Bajazet Their Generall was the Earle of Neuers who against the will of the King of Hungary and of all the Campe gaue the first charge and without order and was ouer-throwne whereupon the Army of the Christians fled Anno 1396. by reason whereof the Turk tooke al Greece and the greatest part of Bulgaria and then besieged Constantinople And it is also very requisite that the Generall should keep his souldiers from idlenesse for Segnities robur frangit longa otianeruos Sloath weakneth the sinewes and diminisheth a mans force and is the nurse of all vice making a man most base Therefore Aeleas a King of Scythia sayd that hee thought himselfe no better then his Horse-keeper when hee was idle A vice to which Gentlemen alwayes haue beene too much giuen Insomuch that in Athens where they did not suffer the people to be idle a Citizen being iudicially condemned for idlenesse one Herondas requested one to shew him the party that was condemned for a Gentle-mans life In Carthage to auoyde this vice the Noble-men did alwayes exercise Armes the common people laboured and the Learned men were euer teaching and instructing others And in the Common-wealth of the Lacedemonians none were idle for all men laboured and they sending one Chilon to Corinthe to treate of a League hee found the Magistrates idlely exercised playing at Dice whereuppon hee returned home and would not speake of his Commission saying That hee would not stayne the glory of Sparta with so great an ignominy as to ioyne them in society with such kinde of people Marius caused his souldiers to make Trenches when there was no cause onely to keepe them from idlenesse Claudius hauing an assured peace for the avoyding of idlenesse kept thirty thousand men twelue yeares in working the Channell Fucinus that Rome might haue good water And when the Lawes were well kept in Rome at the time they had Warres with the Celtiberians in Spaine and with Alexander the Senators went three dayes about Rome with the Censors and could not find one idle man for a messenger to carry their letters But in Marcus Aurelius time there were plenty for he confesseth that hee banished punished and put to death in his time 30000. idle Vagabonds and 10000. idle women And France being troubled with a great number of idle vagabond souldiers Bertrand de Guesclin to free the Countrey of them drew them all to goe with him into Spaine agaynst the Sarazins Bruce King of Scotland exhorted his subiects to exercise Armes alwayes for that idlenesse would corrupt them and for want of practise they would not be able to resist their enemies A Prince therefore being the Lanterne to his subiects should giue good example herein Alfred King of England had that care to eschew idlenesse and to spend his time well as he diuided the day into three parts by a Taper that burned continually in his Chappel 24. houres The first part he spent in Prayer and in study The second part hee employed in the affaires of the Common-wealth and the third part he tooke for his recreation and rest A good president for other Princes CHAP. 26. A Prince to be well aduised before hee begin Warre and carefull in his fight IT is not for a Prince vpon euery quarrell to make War but to be sure that the cause bee good and iust which then wil bring honor to his Person safety to his soule and great encouragement to all his souldiers Yet according to the saying of Octauius Caesar neyther battell nor War is to be vndertaken vnlesse there may be euidently seene more hope of gayne then feare of damage for such as sought after the smallest commodities not with a little danger he likened vnto those that Angle with a golden hooke for the losse whereof if it hapned to be suapped or broken off no draught of Fish whatsoeuer was able to make amends And it is necessary that a Prince or his Generall should consult and take counsell before hee fight for the aduice of his Captaynes heerein may doe great good Therefore the Carthagintans commaunded those Captaynes to be hanged that got Victory without any consultation before And those that did first consult and then were ouer-throwne they did neuer punish And hauing taken counsell and resolution execution is to follow without delay least occasion be lost For Aristotle sayth that a wise man ought to counsell slowly and execuâ—e speedily and if Victory be gotten to follow it hotly is the best before the enemy being discouraged be able to make head agayne For if Hanniball had done so after the battell of Cannas and not lingred to refresh his men he had taken Rome