the assailant For when the assailant departeth out of his countrie he leaueth garrisons and men of warre behind him to defend it against sudden troubles that might ensue of insurrections by absence of the prince or by some sodaine inuasion of some neighbor that would take him vnprouided as Iames king of Scots did to his owne vndoing against the king of England at such time as he was passed to Calice with a great force and was occupied about the siege of Tirwin and Turney So that no well aduised prince setteth vp all his rest vpon the hazard of one battell but doth euer reserue a store for after-claps And if a prince chance to be taken prisoner in a forraine countrie he shall be discharged vpon his raunsome and vpon such conditions as the conquerour listeth to giue him but if he be taken in his owne countrie it is hard but that diuerse weake and il-furnished rownes wil yeeld themselues to the conqueror vpon report of his victorie which townes shall not be admitted in account when they come to treat of peace And oftentimes fortune is so fauourable to the vanquisher that after a victorie he maketh himselfe lord of the whole realme and needeth not to make any other agreement with his prisoner than to grant or take away his life at his own pleasure It is commonly said that fortune furthereth the aduenterous and we see it so by experience Ninâ—â— Semyramis and Alexander were fortunate in their conquests Pyrrhus was fortunate in getting but vnfortunate in keeping And they that go forth with that intent do seldome faile of their purpose Charles the eight conquered Naples in short time and brought backe his armie through the midst of Italie passing vpon the bellies of his enemies Edward king of England comming into France with resolute purpose to conquer the realme gaue battell to Philip of Valois and ouercame him both by sea and by land notwithstanding that Philip of Valois did what could be done by a well-aduised prince For he encountered him vpon the sea afore he tooke land but it booted him not For God made fortune to turne against him in which case it is better to strike saile than to hazard a battell as Charles the fifth could well skill to do being taught by the aduersities of his grandfather and father William duke of Normandie after one battell made himselfe souereigne lord of the realme of England being fully resolued either to conquer or else to die I will not say therefore that an inuader shall alwayes be sure of victory for sometimes it falleth out cleane contrarie as it did with Cyrus who was defeated by the Massagets in their own countrie with the Swissers who were discomfited in Prouince by Iulius Caesar with the Sarzins which were discomfited by Charles Martell who caused Euâ—o duke of Gascoyne to turne against them To be short He that looseth a field in a strange countrie loseth but his men but he that loseth it in his owne countrie loseth both men and goods and sees his land dayly wasted and his subiects pilled CHAP. XI Of the pitching of a Campe. NOw seeing it is so that in both sorts of warre aswell of assailing as of defending men must be brought to march togither either to receiue or to follow the enemie we must needs speake of the seating of a campe as vpon the which alone dependeth the winning of the battell as Pyrrâ—us shewed full well who in that point was esteemed the excellentest of all captains The campe that is well planted ought to be nere a riuer that they may haue the commoditie of water which cannot be forborne and also for the fortifying of themselues and for the doing of their enterprises For a riuer doth wonderfully strengthen a camp because the enemy cannot passe it without danger But a captaine must also be maister of the riuer and not coope vp himselfe betweene two riuers except he haue means to get out againe at his pleasure least it disappoint him of the commoditie of vittels and of succours as it befell to Iulius Caesar in Spaine against Affraenius and Petreius But that happeneth commonly by some extraordinarie ouerflowing wherof notwithstanding a man shal discharge himselfe so well that he shall ouercome them afterward Secondly woods serue for another fortification and yeeld means of goodly enterprises Thirdly mountains giue great aduantage to them that are incamped in them For they that are faine to mount vp to their assault are wearied afore they come to handstroks Contrariwise they that come downward go with the greater force vpon their enemies Hanniball vanquished the Romans at Trebia by hauing his campe planted neere to a wood He had lodged himselfe neere a riuer and neere thicke copses full of brush wood and thornes taking occasion to beguile the Romans by that seating of his camp for when they should com to encouÌ„ter him he sent his brother Mago into that place ouernight accompanied with a thousand horsmen and a thousand footmen to lie in ambush there And the next morning he caused his light horsmen of Numidie to passe the riuer and to skirmish with the Romans and to draw them into the stale The which thing was done so cunningly that when the Romans were in the heat of the fight they were assailed behind by Mago who lay in ambush there so as they could notwithstand the Carthaginenses but were constrained to giue back with great losse of their men As for to passe a riuer to assaile the enemy the danger therof is very great as appeareth in Manlius who would needs passe a riuer that had but only one foord to passe at to encounter with Asdruball contrary to the aduice of Scipio who warned him of the perill wherinto he did put himselfe Neuertheles he passed the riuer and assailed Asdruball who suffered the Romans to do as they listed without offering them battell vntill he saw them incumbred in passing the foord And then with all his force he set vpon the taile of them and made so great a slaughter that all their army was at the point to haue ben discomfited had not Scipios forecast bin who made the enemies to recoile by the helpe of his men of arms Timoleon seeing the army of the Carthaginenses sore troubled and put out of order in passing a riuer with great peril and therby deeming that he might take them at aduantage ere they were halfe passed shewed his men of war with his finger how the battel of his enemies was parted in two halues by the riuer the one halfe of them being on the one side and the other half on the other and commanded Demaratus to take his horsmen and to goe and charge vpon the formost of them to keep them from ranging themselues in battelray And therewithall he caused his footmen to go downe into the plaine by means wherof togither with a storm that fel suddainly against the Carthaginenses he gat the battel As
