Legion 300 Horse yet must not that be so understood as that these 300 horse were to be reckoned to be a member or part of that Legion nay most Authors disjoin them and say so many Legions and so many Horse were raised Let Caesar an Author beyond all exception be Judg. In the Seventh Book of the French War he says he gave to his Legate Labienus the same who afterward deserted him four Legions and kept six with himself and that you may be sure he meant only Foot he subjoins that he ordered him to take a part of the Cavalry with him how many he tells not but if every Legion was to have a set number of horses that great Captain who loseth no words in his Commentaries needed not have mentioned Horse for Proved from Caesar when he said he sent four Legions we should have known that 2004 horse were sent according to Vegetius his account of 726 Horse for every Legion or 1200 according to the true account of 300 for every Legion In his Third Book of the Civil War he sent Cassius Longinus to Thessaly with one Legion and two hundred Horse not with â—26 nor yet with 300. He senâ— Calvisiâ—s Sabinus to Aetolia with five Cohorts and a few Horse He sent Câ—eias Domitius to Macedon with three Legions and 500 Horse Hear him speak once more for he deserves to be heard he tells us in that same Book that Sâ—ipio Pompey's Father-in-law brought out of Syria to Greece Omnes Legiones Equitesque All the Legions and the Horsemen If Horse belonged properly to Legions why did he distinguish them who knew â—he Military Art and the words of the Art best of any But Vegetius shall be invincible for me unless he beat himself which he will presently do For notwithstanding all he hath said in the sixth Chapter of his Second Book yet in the 15 Chapter of that same Book he confesseth that Equites locantur in cornibus Horsemen are placed in the wings And in the 17 Chapter he says Equites ponuniur in cornibus it a ui loricaâ—â— amnes juncti sint peditibus The Horsemen are placed in the wings so that all the heavy arm'd horse join with the Foot What means that join with the Foot It is that one part of them joined with the Foot on the right hand and the other on the left and so himself clears it in that very Chapter where he saith If Horsemen be too weak according to the custom of the Ancients Footmen who And out of Vegetius himself are swift arm'd with light Targets and exercised in that manner of fight are to be mixed with them for Foot mixed with the Horse and Horse joined to the Foot are two several things And in the first Chapter of the same Book he saith the Horse are called the wings because they protect the foot ad similitudinem alarnm to the similitude of wings Let now any man reconcile Vegetius to himself and he and I shall be very soon good friends But the Hastati make a terrible clamour and cry they have wrong done them Fourth Error by Vegetius in Marshalling the Principes before them They say that being the youngest and least experienced it was some honour done to them to place them in the first Battalion for thereby they were exposed to the first fury of an enemy which many times they valianâ—ly repell'd if not they served at least as the Great Turk's Asapi to blunt both the Enemies Courage and Swords The Principes cry as loud that Vegetius hath rob'd them of the dignity they always had to stand in the middle between the Hastati and the Triarii and to be look'd on as the restorers of the Battel when the Hastati were worsted But neither of them hath so good reason to complain as the Triarii whom we shall hear anon And assuredly to me it seems very strange that not only in the mentioned places but all along in his whole Treatise our Author Marshals the Principes before the Hastati against the universal consent of all History Livy in his Seventh Book tells how Lenus the Consul drew up his Hastati in the Van the Principes in the middle and the Triarii in the Reer against the Gauls and then was the Roman Discipline strictly observed So were the Hastati in the Van when Marcellus fought at Canusium with Hannibal Liv. lib. 27. And in his 37 Book he informs us that Scipio Asiaâ—icus in the battel he fought with Antiochus ordered his Hastati in the Van the Principes in the middle and the Triarii in the Reer And that I may not weary my Reader with instances I believe and upon good grounds that in all Livies Decads that are extant Vegetius nor any for him shall not read that the Hastati were placed behind the Principes except once that it is written I suppose not by himself in his Thirtieth Book that Scipiâ— in his battel against Sip 〈…〉 Asarubal Marshall'd the Principes before the Hastati And Lipsius hath good reason to think that this place is falsified since Polybius out of whom it is like Livy hath the story writes the very contrary that is that Scipio Marshall'd the Principes behind the Hastati and if this place were not corrupted then Livius should contradict himself for in his Eighth Book he says once for all Hastati omnium primi pugnam inibant The Javelineers saith he first of all began the battel And sure the same Scipio at the battel of Zama against Hannibal placed the Hastati in the Van by a good token for they were so mixed with the enemy that he was glad to found a Retreat for them that he might have ground to bring his Principes up to the Medley which the same Livy reports to us In the fifth place Polybius complains that Vegetius hath murther'd five of his Fifth Error Centurions for he in his Sixth Book appointeth sixty for every Legion whereof Vegetius in the eighth Chapter of his Second Book produceth but five and fifty yet he needs not be afraid to be brought to any juridical trial for this assassination Truly it seems strange to me that Polybius his Legion consisting but of 3000 heavy armed should have sixty Centurions and that of Vegetius which was a hundred more than twice as strong should have but 55 for all his 6100 were heavy arm'd as he describes them in that same Chapter I can fancy no reason for this but that it was his fancy to write so I confess indeed it is more than probable that at the first institution by Romulus that band of men which was called a Century consisted of one hundred men and so the Centurions were no more but thirty and in process of time in a Legion of that same strength might be sixty for as I told you in my Discourse of the Infanteries though the particular bands of a Legion came to consist but of sixty men and those of the Triarii perhaps but of
the Velites of the third and fourth Batallions since they were all light armed and if it be said the Slingers could cast their stones over the heads of the two Batallions of heavy armed I answer first their stones would do less hurt at that distance Secondly the Archers in the third and fourth rank could have done as much Thirdly the keeping their station and place in the fifth Batallion hinder'd the Triarii to advance Now if these of Vegetius his third and fourth Batallions were obliged to go to the Van and fight or skirmish there why did he not appoint the light armed of his fifth Batallion to do so too since they were all lyable to one Duty But I hinder him to Marshall his sixth Batallion The sixth order or body saith he consisted of and now welcome Triarii Warriors furnisht with all manner of Triarii Arms and Weapons whom the Ancients called Triarii These saith he used to sit then they kneeled not behind all the other Batallions that being whole and sound and in breath they might with more vigour attack the enemy for if any thing fell out otherwise than well with the Batallions that stood before them all hopes of recovery depended on them Now if our Author hath spoken well of the ancient Roman Legion I am sure he hath spoken enough of it He hath been at much pains to make up that Legion but that you may the better see the defects of it I shall be at the trouble to take it down in pieces in the ensuing Chapter CHAP. XII Vegetius his Legion reviewed and examined WHoever hath read or shall be pleased to read Vegetius his Treatise De re Militari will believe with me that he intended nothing less than to write the Military constitutions and customs of Levies Arms Exercising Marshalling Embattelling Marching or other Laws and Points of the Art of War used in his own days but in the contrary the Roman way and method of War of the ancient times And this he professeth all along not only in his Prologues to his Master the Emperour Valentinian but almost in every Book of his Treatise In the Prologue of his second Book he says the Emperour had commanded him to set down the Antiqua the ancient customs In the Prologue to Vegetius obligeth himself to write of the old Roman Militia his third Book he avers that the Emperour had commanded him to abbreviate in one Piece all the ancient Military Customs and Constitutions which were dispersed and scattered in several Books and Authors And in one word he Entitles his Epitome Institutions of Military matters out of the Commentaries of Cato Celsus Trajan Adrian and Frontinus Now none of these wrote or could write of any Military Customs practised in Vegetius his time as having liv'd several ages before him and he acknowledgeth himself that the Art of War of his days was but a shadow and scarce that of the ancient one But by the way I must tell you that Steuechius thinks Adrian wrote no Military Constitutions since at his desire Aelian had composed that Piece de Instruendiâ— Aciebus whereof we have spoken But his reason is exceedingly weak for Adrian might very well have written the Roman Military Art and yet have de-desired Aelian to write the Grecian one But to return Vegetius in the twentieth Chapter of his first Book having given us an account of the ancient Roman Not that of his own time Arms acknowledgeth that they were wholly worn out and that in comparison of them the Foot of his time were naked which had given so great an advantage to the Barbarous Nations of the Goths Huns and Allans To the Eighth Chapter of his second Book he gives this title Of those who were leaders of the ancient Centuries and Files And the Seventh Chapter of that Book he begins with these words Having expounded saith he the ancient ordering of a Legion And in many other places he witnesseth that it is the ancient Roman Militia that he is to open to us and no new one which had deviated from that old one This being premised by me to anticipate objections I make bold to charge Vegetius with seven gross Errours in the description of his Legion yet all seven Seven Errors in the Descrition of his Legion will not amount to one mortal sin which they say be likewise seven nay nor to one capital crime But if he be guilty of all these or any of these then I say he is not so good as his word in the fourth Chapter of his Second Book where he promiseth Ordinationem Legionis antiquae secundum norman Militaris Juris exponore To expound to us the right ordering of an ancient Legion according to the Rule of Military Law But I shall endeavour to justifie my charge in this following order First I question the number of his Legionary Foot which he makes to be First Error six thousand one hundred and all heavy armed mark that I read once of six thousand and once more of six thousand and two hundred and in that number were comprehended the Velites but never of six thousand and one hun-hundred The truth is Romulus made his Legion three thousand after him it was augmented and diminished according to the King Senate or peoples pleasure or the necessities of the State to 4000 to 4200 to 5000 to 5200 and sometimes but very seldom to 6000 or 6200 as Regiments are now made stronger and weaker in our modern Levies according to the pleasure of the Prince or State who makes them but for most part the ancient Roman Legion was 4000 or 4200. Livy in his Sixth Book says four Legions were levied against the Gauls each of 4000 Foot In his Seventh Book he says that in the Consulship of young Camillus four Legions were raised each of 4200 Foot In his Eighth Book he tells us that in the War against the Latins every Legion consisted of 5000 Foot In his Ninth Book he makes the Legion to be 4000 Foot in the War against the Samnites In his 21 Book he speaks of six Legions each of them 4000 Foot And not to spend more time in Instances the same Historian out of whom and Polybius I suppose Vegetius borrowed his greatest light of History says in his 22 Book that every Roman Legion was 5000 Foot in the time of their dangerous War with their redoubted enemy Hannibal but after that was ended they were reduced to 4000 till the Macedonian War except that some of them were made 6200 by Scipio Unless then once in Africk and once in Greece we never find a Legion 6000 strong but never at all to be 6100 as Vegetius would have it to be constantly He would have done himself much right and his Reader a great favour to have told who levied these Legions of 6100. if it was so in his own time or yet in the decadency of both the Roman Empire and Militia that makes nothing to his purpose it
fill up their room and to support and sustain those who were advanc'd in case of a retreat Livy tells us in his Thirteenth Book that Manlius was accused at Rome by the Tribunes of the people for keeping weak Guards without his Leaguer and that they attributed the loss of both Camp and Army to that It was death for any man of what degree or quality so ever to desert or leave his station let the pretext be never so plausible or advantageous Livy in his Desertion of a Station death Fourth Book says that he read it in the Roman Annals that the Dictator Posthumius put his own Son Aulus Posthumius to death for advancing beyond his station though thereby he gain'd an advantage of the enemy And though that Author writes that he did not believe it yet it may be true for all that Lipsâ—â—s commends much the Roman custom of having four Soldiers on one Post and for not committing the keeping of it to one Centinel as the manner is now to have but one man at every Port of a Town But this Bookish man was so much taken up with the Theory of the ancient Militia that he studied but little the practice Mistake of Lipsius of the Modern Guards of the Modern for I dare be bound for it that in the Country where he lived he never saw a Centinel at a Port of a Town but where there was a Corps du guard close by of more than four Soldiers though they were not oblig'd to stand all Centinel at one time more than the Roman Quaternio was whereof only one stood But the old Tactick Aeneas will not have Centinels to stand single Grecian Centinels but two or more together and to stand but a very short time for which he gives two reasons first for fear that being long on duty they might fall asleep secondly that they might have no time to practise with an enemy but frequent rounds and visits of the Corporals might prevent both these Lipsius in this place falls also a quarrelling with his Master Polybius for not Lipsius quarrels with Polybius telling him what Posts the Allies kept within the Camp or how the Ports and Ramparts were guarded But he wrongs him for when Polybius told him what Duties the Roman Legions performed he gave ground enough to Lipsius who is so ready with his conjectures to guess that the Legions of the Allies kept the like Guards and did the like Duties as the Romans did And since Polybius had already said that the Roman Legions were bound to fortifie and defend the two But without reason ends of the Camp and the Allies the two sides I conceive Lâ—psius might without suspicion of witchcraft have guess'd nay past his word for it that the Romans kept Guards at the Prâ—tâ—rian and Decâ—â—an Ports and the Allies at the two principal