Likewise Pompey in a skirmish put Caesar to the worse which if he had pursued he had quite ouer-throwne Caesar Yet a man must take heed he follow not the Victory too fiercely nor out of order For so Phillip King of Macedonta by following the Romanes too fiercely was defeated So likewise Gaston de Foix hauing wonne the battell at Rauenna pursuing too fiercely a squadron of Spaniards that fled by them was ouer-throwne lost his life and made all that a prey to the enemy which before hee had Conquered in Italy And an enemy is not to be contemned though his Forces be inferiour for oftentimes it is not the multitude of men that getteth the Victory but the couragious and resolute mindes of the fouldiers assisted by God For King Alexander with 33000. foote-men and 25000. horse-men ouer-threw the Persians and Darius army of 400000. foot-men and 100000. horse-men Robert le Frison with a few and without experience defeated Phillip King of Frances great Army and old Souldiers The Earle of Namure with the Flemings being but a few ouer-thre the Earle of Artois sent by Phillip the fayre King of France with 40000. French-men into Flanders whereof 300. efcaped not At the battell of Peitiers the Prince of Wales with 8000. English ouerthrow 40000. French tooke King Iohn and his Sonne prisoners and also a number of Princes and Noble-men Henry the fifth at the battell of Agincourt with 7000 ouer-threw 80000. French Simon Earle of Monford besieged in the Castle of Mirebeau in France by the King of Arragon and others and hauing with him but 2. Knights 60. horse-men and 700. foot-men hauing commended themselues to God sallied and charged the King so valiently that he ouerthrew his Army killed him and 17000. of his men and lost not aboue eight foot-men of all his Therefore a Prince should not presume too much of his owne strength nor be carelesse of his enemy nor charge him but in good order For fighting without order the Carpentines Olcades and Vaceos in Spaine hauing an Army of 100000. were ouer-throwne by Hanniball for they trusted in the number of their Souldiers and kept no order Both the Scipioes being slayne in Spaine Lucius Martius being a man of meane calling yet a good Souldier and of great courage gathered the dispersed souldiers together and was chosen for their
in Spaine did neuer take any thing for himselfe but gaue all amongst his Souldiers saying that a Captaine ought not to seeke any thing in his charge but honour and glory Scipio Affricanus was so liberall as he contemned riches for in fifty foure yeeres that he liued he did neuer buy nor sell any thing nor made any building neither was there found in his house after his death aboue thirty three pound weight of plate Marcus Curius Consull who had thrice triumphed was of the like disposition for all possessions he had was but a little meane house in the Countrey where he liued for the most part when publike affaires did permit him labouring and tylling that little ground hee had himselfe And when certaine Embassadours were sent to visite him they found him dressing a Raddish for his supper And they presenting him a great summe of money from the Commonalty he refused it saying he held it farre more honourable to command them that had gold then to haue it himselfe Lutius Quintius did the like for after he had been Dictator and triumphed with greater pompe then euer did any before him yet returned he to his poore house againe refusing all liuing and riches the Senate offered him For riches and treasure is but a clog and a heauy burthen to a wise man which made all the Philosophers to contemne wealth For Plato saith he that honoureth riches despiseth wisedome Policrates bestowed fiue Talents for a gift vpon one Anacreon who for two nights after was so troubled with care how to keepe them and how to bestow them as he carried them backe againe to Policrates saying they were not worth the paines which he had already taken for them Therefore a Prince should not care how to lay vp but how to lay out with honour and wisedome For the liberall person shall haue plenty saith Salomon Prou. 11. CHAP. 8. A Prince not to be couetous ANd as by liberality a Prince may attaine to great honour so by couetousnesse he may bring himselfe to vtter destruction For the Emperour Pertinax was a very good and vertuous Prince sauing that he was extreme couetous and miserable insomuch that wheras he should haue rewarded the men of War who did aduance him to the Empire he took pensions from diuers of them which Traian his Predecessor had giuen them