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
in examining his life notwithstanding that there is no comparison betweene mouable goods and a friend For a friend may helpe a prince both with counsell and comfort and also greatly aduance his profit as Zopirus did vnto king Darius vnto whom he recouered Babilon And therefore Darius said That he had leuer haue one Zopirus than to take tenne Babilons and that he wished hee had as many Megabisusses as there be kernels in a Pomgarnet For this cause were Pilades and Orestes exalted to the skies by the Poets and Damon and Pithias Pithagorians by the Historiographers And among others we must not let passe the friendship of Seruius Terentius towards Brutus For when Brutus should haue beene put to death this Terentius affirmed himselfe to be he and would haue bin killed for him in the darkenesse of the place neuerthelesse being discerned who he was he was suffered to liue whether he would or no. Neither is the wiâ—ely loue of one Hostes the wife of a Moore to be passed ouer in silence who seing hir husband dead absteined from food nine daies together that she might be buried with him Timagenides seing the citie of Thebes besieged for his sake chose rather to yeeld himselfe to the rest of the Greeks who were desirous of him than to abide the burning spoiling and sacking of his country Also there were a couple of Lacedemonians which offered to goe to the king of Persia to be put to torture for the rest of their countriemen who had killed the kings Embassadors But yet the loue of certaine Frenchmen towards their country shall put to silence the fables of Orestes and Pilades and whatsoeuer is reported of the Curtiusses and Deciusses of Rome When the king of England refused to take Callis to mercie except they would deliuer him six Burgesses of the towne with halters about their necks to doe his pleasure with them the people being assembled into one place and hearing this sentence fell to weeping Then stept vp among them one Eustace of S. Peters one of the richest men of all the town and told them that he would not suffer such a number of people to perish but would rather giue himselfe to the death for their safety than see them die for hunger or be slaine with the sword After him followed another named Iohn Daire and foure mo of the richest in Calis who vowed themselues euerychone to the death for the safegard of their people S. Ambrose in his second booke of Virgins reporteth a notable storie of a maid and a young souldier who offered themselues to die either for the other The maid was condemned either to doe sacrifice to the idols or else to be made a brothel in the stewes She vtterly refusing to doe sacrifice to the idols was led forthwith to the stewes where after she had made hir praiers vnto God there was brought vnto hir a young souldiour who altering his former purpose which he had to haue defiled her praied her to take his apparell and he would put on hirs that by that means shee might go hir waies vnknowne and so be saued When she was departed out of the brothel-house there came in other yoong men in hope to haue had their pleasure of that faire damsel But in hir stead they found the man and thought shee had bene turned into that shape by miracle In the end when the conueiance was discouered the yoong man was carried to be punished wherof the mayd hearing presented hirselfe to baile him body for body that he might escape but the yoong man would in no wise heare of that affirming that iudgement was giuen against him and not against hir The maid replied that he was there but as a pledge and that the sentence which was giuen against him ought to be executed vpon hirselfe To conclude they disputed so wel the one against the other that with their consents they were both put to death Let this be spoken as by the way because occasion thereof was offered He that is desirous to see more let him read Aristotles Morals Lucians Toxaris and Ciceros Laelius Now let vs proceed to Hope which is an affection wel beseeming a Prince When Alexander hauing of a bountifull mind giuen all to his friends was asked what should remaine to himselfe Hope quoth he because he hoped to get much more And this Hope is grounded vpon a certaine noblenesse of courage I know well inough that some Hope is but the dreaming of a man when he is awake for commonly we misse of the thing that we behight our selues Neuerthelesse I say that the valiant and well aduised prince sildome fayleth of his hope when it is grounded vpon reason and good fortune Philo sayth that Hope is the fountaine of all sorts and trades of life The merchant traffiqueth in hope of gaine the marener in hope to benefit himselfe by his sayling the ambitious in hope of glorie and honour and to attaine to these ends euery of them doth take maruellous pains The hope of the happie state draweth men to vertue But indeed the true and only hope is to hope in God as in him that is our Creator and is sufficient of himselfe alone to keepe vs safe and sound Afterward commeth Despaire or Distrust the contrary to Hope which may bee taken doublewise either as when a prince hauing lost a battell and broken his force letteth all go without consulting or taking aduice what to do through Despaire seeketh no remedie which oft befalleth for want of courage to maintaine the which nothing is comparable to stoutnesse of mind The other sort is not properly Despaire but a behauior proceeding of humilitie which maketh vs that we be not ouer-hastie in hoping for great and high things the which is conuenient enough for a prince for it restreineth him from hazarding himselfe and from vndertaking too great and hard things after the maner of Dauid who reioiceth that hee had not enterprised things ouer-great and exceeding his power In this case both Hope and Distrust are well befitting a king For the one maketh him to enterprise great things the other to moderat them in such sort as he vndertake not any thing aboue his abilitie or aboue that which he ought for to do so proceedeth either of vndiscreetnes or of rage or of some other inordinat passion Fearfulnesse and Foole-hardinesse are the two faultie extremities which inclose Prowes or valeantnesse of courage wherof I will speake more largely hereafter For whosoeuer through the greatnes of his courage doth put himselfe in perill yea euen of certaine death for a good cause he is to be esteemed hardie valeant and manly-minded And surely the Fearefull is worse than the Foole-hardie For as Thucidides saith Feare doth not only bereaue a man of his memorie but also of his strength and impeacheth the execution of the thing that he had determined Neuerthelesse the feare to do euil is euermore wel-beseeming according to this saying of
