rescues came to the watch In the meane time those that mounted vp first wonne two towers and hauing slaine them that were within got vp them fellowes that remained yet beneath putting those backe with shot and throwing of stones which came to rescue the wall Insomuch that all they which were to salie out of the towne mounted vp the wall and then going downe from the towers came to the ditches on the outside vpon the brim whereof they found those that should haue succoured the watch who had lighted vp the beacons by means whereof being well and perfectly seen they were ouerthrowne by the Athenians and by the townesmen with shot of arrowes And so the Plateyans passing the ditch with ease did knit themselues well and close together and so passed all in good order by the way that leadeth to Thebes because they doubted that the way to Athens was garded But when they had gone that way a vvhile they turned aside the way of the hill and by a priuie path came all to Athens without disturbance Sometime to commaund a towne they make a mount and in old time it vvas vvoont to be made against the vvall because there vvas none other fighting but vvith handblowes for artillarie vvas not yet inuented Cabades king of Persia made such a mount of earth to be cast vp against the vvall of Amyda which he saw to be impregnable But the Amydans to defend themselues from it made a mine within their wall whereby they drew away a good peece of the ground that vpheld the mount and vnderpropped it with timber-worke that it might not be perceyued And when they saw the mount couered all ouer with Persians they let it sinke so as all that were vpon it were slaine which caused them to raise their siege Spartacus hauing but a few men with him vvhen he rebelled against the Romans tooke a mountaine that was verie strong and vnapprochable where he was besieged by three thousand Romans who garded well the passage that hee should not scape For there was but onelie one place to goe vp or downe at the residue vvas a rocke cut steepe Spartacus finding that there grew wilde Vines aloft vppon the rocke did cut off all the biggest twigges and with them made ladders of coards so stiffe and long that beeing fastened aboue they reached downe to the bottome of the plaine Vpon the which they went all downe secretly sauing one who taried casting downe their armour after them and when he had so done he also saued himselfe by the same means The Romans mistrusted it not By reason whereof they that were besieged coasting round about the hill came and assailed them behind putting them in such feare with their sudden comming vpon them that they all tooke them to flight so as he tooke their campe CAHP. XXI Of diuerse policies and sleights I Can not passe with silence certain other policies and sleights that diuerse braue captains haue vsed the which I will set here vnorderly Eumenes being put to flight by Antigonus as he retired found Antigonus stuffe the which he might easily haue taken and diuerse prisoners therewithall But he would not because it vvould haue hindered his flight And besides that he saw it vvas vnpossible to haue kept the Macedonians by direct means from rifling so great goods offred into their hands for so goodly a prise Therefore he commaunded them to ease themselues a vvhile and to bait their horses and then vpon the sudden to go and distrusse the baggage But in the meane vvhile he sent aduertisement by a secret messenger to Menander who had the charge of conueying the said stuffe that he should vvith all speed get him out of the plaines to the hanging of a hill neere hand vvhich vvas not to be approched by horsemen and there to fortifie himselfe telling him that his giuing of this aduertisement vnto him was in respect of the friendship that he had erst had at his hand Menander vnderstanding the perill vvherein he vvas made the stuffe to be trussed vp out of hand and then Eumenes sent out his foreriders openly to discouer him and therewithall commaunded euerie man to put on his armour and to bridle his horse as if he had bin minded to haue led
effect and who dissembling his purpose intended to take the place of Dennis and to do as much as he sent messengers to Timoleon desiring him not to passe his men into Sicilie because the warre began to draw to an end and the Carthagenenses with whom he had secret intelligence would not that his men should passe into Sicilie but that he himselfe should come alone to aid them with his counsell in such affairs as should be offered to deale in And because he doubted least Temoleon would not consent to his request he had desired the Carthaginenses who lay neare vnto the hauen of Rhegium with twentie gallies to stop his passage ouer and to fight with him if he attempted to enter by force Timâ—leon seemed to like well of the saying of the messengers neuerthelesse he said it behoued him for his discharge to haue the same decreed in the assemblie of the Rhegians and in their presence as of them that were friends to them both The which thing he did of set purpose to hide his owne intent the better by making the Rhegians priuie to the matter The next day all the parties met in the Mootehall where the whole day was purposely spent in talke that Timoleons gallies might haue leysure to prepare themselues vnsuspected of the Carthaginenses forasmuch as they saw Timoleon present with them Who assoon as he vnderstood that his gallies were departed all sauing one that staid behind for him went his way secretly through the prease by the Rhegians who being secretly made priuie to the matter by him had staid him from speaking any more And so embarking himselfe without any disturbance he arriued within lesse than an houre at Tauromenion where Andromachus waited for him Sylla in the ciuill warres seeing his enemies to be many in number thought it stood him on hand to vse policie as well as force Wherupon he solicited Scipio one of the consuls to come to agreement with him the which thing Scipio refused not Hereupon many goings and commings were about the matter because Sylla protracted the conclusion verie long finding still some occasion of delay that in the meane while his souldiers who were made and accustomed to such policies as well as their captaine might practise with Scipios souldiers to forsake him For they going into Scipios campe inueigled some of his men with mony some with promises and other some with necessitie so that in the end when this practising had continued a certaine time Sylla approched to their campe with twentie Antsignes where his souldiers fell to saluting Scipios and they saluting them again turned and yeelded themselues vnto them so as Scipio abode alone in his tent where he was taken and not suffred to go away any more Thus like the fowler with his fine birds made to the stale Sylla with his twentie Antsignes drew fortie Antsignes of his enemies into his net whom he led all into his owne campe Which thing when Carbo saw he said That in Sylla he had to deale with a fox and lion both togither and that the fox did him more harme than the lion The emperour Iulian to keepe himselfe from being disappointed of the number of prisoners that he demaunded vsed such a policie as this to the Almans whom he had vanquished and to whom he had graunted peace vpon condition that they should deliuer him all such prisoners as they had of his For doubting least they would not deliuer him all but keepe some good number of them he demaunded of euerie of them that were escaped and saued out of prison what were the names of them that were prisoners because it could not lightly be but that they were either of kin or of alliance or neighbours or friends vnto them and he wrate their names in a paper In the meane season the ambassadours came with their prisoners of whom Iulian caused the names to be set downe in writing and the secretaries conferring the one paper with the other marked those whom the ambassadours mentioned not and named them secretly to the emperor behind him The emperor began to be angrie with the ambassadours for that they had not brought him all his prisoners telling them that they had kept backe such and such of such a citie or towne naming them all by their names whereat the Almans were sore abashed supposing that it came by reuelation from God Whereupon they failed not to deliuer all Triuulce perceiuing the garrison of Millan and specially the Millaners themselues to be astonished at the comming of Maximilian and the Swissers into Lumbardie bethought himselfe of this policie to put a suspition into the emperours head of some cause of distrust in the Swissers He wrate letters with his owne hand and sealed them with his seale to the chiefe leaders and captains of the Swissers that he might bring them in suspition with the emperour and sent them by a seruant of his owne that spake the Swissers tongue well By these letters he willed them to performe within two daies the thing that he and they were agreed vpon for he should then haue all things readie according to their platfourme The messenger offered himselfe of purpose be taken by the emperours scouts and being examined wherfore he came thither without the watchword he praied pardon promising to tel the truth and therupon confessed that he brought letters to the captains of the Swissers At that word his pardon was graunted him and he plucking off his neatherstocke tooke out the letters which were sowed in the sole of it the which were caried to the emperour immediatly When he had read them although he was in great perplexitie yet was he not of opinion that they should be shewed to the cardinall of Sion because he would not accuse a captaine of so great authoritie among the Swissers and much lesse cause them to be attached for feare of putting his affaires in daunger But in his heart he distrusting the disloyaltie of the Swissers he repassed the mountaines againe without making any further speech of it and returned home into Germanie Cyrus by the counsell of Croesus vsed this policie to saue Sardis from sacking He caused it to be cried by the sound of a trumpet That no man should conuey away the bootie because a tenth part thereof was to be giuen of necessitie to Iupiter And for that cause he set warders at euery gate to see that nothing should be conueyed away He did this to hold them at a bey for feare of som mutinie if he should haue taken it from them by force But when they saw the king did it of religion and deuotion they obeyed him without gainsaying by meanes whereof the greatest part of the goods of the citie was saued Thus haue you a part of the feats of warre of times past the which I thought good to adde vnto the antient quicke sayings and to the principall points of the goodliest hystories to the intent that a prince may find in one place and take out of
whereof the first consisteth in the worshipping of God and in the louing of him with all our heart for it is reason that we should yeeld him faith and alleageance for our creatiō and for the great number of so many good things which we receiue dailie at his hand seing that we peculiarly of all other liuing wights are beholders of the heauenly things that are aboue The other is for the instruction and stablishment of the common conuersation wherein consisteth the dutie of a christian which is to loue his neighbour as himself For as saith S. Paule to the Romanes it is a fulfilling of the law of God and a confirming of the law of nature which will not haue a man to doe that to an other which he would not haue done to himselfe And he that keepeth this precept cannot do amisse For it is very certaine that no man hateth his own flesh ne procureth any euill to himselfe and therfore he vvill not do any such thing to his neighbour Now then we need not to be taught what is Vprightnesse Valeantnesse and Staiednesse for he that keepeth the said precept will not do any vnright But forasmuch as our own nature by reason of the corruption thereof maketh vs to step out of the right vvay if vve will come into the true path againe it be houeth vs of necessitie to peruse the law and the commaundements and to treat of the vertues which are termed Cardinall namely Wisedome Vprightnesse Valeantnesse and Temperance or Staiednesse and of the branches depending vpon them the which S. Austine doth allegoricallie terme the foure streames that watered the earthly Paradise in old time and daily still watereth the little world of them that liue well and to see how good princes haue practised them and how euill princes for want of making account of them haue found themselues ill apaid to the end vve may make our profit of histories and not make them as a matter of course but as a good and wholsome instruction Howbeit ere we enter into that matter it behoueth vs to know vvhat a Prince a King an Emperour and a soueraigne Lord is CHAP. II. Of a Prince a King an Emperour and a soueraigne Lord. WE cannot enioy the goods which God hath giuen vs on this earth except there be a iustice a law and a prince as Plutarch teacheth vs in his booke concerning the education of princes Iustice is the end of the law law is the workmanship of the prince and the prince is the workmanship of God that ruleth all who hath no need of a Phidias For he himselfe behaueth himselfe as God And like as God hath set the Sunne and the Moone in the skye as a goodly resemblance of his Godhead so a Prince in a common-weale is the light of the common-weale and the image of God who vvorshipping God maintaineth iustice that is to say vttereth foorth the reason of God that is to weet Gods minde A Prince then is a magistrate that hath soueraigne power to commaund those ouer vvhom he hath charge And vnder this generall terme of Prince I comprehend kings emperours dukes earles marquises and gouernors of cities and common-weales The men of old time called him a Prince which excelled other men in discretion and wisedome For like as to make a fortunate voyage by sea there behoueth a good Pilot that is a man of courage and good skill so to the well gouerning of subiects there behoueth a good Prince And therefore we may say that that prince is the chiefe and most excellent of all which for the preheminence of his wisdome and worthinesse commaundeth all others It is the first and chiefest law of nature that he which is vnable to gard and defend himselfe should submit himselfe to him that is able and hath wherewith to do it and such a one doe we tearme a chiefe man or a prince who ought to be esteemed as a God among men as Aristotle saith in his third booke of matters of state or at least wise as next vnto God as Tertullian saith vnto Scapula and such a one ought all others to obay as a person that hath the authoritie of God as saith S. Paule Homer termeth princes Diogenes and Diotrophes that is to say Bred and brought vp of Iupiter And Cicero in his common weale saith That the gouerners and keepers of townes and citties doe come from heauen and shal returne thither againe when they haue done their dueties And in another place describing a good Prince he saith that he ought to despise all pleasures and not yeeld to his owne lust nor be needy of gold and siluer For the needinesse of the Prince is but a deuiser of subsidies as the Empresse Sophia said to Tiberius Constantine Also he ought to be more mindfull of his peoples profit than of his own pleasure And to conclude in a word a prince ought to imprint in his heart the saying of Adrian the emperor to the Senate namely That he ought to behaue himselfe after such a sort in his gouernmēt as euerie man might perceiue that he sought the benefit of his people not of himselfe Also men cal them Princes which are of the blood royal stand in possibilitie to succeed to the crowne and generally all soueraigne magistrats as dukes marquises earles and other chiefe lords of which sort there are in Italy and Germanie which haue soueraigne authoritie and owe no more to the emperour but only their mouth and their hands But the greatest and excellentest magistrats are the kings and emperours An Emperour is a terme of warre borrowed of the Romanes for in their language the word Imper◠signifieth to commaund And albeit that in their armies the Romanes had captaines whom they called Emperors which commaunded absolutely and were obayed as kings yet did not any man vsurpe or take to himselfe that title of Emperor vnlesse he had done some notable exploit of warre Insomuch that Crassus was counted a man but of base minde and small courage and of slender hope to atchieue any great or haughty matters that could finde in his heart to be named emperor for taking a silly towne called Zenodotia Afterward when the state of the common weale was chaunged by reason of the ciuill warres and reduced into a Monarchie the successors of Iulius Caesar knowing how odious the name of king was to the Romanes would not take that title vnto them but contenting themselues with the effect therof they named themselues Emperors which among vs is as much to say as chiefe leaders or Generals of an armie or host of men Plato in his booke of Lawes teacheth vs seuen sorts of ruling or commanding the first is that the father commaundeth his children the second that the valeant noble-minded commaund the weake and baseminded the third that the elder sort command the yoonger the fourth that the maisters commaund the seruants the fift that the mightier commaunds the feebler
Monarch I meane the aeternall God Our father and not our king and our Lord whereby he teacheth vs that the true soueraigntie is that which resembleth the soueraigntie of fathers and that the true subiects are those that resemble children All such as haue written of gouernment say that a kingdome well ordered consisteth but in two points namely in the iust commaundement of the Prince and in the due obedience of the subiects And if either of them both faile it is like the separation of the soule and the body in the life of man as king Francis the first right excellently declared to the men of Rochell in the yeare of our Lord fiue hundred forty three Isocrates in the instruction which he giueth to Nicocles saith thus It is to no purpose for you to haue faire horses and faire hounds if ye take no pleasure of them ne loue them so is it also to no purpose for a prince to haue such subiects as he desireth if he take no pleasure in dealing well with them And as the same author saith Those kingdomes and states of gouernment continue long which are charie ouer the welfare of their people The treasure of a good prince that loueth his subiects is in the houses of his subiects and it is a common saying That the pouertie of a prince appeareth by the pouertie of his subiects but when they be well at ease and wealthie then is the prince to be deemed rich Therefore the marke of a tyrant whom Homer termeth A deuourer of his people is to be seene in the pouertie of the subiects for that he fleeceth them to enrich those that are about him namely the ministers of his pleasures and of his euil lusts which thing causeth all men to hate him and to shun him as a witlesse beast so that for his reward he hath the indignation of God and hatred of man a short life and a perpetuall shame wheras the reward of a good Prince that keepeth the laws honoreth vprightnesse and iudgeth according to iustice is to liue and raigne long time as Moses affirmeth Which thing Philo laying foorth at large saith That although a prince die in body yet liueth he still for euer by his vertues which cannot be abolished or defaced by death A kingdome therefore is a publike state wherin one only commandeth hauing respect to the common-weale The contrary whereof is Tyrannie which is a monarchie that respecteth alonly the profit of the monarch The state of a king because it respecteth the common profit by that means draweth the hearts of the people vnto it is durable and is vpheld by the only friendship of the subiects Contrarywise because a Tyrant is like a roaring lion and a hunger-staruen beare as Salomon saith in his Prouerbs and in that respect is not ordinarily beloued of his people nor of any good men therefore he is faine to keepe a gard of strangers about him to make men feare him and obay him by force which force of his maketh him the more behated For the maintaining of which guard he is faine to be at great charges which is a cause that he becommeth the more odious by his charging and greeuing of the people And therefore a certaine Gymnosophist of India being asked of Alexander by what means he might make himselfe most beloued answered wisely By being very good and by dealing so as men should not stand in feare of him For feare is an ill preseruer of the thing that is to continue And it is apparent that such men endure but a little while for as soone as the patience of the people beginneth to faile by and by those princes loose their children and their state as it befell to Denis the tyrant of Siracuse and diuers other like For as saith Ecclesiasticus a kingdome is transferred from one nation to another for the vniustice the iniuries the extortions and the fraudes that are diuersly cōmitted Paulus Iouius speaking of Ismael Sophie saith That after he had recouered his grādfathers kingdome by the fauor of the prouinces that were greatly affectioned towards him he released the tribute incōtinently being alwais of opinion that the good will of men which is easily wone by liberality iustice was the surest strength of a kingdome and to his seeming it was not the part of a good king but of a proud Potentate and new vpstart to raigne lord-like ouer the only goods of his people when the hearts of them all were estranged from him by the grieuousnesse of tributes Therfore I will conclude that the kingdome which is maintained by fauorable means is much more strong and durable than that which is vpheld by force Which thing Philip king of Macedonia perceiuing sought by al means he could to continue in friendship with the Greeks notwithstnading that he was oftentimes constrained to vse force in bereauing them of their liberty And vpon a time when he was councelled by his faithfullest seruants to set Garrisons in all the cities of Greece that he had conquered he would not take knowledge of it saying he had leuer to be esteemed a good man for a long time than to be king or a lord for a short time because he thought that the soueraigntie which is held by loue is durable whereas the soueraignty that is held by violence terror cannot continue any long time At another time hauing gotten the possession of a certain place in Peloponnesus he deliberated a long time whether he should keepe it or leaue it to the Messenians wherein he asked the aduice of Aratus and Demetrius The opinion of Demetrius was That he shuld hold fast the Oxe by both the hornes meaning that he should easily keepe the country of Peloponnesus if he had the said towne which was called Ithomata together with Acrocorinth which he had already But Aratus after long thinking vpon the matter said thus Sir the Phocenses haue many cities and so haue also the Acarnanians all wel fortified as wel in the firme land as vpon the Sea-cost of all these you shall not enioy any and yet notwithstanding they faile not to doe whatsoeuer you commaund them without compulsion The outlawes are in the rocks and mountaines and there they hold themselues strong but vnto a king there is no castle more strong and sure than good will Also counsell was giuen to Antigonus to place a good garison in Athens to keepe it from reuolting any more and to make it as a bulwarke against all Greece but he answered That there was not a better bulwarke than the loue of the people And as Plutarch saith in the life of Aratus The surest guard that a great lord can haue is the true and constant good will of his subiects For when the nobilitie communalty of a country are wont to be afraid not of him but for him that gouerneth them then doth he see with many eies and heare with many eares and perceiueth
pleasure as Samuel told the Israelits when they chose their first king And as sayd Othanes he peruerteth the lawes and the customs of the countrie he rauisheth women and he putteth folke to death without sentence of condemnation If ye commend him modestly he is discontented that ye doe it not excessiuely and if you commend him out of measure he is offended as though ye did it of flatterie Policrates the tyrant of the Isle of Samos made warre vpon all his neighbours without any respect saying that he pleasured his friend the more in restoring to him that which he had taken from him than if he had not taken ought from him first Neuerthelesse it behoueth a Prince to thinke that if he forget himselfe and doe not his dutie ne performeth his charge as he ought to do besides that he shal yeeld an account for it before him that gaue him that charge he shall not leaue his kingdome to his posteritie Which thing Denis the tyrant of Siracuse did his son to vnderstand rebuking him for the adulteries and other crimes that he had committed and declaring vnto him that he himselfe had not vsed such maner of dealing when he was of that age Whereunto his sonne answered him that he had not had a king to his father neither shall you quoth his father haue a king to your son except you doe better And as he had said so it came to passe Peter king of Castile for his tyrannie and wicked demeanor towards his subiects was first driuen out of his realme by his bastard-brother aided with the helpe of such as hated Peter and afterward when he had recouered it againe by the means of the blacke Prince as soone as his brother the bastard came againe with any force all the countrie reuolted from him to the bastard and the Spaniards that were with him would neither put on armor nor mount on horse-backe at his commaundement by reason whereof he was faine to craue succour of strangers and yet notwithstanding he lost the battell with the battell both his kingdome and his life Alfons the yonger king of Naples hauing done many tyrannicall deeds fled dishonorably out of his kingdome at the comming of Charles the 8. king of France and as Guicciardine reporteth being tormented with the sting of his owne conscience found no rest of mind day nor night for a night-times those whom he had wronged appeared vnto him in his sleepe a day-times he saw his people making insurrectiō against him to be reuenged His son also to whom he left the kingdome felt himselfe pinched with the sins of his predecessors for the Neapolitanes forsooke him as wel as his father turned to the French kings side We see what befell to Roboam the son of king Salomon for exacting too much vpon his subiects to the duke of Guyen commonly called the blacke Prince for raising a fowage in the country of Aquitane Marcus Aurelius said that the cause why God suffered wicked Princes to be murthered rather than other wicked men is for that the priuat mans naughtinesse hurteth but himselfe and his owne familie for want of abilitie to extend his naughtinesse any further but the Prince that is tyrannous and wicked ouerthroweth the whole Common-weale To conclude the tyrannicall dominion is very dangerfull and noisome to all the people but the kingdome that is gouerned according to law passeth all other states of gouernment be it in comfort of the people or in the durablenesse of itselfe or in making of great conquests CHAP. IIII. Whether the State of a Kingdome or the State of a Publike-weale be the antienter MAnie be of opinion that the Kinglie authoritie had his beginning from the people and that the state of a Publike-weale was afore the state of a King Of that opinion is Cicero in his bookes of Duties saying that Kings were chosen at the first for the good opinion that men had of them And in another place he saith That when folke found themselues harried and troden vnderfoot by the richersort they were constrained to haue recourse to some man of excellent prowesse to defend them from the oppression of the mightier sort and to maintaine both great and small in a kind of equalitie Of the same opinion likewise is Aristotle Because the men of old time saith he were benefactors to the communaltie either by the inuention and practise of arts or by making warres in their behalf or by assembling them together into corporations and by allotting them their territories the multitude did willinglie create them Kings so they conueyed their kingdomes ouer by succession to their posterities Plinie saith that the Athenians were the first that brought vp the popular gouernment which neuerthelesse had been vsed long afore by the Iewes as Iosephus witnesseth in his books of their antiquities Indeede Thucidides in his first booke of the warres of Peloponnesus saith that when the countrie of Greece was become rich by reason of the nauigations there stept vp euerie day new tyrants in the cities by reason of the greatnesse of their reuenues For afore that time the kings came in by Succession and had their authorities prerogatiues and preheminences limited Whereby he doth vs to vnderstand that kingdomes were afore common-weales as indeed there is great likelihood that the state of a king was the foremost And it is not to be doubted but the first men that were after the the floud when the earth was repeopled againe did rule the lands which they possessed first in their owne housholds and afterward when they were increased in gouerning the whole off-spring that came of their race as we see was done by Sem Cham Iaphet Ianus Gomer Samothes and such others of whom some reigned in the West and some in the East And Nembroth of Chams linage was the first that troubled his neighbours by making warre vpon them and the first that made himselfe a king as S. Iohn Chrisostome affirmeth vpon the ninth of Genesis For afore that time time there could be no king because there were no store of people to be subiects Also Abraham hauing a great houshold tooke three hundred and eighteene of his owne men and pursuing those that had spoiled Lot discomfited them The fathers of old time therefore hauing many slaues and seruants which were multiplied afterward with the increase of their issue had them at commaundement as a King hath his subiects And of this opinion seemeth Iustine to be in his abridgement of Trogus Pompeius who saith in his first booke That at the beginning euery nation and euerie citie was gouerned by kings and that such as had none of their owne did chuse one either for the good opinion which they had of the person whom they chose or for some good turne which they had receiued at his hand or else for that they felt themselues misused by their head whom they themselues had set ouer them as it befell by the sonnes of
