he that would take thy cloke thou must likewise giue him thy coate But I trust they will not maintayne by this that a Prince when he is oppressed by any tyrant should surrender vp his crowne seigneurie for that he should be counted a quiet man and the childe of God or that Gods worde doth any where forbid a Prince to maintayne his right or that it should not be lawful for him to enter into warres either for the maintenance of Gods true religiō either for his owne securitie as did the Athenians against king Philip eyther for the subuersion of any tyrant or oppressour or such as shall wrongfully vsurpe vpon any other that are not able to defend their owne cause And in the ancient time it hath bene thought very cōuenient that where a tyrant doth raigne ouer his own people with crueltie rauine rape murther or other like oppressions wherein a Prince may do his subiects manifest wrong and is not by them to be redressed for that it is not lawful for the subiect to stande in armes against his Prince it hath bene alwayes therefore thought requisite that such Princes as haue bene borderers next vpon him should chastise and correct so great enormities to the ende that the name of a King might not seeme odious hatefull to the common sort of people as was Nero Heliogabulus Dionysius and others This gote Hercules such immortal glory that he was rekoned amongst the number of the gods only for his valiance and prowesse vsed vpon monsters tyrants oppressours and such other But something the better to satisfie such as in their opinions are so precise to thinke that no warres howe soeuer it bee attempted may bee eyther good or godly I will therefore here recyte the wordes of that learned and excellent man Hieronymus Osorius in order as they bee written in his booke intituled Of Christian nobilitie which followe in this maner First therfore I can conceiue no reason why they should despise warfare when it is rightfully begunne and taken in hand in the defence of religion whereas we see it wonderfully extold in innumerable places of holy scripture which thei do not denie but what say they many things say they were conteyned in the olde law which rather for the tymes sake were tolerated then worthy dewe commendation as to make a diuorce to take vsurie of foraine countreys of which sorte they say is to make warres vpon our enemies but what semblance or similitude hath either vsurie or diuorces with martial affaires for they were not cōmended but tolerated because of mens weakenes and imbecillitie but he that durst presume not to obey when commandement was giuen to wage battell committed an offence so heynous that he could redeeme the same by no satisfactiō For in what place read we that it was decreed that he shuld eyther abyde a payne or bee subiect to a curse if any man whereas after the first offence his wife counted it was lawfull so to doe did not departe from his wife or exacted no vsurie of forriners and strangers but in many places wee haue wel noted that men rauished and replenished with the holy spirit haue decreed that they should dye the death which through cowardise refused to come foorth into the fielde But what should I in this place make mention of Debora who being inspired with the holy ghost curseth thē which for as much as in them lyeth take not in hand the warres of the Lord and inueyeth against their cowardise in sharpe vehement wordes And agayne they lay to our charges circumcision the offering vp of a lambe old sacrifices which were in olde tyme with great deuotion kept and after the comming of Christ did want their wonted reuerence as though warfare dyd any whit appertayne to the ceremonies and mysteries of holy things and were not rather ordayned for the preseruation of the common wealth for those holy rightes in which were foreshadowed the expresse signes and tokens of Iustice and saluation to be procured by our high and mightie Sauiour Christ after the cōming of the thing it self which was by those signes declared were by good right and iust desert abrogated and disanulled but this can not be thought of the noble knowledge of feates of armes for as much as it is not comprised vnder the nature of ceremonies but embraced for the maintenance and preseruation of the common safetie and wholy appertayneth to ciuill policie and to confound those thinges which are to be distinguished it is eyther the propertie of extreme madnes or an argument of wonderfull temeritie and rashenes And whereas the state of the common wealth can not be established but it must needes be stayde and as it were propped vp with strength and force of armes for as much as all things in the time of peace to be practised and exercised are vnder the tuition and defence of martiall prowesse he that taketh away the knowledge of feates of armes worketh the ouerthrowe of the common wealth which thing if it had happened through christian discipline then madde men mooued with some reason might laye to our charge that some common wealth by meanes of Christian discipline was ouerthrowen which slaunderous accusatiō how wicked and vayne it is we haue afore declared For Christe would not that the state of ciuill policie should bee ouerthrowen but rather established and confirmed and therefore as he hath not wrested the sword out of the hande of a Magistrate so neyther would he haue a souldiour to wante his weapon to the intent that a Magistrate beeing armed with authoritie of lawes might with seueritie of the same lawes suppresse wickednes amongst the members and inward partes of the common wealth and the souldiour clad in armour might with dint of sworde repelle and put aside from the common wealth all imminent daunger For this cause Iohn neuer exhorted men from applying themselues to the knowledge of feates of armes but prescribeth lawes vnto souldiours of