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 deintie meats and giuing them in charge that if the Vandales happened to vnhallow any church of the Christians that they should doe the contrarie and make them cleane againe For he told them that if Christ was the God of the Christians as he was reported to be he would punish those that did him wrong and helpe those that did him seruice Whervpon this Cabaon sent certaine of his men to follow the Vandales in post who whensoeuer they found any church where the Vandales had stabled their horses made it cleane againe as soone as they were gone out of it If any were poore or diseased they gaue them alms and as ye would say did worship the priests whom the Vandales had misused To be short all the men of old time haue so greatly honored priest-hood that it had chiefe preheminence next vnto kings and sometimes kings haue bin priests and priests haue bin kings and gouernors of people And at Rome the priests of Iupiter had a Mace-bearer and a chaire of estate as who would say they deemed the dignitie of priesthood to be equall with the authoritie of a king And they durst not demaund an oth of them when they were to beare witnesse as who would say it were no reason to discredit these in small things which had the ordering of the greatest things and the things that concerned God Which thing is obserued towards our kings of France when they be heard vpon an inquest for they depose without making any oth Numa king of Romanes would needs be of the colledge of Bishops which he had ordained for the ceremonies And the name of King abode with their high priest whom they called the sacrifising King or the king for the Sacrifices After which maner the Athenians also chose yearly one by the name of King who was created but onelie for sacrifising and to punish irreligious dealings Octauian the emperour had the priestly dignitie iointly togither with his empire and so had all they that were emperors after him For as soone as they were chosen there was giuen vnto them the priestly attire and they tooke vpon them the title of High priests Which custome was kept vnto the time of Gratian who refused the attire when the priests offered it vnto him because he thought it vnmeet for a Christian to take such an habit vpon him as Zosimus reporteth in the fourth booke of his historie Neuerthelesse we see by the letter which Varia Mesa wrat vnto the Senat vpon the election of Heliogabalus that the emperorship and priesthood were alwaies diuided asunder For thus saith he Now shall ye see that which your predecessors neuer saw namely that the emperor shall be the high priest and the high priest be emperor so as he shall by sacrifice reconcile vs to the gods and by force of arms defend vs from our enemies But this saying is not contrarie to that of Zosimus For there is great difference between being of the colledge of the priests and the taking of the dignitie or title of priesthood in way of honour and betweene dealing with the ceremonies themselues as the priests of Iupiter and Quirinus whome they called Flamines and the rest of the peculiar priests of the other gods did for these later sort could not beare any office or be magistrats Iulius Caesar had the high priesthood for honours sake and chiefly for profits sake but yet for all that he intended not to the administration of the ceremonies but contrariwise was continually occupied in the warres and absent from the citie Howbeit that Titus Vespasian would needs expresly haue it to the intent hee might not kill any man because it was not lawfull for their high priest to shead mans blood no more than our churchmen may now which point the rest of the emperours that came after him obserued not Therefore wheras the emperors tooke the priests stole vpon them it was in way of honour and not to doe the office in administring the ceremonies Among the Iewes Aaron the high priest was of equall authoritie with Moses and after the Iudges and Kings the greatest dignitie belonged to the high priest Among vs Christiās also the time hath bene that men haue yeelded souereigne authoritie to the Pope as to the Primat of the church princes haue submitted themselues to him and not only haue honoured him as the cheefe minister of our religion but also haue receiued seuere correction at his hand not refusing to do open pennance at the Bishops commaundement as did the emperors Philip and Theodosius vnder Fabian and Ambrose bishops the one of Millan the other of Rome and Frederik the emperour and king of Naples howbeit that the Pope proceeded not with like zeale as the other did but vsed more choller than religion in his doings as he shewed by his treading of the emperor vnder his feet coating his vncomely dealing with this verse of Dauid Vpon the Aspworm and the Cockatrice shalt thou goe and tread the Lion and Dragon vnder foot a thing so il-beseeming the place that he held that Frederik was to be commended for his patient suffering of that disgrace in the honor of God and S. Peter But such was the Religion of those daies that euerie man ran vpon him that was in the Popes disfauor When Clement the sixt had excommunicated the Flemings for taking part with England contrarie to their promise and oth there was not so much as one priest to be found in all the whole countrie that durst say masse or say seruice Iohn king of England seeing himselfe excommunicated for the tenths that he had taken into his hand and perceiuing that the world went worse and worse with him was faine to cast himselfe downe at the feet of the Popes legat at whose hand after much intreatance he receiued the crowne as a great benefit a six daies after with charge to restore the tenths which he withheld and the church-fruits Which charge he put in execution with perill of the losse of his kingdome For the poor commons which were compelled to beare that losse fel to rebelling against him The like submissions haue bin made not only among vs but also among the Infidels For it is reported that when Hercules had killed his own childrē his host he was purged assoiled therof by the priests mysteries of the goddesse Ceres And Adrastus who had killed his own brother vnawares was purged assoiled by Cresus king of Lydia who took vpon him to deale in such recōciliations because he was religious and addicted to the fond ceremonies of those times Also we read that a priest commaunded Lisander king of Lacedemon to tell and declare vnto him the greatest sin that euer he had committed But Lisander being more subtill than spice-conscienst desired the priest to tell him whether he required it of him by the commaundement of the gods or of his owne-authoritie When the priest had answered him that it was at the