Ports And now I hope Lipsius is reconciled with Polybius The Roman Watch-word was given in this manner The Tribunes whose Roman watch-word or Tâ—ssâ—ra turn it was to officiate and the Praefecti of the Allies received it from the Consul and towards night at the going down of the Sun one of the last Maniple of Foot and one of the last Troop of Horse lodged near the Decuman Port being made free of other Duty went to the Tribune and received from him a piece of wood perhaps of Parchment or Paper which was called a Tâ—ssâ—ra on which the Watch-word was written this Soldier whom Vegetius calls Tesserarius and this Trooper carried the Tessera to the Centurion and Decurion and deliver'd it to them before Witnesses adhibitis testibus and they in the same manner to their fellow Centurion and Decurion and so from one to another till it came to the first Centurion and Decurion who redelivered it to the Tribune who by some note which it seems every one of the several Classes of the Legion had or mark on the Tessera immediately knew if it had gone through them all if not inquiry was made and the Delinquent was soon found out since in that case that every Centurion was to prove by Witnesses that he deliver'd it and severely punisht And this custom Achilles Terduzzi prefers to the Modern Terduzzi ill to please way of whispering the word in one anothers ear But most men are better pleased with things they never saw than with those they daily see a Fastidium or loathsomeness of our present condition being a mark of the depraved nature of man for certainly the Watch-word in our times is given with as much security and with a great deal of more ease than it was by either the Grecians or Romans The several Guards or Quaternions of Soldiers had each of them a Tessera which were taken from them by the Rounds as you will see anon The Rounds were called Circumitiones or Circitiones and those who went with Roman Rounds them as Vegâ—tius hath it Circâ—mitâ—res or Circitâ—res This duty belong'd to the Horsemen as to those who in dignity were next to the Tribunes By this also you may see in what small account Centurions were with the Romans who did not trust them with visiting their own Foot-guards a thing any Lancespesatâ— may do with us but conser'd the honour of that on Horsemen In every Legion one Troop was ordain'd to look after this duty every day by turns but the whole Troop was not imployed in it only four of them had that service put on them The manner was this The Praefect or prime Decuâ—ion of the Troop order'd his Subdecurion or his Deputy to acquainâ— such four whose turn it was to ride the Rounds that following night and this the Subdecurion was bound to do before he din'd as also at night he was to acquaint the Decurion of the next Troop that it was his turn next night after to order the Rounds If any of them fail'd in this duty they were lyable to heavy censure The four Horsemen who were appointed to ride the Rounds cast lots who should ride the Rounds of the first second third and fourth Vigils After that they went A duty incumbent on the Horsmen all four to the Tribune to be clear'd by him what Guards they were to visit and if there were any new Posts ordain'd besides the ordinary ones Having done there they went to sleep besides the Primipilus or first Centurion of the Triarii which was quarter'd nearest the Eagle and this was an honour to hiâ— as Terduzzi says and so indeed it might be but I desire to know if they did not lye without the door of his Tent in regard I think he could hardly accommodate them within After Supper the Guards being set he whose turn it was to ride the first round went about the whole Guards belonging to that Legion and from him who was Centinel he took the Tessera which he carried away with him and so he did from all the rest of the Quaternions the like was done by the
than we were before their invention of the truth whereof take a short view What vast Provinces and goodly Countries the Turk since the birth of Gunpowder hath acquired in Asia Africk and Europe is obvious to our sight though the Histories of all Nations were silent And though in the general we are told We have but confused notions of the Turkish Militia that his order is good the Government and Discipline observ'd in his numerous Armies is strict and excellent yet the particulars have been hitherto related to us but very confusedly neither doth Mr. Rycaut in his Book of the present state of the Ottoman Empire Printed a few years ago help us much but rather gives us occasion to think that the Turks have lost their ancient Art of War or if they still retain it we must wonder how these Unbelievers have triumph'd over so many both Christian and Mahometan people with so undisciplin'd and disorderly multitudes as his relation makes them to be for he saith their principal Foot which are the Janizaries reputed to have been the strength and support of that great Monarchy fight confusedly and the Spahies who are the best of their Cavalry fight likewise in little good order he says that sometimes they charge thrice and if they then break not the enemy they fly and withal he makes their Artillery very insignificant in regard that as he writes they have no Gunners but such as either they take Prisoners or are sold to them for Slaves who stay no longer with them than any fair opportunity is offer'd them to run away Though perhaps the Victories which the great Tamberlan obtain'd and the And of Tamberlans order of War celerity he used in making these Conquests which have render'd him so famous be not so vast as Stories make them yet we may believe his Atchievements to have been extraordinary in regard the Great Mogul of India derives his Pedigree in a lineal descent from him and at this day possesseth a vast and a Great Empire which is but a remnant of a far greater acquir'd by Tamberlan whose Discipline is cry'd up to have been exceeding strict his Art of War so exact and orderly that he never went out of the Field without Victory or from a besieged Town without either its submission or destruction It is written of him that the day he fought with Bajazet at Mount Stella his Army consisted of a Million of men and yet he made use of them all in the time of the Battel If this be all true is it not pity that the manner of his Encamping Besieging Embattelling and fighting is not left on record to posterity And to come home the Scottish the English and the French Histories tell us what bloody Engagements have been among them and what Battels have been fought with various success but except that we are told that the French As also of the Scötish French and English Gens de Armes were numerous besides their other Cavalry that the English used the Bow and the Bill and had men of Arms likewise and that the Scots fought on Horseback with Lances and Jacks of Mail and on foot with long Pikes Battel-axes Bows and two-handed Swords what know we more of the Art of War that any of all the three practis'd of the order they kept how strong their several Bodies and Batallions were or what names they gave them how deep they Marshal'd either their Horse or Foot how they Embattell'd how they Encamped and how they form'd their Sieges for all these we have nothing but ill grounded conjectures and very confused notions I know not whom we shall justly blame for this great defect but the several Generals of several Armies belonging to several Nations and in several ages who if either they could not or would not write the History of their own or others actions as Xenophon and Thucydides among the Grecians Julius Caesar and Cato Many Historiographers defective among the Romans Monluc and a few others in our Modern times yet I think they were obliged to cause their Secretaries to keep exact accounts of the manner of these Sieges and those Battels which under their Command were either form'd or fought that so they might have been transmitted to posterity Some have done so but most have neglected it thinking it enough if their actions were generally remember'd recommending the particulars to the information of Historians which many times is such that it looks rather like a Romance than a true story But I had rather you should hear Monluc that famous Marshal of France upon this Subject who in the Third Book of his first Tome says That Historians who write the feats of War describe seldom or never the Particularities Monluc his Complaint of them of the action as how such a Castle was surprized in what order such a Town was assaulted or in what manner defended how such two Armies were Marshal'd before they join'd in Battel how the Horsemen were arm'd and how the Foot with many more circumstances necessary to be known by those who in time coming desire to be instructed and especially such as intend to serve their Prince and Country in Military Employments that from thence they may learn how to demean themselves in the like occasions But says he the whole multitude of Historiographers conceive they do enough if they tell us such a Battel was fought such a Prince or General gain'd the Victory such a City was besieged and yielded and such a one was taken by assault For himself he professeth he wrote his Commentaries to be registers of the actions of his time the particulars whereof might serve to inform those who were to come after him how to carry themselves either in Sieges Assaults Skirmishes Rancounter or Batteâ— for those saith he who think they know not so much as I will be glad to learn of me but those who fancy they know enough already need no Master In another place he says Historians are to be blam'd for not writing particular things and of particular men they think says he they do enough if they name Princes or Captain-Generals and pass over with silence all other persons that are not of so large a Stature Thus far Monluc Marshal of France To this same purpose you may see Polybius his complaint in his Twelfth Book Polybius his complaint of them where he says Historians first err in not writing things truly and as they were done and next that they give no particular account of the manner of Battels Skirmishes Surprisals and Sieges and this he attributeth to their want of skill and therefore wisheth that all great Captains would write the Histories of their own actions themselves These Complaints of Polybius and Monluc are just but I complain of another kind of Historians who take upon them to give us descriptions of all â—hose The Authors complaint of some of them Particularities without having receiv'd particular relations from the principal
actors and this they do either upon hear say registring the fables of vain and ignorant Solâ—â—ers who either have been or pretend to have been in the action for truths or write according to their own apprehensions of things which many times are so pitifully weak that their extravagancies put knowing Readers on the rack and force them to cast their Books away from them And indeed I have read the descriptions of some Battels in Books writ by no mean Authors wherein both Armies were Marshal'd in such order that I could not fancy it could be done by any except Aâ—adis de Gaul or the Knight of the Sun Let us except from these of Modern Historians Paolo Giovio d'Avita and the other unknown Author of the History of the Civil Wars of France Philip Noble Hisâ—orians de Comines Cardinal Bentivoglio Strada John Peâ—it Edward Philips his late History of England Chemnitius his History of the Swedish Expedition Theatrum Europâ—um these two last written in high Dutch and Di Sirâ— who hath written the History of these times very Voluminously in Italian These having either been Actors themselves or having got their relations from those Emperours Kings Princes or Generals who manag'd the Wars have given us Histories well worth the reading To these we may add Guicciardinâ— though for his prolixity he be used very scurrilously by Bocâ—alini who tells us that in Guicciardini taxed by Boccalini Parnassâ—â— a Laconian who had exprest his thoughts in three words which he might have done in two was order'd for his punishment to read Guicciardini The poor fellow beg'd rather to be fley'd alive than be tortur'd with reading an Historian who in the relation of the War between the Florâ—ntines and Pisans made longer discourses of the taking a Pigeon house than he needed to have made of the best fortified Castle Yet thus much most if not all Historians agree on when they speak of Armies they mention Van Battel and Reer which shews that the Roman method of Marshalling their Armies in three Bodies one behind another was observed by most Nations till of later years some Masters of the Military Art for some good reasons thought it convenient to reduce them to two It is pity so few since Vegetius his time have shewn themselves Tacticks that We have but few Tacticks is to teach us the Art of War used in their own time for so we should have known the Military Customs of several Nations and of several ages I have heard tâ—â—t Gonsalvo di Corduba who by his gallant Conduct recover'd the Kingdom of Naples from the French for the House of Arragon wrote in Spanish Traâ—â—ado de re Militari if it be extant it must be well worth the perusal as the work of one who by his great actions had acquir'd to himself the Title of Iâ— Gran Capitanâ— It Gran Capitano the â—reat Captain In the last year of the Reign of Henry the Fourth of France about sixty years ago Louis de Mâ—mgomery Lord of Carbâ—â—sâ—â— wrote a little Book De â—â— Louis de Mâ—â—gomery Milice Francoise of the French Militia it shows him to have been very much a Soldier but the marrow of that piece lyeth in his descriptions of some Artificial Fire-works the knowledg whereof lyes not in every mans way nor is it Preissac necessary for every Soldier though it add to his perfection The Siâ—â—r de Prâ—issaâ— wrote a little Treatise in French of Military Questions and Resolves very well Englished by Mr. Cruso an understanding Captain who I suppose wrote Captain Crusâ— Bockler himself in English a Book of Cavalry well worth the reading Bockler a German Engineer hath not many years ago written in his own language a piece wherein he gives us a pretty good account of the Military Customs of his own Country in his own time which may be from the year 1630 till the year 1664 or thereabout Lieutenant Colonel Elton his Compleat Body of the Military Lieutenant Colonel Elton Art with the Supplement added to it by Captain Rud without which it is not a Compleat Body is a piece well worth the perusal There are certainly others who have writ of this Subject whom I have neither seen nor read Some again there are who instead of informing us what method or ordinances of War Princes and States used in their time the want whereof I so much lament give us Models of their own framing either in whole or in part for Princes and States only to mould new Militia's my part I think any new mould of a Militia or the reformation of an old one is the work of a Prince or State who are able to bring together persons experienc'd in all kind of Military affairs to give their advices out of which the Prince or State may frame such Constitutions as are thought most conducible to carry on a War and then by their authority impose a necessity of obedience to those Constitutions and therefore they should not be the work of any private person Brancatiâ— an Italian peremptorily condemns the use of the Pike and in imitation of him Mr. Lâ—ptoâ— an English man writes a Book wherein he endeavours to prove the uselesness of that ancient weapon but I shall meet with his arguments in another place Machiavelli goes a greater length and presents the world with a Milice of Machiavelli his Books of War his own the birth of his own brain a hodg podg of some of the Ancient and some of the Modern Militia with a mixture of many of his own inventions In his Books of that Subject he fathers most of his notions on Fabritio Colâ—â—â—â— an excellent Captain who no doubt if ever he had seen them had rejected them as spurious Some of his mistakes I have touch'd in my Discourses of the Roman Art of War I shall only in this place trouble my Reader with two or three Animadversions that will shew his skill in Martial affairs In his fourth Book he makes it one of his Maxims that all good Captains should rather receive than give the charge of this I spoke in the Nineteenth First observation of them Chapter of my Essays of the Roman Art of War here I shall tell you the reason he gives for his opinion The first fury saith he is easily sustained by firm and experienc'd Soldiers and then it vanisheth in smoke But I ask first what if they who are charged be neither firm nor experienced for all Armies are not composed of Veterans next I ask what if they be both firm and experienc'd and yet do not sustain the charge in thosew two cases the first charge vanisheth not in smoke Pompey his Soldiers were firm and experienc'd yet did not sustain Câ—sarâ— Charge at Pharsalia but of this I spoke enough in another place In that same Fourth Book this Author shews us how an enemy may be surrounded in time of Battel and I pray you observe the Lesson he gives