harmelesse vsage and temperat behauiour And Paul calleth those Magistrates the seruantes of God which with the sword punishe wicked and desperate persons Truely nothing were more hartily to be desired of a Christian man then that all men would refrayne them selues from wickednes and sinfull lust but for as much as that can not alwayes fall out and in stead of continencie vnbrideled lust in steade of iustice either forayne force or ciuill broyles vse to arise then of necessitie eyther force of the enemie is with weapons and maine strength to be beaten backe or the outrage of our citizens with sworde to be repressed That say they is contrary to christian charitie as thogh any kind of crueltie were greater thē to be dissolute and negligent in a general distresse and miserie Christ hath cōmanded that we shuld not be reuenged of our enemies no doubt it is the propertie of perfect and absolute vertue when priuately wee sustayne wrongs and iniuries to shewe a singular and wonderful
doe stande and giue aime some with open exclamations crie out howe they be spoyled robbed reued and burned by the rebels But this is that whiche most of all doth make me to muse that almoste euery man will séeme as though he knewe a remedie and yet there is no reformation can be had amongst them Well say some these rebels could not continue were it not that they had other helps then them selues They haue mainteiners and ayders neither can they be without receiuers but if those that be borderers would doe their best vppon them they could not holde out But there is amongest them Forbeare me I will not sée thée Hurt not me and I will not hinder thée And many be driuen in déede perforce to ayde them and currie fauour with them for feare of being spoyled And although there be diuers lawes sundry good ordinaunces to punishe suche as shall be founde guiltie in the premisses yet they are so cleanly conueied and so cuningly handled that the Lorde Deputie shall neuer vnderstande it But if there happen any to be accused and brought foorth to answere the lawe then there is such cloaking such couering such shifting such bowlstering and suche bribing that it was not he that did it some chéefe horse some fine ambling hackney or some halfe score or a hundred cowes will salue all the sore But here perchance you would know amongst whō this is vsed nay I must not tell you that so I might get my selfe such enimies as I might not tarrie in Ireland In like manner it hath béen often séene that when a rascall a rebell I would tearme him hath done many spoyles committed many outrages yet in the end hath béene receiued vpon composition and many times haue their pardons begged by some that be about the Lorde Deputie and many times they haue friends in England to purchase them pardons and to send them ouer and this is the very cause that giueth them boldnesse to doe yll so that there is no assured truste to be founde in the greatest number of them but when they may sée time and occasion to doe a shrewd turne then they get them a cōpanie of bréechles beggers folowers they call them and when they haue plaid their parts to the vttermost they assure them selues that a hundred of stolen cowes will buy a pardone where otherwise if all hope were cut from them that no pardons might be granted vnto them that such as shoulde be found fauourers vnto them might without fauoure féele the force of the lawe without any exceptions from the best to the worst and that euery one like duetiful subiects would put to their helping hande to the suppressing of them there is no question but Irelande woulde soone waxe ciuil and the countrie woulde quickly growe to be quiet In like manner forasmuche as it is euidently knowen that idlenesse amongest all people hath euer béene accompted most hatefull and that in euery well gouerned Commonwealth it is founde to be a vice most hurtfull the which to preuent the Romans vsed very streight meanes insomuch that none durst goe in the streates but he must beare a shewe whereby or how he liued in consideration whereof the Consul did beare a battell axe the Tribunes a mace the Priestes a hatt the Cutler 's a sword the Tailors a payre of sheres the Smithes a hammar and thus euery one according to his exercise to the end it might appeare he liued by his owne labor and not by the sweat of others as commonly these followers doe in Ireland For remedie whereof it were very fitt and most conuenient that such streight lawes and sharpe ordinaunces were prouided that not one that shoulde be founde might be suffered to escape or in any wise to passe til the maner of his life were throughly examined the order of his liuing very wel knowen Some would thinke me here to be too seueare to be made a Iustice of peace and would say vnto me that the countrie that were conquered by force ought rather to be gouerned with more clemencie mildnesse for that the inhabitantes with the better will woulde prepare their hearts to obedience but that experience hath ben tried long enough and this is most certeine that who so euer will thinke to preuaile in Ireland it must be by vsing of iustice with extremitie and not with lenitie And what pitie is to be vsed to those that so without pitie will not spare to oppresse the poore and simple farmer suche as laboureth duly for his liuing Howe lamentable is the case of those that be honest and suche as would gladly indeuour them selues to liue orderly whiche can not so much as enioy a poore flocke bed to lie vpon but must content them selues with homelier beds then a bundle of swéete strawe and in stéede of other cates doe onely liue by grasse hearbes and rootes and then to sée what labour what toyle what paine they endure but to get some small portion of money wherewith to buy a loafe of bread of the whiche neither he his wife nor his children shall neuer