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
meane betweene fearefulnesse and fooâ— hardinesse for it represâ—eth feare and moderateth boldnesse True it is that it is harder to restraine feare than to moderat boldnesse For to abide daunger time and custome be requisit for the enduring of the inconuenience but when a thing is to be aduentured vpon it is done vpon the sodaine and with a speedinesse the which is easier to be moderated than feare Therefore the state of Prowesse consisteth chiefly in the contempt of greefe and death And that man is counted a man of noble courage which when an honest or honourable death is offered vnto him is nothing afraid of it But for to put a mans selfe in daunger vpon a brunt of sorrow or anger cannot as saith Aristotle bee counted valiantnesse Fearefulnesse is the contrarie to valiantnesse and a corruption of the lawfull iudgement concerning the things that are to be feared or not feared or rather an ignorance of that which is to be feared or not feared Aristotle saith It is a vice of the couragious wherethrough a man trembleth for feare of danger specially of death beleeuing that it is more commendable to saue life by any maner of means than to die honestlie And as saith Ecclesiasticus Like as chaffe and dust in the aire cannot stand against the force of wind so a cowardly heart in the conceit of a foole cannot stand against the violence of feare Generally we feare all that is euill for feare is an expectation of euill as of pouertie sicknesse and such other things whereof we be afraid because of their hurtfulnesse The bold man is cleane contrarie to the fearfull for he is not afraid neither of death nor any other thing He doth not offer but rather cast himself headloÌ„g into danger afore danger come oft-times in danger he is lasie repenteth him that he hath cast himselfe into it But the man of prowesse is cold afore he vndertaketh but ready and sharpe in doing vndertaking Which thing Thucidides declareth sitly and elegantly in saying thus This we haue aboue all others that not only we be hardie but also we deliberate of the things whch we be to take in hand wheras others are bold through ignorance and lasie and slow to vndertake by reason of their vncertain conâ—ultations But those men are aboue all others most excellent who hauing foreconsidered both the good and the euil the pleasure and the displeasure doe not for all that shrinke away from danger On a time one prâ—ised in Catoes presence a rash-naâ—die man for a valiant man of war whervnto Cato answered There was great odswhether a man made great account of vertue or none account at all of his life esteeming those men to be of noble courage not which despised their life without purpose but rather which made so great account of vertue that in respect of that they passed not for life At what time Epaminondas besieged Sparta and was gotten by force into the towne a certaine Lacedemonian named Isadas being not only vnsurnished of armor to defend him but also of apparell came annointed all ouer his bodie with oile as one readie to wrestle and holding in the one hand his Partisane and in his other a sword went and thrust himselfe into the presse of them that sought laying about him and beating downe all his enemies that he found afore him and yet was neuer wouÌ„ded himselfe Afterward the Ephories gaue him a crown in honor of his prowesse but they amerced him by by at a fine of an hundred crowns for being so rash as to hazard himselfe in the peril of battel without armor to defend him Cicero in his Duties saith That we must not shew our selues cowardly for feare of danger and yet we must refraine from thrusting our selues into danger but if necessitie require we must not make account of death And therfore when the Lacedemonians were afraid least some hurt might befall them for refusing to take part with king Philip Dannudas said vnto theÌ„ Yee halfe men what harme can befall vs which passe not for death According to some men there are seuen sorts of valiantnesse which we may rather tearme Visors of valiantnesse For they haue a resemblance of prowesse but if ye plucke off their masks ye shall find them an other thing than they seemed The first fort is termed ciuil which is when a man hazardeth himself for the honor dishonor penalties set downe by the laws vnto such as mis-behaue themselues in war or otherwise This sorth hath more likelihood thaÌ„ the rest because the feare of transgressing the lawes is a certaine kind of prowesse And as Plutarch saith in the life of 〈◊〉 It seemeth that the men of old time tooke 〈…〉 not an vrter priuaâ—â—on of 〈…〉 reproch and a dread of dishonour because that commonly they that are most afraid to transgresse lawes are safest when they be to encounter with the enemie And they that stand not in feare to haue any reproch are not carefull to endure any aduersities Socrates said That Prowesse is a skill and that many are not noble-minded for want of knowing what it is For this cause lawes are verie needfull to set euerie man in his dutie but they cannot make a coward hardie no more than the punishing of lewd men by laws can make all men good But they hold all men to their duties so as good men hate sin for vertues sake and euil men are warie to offend for feare of punishment but no whit doth that change their disposition vnto euill Also the law may enforce a fearfull man to a aduenture but it dischargeth him not of his inclination And as there be some bodies stronger than othersome so also be some minds stronger by nature to endure casualties than othersome Another kind is called Slauish which is when neither for honour nor for dishonour but for necessities sake a man becommeth couragious for necessitie maketh euen cowards couragious as saith Salust or else for feare of punishment as when Iulian the emperour in a battell against the Persians slew tenne of the first that ran away to restraine the rest from doing the like For that punishment compelled them to sight whether they would or no. And William Conquerour duke of Normandie who caused his ships to bee set on fire as soone as he was landed in England to take from his people all other hope of safetie than only in the sword For the greatest meane of safety is to bee out of hope of safetie The third sort is called Warlike which is when we see men of war that are expert in arms doe deeds that seeme to be of hardinesse to such as haue not the experience and yet they faile not to retire when they see the danger And that also cannot be called Valiantnesse no more than mareners can be called Valiant for they being accustomed to tempest doe lesse feare them than doth the man of greatest