not seen Brancatio but Terduzzi his Countrey-man for they were both Italians in his Book of Machines says he hath read him Now if he value neither his opinion nor his reasons I think none should for Tâ—rduzzi himself was so little a friend to the Pike that he writes he would have it broken if he knew what better Weapon to put in its room Out of him I shall give you this short description of Brancatio and his Book His Book describ'd The Title of his Book is this Of the true Art of War whereby any Prince may not only resist another in the Field only with his own forces and with little charge but also overcome any Nation A very gloâ—ious Title I think we need expect small performances from so vain promises This man Himself a great undertaker will prove an Alchimist who promiseth to give us mountains of Gold and hath not a six-pence to buy his own dinner His Preface makes up the fourth part of his Book wherein he tells oftner than once that he studied the Theory of the Military Art fifteen years and practis'd it forty so he hath been no young man when he wrote his Book But he concludes and I pray you mark it that in all these fifteen years he had read no Authors but Casar's Commentaries And thereafter he laughs and scoffs at all those Roman Authors and Histories which mention distinct Maniples in the Roman Legions because he had read no such thing in Câ—sar Not only in this Preface of his but all along in his Book he despiseth the Pike and calls it the enervation the weakening and ruine of War I shall for a while leave Brancatio and return to Mr. Lupton's citations out of this great Italian Tactick that I may answer them And in the first place as it was a reflection on Brancatio Mr. Lupton's citations out of Brancatio first to cite Histories which he had either not read or not understood and next not to be acquainted with the customes of War in his own time so Mr. Lupton's credulity is inexcusable for taking things on Brancatio his report the truth whereof he might have found in Books of which many private Answered Gentlemen are Masters I shall very briefly run through the quotations he cites out of this Italian man of War The King of Portugal says he was ruin'd and overthrown in Africk because First he had Squadrons of Pikes But by his favour he was overthrown because neither his Pike-men nor Harquebusiers were rightly Order'd Train'd nor Commanded Next he says Charles the Eighth of France was the first that brought Pikes Second into Italy Indeed there were Pikes in Italy before France was called France and if that French King brought them first there what lost he by it He travers'd it took and conquer'd the Kingdome of Naples and return'd to France and made his passage good at Fornuovo in spite of all Italy then bandied against him and no doubt his Switzers did him good service and Brancatio knew they were armed with Pikes as to their Offensive Arms. Thirdly he says The Turk these forty years by past reckon them to begin Third at the year 1540 and to continue till 1580 hath been Victorious over the Christians Sempre in Ongaria so writes Mr. Lupton only because great Batallions of Pikes both of the Switzer and High Dutch Nation were oppos'd to the Turkish Troops of Horse well arm'd with Pistol and Harquebuss I answer first Brancatio his assertion is false for the Turk was sometimes beaten in Hungary in the time of these forty years and this Mr. Lupton might have learned by perusing Knolles his History if he could light upon no better Next I say If Pikes could not resist the Turks Cavalry Harqâ—ebusiers on foot of which Brancatio would have all his Infantry to consist would have done it much less But what a ridiculous thing is it to impute the loss of all Battels to one cause since Armies may be undone and overthrown by a thousand several occasions What can either Brancatio or Mr. Lupton say against it if I aver that when ever the Turks were beaten and beaten sometimes they were it was because they had no Pike men to resist the charge of a stout and hardy Cavalry Fourthly he avers That John Frederick Duke of Saxe in Germany and Piter Fourth Strozzi in Tuscany were both beaten because of the multitude of their Pikemen To the first I answer I do not remember that Sleidan gives any such reason for his misfortune neither did ever that Prince fight a just Battel with the Emperour Charles the fifth most of whose Infantry consisted of Pike-men as well as that of the Elector of Saxe did To the second of Strozzi I say he was routed because he made his Retreat in the day time in view of a powerful Enemy contrary to the advice given him by Marshal Monluc Finally he says The Battel of Ceresole gives a good proof of the weakness Fifth of the Pike-mens service and the Battels of Dreux and Moncounter prov'd fatal says he to their Leaders who were despis'd by their Enemies because their Foot consisted most of Pikes Here Mr. Lupton does himself an injury to insert such three ignorant and unadvised citations out of Brancatio which I will clear At Ceresole the famous Alphonso Davalo Marquess of Guast commanded Battel of Cerâ—solâ— the Imperial Army and the Duke of Anguien the French The Imperialists were beaten by the cowardise of a Batallion of their own Horse which fled without fighting which a great Batallion of Imperial Pikes seeing open'd and gave them way the French follow the chace through that same lane they being past the Pikes who were no â—ewer than five thousand closed again and kept their ground Another Imperial Batallion of Pikes some Spaniards some Germans fought with a great Body of Grisons belonging to the French and beat it out of the Field and thereafter fought with the Gascone Batallion of Pikes where both parties stood to it valiantly insomuch that the Duc d'Anguien the French General seeing his Grisons overthrown and his Gascons so shrewdly put to it despair'd of the Victory In this charge of the Imperial Pikes and the Gascons almost all the Leaders fell at the first shock but in the mean time there came a Batallion of Switzer Pikes and charged the Imperial Pikes in the flank and notwithstanding they had to do with two stout and redoubted Enemies one in the Van and another in the Flank yet did they keep their Ranks and the Field too after all the Harquebusiers on foot and all their Cavalry with Guast himself wounded as he was had fled and then and not till then they cast down their Arms and cry'd for Quarter which the Switzers gave them sparingly enough At this Charge was Marshal Monluc on foot in the Head of the Gascons with a Pike in his hand and he it is that gives us this relation Will
you daily see for it is a sign of a very mean Officer when he tells you he likes not such a thing because he never saw it before I wish with all my heart that this following Treatise may afford you some help to so noble a Study In it I give you few or rather no rules of my own I am not so vain but I go very far back to search for them in all the remains of Antiquity And let it not offend you that I illustrate Rules and Customes of War by several Instances I do it purposely because the Nature of Man is rather led by Example than driven by Precept This seems to impose that only to invite to a Noble Emulation Besides the right or wrong doing of an action with all its circumstances is better clear'd by the first than by the last And if I seem to clash with the old Masters or new Tacticks of the Ancient or Modern Art of War I give my Reasons for it which you may either approve or disapprove as you please without doing me the least injury When I tell my own opinion of Military Customes looking back as far as I could find any glimmering light of History to direct me I give also my Reasons which you may likewise reject if you please for by so doing I shall neither be condemn'd for Heresie nor Schism If any Gentlemans curiosity leads him to enquire Why I Print this Book I shall Answer him first I can sincerely assure him Vanity to make my self known in the World push'd me not to it else I had not let it lye unprinted by me ten whole Years after first I wrote it Next very few could importune me to publish it since very few did know I had writ it Nor did I indeed make it publick to disabuse some gay men by letting them see they knew no more than their Neighbours and yet the doing so had been Charity if my offer had been receiv'd as kindly as I intended it The consideration that induced me to it was in short this When I had ended all I had resolv'd to say of the Grecian and Roman Art of War and durst not hazzard on the vast Ocean of the Modern Art I was encourag'd to proceed to that and to bring all I intended to as great perfection as I could by a great Master and good Judge in those affairs And when I had done so that Noble Person after my concealment of it some years desir'd to peruse it and as he had perswaded me to finish so he prevail'd with me to publish these Essays But be pleas'd to know he was such a one as his Majesty had made choice of in the year 1666. to command his Scottish Army towards the end whereof he routed the Rebels at Pentland The very same Person was again entrusted by his Majesty with the conduct of his Forces in the year 1679. and continues still in that Command and is well enough known by the Name of General Dalyell But I am afraid you may ask me What mov'd me to begin to write these Discourses But for that if I were put to the Rack till I give you my Reason I could give no other than this That being out of employment and not accustom'd to an idle life I knew not how to pass away my solitary and retired hours with a more harmless divertisement THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOK BOOK I. Military Essays of the Ancient and GRECIAN ART of WAR CHAP. I. OF the Ancient Militia in General Page 1 CHAP. II. Of the Armies and order of War of the Ancients 4 CHAP. III. Of the Election Levy and Arms Offensive and Defensive of the Grecians 7 CHAP. IV. Of the Great Englines and Machines of the Training and Exercising of the Grecians 9 CHAP. V. Of the Grecian Infantry 12 CHAP. VI. Aelian's Marshalling the Grecian Infantry examined 14 CHAP. VII Of the Grecian Cavalry and some observations of it 19 CHAP. VIII Of the Great Macedonian Phalanx of its number and how marshall'd with some observations of both 23 CHAP. IX Of the Grecian March Baggage Encamping Guards and of their Paean 26 CHAP. X. One of our Modern Armies compared with the Great Macedonian Phalanx 28 BOOK II. Military Essays of the Ancient ROMAN ART of WAR CHAP. I. OF the Ancient Roman Government and Militia in General p. 33 CHAP. II. Of the Military Election and Levy of the Roman Souldiers 40 CHAP. III. Of their Arms Offensive and Defensive and of their Military Oath 42 CHAP. IV. Of Sieges and Defence of Towns and Forts of the Great Engines and Machines used in them by the Romans and other Ancients 49 CHAP. V. Of the Military Exercises Duties Burthens Marches and Works of the Roman Souldiers 57 CHAP. VI. Of the Roman Infantry of all its several Bodies and their-Officers 61 CHAP. VII Of the Roman Cavalry and all its Officers 74 CHAP. VIII Of their Trumpeters Hornwinders and of the Classicum 79 CHAP. IX Of the Roman Pay Proviant and of their Donatives 81 CHAP. X. Of a Roman Legion marshall'd according to Titus Livius with Lipsius his amendments 84 CHAP. XI Of a Roman Legion marshall'd according to Flavius Vegetius 87 CHAP. XII Vegetius his Legion review'd and examin'd 89 CHAP. XIII Of a Roman Legion marshall'd according to Polybius 95 CHAP. XIV Of the Distances and Intervals between the several Bodies and Batallions of the Roman Horse and Foot 96 CHAP. XV. Of the Roman Allies and Auxiliaries and of the mistakes of some Authors concerning them 102 CHAP. XVI Of a Roman Consular Army and of some mistakes concerning it 105 CHAP. XVII Of a Consular Army marshall'd in the Field and of some General Officers belonging to it 108 CHAP. XVIII Of several figures of Armies used by the Ancients in their Battels 112 CHAP. XIX Of some Customes used by the Romans and other ancient Nations before in the time of and after their Battels 115 CHAP. XX. Of the March of a Consular Army 118 CHAP. XXI Of the Quartering Encamping and Castrametation of a Consular Army 121 CHAP. XXII Of the Roman Guards Watches Watch-word and Rounds 133 CHAP. XXIII Of Prisoners of War Treaties Parleys and Articles among the Ancients 136 CHAP. XXIV Of the Military Punishments and Rewards of the Romans and other Ancient Nations 145 CHAP. XXV Polybius his comparison of the Macedonian Phalanx and the Roman Legion review'd 150 BOOK III. Military Essays of the MODERN ART of WAR CHAP. I. OF the Modern Militia in General p. 157 CHAP. II. Of Levies the manner of several Nations in making them of the Duties of Souldiers when they are levied of their Age and how long they are bound to serve 163 CHAP. III. Of Armour or Defensive Arms used by several Nations both for their Cavalry and Infantry 168 CHAP. IV. Of Offensive Arms or Weapons used by the Infantry of several Nations 171 CHAP. V. Of Offenffve Arms or Weapons used by the Cavalry of several Nations 173 CHAP. VI. Master Lupton's Book