And as Xenophon saith in is Education of king Cyrus It is no time for a prince to make his prouision when necessitie is come vpon him but he must lay for his matters afore-hand afore necessitie come Now that he may be the readier in all things and especially in men of warre it behoueth him to haue a good number of men well trained aforehand after the manner that the Macedonians had their Siluer-shields the Romans their Legionaries the Souldans of Aegypt their Mamelukes the Turks their Ianissaries Francis and Henrie kings of France the old bands of Piemount and the emperour Charles the fift the Spaniards Besides this a prince ought to inure himselfe and his subiects together to all exercises of armes as to run well with a lawnce to mount on horseback handsomly and to manage him cunningly to traile the pike to shoote in long-bow crosse-bow and gun to vault to leape to wrestle and to handle all manner of weapons so as they may serue their turne in time and place For such things do not only procure skilfulnesse but also make mens bodies the more strong and nimble and the better able to endure trauell And therefore the Romanes could well skill to practise them in a certaine place which was called Mars his field where all such exercises were put in vre I know well that among them that haue the managing of the state in France it is held for an heresie to say that the common people are to be trained to the warres but I find the reasons of Seissell and William Bellay to bee of more force than the reasons that are commonly alleaged to the contrarie specially in France where the king behauing himselfe as a king is honoured feared and beloued And we may see plainly that this people as vntrained as they be are so well fleshed one against another that they forbeare not to enter into armes to their owne destruction and call in strangers to finish this worke and that with so great losse that it were much more for the behoofe of the realme that they themselues were better trained to warre and more inured to it long afore-hand that they might forbeare the strangers For if it should happen the king to loose one battell in his realme he should find what a hinderance it would bee vnto him that he were not able to make vp his army againe otherwise than of strangers It is well knowne in what danger the Carthaginenses fell oftentimes by reason of strangers who meant to haue ouerthrowne their state by rebelling against them and that if the Carthaginenses themselues had bene trained to the warres Scipio had not defeated them so easily as hee did no more than it lay in the power of Pyrrhus to defeat the Romanes For when hee had ouercome them in two battels hee sayd he had bene vndone if he had had one other battell more to win of the like price considering that his men were so greatly diminished by those battails that hee grew vveake euen to the view of the eye because he had no meane to make vp his armie againe with othermen whereas on the contrarie part the Romanes did easily supplie their armie with new souldiers whome they caused to come from their citie when need was as from a quicke spring whereof they had the head in their own house The Switzers Almains being called into Italy one while by the Pope and Italians and otherwhile by the Frenchmen ouermastred those that waged thē through their wilfulnes made them to lose the whole countrie in short space by their returning home or by their fighting against the will of the Generall of the host There is yet one other kind of exercise which serueth gretly to the state of souldierfare for it inureth the body to paine and therewithall acquainteth men with the natures and scituations of places which is profitable two waies first men learn thereby to know their own countrie and by that mean to discerne the platforme of any other place that differeth not from it for the knowledge of one countrie is a great furtherance to the practise of another Plutarch writeth that when Sertorius found any leisure he rode continually a hunting and coursed vp and downe the fields whereby he got great experience and furtherance in skill to shift himselfe handsomly and readily from shrewd passages when he was pressed by his enemies and on the other side to enclose them when hee had the aduantage of them and to discerne where a man might passe away and where not Philopemen prince of Athens during the times that he had peace did set his mind wholy vpon such means as it behoued him to vse in time of war propounding to his friends as hee trauelled on the way by what means he might assaile his enemies if they were incamped neere hand thereabouts and in what order he were to pursue or to retyre And in deuising after this manner he heard their opinion and told them his setting downe all the accidents that could happen in a campe by means whereof he attained to a certaine resolutnesse and readinesse in feats of warre Likewise Bookes doe woonderfull seruice to a prince in that behalfe as shall be sayd in another place And in any wise he must propose to himselfe some excellent personage as a paterne to follow after which maner Alexander proposed Achilles for his patterne Iulius Caesar proposed Alexander and Scipio proposed Cyrus To conclude a prince must vnderstand ciuil affairs that he may doe euery man right and keepe the weaker sort from being troden vnder foot by the mightier And he must haue skill in martiall deeds that he may defend his people from strangers and maintaine his own estate CHAP. VIII What is requisit in a Prince to make him happie FOr as much as I haue begun to shew the end whereat a Prince should aime it behoueth me to prosecute this end to perfection and to make the Prince happie whom we treat of For commonly all our actions tend vnto blessednesse and felicitie which is the ground and foundation of all good things and is set afore vs for a crowne and reward of our hope as saith S. Iohn Chrisostome vpon the first Psalme of Dauid Neuerthelesse in seeking this happinesse we be often beguiled taking those to be happie which indeed are vnhappie for want of knowing wherein that blessed felicitie consisteth Wherein I mind not to follow the Diuines which place the souereigne good and likewise the cheefe euill without the compasse of this life because this life is turmoiled with so many mischiefs that it is not possible to find the souereigne good in this world and to attaine vnto the true felicitie by our own industrie and diligence For as the Psalmist sayth The thoughts of men are vaine and so doth also S. Austine teach vs in his 19 booke of the citie of God where he disputeth against all the Philosophers of old time which placed the souereigne good
Sâ—lomon in his Prouerbs Blessed is the man that alwaies standeth in feare but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischiefe S. Paul willeth vs to go through with our saluation with feare and terror and he would not haue vs to be too skilful And in the xj of Esai it is written that the spirit of the feare of God shall rest vpon the blossome of the roote of Iesse And in the lxvj chapter Whom shall I regard saith the Lord but him that is meeld and gentle and standeth in feare of my words And in the xxvj At the feare of thee we haue conceiued and brought forth the spirit of saluation And in the xxxiij Psalme Ye righteous feare ye the Lord. And in the xviij Psalme The feare of the Lord endureth for euer And as S. Ierome saith Feare is the keeper of al vertues and the true way is to feare the power of God Homer in his Iliads bringeth in Helen vsing these termes to king Priam Surely deare Lord and father in law I doe both feare you and honor you because we ordinarily reuerence those whom we feare And therefore neere to the common hall of the Ephores in Sparta there was a chappell dedicated to Feare for feare doth alwaies accompany shame Also it is a very commendable thing to be affraid of vnhonesty and yet not to be afraid to be counted vnhonest As for example when one vpon a time vpbraided Xenophanes the son of Lagus that he was fearefull and durst not play at dice I confesse quoth he that I am not only fearefull but also exceeding fearefull but that is but in things vnhonest For honourable is that feare that restraineth a man from doing euill As touching meekenesse or meeldnesse it beseemeth a prince very well For it maketh him gentle courteous and affable And it is one of the three vertues which Dauid would haue in a king For in the xliiij Psalme Ride on saith he and raigne because of thy meekenesse iustice and truth And this vertue is contrarie to choleriknesse hastinesse or fumishnesse which ought to be far off from a prince as the which doth too much blind him and bereaue him of reason and iudgement But to be angrie with leaudnesse and leaud persons is very well done prouided that it be not in such sort as it extend to sinne according to this saying of the Psalmist Be angrie but sinne not in your hearts And for as much as I will treat hereof more largely when I come to speake of anger or wrath and of meeldnesse or meekâ—nesse I will content my selfe for the present to haue shewed the passions of the mind as it were at a glance which though they seeme at the first blush to encounter against vertue be such neuerthelesse as a well-disposed mind may greatly helpe it selfe by them and make them to serue to very good end and so alter the shape of them as that the thing which seemed euill shall fall out to be good and commendable CHAP. XI Whether Vertue and Honestie be to be seperated from profit in matters of gouernment or state BVt I feare least by standing too long vpon matter of Manners I forslow the matters of State and that in going about to make a prince vertuous I make him a prince misaduised For oftentimes the managing of publike affairs is such that he must rather haue regard of the present case how to wind himselfe out of the briers and to get out of some shrewd pinch than to stand musing vpoÌ„ vertue because that they which do so busie their heads doe often times suffer their state to be lost If Brutus that conspired against Caesar had not bene too spice-conscienst saying it was not lawfull to kill any other than a tyrant but had beleeued the counsell of Cassius he had not left Antonie the tyrants friend behind by whose death the common-weale had bene discharged of al danger In so much that one little sparke of conscience procured vnto Brutus the losse both of his owne life and of the libertie of his countrie The first Brutus did not so for it liked him better to vse crueltie in putting his own childreÌ„ to death than to leaue any little match of conspiracie against the state and this barbarous crueltie and vnkindnesse of his saued the common-weale When Cabades king of Persia was cast in prison by his subiects that had rebelled against him and chosen one Blases in his steede this Blases entered into counsell what was to be done with Cabades The most part were of opinion that he should not be put to death but that he should be kept in prison Othersome gaue counsell that he should be dispatched among whom Gusanascades one of the greatest lords deliuering his opinion shewed them a little pen-knife wherewith he was wont to pare his nailes and said vnto them Ye see this little cuttle this same may now without any paine and without any danger doe that which twentie thousand men cannot doe hereafter And euen so it came to passe in deed For Cabades getting out of prison recouered his kingdome and putting out Blases eies with scalding oyle laid him in prison and put Gusanascades to death Theodatus king of the Gothes was loath to kill Amalasont being an honourable and vertuous princesse and wife of Theoderik and mother of Athalarik but in the end he dispatched hir at the persuasion of such as told him that his life could not else bee in safetie Theophrast reporteth of Aristides that in priuate cases betweene man and man he was a perfect vpright and iust-dealing man but in matters of gouernment concerning the common-weale he did many things according to the necessitie of the time The Athenians in the conference which they had with the Melians said that the Lacedemonians vsed much vertue among themselues and in the things that concerned their lawes and customes at home but in their behauior towards strangers they were a people that esteemed that to be most honest and reasonable which was most for their profit Euphemeus an Athenian said to the Camerins that the man which raigneth by tyrannie and a citie that hath an empire deeme nothing vnhonest that may be for their profit nor account a-any thing theirs which is not safe guarded and in all cases they esteeme others to be their friends or foes according to the occasion of time and dealings Plutarch speaking of Marius saith he made reckoning of iustice when it was for his owne behoofe and tooke profit both for iustice and honor not considering that truth is more strong and mightie than falshood but measuring the valew of them both by the profit that might rise thereof and saying that when a lions skin will not sted a mans turne he must take vnto it the skin of a fox This hath bin the cause that the best aduised which haue written of gouernment and they also which haue practised it haue not stood so much vpon vertue as vpon the occurrence of
protector and aboue all others fearing the Persians determined with himselfe vpon aduice to cōmit the charge thereof by his last Will in writing vnto Indisgertes king of Persia and to set his Faith as a shield against his force and to tie his hands with the holy band of Protectorship praieng him to keepe and preserue the empire for his sonne Indisgertes taking the protectorship vpon him executed it so faithfully that he preserued both the life and empire of Theodosius Don Philip of Austrich king of Castile and lord of the Low countries considering how he left his sonne Charles not aboue eleuen yeres old that afore he should be of ful age the king of France might inuest himselfe in the Low-countries to preuent this inconuenience did by his testament ordaine king Lewis the twelfth to be his protector Wherupon the king by consent of the country appointed the lord of Chieures to be gouernor there and neuer made any warre vpon him notwithstanding that Maximilian gaue him sufficient causes to haue done it Licurgus being counselled therto by his countrymen and also by his sister in law the queene to take vpon him the kingdome of Lacedemon after the death of his brother would not hearken vnto it but kept it faithfullie for his nephew Charilaus who was borne after his fathers decease chusing rather to be a faithfull protector than an vnfaithfull king cleane contrarie to Lewis Sfortia who of a Gardian made himselfe duke of Millan dispossessing his nephew Iohn Galeas and his posteritie thereof But he kept it not any long time In all the doings of these good princes there was neither oth nor promise but only a good and sincere will to keep touch with such as had relied vpon the trust of their faithfulnesse For whersoeuer there hath passed either oath or single promise good men haue neuer doubt but it was to be kept as the forealleaged examples may witnesse vnto vs. And Cicero in one of his orations saith That the Gods immortall do punish a periured person and a liar both with one punishment because they be offended at the trecherie and malice wherby men be beguiled rather than at the prescript forme of words and couenants wherin the oth is comprised But whensoeuer an oth was added vnto it they held it and kept it whatsoeuer it cost them as we see in the Poets concerning the vow of Agamemnon the which is like inough to haue beene counterfaited out of the historie of Ieptha In the xxiij and xxx of Deut. it is written thus If a man be bound by oth he shall performe whatsoeuer he hath promised And Cicero in his bookes of Duties saith That we ought in any wise to keepe the promise wherein we call God to witnesse And as Sophocles saith He that that sweareth ought to be sore afraid that he sinne not against God The Aegyptians did punish periured persons with death because they sinned double as well in violating religion towards God as in taking away faithfulnesse from among men the greatest and straightest bond of humane societie After the battell of Cannas Scipio being aduertised that certaine senators held a counsell in secret how to forsake the citie of Rome went suddenly in among them with his naked sword in his hand and made them to sweare that they should not for any cause forsake the citie which thing they durst not but performe for feare of their oath As likewise did a certaine Tribune who for feare of death had promised Torquatus to withdraw his accusation which he had exhibited against his father for hee withdrew it indeed for his oath sake notwithstanding that Torquatus had compelled him thereto by force in holding his swords point to his throat So great reuerence did the men of old time yeeld vnto an aoth The Samnits hauing warred long time with the Romans and being almost vtterly destroied would needs for their last refuge put thēselues once more to the trial of fortune whome they had found so contrarie vnto them and hazard all in one battell And for the better executing of their determination they sware by great oathes euerichone of them that they would neuer retire out of the battel but follow their captaine whether soeuer he led them and if any of them all recoiled they sware all to kill him This oath had such force that neuer any people were seene to fight so desperatly and valeantly as they fought at that time Neuerthelesse the valiancie good gouernment of the Romanes was of more force than their stoutnesse The thing that made the people of Rome beleeue that Romulus was not slaine but conueied vp into heauen vvas the great oth that Proculus sware vnto them that he saw him deified and had spoken vvith him For the people were of opinion that Proculus whom they esteemed to be a good man and a friend to Romulus would not haue taken such an oth except he had bene sure that the thing was as he affirmed Lycurgus to the intent his countrimen should not disanull the lawes which he had newly stablished among them although he had gotten them ratified by the oracle of Apollo yet would needs take an oth of the people and caused them to sweare that they should not infringe them vntill his return to the end that the reuerence of the oth which they had taken might restraine them from altering any thing After the example of whome christian princes ought to bee well ware that they violat not their faith nor see light by the oth which they take for performance of their promises Wherof we haue a notable example in the fourteenth chapter of the first booke of Samuel where God is very sore angrie for that Ionathas the sonne of king Saul in chasing his enemies had tasted a little honie which was in respect of the oath which Saul had made that neither he nor any of his people should eat any thing before night and afore hee had bene fully reuenged of his enemies In so much that although Ionathas was not present at the making of the vow yet had Saul put him to death if the people had not saued him And in the one and twentith of the second booke of Samuel because Saul being moued with a good zeale had slaine certaine of the Amorrhits contrarie to the promise made vnto them by the Israelits of old time that they would not hurt them God sent a famine among the Israelits which ceassed not vntill they had deliuered seuen of Saules children to the Amorrhits to take vengeance of them These examples shew how greatly our God abhorreth periurie to the intent no man should excuse himselfe vnder pretence that no touch is to be kept with him that breaketh his promise or that one cōpanion is to keepe touch with another but not the master with his seruant nor the christian with the infidel For an oath ought to be so holy and so had in reuerence that it should not
be falsified for all the goods in the world For as saint Ambrose sayth in his third booke of Duties Promise is to bee kept euen with deceiuers and forsworne persons and wee ought to set that before our eyes which Ioshua did to the Gabaonits who being afrayd of the Israelits that did put all to the sword pretended to be strangers come from a farre countrie of purpose to ioine in league with them and Ioshua beleeuing them to haue said truth made a league with them And by and by after when their frawd was detected the people would haue serued them as they serued the rest but Ioshua would not for his oths sake but chose rather to keepe promise with the fraudulent to let the mis-beleeuing infidels liue notwithstanding that God had commanded him to root them out than to violat his promise giuen in reuenge of their frawd Whosoeuer deceiueth his brother saith the sonne of Syrach his sin shall be vpon him and if he dissemble he sinneth double and if he sweare in vaine he shall not bee iustified but his house shall be full of tribulation And in another place Cursed saith he is he that is double-minded And in the 59 Psalme Dauid praieth God to shew no mercie or fauour to such as deale maliciously of deceitfull purpose Also the best reputation that a Prince can haue and best beseeming his maiestie is to keepe his promise yea though hee haue not sworne vnto it For good princes said Traian are more bound to performe their promises than to accomplish the things that they themselues desire And therefore a prince ought not to falsifie his promise vnder pretence of profit nor to say that his counsell willeth it or his estate requireth it For he ought not to do any euill for the maintainance of his state And hee that hath so discredited himselfe shall not often recouer it because he shall be taken and esteemed as a faithlesse prince and if hee fortune to bee driuen to make any accord or league it will be hard for him to be admitted into it for the opinion that shall go of him for as sayth Cicero When a man is once periured he may sweare by all the Gods and no man will beleeue him And Guichiardine sayth there is little sinceritie and faithfull dealing to be hoped for at that Princes hand of whome men haue conceiued opinion that he is a double and deceitfull person Whereby it may come to passe that hee shall lose more by shewing himselfe to be a periurer than he can gaine by any profit whatsoeuer it seeme to be Besides that it falleth out that oftentimes the deceiuer himselfe is deceiued and that as saith Hesiodus euill counsell turneth to the hurt of him that giueth it Lewis the eleuenth was a deepe dissembler and of great forecast but his dissimulation was like to haue cost him his life For the Duke of Burgoine detecting his trains tooke him prisoner at Perone and compelled him to graunt him whatsoeuer he required Charles the seuenth who draue the Englishmen victoriously out of France auailed more by his plaine dealing than his sonne did by all his sleights and subtilties Therefore whosoeuer will leaue a good and commendable remembrance of himselfe to posteritie will rather forgoe some piece of wealth than willinglie be counted a notable deceiuer periurer and liar And yet such doth Machiauell tearme the princes of his time that compassed their affaires well But yet for all that he shall find the foundations which this cunning cosener and wilie beguiler laid of his house by his subtill sleights were such as ouerthrew it immediatly after his death Neither is it for a man when he hath sworne or promised a thing to excuse himselfe or to shift it off with captiousnesse of words whereby he may seeme to haue accomplished his promise when he hath not For as Cicero saith Not what a man saith but what he intendeth and pretendeth to doe is to bee regarded As for example when a prisoner that is let goe vpon promise to returne againe faineth himselfe by and by to haue forgotten somewhat behind him and thereupon comes backe againe and after being cleane gone returneth no more to his maister saying that he had performed his promise in that he had returned afore Or as he that hauing made a truce with his enemies for eight daies did war vpon them in the nights Herodotus reporteth a foule shameful kind of dealing of one Amasis the colonel of king Darius footmē against the Barceans who perceiuing himselfe vnable to ouercome them by force caused a great pit to be made in the night the which he ouerlayd with timber well seasoned and couered it ouer with earth in such sort as no man could suspect any trench vnderneath it The next day hee came to treat with the Barceans vpon the sayd pit where the Barceans on their part promised to pay tribute to Darius and Amasis promised on the other part to vse them as friends and not to make any warre vpon them so long as the earth whereupon they then stood continued Vpon the concluding of the league in this maner the Barceans came to the campe of the Persians and the Persians went into the citie the gates wherof were set open vnto them But suddenly he caused the timber to be pulled away and so the earth sunke downe to the bottome of the pit wherupon the Persians fell immediatly to sacking of the cittie as who would say they were discharged of their promise because the earth there was not in like case as it was at the time that the peace was sworne The Flemings vsed the like cautell to couer their periurie for at such time as the king of England dealt with Iaques of Arteuil to get the Flemings to take his part whereunto they would haue condescended but for the oth which they had made to the king of France To shift off this oath and to cloke their periurie Iaques aduised the king of England to proclaime himselfe king of France and to beare the arms of France quartered with the arms of England to the intent it might be said that their bearing of armes was in the behalfe of the king of France Which thing when the king of England had done they turned to his side without making any stay And wee must not thinke it strange that some to maintaine their errour doe very vnaduisedly alleage this Prouerbe spoken in Latine by Lewis the eleuenth That he which can no skill to dissemble can no skill to reigne as who would say that all dissimulation were deceit but there is a great deale of difference betwixt them for dissimulation commeth of Wisedome but deceit sauoureth of Reinard the Fox To dissemble in time and place is great wisdome It is as much to say as that a man must strike saile and apply himselfe to the wind like a good pilot take good heed to the seasons For sometimes it behooueth a man to