larger discouery therof to such as deale with arms Wherin if I keepe some order and fashion of precepts it is but to treat of those things in some method which are dispersed in the histories and not to giue any certaine iudgment what is to be done in that behalfe For I hope that when the matter is once set downe a prince may vpon this discourse chuse what he thinketh good as bees do vpon flowers I know that the most part of the stratagemes that were found good in time past are now out of vse and that as Cambyses said vnto Cyrus like as in musick the newest songs such as were neuer heard afore do like men best so in warre the policies that haue not earst ben practised haue best successe because the enemie doth least suspect them But we may also say that many times old songs are renewed and song for new and likewise in warre old policies may be renewed and taken for new For there is not any thing done which hath not ben done afore By means wherof I haue gathered and compacted together a part of the old policies of time past to the intent that among many the prince may chuse that which he shall find best or at leastwise not be ignorant to keepe himselfe from them For the knowledge of the policies of times past together with those which he hath seene by experience wil giue him a great iudgment in the feat of war and will make him to call to mind againe and bethinke him of the things that he hath seene at other times Wherfore to keepe the order that I began with it is to be vnderstood that to raigne happily and to maintaine himselfe and his subiects in peace and tranquility it is not inough for a prince to stablish good laws and ordinances if he do not likewise set good order for matters of war which may light vpon his armie whether he will or no and sometime the wrong that shall be offered him shall compell him to warre vpon his neighbour So that it is hard for a prince to raigne long without some warre either in assailing or in defending whereof it commeth to passe that he increaseth and diminisheth his state and reputation according to his fortunate or vnfortunate successe And to make himselfe the stronger he maketh leagues with his freinds and allies or else his enemie preuenteth him who hauing made an offensiue league with his associats commeth with great power to enter into his countrie For the which a prince must prouide afore hand as it shall be easie for him to doe in time if he haue strength howbeit that it be a terrible thing to see so many nations against him alone Neuerthelesse we haue seene almost continually that he which hath stood vpon his defence hath had the skill to vntwist such knots well inough And the reason is â—or that the princes or common-weales that are neighbours do neuer yeeld mutuall loue one to another and that which they do is for their owne peculiar profit fearing nothing so much as the aduauncement of 〈…〉 By reason wherof such leagues are easie to be broken by a prince that hath courage and some small meane to prolong time and a little skill to sway with the time Wherfore when a prince is assailed by a puisaÌ„t army he must oppose another against him he must furnish well his holds and he must incampe himselfe in a place of such aduantage as his enemie may not be so bold as to aduenture vpon him And in the meane while he must attempt by all means to disioine the whole league or at leastwise to get some one out of the league which is so easie a thing to be done that as many as haue bent themselues vnto it haue almost neuer failed King Lois the eleuenth was very excellent in this feat Euery man knows how he accorded with the countie of Charolois at Constans so that when he was once taken out of the play it was of necessitie that the dukes of Berry and Bretaine should be comprised in the accord because they were not of sufficient power to encounter the king of France without the helpe of the Burgonions Another time hauing to doe with two mightie neighbours the king of England and the duke of Burgoine when he saw that the duke of Burgoine was not yet knit to the king of England he made peace with the king of England so as hee had no mo to deale with but the duke of Burgoine King Francis the first was assailed by the emperour and by the king of England in the yeare 1544. By reason whereof he opposed against the emperour a strong host and against the king of England towns well fortified And in the mean while he found means to agree with the emperour without calling the king of England therto and by that means it was the easier for him to agree with the Englishmen afterward The emperor was sore combred in hauing to deale with two mightie armies at once to wit king Henrie the second and the Protestants By reason whereof he aduised himselfe to graunt the Protestants their demands that he might afterward bend himselfe vpoÌ„ the king Which thing maketh me to thinke that in leagues there is somewhat to be feared and that there is danger in entring into them the which it standeth a prince greatly on hand to prouide for But it is not hard to vndo them because the leguers looke more to their owne peculiar profit than to the common profit of them all and the societie which all of them do make is lion-like as they terme it for euerie of them respecteth his owne peculiar profit And if ye set that aside by and by all is laid a water But if there befall too happie successe to any one that is in league and the prince see that fortune smileth vpon his companion he must not by and by giue him ouer there and make league against him as the Pope and the duke of Millan and all Italie did for king Francis the first vpon his taking of the emperour Charles prisoner with whom they had bene lincked in league afore against the king The Leontines and Rhegines hauing entered into armes against the Syracusanes made a league with the Athenians by whose ayd they maintained the warre along time But in the end when they vnderstood by the report that Hermocrates made vnto all the Sicilians in generall that all that the Athenians did was to make themselues lords of Sicilie they gaue ouer the league and made peace among themselues Moreouer in most of these leagues there is alwayes some one that draweth backward and commeth lagging behind as the emperour Maximilian did when he was allied with king Lois the twelfth against the Venetians For king Lois was in the field at the day appointed and had spoyled the Venetians of the places that should haue faln to his share by agreemeÌ„t of the league afore the
