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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10710	A martial conference pleasantly discoursed betweene two souldiers, the one Captaine Skil, trained vp in the French and Low Country seruices, the other Captaine Pill, only practised in Finsburie fields in the modern warres of the renowmed Duke of Shordich and the mightie Prince Arthur / newly translated out of Essex into English by Barnabe Rich ...	Rich, Barnabe, 1540?-1617.	1598 (1598)	STC 20991.3; ESTC S2298	52,687	92

circumstance that drinking may bring a man to heauen and thus sayth the text He that drinkes well sleepes well He that sleepes well thinkes no harme He that thinkes no harme sinneth not and he that sinneth not goes to heauen here is now the conclusion and he that can choppe me vp such Logicke I hope may beare the bell for a Logician let him go where he list Now for your water-casting wisards that in the déepnesse of their experience as you say haue looked into Englands estate and do think that the neglect of the long bowe may bréed such a surfet as you speake of God be thanked the sicknesse is nothing so dangerous as the silly ignorant sort would perswade it the nature of the disease hath bin examined and carefully considered of by men that are no lesse renowned for their wisedme experience then honored for the loue zeale they beare to their country they haue found the first to be a matter of no importance but rather thought it behooueful and necessary for vs to inure our selues to that diet which all the nations of the worlde besides do especially account of and haue retained as a restoratiue to their better safty which being by vs neglected might be such a preparatiue for an enemie to take aduantage by as your Physitians could neuer be able to restore not with all the medicins they could compound eyther of their crossebows or long bowes A foole ●crach him then say I that would giue vs such purgations or vnder the pretence of a Cullis whereby to comfort vs would giue vs indéede a potion that would vndoubtedly poyson vs. What should I say more then to these calculating companions that are so narrow eied to look into commō wealth causes that they thinke the countries good is euermore neglected where their owne foolish prescriptions are not alwayes obserued Let such vaine prognosticators fable what they list God hath blessed England he hath plentifully poured his blessings vpon vs first in our most gratious Elizabeth whom he hath established and holden vp in despighte of all Popish practises he hath deliuered her when she hath béene compassed with many dangers whereby he hath shewed his mercy to vs her people whome she hath still gouerned in happy peace and prosperitie He hath giuen her the assistance of a most graue and discréet counsell amongst the rest Burghley by name the man admired through christendome whose watchful eies to preuent insuing mischiefes haue euermore béene vigilant whose wisedome next vnder God and her Maiestie hath béene the best conseruer of our quiet and happy peace whose experience in commonwealth causes is singular to himselfe And for the action of warre O noble erle of Essex how is England blessed in thée thou hast honoured thy country with thy victories obtained enriched it with the spoiles of thine enemies fréeed it from the force of foes that were ready to assaile it whom thou hast dismayed and daunted at their owne doores If I should now speake of domesticall matters for the execution of lawe and iustice here at home according to equitie right and conscience England may think it selfe happy and the Court of Chauncery hath as great cause to glorie where Egerton adorneth the bench Thus you may perceiue captaine Pill that England is in no such distresse as your dreaming dizardes woulde perswade they threaten vs to be almost at deaths doore when there is no manner of signe nor shew of sicknes you sée who they be captain Pil that are Englands watchmen and haue so consecrated themselues to the good of the commonwealth that what perills may passe which shall not be by them discerned and what forraine practises or domesticall disorders can be so plotted out which shall not be by them both foreséene and preuented if it do either concerne the good or ill of our country Pill Captaine Skil me thinkes you haue béene too compendious and briefe in the subiect that you haue now vndertaken a breath of winde is not enough to comprehend their praises that would aske a longer discourse than al that hath bin hitherto debated betwéene vs but will not your words be taken in ill part for there be many honourable personages in England that without doubt are faithful and firme both to their princes and countrey that perhaps wil hang the lip and thinke themselues to be greatly wronged that any one should be so particularly preferred before them especially for those causes Skill I hope the praise of one is no dispraise to another neyther am I ignorant but am vndoubtedly perswaded that there be many as well of the nobilitie as other of the inferiour sort and calling that are of equall desire though not of equall abilitie I commend him that can follow the wise aduise of others but I preferre him that can foresée perils