together as close as ever they could otherwise they could not pierce so home as was expected by those who cast them into those moulds But this will be better understood afterward Whether all those Grecians who were fit to bear Arms were Train'd or Exercis'd or some only of them elected for that purpose or whether those who were pick'd out and Train'd enter'd in pay before they were put in Companies or Troops or what that pay was or whether some were bred and Train'd in Military Schools and Seminaries as Alexander did with those 30000 Omissions of Aelian Persians whom he caus'd to learn the Macedonian Art of War and as the Grand Signior doth with his Janizaries we know nothing We should have been much bound to Aelian if he had vouchsafed to have given us any light in these particulars but he is defective all along in many things besides these The Grecians and more especially the Romans thought Training and Exercising so necessary a duty that they never either neglected or omitted it nay not in the times of the calmest Peace A Train'd and well Exercis'd Army hath the advantage of that which is not Train'd though the first be compos'd of Novices and Tyrones and the last of Veterans whereof Polybius a famous Historian and a good Captain gives us an observable example in his Fifth Book Aniiochus King of Syria presuming on the experience and Exercising a necessary duty approved valour of his Army and despising the Egyptians with their King Ptolomy an unactive Prince whom he had beat before neglected to exercise and keep his Souldiers in discipline mean time Sisibius Ptolomy's great Minister of State protracted time with feign'd Treaties with Antiochus till he had levied great numbers both of Natives and Strangers and had by Grecian Captains Train'd and Exercis'd them well in all Military duties so that when the two Kings fought at Raphia for the Kingdom of Câ—losyria with Armies of near equal numbers Ptolomy got the Victory CHAP. V. Of the Grecian Infantry WE are told by Aelian that the Grecian Foot were sometimes marshall'd sixteen deep sometimes twelve and sometimes eight Observe here that what he or other Authors call a Longitude we call a Rank which the Latines called Frons and Yugâ—â—â— and what they call'd Altitude we call a File or the depth The Germans after the Latine call the deepness of a File the height of it The Macedonians as Aelian saith marshall'd all their heavy Foot sixteen deep armed foot sixteen deep and this height or depth of a File our Author esteems to be absolutely the best because saith he it makes not too long a Front but what if it make too short a one But his reasons for sixteen deep we shall hereafter examine Every one of those Files had a leader who commanded it and was called Dicurio Decurio Observe here by the way that Decurio is not always he who commands ten men as many of my profession fansie The File had likewise its Tergiductor who was our Bringer up But in Aelians account this Rear-man had no command but was subject to the Middle-man who under the Leader commanded the last half of the File There were besides in every File as Aelian saith four Enomotarchs each whereof saith he had the command A File of three men But here assuredly our Author mistakes himself for four men and each of them the command of three make compleatly sixteen and so both File-leader and Middle-man were excluded But certainly the Decuria or Leader had the three men next him immediately under his command and the fifth man was an Enomotarch who had three under him then the Dimarite or Middle-man who commanded the last half of the File had the inspection of the three men immediately following and lastly the fifth man from the Dimarite and thirteenth from the Decurio had the three last men of the File recommended to his care By this means there are but four petty Commanders in every File whereas Aelian unadvisedly and unattentively made fix Lochos with the Grecians was our File two of these made a Dilochy which consisted of thirty two men its Commander was called Dilochita We have no Officer to represent him but a Lance Spesate Two Dilochies Ennumeration of the several Bodies of the Foot or four Files made a Tetrarchy whose number was sixty four its Officer was a Tetrarch whom a Caporal in a Company of two hundred or three hundred men may resemble Two Tetrarchies made a Taxiarchy its Commander was called Taxiarcha which Aelian's Translator renders Centurio His command was of eight Files which made one hundred twenty eight men And here I pray you observe that Centurio was not always strictly taken for a Captain of one hundred And we shall find hereafter in the Roman Militia his ordinary command was of sixty sometimes but of thirty as it is here of one hundred twenty eight A Sergeant in an old French or German Company represents this Grecian Taxiarch Two Taxiarchies which were sixteen Files made a Syntagmatarchy of two hundred fifty six men its Commander Syntagmatarcha was our private Captain This Company was a square of men sixteen in Rank and sixteen in File and whatever way you turn'd it still sixteen And if with Aelian you allow six foot of distance between Files as well as Ranks it will be a Body equilateral and a square of ground as well as a square of men But of these manner of Battels I shall speak particularly hereafter Two Syntagmatarchies compos'd a Pentecosiarchy consisting of five hundred and twelve men its Commander was called Pentecosiarcha or in Latine Tribunus minor we call him our Lieutenant Colonel Two Pentecosiarchies made a Chiliarchy of one thousand twenty four men its Commander was Chiliarcha or Tribunus major to whom answers directly our Modern Colonel of one thousand men Of two Chiliarchies was made up a Myriarchy Compar'd with our Modern Bodies of two thousand forty eight its Commander was Myriarcha About eighty years ago no Colonel in Germany had so few in his Regiment but now we shall say that he was as our Brigadeer Two Myriarchies made a Phalangarchy or simple Phalange consisting of four thousand ninety six men its Commander was called Phalangiarcha in Latine Praeter for whom suppose a modern Major General Two Phalangarchies made a Diphalangarchy compos'd of eight thousand one hundred ninety two men its Commander was called a Diphalangiarcha for whom we have none but a Lieutenant General Two of these made a Phalange over which commanded the General of the Infantry By this account we find in every Phalange two Diphalangarchies four Phalangarchies eight Myriarchies sixteen Chiliarchies two and thirty Pentecofiarchies sixty four Syntagmatarchies in all one thousand twenty four Files which consisted of sixteen thousand three hundred eighty four men at sixteen in every File Here you are to observe that every Syntagmatarchy or private Company consisting of two hundred fifty six men had beside
he knew best but the old Romans darted their â—avelines as they were advancing towards the Enemy and were commanded by their Generals to make haste to come to dint of Sword esteemed by them the Prince of Weapons So Caesars Legionaries at Pharsalia were order'd after each man had cast his Javeline to run to the shock which accordingly they did The manner of throwing their Pila was that the first Rank threw first and immediately How they were thrown bowed down that the second Rank might cast over their heads so did the third and fourth and the rest till all the Ranks had thrown When they stood in order of Battel they us'd to stick their Javelines in the ground till the sign was given so it seems they were sharp at both ends and no doubt in time of Battel they might have made a Pallisado of them against Horse as Suedish Feathers have been used in our time yet we read not in History that any such use was ever made of the Roman Pilum Being now to speak of the Roman light armed foot I shall desire my Reader once for all to take notice that Vegetius was desir'd by the Emperour Valentinian to give him the Constitutions Laws and Practice of the Ancient Roman Art of War and not of any customs lately crept in Notwithstanding which he reckons among the light armed Foot Plumbati whom he likewise calls Martiobarbuli and Fustubularii whom I cannot English otherwise than the first to be Lead-casters and the second to be Slingers with Battoons He reckons also Archers but in Ancient History we do not read of any of those three for the old Romans acknowledg'd no other light arm'd or Velites but Slingers Roman Velites and Darters Both these were armed Defensively with Head-pieces of Raw-Hides and a Target four handful long and of an oval form For Offence How arm'd the Darter had a Sword and seven Darts the Slinger had a Sling a Sword and a number of Stones Some allow also to both of them a little Javeline of three or four foot long The Spanish Darts being wing'd at the point could hardly be pull'd out of a Shield or the Body of a man such Arrows are common and are called Barbed But the Sagumine Dart which was called Falarica deserves The Saguntine Falarica to be taken notice of Livius describes it thus in his twenty first Book Falarica was a kind of Dart used by the Saguntines when Hannibal besieg'd their City perhaps they invented it at that siege it had a long shaft round and even every where except toward the end of it and that was headed with Iron three foot long Tow being wrapp'd about it smear'd with Pitch this Tow they fired when they were to lance the Dart the violent motion increased the fire insomuch as when it could not pierce the Body it forc'd the Souldier to cast away his Shield or Corslet and so expos'd him disarm'd to the Darts or Arrows which were shot afterward The Timber of the Roman Dart Roman Darters might be two foot long and the bigness of a mans finger the point of it of Iron one foot long sharp small and subtile that it might pierce and in piercing bow that so an Enemy might not make use of it by throwing it back again but this was the practice of other Nations as well as the Romans yet I pray observe what Livy saith in contradiction of this In that Battel which I mention'd but a little before the Triarii gather'd up all the Darts for they were allow'd to carry none of their own which were strayed all over the field and no doubt had been all cast before and with these they disorder'd the Gauls who had made a Pent-house of their Shields and so put them to flight What shall we then believe And is it not strange too that these Darters would throw their Darts four hundred foot for my part I dare not believe it and if it be true certainly the blow could not be mortal The Roman Slingers used to cast Stones out of ordinary Slings which they Roman Slingers wheel'd about their heads and would hit at the distance of six hundred Foot for no less as Vegetius affirms was allow'd them at their exercise Other Slingers the Ancient Romans had not The Inhabitants of the Balearick Islands which now are called Majorca and Minorca were Balearâ—ans esteemed both the best and the first exercisers of the Sling the Mothers refus'd to give their children meat till they had hit the mark was given them to throw at Livy in his thirty eighth Book crys up the Aegean Slingers of whom one hundred â—â—â—ans not only beat back the stout Samians when they sallied out of their Town but also never missing to â—it them when they appear'd on the Parapets of their Walls forc'd them to render their City to Marcus Fâ—lvius the Roman Consul And yet it is more than probable that neither the one nor the other were skilful â—enjamites or so ancient practicers of the Sling as the Israelites for there were 700 of one Tribe who could hit within an hair-breadth With this Weapon did David obtain the Victory over Goliah of which I shall speak in another place Vegetius hath reason to prefer the Sling to the Bow in this regard that an Arrow cannot wound unless it pierce but a Stone bruiseth though it pierce not and if it be of any weight it killeth notwithstanding the resistance of any Head-piece or Corslet In the times of the Emperours or a little before came the Plumbati or Martioâ—arbuli in fashion with the Romans Vegetius tells us what great services Lead-casters they did in the reigns of Dioclesian and Maximian but doth us not the favour to describe the thing it self They threw Bullets of Lead of one pound weight I do not remember whether Livy mentions any of them to have been among those Roman Slingers who beat the Gallo-Greciant at Olympâ—â— The Fustibalus Battoon-Slingers or Battoon-Sling was a Sling of Leather tyed to a Battoon of four foot long which the Slinger manag'd with both his hands and out of which saith Vegetius he threw Stones as out of an Onagra with so great force that neither Target Head-piece or Corslet could resist it But these expressions are ordinary with him I am of the opinion there was no difference between the Plumbati or Lead-casters and the Fustibalarii or Battoon-Slingers but that the first cast Lead and the last great Stones but how far our Author tells us not Archers were not reckon'd among the Velites till the second Punick War Archers Auxiliaries and even then they were rather Auxiliaries than either Romans or Allies They were however made good use of after Hannibal invaded Italy Vegetius in the fifteenth Chapter of his First Book affirms for which he hath no authority of History that the fourth part of the youth of Rome was train'd to the use of the Bow for
forward the great Moving Tower to cleanse and clear its way and give it the name from that Fish which Naturalists say goes before the Whale to be its guide and to discover Rocks and Shelves And so Vegetius seems to describe it But others particularly Caesar who deserves trust makes it a lesser Testudo or Tortoise and describes it at length in his Second Book of the Civil War Others write it had a snout like a Mouse wherewith it pick'd Stones out of a Wall and was therefore called Mâ—ruscâ—lus and corruptly Musculus And there be some who say it batter'd a Wall as the Ram did So far do Ancient Authors differ Besides the Tortoises compos'd of mens Shields spoken of in the foregoing Testudo or Tortoise Chapter there was an artificial Engine which the Ancients called a Testudo or Tortoise This was made of such a bigness as it pleas'd the General of the Army or General of the Artillery to appoint within it was a great Beam which sometimes had on the end of it an Iron Hook or Grapple which they shut forth when they thought fit to draw Stones out of a Wall or for other uses and pull'd the Beam in again when they pleas'd and therefore they gave it the name of that Creature which can put it self out of its shell and in again when it pleaseth And sometimes on the end of this Beam saith Vegetius was fasten'd a great Iron Head for Battery and was called a Ram either because the bulk of Iron was fashion'd in the form of a Rams Head or because after every stroak it was forcibly drawn back that at its return it might batter more violently as the custome of Rams is when they fight This is all Vegetius speaks of the Testudo or Aries except that he makes the last to be put in the lowest Stage of the Ambulatory Tower But other Authors tell us that the Aries or Ram was of it self a formidable Machine And as the manner of our War is now to give the worse conditions to the besieged when they hold out the Battery of Ordnance so of old those who did not yield before the Ram had touch'd the Wall got the worse quarters Caesar in his Seventh Book of the French War says he gave some of the Gauls their lives because they render'd themselves before the Ram began to batter The description of this Engine is thus given us by Achilles Terduzzi A great Beam and of a great length 200 foot and more made like the Mast of a Ship Aries or Ram. had an exceeding ponderous and great Head of Iron which sometimes resembled that of a Ram sometimes it had another shape This Beam was supported by two other great ones which made the base of the Engine they meeting above in a sharp Angle kept the Ram suspended in an Aequilibrie It was manag'd by Souldiers behind and as many on both sides as could be conveniently lodged in Tortoises Moscles or other Pent-houses that were ordain'd to convey it No solidity or strength of Walls was able to resist the continuated and reiterated Verberations of this Engine as Josephus in his Jewish War and many other Authors witness And yet we have seen Stone Walls of Towns built by the Ancients make a notable resistance against the Battery of Whole Cannon It soon made such a breach in the Wall that Miners could lodge in it and enlarge it as they pleas'd In the time of its Battery it was defended above with Hurdles Baskets full of Earth and Raw Hides and on both sides with Moscles Vines and Tortoises out of or from under