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
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
was but one onely accesse very difficult But the Romans at length caused them to dislodge and the said Perses who feared nothing so much as to come to baâ—tel was compelled to come to handstrokes Ye know how the late prince of Condie trusting to the riuer Charent came before Newcastle thinking it vnpossible for vs to haue enforced him to battell but to our disaduantage and yet was he driuen therto without any difficulty And therfore I say with Machiauell in his discourses that a very small army may well wearie and vexa conqueror but in the end they shal not keepe themselues from battell vnlesse they will leaue the field free to their enemies As for the examples that I haue alledged of Pericles and of king Charles the fift they will not serue the turne in this case For they had no armies and therefore were contented to hold themselues close and in couert For the one knew well inough that the Lacedemonians were not of power to besiege Athens nor to do any more than burn the countrie and the other hauing well prouided his towns and set good garrisons in euery of them wist well that the Englishmen being wont to ouercome the countrie could do him no harme in wasting it but were as a flash of lightening that passeth away For the king of England was not able to maintaine a continual army as the Romans were But if king Charles had had an armie he could not haue followed the Englishmen but he must haue ben driuen to fight with them some one time or other And therefore he suffered them to cast their â—ite and to trauell a hundred leagues without any profit during all which time king Charles spared his men and mony But they that maâ—ch neere their enemie cannot exempt themselues from comming to a battell would they neuer so faine Neueâ—â—â—elesse i◠〈◊〉 â—â—ue a conuenient nu0mber of men and well trained they may fight to their aduauntage Such was the resolution of Fabius who would not â—aue refused battell if he had seene himselfe forced therto because he knew he should haue the aduantage as he well shewed in the succour that he gaue to Minutius For he left the hillgrounds and came downe into the plaines and the let was in Hanniball that the matter was not tried by battell But Hanniball thought it better to sound the retreit than to hazard himselfe against so mighty an enemy that could not be deceiued by his slights as other captains had ben whom he had sought withall As touching that which the constable did at Auinion it proued him to be of good discretion For being vnable to make head against so mightie an enemy he was faine to fortifie and strengthen himselfe in a place where he might not be forced And in the while that hee staied the emperour and quailed the luslines of his army men came to him from all parts whereby his owne armie became so increased and strenghned that it was sufficient to encounter the emperours power And it is not to be doubted but that if sickenesse had not cast downe the constable he would haue followed the emperour as Fabius followed Hanniball encamping himselfe in places of aduauntage and in that case if he had been forced to battel it would haue bin to his aduantage and to the emperors losâ—e As for example The Spaniards could not exempt themselues from encountering aâ— Bicocke but that was to the Frenchmens losse As touching the fact of the duke of Alua holding fast continually this principle Not to come to battell in his owne country without necessitie when he saw that the duke of Guise had not yet taken sooting in the kingdome of Naples but rather that he was stopped at a litle town which he could not obtain the protracting of time was needful for him And if the duke of Guise would haue passed on further he should haue wanted vittels hauing so great an armie attending vpon him at hand to cut them off not one towne wherein to make his storehouse So that the duke of Aluaes protracting of time hauing lodged his camp in a strong sure place was profitable to himselfe and preiudiciall to the duke of Guise who sought nothing so much as to come to hand strokes whereby he might haue opened vnto himself a way into the realme of Naples if he had had the lucke to win the battell but he could neuer come vnto it The emperour Charles and the king of France plaid at the barriers one against another in Picardie and Arthois For as soone as the one did put off armes the other entered by and by into his countrie with an armed power And all the fruit of their salies one against another in al a whole summer was but the taking of som litle towne so they skirmished one with another at handie strokes And in this case although there was a light armie against the assailant onely to cumber him and to cut off vittels from him yet was it wisely done to shun the combat For it was well knowne that the winter would cause the armie to break vp there was no need to put any one man in ieopardy But when a puissant enemie is in a countrie whence he intendeth not to depart the prince thereof must oppose against him as strong an armie as his or at leastwise an armie sufficient to encounter his if he will not lose his estate and yet notwithstanding to the intent he tempt not fortune the wisest counsell is to abstaine from encounter For at length if he haue not gotten manie townes ye shall ouermatch him But yet for all this a good occasion must not be ouerpassed nor the winning of a battell be refused which is made sure vnto you by hauing a place of aduauntage the which is easier for him to chuse that standeth vpon his guard than for him that is to make the conquest as you may see by Fabius who vsed it wisely For although he had an armie well trained yet would he not without purpose aduenture against another more trained to the wartes and against so braue a captaine seeing it was more for his owne profite to make delay than to fight out of hand But if his enemie would haue enforced him to forsake his ground he would haue answered him without refusing the battell because he could not but be sure to haue woon it hauing a good and strong army and the aduauntage of the place Paulus Eâ—nilius was determined to haue followed the same counsell had it not beene â—or the headines of his fellow And that maner of dealing would in the end haue compelled Hanniball to abandon Italie without stroke striking and without the hazarding of any one mans life CHAP. X. Whether the daunger be greater to fight a battell in a mans owne countrie or in a straunge countrie THis principle being well obserued not to fight at home but vpon necessitie or vpon some good occasion of assured victorie offered