for which and for his miserablenesse he was killed by his Souldiers So was likewise Alexander Seuerus and his mother also for the same vice As in like manner were the Emperour Galba and the Emperour Mauricius And the Emperour Phocas by his misery was the ruine and dissipating of the Roman Empire for in his time there fell from the Empire France Germany Spaine the greatest part of Italy Esclauonia the greatest part of Affrica Armenia Arabia Macedonia Thracia Assyria Mesopotamia Egypt and many other Countries Lewis the 11 King of France was so miserable as he was contemned of all Strangers and caused rebellion in his own Countrey for he put away all the Gentlemen of his houshold and vsed his Taylor for his Herauld of Armes his Barber for his Ambassadour and his Physitian for his Chancellour and in derision of other Kings he wore a greasie hat of the coursest Wooll and in his Chamber of accounts in a bill was set downe 20 Souz for a paire of sleeues to his old doublet and 15 Denieers for grease to his Bootes He increased the charge vpon his Subiects three millions more then any of his Predecessors had done For which he was mightily hated Calipha King of Persia hauing filled a Tower with Siluer Gold Iewels precious stones and being in Warre with Allanus King of the Tartarians was so euill succoured by his owne peo-people because he was so miserable and would not giue them their pay as he was taken in his owne City and by Allanus committed to prison in the foresaid Tower who said vnto him if thou hadst not kept this Treasure so couetously but hadst distributed it amongst thy Souldiers thou mightest haue preserued thy selfe and thy City now therefore enioy it at thine ease and eate and drinke thy fill seeing thou hast loued it so well And so let him die in the middest of his riches CHAP. 9. A Prince to be learned THough it be not good that a Prince should be too great a Scholler yet it is necessary that he should haue some learning for Plato saith that neither can ignorant men nor those that spend all their life in study gouerne a Common-wealth For great learned men are perplexed to resolue vpon affaires making many doubts full of respects and imaginations The City therefore of Norenberg did not admit any great learned man into their Counsell but had some notable learned men with whom they did conferre vpon any doubt that might arise in the Counsell The Vrsins likewise in Italy would neuer permit any learned man to gouerne their Common-wealth Yet Socrates saith That wit without learning is like to a tree without fruit It is requisite therefore that both the Prince and his gouernours should be learned as well the better to vnderstand their duties towards God the Lawes of the Realme the gouernment of other Common-wealthes and their Ambassadours and the Art of Stratagems of Warre And a Prince should nourish and cherish all learning for the attaining of all Arts and knowledge And to that end Ptolemeus King of Egypt made a most famous Library in Alexandria of 200000 Volumnes CHAP. 10. A Prince to be religious BVt aboue all things Religion is most requisite in a Prince that he be carefull to serue daily the King of Kings who will prosper him on his Kingdome in earth so he seekes the Kingdome of heauen which hee must first seeke for as appeareth Matth. 6. And in Deut. 17. a King is commanded after he be placed in his Kingdome to reade the Deuteronomy that he may learne to feare God and to keepe his words and Ceremonies which are written in the Law so doing a Prince shall prosper for Salomon saith God preserueth the state of the righteous and is a shield to them that walke vprightly Prou. chap. 2. Trust therefore saith he againe Prouerbes chapter 3. in God with all thine heart and leane not to thine owne wisedome So Iacob Moses Hezekiah and Elizeus did not trust in themselues but onely by their prayers and trust in GOD preuailed against their enemies And King Dauid though he laboured by humane diligence to defend himselfe against Absolon yet especially sought to moue God to mercy by prayer 2 Reg. 15. The Emperour Marcus Antonius being in Almany with his Army was inclosed in a dry Countrey by his enemies who stopped all the passages that he his Army were like to perish for want of water The Emperors Lieutenant seeing him so distressed told him that he had hard that the Christiās could obtaine any thing of their God by their Prayers Whereupon the Emperour hauing a Legion of Christians in his Army desired