that are to come and is able to discerne of things néedefull and requisite My conclusion is I honour all that are worthy of honour but I say againe and without offence to any I hope I may boldly auouch it these that I haue named are the ornaments of England the Ministers of God next vnder her Maiestie by whom England is made happy the one famous for his counsell the second renowned for his magnanimitie the third reuerenced for his iustice and al of them honored for the care they haue of their countries good thrée notable pillers of our commonwealth to whom I may adde a fourth the noble Lord of Hunsdon who for his fidelitie to his prince matched with equall loue to his country together with the magnificence and noblenesse of his mind may march in equall ranke with those that are most highly honoured and for their vertue most worthily renowned You sée now captaine Pill that England is not so negligently prouided too that it should runne into such vnexperted danger as your squint eyed Diuiners would pretend to foresee but let them dreame and make what doubtes they list they are to be suspected of some defects that doe seeme to be so feareful of the moone-shine in the water Pill But captaine Skil you deale somewhat too roundly in this matter I woulde wishe that you coulde more aduisedly consider of my speeches the matter obiected is against your Low country Captains who vnder the pretence of the excellency of the weapons of fire would bring in carowsing and drunkennesse and thereby would vtterly suppresse and abolish our longbowes archery of England From hence issueth this danger to our countrey that being bereaued of this weapon which our predecessors haue euer found so auaileable and of so great aduantage against their enemies we should thereby so weaken and disable our selues against any that would inuade vs that we should rather be left to the spoile than be able to make defence and although that those noble patrons of our country which you haue named are sufficiently able to discerne of perils as I doe acknowledge their vertue to be farre excéeding the commendation you

their héeles Skill Then I perceiue the errour of our Low-country captaines is because they would arme their people in such sort as they might be able to put the enemie to a retrait but your great captaines cleane contrary would haue them so appointed as they might be light and nimble to runne away themselues and he that should bring his men but furnished with paltry harquebuz to incounter the musket and caliuer were fitter indeede to runne away from an ennemie that would offer to assaile him than be able to tarry by him in the field Pill And al the reason you can make is because of the farre shooting and it is not denyed but that your musket wel charged with good powder would carry a ful bullet 24. or 30. scores but yet that any of them should giue their volies aboue tenne twenty or thirty peeces at the vttermost is accounted but a méere mockerie Skil And if the farre shooting be of no aduantage whie then there is no oddes betwéene a bodkin and a pike but in truth one of the most especiall causes that muskets are so much regarded is because they may be brought 24. and 30. scores off to beate vpon squadrons either of horsmen or footmen to breake and dismember them and in like maner to beate passages or groundes of aduantage taken by the enemy or for many other seruices either assailing or defending as wel in the field towne trench or where or howsoeuer the musket is still found to be a weapon of wonderfull aduantage and onely by the farre shooting but for those that do no better valew of the musket but to giue their volies at tenne twenty or thirtie paces it should séeme they knew of no other seruice in the field but when enemies do meet they will strait drawe their squadrons to an encounter which sheweth their little vnderstanding for when such méetings do happen captains that be of experience are accustomed to place the stand of pikes wherein consisteth their strength vpon some ground of aduantage and as néere as they can will bring some hedge some ditch some shrubbes or bushes or some other like helpes betwéene them and the enemy because they would not lie open to the musket shot that the other will then thrust out if they can be suffered to play vpon these squadrons or armed men 24. and 30. scores off Loole shot being thus shaken off oportunities and aduantages are watched on both sides as well by horsemen as footmen to take their times and occasions their squadrons standing stil a good distance the one from the other with wings fillets and troupes of shot to giue those volies at hand that you speake of if they should be charged and many times it falleth out that squadrons be broken and put to a retrait by aduantages taken and procured by these skirmishes but especially being galled and beaten by the furie of shot a farre off when the squadron of the contrary part hath not so much as appéered in sight those weapons therefore are most to bée valewed that wil do his execution farthest off and if it were possible to deuise a weapon that would annoy and spoyle an enemie in distance as farre as thrée muskets such a weapon were thrée times more auaileable for seruices at longth and