which the besiegers incessantly cast their missiles against the Defendants And they at the approach of the Ram to the Wall beat it with huge great Stones or heavy lumps and How it was oppos'd weights of Lead tyed with strong Ropes or Chains of Iron to a Crane or Telenon Those who were appointed to defend the Ram endeavour'd to gripe those Ropes or Chains with long Hooks or Grapples and on the other side the besieged essayed with long Scythes to cut the Cords which govern'd and sustain'd the Ram. The Defendants also used to hang over the Walls Beds and great sacks fill'd with Straw Feathers or Wooll which broke the sorce of the stroaks before they came to the Wall and these are all of good use in any Retrenchment suddenly made up against the Battery of Canon in our time The Invention of a more dreadful Engine than the Ram the Ordnance did not hinder this Engine to be made use of by Dâ—valo Marquess of Pescara at Pavia which when Francis King of France had besieg'd and that the Imperial Army could not draw him out of the Park to Battel Davalo in the night time with three Rams broke down the Park-Wall which The Ram made use of at Pavia by Davalo Giovio saith was of an admirable strength not thinking it fit to do it with Cannon for alarming the French yet the violent stroaks of the Rams were heard but not at all suspected passage being made by these Ancient Machines some Horse and Foot enter'd who soon took possession of the great House or Lodge of the Park call'd Mirabell This impos'd a necessity on the French King to fight and though he did it well yet was he beaten and taken The Telenon was such another Engine as that we draw Water with out of The Telenon Wells call'd a Sweepe or like those Cranes wherewith great burthens packs or weights are pull'd up and let down It was a huge Beam of Timber laid cross way ballanc'd on another Beam fasten'd in the ground the one end of the Cross-Beam mounting up when the other was depressed The besiegers made use of it by making at one end of the Cross-Beam a little House of Boards or Osier Twigs in which they might lodge three or four men whom they might therewith set on any part of the highest Wall to bring them Intelligence what the Defendants were doing But the Besieged made better use of it by tying great Stones or Lumps of Lead to it with which as is said before they might beat in pieces either the Ram or Tortoise And here I shall tell you that the old Tactick Aeneas adviseth a hole to be digg'd through the Wall by the Besieged themselves and out of it with a Ram of their own batter the Besiegers Battering Ram. The Defendants used also to tye to the Talenon Hands Drags Clasping Irons and Grapples wherewith to lay hold on the Rams Head as also by them fasten'd to Iron Chains to pull up men when they came to assault their Walls yea and some of the Lesser Engines also Terduzzi is of the opinâ—on that Archimedes his famous Machine wherewith he drew up Ships into the Air and let them fall with violence was no other thing than this Telenon but he gives not his Reasons for this opinion of his The Balist was a great Machine out of which were
Principes came back to their assistance but by this argument they needed not have been so many as six hundred because both the Hastati and Principes came back to their assistance and by this Reason the Principes should have been but six hundred because the Hastati came back to their help before they were obliged to fight But his second Reason speaks And why better sense which is That the Consul who ordinarily stood near the Triarii came with the Evocati of the Romans and the Extraordinarii of the Socii or Allies and joyn'd with the Triarii What these Extraordinarii were shall be told you in my Discourse of the Allies and what the Evocati were I shall tell you just now If you will believe Lipsius the Evocati were only of the Roman Nation but Evocati what I think I am obliged rather to believe Caesar who saith he had his Evocatâ— out of Gaule and at that time of his Civil War the Gauls were either Enemies or Auxiliaries at best Those of the Evocatâ— who were Romans were such as had serv'd out their time and by the Laws of their Militia were not bound to follow the War yet upon the Intreaty or Letters of the Consul Pro-Consul or General came without constraint to wait upon him or them in that expedition Some of them sery'd on Horse some on Foot and were put in Troops and Companies and had their Officers and Pay but were exempted from all manner of Military duties except fighting and attending on him who commanded in chief A great many of them went with Scipio to Africk three thousand of them went to Macedon with Titus Flaminius two thousand went with Pompey against Caesar And Augustus in one expedition had ten thousand of them Besides these Evocati there were Volunteers Roman Volunteers who having serv'd out their time were not ordinary Souldiers and not being call'd out by the Consul were not properly Evocati neither had they any pay but went to the War meerly of their own motion and free-will either to do their Countrey service or to acquire Riches or Honour to themselves and families or for all these three respects together Now there were besides all these Foot which I have mention'd some of Proletarâ—i what the poorer sort called Proletarii and Capite censi that were not admitted by Servius Tullius King of Rome to be enrolled for the War but were left to serve at Sea which at that time was esteem'd dishonourable in comparison of the Land service Yet in time of danger they were bound to take Arms which were given them out of the publick Magazines for the defence of the Walls of the City But in process of time they came to be enrolled in Legions particularly with Marius against the Tâ—utâ—nâ—s and the Cimbrians Livius in his eighth Book writing of that War which the Romans had with Rorarii and Accensi the Latines mentions Rorarii and Accensi in two several Bodies and he places them behind the Triarii they were call'd from the Rear according as the Consul or General had use for them They were the light armed Foot and had those names till the Romans besieged Capua in Hannibal's time then and there it seems they got the name of Velites and that they kept They were called Accensi because they were the meanest in the Cense and Rorarii à rore from Dew because in skirmishing they scatter'd themselves as Dew doth on Grass I shall tell you more of them in my Discourses of a Roman Legion Each of these three Classes of the heavy armed Foot was divided into Centuries Two Centuries made a Maniple three Maniples made a Cohort and ten Cohorts made up a Legion A Roman Legion was of greater or lesser Legion number according to the pleasure of the King Senate People or Emperour who was invested with the Soveraignty or as the exigency of the present condition of affairs seem'd to require Romulus ordain'd it to consist of three thousand men one thousand of each Tribe whereof there were but three in his time though afterward they came to be thirty five Whether the Kings who succeeded Romulus kept the Legion at three thousand Foot I know not but after Monarchy was banish'd the City Legions came to be four thousand strong sometimes five thousand and twice if I mistake not six thousand and two hundred Let us now speak of the several Bodies of a Legion and first of a Century A Centuriate and Centurion At the first constitution I doubt not but a Centuriate consisted of one hundred men and its Commander was called Centurion both the words being deriv'd from Centum a hundred But thereafter that band of men called a Centuriate in Legions of four thousand or four thousand two hundred which was most ordinary came to consist but of sixty men in the two Classes of the Hastati and Principes and but of thirty in the third Class of the Triarii In the Class of the Hastati there were twenty Centuriates at sixty men each of them and those were twelve hundred Just as many Centuriates and of that same number for the Principes made twelve hundred more In the Class of the Triarii there were likewise twenty Centuriates but each of these consisted but of thirty men which made six hundred in all three thousand heavy armed The other thousand or twelve hundred were Velites But though each of those Bands were but sixty or thirty strong yet they and their principal Commander kept their ancient denomâ—nations of Centuriate and Centurion There were sixty Centuriates in a Legion though Vegetius speaks of but fifty five which shall hereafter be examin'd The Centurion was chosen by the Tribune as I formerly told you and he had liberty to chuse his own Sub-Centurion A Sub-Centurion whose station was in the Rear and was indeed nothing but ouâ— Bringer up Polybius his Interpreter calls the Centurions Ordinum Dâ—ctores Leaders of Files or of Centuriates if Ordo be taken for a Centuriate as perhaps it was the Sub-Centurion he calls Agminis Coactorem and that is directly our Rear-man This will not make a Centurion and Sub-Centurion to be our Captain and Lieutenant as some would have them to be and if you will be pleas'd to consider that a Roman Centurion commanded but sixty some of them but thirty men and was himself no otherwise arm'd than the rest of the Centuriate only distinguished by his Crest and that he stood in Rank and File with the rest either on the Right or Left hand of the Front of the Maniple I suppose you will think with me that the Roman Centurions for the matter of either Power or Honour were no other than our Corporals Centurions our Corporals and their Sub-Centurions such as Lancespesats especially where Foot Companies are as in our own time they were in several places of Europe three hundred strong and consequently every Corporalship sixty men The Centurions badge was a
Lipsius his own account reckoning but one Banner to every Maniple if he had got all he should have got just two hundred and seventy yet Casar declares he got no more than one hundred and eighty What will follow upon all this but that all the rest of the Ensigns escaped as well as the two Eagles or that they were torn or destroyed by the Bearers as is usual in our own times for Ensigns to do But he concludes that whatever the Maniples of the Principes and the Hastati had yet each Century of the Triarii had but one Colour because of their small number but his conjecture is ill grounded as not agreeable to ancient story for it being agreed on that thirty Men of the Triarii should make a Century that Century ought to have had an Ensign as well as a Century of either the Hastati or Principes which according to Polybius consisted of sixty Men and according to Vegetius of one hundred Men. And we see the like All Centuriaâ—es had Colours practice in our Modern Companies of Foot which are ordained to be but of one hundred a piece they have Colours as well as Companies of one hundred twenty six or one hundred forty eight Men or others of full three hundred Men. I hope if I question the truth of some things which Lipsius avers either here or afterward it shall not be esteemed arrogance in me for I reverence the memory of that great and learned Man but it will I suppose be granted Apology of the Author me that he might easily erre in things that belonged not properly to his profession though I believe no one Man hath given greater light to the Roman History than he hath done In the fifth Dialogue of the fifth Book of his Commentary he himself gives free liberty to all Military Persons to examine all he writes on a Military subject provided they be not omnium literarum artium rudes that is not altogether rude and wholly ignorant of all Learning and Arts. A Cohort consisted of three Maniples but neither were these three Maniples A Cohort all of one classe nor was the Cohort marshall'd in one equal Batallion or Front but it was order'd thus A Maniple of the Hastati a Maniple of the Principes and a Maniple of the Triarii made a Cohort and these were marshall'd so that the Maniple of the Principes stood at a distance just behind the Interval that was I pray you observe it between two Maniples of the Hastati and not directly behind one of the Maniples of the first classe and the third Maniple of the Cohort which was of the Triarii stood directly behind the How Marshalled Interval that was between two Maniples of the Principes And to speak it once for all this was ever the Roman custome of marshalling these three classes of Hastati Principes and Triarii except once at Zama where Scipio drew them up in a direct and straight line one just behind another leaving one Interval directly opposite to that which was before it to give way to the fury of Hannibal's numerous Elephants saith Livius of both his Elephants and Horse saith Polybius I shall neither busie my Reader nor my self with the etymology of the word Cohâ—rs which may be a Greek word that signifieth a close or inclosure but I shall say that though the centuriate was sometimes stronger sometimes weaker of Men according as the Legion was appointed to be yet still a Maniple was the same that is a Band of Men consisting of two Centuriates joyn'd together and a Cohort was still the same that is a Body compos'd of three Maniples though not joyn'd together till necessity forced either the retreat or advance of some of them And being a Legion consisted of ten Cohorts and the strongest Legion we read of as to its number of Foot was six thousand two hundred I admire why in the description of the Ancient Roman Legion Vegetius makes his first Cohort to consist of one thousand Men and more and all the other nine of five hundred and Vegetius his Cohorts fifty apiece whereas according to the number of his Legion which was six thousand and one hundred each Cohort should have consisted of six hundred and sixteen Men or thereabouts Neither doth his Commentator Steuechius defend him well by telling us that there were Millenariae Cohortes Cohorts of thousands for these were not Legionary Cohorts but Bands Batallions or Bodies of such Companies Centuriates or Maniples as the Praetor Consul Imperator or General chused and appointed to attend him in the time of War and were called Cohortes Prâ—torianâ— or Pretorian Guards and were stronger Pretorian Cohorts or weaker more or less numerous according to the power or the pleasure of the Commander in chief and afterwards they were the Guards of the Emperors in time both of Peace and War The first we read of that had one of them was Posthumius the Dictator mentioned by Livy in his second Book The great Scipio gathered a choice number of his friends and Dependers together to attend him in his Carthaginian Voyage eased them of all Duties but fighting and allowed them a third more of pay than others had Julius Casar had none of them Augustus had nine thousand of them whom he called Emperour's Guards firmamentum Imperii the firmament and establishers of the Empire but in time they came to be the Electors of the Empire the Murtherers of the Emperors and the bane of the Commonwealth some of them served on Horseback and yet still retained the name of Cohorts I believe Lipsius conjectures right enough that in the time of the civil Wars where Armies were made up of many Legions and these made weak by long and continuated Marches frequent Sieges and Battels then I say it is probable Cohorts were modell'd in one Body and used as Maniples used to be Cohorts marshalled as Maniples in more ancient times yet for all that I will not grant to Lipsius that the Cohort consisted of less than six Centuries though they might be very weak nor yet will I grant that every one of those six Centuries had not its own Centurion and Ensign for as in our Modern Regiments a Captain is still Captain though his Company be not twenty strong and hath Colours always till the Regiment is broken so among the Romans every Century or Ordo had its Centurion and Ensign till the Legion was dismiss'd and disbanded which was frequently enough done In every Legion there were ten Cohorts neither had a Cohort any particular How many Cohorts in a Legion Commander over it more than the Maniple had so as yet the Centurion was the highest Officer yea the only Officer in a Legion except the Tribunes whereof for the most part there were six in a Legion be the Legion of what strength it would yet the Legion was not divided among the Tribunes nor had any one of them a particular command