them to pray to their God for his and the Armies deliuery out of that danger Which they presently did and incontinent a great thunder fell amongst the enemies and abundance of water vpon the Romans wherby their thirst was quenched and the enemy ouerthrowne without any fight But prayer will not auaile euery Christian vnlesse he walke vprightly for God wil not heare the prayers of those that lye and wallow in sinue as appeareth Joh. 9. And Dauid saith Psal 65. Jf J finde iniquity in my heart the Lord will not heare me And God saith when you shall extend and lift vp your hands I will turne mine eyes from you and when you shall multiply your prayers I will not heare you for your hands are full of bloud I saias chap. 1. Therefore if a man be in wicked or bloudy sinne his prayer is in vaine CHAP. 11. A Prince not to shed innocent blood IT behoueth therefore a Prince to be vertuous and to haue speciall care that he put not his hand in innocent blood neither by tyranny malice ambition pollicy or vpon false reports and informations For to be a Tyrant is odious to God and man and to bring himselfe to an euill end As the Emperour Nero who after he had put to death his mother Agrippina his wife Octauia his brother Brittannicus and his Master Seneca Besides many others being proclaimed an enemy to the Common-wealth could get no body to kill him but was glad to kill himselfe saying Turpiter vixi turpius morior The Emperour Caius Caligula amongst other his tyrannies caused at his dinner and supper ordinarily one to cut off before him the heads of poore prisoners wherein he tooke great pleasure in the end he himselfe was killed by his men who conspired against him Nabis the Tyrant who vsurped the gouernment of the Lacedaemonians sent for eighty of their yong Princes and without any cause put them all to death And shortly after Alexamenes vnder pretence to serue him with some company suddenly strucke him off from his horse and killed him And as these tyrants had their iust rewards so all others had the like measure And for their wicked instruments the people oftentimes did Iustice vpon them For Plutarch writeth that the wicked Counsellors and Instruments of Apollodus of Phalaris Dionysius Nero and other tyrants were cruelly tormented to death by the people and iustly saith he because they who corrupt or seduce a Prince deserue as much to be abhorred of euery one as those who should poyson a publicke Spring or Fountaine whereof all the people doe drinke But sometimes those Princes that doe vse instruments for their murthers will not auow their Commission but doe themselues many times put them to death whom they imployed therein sometimes secretly sometimes publikely either to rid themselues of the suspition and infamy thereof or for feare of discouery As Alexander Magnus at his fathers Funerals commanded publike Iustice to be done vpon those who himselfe had secretly imployed to kill him The Emperour Tiberius did not onely dissauow his Commission giuen to a Souldier to kill Agrippa but put to death Seianus his speciall fauourite and instrument of his mischiefe Caesar Borgia did the like by a fauourite of his And let no Prince thinke that he can so contriue his matters but in the end truth will be discouered and knowne to the world and through ambition many haue shewed themselues very barbarous and bloudy as Tullia daughter to Seruius seeing her selfe married to Aruus a man of milde disposition and her sister of a gentle spirit married to Lucius Tarquinius who was ambitious and she not enduring to be thus matched killed her husband Aruus and her sister and then married Tarquinius whom she perswaded to kill her father Seruius to haue the Kingdome and she being in the streets when he was killed went with her Coach very inhumanely ouer his body that his bloud besprinkled her cloathes Soliman King of the Turks when he heard the great noyse and shout of ioy his Army made for the returne of his sonne Sultan Mustapha out of Persia caused him presently to be strangled in his outward Chamber and his dead body to be cast out before the whole Army and one to cry with a loud voyce that there was but one God and one Sultan vpon the earth He put to death also Sultan Soba because he wept for his brother and Sultan Mahomet his third sonne because he fled for feare leauing one onely aliue to auoyde the inconuenience of many Lords The Emperour Seuerus hauing vanquished Albinus and Niger his Competitor in the Empire embrued with blood put a great number to death and told his sonne Geta that he would not leaue him an enemy Geta asked him if those he put to death had