And for the space of the first six hundred threescore and ten yeares they builded vp temples and chappels to their gods but there was not in them any image or figure of God as who would say they thought it sacriledge to haue the mind to resemble or liken the Godhead to earthly things considering that it is not in any wise possible to attaine to the knowledge of the Godhead otherwise than by means of the vnderstanding And that was agreeable to the doctrin of Pithagoras who was of opinion that the first cause was after a sort conceiuable in vnderstanding but yet vtterly inuisible and vncorruptible As touching an oth I haue alreadie shewed in what estimation it was among the infidels and how they abhorred periurie to our great shame For surely to take God to witnesse in a lie is a verie great wickednesse And as touching the taking of one day in the weeke to respit both men and beasts from worke and trauell Hesiodus the antient Poet commaundeth it in his booke of Workes and Daies and Plato saith in his booke of Lawes that the gods pittying men least they should ouer-worke themselues haue giuen-them a release of their labor by leauing them holi-daies ordained in their honor Thus ye see how many of the men of old time at the beginning of the law of nature did well enough practise the law of God had not the deuill thrown them into the wretched abhominable sin of idolatrie and that some certaine persons had not turned all vpside downe by the inuention of idols as is written in the xiij and xiiij chapters of the booke of Wisdome For that hath caused men to be wholly giuen to earthly things bearing themselues on hand that an image made by mans hand was their God and therefore worshipping it as God by offering sacrifices of beasts vnto it as though it tooke pleasure in the smokiâ— sent of the multitude of burnt offerings and had need of oxen goats and sheep But in the end God sending his owne son into the world hath made vs to know that which many prophets and especially Dauid in his fifteeth and three and fifteeth Psalms hath said namely That the true sacrifice is to praise the true and inuisible God to yeeld him thanks for all his benefits to lift vp our minds vnto him to pray vnto him with all deuotion and humilitie and to offer vnto him in sacrifice a pure and cleane heart adorned with feare and obedience according to this saying of S. Paul That we must offer vnto him a liuing host that is to say our bodies without blemish and as Philo saith Can there be found a goodlier sacrifice than the soule that is well minded towards God Who shall goe vp into the Lords hill but he that is of pure and cleane heart considering that not he which saith Lord Lord but he that doth the Lords will shal enter into the kingdome of heauen For as Persius saith When we bring vnto God from the closet of our soule holinesse and from the bottome of our heart a pure and obedient mind and a meeke affection seasoned with goodnesse vertue and honestie then may we boldly offer vp our praiers and sacrifices vnto him but otherwise it behoueth vs to be well ware that we presume not vnto him For the sacrifice of the wicked is lothsome vnto God saith Salomon And Plato in his fourth booke of Lawes saith That God accepteth not ne regardeth not the gifts of the wicked and that their pains in that behalfe are in vaine but that on the contrarie part he doth willinglie receiue the gifts of the holie And as Philo saith in his third booke of the life of Moses If the person that offereth be euill and vnrighteous his sacrifices are no sacrifices his halowed things are vnholie and his prayers turne to the contrarie procuring him misfortune in steed of good This honouring of God with heart and mind we call Godlines and Religion which is the meane betweene vngodlinesse wherof alonly we ought not to make mention and Superstition Of Religion and Superstition Cicero in his third booke of the Nature of the gods speaketh in this wise Our worshipping saith he with a pure cleane sound and vncorrupted mind and voice For not only the Philosophers but also our ancestors haue seperated religion from superstitioÌ„ For such as praied all the day that their children might ontliue them were called superstitious and they that were diligent in doing the things that pertaine vnto the worshipping of the gods were called Religious Of the word Religio which signifieth to bind-ouer because Religion bindeth men to the performance of their dutie towards God And so of the ij things betokened by the two words of Religion Superstition men haue made the one a vice and the other as vertue So then we call those superstitious which are ouer-religious and leauing the true vse of the praiers that are to be made vnto God doe busie themselues in babling and in requiring vaine things at his hand as those sillie soules did which ceassed not to be importunat vnto God that their children might â—uruiue them whose so doing hath giuen vnto their faultie religioÌ„ the name of Superstition whereto full many do giue themselues at this day pratling vncessantly vnto God not knowing what they aske notwithstanding that our Lord hath commaunded vs to seeke Gods kingdome and righteousnesse promising that all temporall things shal be added as an income to our praier and inioining vs as a pattern of praieng to say the praier that euery man hath in his mouth namely the Lords praier wherein our only speech is of the honoring of God and our praieng is for the forgiuenes of our sins for strength to withstand them and for our ordinarie food Generally we terme all those superstitious which of a misbeleefe are astonished at euery extraordinary thing that they see For as Plutarch sayth in the life of Alexâ—nder Superstition droppeth downe continually into the hearts of them that are cast down and ouerwhelmed of feare as for example those that are afrighted at the eclipse of the sun or the moone at the howling of woolues at the noise of the Scriech-oule or of the night-rauen or at the flying of certaine birds and such other like things In all the which the Romanes were too too superstitious as is to be seene by a procession of theirs wherin they caused the Reliks of their gods to bee borne vpon barrowes on horse-backe through the citie wherein because the Carter had taken the horse by the reine with his left hand they appointed the procession to be begun new againe And sometimes for one poore flie that is to say for a thing of nothing they made some one sacrifice to be begun twentie or thirtie times Some of the men of old time tearmed this maner of dealing an exact Righteousnesse and we call it a fond and foolish Superstitiousnesse howbeit that wee must needs confesse that
in his Religion recouered all that his forefathers had lost We see at this day how the contempt and disagreement in Religion shaketh all the states of Christendome and will yet shake them more if the dissentious spirits be not reunited againe in the bosome of the church S. Lois got himselfe more glorie in Syria and Aegypt by his holy conuersation than by his wars wherein he had not any happie successe and the churches which we see of his building doe shew sufficiently how hee was giuen to Religion Philip the emperor was not so much renowned for his victories as for that after the battell of Bouvines he builded the church of Victorie neer vnto Senlis the which he dedicated to the virgin Marie and afterward did great good to the Clergi-men And whē his officers complained vnto him of his diminishing of his reuenues by enriching of the church-men he answered That he had receiued so much good at Gods hand that he could not denie any thing to his Temples and Ministers for the great goods which he had gotten and gained by helpe more than humane and euen by the fauor of God But now leauing our christian histories because my chiefe intent is not to speak of them let vs read Titus Liuius and there we shall see the deuotion that was in the Romanes of old time and among others the zeale of Lucius Albinus a commoner who hauing his wagon loaden with his wife and yoong children and with his mouables and fleeing from the Gauls that were come to Rome as soone as he espied the Nuns of Vesta on foot carrying their holy reliks with them immediatly he caused his wife and children to come downe and his goods to be vnloaden and lent his wagon to the virgins to ride in and to carrie their Relikes Numa Pompilius to the intent to make the people attentiue to the ceremonies of their religion made an herald to go before the priest that ministred the ceremonies and to crie with a loud voice Do this which was a commaunding of them to intend wholly to the diuine seruice without intermedling any other action The good ladies and personages of reputation did oft frequent the temples and the founders of them gate great fame and renowne amongst the people Scipio African was one of the happiest captains of Rome and best beloued of the people men of war because they deemed him to doe all things by the counsel of God for that he vsed to tarry long alone in the capitoll where their opinion was that he consulted with Iupiter concerning the affaires of the common-weale And generally all princes beeing of any good disposition haue had Religion in singular estimation as wee read by the answer that Alexander Seuerus made to certaine Inholders of Rome which would haue disappointed the Christians of the building of a chappell to make their prayers in The things that concerne God quoth the emperour are to be preferred before the things that concerne man and therefore let it be free for the Christians to build their chappell to their God who though he be vnknowne at Rome ought neuerthelesse to haue honour done vnto him euen in respect that he beareth the name of God And so he chose rather to apply the place to the worshipping of God than to worldly vses And for himselfe he made it not strange that the Bishops in cases belonging to their iurisdiction should giue other iudgement than he had done as who would say that in matters of Religion the emperour ought to giue place to the authoritie of priests and Bishops Plutarch in his treatise of Philosophicall discipline saith That common-weales honour and reuerence priests because they pray vnto God not for the welfare of themselues and their friends and acquaintance onely but in common for all men and yet the priests cause not the gods to doe vs good but they onely call vpon them as dooers of good We see in what reuerence the Romanes had them by their condemning of Cneus Cornelius a Pretor of Rome in a great fine for quarrelling vniustly with Emilius Lepidus their high priest Antiochus king of Syria lying in siege before Ierusalem at the feast of Tents or Boothes gaue the Iewes seuen daies truce at their request because he would not trouble their deuotion and moreouer sent an Oxe and certaine vessels of gold vnto the gate of the citie to be offered in sacrifice vnto God When Philip king of Macedonie was about to lay siege to Vdisitane a citie of Maesia belonging to the Gothes their priests came foorth to him clad all in white to whom he yeelded such honour and reuerence that hee retired without doing them any harme No lesse did Alexander to the high priest of the Iewes notwithstanding that he went against him in great choler and with full purpose to haue destroied the towne For when he saw him come in his priestly ornaments and attire he not only relented but also stepped forth alone vnto him with great honour and reuerence and worshipped God The same Alexander hauing taken the citie of Thebes razed it and sold all the citizens thereof sauing only the priests and men of Religion Darius caused an image of his to be set vp in the temple of Vulcane before the image of Sesostris the doing wherof Vulcans priest withstood saying that Sesostris had done mo deeds of arms than Darius and therefore deserued to be preferred before him for which free speech Darius did not the priest any harme but pardoned him Selim emperor of the Turks being in the citie of Ierusalem did reuerence to the monuments of the antient prophets And albeit that he was an enemie to the verie name of Christians yet for all that he letted not to giue the priests monie to find them six moneths as to deuout persons and men of good life When Alarik king of the Gothes had entered the citie of Rome by force he made proclamation by the sound of a trumpet that no harme should be done to such as were fled into the churches of the Apostles to saue themselues by reason wherof his souldiers touched not the religious persons nor the vessels which they carried with them Wheras Didier king of Lumbards intending to haue seazed Rome into his possession afore Charlemain should come there fained himselfe to haue a vow thither by reason whereof he found the gates open at his comming yet notwithstanding he durst not enter because Adrian the Pope forbad him vpon paine of excommunication And I beleeue that the feare which he had of Charlemaine helped him wel to the taking of that offer Attila had such regard of Pope Leo that as soon as he had heard him speake he forbare to go to Rome vtterly left vp all Italie Cabaon captaine of Tripolie finding himselfe too weake to withstand the Vandales gaue himselfe ouer to Religion and forbad his men of war to doe wrong to any man enioyning them to abstaine from women
told him that his enemies had many more ships than he And how many ships quoth he thinke you my presence may counteruaile As who would say it is a great sway to the victorie when a valeant prince is present which can skill how to gouerne The Numantines had obtained many victories of the Romanes vntill in the end Scipio was sent thither to haue the commaunding of the armie whose arriual there made the chance of the warre to turne For euer after the Numantines went by the worst neuerthelesse their captains bad their souldiers that they should not be afraid for the Romans were but the very same people whom they thēselues had vanquished so oft afore True it is indeed said one among them they be the same sheepe but they haue another maner of shepheard Antigonus hearing by some prisoners that Eumenes was sicke as he was indeed and therupon coniecturing that he should with small adoe discomfit his armie in his absence made all the hast he could to giue battell But when he came so neere that he might well and plainly descry the order behauior of his enemies who were so well ranged in order of battell as possibly could be he staied a long while altogether distroubled and as it were astonished in the which time he perceiued the horslitter of Eumenes passing from the one side of the battell to the other and therewithall he began to say Yon same in mine opinion is the litter that maketh vs war and offereth vs battel And with that word he caused the retreit to be sounded and conueyed his men backe into his camp Iulius Caesar did put himselfe in great perill by going to find his armie that was distressed by the Gauls and by his only presence did rid them of the distresse giuing them courage to fight so greatly was his name redouted of his enemies Cabades king of Persia seeing his men repulsed from the citie Damida vvhich he had surprised and scaled and hovv that many of them began to come dovvne the ladders because the men of the citie made them to leape dovvne from aboue stepped to the foote of a ladder vvith his svvord dravvne and threatned to kill as many of them as came dovvne And so the presence of the king caused many to mount vp the ladders againe and many that had begun to giue ouer fell so lustily to scaling againe that in the end they tooke the citie The prince of Wales to giue courage to his men of vvarre vvas personally at the castle of Remorentin by vvhose presence the Englishmen gaue such a forcible assault that they vvhich vvere vvithin vvere faine to yeeld themselues Henrie king of Castile seeing his armie begin to scatter assembled them againe three times and with his incouraging of them made them to endure the battell a long time so as they durst not any more flee for shame when they saw their lord and king fight so valiantly and speake so amiably Ferdinand king of Naples perceiuing the Neapolitans to rebell at the change of his fortune at such time as Charles the eighth subdued all vnder his obedience departed suddenly from Capua and drue streight to Naples As soone as he arriued there euery man laying downe his weapon came to welcome him with singular affection ceasing their vprores in all places Consalua being brought to distresse at Barlette and yet cheerefully ouerpassing all pains matched vvith great scarcitie of victuals and of all other things needfull did by his example hold in the Spaniards a long time who were forewearied with trauell and in the end got the vpper hand of the Frenchmen At such time as king Henrie the second was fiercely assailed in his own realme at two places at once and could not put garrisons in all the towns on the frontiers the admirall Hannibalt being aduertised that the enemies made towards Fere with ful assurance to get possession thereof conueid himselfe into it with a few men and saued the towne by his presence For the enemies thought that so great a lord vvould not shut vp himself vvithout a good companie and othervvise they esteemed him to be a vvise captaine as hauing had triall of him afore at Mesieres at Petone and at Laundersey hovv greatly the presence of a good captain auaileth vvhich maketh weake towns impregnable The end of the first booke The second Booke CHAP. I. ¶ Of Wisedome and Discreetnesse IN old time when by Gods sufferance Oracles had place the citie of Delphos was renowned through the whole world for the prowd and stately temple there which was dedicated and consecrated to Apollo whereunto folke resorted frō al parts of the world to aske counsell and to heare the answers that were giuen by his image At the enterance of this goodly Temple were written these words KNOW THY SELFE In the interpretation of which words many haue erred imagining that a man knows himselfe when he can skill of the things that concerne his duetie or office and his mysterie trade of liuing or profession as when a Surgion can skill to launce a sore or a Phisition to heale a disease or a Shoomaker to make a Shoe But none of all these is the knowing of a mans selfe And though a man beheld all the parts of his bodie yet knew he not himselfe the more for all that For as Plato saith He that knoweth his bodie knoweth that which is his but he knoweth not himselfe So that neither Phisition nor handicraftsman knoweth himselfe but their knowledge is of things that are separated from themselues Wherefore to speake properly none of them according to their art can bee said to be wise Likewise hee that hath a care of his owne body mindeth that which is his and not himselfe And vvhosoeuer loueth a man cannot bee deemed to loue his bodie but his soule Therefore vvhen we say a man must know himselfe it is as much to say as hee must haue a care of his soule to prepare it to the knowing of God his maker after whose image it is created that hee may as it were in a looking glasse behold the inuisible Godhead the efficient cause of wisedome and of all good things and that by the knowledge of the vertues which God hath giuen vnto him he may consider how greatly he is indetted vnto God and that he hath not any thing of himselfe but that all commeth of God And when he knoweth what he is that is to wit a reasonable creature then lifteth he vp his heart as is soong in the church that is to say he lifteth vp his mind to the author of his welfare Now then to know God it behooueth to haue the knowledge of our selues that is to wit of our inward man which is framed of diuine essences to the intent we despise not the heauenly vnderstanding and mind that was giuen to man in his creation for want of knowing it aright and for want of considering the vertue and power thereof least through want
an vnskilfull person neither misliked he of learned men but had Philosophers Lawyers and other men of good learning and knowledge neere about him And notwithstanding that he was well aduised and discreet yet in doing many things vpon his owne head he failed not to doe some whereof he repented afterward because the benefit of nature was not sufficiently kiltred by learning which is the thing wherein princes faile For if they bee not taught by the dumb scholemaisters that is to say by bookes they will hardly be taught by the liuely voice because the schoolemaister is afraid and dareth not compell them but letteth them doe what they list at their own discretion therefore they cannot learne so well as others that are vnder correction But the booke although it doe not speake vttereth what it listeth without either feare or blushing and giueth such warnings vnto Princes as their tutors durst not doe Therefore all their recourse ought to be vnto bookes as well to vnderstand the truth as to learne the historie wherein they shall see a thousand policies of warre infinit goodly sayings a thousand inconueniences that haue lighted vpon euil princes their grossenes their lewdnesse and their wickednesse On the contrarie part they shall take singular pleasure in reading the praises of good princes they shall see their wisedome vertue and good demeanor in matters both of peace and warre How they defended themselues froÌ„ their enemies how they wound themselues out of their hands what they did to maintaine their states and what got them their good reputation and made them to prosper in all things Which thing the valeantest captains could well skill to put in practise who not only haue helped themselues by learning in the managing of their affairs as Cicero and Lucullus who had small experience of warre Alexander the great Iulius Caesar and infinit other great captains but also haue set downe to themselues as it were in a looking-glasse some such personages as they haue liked to follow As for example Alexander setting Achilles before him for his patterne neuer slept without the Iliads of Homer vnder his pillow The paterne of Iulius Caesar was Alexander and Cirus was the pattern of Scipio who neuer went without a Xenophon no more did Alfons king of Arragon go without the Commentaries of Caesar nor the emperour Charles the fift without the Remembrances of Philip of Comines After whose example all noble-minded princes ought first to haue the histories of the holy Bible and besides them of the Heathen histories the liues of Traian Antonie the Meeke Alexander the Stern such others by whom they shal learne to order their life aright And to allure them the more vnto learning I will alleage the saying of Salomon in the xx chapter of his Prouerbs There is much gold and store of pearles but bookes of knowledge are the precious iewels By knowledge chambers are filled with all maner of costly and pleasant stuffe And as he sayth in another place The vvise mâ—n hath great might and the man of knovvledge hath great strength For by skill are vvarres made and vvhere many be that can giue councell there is victorie Cicero in his oration for Archias saith That learning is the teacher of vertue a delighter and refresher of vs vvhen vve be at home alone in our ovvne houses and a companion that cumbereth vs not vvhen vve goe abroad It trauelleth vvith vs it sleepeth vvith vs it is an ornament vnto vs in prosperitie and a helpe in aduersitie Many being in prison many being in captiuitie to their enemies many being in banishment haue borne their misfortune vvell by means of learning Diogenes was wont to say That learning made yong men sober comforted old men enriched poore men and made rich men glorious because learning restraineth the slippernesse of youth and supplieth the defects of old age Aristotle saith that the eies receiue light from the aire about them and the mind from the liberall sciences and that learning serueth for an ornament in prosperitie and for a refuge in aduersitie Aristippus was wont to say There is as great difference betweene the learned and vnlearned as is betweene the liuing and the dead Send them both quoth he into a strange countrie and you shall see what difference there is The which appeared well in Dennis who of the king of Sicilie became a schoolemaster at Corinth and might haue starued for hunger had it not bin for his learning The foresaid Philosopher Aristippus was wont to say That it was better to be a beggar than to be vnlearned because the beggar hath no need but of mony but the vnlearned hath need of humanitie as who would say that he which wanted knowledge was no man Socrates was wont to say That for war iron was better than gold and that for the life of man learning was better than riches At such time as Paulus Emileus was for to encounter with Perseus the last king of Macedonie that his armie was sore dismaid at the eclips of the moon which then happened Sulpicius Gallus incouraged them by his learning in that hee assured them of victorie by his knowledge in the Mathematicall sciences By the like knowledge Archimedes defended the citie of Syracuse from the force of Marcellus In this processe of learning I will not omit Eloquence which the men of old time termed the Queene of men as one which euen by force drue vnto her the affections of as many as shee spake vnto Plutarch in the life of Pericles saith that Eloquence is an Art that weeldeth mens minds at her pleasure and that her cheefe cunning is to know well how to mooue mens passions and affections to her lure which are as you would say the Tunes and sounds of the soule which is willing to be touched by the hand of a good musician And albeit that a good naturall disposition be very requisit to haue the toung at commandement yet will nature doe but small seruice if it be not polished by learning On the contrary part the man that is rude of speech by nature may become eloquent and well spoken in amending his euill disposition by learning I meane not that he shal becom as good as Demosthenes but that he may be able to make some breefe oration to the people or to men of war that shall be of force to persuade them as the braue captains of old times did Nestor is commended of Homer not only for his good skill and counsell but also for his Eloquence saying that the words issued from his lips as sweet as honie Notwithstanding that Pirrhus was one of the best captains of the world yet would he say that Cyneas had woon him mo cities by his eloquence than he himselfe had done by the sword Anon after the expulsing of the kings out of Rome there fel such debate between the senators and the common-people that the citie was like to haue gone to vtter