eate so much as one crumbe but muste serue to content those ydle roges where the poore man him selfe if he be able to kéepe a cowe for his better reléefe letteth her bloude in a veine in her necke the which bloud being boyled in a clod serueth his turne in stead of the finest manchet Thus I saye those that would be honest be still kept vnder in moste miserable manner contented to yeld them selues to any manner of thraldome so they might be defended from these helhoundes as may better appeare by a Prouerb that they vse which is Defend mee and spend mee But the multitude of these Idelers are such that it cannot be These be the people through whome the greatest parte of the disorder doth spring there cannot be therefore too great punishments to correct them nor too much crueltie vsed to ridde them and euen like as bitter sharpe punishments should be rewardes for those that be euill so for those that be good there ought likewise to be some incouragements whereby they might still continue in their goodnes and a meane wherby to incite other to do the like But this amongest other matters is especially to be lamented that in all the countrie there is not erected some Vniuersitie wherin they might be trained vp in good letters whereby they might learne to serue God aright who I thinke amongest the greatest number of them is neyther knowen nor feared and yet they will séeme to haue a zeale to religion for there be amongest them that during the time of Lent will refraine from eating of egges butter chéese and yet will make no conscience if it were vpon good friday to goe steale an hundred cowes to their breakefast As I haue heard it hath béene in question and profers haue béene made to the erecting of a Vniuersitie but howsoeuer
toys might confesse that he neuer sawe a more strange Metamorphosis or a spectacle more ridiculous to laugh at If at any time they haue receiued a merrie coūtenance of their beloued good God how gay shall you sée them in their apparell howe chéerefull in their countenaunce howe pleasant in their conceiptes how merrie in their moodes then they bathe in brookes of blisse they swim in seas of ioy they flowe in floudes of felicitie they houer all in happinesse they flie in swéete delightes they banish all annoy Contrarily if they receiue a lowring looke then you shall see them drowned in dumpes they pleade with pitious plaintes they crie with continuall clamours they forge they fain they flatter they lie they forswere otherwhiles falling into desperate moodes that they spare not to blaspheme the gods to curse the heauens to blame the planetes to raile on the destinies to crie out vppon the furies to forge hell to counterfeite Sisiphus to playe Tantalus to faine Titius to grone with Prometheus to burne the winter to fréese the summer to lothe the night to hate the day with a thousand other such superstitious follies too long for me to reherse Now if he be learned and that he be able to write a verse then his penne must plie to paint his maistresse praise she must then be a Pallas for her witte a Diana for her chastitie a Venus for her face then shee shall be praised by proportion first her haires are wires of golde her chéekes are made of Lillies and redde Roses her brows be arches her eyes Saphires at the least her lookes lighteninges her mouth Corall her téeth Pearles her pappes Alabaster balles her bodie streight her belly softe from thence downwarde to her knées I think is made of Sugar Candie her armes her hands her fingers her legges her féete and all the rest of her bodie shal be so perfecte and so pure that of my conscience the worst parte they wil leaue in her shal be her soule But what néede I heape vp so many wordes in this matter My penne hath not the power to paint their doating deuises neither do I mind otherwise then to wish the gentlemen should set aside all such trifling affaires and vaine follies to shake off those delightfull desires and rather to indeuour them selues to such exercises which haue gained Hercules Achilles Theseus Caius Marius Epaminondas Themistocles Alexander Pyrrhus Hanibal Scipio Pompeie Caesar with diuerse others such immortall glorie as neither the enuious rage of cruel death may blemishe neither the furious force of fortunes fickle whéele may diminish neither the tracts of deuouring time shal euer be able to remoue frō memorie And I woulde to God that while time doth yet serue vs in England that such care might be had for the training and practising of men that we shoulde not be founde altogether so carelesse that to satisfie all our voluptuous pleasures we neuer consider the preseruation of our countrie and Common wealth So likewise if it be not altogether too late as I feare me it is I would wishe that an other thing were looked vnto and that verie narrowly wherein we haue made such a rod for our owne tayles as there is no question but in the end it must of force endure to be our owne scourge this it is We had in Englande so greate a benefite as it might haue béene vsed as no other countrie inuironing about vs is possessed with the like which is the casting of yron ordinaunce but as the prouerbe is that euerie commoditie bringeth his discommoditie so this commoditie bringeth vs double discōmoditie First in the casting it consumeth vs our woods and timber in such sort that one of the first thinges that England shall want wil be of timber for ships which is all made hauocke on only about those yron mills in the end comes M. merchant who cares not for his own priuat gaine what mischief he worketh to his countrie or somtimes some olde brused souldier that hath serued the Quéene in her warrs about London Lambeth Marshes or the out Iles of Islington all the dayes of his life and in respect of his good seruice must get a commission to sel two or thrée hundred péeces of this