Italie but out of Italie a yong Roman ouercame him vtterly in one battell When Pyrrhus came to Tarent the Romans suffered him not to approch to their gates but sent to encounter him before he came there And when they had lost one battell they renued it again with a fresh supplie as though it had beene with the water of some continuall running spring And although this was in Italie yet was it not in the countrie of the Romans For they sent so manie men to meet him that he could neuer come home to them in so much that Pyrrhus said That if he should win but one battell more of them it were inough to worke his own vtter ouerthrow because he could neuer get any victorie of thē but with great losse of his people So soone as the Romans vnderstood that Hannibal was determined to passe the mountains they dispatched an armie out of their countrie to be in a readinesse at the foot of the hill either to encounter him or else to wearie and cumber him by all means possible And it was seene by experience that the two or three battels which he woon stood him in little stead For he could not for all that get so much as any one citie into his hands But when he once came neere to Rome and had woon the famous battell of Cannas against them in their owne soyle then hee wanne many cities and made many people to submit themselues to his obedience And there was none other impediment that he tooke not Rome it selfe but onely the fatall destinie of the citie Such daunger cannot befall a man in a forreine countrie As for example The Romans were vtterlie ouerthrowne by the Parthians and yet for all that they needed not to feare the inuading of their citie They lost manie battels to the Carthagenenses both on sea and land and likewise the Carthagenenses vnto them and yet neither of them both tooke care for the defence of their citie but to make a new armie to worke reuenge But Hannibal saw that the best way to haue a hand at the Romans was to seeke thē at their owne doores And the Romans themselues being schooled by Hannibal perceiued well that the way to driue the Carthagenenses out of Italie and to bring their owne matters to good effect was to shew their legions before the gates of Carthage and to bid them battell there and so they did After the winning of the which battell the Romans became lords of Carthage Actius liked better to fight with Attila in Fraunce than to attend his comming into Italie And Charles Martel thought it better to encounter the Sarzins on the further side of Loir than to wait for them in Fraunce And nothing to the purpose maketh the saying of Bellay That the defendants may be incouraged by the iustnesse and holinesse of their quarrell in defending themselues their country their goods their wiues and their children which ought to haue more force than the couetous desire of the assailants For say what can be said yet doth the assailant aduenture vpon his enterprise with the best courage whereas there abideth a feare and misgiuing in the mind of the defendant which feare defeateth all chearfulnesse when euery man considereth the daunger that he is like to fall into by the losse of the battell so as the mind being daunted with that feare cannot do any thing of value We see that townes which haue beene counted inuincible haue bin taken in short time through the couragiousnesse of the souldiers desirous of the bootie within who fearing neither gun fire water nor steepnesse of place haue with inuincible courage disappointed all defences that could be set against them And if a man will say That the losse of townes taketh not away the affection of the subiects but contrariwise exasperateth them against the enemie I answer that such affection serueth to verie small purpose if it be not accompanied with means to maintaine it For he that sees the burning of his granges his garners and his house hath more list to shed teares than to sight And if the hatred which he beareth to his enemies bereaue him not of the feare of them it will serue well to cut the throtes of them that straggle farre from the bodie of the armie as the people of Prouince did to the dispersed Spaniards but it can do neither good nor harme to the victorie And whereas it is said that the king of France had succor of his subiects against the Englishmen within his countrie that was done for the good will that they bore to their king that loued them dealt wel with them and was not wont to leuie subsedies but in case of necessitie the which are leuied nowadaies as well in time of peace as of war As touching the necessitie of fighting which is affirmed to be greater to the defendants because they stand for their goods wiues and children surely their feare and griefe bereaueth them of all chearfulnes and maketh them to thinke more vpon their miserie than vpon their manhood The same necessitie lay vpon the Persians for they saw Alexander ranging oueral Asia with fortie or fiftie thousand men and yet as many millions of men as were of them they durst not set themselues against his armie neither durst the Lydians encounter Cyrus nor the Gauls fighting for their libertie encounter the victorious armie of Caesar. As touching the aduantage of place and the cōmoditie of vittels surely if the defendant can haue them to serue his turne the assailants also will not want either of them both For he that is maister of the field will haue vittels at his aduauntage wanting neither carts guides nor spies As long as Hannibal was in Italie he could better skill how to plant his campe and to giue battell to his owne aduauntage than could the Romans being in their owne countrie And as concerning the easie assembling of people at home after an ouerthrow I find it a hard matter to supplie an armie againe after they be broken asunder either in ones owne countrie because they be neere their retreit or in a straunge countrie vnlesse they come together againe immediately because they haue no place to retire vnto whereas they that are of the same countrie go to refresh themselues in their owne houses and tarrie longer there than they should or else come no more againe as wee haue seene in these ciuill warres where the armies haue broken off themselues by reason that the souldiers and men of armes haue bene too neere their own houses which thing was not done so in Spaine England and Italie And as for the assembling of much people it would behoue a man to seeke another countrie than this where the princes listing not to traine their subiects to the warre are constrained to craue aid of straungers Wheras it is said That the defendant hazardeth but a part of his power certainly he hazardeth as much as