ruine by it But Agrippa pacified the whole matter by his eloquence and brought the people backe to obedience when they had alreadie banded themselues in companies Pisistratus handled the Athenians so cunningly with the finesse of his toung that he made himself king of Athens Such as were sent by Cinna to haue slaine Antonie the Orator were so surprised with his eloquence that when they heard him speake they had no mind at all to kill him The eloquence of Cicero caused the disanulling of the law for the diuiding of lands whereof the people of Rome had conceiued so great liking and which had bene so often propounded in so much that when they had heard him speake they vtterly abolished it for euer whereof Plinie maketh a wonder The like grace of speech enforced Iulius Caesar to pardon Ligarius whome he was resolutly determined to haue put to death To be short it is a thing of so great power that a prince who hath many vnder his charge can in no wise forbeare it And if he fortune not to be eloquent inough of himselfe it would behoue him to haue some good orator about him as Moses tooke Aaron to persuade the people and to preach vnto them because he found himselfe vnfit for that purpose For it is to no purpose for a man to haue goodly conceits vnlesse he put them forth For according to the saieng of Themistocles Eloquence is like a peece of tapistrie wrought with figures and imagerie which shew themselues when the cloth is vnfoldâ—d and are hidden when it is lapped vp together and euen so a man cannot shew the goodly conceits of his mind vnlesse hee haue eloquence to vtter them Cicero saiih in his Orator that by the eloquence and persuasion of such as could handle their toungs well the people that were scattered abroad in the wild fields and forrests were first brought into cities and townes It is of such force that it maketh the things to be beleeued that were incredible and smootheth things that were vnpolished And as the mind is the beautie of a man so is Eloquence the beautifier of the mind The same author in the second booke of the Nature of gods saith thus A beautiful and diuine thing soothly is Eloquence for it maketh vs to learne the things we know not and to teach the things we know by it we persuade and comfort the sorrowfull by it we encourage them that bee dismaied by it we strike them dead that are too lustie by it we pacifie the angrie and kill folks lusts that is it that hath drawne vs into fellowship into societie into cities to liue according to equitie and law Yet is it not inough to haue learning and eloquence vnlesse they bee also matched with experience Bias in his lawes would haue a Prince to be chosen of the age of fortie yeares to the end he should gouerne well by good discretion and experience For it is well known that neither Phisitions nor Generals of war be they neuer so well instructed with precepts can well discharge their duties without experience And as the emperor Adrian was wont to say in the generall ordering and managing of matters of State One yeares experience is better woorth than ten yeares learning And for that cause he preferred Antonie to the Empire before Marcus Aurelius as making more account of Antonies experience than of Marks lerning Agamemnon desired not so much to haue learned and eloquent men of his counsell as to haue such as Nestor was that is to say men of great experience Plutarke saieth that the wise and valeant captaine Philopemen presuming that his skill which he had in ordering a battel vpon the land would also serue him alike vpon the sea learned to his cost what sway experience beareth in matters of chiualrie and how great aduantage they haue in all things which are well experienced The skill how to gard and defend a mans selfe is not learned saieth Thucidides by talking but accustoming himselfe to pains-taking and to handling of his weapon One asked Zeuxidamus why the Lacedemonians had no lawes written because quoth he they should rather enure themselues to the doing of noble and honorable things than to read of them Panthoidas said the same to the Anthenians that asked him what he thought of the Philosophers which had disputed before him assuring them that they had spoken goodly things but to themselues vnprofitable whereby he meant to doe the Athenians to vnderstand that they had vertue in their mouths but not in their deeds The knowledge that is gotten serueth to the ordering of mens affairs but if it be without practise it is like a body without a soule Very vnwise therfore was he which by his sophistrie would haue made Iphicrates beleeue that the Philosopher is the onely good captaine And we may well say with Anaxippus that such discoursers doe shew themselues wise in words but in effect are starke fooles Now therefore we conclude with Aristotle that such as will deale in matters of state must aboue all things haue experience and this experience is gotten by practise and exercise which is the perfecter of Learning For we see that by exercise a weake man becommeth strong and doth better away with trauell than he that being strong doth not vse exercise as Socrates sayth in Xenophon Againe they that bee practised in all things deeme truly of duties and vnderstandeth what belongeth to euery man And as saith Musonius Vertue is a science that consisteth not only in vnderstanding but also in action For euen as in Phisicke or Musicke it is not sufficient to be skilfull of the art but there must also be a practise of the actions that depend vpon the art and science so in the science of Gouernment a prince must be practised in that which concerneth action rather than in that which concerneth contemplation Can he thinke himselfe to be of good skil which when he is to go in hand with his worke findeth it cleane contrarie to his imagination Surely as Terence sayth there was neuer yet any man so well aduised afore-hand in his determinations whome age experience haue not crossed with some strange encounter so as he hath found himselfe to seeke in the things wherein he thought himselfe most skilfull and when he came to the execution hath reiected that which he thought to bee best afore he began to go in hand with it And that is allegorically the very tree of the knowledge of good and euill after the opinion of S. Austen in his thirteenth booke of the citie of God For in matter of State it is very dangerous to take white for blacke and to thinke a mans selfe to know that which hee knoweth not Therefore it behooueth a prince to be a dealer in his owne affairs and to exercise his mind at times in reading of bookes without forgetting to exercise his body He must so counterpeise his mind and his body as
not that one should su◠for it but made the suters themselues to come to his presence as well to gratifie them himselfe as also to know whom he gratified For he that receiueth not the benefit at the princes owne hand thinketh himselfe beholden to none but vnto him by whome he had it as wee haue found by experience in this our realme of Fraunce within this fiftie or threescore yeares LEt vs come now to the iustice of war which ought to be like the same that we haue spoken of and consisteth in penalties and rewards namely in punishing the wicked and in recompensing the good and valeant men with honour and regard For honour nourisheth the liberall arts and vertue In which behalfe the emperor Adrian did so greatly excell that he was both feared and loued of all his men of war feared because he chastised them and beloued because he paid them well Vpon a time one demaunded of Lisander What maner of common-weale hee liked best That qd he wherein both the valeant and the cowards are rewarded according to their deserts as who would say that vertue is furthered by reward and that men of no value are spurred vp to doe well by the shame and reproch which they receiue by doing amisse and in being despised Ennius Priscus demaunded of Traian What was the cause that hee was better beloued of the people than his predecessors Because qd he that commonly I pardon such as offend me and neuer forget them that doe me seruice But afore I speake of rewarding or recompensing we must know what is the law and discipline of arms wherof the first and principall point that is to wit to doe no man wrong dependeth vpon naturall iustice And yet-notwithstanding this seemeth so strange among vs that the cheefe and principall point of warlike behauiour seemeth to consist in pilling swearing rauishing robbing and that a souldier cannot be esteemed a gallant fellow vnlesse he be furnished with those goodly vertues Contrariwise if the Romans had any souldiers that were neuer so little giuen to loosenesse they would not vse their seruice no not euen in most extreme necessitie as is to be seen by the doings of Metellus in Affrike and of Scipio in Spain making more account of one legion that liued after the law and order of war than of ten that were out of order Now the lawes of armes were diuers according to the diuersities of the captains that haue had the leading of Armies The first consisteth in the obedience of the men of warre For as saith Plato it auaileth not to haue a good captaine vnlesse the souldiers bee discreet and obedient because the vertue of well-obeieng hath as great need of a gentle nature and of the helpe of good trainment as the princely vertue of commaunding All other precepts tend generally to naturall iustice the which will not haue wrong done to any man Alexander being aduertised that two souldiers which serued vnder Parmenio had rauished the wiues of certaine souldiers strangers wrate vnto Parmenio to informe him therof charging him that if he found it to be so he should put both the souldiers to death as wild beasts bred to the destruction of men When the Romanes marched vnder the leading of Marcus Scaurus there was found in their trenches at their departure thence a tree hanging ful of fruit so great conscience made they to take any thing that was not their owne And if any man went aside in any field farme or grange at such time as the campe marched he was punished immediatly and it was demaunded of him if he could find in his heart that a man should doe as much in his lands Whersoeuer Bellisarius went with his armie he restrained his men from doing wrong to laborers and husbandmen insomuch that they durst not eat the apples and peares that hung vpon the trees After the death of Campson the Soldan of Aegypt Selim king of Turks being possessed of Damasco and the rest of the cities of Syria would not suffer his men of war to come within them but lodged his camp by the wals of the towne and of all the time that he was there there was not any guard set to keepe the goodly and fruitfull Gardens that were without the citie because the rigorous iustice that Selim executed restrained the Turks from misdoing wherthrough the whole armie found themselues well apaid For they neuer wanted victuals but had plentie and aboundance of all things Traian caused a captaine to be banished for killing a husbandmans Oxen without need and awarded the husbandman for amends to haue the captaines horse and armor and also his quarters wages Tamerlane king of Tartarians made a souldier of his to be put to death for taking but a cheese from a poore woman Totilas was so seuere in the discipline of war that he would not leaue any one misdeed vnpunished He that rauished any woman was punished with death or at least wise forfaited his goods the which were giuen to the partie that was outraged Insomuch that he passed by the cities and townes that were in friendship and league with him without doing them any harme saying that kingdomes and empires were easily lost if they were not maintained by iustice Which thing Iustinian found to be very true who through the vniustice and disorder of his captaines lost the empyre of Italy Paulus Emilius was a sterne obseruer of the law of arms not seeking to purchase the loue of his souldiers by pleasing them but shewing them himselfe from point to point how auailable the ordinances of war were And this his austeritie and terriblenesse towards them that were disobedient and transgressed the law of arms vpheld the commonweale vnappaired For he was of opinion that to vanquish a mans enemies by force of arms is as ye would say but an accessorie or income in comparison of the well ordering and winning of a mans countrymen by good discipline The Lawes of arms haue bin diuerse according to the diuersitie of captaines the which we may learne in one word of the best and most valeant emperours that euer haue bin Iulius Caesar would make countenance as though he saw not the faults of his souldiers and let them goe vnpunished so long as they tended not to mutinie or that they forsooke not their ensigne and in those cases he neuer pardoned thē Insomuch that in the time of the ciuil wars he cashed a whole legion at once notwithstanding that he stood as then in great need of them and ere euer he would admit them againe he ceassed not till he had punished the misdoers Among the Aegyptians they that had disobayed their captains were noted with a reproch worse than death Augustus was so seuere towards such as recoiled in battel or disobayed his commaundements that he would put euery tenth man of them to death and vnto them that had done lesse faults he would giue barly bread in steed of wheaten
the emperor of Asia he caused the walles of Platea to be reedified and in doing therof he made it to be proclaimed by a herault at the gaming 's of Olimpus that Alexander did that grace and honor to the Plateians in remembrance and recompence of their noble courage for that in the Persian wars they had liberally giuen their lands to the Athenians for the welfare of Greece wherein they shewed themselues to be men of great courage and wel-minded towards the defence of Greece Alexander was reputed the bountifullest and liberallest of all princes but I am of opinion that Fabricius Aristides Lisander Epaminondas and infinite other Greeks and Romanes had as liberal and princely hearts as he notwithstanding that they had lesse means to vtter it There are greatdeeds of liberalitie to be found in the life of Alexander and some also that passe the bounds of liberalitie but yet the ballance weigheth most on the side of liberalitie For he gaue to none but such as were worthie as to men of war to Philosophers to men of seruice and to men of councell as he shewed very well in a certaine iugler who by his subtill sleight threw a drie pease a great way off through the eye of a needle in hope to haue obtained some great reward for his labor at the kings hands But king Alexander making no reckoning of him commaunded one to giue him a bushell of those peason to practise his feat withall The thing that seemed most beautifull in Alexanders gifts was the cheerfulnesse that he vsed in giuing For the amiablenesse made his gifts the more acceptable A certaine Poeonian shewing vnto Alexander the head of an enemie whom he had cut off said vnto him such a present as this should in my country be recomponced with a cup of gold To whom Alexander answered smiling and said Yea mary an emptie cup but I drinke to thee in this cup full of good wine the which I giue vnto thee One day he found a poore Macedonian driuing of his mules loden with gold And when the mule began to faint the muleter laid the burthen vpon his owne shoulders and carried it a good way himselfe but in the end he felt himselfe so ouercharged that he was about to cast it to the ground Which thing Alexander beholding said vnto him Weary not thy selfe but take leisure that thou maist carie it to thine own tent for I giue it thee Intending vpon a time to encounter Taxilles with deeds of bountie and liberalitie he dranke to him at a certeine supper saieng I drinke to thee a thousand talleÌ„ts which are in value almost 600000 French crownes Hee more misliked of them that would not take of him than of them that craued of him Among his freinds he had one named Perillus to whom he gaue fiftie talents to marry his daughters withall Perillus said that ten would content him to whom Alexander replied It is inough for you to receiue but ten talents but it is to little for me to giue He had giuen his treasurer charge to giue to Anaxarchus the philosopher whatsoeuer he asked and when the philosopher had asked a hundred talents which are about threescore thousand French crowns the treasurer being astonished at such a demaund told it vnto Alexander who answered that Anaxarchus knew wel inough that he had a freind that both could and would bestow as much as that vpon him Hereby it must needs be confessed that he was too lauish in his gifts howbeit that his giuing was to such as were worthie whereby he made his freinds too great which thing turned to the hurt of his posteritie For his freinds were so great that after his death they made no reckoning of his wife nor of his mother nor of his children And that was afterward found true which his mother Olimpias had iustly warned him of afore by a letter that she wrate vnto him I like very well quoth she that you should doe good to your acquaintance and that you should hold theÌ„ in honor about you but you make them as great as kings and inable them to purchase themselues freinds to bereaue you of yours And afore that time his father also had checked him for the same saieng Who hath put thee in hope to think that those should be faithfull vnto thee whom thou thy selfe hast corrupted with mony wouldest thou haue the Macedonians to esteeme thee not as their king but as their briber Let vs come to Iulius Caesar who was a great counterfetter of Alexander and was reputed very liberall and let vs see iâ— he were coÌ„parable to Scipio who neuer bought ne sold and died poore with his small patrimonie notwithstanding that he had subdued sacked two mightie cities Numance Carthage or vnto Lisander a stirring man who hauing very great means to enrich himselfe made no account thereof wheras on the contrarie part Caesar owed more than he was woorth insomuch that being the pretor he said he needed three huÌ„dred talents which were more than ninescore thousand French crowns because he had nothing And when hee sued for the high-priesthood he wist not of what wood to make his arrows And going out one morning to preferre his sute he told his mother that she shuld see him that day either highpriest or dead Yet notwithstanding neither the pretorship nor the highpriesthood which he made easier than it had ben aforetimes nor the consulship were able to suffice and discharge his expenses without the helpe of the Gaules by whose means he set himselfe cleere and bribed one part of the citie of Rome Suetonius speaking of his liberall expenses sayth that hee gaue a great summe of money to euery souldier of the old bands and that after the vvarres in Spaine hee made them two feasts vvhereof because the first vvas not roâ—all ynough according to his liking he made them another more roiall within fiue daies after Such was the bountifulnesse of Iulius Caesar vvhich tended more to liberalitie than the other which he had vsed afore to get the Consulship the Pretorâ—ship and the High-priesthood For the lauishnes that he had vsed at those times sprang not from the fountaine of vertue and liberalitie but from extreme ambition But vvhen hee had discharged himselfe to the cost of the Gauls and vvas become â—ord of the whole world he might be liberall at the charges of the countries that he had conquered Verely we may well say hee did it not of his owne cost and that it had bene much better for him and for Alexander also to haue bene lesse liberall so they had left their pilling and polling of the world and that if fortune had not fauoured them the one of them must haue become a cruell tyrant and the other a woorse cittisen than Catilin for he had bene driuen to haue raised a more dangerous insurrection in Rome to scape from his creditors than Catilins was To spend prodigally of other mens goods and
his sweet sleepe through feare or hope For the affectionat minding of riches saith Ecclesâ—asticus pineth the flesh and the carke therof bereaueth a man of sleepe The same Horace writing to Crispus Salustius saith That that man is rich not which is a great king but which hath his lusts in subiection and that the thirst of him which is diseased with the dropsie is not to be stanched but by drawing the waterie humor out of the veins and by remouing the cause out of the disease Here by it is easie to decide the other question namely By what means a man may become rich For Socrates teacheth it in one word saying Ye shal easily become rich if you impouerish your lusts and desire Epicurus said That he that will make a man rich must not increase his goods but diminish his lusts For there is no riches so great as contentment And therfore the Philosopher Crates beholding how folke did buy and sell in the market said These folke are counted happie because they doe things contrarie one to another and I thinke my selfe happie that I haue rid my hands of buying and selling The true way then to become rich is to couet nought and to be vnmindfull of gaine specially of vnhonest gaine for that is no better than losse as saith Hesiodus For like as the liberall man is loued of all men according to this saying of Salomon in the nineteenth of his Prouerbs Euery man is a friend to him that giueth so the couetous person is hated of all men For the one helpeth the poore with his goods the other is loth to giue any thing In this respect Socrates said that a man must not require either talke to a dead man or a good turne of a nigard But there is nothing so royall and princely as to doe good vnto many as saith Cicero in his booke of Duties And it is found that there is more pleasure in giuing than in taking as saith S. Paul and also Hesiodus in his booke of Works and Daies And Ecclesiasticus saith Let not thy hand be open to receiue and shut to giue Dauid esteemeth him happie that lendeth and hath pitie of the poore saying That he shall euer haue wherwith to doe good without failing but he that stoppeth his eares at the cry of the needie shall crie himselfe and not be heard The same doth Salomon also say in the xxj of the Prouerbs And the Psalmist saith thus I haue bin young and now am old yet saw I neuer the righteous man forsaken nor his seed driuen to begge their bread but hee is still giuing lending and releeuing and his of-spring is seene to grow in good fortune and foyzon On the contrarie part The vnrighteous shall be driuen for verie hunger to borrow and not be able to pay but the righteous shall haue wherwith to shew their burning charitie Virgil in his sixth booke of Aenaeas putteth those persons in hell which haue done no good to their friends kins-folke and neighbours but haue bin wholly wedded to their riches without imparting them to other folks Acheius king of Elis was slaine by his owne subiects for couetousnes for his ouer-charging them with impositions Ochus king of Persia was blamed for that by reason of couetousnes he would neuer go into the country of Persland because that by the law of the realme he was bound to giue to euery woman that had born children one French crowne and to euerie woman with child two The only vice that Vespasian had was that he was extreamly couetous deuised many taxes moreouer bought things to sell theÌ„ again dealing more neerly for gain than a poore man would haue done which was great pitie for this emperors other vertues were defaced by that vice wherof princes ought to be wel ware For as Plutarch saith neuer shall any ciuil matter proceed wel without iustice without refraining from the lust desire of getting Hereby we see that as liberalitie is called iustice so couetousnes is nothing els but vniustice the which Bion the Sophist termed the principall towne of all vngratiousnes And Timon said That couetousnes ambitioÌ„ are the grounds of al mischiefe S. Paul in his first Epistle to Timothie calleth it The root of all euill saith That such as are wedded to it are falne from the faith Whosoeuer hath an ambitious or a couetous mind saith Euripides sauoreth not of any iust thing neither desireth he it and moreouer he is cumbersome to his friends and the whole citie where he dwelleth I am of opinion saith the same Euripides in his Heraclides that the righteous man is borne â—o the benefit of his neighbour but as for him that hath his heart turned away vnto gain he is vprofitable to his friends and hard to be delt with Salomon is the 15 of his Prouerbs saith That he which is giueÌ„ to couetousnes troubleth his own house but he that hateth gifts shall liue for gifts do blind the wise And in the 29 he saith That vnder a good king the land shall â—lourish but vnder a king that is couetous or loueth impositions it shall soon be destroied And in the xxiij againe he saith Labor not to be rich neither cast thine eies vpon the riches which thou caÌ„st not haue For they make theÌ„selues wings like eagles and flie vp into the aire that is to say they vanish away Againe in the xxviij he saith The faithfull man shall haue aboundance of blessings but he that hasteth to be rich shall not be guiltlesse neither knoweth he what want shall befall him The oracle of Apollo had foretold that Sparta should not perish but by couetousnesse and so it came to passe In like maner befell it to the citie of Athens For about the end of the wars of Peloponnesus Amintas began to corrupt the iudges with bribes and thence foorth they neuer prospered No other thing was the ruine of Rome Which thing Iugurth perceiuing who had bribed a great part of the senat with his monie said this O faire citie set to sale if a chapman were to be found for thee Plutarch in the life of Coriolane saith That after that bribes began once to preuaile in the election of officers it passed from hand to hand euen to the senators and iudges and from the iudges to the men of war insomuch that in the end it caused the common-weale to be reduced to a Monarchie and brought euen the men of arms themselues in subiection to monie so as the Pretorian souldiers sold the empire to them that paid faire gold for it and proceeded so far as to set it to open sale by the drum to him that offered most and was the last chapman CHAP. V. That Gentlenesse and Courtesie be needfull in the ordering of affairs the contraries whereunto be sternnesse and roughnesse OF Liberalitie proceedeth courtesie and Gentlenesse or rather Liberalitie proceedeth of kind-heartednesse and good will for as saith S. Paul in