yron ordinance out of the realme that betwéene M. merchant and him I dare vndertake there is thrice as muche ordinaunce solde out of the Realme as is within the Realme and that some of our merchaunts haue fealt For Iohn the Frenche man hath béene at host with some of their ships and Dauie dronkarde of Flushing his fellowes haue not béen behinde these with other mo were not able to go so strōgly to the sea were it not that they were furnished with our English ordinance The Spaniards Portingales haue some pretie store of it In Fraunce there is Rochel Rosco S. Mallous Deepe their ships be generally as well furnished with our ordināce as any merchaunts ships in the Thames The mightie hound of Dunkerke the rest of the begels that were of her consort God knowes had béen able to haue made but a slender crie when they had come to chase had it not bin for our English barks The other parts of Flanders Zeland Holland both vppon the walles of their townes also in their shipping are furnisht with the like I haue séene euerie streate in Flushing lie as full of Englishe ordinance as if it had béene the Tower Wharfe of London To be shorte there are diuerse townes in East Freesland with Emden Hambrougbe Denmarke Danske Lubeck Rye Reuell Swethen with diuerse other cities and towns of those East parts that she is but a verie meane and simple Hulke aperteining to any of these places which hath lesse then a dozen or sixtéene péeces of our English ordinaunce in her Such hath béene the carelesnes of this our peaceable time that it hath not onely made vs weake by our owne neglecting the feates of armes but also with our owne artillerie and our warlike munitions we haue made such stronge as be our doubtfull friendes nay rather I may saye our assured enimies as I feare me wee shall finde if they were at quietnesse amongest themselues And thus once againe I can but wish that such consideration might be had of the time that is present as in the time that is to come we shoulde not haue cause to rue it And here although I knowe my skill will not serue me nor my occasion at this time may well permit me to speake of Martiall discipline howe farre it is decayed from the first ordinaunce and institution yet gentle reader not doubting but thou wilt beare with me aswell for the want of the one as for the necessitie of the other I wil aduenture to speake some thing thereof The fourth parte conteining the decay of Martiall discipline I Haue alreadie shewed in the first parte of this booke howe vppon sundrie quarells warrs may be attempted without any offence to
in all things most vncerteine according to the successe of the day wherein thou gauest mee battell for there thou orderedst thy campe according to a wise capteine madest choise of the place in great policie tookest aduauntage of the sunne as a leader of long experience in consideration of which things thou hast cause to complaine against thy fortune which fauoured not thy vertue and not blame thy discretion wherein could bee found no errour Consider that in wise and graue men it is an office that if they cannot doe what they will at the least they yeld to time and are content with what they may And as the vertuous and valiant minde ought not to grieue for not obteining that which he woulde but because he desired that which he ought not so Popilio I wish thee take heede that the honour which so many times thou hast wonn with the hazard of thy valiant person in enterprises of warre be not lost at this present for want of bearing well thy fortune assuring thee that he beares his miserie best that hides it most And as of all voluble things there is nothing more light then renowme so in cases of warre and hazarde it is not ynough for the valiant man to do what he may but also he is bound to attempt nothing but what he ought for aswell the consideration as the execution of a fact belonges duely to a discreete minde I heare thou wanderest here and there in great vncerteintie of minde fearing that if thou be taken of my souldiers thou shalt be euill intreated of mee which if no man haue tolde thee it is against reason thou beleeue it of thy selfe because to vs Princes of Rome it is familiar to shewe our liberalitie to such as yeld to vs with others that are our prisoners to cōmunicate in great clemencie We raise armies against campes proudly furnished and Cities strongly walled but to captiues in thy condition we hold it more honourable to minister comfort then to add increase of affliction For as it sufficeth the valiant Capteine to fight against the enimie that resisteth him and dissemble with him that flyeth so the wise man ought to require no more of his enimie then that he acknowledge that hee standes in feare of him because to a daunted and timorous heart is sildome lefte courage to renue an enterprise And therefore a man takes greater reuenge when he putteth his enimie to flight then if he take his life from him For the sworde dispatcheth a man in a day but feare and remorse tormentes the minde continually And better it were to suffer without feare that which we expect in griefe and sorowe then by feare to be alwayes in martyrdome It is right terrible to fleshe and bloud to dye of a sworde but to be in perpetuall sorrowe and disquiet of mind is the verie furie and torment of hell If thou eschewest my presence in feare that I wil not vse pittie to thee thou art abused in the opinion of my disposition and dost wrong to the reputation and experience of my actions past For I neuer refused to shewe mercie to him that asked it much lesse deceiued him that put his trust in mee The doubt and feare that thus do trauell thy mind ought not to be so much of my person as of the custome of fortune who vseth not to vnlose her sharp arrowes with better wil against any then such as think they be in best securitie of