founder of their City was nursed by one of them After the State was changed into a Monarchy ordinarily they had in their Banners the Pictures and Images of their Emperours And Vegetius speaking of them in the seventh Chapter of Images his second Book calls them that carry'd them Imaginiferi qui Imagines Imperatorum portare solebant Image-bearers who used to carry the Images of the Emperours The Images of those proud and ambitious Princes had a reverend kind of Worship paid to them So we read in Cornelius Tacitus that Tiridates a Parthian Prince when he had left his own and came to Corbulo's Army ador'd Nero's Image There was a great Banner not heard of in Labarum the Imperial Standard ancient times that they called Labarum which was never carried into the Field but when the Emperour was personally with the Army this resembled our Royal Standard But here is a question Since all the Centuries in all the three Classes had Antesignani Colours why the Hastati in several Histories are called Antesignani as those who march'd before the Colours and the Principes Subsignani as those which And Postsignani march'd under the Colours and the Triarii Postsignani as those who march'd after the Colours which seems to import that none of them had Ensigns but the Principes To which is answer'd The Colours of the Hastati and Principes Subsignani being before the Triarii and their own Colours in the first Ranks the Triarii were properly enough called Postsignani The Principes were Subsignani because with them say some were the principal Colours and by this same Why so called Reason they will have the Hastati to be Antesignani because though they had Ensigns of their own yet they march'd before the Principal Colours Indeed we must be satisfied with this Reason for lack of a better and truly it is better than that of some who say the Hastati were call'd Antesignani because in time of fight they sent back their Ensigns to the Principes This cannot hold if it be true what we read very often in History that in time of Battel or Assault the Ensigns sometimes the Eagle it self was cast into the Batallion or Camp of the Enemy to animate the Souldiers to advance and charge with greater courage and fury to recover their Banners This differ'd far from sending them back to the next Class of heavy armed Vegetius speaks of a Praefectus Legionis the Colonel Brigadeer or Major A Commander of the whole Legion General of the whole Legion who had the command over the Tribunes but though it be undeniable that such an Officer should have been yet since neither Polybius or any Ancient History mentions him we must conclude he hath come in request long after the Emperours had possess'd themselves of the Soveraignty of Rome If any think the Legates were these Prâ—fecti I will tell them it was not so from the beginning as I shall shew in my Discourse of a Consular Army Upon the whole matter I cannot find that in the Ancient Roman Militia there were any other Officers in a Legion but the Tribunes and Centurions No Foot Officers but Tribunes and Centurions I still except the Decurions of Horse whereof I shall speak in the next Chapter All others were but Temporary Deputies without Office or Pay or else priviledged Souldiers made free from some duties or beneficed with some Donatives for some particular pieces of good service performed by them which did not at all make them Officers and to aver they were Officers without Pay is something ridiculous Now that none had Pay as Officers but only Tribunes and Centurions I speak still of the Foot and that all others had Pay and Donatives only as Common Souldiers shall be I hope clear'd by me in my Discourse of the Roman Pay That which indeed stumbles me most is that the Ensign-bearers were not reckon'd to be Officers and I conceive this hath been a neglect in both Vegetius and Polybius that they have not given us right information of that matter For I cannot but suppose the Romans did assuredly give to their Ensigns some more than ordinary allowance for carrying the Colours especially since the third part of the Souldiers Pay and Booty and of their Largesses and Donatives too was deposited in the Ensigns hands or at the Colours till the time of the Souldiers Dismission of which hereafter Yet on the other hand to my best understanding Casar doth not acknowledge any Foot Officer or Commander in a Legion or in the Army but Tribunes and Centurions Hear himself in two several places The first is in his first Book of the Civil War where he says The Chieftain swore first after him the Tribunes after them the Centurions and then saith he the Souldiers by Centuries Not â—ne word here of Sub-Centurions Options Ensign-bearers Tesseraries Measurers Clerks and the rest of that crew who indeed were all of them but Souldiers in these Centuries The second place is in his third Book of the Civil War there he tells us how an Oath was sworn not to desert Pompey very ill kept first says he Labiâ—nus as Chief swore then the Legates whereof Labienus himself was one then the Tribunes next them the Centurions and then the whole Army CHAP. VII Of the Roman Cavalry and all its Officers WE have but a slender account given us of the Roman Horse by Vegetius The sum of what Vegetius saith of the Horse All he saith on that Subject amounts to this In the fourteenth Chapter of his Second Book he says As a Band of Foot is called a Century or a Maniple so a Company of Horse is called a Turma that is a Troop That every one of these Troops consisted of thirty two Riders whereof the Commander was called a Decurion and he describes him to have been a person not only well Arm'd and Hors'd and active and expert in all feats of Horsemanship but able to teach his Troopers to be so likewise and to keep their Arms bright and clean and their Horses in good case In the twenty third Chapter of his third Book he informs us that the Cataphract Horse-men or Cuirassiers arm'd at all pieces are free from Wounds how could this be when their Faces were not covered but were not able saith he to do great matters because of the heaviness of their Armour yet good at close fight either before the Foot or mixed with them to beat a Batallion of an Enemy This is all So we remain ignorant till he come to marshal his Legion of Omissions of Vegetius the strength of the Cavalry and even then for him we know not how the Horse-men were levied oâ— elected how they were paid how they watched or what other duties they were bound to do how deep they were marshall'd when and where they marched or fought what distances were between their Ranks and Files and what Intervals between their Turmes or
sold by the Treasurer and then proportionably divided among all according to every A good order mans quality a Centurion receiving double that which a Souldier got a Horse-man triple and a Tribune quadruple So that they who fought in the Field and they who stay'd for the defence of the Camp they who storm'd a Town and they who stood in Reserve shared all alike in the Booty The Romans gave all their Proviant to their Armies in Corn and did not trouble themselves to make it either into Meal or Bread and in their strict discipline Bakers were all banish'd from their Camps and the Souldiers order'd to grind their Corn themselves Hand mills or Querns being allow'd them for that use and thereafter to bake their own Bread Many times they took not the pains to do either the one nor the other but boil'd their Wheat with a little Salt and so eat it up for Pottage They used to carry with them Their ordinary Meat And Drink Lard or Bacon or some other fat wherewith they smear'd their Bread A little Bottle with Vinegar they bore also about with them with a very small quantity whereof they gave a rellish to their Water which was their ordinary drink though Wine was not forbidden them for Mahomet had then not intoxicated the World with his Doctrine nor discharged the use of the juice of the Grape which cherisheth the heart of God and Man The Roman Souldiers then drank Wine for it was allow'd them when conveniently it could be got though Drunkenness was a crime seldome heard of among them There were also sometimes Oxen Sheep and Beeves divided among them for preparing and making ready whereof in the strictest time of their Discipline the Souldiers were permitted to carry a Brass Pot a Spit and a Drinking Cup but I suppose one of every kind of these utensils were not allowed to every one of the Souldiers but to a Contubernium Utensils or Tent-full of them whether that consisted of ten eleven or twelve It was not permitted to them to dine or sup when they pleased but it being known by the Classicum when the Consul went to Table the Tribunes went to theirs and so both Centurions and common Souldiers went to dinner with sound of Trumpet May not a man say that here was a great deal of more state than good fare Those Generals who exercis'd strict discipline appointed their Souldiers to take their dinner standing marry They Dâ—n'd standing and Supp'd sitting they permitted them to sit at Supper and I conceive this was but a very sober courtesie to suffer a man who was weary with toil the whole day to sit down to his Supper at night Besides all this the Roman Souldiery had reason to expect a Donative from Donatives at Triumphs their Victorious Generals when they enter'd the Imperial City in Triumph This custome was very commendable for the Largess given to them incited others to carry themselves gallantly against an Enemy since they saw that in some measure they would be sharers with the chief Commander both in Honour and Profit What was given at that time to the common Souldier was a rule to the Officer for a Centurion got double a Horse-man triple and a Tribune quadruple Scipio the African at his magnificent entry into Rome gave four hundred Asses to every Souldier some say but forty if the first it was noble enough and no more neither for it would have amounted but to twenty five shillings Sterling if the last it was contemptible for it signified but half a Crown Lucius Aemilius who subverted the Macedonian Monarchy gave at his Triumph to every Souldier one hundred Sesterces which might be about fifteen or sixteen shillings Sterling and proportionably to the Centurions Horse-men and Tribunes But besides the evil effects which many of the Consuls avarice produc'd their ambition to bring in great summs of Gold and Silver to the Treasury and their vanity to give their Armies Donatives at their Triumphs set them on to the committing many Insolencies perfidious unjust and disavowable Plunders and Cruelties which makes the names of some of the bravest of them infamous to posterity Take one instance instar omnium of that same Aemilius I just now spake of The desire he had to bring the vast Treasure of King Perseus and all he had scrap'd together in Macedon into the Roman Treasury and withal to give a Donative to his Army at A detestable action his Triumph tempted him and the temptation prevail'd with him to plunder the whole Towns of Epirus the people whereof were no Enemies nor ever had wrong'd the Roman State And this execrable act he did under trust the Inhabitants imagining no such usage nor was plundering all the mischief he did them for he sold their persons to the number of one hundred and fifty thousand of both Sexes for Slaves and with the Money of that sale he gave the Donative we spake of to his Army An action so full of baseness inhumanity persidy and injustice that Sir Walter Raleigh saith If any History spoke but one word to the contrary no man would believe it could be true You may read the story of it in the last Book of Titus Livius The half of the Donatives were ordinarily deposited at the Standards Half of Donatives deposited and Ensigns to be kept there for the use of the Souldiers till their dismission lest they should idly or vainly spend it This reason was sufficient and strong enough but there was another and it was this that the Souldiers knowing a part of their stock and substance to be beside the Colours they should never desert them but manfully fight for the defence of that in the preservation whereof they were so deeply concern'd Though this was certainly a very prudent order yet I cannot consent to what Vegetius saith of it in the twentieth Chapter of his second Book that it was ab Antiquis divinitus institutum For he should have remember'd that he wrote of the Heathen Romans and himself having the knowledge of the true God he knew likewise that the best of their Ordinances were but of Humane and not Divine Institution In that same Chapter Vegetius says that every Legion had ten bags for the keeping this moyety of the Donatives that is a bag for every Cohort and an eleventh bag there was in which every Souldier cast something once a month and that was reserv'd for the Burial of those Souldiers who were able to leave nothing for their Interment A very laudable custome for the Burial of the Dead was ever in all Nations in high request Burial of the Dead Truce for some days or hours to Inter the slain was seldome or never refus'd by the most imbitter'd Enemy Hannibal bestow'd Burial on his Enemy Marcellus And his Brother Asdrubal at the desire of Scipio buried those Roman Tribunes whom he had kill'd in Battel And Justin in his sixth Book tells us that when