contrarie part Dion said to the yoonger Dennis that the cheins of adamant to assure a kingdome were neither feare nor force nor great multitudes of men of armes as his father had said but the good will heartie affection fauour and loue of the subiects gotten by the princes execution of Iustice. Which chains though they bee looser than the other that bee so sturdie and stifly stretched out yet be they more firme strong and long lasting to keepe and maintaine a principalitie Titus because hee had the perfection of gentlenesse and princely courtesie was termed The deintie delight of mankind Plutarch sayth that Brutus was beloued of all men because hee was a man of a gentle and gracious nature hauing a right intent and will without swaruing or varieng Philip was of so courteous conuersation that hee got mo citties by that means than by force of arms Alexander his sonne was gentle and familiar amongst his men of warre in so much that being suddenly taken vpon a time in Asia with such a sore tempest and cold that there was not one in his companie which fainted not when hee saw a simple souldier of Macedonie halfe past himselfe for cold hee arose out of his chaire where hee sate at a fire and made the souldier to be set downe in it whereof the souldier being aware when hee was comne to himselfe againe by the warmth of the fire he start vp astonished out of the chaire to excuse himselfe vnto Alexander But Alexander with a smiling countenance said vnto him Knowest thou not my souldier that you Macedonians liue after another sort vnder your king than the Persians doe vnder theirs For vnto them it is a deadly crime to sit in the kings chaire but vnto thee it hath bin life Hee banqueted oftentimes priuatly with his friends and so did also king Lewis the eleuenth notwithstanding that he was feared and drad which thing procured him great good will The like also did Hismaell Sophy king of the Persians taking his repast openly in a great companie of his lords with whome likewise hee tooke his pleasure in hunting continuing alwaies gentle easie to bee come vnto and willing to heare such as were desirous to speak with him Iulius Caesar was fingularly beloued and liked of the common people for his gracious maner of saluting imbracing and conferring with all men priuatly and familiarly And on a time when hee saw a friend of his sicke hee gaue him his chamber and bed because there were no mo beds not chambers in the Inne but that and went out and lay himselfe xpon the hard ground And whē his host one day gaue him old oile in steed of new they that sate at his table with him were offended therwith he to saue his host frō shame did maruelously praise it ate more therof thā he was wont to doe Antonie was highly esteemed cōmended of his soldiers because he ordinarily exercised himselfe ate drāke often with them sent them gifts according to his power abilitie He was so obeyed that in the voyage of Parthia although the world went against him yet notwithstanding his men of warre followed him neuer forsooke him because he went to visit them from tent to tent comforting the sicke wounded with great compassion insomuch that he could not forbeare weeping whereas they on the contrarie part made good countenance vnto him calling him with great reuerence their Generall praying him that he wold not disease himselfe for their sakes Insomuch that his kindly simplicitie liberalitie his familiar manner of playing and making mirth in company and specially the pains that he tooke at that time in succouring visiting and bemoning them that were sick or wounded wrought such effect that he made the sicke and wounded men to continue as affectionat towards him and as resolute to doe him seruice as those that were whole and sound The Emperor Adrian had the good wils of the Romans because he visited as well his enemies as his freinds that were sicke and releeued them all that he could Also he would goe to the houses of old and auntient folke that by reason of their yeares could not goe abroad of whome he would enquire how they had liued where they had dwelled what customes they had seene and what distresses and dangers they had indured By doing wherof and by shewing charitie towards them he profited himselfe because that oftentimes he serued his owne turne in matters that befell him by the examples which those good old folke had told him of the time forepast Cimon was greatly accepted of the common people for his plaine dealing and for the same was aduanced to great offices Contrariwise Nicias for his ouer-great sternnesse and hardnesse to be acquainted with was enuied of most men and but for his great vertue and integritie which caused men to reuerence him and feare him he could neuer haue weelded his affairs as he did Lucullus for want of behauing himselfe courteously and gently inough to his souldiers and for want of skill to entertaine them could not make an end of his wars which he had so happily begun and brought almost to the point of perfection For his souldiers became heady and would not follow him Dion was blamed not only of the Sicilians but also euen of Plato for his manner of dealing in speaking more roughly vnto such as sued vnto him than the state of his affairs could beare The Macedoniās forsooke Demetrius because he was vneasie to be delt with and very hard to be spokē to Coriolanus was hated of the people for his sternnesse notwithstanding that he was a wise captaine Contrariwise Alcibiades notwithstanding that he was full of vice yet was he welbeloued and esteemed of all men for his courteous behauiour towards all sorts Among the good parts that were in Aristides one of the best account was that he could wel skil to win and alure mens hearts vnto him which thing saith Plutarch cōmeth of gentlnesse but as for grauitie it is accompanied with solitarines that is to say such kind of men haue few to follow them and are forsaken of all men The gentlenes of Pompey was so great that he contented al men that spake with him insomuch that euen they that complained vnto him of the wrongs done vnto them by his freinds and seruants were persuaded to beare them patiently so greatly did he content them And that was the very thing that procured him so many honorable offices of great charge Suetonius reporteth Augustus to haue ben so gentle that he caused his dores to stand open to as many as would come and salute him and receiued their petitions with such meeldnesse and courtesie that after a smiling maner he reproued one for making too much nicenes in preferring his sute vnto him as though he had shewed a peece of coine to an Elephant The people of Rome purposed to haue kept Crassus by force from going to make war
and readie to giue battell he maruelled that they gaue themselues to feasting to haunting of the theatres and to make pastimes in the fields and gardens This doing of his proceeded of nothing else but of an inordinat and vnreasonable enuie that fretted his braine the which he shewed sufficiently towards the noblemen in bereauing theÌ„ of their cote-armors and of the antient cognisances of their houses And if hee spied any faire boies that had faire haire he caused the hinder parts of their heads to be shauen And he was so spitefull that he enuied euen Homer the greatest Poet that euer was insomuch that being determined vpon a time to abolish the remembrance of him he said he might well haue as much power as Plato to weed him out of his common-wealth Alexanders enuie was the chiefe cause of the death of Clitus For hee so enuied the high exploits of Philip his father that he fell into a rage when any man compared him with him Lisander accompanying Agesilaus in the voaige into Asia was so honored of the men of Asia because he had had the gouernment of them aforetimes that in comparison of him they made no reckoning of the king by reason wherof Agesilaus bare him such enuie that in all that voiage he committed not any honourable charge vnto him but emploied him about such things as a man would not haue emploied the meanest of Sparta and it was thought that that would haue cost the citie of Lacedemon deerly For had not death preuented Lisander he would haue ouerthrowne the king Enuie made Socrates to be put to death and Aristides Themistocles and others to be banished Also it was the death of Coriolane because the chiefe princes of the Volses enuied his vertue and his greatnesse And by his death the Volses were vanquished of the Romanes Through enuie Dion was slaine by Calippus and Sertorius by Perpenna and by their death were they themselues vanquished and disappointed of the fruit of their former enterprises The enuie that was rooted betweene Themistocles and Aristides hindered the Athenians from doing many goodly enterprises insomuch that Themistocles said that it was vnpossible for the affairs of the common-weale of Athens to prosper vntill they were both of them cast into the barather which was a deepe dungeon whereinto men were throwne headlong that were condemned to death And no doubt but the affairs of Greece had gone to wrack if Aristides had continued his enuie against Themistocles But when he saw the danger whereinto all Greece was like to fall if hee and Themistocles did not agree he bespake him after this manner Themistocles if we be both wise it is high time for vs to leaue the vaine spight and iealosie which we haue hitherto borne one against another and to take vp a strife that may be to the honor and welfare of vs both that is to wit which of vs shall doe his dutie best for the safegard of Greece you in commaunding and doing the office of a good captaine and I in counselling you and in executing your commandements Hereunto Themistocles answered I am displeased Aristides in this that you haue shewed your selfe a better man than I but sith the case standeth so that the honor of breaking the yce is due to you for prouoking me to so honourable and commendable a contention I wil strain my selfe henceforth to out go you by good continuance The enuie that was borne to Peter Saderin Gonfaâ—â—nnier of Florence for the great credit and authoritie that he had in that citie caused the returne of the Medices and the vtter ruine of the common-weale Now we must consider what remedies there be to defend a man from this maladie that a man may not be enuious nor enuied As touching the first the curing therof is by the contrarie that is to say by being meeld gentle and charitable for he that loueth men cannot enuie them And that is the cause why we be commanded to loue our neighbor as our selues to the end we be not enuious against him but rather glad when he hath good successe in his affairs And as S. Paule saith in the 12 to the Romans Reioice with them that reioice and weepe with them that weepe and beare well in mind that enuie doth more harme to the enuious man himselfe than to the partie whom he enuieth remembring how Salomon in the seuenteene of the Prouerbs saith That he which reioiceth at another mans fall shal not be vnpunished And in the four and twentith of the Prouerbs he saith Reioice not wheÌ„thine enemy hath a fall neither be thou glad that he stumbleth least perchance the Lord doe see it and be displeased therat and turne away his wrath from him If this be spoken of enemies what ought we to do concerning freinds I will not alledge the infinit precepts and examples touched by Diuines I will take but the only example of the Heathen Aristides of whom I haue spoken When his enemie Themistocles was banished he neither spake ne did any thing to his preiudice or disaduaÌ„tage neither reioiced he any more to see his enemie in aduersitie than if he had neuer enuied his prosperitie Enuie is eschewed or diminished by modestie as when a man that is praised chalengeth not such honour to himselfe but referreth it ouer to those that praise him Wherof we haue example in Pirrhus who after many victories when his men of war called him Eagle I am qd he an eagle by your means being caried vp by your knighthood and chiualrie as the eagle is caried vp by his fethers and so he cast back the honor and title to his men of war So also did Philip abase the praise that was giuen vnto him for his beautie his eloquence and his good skil in hunting saying that the one belonged to women the other to sophists and the third to sponges Othersome doe attribute this answer to his enemie Demosthenes Contrariwise Alexander for enforcing men to worship him and to esteeme him as a god began to be hated in his campe Augustus disallowing al such doings of Alexander did the cleane contrarie For when he was entred into Rome in triumph as lord of the whole world in peaceable possession and one in a certaine comedie said O good lord and euery man turned that word vnto Augustus flattering him and clapping their hands for ioy he gaue a token presently that he liked not of it and the next morning made prohibitions that men should not vse the terme of lord vnto him neither permitted he any man no not euen his owne children to call him by that name either in iest or in good earnest There is another way to auoid enuie which was practised by Dennis the tirant which is that he aduanced a man that was wicked and hated of the people and when he was asked why he did so because quoth he I will haue a man in my realme that may be more hated than my selfe Caesar Borgia to auoid
the enuie of his cruell deeds did put the partie to death by whom he had executed the same to the end that the enuie should light vpon his minister and die with him For such is the disposition of the common people that they can the better indure a hard prince when they haue vpon whom to discharge their â—urie Alcibiades to auoid the ouer great enuie of the people and to turne aside the euil speeches that they had of him did cut off the taile of a dog that he had bought very deere and draue him through the citie to the intent to busie mens heads about talke of his dog and not about other matters For they that set their minds vpon small things are not so enuious as they that deale in great matters CHAP. VI. That Modestie or Meeldnes wel beseemeth a prince and that ouerstatelinesse is hurtfull vnto him THere is yet one vice more that maketh a prince irkesome and vneasie to bee delt with and likewise one vertue that maketh him gentle and easie to be comne vnto the one is Pride and the other is Lowlinesse or Humilitie Pride maketh him sower waiward cholericke ambitious enuious vnpatient hard to beleeue counsell full of vniustice For arrogancie is a spice of vniustice exacting more honor at mens hands than is due whereupon riseth the despising of them as Chrisostome hath very well noted vpon the fourth Psalme of Dauid The other maketh a man courteous gentle patient and free from all euill Therfore humilitie maketh a man wise wisdome maketh a prince to gouerne his people well On the contrarie part nothing is so much against wisdome as ouerweening is For the proud man is so farre in loue with himselfe that he cannot in any wise endure any man to be equall with him in vertue or power And because that cannot be needs must enuie issue out of that spring And because he is of so small patience and esteemeth none but himselfe the least thing in the world setteth him in a choller wheras the lowliminded man hauing small opinion of himselfe and beholding his owne infirmitie is not so easilie in a chafe with his neighbour as saith S. Chrisostome in his Homilie of Fasting The lowly is at rest both in bodie and mind but the proud man hath no rest in neither of both And therfore our Lord saith thus Learne of me for I am meeke and lowlie of heart and you shall find rest vnto your soules And among the blessednesses he setteth this for most in S. Mathew saying Blessed be the poore in spirit that is to say the lowly minded vnto whose praier he hearkeneth Of whom shal I haue regard saith he but of the meek lowlie Lowlines then is the root of al vertrue pride is the ground of all sin as saith the Preacher He that holdeth of it sâ—albe filled with cursednes it shal ouerthrow him in the end S. Austin in his fourth booke of the Citie of God calleth pride a froward lust or desire to be great so as we may define pride to be a certaine ouer-loâ—tinesse of mind that maketh vs to despise euerie man to esteeme none but our selues This sin coÌ„meth of self-soothing of too much selfeloue as S. Peter hath noted in that he calleth the proud man a Selfe-pleaser because he which is in loue is blinded in him whom he loueth as saith Plato in his Laws wherby it coÌ„meth to passe that the man that is in loue with himselfe thinking that he ought to be more honored than in truth he ought deemeth euil of that that is righteous good faire Therfore he that is desirous to be great saith he must not be in loue with himselfe but with the thing that is iust whense soeuer it come This sinne maketh him to imagine his ignorance to be wisdome and when we will not forbeare to doe that vnto another which we cannot doe we be constrained to faile in doing it And he concludeth in the end that we must refraine from louing our selues too much follow our betters without restraint of shame Salomon in the sixteenth of the Prouerbs saith that the Lord abhorreth all loftines of heart and in the xv That he breaketh downe the houses of the proud There is no health in the house of the proud for the seede of sin is rooted in them And in the seuenteenth of the Prouerbs Loftines of hart saith he presupposeth a fall but lowlines and humilitie goe before honor and glorie And in the nine and twentith the pride of a man abaseth him but glory and honor shall be heaped vpon the lowliminded And in the tenth of Ecclesiasticus God hath cast downe the seats of the proud and in their steads hath made the meeke to sit in their rooms God hath dried vp the roots of the proud and in their place hath planted the humble in glorie And in the eighteenth Psalm Thou wilt let the lowly liue in thy protection the springs of the presumptuous thou wilt drie vp On the contrarie part the lowly and meeke shall inherit the earth and without trouble they shall haue all the pleasure that man can get And in the 40 Psalme Blessed is the man that maketh God his defence and hath no regard of the proud King Lewis the eleuenth said That wheÌ„ pride rode foremost shame and losse followed after Esdras is specially commended of the angell for his humbling of himselfe as he ought to doe and for that he deemed not himselfe greatly worthy to be glorified among the righteous But as for them that haue walked in great pride they shall haue great store of miseries The angell would not suffer St. Iohn to worship him saying that he was a seruant of God as he was and bearing in mind that for the vice of pride the wicked angels fell St. Peter did as much to Cornelius the Centurion not suffering him to kneele down before him This vice commeth of the want of iudgment that is to say of the want of knowing a mans selfe and of the want of the bearing in mind of the goodly precept written in the temple of Apollo at Delphos whereof I haue spoken so oft afore For as the great Mercurie sayth The first disease of the mind is Forgetfulnesse And the man that forgetteth himselfe is compared to the vnreasonable beasts and becommeth like them as Dauid saith in the 48 Psalme The prince therefore must descend into himselfe and know himselfe To know himselfe is to view the nature as well of his bodie as of his soule and to coÌ„sider that he is no better but man as Dauid saith For whosoeuer knoweth what hee is will beware that he forget not himselfe and not suffer himselfe to be cast into sin the which Bion the Boristhenit did rightly affirme to be a hinderance to profit and a more hinderaÌ„ce to the fruits of righteousnesse For if we speake of becomming righteous to Godward we cannot attaine thereto but
altogether vnsetled in his countenance and in all his gestures and mouings The presumptuous opinion that Pompey had of himselfe surmoâ—â—ted the reach of his reason by means wherof forgetting the heed that hee was wont to take in standing vpon his 〈◊〉 whereby he had alwaies assuâ—ed his prosperitie afoâ—â— hee changed it into rash and bold brauerie Gaulter Brenne hauing conquered the greatest part of the kingdome of Naples and holding Diepold an Almane besieged within Sarne happened to be taken in a salie that Diepold made out vpon a desperate aduenture and being prisoner was vsed courteously by Diepold Who hauing caused him to thinke vpon the curing of his wounds would haue sent him home againe and haue put the kingdome into his hands But Gaulter hauing too lordly a heart answered that there was not so great a benefit nor so great an honour that he would receiue at the hands of so base a person as he was with which words Diepold being prouoked to wrath threatned him that he should repent it Whervpon Gaulter fell into such a furie that he opened his wounds drew his bowels out of his bellie and within foure daies after died for very moode Had hee beene lowlie-minded his imprisonment had profited him and he had gotten a faithfull seruitor of Diepold who would haue made the kingdome of Naples sure vnto him wheras now through his passing pride he lost both kingdome and life Alfons of Arragon dealt not so for when he was prisoner he did so much by his gentlenesse and humilitie that he made his enemies to loue him and practised with them in such sort that they helped him to win the realme of Naples Taxilles gained more at Alexanders hand by his humilitie than hee could haue conquered in all his life with all his forces and men of arms And yet notwithstanding his humbling of himselfe vnto Alexander was after a braue and princelie maner somoning him to the combat with such words as these If you be a lesser lord than I suffer me to doe you good If you be a greater lord that I doe by me as I do by you Well then qd Alexander we must come to the encounter and see who shal win his companion to do him good and therwithal imbracing him in his arms with all gentlenesse and courtesie in steed of taking his kingdome from him as he had done from others he increased his dominion Herod by humbling himselfe before Augustus saued and increased his kingdome Plutarch saith That Pirrhus could verie well skill to humble himselfe towards great men and that his so doing helped him verie much to the conquest of his kingdome Lois the eleuenth king of France led the countie of Charrolois with so sweete and lowly words that he got the thing by humilitie which he could neuer haue obtained otherwise and by that means wound himselfe from all his enemies and setled his state in rest and tranquilitie which had bin in great hazard if he had vsed brauery towards him The lowlines of Aristides did maruellous great seruice to the obtainment of the victorie which the Greeks had of the Persians at such time as he agreed to the opinion of Miltiades and willingly yeelded him the soueraigne authority of commanding the armie For there were many captaines which had euery man his day to command the whole armie as generals but when it came to Aristides turne he yeelded his preheminence into the hands of Miltiades thereby teaching his other companions that to submit a mans selfe to the wisest and to obay them is not only not reprochfull but also wholesome and honorable after whose example all the rest submitted themselues to Miltiades likewise I told you in the chapter going afore how he submitted himselfe to Themistocles his enemie for the profit of Greece And I wil say yet further of him that beeing sent with Cimon to make war against the Persians both of them bahaued themselues gently and graciously toward the Greeks that were their allies on the other side Pausanias and the rest of the captains of Lacedemon which had the soueraine charge of the whole armie were rough and rigorus to the confederate people In doing wherof he bereft the Lacedemonians by little and little of the principalitie of Greece not by force of arms but by good discretion and wise demeanor For as the goodnes of Aristides and the gentlenes and meekenes of Cimon made the gouernment of the Athenians well liked of the other nations of Greece so the couetousnes arrogancie and pride of Pausanias made it to be the more desired S. Iohn Chrisostom saith in his nine and thirtith homilie That honor is not to be had but by flying from it For iâ— we seeke after it it fleeth from vs and when we flee from it it followeth vs. And as Salomâ—n saith in the xviij of the Prouerbs The heart is puffed vp against a fall and lowlines goeth afore glory Not without great reason therfore is pride esteemed the greatest of all vices and humilitie set formost among all the vertues And as S. Austin saith in his thirteenth booke of the citie of God For as much as the gloriâ—ieng and exalting of a mans selfe refuseth to be subiect vnto God it falleth away from him aboue whom there is not any thing higher but humilitie maketh a man subiect to his superior Now there is nothing higher than God and therfore humilitie exalteth men because it maketh them subiect vnto God And as S. Chrisostom saith It is the mother the root and the good of all goods The CenturioÌ„ was esteemed worthy to receiue the Lord because he protested himselfe to be vnworthie And S. Paâ—l who counted not himselfe worthy the name of an Apostle was the cheefe of all the Apostles S. Iohn who thought not himselfe worthy to vntie the Lords shoes laid his hand vpon his head to baptise him And S. Peter who praied the Lord to depart far from him vretched sinner was a foundation of the church For there is not a more acceptable thing vnto God than to muster a mans selfe among the greatest sinners Hereby we see the profit that is gotten of the small esteeming of a mans selfe For the lesse a man esteemeth himselfe the more is he esteemed first of God and secondly of men Also we see that ordinarily the lowly prince is loued of euery man and the proud is hated of all And therfore let such as haue the gouernment of yoong princes teach them cheefly among other things to be lowly and courteous towards all men as knowing by experience that nothing winneth mens hearts so much as humilitie which killeth vainglorie Insolencie Impatiencie Enuie Ambition and all manner of vices CHAP. VII Of Fortitude Valiancie Prowesse or Hardinesse and of Fearfulnesse or Cowardlinesse LEt vs come to the third cardinall vertue which the learned call Fortitude Prowes or Valiantnesse the which the Poet Hâ—mer said to be the only morall vertue that hath as it were salies