tenne times more profitable for such exploites then once to giue volies so néere at hand to be deliuered within that distance of tenne twentie or thirtie paces as you speake of And yet for those seruices when occasion shall require what weapon more terrible than the musket that within twentie thirtie fortie or a hundred paces will deliuer foure or fiue caliuer shot at one discharge to the wonderful spoile of such as wil approch them and for this occasion the fillets and wings of battelles and squadrons are compounded of those weapons to giue their volies if they shuld be charged and this is the cause that the Spaniard finding this weapon to be of so great importance for all manner of seruices hath conuerted the greatest part of his shot into musketires and this is the cause that such of our Nation as haue serued against them may the better speake of that weapon by experience what themselues haue found For others that haue but gathered their presidents from tabling houses or otherordinaries may better speake according to their knowledge then according to the matter And who be those that wil euermore contend against that weapon but such as haue not séene their effect and seruice in the field but inforceth against them their hundred yéere olde exampls before shot was euer perfited or in maner knowne Pill Thus I do sée we English men are very sharp witted to make reasons against our selues and Lord how ready we be to change a certaintie for an vncertainty But wil you so disable our bowes that you wil allow them no place in the field I hope against horsemen you wil do them some fauour for to spoile and gall horses what weapon of more effect or who wil deny them that right Skill But how shal wee bring them to that place of seruice where they may do this annoyance to horsemen it is not to be deuied but that Archers would performe great seruice against horsemenne if they might be brought to the place where they might serue but as they must be fortified either with hedge ditch or other artificiall meanes that horsemen may not charge them so the place from whence they may do their execution must be open and plaine where whilest they drawe their bowes their bodies must remaine in open view Now what enemie of iudgement would suffer them to kéepe such a ground but that with thrée or foure hundred musketiers they would displace two thousand Archers and without any manner of danger to themselues by reason of their farre shooting so that he might be counted a very weake witted enimy that would suffer vs to bring our bowes where they might performe any exploit either against horsemen or footemen but contrariwise for the musket and the caliuer euery hedge euery ditch and euery thicket which almost euery ground affordeth is such an aduantage for them that they wil not be displaced but with great daunger and losse of the assailants where they haue once planted and setled themselues Againe they can serue out of euery bush and from behind euery trée vndiscerned or séen by those that shal serue against them whereas the Archer must stand in open shew and make himselfe an open marke to his enemie or otherwise he cannot serue at all Pill Why then belike all the aduantage that your shot hath is to hide themselues But let me aske you a question if a thousand of your shot and a thousand of well chosen Archers were togither in the plaine fielde which part would you there take if you might haue your owne choyse Skil But in what field doe you meane Captaine Pill let me first know that Pill And what a question is that to be

warres the conclusion is too ranke it smelles from whence it came but is it not possible that a Souldiour because he hath béene driuen sometimes for want of pay to reléeue himself from famishment although by the breatch of law shall afterward reduce himselfe and be confirmable to any law order or discipliue where hée should either be better prouided for or duly payed I could alleage presidents to make for my purpose but what should I néede these colericke coniectures are well inough knowne from whence they were first gathered and by whome they haue sithence béene retained by those that haue laboured at al times and by all meanes to disgrace and deface the whole actions both of France and Flanders togither with the actours because they know we haue euermore fought in the defence of the Gospell in despight of their masse Pill I must confesse Captaine Skill that for my selfe I neuer came in Flanders nor France and therefore am able to deliuer nothing of mine owne knowledge but what I haue heard by other mens reports neither will I adde any thing of mine owne inuention maliciously to stander I shal not néede to do that for it is too much that is already published and spread in the disgrace of your French and Low-countrey Captaines if al be true that is reported but leaning generalities I will speake of some particulars They are accused not onely for despising but also for peruerting the lawes customes orders and ordinaunces left vnto vs by the great and notable Captaines of former ages innouating altering and inuerting al our ancient procéedings in matters millitarie by them prescribed into orders of their owne inuention attributing to themselues greater