her her nature being such as not to meddle with those that shee findes prepared the better to assure them but followeth the fearfull negligent to the end to deceiue them yea she preuailes euen ouer the counsels and actions of men and being exempt to make reckoning to any her prerogatiue is to require accompt of all men I assure thee Popilio that more do I feare the reuolution of Fortune at this houre then I doubted her before the battell For shee delightes not so much to keepe vnder the vanquished as to bridle and checke the victors And worsse doeth shee meane when shee smiles the fairest then when shee frownes moste But to speake on thy behalfe I tell thee that without daunger thou maist resort to my presence since in thy estate is no cause of suspicion and in my hearte no malice to thy person for in deede that cannot be called true victorie which bringeth not with it some clemencie And therefore he cannot be called victorious in whome resteth intent of rigour and crueltie For Alexander Iulius Augustus Titus and Traianus wonne more renowme by the clemencie they vsed to their enimies then by all the victories they obteined in straunge regions To obteine a victorie is a thing naturall humane but to giue pardon and life is the gifte and blessing of god By which it comes to passe that men feare not so much the greatnesse of the immortall God for the punishments he doth as for the mercie he vseth Notwithstanding as I cannot denie but that great is the value estimation which we Romane Princes make of a victorie wonne by battell so also I assure thee wee holde it more honourable to pardon such as do offend vs then to chastice those that do resist our power Therefore if thou flye from my presence as fearing the iustice which I haue executed vpon the Romanes thou oughtest to take securitie and courage euen in that whiche makes thee gelous and doubtfull for so muche greater ought to be clemencie by howe much the offender is in fault And therefore as there is no offence which cannot be either forgiuen or fauoured so right worthily may that pardon be called honourable and famous whiche is giuen to an iniurie malicious and manifest since all other common and light wrongs with greater reason we may say we dissēble them then that we pardon thē The thing that moste drawes mee to enter friendship with thee is for that in our first capitulations and truce thou perfourmedst all thinges that were concluded for the peace and yet in the battell thou didest expresse the partes of a valiant Capteine the same giuing me cause to beleeue that as in warre I founde thee a iust enimie so in the time of peace thou wouldest proue an assured friend Alexander neuer repented the pardon he gaue to Diomedes the tyraunt nor Marcus Antonius the fauour he shewed to the great Orator Cicero Neither shall I haue cause I hope to forethink the respite I giue to thy life For the noble mind albeit he may haue occasion to be sorie for the vnthankefulnes of his friend yet hath he no licēce to repent him of his good turns done for him therfore in the case of liberalitie or clemencie by howe much the person is vnworthy that receiueth the benefite by so much more he is to be commended that bestoweth it for that onely may bee saide is giuen when he that giueth giueth without respect So that he that giueth in hope of recompense deserueth not to be
called liberall but to pretend vsurie Thou knowest well that in the time of the battel and whē the incounter was most hot I offered thee nothing worthy of reproch euen so thou hast now to iudge that if in the furie of the warre thou foundest me faithfull and mercifull I haue nowe no reason to exercise rigour holding thee within the precinct of my house so that if thou sawe mercie in mee at that instant when thy handes were busie to spill my bloude thinke not that my clemencie shal faile calling thee to the fellowship of my table The prisoners of thy camp can assure thee of my dealing amongest whom the hurt are cured at my charges the deade are buried according to the place of souldiers wherein if I extend this care vppon such as sought to spoile me thinke there is farre greater plentie of grace to thee that comest to serue me And so leauing thee in the handes of thine owne counsell I wishe thee those felicities which thy honourable hearte desireth Loe her a mirrour méete to be perused by kinges and princes wherein they may learne with what consideration they should first enter into warres with what valiaunce and courage they shoulde prosequute them and with what iustice temperaunce and mercie they should vse their enimies Capteines may likewise learne how to vse fortune either when she fauours either when shée frownes But leauing a great number of necessarie lessons worthie to be noted howe is it posible in so fewe lines more amply to describe the glorie of the Romanes neither are their vertues here so liuely painted forth in words as they them selues did nobly shewe it in their déedes But all other examples of humanitie amongest a great number vsed to their enimies this in my opinion deserueth not the least commendation that hauing taken Siphax king of Numantia who being kept prisoner in the house of Tiberias died of sicknesse before he was ransomed notwithstanding now when there was no maner of hope of requitall his funeralles were yet perfourmed with such solemnitie suche pompe and such honor such large giftes were giuen such liberalitie vsed being but a Romane prisoner as might haue wanted at Numantia where he was Lord and King ouer all I haue thus farre briefely and in this short manner shewed some small part of the magnificence of the Romans in their Martiall actions whereby may be perceiued howe farre we be digressed and how cleane we be degenerate at this present from their honorable institutions For if we consider in