were faine to accept such conditions as their conquerours would giue vnto them Alexander would neuer giue himselfe to loue vntill he was lord of Asia for feare of being vanquished And therefore he would not see the wife and daughters of Darius for feare to be caught in loue by them saying commonly that the ladies of Persia were eye-sores vnto him And albeit that vain-glorie made him so to do for feare least he should haue beene hindered in his enterprise yet he saw well that a man which doth such things could not prosper And as long as he set not his mind that way his affaires went well and he purchased great praise yea euen at the hand of Darius himselfe who hearing of a truth how the world went with his wife and children besought God that he might haue none other successour but Alexander Thus ye see how Continencie doth good both to bodie â—oul worldly state that is to say euen to the getting of kingdoms and empires whereof there be so many examples that a man cannot reckon them vp without wearying of his readers I will but onely set downe the Continencie of Scipio towards Indibilis because comparison is made betweene that and Alexanders Now therefore Scipio hauing by the law of armes taken prisoner the wife of one Indibilis a noble man of Spaine and a great enemie of thâ— Romans a woman of rare beautie with diuers other faire ladies and gentlewomen of Spaine would not shut his eies but would haue a â—ight of them And after courteous entertaining of them sent them home to Indibilis without doing any wrong to their honor For which courtesie Indibilis finding himselfe infinitly bound vnto Scipio turned to the Romans with mo than fiue hundred Spaniards and was the cause that Scipio became maister of the whole countrie There haue bin few good captains which haue not abhorred if not simple fornication yet at leastwise adulterie sauing only Iulius Caesar who alwaies entertained some other mens wiues But he was punished by the sonne of one whom he held in adulterie who slue him in the senat And when he entred into any citie the souldiers would say Ye chiefe men of the towne keepe well your wiues for we bring vnto you the bald aduouterer Alexander shewed himselfe more staied in that respect for he would doe no wrong neither to mens wiues nor to their Lemans Vpon a time hauing long waited for a certaine woman when she was come and he had asked her why she came so late she answered because I was faine to tarie till my husband was abed Which thing Alexander hearing commanded his men to conuey her home againe out of hand saying that through their default it wanted but little that he had become an Adulterer He did as much to Antipater For seeing a faire wench that Antipater kept come to feast he began to cast a fancie to her But vnderstanding that she was Antipaters Noughty fellow quoth he why takest thou not this wench hence which enforceth wrong to be done vnto Antipater Francis Sforcia duke of Millane being offred a very faire woman whom he had taken to lie withall perceiued that as soone as he would haue come neere her she began to weepe and prayd the duke that he would not touch her but that he would send her back to her husband who also was a prisoner Of whose request the duke had such regard that hee cast himselfe downe from the bed for feare of touching her and deliuered her againe to hir husband the next morow Dennis the tyrant rebuked his sonne sharply for an adultery which he had committed asking him if he had euer seen him do the like When his sonne had answered no for he had not a king to his father hee could well skill to foretell him what would come of it that is to wit that he also should not haue a sonne that should be a king after him vnlesse hee changed his manners as I haue sayd in my first booke Agesilaus one day refused a kisse whereat when all men maruelled he said He had rather to fight against such affections than to take a good citie well fortified and well manned with men of war Alexander rebuked Cassander very sharply for kissing and was angrie wirh Philoxenus for seeming to inuite him to vnhonest things by his letters Antiochus beholding a very beautifull religious woman that was vowed to Diana was by and by surprised with her loue and for feare least ouer-great loue might inforce him to some incest hee went his way by and by out of the place for doubt least he should doe any thing that might not become him Heliogabalus not only defloured but also married a virgine vestall saieng it was reason that priests should marie nuns because that in times past he had ben priest to the sunne But he was so wicked that the rememberance of him ought to be wiped out of the world When Pompey had put Mithridates to flight he would not touch his concubines but sent them all home to their friends Iulian would not see the goodly ladies of Persia that were his captiues for feare least he should be taken in loue with them but sent them home euery chone Selim the emperor of the Turks did as much in the same countrie For when he had wonne the field against the sophie he found many noble women in his campe whom he sent home without touching them or without taking any ransome for them Dioclesian hauing taken the wife and daughters of the king of Persia did as Alexander had done Which deed caused the Persians to render vnto the Romans all that euer they had taken from them Totilas king of the Easterngoths hauing taken Naples and many Roman ladies that were there sent them all home to their friends without doing or suffering any wrong to be done vnto them He that would here reherse the tragicall histories that haue ensued of Adultrie should be faine to make a whole booke by itselfe Let vs but only bethinke vs of the euening-worke of Sicilie which befell vnto vs Frenchmen more for our incontinencie than for any thing else and let that be added vnto it which was done by Alexander the sonne of Amyntas vnto the Persians Amintas made a banket to the Persians whereat were present the noblemens wiues of Macedonie Whom when the Persians had before them they would aproch vnto them insomuch that when they were set downe by them they began to feele their brests and to doe diuers vnseemely things vnto them Wherat Alexander being extreamly grieued did neuerthelesse set a good countenance vpon the matter and told them that he would make them cheere to the full Whereupon when bed-time drue nigh he desired that the ladies might go aside to wash themselues and they should come againe by and by vnto them Anon the ladies departed in whose stead yong men attired like women were brought in to the banquet at whose comming the Persians began immediatly to
man must needs lie Notwithstanding Darius said to his companions That it was meet that men should lie when it was for their behoof and that the liers and they that speake the truth tended all to one effect and it was for men to lie when there was any hope of gaine to be had by force of persuasion But it is no maruell though a Persian said that for that maner of lying was to a good end namely to deceiue the guard of the Magies who had vsurped the crown that they might be killed as they were afterwâ—rd And in this and such other like it is lawful to lie else not Dauid detesting this vice compareth it to murder saying in the fith Psalme The Lord abhorreth the blood thirstie and deceitfull man Periander ordained by his laws that he which had lied to another mans harm should carie a stone in his mouth the space of a month after The Gimnosophists of Caldie condemned liers to perpetuall prison the Scythians condemned al such to death or to some other grieuous punishmeÌ„t as tooke vpon theÌ„ to foretell things that were false And it is to be noted that bâ—bâ—ing lying inquisitiuenes are three grounds or vnder beings that resemble one another and may be reduced into one For the inquisitiue person is commonly talkatiue and the talkatiue person is a her and a lier is inquisitiue and the inquisitiue person is a lier And from this fountaine spring slaunderers talebearers mockers flatterers and backbiters The slaunderer and the tale-bearer are the impes of the inquisitiue of whom Ecclesiasticus speaking saith That the slaunderer desileth his owne soule and shall be hated in all things And he that so continueth shall be odious whereas the peacemaker and wise man shall be honoured And therefore he will haue vs to stop our eares with thornes to the end we may not heare the slaunderous tongue Dauid in the fourteenth Psalme reckoning vp many sorts of innocencie maketh great account of him that yeeldeth not his eare to heare the slaunder of his neighbour And in the hundred Psalme he saith That he pursued him that secretly slaundered his neighbour And Salomon in the eighteenth of the Prouerbs saith That the words of the tale-bearer are as wounds and do enter euen into the entrails For he that purposeth with himselfe to raise slaunders searcheth out all the euil that is in a house to publish it abrode afterward If a woman by her ouersight haue giuen any occasion of suspition by and by he blazeth her abroade as though she were the wickeddest woman in the world As for them that are vnchast indeed they besisted to the vttermost and their legend is disciphered without omitting anie thing If a man haue neuer so small a specke of vice or of euill grace in him the slaunderer faileth not to make euery flie an elephant They that offend in this case do sinne directly against that commaundement of the ten which prohibiteth vs to beare false witnesse against our neighbour For he that lieth saith Salomon is a false witnesse Also he sinneth against the law of the Gospell which saith It were better for a man to be drowned in the bottome of the sea than that he should giue occasion of offence or stumbling to his neighbour And in the nineteenth of the Prouerbs The false-witnesse shall not escape vnpunished and he that speaketh lies shall perish And in the fiue and twentith The man that beareth false-witnesse against his neighbor is as a club a sword and a sharpe arrow And in the sixt of the Prouerbs God hateth false lips and the false-witnesse that bringeth forth vntruth Saint Iames saith Speake not euill one of another He that speaketh euill of his neighbour speaketh euill of the law that is to say in speaking and iudging after his own fancie he vsurpeth the authoritie that belongeth to the law It is written in the first chapter of the booke of Wisdome That the spirit of wisdom is gentle and will not discharge him that speaketh euill with his lips For the sound of his words shall mount vp vnto God to the punishing of his iniquities Therefore beware of grudging which booteth nothing and refraine your tongues from slaunder And Saint Paule in the sixt to the Corinthians forbiddeth vs to eat meat with the slanderer The Psalmist saith That he that wil liue long must keep himselfe from mis-speaking and from speaking deceit reprouing them that set their mouthes to slaundering and euil speaking and their tongues to the kindling of fraud and anoyance And the seuen and fiftith Psalme saith My soule is among lions I dwell among firebrands euen among men whose teeth are speares and arrows and their tongue a sharpe sword By the teeth are meant false reports And in the threescore and fourth Psalme they shoot foorth their arrows euen bitter words that is to say False and stinging reports to smite the innocent in secret And in the 2â— of Ecclesiasticus The man that is nusled in wordes of reproch or wrong will receiue no instruction all the dayes of his life And in the eightenth chapter The backbiter and the double tongued man are accursed for they trouble many that are at peace A double tongue hath remooued many and dispersed them from nation to nation It hath destroied cities that were walled with riches and defaced the houses of great personages It hath disseuered the powers of peoples and set strong men at diuision And in the sixteenth of the Prouerbs The froward man setteth forth debate and the tale-bearer setteth princes at diuision Plâ—to saith in his Lawes That we must forbeare to offend against good men either in word or deed and that we must be wel aduised that we ouershoot not our selues when we either praise or dispraise any man because God is angrie when we blame him that resembleth him that is to say a good and honest man Solon as Plutarch reporteth of him in his life made an ordinance whereby he prohibited men to speake euill of those that were dead For it is well and deuoutly done to thinke that a man ought not to touch the dead no more than to touch things consecrated to God and to refraine from offending against them that are no longer in the world And it is wisdome euen in policie to beware that enmities grow not to be immortall sagely deeming that railing and slaundering proceed of vnreconcileable enmitie Alexander Seuerus said That princes ought to esteeme liers and slaunderers as great enemies vnto them as those that enter vpon their lands by force For these do but seize vpon their grounds and lordships but the others do rob them of their reputation and renowme In the citie of Naples there was one Demetrius who ceased not to raile vpon Totilus without cause and to do him all the spight he could But being taken afterward with all the residue he onely had his tongue and hands cut off Nicholas Scot was beheaded
of small account and vnmeet to liue and be conuersant with men Insomuch that to auenge himselfe he displeased all his friends and of friends made them enemies and so he refused the repeale of his banishment the which the people offered vnto him Albeit that Philopaemen was an excellent captaine furnished and indued with many vertues yet Plutarch blameth him for his cholericknes saying That in the controuersies that hapned in matters of gouernment oftentimes he could not hold himselfe within the bounds of grauitie patience meeldnes but flang out often into choler and wilfulnes by reason whereof he seemed to haue mo parts of a good captain for war than of a sage gouernor of a common-weale for peace For nothing is more contrarie to the admitting of good counsell than choler and too much hastines Plutarch in his treatise of the Brideling of choler saith That choler is a medly composed of al the passions of the soule For it is deriued and drawne out of pleasure and sorrow insolencie and audacitie it holdeth of enuy in that it is well apaid to see another mans harme and it is matched with violence and manslaughter for that it fighteth but not in a mans owne defence and cannot suffer but to make other men suffer and to ouer-throw them and it taketh part of couetousnes in the thing that is most vnhonest worst to be liked namely in that it is an eager and fierce desire to do harme Horace saith That anger is a short madnesse And Cato saith There is no difference betweene a man that is in choler and a mad man but onely in the length of the time esteeming anger to be a madnesse of short continunce Saint Iohn Chrysostome in his thirtith Homilie saith There is no difference betweene a man possessed with a diuell a mad-man a drunken-man and a man that is in choler And if ye marke well a man that is throughly angrie ye shall find his countenance of another sort than when he was in quiet Ye shall see his eyes sparckling his face red and fierie his mouth writhed all his lims trembling and as it were in a palsie his tongue stammering his words misplaced and without discourse of reason like the words of a foole of a drunken man or of a man out of his wits Therefore a wise man will to the vttermost of his power beware that he giue no place to his choler no not euen in mirth Because that as Plutarch saith it turneth sport into enmitie nor in talke or writing because that of conference in learning it maketh a headie heart-burning and contention nor in iudging because it matcheth authoritie with insolencie nor in admonishing and teaching children because it putteth them out of heart and maketh them to hate learning nor in prosperitie because it augmenteth the enuie that accompanieth good fortune nor in aduersitie because it taketh away pitie when they that are falne into mis-fortune are angrie and fall to encountering against those that should haue compassion of their miserie On the contrarie mild behauiour giueth to some succour and to some honour it sweetneth sowrenesse and by the meeknesse thereof ouercommeth all roughnesse and harshnesse of mens maners The operation of either of them is like a cleare and faire day in winter and rainie weather And therfore meeknesse doth specially become a prince and him that is set in authoritie For if there be any dangerous thing in the world it is the anger of a prince And as Salomon saith in his Prouerbs The indignation of a prince is as a messenger of death And in another place he saith That the indignation of a prince is like the roring of a lion but his fauour is like the deaw vpon the grasse And as Plutarch saith in his booke of the Trainment of princes After they haue once spoken the word the partie that is but suspected to haue offended is vndone And as the naturall philosophers say as the lightning commeth after the thunder and yet is seene afore it and as in a wound the bloud is seene afore the wound it selfe so with princes and great potentates punishment goeth afore appeachment and men are seene to be condemned afore any thing be prooued against them and that is because the prince cannot refraine his choler vnlesse the force of reason set it selfe against their power and breake it For as saith Ecclesiasticus According as the wood of the forrest is so burneth the fire and according as a mans power is so burneth his anger and so mounteth vp his wrath in substance Therefore the first and chiefest remedie that we can find for cholericknesse is to submit our selues to reason For as saith Aristotle in his seuenth booke of Morals Anger hearkeneth vnto reason howbeit confusedly and negligently like a quicke and hastie page that goes his way ere he haue heard halfe his errand which causeth him to do his message amisse or like a dog that barketh as soone as he heareth any noise at the doore without knowing whether he that knocketh is a friend or a foe Euen so anger through fauour light mouing doth giue some eare to reason but yet so as it runneth forth to punishing without vnderstanding his commission For reason had iudged that there was some reprochful deed or some contempt but choler flingeth forth incontinently at randon as though it had beene concluded and resolutely determined by discourse of reason that the partie which hath done the wrong is to be fought withall out of hand For naturally we couet reuenge of the harme that is done vs and esteeme it greater than it is And like as bodies seeme great through a cloud so do mens faults seeme greater through anger than they be in deed by reason whereof we be desirous to punish them more than reason would we should Insomuch that he which will punish as he ought to do ought to be cleare from anger For when anger bursteth out it punisheth without reason cleane contrarie to the maner of eating and drinking the which we vse not but when we be a hungred and a thirst But we do then vse reuenge best when we neither hunger it nor thirst it but haue begun to forgo the appetite thereof applying it to reason and discretion without the which we cannot master our choler And as the smoke that steameth vp into our eies letteth vs to see the things that are before our feete so choler dimmeth reason and suffereth vs not without paine and labour to enioy the good wherewith reason could furnish vs. And therefore it must be put in readinesse long aforehand And like as they that looke to haue their citie besieged do gather and lay vp in store aforehand whatsoeuer may serue their turne and tarie not til succor come to them from abrode enen so saith Plutarch must the remedies prouided long afore out of Philosophie be applied in time against ire For by reason of the turmoile
one for if one alone haue the execution of that charge no man shall controll him whereas mo doing their dutie well may do more faithfull and trustie seruice by striuing who shall do best And this maner did the Athenians vse who for a time held the dominion of the Easterne seas and so did the Romans who subdued the whole world The Athenians in their warres of Sicilie which were of great importance sent thither Niceas and Alcibiades And ordinarilie they had two at the least and sometimes ten together that commaunded The Romans most commonly sent the two consuls to the warres who ruled the armie with equall power But they that did so found not themselues euer best at ease We haue an example therof in three Tribnnes of Rome sent to Fidene with authoritie of consuls who through their disagreement mistaking one anorher were like to haue brought the Roman host to ruine Also they vsed but light wars For in times of danger they made a Dictator that one might absolutely command alone being of opinion that one alone might better gouerne an armie than many could because it is hard to find two or three excellent captains in a whole countrie as Philip of Macedonie said He maruelled how the Athenians could euery yeare appoint ten captains to commaund their armie whereas he could find but one in all his realme And in good sooth had the captaines whom the Athenians appointed bene no wiser than they that appointed them their common-weale had smarted for it In a certaine dangerous warre they had appointed many companions to Miltiades among whom was Aristides who as wise as he was yelded vnto Miltiades the authoritie of commanding the which thing the rest of his companions did likewise being constrained to do it by his exāple which was the cause that al things went well He did as much to Themistocles his enemie whereby the Athenians receiued maruellous profit For ye shall neuer find two men of one self-ssame humor And if it were so yet the one is so thrust forward with ambition enuie and iealousie against his fellow that they faile not to marre all If Niceas and Alcibiades had beene neuer so long togither they would neuer haue agreed For the one was too slow and the other too quicke after the same maner that Fabius and Minucius Paulus Aemilius and Varro were for if the one did well one day the other mard all the next day the harme whereof the Romans felt a long time after In our ciuill warres we had two princes in our armies of whom the one tooke vpon him to commaund and the other would giue no place to him And in hope to content them both vnto the one was committed the vauntgard with the tokens of battell and vnto the other was committed the battell rather in name that in effect whereat the other disdaining was a cause that a good part of the armie was broken Therefore the best is to haue but one generall And we must not here take example at common-weales for their vpholding of themselues is dearer vnto them than the ouerthrowing of their enemies And because the ouergreat mightines of a citizen is daungerous to their state they had rather faile in the other point than to giue too great authoritie to one alone for feare least he should fall to vsurping or that his greatnesse should cause some sedition in the citie But a king who cannot be deposed by any one alone how excellent and valiant a captain so euer he be is neuer in that doubt nor in the distrust wherein common-weals are And therefore he ought not but vpon some necessitie to commit the charge of his armie to any mo than one Aso he must beware that with his gouernor he send not other captains that esteeme themselues as great or greater than the generall For that were the way to set all out of order Olympius thought she did well in sending the Siluershields to the succor of Eumenes but she mard all by it for their captains made so great account of themselues that they would not obey him no nor scarcely accept him for their companion By reason wherof they betraid him and deliuered him to his enemie The ruine of the common-weale of Rome came of two citizens well neere of equall power of whom the one would abide none greater than himselfe and the other would haue no peere And because either of them was of great credit with the Senate they set the whole citie togither by the eares But the king who carieth his coūsel with him and hath neither tribunes not consuls disposeth of his state at his owne will and no man dareth intermeddle with the gouernment further-forth than is to his liking CHAP. IIII. Whether the chiefe of an armie should be gentle or rigorous HEre is offered a question which is no small one that is to wit Whether the chief of an armie be he prince king or lieutenant to a king ought to vse rigor rather than gentlenes as well towards his souldiers as also towards the countrie which he intendeth to conquer For there haue beene which by their rigor haue beene obeied reuerenced both of their souldiers and of the countrie where they warred and by that means haue compassed their affairs verie well And othersome haue gotten so great good will by their gentlenesse that they haue woon more by their courtesie than the others haue done by their crueltie They that preferre gentlenes alledge Pericles who was very mild and patient and was wont to say That there should neuer be any cause why any man should were a black gowne by his means Yet notwithstanding as gentle and patient as he was he gouerned that insolent people without any rebellion specially at the beginning of the wars of Peloponnesus where the people of Athens saw their goods spoiled from out of their windowes whom notwithstanding their eager desire to go out against the Lacedemonians he kept still at home by his gentle and honourable persuasions Xenophon maketh Cyrus gentle courteous familiar and void of all pride roughnes and crueltie Scipio was meeld and gentle to his men of warre and vsed his enemies with so great courtesie that he woon the hearts of the Spaniards by such means ouercame them rather with honorable dealing than with force Plutarch saith as much of Lucullus Infinit other examples may we alledge of such as haue ben obaied by their men of war and ben loued of all their countries On the contrarie part we haue some that haue kept their people in order by austeritie as Manlius Torquatus and many others Hanniball was cruell and stoure as well to his men of warre as to his enemies And yet had he an armie of sundrie sorts of strangers all obedient and well ordered and besides that he drue to his side many of the allies of the Romans And they that hold this opinion haue for their ground a sure and vndoubted reason namely that
nothing holdeth men in awe so much as feare and that he which is dreaded is better obaied than he that maks himselfe beloued For nothing doth so soone wex stale as a benefit All men loue and commend him that doth them a pleasure and such a one is followed of all men but soone also is he forgotten whereas he that is feared and had in awe is neuer forgotten For euery man bethinketh him of the mischiefe that he shall run into if he faile to do the thing that he is commanded And this feare is of much greater force than loue In that respect Cornelius Tacitus said That to the gouerning of a multitude punishment auailed more than gentlenes When Tamerlan came to besiege a citie the first day he would haue a tent of white which betokened that he would take all the citie to mercy good cōposition The second day he would haue one of red which betokened that although they yelded themselues yet would he put some of thē to death at his discretion The third day he had a pauilion all blacke which was as much to say as that there was no more place for cōpassion but that he would put al to fire sword The fear of such cruelty caused al cities to yeeld thēselues at his first cōming And he could not deuise to haue don so much by frendly dealing as by that means Neuertheles it is the custom of war to deal hardly with that captaine which defendeth a place not able to be kept against an army roiall to the intent it may serue for example to such as would withstand an army in hope to come to cōposition For whē they see there is no mercy they yeeld thēselues afore it come to the canō-shot Which maner the Romans practised For had the battel-ram once begun to beat the wals ther was no great hope of any cōposition When Iulius Caesar had lost the battel at Dirrhachiū as he fled a litle town did shut their gates against him wherinto he entring by force sacked it to the intent to put others in feare that were minded to do the like Caesar was mild gentle but his gentlenes could nor procure the opening of the gates to him this cruelty of his was the cause that no mā durst deny him to come in And as for Scipio although he was a valiant and fortunat captain as gracious as could be yet was he not alway obeied but had rebellions of of his souldiers against him so as he was cōpelled to turne his gentlenes into rigor Machiauel handling this question is long time balancing of his discouse vpon Quintius Valerius Coruinus Publicola al which being mild gentle were good captains and did many noble feats of arms were wel obeied of their mē of war obtained many faire victories These he compareth with other valiant captains that were rough stowr cruel as Camillus Appius Claudius Manlius Torquatus others And in the end he maketh a good distinction saying That to men which liue vnder the laws of a publik-weale the maner of the proceeding of Mālius is cōmendable because it turneth to the fauour of the publick-weale For a man can win no partakers which sheweth himself so rough to euery man and he dischargeth himselfe of all suspicions of ambition But in the maner of the proceeding of Valerius and Publicola there may be some mistrust because of the friendship and good fauor which he purchased at his souldiers hands wherby they might worke some euill practises against the liberty of their countrie But when it commeth to the consideration of a prince as Xenophon painteth vs out a perfect prince vnder the person of Cyrus the maner of Publicola Scipio and such others is much more allowable and dangerlesse For the prince is to seeke for no more at his subiects and souldiers hands but obedience and loue For when a prince is well minded on his owne part and his armie likewise affection it only towards him it is conformable to all conditions of his state But for a priuat person to haue an army at his deuotion is not conformable to the rest of the parts whom it standeth on hand to make him liue vnder the lawes and to obey magistrats But there remaineth yet one doubt vndecided which is whether a lieutenant-generall of an host who is neither prince nor king but is sent by a king to cōmand ought to be gentle or rigorous For he cannot be suspected to make his army partiall And though he had it so which thing he can not do he should smally preuaile against his prince Wherfore in this behalfe I would hold as well the one as the other to the obseruation of the lawes I would be rigorous to the men of war For there is not so beautifull and profitable a thing to an armie as the execution of iustice and the keeping of the law vninfringed The which if ye once breake in any one man though he be a very braue and valeant fellow it must needs be broken in diuers others But the discipline of war being well kept and obserued the generall ought to be familiar towards al his souldiers Alexander was familiar gentle and courteous to the common souldiers Antonie was to them both gentle and louing Iulius Caesar was likewise and so were all the excellent emperours On the other side they also were welbeloued and yet in discipline they were rigorous I haue told you heretofore in the chapter of Iustice how the said Iulius Caesar Augustus Traian certain others winked at small faults but were rigorous in others as towards mutiners traitors and sleepers in the watch and such others aforealledged The reason was that they would not in any wise corrupt the discipline of war for feare of the mischiefe that might ensue and therfore they neuer pardoned the faults of them that infringed it It is a wonderous thing that Caesar being but a citizen and hauing his army but of such as serued him of good wil and being lately afore discomfited at the battell of Durazo and fleeing before the army of the senat was notwithstanding not afraid to punish such as had not done their dutie in the battell insomuch that whole legions were faine to sue to him for mercie Which doing sheweth the good discipline that was in the Roman armies and the faithfull seruice which they did to their generall to whom they had giuen their oth Anon after again when he gaue battell to Pompey with what cheerfulnes did all his souldiers accept it With what zeale and good will did they beare with their generall and with what feercenesse did they fight The which serueth to shew that seueritie taketh not away the loue of men of war when they perceiue that otherwise their chieftaine is valeant and worthie to rule For then they impute it not so much to his austeritie as to their owne faults Which ought to be punished