shrill and continued without interruption it was interpreted to be a certain sign of Victory but if it was dead cold and unequal often begun and often interrupted it bewray'd fear and discouragement and portended ruine and destruction It was used by all Nations as well as the Romans and the word Baritus whereby Historians express it was borrowed from the Ancient Germans whose cry they say sounded like the pronunciation of that word They cryed no more after they came to the medley else it would have hinder'd them from hearing the Commands of their Officers either by word of mouth or the Trumpet Though the loud noise of Cannon and Musket in our Modern Wars may seem reason enough to suppress this ancient custome of shouting yet it neither ought to be nor yet is it banish'd out of our Armies The Germans French Danes and Swedes in their advance and before they give Fire have their ca ca oâ— And no doubt with an advance a stroâ—t heats and inflames the Blood and helps to encourage The late Usurper and his Armies made but too good use of it These things were previous to a Battel First The Purple Coat of Arms at the Consuls Pavillion Secondly The Exhortation or Harangâ—e Thirdly The Marshalling the Army Fourthly The Word or Teâ—â—â—â—a Fifthly The Classiâ—â—â— And Lastly This Shout or Baritus Of the first five that were ordinarily practis'd Caesar speaks in the Second Book of his Gallick War as necessary for when he was almost surpriz'd by the Nervians he writes thus Caesar saith he of himself had all things to do at once the Standard to be set up that is the Scarlet Coat his Army to marshal his Souldiers to exhort to cause the sign to be given by the Trumpet and to give the Sign this last Sign signifieth the Tessera otherwise the words had been superfluous of which that great man cannot be taxed As to this last Sign which was the Word the Ancients found that same difficulty with which all Armies are still troubled and that was that by the often requiring and giving it the Enemy came to the knowledge of it and then it was useless Lipsâ—â—â— tells us that he reads in Pâ—liâ—â—nus that one Aâ—ues an Arcadian A pretty story Captain being to fall on the Lacedâ—monians in the night time or as we now call it to beat up their quarters instead of a Word he commanded his Army to require no Word at all but to use all those who sought a Word as Enemies so that the demanding the Tessora bewray'd the demander to be a Lacedaemonian who at that time receiv'd a notable overthrow The Roman Consul when Classicum a sign of Battel he was to fall on caus'd the Classicum to sound which was seconded by the nearest and immediately by all the Trumpets Horns and Horn-pipes of the Army And now the Battel begins concerning which an old question is not yet perhaps decided Whether it was better to give or receive the charge The A question whether to give or receive the charge Roman Dictator Cossus as Levy hath it in his sixth Book being to joyn Battel with a powerful Army of the Volscians commanded all his Foot to stand still and fix their Javelines in the ground and so receive the Enemies charge which being violent put them out of breath and then the Legionaries clos'd with them and routed them Great Pompey gave the like order at Pharsalia but not with the like success for he was totally beaten But Machiavelli with Machiavelli's opinion his accustomed confidence to give it no worse name in the fourth Book of his Art of War takes upon him to give the definitive sentence and awards the Victory to him who receives the charge And saith also that most Captains chuse rather to receive than give it yet he instances only one of the Fabii who by receiving the charge of the Sanonites and Gauls was Victorious But we must listen to a greater Captain than any he hath named and himself to boot and that is Julius Caesar who by giving the charge in the Thessalian Plains gain'd the Soveraignty of the Roman Empire and blames Pompey for following the bad advice of Triarius to wait till Caesar charged him His words whereby he seems to void this difference you have in the third Book of his Civil War which are these in English But on the contrary says he I think this was done Caesar's judgement of it by Pompey without any shew of reason meaning his keeping his Souldiers from advancing to the charge because there is saith he I know not what galant vigour and natural inclination to courage born in all men which Captains ought rather to cherish stir up and augment than any way mollifie or restrain Thus far Great Caesar But on the other hand if an Army be drawn up in an advantageous ground suppose a Hill or fenced with Marish River To keep advantages or Rock the quitting of which may prove prejudicial as the loss of all advantages especially in matters of War doth it alters clearly the case and those who have done it either in Ancient or Modern Wars to the irrecoverable loss of their Masters have much mistaken Caesar who never practised it and assuredly those who do it had need of good fortune otherwise they may be sure to be branded in true Histories with either perfidy or inexcusable folly and even in Romances with too much generosity In the time of Battel all both Commanders and Souldiers did their duties by punctually obeying the commands of their Generals though to the certain and inevitable loss of their lives if not they were sure to incur those punishments whereof I shall speak hereafter Nor were they obliged to obey the commands given them before the Battel only but all those orders and signs that were given them in the time of Battel These Vegetius in the fifth Chapter of his third Book calls Signs and divides them into three Signs in time of Battel sorts Vocal Semi-vocal and Dumb. The Vocal were the verbal commands of the Officers especially the Consul and Tribunes The Semi-vocal were the several sounds of Classicums Trumpets and Horns as March Charge Retire The Dumb signs were the Ensigns Standards and Eagles as also the elevation of the Hand of a Colours or a Lance or the shaking of a Spear by a Consul or General But these were agreed on before the fight began and were either given to the whole Army or but to a part of it as when you see such a thing done then you are to do so and so These Dumb signs would not do much good in our Battels where the smoak of Powder would render many of them imperceptible And now the Battel is ended and the Romans are either Victorious or have lost the day If the first they were to pursue the Enemy to his Camp To pursue a Victory or clearly out of the Field and not only so but to follow him
a sight by Proclamation gave them three days to live before their death should be resolved on by him But in vain for an of them dispatched themselves excepâ— such as were by force bonds and chains compelled to live You may read their lamentable Tragedy in Polyâ—â—â— his sixteenth Book and in the thirty first of Titus Livius Nor did the Romans in their Civil Wars give better quarter one to another Romans cruel to Prisoners in their Civil Wars except Câ—sar than they did to strangers Pâ—â—â—â—ius killed those Souldiers of Câ—sar's whom he found in his Camp though Câ—sar spared those of Peâ—â—eiâ—s and sent them back to him Sciplâ— Pompey's Father-in-law put aâ— those of Câ—sar's party to death whom he took Prisoners Syâ—â—â— after all his Victories very cruelly put eight thousand Romans to the Sword in the great hostelery near the City after they had yielded to his Mercy Nor did Aâ—gustus keep himself within the limits of Mercy when he thought it fit at one time to sacrifice three hundred Roman Knights to appease the incensed Ghost of his Great Unkle Julius Câ—sar But it may be said these had that pretence which all Civil War carries along with it and that is that all who oppose either of the two parties are Rebels to the State whether the party be for the lawful and supreme authority or against it And therefore to say no more of their Civil Wars I find them extream cruel in their Wars with Hannibal to their own Souldiers which that great Carthaginian had taken Prisoners Fabiâ—s the Dictator who saved the Roman State made an agreement with Hannibal for the exchange and ransome of Prisoners of a like quality and for every one of those who after the exchange was made were superâ—umerary they were to pay â—eaâ— eight pounds Sterling At one exchange there were two hundred â—orty seven more Romans than Carthaginians Hannibal demands their ransome Fabius sent to Roman â—enates Avarice the Senate for it who basely refused the money and disowned the agreement what could the good old man Fabius do but send his Son to Rome and sell a part of his Patrimony and pay the money to Hannibal which was near two thousand pound Sterling a vast summ in those days But they dealt worse with those of their own men who were taken Prisoners at Cannae whom they It s Cruelty and Injustice would neither ransome out of the publick Pâ—rse nor suffer the Prisoners themselves or their Friends to ransome out of their private fortunes and estates And though the Senate flattered themselves by calling this act of their own Magâ—animous yet since there was no Justice in it it could carry no generosity along with it for if these Captive Romans misbehaved themselves in the Battel the Senate was bouâ—d in honour to ransome them and punish them themselves and not suffer them to rot in prison with their capital Enemy Assuredly this Action wanted for neither Avarice nor Cruelty for strange it was thus to punish common Souldiers and yet to send out some principal Senators to meet and complement their hair-brain'd Conful Teremiâ—â— Vaâ—â— and thank him that he had not despaired of the Common-wealth and yet by his obstinate and inexcusable folly he had brought the Common-wealth to the very brink of Destruction And why might not Hannibal have used these Roman Prisonerâ— as Livy in his seventh Book tells us the Romans used some thousands of the Tarquinian Prisoners A mercâ—â—ess act of the Romans yet not unjust of whom they chose 358 of the prime Noblemen and Gentlemen all these they first whipped well with Rods and then struck off their Heads in the great Market-place of Rome and presently after put all the rest of the Prisoners to the Sword in cold blood Though this was a very merciless act yet by the law of War they might do it and so might Hannibal have done to their Prisoners and truly I do not see how he could be obliged to â—eed those whom their own Masters would not ransome Let us hear what opinion Polybâ—â—s had of Prisoners of War who was a grave Polybius his opinion how Prisoners of War may be used Historian a great States-man and a good Captain In his second Book speaking of Aristomachuâ— who being a Prisoner of War was tortured to death He saith on that subject that neither Antigonâ—â— King of Macedon nor Aratus Praetor of the Achâ—ans could be called cruel for putting a Captive to death with torments for though Aristomachus had not deserved that usage otherwise yet they might have done all to him that was donâ— â—ure Belli for the Law of Nations and War give the Conquerour power to use his Prisoners at his pleasure And the same Author speaking of the Mantimans who were justly punished for their abominable perfidy and ingratitude in slaughtering those Achaans who were sent to preserve them he saith expressly That though they had committed no such wickedness nor any other crime at all yet the Victor in War Jure Belli might have either kill'd them their Wives and Children or sold them for Slaves at his pleasure Thus far he But this power of Victorious Princes or Generals over the Goods Persons and Lives of their Prisoners is limited and restrained by Treaties Parleys Treaties Capitulations and Articles to the strict observance whereof simply and without fraud or ambiguity all men of what Station Rank or Quality whatsoever or of what Religion or Perswasion soever be he Jew or Gâ—mile Grâ—cian or Barbarian Christian or Mahometan are tyed because Faith and Promises Articles and Promises should be faithfully kepâ— No Enemy to be trusted in time of Treaty are the Sacred and Indissoluble Bonds which maintain Humane Society and whosoever breaks them on any pretence should be look'd on as a Monster and not as a Man In the time of Treaty both parties who treat ought to be careful that a Cessation of Arms be agreed on and sign'd by the Commanders in Chief of both Forces whether it be in Field Town Castle or Garrison and not only so but they ought to be on their guard for fear of â—oul play or some unexpected rupture of the Treaty For both in Ancient and Modern times Cities and Forts have been surpriz'd when those within thought themselves secure by a Treaty and Cessation as Histories of all ages bear witness And many times these Surprizes have been made without either the consent or connivence of either the Commander in chief or his Subordinate Officers meerly by the common Souldiers who frequently think themselves defrauded by Treaties of that which they conceive is the price of their Sweat and Blood to wit the spoil and booty of the place besieged or of the persons of those almost beaten and overcome in the Field Nor should any Treaty give the least interruption to the constant keeping of strict Guards and careful Watches nor should those who treat have liberty to view Guards Camps Magazines
Commission when this Book was writ for the Author gives him not that Title in his Epistle Dedicatory This Author doth not seem to condemn the use of the Pike before the invention of Fire guns but only since and magisterially takes upon him to pass sentence against all Princes or States who in later times have composed the Bodies of their Infantries of Pikemen I shall relate to you the strongest of his Arguguments as they lye in order whereby he endeavours to get Proselytes to this new fancy and shall give such answers to them as I conceive to be pertinent but shall not flatter my self with an opinion that they will be satisfactory to all In the first place he says Officers chuse the tallest and ablest men to carry His first Argument Pikes because they must be strong to carry both them and their defensive Arms and this says he is a loss to the Army to give useless Arms to men who could use the Musket with more advantage for Pikemen says he can only receive the messengers of death Bullets he means but Musquetiers can send them First I answer he begs the question he declares the Pike useless and that Answered was the thing he undertook to prove Secondly I have already complain'd that Officers chuse not so oft as they should the ablest men for Pikes and so they are very ill used by Mr. Lupton and me for he complains of them for doing it and I complain of them for omitting it Thirdly whereas he says Pikemen can only receive but not send the messengers of Death it seems he thinks when Pikemen fight they are to stand fixed in one place but he should have remember'd that in time of action they are no more obliged to stand still than Musquetiers who are ever in action and motion for let us suppose that in Battel a Body of Musquetiers is to fight with a Batallion of Pikes he will grant me that both the one and the other advanceth Now he saith a Musquet kills at the distance of four hundred yards so doth not the Pike let it be so what then I will grant him more that in the advance many Pâ—kemen fall and no Musquetiers yet I hope he will grant me that these four hundred yards if so many may be soon traced by men who make haste to come to the Charge and even before ten ranks can orderly and successively one after another give fire and after that I aver If the Musquetiers stand to endure the push of the Pike they are inevitably ruin'd and if they fly then the Pikemen have the victory I still suppose that which cannot be deny'd me that is that the Pikemen and Musquetiers are of equal courage now in a close encounter what can a Musquet do against a Pike or a naked man with a Sword against one in Armour If then the Pikemen fly before they come up to the Musquetiers they are Cowards and the fault is in their courage not their weapons if they lose the Field and if the Musquetiers stay till the Pikemen come to them they will find that points of Pikes bring as inexorable messengers of Death as Bullets do Secondly he tells us that nothing more disheartens Soldiers than the certain Second Argument knowledg of disproportionable and unequal Arms this I grant to be true but from hence he and I draw two very different Inferences mine is that Musquetiers will be sore afraid to buckle with armed Pikemen if the Pikemen have the courage to stand out a Volley or two and it is like the Musquetiers will be afraid that the Pikemen will stand it out But he makes another Inference and it is this that the Pikemen will be afraid because they know their Pikes are of no effect and can do no execution Certainly he tells me news for I thought the Grecian German and Switz Answered Batallions of Pikes had very frequently born down all before them and so had done execution and is not this again to beg the question for he is bound to prove that the Pike can do no execution I assure him I will not take his word for it But if he mean when an enemy is put to the rout the Pikemen being heavly armed cannot follow the execution I shall readily grant it to him and Vegetius will tell him