these dayes the impietie that is founde amongest Princes whiche for the most part are so led by the furie of ambition where they thinke they may oppresse that without any other respect of cause they are redy to accompanie themselues with a sort of bloudie capteines that shoulde haue the leading of a companie of as lewd and vngratious souldiers and euen according to their quarelles and to the qualitie of their owne dispositions they prosecute their warres and performe all their enterprises the whiche for the most part are executed with such treason and trecherie as no Prince almost may be so surely garded but his life shal be finished with some deadly blowe with a weapon with some soudeine shot of a pistoll or at the least practised with some secret poyson neither is there any towne that may be so surely walled so strongly rampered or so throughly fortified which shall not be betrayed For in our warres we be nowe come to this passe that fraud and deceipte is reputed for policie and treason and trecherie are called grauitie and wisedome and he is holden the noblest champion that by any of these meanes can best deceiue where in the opinion of all men whiche exactly doe honour iustice it hath euer ben condemned accompted most horrible And no doubts it cannot be acceptable in the sight iudgement of God who in the Scripture is called the God of trueth veritie but rather procéedeth from the diuell who is in déede the father of fraude and the forger of all deceipte And these enormities haue euer béene especially practised amongest those that haue arreared warres rather to oppresse and rauishe the goodes of others then amongest suche as haue but defended their owne right or entred into warres onely vppon causes of iustice and equitie for that it hath béene euer holden a matter most inconuenient of an honest quarell to make an vnhonest victorie Neither is there any meane more rather to incite men to valiaunce and courage then when they shal remember they goe to fight in a righteous cause according to the opinion of Cicero Therefore saith he manlinesse is well defended of the Stoikes where they say it is a vertue that fighteth in defence of equitie Wherefore no man that hath atteined the glorie of manlinesse hath euer got prayse by wylie traines and craftines for nothing may be honest that is voyde of iustice And procéeding further in the same place he expresseth a saying of Plato tending to the same effect whiche is this That not onely the knowledge which is seuered from iustice is rather to be called subtiltie then wisedome but also the courage which is forwarde to daunger if it be set on for our owne greedinesse and not for a common profit may rather beare the name of lewd hardinesse then of manlinesse And for as muche as my selfe about a thrée yeares sithens did set foorth a booke intituled A dialogue betweene Mercurie and an Englishe Souldier wherein I haue described what mildnesse shoulde be mixt with this manhood with many mo examples of humanitie and sundrie other vertues wherwith noble capteins should be indued I will therefore omit to vse any further circumstance in those causes neither will I further speake of the decay of Martiall discipline in generall but of certeine priuate abuses that are vsed amongest our selues in Englande in our institutions in the time of warre but especially in the election of our capteines for the most part and our ordinarie manner of appointing of souldiers the whiche although I haue likewise in the same booke before mentioned something touched yet in my opinion there cannot be too muche said considering the peril that might insue by so great a negligence and so ordinarily committed To speake generally of our capteines they are many times appointed more for fauour then for knowlege more for friendship then for experience and more for affection borne them by some noble man then either for valiance or vertue for they are not to be accompted valiant that will offer them selues into daunger without iudgement but rather to be estéemed men puft vp with a vaine desire and prickt forwardes with a kind of desperate boldnesse Aristotle woulde in no wise that Diomedes shoulde be reputed either valiaunt or wise for that when the Gréekes were put to flight he remained alone and aduentured him selfe against the force of Hector whiche he rather did to séeke
but vtterly refused to learne any martial discipline or warlike exercise hereafter shal be shewed But the occasions that make men so extreemely to hate warre are sundrie but that which doth most of all vexe the greatest nūber is this not so much for any special loue they haue to peace as for feare of taxes paymēts other charges hanging vpon warre for otherwise warre or peace were all one with them so they might liue in quietnes without any charge And yet I dare vndertake not one of these peace-mongers that wil thinke he hath bene so ouercharged if he haue bestowed but x. shillings toward the setting forth of a souldiour that goeth to spende his life in his prince or countries cause but will with more willing mind bestowe x. li amongst the lawiers to do his neighbour a shrewed turne Other some would loue the warres wel ynough so thēselues might be free frō preassing for that thei had rather liue like ydle loytering lubbers then offer their seruice any way to defend or maintaine the liberties of their countrey in cōdition to be cōpared to cur dogges that wil fawne vpon any mā as long as hee feede thē but whē they should be farther vsed for pleasure in the field then adue they go to their kenels so these people they are borne fostered vp enioy the lawes liberties of their countrey when their countrey standeth in need do shew thēselues euery way to aide assistance with as willing mindes as a beare commeth to a stake these be right bastards to their countrey