according to the law Tamerlane hanged a souldier of his for stealing a cheese This rigour was was very needfull For else he should haue had no vittels in his campe which was alway followed with infinit vitellers And by being so rough towards his souldiers he got the good will of whole countries in executing iustice vpon his men of warre according to the law He was gentle to such as submitted themselues vnto him but sharpe and cruell to such as resisted him which was the way to winne much people And no man withstood him Wherfore I conclude that whether it be the prince himselfe or whether it be his lieutenant he must not be so gentle to his souldiers as to beare with all their faults nor so courteous to the plaine countrie-men but that he must shew them all some examples of his seuerity that they may stand in aw of him But he must reserue his austerity for the wicked and stubborn sort and he must vse gentlenes meeldnes and louingnes towards his good souldiers and such as hold out their hands to yeeld themselues vnto him whom he ought to intreat well not for a day or twaine a some do but for euer to the end that the people which are his neighbors may be allured to do the like when they find that this his good dealing proceedeth not of dissimulation but of the very loue meeldnes and good nature of the prince CHAP. V. Whether it be better to haue a good army and an euill chieftaine or a good chieftaine and an euill army THe prince that hath to deale with arms ought to be prouided of two things namely of valeant and well experienced captaines and of good and well trained souldiers For little booteth it to haue a good chieftaine that hath not good men of war or good men of war that haue not a good captaine to lead them But the question is in case that both meet not togither whether it were better to haue an euill army and a good captaine or a good armie and a bad captaine This question seemeth to be doubtles Notwithstanding forasmuch as Machiauell putteth it in ballance although he resolue it after the common maner yet am I to say a word or twaine of it by the way to confirme it the better In this discoursing vpon the historie of Titus Liuius he saith The valeantnes of the souldiers hath wrought wonders and that they haue done better after the death of their captaine than afore as it befell in the armie which the Romans had in Spain vnder the conduct of the Scipios the which hauing lost those two generals did neuerthelesse ouercome their enemies Moreouer he alleageth Lucullus who being vntrained to the wars himselfe was made a good captaine by the good peticaptains of the bands that were in his armie But his reasons are not sufficient to incounter the opinion of those that vphold That an army of stags hauing a lion to their leader is much better than an army of lions that haue a stag to their captaine And in very deed if euer battell were won the winning thereof is to be attributed to the captaine It is well knowen that so long as the Volses had Coriolane to their captain they had alwaies the vpper hand against the Romans But as soone as he was dead they went by the worse When the Romans had cowardly captains they were continually beaten by the Numantines but when Scipio was once chosen generall they did so well ouerset their enemies that in the end they rased Numance itselfe And as I haue said in this discourse when one vpbraided the Numantines that they suffered themselues to be beaten by those whom they had so often beaten afore they answered That in very deed they were the same sheep whom they had encountered afore but they had another shepherd This sheweth sufficiently how greatly some one man may auaile in an armie Antiochus not regarding the multitude of his enemies asked a captain How many meÌ„ he thought his presence to be worth making account that he himself alone should supply the number which the captain desired Eumenes had not an host so wel trained as his enemies and yet he guided it in such sort as he could neuer be ouercome When Antigonus supposing this Eumenes to haue bin extreamly sick was purposed not to haue lost the faire occasion of discomfiting his army as soone as he saw the good gouernance therof iudged incontinently that it was a good chieftaine that had the ordering thereof And when he perceiued the horslitter of Eumeneâ— a farre off by and by he caused the retreit to bee sounded fearing more that which was within the litter than he feared fiue and twentie or thirty thousand men The bondmen of the Romans had not beaten them so oft vnlesse it had ben by the good guidance of Spartacus Sertorius had the whole force of Rome against him and yet could neuer be ouercome Epaminondas and Pelopidas did by their good gouernment traine people that had no skill of warre and vanquished the greatest warriors of all Greece For it is a hard matter that any army be it neuer so well practised in wars should be able to maintaine it selfe against a politick and valeant enemie I say not but that they may fight valeantly but the skilfulnes of the captaine of their enemies may be such as to disorder them by vsing some cunning deuice the disappointing and preuenting whereof belongs to the captaine and not to the souldiers As for that which is alledged of the Scipios it will not serue For inasmuch as the battell was well ordered afore the Romans might well obtaine the victory though both the consuls were there slain Likewise notwithstanding the death of the duke of Burbon yet was Rome taken by his army because the souldiers that had aduentured vpon the assault knew not of the death of their captaine And the Thebans failed not to get the victory though Eâ—aminondas was wounded to death Againe the emperors armie which was sent against the marques of Brandenbrough gat the victorie notwithstanding that duke Moris the generall of the field lost his life there And as touching that which is said of Lucullus who had little experience of war that is very true Neuerthelesse he behaued himselfe so discretly in the warre wherein he was imploied that he was nothing beholden to Pompey which bereft him of the honour of conquering the whole East And to shew that he was not led by the aduice of his army but by his own skill being at the siege of Tigranocerta being counselled by some to raise his siege and to go meet his enemy who was coÌ„ming towards him with great forces and not to stay about the city he beleeued his own wit and vndertook a ieoperdous aduenture For with the one halfe of his armie he went to encounter his enemie whom he ouercame and left the other halfe afore the citie the which he tooke at his returne Also
incamped by the riuer Behamby and strong inough to stop our armie from passing did neuerthelesse abandon the place when they saw the duke of Guise with launce in hand and his armie following him enter into the water to encounter with them The king of Castile had caused the riuer of Derne to be well garded and yet the duke of Lancaster and the king of Portugall found the foord and passed ouer it No man could stop Hannibâ—l from passing the mountains Pyren and the Alpes to come downe into Lumbardie Marius encountered the Cimbrians not in their passage but on the hitherside of the mountains afore they had gotten to the passages of the Alpes And the residue hauing passed the mountains were met withall in Lumbardie King Philip of Valois had appointed Godmardu Faâ— to keepe the passage of Blanche take in the riuer of Some with a thousand men of armes besides crossebowes of Genoa and six thousand men on foot And yet was he forced from the passage and the king of England passed with all his host hauing but six houres to passe them in which was the time betweene the ebbe and the tide The Flemings tooke stoutly vpon them to stop the passage of the Frenchmen ouer the riuer Alis which was both deepe and maddie and although it was about the feast of Saint Martin yet notwithstanding a part of the vauntgard passed about a league from the bridge of Comines in two or three boats whereof the greatest carried not aboue nine men at once who after they were arriued did hide themselues in an Aldercarre right ouer against the place where they tooke boat And when they were all togither they marched against the Flemmings and woon the bridge of Comines When the marshall of Hesse sent the Reisters into Fraunce by the conduct of Monsieur D' Andelot the late earle of Neuers and the marshall of Saint Andrew were sent to stop their passage because the riuers began to swell being in the end of October Yet for all that they letted not to passe euen in the sight of our men and so they went ouer to Orleance without gainsaying In the yeare 1567. they came againe vnder the leading of Casimire the countie Palatines sonne To stop whose passage because it was not meant to hasard a pitcht field a part of the kings power was sent vnder the leading of the duke of Neuers that now is who spared not the pioners to make trenches nor to set lets in places that might bee waded nor to enterlace trees to stop the passage and yet all this could not let them but that they passed at their ease Afterward the king to stay the meetings of those whom he meant to punish ceised all the bridges and passages and set good gards at them and yet for all that they ceassed not to passe in two places of the riuer Loir to Bonnie and Rosyers where the Monsier d' Andelot leading great companies passed his men both on hors-backe and on foote at a foord though he had some of them drowned Charles Mâ—rtilâ— waited not for the Sarzins at the passage of Loir but went to meet them on the further side of the riuer and gaue them battell neare vnto Towers Actius taried not for Attila at the straits of the Alpes but with the helpe of the Frenchmen encountered him in Fraunce Monsieur d' Aumalle had a faire and great armie vpon the borders of Germanie and there he taried for the duke of Bipount but he spared not to passe on and to get the towne and bridge of Charitie Liuian captaine of the Venetians had ceised all the wayes that lead to Brent hoping thereby to keepe backe Cardon captaine of the Spaniards or else to giue him battell to his disaduauntage But Cardon found a foord somewhat higher and passed his armie in silence afore Liuian had any inckling thereof The duke of Saxonie staied with a few men at the riuage of the riuer Elbe thinking to stop the passage of the Emperour Charles the fifth But he found another shallow where he passed his armie to the duke of Saxonies confusion The mountains of Italie neuer made the Hunnes or Herules afraid for they leauing those high rockes behind them got the passage of Aquileia and passed all their people there Although the Greekes bare themselues in hand that they could defend the straits of Thermopyle against the Persians yet could they not quit themselues so well but that in the end they were inuironed and the Persians found a path that one Epialtes shewed vnto them whereat they passed and made the Greekes abandon the place which they kept But Themistocles gaue aduice neither to gard the enterances of Greece because he knew it was vnpossible nor to hold anie fort in the citie of Athens seeing they were to deale with millions of men but he chose a place of aduauntage vpon the sea to encounter the Persians to his aduauntage who were nothing neere so expert in sea-matters as the Athenians were And whereas they should haue encountered at the passage Machiauel is of opinion that they should haue encountered there with all their forces For it is hard to keepe a passage against a puissant armie without great force And if an armie happen to be defeated at the passage which they take to keepe it is an vtter discouragement to the whole countrie as it beâ—ell at the comming of king Francis into Italie For as soone as the cities of Lumbardie which had put their trust in the Swissers saw the French armie they were so wholy discouraged that they wist not to what Saint to vow themselues ne could take any other counsell of themselues than to yeeld to the Frenchmen As touching the fortifying of a citie and the planting of a garrison there Pericles vsed that fashion against the Lacedemonians For albeit that they had burned all the territorie of Athens yet would he not suffer one man to go out to skirmish with them but thought it better to keepe still his forces than to hazard them because he knew well he was not of strength to match them Another maner of defending is to haue an armie not of purpose to encounter but to wearie the enemie as Fabius had against Hannibal as king Francis and vnder the conduct of the Constable in Auignion against the Emperour Charles the fifth as the duke of Alua had at Naples against the duke of Guise and as the same duke had in Flaunders against the prince of Orenge And this maner of encountering is most sure and least daungerous so it be not in way of defence as I will shew anon For in case of assailing a man must alwaies be resolute to encounter and thinke that great enterprises are not without some hazard In which behalfe Niceas did greatly amisse For hauing a great power in Sicilie hee did nothing but turne to and fro and lose his time in consulting so long till the courage and hope of his
vpon Hanniball yet notwithstanding had not the foresight of Fabius ben the valeancy of Marcellus had serued the Romans to small purpose But Hanniball hauing two valeant captains vpon him at once of two diuerse humours was sore incumbered how to deale with them For when Marcellus had lost a battell Fabius was readie at hand to stop Hanniball from passing any further And in this case seeing the Romans were able to maintaine two armies and it stoode them on hand to conquer or at leastwise to recouer that which they had lost at the iourny of Cannas they were not misaduised in their counsell to chuse these two braue captains of so differing humors to the intent that the continuall fighting of the one might wearie Hanniball and the lingering of Fabius might ouerthrow him But this is not easie for all men to do and specially for theÌ„ that haue not their people trained to the wars as the Romans had who sent them out of Rome as it were by swarms After whose example the prince that is able to leuie store of men and well trained needeth not to be afraid to giue battell to vncumber himselfe of a noisome enemie that cannot be driuen away but by fight The Romans did so against the Gaules and Germaines against Pyrrhus and against Hanniball So did Charles Martell against the Sarzins and Philip of Valois against king Eâ—ward But when a prince sees that fortune is against him then must he alter his manner of dealing as Charles the fifth did against the Englishmen For the former victories that they had obtained against the Frenchmen had taught him to seeke the oportunitie of time For sith the former way auailed him not it behoued him to try another The Gaules were valeant and furious in fight and therfore Cneus Sulpicius did well to protract time with them Hanniball was inuincible in Italie and therefore Fabius did wisely in trying another way and Scipio did boldly and valeantly in making warre in Affricke to turne him away from Italie If Manfred had taken the aduauntage of time at Naples he had done wel for he had cut the combes of the Fenchmen who are furious and almost vnpregnable at the first brunt and had in short time brought Charles to vtter want of vittels and monie Contrariwise it stood Conradine on hand to giue battell to Charles duke of Aniou as he did For he was to reconquer the countrie And Charles of Aniou being but a new conquerour and as yet scarce well assured of his kingdome was not to haue refused him neither did he For there are times and seasons which permit not delay but require of necessitie the hazarding of a battel In our ciuill warres we haue seene two captains that haue vsed means cleane contrarie one to another and yet the purpose and resolution of either of them was commendable and had come afterward to a good end if it had been ripe The duke of Guise a braue and valeant captaine if euer any were sought battell by all the means he couâ—d and could not away with lingering delaies the which he did not without great reason For first he ment to alay the fire which he saw increasing in such sort as it would be hard to quench if it were once throughly kindled in all parts Againe he feared least the prolonging of time would increase the contrary side and that many would incline that way if it were not preuented by destroying the chiefe leaders of that part by a bloody battel And as for winning therof he thought himselfe sure of it For although the contrary party had the choise of the souldiers of the old bands yet had he not such a number of horsmen as the duke of Guise led the which alone might be a cause of victorie for the footmen do nothing without horsmen Moreouer he had a great number of Suislers and a goodly bâ—nd of French harquebuzers store of ordnance seeld peeces and whatsoeuer else is requisit in an army roiall whereas the other side was but an army patched vp howbeit that there were some good and well practised captains and valiant souldiers Contrariwise Monsieur de Tauanes perceiuing that there behoued many battels to be giuen for the vtter defeating of the contrary side though it be better to delay the time and that the king should by length of time bereaue them of the countrie that they had conquered forasmuch as he had sufficient wherewith to hold out the war at length which abilitie they had not who oftentimes wanted monie and men of war to be at commandement of the ring leader because the most part serued of good will and could not enforce vs to hazard a battell but to their owne great disaduantage And if that maner had continued any longer than it did they had ben brought to a great afterdeale CHAP. IX Whether it be possible for two armies lodged one neere another to keepe themselues from being inforced to fight whether they will or no. WE haue seene the profit that commeth of waiting to take the oportunity of time and of ouermatching the enemy by long delay and protracting of time but yet there remaineth a doubt concerning the possibilitie thereof whether it lie in a mans power to refuse to come to battell when he is neere his enemie and marcheth side by side with him They that hold the opinion that a man cannot be enforced to battell alledge the examples of Cneus Sulpicius against the Gaules of Fabius Maximus against Hannibal of Pericles against the Lacedemonians of Charles the fifth against Edward king of England of the constable of France at Auignion of the duke of Alua at Naples against the duke of Guise and of diuers others who by delay of time brought the enterprises of their enemies to nothing and were neuer enforced to come to handstrokes On the contrarie part they that haue hazarded a battell in their owne countrie haue found themselues ill apaid as Craesus against Cyrus Darius against Alexander Philip of Valois against king Edward and many others aforealledged whom we forbeare to speake of to auoid tediousnes But these examples are not able to proue that a captaine cannot be compelled to fight whether he will or no. For when a conquering enemie commeth strongly into a countrie he may compell you to come to battell or else to flee or else to shut vp your selfe in some citie which are dishonourable points and of dangerous consequence The duke of Saxonie meant to haue wone time of the emperour Charles the fifth after that maner vpon trust of the great riuer Albis that was betweene the two camps but the emperour found a foord the which was shewed him by a miller whereat he passed some of the troops of his horsmen and the residue did so much by swimming and by boats that they got land on the side where their enemies lay Philip king of Macedonie the father and Perses his son encamped themselues vpon a mountaine wherunto there
see their generall in daunger they be ashamed to leaue him without fighting for him So did Sylla against Mâ—thridates For when he saw his armie almost defeated he cast himselfe a crosse them that fled vntill he found his enemies crying Ye souldiers of Rome miâ—e honour willeth me to die here And therefore whensoeuer ye shall be asked where ye haue abandoned your captaine remember that ye answer ye forsooke him in Orchomene Whereat they were so ashamed that suddenly they turned their faces again and wan the field Iulius Caesar being in the like perill in Spaine against the Pompeyes said vnto his men Seeing ye forsake me thus deliuer me by and by into the hands of Pompeyes sonnes The which saying made them for verie shame to returne into the battell the which they woon in the end At another time he caught the standard out of the standard bearers hand that fled and made him to returne saying It is here my souldier it is here that we must fight Iulian the emperour seeing certain men flâ—e at the beginning of a battel caused ten of them that first fled to be put to death to the intent that the residue for feare of the daunger that was behind should fight valiantly seeing the perill was greater in fleeing than in fighting Charles Martell did the like against the Sarzins for he appointed certaine men to do nothing else but to kill such as fled backe And besides that he did them to vnderstand that the gates of Towers were shut and that they should not be opened for any misfortune that befell Sometimes to tempt and allure souldiers men offer them a prey or bootie that by being eagre of it they may breake their aray as Charles the eight did at Foronouo by the counsell of Triuulce For he made all the baggage of the campe to march on the left hand where were all the kings costly iewels The which thing wheÌ„ the Albanois espied by and by they flang out to that part killing and ouerthrowing the muleters and pages that made countenance of defence The footmen perceiuing how the Albanois made spoile ran thither also so as it put the armie of the Italians quite out of order and ministred the more occasion to king Charles to compasse his matters well To remedie the matter that a man be not surprised behind whether it be in assaulting a town or in giuing battel he must leaue some men of purpose to abide that brunt which must intend to that and nothing else or else he must do as Demetrius or Sertorius did When Sertorius had laid siege to the towne of Lauron Pompey went thither in great hast to succour it Neere vnto the citie was a little hill to lodge a campe in and to annoy the towns-men By means whereof the one hasted thither to win it and the other hasted to keepe it But Sertorius came thither first and tooke it And anon after Pompey came thitoo who was well apaid that it had so come to passe thinking to hold Sertorius pent vp betweene the citie and his armie But hee was greatly astonished when he saw the six thousand of men well armed whom Sertorius had left in the campe whence he departed to the intent that if Pâ—mpey came to assaile him they should sit vpon his skirts Which thing Pompey perceyuing durst not offer battell but was constrained to see the towne destroyed before his eyes and was not able to rescue it Ptolomie was deceiued after the like maner For when he had his armie on the sea readie to encounter Demetrius he gaue his brother Meneleus charge that when he saw them grappled to come to hand-strokes and that they were busiest in fight he should set out of the hauen of Salamis and come set vpon Demetrius shippes behind to scatter them and to breake their aray with threescore gallies whereof he had the leading But Demetrius hauing prouided for it aforehand had appointed ten gallies to stop him thinking them enow to shut vp the mouth of the hauen that was small and narrow so as none that were within it could get out By reason whereof being sure behind he charged so stoutly vpon Ptolomie that he discomfited him When the enemie knoweth that a captaine vseth an ordinarie maner of ordering his battels after one fashion he ordereth his owne after the same maner But to beguile him he must do as Cornelius Scipio did in Spaine against Hasdruball who knowing that his enemie was aduertised that he was woont to place his best souldiers in the middest of the frunt of his battels and the worst behind and doubting least Hasdruball would do the like altered his order in the day of the battell For he set his best souldiers in the corners of his armie and the worser sort in the middest And when it came to the onset Scipio caused the souldiers of the middle part to march sostly and the two wings to aduaunce forwarder who encountering with men of lesse experience did easily ouermatch them In the which time those of the two middlewards which on Asdrubals side were the chiefest men and on Scipiâ—s side the woorst of his armie were but beholders of the others By means whereof Asdruball was easilie defeated by the Romans At the battell of Tongres when the lord of Pieranes saw the duke of Burgoyne send fifteene hundred men on his back he altered the forme of his battell which was pointed triangle-wise and brought it into a square setting his horsemen and shot hindermost to withstand them that were comming behind and fencing the sides with cariages by reason whereof he had gone away that day with the victorie if he had had men that had beene good warriours and well trayned But the want of them both made him to lose both the battell and his life When the generall of an armie hath too few horsmen he must set some company of pikemen behind them and now we may set harquebuzers that are accustomed to fight with horsmen as Iulius Caesar did at the battell of Pharsalie agaist Pompey For hauing set forth the best and most practised legionarie souldiers that he had he was suddenly assailed with a great companie of yong Roman gentlemen on horsebacke To whom when his horsemen had giuen place they came vpon those old fellowes who flung their iauelings full in their faces Whereat the yong gentlemen being astonied turned themselues by and by to flight Sometime to beguile the enemie a captaine makes his armie to seeme lesse than it is that the enemie may be the bolder to fight or else he causeth a brute to be raised that he hath sent a part of his armie abrode which he hath not done in deed by either of which waies manie haue beene deceiued One armie was sent afore against Asdruball who was come downe into Italie with a great puissance and in an other part Nero the consull had another armie neer vnto Hanniball and to his seeming well rampired and