neither parents friends nor kinsfolke yes said the Emperour a great number Then said Geta you will leaue vs many moe enemies then you take from vs. His sonne Bassianus hauing murthered his brother Geta to haue the Empire alone and doubting that the Senate would greatly mislike thereof made a shew that he was sorry for his brothers death and that he did it by the perswasion of Letus his fauourite whom therefore he put to death and all those that did assist him in that action likewise all those that were friends to Geta lest they should attempt any thing against him yet in the end he was killed Alphonsus King of Naples hauing vniustly murthered twenty foure of his Barons could neuer sleepe quietly for representation of their shapes which alwayes vexed him in his dreames And in the end hee fell into that feare of the French as leauing his Kingdome to his sonne he fled into Spaine to liue a in a Monastery making such haste as he would take nothing with him And his men perswading him to stay two or three dayes to make his prouision no no said hee let vs be gone doe you not heare how all the world cryes France France Hee knew himselfe to be so hated King Iohn of England murthered his nephew and in the end was murthered himselfe Richard likewise Duke of Glocester murthered his two nephews sonnes to Edward the fourth to make himselfe King and after was slaine in battell by Henry the seuenth for blood requires blood and let a bloody Prince neuer looke for better end CHAP. 12. A Prince to be circumspect in giuing credit to reports BVt many Princes haue been mightily abused by false reports and wrong informations yea sometimes by the nearest and dearest vnto them and those that should be most faithfull Dauid therefore prayed God to deliuer him from wicked lips and a lying tongue Psal 119. And in Eccle. 31. we are warned to take heed of our children and of our houshold seruants And in the sixt chapter it is said Seperate thy selfe from thine enemies and beware euen of thy friends for where a man doth trust the most there he may soonest be deceiued As was the Emperour Glaudius a
Treasurers and Magistrates who enriched themselues by the pâ—uerty of the people and of the increase of Taxes Subsidies and Impositions which orew the people into dispaire oppressed also with Famine and Plagues that when the King would haue leuyed an other Army hee could not get the French to it A Prince therefore should loue and cherish his Subiects but not oppresse them For Tyberius Nero when some perswaded him to take great Tributes of the Prouinces sayd that a good shepheard should sheare his sheepe but not deuoure them And Lewes the ninth King of France his chiefe care in sparing was to ease the people by abating the Taxes and Subsidies layd vppon them by his Predecessors And that State sayth Thales is best ordered which hath it neither too wealthy nor too poore Citizens CHAP. 25. Who to haue the charge in Warre FOrce and Valour most properly should belong to the Nobility and they thereby defend the people and bee their Leaders in Warre Therefore for a Prince to take that charge from them or to displace them if they be sufficient is not conuenient For Perennis hauing the whole gouernement vnder the Emperour Commodus displaced all the Noble Captaines and put other base persons in their roomes whereat the Army being grieued pulled Perennis in peeces as an enemy to the Common wealth Anno enuying the glory of Mutinesâ— tooke his charge from him and gaue it to his owne sonne Whereupon Mutines practised with the Confull and betrayed to him the Towne of Agrigente in Cicily whereby all Cicily was brought in subiection to the Romanes Lewes the eleuenth King of France displacing the Noblemen and his good seruants and giuing the Offices to men or base quality ciuill Warre did arise but the King presently acknowledging his errour restored them againe Yet it behoueth a Prince to be respectiue and not to giue a charge to a seuere man For sometimes a good Prince shall be hated for his wicked Gouernour as was Scipio for the cruelty of his Lieutenant Pleninius And Lucullus though he was wise and Valiant and did many exploits against Mythridates and Tygranes two of the greatest Kings of Asia yet was hee so seuere and vncourteous as his souldiers loued him not neyther would obay him in the end Whereupon the Romanes set Pompey in his place who by his courtesie and clemency wonne the hearts of his souldiers and thereby brought all the East parts vnder the obedience of the Romanes and so reaped the fruites of