are in deed worthie to enioy no benefit of their countrey Plutarch maketh mentiō of an I le that is in Grece called the I le of Cobde in this yle there is a linage descended of the noble Greeke captaine called Agis the good amongst these Agites this law is especially obserued that none dare call him selfe to be natural of the yle vnlesse he hath done some valiant act or by some meanes shewed him self forward in his coūtreis defence If this law were in Englād obserued we shuld haue to few natural Englishmē There are an other sorte that onely cowardlines feare make them hate the warres these deserue litle to bee spoken of and lesse to be accompted of There is yet a last sort whose cōsciences be so pure as they say thēselues that they can alowe of no wars either to be good or godly cōsidering what murthers spoyles other outrages by thē are cōmitted This in deede seemeth to carie reason with it but notwithstanding it is not sufficient to cōdēne a iust quarel for Saul lost the especial grace fauour of god for preseruing the best of the praye hee had taken from the Amalechites which he should haue vtterly destroyed And Iosua fearing the day would haue bin to short for him to kil his enemies which fled before him cōmanded the sūne to stand stil which was obedient to his cōmandemēt shal we therfore condemne his quarell because hee seemed to cary a murtherous mind Not so for his quarel was most iust his facte best pleased god Neither haue I brought forth these exāples as necessary for all to folow but as probable for my purpose for mercy I acknowledge to be one of the greatest vertues wherew t a noble captaine may be endued but to be vsed out of time as occasiō may fal out hath greater resemblance to foolish pitie thē to be called mercy and is rather to be holden a vice then a vertue as hereafter I meane further to shew But I do not a litle wonder what madnes should moone mens mindes to frame such argumentes that because murthers spoyles and other like hauockes be committed in the warres the warres therefore can not please God and what soeuer pleaseth not God can not be good By the like argument peace is the most greatest and the most detestable enormitie that of al others may happen and amongst Christians most to be abhorred for peace is the nourisher of vices the roote of euils the proppe of pride and to be short it is the mother of al mischiefes For in the tyme of peace we set our mindes onely to waxe riche for the attayning whereof what extortion what deceit what fraud what flatterie what lying what forswearing is vsed to come by them and when they be had they are the onely instruments to vanitie the readie ministers to vices the very occasiō why so great warres be many times arreared betweene Princes a special cause of commotions amongst subiects they breede quarelles amongst friendes suites betweene brethren they make him that shall possesse them proude presumptuous vaine glorious and of a good man to become euil wicked Furthermore in peace men growe to be slouthful ydle proude couetouse dissolute incontinent vicious folowing al maner of vanities giuē al to delights to inordinat lust gluttonie swearing to be short to al maner of filthinesse which was very wel perceyued by S. Augustin who in a booke that he wrote intituled De ciuitate Dei hath these wordes More hurtful was the citie of Carthage to Rome after her destruction then during the whole course and season of the warres which the Romaines had with her for that whylest they had enemies in Affrike they knewe not what vyces ment in Rome And what greater argument may there be of the displeasure of God then where he sendeth amongst them such peace and quietnes for as the scriptures witnesse Whom he loueth them he chastiseth but a small signe of care should seeme where he giueth the people ouer to their owne vanities and suffereth them to wallowe in all vyce and wickednesse Thus you may see by such maner of reasoning vice may be made to seeme vertue and contrarie vertue appeare to be vice But here if any man would coniecture that by this which I haue alleadged I ment in deede to perswade that warres were more conuenient then peace they should doo me great wrong for although I do know I haue sayde nothing but what is true and that in the time of peace al kinde of vices do most wickedly abounde yet I do very wel know that the time of peace is not therefore to be condemned so likewise in the time of warre although there be many disorders and sundrie outrages committed yet the warres therfore are not absolutely to be reprooued For as peace is the great benefite and blessing of God so warres being attempted vpon due consideration doe nothing at all offende him but like as the sunne when it shineth in some pleasant garden the herbes and flowers do yeelde a most delectable verdure so where it shineth vpō some filthie dunghill the stench and lothsomenesse to the passers by is most noysome As the sunne which was prepared of the almightie God to be a comfort to euery humane thing is not the cause of the one nor the other but the qualitie of the places