of Athens that they might the sooner be famished and so it came to passe For whereas he was not able to ouercome them by force he suffered them to rest a while and afterward when he knew that vittails began to wax scant he besieged them so narrowly that they were faine to yeeld the citie to the Lacedemonians To attempt the taking of the rocke of Vandois which was impregnable the vicount of Meaus laid a stale of 1200 men in a caue neare the fort and sent others to skirmish with them at their bars charging them that if any came out of the towne against them they should retire softly vntill they came to the stale The Frenchmen failed not to make countenaÌ„ce but went slowly to the skirmish as if they had beene men vnwilling and smally trained which thing gaue courage to Guion du sel who had the gouernment of the fort in the absence of Amerigoll Marcell to sallie out with certaine of the garrison And he chased the Frenchmen so farre that he was inclosed betweene their ambush and their campe so as he could not saue himselfe nor any of his companie Whereupon the Frenchmen approched nearer the castell and told him that he and all his companions should die if the â—ortresse were not yeelded and that if it were yeelded they should all be saued They that were within perceiuing that they were like to lose the best men of all their companie yeelded themselues at his persuasion The earle of Arminak was discomfited almost after the same sort by Iaques of Berne before Alexandria which was the cause that the siege of Alexandria was broken vp CHAP. XX. Of the defending of Townes THere is not so great a mischief but there is a remedie for it And as the common saying is Well assailed well defended For when he that is within a towne knoweth that another would haue it then by good watch and carefull diligence he keepeth himselfe from being taken on the sudden And if he be aduertised of his enemies comming he doth what he can to keepe them from comming neere the ditches vntill the greatnesse of their number enforce him to retire The like is done when a citie is to be assailed by sea and by land For he that is within doth either by force or by policie impeach their landing as much as he can as did that gallant pyrat named Franday at Port Venerie The Arragonians intending to haue taken that place vpon the gate toward the sea approched with the prowes of their gallies to the hauen to haue set their soldiers a land But Franday had caused the great stones whereupon they were to leape in comming downe from their gallies to be besmeared with greace so as the most part of them fell downe through the slippernesse of their footing and the cumbersomnesse of their armor among the stones which were verie high Sometimes a citie is in hard case for that they cannot certifie their state by reason of the straitnesse of the siege In this case they must do as the Gothes did who being straitly besieged by Bellisariu and not able to giue intelligence of their distresse to Vitigis made a great noise one midnight whereat Belâ—â—sarius wondring and fearing some ambush or treason commanded that euery man should stand vpon his guard without remouing out of his place While Bellisarius was thus musing more to gard himselfe than to looke to the wals of his enemies the Goths sent out two men to giue knowledge to Vitigis in what state they stood But Bellisarius did yet much better when he himselfe was besieged in Rome For vvhen he vnderstood that succors were comming to him fearing least the Goths should set vpon them by the vvay he caused a certaine vvall vvherwith one of the gates of the citie vvas dammed vp to be beaten downe in the night and set a good number of men of vvar at it causing a thousand horsemen to issue out at one of the other gates whom he coÌ„manded to returne to the same gate againe vvhen they vvere charged by their enemies Now vvhile they vvere in hand vvith their enemies Bellisarius vvent out vvith a great power at the gate that vvas towards the sea vvhereof his enemies had no mistrust and easily putting those to flight that encountered him on that part he vvent on till he came right against the other gate vvhere he assailed his enemies behind as they vvere fighting vvith his men that had issued out first in vvhich conflict many of his enemies vvere slaine vvho being sufficiently occupied in defending themselues gaue leisure to the Greekes to ioine vvith the armie of Bellisarius vvithout any let Sometimes there is scarcetie of vittels in a towne so as it needeth to be vittelled And therfore he that hath the charge therof seeketh by all means to get some in vvithout the enemies priuitie Bellisarius intending to vittell the citie of Rome which was streitlie besieged by the Gothes vnder the leading of Totilas deuised this shift Totilas had made two towers of timber to be builded vpon a bridge ouer the riuer Tiber to keepe men from comming to Rome by water And without the ouerthrowing of these towers there was no way to passe To do it by plaine force it was not possible for him for he had too few men Wherfore he took two lighters and ioined them togither with rafters vpon the which he builded a tower of timber of equall heigth to the other two vpon the top wherof he had a little boate full of pitch and brimstone After this tower boat followed two hundred other boats couered ouer with boord and made full of loope holes that his men standing surely fenced in them might shoot at their enemies Within those boats he put great abundance of vittels garded by the choisest of his souldiers by whom vpon either banke of the riuer as neere as might be he sent of his souldiers both on horsebacke and on foot When he came at the towers of the bridge he cast vpon them the said little boat that was full of brimstone which immediatly burned vp the towers and the two hundred men that were within them In the meane while the Romans brake downe the bridge and made way for the litters that conueied the vittels the which had out of all doubt gone forth to the citie had it not ben for the fault of Isaces one of Bellisarius captains who by his rash going out of the hauen towne of Ostia contrarie to Bellisarius appointment was discomfited and taken prisoner by the Goths For Bellisarius being abashed therat and thinking that the towne it selfe had ben taken wherin was his wife and all his mouables returned suddainly back thither without accomplishing his enterprise Sometimes either men or monie be to be conueyed into a towne in whch behalfe example may be taken at the doings of Bellisarius who bearing that monie was brought him from Constantinople to the intent that the bringer thereof
them against their enemies But anon returned the foreriders vvho made report that there was no means to force Menander to fight Whereat Eumenes pretended to be sore displeased and so passed on Themistocles vsed the like policie towards Xerxes vvhen he caused him to be secretly aduertised to get him out of Greece vvith all the hast he could that he might auoid the hazard of battell as I haue said elsewhere Hermocrates being aduertised of the intent of Nicias in breaking vp his siege before Siracuse in going his way perceiuing that as that day because it was a festiuall day and they were occupied in doing sacrifice to their gods he could not cause his men to march to take the passages that he might vanquish the Athenians at his more ease sent a familiar friend of his to Nicias with instructio◠〈◊〉 tell him that he came from such as gaue him secret aduertisements vvithin the citie vvho sent him warning to beware that he vvent not on his vvay that night vnlesse he vvould fall inâ—o the ambushes that the Siracusanes had laid for him Nicias being bleared vvith those vvords taried all that night so as the next morning the Siracusans tooke all the passages by meanes vvherof the Athenians vvere vnfortunatly ouercome Eumenes perceiuing that the rest of the princes enuied him and sought means to kill him to the intent to preuent them bare them on hand that he wanted money and borrowed a good round sum of euery of them chiefly of those vvhom he knew to hate him to the intent that thenceforth they should trust vnto him and desist to lie in wait for him for feare of loosing the monie that they had lent him By meane whereof it came to passe that other mens monie was his safegard and the assurance of his life And whereas other men are vvoont to giue monie to saue and assure themselues this man did set his life in safetie by taking There was not a greater cause of the bringing in againe of king Edward the fourth into the realme of England when he was driuen out than the marchants and other men to vvhom he vvas indebted and the vvomen that were in loue vvith him because he vvas voluptuous vvho to the vttermost of their power persuaded their husbands to be a meane of his returne Sometimes it is needfull to set neighbours at oddes but that must be done couertly and cunningly least it be perceiued The Athenians fearing the power of the Lacedemonians had forsakeÌ„ the league which they had made with the Thebans and in stead of holding with them had shewed themselues to be against them which was a meane to ouerthrow the Thebans vpside downe But Pelopidas and Gorgidas captains generall of Beotia espying a way how to set the Athenians againe in a iealousie and heart-burning against the Lacedemonians found out such a practise as this There was a captaine named Sphodrias a verie valiant man of his person but therewithall light-headed and fond conceyted such a one as easily conceiued vaine hopes in his head vpon a foolish vaine glorie to haue done some goodly feate in his life Pelopidas linked to him a merchant of his familiar acquaintance who tolled him on to attempt great things and to go and surprise the hauen of Pyrey while the Athenians mistrusted no such thing and therefore kept it not with any sure guard assuring him that the lords of Lacedemon would lâ—ke of nothing so well as to hold the citie of Athens vnder their obeysance and that the Thebanes who wished them euill to the death for their forsaking and betraying them at their need would not in anie wise succour them Sphodrias being mooued with his persuasions tooke those men of warre with him that he had and departing by night went into the countrie of Attica euen to the citie Eleusine But when he came there his men were afraied and would go no further And so being discouered hee was faine to returne from whence he came Whereby he procured to the Lacedemonians a warre of no small importance nor easie to bee vndone againe For thence-foorth the Athenians sought the alliance of the Thebanes againe and succoured them verie earnestly Coriolanus vsed the like practise For when he saw he could not cause the peace to be broken that was betweene the Romans and the Volses he procured a man to go tell the Magistrates of Rome that the Volses had conspired to runne vpon the Romans as they were looking vpon their playes and gaming 's and to set fire vpon the citie Whereupon the Volses were commaunded to depart out of the citie of Rome afore the Sunne going downe Wherewith the Volses being displeased proclaimed warre against the Romans Alcibiades vsed the like tricke For the Lacedemonians were come to treat of peace with the Athenians and had for their patrone one Nicias a man of peace and well renowmed among the Athenians Alcibiades went vnto them aforehand and warned them in any wise to beware that they told not that they had commission to conclude a full agreement least the people compelled them of authoritie to graunt them whatsoeuer they would haue counselling them but onely to set downe certaine conditions as in way of conference The next morning Alcibiades asked them verie smoothly what they came to do They aunswered that they came to make some profers of peace but had no commission to determin anie thing Then fell Alcibiades to crying out vpon them calling them vntrustie and variable telling them that they were not come to do anie thing that was of value And so the ambassadours were sent home without doing any thing and Alcibiades was chosen captaine to make warre against them Coriolanus to encrease the dissention which he knew to be betwixt the nobilitie and commons of Rome caused the lands of the noble men to be with all care preserued harmles causing the peoples in the meane time to be wasted and spoiled which thing caused them to enter into further quarrell and disagreement one against another than euer they had done afore The noblemen vpbraided the common people with their iniurious banishing of so mightie a man and the people charged the nobilitie that they had procured him to make warre against them in their reuenge Hanniball to bring Fabius in suspition whom he feared aboue all the Romans caused his lands of purpose to be kept harmelesse when he wasted all other mens to the end it might be thought that he had some secret conference with him and that that was the cause why he would not fight with him howbeit that in verie deed his refusing to encounter was of great wisedome to make his enemie consume away without putting any thing in hazard Timoleon practised another notable policie to shift himselfe from the hands of the Carthaginenses Whereas he was sent by the Corinthians to deliuer the citie of Siracuse from the tyrannie of Dennis as soone as he was arriued at Rhegium Icetes whom the Siracusanes imploied to the same
prince is a mirror to all his subiects Such as the prince is such will bee his houshold his court and his kingdome There is not a better way to reforme others than to doe the same things which a man would say in that behalfe Emperours that were warriors beloued of their souldiers for behauing themselues fellow-like towards them Notable examples of Alexander Cato Dauid and Alfons Souldiers set not so much by them that reward them as by them that take pain with them as they doe The emperors that haue not set their hands to good works haue bene disdained of their souldiers Of the presence of a Prince Whether wars are to bee made by Lieutenants The presence of the prince seruerh greatly to the getting of the victorie The presence of Eumenes causeth Antigonus to retire Ferdinand king of Naples doth by his presence cause his subiects to return vnder his obedience What it is to know ones selfe To know God it behooueth a man to know himselfe The first point of wisedome is to know ones selfe The better sort ought to rule the worser Cicero in his Academiks Cicero in his books of Duties The excellencie of Wisdome Wisdome the mother of all good things Wisdome goeth before all other vertues Of Wisdome Plutarch in his treatise of Morall vertue Wisdome is not subiect to doubting All vertue consisteth in action A man must not vphold things vnknown for knowne Plutarch in the life of Timoleon Of Discreetnesse Discreetnesse is not gotten but by aduised deliberation The definition of Discreetnesse The difference betweene a discreet man and a wel-aduised man Cicero in his Duties Cicero in his Cato The Lacedemonians made more account of an exploit done by policie than of an exploit done by force of arms VVilfull ignorance Cicero in his booke of Lawes Therence in his Adelphis The effects of Discreation The praises of Wisdome The wise stand not vpon lawes but line by the rule of vertue S. Paul to Timothie The commaundement of the prince and the obedience of the subiect are answerable either to other Plutarch in the life of Licurgus He that well guideth is wel followed Wisdome is a shield against all misfortune Prosperitie commeth of wisdome The first actioÌ„ of a man of good temperature is Discretion The want of skil is cause of great mischiefe The wisedome of a king consisteth in learning and experience The praise of Learning The mind receiueth light from learning For the life of man learning is better than riches Of Eloquence Cyneas the orator woon mo cities by his eloquence thâ— is Pirrus did by the sword A man cannot vtter the excellent coÌ„ceitâ— of his mind if he want Eloquence Of ExperieÌ„ce Cicero in his Duties Experience better than Learning in matters of State Knowledge without Practise is a body without a soule The skill of gouerning consisteth more in practise than in speculation It is dangerous in matters of state to take white for blacke Nothing doth beter acquaint men with seâ—ts of war than the often practise of them It is more to doe a thing discreetly thâ— to forecast it wisely Nothâ—ng doth better beseem a prince than to do iustice Righteousnes containeth all vertues Valeantnesse serueth to no purpose where Righteousnes wanteth Definitions of Righteousnes Gâ—d is the first author and beginner of righteousnesse Righteousnes sinneth not Vnrighteounes is the soul 〈◊〉 sinne Righteousnes and holinesse are both one The duties of Righteousnes The righteous stranger is to be preferred before the vnrighteous kinsman Kingdoms shal continue so long as Righteousnes reigneth in them A Prince is a liuing law Iustice is needfull for all sorts of men Iustice maketh a happie Common-weale A subdiuision of Righteousnesse Another diuision of Righteousnes The maiestie of a kingdom dependeth vpon lawes The law ought to rule the magistrats Lawes must not be broken The inconuenience that insueth of doing wrong Augustus made great Augustus made account of the Priuiledge of Freedeniship In what cases lawes may be corrected Lawes once stablished ought not to be altâ—red Law must coÌ„maund and not obay How to raign in safety Princes oueâ—throwne for suffering their subiects to be wronged Folke giue greater credit and authoritie to good Iusticers than to any others Two precepts for gouernors The prince ought to minister iustice vnto all men indifferently The notable answer of king Agis The answer of Themistocles The answer of Alexander The saieng of Phocion The iudgemeÌ„t of Marius The iust dealing of king Totilas The conuersation of life carrieth the fortune of sight The princely dealing of kâ—ng Artaxeâ—xes The coueâ—â—â—snâ—sse of Vespasâ—an OffeÌ„ces must not be left vnpunished Priuat harms are daÌ„gerous to the publik state Impunitie of vice is dangerfull to a whole state To let sin goe vnpunished is a consenting vnto it It is no mercy to pardon the faults that are committed against other men In what sort a prince should be gracious Mercy to the wicked is cruelâ—ie to the good Princes may not at their pleasure make laâ—ish of that which belonged tâ— God Philo in his treatise concerning Iudges Of iustice in cases of treason and rebellion The want of discretion in extinguishing one faction may breed many mâ— The policie of Agesilaus The maner of Marcellus dealing in a certaine sedition Biting words are dangerous Princes ought to make chois of good iudges Officers are to be recompenced according to their deseruings The rewarding of iudges and officers Of the punishing of wicked iudges The Iustice of warâ—e The Law of Arms. The vertue of obedience dependeth vpon the gentlenes of nature It is a lesse matter to ouercome the enemie than to vphold one country by good discipline Of the lawes of arms The seuerity of the Romanes Seueritie in war is whâ—lsome The crueltie of Auidius Cassius How a souldier is to be delt with that hee may be good The keeping of equalitie among men of war Soldiers haue most neede of discipline in time of peace The natious least delicat haue bin best warriors Of the rewarding of men of war Of houshold iustice or houshold righteousnesse The rewarding of good 〈◊〉 sheweth the iustice oâ— hâ—m that 〈◊〉 Of the recompenâ—es that are 〈◊〉 in honour The mounting to dignity by degrees What a prince is to doe that he forget not those that doe him seruice Two offices or mo be not to be giuen to one man Power breedeth Pride Whether a prince ought to shift officers or no. Treasurers and officers of account Precepts of Iustice. Punishment must not â—asse the offence Liberalitie beseemeth a prince It is the dutie of a king to doe good vnto many The misliking of great power is taken away by Liberalitie Liberalitie 〈◊〉 not to bee measuâ—â—d by the gift but by the will Three waies of vâ—ing a mans goods well Gifts get fâ—iendship at al mens haÌ„dâ— What it is to vse monie wel A poore prince is neither well 〈◊〉 ued of his subiects 〈◊〉 feared of sâ—rangers A prince must moderate his ordinarie
outweareth so soone as a good turne In gouerning of a multitude punishment auaileth more than pitie That captaine is to be punished which holdeth a place vnable to be defended against an armie roiall Som time it is needfull to vse crueltie Machiauels distinction It is good that a prince should haue his army affectionated to him alone Whether a liuetenant general should be gentle or rigorous The generall ought to be familiar in behauior and rigorous in discipline Austerity abateth not the loue of men of war The winning of a battel depâ—â—leth vpon the sufficiency of the captaine Some one maÌ„ is of great value in an host The skâ—lfulnes of a captaine may disorder his enemies battell which want a good chieftaine Of the Phalanx The policie of Paulus Aemilâ—us The order oâ— the Roman legions Pikemen â—he Principals The Triarie The keeping of a passage The wholsom counsell of Themistocles A passage is not to be kept but with great forces Of the plaÌ„â—ing of garrisons in cities An armie to pursue the enemie without giuing him battell The fault of Niceas An army to bid the enemy battell The fortune of a batell is not to be hazarded vnles some great aduantage be offered A prince can not aduenture a battell in his owne country without great daunger The despising of their enemies is the ouerthrow of great princes They that hazard theÌ„selues vpon necessitie haue coÌ„monly good successe A notable fault of Manfred Charles the fift ouermatched the Englishmen by taking opportunity of time There are times that admit no delay A mighty enemy may compel vs to come to handstroks An army may be compelled to come to handstroks Preuâ—â—â—â—ng is to bâ—â—â—ght 〈…〉 and not by refusing tâ— fight Protracting of time is profitable when an armie may lodge at aduauntage When a man hath the aduantage of the ground he is not to let sâ—p the occasion of coÌ„bat Why the Sophie inuaded not the Turks dominion while Selim was in Egypt The losse of goods turneth not away the hearts of subiects Tyrannie giueth great cause of rebellion The dâ—fendâ—nt may soone repairâ— his power Arguments against Langeyes opinion Tâ—â— Romaâ—s 〈…〉 countrie The Romans could not vaÌ„quish Hanniball in Italie An â—nswer â—o Bellays first argument An answer to Bâ—lâ—ays second argument An answer to the third argument An answer to the fourth argument An answer to the fifth argument An answer to the sixt argument An answer to the seuenth argument An answer to the eight argument Fortune furthereth the aduenterous He that loseth a bâ—â—â—ell in a strange countrie loseth but his men â—â—rrâ—us excelled in pitâ—â—ung a camp Of woods Of hils The danger of passing aâ—uer The aduaÌ„tage of a hill The policy of Salomon Of Sylla Of Lucullus Of Flaminius How a small band may defend themselues against a great army A policy of the Entalits The policy of Cabaon Of Orations Of the countenance of a captaine The assuredâ—eâ— of Hanniball Of Lisander Quintius Marius Of the often beholding of the enemie afore battell The strangenesse of things maketh them more terrible than they be in deed Pelopidas and Epaminondas The policie of Iugurth Of Necessitie Of Despaire The policie of Themistocles The policie of Zabdas The countie Petilians policie The sowing of a report of succours at hand To keep souldiers from knowing the enemie to whom the generall suspecteth to be betraied by his owne men Skirmishes are so neare both to good and euill that it is easie to take the one for the other The sorts of skirmishes Skirmishes made to aduantage do make the enemie despised We must then reserue our forces for battel when the enemy letteth vs alone Pompeyes fault at the battell of Pharsalie To passe a waâ—â—r safely The policie of Iulian in passing his army ouer a riuer The policy of Marius The policy of Bertram of Guesclin A policy to pretend battell and yet not to do it A policy to taâ—e the enemy vnprâ—uided The daunger 〈…〉 too much to giue battell The seeâ—ing of aduauntage to fight 〈◊〉 To come vpon the enemie behind while he is fighting Diuers maners of ordering an armie The ranks must not be inlarged where is but few men A meane to open a battel What is to be done when a general hath but few men A great armie must not chuse a hill-ground but a plain champion The policie of captaine Pelinian To reassemble an armie that goeth by the worst To tempt an armie with dâ—sirâ— of prey To let or impeaâ—h the assailing of an army behind To beguile the enemie in ordering of ones battel When a man hath few horsmen To beguile the enemie by pretending weaknesse Catos policie A false pretence of feare To make an army seeme greater than it is Men must not be too what in following a chase How victory is to be vsed The danger of fighting with folk in despaire The policie of Hanniball The policie of Qâ—intius The policie of Artaxerxes The policie of Eumenes Of the coÌ„cealing of a mans feare The â—etiâ—ing 〈◊〉 day is dâ—â—gerous The policie of the Romans How to saue ones self when a battel is lost The policie of Agesilaus to scape out of a towne at the comming of his enemies A cawsey may serue for a retreat Hanniball wan his victories by his wel laying of ambushes The policy of Bertâ—am of Guesclin The ambush of Constantine The good counsell of Alard to Charles duke of Aniou A policy of Sertorius The policie oâ— Demetrius The policie of Alcibiades The policie of Robert of Artois The earle of Derbies pâ—pâ—licie A policie of Lucullus A policie of Frederick Barbarossa A policie of Sertorius A policie of Bellisarius A policie of the lord of Estourneâ— The policie Lysander A polâ—â—ie of the Gothes The policy oâ— Bellisarius To get vittels or mony into a citie A sally of the Englishmen Nothing is so dangerous as an enemy vndistrusted The policie oâ— Spartacus