science and skill then they will séeme to acknowledge in our predecessors procuring moreouer so much as in them lieth by friuolous obiections and exceptions taken against our Archerie to suppresse and extinguish the seruiceable vse of our naturall English weapon the long bow Skill The matter is not great Captaine Pil whether these accusations be of your owne making or of any other mans reporting for any great substance or witte that is in them and for this particular it were no great matter to acknowledge and confesse it to any man that would inforce it for if it be a fault to innouate I dare boldely auouch there is no art no science no occupation no handicraft nor any other profession whatsoeuer but they innouate alter and inuert and that continually and with great reason when from age to age al things are perfected bettered and drawne to a forme of greater excellencie then euer our predecessors vnderstood of The reason is our ancestors from time to time haue left vnto vs in writing whatsoeuer they attained vnto by any manner of skill knowledge science or art and we haue put vnto it our owne inuention and what we can otherwise apprehend by dayly practise I hope then that Souldiours are not generally so grosse headed when there is likewise left vnto them in writings a perfect forme as wel of orders lawes and disciplines as of all other obseruations whatsoeuer hath béene practised by the most skilful Captaines of al ages but that they could something better their experience by twentie or thirtie yeares practise in the French Low-countrey warres where so many honourable seruices haue béene so continually performed Or why shoulde any man finde fault with souldiours though they innouate their orders in these days according to the practise and condition of the time may it not be done without any preiudice to the grounds and principles left vs by the antiquitie The phisitions do fetch their direction from Galen Hypocrates Plinie Paraselsus and such other that haue left vnto them prescriptions of phisicke and from whom our phisitiōs at this present do fetch their greaiest light but if they should now minister the self same medicines vsed in those dayes by these learned Phisitions amongst tenne patients if they recouered one they would kill all the rest Shall we say now because our phisitions do innouate that they do therefore attribute to themselues greater skill learning and science then they would acknowledge in their predecessors Now in martiall causes although the antiquitie who long before either Musket or Caliuer were knowne armed their people with crosbowes targets long swords glaiues partisins billes and such other and according to those sorts of weapons proportioned their battailes in such sort as they might bring most handes to fight which was good and necessarie for that time when the seruice consisted altogither by incounters of Pell Mell and that they were still brought to handie blowes and had no other vse but of manuall weapons but our squadrons being now armed with weapons of greater force and more aduantage haue left their auncient obseruations to themselues haue followed an order perfected by time and bettered by experience when euerie Captaines page is not ignorant that the alteration of weapon doth necessarilie inforce the alteration of order For our naturall English weapon the long bowes if there be a naturall that would perswade better of thē then men of experience doo finde seruice in them I pray God sende him more witte and that is all the harme that I would wish him and so we wil leaue them for the seruice in Finburie fields to the woonted Regiments of Prince Arthur and the Duke of Shordich Pil Some other accusations wherwith your Low country captaines are charged withall is in the neglect and little care they vsed euen in vsuall and ordinarie causes for it is not vnknowne to any man that hath iudgement in matters Military but at the first forming of armies or regiments there is likewise prescribed lawes martial the which are stil notified and made knowne to the end to containe their armies in obedience and that none might transgresse through ignorance but this your low countrey captaines haue still neglected either vpon contempt or by them not vnderstood which bewrayeth their malice or want of skil The like neglect they vsed in the stablishing of their counsels at warres and in the training and making ready of their souldiers in the practise of their weapons in the prouiding for them of powder shot munition victualles and all other necessaries when they should march vpon any occasion of seruice These and many other like matters that are of common course and vsuall to souldiers that are of the least skill and experience were by them omitted and forgotten or at the least nothing at al respected Skill I warrant you he that first smelt out these accusations had a tender nose but if he wanted not alittle wit I am sure he wanted a great deale of vnderstanding when euerie souldier if he be but of one moneths training is not ignorant that where they erect armies they forget not in like case to erect laws the which at the first are vsually published with the sound of a trumpet and after hanged vp in the market places either of their camps