so those abuses which are vsed either in peace or warre are not to be imputed to the time but to the disposition and lewdnes of the people which like to filthie dunghilles at euery time and season are more noysome then profitable Let this suffice then that what I haue written is but only to prooue that warres are not alwayes to bee comdemned and that it is not agaynst the lawes of God that Princes should erect warres vpon sufficient cause but sometyme for ciuil policies sake most requisite to be done Concluding that assured peace is euer to bee preferred before doubtfull warre so it may be had without preiudice or iniurie Thus endeth the first parte of warre The seconde parte entreating of Souldiours THe second obiection is Whether he that is honest may take vpon him the profession of a Souldier As who should say that to be a souldiour may not bee an honest mans profession because in the warres they bee the ministers of so many mischiefes this is their reason But in this place I will but reason of souldiours as I haue already done of warres that is but to shewe what maner of people souldiours haue bene As for such as do but vsurpe the name of souldiers I leaue them tyll another occasion We finde in the 14. chapter of the booke of Genesis that Abraham was a captaine and a leader of men vnto whom Melchizedech the king of Salem brought foorth bread and wine albeit he were a priest of the most high god And S. Paul in his epistle to the Hebrewes the 6. chapter speaking of our Sauiour Christ saieth That hee was made a highe Priest for euer after the order of Melchizedech and all the diuines and ancient doctours by generall consent doe agree that the first true figure of Christ was here offered to souldiers that were returned from the slaughter and spoyle of their enemies A special cause wherein souldiers may worthily triumph and a choke peare sufficient to stoppe their mouthes that would so absolutely condemne them Moyses though he were otherwise a Prophet yet he was likewise a captaine to whom Iethro his father in law by the motion of Gods spirit gaue counsell to prouide such to be iudges ouer the rest which should be found to be men of courage to feare God to be louers of trueth hating couetousnes c. and that of them he should make some millenaries to rule ouer thousands and that he should create others centeniers to rule ouer hundreds others Cinquantiniers to beare authoritie ouer fifties and Disiniers to cōmand ouer tennes Iosua at whose commandement the sunne was obedient was a souldier and a leader of an armie Whē the whole hoste of the childrē of Israel was vtterly dismayde for the multitude of their enemies whose nūbre was like the sandes of the sea the Lord commanded Gedeon to make his choyse of such to serue for souldiers to encounter them as were most faithful that doubted not of his promises made vnto them which were in numbre but 300. and were chosen by lapping of water Who euer stood more in the good grace fauour of God then that noble king and captaine Dauid whom the Lorde termed to be a man after his owne hartes desire What should I here speake of Iephthah of Iehu of Iudas Machabeus and of many other which were notable souldiers shall they be condemned to be wicked and euill because they were warriours or shal we thinke of them that in that vocation they offended God When the souldiers demaunded of Iohn Baptist what they ought to do he willed them to hurt no man wrongfully but to liue by their wages hee sayd not vnto them Forsake your vyle profession you can not be the children of god to followe any such maner of exercise the which questionlesse hee would haue done if he had so thought And when the captaine who had sent vnto Iesus for the healing of his seruant that laye sicke as Iesus was going towardes his house Nay Lord quoth the captayne I am not worthie that thou shouldest enter vnder my roofe doe but speake the worde onely and my seruant shall be safe for I also am a man set vnder power and haue vnder mee souldiours and I saye vnto one goe and he goeth to another come and he commeth and to my seruant do this and hee doth it Iesus marueyling at his words turning him about to those that folowed said I haue not found so great faith no not in Israel And what godlier commendation may bee giuen to any man then we finde in the .10 chapter of the Actes of the Apostles where it is written as foloweth There was a certaine mā in Cesarea whose name was Cornelius a captaine of the souldiers of Italie a deuout man one that feared God with al his houshold c. To this Cornelius the Angel of the Lord appeared willed him to sende into Ioppa and to enquire for one Simon Peter who should instructe him and baptize him in the name of Iesus when the Angel was departed thus saith the text He called vnto him two of his houshold seruants and a deuoute souldiour that wayted on him and tolde them all the matter and sent them to Ioppa c. This may seeme sufficient to prooue that not onely captaynes but also priuate souldiers haue bin founde to be both zealous and feruent in the loue and feare of God and that he hath likewise accepted them into his speciall grace and fauour But what should I stande here to manifest the vertues wherewith a numbre of noble captaines hath bin most plenteously indewed as the bountie and liberalitie of Alexāder the continencie of Scipio the iustice and equitie of Iulius Cesar the patience and humilitie of Agathocles the mercy and pitie of Agesilaus the faith and fidelitie of Regulus to his very enemies Here might I say euen of this onely matter a huge volume be written only of the vertuouse dispositions of noble souldiers in so much that this othe By the faith of a Souldiour hath bene so inuiolably kept that a souldiour hath bene better to haue bene credited by that othe thē some marchants now by their obligations But here if any will coniecture that in tyme past souldiours haue so exceeded in vertues that at the time present they haue none at all left for them to boast on although in England our multitude be not many yet amongst those few there be both honourable and worshipful whose magnanimitie in the time of warres hath made them famous in forrain countreis and whose noblenes and vertues now in the time of peace doe shine coequal with the best But here peraduenture some curiouse cauiller wil replie that these may better be called sage and wise counsailers thē bloudy or cruel captaines and rather may be termed sober discrete Iustices then rash and harebrayned souldiours and thus by denying of them to be souldiers will thinke I am