Lucullus labours and had the honour thereof with Tryumph Appius Claudius vsed in like manner great rigour and seuerity amongst his souldiers insomuch as they would doe nothing for him though he put some of the Captaines to death but reioyced to be ouer-throwne to dishonour him And at another time the Romane souldiers for despite they had against the Ten-men suffered themselues to be vanquished And Marcus Popilius Confull subduing the Lygurians now Geneuois rebelling against the Romanes raysed their Towne walls tooke their armour from them and sold them and their goods which the Senate thought to be a too seuere and cruell part of Popilius and an euill example for others to stand vppon extreamity rather then to yeeld or to trust to the clemency of the Romanes Therefore commaunded all that were sold to bee redeemed their goods to be restored they suffered to haue armour and Popilius to bee called home and his gouernement giuen to another Therefore a Prince for his Warres had neede to appoynt not onely a wise but a temperate and Valiant Commander For Plato sayth that a man temperate not endued with fortitude falleth easily into cowardlinesse and basenesse of minde and that a strong and Valiant man without remperance is easily carried away with temerity and boldnesse So was Flaminius ouer-throwne and killed by Hanniball at Trasamene for not staying to ioyne his forces with the other Consull And Minutius in the absence of Fabius hauing charge and commaund ouer the Army vppon his rash attempt against Hanniball had good successe Whereupon he would needes haue the Army diuided betwixt them and haue equall charge to which Fabius condiscended Hauniball perceiuing his rashnesse and insolence gaue him battell and ouer-threw him but Fabius being at hand gaue him succours whereuppon Minutius conâ—essed his errour And then Hanniball said that the Cloud which had wont to hang vpon the mountaynes sturred with Wind and Tempâ—st was ruined to Raine for Fabius kept the heights and would not fight but with good aduantage therefore Hanniball feared his wisedome And when Fabius had gotten the Towne of Tarent by Treason Hanuiball sayd I perceiue the Romanes haue also their Hanniball But at Treue Hanuiball defeated the Romanes who came to battell fasting which was a great ouer-fight in the Confull But Hanniball commaunded all his men to eate some meate before Marcellus through the default of his owne souldiers was ouerthrowne by Hanuiball but his wisedome was such as first rebuking his souldiers therefore and then encouraging of them he gaue battell the next day to Hanniball and deseated him But the Confull Minutius was of a weaker spirit temperate without fortitude for hee being sent agaynst the Eques durst not come neere them but fortified himselfe in his Campe which they seeing besieged him in his Tents Whereupon Lucius Quintiut was created Dictator who relieued him and subdued the Eques but would giue no part of the spoyle neyther to Minutius nor to his souldiers but rebuked them So that Wisedome Temperance and Valour are necessary in a Generall Dissention likewise in an Army is to be auoyded for by the diffention betwixt the Consuls Hanniball ouerthrew them at the battell of Cannas Therefore Claudius Neron and M. Lucins being enemies and chosen Consuls made themselues friends for the good of the Common-wealth So Aristides and Themistocles sent Embassadours by Athens did reconcile themselues during that imployment Cretes and Hermias not friends and being in their Citty of Magnetia besieged by Mythridates Cretes offered Hermias the charge of Captayne Generall and to depart the Citty himselfe or if Hermias had rather depart then to leaue that Office to him least by their both being in Towne iealousie might grow betwixt them and breed hurt to their Country Hermias seeing the honest offer of his Companion and knowing him to be the more sufficient yeelded to him the charge and left the Towne And as dissention is hurtfull so enuy is not fitting For the French men ayding Iohn King of Castile agaynst Denis King of Portugall had vpon their earnest request the poynt of the battell which did offend the Spaniards who were desirous thereof insomuch that the French-men giuing the charge the Spaniard would not second them but suffered them all to be slayne or taken and then they set vpon the Portugals who hauing vanquished the French and seeing the Castilians come killed all their prisoners and then ouer-threw them also Pope Boniface the ninth and the French King sent great forces agaynst the Turke