and begin to turn their backs and to driue the cattel afore them a full trot Which thing when Succar who made the salie out perceiued he made no nicenes to pursue with al the hast he could Then Malatesta who waited for them vnder the couert of certain trees did suddainly giue a watchword to assaile them and therwith all running ouerthwart in an open path assailed his enemies behind as they pursued his men exceeding whotly and enuironing them on all sides did put them to the foile Bertram of Guesclin perceiuing the Englishmen were come to succor the men of Sireth and doubting least the townsmen would make some salie out by reason of their comming held himselfe still in his camp forbidding any man to stir without his commandement In the mean while he laid an ambush of two hundred men and then went to pull down the pales that were about the towne that the townesmen might the easlier issue out which disappointed not his hope at all For there issued out about a threescore of them hoping that they which were without would haue set vpon the Frenchmen behind as soone as they heard the bickering but it was quite otherwise For being enuironed by them that lay in the ambush they were all either slaine or taken asore the Englishmen wist it The maior of Rochell intending to put the citie into the kings hand bethought him of this policie He told the captaine of the campe that he had receiued letters from the king of England wherby he was commanded to take musters both of the townesmen and of the garrison This letter well sealed was shewed to the captain of the castle who knew the kings seale but could not read The maior made semblance to read the letter which contained no such thing as he spake and yet neuertheles he red it as boldly as if it had ben written clean contrary to the tenor of the writing According to this commandement the next morrow euery man was readie with his armor and weapon in the place appointed and the captain of the castle sent thither threescore men well furnished reseruing not past a dosen or fifteene men to keepe the castle Now the maire had aforehand laid two hundred men in ambush behind the old wals houses of the town which were not far from the castle When they of the garrison were a little gone forth they found themselues inclosed by the townsmen wel armed and in great number before and by them that lay in the ambush behind so as they could not return into the castle and the captain who with so few men was not able to resist them was faine to yeeld himselfe Constantine being imbarked at Pirey to giue battel to Licinius that was at Adrianople pretended to make a bridg ouer the riuer Ebron and to that end prepared a great quantitie of timber to busie his enemies about the keeping of that passage while he bestowed fiue thousand men secretly in ambush in a wood As soone as they were passed he himselfe also passed the riuer with a few men at a shallow foord causing al the rest of his army to march leisurely after him and he with those few men that he had assailed his enemies vpon the suddain vnprouided by which taking of them vnawares he did maruelously astonish them But when they that lay in ambush shewed themâ—elues then was there nothing but running away insomuch that all the host of Licinius was ouerthrowne and foure and thirtie thousand of his men were slain in the field The Enthalits seeing themselues ouerlaid by the Persians made countenance to flee to the mountains among the which there was a faire large way that had no way out but was enuironed with hils Now the Enthalites in small number fled continually before the Persians towards the greater part of their armie the which they had laid in ambush in those hils where shewing themselues suddainly on all sides they made the Persians to agree to what conditions they listed Charles of Aniou being greatly incumbered in resisting Conradine who was entred with great power into the realme of Naples found in very good season an old French knight named Alard that came froÌ„ Hierusalem By whose counsel Charles ordered his army in such sort that he made three squadrons wherof the first two were led in the plaine by the Palentine the one marching a mile before the other and therof was chieftaine Philip of Mountfort marshall to Charles of Aniou apparelled and attired like a king with the standards of Charles And in the second squadron was the said Philip of Mounfort In the third squadron which was of the men of most valor marched Charles himselfe and this squadron lodged in a little valley vnderneath the enemies Alard did set himselfe vpon the hill of Alba betweene the valley and the plaine to giue order to all euents as need should require Conradine on his side had two squadrons much stronger than the squadrons of Charles wherby the formost squadron of Charles was so well handled that Philip of Mountfort was fain to aduance his squadron forward to the rescue therof and by that means was driuen to sustain the battell three houres without stirring out of that place and yet in the end was discomfited and slaine Vpon the brute of whose death it was beleeued that king Charles himself had ben dead insomuch that his men taking it to haue bin so betook themselues to flight By reason wherof Conradines souldiers fell to rifling out of order insomuch that euen his guard ran to the spoile and left him all alone accompanied with a few pages and other people vnfit for war Alard seeing from the hill this fit occasion to do some good exploit caused Charles to go out of his little valley well and close set in battelray and with great violence to charge vpon his enemies loden with preies and in great disorder whom he had no great ado to break asunder insomuch that they were all slain taken or wounded and by that good counsell Charles abode maister of the field The duke of Guise did the like at the battell of Dreux as I haue said afore For when he saw that the prince of Condie was rushed into the battell where the constable was who was taken he stood still and would neuer stir to rescue the others but waited still to see them in some greater disorder vntill they fell to the spoile as if they had won all And then he rushed vpon them so boistously that within a while he was maister of the field Metellus finding himselfe short of vittels at the siege of the Lagobrits sent Aquiniâ—â— with six thousand men to recouer some vittels Sertorius being aduertised therof laid an ambush for his returne in a valley couered with wood where he bestowed three thousand men in wait to set vpon him on the back while he himselfe assailed him on the face By this means he put him to flight and tooke the most
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