that the heavy armed are like an Iron wall which can neither run away from a Victorious enemy nor pursue a flying one for that is left to the Horse and light armed Foot But he offers to prove that Pikes can do no execution by an instance which I pray you hear and observe There happen'd a tumult between the English and Switzers in the Prince of Orange his Leaguer when he lay before Schencksconce the Switzers went to arms and being in Battel presented their Pikes here our Author is not asham'd to say that two English men with Swords only enter'd among the Switzers Pikes and cut off saith he several of their heads of the Pikes I hope not of the Switzers and brought them away with them the two English unhurt If this be all true what will it evince but the great modesty and patience of the Switzers and the prudence of the Officers of both Nations in appeasing the tumult for our Author was mad if he thought that any rational Creature would be perswaded by him to believe that two men with Swords could affront a Body of Pikemen in such a manner and go away so easily if the others had been pleased to resent it Thirdly he says only three ranks of Pikes can do hurt the rest are useless Third Argument then he adds that what with the terror of the alarm the confusion of ranks by the death of some of their number the time of night when the enemy may fall on the hazard of wounding their own Commanders and Camerades it appears sufficiently that the Pike can do no feats I must take this argument in pieces and answer it so And first I say if only three ranks of Pikes can do hurt then Pikes can do hurt and this contradicts his second argument Next his assertion cannot be true if what I have said at length in another Answered place be true that six ranks of Pikes can do hurt or as he call it execution His argument if true would be strong against the Grecian Embattelling sixteen deep and against his Masters too for I find by his Book he hath had his breeding in Holland and Denmark where in his time the Foot were Marshal'd ten deep As to what he speaks of the terror of an Alarm I ask if that must frighten a Pikeman more than either a Horseman or a Musqueteer I think less because he is better arm'd but he speaks still of Pikemen as of Cowards for what reason I cannot imagin For his confusion of ranks occasion'd by those who fall dead he knows those behind them should fill up their places and this Musqueteers are bound to
â—fficere nequeat War says he is not to be reckon'd among Artifices nay it is so horrible a thing that nothing can make it honest but extreme necessity or true Charity Well I shall be content to take what he grants and that is That War sometimes is honest and if so I think he must grant that those who manage that honest War and those are Souldiers may be sometimes honest and therefore not more detestable than Hangmen Nor do I think any sober man endued with any reasonable proportion of solid Judgement though he had never heard of the name of Jesus Christ but will readily grant That War being the greatest scourge of mankind should not be begun till either our own extreme necessity or the Love and Charity we owe to our Neighbours force us to it and herein do all the Moral Philosophers and the wise Rulers of the Ancient Heathens fully agree with Christian Doctors But how shall that War which either extreme necessity on our own part or Charity on our Neighbours makes lawful be managed but by Souldiers And how can Souldiers obtain the Victory but by killing sometimes their Enemies And with what Credit nay with what Conscience or with what comfort can Souldiers kill their Enemies if the very killing them render Souldiers more detestable than Hangmen If Grotius had said That those Souldiers who kill'd impotent old Men Women and Children or Prisoners in cold blood as too many do are more detestable than Hangmen I should never have debated the matter with him no more than with reason he can contradict me if I say That those Advocates and Grotius was an Advocate who betray the causes of their Clients who take money and wages from both parties I add also Those who undertake the patrociny of a cause which themselves know to be unjust and illegal are more detestable than the worst of those who hang men on a Gallows But what this great and learned man means when he writes Non est inter Grotius unintelligible artificia Bellum I do not very well know if he means there are no artifices in War he makes a fool of himself for what shall then become of all those laudable and lawful Stratagems that are used in War which he himself in his Book De Jure Belli ac pacis both mentions and commends If he means War is not an Art he speaks palpably against Sense Reason and Experience for the management of War is an Art and as a most noble so a most necessary Art Machiavelli Recorder of Florence writes seven Books of the Art of War and yet in one of them denies War to be an Art All Tacticks write of the Art of War the way to handle Arms Sword Dagger Cannon Musket Pistol Pike Partizan or Halberd or in more ancient times before the Monk found out Gun-powder the way to handle the Roman Pila Javelines Darts Arrows Bows Slings Stones and other Missiles do all prove there is Art in War The ordering Souldiers in Files Ranks Troops Companies Squadrons Batallions Regiments and Brigades the marshalling and conduct of Armies fighting of Battels besieging and attacking Towns Castles and defending them do all bear witness that War is an Art and more than an ordinary one It cannot therefore be that so wise a man as Grotius could think that War is not an Art but positively to tell what he means by those words is not in my power and if others can tell no better than I we must be content to want the true sense of them till Grotius rise from the dead in the day of Judgement and then I suppose it will not be time to inquire after such follies Nicholas Machiavel in the Fourth Book of his Art of War if I remember Machiavelli answered right is yet more severe to profess'd Souldiers than Hugo Grotius for he says That no Prince or State should suffer those who profess to live by the Art of War to dwell under their Jurisdictions or in their Dominions This is bad enough but worse follows for he adds that no virtuous nor good man will profess Souldiery to be their livelihood or use War as an Art or Trade and those who do it says he must of necessity be false fraudulent treacherous and violent I have answered his Raveries in the first Chapter of my Military Essays of the Modern Art of War Here I shall only say That it were a disgrace for the Art of Souldiery to be commended by one whose Political Rules introduce Atheism Tyranny and Cruelty and who sets up Casar Borgia the Bastard of Pope Alexander the Sixth to be a Pattern for Princes than whom the Sun never look'd on a person more abandon'd to the contempt of a Deity guilty of Inhumanity Treachery Lechery and barbarous Cruelty Let either Christian or all Morally honest men judge whether this Author this Atheist this Machiavel should have been permitted to have liv'd within the Territories of either Christian Prince or State Those who condemn the Profession or Art of Souldiery smell rank of Anabaptism and Quakery both which Sects condemn all War as unlawful for I conceive those who grant War to be sometimes both lawful and necessary must of necessity grant that it is lawful for some to study the Art how to manage that War with the greatest advantage Those who are fittest to study it are those who have no other trade or livelihood for that is the mean to make them study it the more accurately and when they have attain'd to some perfection in it why they may not make a Profession of it and teach it to others for wages I know not Do not all professors of Divinity Medicine Philosophy teach others their Arts and Sciences for wages Yes assuredly and why should it be denied to a professed Souldier to teach his Art to others for wages Musamihi causas memora What I speak of teaching others I mean of all Military Officers who by their command and charges are oblig'd to teach their Art to those under their command and since Souldiery is a practical Art Souldiers of all kinds may serve in the Wars provided the cause seem just to them as well as Chirurgions may cure men for wages that are hurt or wounded in the Wars Histories tell us and our experience and sence teach us That Peace and War are alternative and there be but few Kingdoms in the World that have not felt the smart of War as long as they have enjoyed the fruits of Peace May not I then conclude That the Art of Souldiery and the Profession of it for wages is as lawful and as necessary too as the profession of any of those Arts or Sciences which can neither be conveniently taught or learn'd but in the time of Peace But to conclude I avouch that St. Paul's opinion concerning this question St. Paul's authority was the same with mine and I have reason to think That great Apostle's authority will weigh more with
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covers made of white Iron like extinguishers purposely for that end but that some of them will be seen by a vigilant enemy and thereby many secret enterprizes are lost It were therefore good that for the half of the Muskets if not for them all flint-locks were made and kept carefully by the Captain of Arms of each Company that upon any such occasion or party the half or more of the other Locks might be immediately taken off and the flint-ones clapt on by the Gunsmith of the Company and then there would be no danger of seeing burning Matches the sight whereof hath ruin'd many good designs I shall give you but one instance for all Not long after the invention of the Musket some Spaniards were almost starved to death in Instanced Coron by a Blockade of the Turks they hazarded desperately and sallied out and though they had some miles to march yet they did it with great courage and all imaginable industry and silence and had assuredly taken the Infidels â—â—pping if their burning Matches had not bewray'd their approach and this only marr'd the atchievement of a noble exploit It is true they made a handsome retreat but with great loss and with the death of their chief Commander one Machichao a Noble and stout Gentleman I should have told you that all the Muskets of one Army yea under one Prince or State should be of one Calibre or bore There are besides these I have mention'd other Weapons for the Foot such Other Weapons for Foot as long Rapiers and Touks Shables two handed Swords Hangmens Swords Javelins Morning stars but most of these are rather for the defence of Towns Forts Trenches Batteries and Approaches than for the Field And as our light armed Foot are now for most part armed with Sword and Musket so our heavy arm'd offensively are with Sword and Pike As I told you of the Musket so I tell you of the Pike the longer it is so it be manageable the more advantage it hath In our Modern Wars it is order'd by most Princes and States to be eighteen foot long yet few exceed fifteen and if Officers be not careful to prevent it many base Soldiers will cut some off the length of that as I have oft seen it done It were fit therefore that every Pike had the Captains name or mark at each end of it The Grecians knew very A Pike well what advantage the longest Pike had the Macedonians as I said before made their Pikes three foot longer than the other Grecians did Nor hath this advantage been unknown in our Modern Wars whereof Giovio gives us a remarkable instance Pope Alexander the Sixth waged a War with a Veteran Army conducted by experimented Captains his Foot consisted of Germans arm'd offensively with Pikes The Vrsines levy new and raw Soldiers most consisting of their own Vassals and Peasants these they arm with Pâ—kes but each of them two Foot at least longer than those the Popes Germans carried The two Armies meet The longer the better in a plain Field at Suriano in the Papacy and fight the Vrsine Peasants led by stout Commanders kill'd most of the first ranks of the Popish Pikemen by the length of their Pikes and immediately after routed the whole Body not suffering one German to escape upon this the Popes Cavalry fled and the Vrsiâ—â—s keeping the Field forc'd his Holiness to grant them against his will an advantageous Peace I shall not here speak of the number of Pikemen allow'd to each Company I shall do that in its due place but it seems strange to me there should be so little esteem made of the Pike in most places it being so useful and so necessary a weapon Thirty years ago when the War was very hot in the German Empire between the Emperour Ferdinand and the Catholick League as it was called on the one part and the Swede and the Evangelick Union as they call'd it on the other I saw such an universal contempt of the Pike that I could not admire The Pike very much neglected it enough for though after Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden entred Germany Squadrons and Batallions of Pikes were to be seen in all Regiments and Brigades of both parties and that Pikemen were still accounted the Body of the Infantry yet after his Victory at Leipsick over the Imperial forces under Tily the Kings Marches were so quick in pursuance of his successes which followed one In Germany on the heels of another and the retreats also of other Armies from him were so speedy that first the Pikemans defensive Arms were cast away and after them the Pike it self insomuch that all who hereafter were levied and enrolled called for Muskets But notwithstanding this when new Regiments were levied after that great Kings death Colonels and Captains were ever order'd to levy and arm Pikemen proportionably to the Musquetiers yet after they had endur'd some fatigue the Pike was again cast away and no Soldiers but Musquetiers were to be seen Whether this was done by the supine negligence of the Officers especially the Colonels or for the contempt they had of the Pike I know not But I am sure that for some years together I have seen many weak Regiments composed meerly of Musquetiers without one Pikeman in any of them and surely they were so much the weaker for that Nor did I find long after that that the Pike got better entertainment in other places than in Germany for in the year 1657 after the late King of Denmark had lost his best Army he gave In Denmark as I said in this same Chapter Commissions to five of us to raise each of us a Regiment of men of one thousand apiece all strangers We were bound by the Capitulation to arm our Regiments our selves out of the moneys we had agreed for and expresly with Musquets neither would those of the Privy Council who were order'd to treat with us suffer one word to be mention'd of a Pike in our Commissions though the conveniency and sometimes the necessity of that weapon was sufficiently remonstrated by us But there are two who write down right against the use of the Pike these are Declar'd useless by Two an Italian and an Englishman Brancatio an Italian Commander and one Master Daniel Lupton an Englishman who I think traceth Brancatio his steps for though I have not seen that Italian piece yet I have seen a Countryman of the Authors Achilles Terduzzi who tells me he hath read it every word Master Luptons Book I have seen and will presume by his leave in the next Chapter to examine his arguments and reasons CHAP. VI. Master Lupton's Book against the use of the Pike examined THIS Gentleman Printed his Book in the year 1642 and presented it to The Book Dedicated to the Earl of Essex the Earl of Essex who was declar'd General of the Parliaments forces that very year but it seems he had not got his